Stepping Up to the Plate

Recently, everything that has been going on in the news, along with things the Lord has been speaking to me personally over the last few months has really got me thinking about "the last days" even more.  I believe we are starting to experience the "birth pains" of the earth. This past Saturday, there was a fire that started burning here in CO across town. Within the last 3 days, it has burned over 15,000 acres and over 32,000 people have had to be evacuated from their homes, some of them friends of ours. I also know of 12 other fires going on, the tropical storm around FL, all the earthquakes, tsunamis, nations coming against Israel, persecution, wars/rumors of wars, famines, people being lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, familes turning against each other, everything that the Bible says will happen in the last days, is happening now.

Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, "I am the Christ," and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. (Matthew 24:4-8—NIV)

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. (1 Thessalonians 5:2,3—NIV)

Since I was probably a young teenager, I have been very interested in end time events and I believe that the Lord is going to return sometime during my lifetime. The Lord has spoken to me very vividly about such things, and have never openly shared these revelations except with my very close friends until now. When I was about 15, the Lord gave me a dream and showed me part of what the tribulation was going to look like; fire everywhere, people in sheer chaos, people trying to run and hide, trying to live inside of mountains, people being tortured worse than they were in the days when Hitler was in power, people being killed merely for the sake of being a Christian, and death and destruction were everywhere.

Back in March, while talking to a friend/mentor of mine back in VA, the Lord gave me a vision and showed me that the earth is groaning, experiencing turmoil and natural disasters, and it is because it is going through labor pains; it is literally about to give birth to the anit-Christ, death and destruction. Then two weeks ago, I had a vision and saw Jesus coming on the clouds. Immediately I said "no Lord, I'm not ready!" Not that I personally am not ready, but I believe there is still a lot of work that still needs to be done and people that need to hear the goodness of God.

I am not writing this to scare anyone, and I am no way "preaching doom and gloom," or that the world is ending. I know there are a lot of skeptical people out there. I can't speak to any skeptics, but I can speak from my own experience. A little over 2 years ago I felt the Lord calling me a "Daniel," a prophet to the nations. Daniel was a prophet of God who the Lord spoke to/through to fast, pray and speak the things of God to people, kings and nations. I have always felt that God has given me the gift of prophecy and I know beyond a shadow of doubt that I hear the Lord and take heed to the things he reveals to me. The Lord has always spoken to me very vividly through dreams and visions, and I have already had at least 10-12 of them come to pass, so even if no one else believes, I believe! I believe the Lord shows me things like this to prepare myself, other people, and to give us a prayer point on specific things to be praying for or against. The Lord is good and faithful. I know all of these things are from the enemy because he comes ONLY to steal, kill and destroy BUT God has come that we may have life and have it in abundance(John 10:10)! God wishes that no one should perish, and regardless of what you think, time is drawing to a close. This isn't a dress rehearsal people, this is the real deal!

I am writing this to challenge people to think about the things that are really important in this life; family, friends and lives. What can, and should we be doing to reach out to a lost and dying world, to share to good news of Jesus with people, to be the hands, feet and mouthpiece of God while we are here on this earth? Life isn't about all the stuff we have, it's about who we have. Having these fires so close to home has definitely opened my own eyes to how precious and short this life is, how in an instant all the possesions and things you think are important can be gone, and what I can do to make the most of the time I do have here. God has sent us here on a mission, not to sit back and say "Oh, thats too bad," or simply "I'll be praying for you," but to actually do something, to get outside of ourselves, our comforts, our wants and desires and help those in need. I'm going to step up my game and up to the plate, are you? Will we hear God say one day "Well done, my good and faithful servant!" and will we have done the best we could've done with what we were given, or will we come to the end of life full of regrets and lots of stuff, nothing of real value to show for? Lots to think about....