Joy,Thanksgiving,Peace and Hope
"Oh The Depth"
Thus says the Lord:
“Do not learn the way of the Gentiles;
Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven,
For the Gentiles are dismayed at them."(Jeremiah 10:2)
"But the Lord is the true God;
He is the living God and the everlasting King.
At His wrath the earth will tremble,
And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation."(Jeremiah 10:10)
"He has made the earth by His power,
He has established the world by His wisdom,
And has stretched out the heavens at His discretion. When He utters His voice,
There is a multitude of waters in the heavens:
“And He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
He brings the wind out of His treasuries.”(Jeremiah 10:12-16)
"For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist." (Colossians 1:16,17)
When we read these verses and take them to heart,nothing that happens in this world should cause us to despair.This is His Creation and He is ultimately in control.
Events might not unfold the way we think they should or prefer they should,even though man is the reason for most of the events.Trying to understand events whether they are caused by man or just permitted by God can still go beyond our ability to grasp or process with these finite minds of ours.
God's grace,mercy,love,patience,justice,guidance,wisdom,and all His other attributes concerning His dealing with this human race can become quite overwhelming when we try to embrace them with a mixture of human wisdom.
"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!" (Romans 11:33)
Sometimes my concerns for all that is wrong prevents me from viewing,embracing and enjoying all the things that are right and being thankful for them.
I believe Paul instructs us in (1Timothy 2:1-3)in regard to our being thankful for what we do have and experience in this life wherever we live in lifting our prayers up for leaders even though many are far from ideal leaders and many in this body,the Church are living in far from ideal circumstances.
"Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior"
At the time Paul wrote this one of the most wicked and vilest leader that ever lived was ruling the Roman Empire,Nero.
I do believe we should look at current events in light of Bible prophecy,but with the blessed hope of Jesus coming back for us at any moment always in the fore-front of our thinking.Trying to sort out current events as they unfold and trying to place them in God's timetable concerning future Bible prophecies that are to be fulfilled can become quite overwhelming and time consuming.
I believe we are living in the most exciting time of the church age,with so many events happening all over this earth in such rapid succession and pointing towards the time when God is going to bring this world system to a head,destroy it and then set up His kingdom with God the Son ruling.
For the many that do not share this hope,put their hope in the world system and to the leadership it offers and many are frustrated with the leaders we have now and how they seem to be blindly leading us into destruction.They desire good leadership that will be strong,take control,weed out the problems and bring peace.They will get their man and he will do much of what they desire for a time,but he will be a worldly leader controlled by Satan,deceitful and full of lies and many will worship him.
Yes I believe that day is coming and soon,but in the meantime we should keep our eyes focused on our Savior and the hope we have in Him and His coming for us before that time and the purpose He has for us in these most exciting times.
We are not to fear the times we are living in even though Paul calls them dangerous or perilous in (2Timothy 3:1) because he also states before that in (2Timothy 1:7).
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."
So we shouldn't let the current events bring us to the point of fear and worry,but instead allow them to remind us of the hope we have and the indescribable in human terms of the future we have with our Savior,Lord and King. |
