Mark 13:24- 27 says; (This is Jesus speaking) "At that time, after the anguish of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then everyone will see the son of Man coming on the clouds with great power and glory. And He will send out his angels to gather his chosen ones from all over the world- from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.
Matthew 24:4-8 explains a list of happenings before judgement day;
- Many people will call themselves Christ.- This happens all the time. People saying that they are God. Dictators want their countries to idolize them- even though the Bible says not to idolize anyone other than God.
- There will be wars; Nation will go against Nation- This is happening as i speak. The war in Afghanistan, Iraq, and many other places. Although war may be protecting us in the United States, it's still a sign from God.
- Famines and earthquakes will happen in different places- Famine is something that is world wide. A shortage of food- for the children in Africa who go to sleep at night without food. What about the oil spill- that gave us a shortage of seafood. Earthquakes, natural disasters etc. you name it- it's happened. Right now as i speak hurricane Isaac is in action mode and destroying peoples lives.
- People will have there religion used against them to a point of arrest and persecution. When i read this one i thought about protesters. Protesters for pro life get arrested all the time and they are doing it because they believe strongly in their faith. Persecution- it happens daily. If experienced it from people who don't know me well because i believe in God. They try to use it against you because they know it's the one thing that matters most to you.
- People will betray and hate each other- i see this in school all the time. Best friends betraying each other because they don't like someone they are talking to. A boyfriend and girlfriend break up and all of a sudden they hate each other and say rude things about each other to people.
That's only a few from the Bible from both the book of Matthew and Mark. All of those things have happened. ALL of them. Judgement day could be any day and i ask myself- have you been a good enough Christian? The answer- sadly is no. I don't think i have. Sure, i have tons of community service, i try to put people before myself, i attend church every Sunday, lead the nursery, read the Bible, pray, preach about God, make lessons for STATIC and in general a good person. But is that enough? Truthfully, i'm scared that what i'm doing- isn't enough.
In the Bible it talks about what you have to do to get into heaven.
- Have you ever lied?- yes, everyone has whether it was when you were 5 or last year it is still a lie. What do you call when someone tells a lie? A liar.
- Have you ever stolen something? No- but that's because i know the difference between wrong and right. What do you call a person who steals? A thief.
- Have you ever used God's name in vain? yes. I don't mean saying cuss words with God following it but things as simple as; "oh my God". I've said it before, everyone has. When you use God's name in vein, it's called blasphemy
- Have you ever looked at someone who you were not married to with lust. I'm not sure about this question. I'm a teenager, i don't have those kind of thoughts but when your with a group of friends and the subject of guys come up- there is a lot of inappropriate talk. Even though i don't talk in those conversations my ears are still listening to the things being said. Even as a teenager you compare guys saying their hot or not so i can't answer this question personally- but i do know a lot of people who do lust. In the Bible what do they call someone who lusts? An adulterer.
- Have you had sex out of marriage? Nope, and it's not happening. Just because i'm making decisions like this doesn't mean my own friends have made the same decisions. I know a lot of people who think they found Mr or Ms right, have sex with them and a few weeks later are single. A lot of people don't know this about me but at the end of my freshman year i decided that i wasn't going to date until i was out of high school. To many things can happen and get my attention off of my future. So far i've lived up to that and am proud of the choices i make for abstinence. When you have sex out of marriage you are called a fornicator.
Now thinking about those topics do you think you're going to make it into heaven or hell? Honestly- i'm not sure.
This blog is probably the deepest and most personal blog i've wrote about because this subject has been on my mind for a while now. This is the reason i want to be a youth minister. Teenagers need the most guidance in the spiritual journey. I don't want the life my sisters have for anyone. This subject is something that i'm passionate about- it's something that i keep looking for more information on. It's a message along with abstinence that i want to share.
God only knows when the day will come where we will be in front of Him and he will tell us what will happen from there. I've made mistakes- remember i've lied and i've used Gods name in vein- but i'm a good person!
So lets say there's a person who is drunk and kills an innocent passenger of a vehicle. Because of this persons decisions- this person has been ripped away from their family. That doesn't just mean parents- it means children, husband and wives also. Because of the drunk drivers choice- someones life was ended early. This is not a false story. It's happened personally to two people i know. What do you think than? Will God let this drunk driver go to heaven or hell- even though the drunk driver may had been a good person. I'm not sure- and sometimes not having the answers in life are scary.
God gave us this life. it's up to us what we do with it. Just like money, you can waste it or you can turn it into a life full of success.
