God Makes an Appeal

"I beseech you therefore, brethren..." -

God is appealing to you today.
Historically, we know that God always made earnest appeals to man through man, on His behalf. Men did this, and continue to do so because God put it in our hearts. Just as Jeremiah had "a burning fire shut up in his bones," so all those who are appointed to speak in God's behalf have a God-given desire to woo others to Him. We live to make appeals to men on His behalf.

The apostle Paul made such appeals saying: "I beseech you therefore, brethren..." Today, those of us with a heart to call God's people for our mutual benefit and for His glory, continue making such appeals. I am reserving this space on our web page for just that. I will be adding personal, heart-felt, earnest appeals to you as the Spirit urges me to call and and beckon you to come into what I believe He may be saying. Sometimes it will be to come out of something that is overwhelming the body of Christ, and other times it will be to enter into something that God has for us.

The whole Bible represents God's earnest appeal to man; and to some extent, every believer, within the context of his or her gifts and callings, is called to appeal to others on His behalf.

"And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." II Corinthians 5:18-20

My Appeal to You

Jesus said, "In your patience possess ye your souls." Luke 21:19

Today, I would like to encourage you to be patience in waiting on the Lord for His victory to be manifested in your life and situation. I was anxious for many years, but my anxiety and lack of patience never led me to peace or to a profitable end. I have learned to "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him." (Psalm 37:7)

When our Lord gave instructions to possess our souls in patience, He was speaking in the context of waiting on His return and the consummation (absolute rule) of His kingdom on earth. The disciples, like all Jews who believe that such a thing would take place, longed to see it. They longed to be delivered from the Gentile kingdoms who dominated them. Jesus was reassuring them that what God had promised He would fulfill; but that there would be many difficult days before that promise was realized. They would need to be "possessed" with patience.

Today, those of us who long to see Him must do the same thing. The battle here can weary us, and make us anxious if we are not careful. Through anxiety, we can take the wrong course and breed greater difficulties for ourselves and for those around us. While we do not know the exact time of His coming, we DO KNOW that He will come. Until then, there may be many difficult days ahead.

In Conclusion:
"Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday." Psalm 37:5-6

The prophet Isaiah made appeals too. Of all Biblical appeals, the one God made through Isaiah to His own people is the one that stands out most in my mind in the Old Testament. Here, we see that along with an appeal in love, God warned of the consequences for rejecting His love. That has never changed. Through Isaiah, God sincerely and earnestly beckoned His own people to, "Come."

"Come now, and let us reason together,;"
Says the Lord,
'Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as well,
If you are willing and obedient,
You shall eat the good of the land;
But if you refuse and rebel,
You shall be devoured by the sword';
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken."
Isaiah 1:18-19

Through Jesus Christ, God made His most earnest expression of appeal to all men and women everywhere. His appeal was summed up when He said,

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Here again, He issues many warnings to those who would reject His love appeal. The one that comes to mind most to me is found in the book of Hebrews, where the inspired writer quotes a prophet from the Old Covenant saying:

"And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire." Hebrews 12:24-29

The Lord has put much in my heart for all people everywhere. From time to time, I will share about an earnest appeal that He makes for us through the scriptures. Indeed, this whole ministry is an earnest appeal to draw men to God; as well as to help those who have already come to Him to grow up in Him.