Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
We have long seen in "the signs of the times" the evidences that indicate the end is near, the coming of the Lord "draws near" (Luke 21:28). Those "signs" were the dark day, the falling of the stars, the increase of knowledge, "perilous times in the last days" (2 Tim. 3:1), etc.
But are there "signs" that through spiritual maturity the Lord is preparing a people for the final crisis? Here is where the possibility exists that "the latter rain may be falling on hearts all around us" and we may be ignorant of the reality. Scripture warns us not to "despise the day of small things" (Zech. 4:10), and that the latter rain may come like the dew, not necessarily like a cloudburst or gulley-washer. At least, its beginning.
We are right now walking on the enchanted ground that Pilgrim walked through in Pilgrim's Progress, where the temptation to go to sleep is almost overwhelming. The economy is great, cars are getting more luxurious and more powerful; entertainment was never so widespread; and the church is doing great.
But could it be that there are sincere and enlightened souls maybe seated next to you in church who are pinpointed in Ezekiel 9:4 as those who "sigh and cry for all the abominations [being] done in the midst of Jerusalem"? It is only they who finally receive a " mark," "the seal of God." An angel is commanded to "kill" all those who do not "sigh and cry"! Sounds terrible, but there it is. All the rest end up ultimately taking the mark of the beast.
That passage in Ezekiel has been cited so often to strengthen "holier than thou" self-righteousness that it is seldom thought of today. But it does not encourage judging the person next to you in church as though you are more holy because you "sigh and cry" and he or she is not serious-minded.
Those who sigh and cry negatively fall into the trap of self-righteousness; but those who sigh and cry positively realize that they are no better than anybody else by nature. They have no goodness of their own; their hearts (and eyes) are melted by the love of Christ and the realization that they are indebted to Him 100 percent.
"Sighing and crying" positively reaches out in humble contrition to bless others concerned more for the honor of Christ than because of our own personal fear for security, or for hope of reward.
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 5, 1999.
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