REJOICE in this our Day.
We usually think of a day as an envelope enclosing 24 hours which contain 1,440 minutes and 86,400 seconds but that is not always the case. We often use the word day in other ways. If I say – in my day – or – back in the day, I’m referring to a particular period of time.
We know that the Day of Grace extends for thousands of years, from (Genesis 6:8) Noah until (1 Thessalonians 4:16) the Rapture of the Church. The Day (Isaiah 2:12) of the Lord and the Day (Zephaniah 1:18, Malachi 4:1) of God’s wrath refer to the 7 years of the Great Tribulation. When Jesus said (Luke 19:42) if you had known in this your Day what belongs to your peace, He was speaking of the length of time that He would be among them. These various aspects give us greater understanding of the fact that (Psalms 90:4) a thousand years is as a Day with the Lord.
What about us in our Day? Do we know what we need to know in order to have peace in these very troubled times? Jesus asked (Luke 18:8) if He would find faith on the earth when He comes. Are we cooperating with Him in this our Day to make the answer affirmative?
In this our Day we know of many church assemblies, which formerly stood firm and steadfast for God’s Truth and the authority of Scripture, but now have given way to cultural pressure for pastors who will water down the Gospel and distort Bible Truth. They have found that popularity and fatter pay cheques will come if they offer ‘Easy Listening’. Very pleasant to the ears of people who want to be commended and entertained. The same people who are deceived into thinking they are safe when actually they are building a house of cards on shifting sands. The monstrous lie, the demonic chloroform of universal salvation tramples underfoot the Blood of Jesus Christ and gives Satan a happy dance – TEMPORARILY!
Mark Twain said – “A lie runs around the world while the Truth is still putting on its boots”.
It has been said that “a false prophet comforts the afflicted but a true prophet afflicts the comfortable”. Wake up Christians, be discerning and always alert! Don’t give your ears, time or financial support to the hucksters of falsehood. They have dangerously ignored the warning (Proverbs 30:6) add not to His Words lest He reprove you and you be found a liar. They may appear as angels of light but they are demonic, deceiving liars. Let them (Galatians 1:8) be accursed.
There is a command in the Bible which is an important command for us in this our Day. Many Christians are fearful and seem to live with anxiety. The command to FEAR NOT appears in some form 366 times in the Bible, more than any other command. In sudden, surprising danger good fear kicks in the adrenalin. But to always be fearful of what might happen, what could happen, what maybe will happen, is sin because it is disobeying the command and certainly is not a garment for faith in God. Dr. Jeremiah reminded me of something written in 1922, which expresses this foolish fear.
Last night I saw upon the stair
A little man who wasn’t there
He wasn’t there again to-day
Oh, how I wish he’d go away.
Are you in that category of the foolishly fearful?
A life of faith is not a life of mounting up with wings, but a life of walking and not fainting.
Oswald Chambers – “The root of faith is the knowledge of a Person.”
If you are close to a mirror that mirror will reflect you. We cannot reflect Jesus if we are not close to Him. Do we take the time to get to know the Lord so well that we are securely confident in His character, so that our faith in Him is the only possible response? To be (John 17:11) so one with the Father that we will BE, in this our Day, the will of God wherever He places us. Remember what we have and have not been given. God has not given us (2 Timothy 1:7) the spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind. A sound mind does not live in an elevator which is controlled by the daily news and changing events. A sound mind is a calm mind of sanity, resting securely in the never-failing promises of our Sovereign God. The Sovereign God is our loving, heavenly Father and He knows (Matthew 6:32) our needs and He (Philippians 4:19) will supply. Remember (Colossians 3:3) because our life is hid with Christ in God - - what could possibly harm us or even make us fearful? So (Philippians 4:4) rejoice in the Lord always and again I say REJOICE in this our Day.
Let us determine to live in this our Day so that this our Day will glide into eternity with joy and praise and not go haltingly with hesitancy and regret for what might have been. We need to constantly heed the warning in this our Day (1 Corinthians 10:12) let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. None of us is immune.
Dr. Swindoll – “Sin will take you farther than you want to go. Sin will keep you there longer than you want to stay. Sin will cost you more than you want to pay”.
While I was talking with the Lord this morning, He condensed some of the admonitions of Jesus into a Christ-centered principle and a godly incentive for us in this our Day. Consider a couple of examples. Jesus said (Revelation 3:20) I will come in and eat with him. How? As much as you have done for the least of these (Matthew 25:40 you have done for ME.
Jesus didn’t ask Paul why he was persecuting Christians, but (Acts 9:4) why are you persecuting ME?
The principle – whatever we say and do to, for or against Christians every day in this our Day we do to for against Jesus Himself.
The incentive - - to recognize that this our Day is the only opportunity we have been given to pour out our love on Jesus.