Tracy! Believe it or not, I think most of us DO understand! Maybe we’ve not had the same life
experiences you’ve had, but we each have certainly had our share of burdens,
heartaches & catastrophes! You know what it is we’re experiencing:
2 Peter 2:(7)-8 Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked
(for that righteous
man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from
day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)—
We are OPPRESSED by the filthy
God-forsaken conduct of the world!! Our very own souls feel TORMENTED **DAY TO DAY** be seeing and hearing
of their lawless deeds!!
Sometimes ~ I’ll be going along just
fine, thinking okay, we’ll just keep on keeping on till the Lord comes (KNOWING
it WILL be soon!!) ~ but then all it takes is one little “something” to put me
on edge & YEARN & cry out to the Lord, “JESUS COME SOON!!”
It may take – like yesterday, the guy
driving the gold van behind us in rush hour traffic, PURPOSELY CUT US OFF (then
of course, gave us the state “hello” flying finger) ~ and this guy had his
WIFE, and YOUNG CHILD in the van with him – did he CARE ENOUGH ABOUT THEIR LIVES to not drive like a maniac?? **NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!**
Had I not steeled myself in our vehicle
& literally **BEGGED** my husband to not push his way over (husband comes
from “old school” ~ he thinks people should drive with courtesy & actually
take turns & be polite even in traffic!! Hahha – JOKE OF THE DAY in my books!!) But had husband pushed HIS TURN
in ahead of the van, the jerk driving the van would have PURPOSELY CREAMED
US!!!!
My spirit just CRIES (in amazement that
people can be SOOOOOOOOO utterly selfish, hateful & rude!!) Fortunately, we didn’t land in
the hospital yesterday from a bad wreck.
Then, I’m fine again for a little while –
till the 10 o’clock news last night (ooops, I know – bad decision, but I still
like to know a little of what’s going on in the world & to hear the good
reports of the weather!) And this time, it’s just one little story about how a pizza delivery guy
was beaten within an inch of his life – the robbers got a “whopping” $24. in
cash & the delivery man remains in critical condition.
More weeping….. praying the guy will be
healed!! Praying he is (or
will last minute become) a Christian!! Crying b/c here he is, a middle aged man, probably
trying to just make a little extra money to help support his family – and
**THIS** happens to him!!
Crying….. weeping…… oppressed….. vexed in
our spirits…… wanting to go Home!!!
You certainly have every right to want off this
planet “mud-ball” and to be at Home, SAFE in the arms of Jesus!! And I’ll always remember your
story from a couple years back & what you endured, and so all the more you
YEARN to go live in a crime-free paradise!! Won’t that be awesome – to never have to look over our
shoulders ever again??
Sweetie, I am convinced that no one knows or can
figure out the actual rapture date. But Scripture reminds us over & over that Jesus will come like a
THIEF ~ AND He Himself gives us the signs to watch for!! Let’s do our best to not focus on
actual dates/feasts/ or times when WE think He should be here & instead be
ever diligent in recognizing the signs of the times & the TIMES OF THE
SIGNS!! Let’s bombard heaven
every single day with praises, with thanksgiving, and also with our
deepest-heart’s yearning for Jesus to come SOON!!!
Here’s what I’ve done in the past (when we could
afford to) ~ after a special “watching date” would come & go: We’d take a mini-trip some where to
just R & R for a day or two & to get a much-needed mental break from
thinking…. From INTENSELY watching (I didn’t say to STOP watching!! ~ I’m just
saying sometimes we need a break even from message boards & intensely
focusing in on certain dates.) We would go & enjoy some “wholesome” entertainment for a few days
and THEN come back & be refreshed. Jesus actually recommended this to His disciples!
Mark 6: 31 And He said to them, “Come aside
by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and
going, and they did not even have time to eat.
King David encouraged himself in the Lord
even when facing an imminent war & we, too, must find ways to encourage
ourselves to keep on keeping on in this EMOTIONAL, mentally &
spiritually-DRAINING **war** of the heavenlies that we now find ourselves
in!! I’m sure the other
Doves can chime in to help us figure out ways & ideas to encourage
ourselves in Him and worship Him all at the same time.
In the meantime, we are to **COMFORT**
one another with the words of our Blessed Hope. You know the only ones who will ACCEPT this comfort? It’s certainly not the world, and
it’s not even Christians in general (as many, by & large, SCOFF at the
notion of Jesus coming for His Church any time soon! ~ while others think the
world has to be all cleaned up FOR Him first!) So, the only ones who are ACCEPTING of receiving the comfort of the
Blessed Hope are the **WATCHING CHRISTIANS**!!
Merriam Webster tells us what it means to
“comfort”:
·
to
give strength & hope to…. To CHEER
·
to
ease the grief or trouble of…. To CONSOLE
And so we know that you WILL hold fast to
what you have (your watching spirit & attitude) so that no one may take
your crown [ref Rev.
3:11] Behold, I am
coming
quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.
And so, we are to: … be steadfast, immovable, always
abounding in the work of the
Lord, knowing that your labor is not in
vain in the Lord.
1 Cor 15:58
We keep on watching, working,
waiting. I’ve never worked as a
waitress, but I’ve got friends who have. And while waiting tables, they do not sit down & watch & wait
with
the customers from the table, but rather
they “keep busy”, taking customers’ orders, bringing their food, keeping their
drinks refilled, bussing the tables, etc. etc. etc. {analogy by the late great Dr. Adrian Rogers & I always
thought it was a good one!}
And as Christian watcher/waiters, we too
are to keep busy while waiting for Jesus.
Ideas:
·
pray for each other (salvation is THEE most important
thing to pray for, I think!!)
Surely we all know of lost loved ones who
need prayer & if no one in particular comes to mind, we can pray for the
MILLIONS of people in Indonesia who were recently left homeless by the quake
& floods & devastation (God cares about them, too, OF COURSE!!) Or you can bombard heaven with
salvation pleas for my favorite relative: Jeff, who is 98, and still not saved!! ~ first time in YEARS I’ve seen even a GLIMMER of
possibility when he mentioned in his last letter that he’s not a church member.
* We can pray for each other & for prayer requests
on this board (you all – though I do not respond to all, I do pray for each
& every prayer request laid out here!!) and if you’d like, you can pray for my husband & I as we
are in a TERRIBLE financial crisis/mess right now!! ~ one of THE worst in our
lives! We literally need
God’s direction and blessing.
* a pastor friend recently reminded me
that when most of our prayers are for prayer REQUESTS, then this is almost like
MAGNIFYING the work of satan!! ~
so we should at least balance that with prayers of WORSHIP, praise &
thanksgiving to The Throne to MAGNIFY the work & glory of God!!! Prayer requests are GREAT, great
that someone with care & compassion would go to the time & trouble to
pray on someone’s behalf, but also great that we go ahead & THANK THE LORD
for His answer to it!!
* Music!!! Christian MUSIC is so very important in our
lives!! Probably most of us
own some Christian CD’s – but we must force ourselves to walk over the CD
player & actually turn the thing on!! J Then sing along with it – even if you sing off-key or flat – sing
along anyway!! We are to make a joyful **NOISE** unto the Lord!!
* Have we told the Lord **TODAY** that we
LOVE HIM!!?? Then, THANK HIM
for the first 10 things that pop into our heads!!
* Listen to online sermons – we all need
a daily injection of the Word!! Most of all, get into & STUDY the Scripture!!
* Has anyone here baked a cake lately
& taken it to a neighbor or friend, or sent a “thinking of you” card…..
“JUST BECAUSE”!!?? It
all counts in the Kingdom & truly this is doing the work of the Lord if
it’s Holy Spirit-inspired. Flowers!! What lil’ old
lady friend do you know (or men, too, like flowers!!) who needs a special colorful pick-me-up BOUQUET of flowers
delivered to them? You don’t
have to pay a florist – just go pick
up a $5. bouquet at Wal-Mart, Target, or the grocery
store. Most will truly be
flattered that you even THOUGHT of them!! Seems so many people in this world are so selfish
& self-centered that rare is the person who takes time/trouble to think of
& care for other people without wanting something in return.
* I know we have animal lovers here! [dog lover myself!!] Has anyone taken time/trouble to go visit or donate a couple
hours time at a Humane Society shelter? Oh my – my biggest problem is I fall in love with every single one of
them & want to bring them ALL home!! J My prayer is that I actually get to help take care of
the animals in the New Jerusalem!!
·
Take time to scribble a “thank you” to John Tng for
keeping this wonderful, fellowshipping Christian site on the web!!
I’ve got oodles & oodles of other
ideas, but I expect John would like me to cut if off somewhere here!! J So here are a few links
that might encourage & **COMFORT** you as we wait/watch together for our
Blessed Hope to be fulfilled!!
http://www.biblegateway.com/ I just love, love, LOVE this
site!! Has anyone considered
making a freewill offering to them? Christian sites, especially biblical ones, can bless us so much!
Same here: http://www.christiananswers.net/spotlight/home.html Christian movie review
website with free access (I never even go see a movie without first searching
here)
http://www.tulsapraise.com/index_files/Page435.htm awesome big-band CHRISTIAN
music! Incredible testimony of
singer, Dave Boyer, who used to work with “The Rat Pack”
http://carrollroberson.com/product.htm if you like soothing ~ almost
Elvis-sounding gospel music! {and buy an extra tape & send to me! Tee-hee!}
http://www.truthablaze.com/index.html Click on blast player or podcast
– listen to the “Eyes of our Understanding”
http://www.truthablaze.com/depression.html Scriptures to help overcome
depression
http://www.laughandlift.com/indexmain.html when you just HAVE to have a
“laugh and a lift”!!! You’ll
want to add this one to your favorites & SHARE with friends & loved
ones!
Tracy & other Doves ~ these are just
some of many, MANY ways to keep on keeping on….. till Jesus comes! In the meantime, in the words of
Brother Bramlett, “Let’s keep on hoping in our Blessed Hope!”
BIG TIME MARANATHA!!!!
Reva
__
:)
John