HALLELUJAH—THIS COULD BE THE DAY!
Hallelujah.
Hallelujah.
Hallelujah.
Hallelujah.
Hallelujah.
Hal-lelu-jah!!!
Also “Alleluia”–Latin from the Greek word—Hallelujah.
This word means—God Be Praised.
Praise Ye the LORD.
To Rejoice in Praising God.
And in Arabic—Alhamdulillah—the Praise is to God.
Musical artist Tori Kelly sings the beautiful melody “Hallelujah,” and I hope you pause right now to listen for yourself. Place earbuds in your ears and REALLY LISTEN TO THE WORDS.
Hallelujah. This word is pronounced the same pronunciation in EVERY language on the earth!
Imagine the beauty of that statement?!!!
Just imagine, we can lift our voices—EVERYWHERE—and speak this solitary word aloud—EVERYONE—EVERYWHERE—across the entire face of the world—EVERY SINGLE PERSON WILL COMPREHEND THIS SPOKEN WORD!!!
In reading God’s Word this morning, I wonder if this word—HALLELUJAH—will be the word we lift in unison on that great day when the Messiah returns. The apostle Luke spoke of the day, of a time on earth that will bring great fear, unspeakable turmoil, utter sadness, horrible tribulation, expected and unexpected death, undeserving imprisonment, life-storms, and NEVER-ENDING JOY!!!
So today, in reading, the Apostle Luke records the words spoken by the LORD Jesus who foretells what to watch for, what to expect in the world, as the end of time draws close, as the Second Coming draws near.
Do not continue reading what I propose but read with me the words of Jesus found in the gospel—Luke 21.
“Then He told them a parable:
[JESUS CHRIST spoke these words]
(Luke 21: 29-36)
“Behold the fig tree and all the trees;
As soon as they put forth leaves, you see it and know for yourselves that summer is now near.
“So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near.
“Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place.
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
“Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap;
For it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth.
“But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Sunday night, we participated in “The Shepherd’s Field,” a symbolic walk of remembrance of That Glorious Night when Jesus came to the earth as a babe to Mary and Joseph. As we placed the head cloths across our heads, the thin cloth brought a sudden warmth against the coldness of the night air—even though the cloth was sheet-thin.
We then stepped toward the shepherd’s fire where two spoke of the great star they had seen, of the place they had traveled to find the babe in the manger, and before we left, they spoke of how we too could find the babe—if we would only just seek the Light.
So we did.
We walked the path, together: mom, my two sisters and their husbands, one of my brothers and his wife, my husband, and one of my nieces and her husband.
We walked toward the scene we could see just ahead, Joseph and his Mary sitting together holding the newborn babe—The Messiah.
Then we stepped into the church and found a place where we could write a name on a card and light a candle in remembrance of someone. As I stood there pondering who I would write, I could hear my mom’s soft crying in front of me as she wrote the names of my dad and my grandparents.
Soon it was my turn to write. My husband asked me who I was going to write, and I knew. He wrote the names of his parents (my beautiful in-laws) and his family members who are deceased.
That’s when I knew what names I would write, so in picking up the black Sharpie marker, I wrote five names, those who I knew were alive but not; those who I knew walked and lived but who were the spiritually dead; those who I knew were not spiritually ready for the second coming of the Messiah.
And as I placed my card and lit candle upon the table of remembrance, I too began to weep as I prayed, “God give them time, and give them understanding.”
Finally, we left the room to walk to the final stop: the table of Communion, the place where we could receive the bread and the drink, symbolic of the body and the blood of Jesus Christ.
Then yesterday, the university chaplain said some words at our shared lunch, words that have stuck with me, and words I share with you now.
The Happiest Day of ALL— the Day of Conviction because the Holy Spirit is convicting a person to come to know and accept Jesus as LORD.
The Saddest Day of ALL—the Day when God’s Holy Spirit is no longer dealing with a person’s heart.
Hallelujah.
Hallelujah.
Hallelujah.
Hallelujah.
Hallelujah. . . THE CHRIST-CHILD HAS COME!
HALLELUJAH. . . THE MESSIAH IS COMING AGAIN TO REIGN FOREVERMORE!
How will Jesus find me when He comes?
How will Jesus find you when He comes?
Will he find us WATCHFUL & READY!!!
“Be on guard, . . . for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth.”
[That Day Will Come to ALL]
(Luke 21: 24-25)