Rapture Ready

Thinking Outside of the Chessboard

When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."   Luke 21:28

Friends of mine, strong Christians as they are, are watching the news and current events taking place around the world and are getting very depressed.  Wars and threats of war are in the headlines daily.  Riots rebellions and economic collapse throughout Europe, which has the potential of collapsing the entire global economy, has the concern of almost everyone.  Islam, with its Sh’ria Law, is coming to cities here in the US; first in small communities, but is now expanding to entire suburbs such as Ann Arbor, Michigan.  New diseases and older plagues are coming to life, threatening our food supply if not our very lives.   And the global hate for Israel grows daily as Israel asserts its need to defend itself.  Just like Jesus said, in Matthew 24.

Then, there are also all the conspiracy theories.  Theories discussed 30 or 40 years ago about the corrupt banking and political system.  Initially dismissed as foolishness concepts from kooks, they are proving to be more accurate than any of us could have imagined.  This brings to credibility newer conspiracy theories; such as 9/ 11 and President Obama’s birth certificate, giving them more attention than they deserve.

Conspiracies have existed since the beginning of this nation...and earlier.  International bankers were said to have funded America’s Revolution from 1775 to 1781.  Lincoln was accused of being assassinated by these bankers.  Woodrow Wilson was elected President via political manipulation because he offered to give these bankers a way into our system by permitting the creation of the Federal Reserve.  FDR allowed the Japanese to attack Pearl Harbor to get us into WWII without being the instigator.  And the Kennedy assassinations have perhaps hundreds of rabbit trails to go down. Conspiracies go on and on. 

I bring this up because one can easily spend the rest of their life getting all worked up over all of this.  After all, we hate the thought of being manipulated like some pawn on a chessboard, and we should.  But this time in history, I think the more healthy approach to all of this is ask yourself, “So what?”

There is only one conspiracy theory that should have you worked up over.  The scandal around the arrest, framing of charges, execution and resurrection of Jesus Christ almost 2000 years ago.  The Jews wanted him dead because claimed to be God, thereby upsetting their existing leadership and order of things.  They trumped up the charges tried Him at night, could not procure the witnesses and still found Him guilty.  The Romans wanted him dead because he claimed to be a king, and therefore, was a threat to the empire.  Finally, Satan wanted him dead because he saw that as victory for him …until Christ rose from the dead…that is.  This is the “conspiracy” we should be focusing on.

It is this death, burial and resurrection that we as Christians place our hope and trust.  Not in governments who form bureaucracies that burden us, politicians who lie every time their lips move, conspirators who manipulate us, or bankers who create new ways to bankrupt anything and everything as if the whole world was one big game of Monopoly.  Face it, every one of these institutions are run by…people!  Selfish, arrogant, greedy people!  Like you and me!  Also known as, sinners!

This November, Americans have a choice to make at the ballot box.  The fate of this once great nation is in the hands of the people.  Or is it?


We get to choose between a Mormon or a Muslim.  If you are a Christian, with conservative traditional values, this should be very unsettling.  But it goes beyond the religion of these two.  It goes to the heart of the political base of this country. To the base of either political party who loses, as well as wins.  You see, if one party wins, the losing party will encourage riots in the streets of our major cities.  If the other wins, whole states will attempt to secede from the union, subversively encouraged by the losing political party.  Either way, the US military will be called in to smash any such rebellion, and when our military refuses to fire on its own citizens, foreign military troops could be called in to do the dirty deed. This should end the democratic republic, the end of America, the end of any hope of liberty in the world.  Either way, the conspirators. the manipulators get what they want.  Our lives are on the white side of a global chessboard, and black mates in two moves.  The conspirators who we have denied have won the game.  Or have they?

The good news is, God operates outside this chessboard.   He sees all these conspiracies for that they are:  mere foolishness.  The world we live in appears to be everything there is; however, if we live on the universal equivalent of a 64 square chessboard and God lives outside of that board, how much more are we missing?  All too often we as humans want to hang on to whatever we have; our little square on that board, but if we are truly to live outside of this world and live for Christ, we need to get ready to move to something much bigger and better!  We need to get “rapture ready” to move outside of the chessboard; or to think outside of the box; or the chessboard.  So how do we get rapture ready?

·         Let it go, emotionally speaking.  Let it all go.  Wealth, finances, homes and land, jobs and lifestyles.  Emotionally, let them all go.  Emotionally start to detach yourself form all this.  Put Jesus Christ first!  Those of us blessed with so much will have much to lose on earth, and this may be difficult; while those like myself who have already lost it all should find this easier to accomplish.  We all know we can’t take it with us.  We should know we don’t want to take it with us.  I’m not saying we need to liquidate everything and give it away; for while we may be leaving in 20 minutes, it could still be 20 years.  What I am saying is the stuff of life on earth should be placed on a very low priority in our lives.  Come to think of it, it should have been that way all along.

 

·        Encourage one another.  Emotionally increase your relationships with one another.  Love one another.  Share the Gospel.  These disasters we have seen and will continue see more frequently serve as a warning to all.  While this may not be their last chance to accept Jesus, this will be their best opportunity ever.  These judgments will only get worse and more intense.  And while there will be tribulation saints after the rapture that will be required to give up their lives for the gospel, but there is a way out of such trials as well; and that way out is to accept Jesus now.

·         Pray continuously.  Talk to God throughout the day.  Discuss your concerns, vent your frustrations, and express your anger if you must with God.  God is a big God; he can take it.  And that still, small voice of peace and reassurance will chase away all your fears and concerns for this world.  Read His word daily for more reassurance and peace.  At work, at play, with friends or in private, keep our Lord in our thoughts frequently throughout the day.

These are scary times.  We should consider ourselves so blessed, because one else has ever seen anything like what we have seen and are about to see.  Yet Jesus told us there would be days like these, and we are not to fear, but rejoice, for our day of redemption is near!  It’s time to get ready to move off the chessboard.  It’s time to be rapture ready.