“It’s Not Fair! I Wasn’t Ready!”

January 27, 2026January 9, 2026 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

You remember when you were a kid, and you and your friends were outside playing? You decide to have a race or something, and one kid would lose and claim, “That’s not fair! I wasn’t ready!” They will probably be the same ones to complain to God about not being ready when He sends His Son, Jesus, to call us home. Too bad. They will be left behind.

Numerous scriptures discuss the end times. Some warn us about “fake news,” while others provide key insights into what’s to come, but the overall message is to be prepared. Ready to meet up with Jesus when He comes to take his bride or church.

No one knows when this event will take place, not even the Son of God, believe it or not. I remember hearing a word spoken in church when I was about eight or nine. One of the elders stood up and said something about Jesus coming soon. But this part I remember. He said, “Jesus’ return is so close it’s as if He is standing up now to leave.” I thought, “Wow! I had better put my shoes on!”

You don’t have to be left behind. You can be ready to meet Jesus in the air and be ushered into heaven. Or ready to stand before God and give an account of how you lived your life if you happen to die before Jesus returns. We never know when we will take that last breath. Instead of focusing on what is happening on Earth, it is more important to be mindful of the things of heaven.

God is fair and just. He has given us all enough time to be ready. There will be no excuses and no exceptions.

Mark 13:14-37 (NLT)

¹⁴“The day is coming when you will see the sacrilegious object that causes desecration^[e] standing where he should not be.” (Reader, pay attention!) “Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. ¹⁵A person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. ¹⁶A person out in the field must not return even to get a coat. ¹⁷How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days. ¹⁸And pray that your flight will not be in winter. ¹⁹For there will be greater anguish in those days than at any time since God created the world. And it will never be so great again. ²⁰In fact, unless the Lord shortens that time of calamity, not a single person will survive. But for the sake of his chosen ones he has shortened those days.

²¹“Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it. ²²For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones. ²³Watch out! I have warned you about this ahead of time!

²⁴“At that time, after the anguish of those days,

the sun will be darkened,
the moon will give no light,
²⁵the stars will fall from the sky,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

²⁶Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷And he will send out his angels to gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.

²⁸“Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near. ²⁹In the same way, when you see all these things taking place, you can know that his return is very near, right at the door. ³⁰I tell you the truth, this generationwill not pass from the scene before all these things take place. ³¹Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.

³²“However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. ³³And since you don’t know when that time will come, be on guard! Stay alert!

³⁴“The coming of the Son of Man can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. When he left home, he gave each of his slaves instructions about the work they were to do, and he told the gatekeeper to watch for his return. ³⁵You, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know when the master of the household will return—in the evening, at midnight, before dawn, or at daybreak. ³⁶Don’t let him find you sleeping when he arrives without warning. ³⁷I say to you what I say to everyone: Watch for him!”

God Has a Secret

July 1, 2025June 18, 2025 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

I can’t recall when or how God told me his secret, but He did. It might have been a dream, or perhaps a thought all of a sudden came into my mind. I do remember thinking, “Why me? I can’t be the best Christian on Earth right now. Not even close!”

My next thought was, “What am I to do with this secret? Keep it? Spill it to everybody? Convey it in a video blog and post it on Facebook and YouTube? I did feel honored, though. Actually, kind of special. Then I wondered if this was how Mary felt when the angel of the Lord revealed to her that she would have God’s Son, Jesus.

Wow! I know God’s secret. Before this, I only knew Victoria’s Secret. Do you want to know what God’s secret is? Of course, you do. Humans are naturally curious. If I tell you, will you respond correctly? Will you share it with others? Will you place the right amount of importance on it? I hope so.

Have you ever noticed those videos, like on Facebook, where they say they are going to share with you the secret to something? But all they do is talk around the secret or about the secret, trying to get you to click on a link and eventually get money out of you. Those are annoying.

Okay. Here it is; God’s secret is when his Son, Jesus, will appear in the sky above the Earth and call his church home. The religious word for that event is the Rapture. God didn’t tell me his secret. In fact, He hasn’t told anyone, not even his Son, Jesus. And here is why I think that is. If He did, people would live a life pleasing to God right before the event would take place, only to escape going to hell. God wants people to love him and accept his Son, Jesus, and then live a life in his presence, loving others and sharing the gospel with them, hoping they would enter his kingdom.

Share God with others as if Jesus’ return is today, and it very well could be. Compel them, Luke tells us in his gospel, to come into the kingdom of God, to join his family. Tell everyone about God’s secret. Now that I have told you, will you respond correctly? Will you share it with others? Will you place the right amount of importance on it? I hope so.

“But the exact day and hour? No one knows that, not even heaven’s angels, not even the Son. Only the Father knows.” Mat. 24:36 (MSG)

¹⁶For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: ¹⁷Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1 Thes. 4:16-17 (KJV)

And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. Luke 14:23 (KJV)

Ready

November 22, 2022November 19, 2022 / Mark Brady / 3 Comments

My grandmother had a painting in the hallway of her house that captivated my attention on more than one occasion. I would stand there and study the details of it, thinking, “Boy! That day is going to be something.” It portrayed the rapture. The moment when Jesus came back to earth to call his bride home. The painting showed people ascending into heaven from cars, an airplane, fields, and houses. The plane crashed because the pilots were both Christians. Some of the vehicles crashed too. It was as if the earth went chaotic in a moment. (The photo displayed is similar to the one my grandmother had.)

Since Jesus ascended into heaven, men have been looking for and anticipating his return. After all, He said he would. The Bible contains at least 100 scriptures concerning his return. There have been many books written about it and even some movies made. Countless sermons have been preached, encouraging people to watch, and pray, but most of all, be ready! I remember a word given in our church when I was about eight years old. The man said that Jesus’ return was so close it was as if He was already standing up. I got excited and put my shoes back on!

Matthew 24:36 – “But the exact day and hour? No one knows that, not even heaven’s angels, not even the Son. Only the Father knows.” (MSG)

1 Corinthians 15:52 – We’re not all going to die—but we are all going to be changed. You hear a blast to end all blasts from a trumpet, and in the time that you look up and blink your eyes—it’s over. (MSG)

Matthew 25:13 – “So stay alert. You have no idea when he might arrive.” (MSG)

Matthew 24:37-44 – “The Arrival of the Son of Man will take place in times like Noah’s. Before the great flood everyone was carrying on as usual, having a good time right up to the day Noah boarded the ark. They knew nothing—until the flood hit and swept everything away.

“The Son of Man’s Arrival will be like that: Two men will be working in the field—one will be taken, one left behind; two women will be grinding at the mill—one will be taken, one left behind. So stay awake, alert. You have no idea what day your Master will show up. But you do know this: You know that if the homeowner had known what time of night the burglar would arrive, he would have been there with his dogs to prevent the break-in. Be vigilant just like that. You have no idea when the Son of Man is going to show up. (MSG)

I look around and definitely see individuals preoccupied with life. They are more concerned with current politics with striving to be successful or famous. Trying so hard to earn more money or where their next meal may come from. They might even be more concerned with their relationship status. Satan loves this. He wants us to forget that Jesus Christ is coming back for us. He wants anything for us other than to be ready. It takes focus on our part. It takes keeping God first in our minds, hearts, and life.

In the days of Noah, very few believed that it would rain one day. It had never rained before, so why should they? Today, there are probably very few that believe Jesus will return for believers, for He has never returned previously, but we have been told that He is going to. We have a choice to either believe it and live accordingly or not.

I pray that you choose to believe me and, more importantly, believe God’s word and live your life ready to be caught up in the air with Jesus. If you don’t, you will definitely know the truth when the rapture occurs. There will be mass destruction and confusion everywhere around you. People will disappear right before your eyes. I, for one, have no desire to be here when that happens. I mark myself as “Ready!”