The Olive Branch Markham • Audio Podcast The Olive Branch Church

I want you to think of someone you love—more than you’ve loved anyone in your entire life.  They’re not just beautiful and attractive—they’re good, kind, loving—and they’re powerful—so strong that everywhere they go things get better.  Would you want them to be honored?  Would you look forward to being with them?

To love Jesus, to worship Jesus, to believe in Jesus—is to hope, believe, look forward to Him being honoured, respected and loved by everyone!

Jesus' clearest teaching about the end is for us to be alert, to watch, to not get lazy, complacent, and get tied to political movements that promise peace—when only God can bring that. You have to ask, 'Why do people want so badly to figure out WHEN it will all go down?' Is it maybe because we don’t think it will result in what is good and best—and could ruin all of our fun? Of course, that all begs the question of how we see Jesus—and His character. Why would John say at the end of Revelation, 'Even so Lord Jesus come!' Was it just because he wanted an end to the pain of living at a time when Jesus and His ways were very unpopular?

The END isn’t what you think it is—or what you’ve been perhaps frightened into.  Maybe the most surprising thing about the End—that is, the end of time, the end of history, the end of things as we know them—is that Jesus said, “I don’t know when that will happen and neither do the angels; only the Father!”  Now, what’s surprising about this is that Jesus walked on water, raised the dead, could read people’s minds and hearts—and is the One coming back, but didn’t know when it would happen.  Why?

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY

Eve, Sarah, Rebekah, Leah, Jochabed, Naomi and Mary. If we would have seen them in their cultural context, they probably didn't stand out... but God took their otherwise ordinary lives and wove their stories into the most important narrative ever written!

Technically, the Last Days began when Jesus, God the Son, was born.  Since that time, Jesus has been on the march, bringing life and hope and light—saving us and saving everything else.  According to Jesus and all of His prophets, there will be a final confrontation: a showdown between Satan’s corrupt kingdom of deception and darkness, and Jesus’ Kingdom of truth and light.

Now, there are a lot of images in Jesus’ words as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, and by John in Revelation—and how are we to understand them? From the understanding they are all intended to create hope... not fear or dread!  When something creates fear, dread or confusion, it’s from the enemy, and usually the interpretation of a false prophet – not from God.  Our hope? Jesus has come to save us and everything else!

One of the toughest commandments Jesus gave to us was about how many times we are to forgive one another. The equation He gave us was CRAZY! He told Peter not just seven times, BUT SEVENTY SEVEN times!

During Easter reflection, we are brought to the place where ultimate forgiveness was granted on a cross when we didn’t deserve it at all. Now Jesus is telling us to extend that forgiveness to those around us over and over and over again. But, how do we actually live this out? Can we actually do this, AND not feel like a doormat that is being walked all over all of the time?