“Ye Would Not”...the Wayfarer 4/3/14
“Ye Would Not”
4/3/14
4/3/14
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and
stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy
children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would
not!
(Luke 13: 34&35)
These words were spoken by Christ in
lamentation of the fact that despite all the miracles, despite all mercy shown,
despite the love given by God, His people shunned that love, choosing to ignore
it out of the will to continue in sin, rather than accept that love that was
being offered time after time; first through the laws and the prophets, then
through the new covenant made available by His own coming and teachings.
Words from another time, when this
choice was made, are words that I find most appropriate, in this world, which
continues choosing to refuse that love, choosing instead a path never intended
for them.
“For, lo, I will begin to bring evil on the city which is
called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be
unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth,
saith the Lord of Hosts.
Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say
unto them, The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy
habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout,
as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.”
(Jeremiah 25:29 & 30)
God’s patience, mercy, and grace are
as available today, as much as ever, for those willing to heed the warnings
given then and, later, that eventually gave us a final chance, a final means of
redemption, with no further chance to be given for any rejecting it
Warning was given then, and continues
now in regard as to what to expect if that rejection continues, and the love
offered continues to be rejected, the teachings given rejected, with the false
expectation of any other means of ever attaining the joys and rewards offered
by that love.
“A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the
Lord hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will
give them that are wicked to the sword,
saith the Lord.
Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth
from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts
of the earth.
And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end
of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented,
neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.”
(Jeremiah 25:31-33)
God continues to have that
controversy with all nations of the earth, each of which choose their own
direction leading directly to the wrath and condemnation promised for having done so instead of choosing
something far simpler, far more rewarding, far easier to attain, if they were
only willing to submit to God instead of man, and to the one leading man to his
own destiny: a destiny of isolation and separation from God, separation from that promised love, called
death and damnation, called hell by some, but eternal in its substitution of
that isolation and misery in place of
the love so readily given.
God continues to plead with all
flesh. He continues to offer solace, escape from the destiny chosen by that rejection
shown both in Jerusalem spoken of by Christ and in the rejection of the people
offered that same love today.
Those pleas go unheard, drowned by
the desires of a people that have forgotten, or intentionally continue to
ignore those pleas for anything and everything that falls short of that love,
but appears more alluring at the moment, no thought being given to any moment
but the one seen that provides that temporary allure.
Evil has already progressed from
nation to nation, and that progress intensifies more rapidly each day.
Just as Jesus spoke in the passages
preceding the one I opened with of the prophets being slain as well as ignored,
those persecuted for heeding their warnings, and the constant refusal to listen
to them, so too is the circumstances of this world today, now, and yet to be
until such time as the Lord decides that enough mercy has been shown, enough
grace extended, enough patience given only to be denied by the creature being
offered that mercy, grace, patience and love.
If one were to pay attention to the
totality of the events that occur daily, instead of the things they would
rather hear instead, they would find that the bodies are already piling up, and
indeed from all the corners of the earth, from end to end, with no lamentation
for them because of the greed of those not yet experiencing that judgment.
Callousness is the watchword;
selfishness and greed are its companions.
Nations at war, refuse to realize
that any is at war, except its warriors, as going on about their business in complacence;
even at times protesting the very existence of those warriors instead of
joining them in the sacrifices of that war, again preferring greed and in pursuit
of all that greed offers in place of any sacrifice needed to keep and maintain
what is already given them by God.
Warnings continue to be ignored of
what is to come because of their behavior and habits, as does any chance to
avoid the judgments that are brought about by the choice to ignore both those
warnings and the love offered in place of the greed they prefer.
“Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the
ashes, ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your
dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel.
And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the
principal of the flock to escape.
A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and an howling of the
principal of the flock, shall be heard: for the Lord hat spoiled their
pasture.
And the peaceable habitations are cut down because of the
fierce anger of the Lord.
He hath forsaken his covert, as the lion: for their land is
desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of his fierce
anger.”
(Jeremiah 25:34-38)
Howl indeed all you shepherds that
lead the people from God to the greed that lines your pockets instead of
leading them to the love that is offered.
Wallow in the ashes of the misery to
come instead of wallowing in the complacence and platitudes being given as
substitutes for God’s demand of warning to His people.
Your voices will be heard in the
throes of that same misery you bring to that people by your failures to lead
that flock to the safety that was the intent of those called.
The principals that back you, finance
you, give the air time and continue to promote teachings of man over God’s own
will join you in that same shout of misery.
God is not waiting in His Den
forever, but like the lion that has patiently waited is assuredly able and
willing to address those trespassing and those violating both the love given,
and the means of attainment of that love.
Christ gave a simple message intended
to be repeated, not of greed, but of love, and that message must continue today
if any is to escape the judgment of that anger yet to be unleashed promised us
as it was Israel.
“Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
I pray that both the warning given by
Jeremiah, and far more fervently that given by Christ as well as the love given
by Him be heeded by all, before the execution of that judgment that is indeed
to come.
Nations and individuals are not
immune, both have a choice available either of the wrath or the love. Too many
continue to choose that wrath.
I remain still and yet nothing more than
a simple sinner saved by grace through faith in my Lord that I choose to
follow, and take the shelter offered under that wing he mentioned.
I continue also to stand on this bloodied battlefield
as the bodies continue to stack up unburied, unlamented, praying for the strength
to endure long enough to salvage any still reachable and teachable for my Lord.
2 Timothy 1:12 King James Version (KJV)
12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
Amen and Amen
the Wayfarer
the Wayfarer
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