Revelation 16:15 “(‘Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.’)”

SUDDENLY

We have been reading a lot lately about the return of Christ. Of course, that topic has been a hot one for generations. It seems every generation thinks Christ will come during their lifetime. Hmmm, I guess no one really knows.

The point is not that He is coming. That fact is established in God’s Word. The question is “Are you ready for His coming?” This verse warns us that He will come like a thief. Not to rob or harm, but unexpectedly. He will just be there.

TEACHING MOMENT

Does your home have a security system? Many homes do. If you have one of those I am sure you have shown your children how it works. They need to know how to reset it if it goes off. And they need to know what it sounds like if it does. We set those systems to protect our family from thieves, robbers or someone who wants to do us harm.

This is a good verse to share with them the next time you are setting that alarm. Explain to them that just like we prepare for an intrusion in our house by setting the alarm system, we need to be preparing our hearts for Christ. He will come unexpectedly, suddenly, without warning. We won’t have time to get ready once that happens. We have to ready all the time.

But unlike someone who wants to harm us, He wants to come and take us home with Him to heaven. If we are believers, we have no fear of His return. In fact, it is welcomed. But, if we have not placed our trust in Jesus, then we will be caught totally unprepared and face eternal judgment.

Are you ready? Are you getting others ready? Are you preparing yourself and your family for that day? I am excited to see Him. Are you?

Jonah  3:5 “Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them.”

STOP RUNNING

Can you just picture Jonah? He ran from God after being told to go to Nineveh. He got thrown overboard from a sinking ship (that miraculously survived afterwards), got swallowed by a large fish, spent three days in the belly of that fish, got vomited up on shore, went to Nineveh, preached one of the shortest repentance messages ever, the whole city repents, he gets mad, runs away to “die,” sits under a vine, it dies and then God speaks to him. Wow! He could have saved himself a whole of lot trouble if he had just gone the first time God told him to go.

But aren’t we just the same? How many times have we “run” from God? How many times has He told us to do something, and we decide to ignore it or do the exact opposite? How many of you would like to spend three days inside a fish?

TEACHING MOMENT

Our children are going to disobey us. They will outright rebel sometimes. What a perfect story to read to them when they are rebelling. Do you think Jonah ever thought he would repent inside a fish’s stomach? I bet not. Our children might not like what God uses to get their attention. But they have got to decide to obey. You can’t obey for them.

Jonah had no idea how God would one day use the Assyrians, which included Nineveh, to judge the nation of Israel. And Jonah had no idea at the time how their knowledge of a forgiving God would shape how they treated Israel. You see, our children need to know that God sees the WHOLE picture, not just the immediate. He sees years, decades, even centuries down the road.

What are you running from? What has God asked you to do for Him? Why are you running to Tarshish instead of Nineveh? Stop and turn around. It is so much easier doing it His way!

Best Verse: Revelation 15:3b “’Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations!’”

BRAVE ONES

Do you know who is singing this in heaven? Take a look at verse 2. “Those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name” are the ones singing. It doesn’t say how many are singing. It only says what it says. So just who are these singers?

Well, could it include us? Will we be victorious over the beast and his image and the number? Will we face these temptations to succumb to his lures? Will we have to make the decision to compromise or die?

TEACHING MOMENT

I know we all pray that our children would never have to face such decisions. But listen to me Moms and Dads! We might possibly be living in the last days. We don’t know when Christ is going to come, but we do know that the world is getting darker and darker. Christianity is under attack. Are you preparing your children to defend their faith? Are you getting your children ready to take a stand for Christ?

Teaching our children to be faithful is one of those things that they will learn by watching us. Every time you are faced with a faith decision let them know what is going on. Now, I mean within reason. Children should NOT be privy to our every adult decision. But letting them in on our faith growing and faith trusting decisions prepares them for the day when they will be faced with similar challenges.

The problem many parents today have is trying to make EVERY decision for their child in order to shield them for getting hurt. Pain is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s life’s way of letting us know that something is wrong. Allow your child to experience those “growing pains” in a safe way, but let them experience them. Just read James 1, if you need further proof.

Take courage my brothers and sisters! God rewards the faithful. Won’t you stay true? Won’t you trust Him to see you through to the other side – no matter what? He will, you know. He will.

Obadiah 15 “’For the day of the Lord draws near on all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you. Your dealings will return on your own head.’”

JUDGMENT

If you have ever done any study on prophecy, then you are familiar with this term, “the day of the Lord.” It is a day of judgment. Those who do not worship our Lord and Savior will face judgment that day. But all of us who are in Christ will have no fear of judgment on this day. Our fate was sealed once we bowed before the Lord and acknowledged Him as Lord and Savior. Our sins are forgiven and covered with the blood! Hallelujah!

Our children can understand judgment, can’t they? They feel “judged” every time you have to correct them or discipline them. No one likes being judged, and no one likes be punished. But that’s life here. We cannot possibly keep all the laws that are contained in the Old Testament. And if we fail to keep just one, we are guilty of them all. How defeating! How depressing! How hopeless.

TEACHING MOMENT

You can drive this point home with your kids sometime by making a list of rules for them to follow for a day. Get them to even help make the list. But make sure you put one in there that will be impossible for them to keep. At the end of the day, go over how they did. Make sure you point out how they failed to keep the impossible one.

Then forgive them. Wipe the slate clean. Tell them all is forgiven. Now, you can show them how that is the same (but much better) in Christ. We can try and try to be good. We may even do well for a while, but sooner or later we are going to fall flat on our face. The beauty of being in Jesus is that He knows we are going to fail and is ready to pick us up. He wants us to live holy lives, but also loves to extend grace and mercy to us.

How are feeling today? Do you feel defeated? Or do you know your security lies in Christ and not in keeping a set of rules and laws that are impossible? You can live free of fear of coming judgment. Trust Him!

Revelation 14:6 “And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people;”

EVEN ANGELS

The eternal gospel! It exists in the heavenlies! It exists to be preached to everyone, everywhere, anytime, anyplace!

How are you doing with that? I know what you are thinking. That doesn’t apply to me since I am not a preacher. Wrong! It is our duty, our command from our Commander in Chief Jesus, to take His gospel to every nook and crevice of this world.

The technology age has allowed us to do that. We can send the gospel to every point on the globe through satellites. Nomads in the desert can hear the gospel through solar powered audio Bibles. Missionaries in the jungles or savannahs of Africa can receive a signal allowing them to show the nationals there how to teach the Word.

TEACHING MOMENT

Why not get out your smartphone or IPad and show your children how one Bible App can change the world? Why not spend some Christmas money to help buy some Gospel thumb drives to send to some missionaries to use in their ministry? How about purchasing some of those thumb drives for our men and women who are serving in the military overseas? There are all kinds of ways to get your children involved in “preaching” the Gospel other than standing behind a pulpit.

If your children get a glimpse of how much they can do right from their homes, perhaps the Lord will burden their heart to take the next step and surrender to fulltime Christian ministry. You never know how God will work in their lives when you help light that fire in them.

There is literally nowhere we can’t take or send the gospel. Will you?

Revelation 13:18 “Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.”

ITS REAL

666! That’s a number you have seen in countless horror films. Hollywood throws it around like some symbol that doesn’t mean anything. They have no idea the “fire” they are playing with.

The Antichrist is real and will come (he may already be here) to destroy all that is good. Contrast this reign with the one we talked about on December 11. One wants to reign to destroy while the other to build. One wants to reign to control while the other to free. One wants to reign to hate while the other to love.

TEACHING MOMENT

So what do we tell our children about this number? Two things: It is real and we have no fear if we are in Christ. Satan wants us to fear him, but there is no need to fear Satan. He cannot touch us unless the Lord allows. And if He is allowed, then we must trust that it is for our good, to make us more like Jesus.

666 is one of those things in the Bible that we must tell our children about. They must hear it from us that it is true. It is one of those things that the world will twist and turn and try to make them not believe. And we know if that foot gets in the door then that puts doubt on everything in Scripture including Creation, the Flood, Crossing the Red Sea, manna from heaven, Jonah and the big fish, the Virgin Birth, etc., etc. You see, you can start down a very slippery slope.

Don’t let anyone tell you that 666 isn’t important or real. It is. Those who have to deal with him will not enjoy it. But good news, we believers are already being built up, freed and loved. Thank you Jesus.

Joel 2:28-29 “’28 It will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. 29 Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.’”

SIGNS OF HIS RETURN

If you have ever read anything about prophecy or heard a half dozen sermons on the topic then you are probably familiar with this passage we read today. Joel prophesies that in the end times the people will see the Spirit poured out on all mankind. They will prophesy, have dreams and see visions. The bottom line – He is returning, and mankind will know it.

The real issue is not that He is returning. The real issue is “Are you ready?” Well, are you? You know it could be any day. There are stories all over the world of Jesus appearing to non-believers in dreams and visions and hundreds coming to Christ. In many Muslim dominated countries Jesus is at work revealing Himself to them.

TEACHING MOMENT

Are your children ready for His return? Our main job as Christian parents is to prepare our children for eternity, not the job market. Our main task is to lead them to Jesus, not to church. Our main concern should be to share Jesus with them every day, not make sure they do their homework. Now, all those other things are important, but in the light of eternity they mean nothing.

As we prepare our children for a lifetime of service to our King, He may just choose one of them to go into fulltime ministry. The Lord may call them to serve Him in a remote part of the earth to reach an unreached people group. He may choose them to lead a company or testify for Him in the workplace or even become President of the United States. Whatever the Lord chooses to do with our children will be good. But we have been entrusted with these precious spirits to prepare them to hear Him.

Will your child be one of those whom Joel speaks of here in today’s passage? Will God speak to and through them? Get them ready to hear Him.

Hosea 14:9 “Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; Whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right, and the righteous will walk in them, but transgressors will stumble in them.”

MISDIRECTION

Isn’t it amazing how the world says the wrong things are right and the right things are wrong? It is because they don’t know or understand this verse. It simply says the ways of the Lord are right. Period! Exclamation mark! That settles it, right? And if that is true (which it is) then we, the righteous, should walk in them.

TEACHING MOMENT

Our children need to learn early in life that the Lord’s way is ALWAYS right. It might not be the easiest path, but it is the right path. It may not be the most direct route, but it is the correct one. It may take them on some dangerous roads, but in Him they are safe. It may be dark and scary at times, but with Him by their side, there is no need to fear.

I am sure you are probably planning some kind of road trip soon, maybe over the holidays. If you are like me, I use a GPS to map my route. Why not take the opportunity as you are programming that route to talk about this verse? Explain how we have many choices in the route to our destination, but we will trust the GPS to map out the fastest route there. In the same way, we must trust the Lord to direct us in the safest route to Him.

You see, the world loves to throw up roadblocks. Satan loves to get us off course or cause us to doubt God’s wisdom concerning the path He has us on. But don’t fall for that. Trust God to lead. Trust God to guide. Trust God – Period! He will never fail you or forsake you. He will never abandon you. He will never let you get out of His sight. But you must stay on His path. You must walk in His ways. Otherwise, like the transgressors in the verse, you will stumble. And nobody likes to stumble, right?

Safe travels!

Revelation 12:11 “’And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.’”

FIGHTING ANGELS

Did you realize the angels in heaven, even the Archangels, depend on the blood of Christ? This verse says exactly that. Michael and his angels defeat the dragon because of the blood of the Lamb and their testimony of that.

Honestly, I never think much about angels. Sure, I know they are real and may have even “entertained one unaware.” But I never really think about them. I should. You should. Why? Because right now they are engaged in a heavenly battle between good and evil. They are fighting for the Lamb and because of the Lamb.

TEACHING MOMENT

But let’s be very clear in talking to our children about this angel thing. We DON’T become angels. When a dear saint dies or a little child, they do not become angels. No one gets their “wings.” I understand the sentiment behind that statement, and it’s okay, but let’s make sure we don’t tell our children that one day when they go to heaven (if they are a believer) they will get their wings. That’s simply not true. We will get a glorified body that doesn’t need wings.

Angels fascinate children. And just like many Bible truths, the world will embellish the story to make it more “appealing,” thus making it untrue. You see, Satan knows the truth about God’s Word and will do anything to confuse us about it. He will even take a Biblical truth and change it to make it sound “better.” Wrong theology is his game. He wants us to teach anything except the Bible. Stick to the truth!

Angels are fighting for you and me. That’s pretty cool. They are fighting for our eternal home. But don’t worry! We know how this all ends. We win!

Hosea 6:1 “’Come, let us return to the Lord. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.’”

BOO-BOOS

I remember the days when I loved to get a band-aid put on a scratch or “boo-boo.” It was kind of like a badge of honor to have one on your knee or elbow. It implied hard play or courage. It was really cool if you had one of those band-aids that had a cartoon figure on it. That rocked!

I love this verse because it tells us that God will heal us and bandage us. But I notice that it also says he will tear us and wound us. Why would a loving God tear and wound us and then turn right around and heal and bandage us? I truly believe the tearing and wounding is our fault. God will go as far as He needs in our discipline to turn us around. If that means He has to tear or wound us, so be it. But remember, when He heals and bandages, He does it perfectly.

TEACHING MOMENT

What a perfect verse to share with our kids the next time they get a “boo-boo.” That probably will not be long, lol. As you wash the wound or scrap and prepare it for bandaging, share this verse with them. Sometimes that cut or scrap they have is from their direct disobedience. You told them NOT to climb that tree, but they just had to. You told them NOT to jump off the back porch, but they wanted to “fly.”

You wouldn’t withhold bandaging that wound just because they disobeyed you. You wouldn’t NOT stop the bleeding just because “you told them so.” Nether does God. He tells us how to live to avoid these “accidents”, but we just can’t help ourselves. We just have to “climb that tree” or “jump off that porch.”

God loves us, but He will hold us accountable for our actions. He will also do whatever it takes to get us back on course. He disciplines His children. Aren’t you glad?