Wednesday, October
03, 2012, 6:10 a.m. – the Lord woke me with the song “For Our Nation.” Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I
read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:28 (NIV
1984):
Brothers, we do not
want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest
of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we
believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who
are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have
fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud
command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and
the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are
left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the
air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other
with these words.
Now, brothers, about
times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the
day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying,
“Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a
pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
But you, brothers, are
not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all
sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the
darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be
alert and self-controlled. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who
get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be
self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of
salvation as a helmet. For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to
receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that,
whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore
encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
Now we ask you,
brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the
Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of
their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers, warn
those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with
everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be
kind to each other and to everyone else.
Be joyful always; pray
continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you
in Christ Jesus.
Do not put out the
Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on
to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.
May God himself, the
God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and
body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who
calls you is faithful and he will do it…
The Second Coming
Jesus Christ, God the Son, came to earth, took on human
flesh, suffered as we suffer, lived a human life, was tempted as we are tempted,
yet without sin, was despised, rejected, forsaken, criticized, ridiculed,
hated, mocked, falsely accused, beaten, betrayed and crucified for our sins so
that we could go free from slavery to sin, and so we could live with Him both
now and forevermore.
When he died, our sins died with him, and when he rose from
the grave, he conquered death, hell, Satan and sin, triumphing over them by the
cross. When we believe in Jesus Christ, and trust Him to be our Lord (master)
and Savior (from sin), we appropriate to our own lives what Jesus Christ did
for us on the cross in dying for our sins. We, thus, are crucified with Christ
to our sinful natures, and we are resurrected with Christ in our new birth to a
living hope. It is by grace we are saved, through faith, and this not from ourselves,
it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast (see Eph. 2:8-9).
Yet, faith means to leave our lives of sin behind us and to truly make Jesus
Christ the boss of our lives, because that is why he died for us. He didn’t die
just so we could go to heaven one day. He died so we can live holy lives,
pleasing to God, while we are still on the face of this earth. Yet, his grace
will give us all we need to live for God.
And, one day Jesus Christ will return to judge and to
receive his own to himself. Those who are dead in Christ will rise first, then
those of us who may still be alive when Christ returns will meet with them in
the air, and so we will be with the Lord forever. Amen! Hallelujah!
A Thief in the Night
A thief in the night comes into our house while we are
sleeping. We are not expecting him, and so we are overtaken by him (or her).
The Day of the Lord will be like that to those who are not watching and waiting
for him, expecting his arrival. These are the ones who don’t think Jesus is
going to come again, only this time to judge the earth, or they think they will
somehow escape the time of judgment to come upon the earth, or they think that
is futuristic and makes for a nice story in a book or a movie, but it does not
apply to them. And so they have a “peace and safety” attitude which translates
into just having a good time and living to please ourselves, because they don’t
really believe, or they don’t live like they really believe that God is still a
God of wrath, and he will do what he said he will do.
But for those of us who are in Christ Jesus, that day should
not overtake us like a thief in the night. We should be longing for and
expecting our Lord’s soon return to receive us, his bride, to himself. So, we
should not act (behave) like those who are spiritually asleep and who are unaware
of the Lord’s return, or who are complacent concerning the time of judgment to
come upon the earth. We need to be spiritually alert and self-controlled. In other
words, we need to be living like we say we believe. We need to be daily
forsaking our sins, putting on the armor of God with which to fight off the
attacks of the evil one, and daily walking with our Lord in sweet fellowship,
listening to him speak to our hearts and obeying what he teaches us. For God
did not appoint us to suffer wrath, but to receive salvation through our Lord
Jesus Christ. Yet, if we think we are saved just because we prayed a prayer of
salvation, but we are still living to please ourselves with little regard for
God or his holiness, then we may be overtaken by Christ’s return like a thief
in the night.
Encourage One Another
Because Jesus is coming again to judge the earth and to
receive his own to himself, and because a time of wrath is coming upon the
earth when evil will reign for a time, times and half a time, we need to be
encouraging one another in the Lord to live holy lives, pleasing to God. None
of us knows if we have tomorrow. We need to live for Jesus each day as though
it is our last day on this earth. If you knew that tomorrow you were going to
die, what would you do differently today? That is how we need to live each and
every day.
Some of the ways in which we can encourage one another and
build one another up in the Lord are listed for us here:
Show Respect – We need
to show respect to those who work hard among us in the Lord. Who are those who work
hard among us? They are the ones who are over us in the Lord and who admonish
us to live godly and holy lives, pleasing to God; who preach the full gospel
message, and who do not water down the message in order to be pleasing to men.
They work hard in preparing the word to be taught, in ministering to people’s
needs, in spending time each day at Jesus’ feet, listening to him speak, and
who obey him; who pray for others, encourage, and who speak the truth in love;
who are God-pleasers and are not men-pleasers, and who teach the word of truth
instead of the teachings of men.
Warn and Encourage
– We are commended by God to warn those who are idle, but not just those who
are idle, but to warn those who are not living for the Lord in any way. The idle
are those who are not working to earn their own keep, usually are busybodies,
oftentimes become gossips, and depend on others for support. They take
advantage of others’ generosity or they have an entitlement mindset that leaves
them to believe that they are owed this. They are often ungrateful and
unappreciative of what they have been given and will not sense any obligation
(or little) to work for what they receive. Yet, there are those who are not
able to work and must depend on others, yet most people can do something in
return for what they receive. Even quadriplegics can live productive and useful
lives, giving to society as a whole, earning a living and working for God (example:
Joni Eareckson Tada).
As well as warning other believers against following after
their own flesh, we must encourage right living. We must first of all be living
right ourselves, not in absolute perfection, but in daily putting off the flesh
and putting on Christ and his holiness. Then we can encourage others to do the
same. And, we should not just encourage right living, but we must be willing to
assist and to help those who are weak, to offer words that will help strengthen
them, and that will give them hope and healing.
Right Attitude – I
know that I regularly take an attitude check to make sure my thoughts and heart
are lined up with God’s. If I find myself getting off track, I call upon my
Lord to help me, to fill me with his presence; with his thoughts and his
attitude, and to put my mind on the right path with the right perspective. We
are human and as humans we will always be tempted to have the wrong attitude,
thoughts or behavior, which is why we must daily take our thoughts captive and
make them obedient to Christ. We must fill our minds with scripture, with
spiritual songs, and not with the things of this world and its desires. Then,
we can glorify God by our lives, and his love, mercy and grace should be what
flow out of our lives, hearts and mouths, instead of what is fleshly or of this
world. This is a life-long and daily process of sanctification. And, God is not
finished with us yet!
Don’t Quench – We are
to daily exercise spiritual discernment with regard to what we hear or read in
books written by men, in sermons, in political talks, and in the news media,
etc. We should test everything we read or hear against the word of God (in
context, comparing scripture with scripture), to make sure it is in conformity
with God’s holy word and with his divine character. We must be so careful not
to believe everything we read or hear just because we think it is a trusted
source. Yet, on the other end of the spectrum, we must also be careful that we
are not too quick to write anything off that someone tells us is of the Lord,
unless we have searched the scriptures ourselves, have spent time diligently in
prayer concerning the matter, and have resolved before God via his word and
what we know of his divine character that what we are hearing is clearly not of
God. It may well be of God and by quickly dismissing it, we are actually
putting out the Spirit’s fire.
Blameless
We are blameless before God when we, by faith, trust in
Jesus Christ to save us from slavery to sin and to be our Lord (boss) of our
lives. Jesus’ righteousness is credited to us so that we are forgiven of our
sins, are made right with God, can now access God’s throne of grace, can call
on God for mercy, and can have the hope of eternal life with God. Yet, there is
also a sense in which we are being made blameless (made holy; being saved;
being sanctified), which is progressive and will not be completed until the day
we meet our Lord face to face. So, we are blameless before God positionally
through faith, yet we are being made or kept blameless before God until his
return by God’s grace in our lives daily as we choose to forsake our lives of
sin, and we choose to follow Jesus wherever he leads us. This does not mean we
are perfect, but that we are not willfully living in premeditated sin, thinking
God’s grace will take care of it, so it is no big deal. Blameless means
surrender daily to God’s will for our lives and to the working of the Holy
Spirit in our hearts in changing us, conforming us into Christ’s image, and
making us holy (set apart for God).
One day judgment is going to come upon the earth big time! And,
Jesus Christ is going to return for those who are his. How will he find you
when he returns?
For Our Nation /
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting.
Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently
calling
You to follow Him in
all ways.
Trust Him with your
life today.
Make Him your Lord and
your Savior.
Turn from your sin.
Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of
your sin;
Cleanse your heart,
made new within.
Men betraying: Our
trust fraying.
On our knees to God
we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us
answers
That are only found in
Him.
God is sovereign over
all things.
Nothing from His mind
escaping.
He has all things
under His command,
And will work all for
good.
Men deceiving: we’re
believing
In our Lord, and
interceding
For our nation and its
people
To obey their God
today.
He is our hope for our
future.
For our wounds He
offers suture.
He is all we need for
this life.
Trust Him with your
life today.
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