“STAY IN THE CITY!”

Luke 24:44-49                                               (ESV )

“44 Then HE said to them, "These are MY words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about ME in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled."

45 Then HE OPENED THEIR MINDS TO UNDERSTAND THE SCRIPTURES,

46 and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the CHRIST should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,

47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

48 You are witnesses of these things.

49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. BUT “STAY IN THE CITY” until you are clothed with power from on high."”

Not being able to travel to my sons house in the near future is extremely painful, for his daughter (our first grandchild) is celebrating her fifth birthday!  For those who have grandchildren, the joy is indescribable.  Not being able to see them when we want is almost torturous!  But I am Blessed to (so far) have escaped the virus that is plaguing our nation.  Prayerfully, it will be a thing of the past soon and we can get back to no restrictions in our lives.  

In the passage of Scripture above, the disciples were explicitly instructed BUT “STAY IN THE CITY” UNTIL they were clothed with power from on high!  JESUS CHRIST was risen from the dead, and was about to ascend into Heaven, and they had to “STAY IN THE CITY” waiting for power from on high!  Their joy and excitement had to be off the charts, but they had to WAIT!  To my knowledge, Scripture doesn’t record exactly what the HOLY SPIRIT was WAITING for, but without a doubt, the disciples had to WAIT for the HOLY SPIRIT to release them to go.  

Imagine, if you will, HAVING YOUR MIND ABLE TO UNDERSTAND THE SCRIPTURES for the first time?  The WORD had been living in your midst for over three years and ONLY NOW you were able to SEE what HE had been saying to you?  Now it all was fitting together like a puzzle, painting the most awesome picture one could imagine.  Their minds were “illuminated”, but they were instructed to “STAY IN THE CITY” until they were clothed with power from on high!  

The number of times that mankind has to WAIT ON THE LORD in Scripture is far too many to count.  We seem to always want to do things quicker than anyone else, to be first in everything we do.  “BUT “STAY IN THE CITY” until you are clothed with power from on high” is not given as a suggestion, but a command!  The HOLY SPIRIT is not swayed by our impatience, rather our obedience.  My prayer is that I will “STAY IN THE CITY” until HE is ready to use me

“JUDGMENT!”

Hebrews 9:27-28                                                      (ESV)

“27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes “JUDGMENT”,

28 so CHRIST, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for HIM.”

“Now, do people start to understand GOD, He isn't as concerned about the numbers as He is THE ONE...THAT, people, IS HOW MUCH HE LOVES EACH AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU...HE WOULD HAVE COME DOWN HERE AND CLIMBED UPON THAT CROSS EVEN IF THERE WAS JUST YOU ON EARTH.....”

A friend of mine responded to something recently with the comments above.  Once again, these words remained at the forefront of my mind as I continued scrolling.  Getting the image of people going through “this world” with no thought about THE REAL WORLD that IS COMING is rather sobering.  Keeping people BUSY with the cares of “this world” is one of the most effective tools that satan has in his arsenal.  

The passage of Scripture above PLAINLY states that when JESUS comes again that HE will not be dealing with sin but to save us who are eagerly awaiting HIM!  If you are not “eagerly awaiting” HIM, you will be subject to the “JUDGMENT”!  The HOLY BIBLE isn’t just a “good book”, as many people free to it.  It reveals the CHARACTER OF GOD.  Yes, it shows that GOD IS LOVE, but it mostly shows that GOD IS HOLY!  HE cannot abide sin, therefore HE sent JESUS as a sacrifice for our sins so HE could fellowship with we who Believe that HE would do such a thing!  That is FAITH!!!

Whether we accept that GOD is WHO HE says HE is needs to have serious consideration.  We can’t live like we want to and be satisfied that GOD will not turn us away at the “JUDGMENT”!  Matthew 7:21-23 says “Not everyone who says to ME, 'LORD, LORD,' will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but the one who does the will of MY FATHER who is in Heaven.

On that day many will say to ME, 'LORD, LORD, did we not prophesy in YOUR name, and cast out demons in YOUR name, and do many mighty works in YOUR name?'  And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from ME, you workers of lawlessness.'”

The time of decision is at hand.  What will happen when the “JUDGMENT” comes in your life?  Will you depend on the good that you have done outweighing the bad?  Or will you have to be like me and depend on the mercy of JESUS?  The “JUDGMENT” IS COMING!  You have to decide before that day where you are going to spend eternity.  

“BEING PATIENT!”

James 5:7-8                                          (ESV)

“7 BE PATIENT, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the LORD. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, “BEING PATIENT” about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.

8 You also, BE PATIENT. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the LORD is at hand.”

“BEING PATIENT” can be misunderstood by we humans.  GOD has displayed HIS omniscient providence in my life so greatly over the years, it would seem that WAITING ON HIM would come to me with very little effort.  Waiting until I was 23 years old to marry seemed like an eternity.  But GOD had a unique lady HE was preparing just for me and HE had to not only prepare me,  but HE was preparing her also.  

Have you ever seen a farmer continually unearth the seeds he has planted to check on the progress they were making?  No, he has to wait “for the precious fruit of the earth” to TRANSFORM the seeds into rewards that will benefit him and his family.  

Observing me throughout my life has been a lot like the impatient farmer.  Knowing that GOD has given me a clear indication of what HE has planned for my life isn’t good enough for me.  It seems as though I want to watch HIS handiwork develop, to SEE how HE changes everything involved in HIS plan for HIS GLORY?  I WANT TO KNOW!!!

James tells us that we must BE PATIENT, “until the coming of the LORD” and allow HIM to be GOD.  HE doesn’t need our input, OR INTERFERENCE, in working HIS Plan.  Isaiah 42:8 says “I AM THE LORD; that is MY name; MY GLORY I GIVE TO NO OTHER, nor MY praise to carved idols.”  GOD is working for my good at HIS pace.  HE will never allow me to share HIS GLORY.  Being in a coma for almost three weeks displayed to me that GOD does not need me to complete HIS PURPOSE.   “BEING PATIENT” is something HE is continuing to teach this novice!!!

“ALL YOUR! HEART!”

Jeremiah 29:13                                                (ESV)

“You will seek ME and find ME, when you seek ME with “ALL YOUR HEART”.”

A friend shared this verse on his wall yesterday afternoon and it continued to stir my heart into the evening.  After trying to find where GOD was speaking to me in other Scriptures, I finally gave in and listened to what HE was saying to me through this Old Testament passage.  

Jeremiah 29:13 has always been a favorite of mine.  While I understand that I am not an Israeli exile (whom Jeremiah was writing to), I feel that I have lived my life as an outsider, someone who didn’t quite fit into the mold of everyone else.  Attempting to live a life that was pleasing to GOD always seemed to be beyond my ability.  It appeared as though the harder I tried to live for HIM, the harder “the enemy” would strive to defeat me.   

When I finally realized that JESUS wanted nothing less than “ALL YOUR HEART”, it finally began to be clear to me.  JESUS lived the PERFECT life that I was trying to live for HIM, because HE knew that it was IMPOSSIBLE for me!  HE requires “ALL YOUR HEART” to be invested in HIS work before HE will bless you with blessings that ONLY HE can provide.  

JESUS has already lived the Perfect Life, so I need to live a life that honors HIM.  We have nothing to offer HIM but “ALL YOUR HEART”!  HE will give us what HE needs us to have to perform what HE has planned for our lives.  When I was younger (and slimmer!), I could hit a softball a long way.  But all of that is frivolous to me now.  Showing a lost world that JESUS has “ALL MY HEART” is the only thing that matters to me now!  Does HE have “ALL YOUR HEART”???

“IMAGE!”

Romans 8:26-30                            (ESV)

“26 Likewise THE SPIRIT HELPS US IN OUR WEAKNESSES. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the SPIRIT HIMSELF intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

27 And HE WHO searches hearts knows what is the mind of the SPIRIT, because the SPIRIT intercedes for the saints according to the WILL OF GOD.

28 And we know that FOR THOSE WHO LOVE GOD all things work together for good, for those who are called according to HIS purpose.

29 For those whom HE FOREKNEW HE also PREDESTINED to be conformed to the “IMAGE” of HIS SON, in order that HE might be the firstborn among many brothers.

30 And those whom HE predestined HE also CALLED, and those whom HE called HE also JUSTIFIED, and those whom HE justified he also GLORIFIED.”

Image - “an optical counterpart OR APPEARANCE OF AN OBJECT, as is produced BY REFLECTION FROM A MIRROR, refraction by a lens, or the passage of luminous rays through a small aperture and their reception on a surface.”

The preceding definition is from a dictionary when the word “IMAGE” is researched.  We are called to REFLECT CHRIST in our lives, not to do what we THINK is best!  We are CHOSEN (PREDESTINED) to be CONFORMED to the “IMAGE” of JESUS, not to do what seems right to us.  One definition of CONFORMED is “to be or become similar in form, nature, or character.”  Do I REFLECT CHRIST in my actions?  Or do I fall into doing that which “makes sense” to this world?  

Keep in mind, JESUS didn’t have a mansion on Main Street in Jerusalem.  HE didn’t have chariots and horses to escort HIM wherever he desired to go.  HE walked everywhere!  HE ate on hillsides!  But most HE “withdrew” frequently to be alone with HIS FATHER!  Shouldn’t we who LOVE GOD and are CALLED according to HIS purpose do likewise?   

While we can never give a TRUE REFLECTION of JESUS, we should strive to keep our mirror clean enough to give a pure enough picture of HIM that others would take notice.  ONLY GOD can draw people to HIMSELF, but the “IMAGE” we reflect should make others SEE that living for HIM is the ONLY WAY to go!!!

“HE PRAYED MORE EARNESTLY!”

Luke 22:39-44                                     (ESV)

“39 And HE (JESUS) came out and went, as was HIS custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed HIM.

40 And when HE came to the place, HE said to them, "PRAY that you may not enter into temptation."

41 And HE withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed,

42 saying, "FATHER, if YOU are willing, remove this cup from ME. Nevertheless, not MY will, but YOURS, be done."

43 And there appeared to HIM AN ANGEL FROM HEAVEN, STRENGTHENING HIM.

44 And BEING IN AGONY “HE PRAYED MORE EARNESTLY”; and HIS sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

The CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSES, the CREATOR of my life, was nearing the time of HIS betrayal by Judas, and a time when nobody would stand with HIM.  HIS arrest would occur in minutes, yet HE was still instructing the disciples to “Pray that you may not enter into temptation."  HE was about to face a death where HE would be brutalized, yet “HE PRAYED MORE EARNESTLY”!

Why did JESUS dread HIS journey so greatly?  What about the next three days troubled HIM so?  Could it be that defeating the enemy could be scarier than HE thought?  Could it be that HE was scared that HE would fail?  Me being a Spiritual novice, when GOD turned HIS back on the my sins, which were IMPUTED on JESUS, HE had to not look upon them because of HIS HOLY nature.  JESUS did nothing to warrant rejection, except HE took on the sins of the whole world!  Knowing HIS time was near, JESUS was an “angel from heaven” ministering to HIM, literally strengthening HIM.  

Luke 23:44-45 says “It was now about the sixth hour, and THERE WAS DARKNESS OVER THE WHOLE LAND until the ninth hour, while the SUN’S LIGHT FAILED. And the curtain (veil) of the temple was torn in two.”  As JESUS was “offered up” as the ULTIMATE sacrifice for our sins, the LIGHT OF THE WORLD was darkened, and THERE WAS DARKNESS OVER THE WHOLE LAND!  JESUS had never experienced being alone before, and only now HE knew what it felt like.  We are BLESSED beyond measure that the DARKNESS only lasted for three hours.  Can you imagine the panic IF the SON (sun) had not ever shone again???

COVID-19 has caused a lot of panic, and the devastation could be far worse, save for JESUS being on HIS THRONE!  One day SOON however, HIS patience with us will be over and our time to repent will be past. Right now “HE PRAYED MORE EARNESTLY” can still be felt.  One day soon the SON will return to claim HIS OWN and the ones that rejected HIM will receive their just rewards.  In John 17:9, JESUS prays to the FATHER “I am praying for them (YOUR PEOPLE). I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given ME, for they are YOURS”. Are you one of HIS PEOPLE, the people “HE PRAYED MORE EARNESTLY” for?  Just as JESUS knew HIS time was near, the church should likewise know HIS appearing is upon us!!!

“YOU ARE MINE!”

Isaiah 43:1-7                         (ESV)

“1 But now thus says the LORD, HE WHO created you, O Jacob, HE WHO formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, “YOU ARE MINE!”. 

2 When YOU PASS THROUGH THE WATERS, I will be with you; AND THROUGH THE RIVERS, they shall not overwhelm you; WHEN YOU WALK THROUGH THE FIRE you shall not be burned, and THE FLAME SHALL NOT CONSUME YOU. 

3 For I am the LORD your GOD, the HOLY ONE of Israel, your SAVIOR. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. 

4 Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. 

5 FEAR NOT, for I AM WITH YOU; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. 

6 I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, 

7 everyone who is called by MY NAME, whom I created for MY glory, whom I formed and made."”

Does GOD “cause” evil in our midst?  Did HE allow Stomach Cancer to take my younger sister out of this world in 1996?  Did HE allow Breast Cancer to escort my mom into Heaven in 2008?  Did GOD orchestrate the Brain Hemorrhage in 2007 that I experienced?  These are all “bad things” in our earthly view, but GOD used  them for HIS GLORY!

JESUS says in John 8:12 “I am the LIGHT OF THE WORLD. Whoever follows ME will not “walk in darkness”, but WILL HAVE the LIGHT of life." LIGHT is most prevalent when it exposes darkness.  Our LIGHT contrasts darkness wherever we go.  Since JESUS will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), we can rest assured that wherever HE leads us, HE is with us.  

In the above verse seven, Scripture says “whom I created for MY GLORY”!  So THAT is why we were created, not to build a bigger house, or amass vast wealth, or look down our noses at those around us!  We were Created to GLORIFY HIM.  If that means my brain needs to hemorrhage, or my heart needs to be adjusted, or I just need to LET GO AND LET HIM BE GOD, that is what I need to do.  

Can GOD “cause” evil things to happen to us?  When we experience “darkness“ we can be Glorifying HIM by shining in that darkness?  We are created FOR HIS GLORY.  As long as we are in “this world”, we will SHINE BRIGHTEST when we are surrounded by darkness.    It is an honor and privilege to be used to GLORIFY my CREATOR, for HIM to declare “YOU ARE MINE”, wherever we are placed by HIM!!!