Relentless God

The world is ever changing. So much so, that's it's getting harder and harder to miss the clues and hints that the return of Christ is very much at hand. Yes, the Christian faith has said this for centuries and every generation looks at what is happening in their respective culture and society and thinks their days are numbered.

To put this in perspective, however, I caught part of a discussion on the radio where the guest of the program put eternity in perspective. Depending on the source, there's close to 2, perhaps as many as 3 deaths every second. Or 150,000-200,000 deaths per day. Yet God remains, unwilling that any should perish.

What's difficult about such numbers, is the reality of the fall of man. Life events happen as do accidents, but death is the result of the brokenness of the human condition in light of Almighty God. To further complicate the discussion, is a society that continues to push back against truth and morality and the authority of God's Word. It permeates generations and crosses social, economic and racial divides.

If that weren't enough, the realities of one's state on earth often stands in the way of God doing a work on a spiritual level. Health, economic, relational, mental needs and more stand in the way of people opening the door of their heart to Jesus Christ.

I think Jesus understood this phenomenon... for how many times was His physical healing accompanied with Go and sin no more. He met the reality of their need. He spoke to their heart.

Yet for all the challenges and difficulties of ministry and the work of missionaries, so many other factors have the potential to stand as barriers. It's not Christ can't push through it all to get to us, but rather will people push those issues aside to allow Christ to come in. And for those in ministry, will they do the same and allow God to work through them, despite the exhaustion and frustration of their reality?

So... another #missionsFriday on the books! Let's pray that God would indeed, break through the barriers, frustrations and distractions, for both the missionary and those they are reaching out to impact with the Gospel. May strongholds be broken, as minds are illuminated to the truth and the condition of the heart is exposed to the love of Christ. Pray for wisdom and boldness to declare the goodness of God in times of society's dramatic decline. May God's plans and purposes be fulfilled, despite man's best efforts to remove and keep Him from playing an active role in our lives.

For God so loved the world.
He has passionately pursued humanity since the beginning of time.
While culture has a whole may want nothing to do with God,
He is all about His Creation.
Relentless for the kingdom of Heaven.
For the cause of Christ.

- PNC

---