“now will people say, ‘Here it is.’ Or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is with you.”’
~ Luke 17:21
Hi James and Ellen,
How would you say that guys and gals are living their lives today on planet Earth? Guys and gals everywhere on planet Earth are living their lives in increasingly unethical, immoral ways. Why do you think that guys and gals everywhere on planet Earth are living their lives in progressively unscrupulous, debaucherous ways? Planet earth was created by God. Sky and everything that is in the sky was created by God. The sky is dotted with galaxies, planets, stars, moons, clouds, etc. The sky and orbs that God created – including planet Earth, is called the universe. God also created beings called spirits and angels. One of the angels who God created – Lucifer, took on a prideful spirit. Lucifer’s pride did not please God. Because of Lucifer’s pride, God had Lucifer leave heaven. When Lucifer left heaven, Lucifer took with him spirits and angels who sided with him. God though gave Lucifer planet Earth to do whatever he had God’s permission to do. God gave Lucifer permission to influence the beings who God created as man and woman to think that they are choosing between obeying and disobeying His will to do what is right and good to do. God gave Lucifer permission to affect His created beings with illnesses and death. Because of Lucifer’s pride and evilness – sin, that Lucifer is behind infusing into every guy, gal and kid who lived, is living and will live on planet Earth, God would incarnate Himself into man – as God the Son – Jesus Christ, so that the evilness – sins, that Lucifer was tempting God’s specially elected guys, gals and kids to do would be washed away once and for all by Jesus’ blood – as Jesus hung cruelly nailed to a crude cross. When Jesus arose from the dead, Jesus defeated death’s agony and unknowingness. All guys, gals and kids who make the decision of faith to believe in Jesus – even though their faith in believing in Jesus can be described as being no larger than a mustard seed, live and die with the promise of eternal life. A mustard seed’s size does not keep a mustard plant from growing ten feet tall – and sturdy enough for birds to nest. Per what Luke quoted in Luke 17 on what Jesus said, the faith of a guy, gal or kid – even if the faith of the guy, gal or kid is no larger than a mustard seed, is big enough to ask a mulberry tree to relocate if . . .
Luke wrote two letters to his good friend Theophilus. One of Luke’s letters to Theophilus became known as the Luke Book. Luke was a doctor. The Luke Book is the first letter that Luke wrote. The Luke Book is about Jesus’ life. The second book that Luke wrote to Theophilus became known as the Acts Book. Luke’s second book is about what life was like for Christ-followers after Jesus ascended into heaven. Much of Luke’s second book is about emerging, universal Christ-follower communities. When Jesus was trekking about planet Earth, Jesus told the guys and gals who were following Him that He would come back again one day. Jesus told the guys and gals who were following Him not to wait for Him to return – but to go about doing what they needed to do each day to live. Jesus told the guys and gals who were following Him that there would be some guys who would set dates when Jesus would come back again. Jesus told the guys and gals who were following Him to not pay any attention to the guys who set dates as to when they thought that He would return to planet Earth. Jesus told the guys and gals who were following Him that when He does return to planet Earth that the sky will tell the guys and gals who would be living on planet Earth that He had come back. Jesus said that the sky will be filled from one end to the other end with flashing lightning and dazzling lights. Jesus told the guys and gals who were following Him that before He returns to planet Earth how guys and gals were to be living their lives. Jesus said that guys and gals when He returns will be living their lives on planet Earth much like guys and gals were living their lives when Noah built an ark and when Lot lived. Before the flood – which was why Noah built an ark, and before Sodom and Gomorrah – which was where Lot was living, were turned to salt, Planet Earth was a disgustingly evil place to live. Depraved guys did what they wanted to do with other guys. Decadent gals lived how they felt like living. Guys and gals who were living on planet Earth during the times when Noah and Lot lived on planet Earth did not live their lives to please God.
So – how atrociously, appallingly evil do you think that guys and gals who are living today or will be living on planet Earth will have to get before Jesus returns? Your grandpaa believes that the behavior of guys and gals who are living on planet Earth today must get a whole lot worse than what it is today before Jesus returns to planet Earth. Your grandpaa knows that the behavior of guys and gals who are living on Earth today is really bad but . . . a new law has recently gone into effect on planet Earth that allows guys to do perverted things publicly with other guys. Other relatively new laws permit fetus’ to be legally aborted and the corrupted morals of just a few guys and gals to subvert the wishes of the vast, vast majority of guy and gals. Even though there are wars – and rumors of wars, guys and gals all around planet Earth are eating, drinking, buying and selling in their pursuit of self-gratification. When your grandpaa was a young kid, your grandpaa one day heard a preacher preach on what planet Earth’s last day will be like. Your grandpaa remembers the preacher preaching that everything on planet Earth on planet Earth’s last day will be consumed by a fire. Your grandpaa still thinks about what the preacher preached. Your grandpaa knows that he does not have to think about planet Earth’s final day. Luke knew that waiting for Jesus was useless when he wrote in verse 21 “now will people say, ‘Here it is.’ Or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is with you.”’ Luke knew that he was not to look for Jesus’ return to planet Earth as he knew that he already had Jesus in His life.
Luke 17 (256)