Was 2020 a Wake-Up Call? Good Riddance. He Will Save His People.

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Was 2020 a Wake-Up Call?

“ The year 2020 was so chaotic, confusing and destructive, many people look forward to it being over. What can we learn from this year that’s unlike any other?

For those who’ve had children, the nine months from conception to birth are a period of mystery and awe.

These days some of the mystery is removed by baby apps that keep us informed of the baby’s development week by week.

Toward the final stages of pregnancy, the mother may feel her womb contract and relax. She may think labor is about to start, but it may not be labor pains at all. It could be something called Braxton-Hicks contractions, named after the person who first identified them. They are also called “false labor pains,” but they can be an indication that labor is approaching soon.

The Bible likens the time approaching Jesus’ return to the labor pains of a pregnant woman (1 Thessalonians 5:3). As that time approaches, things will get worse and worse.

Perhaps we can liken events of 2020 to Braxton-Hicks contractions—signs that “labor” is near. Our world has changed rapidly in the last year, and these changes could be an indication that Christ’s return is drawing much closer.

Unprecedented events

We have seen unprecedented events occur all around this year—particularly in the English-speaking nations. Consider the following things that have occurred:

• In Australia, 12.6 million hectares burned (that’s roughly the equivalent of 31 million acres) in the worst fire season in a century. That’s an area four times the size of Belgium. The fires killed 33 people and over 1 billion animals.
• In February, Britain was hit with three destructive storms. Storm Dennis, Storm Ciara and Storm Jorge flooded over 3,300 properties in England. It was the wettest February since the U.K. began keeping records.
• Early in the year, locusts swarmed in massive numbers in Africa, putting 25 million people at risk of food shortages. 
• On Jan. 31, Britain officially withdrew from the European Union.
• U.S. President Donald Trump was impeached on Dec. 18, 2019, but acquitted in the U.S. Senate on Feb. 5, 2020, allowing him to finish his term in office.
• The coronavirus pandemic caused worldwide lockdowns and a massive economic crisis throughout the world. The U.S. borrowed a record $3 trillion in a single quarter, and the U.K. GDP shrank by 21 percent, the biggest drop since GDP was first recorded.
• Racial tensions erupted as massive protests swept through multiple cities in the U.S. and around the world following the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota.
• In August, Louisiana was hit by unprecedented back-to-back hurricanes within 48 hours of each other. Around the same time, California experienced temperatures upward of 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54 degrees Celsius). It is believed to be the highest temperature ever recorded on earth. California was also hit by a freak lightning storm, with nearly 11,000 lightning strikes sparking over 300 fires within a single weekend.
• Israel, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates signed historic peace agreements called the Abraham Accords.
• The United States went through an especially contentious and nasty presidential election year. As of the writing of this blog post, Joe Biden has been declared the winner, but President Donald Trump is refusing to concede, accusing multiple states of massive voter fraud. Geopolitical analyst George Friedman noted: “Beginning in 2020, supporters of one candidate began to despise the supporters of the other candidate with visceral rage . . . Each camp has come to see the other as contemptible.” 
• In October, Pope Francis made headlines because of a statement that seemed like an endorsement of same-sex civil unions (though the Vatican later clarified that his comments didn’t change the Catholic Church’s teaching on homosexuality). Meanwhile, in November, the Church of England released materials that appear to pave the way for the church approving of same-sex marriages.
• In early November, Super Typhoon Goni, the most powerful storm of 2020, slammed into the Philippines, killing 20 people and displacing over 350,000.

Students of prophecy probably can’t read this list without thinking of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse—the general signs that Jesus said would be the “beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:8).

Could 2020 have been a year of signs that, like Braxton-Hicks pains, signal the real crisis—the coming Great Tribulation—is just around the corner? To learn more about these prophetic signs, read “What Are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?”

So, how should we respond to everything we have experienced as a world in 2020?

2020: a wake-up call to act

It is human nature to wait until a crisis hits before taking action and making necessary decisions. How many people have tried to save a marriage just before divorce papers are served? Or only started to eat properly after having a heart attack? Or tried to repair damage done to their family after years of neglect?

God mercifully urges us to seek Him now, but also warns of a time when it will be too late. Prevention is a far better approach than tackling a problem after a crisis hits!

What about seeking God through repentance? Will we wait until the events of prophecy begin to be fulfilled in full force? Or will we use 2020 as a wake-up call to seek God now?

The Great Tribulation will be a time of punishment for the sins of our people (Deuteronomy 31:17-18). We’ll have to endure afflictions caused by sins (Hosea 5:15). But God urges us to “seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near” (Isaiah 55:6).

God mercifully urges us to seek Him now, but also warns of a time when it will be too late (Hosea 5:6).

If you have been putting off truly seeking God and responding to His calling, why not use 2020 as a motivation to act? The real crisis is coming.

If you’re searching for God and His way of life, you may find our article “How to Repent” a good place to start.  From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/prophecy/blog/was-2020-a-wake-up-call/?

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Good Riddance

Transcript of YouTube: https://youtu.be/GjblW6O8iDM

“We are all ready to put 2020 behind us; as we do, lets carry the lessons we've learned with us.

[Darris McNeely] The year 2020 is in the past. And for most of us, it's going to be a year where we probably will say, "Good riddance. We're glad it's in the past."

In the last days of 2020 I lost a few friends and associates, people that I've known in some cases for nearly 50 years, who died. I'm glad that I knew them. You've lost people that you knew as well during the year and probably even some people to the COVID disease.

If you look at the larger world, one thing that really struck me in 2020 was the fact that there were a number of Hall of Fame baseball players who died. And baseball has been my passion to not only play in my youth but to follow throughout the years. And players that I grew up watching pitch and play baseball with and went on to make the Hall of Fame, they died this year. That's life, it goes on and we expect that. I'm glad that I saw them play because the ones that I think about, they played with passion, they played hard, they showed up ready to play ball, no matter what was going on. And I don't always see that today.

I was struck recently by one professional sports player whose team wasn't doing too well in the last days of 2020, and he went on a rant after one game where they were really bad. And he was basically trying to say, "Guys, you're professionals, you're getting paid a lot of money. You need to show up. You need to work hard. You need to practice because people are wanting to enjoy and to see success." I was glad to hear him say what he did. That's why I lament the loss of some good ball players that were like that.

You know, as we look at COVID, at some point, this is all gonna be behind us and we'll probably talk about the time of life before COVID and the time of life after COVID. Before COVID, after COVID. It's been that big. And as we sort it all through, I hope that all of us and myself here I think about where I have been and what I've learned, I hope we are able to put behind so much of this, and having learned certain lessons.

There's a scripture in Philippians 3 that I think all of us should take note of and remember. It says, "Brethren," the Apostle Paul was writing, "I do not count myself to have apprehended. But one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call in Christ Jesus." Paul knew when to put things behind and when to reach for the things that are forward.

It's a good lesson for us all to take from Scripture when it comes to the time that we're living in, before COVID, after COVID. Let's reach for the future. Let's reach for better days. And let's do that with the help of God.”  From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-daily/good-riddance 

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He Will Save His People

Matthew 1:21

“And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”

When Joseph discovered that his betrothed wife was pregnant, it seems the only logical conclusion was that she had cheated on him. He didn’t want to make her a public example, so he was planning to try to end their betrothal secretly.

But then an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream, and told him that Mary was pregnant of the Holy Spirit! What an incredible concept to try to wrap your mind around! Then the angel continued with the statement in verse 21.

The New Testament recorded the name in Greek. Jesus is derived from the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua, which means “Yahweh is salvation” (New Bible Dictionary, “Jesus Christ, Titles of”). This was not an unusual name, but it had a special meaning in this case. Jesus would save His people from their sins by willingly taking their death penalty upon Himself. Not only that, but He would call on them to repent and lead them out of sin by the Holy Spirit. 

For more about our Lord and Savior, see the section on “Who Is Jesus?”       From:

https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/blog/he-will-save-his-people/?

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Update

Happy, Healthy and Blessed New Year to Y’all.

I am still waiting for my eye surgery, it should be next week.  The weather turned wet and cold, but it’s Texas, so the sun shines to cheer us up every now and then. 

The three of us had our usual Bible study on Friday morning, and Sherry and I went to Sabbath school at the church the next day. But there was only one other person there and we old ‘non-techy’s’ took ages to join the others on Zoom on Sherry’s smart phone, but finally we made it.

June and I, neither of us night drivers, opted not to go to the Torah Bible study in another town because it gets too dark too early in the day.