Greetings all and happy Sabbath!  We will be having our discussion on the booklet 'Angels: God's Messengers and Spirit Army' tomorrow in both Charlotte and Columbia.  We will have our discussion next week in Hickory.  Incidentally, we will be taking a break for the summer from the booklet discussion.  In the fall, we will either resume this series, or perhaps have a different type of interactive study.  If you have any thoughts or suggestions on the matter, please let me know!

Things are heating up

As you've no doubt noticed, things are definitely heating up here in the Carolinas.  Routing temperatures in the 80's and even 90's this week have brought back the 'three shirt days' I first discovered when I moved to Charlotte.

As I've mentioned before, I personally love the heat.  After 40 plus years of snowy, gray, oppressive winters in Ohio, I am thankful to be living in the hot and sunny South.  And of course, it's great for the garden!

Hot in more ways than one

Of course, it's not just the weather that's getting hotter.  The war in Ukraine, unrest in the US, and inflation all over.  With fuel prices rumored to crest the $6 a gallon mark by the end of the summer, there's no doubt the cost of living will continue to rise.

Financial woes have inevitably led to war in mankind's history.  War leads to food shortages (which we are begining to see already) This leads naturally to shortages, which lead to disease and death.  You may recall, this is precisely the progression we see of the horsemen in Revelation 6.

Can you stand the heat?

So, with all that in mind, can you stand the heat?  Are you prepared to live in a time of war, shortages, disease and death?  I assure you, you can!

"How?" you might ask.  It starts with remembering that before the horses of war, famine and death ride, there is another horse that preceeds them.  Revelation 6:1-2 reads, "Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, "Come and see." And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer."  This horse represents false religion which is already riding throughout the world today!

So how do we prepare for war, famine, death and other end-time 'heat'?  By making sure we are not taken in by the false teachings that first rider brings.  By staying closely grounded to God, we can be assured that no matter what befalls us - war, famine or even death, we will be able to stand the heat, no matter how hot things get!