Our world today has changed drastically, and not for the better. Satan and his demons are in “full production” mode, and their main targets are all true believers in Jesus. They especially love to give us a “review” of all we have done in our lifetimes, and especially all the evil acts we have done. Satan knows his time here is getting short, and because of his destructive pride, he wants to pull as many souls away from Jesus as possible. And yes, we have all sinned no matter how “pure” you may think you have been (Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23). (all emphasis mine)
There are times when I start to have thoughts about all I did in my past before calling on My Jesus to be My Savior forever. As I have told others, before Jesus was in my life, I committed some sins that I am not proud of at all. When these thoughts enter my mind, I can almost hear Lucifer saying, “And you think you’re worthy of being forgiven for all of this?” I have learned that when these thoughts attack me, I call on the Lord to bring me even closer to Him. I believe God’s word which states that when I confess my sins and ask for forgiveness, it is granted to me (1 John 1:8-10). Even the ones I still commit. Jesus died for all of our sins. Remember when He was on the cross, His blood reached forward through time to cover all who will receive and accept Him as their Lord and Savior. The answer to the question – am I worthy? – not even for a moment, but He is.
I am encouraged by Psalm 103:11-12; “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear [totally love and respect] Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.”
What was done in the past cannot be changed other than to learn from our past sins. We are to turn from our habitual evil lifestyles and seek to serve the Lord in any way He will lead us. Plain and simple, right? Not at all. Our Father knows us better than we will ever know ourselves, and He knows who has truly repented and called on His Son, and likewise, who will not.
We’re told about this latter group in 2 Thessalonians 2:10-11; “and with all wicked deceptions for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the Truth, and so be saved. Therefore, God sends them a strong delusion so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the Truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” Who is the Truth that the apostle is speaking of? Jesus said in John 14:6, “He said to him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Who can come to the Savior? Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21, and Romans 10:13 state that “All who call on the name of the Lord, will be saved.” That includes every living, breathing person on this earth. Jesus gave us an eternal promise in Matthew 11:28-29; “Come to Me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Every time Satan tries to drag us down and cause us to lose hope, we need to call on Jesus to raise our spirits back up to be able to show Satan that we have no doubt as to who our Redeemer is, and one day soon, we will be with Him forever. We also know where Satan will be as given in Revelation 20:10; “and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
One note here: do not hold any conversations with the devil. We know through examining the scriptures just how deceptive and tempting he can be. We need to take our thoughts to Jesus and ask Him to give us the guidance and encouragement to keep us away from all of Satan’s lies. Jesus knows there are more who will fall for Satan’s deceptions than will accept Him (Matthew 7:13-14).
If we ask for Jesus’ help, He will give it; however, He will not force His will on anyone. It has to be voluntary for each and every individual; and believing and having faith that all of God’s promises are real keeps us in His loving arms. Romans 10:11 says, “For the scripture says that everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.”
There is an inspirational song that has been performed by numerous artists. It’s called “You Raise Me Up” and was written by Norwegian author Rolf Lovland in 2001. On YouTube, Josh Groban did a very good version in 2003; however, my favorite version is done by Selah, which is also available on YouTube.
(1) When I am down, and oh my soul, so weary; when troubles come, and my heart burdened be; then I am still, and wait here in the silence, until you come and sit a while with me.
(ref) You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains. You raise me up to walk on stormy seas. I am strong when I am on Your shoulders; You raise me up to more than I can be. (x2)
(2) There is no life, no life without its hunger. Each restless heart beats so imperfectly. But when You come, and I am filled with wonder, sometimes I think I glimpse eternity. (refx2)
In our perishable human bodies, with a mindset that is subject to fear and hopeless feelings, it’s refreshing to have such hymns as “You Raise Me Up.” Jesus is there always, and God promises throughout the whole Bible that He will never forsake us. Yes, we fail Him, and sometimes miserably. However, He loves us so much that He is there for us when we truly seek His forgiveness (John 3:16-18; Romans 8:1; Romans 5:8 and many others).
There will be an event that will take place very soon that’s described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. Although the word “Rapture” is not in the Bible, these passages describe the “taking up” of all true believers to be with Jesus and avoid the wrath that is coming on this earth. It should be noted that the word “Bible” is not in the Bible either.
Just witnessing all the events that are taking place today that are “anti-God,” “anti-Jesus,” and “anti-anything Christian” should tell us just how close to going home we are. I firmly believe God is giving a bit more time so that more souls will call out and be saved. He doesn’t want to cause grief to anyone (2 Peter 3:9) but eventually will say “Enough!”
Avoid being left behind to face the tribulation of Satan, and the wrath of God, by following Romans 10:9-13 today. As mentioned earlier, “All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” This will still be possible after the “harpazo,” “rapture,” or “taking up,” but at a very high cost that you will not want to pay.
He is waiting right now for your call. The event will be over in less than one second – “in the twinkling of an eye” – so you need to be ready to “Be Raised Up.” Right now wouldn’t be too soon to call on Him as we do not know the day, hour, minute, or second that the call will come.
Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!