05/26/2020
Have you ever overslept and then suddenly jolted from sleep to a feeling of panic? Were you supposed to be somewhere at a specific time, but realized that you weren’t going to make it now? What did you do? I would suppose that you started scurrying around in haste washing your face, brushing your teeth, getting dressed, and then calling to inform who you were to meet that you were going to be late. Well, if your meeting is with Jesus He will not be upset, irritated with you, or cancel the meeting altogether... He will give you peaceful reprieve and say “It’s alright, I will hold my appointments, I am waiting for you!”
“Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.”
Isaiah 30:18 ESV
Many people know that they have an appointment with Jesus, and yet they continue on in slumber; they have this unsettled feeling that there is unfinished business in their life, but for one reason or the other they toss, turn, and sleep on. Then one morning they are jolted from sleep by a terrible alarm in their life, and run around In a panic trying to prepare themselves, hoping it isn’t too late to meet with Jesus. Are you experiencing a moment such as this? Are you anxiously calling Him hoping that it isn’t to late, and fearing that He might not want to receive you at all? Well, it isn’t good to keep Him waiting, and yet He is patient, because He wants to meet with you, and doesn’t want you to miss another appointment with Him...
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
2 Peter 3:9 ESV
There are those who will tell you that there is a point at which you will have ignored the calling of God the Father too long, but that is not true. He is like the father who stood watching the road, hoping that His wayward son would one day return home. In the Bible this is called the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). Let’s read a portion of it together...
“And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.”
Luke 15:20-24 ESV
Right now you may be feeling unworthy, and that the things you have done in your life have been despicable, but your Heavenly Father still calls out to you, still stand watching the road For you, and has made provision for your arrival. His Son Jesus has paid all your debts with His own life, marked a way for you with His blood, and gives you victory in His resurrection... My friend it is time to come home. Listen to these words of Jesus...
“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.””
Matthew 11:28-30 NLT
I don’t know what the alarm was that shocked you, and has caused you to seek salvation today, but I can tell you that it wasn’t an accident. You have been awakened because God loves you, and He has rearranged His Son Jesus’s day so that He can meet with you. So wash quickly, get dressed, and then come to Him in contrition, and with your hat in your hand... He is waiting to receive you, hear your confession, redeem you, and forgive you. He is ready to take whatever burdens you are bearing, and give you rest, a peace like you have never known before, and joy unspeakable. Are you finally awake, prepared to meet Jesus, and ready to face a new day?
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”
2 Corinthians 5:17-19 ESV
Prayer:
Father, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ who you sent to redeem us, and to fetch us home. We thank you Father for your patience, and your love for us that is so strong that it has made provision for our salvation from sinful lives. We are made new in Christ, and are transformed by your mercy and grace through Him. Our sins have been washed away, and we are dressed in the white cloak of Christ. Our old life was an abomination, but now in joy, and celebration we are made acceptable before you, and invited to dine at your table. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who waits for us with open arms. Great are you who, in the strength of your love, has offered your only begotten Son that we might be saved from sin and death.
Praised be your name Heavenly Father for every moment you waited on me to come home to you. Hear my prayer as I ask your forgiveness for the sins of my lifetime, and hear my proclamation of love for you, and Jesus Christ as I lay prostrate before you in worship. Even in my sin you have seen my heart, and found a glimmer of faith that pleased you, and then sent your Son to lead me home. In the depths of my depravity you waited for my belief to surface, and my heart to be renewed by faith. Help me Holy Father to rise every morning to worship you on that new day, and forevermore. Great are you, my God, and my All!!! O, how I praise your name!!!
““Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.”
Isaiah 43:18-21 ESV
Rich Forbes