SIGNS OF CHRIST’S COMING

Most of the 23 signs in Second Timothy 3:1-7 are evident today:

Perilous times, Men loving themselves, Covetousness,

Boasters, Proud, Blasphemy,

Disobedient to parents, Unthankful, Unholy,

Without natural affection, Trucebreakers, False accusers,

Incontinent, Fierce, Despising good,

Traitors, Heady, High minded,

Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, Having a form of godliness, Silly women laden with sins,

Divers lusts, Ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth

SIGNS

We find 10 more signs in Matthew 24:5-7, 12 -38:

False Christs, Wars and war rumours, Famines,

Pestilence, Earthquakes, Iniquity to abound,

Love of many waxes cold, Eating, Drinking,

Marrying

TIME OF CHRIST’S COMING IS A SECRET:

Matthew 24:36

At the Beach

Finding the story of a “rich street cleaner” in the publication called Coffee News (Vol 167:1), made me look up what the Bible says about idleness.

The “rich street cleaner” is a very wealthy woman in China. The whole family is wealthy. They own a number of apartment properties.

But in order to teach her children that they must earn the bread they eat, she is sweeping the street and cleaning garbage cans. No need to say that a job like that does not bring in much money.

And what a joy to read that her children have followed her example.

In the magazine called Lucky Break, August 4, 2014, I read these Wise words, sent in by a reader from Australia:

“At the end of the day your feet should be dirty, your hair messy and your eyes sparkling.”

In 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15 the Apostle Paul warns the Thessalonians against idleness and says:

“‘IF A MAN WILL NOT WORK, HE SHALL NOT EAT.'” (Verse 10)

Paul worked and was an example and a model! You read that in verse 7 and verse 9.

“BOOKS

are the quietest and

most constant of

FRIENDS;

they are the most accessible and

 wisest of

COUNSELORS,

and the most patient of

TEACHERS.”

– Charles W. Eliot

“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking,” says Haruki Murakami. (Reader’s Digest, July 2013)

Books I am reading:

1. The Bible

The Bible is called “THE BOOK OF BOOKS,” but how many people are reading “THE BOOK OF BOOKS?”

“LIBRARY”

For most people the Bible is like any other book on the bookshelf, because they do not have a relationship with God.

2. Devotional Books

There are quite a good number of Devotional books, but let me just mention two:

The first is called UNTO THE HILLS and the author is Billy Graham and that book is really a “devotional treasury”.

MORNING AND EVENING – Daily Readings – is a book written by Charles Haddon Spurgeon. It is a “devotional classic”.

3. Sermons

I am just about to finish reading the book  THE FINAL PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS  – ROMANS – by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. It is the exposition of chapter 8:17-39 of ROMANS.

The next books on my reading list are: GOD’S ULTIMATE PURPOSE, an exposition of Ephesians one, and GOD’S WAY OF RECONCILIATION,  Studies in Ephesians 2, both written by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones.

In his Preface to GOD’S WAY OF RECONCILIATION he says, “In other words this is not a commentary as such but, as every sermon should be, it is EXEGESIS plus HOMILETICS and APPLICATION.”

I think above you find books that not everyone else is reading!