Fearless!
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Romans 8:38-3938.
For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39. nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Philippians 4:6-76.
Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Well . . . do I really need to add anything to these two hopeful and uplifting passages? No matter what is going on in our lives, we have the assurance that God is in it; He is with us and walks through every moment with us. That’s not always easy to remember when we are in pain, experiencing a difficult time in our lives, or have lost a loved one. To my mind, those are the times we need the reassurance of these verses the most.
I read the Philippians to mean that once we have prayed and presented our supplications to God, we need to let it go. Once we give it our Heavenly Father, we can be assured that everything will happen as he has planned out of his wisdom and grace. In a time of tragedy, mourning, struggle or fear we may not feel very close to God. Those are the times we actually need to seek Him out. That’s when we need to read and pray upon the Romans verses.
Because of Christ, we have assurance that God has our present and our future in his hands. There is nothing we can do, nothing we can experience that is stronger than God’s love. Think about that for a minute! Beyond our own daily lives and our personal future lives, He holds the world! No war or revolt, no acts of genocide, no words of hatred, no earthquake, volcano, tsunami, drought or flood is beyond the depth and breadth, the height or the power of God!
More, in spite of our own sins and the sins of the world, God values us tremendously. He jealously oversees our actions and knows our thoughts. He loves us anyway—individually as his precious ones, and as a people. We are all His Own, his beloved. Nothing will ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. The Cross won for us eternity in heaven. That’s why we are not to be anxious, to fret, to be afraid. No traffic light color of alert level will change our future. We’re going to heaven!
I think it helps to step back and reframe our own little lives, and all the things going on in the world from that perspective. Since we are going to heaven, all we need to really be concerned about is taking as many with us as we can, and being the best person we can possibly be. It’s a cliché, I know. But it is true, and it is the answer to how to have the best life possible—a grace-filled life of abundance and blessings. Death is not the final word. Nor is warfare, natural disasters, hatred, military power or living in fear.
Because of Christ we are fearless! We are not afraid, and so we are free to share the Good News and to live abundantly and fully into the promise sealed for us 2000 years ago on Calvary.
Rejoice! We have nothing to fear! We are God’s beloved and His precious creations. He waits for us!
My prayer today is that you fearlessly go out into the world intending to be Christ to the world. And that you live the rest of your life with reckless abandon!
Mary
Labels: Christ, death, fear, God, war
Coming in Clouds With Great Power
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Mark 8:4-12, 17-19, 22-30
4. "Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign when these things are all to be accomplished?" 5. And Jesus began to say to them, "Take heed that no one leads you astray. 6. Many will come in my name, saying, `I am he!' and they will lead many astray. 7. And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is not yet. 8. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places, there will be famines; this is but the beginning of the birth-pangs. 9. "But take heed to yourselves; for they will deliver you up to councils; and you will be beaten in synagogues; and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear testimony before them. 10. And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. 11. And when they bring you to trial and deliver you up, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say; but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. 12. And brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; 17. And alas for those who are with child and for those who give suck in those days! 18. Pray that it may not happen in winter. 19. For in those days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will be. 22. False Christs and false prophets will arise and show signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. 23. But take heed; I have told you all things beforehand. 24. "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25. and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26. And then they will see the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27. And then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. 28. "From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 30. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away before all these things take place.
I know this is long. I just find this text almost poetic. Don’t these words paint a picture for you? There is a song I’ve really come to like that has a chorus based on these verses – the chorus is about Christ coming, riding on the clouds. Verse 30 has puzzled me in the past, because it would seem that Jesus is referring to the current generation which was alive during the time he is speaking. My bible notes indicate this reference is to the “current” faithlessness of the people. That’s a rather different perspective, I think. In that context, we’re still part of the current generation.
These verses have also been misused and misunderstood for a long time. When you read these verses and then think about what is going on in the world, it would be a logical next step to believe that the end is imminent! Wars, famines, families turning against each other – children being kidnapped and trained to kill, even their own families if ordered to. In Africa, rebels attack villages and mutilate pregnant women, rape and murder young girls. Our rainforests have been razed; our world is being stripped of its beauty and natural resources in the name of progress.
The evening news sounds very much like Chapter 8 of Mark, doesn’t it? We even have many false prophets, not just in our country, but all over the world. They are convincing citizens (or attempting to) that violence is justified; murder is alright in the context of war, hatred is necessary to motivate those who commit acts of violence. I could apply all of these prophecies to our current U.S. government, but I won’t. I’ll let you draw your own parallels!
So . . . is the end of the world about to happen? Will today be the day? How about tomorrow? I certainly have no idea! If it is near, Christ instructs us in verse 10,
And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. Whether the end is today or in a thousand years, we must be ready. Our work as Christians is to preach the Good News to those who have not heard it, to those who have forgotten it, to those who have rejected it. We don’t have the luxury of keeping the Word to ourselves and saving only our own souls. Part of our commission is to save as many others as possible.
Rick Warren, author of
The Purpose Driven Life, shares a story in his book about when his father was on his deathbed. Toward the end he wasn’t coherent, but kept muttering, “. . . one more soul for Jesus. . .” over and over. Even on his deathbed, Warren’s dad was living out his identity as a Christian! That is what God expects of
us, too. We are to live every moment of our lives as if it was the last moment of our lives. We are to make our last act on this earth one that will bring one more soul to Jesus.
Don’t spend any time shaking your head and clucking your tongue, muttering that surely we are in the end times! Rather, follow Christ’s instruction:
the gospel must first be preached to all nations, even unto your deathbed.
My prayer today is that you do everything you can to hasten the end of days. And that you look up! Maybe you’ll see Christ coming in clouds with great power.
Mary
Labels: Christ, commission, death, false prophets, violence, war
