Daughter, Look At Me!

   God is holy and just, but He is good and oh so sweet! It's amazing how much more I see God working after I write down exactly what He is teaching me, and I left it at the feet of Jesus.
   We are all sick with colds. When I am not physically feeling well, I typically struggle spiritually too. Yesterday, I wasn't trying to be strong. I was very transparent with my family to where I was spiritually. Sadly, that set the mood, and soon we were all pretty crabby. The awesome thing with Jesus and grace is I don't have to hide. I know everyone else in my family struggles with the same thing, so we could talk openly about it. We were very eager to repent and move on.
   The girls were in trouble, so I told them to sit on the couch and wait for me so we could talk about it. Kaia fell asleep right away, so that left a great opportunity to have a heart-to-heart talk with Tess. I was able to call her out, but then I shared how much I struggled as a mom. I want her to know who I am as well, and why I need Jesus. She was absolutely heartbroken to hear how much I struggled. Like her little hero image of mom just shattered into a million pieces. I had no idea how much she looked up to me; she doesn't let me see that too often. It was a really precious moment. As we were discussing how much sin weighs down on us, she looked away and saw a small toy bowling ball that was angled just right to look like creepy eyes. She immediately got scared, and couldn't focus anymore. My natural reaction was to say, don't look at it, just look at me, but the Spirit took it to another level. Immediately the scene shifted to Moses in the wilderness, as the Israelites were laying there dying, he lifted up the serpent and told them to look at it. All they had to do was look, and they would live. It's amazing to me that if someone was lying there in so much pain, knowing they would die, that they would be so stubborn not to look. But it happened. People died because they wouldn't look. Numbers 21:7 John 3:14,15 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

The creepy eyes represented sin and this world. I held my arm up. She was laying on my lap, and I told her to turn over, turn her back on the creepy eyes (sin) and keep her eyes on my arm (Jesus). It's amazing how much the creepy eyes intrigued her. She understood the concept, and she Wanted to stop looking at the sin, and look at Jesus. But for some reason, it had a hold on her. She turned to me initially, but then she went back and tried to do it her own way. She held up her hand to make an X over it. But she was still looking. Then she put a basket over it, so she couldn't see it anymore. Wow, isn't that exactly what we do with sin? We shame it. We talk about how wrong and bad it is, all the while we are still so drawn to it. We try to hide it. Pretend that it's not there. Pretend that we don't struggle. But it's still there, and more dangerous than ever. When we told her to take the basket off, she said, "What if I get a hundred blankets, then I can't see it anymore!" Bigger and better only gets more deceptive and more dangerous. It's still living a lie, and it's not going to work. Sin is still there. Jesus still sees it  even if it's covered up. Once the sin (creepy eyes) was exposed, and she was laying on my lap again, that's when we lost her. She kept staring at it, and said, "It's actually kinda cute! Mom, it's soo cute!" Wow, that again is exactly what happens once we get used to sin. We get comfortable with it, and it actually becomes enjoyable and attractive. Throughout this time, I kept telling her, turn your back on sin, and look unto Jesus. That's salvation! All you have to do is keep your eyes on Jesus! If I couldn't see what she was doing, if I only heard what she was saying, I would have thought that she turned her back on sin, and she was looking at Jesus. She deceived herself and tried to deceive me too. As Christians, in our Christian circles, isn't that exactly what we do? We shame our sin, we hide our sin, and then we lie to ourselves and to others about how we have repented and how Jesus is our Savior. True salvation, isn't afraid to admit the sin. The sin is exposed. It's out in the light. It's not going away. In fact, Jesus said the evil is only going to get bigger.
   2 Timothy 3:12-14 "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which you have learned and have been assured of, knowing of whom you have learned them." Imagine your back is turned to the creepy eyes, and your eyes are fixed on Jesus. Imagine the evil creepy eyes growing bigger and bigger, scarier and more evil, So much that you can feel the evil breath on your neck. Don't be tempted to look back. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. If you look back, you're going to be scared and lose faith, and be swallowed up by the evil. Remember Lot's wife.
   Luke 17:26-33 "And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot's wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall loose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it." What happened to Lot's wife? Genesis 19:26 "But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt."
   2 Timothy 3:1 "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come." I don't know if you have seen the news headlines lately, or if you don't need to read it because you're living in it. But the days are quickly moving from rough times to perilous times. Those who are following Jesus know that He is coming back for His own. Followers disagree When exactly He is returning, but we can all agree that we need to keep our eyes focused on Him, and not of this world until we do see Him face to face. But it is a worthy discussion of when exactly He is coming back. I always believed that Christians were going to "fly away" before the great tribulation comes. But when studying the plain text, and matching passages together, I had to come to a different conclusion. Don't worry, I'm not going to go into a major Bible study, and I don't expect you to come to the same conclusion that I have. But I am convicted that as followers of Jesus, we should be prepared to go all the way for Jesus. I am going to assume that you know generally speaking of what is prophesied in the Bible regarding end times. Basically, the world is going to be an incredibly scary place. Crimes will run rampant. Natural disasters will be often and significant. There will be wars and ruins. The entire world will go into an emergency crisis and hysteria. Then a charismatic world leader will rise up and promise world peace and prosperity. Many will flock to him, support him and worship him. "So much that if it were possible, even the very elect would be deceived." Matthew 24:24. I mean, the world has been so bad already, that many are crying for world peace. It's in the heart of all of us. "For we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now." Romans 8:22. It will be so tempting to follow someone who promises to rebuild and restore. Isaiah 9:10 "The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars."
   What would happen if you thought this couldn't possibly be the tribulation because you weren't raptured yet? What if you never entertained the possibility of going through the tribulation because you were sure that you would fly away before it started? But what if you weren't raptured; the world is in hysteria (is that really too hard to imagine that happening quickly?) What if a leader came on the scene right now to promise to set the world back in order? Would that make you second guess Jesus' coming? Or would the promise of world peace sound appealing, and would you give him a chance?
   But what if you weren't raptured before the anti-Christ comes on the scene? Would you be shaking out of fear for the evil that is growing larger and breathing down your neck? Would you stop to stare at the growing the evil, only to be consumed by it, or would you keep your eyes steadily fixed on Jesus, even when threats scream in your ear, even at your hour of betrayal and execution? Philippians 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death." Can you imagine the intense fellowship with Jesus when we suffer like Him? Would you look into the eyes of Jesus at that moment, with sweat pouring off your face, and say, "I love you, Jesus, Thank you for what you did for me, a sinner, this is so painful, but you are worth every second. Jesus, I understand how you stood all alone when everyone else betrayed you. I understand your suffering now. I understand how you didn't want to go through this, but you did out of love for me." Philippians 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death."
   Or does that scare you enough not to follow Him anymore?
   Maybe Jesus will return before the tribulation comes. Maybe Jesus will return before persecution comes to America. Maybe Jesus won't return until He comes as King. Maybe Jesus will return when you're still distracted by this world and what it has to offer. While many followers of Jesus disagree on exactly When He is returning, wouldn't you rather be prepared to go all the way instead of risking being deceived and lose your soul?
   Like my sweet daughter, turn your back on the evil, and keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. It's going to get bigger and scarier, but don't look back. Remember Lot's wife.
   Jesus is coming for his virgin bride. Will He find you allured by someone or something else or will He find you with your eyes locked on His?