Whenever something drastic happens in the world, the cry goes out, “end times, end times.” Maybe, maybe not. Think of Job, he must have felt it was the end of times for him. Think about the suffering Christians were going through in communist socialist countries in the 70’s and 80’s. That must of seemed like the end times to them. Today, Christians in Muslim countries being beheaded for their faith! End times? Nobody knows. Jesus didn’t know, the angels don’t know, TV evangelists definitely don’t know, only God knows! Whether it’s end times, or just bad times, if you want to make it better times read 2 Chronicles 7:14 and then do t! “If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” Time and again, God has forgiven His people. So what does He ask? Humble ourselves (let the ego go) pray (as much as you can) seek His face (in His Word, in worship, and again in prayer) and turn from our evil (selfish) ways. The church must be the light to an otherwise darkened world. We must show love for one another and then to others, and whether in a church building, a living room, a carport, we need to humbly seek His face. End times … alright, bring me home Lord! Just bad times … let us obediently strive to make them better times!
These are troubling times, but what did Jesus say? “Let not your heart be troubled.” If we believe in God, if we trust in Jesus, if we believe His Word, why should troubling times trouble us? They shouldn’t! But, we are human, and as strong as our faith may be, thinking about stepping from the finite into the infinite can cause a little angst. Kinda like jumping out of a perfectly good airplane with a parachute that has never been used before. You don‘t know for sure it’s going to work, until it does! Life is full of uncertainties, but God’s Word isn’t one of them! Jesus said He has prepared a place for us, that He wants us to be there with Him, and that we know the way there. There are many people, like Thomas, who quickly ask, “how do we know the way?” Jesus answers that with total clarity. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” You believe in God, you trust in His Son, you believe His Word, then you know the way! During these strange times, take precautions, think of the health and safety of others, call and encourage one another, don’t do foolish things, obey the mandates, and let not your heart be troubled. Picture that parachute, fully opened, billowing with air, securely holding you up as you sail along, until it gently drops you off at one of His prepared mansions!
Where do you run to in times of trouble? Who is the first one you turn to when things are falling apart around you? Do you say like King David, “The Lord is my refuge and fortress; my God, in Him will I trust”? Do you proclaim as he did, “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?” There is nothing we can’t endure because He will be there to endure it with us. During these unprecedented times, as always, He is in control. We don’t need to understand it, we only need to keep our eyes on Him. Whether we meet together in a building, outside, on the internet, or if we all just pray together at a specified time, we are still His body, one body of believers, taking our strength and refuge in Him. Keep your eyes focused on the eternal picture, keep praying about the situation and for the health and safety of others, and under His wings, you will have a safe and secure refuge!
Why did God give the 10 Commandments and the Law? So people would think of Him as some prudish judge looking down on us, holding a big.black marker in His hand, just waiting for us to do something wrong so He could check it off and give us a demerit? No! God is holy and righteous, awesome and mighty, loving and forgiving. He gave us the Commandments and the Law to expose our sins, show that we could never redeem ourselves, our desperate need of Him, and make us more aware of His holy nature. He can’t abide sin in His presence, yet, as exposed as our sins are, He still wants us to be in heaven with Him. Thus, He gave us Jesus. He shows us His nature, exposes our sins, and then provides a way to reckon both. Doesn’t sound like someone with a big, black marker to me. He wants to spend time with us, care for us, help us in every way. Throw away the black marker idea. When Jesus is your Lord and Savior, you can stand before God and He won’t see any demerits, He will see nothing but His Son!
Why do people think they could possibly do anything to earn their way into heaven? Maybe because we don’t look at sin the same way God does? People have a tendency to rate sins, like murder would be a ten and a little white lie a one. It’s one thing to cheat on taxes but cheating on your wife a whole other ballgame. Stealing a candy bar from a 7/11 can’t be as bad as robbing a bank, can it? I mean, if I consistently keep 9 out of 10 commandments, that‘s pretty good, isn’t it? Therein lies the problem. We can abide sin, God cannot! What sacrifice could we ever make to atone for our sins to a Holy God? There is none, that is why Jesus did it for us. He is the only one, acceptable sacrifice. No amount of law abiding, chanting, meditative trances, hiding away in a cloistered fortress, lighting candles, or insincerely reciting prayers is going to do any good! Man wants to be holy, but according to his own rules. God said, “Believe on My Son!” Jesus said, “No one comes to The Father but by Me!” It’s not complicated, He made it as simple as He could for us, but extremely hurtful for Him. Don’t try to work your way into heaven, just say thank You and accept the precious gift of grace Jesus offers!
Funny how we have faith in our car’s brakes to stop us, a 187,000 pound plane to fly us, a cruise ship not to drown us, faith in Jesus to save us, but generally not enough faith to trust Him to take care of our daily needs! Abraham, the father of faith, believed in God’s promises to him. God told him to move, he moved. Told him he and Sara would have a son in their old age, no problem. Even when God told him to sacrifice that long awaited son, Abraham had faith God would still fulfill His promises. Strong on the big points, but not so on the smaller ones. Twice he lied about Sara being his wife for fear of what might be done to him. He didn’t think God would take care of His chosen couple? When the son didn’t arrive on their expected timetable, he allowed Sara’s handmaiden to bear him a son, and we all know what a mess that turned out to be. The father of faith faltered, just like us! It is so easy to have faith in the big things, but hard to believe He’ll take care of the little daily ones, but He will, if we ask Him. The pressures from the world seem to goad us to try and work things out for ourselves. It isn’t always easy but the answer always is, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.” We do have faith like Abraham, and He will be with us, just like Abraham, every step of the way, fulfilling His promises!
Whenever something drastic happens in the world, the cry goes out, “end times, end times.” Maybe, maybe not. Think of Job, he must have felt it was the end of times for him. Think about the suffering Christians were going through in communist socialist countries in the 70’s and 80’s. That must of seemed like the end times to them. Today, Christians in Muslim countries being beheaded for their faith! End times? Nobody knows. Jesus didn’t know, the angels don’t know, TV evangelists definitely don’t know, only God knows! Whether it’s end times, or just bad times, if you want to make it better times read 2 Chronicles 7:14 and then do t! “If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” Time and again, God has forgiven His people. So what does He ask? Humble ourselves (let the ego go) pray (as much as you can) seek His face (in His Word, in worship, and again in prayer) and turn from our evil (selfish) ways. The church must be the light to an otherwise darkened world. We must show love for one another and then to others, and whether in a church building, a living room, a carport, we need to humbly seek His face. End times … alright, bring me home Lord! Just bad times … let us obediently strive to make them better times!
Where do you run to in times of trouble? Who is the first one you turn to when things are falling apart around you? Do you say like King David, “The Lord is my refuge and fortress; my God, in Him will I trust”? Do you proclaim as he did, “The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?” There is not
Why did God give the 10 Commandments and the Law? So people would think of Him as some prudish judge looking down on us, holding a big.black marker in His hand, just waiting for us to do something wrong so He could check it off and give us a demerit? No! God is holy and righteous, awesome and mighty, loving and forgiving. He gave us the Commandments and the Law to expose our sins, show that we could never redeem ourselves, our desperate need of Him, a
Why do people think they could possibly do anything to earn their way into heaven? Maybe because we don’t look at sin the same way God does? People have a tendency to rate sins, like murder would be a ten and a little white lie a one. It’s one thing to cheat on taxes but cheating on your wife a whole other ballgame. Stealing a candy bar from a 7/11 can’t be as bad as robbing a bank, can it? I mean, if I consistently keep 9 out of 10 commandments, that
Funny how we have faith in our car’s brakes to stop us, a 187,000 pound plane to fly us, a cruise ship not to drown us, faith in Jesus to save us, but generally not enough faith to trust Him to take care of our daily needs! Abraham, the father of faith, believed in God’s promises to him. God told him to move, he moved. Told him he and Sara would have a son in their old ag