Here Comes the Next Second in Your Life. Are You Ready?


The Passage of Time

Image by ToniVC via Flickr

The seconds of a day tick by and we all do as we can, each according to our ability.  Some seconds tick by without fanfare or notice.  Some record a giggle, a tear, a foolish moment, surprise, worry, anxiety, fear, and memories.  Some seconds announce a memorable moment.  These last according to their severity or impact.  Regardless how each second presents itself, time has passed.  And with each passing second we are hurled toward singular moments of enormous importance. 

When someone is shot, there were moments before that led them to that place.  When a car wreck happens, there were moments before.  When we do something really stupid, there were moments before that didn’t announce it was going to happen.  And isn’t that a shame.

And so it goes.  controversy is like that.  We pound our hearts and brains with all we can muster to enter into a contract with each second of our lives.  Struggling to maintain sanity, we live our lives.  Yet time has a way of providing proof that we are not perfect. 

I present this post as a simple notice of something true.  To me it speaks of both my failings and my successes.  But most of all, it speaks of something profound:  The only man to enter life innocent and leave this life the same way was Jesus, the Son of God.  With the Lord Jesus, there is no regret or stumbling.  His performance before His Father was flawless. 

And, by the way, I’m likely about to regret a couple seconds in this very day. 

By His Grace.

An Important Referral


There is a place where wordpress allows referrals to other blogs.  But I thought this worthy of posting.

http://theagetocome.wordpress.com/2011/08/25/prophetic-words-for-this-day-part-9/

 

I write this choice on your hearts,
Life, or Death,
Hope, or Despair,
In the ink of eternity.

What I write,
No man can erase,
I wrote the stars,
I can write your heart.

When the Story that is being written,
Is opened, and read,
Where will you be?
The Story, from which all stories are written,
Where will you be?

Be not deceived,
As I am the Author,
So also the Perfecter,
The Story is Mine.

So, what part will you play?
As the Story is written,
The choice is given you,
To write with Me,
Or to write that which will fail.

To write letters on the ground in pale ash,
Now here, now blown away in a swirl of wind.

Or to write letters in fire,
Burned into the soul of the universe,
Letters that will pass into eternity,
For nothing perishes that resides in Me.

What if your story is over tomorrow? What kind of story might it be?

Do not trust in what can be seen, in the comfortable, in the familiar; rather trust in the Unseen One on whose scales everything is measured.

10th April 2007

I saw a tranquil subtropical scene, lush greenery, a house amongst the growth. At the same time I saw as an immediate backdrop an enormous pyroclastic cloud that was about to sweep through this scene, taking all before it.

One moment, the greenery, the buildings, tranquility. The next, destruction – all is swept away.

I was aware of the immediate nature of the event, how everything appears peaceful, the same as normal, and then it all suddenly changes.

I saw the need to prepare – not trusting in our immediate surroundings and the false sense of security that it gives – but to see in the Lord and prepare in Him, to be secure in Him ahead of this time.

http://theagetocome.wordpress.com/2011/08/25/prophetic-words-for-this-day-part-9/

 

Refinement Requires All!


cigarette

Image via Wikipedia

What have I learned from the past month?  I’ve learned that if I wish to obey the Lord in certain issues it will take everything I am.

I believed I was told to accomplish a personal refinement.  Through a week and a half I allowed myself to endure for His name sake.  For the next three weeks I suffered under horrible desires.  I watched curiously as my mind and body screamed to partake, lest this refinement became more powerful than they.  Anger, confusion, the seeds of hatred germinating, and complete frustration (almost to the point where I couldn’t control the sound  of my voice betraying my inner turmoil.)

Then finally came the wall.  Continue to endure under this pressure and become an angry man, or relent for a while and regroup later.  I have chosen the latter for a while.  So what have I learned?   Did I give up only to never try again?  Am I under a curse because I wasn’t prepared to endure?  I am compelled by the Love of God in Christ Jesus to say “no.”

I have learned that, while salvation by the blood of Jesus is offered to all who believe, there is an “extra” offered to every believer.  The cost of this “extra” is enormous!  And it will cost us the following:  Dedication toward accomplishment regardless the experience.  Continual honor given to the One who calls us toward what is Holy.  A willingness to suffer beyond our perceived ability to endure.  And, quite possibly, a willingness to abandon our present life’s duties for a season.

I said to myself, “You have what it takes.  Why are you faltering like this?”  But what was I to do with the building anxiety, anger, frustration, and lack of will?  I consider that I might have succeeded if I had just pushed one more day.  But what I have done is what I did. 

The glory due those who wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb is well earned.  Those who over come will be blessed with honor, as the One who bestows this honor is blessed with eternal joy.  Yet, there will be few who find that honor bestowed upon them.  Why?  precisely for the experience I related above.  The battle is harsh and demanding.  And I now know how horrible the battle can become.  And after typing that last sentence, I laugh at myself.  What do I know of suffering for the sake of His Holy Name?

Father in Heaven; Holy Father of Life and life,  I give you praise for the intense place of testing You have created for man.  And I give You Glory for the Perfection of Your Holy Son!  What wonders and marvelous power He embodies!  That He should suffer without fault in this place where I now walk (or crawl on my belly).  You are Glorious!  And Your way is above us as the farthest star in the universe is removed from the chair I now sit in.  May Your Holy Will be done forever!  You Are God!

By His Grace.

“Mine! Mine! Mine!”


Adam & Eve in garden of Eden

Image via Wikipedia

The seagulls in “Finding Nemo” said, “Mine.  Mine.  Mine.”  Children fight over what they want.  Men kill and cheat to gain what they can’t keep.  And death claims desire.  “All you had.  All you desired.  All you didn’t get to own.  All these belong to someone else now.”, says death.

When God made Adam, He made him so that His Son could testify to those who had never seen His Father.  Adam was created so that his offspring could receive the glory of faith.  The world belongs to the Lord of all.  Yet men act as if the world were the beginning and end of life.  They say to each other, “Give me what I want and I’ll step aside so that you can have the remainder.”  Scratching and clawing, they advance on the things at their hand.  But this is not the purpose of life here on this earth.

They deny the very existence of the God who made them.  They rebel against every law established by man and God.  Yet they claim that they have the right to partake of everything available to their grubby hands.  Yet, this is not the reason for life here on this earth.

God is glorious and beautiful!  Yet few men understand the reason for their lives.  There are those who do testify to the “something More”.  Yet they are laughed at and mocked as stupid. 

May the Lord, who has made all that is, be glorified, praised, honored, and served for eternity by those who are learning to love Him through blind eyes.  May all who worship Him in truth, yet stumble like blind men in a plowed field, receive the grace and mercy He promises in Jesus. 

Let those who hate God continue to hate Him at the appearing of His Son.  Let those who suffer receive the promises of His perfect hand.  Let those who desire to do right be blessed to do what pleases Him.  And may all my brothers and sisters be inspired to reach for that “something More”.

By the Glorious Name of Jesus these words are written.

Amen!  Amen!  And Amen!

By His Grace.