Who knows what is going to happen with ebola. As things stand there have only been a handful of cases in the United States, but the way the hospitals and the government are handling this thing leaves the gate wide open for pandemic.
I know a local nurse who works one of the busiest ERs in the state and she says her hospital is doing nothing, zero to address the possibility of ebola showing up at their door. No training, no equipment, no planning, they are doing zero. What they are doing is acting like it is somebody else's problem, somewhere else and it will never show up at their doors.
Why mention this? It is part of a larger problem the world has right now, called shortsightedness. What this world wants, and what they desperately cling to is their business as usual routine. Anything external that does not fit with what they want to see in the world is mentally blocked out. "Just act like its not there and it will go away" has been the mentality for a very long time. Does the Lord address this?
Matt 24:36‘And concerning that day and the hour no one hath known — not even the messengers of the heavens — except my Father only; 37and as the days of Noah — so shall be also the presence of the Son of Man; 38for as they were, in the days before the flood, eating, and drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage, till the day Noah entered into the ark, 39and they did not know till the flood came and took all away; so shall be also the presence of the Son of Man. 40Then two men shall be in the field, the one is received, and the one is left; 41two women shall be grinding in the mill, one is received, and one is left.
What do we see here? ^^ Business as usual right up through and including Noah and family walking into the ark.
Where else do we see this?
Rev 920and the rest of men, who were not killed in these plagues, neither did reform from the works of their hands, that they may not bow before the demons, and idols, those of gold, and those of silver, and those of brass, and those of stone, and those of wood, that are neither able to see, nor to hear, nor to walk, 21yea they did not reform from their murders, nor from their sorceries, nor from their whoredoms, nor from their thefts.
This ^^ is in Rev 9 at a point where the earth and those living on it have been ravaged. Mass death, mass plague, mass pestilence, mass natural disaster all around the people and yet, what do they do? Back to business as usual "neither did reform from the works of their hands."
So what? As things go from bad to worse what can the righteous do? Depend on and walk closely with their God. That's it. What has the Lord said?
Isaiah 3:10Say you to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.
11Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be done to him.
Tell the righteous it shall be well with them....
Bottom line here is live or die, prosper or suffer, rejoice or lament we walk with our God. He is our shield, He is our provision, He is our protection, He is our deliverer, He is our joy and happiness and strength and treasure on this earth and in heaven.
What have we been called to? What would the Lord have us do? Watch and pray always, which means a continual focus on Him....
Luke 21:36Watch therefore, and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
For this writer, this scripture ^^ takes on a meaning that goes far beyond the rapture debate. What does this Word call us to do? Watch and pray...daily, always. Ultimately this will come down to a daily walk with the Lord. There is an escape coming, but what day? Nobody knows and it is not worth arguing over. Whats the point of all this effort the Lord has put into telling us things like this:
Matt 24:44Therefore be you also ready: for in such an hour as you think not the Son of man comes.
Forget all the bickering and petty debating about "when." Why? The point the Lord is making to us all is DAILY, that means right now today readiness for Him is what He is looking for. Thats right, if you are ready daily you will not be caught unprepared on "that day" whatever and whenever that day is. Make sense? Daily readiness, there is no argument whatsoever against it that holds any merit. Daily readiness is what we have been called to, daily readiness is what we must lay hold of.
Daily readiness has no need for debate. If we are walking and talking and at peace with our Lord, daily, how exactly will we miss what He has for us? The Spirit leads us in all things, will He omit something important if we are walking with Him every day? I think not.
This greatly simplifies our doctrine and brings more clarity and less confusion. Do what the Lord said to do, and what is that? Be watching and ready always. If you are walking with the Lord daily, will you be watching and ready always? Yes. We walk with Him and talk with Him and His Spirit leads us into all truth.
John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:
Isa 30:21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."
How can we go wrong if we do what we were told to do?
grace and peace
