Come! Now is the Acceptable time!

Come! Now is the Acceptable Time to Worship!

To worship not even one single part of ourselves,

but to Worship only the entirety of GOD the Lord who is our Salvation!

Come, exactly as you are right now, into this very exacting moment ….

What have you got to lose?

Who is it you got to lose?

What is it you stand to gain?

Who is it you stand to gain?

Sound Intriguing?

A little?

A whole lot?

Exercise your God given right to dare yourselves to take ONE risk …

Dare to enter into your best voice (or worse if that is the case)

And read and then sing ….

And then wait and see what comes afterwards ….

Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling, Will L. Thompson, 1880

1. Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
calling for you and for me;
see, on the portals he’s waiting and watching,
watching for you and for me.
Refrain:
Come home, come home;
ye who are weary come home;
earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
calling, O sinner, come home!

2. Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading,
pleading for you and for me?
Why should we linger and heed not his mercies,
mercies for you and for me?
(Refrain)

3. Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,
passing from you and from me;
shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming,
coming for you and for me.
(Refrain)

4. O for the wonderful love he has promised,
promised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, he has mercy and pardon,
pardon for you and for me.
(Refrain)

Isaiah 55:6-7 New American Standard Bible

⁶ Seek the Lord while He may be found;
Call upon Him while He is near.
⁷ Let the wicked abandon his way,
And the unrighteous person his thoughts;
And let him return to the Lord,
And He will have compassion on him,
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

In truth, God was, is, and always will be close to those who genuinely seek after Him with the fullness of their hearts. The real problem is that we drift away from him, lose interest, and leave his presence. So, let’s seek him and receive his grace, his help while we recognize that He alone is the one who truly saves.

Our heavenly Father cares for us and loves us. He wants us to seek Him and draw near to Him with confidence and faith. He wants all of us to find Him

Not seeking and failing to call upon the Lord while He is near, means we miss the opportunity to get to know our awesome God and miss out on the blessings He promises. The writer of Hebrews tells us that, without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, (11:6). 

The Prophet Isaiah impresses the need for repentance among God’s people. Repentance is turning around from doing things our own rebellious way and wholeheartedly turning to God to do it His way. It clearly means forsaking our own manner, because the Lord’s restoration work is through our repentance.  

We need to understand that the battleground for a righteous walk with the Lord is often found in the hidden places of our hearts, minds, inside our thoughts.

Just as Paul wrote: “for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). 

Paul also stated that we are not to be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2). 

When anyone turns to the Lord and forsakes their sinful way and thoughts, the Lord will have mercy on them and will pardon then.

Apostle Peter writes: “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). 

We can read the words of Isaiah 55:6-7 and we will not be stirred. Our hearts will not be touched, our minds and souls will not recognize their importance. We will read over them and not give a second thought to their significance. It is true that these few ancient prophetic words were written about 2800 years ago.

If, however, something about them raises our curiosity bar by .001%, then if you and I are being drawn to seeking out the why of that soulful impression, that is the ministry and work of the Holy Spirit because as Scripture tells us: 

“And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me” (John 16:8-9). 

To become a God-seeking, God-fearing person takes more than just external behaviors; it is the continual seeking after God’s heart (Isaiah 55:6-7).

To zealously seek and become a godly person refers to our having an inward devotion for God that is being outwardly displayed. So, a godly person is one who has received Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross as payment for His own sin and has accepted the righteousness purchased for him (2 Corinthians 5:21). 

With God’s Spirit inside their being (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), the seeking person is able to understand the deep things of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).

The “eyes” of their hearts and “eyes” souls are subtly or even suddenly opened.

They begin to see life just a wee bit differently.

Life is no longer about pleasing themselves but about pleasing the Lord (Hebrews 12:28).

They realize that they will still stumble as they strive toward holiness

(James 3:2), but their goal is to be holy as the Lord is holy (1 Peter 1:16). 

Those who are even tentatively seeking learn early that their fleshly attempts at holiness only result in a stark revelation of their pride, vanity and failure. They slowly, steadily learn that as they gradually surrender up their will to the work of the Holy Spirit and come to rely more and more upon Him for strength to overcome temptation, they can withstand more temptation and accomplish even greater eternal goals than they ever thought possible (Philippians 4:13). 

Those seeking the Lord rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to help them say “no” to the flesh and “yes” to the Spirit (1 Corinthians 10:13; Galatians 5:16).

And as the person regularly opposes sin, they find that their spirit grows stronger, and temptation to sin becomes easier to resist (Hebrews 10:23).

If you want to establish a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you must first and foremost come to invite Him into your whole heart as your personal Savior. As Christ comes to accept, as He comes into your life your faith grows; and as you repent, ask Him to forgive and cleanse you, He will. And as you submit to Him and ask Him to take total control of your life, He will do it if you allow Him.

And finally, when Savior Christ lives and reigns in our heart, He expects us to willingly let Him live and reign, recognizing 1000% Jesus Christ is Lord of all.

If you have not already done so, then I definitely invite you to receive the Lord Jesus Christ into your life. Let Him be your Savior and cleanse you of your sins.

I definitely invite you to make the choice for abundant life, to give Him control of all your days while you are still able to do so. Remember that once your life ends, you have sealed your fate; therefore, seek the Lord while He may be found.

If you are indeed ready to turn your life over to God, you can talk to the Lord and sincerely pray to Him:

“Dear Lord, I know that I am a sinner. I accept the fact that Christ died upon the cross to save me. I now therefore open my heart’s door and receive you as my personal Savior. Please forgive me of all my sin. I also receive you as my Lord and willingly give you full control of my life. I thank you for helping me to be the kind of person you want me to be. Guide and direct me from this day forth so that I will serve you faithfully in everything I say, think and do.”

Always remember to seek God with all of your heart, your soul, and your mind! 

Please do not hesitate to place God first in everything and in everything to give Him thanks and praise.  Do not hesitate to keep all your mind on the things of heaven, not on worldly pleasures, because the Lord is 100% faithful, righteous, never-changing, always the same: loving, kind, merciful, forgiving, and true.

Isaiah 41:9-11 New American Standard Bible

⁹ You whom I have ^[a]taken from the ends of the earth
And called from its remotest parts,
And said to you, ‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you and have not rejected you.
¹⁰ Do not fear, for I am with you;
Do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, I will also help you,
I will also uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
¹¹ Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored;
Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish.

In truth, God is always close to those who genuinely seek after him. The real problem is that we drift away from him, lose interest, and leave his presence.

So, let’s not hesitate for even one moment more to seek him and receive his grace and his help while we recognize that he alone is the one who truly saves.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us now pray,

God my Father, I am a homeless sinner so very tired of my ways. I seek you out with all my heart. While I seek to know about you through your Word, I long to know you and be known by you as a tender father knows his child and as a child feels complete trust toward his tender father. Father, not only be my God, but also be real to me in ways that transcend explanation. Help me to sense your nearness and to know your presence. In the name of Jesus, I do pray. Amen.