CHRIST’S SECOND COMING

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”  (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)

          It seems the believers were concerned with the fate of those believers who were no longer alive when Christ returns*. Paul sets the record straight by revealing that those who are dead shall rise first to meet the Lord in the clouds.  Christ’s 2^nd Coming is referred to as The Blessed Hope of the Church.  It is also referred to as the Rapture of the Church; the catching away of believers to be with the Lord for all eternity.  This is truly a blessed event.  
        There is much debate regarding when this will take place; whether before, during or after what is known as the Great Tribulation.  It matters little if you are spiritually prepared to meet the Lord.  For those who are not in right standing with God there is much to be anxious about.  Not believing in God or in Christ’s return for His church doesn’t negate its reality.
          It’s curious to me that so many are willing to risk their future based on a faith issue or simply the lack of faith or belief.  If this does take place as it is predicted in the Bible, then once it does it will be too late for those left behind.  For those who have been forgiven, this blessed event ushers them into eternity with their Lord.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

* FYI – Christ’s returns, aka, The 2^nd Coming of Christ.  The Greek word is parousia, pronounced pe-roo’ze-ah or pa-roo-se’ah.

TRUSTING IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.  In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”  (Psalm 56:4)

            Psalm 56 speaks refers to the time the Philistines were seeking King David.  Because of this he had every reason to be afraid, for they meant to do him harm.  The lesson we can learn here is that while we will have times when fear will grip our hearts, we can trust God to be with us and see us through any situation.  We need to place our focus squarely on the Lord and not our problem.  I recognize that it can be difficult to do at times.  The dread that can come over us at certain times can cloud our judgment and dim our sight where all we see before us is the issue at hand.  We must understand that God has absolute control and power over His creation.  If anything were not under His control then He couldn’t be who He says He is.  God has never and will never fail any of us at any time. His ways are not our ways and His timing rarely corresponds with our timing, yet God can be trusted.  He is never wrong, nor is He ever late.  Nothing will happen to you or me without God’s permission.  He allows things for our own benefit, regardless of how they appear at a given moment.  Place your full trust in Him.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

FACING OUR MORTALITY

“The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.  But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children— with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.”  (Psalm 103:17-18)

      Life is but a fleeting moment in time; here today, gone tomorrow.  Time is the enemy of life, for it robs us of precious seconds each time we breathe.  Nothing stops the clock from ticking except death.  The Psalmist portrays life in such a manner, likening it to the grass or a flower of the field.   Many times we simply don’t realize how precious life is until we lose someone dear to us or have a brush with death ourselves.  It’s only then that we stare our own mortality straight in the face.  The fact of the matter is that no matter how much we may think of ourselves each of us are truly no more than a single grain of sand on the beach of humanity. 

       The blessing comes in knowing the God who knows each grain of sand by name.  To the world you may seem insignificant, but to God no one goes unnoticed.  For His love shines upon “those who keep His covenant and obey his precepts”.  He watches over us all and keeps His promises to provide for and sustain us until our last breath.     
       The lesson to be learned here is that while we should do our best to maintain a good healthy body, obsession with the upkeep of our fleshly tent is useless.  We will all age slowly and passed from this earth.  Only those who walk with the Lord and live according to His standards will see an eternity with Him.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

BEING A LOVING DISCIPLE

“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”  (Romans 12:15)

          In John 13:35, Jesus tells his listeners that it is by our love for one another that everyone will know we are His disciples.  In his letter to the believers in Rome Paul speaks about love in action.  We are not to revel in the misfortune of anyone, let alone a brother or sister in Christ.  We are to commiserate with those who suffer or are in mourning due to the circumstances they find themselves in.  We are to rejoice with those who have seen the hand of God bless them.
          Paul’s letter speaks of unity within the body, yet we see so many fractures in the body of Christ today.  Disagreements over doctrine, in fighting, cliques, rejection, judgment, harshness and misunderstanding infect many of our churches these days.  It’s as if Paul wrote his words for the churches of his day alone and not for the churches down through the ages from that day forward.   How will unbelievers ever come to know Christ if we can’t find it within our hearts to overlook petty differences and love one another?  May God have mercy on us all as we struggle to be His representatives on this earth. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

WISDOM

“For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”  (Proverbs 1:32-33)

        Wisdom is presented by Solomon as a woman offering knowledge to all who would receive it.  Those who ignore her call are wayward souls who have become self-satisfied and unconcerned with their lot.  Their complacency will be their undoing.  They are referred to as simple, people who would not know wisdom if it were to stand right beside them.

          Those who would be attentive to wisdom’s voice will live in safety.  They shall be at ease and live without fear of harm.  Isn’t that truly what we all want; to live in safety, without fear of harm? I would venture to say that is what all people would want, but it comes with a price.

         God has a standard that He wishes us to live by.  We don’t have to but we will not know lasting peace and contentment without it.  The Holy Spirit provides our wisdom.  We can be attentive to His voice or we can ignore His instruction and do things our way, as if we knew what we were doing.  Proverbs 14:12 speaks of a way “that seems right to a man, but whose end is death.”  It speaks of spiritual death.  Our spiritual well being is God’s concern.  He is attempting to mold us into all He knows we can be in this life.  We can either allow this process or buck His efforts and go our own way.  To do that will lead us to nothing more than spiritual dehydration.  Yield to the hand of God and be refreshed, renewed and made whole.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

IT’S MORE THAN BELIEVING

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

         Let’s set the record straight.  I know what this verse says, but you cannot read this verse, say to yourself, “I believe in God … I believe in Jesus” and expect that you will go to heaven.  You must allow that belief to cause a change in your life.  There are plenty of verses where Jesus Himself declares things like “If anyone loves me he will keep my word” (John 3:23a) or “Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.” (John 8:51) or “If you love me, keep my commands.” (John 14:15) and on and on.  Read John 14:21, 24; 15:10; 1 John 2:5; 1 John 5:3; 2 John 1:6.  And this just scratches the surface.  Our belief in the existence of God and His Son is designed not just to give us something to believe, but to place our trust in and reliance upon.  It’s designed by God to alter the path of our life. 

         In 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) the apostle Paul tells the believers in Corinth “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” Our belief should revolutionize our life.  We should shed our old skin as a snake would.  We should leave old habits behind.  Even those who think of themselves as good, moral people would still be found guilty in the end because it isn’t how we stack up to the multitudes around us, but rather how we stack up to God.  Belief is a start, living what we believe is the continuation and heaven is the completion.  Don’t just believe in God, let that belief change your life. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

BE LIVING SACRIFICES

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:1-2)

            It’s appears to me that there are far too many “Christians” talking the talk, but not walking the walk.  I can be guilty of that myself.  I mean well and have a desire to do the things I believe God wishes me to do, yet balk when it comes to execution.  How about you?

        Paul is telling the Roman believers to become living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.  He even tells them how to achieve this:  “by the renewing of your mind”.  How can you renew your mind?  It is transformed by knowing the scriptures and by the power of the Holy Spirit.  This is the only way we can learn to discern what behavior falls in line with the Lord’s will for us.

            Doing a balancing act on the fuzzy line between God’s will and the world can be dangerous business.  It’s only through constant assessment and diligence on our part that we can achieve all that God knows we can.   Dabbling in those things that do not lead to God in any way, shape or form can draw us away from the closeness to Him that we need, even require to live in the center of His will.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing! 

JOY IN AFFLICTION

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”  (Romans 12:12)

   

          Affliction is a distressed or painful state; a cause of mental or bodily pain*.  Simply put it is misery.  There are times in every person’s life when they are miserable, plain and simple.  Whether it’s from mental anguish or physical pain doesn’t matter.  Misery can lead to a depressed state, which when left unchecked can literally immobilize a person. 

          We need to recognize as believers that for us there is always hope.  The light at the end of the tunnel isn’t always an oncoming train.  Murphy’s Law doesn’t apply to us.  Why; because we have hope and that hope lies in the person of Jesus Christ.  He invaded history to save mankind. It was God’s plan all along. That should ease our apprehension regarding the outcome of this life.

          Our hope also lies in the promises of God.  Jeremiah 29:11 shines a light on our future if we remain faithful in prayer and to our calling as a child of God.  Nothing can thwart the plans of God.  Because we have this hope, we can be patient in our distress and pain, knowing it is but for a season. The end of your misery is coming. The time and the circumstances are in God’s hands.  Trust Him and be faithful to His directives and you shall be victorious in the end.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

* Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc.

DON’T ABUSE YOUR FREEDOM

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.”  (Galatians 5:13)

          It’s in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians that he says that although all things are in fact permissible, not all things are constructive or beneficial for us (1 Cor. 6:12; 10:23).  Here we see the same principle being applied to the believers in Galatia.  Our salvation does in fact make us free from the law of sin and death; however, to utilize this freedom as a means of indulging ourselves in worldly pursuits and fleshly desires is simply wrong.  The problem lies in a basic misunderstanding of scripture.  Doing what is seen as wrong in the eyes of God is never all right.  That doesn’t make God’s standards restrictive; it makes them protective. There is a specific reason why it’s imperative that believers determine in their hearts to stay close to the Lord.  It’s for our ultimate good.  God loves us and keeps no good thing from us; however, our ability to determine what is good for us can be somewhat tainted at times.  Our emotions get in the way and we allow outside forces to dictate what we want vs. what we need.  We are called to serve one another humbly in love, not to be self-serving.  If we trust God to provide for and sustain us in this life, and we should, then that should free us up to serve others.  God is watching over us.  Our walk with the Lord isn’t to be a peripheral one with us dancing on the fringe.  Our walk should be an intimate relationship that grows based on the time spent with God.  We cannot truly know Him if we do not spend time with Him.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

FOOLISHNESS

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  For it is written:  ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.’”*

(1 Corinthians 1:18-19)

           Ever wonder why some folks have such disdain for Christians and what we believe?  Part of it is that the message of the cross sounds insane to them.  We believe in the unseen as if we can see it.  Mental Institutions are filled with people who believe very similar things, yet there is a very specific difference.  We are definitely in our right mind.  We simply choose to exercise our faith in such a manner. I understand why it seems incredible, even unbelievable to the nonbeliever.  We live in an experiential society.  People want to experience things with their six senses; otherwise they are skeptical.  They want to know something is real before them take the leap.   They want to get their hands on it, inspect it and then come to their own conclusions.   Faith in God doesn’t quite work like that.  Sadly, even if God stood among us so that He could be seen, touched and spoken to, millions would still not believe.  Oh wait; He already did that.

          The wisest of the wise will be frustrated in the end, because there is no rational explanation for God’s existence or His gracious offer of forgiveness for every sin we ever committed.  For those who do believe, those who have placed all their trust in Him to provide for and sustain them, the message of the cross is their salvation.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

* Isaiah 29:14