Part 28 – What It Means To Prepare for the 2nd Coming of Our Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ
The Holy Bible is loaded with stories and teachings that speak of love for God, love for fellowmen, and love for the “self”. It is also a documentation of God’s love for Man and how He wants Man to respond to His grace and mercy. Obedience to God’s Will leads to blessings upon blessings for whoever consistently strives to obey. Curses upon those who intentionally break God’s commandments will be the consequence of living sinful lives. (Deuteronomy 28)
Let me simulate the process of obedience to God. When a person reads (or listens to) Words of God diligently, he or she is actually obeying Joshua 1:8 which says that God Himself commanded that Man should study His Words. Because Words of God are like seeds which become alive within a believer, there will be an improvement in the Way that person lives, assuming that the learning is sustained. Somewhere in the bible, he or she will find the passage which encourages Man to seek God and His Kingdom
1 Chronicles 16:11
“Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face continually.”
Psalm 14:2
“The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.”
Isaiah 55:6-7
“Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.”
A quick search of passages telling Man to seek God can result in 79 sources from within the bible. It looks like a first step as soon as Man wakes up would be to pray to Almighty Father through Jesus Christ who showed Man such a Way when He was walking with Man as a human being. We hear simple prayers like “Oh my God, what am I supposed to do today ? I am overwhelmed by troubles. Please send Your Holy Spirit to guide my thoughts so I will see Jesus today.” Jesus in that prayer is “The Truth”. If you see “The Truth” about what you need to do in a given day, congratulations, because it also means you saw Jesus. (John 14:6)
Oftentimes, trying to find The Truth can mean having to reflect not yet about Words of God but about the list of troubles in need of attention. Those not familiar with God’s Teachings will then find it useful to locate the Wisdom which can apply for a given trouble. First list down whatever troubles or opportunities you have to face, Prioritize them. Deal with the top priority. God’s Wisdom for a person to overcome specific troubles is found in the Scriptures. It is at that point when a person should realize a need to pursue further studies of the Words of God in order to find God’s Wisdom to resolve troubles.
The frequent practice should be to first humble yourself in the eyes of the Lord. Remember, God hears the prayers of Righteous people, while unrepentant sinners remain blind. Sins block the view to The Truth. to Jesus, to the solutions of troubles. Until after forgiven, you have to keep knocking for His Presence.
2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV
“14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Matthew 5:8 ISV
International Standard Version
“How blessed are those who are pure in heart, because it is they who will see God!”
We ought to begin not only with humility but also with patience. For ALL men are sinners. Remember the definition of Love in 1 Corinthians 13:4. Aside from God being Love, the very first virtue of a person with God’s Love is what ?