Good morning,
A perfectly finished plan
Ever since I was a little kid I always looked forward to Christmas. Since I have always been a sinner, the main reason for the excitement was the presents I hoped that I would get on Christmas eve. As I got older I learned a lot about the importance of Jesus coming as a baby and living a perfect life so that he could die a willing death to pay the full price for my sins. After I accepted Jesus as my savior I was able to see this eternal present as the best present I would ever get in my life. As I have grown older I have been realizing that while the birth and life and death and resurrection of Jesus are central in God’s plan for us here on earth, they are not the only exciting things that God has in store for us now and in eternity. While writing last weeks Monday Minute I was struck by something in a whole different way than before. When Herod asked the religious leaders where the Messiah was going to be born, they came up with the right answer, but never bothered to go and see for themselves if the wise men were on the right track. It suddenly struck me that most of our church and God relationships remind me of my little boy self, always wondering what would be in the gifts for me. Just like the religious leaders, we are thinking about ourselves and don’t have any idea of the perfectly finished plan that the Lord has laid out for us in his Holy Word. We ignore the bigger aspects of life. We forget that Jesus said, Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will remain forever.(Matt.24:35)
We look back to what God has done in the past, but seldom look around us to see what God is doing now. When Jesus was getting ready to return to heaven he told his followers that the country of Israel would be destroyed because of their sinful rebellion(Lk.19:44) but we don’t seem to understand that God, through Ezekiel, also told us that God would give this same land back to the Jews later(Ezk.38) That just happened in 1948. He also told Ezekiel that He would come and fight against their enemies and destroy them when they were attacked by a vast army. All the nations involved in that attack are listed, and those nations are all in place today. He tells us that why he would do that, my holiness will be displayed by what happens to you. Then all the nations will know that I am the LORD.(Ezk.38:16) He also told us that, from that time on the people of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God.(Ezk. 39:22) Now the nation is there but they are as worldly as the rest of us. That battle could happen any time the Lord decides it fits his eternal plan. The Lord also tells us that, Not all of us will die, but we will all be transformed. It will happen in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, the Christians who have died will be raised with transformed bodies. And then we who are living will be transformed so that we will never die. (1Cor.15:51,52) We know that the 7 years of great tribulation could begin with little or no warning(Rev.7:14-17) and despite the disaster for God’s enemies, there will be a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. (Rev.7:9) Also, they were shouting with a mighty shout, “Salvation comes from our God on the throne and from the Lamb!(7:10) There is so much more right at our front door that God has told us is a part of his perfectly finished plan that we can look forward to and live with the excitement that he means for us to have during these challenging times. Dear Lord, please open our eyes and energize our faith in these important days.
Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will remain forever.
Roy Wisner
