Dear HHLL Readers,
On that day when the whole world sees Jesus, what will you do? It is written that all heads will bow down and praise Jesus, for they know his name and his name is powerful. They will instantly know he is the creator and deserves all the glory and worship. But, knowing this right now, do you believe you will be happy or sad to see Jesus when he comes?
There may be three stances a person could take when they see Jesus:
1. “Yay, daddy’s home!”
2. “Wait a minute… he’s back early. Clean up!”
3. “Is that who I think it is? I thought he was never coming back.”
Whatever the response, I know that God will come back like a thief. He will be so swift and speedy and commence His judgement so fast that we might be left wondering, what the heck just happened? He will surely judge us without delay… who can stand any chance on this day?
Perhaps this is the remedy: we know that God is coming back so get ready to combat the consequence from God by knowing yourself. When you know yourself, you become aware of who you are and who you are meant to be in this world. You can change from your past setbacks and mistakes and be a light to others. And, you can work hard on not doubting yourself and start believing in yourself. There is strength in your power and in your nature. Undoubtedly you can do anything you set your mind to. Just as it takes time to reach perfection, you can train your mind. First, decide on how to moderate your life. Consider the things you will tolerate. Finally, find balance in your life through discipline. Question everything: what will be the things you say yes or no to?
Remember the story of Adam and Eve? They became infamous for eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden of Eden. Satan made Eve believe that it was okay to eat the fruit from the prohibited tree and made it “appear” it was good for eating. However, once she ate from it, she immediately knew her wrong, and commenced to trick Adam into eating it which he did. Instead of owning their mistake when questioned by God, the two had to place blame on someone other than themselves. So, Satan beguiled Eve and in effect she could not say “no”. Subsequently, Eve tricked Adam and he could not tell her “no”. Then, when questioned by God about what happened, Adam pointed the finger at Eve. God, however, cannot be deceived.
Adam and Eve did not understand the true value of their identity and relationship with God. Because of that, they believed a lie told by Satan. These two took from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and they could not put things back together to make it right. They acted kind of foolish. God, therefore, denied them to partake in the tree of life. Do we as a human race nowadays still act like Adam and Eve? Do we act the same, especially when confronted with past actions that show our guilt? Additionally, is there a way to make up for our foolish mistakes, no matter how many times we commit them and appease God? Or, would we rather keep making the same mistake because we’ve conditioned ourselves to believe we can keep acting foolish, not caring about the future consequences?
Although we are intelligent beings, a person who is foolish does not have good sense. Sadly, the person does not know they are unwise or are acting silly in a bad way. Logically, when this person’s reputation starts to build up, he or she will be known as a fool. However, being infamous for being foolish does not mean that it is good because in fact, you are a fool. It is also very difficult to get your point across to a foolish person. But in the same way they become infamous, it is not for doing anything good. Instead, people marvel at the foolish one, as if they want to attain the same type of status. And so, it seems the foolish are admired.
But God is more famous than the fool. His reputation is not only well known but distinguished. God is always present, and he doesn’t have to exclaim he is here, nor does he have to tell us he is God. We already know; that is why he is famous. However, the fool often misses the mark because there is no end to his foolery, and perhaps others don’t commit to correcting him. But just as a child needs to be re-directed, so does anyone who isn’t a child. We all need knowledge but not just any information: we need the truth. This truth is necessary for our well-being because it gives us a point of reference. We need this reference in order to live our lives accordingly.
If you are not satisfied with foolery in your life or in others, set boundaries. Because without boundaries, eventually the foolishness will become reckless and you will become infamous for being a fool or associating with people who commit foolish acts. I know I am repeating foolishness a lot, but I do not want to use other terms such as mischief, irresponsible, half-witted, thoughtless, indiscreet, dumb, etc., mainly because I think my point can get across by using one term: “foolish.” But a human being is fearfully and wonderfully made by God. You are not born to be a fool.
It is okay to make mistakes because otherwise, one could never learn from the experience and change. But you are made by a miraculous power, and Satan has come into the world to make us doubt our power. He keeps us from seeing our true self and potential and makes us fight with ourselves from within. He knows that it is what is on the inside that counts and not the outside. (*Perhaps this is the reason why he made Adam and Eve eat from the off-limits tree, because he knew it would defile them from the inside, and he wanted them to be hurt. Satan, however did not play fair. He had to trick Adam and Eve to get them to do something so foolish. As a result, they were roped into following Satan and broke God’s rule. God could not allow Adam and Eve to eat from the tree of life in their current state.*)
CALL TO ACTION
At any cost, rather than saying yes to the devil’s deceitfulness and tricks, say no so that you will not be played the fool. Although God gave us the answer, it is still easy to play the fool because Satan is super good at making it look like nothing is wrong with our lives… we don’t even realize what is really going on. To combat the devil, use what will make his attempts on our life fail. BE DISCIPLINED IN THE TRUTH AS OPPOSED TO WORLDLY RHETORIC: KNOW YOURSELF AND GOD.
Also, please refrain from looking at the appearance of things and get to the heart of the matter: know yourself. Who are you? Separate yourself from worldly things so that you may know yourself. Find the identity that God has given you. Make your life efforts a reflection of the power of God that resides in you. Make God famous again. Do not allow the infamous Satan and his foolery to bask in the limelight of your life. Return the spotlight to God.