Lord

When Jesus is in your life heaven sounds sweet

Not many people grow old gracefully. Some folks are sunny throughout their lives. There are others who were sunny earlier on, but It seems the nearer they get to the end of their lives the less sunny they have become. Many of these folks have all the toys they have ever wanted, but for some strange reason they are not happy. These poor souls cannot carry on a conversation without barking and growling at the other person.

Over the last 10 years,  I have had to deal with at least one person per week who have displayed what I would like to call a “Nasty Disposition”. I used to get offended, but as the problem occur more and more, I realize it is not personal. It is who they have become, and they cannot do anything about it.

Hence, I thought about how cruel this world is. If we are not careful, it will chew us up and spit us out-leaving many miserable and aloof.

Therefore, I thank God for Jesus. He has the answer for every question and the solution for every problem. If I continue to hold on to the promises of God, and most importantly, His unchanging hand, then my life will be sunny to the end. Hopefully, my testimony then will be similar to one apostle gave at the end of his life: ” I have fought the good fight I have finished the race I have kept the faith.  Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing”(2 Timothy 4:7-8).

When you have Jesus in your life, heaven does sound sweet all the time.

So you think you know the time of Jesus’ arrival

The second coming of Christ is imminent. It is not a myth as some people think. We know this as fact from a conversation Jesus had with His disciples. After braking the news to His disciples that He must leave them and go to His father, their countenance changed. “Do not let your hearts be troubled”. He said. “Trust in God. Trust in me also. There are many rooms in my father house. If this were not true, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. If I go and do that, I will come back, and I will take you with me. Then you will also be where I am” (John 14:1-3).

However, the time of arrival of Jesus’ is not known. He said so himself. “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating, and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and devoured them. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at a hand-mill; one will be taken and the other left.

Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. Nevertheless, you should bear this in mind: If the owner of the house had known at what time during night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and deny the thief access. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (Matthew 24:36-44).

Likewise, if the five foolish virgins had known what time the bridegroom comes they would have stayed put instead of going out to buy oil for their lamps. Still, it should not matter whether Christ returns today or tomorrow. The main thing is to get our acts together and live in readiness and anticipation of His impending return

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Children of the living God, sing to the living God

Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of God.

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn— shout for joy before the Lord, the King.

Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the people with equity” (Psalm 98).

Jesus is a Rock in a weary land

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And David spoke unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies and out of the hand of Saul:

And he said, The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my savior; thou saved me from violence.

I will call on the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid;
The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;
In my distress, I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears—2 Samuel 22:1-7

Lord, shield me against complacency

It is extremely easy for any Christian to get distracted by the glamour and glitz of this world. This is especially true when things are going smoothly. He tends to take his eyes off the Christian journey and gravitate towards secular norms, thus becoming complacent. Whereas before, he thanked God for everything; now he takes all the credit, look in the mirror and pat himself on the shoulders.

Still, while I think complacency is preventable, living in a materialistic society such as America, makes it all too easy to get lulled into complacency. The Patriarch David knew a thing or two about this. Acts 13:22 states the following: “After removing Saul, God made David king over Israel. God testified about him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’” However, success would change David. Despite all the accolades and admiration from God, David, like Adam and, Eve got distracted by the lust of his eyes and sinned.

It seems the key to keep focus on the path God mapped out for us is to be lowly before Him at all times–in feast and famine. Whenever a human being acknowledges that he is nothing without God, then it is not hard to be humble. It is not surprising that some of the most loyal members in the body of Christ are those who are humble, mostly the poor. These are people who more often than not do not know from where the next meal comes, yet their steadfastness and commitment to serve God is unyielding. They know what it is to trust and depend on God for everything.

Father in heaven, I pray thou will shield me against complacency. Let me be like Job, a man who never faltered in plenty or want. Lord, help me to focus on the path your father have mapped out for me and let me be humble at all times. Amen!

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