This is not a message that is popular in this day and age. It is a frightening message. It has a tendency to chase people away from church. It is a demanding message, because when you hear a message like that, you can’t just walk away from it. It will haunt you for days thereafter. You will want to ask yourself many questions. Am I ready for that judgment? Will I pass? What do I need to change in my life now? How do I get ready?
Trust is built over time. We need to have trusted God in little things before we can trust Him in big things. We need to have experienced His help in mundane matters before we can trust Him for big things. The earlier we start, the better.
This experience helps me appreciate afresh, the healing power of God and His presence with us. He says He will never leave us nor forsake us. He will be with us always. He is with me even now, as I write this. As I think of weight loss strategies and pain management strategies without medication. As I promise myself to stay away from excessive eating and stay committed to walking and healthy eating, He is with me; helping me stay committed to the good things that promote health and healing.
So, what solution do I have to experience joy and encouragement on an ongoing basis? Look up! That’s what the preacher said. When you wake up in the morning and everything in you tells you that you are nothing and not deserving of a good day, you look up and remind yourself that it’s true. You don’t deserve a good day, but the One Who loves you more than you can ever love yourself has already gifted it to you. You only have to receive it. And even if the day still brings with it sorrow or pain, you can be assured that the One Who loves you is aware of it, and is working everything out for your good.
A very painful part of the aftermath of the scandal for me, is the reactions of a lot of Christians, defending their man of God and even denying the event. We do not have proof yet, whether or not the rape occurred, but the blind defense is what gets to me, and the excuses and arguments being proffered to support the positions.
Men of God are God’s servants and messengers, sent to represent Him and share His messages with the Body of Christ on earth. Because they represent God, they are to be respected. However, we must remember that they are still men and not God, so the respect we give should not be the reverence reserved for God. In addition, because they are men, they are equally susceptible to sin like all men are (men and women alike) and should not be deemed infallible, like God.
I was recently going through an old journal of mine, written over eleven years ago and found this interesting portion, which I decided to share today.
Who are you inside yourself?
I am just a girl. I am who I have always been. I mean, I feel the same way I felt when I started feeling, which is an age I can’t remember. Inside me, I am who I was and always have been.
This is where our diligent stewardship comes up. The excuse that we were not taught will not bail us out on the final day. Neither will the fact that we attended a liberal church have any bearing. We have the Holy Spirit within us. We have the word of God.
There are some things I am learning nowadays that are profound and I feel I ought to share. They are not new things, but I realise that they are things that we easily forget. It’s like a cool glass of water on a hot day! You may have taken several drinks of water before, but when you get a really cold glass of water on a hot day, coming out of the sun, you doubly appreciate that water.
Today, I invite us to live! God has deemed it fit to remove knowledge of the time of death from us. However, He has always enjoined us to live. Jesus said, ‘The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly’. John 10:10
