My Greatest Hope

PLEASE read this to the end. That's all I ask. 

I've been praying for clarity recently, for discernment. In case you weren't aware, there are a number of people who believe that The Rapture may happen this week. They have many reasons why, many signs they believe that point to the probability of this occurring to be greater than any other time in history. I will agree that there are a large number of events culminating this week. Other than that, God only knows. Let me repeat that: God ONLY knows. Now before anyone gets upset, let me be clear, I have yet to hear one person say they know absolutely that Jesus is coming. They are all more in a "wait and see" position.

So why on earth am I writing about it? Well, I initially thought about just making a simple Facebook post. However, after thinking through what I believed I needed to say, I figured a blog post was more appropriate. LOL. So here is the important part of this post, here is where I ask you to pay close attention.

I do not know if Jesus will return this week. However, the reality is, I also don't know if I will wake up tomorrow. All I DO know, is that I woke up today. And if you're reading this, so did you. I am not eloquent, I am definitely not perfect, and I don't have the ability to speak to each of you personally. So I will post my thoughts here, and pray that you read them, and they make you ponder.

I want you to know that, whether you are my friend, my family, my neighbor; man, woman, child; gay, straight, or identify otherwise; Catholic, Protestant, Athiest, Muslim, or any other religion; no matter the color of your skin or the balance of your bank account; whether you are on my street or the other side of the world; no matter who you are or where you are; I am praying for you. PLEASE don't roll your eyes--I am incredibly sincere. I pray, not that you find a great church home, or realize your greater calling in life, not that you will be richly blessed, or any of a myriad of great things I could pray for you. Instead, I pray you find Jesus. Not the Jesus that you've seen portrayed on TV, not the Jesus that you felt you were never good enough for if you grew up in a strict church, and most definitely not the Jesus that we believers have so poorly represented to you as we mocked you, criticized you, cursed you, belittled you, shamed you and otherwise poured out rath and hatred rather than love and help. 

The reality is, He WILL come some day. You don't have to believe that to make it true. And the more important reality is that you need to KNOW Him...not just "believe" in Him. The Bible states clearly in James 2:19 "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder." Believing is not enough, sweet friend. You need to see your need for a savior, seek Him out and ask His forgiveness. You need to have a relationship with Him. That is my prayer for you--that you will look beyond our poor examples of who He is and find who He really is.

Because we are not promised tomorrow. We have today. So my greatest hope is that He will use me, in my imperfect ways and with my imperfect words, to draw you closer to Himself. I pray that in spite of what I say or do when I fail, that you would be able to see my heart, my truest intentions. I pray that at the end of the day, the one thing you think about when you think of me is "She served a mighty God." 

I pray that wherever you are, you take a minute to stop, to look inward, to really listen to the only One who can fill that void that you secretly hold inside, that longing for more, that emptiness nothing seems to fill. And I pray that when He speaks to your heart, you answer. He knows your hurt, He understands your pain. He's seen your sin. He knows your secrets. And He loves you just the same. He has changed my life, and I pray that you let Him change yours.

I love each of you dearly. I pray earnestly for you. And I will happily discuss Jesus with you any time, day or night.