As I sit and ponder the state of the nation and the world today, and then take my attention to individuals and families who are being asked to stay home during this crisis called coronavirus, I can't help but believe God is calling out to a world that has lost its way. My prayer is that every household where parents aren't accustomed to being home with their children will not grow weary but rather consider this time a gift, albeit a bit stressful, but a gift just the same. In biblical history, we see a God who shows that He is God when the very people whom He created do all they can to push Him out, He does what is necessary to draw them back to Him. The world wants to say there is no One True God, but I'm here to tell you that's spiritual darkness, that's the prince of this world wanting you to stay on that path. My prayer is that a world will turn to the One True God in these days and fall on their knees confessing their sins and believing on the Lord Jesus Christ.
My husband and I have been attending meetings with Greg Hinnant Ministries, and the subject is the 2nd coming of Jesus, and the more I come to understand bible prophecy, and see its fulfillment in ancient and recent times, the more convinced I am that we are closer than most want to think.
I have often asked people, "do you believe Jesus came and died on a cross for your sins?," to which many say yes. But when I ask the next question, many seem to stop and think about the implications of their answer, as they should, for BOTH questions. The next question is, "Do you believe He is coming again? Are you ready?"
In a world with easy believe-ism, many who call themselves Christians may think they are ready for the time that God calls His own out of this world pre-tribulation, but the question is, "Are you following Jesus or are you trying to work your way to heaven?" Jesus says there will be many who say, "Lord, Lord...…" but He will say, "Depart from me, I never knew you." My husband and I fear for those who think they are good and they are not, and it is our cry that those who call themselves Christians wake-up, the church wakes up, and we turn to God like never before, showing the world that He is in fact REAL, and we do, in fact, need to GET REAL about our relationship with Him. There is nothing like a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and there is nothing that can take the place of it. Won't you consider His words, "Come to me all who are weary and broken-hearted and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your soul. For my way is easy and my burden is light" (Matt 11:28-30). While the Christian life is indeed not a playground but a battleground, and standing firm for righteousness brings its own set of challenges and persecution, both inside and outside the church, Jesus is saying that He will carry that load for us, and we can rest in His truth and peace. In John 3:3, Jesus tells us that we must be born again to enter the kingdom of heaven. Being born again means confessing Jesus as Lord of our lives and following Him. In Luke 9:23 Jesus says, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, takes up his cross daily, and follow me." Will you follow Jesus and allow Him to be the authority in your life? He is worth it!
A friend sent an email this morning, and I hope she won't mind if I share it with you. God is trying to get our attention, and He wants us "sitting at the feet of Jesus." I pray for all of my family members, friends, neighbors, coworkers and ministry partners to take this time to sit at the feet of Jesus.
Below from Cathe Laurie:
Sitting at Jesus’ Feet “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” —Psalms 46:10 We’re at home a lot right now. It’s been a really interesting past couple of weeks—almost surreal. But as I’ve allowed my thoughts to go straight to the Word of God to inform me, direct me, and help me through this season, I am encouraged. I really am. I am encouraged because I believe we’re here by divine appointment. I’ve been thinking a lot about the story of Mary and Martha leading up to this time. I know we ladies are very familiar with this passage. Any of us who have been in women’s Bible studies have had teachings on this story many times! But when we find ourselves in an unusual situation like this, the Word of God comes to us in a different way, doesn’t it? Let’s read Luke 10:38-42: “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (ESV) We can all imagine Martha busy in the kitchen trying to do the right thing to bless the people she had in her home that day, but it was excessive. This left her troubled and worried. To all of us “Marthas” out there, we have been distracted, anxious, and worried about many things. Much of that in our efforts to serve the Lord, to serve our families, to work, and to do the things we’ve been called to do. But we’ve been carrying that burden all by ourselves. We’ve been cumbered about with much serving. Serving is a good thing, but it’s the much serving that can be a problem, can’t it? Mary, on the other hand, left Martha and sat at Jesus’ feet. She was serving with Martha, but at some point in the day, she went and sat at His feet. Can I just tell you that it was not that common in those days for a woman to sit at the feet of a great rabbi like Jesus? But she put herself at His feet where the disciples would have been. She sat and she listened to Jesus’ words. And as a result, she had a completely different perspective on the situation. I imagine that some of us have a little more time in our day than we’ve had in quite a while. Things in our lives have been reshuffled and this is our opportunity to be in God’s Word and listen to Jesus speak to us. Please don’t miss it. This is a privilege for us. He has things to tell us. He has words of comfort, words of instruction, and words of guidance that He can only give when we open His Word. Make time in this season, when we’re staying home more, to sit at His feet. By doing this, your ministry, your service, and your work are going to be that much more effective and peaceful to the people you are trying to reach. Let me pray for you right now. Heavenly Father, I pray for each and every woman out there that is reading this. Wherever she is, I pray Father that she would realize that this has been a gift that we’ve been given to hit the pause button, sit down, open Your Word, and hear You directly speak words into our lives. Lord, may Your Word come alive to us like it never has before. That we might know what it is that You would have us to do and how we are to do it. We commit our lives, our families, and this entire situation we find ourselves in Your hands. Your capable and strong hands. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Pray about a woman you know who could be especially blessed by this devotion and prayer, and forward this to her today!
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