He realized the chances; he knew the cost of success on that frontier. All could be met and vanquished, but only through an eternal vigilance, a lion heart and iron hand.”
–Zane Grey (West of the Pecos)
“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”
–Proverbs 4:23 (NLT)
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“I hear the voice of one crying,
Prepare ye, the way of the Lord…”
–Robin Mark
The above words are Scripture, but I heard them on my walk the other morning and began to ponder a bit. John the Baptist came and proclaimed that the Messiah was coming. He was that voice in the wilderness crying to prepare the way of the Lord.
Things changed slightly (dramatically) with the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Today, all believers are to be involved in preparing the way. In fact, we do that by walking in the Way. There is no other way to heaven, except through Jesus Christ, and believers are expected to proclaim that.
One of the reasons for that is that the next time Jesus comes He will come as a “thief in the night.” He will steal away His Bride to be with Him forever. There will be no John the Baptist crying in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord. Sure, there will be signs, “as in the day of Noah,” for example, but the characteristic of the Rapture will be one of stealth.
I might add, however, when He comes to reign on the earth, there will be the blast of the trumpet. There will be the sound of war and the defeat of the Antichrist at Armageddon.
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“The sons of Issachar who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command.”
–1 Chronicles 12:32 (NKJV)
Ponder that verse for a moment, especially the first part. We live in turbulent times. Agitation, anger, terror and hatred all seem to mark the way of life today. What in the world is happening?
The question is: Do you have understanding of the times? Do you know what to do? It is hard to tell, in this hour, who the Christians really are. They seem to have blended in with the world. They look like the world, do the things of the world, talk like the world, act like the world; hmmmm, are they Christians or of the world? David Jeremiah wrote, “We have allowed the world to conform us to its image instead of allowing the Holy Spirit and the Word to transform us to the image of Christ.”
You’d better understand the Word of God, and it better be applied to all facets of your life. I have said it many times that life is serious. This is not the time for gaiety and frivolity. This is the time to “understand the times.”