GOOD MORNING LORD

GOOD MORNING LORD

                Today is the eve of Rosh Hashanah. Tomorrow and the next day are the two days that determine the new moon. These are the two days of which it is said, “No one knows the day or the hour.” Someday You will come to take us home on one of these two days. May it be soon Lord! May it be this year!

                We are in the midst of a great convergence of signs. You woke us up with the blood moons. You warned us with a total eclipse of the sun. You said that nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom and there will be great earthquakes and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. You said that Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. Has the time of the Gentiles been fulfilled yet?

                You said there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars and upon earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will we see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

                Lord, you also said that the generation that sees the budding of the fig tree (Israel) will not pass until all of these things take place. It has now been 70 years. And in just 3 days from now, the great sign will appear in the heavens as the virgin gives birth to the man child and the dragon is cast down and the woman who gave birth to the man child flees into the wilderness.

                Who is the man child Lord? Is it us? And who is the woman that flees? Is that us? Are we soon to be caught up to meet you in the air or are we about to have to flee into the wilderness? I wish I fully understood your signs Lord. There are so many differing opinions and we don’t want to be like the Pharisees that completely missed the signs of Your first coming. Help us to understand Lord… and even more so, help us to be ready… like those who were wise… like those who found an open door into Your wedding feast.

                Our nation has been ravaged by two devastating hurricanes and even this very night the sea and the waves are roaring as a category five hurricane bears down on Puerto Rico and the Islands. Hundreds of thousands of people are and will be without homes, or jobs, or food, or water when these storms have passed.

                You put a president in place to stem the tide of evil, but they are plotting to kill and destroy him. Never has our nation been so divided. If you don’t come this year, then I can only see seven years of tribulation ahead of us. It is as though the birth pangs of Your coming have brought us to this point where we must either be caught up, or flee into the wilderness.

                We take into account your warning that the Day of the Lord cannot come unless there is a great apostasy that comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. Well, the great apostasy has been happening for some time now. Will it be even greater? And if the pope is the antichrist, then the man of sin has been revealed. Is it him or are we waiting for another?

                We long to hear the mighty sound of Your shofar Lord, for as Paul said, “The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and thus we shall always be with the Lord.” We can hardly wait!

                Somehow, in spite of all that is happening and has happened, it seems that not everything has been fulfilled. If you were to come today; the vast majority of your people would prove to be foolish virgins, would they not? How many Christians actually have oil in their lamps? How many have become mature disciples? Still, You have said that God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live together with Him.

                We feel like we understand Your prophesies in general Lord, but there is a point beyond which we cannot penetrate Your plans or predict just when and how they will reach completion. So whether You choose to come now, or later, I pray that You will make us faithful and strong. I pray that we will be ready to go or ready to stay. Don’t let Your people be disheartened. After all, much of what we believe is subject to interpretation. Everything You say has to be taken into consideration, not just the texts that fit our view… and we do love our own points of view so much.

                To me it seems that 95% of the church remains completely oblivious to all of these signs. They no longer study Bible prophecy. They don’t want to know, nor do they have any interest in finding out Your view of a true Christian… a true disciple. We build our doctrines to create the illusion that we will never have to face persecution like all of those who came before us. We really do want a free pass… as if all but one of Your disciples didn’t die for their faith, or that millions were not thrown to the lions, or imprisoned, or tortured, killed or beheaded for their faith.

                And so I lay it all at your feet Lord. However it turns out, I’m in it for the long haul. After all, at nearly 70 years old, I’ve got at best 10 more productive years left and I can’t think of any way I would rather spend my remaining years than serving You and loving You and blessing Your people and encouraging them. I love Your people Lord and so if we are to undergo times of tribulation I pray that you will empower us to bring in a big harvest. Pour out Your Spirit upon us like You promised in Joel 2:28-32 so that we can prepare many people for your coming kingdom.

                Whatever may come, O Lord, I pray that you will keep us in Your secret place and that we may abide under the shadow of the Almighty.