Watch for the Lord's Coming

As the New Year begins, I asked the Lord what Christians should focus on in 2013. He responded with a message that is as powerful as it is simple. "Watch for My coming." The signs that the Lord gave us to watch for are coming together even as I write this article. The Lord cautions us to "be aware." We should be the watchmen on the wall, warning and reminding each other that His coming is near -- even at the door. 

During these times, satan will try to take our spiritual awareness from us, making us dull of heart. We must always rebuke and resist satan. If it is hard to rebuke and resist, as the Lord for help. Focus always on the Lord. Churches in New York City hold services virtually around the clock at 10, 12, 2, 5, 7, and 9, and all services have lines of people waiting to get into the service. Others report that Iran is experiencing the greatest Christian revival in the world. Revival is also happening in South America, China, and part of Asia and Africa. There is a hunger for the Lord in diverse places. Let us be part of the revival. 

Between now and then, we should be doing exactly what the Lord has given us to do. In Mark 13, the Lord says, 

"But concerning that day or that hour, no one know, not even the angels in heaven, not the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. Therefore stay awake--for you do not know when the mast of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning--lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake." (Mark 13:32-37 ESV)

In the meantime, pray that the Lord will come quickly. Pray for the unsaved. And pray faithfully for our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world. 

And in the words of Christ, "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions." (Matthew 24: 45-47 ESV)

I wish you all a blessed New Year. 

A Most Blessed Season

Christmas is the season of love, the season of joy, and the season of hope. Our joy and our hope is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. And whether you live in India, China, America, Europe, Africa, or somewhere else in the world, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ.  

The Apostle John's words emphasize the work of the Lord Jesus in His coming. "In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." John continues, "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth…And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace." (John 1:4, 5, 12-14, 16 ESV)

So to all of my brothers and sisters in Christ, I wish you a Christmas filled with an outpouring of His grace. I wish you the abiding, supernatural joy that comes only from God. I wish you blessings here on earth, but most of all, blessings that are eternal.

I pray for your safety and strength, especially for our brothers and sisters in Christ who suffer persecution. I pray that together we will carry the light of Christ into the darkness.