Pleasing God

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6)

"If you love Me, keep My commandments." (John 14:15)

"So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God." (Romans 8:8)

"To do righteousness and justice, is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice." (Proverbs 21:3)

"And what does the LORD require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:7-8)

"And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma." (Ephesians 5:2)

"But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." (Hebrews 13:16)

The Last Days

Our world is in bad shape, and there are days, if I'm honest, where I struggle to grasp the hope that Jesus promises.

In my better moments I know that I'm surrounded by God’s blessing, yet I also struggle daily with anxiety, fear, resentment, and discouragement. The chaos of the world can easily seep into my heart. Fear can erode my faith if I allow it to camp out in my heart.

Is that also true for you? 

I need God! I need Christ and His teachings. I need the Holy Spirit and His indwelling. And I need the Scripture and its prophecies about the future.

Let's focus on what we know is true. Our Lord knows everything that has ever happened and that will ever happen. He knows it totally, in advance, and in detail; He understands the future into infinity. He already knows everything that will befall you and me during our lifetimes, and He offers powerful promises in His Word to reassure us of His presence and protection, and of His ordering of our days.

The future of the entire world is in His hands as well. Every sentence in the scriptures listed below is addressed to you, if you’re a child of God through Jesus Christ. They are for your information, anticipation, and motivation. And most importantly, they are promises straight from the heart of God. 

So let's dive into the truth of God's Word together.

Jesus, Our Only Mediator

"For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people." (1 Timothy 2: 5-6)

With all respect to my Catholic brothers and sisters, this has always been a stumbling block to understanding the Catholic doctrine of praying to the saints to intercede for us. I'm not debating the theology that those who have already died on earth are alive, with God, in heaven. "For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it." (2 Corinthians 5:7-9) 

So help me understand the belief that praying to Mary, or any of the saints who have gone before us, would yield more power in heaven than praying to the Son of God, who gave everything for us? He knows all, He loves all, He earned the right to be our Savior on the Cross, He laid down all of His rights and power to humble Himself in the body of a man, and He experienced all the trials and tribulations that we will ever encounter.

So what benefit is there, other than tradition, to praying to anyone else? 

Revelation 9 - The Final Three Trumpets

The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. 

And out of the smoke locusts came down on the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes. During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.

The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore something like crowns of gold, and their faces resembled human faces. Their hair was like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the thundering of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. They had tails with stingers, like scorpions, and in their tails they had power to torment people for five months. They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek is Apollyon (that is, Destroyer).

The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come.