The political, economic and social terrain of
the world is littered with broken and battered lives. The few that are wise
have picked up themselves from the dustbins of the world system in search of
Who this Jesus Christ is and what He is saying at these times. The Bible tells us
in 1John 2:17 “...And the world passes away and disappears, and with it the
forbidden cravings (the passionate desires, the lust) of it; but he who does
the will of God and carries out His purposes in His life abides (remains) forever.”
(AMP) Even the world’s scientists know
that this present world with all its fads is passing away and have started
advising people to store food in preparation for Doom’s Day! If the world knows
and understands that a day is coming when this world as is presently known and
seen will pass away, howbeit that many sons of the Kingdom are at a loss as to
what to do? This is not the time to hype certain areas of the Scriptures to the
detriment of others. This is the time to take the whole of Scripture in its
entirety and work/walk in. In 2Timothy 3:16-17 – “Every Scripture is God –breathed
(given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and
conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and]
for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in
thought, purpose and action), so that the man of God may be complete and
proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (AMP) If
we fail in this, the truth is we will not be fully equipped for all that we
have been called to do. A Tax Collector named Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10 had an
encounter with Christ and never remained the same again. He was described as a
wealthy and short man. On a humorous note, I would have thought that he would
have used his wealth to gain more height or pay people that will carry him on
their shoulders so he could see whatever he wanted to see. Seriously, the Bible
states that he desired to see Jesus; he must have heard lots of stories about
the Lord and he wanted to see Him for himself unfortunately he was a short man.
Friend the days of men telling us ‘about’ Jesus Christ has passed. This is the
time we must search Him out for ourselves. No matter what your constraints
are, like Zacchaeus we must not let them deter us. Like him, we must look for a
tree that rises above flesh and its desires in order to gaze with clear vision
at the Master. Enough of teachings that tell men ‘once saved forever saved’
such that they can live their lives to please themselves as this brings ‘pleasure
to the Lord’! Except we climb the sycamore tree of study and prayers we will
only see what the man in front of us lets us see. The Bible says when Jesus got
to the place where the tree was He looked up (I can imagine the joy, love and
laughter on the face of the Master) and invited him to come down as He was
going to stay in his house. Friend, when we diligently seek the Master, He will
meet us at the point/place of our need. Remember that the passage opened with
Jesus intending to pass through, but when He saw the hunger in the heart of one
man, He decided to stay. It is time to make every effort to climb the tree so
the Lord can come and stay with us so we can serve Him acceptably!
Have you ever visited a quarry site and considered the process the rocks are subjected to before they become dressed stones to be used? If the stones could talk they will have a story to tell about their experiences. As children of God we go through diverse experiences and we wonder if we will indeed survive them. Sometimes we wonder why our gracious and compassionate Father would allow such to befall us considering who we are in Him and what we are doing in His vineyard. The Scripture that should readily come to our minds in such circumstances is God’s assurance when He said: “I will be with you when you pass through the waters, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. You will not be scorched when you walk through the fire and the flame will not burn you ” (Isaiah 43:2). This Scripture assures us that through the experiences of flames and waters, God is always by our side to see us through. Thus, it is necessary for us to go through the...
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