Saved and Waiting…

I don’t know about you but I know from my personal experiences that too many “church-people” have adopted the idea that now that I’ve surrendered my life to Jesus, I just need to sit back in anticipation of the rapture.

Why are there so many people sitting around doing nothing more than trying to absorb all they can in churches today? So many church-people simply waiting and then going off after service and carrying on their lives as though they expect to live for years yet to come.

People spend huge amounts of money building bigger houses and buying newer cars and doing all the things that seem to be a contradiction to their church-attitude that the rapture is about to happen so let’s just sit it out in church waiting for that to occur!

The problem is too many church-people are just that, church-people; they have bought into the idea of needing church for eternal security but being totally absent from the work of the Lord that so desperately needs to be carried out.

I refer to these as “church-people” for a reason. Church is valuable to these particular individuals only as a means of conscience-security. These individuals believe the basic doctrines of the church, probably many of them raised up in the church.

They recognize their need to hang onto something of eternal value while at the same time having a strong misunderstanding of what the church is truly all about. Church-people pay what they consider their due to the church while never making a total surrender to the Lord of the church and His plan for their lives. Many of these are “in church” but I question if they are really “in Christ.”

Simply attending church, even regularly, will not save anyone! You can be in church all your life and still die and go to hell. You can even be heavily involved in the work of your church and go to hell. Jesus is the only means of eternal salvation.

Jesus declared: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 NLT). So, before we can truly become a part of His church, we must become a part of Him by totally surrendering our lives over to Him.

Then, we can move forward with an understanding of our purpose and His plan for our lives. We can grab ahold of His final words to us and run with them. We can join the final movement with the instruction of the Lord directed at us that commands us to: “go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you” (Matthew 28:19-20).

Once the true power of the Spirit of God gets into us, we discover quickly that simply being saved and waiting will never do. We find ourselves compelled to stretch our wings and to share Jesus with the masses all around us.

The rapture is coming and that thought should compel us to action rather than creating a spirit within us that simply desires to sit and wait. As Paul so confidently assures us: “the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2).

The rapture and the time of great tribulation are rapidly closing in. This thought is meant to motivate us to action not relaxation. While we can certainly find it relaxing to rest in the promise of eternity with our Lord; God’s plan is for you and me to be reaching out and attempting to rescue those who are perishing without Jesus.

Paul continues in the Thessalonian passage with further instruction for the believer in this most critical hour. He warns us to “be on your guard…Stay alert and be clearheaded” (v. 6). Paul encourages us to utilize this time to “encourage each other and build each other up…to warn those who are lazy…take tender care of those who are weak…hold onto what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil…be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again” (vv. 11, 14, 21-23).

Saved and waiting will never do. Paul is careful to warn believers of their responsibility to share Jesus by reminding us of the coming judgment of Lord based upon our action or inaction. As he says in 2 Corinthians 5:10-11: “For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body. Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others.”

The door to salvation stands open and ready to receive all who will believe today. But, the day is coming when that door will close, what are you doing to benefit God’s Kingdom in preparation for eternity yet come? Don’t be satisfied with simply being a church-person; it’s time to become a Jesus-person!

What Kingdom Are You Chasing After?

Jesus tells us to “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (Matthew 6:33 NLT). Yet, I watch people declaring great sums of money or an over-abundance of blessings upon themselves or others simply by “Sharing” or “Liking” a picture of a pile of money.

I think about the words of Jesus and the heart of the true follower of Christ in relation to this odd, should I say “worldly,” means of receiving great blessings and I see absolutely no relationship whatsoever.

What I do see is the influence of a “give-me, give-me, I deserve it all” cultural mindset that has been tricked into viewing God as a genie-in-a-bottle-at-your-service just waiting in anticipation for the next moment when someone will rub that little bottle and conjure Him into action.

This mindset and misunderstanding of God is so contradictory to the biblical God. The idea that has perpetrated our society giving us the notion of God as the big-man-upstairs has belittled the superiority of God over all things.

Rather than looking up in awe as the great and powerful Creator of the universe and loving Father who has redeemed us from our sin, we miniaturize God and place Him into our little mold where we can control Him simply by making our demands based upon false teachings and understandings.

Certainly the name-it-claim-it people have done a great disservice to Christians by influencing our thinking from a worldly mindset—utilizing our innate hunger for possessions and things leading us down false paths—corrupting our thinking by lies and deceit which are against all biblical teachings.

Notice the context of the passage within which Matthew 6:33 lies. Give careful consideration to exactly what Jesus is addressing in order to gain a biblical understanding for the passage at hand. Also, keep in mind, you and me as God’s creation and His servants through our surrender to Jesus Christ as our personal Savior have no right to ever make demands of the Creator God.

Now notice what is under consideration in this passage. Jesus says: “I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?” (v. 25). The address is over basic necessities of living. It has nothing to do with the very finest or the very best, Jesus simply tells us to not worry about the basic essentials.

He further emphasizes His point as He points out God’s great care for all of His creation as He says: “Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?” (vv. 26-30).

The animals, the plants—they don’t worry about the basics because God in His greatness clothes them and takes care of them without any demand from them upon Him. Then He tells us: “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs” (vv. 31-32).

Unbelievers are constantly worried by these things but God already has it all worked out for those who surrender to Jesus Christ. Attached to this is the principle by which God desires for us to live our lives under and it is really quite simple: “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need” (v. 33).

Simply seek after God’s kingdom, look to higher things, look above what the world is seeking after and realize that “we are heirs–heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” to the kingdom (Romans 8:17). Our desires should be upon the kingdom of God rather than pursuing after what this world has to offer.

Attached is the demand to “live righteously” which we do by constantly abiding in Christ and understanding the need to be clean before God as 1 John 1:9 tells us: “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” The cleansing our souls need comes from our confession before God of our sins Who willingly forgives and cleanses us.

Freedom comes through Christ. Seeking after Christ and His ways sets you free to enjoy the Father and all the many blessings He has stored up for you. People are running after all different kingdoms in today’s world. What kingdom are you chasing after? Jesus tells us to seek after the kingdom of God.

A Struggle You Can’t Lose

How often do you find yourself confronted by a situation or circumstance you can’t see any way out of? Maybe you have one staring you down right now? You are just about ready to throw up your hands in defeat. You’ve wrestled and struggled with it and it seems like giving up is about all you have left to do.

King Jehoshaphat got word three enemy nations were in route to destroy he and his people. They were heavily outnumbered and the chance of survival was nil to none. The Scripture says: “Jehoshaphat was terrified by this news” (2 Chronicles 20:3 NLT). Scared and fearing for the outcome, he turned to the Lord and declared: “We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help” (v. 12).

Maybe that’s you today. The enemy is attacking relentlessly. The fear he has you under is more than you can bear up to any longer. You recognize you are powerless against his constant onslaught. What do you do? Where do you turn? How do you get relief? Jehoshaphat knew he was helpless so he turned to God and he cried out, “O our God, won’t you stop them?” (v. 12).

The Lord responded, “Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s” (v. 15). The Lord’s response to you in your time of struggle is to trust Him. He is the answer. He is the One who will deliver you and free you from the power of the enemy. When you place your trust in the power of God, your struggle becomes a struggle you can’t lose.

As Jehoshaphat moved out against the enemy, he turned to his people and confidently declared: “Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be able to stand firm” (v. 20). As the story continues, we are told, “So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped” (v. 24).

When you learn to trust in the power of God, the struggles you are facing become overwhelmed and overcome before your very eyes. Those things that have created fear and doubt in your heart and mind are defeated before you ever arrive on scene.

The story goes that: “all the men returned to Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat leading them, overjoyed that the LORD had given them victory over their enemies” (v. 27). It wasn’t enough for God to simply give the Israelites the victory as it goes on to say: “When all the surrounding kingdoms heard that the LORD himself had fought against the enemies of Israel, the fear of God came over them. So Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side” (vv. 29-30).

God never gives you a half-way victory. When God acts on your behalf, it will be done in great and glorious way that He may receive great glory from your overwhelming victory over your struggles.

Whatever you may be going through today, be assured you will not be left to go through it alone. The Lord will go before you to bring you through to victory. Your struggle is a struggle you can’t lose when you place it into the hands of the Lord. Simply trust Him.