Well, here we are.
It has come down to this. Whatever you want to believe “this” really is.
I used to actually like going to the grocery store. But now it is kind of like hunting. Okay—put on that mask, and scope out the aisles. Keep a safe distance from the other hunters. See if you can bag some toilet paper.
But seriously—right about now just may be the perfect time for us to take stock of who and where we are.
Because it looks like we are at a crossroads—a pivotal point in time and history—that may possibly change life, as we know it.
Many hope to somehow return to life as “normal” again. Some may find they are willing to fight for it.
Others may shrink back to a more fearful position—embracing the “new normal,” and a much less free society.
Both arguments are certainly understandable. But those of us who have our hope in Christ Jesus have much more pressing issues to consider.
The moment you became a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, and trusted His work on the cross for your salvation, this world was no longer your home.
You have a real destiny that awaits you, and you will be leaving this world. It could happen at any moment.
So how does that make you feel, to hear me say that? Joyful? Fearful? A sense of relief? Or disbelief? Your reactions can tell you a lot.
Don’t beat yourself up if you find that you’re feeling a lot more like a victim than a victor right now. Or if you’re more prone to worry than to worship.
These uncertain times can make you feel defeated, instead of excited about your destiny. After all, bad news and fearful events seem to be everywhere.
And in those quiet moments of pondering all of this, those troubling, doubting questions can enter your mind.
Is Jesus really coming back?
And will it be as soon as I hope it will?
Where is the promise of His coming?
And am I mistaken to believe in it?
The truth is, everyone has their moments of doubt—especially in the midst of hardship, or during what feels like a delay.
But here is another truth: The devil is not in the details. He has zero control over circumstances, and time.
God is the Lord over all. He is Lord over the details. And He is Lord over every measurement of time. Every moment.
And for God, nothing less than the perfect moment will do.
GOD’S PERFECT MOMENTS
THE FLOOD
Right about now—during “this”—you might be having your own personal flood of emotions.
You may feel overshadowed with some pervasive cloud of sadness. An impending sense of loss may be overtaking you. And everywhere you look, you are seeing more and more hatred.
Hatred toward your Jesus. Hatred toward His Holy Word, and all that you stand for.
Hatred toward you.
You’re now confronted, and even perplexed by the onslaught of rebellious and ungodly attitudes.
The lost—those who have not believed and trusted in Christ Jesus for their salvation—surround you. Acquaintances, coworkers, friends and family. You feel for them. You fear for them.
Now consider what stresses the man we know as Noah must have suffered, during days of God’s pronounced judgement upon the whole earth.
“And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.”
“For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth. And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him.”
“And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.”
(Genesis 7:1, 4-5, 21)
Of course, God was right. Mankind was a mess. Something terrible had taken place, to ruin the very creation God had lovingly established for His own.
It seems to have been all encompassing. It was worse than the worst of pandemics. Every person on the face of the earth were somehow afflicted. The whole earth was constantly filled with violence and evil thinking.
God would need to put a stop to it all. And it would seem He had the opportunity and the authority to bring His flood of judgement upon the earth wherever and whenever He chose to do so.
But with God nothing happens at random, or on the spur of the moment. He always has a distinct plan and purpose for everything He does. And a precise moment to do it within.
The years rolled by. Noah hammered away at the ark. There were plenty of opportunity for people to repent, as God waited. Surely, people walked by this huge project, and wagged their heads. Some may have even witnessed the unending line of animals, parading slowly toward the ark.
You would think that would have gotten someone’s attention. Possibly, by that time humankind was unreachable. But God continued to patiently wait—as His servant, Noah, faithfully carried out His sovereign plans for survival.
Then, at that moment when every last detail had been obeyed and finished—when that last animal hoof had finally crossed the threshold of the ark’s doorway—God sealed up the door behind them.
“And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in.”
(Genesis 7:16)
It was the moment. God’s moment. Then and only then, could the great flood begin.
THE DESTRUCTION OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH
At this time, you may be feeling the weight of your own weaknesses or inadequacies. You may feel regret and sorrow.
You may sense that we’ve come to the final episode of the church age. It’s certain the hour is late. But you didn’t reach all of those people you had planned to reach with the gospel. Life got busy. Things got complicated.
You certainly could have done more, said more—been more.
Now imagine the remorse of Lot, Abraham’s nephew, as he lived among the Sodomites.
“And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;
And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)”
(2 Peter 2:6-8)
Lot had made his own choice. He had split off from Abraham, and moved his family and herds down into the well-watered plains of prosperity called Sodom and Gomorrah. And it probably didn’t take very long for him to discover his monumental mistake.
Possibly they had welcomed him at first. After all, Lot had become a very rich man, as he traveled under the blessings of Abraham. But how he must have lost hope, day after day, living among these perverse people. Homosexuality was prevalent there, to the point of violence.
We can imagine Lot’s misery. He was trapped. He had committed his family and herds into the hands and ways of ungodly people. There seemed to be no way out of this prison of vexation and shame.
But what Lot did not know, is that Almighty God had a moment. An exact place in time, to deal with the sinfulness of such a place. God sent His angels of judgement, to carry out His perfect plans.
But first, Lot and his family would need to be rescued. No judgment of God ever takes place, until the righteous are first taken out of the way. God always makes sure of that.
“And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.
And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.
And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.”
“Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;”
Genesis 19:14-16, 24
The angels came and led Lot and his family quickly out of destruction’s path, just in the nick of time. And just when they were safely away, down rained the fire and the brimstone upon the inhabitants of the plain.
Not a moment too soon. Nor could it be a moment too late. Because no other moment in time, but God’s moment, would do.
THE BIRTH OF EMMANUEL
At this time, you might find yourself terribly disillusioned with church life. In fact, “church life” might seem more of an oxymoron.
Church may just make you cringe, or yawn, or wish you were anywhere else. Or possibly you’ve decided to just go with it, to play along and pretend it all matters, with all of the programs, traditions and the trappings that don’t seem to do much for your soul.
You may be bored with the Bible. Or you may even feel disconnected from God—it seems He isn’t for you personally, but for religion.
Imagine the Jewish world at the time of Christ Jesus’ birth. They were steeped in religious ceremony, and bound by their own self imposed traditions. How bored they must have been, going through the motions.
And by following the impossibly perfect law, they must have never felt good enough for God. He must have felt quite impersonal to them.
But then, Jesus arrived. In person.
“Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.”
(Luke 2:28-32)
God had come in the form of a human baby, to set the captives free. The captives of empty religion, works and deeds. The captives of Sin. He would grow up to be crucified on the cross, and there, He freed—and all who believed on Him would be free, indeed.
But this cross of freedom was also the crossroads of humanity. This young Jewish “nobody” from Nazareth would end up proving Himself to be God, as He rose, bodily, from the grave. That moment had left no doubt, and it left a weighty decision for all.
He had made it abundantly clear that every person would have to choose one of two roads. There would be nothing in between.
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
(John 14:6)
God always has His moment. Always. And it changes everyone and everything.
The moment of Christ Jesus is the rise or fall of all who dwell on the earth. With the crescendo of all that has come before in a human heart, His moment comes. The pinnacle of Love’s passion. The piercing through—to pierce the darkness at last, with His light and life.
At that moment of belief and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, God adopts you as His son.
“Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.”
(Galatians 4:3-6)
A heart without Christ is like a child without a Father. Lost, and lonely, and afraid. A heart of Sin is under the curse of death, crying for a Savior. But Christ Jesus—the Living Word—breathes and beckons throughout the orphaned world.
And for any and all who will receive Christ Jesus, that is God’s sovereign moment—to perform healing and wholeness in that human heart.
Have you had your moment, with Christ Jesus?
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
(Romans 10:9)
If you haven’t, please take the opportunity to pray right now, before it’s too late.
THE DAY OF PENTECOST
It is entirely plausible that this very day, you are dealing with some sort of depression. And you could be experiencing a real feeling of loss.
Your Christianity may have gone from something you once felt secure about, to something that seems replaced with something else. Regret. Fear. Doubt.
Your once childlike faith may have been reduced to bland ritual. You may wonder if you’re only going through the motions of believing, without actually believing.
The question silently, secretly haunts you: “Am I still His?”
Imagine that day long ago, just after Christ’s ascension to Heaven. His instructions to His disciples: Wait in the city, and be filled with promised power!
“And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.
And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.”
(Luke 24:49-51)
Imagine their sense of loss, knowing they had their last glimpse of their dear Savior, Lord and Friend, for the rest of their lifetimes. How would they go on?
He had always been there for them—instructing them, showing them the Father’s love, and ever leading the way. But it wasn’t to be forever—at least, not then. God had greater things in mind.
God had an awesome plan. God had planned a moment.
So the disciples gathered and faithfully waited, hanging on to Christ’s last instructions. Believing for the unseen promise—believing to receive some unknown power. Not knowing how long their wait must be. His words were simply, “until.”
Ten days they waited, and wondered, and prayed. They may have wept and worried as well. But when the moment of Pentecost was “fully come,” the indwelling fire of heaven embraced them all!
“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
(Acts 2:1-4)
The sound of a rushing heavenly wind blew mightily upon them. Falling! Filling! Storming out into the open streets, as the newly-born Church ran outside!
Thousands heard it and marveled. Was it madness? Or drunkenness? Whatever it was, they longed to understand it and to receive it.
Christ’s magnificent church had been birthed! His Holy Spirit poured out upon believers of every persuasion. The promised moment of God had come, at last!
And what of the days and years of the church to follow? We have its history.
But we also have the promise, just as those first brave believers did. The promise of a great ingathering—a harvest—of Christ’s church, unto himself. We—the apparent final generation of this church age—now await the final episode, in our adoption as sons!
THE RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH
Just about now—right at this critical time, when you need to be standing firm in God’s promises—you may find yourself wavering.
You may be contending with your deepest doubts, or a host of absurdities and accusations spewed out against you by the enemy. You may be facing some of your sharpest critics on this earth. And one of them may be yourself.
Don’t believe any nonsense. Believe God’s word. No matter how the darkness threatens, it must not win.
You know the truth. So remember it well, believe it, and embrace it for all you’re worth.
This present day world is brutal, but it is also afraid. That makes for an unpredictable mosh of emotions. None of what we’re currently experiencing is easy to watch.
Unbelievers have turned to mockers—even haters—of Christianity. And if we’re truly honest with ourselves, it isn’t hard to imagine why. They despise the phoniness. They disdain the hypocrisy. They have little use for the overacted and overrated productions of churchiness.
The majority of the Christian church is a mess. Confusion and conflicts are everywhere.
Some might still listen to the truth, as we continue to share it. Others would sooner die than deal with our brand of reality. Fear and delusions seem to rule the day.
But we who know our King. And we know who truly holds the day, and the hour, and even the very moments of time itself.
“As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”
(1 Corinthians 15:49-54)
Yes, we shall be changed, in that moment. In a flash—like the twinkling of an eye.
I personally feel the time is very, very near for the “catching away” of the church. You may feel differently.
But consider this. In light of these current events, combined with other significant events happening simultaneously, how should you be viewing your present world?
Do your research. Look around. And lift up your eyes.
If you do, I’m sure that you will agree that you can no longer see things as normal. There is nothing normal about what is currently surrounding us.
And without a doubt, God has this moment. His moment.
“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
(1 Thessalonians 16-18)
Is it all too much for you to hope for? That moment? That twinkling of an eye? That blast of the trumpet call? That sudden change, where you will be like Him?
Let that sink in for a minute. You will be just like Him. Perfected!
If you are who I think you are, your heart just skipped a beat.
So friend, don’t fear!
“Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.”
(Revelation 3:10-11)
Hang on to this promise. God’s perfect moment—your moment of hope.
Your rescue.
He will come, just as He has promised.
Soon and suddenly!