April 7, 2019 WWJWMTD by Steve, the son of John

Getting Prepared for Darkness

I am talking about the darkness! About the evil that will reign over all the earth before Christ’s return. Are you prepared? Jesus talked about the event of His return and what to expect prior to His coming back. It will not be a happy-time nor will it be easy (Jesus said), but one can be prepared and ready for Christ’s return. Here are some character traits we must all have in order for you to stay connect to what God is planning. These traits come from the Sermon on the Mount and can be applied to everyone no matter where you are in your walk with Christ. They come from Matthew chapter 5:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Each of the Eight Beatitudes get harder as one works down the list. Jesus did not make things easy, but He made a way for all of us to serve God acceptable and with love. These character traits must be part of each Christian before one can become ‘an overcomer’ in the last days. Let me explain what these traits are:

One, to be poor in spirit is to be in a constant state of repentance and looking for forgiveness for oneself. The Holy Spirit will always find things in your life that need to be cleaned and forgiven. This is realized only through repentance and the working of forgiveness in your life.

Two, to mourn is standing in the gap for others; finding forgiveness for them. Just as you found forgiveness for yourself, now you are interceding for others and finding forgiveness for them.

Three, to be meek is to have a healthy self-esteem. You are not trying to make yourself a “somebody”, but you are content in being a nobody (by worldly standards). You give others praise and honor and refuse to accept praise that you are important or that by your own efforts you made something good happened. You are not selfish, hateful, nor is your self-worth based on how good I look, how smart I am, or how much money I make. You remember what Jesus said that “Only God is good.” As Jesus was meek so are you by not accepting praise from man, but only from your Father in heaven.

Four, one needs to be always hungry for more of God. We are never satisfied with “yesterday’s mana”. We cannot get enough of God. God will and wants always to give us more of Him and be more like Him daily, weekly and yearly.

Five, this one is easy. Show mercy all the time! May your words and actions give mercy to others just as God has given you mercy. Be like God!

Six, “make a pure heart in me oh God”. If you allow God to search your heart, then your heart will become perfect before Him. You will never see God without a perfect heart—a perfect heart is a pure heart. Your motives and reasons for doing things should be based in God’s righteousness. I find this the most difficult thing to do by American Christians.

Seven, being a peacemaker is not a person that makes peace but a person that desires and works toward unity in the Spirit. Jesus never planned to bring peace on the earth, but He always talked about His people being in unity. It is the unity of the Spirit that brings peace.

Eight, want to make it to heaven, then allow yourself to be persecuted for Christ’s sake. In America that is usually “character assassination and financial ruin”. Some day we may experience persecution as Jesus and the early Disciples experienced but persecution comes in many forms and degrees—so get comfortable with it—this is your ticket to heaven.

Having these qualities will prepare you for darkness. There will be light in your life when all the earth is standing in darkness—Jesus will be your light within you.

WWJWMTD

What would Jesus want me to do?

Dr. Steven J. Wentland www.wwjwmtd.com

This e-mail, including attachments, may include confidential and/or proprietary information, and may be used only by the person or entity to which it is addressed. If the reader of this e-mail is not the intended recipient or his or her authorized agent, the reader is hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this e-mail is prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender by replying to this message and delete this e-mail immediately.