To Do and Not to Do

That's the gist of Matthew 25, our Chapter for Sunday.  We will be talking about the end times and I know some of you want me to get into the meanings of the number 666 or the identity of the anti-Christ or the nature of the beast in Revelation.  All of these are things we would like to spend time on, and I have spent considerable effort on each of these.  What I have learned is that there is so much misinformation, confusion, argumentation, divisiveness and disunity in these subjects that I am certain God would not be honored by my adding to this confusion.
One interesting point from the online message by Bill Mounce (http://www.biblicaltraining.org/eschatology/major-stories-bible) is that he and I have come to a similar conclusion about the end times.  We both believe we are in the end times (if you want more information research Dr. Robert Mulholland, The Revelation of John) and we both believe that preparation is the key to our appropriate response to this Word from Matthew 25.  I will ask each of you to read this one chapter of the Bible.  Watch for two things ... things to do and things not to do.  I will give you the simple version of this but here goes for the things not to do.  Don't predict.  We are told that only the Father knows the day and the time so why waste precious time.  Don't procrastinate.  The bridesmaids that were not prepared had a bad last day.  Don't 'pull out of the market.' I'm not talking about of the stock market.  I'm talking about the market where you invest your time, your energy, your stuff, your talents and your life.  God desires to use all of these things for His Kingdom and He doesn't bless those that bury their talents in the ground.
Now the things to do.  Do prepare. God has a plan for us that He has given in His Word.  We are the ones He has asked to take that plan out into the culture.  By doing this we prepare ourselves and the culture for the greatest event of all time, Christ's return.  Do practice.  By this I mean, practice your faith.  Your faith is a great gift from God.  Take it into every aspect of life for that is why it was given to you.  As I said this week, it should be obvious who and what you are as you go about life.  The world should be better because you have come this way.
That's it for now!  Pastor Randy