Yesterday as I was going to and from the living area to my office, I couldn’t help but hear what my Mom was watching on her device. It was your usual warning veiled as ‘prophecy’, regarding the end times. I let it slide the first couple times, considering it was probably a longer video my Mom was watching. In my mind I told myself to place some trust in the Facebook algorithm to probably shift to a video of another topic – health, beauty, or other stuff my Mom would leave on repeat.
But, yeah, I was noticing an hour and then two hours have passed, and it was still the same bevy of soulless, AI voices I was hearing, speaking the save bevy of soulless, ‘words of knowledge’, ‘words of prophecy’, and so on. About telling people how literal ‘days of darkness’ were coming based on the book of Amos, and even going so far as to warn people with more practical steps, like staying indoors, conserving energy and all that.
Now that I’m writing about it, I mean, I talked about this – I intentionally shared on this last Sunday, and I said that any thing that people say is heard from heaven, or a word of God, or so on and so forth, ought to be tested, and the way for us to know if it comes from the Lord is if it comes from the Holy Spirit; And we’d know it comes from the Holy Spirit if it points to Christ and His finished work. Sadly, all this stuff that Mom was listening to was not pointing to Him – and I could say this because of the anxiety I literally saw on my Mom as she was watching all of this.
It came to a point that I’ve had to confront her about it, asking her, what’s with all the videos? Long story short, she admitted that she was ‘old school’, and that she was part of what she called was ‘the last generation’. After clarification she mentioned that she was part of the last generation that was around when Israel was declared a country – which, I suppose, puts everyone born in the 1940’s as said ‘last generation’. I was very tempted to ask her how that made her any ‘special’, but I fortunately held my tongue because that’s when I realized that she felt some sort of obligation or responsibility as part of said generation, to reach out to those who may be part of it, that they may accept the Lord Jesus as their Savior.
Around this time I was pretty confrontational – not aggressive or not AS aggressive as I used to be – but she picked up on that and said to me before I said anything, that she wasn’t afraid, and that she just wanted to make sure we were ‘ready’… To which I told her that I was 100% certain, and absolutely sure I was ready for the rapture. Of course, she looked at me with doubt, asking if I was sure, once, then twice, before I told her that I am sure because it wasn’t about my works or my righteousness, but because of Christ’s finished work proclaiming me righteous before God, no matter what.
She then said that we should be without stain or blemish, to which I told her, challenged her – If I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior, and if He made me as white as snow through His blood, am I therefore to make sure that I keep it clean? Doesn’t that imply that my sin is more powerful than His finished work?
I told her that I was pretty aware of the fact that though I have accepted Christ as my Savior, I still sin. I still make mistakes. But if anything, all these mistakes serve their purpose as much as anything else I experience or make happen in this world – that is, to remind me of His absolute greatness and glory, and, more importantly, His everlasting love and unfailing grace towards me. I keep going back to proclaiming what we pick up from Romans 8 – That God is for us and not against us, and that nothing can ever separate us from His love because of Jesus Christ and His finished work.
She acknowledged that she knew where I was headed with my choice of words… And before we went any further, I suppose I should give the Holy Spirit the credit – because he led us, not to amplify what we don’t believe in, but to go back to common ground. And thankfully, it was Mom who said it first – Christ and His finished work will always be our common ground and foundation. We were not ‘rapture-ians’, we’re not ‘endtimes-ians’, we are Christians.
Right then and there I felt a little ease in talking to her about what she thought she should be doing, in light of all she’s watched, and with regards to what’s stayed established within her, regarding the need to go out and witness. Apparently she had her sister and brother-in-law in mind, and she wanted to speak to them about Jesus Christ. This was where I encouraged her, told her I loved her, and ended the conversation.
I thought I’d go through today’s Psalm, instead of hopping back into Psalm 119.
Psalm 25
Teach Me Your Paths
OF DAVID.
1 To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
2 O my God, in you I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me.
3 Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
In this uncertain world that is relentlessly trying to tear us down, we would do best to continue to place our trust in the Lord, and to continue to lift our souls to him. Indeed, there are many things, from all the things, that we can lift up to Him – however, it is something else for us to lift our soul, the representative of our being, to Him. I believe that by lifting our souls to Him, we lift up our thoughts, our plans, our regrets, our memories, our concerns, our passions – we lift all of this to Him, essentially projecting and proclaiming that we place our trust in HIM over all of these things which compose of our souls, more than anything else in all creation.
It’s a good thing for us in the body of Christ to keep on remembering, and consequently appreciating this. Through Christ we have been given the privilege, not only to see God, but to run to His throne of grace, calling Him our Father; and, here, entrusting our Father with the deepest and darkest corners of our minds.
Indeed, if we were to disclose any of it to anyone or anything else in creation, there is no doubt that shame would follow. We even betray ourselves with the overflow of all we keep inside – No, see, we’re able to lift our souls to the Lord, and we can trust in Him with all that’s shameful. He is, after all, for us, and not against us. He holds our secrets and everything else that would render us ashamed, working all of it towards the good of the body of Christ, and simultaneously keeping it from the eyes and the schemes of all who call themselves our enemies.
In Christ, we would not be put to shame – on the other hand, those treacherous against us, and those calling themselves our enemies; They’re the ones who are at risk of shame.
4 Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.
5 Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
Indeed, may the Lord cause us to remember and to recall all that He is to remember all that He has done, and vice versa. We cry out in thanks and gratitude, recognizing all that Christ has done; but we ought to also keep in mind His paths; That is, what He is doing, and what He will be doing – in the lines of His making it all work for the good of those who love Him, and making all things new. The Truth is known in His paths, and His paths are revealed as we revel in His truth. Reminders and revelations of His salvation are constantly being sung around us – so it is, when we meditate on the Truth.
6 Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
7 Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD!
What could have caused the Psalmist to call on the Lord to remember His mercy, and to remember Him (not the sins of his youth, not his transgressions) according to His steadfast love and for the sake of His goodness? What causes any of us to assume that the Lord has forgotten all of these things? For as far as we know, our God is faithful at all times, and His mercy and love and goodness are always present – and with that said, I dare say that we’re the ones who forget. Because of our limited capabilities as creation, and more importantly, because of our former ways, because of the old flesh and its relentless sabotage against us as new creations, we tend to be blindsided, distracted… forgetful.
8 Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9 He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.
10 All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
The good news is that while we are forgetful, Christ is faithful. God is faithful to us even when we are faithless, much so that we can say that He is good and He is upright… And there it is. Wherever we are in life, whether struggling with sin or humbly taking in His glory and grace, He is faithful to instruct us in the body of Christ, of His way. In His instruction, we are reminded and are therefore strengthened by His steadfast love and faithfulness. We can count ourselves as those who keep His covenant and His testimonies – For it is Christ who established the New Covenant with us, and only by HIS grace do we testify of the goodness of God.
11 For your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great.
12 Who is the man who fears the LORD? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.
13 His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land.
14 The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.
Oh, praise the Lord, indeed! For even in our struggles, and even in our darkest and most shameful of moments, even while we are in the body of Christ – well, not only are we instructed in the Way, but we are reminded; Yes, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are reminded of how our guilt has been pardoned, and how we therefore are able to abide in Him, as He abides in us.
In our struggles, in the midst of high temptation, and even in these times when we would consider pleasure over productivity, regardless of our awareness of how the stakes have never been higher – Well, let us continue to praise the Lord, and to bless His name! For, indeed, here I am reminded of what it means to be convicted by the Holy Spirit – It means that we are reminded of how we have been pardoned of our great guilt. It means that we are instructed in the way He chooses, which I dare assume is the best way for us.
I am reminded, here and now, by the Holy Spirit – of how, here and now, in spite of all my thoughts and all my short-sightedness, I am STILL abiding in the manifest presence of God’s glory and grace, assured not only of children, but for the land they shall inherit. I am reminded, here and now, that no matter what, I am His son, and He is my Father – Through Christ and His finished work, I have such a great Friend in God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!
Oh, Father, minister to my heart, my mind, my body, and my soul! MOVE in and through me, draw out the best, just as You have purged the worst with the blood of Jesus!
15 My eyes are ever toward the LORD, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.
17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses.
18 Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins.
19 Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me.
20 Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
21 May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for you.
22 Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.
Here, after all this, I am reminded of how we have been recreated, reborn as Christians – Sons and daughters of the Most High, saved by the finished work of Jesus Christ, filled and flowing the the Holy Spirit in this reality unto eternity. This is our first and foremost property and attribute – all other things that define us are secondary, and stand on the rock of Christ. We therefore have nothing but care, primarily, for our brothers and sisters who stand on the same foundation, just as we have compassion for those who have yet to receive, believe, and celebrate Him.
There’s something more to write coming from that last paragraph… I just know it.
Until the next post, God bless us all. Let’s stay strong.
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