Daily Devotional for Friday May 20, 2011
Family Radio has been a Great Blessing to Millions of People for Many Years
(Hebrews 9:27; 2 Peter 2:9; 2 Thessalonians 1:7,8)
"But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." Matthew 24:36
*Due to the tens of thousands of emails I have received on whether Jesus is coming back this Saturday, I am re-airing this Devotional that I shared on this very topic several months ago. Please forward this to everyone you know so people understand what GOD, not Bill Keller or any other man says about the date and time Jesus will return.
Family Radio has been a great blessing to millions of people over many years. President of Family Radio is Harold Camping, a man who I believe has been for many years a tremendously gifted Bible teacher. I quit listening to Camping years ago when he first stated many years ago that Jesus was coming back on a certain date. When that did not happen, he modified what he said and started to preach in error that it was the church age which was over.
While I believe Camping is erroneous in this claim based on what the Bible teaches about the church age, I felt he was still a solid Bible teacher. Sadly, Camping has now gone off the deep end where so many before him have gone, claiming that Jesus will return this Saturday.
Jesus said in Matthew 24;36 that NO MAN, not even Himself, knows the day or hour, only God Himself. Over the past 2000 years, there have been a steady stream of people who have claimed to know this information, and each one only discredited themselves when the day came and went. According to the Mayan calendar, the end of the world will come on December 21, 2012. Many others have stated they know this date.
This sad error by Camping can't erase decades of faithful and fruitful service, and I pray it is simply his advancing age that has clouded his judgment to make such an unBiblical statement, but unfortunately it will be difficult to give him much credibility on May 22nd when the sun rises in the east and life in this world goes on. However, it does give us an opportunity, especially in light of the massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan, since many have been talking about the end of this world as we know it these past several days.
The massive earthquake and tsunami recently in Japan was an act of fallen nature, but also a warning from God! One of the questions I get very often is why God allows tornadoes, hurricanes, lightning, typhoons, floods, earthquakes, and other acts of nature that destroy billions of dollars of resources each year globally, and take thousands of lives. An understanding of this requires an understanding of the consequences of man's original sin in the Garden of Eden. As I have shared on many occasions, man was created to live and never die. He was placed in a perfect environment, free of germs, disease, and the acts of nature that we have in our world today.
At the time God created this environment we lived in there were NO tornadoes, hurricanes, lightning, typhoons, floods, earthquakes, or other acts of destruction by nature. These acts of nature are often referred to now as acts of God. That is a very misleading statement. God does allow these acts of nature to occur, but these were NOT His intended actions for the environment He created man to live in. They are consequences of the fall of man due to his sin.
The good news, however, is found in Isaiah 35 where it speaks of the restoration of nature to its pristine condition and beauty. Adam and Eve were thrown out of the Garden of Eden and forced to make their way in this now fallen creation. They were created to live in a beautiful and perfect environment. Now they and their descendants would have to get along in an imperfect and hostile one. However, there will come a day very soon when Christ shall return in a twinkling of an eye, and wipe out all sin from this world. Nature will once again be restored to its perfect beauty and free of the destructive acts we face today.
Make no mistake, that this is also a warning from God. As you read the Old Testament, God sent His spokesmen, the prophets, to warn the people from time to time. Sadly, in most cases the people ignored the warning from God and ended up paying a HUGE price. Today, we have God's Word that clearly warns us what will happen when we choose to live our lives in rebellion to Him.
Unfortunately, most people in this world have chosen to ignore those warnings. Like most of the people in Japan,they simply don't believe that God will judge each person for their sins, that God will judge nations who rebel against Him, and that ultimately God will judge this entire world and bring it to an end. God has clearly warned us about His judgment in His Word, but most people choose to ignore Him.
I often talk to you specifically about God's pending judgment on the United Sates because of our rebellion to Him. It was a clear warning supported by God's Word that if we don't turn from our wickedness, God will send down His wrath upon our land. I'm afraid that most non-Christians laugh at such a notion, choosing not believe it will ever happen. Worse though, I am afraid most Christians have heard the warnings so many times and haven't seen anything happen, they choose to ignore the warnings.
That is why our nation is now deep in rebellion to God and there seems to be little desire or motivation to change. Heathen who openly live in rebellion to God and Believers who don't really believe what God has said. We have embraced the false gods and idols of this world, bowing down to and worshipping them. We are lost in every kind of sexual sin imaginable, no longer having any shame but actually being proud of our perverse choices.
We watched in horror as terrorists were responsible for 3,000 of our citizens being killed on 9/11, deeply moved by those who lose their lives in natural disasters, yet think nothing of practicing infanticide, killing over 4,000 innocent babies every day. Even though we have God's Word and have seen His judgment on nations for their rebellion throughout 6,000 years of human history, we have chosen to ignore God's warning about His judgment on our nation.
NOTE: As I shared in yesterday's Daily Devotional, writing the words I did nearly 24 hours prior to President Obama's speech on the Middle East yesterday, I was 100% correct that this President has continued to side with the enemies of Israel, putting this nation once again on the wrong side of God. It is actions like this which will ultimately bring down the wrath and punishment of God on this nation that operates daily in complete and utter rebellion to the Almighty and His Truth!
While God has called me in these last days to sound the trumpet of warning to this nation and world of God's pending judgment, my number one job is to warn you of His pending judgment in YOUR LIFE! God has explicitly warned us in His Word that those who die in their sin will be lost for all eternity. I want you to know today that because of your sins, you are separated from the God who created you and loves you so much. It is out of His infinite love for you that He has made a way for your sins to be forgiven and for you to spend all eternity with Him when this brief life is over.
Let me be blunt with you. One day, YOU will die. That is a fact. At that moment, you will stand before God and there will only be one question, "Do you know Jesus as your Savior by faith?" That is a "yes" or "no" answer. You won't have the opportunity to stand there and say, "no, but." God is not going to be interested in your excuses. Each person in their life is responsible for accepting or rejecting Jesus Christ into their heart and life by faith and each person will be held accountable by God for all eternity for that choice.
Let me ask you a simple question. If you died this very moment, do you have the complete assurance without any doubt that when you stand before God He will welcome you into His presence for all eternity because you have place your faith in Jesus Christ?
I love you and care about you so much. Sadly, tens of thousands of people died in Japan and those who died without Christ are lost for all eternity because they ignored the warnings. This nation, this world has been warned by God in His Word and by many of His servants throughout the years of His coming judgment. Just like many of the people in Japan, this nation and this world have chosen to ignore the warnings from God. One day, very soon, God's judgment will be unleashed on this nation and on this world for its rebellion exactly as God said He would in the Bible.
Today, maybe for the first time, maybe for the 100th time, maybe for the 1,000th time, you are hearing the warning from God that the moment you die you will stand before God and be judged by Him. If you die having rejected Christ, your soul will spend all eternity apart from the God who created you. You will be lost of all eternity. God's desire is that ALL come to repentance, that none be lost. By putting your faith and trust in Jesus Christ you can have the assurance that at the moment you die you will be forever with the Lord, spending all eternity with Him. That is the choice each person that lives has to make, that is the choice that YOU have to make.
Let me ask you a simple question again. If you died this very moment, do you have the complete assurance without any doubt that when you stand before God He will welcome you into His presence for all eternity because you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ? If you do not have that assurance, please go to: http://www.liveprayer.com/plan.cfm . Pray, ask God to open your heart to the truth of the words there, and make the choice today to ask Jesus Christ into your heart and life by faith. Don't ignore this warning!!!
In His love and service, Your friend and brother in Christ, Bill Keller