Find And Do

Test all things; hold fast what is good. (1 Thessalonians 5:21 NKJV)

1. Find out what is true;
2. Do what is right.

Seems to be very easy principles to keep, but few can do it.

For this reason, many choose the easy way out, by obeying political leaders, bosses or authorities, believing in news and expert opinions or even rumours, following the teachings of religions, philosophies, traditions, cultures without questioning. Even Buddha in the Kalama Sutta (羯臘摩經), tell us not to do that.

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1 ESV)

Unbelief And Coronavirus

Sin come when you do not believe in the truth, not because of immoral action.

This morning, there is this story in "Rudy Gobert, first NBA player found to have coronavirus, pledges $500,000 for relief efforts - The Washington Post", quoted below:
QUOTE
His apology stemmed from a March 9 incident in which he joked with members of the media by making sure to touch all the microphones and recording devices reporters had placed on the table in front of him as he left a news conference. In a video posted by the NBA on Sunday, he thanked everyone "for the positive energy" and said he was "feeling a little better every day." He also admitted regret again about his actions.
UNQUOTE

Rudy Gobert does not believe that the coronavirus is very infectious. He went to touch all the microphones to prove his point. But truth is truth, so he was proven wrong.

By the way, unbelief in truth is also the first recorded action of man.

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (Genesis 2:16-17 ESV)

Pierced

And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. (Zechariah 12:10 ESV)

Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. (Revelation 1:7 ESV)

The Second Coming of Christ, The Most Certain Event of the Future

We do not know the future. But there is one sure event of the future, that is the second coming of Christ. So please take note.

Where
In Jerusalem.
On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. (Zechariah 14:4 NIV)

How
From the sky.
"Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." (Acts 1:11 NIV)

When
At the end of the seven years of tribulation.
Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh. (Revelation 19:19-21 NIV)

Why
To become the King.
The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever." (Revelation 11:15 NIV)

Narrow Our Belief in Truth to Salvation

Believe in the truth
"What is truth?" said Pilate. After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, "I find no grounds for charging him. (John 18:38 CSB)
They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. (2 Thessalonians 2:10b NIV)
It is good to believe in the truth. It is bad to deny the truth. But truth is so wide that no one can know all truth and no one will believe all truth. So we must narrow it to the most important and most basic truth of all, God's Word. We also must learn to verify truth. Otherwise, how can we prove the God's Word is true?

Believe in God's Word
The entirety of your word is truth, each of your righteous judgments endures forever. (Psalm 119:160 CSB)
Salvation lies in the truth, the particular set of truth - God's Word.

Believe that Jesus Christ has died for my sin
I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. (1 Corinthians 15:3 NLT)

Sex In The Dark

Jacob worked for Rachel for seven years, but it seemed like a few days because he loved her. Jacob said to Laban, "The time has come. Give me my wife so that I may sleep with her." So Laban invited all the people of that place and prepared a banquet. However, in the evening, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he slept with her. (Genesis 29:20-23 CEB)

Judah saw her and thought she was a prostitute because she had covered her face. He turned to her beside the road and said, "Let me sleep with you," because he didn't know she was his daughter-in-law.
She said, "What will you give me for sleeping with you?"
He said, "I will give you a kid goat from my flock."
She said, "Only if you give me some deposit, as security to guarantee that you will send it."
He said, "What kind of deposit should I give you?"
And she said, "Your seal, its cord, and the staff in your hand." He gave these to her, slept with her, and she became pregnant by him.
Then she got up, left, and took off her veil, dressing once again in the clothing she wore as a widow. (Genesis 38:15-19 CEB)

Like father, like son. I always wonder why Jacob and Judah could have made such mistakes. For Jacob it was dark and they sleep in a tent without candle. But didn't Leah made any noise throughout the process? Didn't she talk to Jacob? Judah seemed to have done it in the day. But she did not take off her veil. Is that the standard practice for commercial sex in those days?

Wicked Ancestors

And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. (Matthew 1:15-16 KJV)

From sinful Adam to sinful Joseph, from sinful Eve to sinful Mary, these are the ancestors of our sinless Saviour Jesus. Some of His ancestors are justified by the grace of God. Others are now languishing in hell. Salvation is guaranteed by belief in Jesus Christ, not by being His ancestor.

Not All Believe In Rapture

Not all Christians believe in the rapture. Dr William Lane Craig is one of them. He thought that it was some misinterpretation of 1 Thessalonians 4:17 by a guy named Edward Irving. He gave his views in this YouTube video.

David Pawson believes that the rapture is together with the second coming. Here is his video, "When Jesus Returns - Revelation TV 2014 - YouTube".

According to the Lord's word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together (ἁρπαγησόμεθα) with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 NIV)