James 4:13-15 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”
Michael continues, saying that every earthly relationship will end in pain of loss. Life on this earth is but for a moment, a vapor in the context of eternity. It is appointed for all men and women once to die and then comes the judgement at the Great White Throne Judgement of Christ in Heaven. Therefore, live not for this fleeting moment in time but with our eternal destiny in mind. Pray and live by: “Not my will, but God’s will be done”. A soldier in training has no time for civilian matters. Soldiers must concentrate on their training because in the heat of battle, their lives will depend on performing as they have been trained. They must give heart, soul, mind and strength to focus on their training drills. Then after the battle has been won, when the grateful civilians honor them for their bravery in the heat of battle, the soldier will say, “I’m no hero. I just did what I was trained to do. I did it to protect my country and people.”
The secular world insists that we perform with all of our heart according to that which our worldly authorities require. It’s not about the cost, rather it’s about our value and our contribution to the success of our worldly enterprises. The greatest disappointment in this life is not failure to climb the ladder of success, but that after a lifetime of work, we realize that our ladder was leaning against the wrong wall. Therefore, rise up O men and women of God, have done with lesser things. Give heart and soul and mind and strength to serve the King of Kings. Rise up oh men and women of God. His kingdom tarries long. Bring in the day of brotherhood and end the night of wrong.
Once the last person is won for God’s kingdom, the judgement of God will be manifest after Christ’s return for His church. Jesus said, Now is the time to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. Now is the time of brotherhood with those who are born again of God’s spirit. God is no respecter of persons. He is, however a respecter of His Holy Word. When we make God’s Word our word, then we will do according to His Will. The doing of the Word is to accept the promises of God. We accept God’s promises by obedience ... by being doers of the Word and not hearers only.
The church of God thrives in persecution. For tribulation works patience and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope makes not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given to us. Rise up oh men and women of God. The church for you doth wait. Her strength unequal to her task, Rise up and make her great. The church that relies on the power of men and women is unequal to the task to which we have been called. The power is not in our own power but in the power of the Holy Spirit. As the Apostle Paul came to understand after he had prayed three times for God to remove his thorn in the flesh, Thy strength is made perfect in my weakness, thy grace is sufficient for me.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer said that in WWII, the German church was sleep-walking toward a terrible precipice and they didn’t even recognize it. A crisis is when decisive action is required to avoid a catastrophic failure. The atrocities of Nazi Germany were the result of the church’s acquiescence to Adolf Hitler’s mandate that the German church must “go along to get along.” We have this same mentality with atheistic Socialism today.
Men and women must find their place in God’s economy; not any secular humanist economy. God’s economy is to exchange my life in the flesh for the spiritual life in His Son, Jesus Christ. The world doesn’t need more programs and organizations. The world needs for men and women to rise up in the power of God. Men and women who chase after men and women who chase after Christ. People who find their identity in Christ.
When you call a person, “Man or Woman of God,” most men and women will look down and look away in shame. They think to themselves, “I’m not worthy.” However ,when we confess “Jesus is Lord,” it means that I’m no longer Lord of my own life, Jesus Christ is. The phrase “Man or Woman of God,” is the “genitive of possession.” It means God’s man or God’s woman. Our identity in Christ is not “who we are,” but “WHOSE we are.” Therefore, Lift high the cross of Christ. Tread where Christ’s feet have trod. As brothers and sisters of the Son of Man, Rise up oh people of God that we may ever live to the praise of the glory of His grace!
Your brother in Christ, Michael
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