16 So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens.[d] He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.[e] 18 He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.[f]

Continuing our look at the book of James, we’ll be praying today based on these three verses and also, this is sort of a dual episode if you will, because we are looking at some things happening in the world currently and are going to view them through the lens of Scripture.

Don’t be misled. We are making a choice in this, it seems. Once we really take the Bible as straight up God’s word and apply it to things, like everything and all the things, well, then we’ve made the choice to not be misled, in large part. And the things going on in the world right now are not outside of the Lord’s sovereignty, so we can look at the reality of what is happening and stand it up against the true reality of the Bible and make a decision to not be misled in these times.

Now not everyone thinks we are in the last days, but I sort of am gonna say what Francis Chan says on this exact issue, that his view may not be the right one but he really believes that it is. And that’s how I feel, and I wanted to say that at this point in the podcast because I’m gonna pray in a few moments for us all here in these last days, and so I thought I’d tell ya that’s what I believe before I start praying from that perspective and confuse people.

Just gonna share a few things now, some real news that is super recent, like not old news, and then pray these verses from James.

It’s February 20, 2024 as I write this, so you have a date to go along with this.

Russia is funding, basically building, a base in Syria right along the border with Israel. The Bible makes it clear that Israel is going to flatten Damascus, it will be defunct, and it’s a literal prophecy, it will happen. Damascus is in Syria. Russia is considered to be Magog in the end times. So what is happening here is what the Bible has said will happen.

The war in Gaza…there are passages in the Bible that make it clear what land will be part of Israel in the last days, and that taking back of land that’s going on is Biblical. And one thing I want to say - the owner or creator of something has ownership rights, and the One who created the world, planet earth, owns it. Nobody else does, not really. God created it, and He gave land to the nation, the people, of Israel and every bit He gave, that He says in the Bible they’ll have, well they’ll have it.

Creating camps on another border of Gaza, Israel, let’s just call it what God calls it as it relates to end times, Egypt is building camps in the Sinai wilderness. Very interesting. Egypt has to step back onto the stage somehow in order for them to have the end times role the Bible talks about. It’s happening, in many different ways, but this going on right over the border is important and it’s a big change, you can see the satellite footage and note that there are doing some stuff out there. Keep an eye on Egypt for sure.

The moon, per a news report that was shared on CNN and other outlets, and I’m not big on liberal or conservative news options because I’m just not, my trust level is pretty low, like most of us feel, right? But I share that to say it’s not just a wonky made up story, the moon is like rusting and turning red. Pretty sure this aligns with the word of God mentioning that in the last days the moon would be red. Hmm. Okay. Wow.

The red heifers in Israel are getting closer to the age when they can be sacrificed, the plan is for this year’s Passover, in late April I believe, and there are two I think that are so far fitting the requirements for that sacrifice that would enable them to begin building their temple, the third temple, which has to be in place for the end times to play out according to what we find in the Bible.

Another news story regarding the red heifers - members of Hamas are saying that a big propellent for the October 7th invasion and massacre and kidnappings that took place in Israel were spurred on because they wanted to take out those red heifers. Again, just wow.

And also recently, Musk did that first impact of Neuralink into a human. Well, boy oh boy.

I really could go on, but I just wanted to mention a handful of things and then pray based on James with this end times perspective, because if we don’t know what time it is, then we won’t be expecting what comes next on the Kingdom calendar, which is the soon return of Jesus.

And who wouldn’t want us expectant and ready?

The Enemy, the Accuser, Satan, the dirty dog liar.

Who does want us ready? God and all of heaven.

What does it matter if we know the signs of the time or not?

Mark 13 makes it clear - it matters because Jesus said it matters. If you knew what time the robbers were going to break in, then you’d be ready to defend your home. If you don’t know, you’ll be taken by surprise. Jesus expects us to pay attention, to be ready, and to live out our faith and our concern for those who don’t know Him, who are not ready, in a very real way because when we live like we believe He’s coming soon, everything in our life is different, in a good way. What really matters becomes our main focus and the distractions and the things that just really don’t count much for eternity grow dim and become less of a snare for us. Where we put our time is where our life goes, and if none of our times goes toward the things Jesus says matter…that’s not good.

Lord, help Your people not to be misled. You love us, You guide us, and You never want us living under deception. Thank You for Your grace and Your help to keep us from being misled in this day and age. Whatever is good and perfect is a gift from You, Father, and so we thank You for Your many good gifts to us. You never change, and this is a promise that endures. What comfort we gain from knowing You never change or cast a shifting shadow. Who You are is who You will always be, and we can trust You completely because we know You are not shifty of in the change agent business. You have given us Your true word, and we want to live daily believing all of Your Word. You made us Your prized possession - help us to know who we are, who You say we are, and to live in a manner that reflects a deep understanding that we are Your prized possession.

Bless each one listening today, and equip them to do Your will in a world that needs Your love. Show us where we are on the Kingdom calendar, and remind us often, every day even, that we will soon see our King coming on the clouds. Help the truth of the Bible and the prophecies being fulfilled in our day awaken us and spur us on toward more love and greater good deeds. We love You, Lord, and in thankfulness we pray these things. Amen.

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