Resounding Shophar Ministries

“Yes, But God Understands …”

“Yes, but God understands …” I can’t count how many times I’ve heard someone say that to me or to someone else. Every time I hear someone say that something inside me just cringes. Let me explain.

Have you ever talked with someone who admitted to sin in their life, though they may call it a “vice”, only to follow it up by saying “but God understands”? Some who I’ve talked with over the years, people who consider themselves to be good people, have acknowledged a sin or “one vice” in their lives with no plans on giving that up on the premise that God will understand. Understand what? They have the mindset that because they are for the most part good people that God will understand if they keep that one sin, “vice” or bad habit in their life. You know, I believe God will understand, but I don’t think it is as they think He will. Let’s take a look at a couple other instances where people may make comments about God understanding them before we see exactly what God understands.

Another instance that I’ve heard people comment on God understanding them is in regards to Church attendance, or the lack of it. I’ve heard people say that the reason they didn’t go was because they needed to run their boat to keep it in good working order, and that God would understand. Some have said something to that effect regarding a sporting or other special event, a hobby or form of recreation, or even because their too tired or worn out to go because of their schedule. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it is necessarily a sin to not go to church, but the sin could be found in the reasons and motivations we have for not going. When someone mentions or explains why they are not going and follows it up with “but God understands”, for me that raises some red flags. How about you?

The last instance I will mention that I’ve heard this phrase used, and I’m sure you can think of many others, is in the area of tithing. I’ve heard many people explain that while they believe tithing is important, they will go even further and say God will understand if they don’t tithe. These are classic “yes, but God understands” moments. While they may say tithing is important, they will go so far as to say “but God will understand” if you need to put food on the table or pay some bills. It sounds right and noble, and while this may feel right does that mean it is right? Yes, I do believe God understands the predicaments we may find ourselves in from time to time, but I also believe He understands it in ways that we don’t give much thought to.

So, when someone states “yes, but God understands”, what does God understand? Does He understand as they think He does, or is He thinking something different? One underlying thread seems to be at the core of these statements, that being we value ourselves and our opinions more importantly than we do God and His word, and that there is an expectation God will understand and “bend” things to our way of thinking. That is a scary place to be in if I may say so. It’s a high-risk gamble of sorts.

When we’re talking of sin in our life, sin that we really have no plans on giving up, and explain that God understands we are saying something to God. Our assumption is that since God knows we are humans in sinful flesh living in a sinful world, He will understand if our lives are tainted by “one or two” sins or “vices”. After all, God can’t possibly think or expect us to live holy and perfect lives? He’ll understand. Oh, He understands. He understands that the sacrifice He made through His Son and the indwelling of His Holy Spirit in your life to help you be victorious over sin is of lesser value to you than the sin you’re hanging onto.

When we’re talking about our reasons for not being faithful to the House of God, only to say that “God will understand”, we’re assuming for whatever reason that corporate worship and sharing of the Word with fellow brothers and sisters of Christ is not that important to God. We also assume that Gods desire for us to have fun and “enjoy life” is of greater importance to Him than the 2 or more hours assembling together with the brethren on a Sunday. God understands. He understands that His instructions through the Apostle Paul to not neglect the times that the brethren assemble together, especially when we see the day of His appearing coming closer, are being ignored and not heeded. God wants us to have life and have it more abundantly, but if our pursuits of ‘enjoying life’ conflict with Him, His will and His rightful place in our lives, which includes heeding His instructions, then it’s possible He’s been replaced by another ‘god’ in our lives called ‘life’.

And finally, when we try to say that God will understand when we don’t pay the tithes, we’re assuming that He understands our situation and will cut us some slack. After all, surely He would want us to pay our bills and especially keep food on the table, right? Well, of course he wants us to pay our bills and to keep food on the table, but not with what is rightfully His. He makes it very clear that we rob Him when we don’t pay our tithes, and nowhere does he produce a list of allowed exceptions to that. There are some who argue that God no longer expects us to give Him tithes, but their arguments for that are weak and not scripturally sound. I’ve seen how some have twisted scripture for the purposes of trying to justify not paying tithes, and that just show where their heart is. For example, some argue against giving tithes based on the recorded account of Jesus in regards to the temple tax. Well, that doesn’t hold any weight when one realizes that the temple tax was entirely different than the tithe. People were required to pay a fixed amount each year towards the temple and the various activities and maintenance required of the temple. Tithes were not a fixed amount, but were a percentage of the first fruits each person was required to pay God. Have you ever noticed how tithes and offerings are referred to? When referring to tithes, we are to bring and to pay the tithe, but for offerings we give it as an offering. Did you see that? There is a difference in possession. When referring to tithes, we bring it to Him because it is His from the start, but when referring to offerings they are something we give in addition to the tithe because it is ours (the remaining 90%) to give. So, when we refuse to pay tithes, or we come up with a reason for not giving it, we are not only robbing God from what is actually His, but we are also saying we don’t trust Him to take care of us and have a prideful thinking that we can do it on our own. We wouldn’t have what we have if it wasn’t for Him. God understands that when we take and use what is rightfully His instead of giving it to Him in His storehouse (the local church we should be a part of) we have also in some respects made it an idol or used it for something that is an idol in our lives.

So, when someone says “yes, but God understands”, we need to try and understand it from Gods perspective and not our own, or theirs. What does God say in His word? Are we putting words in Gods mouth, or are we saying God didn’t really say or mean what He said? We need to be very careful with this. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that God is not compassionate or understanding, because He is, but sometimes we use the fact that He is as an excuse to allow or justify decisions or mindsets that are clearly contradictory to Him and what His word says for us. If that’s been you, I encourage you to re-evaluate yourself and make whatever adjustments to your mindsets and way of thinking to come into alignment with God and His word. Time is short and He’ll be here for His bride very soon. Don’t delay.

As We See That Day Approaching …

As I was thinking about the soon return of our Lord and Savior for His bride, I began to think about what are some of the things we need to be doing as we see that blessed day approaching. Or, should we just continue living life, as some would say, believing it will all work out in the end? Well, what does scripture tell us?

In Luke 21:34-36, Jesus tells us two things we should be doing. He tells us that we need to be watching for His return, not getting caught up in carousing, drunkenness and the cares of this life. He makes it clear that if we get caught up with these things His return will come on us unexpectantly. I’ve heard many people say that they’re not concerned about ‘watching’ for His return, in observing the signs of the times and the unfolding of Biblical end-time prophecy. They claim that we are to ‘occupy’ until He comes, and that as long as they are ready then it will all work out, but that mindset concerns me. In multiple passages Jesus tells us to ‘watch’, and with emphasis. Why, because apparently it would be easy to get caught up with the cares of life and not be ready for His return. By the way, did you notice He’s telling this to His disciples and not to those who were not following Him?

The second thing that Jesus tells us in this passage is to pray continually that we may be counted worthy to escape that which is coming down the pipes upon this earth. Wait a minute. He’s telling His disciples to pray, and pray continually, that they are counted worthy to escape that which will be coming to pass? Wow. What does that tell us? What it tells me is that we can’t just sit smugly in our Lazy Boys and think we have it made and have nothing to worry about. One of the best lies of the enemy, among many, is that once we’ve asked Jesus to be our Lord and Savior then we have nothing to worry about and can relax believing we’re okay, but that is not how Jesus wants us to approach it. Jesus knows far better than we do what will come to pass after He comes for His bride, and He’s letting us know we need to take our relationship with Him so seriously so as to not take anything for granted. Oh, Lord, help us to take your warnings and admonitions to watch and pray as seriously as you need us to.

In Philippians 2:12, Paul tells us to ‘work out our own salvation with fear and trembling’. While there may be differing views of what that may mean, I believe the consensus is that we take our relationship with Jesus seriously. I also note that in the same verse prior to the above statement he comments on the obedience of the Philippians to the gospel. This is something that is missing in most church circles in America these days, the commitment to being obedient to God and His word, the Bible. We live in a time when it’s fashionable to decide which parts of the Bible we will follow in our own lives, and which ones we will conveniently ignore. One of my pet peeves is when we either put words in Gods mouth, or for that matter take words out of His mouth. We have a tendency to look at a scripture we don’t like or agree with and to ‘modify it’ according to what we think God really meant by it so as to justify why we don’t embrace and live by it. Jesus said that if we love Him we will do His commandments, and when we fail to be obedient to Him and His word we are then considered as lawless in His sight.

Another thing we need to be doing is found in Hebrews 10:24-25. The writer of Hebrews tells us to consider one another so that we can stir up love and good works. He further states in the same sentence that we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as apparently some made a habit of doing, so that we can exhort one another, especially as we see the day of His return approaching. Check this out. We are told that as we see the day of His return approaching we must not forsake the times that we gather together with the brethren. The more evident it becomes that Jesus’ return is imminent, the more we need to embrace times with fellow believers both in church settings and in our ‘social lives’, this is so that we can be an encouragement and a help for others and they in turn can do likewise for us. The closer we get to His return, which means the closer we’re getting to the tribulation period, the darker things are going to get in this world, and the harder it will be for us to stay close to Him. Might I also add, the closer we get to His return the harder it will be for us to 1) watch for His return, 2) continually pray that we are counted worthy to escape that which is coming, and 3) to remain obedient to Him and His word when so much of this life will pull us away. We need more than ever before, to relish all the time we can with fellow believers where we will find the encouragement, the help and the corporate strength to persevere until that blessed day arrives. I’m speaking even to myself in that I’m not a ‘social butterfly’, but it is going to be essential for each of us to lock arms with our brothers and sisters in Christ like never before if we’re going to stand. I’m not saying we need to isolate ourselves from those who are not followers of Christ, because that is not what we are called to do, but it does mean we need to value time with the brethren more and more all the time. People who are not followers of Christ, or those who think they are but are merely fans of Jesus, and there is a difference, may not understand this, but we need the support of those in the family of God if we are going to make it in these last days. Many feel that being faithful to your local church and spending time with fellow believers of Christ is optional and not essential, but I’m afraid that they will one day have tremendous regrets for not heeding the instructions of the Lord and taking their walk with Him more seriously. After all, if you knew that there was a potential threat coming to you and your family, would you not take it seriously and do whatever you needed to do no matter how inconvenient and disliked it was just so you could protect them? How much more seriously should we take our walk with Jesus as we see the coming judgments of God coming soon to this earth after what we call the rapture takes place?

So, as we see the day of His return approaching more and more each day, and seeing the urgency of the times we live in and that His return is imminent, are you doing what you should be doing? If not, I strongly encourage you to grab a hold of these things as you prepare for Him. No matter how some may paint things, you will not want to be here during the tribulation period as it will be worse than many think it will be.

Wedding Guest Gets The Boot.

For the longest time I have wondered about the meaning or significance of the parable of the wedding feast found in Matthew 22:1-14. More specifically, what is Jesus trying to tell us with the wedding guest that was given the boot? At face value we can merely see the significance of having the proper wedding garment on at the wedding, but there seems to be something more to this than just that. Think about it, why would Jesus be telling us about the wedding guest who didn’t have the wedding garment when we’re the bride, and more importantly how did the wedding guest even make it to the wedding to begin with? Well, I have some thoughts on this. I realize that this may be controversial to say the least, but I ask that you will take it to prayer and ask God about this before making any quick judgments on it.

To begin with, let’s establish who the Bride of Christ is. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-26 Paul tells us about the body of Christ and how it is made up of many different types of members, and then in verse 27 he plainly tells us that we are the body of Christ and members individually. Furthermore, Paul also tells us in Ephesians 5:22-33 that the relationship between Christ and the church is like that between a husband and a wife. In 2 Corinthians 11:2, Paul also tells us that we are betrothed to one husband so he can present us as a pure virgin to Christ. We, the children of God, saved by grace through faith in Jesus, are not only a part of the body of Christ, but we are also the Bride of Christ.

This is further established when we understand the marriage customs of ancient Jews during the time Jesus was here, and when we see how our relationship and future with Jesus parallels those very customs. When we accept Christ as both savior and Lord of our life, we enter into a marriage contract with Jesus. In our western culture, entering into marriage starts and is completed with the “I do’s” that both the bride and groom indicate during the marriage ceremony, leaving only the consummation later that day. This is not the process in the marriage customs of ancient Jews. When the bride and groom agree to enter marriage they enter into a marriage contract. After they’ve entered into this marriage contract with each other, the groom then leaves to go prepare a place for him and his new bride without even consummating the marriage. The bride does not know when her groom will return for her, but it is her responsibility as she waits to both prepare herself for him and to keep watching for his return. If the groom returns to find that his bride had not prepared herself for him, or that she was not watching for him or if she had her attention or affections towards another, he could return to his father’s house without her even knowing he was there and will give her a letter of divorcement. This would be final. However, if he did return and found she had prepared herself for him, and that her affections and attention was still towards him and watching for his return, she would return to his father’s house with him where they would consummate the marriage and have a wedding party that would last on an average of seven days. Can you see the parallels between these ancient marriage customs and our relationship and future with Jesus? I hope you see them.

So, who are the wedding guests at the wedding party? There are some who believe that we, the church, are the wedding guests Jesus refers to, but that doesn’t match up with scripture. We’ve already established that the church is the bride of Christ, and so it wouldn’t make sense that we are the wedding guests. Would it? I don’t think so. Based on the relationship we have with Christ, and the return we are waiting and watching for called the rapture, I think it is safe to say that the wedding guests are all who lived and died prior to Jesus that were Gods, as well as those who surrender and give their lives to Jesus after the rapture event takes place. The church is the bride of Christ and did not exist prior to Jesus’ death and resurrection, and the church will be caught up to be with Christ at the rapture.

In Matthew 25:1-13, we have Jesus telling us the parable of the ten virgins. Some people would like to say that the virgins represented in this parable are the wedding guests, but that doesn’t make sense. For one thing, the bridegroom doesn’t come to get the wedding guests, and if the virgins represented the wedding guests how come they were not allowed to enter the wedding party after the bridegroom took the wise virgins back? Based on the marriage customs of the ancient Jews, during the wedding party that would take place over several days, some of the guests would come to the party after the marriage was consummated, so it wouldn’t make sense that in this parable the guests would not be allowed to enter in. There may be some who think these are the guests because there are more than one virgin represented in this parable, but we have to remember that Paul tells us in one of the scriptures I referred to earlier that we are all a part of one body, but many members. Just as we all make up the body of Christ, even so we all make up the Bride of Christ.

So, referring back to the scripture in Matthew 22 that talks about the wedding feast and the wedding guest that gets the boot, is there any reasonable explanation as to who this guest is and how they made it to the wedding feast without the wedding garment? I believe there is an explanation, but it will be a tough one for many to swallow as it cuts against the grain of what we may have been taught in the past. Do you want to hear of one explanation of this? Are you ready to hear it even though it is controversial?

Okay, here we go. When we accept Christ as our savior and Lord, we exchange our rags of filthiness for His robes of righteousness. That’s a pretty good deal if I may say so. We briefly touched on how many who have started a relationship with Christ will not make it into heaven. In Matthew 7:13-14 we are told that there are two gates to go through, one that is broad and leads to destruction, and one that is narrow and leads to life. Jesus tells us that many will go the way of the broad gate while just a few will go the way of the narrow gate. Later in that same chapter, in verses 21-23, Jesus makes it clear that there will be many who refer to Him as Lord, citing all that they did and accomplished in His name that will not be allowed to enter heaven. There are other scriptures that seem to indicate not only that there will be many who think that they are saved that will not enter into heaven, but also that there will be some who once walked with Jesus that will not be numbered among those in Heaven. Among these other scriptures there seems to be one that just doesn’t get much attention for some reason.

In Revelation 16:15, in the midst of the different judgments the Apostle John tells us about, Jesus makes an interesting comment. Jesus says, “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.” In both Luke 21:34-36 and in Matthew 24:42-44, Jesus tells us to watch for His return. Many think that it isn’t important to be watching for His return, but that is in contradiction to what Jesus tells us to do. There must be a reason why Jesus made a point to tell His followers to be watching. Jesus doesn’t stop with blessing those who are watching for His return, but He continues on by narrowing things down to those who not only watch for Him but also keep their garments. This is an indication that even though someone may have entered a saving relationship with Jesus, at which time they received His robe of righteousness that it is possible to be without it. Furthermore, apparently those who were not watching or did not keep their garments will be found naked and others will see their shame. I believe it is safe to say that those who took on the name of Jesus but were not ready and prepared for His return lost their robes of righteousness when His bride was caught up to be with Him. Can you imagine the shame those who were not ready will experience when others recognize them as those who called themselves Christians yet did not go up in the rapture? I imagine it will be very overwhelming and humbling.

I know that growing up I found myself thinking if a Christian was not ready to go up in the rapture, that there was still a chance for them during the tribulation period though the price to be paid would be much higher. I also knew that there would be some during the tribulation period that would find their eternal destination in Heaven only if they were martyred for Christ. This has changed for me over the past several years. While I still believe that there will be many who will receive salvation during the tribulation period by way of giving their lives for Christ, I am no longer convinced that unprepared Christians, or ‘foolish virgins’, will have another opportunity if they miss the rapture. I think as the unprepared bride who was not watching for the grooms return missed out and was then given in finality a letter of divorce, even so the ‘foolish virgins’ and unprepared Christians will find out that they squandered any opportunity of eternity in heaven when they missed the rapture. I think this is where the wedding guest gets the boot.

You see, this particular wedding guest did not have a wedding garment on, and when questioned they were speechless, possibly thinking that they did have the proper attire on. I can’t help but wonder if this is one of the ‘foolish virgins’ or unprepared Christians who attempted to enter heaven as a wedding guest by dying a martyrs death during the tribulation, but because they already had the robe of righteousness at one time but lost it, they did not have the proper attire when they arrived at the wedding.

Now at this time I must clarify something. Not everyone who claimed to be a Christian actually entered into a saving relationship with Christ at any time, and so it is impossible for anyone to say that anyone who called themselves a Christian that missed the rapture has no hope for salvation. This can only be decided by God, Himself, and if anyone is left behind I strongly encourage them to still give themselves and their lives over to Christ.

Time is very, very short for the imminent return of Jesus for His bride. The pieces of Biblical prophecy regarding the return of Jesus for His bride and the tribulation period are rapidly coming into place. I’ve already highlighted some of these in a previous article, but to add to that list is the fact that Syria is speedily entering into a position that almost guarantees their destruction as described in Isaiah 17, an event that most scholars and prophecy ‘experts’ believe will take place either just before or just after the rapture of the church. This could possibly be the very event that brings the anti-Christ on the stage. People, this is not the time to be gambling with your eternity, but instead take all the steps you can with determination to make sure you are right with Jesus, ready and prepared for His return. This involves getting sin out of your life, which will probably require some pretty tough decisions and actions on your part. This is also the time to let go of any hurts, wounds or offenses you’ve picked up over the years, as well as any unforgiveness, resentments or bitterness. Time is short! Don’t delay! Your eternity hinges on it.

If this article ministered to you, I ask that you will consider sharing it with others to help them prepare for Christ’s soon return. While I appreciate the Facebook ‘Like’ buttons, I believe sharing it will reach many more people and have an opportunity to help others. If you’re also on Twitter, I ask that you will be sure to ‘re-tweet’ this to others as well. The more people that see this the better.

What I learned in Mexico

More than two decades ago I went on a missions trip to Mexico with my church. It was a trip that I believe will never be forgotten by those of us who went on it. It was a trip that taught me something that has impacted me all these years, something that leads me to another question that I’ll ask towards the end of this blog.

Like I said, I went on a missions trip to Mexico with my church several years ago. On this particular trip we didn’t go to our usual destination within Mexico, but instead we went to the border town of Tecate, Mexico. We were staying at one of the local churches and were involved in reaching out to the community in different ways. On one particular day we went to the park in the center of town where we sang songs and shared our testimonies of what Jesus had done in our lives to whoever would listen. While we were there we were approached by the authorities to discontinue what we were doing, at which time they excorted us by foot to the local police station. Upon arriving at the police station we were then placed in vehicles and then taken to the border patrol station. After being detained at the border patrol station for several minutes, the Pastor of the church we were staying in came to the station and within minutes had us released.

This experience showed me something that has since stuck with me. While I can’t really speak on behalf of the others in our group, what I can say is for the first few minutes I had some pretty big butterflies in my stomach, but they didn’t last long. While we were walking to the police station some of us started talking about the privilage of going to a Mexican jail for the Gospel. Now, whether or not we would have ended up there only God knows, but we believed that was a very real possibility for which we felt honored as Christians to endure. Though we didn’t know the particulars of the arrest we still knew God was in charge and that it would be an honor to suffer for His sake.

Even though some of us during this experience considered it a great honor for the Gospel, it was evident that others in our group did not share those same sentiments. I remember hearing how some were talking with such emotion, words and comments that we would’ve never imagined these people of saying, and that disturbed us. Some of these people were just our peers, but some were leaders and we couldn’t believe what we were hearing and seeing from them.

While we were going through this I was reminded of a scripture where Jesus said, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks”. Now, it isn’t for me to judge the heart of any of these individuals, but this experience taught me that we never really know what is in someone until we see them in very tough and trying situations. I’m reminded of the Apostle Peter who, after strongly telling Jesus that he would never leave or deny Him, denied Jesus three times in just a few hours time. Jesus reached out to Peter despite this and Peter would never again deny Him, but this too is an example of not knowing how we will respond to a situation until we are actually in it. We would like to believe and think the best regarding our responses in such times, but it’s hard to be so certain of them.

What triggered my thoughts today on this subject was a question that came to my mind regarding the times that we are living in and are heading into. We’re living in a time when Christians are being viewed more and more with disdain, and it is no secret that there have been attempts by the powers that be to label Christians as extremists that jeopardize any attempts of global or domestic peace and unity. We also know that according to Bible prophesy there is coming a time, though it is already being seen in other countries in varying degrees, that Christians will be arrested and killed for the sake of Jesus and the gospel. So, with that I want to conclude by simply asking you a question for you to consider.

If you were arrested for being a Christian with the real possibility of execution for your faith, would you consider it both an honor and a privilage, or would you hate to be in that situation and try to get out of it? Just something to think about.

John Johansson – www.resoundingshophar.com

Ever ask yourself, “What is going on????”

Okay. Here in America we’ve seen Obamacare survive the examination of the United States Supreme Court. We’re also seeing very out of the ordinary weather and various types of natural disasters throughout the country.

In the world we’re seeing things heat up in the middle east as countries try to find a away to stop Syria’s internal war which involves killing civilians. Countries are hurriedly positioning significant amounts of troops and military equipment into key positions preparing for war. We also have Iran pursuing nuclear weapons with the determination to use those same weapons on both Israel and the United States.

And then there is both the European and United States economies which are both on the brink of collapse. The United States is teetering on the edge of an economic cliff, and it’s trying through counterproductive measures to avoid that. The European economy is crumbling and one wrong move in an attempt to reverse this could spell its quick demise.

Oh, and let us not forget about the recent deal between Saudi Arabia and China, a deal that guarantees China an unlimited supply of oil through 2035, no matter what happens on the world scene, in exchange for supplying Saudi Arabia with both nuclear weapons and the construction of military nuclear sites within Saudi Arabia that both countries will protect with their militaries. The interesting thing about this is that it gives China a very strong interest in the middle east, an interest that would give them all the incentive they need to send 200 million troops into the middle east to protect. Isn’t that prophesied in the Bible?

These are just a sample of the things going on in the world today, both within the United States and abroad. There is no question that things seem to be heating up in all areas of life, politically, economically, militarily, socially, technologically, and spiritually, just to name a few. The world is bracing for some pretty significant solar flares that could really mess things up for electronically dependent societies, and Israel is working hard to protect it’s right to exist as a people and as a soverign state.

What does all this mean? More specifically, what does this mean for you? It would be one thing if Christians were alone in making these observations, but that is not the case. People throughout the world, non-Christians, see clearly and comment about what is happening and have significant concerns regarding what is in store for all of us in the very near future, some even experiencing fear from them. For those of us who are followers of Jesus, and please note I did not say ‘Christians’ as many call themselves but do not truly follow Jesus, it is a time to be looking to the sky with excitement as we know our redemption draws near. The trumpet will sound and those who are followers of Jesus, both among the living and the dead, will be called away to join Jesus to forever live with Him. For those who are not followers of Christ, this is a time to be very concerned about your future and eternal destination and to enter into a saving relationship with Christ on His terms. For those who are not followers of Christ this is a time that will be filled with great fear and/or great deception of better times ahead. The great people of ‘spin’ will do their best to add their ‘spin’ to what is happening in order to get people to buy the lies they are ‘selling’ and perhaps believing themselves.

If you are one of those who are concerned about what is happening in the world, I strongly encourage you to surrender your lives to Jesus. That is your only hope in light of what is ‘coming down the pipes’ as we watch the evening news. This is not the time to be playing Russian Roulette with your eternity and gamble that the Bible is wrong and that true, pure Christianity is just a fantasy of imaginations.

John Johansson – www.resoundingshophar.com

As in the days of Noah …

I often times will take a minute and just observe people and what they are doing. As I observe them I can’t help but wonder if they even have a clue about what is coming to this earth. I see them in their cars talking to others in the vehicle, some going in and out of various establishments, and others just walking down the street seemingly without a care in the world. Well, some of the people I observe are actually carrying a lot of the cares of the world on their shoulders, and it shows. I don’t know how many of these people are followers of Christ, or for that matter mere fans of Jesus, but I believe it is safe to say that the majority of them are not. For many of them, Jesus is the farthest thing from their minds, being more concerned about the party the night before, looking for that perfect dress, checking out the sights and feeling the excitment of a relationship they’re in.

In Matthew 24:37-39, Jesus tells us that the time of His return will be as the days of Noah, a time when they were more caught up with enjoying life than they were in heeding the warnings of this man named Noah. After all, who could’ve imagined a flood of any type, much less a global one that would destroy all life as they knew it. It sounds just as absurd as the rapture, doesn’t it? Well, the flood Noah told them was going to come actually came, and only those who heeded the warnings of Noah was saved. People are so caught up now with living life that they are not heeding, or even listening to, the warnings of Jesus’ soon return. They are more concerned about living for the moment than they are in preparing their lives for eternity.

In Luke 21:34-36, Jesus tells us to be watching for His return, and I wonder how many people are heeding these words of Jesus. Sadly, the majority of people, both Christian and non-Christian, are not watching for Him. Obviously, those who are not Christians wouldn’t be looking for His return, but what about Christians? You would think that Christians would be watching, but many of them are just content with living life under the premise of ‘occupying till He comes’. Yes, we are to ‘occupy till He comes’, but Jesus made a point in telling us, no, commanding us to be watching for Him. So, why is that many Christians are just not watching?

I find myself listening, watching and reading the news only to see Biblical end-time prophesies jumping off the pages more and more. I can’t help but see that Jesus’ soon return is very soon. Who knows, perhaps He’ll come back tonight while we’re sleeping, but seeing how so few are even looking for His return I can only imagine how many will be caught off guard.

I encourage you to take another look at Luke 21:34-36, and see how clear Jesus is that we keep watching for Him. Don’t be careless with your eternity and not take His return seriously. In watching for Him, it would only make sense that we make sure we’re ready and prepared so that we won’t be left behind. I can’t help but wonder how much peoples lives would change if they were to take His return seriously and lived a life watching for Him.

Jesus is coming back, and if what is happening throughout the world is the fulfillment of Biblical end-time prophesies and the final steps in lining things up for the tribulation period, then we need to realize His return is very, very, very close.

Be watching!!!!

John Johansson

www.resoundingshophar.com

Ready or Not, Here He Comes!

For years I have been concerned about the current state of the Church in general, specifically the church in the USA. As we see Bible end time prophesy unfolding before our very eyes, we would be hardpressed to think that Jesus’ return is not immiment or even close at hand, yet the church in general seems to be more caught up with life in general, both the good and the bad. I sometimes wonder what it’s going to take before the church rises from it’s apathy and realizes the urgency of our times, but I also remember scripture that tells us the majority of those who call themselves Christians will not be ready for His return. I hear people say that things have to get a lot worse before Christ returns, but is that true? Or is that only true when it comes to Christ’s return at the end of the tribulation period? The stage is being set for His return for His bride, and we need to make sure we are ready for Him.

I also hear people talk of a great revival that supposedly takes place before Christ returns for His bride, but I would have to disagree with that line of thought. Yes, we are told that in the last days the Spirit of God will be poured out on all flesh, but I have two thoughts regarding this. The first thought is what if what the church has been experiencing the past 60+ years with the Charismatic and Pentecostal movements is a fulfillment of that prophesy? After all, if we were to take a step back and take a look at the past 60+ years we can see each of the items listed in that prophesy taking place like never before in history on all flesh. Now, before you jump and tell me it is something more than what we’ve been experiencing, I want to remind you that when Jesus came the people did not recognize Him as the messiah because they had it determined within themselves how His appearing would happen. Jesus did not fit the mold that they had conjured up in their minds, but that didn’t change the truth and the reality of things that He is who He says He is. So, in like thinking we need to be careful not to quickly discount what the church has experienced the past 60+ years simply because it doesn’t look like what we think it should. The second thought I have regarding this revival that some talk about is that it could possibly be a revival among those who get left behind after the rapture. We know that there will be martyrs for the faith during the tribulation period, and oddly enough America is supposedly not mentioned in Bible prophesy for these last days, so I can’t help but wonder if the revival many talk about is actually going to take place after the rapture. If that is the case, then it would appear to line up with other prophesy that indicate the falling away of many from the faith leading up to Christ’s return for His bride. Instead of making sure they are ready for Christ when He comes for His bride, it appears that many are banking on more time because things are either not bad enough, or because there will be a great revival to come first, and both of those mindsets are very dangerous as many will be caught and left unaware.

This is not the time to be playing Russian roulette with your eternity, thinking you have more time because things aren’t bad enough or hanging out for the great revival to come. What if He comes before these events, then what? To follow Jesus after the rapture will be much, much harder and will require each person to literally give their lives for Christ, and if you’re not willing or able to do that now then what makes you think you will be able to then?

Don’t be deceived!!!! He’s coming back as a thief while people are busy enjoying life and it’s many pleasures. When He comes He will see who it is that has their affections first and foremost on Him and His return, because if they don’t then they will get left behind. Did you know that according to ancient Jewish customs, not only did the bride not know when her groom was coming for her, but if when he did he found that her affections were not on him but on another or something else, or if she hadn’t been taking advantage of the time to prepare herself for him, then he could just as easily leave her behind and issue her a letter of divorcement? You see, our marriage to Jesus, much like the ancient Jewish marriage customs, is not final and complete until after He’s come for us and has taken us to the marriage feast which takes place during the tribulation period. We have to be watching and praying that we will be ready when He returns for His bride, otherwise we will be counted among the foolish virgins Jesus refered to in His parable of the 10 virgins.

So, I say all that to say, BE WATCHING AND GET YOURSELF READY FOR HIM!! You eternity hinges on it!

John Johansson

Making Your Decision Count

It is evident from world events that things are winding down and the return of Christ is very, very near. I’m reminded about the parable Jesus shared in Matthew 25 regarding 10 virgins, five of which were wise and five were foolish. I don’t know about you, but I want to be counted among the wise. It is commonly believed that the virgins represent Christians, and if that is the case that causes problems with the theology of some who believe once your saved you’re always saved. I personally believe the virgins in this parable represent Christians, and that just because someone sincerely says the ‘sinners prayer’ does not automatically guarantee their entrance into Heaven. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about ‘deathbed confessions’. I’m talking about people who have asked Jesus to come into their heart and believe that is enough to get them into heaven no matter what happens in the future.

While it is true that nothing can seperate us from the love of God, there is nothing in scripture that indicates we lose our free will to choose or to change our minds. There are plenty of scriptures that would indicate one can get shipwrecked in their faith, and that they can die spiritually which wouldn’t be possible unless they had first come alive spiritually. When Jesus tells us that there will be some who will say, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not …. in your name” only to hear Him tell them to depart from Him for He never knew them, that is a sobering situation.

One scripture that comes to mind is Revelation 3:5, where Jesus tells us that the names of the overcomers will not be ‘blotted out of the Book of Life’. Two things come to my mind regarding this scripture. The first thing that comes to my mind is that Jesus is talking about overcomers. I’m not going to get into who are the overcomers in this blog, but the question that comes to my mind is if our salvation is a free gift, and if sincerely saying the ‘sinners prayer’ will securely take us right into heaven with no more effort on our part, then what are we ‘overcoming’? I’m thinking there is more to this Christian walk leading into Heaven than just sincerely saying the ‘sinners prayer’.

The second thing that comes to my mind about this passage refers to names being ‘blotted out’. If once our name is put into the Book of Life, which indicates a true conversion, they remain in it, then what is this ‘blotting out’ Jesus is talking about? A name can not be blotted out of something unless it is first there. I can’t use ‘white-out’ to remove an entry on a document at work unless the entry was first made, and just the same a name can’t be blotted out of the Book of Life unless it was first put into it. So, that tells me that even though I gave my life to Jesus I am responsible for how I live it.

I don’t want people to think that they are ‘okay’ and will automatically enter heaven. Jesus was even adamant about His followers making sure they are ready for His return. Be ready. Seek the Lord if there is anything in your life you need to change to be ready for Him, and do what the will of the Father is for your life. While there are some things that is the will of the Father for all followers of Christ, there are also many things that are specific to each believer. I just don’t want you to be caught unaware and unready when Jesus comes.

Luke 21:36 says, “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man”.

Article: Bobby Makes a Decision; https://rshophar.com/bobbydecision.html

John Johansson

www.resoundingshophar.com

Russian Roulette With Eternity

I’ve been in church all my life, and according to my mom had given my life to the Lord when I was five years of age. I can’t say that I remember that, but what I do remember is how in 1979 God began to deal with me regarding my eternal destination. He began for what felt like six months to deal with me regarding my eternal destination and how I needed to make a commitment to follow and serve Him. I can’t say that He was convicting me of sin in my life because up to that time I had lived a pretty sheltered life, but what He was dealing with me in was the fact that I hadn’t surrendered my life to Him and to His will for my life. One of the ways He got my attention was through the realization of how close to death I was at times from near head-on collisions and being in a garage air-filled with explosive aerosols and a gas water heater. God was good to me and those with me to protect us, but these were some of the ways that God used to get my attention. During this time I experienced a growing fear of end time events and the tribulation period, which only heightened the impact of those experiences I just shared with you. After what seemed to be six months, I knelt beside my bed with my dad and I surrendered and committed my life to Jesus on March 29, 1980.

From that time on I do not remember a time when I was fearful of missing the rapture and going through the tribulation period. Granted, I have come to realize after searching the scriptures that saying a prayer and walking down an aisle does not guarantee admittance into Heaven, but it is what I do with my relationship with Him from that time on that determines if I will be prepared for when that shofar sounds the call to the marriage feast of the Lamb. Maybe you don’t agree, and that is okay, but that is where I came up with the title of this blog, Russian Roulette With Eternity.

Russian roulette with eternity is where we choose to gamble with our eternal destination by living and believing as we choose. Well, you can almost hear the arguments of people who decide not to believe Gods word in its entirety, who want to create another Jesus to their liking, or to reject God and His Son as the only savior of the world. Many feel that whatever they choose to believe to be true is true, and if they want to believe something to be false or non-exclusive (meaning that there is more than one way to heaven) then that is what it is. But, what if they are wrong? What if what they believe to be true is actually false, what they believe is false is actually true, and that there is really only one way to Heaven through Jesus alone? To echo others over the years, if we as Christians are wrong then what do we lose in embracing Christianity, and what do non-Christians gain? Also, if we as Christians are correct, then what do we gain and non-Christians lose? If the Christian faith and it’s source of written instruction, the Bible, is false, we obviously haven’t gained a thing, but we haven’t really lost anything either. However, if the Christian faith and the Bible are in fact true, then Christians gain an eternity in Heaven that defies imagination in its splendor, and those who are not Christians literally lose everything to spend eternity in hell for rejecting Christ as both the Son of God and the only Savior of the world.

I am concerned for people who take their eternal destination so lightly. It’s as if they are playing Russian roulette with their eternity, and that is very scary. Some like to think, at least subconsciously, that if they find after they died that they were wrong and made a serious mistake they will have the opportunity to say ‘sorry’ and enter into Heaven. What a lie from the enemy of our souls! He will say and do anything to get us to minimize the seriousness of making right preparations for our eternal destination, even to the point of getting us to either not think about it or to have an altered view of eternity. And, yes, he will even take and twist scripture to accomplish this if he can. After all, was that not the method he used in the garden when he spoke with Eve, taking and twisting what God had said to make her doubt and question God? What we fail to realize is that Satan knows the scripture, and he in fact probably knows it better than most, if not all, Christians, and that is one of his most powerful weapons. Heard it said that the best lie is the one that is 99% true, and Satan is an expert in promoting them.

Time is so very short in regards to the start of the tribulation period, which means it’s even closer to Jesus’ return for His bride. It is so imperative that we are in right standing with Him, waiting, watching and ready for the sounding of the shofar of His return for His bride. The first thing Jesus told the disciples when they asked him regarding the signs of the end of the world and His return, was a warning to not be deceived. Deception will be great leading up to His return and the tribulation period, and it is so vitally important that we don’t be deceived. Deceived about what? In a nutshell, deceived regarding Jesus, who He is, what He did, what He’s going to do, and that only through Him can one receive salvation prior to leaving this life.

Don’t be deceived! Hold true to the pure Gospel and good news of Jesus, and that when it’s all said and done the determining factor that will forever determine our eternal destination is what we did with Jesus in this life and the nature of our relationship with Him. We all have a relationship with Jesus, whether it is one that is a saving one through intimate friendship with Him, or one that is distant and independent of Him.

I trust that this will challenge you to re-evaluate your relationship with Jesus as time is running out, and that it will either be found in right standing with Him in relationship and according to His word, and if not that you will make the necessary changes to make it right.

John Johansson

www.resoundingshophar.com

www.resoundingshophar.com/blogcentral

Putting on the Mind of Christ

We live in a time when the mind of Christ is the furthest thing from most people’s thoughts. In fact, if you were to ask people what is the mind of Christ, the majority would not be able to answer that question or would have a twisted idea of what that is. Has the understanding of what the mind of Christ is for the most part been lost to a culture that is consumed on satisfying self in one way or another?

What is the mind of Christ? There is a lot preached from America’s pulpits, among both the televised and local churches throughout the country, of what the mind of Christ is, but is what they are preaching really the mind of Christ? Let’s take a look at this and see for ourselves. In Philippians Paul tells us what the mind of Christ is, so I think that is probably the best place to start with this. Let’s take a look at it.

In Philippians 2:5, Paul tells us to have the same mind that was in Christ Jesus, so let’s see if we have the same mindset. Even though teachers and preachers of the Gospel tend to skip right past verse 6 of this same chapter, probably thinking that it doesn’t apply to us, but I believe that is the farthest thing from the truth. Why is it that verse 6 tends to get skipped over so frequently? Well, what does it say?

“who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, …” Philippians 2:6 (NKJV)

This verse talks of Jesus being in the form of God, and that He did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, so how does this apply to us? No, we are not God, nor are we equal with God, so why is it that Paul felt that it was important to mention this? After all, this should be a “no-brainer”, right? Well, not necessarily. In Romans 8:12-17, we are told that not only are we adopted into the family of God, but we are also joint-heirs with Christ. Wow. That is awesome, to think that God values us, His creation, in such high regard that He would sacrifice His son for our salvation. And, to top it off, we’re not just adopted by God, but we’ve been made joint heirs with Jesus, our creator. Who said that God doesn’t love us and have such exciting things in store for us? Well, this is where we get tripped up. We hear a lot of preachers and teachers telling us how we are to live as children of the King, and that we should focus on living under the blessings and perks of that relationship, settling for nothing less. We hear how we should claim God’s promises for us in regards to health, prosperity and promotion, because after all Jesus made those things possible for us with His sacrifice and resurrection. We see and hear of scripture in both the Old Testament and the New Testament that reinforces this mindset, but do we just focus on those scriptures? Or, are we to also include the other scriptures in the Bible?

We as people have the tendency to grab a hold of key scriptures that we like and ‘tickle’ our ears, forgetting that there are other scriptures that we need to factor into the equation to get a balanced view of what God is saying to us? Philippians 2:6 is one of those verses that is often times, and conveniently, overlooked or passed right over. Paul tells us to have the same mindset of Christ, and to do so we need to consider this verse. Just as Christ is God and did not consider wrong to be equal with God, even so we need to have the confidence that we are children of God and joint-heirs with Jesus, but what did Jesus do with this confidence of who He is? Well, verse 7 tells us that He made Himself of no reputation, taking on the form of a bondservant, and verse 8 tells us that He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. That puts an interesting twist to things, doesn’t it? How does this fit in with a lot of the teachings we hear these days, claiming God’s blessings and promises for us based on our ‘rights’ as children of God?

Am I saying that God doesn’t want to bless us or that He doesn’t want to fulfill the promises He’s made to us? Not at all! God does want to bless us, and He does want to fulfill His promises to us, but for us to make a lifestyle of claiming our ‘rights’ to those is wrong. There is a time when we are to claim our ‘rights’ to things, much like when Paul exercised his rights as a Roman citizen. Paul had been beaten and imprisoned on many occasions but never chose to claim his rights until he saw an opportunity to use it to further the Gospel and to take it to Rome. Just as Jesus never used His position as the Son of God to do anything for His own benefit and purposes, and just as Paul didn’t use his rights as a Roman citizen for his own benefit and purposes, even so we shouldn’t be exercising our ‘rights’ as children of God for our own benefits and purposes. We should only use what God has promised us as His children for the furtherance of the Gospel and the name of Christ, and to do that we need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit as to when and how we should do so.

Many times we forget that this life we live is not our own, but is Christ’s life lived through us. We are called to be His ambassadors to a lost and dying world, reconciling men back to right relationship with Jesus. That doesn’t mean that God won’t bless us along the way, or that He won’t make good on His promises towards us this side of eternity, because He does do that, but as His bondservants we shouldn’t be claiming our rights to such things if we are truly working as His ambassadors. He is the one that determines how, where, and to whom we are to take Jesus to the lost and hurting, and because of that we need to be willing to go and do whatever He would have us to for the Gospel and the sake of Christ. Paul learned to be content in all things for the purpose of doing the will of God for him, and even so we need to learn to be content knowing that the salvation and healing of others is of greater importance than our temporal blessings and comforts of life. We have eternity to experience and enjoy ALL that God has for us, but let us not focus on storing up treasures or building empires in this life only to barely make it into heaven and have no real treasures have been stored up.

Think about these things. Are you living a life focused on living as children of the King now, with all its blessings, rights and comforts, or are you willing to go without for the purpose of doing the will of God and storing up treasures for yourself in heaven.

“Yes, But God Understands …”

As We See That Day Approaching …

Wedding Guest Gets The Boot.

What I learned in Mexico

Ever ask yourself, “What is going on????”

As in the days of Noah …

Ready or Not, Here He Comes!

Making Your Decision Count

Russian Roulette With Eternity

Putting on the Mind of Christ

Oh hi there 👋
It’s nice to meet you.

Sign up to receive awesome content in your inbox, every time a new blog is posted.

Oh hi there 👋It’s nice to meet you.

Sign up to receive awesome content in your inbox, every time a new blog is posted.

Oh hi there 👋
It’s nice to meet you.