We are warned not to be spiritually naked. We are told to be clothed with righteousness. What happens when we aren’t? What happens when we find ourselves spiritually naked? The warnings to be clothed are powerful and should inspire each Christian to make the changes necessary to remain clothed and ready for the soon return of Jesus Christ.
Kalon Mitchell
National Mourning
December 5, 2018, was declared a national day of mourning for the United States of America, because former President George H. W. Bush had died the previous day. Many governmental agencies were shut down in response to this day of mourning for a past president.
When I heard about this, there were a couple of observations that ran through my mind. The first was that, while yes, banks were closed, the stock market was closed and post offices were closed, there didn’t seem to be an outpouring of sorrow. No one was of a sad countenance. Life kept going on. Most people went to their jobs and lived their lives. Secondly, I wondered what it would be like if this day of mourning was actually in response to people’s realization that they have been living the wrong way of life and they were ready to turn to God.
In reading through the Bible, we find many stories about how people were living the wrong way of life and had issues and problems that came to a head. Then, they would call out and ask God for help and He would save them. Many times, the Israelites had to face serious problems and captivity in order to repent and return to God. The city of Nineveh, while not an Israelite city, was warned about the captivity and destruction that WOULD come upon them unless they repented. They did, and the city was spared at that time.
The problem is that very often, humans have to learn the hard way. God doesn’t desire people to die. In Ezekiel 18:21-32; 33:11-20, God keeps asking why people would not turn from sin and live. The whole reason God has given man about 6,000 years to try living his own way is to recognize how bad a job he has done. And indeed, we are coming up to the times when issues and problems are becoming more and more prevalent. We are destroying the earth we live on, and we are in the process of destroying all life. In fact, Christ warns in Matthew 24:21-22 that if God were not to cut short the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord, no flesh would survive. We would wipe each other out. That’s how far man would take it. When we review the history of the past two world wars and the atrocities and the inhuman treatment, it is not hard to imagine that man would be willing to do much worse, especially under the inspiration of the god of this world, Satan the Devil.
As Christians, we also have the duty to sigh and cry about the atrocities that we see (Ezekiel 9:4), as well as continue our warning cry to the nations, as we are told to do by God (Ezekiel 33:1-10). Unfortunately, many refuse to hear the warning. They claim to know God and yet their hearts are not in line with God’s ways (Ezekiel 33:30-33). The warning to mourn and to turn to God is plainly there. Will we be the ones who are willing to do so? Or will we have to go through the Great Tribulation?
Our choice is of the utmost importance at this moment in time. James 4:8-10 tells us: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”
Yes, we should be weeping. We should be, individually and collectively, appalled, disgusted, shocked and grieved in the depths of our hearts over our sins, just as the people were in Acts 2:37: “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart…”
We are not only addressing the prideful, lying, stealing, and lusting sins but also sins of the tongue, sins of anxiousness, sins of bitterness, sins of partiality, sins of complacency, sins of jealousy, sins of impatience, sins of arrogance, sins of hate, sins of backbiting and sins of cowardliness, and the list could go on and on. We should grieve over all of them because every sin separates us from God.
The time for mourning and returning to God is NOW! In Matthew 5, the beatitudes show that the actions of those who want to be known by God are in line with turning to Him. They are doing what is required of them. One of these actions is mourning, while being mindful of sin in our lives and actively turning from it. True Godly sorrow and repentance produce the change that is needed. 2 Corinthians 7:9-11 says: “Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.”
Again, the choice is ours. What will our choice be?
By the Power of God!
The power of God is incredible and yet His Word shows us that we can at this time call upon and partake in some of this power now. Once we are a God being we will have the same power that God and Christ have, but we can use this power in small quantities in accordance with their will at this present time. But it takes having a close relationship with them to be able to do so.
True Christian Humility
The Bible enjoins us all to be humble and have the attitude of being as such. But why? Why is it important? What does Christian humility look like? Are there any other parts that go along with being humble? We will look into these questions and discover the important answers.
What God Has Done For Me
We are each called, specially and uniquely. We each are given amazing opportunities in this life. We are each forgiven of our sins, upon repentance and it is an incredible thing that we each should dwell upon. Where would we be without God’s mercy, His loving kindness, His great foresight and His master plan? Really the question ends up, what HASN’T God done for me?
The Question Is Why
As we return home from the Feast of Tabernacles, there is always a great let-down, and there is a desire to not have to return to our “normal” lives and our daily work. During the Feast, we spend a great amount of truly refreshing time listening to, studying, meditating and thinking about God’s Word, as well as being with people of like mind and Spirit.
But then we get back into the swing of life and things start again to dull up and tarnish over. We fall back into old habits, we don’t make the efforts that we were making before and during the Feast. And so we may start to lose some of that fire, some of that zeal.
Motivation is not something that we can sustain automatically. Motivation is more than just feeling a certain way, and if we don’t feel that way, then we don’t do it. The word “motivation” is derived from the word “motive,” which means “needs, desires, wants or drives” within individuals. It is the process of stimulating people to action to accomplish the goals they set. If we are not crystal clear on our purpose, our calling, essentially WHY we continue to be Christians, then we WILL be pushed off course.
Newton’s First Law of Motion states that “an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an external force.” This plays out as true in our Christian lives. If we are not consistently making small steps towards overcoming and changing, then our lives will stay the same, and no amount of Feasts will change that. God has called us out of this world and its ways of thinking and acting. That calling is a massive external force. It catapults us forward. But then there is Satan who is another external force. And IF we are not focused 100% on God—and this has to be a critical and integral part of who we are (our WHY)—then we will be pulled off course. Let us make it personal. Let us ask ourselves: What is our “WHY” for being a Christian? People always worry about the “how” and “what”, and while those are important in defining, they don’t hold a candle to the “why.”
- Why do we make effort in DAILY prayer, Bible Study and Meditation? (Compare Deuteronomy 6:1-9; 11:18-22; Psalm 119:1-176.)
- Why do we observe the weekly Sabbath and the annual Holy Days?
- Why do we call ourselves Christians (meaning, to be as Christ, or Christ-like, and letting Christ live in us)?
- Why do we treat each other with outgoing love and concern, by esteeming others higher than ourselves in every relationship—including, if necessary, laying down our wants, desires and wishes for the betterment of others?
- Why do we do the things that we do? Do we do them out of habit, or because of a conscious, active choice?
- The list of “Why’s” could go on and on… what are some you can think of?
If we don’t have answers, then it is time to start figuring those out. We have to have a “why” for the things that we do and the way that we do them. It has to be continuously and always in the forefront of our minds that we are to become like God—to become God—with Him leading at the helm. Psalm 57:2 says: “I will cry out to God Most High, To God who performs all things for me.” Let us make sure we are crying out to God and asking for help in all areas of our lives. Psalm 119:105 continues: “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.” We must dig into God’s Word for wisdom and answers. We must seek God in all our ways and in all things. Hebrews 11:6 states: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
The “Why” is there. It is up to each of us to define it and engrain it into ourselves so that we don’t lose our direction, our hope and our zeal.
LGD 2018: Time to Give Up?
As we get closer to the return of Christ, Satan is more and more angry, especially with God’s people. He will try and get us to give up in many areas of our lives. How can we make sure that we are not swayed by this? There is much training that we need to do on a consistent basis to make sure that we don’t give up.
FOT 2018: Wall of Protection
The Bible talks a lot about walls and shows us their importance. We will discuss how walls were important but also how they are relevant to our lives today. We must continue to build our spiritual walls up.
FOT 2018: Standards
What are our personal standards? Having standards and sticking to them is a constant challenge that each of us must be doing. The chance to do this is now. The instruction is to be constantly ready and on guard.
