The Great Tribulation

These are those who are coming out of the Great Tribulation, and they washed their robes, and they made their robes white in the blood of the Lamb. -Revelation 7:14b, LSV

The Great Tribulation as referenced in the Book of Revelation is nothing more, and nothing less, than all of time from when Adam fell into sin until such time as Christ returns in glory.

No one born of a woman into this world is without tribulation. Indeed, even birth itself has come with great pain from the time of, and as a result of, Adam's choice to heed the voice of his wife as opposed to the Word of the LORD.

The LORD God from the begining has made known that Adam's choice was not, and is not, the end or overall purpose of history. No. Creation and all of history is subject for a time to futility, to a Great Tribulation, so that salvation will belong to the One Who created and sustains all things from beginning to end.

Whether you are inside or outside of this overall purpose and plan of God - whether you perish eternally or are saved eternally - is not only of great concern to Him, but also of great concern to you and to your neighbor, for it is you and your neighbor who are created in the image of God.

The Great Tribulation: thorns and thistles are only the start. Anxiety and death are the end. Idolatry and pride are the means. These all stick like glue to the creation for a while.

They are broken free and healed only through God's Only-Begotten from eternity, Jesus the Christ, Who with His own flesh and blood has redeemed you, a lost and condemned person, together with His whole creation so that a new heaven and earth will come about after the Great Tribulation into which you were born.
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Humility

[If] My people on whom My Name is called are humbled, and pray, and seek My face, and turn back from their evil ways, then I hear from the heavens, and forgive their sin, and heal their land. -2 Chronicles 7:14

Humility is a virtue which, upon being claimed, is immediately lost. It cannot be taken up at will. It cannot be turned on and off like a light switch. It is rather a blessing that comes not through your own efforts, but by the grace of God through His creation and discipline.

Humility is an attribute of those upon whom God has placed His Name. As such it belongs to, and is charactistic only of those whom He baptizes and teaches.

With the above in mind, what is humility? The definition at hand is this: a modest or low view of one's own importance.

If you take this definition in conjunction with your status as a creature and child of God, it is plainly apparent that you are not the boss you think you are. You do not have control over as many things as you think you do.

Humility never looks to itself, but comes from God, Who from the beginning has ordained that He be your only Hope, Help, and Comfort in life. No other thing or person is to be honored, reverenced, or thanked more than He.

Once this is understood, your notion of self is brought into true accord with God's holy will. You are free to be not yourself, but God's own child. It is He in Whom you find your identity.

Moreover, your dealings with those around you - your family and your neighbors - will not be high handed or heavy handed, but will be tempered by the certitude and solicities that obtain to being a creature and child of God.

Christ Jesus, Who took on the form of a servant, is the Name of God placed upon you. With His Name comes His substance and blessing, for He is not a God Who is far away, but Who draws so near as to incorporate you into His own Body and Blood, living, present, and active for you before the Father of all mercies and the God of all comfort.

Therefore it is for you to pray, and for God you hear and to heal not only you but the land in which you live. Thanks be to God, it is He Who causes these things, and not you.

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A Good Day

Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. -Psalm 19:2

It has been my practice over the past several years to think of each day on a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of whether it is a good day.

The only day for me that will ever be a 10 is the day my baptism is completed and I am in the nearest presence of Christ, my LORD. That is the day upon which, according to this world, I die.

If there happens to come a day at 1 or below it will be a day that I, by my own reason and strength, reject Christ Jesus. That is the day upon which, according to this world, I live.

Most days have landed above a 5, but below an 8. Being a bit creative, I tend to take the assessment out two decimals, so today, June 26, 2020 would rank at about 6.89.

All of this raises a question of serious import: What constitutes a good day? Or, as the world puts it, a “nice” day.

Is it a good day when everything goes just as you wished and planned? The question is loaded. What is “good?” What does a day count when there are so many, not to mention an eternity to follow?

The course of history from the beginning is that days mark it out in the biggest way. We have come to mark days out in 24-hour increments, and have even taken time into nano-second considerations.

But who owns time, and where did it come from, and what makes your time good or bad?

For those who are baptized into Christ Jesus, all of time is good, even though by all appearances much of it is bad. The pains of a troubled conscience and the prospect of death, along with certain losses, one would allocate to the bad side of life.

But wait. Since those who are baptized into Christ Jesus are baptized into all of time at once, what appears bad is, in fact good. Why? Because it is God’s creation and time, into which He entered with flesh and blood like yours.

A good day is measured on God’s terms, not yours. It is His aim to love and discipline you in His only-begotten Son, Christ Jesus. This He does just for you, every day.

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