Introduction

A cheery hello to everyone reading this!

This project is something I've had in mind for awhile, and have made reference to the fact that I would eventually be starting such a project from my current blog 'Based in Shanghai'. I've thought about how to do this project, and also how not to do it.

http://www.based-in-shanghai.blogspot.com

The main purpose of this project is to teach and encourage new Christians about how to live lives that glorify God and give honor to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in this time period that we are living in right now.

I've been a Christian for about 12 years now, and came to know Christ mainly through the ministry of the Alpha Course (Nicky Gumbel) when I was living in Vancouver Canada at the time. A few years later, I moved to Shanghai and have mainly been living and working there as a teacher. I also lead various small groups, as well as serving actively in the expat church over there.

For the last several years I've been quite interested in Bible prophecy and predictive prophecy about the 'end times' and how this applies to living our lives right now. I've learned a lot, and will admit up front that I subscribe to a particular view about end time events (the mainstream one actually) which can be quite controversial. But then, the Christian faith is a controversial one to begin with, so this is nothing new.

Nonetheless, I want to avoid making a blog that rehashes what is already out there in terms of Bible prophecy and end time events. A quick internet search will reveals tons of information. For the record I highly recommend the 'Left Behind Series' for a fictional account that applies the particular view of the end times that I happen to believe and so do many others. The entire book series is fiction, of course, but the scenario that it outlines is one of many possibilities that *could* happen if Jesus were to return at any moment. Other good authors to read up on are David Jeremiah and his prophecy series.

Every now and then, I'll make blog entries that go into this sort of thing and describe end-times scenarios, but that is not the main purpose of this blog, nor is it to get into debates about the timing of the rapture, tribulation, etc.

Rather, I want readers to understand and apply what the Bible says about how to live our lives as Christians right now, in the light of what the Bible reveals about Jesus and his 1st and 2nd comings.

I am convinced that Jesus could come at any moment, yet I want to be ready for when he does. To that end, I need to be living a life that glorifies God and is fully surrendered to his plans and purposes.

Having said that, this blog will in no way try to nail down and specific dates or get into predictions about a time of when Jesus could come back. The Bible makes it perfectly clear in Matthew 24:36 that this kind of exercise is fruitless

In Matthew 24:36 we read from the words of Jesus, "No one knows about that day or hour. Not even the angels in heaven know. The Son does not know. Only the Father knows."

This verse should be proof enough to dismiss any of the recent nutcases who have claimed that the rapture or the end of the world would occur on XYZ date, only to have had XYZ date pass and for the nutcases to revise their predictions. Since the day and the hour is unknown, it is not for us to try and predict these things.

Yet as we will see later in this blog, the particular set of end-time views that I believe do justice to the doctrine of imminency, that is the idea that Jesus could come at any moment -- and we need to be ready.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:2 we read, "You know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night"

With that in mind, let's be ready for his coming and live lives that give glory and honor to the Father.