Mar 13:32  But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

Mar 13:33  Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

1Co 15:51  Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

1Th 4:16  For 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:

1Th 4:17  Then 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. 

1Th 4:18  Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Love Worth Finding Ministries

The Days of Noah
History is coming to a climax. No one knows the day or hour, but we would be wise to recognize what that time will look like—and Jesus said it would look like the “days of Noah.” Dr. Rogers describes 7 specific signs of our day which mirror the days of Noah.

Listen Now to this important message: http://bit.ly/1HPXH5u

I am reflecting on a rather disturbing email that I woke up to from a person I can’t really  call a good friend. FB posts and private messages contain much negative content that I find burdensome. My position was taken to task, I was called to answer for my “judgement” of the choices made by the person. We are on 2 totally different pages and it makes me sad. My goal for my perspective for my day’s direction and communication is to be a spiritually encouraging influence but I am accused of judging, bragging about to whom I minister, etc. They would rather I would be a “realist” by their definition, and make my comments of similar tone as theirs, so all my contacts would be apprised of the awful deeds of mankind, the horrible state and condition of our country, the terrible mindset of politicians, and on and on it goes, without any mention of our hope in Eternity because of a relationship through Jesus Christ. How dismal.   

Please know….anything I share of a spiritual tone is meant to be an encouragement to you. I can’t do less because God has so deeply ingrained in me His goodness and grace. In this time of grief what I say here along those lines is as much for my eyes to read and my mind to absorb as it is for anyone else. I need to constantly keep my focus on God’s plan and purpose, that’s where I find my comfort and true joy. I am trying to regain balance, and trudge on ahead. I tried hard to describe to that individual that Jesus changes hearts and minds, while focus on current events merely causes frustration, anger, fear and the like. Somehow that was interpreted as judging, and not understanding that we are all different. We might all be different but if we claim to know Christ, and be reconciled to God through our faith in Him, then is it too much to expect that words would reflect that faith? And that was the whole point of my conversation / explanation as to why I could no longer keep my friendship in tact on FB. So be it. I am not called to explain myself, just to be so aware of how blessed we are that it over flows and spills out.

What if…..”Mercy in Disguise”

Read these lyrics.  Listen to the song.  Let the message penetrate through disappointment, anger, hurt, doubt and all the other emotions that keep us from full trust in the all knowing Father who loves us most and knows us best. Trusting Him, because He has provided a way for us to have an Eternal relationship with Him through the provision of His Son as a sacrifice for our sin of unbelief.

We cannot keep His perfect Law.  The Law God gave to His people, Israel, to teach them His life giving principles.  The Law given to help us understand we are debtors, we owe a debt too great for us to ever pay.  God in His mercy offered first to His people a way to have a relationship with Him, unbroken by sin.  They rejected that provision.  They rejected Christ as their Messiah because He didn’t look  or perform as they thought their Messiah should.  They didn’t understand, and they crucified God’s  perfect  Son.  God then allowed His grace to fall on those who were/ are not Jews.  Gentiles.  The rest of us.  We have been offered the greatest gift of all time…of all Eternity.  The gift of accepting Jesus’ substitutionary death on the cross for our sins.  For our inability to keep the perfect Law.  That Law is now our teacher, to show us we NEED Him.

When this message resonates in a heart, when it becomes clear what the message of salvation through Christ means, there is nothing more important than to acknowledge that need of a Savior and declare acceptance.  By God’s grace and mercy, we enter into His Eternal peace.  And His Word to us, the Holy Word, the Bible, then becomes alive with meaning, instruction, comfort…it is His love letter to His children.  Start with the Gospel of John…read, slowly, digest the words and let the Spirit of God,  in you when you agree with Him you have a need for His salvation and accept His provision, teach you what He wants you to know about how to live life fully, in Him.  Above all else, recognize that we need His grace and mercy every day to follow His Word, and live by the example set by His Son, for God’s honor and glory.

It is for His honor and glory …

Act 17:28  For in him we live, and move, and have our being; …

Mar 11:15  And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;

F,B, Meyer Commentary 

“And whenever He enters the heart, He performs a similar work. He drives out bestial forms of sin, and mere traffic, so that the whole nature-spirit, soul, and body-may be surrendered to God. What our Lord said of the Temple should be true of each church of the living God. It should be His residence, where men of all nationalities should come to a unity, as they worship, confess sin, and intercede. Certainly God’s house must not be a place of merchandise and traffic.”

How many times have I read this account of Jesus casting out the merchandising that was happening in that place of worship? New awareness of my own shortcomings in my full commitment to faith, and trust in the Lord reveal a sad truth.  Maybe you can identify.  While no true money changers reside within my own “temple”,  the place where the Spirit of God dwells in a believer of Jesus, upon reflection there is revealed a heart full of temporal things, things that would be burned like “wood, hay and stubble”.

1Co 3:11  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

1Co 3:12  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

Things that might be innocent of themselves, turn my head, cause me to focus on insignificant things in this world.  Insignificant by comparison anyway.

 Horizontal focus, seeing only those things in this world from the perspective of the human existence only cause me to forget the overwhelming abundance of God’s goodness, grace and love.  Vertical focus, when I choose to direct my focus Heavenward, to Christ’s sacrifice for me, to God’s provisions in the many aspects He chooses to care for us, allows me to have that viewpoint that gives His Spirit full permission to work in me and through me for the express purpose for which I was created, to Honor and glorify the Lord, to point others to Him.

Spending undue amounts of time fretting about the things in this world that cause concern merely stirs up fear, insecurities, anger, rebellion, and eventually discontent and doubt in our Heavenly Father’s ability or desire to care for us.  Money changers in the temple.  Horizontal thoughts in my mind sowing seeds that will be burdensome to my heart if left to grow.  Jesus is my example and I think cleaning out the temple of my mind on a regular basis is a needful exercise.  Scripture says Jesus overturned the tables and cast the moneychangers out of the temple.  LIkewise the things that deter me from fully concentrating on God’s plan and purpose for me should be dumped from my heart and mind,  cast out and the door locked behind them.

I am grateful to a granddaughter who rehearsed her account of defending “righteous anger” though that term didn’t enter the conversation, in a debate with classmates.  Several days later my morning Scripture reading drew my attention to the Scriptural account which led me to take a closer look at the familiar passage, and let the lesson be for my own heart.  And I am again reminded,

Psa 139:23  Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:

Psa 139:24  And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

  I have a hard time understanding a believer that can take time to focus on negativity and problems when we do not deserve even the grace and mercy God has given us.  I look now and then at Facebook pages hoping that I’ll find some evidence that they “get it” but continue to see a multitude of posts about how bad this world is.

I wonder How do they think God will see His perfect plan accomplished if this world doesn’t fall apart?  Why should we expect anything different when Scripture clearly details end times events?  Rather than focus on negativity and fight against what will not be changed, shouldn’t believers be investing wholeheartedly and unfailingly in presenting to that fallen world a real solution to “wars and rumors of wars”?  There will never be an end to the inhumanity of mankind.  It is the sin nature that is at the root. That same sin nature causes us to keep our eyes pinned on all that is wrong rather than holding up for all to see the One who overcame sin for us.  Because that mindset does not honor and glorify the Lord, rather it discourages, and defeats all who are exposed to it.  We are not downtrodden and victims of this world, we are overcomers and victorious, looking ahead to Eternity in Glory because of our Lord who sacrificed His very life so that we can be dead to sin. My FB mission isn’t to connect socially as much as it is to encourage believers, and to entice those who do not know the Lord. If God is real in our lives, we have something to offer others… a clear testimony of God’s mercy, grace, peace, comfort, rest…..

If one who knows the Lord chooses to bring before their audience, be it FB or any other realm, current events and the horrors of our world, should there not be some indication that there is a way to live above those circumstances?  Shouldn’t we  be offering everyone with whom we converse an opportunity to see Christ alive in us and giving us a hope of an eternal rest that is foreign to this world?  We NEED to be salt and light, not flat, tasteless and dark.  Christ’s life in us should make us victorious and bright spots in the days of those who are struggling to make sense of their lives.  No one is exempt from the effects of sin.  No believer escapes the scars and trauma of life in this world.  

Our recent journey has opened my eyes to the fact that we are called to show all who are observing our lives that we live what we speak…that is, if you name the name of Christ, then make sure your life displays what that means….complete trust in our God, who has a plan and purpose for each of us to bring us to that place where we bring honor and glory to Him in all we say and so no matter what life hands us. And we only know that full trust when we hand over control and say “Yes, Lord, even in this will I trust you” and the full extent of that faith and trust is manifest in transparency, making ourselves vulnerable, humbling ourselves to accept what His plan brings to us, looking to Him for His comfort, grace, mercy, strength and peace.  And fully depending on Him to complete us, to fulfill all our heart’s desires.  If there is something missing in us, then we haven’t fully embraced what He provides.   To do less is to dishonor the One to whom we owe everything.  We deny His power and strength, and tell the fallen world God isn’t in control, He doesn’t provide, we doubt His purpose in our sufferings, we have to do something to fix things because He isn’t or can’t or won’t….And that’s why Heb 13:15 is such an important lesson in this life.  To offer up to God the sacrifice of praise with lips of thanksgiving IS truly that example of faith and trust that the world needs to see. Praise and honor need to be verbalized clearly.

 I am not perfect.  I mourn deeply.  I grieve for what I have lost…not just Jess, but strength in the physical realm, relationships that aren’t what they should be, events that I honestly don’t care to participate in, and on and on.  I have fears.  Fears of what is to come, fears of what our government is doing, fears of world collapse and wars. And the devil plays off of that, giving us plenty more where that came from.   But I KNOW with all my being that it’s all OK because God has power and control and His plan will be exactly what is needed to accomplish His will.  That is what I need to rest in, and that’s what I need to embrace, and wear for the world to see.  And I am well aware that we as believers are being closely observed to see if our talk matches our walk. When we focus on the negatives we fail in our mission to point others to the only One who can make something positive out of this fallen world.

Our fleshly perspective is that life is about us.  What we need, want, feel, etc.  Christians miss the mark with that mindset.  We are here to be ambassadors, to let our lives be a witness and testimony to the One who bought our redemption.  Our lives should be greatly different than those who don’t know Him.  And we need to make sure that in living that different life, God gets the praise for His working in us and through us.  It isn’t about US!!!!  Only a life broken and totally dependent on Him, willingly and persistently acknowledging His work in us, can accomplish that.  Am I always doing just that? Nope.  Because I have times when I forget where my focus should be.  I get selfish and want what I want.  Proud and think I’m somebody that deserves something more or better.  But I am compelled to start my day with Scripture, and read until my sinful, selfish, proud self is reduced to what it needs to be…broken and wanting only what the Savior wants for me for that minute, or hour or day…..

Psa 139:23  Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:

Psa 139:24  And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting

I hope you’ll take this message in the spirit it is written.  I can only judge the fruit I see.  I cannot judge motive. If you are a believer, and come to the conclusion that your God isn’t doing His job…isn’t fulfilling His work because there are things out there that are awful and unfixable in the world and in your life, what do the unbelievers in your world think?   

The reason we will never see a time without war and disruption:
Isa 26:10 Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD.

There will always be those who will not “behold the majesty of the Lord” … a believer’s time and effort would be far better spent making effort to let the unsaved dying world know one day we will all bow the knee before God, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We will not make a better world here focusing on all the problems of this world until we point them to the One who will ultimately solve those problems when He returns. Believers…do your job! Live your life so Christ will be seen in you! Not just in your words but in how you conduct yourselves, even when no one is watching. Live a life of true faith, trust completely in the God of our salvation, our true hope of glory. And know this, true faith and trust has confidence in God’s plan even when it isn’t comfortable, or when it’s not what we think our life should be. We are called to honor and glorify the Lord, not to be happy and have things in this world. We do that when we “behold the majesty of the Lord” and let others know we honor Him first and foremost.