It’s very strange, isn’t it, that a spring blossom should suddenly appear in late fall? I took the picture at the top of this post yesterday. It’s a bloom out of season, showing that new life can burst forth at the most unexpected times.
I am taking it as a sign.
Our God is sovereign. In His time, He is continuing the process of saving the whole world from evil, and when He is finished, we will be surrounded by new life!
Everywhere, He leaves us signs of His presence, His love, and His on-going work in our lives. He promised that He would complete the work that He started. Though it seems to take a long time, one day we will look back with joy, and dismiss all this that we are going through because of the joy that has come afterward.
“Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again?
From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was created.
They deliberately forget that God made the heavens a long time ago by the word of His command, and He brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water.”
“The Lord isn’t really being slow about His promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” (2 Peter 3:3-5, 9 NLT)
We have been doing a lot of analysis on our new “castle” (the church God provided for us). First we find the problem, then look for anything that can be saved; but if it’s too far gone, we must get rid of it before it infects anything else. Rot can’t last, but it spreads. All through the castle, we are taking down the old, corrupted things and throwing them away. Then we have to clean thoroughly.
Spiritual rot is the same. It is unsustainable. But it will try to take out the good that is near it before it dissolves into goo. So out of self-defense, it has to be destroyed. And when the spiritual rot is gone, God will replace it with not just the new, but the perfect.
That’s part of why we are here–to do our part in this physical world, to make things better for those around us: To comfort, to teach, to listen, and to care. These good works are a form of spiritual rebuilding. When we stand together in love, under the shelter of our Father, we are protected from the evil of this world.
The spirit underneath the physical is the most real thing there is. God created this whole world with his words, “Let there be . . .” and there was. His will holds us into being. I have written about this many times, but it still amazes me every time I think of it. God’s will is working every moment to keep us here.
Never forget that we are here for a purpose.
We need the steady hand of God on our lives at all times. There is comfort in His leadership, His headship, over us. He longs to protect us, and He gave his life for us, but He will not force us. We can walk away, full of ourselves.
But when we walk away from our great Protector, we will be vulnerable to His enemy. Even if we combine with other humans on this earth, how could we muster enough strength to fight against the ancient evil that hunts us?
It isn’t our job to fight him, but to fight the evil within ourselves. It’s tempting to fight all kinds of battles that are far over our heads, but they distract us from our most immediate job of keeping our own selves clean before God. He helps us with that, through conviction of the sin that we don’t even see. Without His influence, we don’t value purity of heart, and can get swept off into darkness.
But God has a plan for us, a plan that started at the very beginning, even before the world began. He knew your name before your parent named you. He designed the color of your eyes and the shape of your nose. He knows all that will happen in your life up until the day that you die, and He promises that He will be with us until that day.
We are the children of the promise (Galatians 4:28); so it is going to be rough while we are here. We cannot expect to escape what our Savior did not escape. The world hated Him, and so it will naturally hate His followers.
But once we see God in all of His glory, we will be unable to resist Him. Every single one of us, believer or not, will fall on our faces to worship Him. His presence will overwhelm us, and “every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” (Phil 2:10-11; Romans 14:12; Isaiah 45:23)
I love the way the King James Version preserves the “word pictures” of the ancient texts! In Isaiah 52:10, it says “The Lord hath made bare His holy arm in the eyes of the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.”
One day, God will “roll up his sleeves” and openly show us exactly who has the power! All flesh, that is, every person will see that power, even to the very ends of the earth!
In the meantime, I just want to encourage you today to remember what this struggle is for! We are here to rescue the dying, and reach the lost ones who are crying in the wilderness. We are ambassadors to a sad, sick world, with a message of hope! We have a beautiful future, and we don’t want to leave anyone behind, for “it is not God’s will that any should perish.” (Matthew 18:14; 2 Peter 3:9)
Share the simple GOSPEL, the good news, with everyone that you can, every day! In the line at the grocery store, at the car wash, with your neighbor, with your own relatives, with your dear friends who don’t know Him.
Tell them by the way you live your lives, by the way you are patient when things bother you, by the way you love those who are unkind, and how you forgive those who try to triumph over you. For you are a child of God, and ambassador of Christ, and so God gives you the power to live that kind of life.
And when they see the inner power that flows through your live from God, they will be curious. God will draw them. And then you can tell them how God has provided a way of reconciliation through Jesus Christ.
“For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone. He did not retaliate when He was insulted, nor threaten revenge when He suffered. He left His case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By His wounds you are healed. Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls.” (1 Peter 2:21)
“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.” (1 Peter 5:8-9)
Take heart, my dear friends! We are all together here in the same world, headed for the same place when it’s all over. You are an ambassador for the kingdom!
Look for the signs that God is working, for He certainly is, and then share them with your brothers and sisters in the Lord. Your testimony about Him is powerful!
We are praying for you, and please pray for us, too. Much love to you!
