“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come…Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing”Matthew chp 24 12-14 & 46 KJV
The Texas massacre, the shock at hearing how Church brethren, about their business, in the House of God worshipping…were cut down by an unannounced but relentless, enemy. Floods & hurricanes in USA & Caribbean, earthquakes in Mexico, Italy, Iran-Iraq boarder and other areas. Mud slides world wide, washing away whole towns & villages, forest fires too. Syrian crisis, wars and suicide bombings & terror attacks in England, France, Nigeria, simmering unrest in Zimbabwe, the Rohingya Crisis & the genocide of innocent people. Wars & rumours of war. The poverty of many nations driven by greed right to the top. Children killing children daily, right here in the United Kingdom, “Rachel weeping for her children “ as many mothers & of course fathers, cry out for the child cruelly cut down on the streets & no one seems to have the answer ‘why?’ These are but a few of the evils dominating the earth, indeed the Word of God is true, “the love of many”, as the Scripture states above, “waxes cold”. But…this is not the end. No.
The end comes when the Son of Man shall appear & though we do not know the specific time- we know for certain, that Jesus Christ in all of His Glory, will appear & ‘we who yet remain’ & hold on till the end, will appear before Him. The signs of His coming are evident to see, the Scripture tells us the earth is crying out “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.“ Romans ch8 v KJV. She is groaning from the blood shed from the innocent lives in the earth. All of the injustices, all of the crime, all of us not living in peace with our brothers & sisters, not loving each other as we want to be loved, all of the unforgiveness, all of the hatred, all of the vanity, the idolatry worshiping- all of it is contrary to the Word & teachings, of Jesus Christ. All of it. The storm is here, it is is raging; powerful, persistent in some areas, quelling in others, simmering in elsewhere but the storm is here. SO! what do you do with your ‘hallelujahs’ when we see this? Who do they belong to? When we see these things Jesus calmly told us, fear not but to “look up for our redemption draws near”. He is coming back! Will you & I be found worshiping? Working for the Kingdom of God? Praising unashamedly? Pleading the Blood of Jesus & taking the Gospel, the good news of His love to the alleys, the highways & byways, into pubs & on the streets, at the bus stop, to school, college or university, where we work? Are we praising Jesus in our storms or only when we are on the mountains when it’s much easier to do, making so many people unwittingly believe that they will never experience trials if they follow Jesus Christ because we don’t give a true picture of our praises when we are bereft & in pain, when we are down in Spirit; still praising with no money or food, homeless, broken home, difficult families, sickness, problems at work, lonely or struggling but continuing to lift up our heads & hands to The Risen King when these fiery trials come?
Today, whatever valley or mountain experience you are in, ask yourself “who does my praises, my sincerest & Highest hallelujahs belong to?” Can we like Paul say “I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me”Phil 4 v12 KJV or that we are at least, working towards this goal?
How beautiful is Gods blessings when we continue to praise & worship Him despite everything we go through? Yes good & bad. Each day I lift my praises to Him because I know I would not be here without Jesus Christ and without Him in my life. I know He has kept me when I didn’t even spare a thought for Him. I know He kept me when I was in the valley of severe sickness and not only once either. I know He kept me when there were days where I thought I had nothing even though I was rich in Him. Days when loneliness consumed me, yet I come from a very large family. Days when the enemy fed me lies & stupidly, I did not guard my ears, mind & heart as Jesus instructed me to. Days when I did not forgive but I expected forgiveness. Days when I believed in ‘me’ & ‘did not keep from idols’ as John pleaded with us to do in his book ch5 v 21. Each day let us consider what it means when we say we will follow Jesus no matter what & let HIS love shine through us, praising Him in everything we face because this is the time when the love of many are waxing cold & evil is at a degrading level & increasing still. But this is the time when we hold on to Jesus & His Word until He returns for His faithful children. This is when we draw nearer to Him. Or come to meet Him if you are seeking answers to this world & do not know where to turn to. This is when our hallelujahs should belong only to Him, The King of Kings, Our Father who is in Heaven, Jesus Christ & will do the rest:
“And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming“1John 2 v21 KJV
God bless you & remember do not let your heartsbe troubled, keep praising The One’who woke us this morning!! Who does your hallelujahs belong to?
Samantha ?
Chosen by Ellisse
