There is sometimes such a deep, abiding despair in my soul that I cannot even cry out for help.  These past weeks have been like that, as I struggle to understand that battle in which my family is engaged.  Yet this morning, as I sat in quiet time with the Lord, He spoke to my heart about my newest sin – new as in the latest one that He is revealing to me.  It seems I sinned when I went to someone else for help rather than crying out to Him alone.

You wouldn’t think that was sin, would you?  I certainly didn’t.  I thought we were here to help one another make it through the days.  My Lord saw it differently.  You see, for many months He has been drawing me closer and closer into a deeper intimacy with Him.  He has been grooming me for His purposes and He wants me to rely on Him, trust Him, reach for Him when I am in need, and totally depend upon Him.  I knew that. 

So this morning why did I reach for a flesh and blood friend?  I don’t really know the answer to that except that I wasn’t hearing from Him and in my impatience I turned to a friend to see if they had an explanation and some kind of direction that I wasn’t receiving.  As it turned out, they didn’t.  The best advice they had was to sit and wait upon the Lord.  (If I could insert a picture of a sheepish grin here, I would!)

After receiving this sage advice, I sat back in my prayer chair and waited on the Lord.  It took all of about two minutes to receive the chastening of the Lord and His reminder that I belong to Him and Him alone and our ministry together is dependent upon our constant communion and trust of ONE ANOTHER.

Okay here’s a new one on me.  The Lord is trusting ME???  After I let it sink in a bit I realized that yes, in fact, He was.  He was giving me assignments and trusting me to carry them our according to His instructions.  He was trusting that I wouldn’t substitute my own ingredients into the recipe, or hand it off to someone else to babysit for me.  He was trusting ME to be reliable and dependable in the service He has for me.  How about THAT?!?  The God who created the universe is trusting ME!

With contrite spirit I repented before Him, asking for His forgiveness.  He, as always, was faithful to offer that forgiveness along with some new revelations and a step deeper into His heart.

I have dusted off my knees and am now basking in the incredible peace and joy that comes from walking intimately with the King of Kings.  Hallelujah!

So how is your day going?

Ever been there?  Caught in a situation where every escape route leads you back to the same problem?  That’s where I am this morning.

                In August of last year – 11 months ago – I purchased three event tickets for my son’s birthday.  These were not cheap tickets and the event was almost six months past his birthday, but the group is so popular I had to buy them that far in advance.  Then the virus lockdown struck.

I received a nice email stating that the event was postponed and I would be notified when it would be rescheduled.  That is still, six months later, the position of the event holder.  However, given the time passed (almost a year) they are also offering me the option of a full refund.  How nice!

                Well, here is where the struggle begins.  The credit card I used to charge the tickets is no longer valid.  I closed that account about three months ago.  It isn’t affiliated with my personal bank so my ties to that institution are no longer in place.  And, of course, the ticket vendor will only refund my purchase price to the original purchase method – to the original CARD used to purchase the tickets.  Here we go. . . .

Fortunately for me, I was SMART when I purchased those tickets, because they were so expensive.  I purchased cancellation insurance!  Woohoo!

                I searched through my email and found the policy, clicking on the ‘file a claim’ link.  Churn, churn, churn…..and then there it was in front of me, taking up the entire screen:  NOTICE:  WE DO NOT HONOR CLAIMS THAT ARE A RESULT OF THE COVID-19 VIRUS.

                So here I am, once again low man on the totem pole, supporting not only the popular group but also the event organizer, ticket vendor, and the ticket cancellation insurance company.

I have seen this so many times in my life but never so much as during this virus.  Everyone tells me ‘big government’ is footing the bill.  Not so.  You and I are footing the bill.  Beginning with situations such as I just described and ending with the tax bill that is waiting for us around the corner.  Big business will escape as they simply won’t pay their vendors and subcontractors (who will go under).  The little business guy in your neighborhood? – he is hurting and probably won’t survive.  And people like me?  We do without.  Not that I will starve (I have family and church family that will see to that) – but the funds that have been stolen – that’s right, STOLEN – from my hands and yours will never be returned to us.  The money I saved to give my son a really good present on a very special birthday is forever gone.  Consequently, we will adjust our spending habits, tighten our belts, reduce our expenditures wherever we can, and continue to be the supporting structure for the rest of the country. 

So what is the point of this rant?  It is to say “be kind”.  Be kind to one another and be generous of spirit, and if you are able, of wallet, in these unprecedented times.  Recognize that everyone you meet is in some sort of struggle.  We’ve lost friends, loved ones, jobs, homes, families and hope. 

                It is time to love one another with all that we have within us because there is no guarantee that the face you are staring at today will be here tomorrow.  LOVE like there is no tomorrow.  FORGIVE like it is your last day on earth.  And LET GO of all of the things you can’t control.  It isn’t worth holding on to.

John 13:34-35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

“Rapture” is not a word found in the Holy Scriptures, but the concept is there in many verses.  Merriam-Webster defines it as:

 1 : an expression or manifestation of ecstasy or passion

2a : a state or experience of being carried away by overwhelming emotion

2b : a mystical experience in which the spirit is exalted to a knowledge of divine things 

3 often capitalized : the final assumption of Christians into heaven during the end-time according to Christian theology.

This isn’t a theological discussion but I did want to point out a couple of things.  Bible verses that speak to the concept of the Rapture are numerous.  Some of the most often quoted are:

1 Thessalonians 4:16   For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 

1 Thessalonians 4:17  Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 

Matthew 24:37  For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. 

Mark 13:32  But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 

Matthew 24:40  Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 

Luke 17:34  I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left.

Really, I didn’t want to get into a theological discussion but rather just wanted to give a quick explanation of what the Rapture is and to whom it pertains.  Basically, it is a day that is coming very soon in which Jesus Christ will come in the clouds and call all believers to Himself.  We will meet Him in the air and go to live with Him for all eternity.  But why is this event even happening?

To understand we have to look at the entire picture.  Throughout the Scriptures, Christ is referred to as the bridegroom and believers as the bride.  A quick look at Hebrew customs of the first century explains not only why the Rapture but also those events that happen to believers prior to the Rapture.

In the first century when a man wanted to marry a woman he made the offer of marriage.  For every person on earth this correlates to the offer of salvation that has been made.  If the woman accepts the offer of marriage then the bridegroom sends a gift or token to seal the betrothal.  Every person who accepts Christ’s offer of salvation receives the “seal” of the Holy Spirit.  The next step in the ancient romance is the bridegroom coming to the bride’s house to get her and take her to his home for the wedding feast.  This, then, is the correlation to the Rapture.  Believers are awaiting the arrival of the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, to take them to His home for the marriage supper of the Lamb.  And we are excited!  Because we see the signs as described prophetically in the Scriptures.  These signs of His soon return for His bride are very evident all around us.  They don’t give us an exact date, but they do make it clear it will be soon!

The Rapture is NOT the second coming of Christ.  During the Rapture Christ will remain in the clouds.  At His second coming He will come completely down to the earth.  There are many studies available to explain both occurrences, and if you read through some of them you will discover that some theologians disagree as to the exact timing of the Rapture in relation to the Second Coming.  That is irrelevant as far as I am concerned, and all believers agree that there will be a Rapture and there will be a Second Coming.

But what about all those people who did not accept Christ’s invitation?  All those who are “left behind”?  Well, there are many movies about those events and if you have not accepted Christ’s invitation then I recommend you watch a couple of them.

What I can tell you is that the deception that will be told to all those who are left behind is already circulating.  There is a ‘New Age’ prophecy which claims there is a massive solar flare coming which will affect all human beings and catapult them forward to a new level of consciousness/development.  Of course, according to the lie, not everyone will be suitable for this new enlightened age and they will simply disappear – consumed by the solar flare!  A variation on this theme says that just prior to the solar flare our ancient ‘ancestor’, ancient aliens, will return and they will remove those who ‘don’t belong’ to the new enlightened age at the time of the solar flare.

Please know that the devil is a liar and the father of lies.  He is already spreading his lies so that when the Rapture happens, those who are left behind will be controllable with the lie that they are ‘superior’ in some way.  Rest assured – there is not one good human on earth.  Jesus said there is none good, no, not one, except God.

Now is the time.  Today is your day.  Make your choice.  Eternity is just around the corner, and we will ALL have an eternal home.  We simply have to choose – with God or without.  Your choice.

JOSHUA 24:15   … choose this day whom you will serve….