ORPHANS?

ORPHANS?

My natural parents who gave birth to me and raised, nurtured and cared for me as a child have passed on to their eternal reward. At times, as I walk through our home and look at some pictures of them on the wall and in photo albums I feel as if I am an orphan. A 56 year old orphan whose parents, guardians are no longer here. According to the words of Christ, He did not leave us as orphans!

We have a Father in the heavens who hears every prayer, answers every request and is very, intimately involved with our lives; daily, hourly. In John 17 Christ prayed for us. The Chapter brings tears to my eyes every time I read it. The pathos, the pity, the description of our condition here in this evil world. But, Christ did not pray that we would be taken out of this world; He prayed that the Father be with us during our journeys here. Why? So that we could be witnesses of His faithfulness to those who serve Him.

He instructed His followers in that day, all twelve of them (so much for numerical superiority!) to go into all of the world and preach the gospel. Our lives are an open book for everyone we encounter. Friends, family and acquaintances watch us and read us like a book. As children of God we go through many of the same trials, tests and temptations as they. But, we are of a different sort. We do not try to build our own dynasty or legacy; our building is a spiritual one; as Abraham we also seek a city that is not built with human hands but a city whose builder and maker is God Himself.

In John 17 Christ prays to the Father on our behalf. He is still doing so today, even at this hour. There is great confidence to know that the One who loved us so much that He came down to this planet under the influence of the evil one to live, eat, breath and die on our behalf. He showed us the way. We are all in the process of becoming One with the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. We are tempted to start believing in what the Chinese call the ying and the yang. There needs to be a balance between good and evil. It all works out in the end, so to speak. This is one of the biggest lies in the universe!

There is only One who is righteous and He is coming soon to sit up His kingdom of righteousness. There will be no evil in His equation; it is forbidden. Not even a touch of evil. Like the orthodox Jewish families sweep their houses clean to make sure there is no unclean thing in the home before the Holy Day celebrations, the planet earth will be swept clean of all ungodliness. As He prepares for the final battles to be fought, what is our mindset? Do we fear what is coming upon the earth? Are His judgments and plans being thwarted by our actions, hopes and prayers?

As the wars and rumors of wars increase and as earthquakes begin to occur in various places do we cower in fear of the things that are coming upon the earth? Do I fear that my retirement will disappear like smoke on a windy day if their is a total economic collapse? Am I to fear and cower before what some call the new world order, total control or the mark of the beast? Does our heavenly Father run around to and fro throughout the earth playing catch up with the devil? NO! It is all according to His plan. God has a time table that was written before the foundation of the world. Before the cornerstone of the earth was laid He knew the beginning from the end.

As evil reaches its climax He WILL have a people that know Him for who He really is. He will have a people that know how to pray, fast and intercede for a lost world. As everything spins out of control we have to remember who is really behind the events. The devil sends fear and intimidation to us because he knows he has already lost the battle of eternity. He knows where he is going; he knows his end. He is so evil, I believe, that he is blinded himself and he is the one out of control; not the children of God.

There is great confidence in the knowledge that we have One who is praying for us. He is our Advocate; our lawyer in the court of heaven. The devil may accuse and he may be correct in some of his accusations against us. But we have One whose blood washes away every sin. The Father has an ocean where He casts all of our iniquities. He calls it the sea of forgetfulness. As far as the east is from the west our sins are washed clean in the blood of the One who gave Himself for us. He died so that He could bring many sons to glory. He is not going to lose anyone that the Father has given Him.

We are in the palm of His hands; signets and precious jewels in His ring. He has carved us in the palm of His hands. We are not orphans! Our Father is with us; living in us and directing our every move and hearing our prayers and requests. As things continue to fall apart on planet earth Christ said to lift up our eyes for our redemption draws neigh. Hold lightly the things we have on this earth. In Isaiah 30 God says that in repentance and rest we will be saved; in quietness and trust is our strength. He longs to be gracious to us.

He waits on high to have compassion on us. He is a God of justice and blessed are those who wait upon Him. What of the world? Be prepared and do not be surprised or fear - The name of the LORD comes from a remote place. His anger burns and dense is His smoke. His lips are filled with indignation and His tongue is like a consuming fire; His breath is like an overflowing torrent which reaches unto the neck to shake the nations back and forth like a sieve and to put the jaws of the peoples into a bridle which leads to ruin.

Compared to the rest of the nations, we in the United States have only tasted a little of the evil that is prevalent in the world. In my employment with the US Government I had the opportunity to travel extensively throughout the nations of Africa and the Mideast. I have seen the total decay of cities where people are living no better than animals. Teeming masses without clean water, bathrooms or food. Our abundance here in this country is nothing short of a blessing from heaven. How long will this last given these facts regarding the social and moral condition of America? Tens of millions of babies have been torn from their mother's womb and thrown in a trash can.

Moral and sexual perversion run rampant throughout or society. I experience this firsthand because I work at the second largest high school in the state of WV. I see girls and boys groping each other in the hallways; girls making out with girls and the same with boys. Clothes so tight it is as if the children have two sets of skin. This atmosphere as teachers and administrators look on, clueless to do anything because the parents will sue if anything is said. At night as I drive home in this little community in WV I see adults wondering the streets, sitting on their porches and standing on the streets in a drunken, drug induced stupor. Little children running up and down the street at times, just before midnight. Where are the parents? Who are the parents? Where are the police and authorities? Who is left to restore us back to godliness and tranquility?

In the Sudan, in Chad, in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan people are blown to pieces just for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. And we do not want the Kingdom of righteousness to come because of what has to happen first? Can this go on without God doing something about it? Are we prepared in our spirits for what is about to happen? Can we let go of what we have and walk into the Kingdom and into His presence with no attatchements to this sinful planet? Be prepared! The descending of His arm will be seen in fierce anger; in flames of consuming fire, cloudbursts, downpours and hailstones.

At the voice of the LORD His enemies will be terrified. He will strike the with the rod of His anger and in battles He will fight them. Evil has been made deep and wide and He will stack it up like a wood pile and set it ablaze. The breath of the LORD, like a torrent of brimstone will set it afire.

I had a small taste of this yesterday morning. I did not know what was happening because I was still asleep; but at 05:06 I was awakened from a deep sleep and I got out of bed and walked around the bedroom. I knew something was not right and my wife asked what was wrong. There was a 3.5 earthquake near Washington DC at that exact same time and apparently it awoke me. I went back to bed and fell fast asleep again. Not until I watched the news did I know of the event. When these things strike, and they will with increasing intensity, we have safety and comfort and we can rest assured that our Father is watching over us. He is in control.

What about us? We will have songs in the night! We will have gladness of heart. We will go to the mountain of the LORD, to the Rock of Israel as the LORD causes the voice of His authority to be heard throughout the earth. Fear not, for He is with us. Be not dismayed for He is our God. He will strengthen us, He will uphold us with His mighty arm. Hold the things of this earth loosely for we are going to a place where sin and despair no longer exist. We are NOT ORPHANS! Our Father is in total control of every event.