What if Jesus Came Back Today?

Lately, I have been pondering upon a very intriguing, and frightening question. A question which led to several follow-up questions, and consequently, compelled me to engage in self-examination. And today, I'd like to take you-the reader-on a little journey in an effort to describe how this self-examination process unfolded. My hope by doing so, is to humbly encourage you to also devote some time for self-examination. Perhaps you may never have thought about it before. But examining our individual lives, is a vital part of our spiritual growth, as we strive to lead lives that resemble that of Jesus Christ; following in His footsteps. In other words, examining our daily choices, particularly the way we choose to spend our free time, the type of conversations we choose to engage in-or not-as well as, the TV shows and movies we choose to watch, can be an incredibly eye-opening experience. But before I elaborate on the subject, please allow me to digress, and go back to the beginning of it all.

As I mentioned earlier, I have been pondering upon an intriguing and frightening question. And such question is this: "What if Jesus came back today?" Thus, naturally propelling follow-up questions such as: "What would He find me doing? "Would He be pleased with the way I spend my time and lead my life here on earth? The quest for sincere, objective, honest and transparent answers to such questions, consequently led me to engage in self-examination. Quite frankly-but not surprisingly-a number of things came to mind, which require change. Especially with regards to the way I spend my leisure time; (which just between you and me, happens to be quite a lot... :)). As I attempted to objectively examine my daily choices, I discovered something that ought to have been quite obvious, yet I still managed to be amazed by it. Perhaps I may not have been amazed by this "discovery" in and of itself; but rather by the fact, that it was so overt. And yet, I had made little or no effort to change it. This "discovery" I made, pertains to a number of habits of mine. These habits are not necessarily sinful habits. But they are constant distractions which subtly rob me of time, and even-I dare say- temporarily shift my focus from the things of real significance and/or importance. That is, heavenly things; things with eternal implications.

One of these distracting habits of mine, is spending the majority of my free time on social network sites. Such as: Facebook, twitter, orkut, so on and so forth. Now, please do not misunderstand me. I'm not suggesting or implying that spending time on social networks is necessarily bad. It can-and is-used for good.  But by the same token, it can also be distracting to me at times. Again, my intention is not to play the blame game here. After all, if someone is to blame, that someone is none other than: Me, myself, and I. For I alone am responsible for the choices I make. Once again, I cannot emphasize this enough:  My intention is not to blindly criticize the existence of social networks; or the Internet for that matter. If that were the case, I would have to delete this blog, or resign to the possibility of being called a hypocrite.

The point I'm trying to make is this: Access to the internet and advanced technological gadgets, such as i-phones, i-pads, i-pods, Notebooks, Notepads, laptops, and the good "old fashioned" cell phones, can be-and are-wonderful things. For instance, we can now share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with people from all over the world, from all walks of life and different backgrounds, thanks to our access to the Internet. We can share our faith and hope in Jesus Christ with friends and family members, through social networks, blogs, websites, and TV broadcasts. We even have Bible apps (applications) on i-phones nowadays! (Isn't that amazing?!)

By contrast, we must not forget to mention the fact, that the incredible technological advancement which we are witnessing in post-modern day society, also contributes directly and significantly-from my perspective-to the astounding increase of things, both material and virtual, competing for our precious time and attention. And we wonder why we often find ourselves, out of breath, out of time, stressed, fatigued, and even sometimes, depressed. (But I digress...That should be a topic for a future blog post.)

In closing, please allow me to say this: Everything in life, has its pros and cons. Technology is no different. I have said it before, and I'll say it again: Technology, in and of itself, is not bad. The problem arises, when we become chronically distracted, addicted, or even enslaved by it. And that is why, we must be careful to examine ourselves, examine our hearts, our minds, and our daily lives. (I for one, am the first in line.) We must avoid chronic distractions, and weed them out of our hearts, before they enslave us, and shift our focus from what really matters: Heavenly things. We must strive to keep our eyes upon Jesus at all times. We must ask God to help and guide us in living lives that are pleasing to Him. We must constantly remind ourselves, that life here on earth is a vapor. We do not know what tomorrow brings. We do not know when He will come to take us home, or when we'll go. We do not know. Therefore, we must always be ready to go. For we do not know what tomorrow brings.

May the LORD our GOD have mercy upon us all, and lead us constantly in His Everlasting Light, so that we may not be caught by surprise when that frightful, yet glorious DAY arrives!

In the glorious Name of Jesus I pray,

Amen, Amen, and Amen!

Scriptural food for thought: "Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Christ is [in you]; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith."  

(2 Corinthians 13:5; New Living Translation)

"Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the LORD." 

(Lamentations 3:40; New Living Translation)

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses in the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race [H]e has set before us."  

(Hebrews 12:1; New Living Translation)

 

Let all glory, honor, and praise be given to the LORD our GOD always!
Amen, Amen, and Amen!

I Refuse...

I refuse to be deceived; 
I refuse to fall asleep;
I refuse to live as though I were in control.

I refuse to rely on my utter insufficiency;
I refuse to live selfishly;
I refuse to place the spotlight on me.

I refuse to focus all of my time and energy into making a seemingly endless check-list of all my wants and needs;
I refuse to look back; only to be drowned out by a sea of past regrets.

I refuse to believe the lies of the enemy;
For the LORD our God is with me; (as He is with all of those who love and trust Him.)
Who can be against me?

I refuse to be deceived; but I choose to BELIEVE! (Amem! Glory be to God Everlastingly!)

I refuse to be led by fear;
For I KNOW YOU ARE ALWAYS NEAR.

I will let go of this pseudo-sense of control.
I will not be fooled. Instead, I will place my trust in You.

I will finally embrace the full measure of Your Everlasting grace, and trust that it's enough for me.

I refuse to live consumed by the worries and uncertainties of life.
Instead, I will rejoice and be glad in Your Glorious and Everlasting sacrifice...

...For you came to live and die for me; and for all of humanity! (Yes, You did my LORD! Glory be to God Everlastingly!)

But You rose again on the third day!; thus, the HOPE we have today!

I do not speak of my own accord;
I do not speak to be known or recognized;
For that would be my demise.

Rather, I speak because the Truth must be known;
The Gospel must be preached;
And salvation granted to all of those who believe! (Amen! Hallelujah! Glory be to God Everlastingly!)

I am small and inadequate;
My words are lacking;
I'm faint and weak.

But You, Oh Everlasting God, lavish your Everlasting mercy and grace upon the meek.

I am unfit to speak. For "I am a man of unclean lips..."

(excerpt from Isaiah 6:5b)

But I cannot be quiet;
I cannot keep silent.

For your Truth must be known;
The Gospel must be preached;
And Salvation granted to all of those who believe! (Amen! Hallelujah! God be to God Everlastingly!)

Therefore, I say onto you: Believe God's Everlasting Truth, and it shall save you!
Receive these words of Truth that have been spoken to you.
Receive them with all your heart by faith in Jesus Christ, and it shall give you Everlasting life! (Amen! Hallelujah LORD! Let it be so!)

Once again I say: I refuse to be deceived; but I choose to BELIEVE!

I refuse to let go. For I know You are in control.

Although I am faint and weak, I refuse to fall asleep.
I refuse to be overwhelmed by fear;
For my God is always near.

I refuse to live this life as though I will not die.

For one day, it could be tomorrow, it could be today...The fact of the matter is, I will be face to face with Jesus Christ one day...

...To love, worship, and embrace, but also to be held accountable for the life I live here today.
So what will He say on that fearfully glorious day?

Will I have lived a life geared towards placing Him in the spotlight?
Will His Holy name have been glorified in the way I lived my life?

I do not know. I can only pray it may be so.

But this much I know: I refuse to take the spotlight.
I refuse to take control.
My life is not my own;
To Jesus I belong.

All glory, honor, and praise be to God Everlastingly!
Amen, Amen, and Amen!