I'm Following Jesus – Page 1308 – Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34

Date: Wednesday, September 16, 2020
Chapters: Daniel 10-12
Message: Except Thou Repent

Hello My Friend,

In reading these chapters for today I had tears in my eyes, tears for the state of our nations, and for the world, tears for the many people who walk around in fear, not knowing what is going to happen to them, and regrettably, tears for not doing enough on my part to tell as many about Jesus as I ought to be. Through this pandemic I became a hermit, locked my spirit up in a world of self, and apart from daily devotionals, did not do one thing to further my ministry. Thankfully, God brought me back to my senses and reminded me of my first love, Him. Let me tell you, we are not always going to be on fire for God, it often takes pandemics like this to remind us and bring us to repentance. [Revelation 2:2-5 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: 3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. 4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.]

If there is one thing that I have learned a great deal of through all this is what the meaning of true repentance is, I mean apart from my faith in Christ. To repent means to not only feel great sorrow and grief for sin, it also means to remove it from our lives. There is another meaning of repentance and that is the change ones thinking, when God repents, He changes His mind from the evil that He intended. When we feel deep sorrow for our sin, and the consequence for it, and turn to Jesus Christ as our Saviour, we change our mind into believing that He alone can save us, then God changes His mind from our being cast into hell, and we get to go to heaven. After God showed Daniel the visions of the end times, Daniel became so distraught about all the information that he mourned for three weeks. God saw his pain and sent someone to ease his mind.

[Daniel 10:1-7 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision. 2 In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. 3 I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. 4 And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel; 5 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: 6 His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. 7 And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.]

[for the men that were with me saw not the vision;] The world will never see that all the evil is the result of their sin, and no matter where they hide, they will never escape what is to come of them unless they repent, [Psalms 139:8-10 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.]

Now, even though the men with him did not see who was there Daniel sure did, and it scared him a great deal, he literally fell to his face on the sand. Then something quite incredible happened, a hand touched him.

[Daniel 10:10-12,19-21 And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. 11 And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. 12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. 19 And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me. 20 Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come. 21 But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.]

[for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand,] Do you see who God reveals what is so mysterious to everyone else? Those who set their heart to understand Him. You see, we do not just automatically have a love for Christ, that comes on our own as we open our hearts to God. No one who tells you that they love God has their heart set to understand Him if they do not believe in Christ. Did you know that as of September 2020, thirty-two percent of people who call themselves Christians do not believe that Jesus is God? And twenty-three percent do not believe that the Bible is true. We are definitely in the times where ignorance is bliss, but ignorance will save no one, [Acts 17:30-31 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: 31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.]

I will be the first to admit that I have a hard time reading Daniel and Revelation because every time I do I see us getting closer to the tribulation. While I do not have to be concerned of where I will be, I do need to be concerned of where others will be, after all, whether I think they deserve to know Christ is not my decision, God is the judge. If we think things are bad now, it will seem like all hell is literally breaking loose, that is until a charming, deceitful, cunning man will arise to bring peace to the world. Once he gets the people trusting him and make him king that is when the truth about him will be revealed. Jesus reveals to Daniel of what will come when this evil king arrives, and leading up to its destruction.

[Daniel 11:34-37,45 Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. 35 And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed. 36 And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. 37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. 45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.]

[yet he shall come to his end,] Right now the devil is in all his glory as not only nation upon nation becomes more divided in their faith in Christ, so do Christians. And it is going to get much worse, he will have great power over this world, and for a time get his dream to be like God and rule the people and nations. Many of the prophecies concerning Persia and Greece have already taken place, including the histories of Xerxes, Alexander the Great, the division of his kingdom on his death, and the long conflicts between the kings of Syria and Egypt. The evil king, is the Antichrist, he will come to his end somewhere between Jerusalem and the Mediterranean, and it is the brightness of Christ’s coming only that will bring him to his doom. When? Well, that is a question we all ask. Daniel hears Jesus and asks Him about this very thing. Jesus is Michael by the way.

[Daniel 12:1-4,8-10 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. 2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. 4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. 8 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? 9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. 10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.]

[some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.] This is of course talking about what John saw, but also what Jesus talked about, [Matthew 25:31-34,41 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:]

Today’s Prayer: God, It sure is scary to think of all the crazy things going on all over the world today, it just keeps reminding us that we are getting closer to the tribulation, and Your Son returning some time after. Lord, shield our hearts, keep them tender for You, give us Your mercy, grace, protection, wisdom, guidance, and power to continue Your work in us. Give us Your strength and patience to wait and not give into the temptations that are all around us by the devil trying to divide us. Lead us and guide us, and help us endure the sufferings we face here as we await Your return, and put Your words into our mouths that we might tell the lost about Jesus before that happens. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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