As I was praying this morning this song came to me,
JESUS IS COMING SOON
♫Troublesome times are here, filling men’s hearts with fear
Freedom we all hold dear now is at stake
Humbling your hearts to God saves from the chastening rod
Seek the way pilgrims trod, Christians awake!
Jesus is coming soon, morning or night or noon
Many will meet their doom, trumpets will sound
All of the dead shall rise, righteous meet in the skies
Going where no one dies, Heavenward bound…
- Troublesome times are here: 94,567 confirmed deaths
- Filling men’s hearts with fear: Fear of disease and contamination is particularly relevant when it comes to epidemics like the coronavirus. When the fear is this intense, any exposure to public places can be threatening, so many avoid public altogether and washes excessively.
- Freedom we all hold dear now is at stake: Coast to coast, large public gatherings and major events have been canceled. Employees have been told to work from home, universities have moved all classes online and elementary schools have closed for sanitizing. The stock market has seen meteoric crashes.
- Humbling your hearts to God: “Good and upright is the LORD; The humble He guides in justice, And teaches them His way. All the paths of the LORD are MERCY AND TRUTH…” (Psalms 25:8-10)
Why would we choose the harder road to humility? Why not humble ourselves before God and ADMIT THAT WE NEED HIS GUIDANCE, rather than TRYING IT OUR OWN WAY AND FAILING? We are better off asking the Lord to guide our steps rather than to correct our mistakes. “God gives us more grace. “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.” (Jam. 4:6-8) The proud set themselves in opposition to God, glorifying in themselves rather than in Him. IT IS NOT A SMART THING TO BE OPPOSED TO GOD, so we would do well to think through Biblically what it is to be humble so that we can continue operating AS GOD WOULD HAVE US.
Jesus said, “…apart from me YOU CAN DO NOTHING.” (John 15:5) It is impossible to do God’s will and to store up treasure in heaven if we think that we are FULLY ABLE WITHOUT GOD. “This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the LORD. “These are the ones I look on with favor: those WHO ARE HUMBLE and contrite in spirit, and WHO TREMBLE AT MY WORD.” (Isa. 66:1-2)
Paul said this about the time He spent alone with God learning what the apostles learned, ”…because of the SURPASSINGLY GREAT REVELATIONS. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for MY POWER IS MADE PERFECT IN WEAKNESS.” Therefore I WILL BOAST ALL THE MORE GLADLY ABOUT MY WEAKNESSES, so that CHRIST’S POWER MAY REST ON ME.” (2 Corin. 12:7-9)
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham