Signs of the end of time.

     You are the sign of the end of time.  That's right, you the Christian believer are the sign of the end of time.  Mark 13 gives a pretty concise outline of the "signs of the end of time".  I'll give you a moment to read that chapter before we go on.  (elevator music)  So, you've read the 13th chapter of Mark.  Now you know what some of the signs of the end of time are.  You also know what your part in the end of time as a Christian are...or should be.  Thoughts, words and deeds have brought you thus far.  So, just by association, you are part of the reason the end of time is either put off or brought closer.  I don't think you need to alienate your family just yet but the day is coming when your faith in Jesus will do just that.  I don't think you need to pack a weapon and start a war is necessary but wars and rumors of wars will come.  I don't think you need to be concerned that the end of time will come, but rather what part you play in that process.  Whether you like it or not, believer and non-believer, YOU are a key part in the end of time.  YOU are the reason those "to the ends of the earth" do or don't hear the Gospel message and delay the end of time.  Don't like that?  Then do something about it instead of being a self serving unrepentant sinner.  Inaction is action.  Doing nothing is what the world likes for Christians to do.  Do nothing to upset their love of self and their sinful living.  YOU are called to be a particular people, chosen by God and set apart for the Gospel's message of saving grace that the world needs.
     Why does Jesus tell us about children and parents turning on each other?  What significance is there in the rupturing of relationships?  In 1962 the federal government threw God out of the schools.  Was that the tipping point?  No, it wasn't.  In subsequent years parents were subject to the schools liberal stance taking us to socialism and the decision that parents didn't have the right to discipline their children in any means except what the government deemed acceptable.  Was that the tipping point?  No, it wasn't.  Was it when society deemed it okay for a school counselor/nurse to take over parenting in the case of sexual activity up to and including abortion without parental involvement or consent?  No, it wasn't.  It wasn't when the CHILDREN were urged to switch sexual identities, allowed to select their own gender specific names or when they were given power to bring child protective services down on their parents.  So, when did this begin?  When YOU stopped being a parent, stopped teaching morals, stopped expecting respect, stopped letting God tell you what to do and started to believe the state or federal government knew how to be a better parent.  So the parents both went to work, the kids became latch key kids, and the family disintegrated.  That began when Adam and Eve decided that the way  Satan presented was better for them than God.  Is any of this sounding familiar?  Does anyone care to be honest and begin to adore God, confess your sin, be thankful for Him and ask him what he wants you to do?
     It's no longer pretending.  It's a lifestyle that was talked about centuries ago that has come to be.  Christians have given away what was life through Jesus Christ.  The work of a loving God to save a lost people doesn't seem to matter as everyone does his or her own thing.  It's become  the norm when it should be addressed as sin by the people for the people and of the people.  I'm not saying that you coalesce to the demands of the world.  Nor am I saying that you become an anarchist.  I'm saying that you and I need to stand up, be Christian and bring the Word to those who have no relationship with Jesus.  This shouldn't be that hard, but the cares of the world have weighed so heavily on the Christian (by their permission) that they have become ineffective.  With some Christians you may not even know they are Christian as they resemble the world more than Christ.  Maybe they aren't Christian?  Maybe you aren't Christian.  The Christian Jesus envisioned is one who has surrendered their life so that Jesus can live through them without thought of the cost.  Should one be so in love with God that Jesus lives through them, there is no cost to living for God.  That's the sign of the end of time.  Read Mark 13 again.