“THE TIME IS AT HAND”

Matt 24:7- For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

The increasing and intensifying of the forces of natures tells us that the earth is growing more and more discontent with each passing day.  This has never been as clear to me as it is right now.  After losing my father on May 20, 2011, I realize even more that time is short, and we do not have a lot of it.  For over sixty years my father and mother have unconditionally loved my siblings and I.  They protected and helped us navigate through the storms of life.  But when the freak by nature called death comes, he is a force who is very seldom denied.  But God!  He saved my father’s soul over fifty years ago.  So death was not a freak of nature to him, but a means of transition to a better life where the forces of earth can do no harm.  Hallelujah!

“Love much, Laugh a lot,” and Live” in the peace of God which passes all understanding (Phil. 4:7).  The uncertainties, dangers, and fears of our days are very real.  To waste our time in unforgiveness, hate, fear, unkindness, and such the likes, is futility at its best.  It truly takes a whole lot more energy to trust in ourselves, than to put our trust in the Lord.  Jesus trusted the Father from the womb to the tomb, so that we would not have to live in gloom!  So take the time to commune with the Lord, because He’s coming—soon.  Time is winding up.  Remember to tell all unbelievers this as our earth begins to regurgitate through the forces of nature, as the virus sin becomes increasingly sickening to a dying world.    

THE SIGN OF THE CROSS

Mark 8:11- And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him.

12. And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.

I was told of a story when I was a child of how a minister was shown a “P” his dream, as it freely floated in the sky.  He immediately requested a meeting with his pastor.  When the time came, in tears he conveyed what he believed the dream revealed to his leader.  He said, “Pastor, God is calling me to pastor a church.”  The elderly leader sat ever so quiet until the young man was finished.  Then he spoke, “My brother, maybe this ‘P’ stood for pray?”  Silence rushed the room.

When the Jews asked Jesus for a sign he told them that no sign would be given to them.  This was because of their unbelief.  The cross would be the eternal sign of salvation to a lost world, and Jesus is the source of the grace of God by which salvation is available.  Therefore, inline with the suffering of Christ, a submitted and obedient life to God is the sign of being ready for service to the Lord.  What the cross stands for is not cool, popular, or that which is in style.  The cross is the sign which says I have died to the world, and the world is dead to me (Gal. 6:14). So if you think you are ready to be used of God, are you dead yet?  Only when we are dead is the sign of the cross truly visible, because Christ through the person of the Holy Spirit is leading us.  It is then that we are ready to move to the next level.    

THE SIGN OF THE CROSS

Mark 8:11- And the Pharisees came forth, and began to question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him.

12. And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.

I was told of a story when I was a child of how a minister was shown a “P” his dream, as it freely floated in the sky.  He immediately requested a meeting with his pastor.  When the time came, in tears he conveyed what he believed the dream revealed to his leader.  He said, “Pastor, God is calling me to pastor a church.”  The elderly leader sat ever so quiet until the young man was finished.  Then he spoke, “My brother, maybe this ‘P’ stood for pray?”  Silence rushed the room.

When the Jews asked Jesus for a sign he told them that no sign would be given to them.  This was because of their unbelief.  The cross would be the eternal sign of salvation to a lost world, and Jesus is the source of the grace of God by which salvation is available.  Therefore, inline with the suffering of Christ, a submitted and obedient life to God is the sign of being ready for service to the Lord.  What the cross stands for is not cool, popular, or that which is in style.  The cross is the sign which says I have died to the world, and the world is dead to me (Gal. 6:14).  So if you think you are ready to be used of God, are you dead yet?  Only when we are dead is the sign of the cross truly visible, because Christ through the person of the Holy Spirit is leading us.  It is then that we are ready to move to the next level.    

CAN I HANDLE THE TRUTH

Mark 6:18- For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife.

In our verse above John the Baptist told Herod the truth according to the law, better known to us as the Word of God.  This message that the forerunner of Jesus conveyed later cost him his life.  Herodias, Herod’s wife who he wrongfully married, saw to it: John was beheaded because he stood for what was right.  John did not have to go far to get the truth.  It was in the law, and only had to be received for what it said.  But from the moment the truth was revealed, it was hated!

Many are looking to audibly hear God’s voice.  Yet all the truth that is needed is found in the Scriptures.  If we ignore God’s Holy Spirit, we are not seeking the truth; rather, we are looking to hear what sounds acceptable to us.  satan, after hearing the requests we make out loud in our prayers, and seeing how desperate we are to receive what we want, will send you or me the lies that are not needed.  So when we hear the truth, let’s accept the unacceptable.  Yes.  Herodias got to keep her man, and had the man killed that spoke against her in this life.  But more than likely, she will miss eternal peace for everlasting torment for rejecting the truth and killing its messenger.  WHAT DOES THE WORD SAY CONCERNING YOUR PRESENT SITUATION?  We may not like it, but the truth will definitely set us free (John 8:32)!  Whether it is to live or die.  

CONSIDER YOUR WAYS

Hag. 1:5- Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways.

Jesus said, And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him (John 8:29).  It is easy to look at our ways and find no fault.  Only a God-fearing man or woman will easily admit that their character could stand some improvements.  First of all, most of us are terrible at judging ourselves.  We just will not see where the issues truly lie.  Self will lie to self in order to protect itself from scrutiny.  Moreover, self’s evaluation is usually bias and accommodating.  Conversely, everyone is not comfortable with their questionable ways being exposed.

When God challenged Israel to consider their ways, He was exposing selfishness.  They had become so consumed with what was important to them the temple of God was being neglected.  The temple of God was where they worshipped God.  Their failure to worship God alone caused them to be thrown into captivity.  From which they were now returning to restore the worship of God first, the temple, and then their personal homes.  But their way of thinking got in the way.  Let’s allow this to be a lesson for us:  Our Lord testimony is of the utmost importance.  He always sought to please the father, and not his flesh!  Because we can veer off course very easily, we must always consider our ways.  It may answer a lot of questions we have.         

THE RIGHT MINDSET

Worrying is a natural process of the mind lead by the sinful nature.  This is why it negatively stirs up the emotions, taxes the feelings, and leaves us with unmet desires.  Worrying gives us a mindset of hopelessness because whatever we are worried about—we cannot do anything about.  Furthermore, like cancer, it will spread in all areas if not control in one.  As human beings in a world full of problems, we learned to worry in the early stages of our life.  So, even as believers, we are well trained in it before the command came to walk by faith and not by sight.  Therefore it is easy to worry, but takes discipline to walk by faith.  

 

If we worship God then we will not worry.  We cannot worship and worry at the same time.  By necessity one will overpower the other.  Trusting in God’s Word is the best way to defeat worrying.  To trust God says, “Lord, I cannot fix nor change what is going on.  I need your help and guidance.  Without you I can do nothing” (John 15:5).  This prayer gives our burden to the Lord, and acknowledges our dependence on Him.  To continue to ponder on what we cannot handle only helps to fuel the feelings of being stuck, trapped, useless.  A changed mindset will defeat worrying.  So let’s start training our minds today.  Train your brain to reset the mind

PURPOSE

II Tim. 4:7- I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

8. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

Surely the most uncertain thing about life is when we are going to die.  The thought of death is not accepted well by many.  Yet death is as certain as life itself: “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment…” (Heb. 9:27).  Yes!  He is a feared foe.  But he is no enemy to the child of God.  To those who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, death is merely a transition into eternal life.  So the believers can walk by faith in expectation of the great promise of our Lord, everlasting life (John 3:15).

When the time drew near for Paul to die he looked over his life and realized that he had fulfilled his purpose.  Paul’s faith caused him to successfully complete his mission in life.  He looked at death as an entrance into life.  The apostle looked forward to seeing the One who made deliverance from sin, eternal life, and a reward for good service possible.  

Are you fulfilling your God-given purpose?  Pleasure, fun and games, sex, adrenaline rushes, money, and even fulfilled fantasies will only give a false sense of purpose.  If we are not pursuing the purpose for which God has given us life, anything else we achieve will merely tease our thirst.  

DEPEND ON THE HOLY SPIRIT

ZECHARIAH 4:6

   

Zech. 4:6-Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.

With debts totaling in the trillions, America is still trying to go about as though it is business as usual.  They say the deficit is at 14.3 trillion.  Actually, it is much more if we add the phantom money that is being spent.  I call it this because there’s no cash exchanging hands, but rather the spending of funds that doesn’t exist.  As a nation our country has been living beyond its means for decades.  Greed has chewed away so much at the seams of this nation that loose threads are the only thing holding.  Oh, what a great deliverance would take place in America if our leaders would turn to seek God!  Our Father is the master at canceling debts.  “For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof” (I Cor. 10:26).  America turning to Jesus Christ and repenting would cause God to heal the land (II Chron. 7:14).

Political means and/or military might are not the answers to the financial woes of the democracy leader of the free world.  America needs the help of the Holy Spirit!  But in a nation where a lot of the inhabitants have gods, or have become their own god (Rom. 1:21-25), the hands of the Holy Spirit are tied, so to speak. So believers, we must depend upon the Spirit for guidance, protection, and providing our needs.  Let us be sensitive to the leading of the Spirit, and depend on Him rather than what we have.  For it is He who has access to the things we cannot get to.  Do what is right according to the Word of God in this land, but trust and depend on God to supply your needs.      

BE YE HOLY

TOPICAL VERSE: I PETER 1:15-16

Rom 12:1- I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

The definition of being holy and being sanctify or very similar.  Both define a set-apart life to God, and calls for a separation from the world to live our lives for the Lord.  Also, we are to progressively strive for both the rest of our lives.  The different is made clear to me through Nelson’s Bible Dictionary: “Sanctification results in holiness, or purification from the guilt and power of sin.”  What an eye opener!  God is holy, and needs not to sanctify Himself because holiness is the very essence of His nature.  So, we must set ourselves apart that the Holy Spirit can teach us how to live and be holy.  For us, sanctification comes before being made holiness because of the sin.  Though He knew no sin (II Cor. 5:21), even Jesus in His humanity suit spoke about how He sanctified Himself to be an example for us (John 17:17-19)!  He achieved it through the Word of God.  In other words, The Living Word kept His Written Word.

In a world full of sin and the pleasures thereof, it could seem like a tall order to sanctify ourselves and live holy unto the Lord.  Nevertheless, we must put aside the toys (the sinful pleasures of the mind, which will translate into acts) and mature in the Lord.  When we die we will leave everything here on earth.  Holiness brings the kingdom of God on earth because, as believers, we are to live as though everything on earth is dead to us (Gal. 6:14).  When the pleasures and desires of our flesh are starved to death—then we have sanctified ourselves and therefore are pursuing the character of God, holiness.   

CHECK THE SOURCE

TOPICAL VERSE: PS. 1:1-6

Ps 1:1-Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

When a columnist or an author gets word of a story, he or she must check the authenticity of it.  To print a story without having proof of its legitimacy could prove disastrous for the writer and whoever or whatever he or she wrote about.  Gossip, hearsay, and lies can ruin good reputations, and destroy anything good or wholesome: marriages, friendships, relationships, and opportunities have been lost because someone made a decision to listen to a source that corrupted their good manners (I Cor. 15:33; “communications”- associations—AMP).  

Psalms one sets the pace for the rest of the Psalms written by a few writers other than David, although he wrote approximately seven-five percent of the psalms.  None of the writers could rely on the ungodly, sinners, or the scornful to write Psalms that would encourage billions of God fearing people throughout the generations.  To be inspired to write for God—God had to be their source.  Therefore we, also, must find great delight in the Word of God in order to be led by God.  If we meditate on things from questionable sources, we will question ourselves down the road as to why we foolishly did so.  Am I in the Will of God?  Did I do what pleased the Lord?  Our motives, intentions, and the reasons for what we did are always linked to our source.  Always check your source.  Meditate on God’s Word daily, and He will order your steps (Ps. 37:23).  And may the source, Jesus Christ our Lord, be with you!