But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers..--1 Peter 4:7
To My Sweet Daughters,
But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. Be sober minded...be cool, calm and collected. Remember your end destination. Do not take your eyes off the prize. Live your life always with eternity stamped on your foreheads. Do not go off on any wild interpretations of Scripture in regard to end times. Keep your feet firmly planted in what the Word actually says. There are warnings in Scripture in regard to setting dates for Christ return. (See Matt 25:13 and Acts 1:6-8) But no matter what your eschatology, we are to live our lives always in the light of Christ's imminent return. The important thing that each of us remember is that we shall see the Lord one day and stand before Him. How you are judged and how you are rewarded will be based on how you are living your lives right now. Therefore, be sober minded. Know what the word says. Know what it says about end times. Good doctrine leads to right living. Wrong doctrine to wrong living. Be aware of what is happening in the world you live in...it will encourage your faith.
With that said it is important also to remember that Peter was writing to a persecuted people, many of whom would be martyred for their faith. He was probably reminding them that sure, the end of all things could be near and yes, it could be nearer for you than for others so no matter the situation, be serious and watchful in your relationship with your Lord. You could be standing before Him sooner than you might think. The end for any of us could happen at any moment. None of us know how long we have. In light of that, do not let your prayers be hindered by panic and emotional instability in regard to your circumstances. Do not allow stress to come between you and your fellowship with Him. Stay grounded in the Word and remember who your God is and do His work...drawing many to Him while you are here by both your word and your deeds. The end is near girls, live your lives for Him...live them as if you could lose them in the next moment. The only thing that will be important when you are face to face with Him who saved you, is whether you surrendered to Him here and did that which pleased Him. Eternity is what matters and the moment is all any of us have. Use it wisely.
Love
Mom
Rom 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
Php 4:5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
Heb 10:25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
Jas 5:8-9 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!
2Pe 3:9-11 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
1Pe 1:13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
1Th 5:6-9 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Monday, April 11, 2011
Even the Night will be Light About Me...by Rebecca
How Job’s heart must have been pained within him! He was in the midst of a manifold, blazingly intense trial. He had suffered losses to an extreme most of us can’t even relate to. What is it like to lose ALL of your children – seven sons... and three daughters – in one fell swoop? What is it like to be the greatest of all the people of the East, a man before whom princes and kings fall silent, and then suddenly become their taunt and mocking song? What is it like to be healthy, energetic, and in your prime one day, and covered in excruciating boils the next? What is it like to possess great wealth one moment, and be impoverished a moment later? What is it like to be treacherously accused and browbeaten by your friends, and to have your very breath be hateful to your wife?
Worse – what is it like to have all these things happen simultaneously?
Yet in all these things Job did not charge God with wrong. He did not curse God and die (as his wife urged him to do). He did not lash out at his friends. He did not rant and rage. He held fast to his integrity and remained faithful to his beloved Lord, even though that Lord had caused his distress and seemed far, far away.
However, Job did mourn for his losses. He longed for months past, when he could SEE the Lord’s good hand upon him for good, and SEE the light in the darkness. Now those days were gone and Job was surrounded by night.
Psalm 139:7-12, “Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall fall on me,’
Even the night shall be light about me;
Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.”
Our circumstances change. Our moods change. Our thoughts change. God does not. What we perceive as darkness is light to the Lord, because He sees the whole picture. He does not send His children evil or darkness. Even our blackest, most painful situations – such as Job’s – are ultimately good. The Lord did not send Job affliction carelessly or without purpose! He was intimately acquainted with Job’s every tear, every cry, and every hurt. He bore them all. (Isaiah 53:4) But, as a loving Father, the Lord cared more for Job’s character than his comfort. He was using Job’s temporary affliction to work for him a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, and the very things Job sorrowed over now would later become reasons to dance!
No matter how fiery the trial, how painful the situation, how black the night, or how seemingly irrevocable the loss, a child of God has no reason to sorrow as those who have no hope. Even the darkness is light to him!
Do you fear loss? Is your heart broken? Do you long for days gone past? Do you despair of ever seeing the dawn? Don’t! You are cradled in the hands of the Living, Loving God, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Didn’t He die for you? Didn’t He bear your sins in His body while you were yet His enemy? Didn’t He endure unfathomable suffering for your sake? He has not changed! He causes even the night to be light about you. The thorns that pierce your flesh and the sorrows that break your heart are simply refiner’s fire, purifying something precious and beloved. He sees the truth even when you don’t. And even you can’t take yourself out of His hand.
Isaiah 49:15-16, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.”
Worse – what is it like to have all these things happen simultaneously?
Yet in all these things Job did not charge God with wrong. He did not curse God and die (as his wife urged him to do). He did not lash out at his friends. He did not rant and rage. He held fast to his integrity and remained faithful to his beloved Lord, even though that Lord had caused his distress and seemed far, far away.
However, Job did mourn for his losses. He longed for months past, when he could SEE the Lord’s good hand upon him for good, and SEE the light in the darkness. Now those days were gone and Job was surrounded by night.
Psalm 139:7-12, “Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall fall on me,’
Even the night shall be light about me;
Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.”
Our circumstances change. Our moods change. Our thoughts change. God does not. What we perceive as darkness is light to the Lord, because He sees the whole picture. He does not send His children evil or darkness. Even our blackest, most painful situations – such as Job’s – are ultimately good. The Lord did not send Job affliction carelessly or without purpose! He was intimately acquainted with Job’s every tear, every cry, and every hurt. He bore them all. (Isaiah 53:4) But, as a loving Father, the Lord cared more for Job’s character than his comfort. He was using Job’s temporary affliction to work for him a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, and the very things Job sorrowed over now would later become reasons to dance!
No matter how fiery the trial, how painful the situation, how black the night, or how seemingly irrevocable the loss, a child of God has no reason to sorrow as those who have no hope. Even the darkness is light to him!
Do you fear loss? Is your heart broken? Do you long for days gone past? Do you despair of ever seeing the dawn? Don’t! You are cradled in the hands of the Living, Loving God, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Didn’t He die for you? Didn’t He bear your sins in His body while you were yet His enemy? Didn’t He endure unfathomable suffering for your sake? He has not changed! He causes even the night to be light about you. The thorns that pierce your flesh and the sorrows that break your heart are simply refiner’s fire, purifying something precious and beloved. He sees the truth even when you don’t. And even you can’t take yourself out of His hand.
Isaiah 49:15-16, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)