Here We Go Again
Gordon Crook, PastorGrace Assembly, Wichita, Kansas
“My times are in thy hand: . . .” Psalms 31:15
Once again, we have come into a new year. It often seems that time is just moving faster than we can adjust for. When I was thinking about the new year, I realized that “New Year” is just a nomenclature for us to account for periods of time in our life. So are all other periods of time (day, week, month, etc). Our life continues on and on until God brings it to an end.
This is not going to be some morbid, depressing article. In fact, it will be just the opposite. Time continuing no matter what we think, and increasing our age with no care as to what it is doing to our bodies, is simply just a fact of this life. We cannot change or stop the passage of time. However, we do have reason to have hope in the midst of all of this.
In December, we are brought to consider the first advent of Jesus when He came as a baby and grew into a man that gave His life for our redemption. Not just so we could go around claiming to be righteous people, but so that we could spend eternity with Him. This is exactly what He told us, “that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:3).
This is truly our great hope. Yes, time is moving on and we cannot stop it, but we should be looking even more urgently for the coming of our Lord to take us to be with Him. “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25. “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.” Romans 13:11.
My desire for this new year is to encourage God’s people to check their focus. Many people will make new years resolutions, most of which will not be kept. I do not recommend making resolutions that will simply be ignored soon. I do recommend getting into the study of your Bible. It will help you find the right focus.
Many Christians today are focused on the current events in the world. They might be focused on the politics of their local community or their country. They might be focused on improving the situation through politics and other means. All of this is just a distraction that we are warned about. “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus SHALL suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers SHALL wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But CONTINUE THOU in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;” 2 Timothy 3:12-14. “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” 2 Timothy 2:4.
Scripture is very clear on the direction that the world will go as Jesus’ coming gets closer. There is no scripture that tells us that we will, or even should try to, improve the world system. I have no illusions about where things will go in our country or any other. Our focus needs to be squarely on Jesus, and our expectation of His soon return. In Revelation 2, we find Jesus saying the following to the church at Ephesus; “I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.” “First love” is “preeminent love” “first in time or place, in any succession of things or persons, first in rank, influence, honour.
Is Jesus all of this to me? To you? Are other things taking this place in our lives? I feel compelled to stress more and more the importance of our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This is after all what true Christianity is really about.
So much of what the world offers to Christians sounds good, and even has a small bit of truth mixed in. Satan is not stupid, and we should be very careful to not underestimate him. Paul tells us that we should know Satan’s methods. “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” 2 Corinthians 2:11. We really must stay immersed in God’s Word if we are to understand and recognize Satan’s devices against us.
Many things are going to change in our world. AI (Artificial Intelligence) is increasingly taking over and presenting us with all kinds of information and things that can sometimes be difficult to discern. My personal opinion about technology is that it can be very useful and it can be used for very evil purposes. This has always been true of technology.
I say all of this as a reminder that we are to be alert and watching. Not watching the world for what they are doing or going to do, but watching for our Lord. Alert to the devices of the enemy, but watching eagerly for our Lord. When our Lord was on His way to the cross, He did not tell His disciples to try to stop that or to be concerned with what the government was doing. He told them to watch and pray.
It is certainly possible that we might see things get much worse in the coming days or years, if the Lord tarries. Don’t be moved by these things. Be steadfast in your faith and your hope that is in Christ Jesus. The world will likely hate us more and more, and more Christians will be moved to try to counteract this hatred. We are not told to counteract the hatred of the world, but simply to trust in our Lord. “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.” John 15:18. “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.” 1 John 3:13. 1 “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:” Peter 2:21-23.
Time will continue to pass until Jesus returns, and the most important thing we can do is to wait expectantly for Him. May we “love His appearing” 2 Timothy 4:8. And may we say with those in Revelation 22, “Even so, come Lord Jesus.”
