By Ken Pullen

Following my comments is a contemplation from Pastor Cornelius R. Stam titled, A Prayer We Never Pray.

I am including this because our time is very short. Any one of us true believers, doctrinally sound, Biblically sound know as the Spirit of God shows us the time is very short. Sometimes we yearn for it to end tomorrow, some so weary of this world and eager to be enjoined with the Lord they want Him to return this minute not delaying His return a moment longer. We long to end this turmoil and suffering and leave this sin-filled willfully ignorant world to become spirit and begin spending eternity with God our Father, and Jesus our Lord and all the heavenly hosts.

Those are beautiful thoughts and our precious hope, and we are instructed in God’s inerrant word to keep watch heavenward, and to place our hearts, our minds on spiritual things and not the things of this world.

But — we should not be so selfish. We should not test our Lord, or think ourselves more important than the next person on this earth the Lord’s grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness through His shed blood will bring to His salvation.

The door of grace is closing quickly — but it has not yet closed. We need to be more patient, more understanding and find comfort and rejoice in the fact God our Father and Yeshua, Jesus our Lord know there are still more souls on this horrid, dying, sin-filled earth worth saving and that will yet be saved.

Let us not think we know better than God, or we cannot endure another day. Let us think on heavenly things and not the things of this world which distract, bring pain, make us cry in sorrow at the sin, the growing evil, the increasing abominations, the willful ignorance rampant among the people of this world — and let us place our trust in the Lord and know while the door of grace is rapidly closing for the heathen, the Gentiles, and this world will end soon and the Lord will return soon, may we not pray and demand Him to come now — may we be patient and joyful the “Good News” of the Gospel is still alive and still has power on this sin-filled earth, and there are others souls in places which can and will be saved yet.

And when the last person that can be saved is?

Then the Lord will return.

We’ve endured and waited this long — what’s a little longer? Let us spend the time growing in the spirit, growing in the word:

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

Colossians 3:2 — King James Version

Feed on that which is above and not that which is in The Earth,

Colossians 3:2 — Aramaic Bible in Plain English

So if you were raised along with the Messiah, then seek the things above, where the Messiah is sitting at the right hand of God. Focus your minds on the things above, not on things here on earth.  For you have died, and your life is hidden with the Messiah in God.  When the Messiah, who is our life, appears, then you too will appear with him in glory!

Therefore, put to death the earthly parts of your nature — sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed (which is a form of idolatry);  for it is because of these things that God’s anger is coming on those who disobey him. True enough, you used to practice these things in the life you once lived; but now, put them all away — anger, exasperation, meanness, slander and obscene talk. Never lie to one another; because you have stripped away the old self, with its ways, and have put on the new self, which is continually being renewed in fuller and fuller knowledge, closer and closer to the image of its Creator. The new self allows no room for discriminating between Gentile and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, foreigner, savage, slave, free man; on the contrary, in all, the Messiah is everything.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with feelings of compassion and with kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another; if anyone has a complaint against someone else, forgive him. Indeed, just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must forgive.

Above all these, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together perfectly; and let the shalom which comes from the Messiah be your heart’s decision-maker, for this is why you were called to be part of a single Body.

And be thankful — let the Word of the Messiah, in all its richness, live in you, as you teach and counsel each other in all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude to God in your hearts. That is, everything you do or say, do in the name of the Lord Yeshua, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Colossians 3:1-17 — Complete Jewish Bible

A Prayer We Never Pray

by Pastor Cornelius R. Stam

Down through the centuries many sincere believers have uttered this prayer: “Come, Lord Jesus; come quickly,” but we have not joined them in this.

Lest we be misunderstood, we hasten to explain that we, personally, long to see and be with our blessed Lord, and did we think only of ourselves we would have Him come now, without further delay.

But this continued absence of our Lord in grace is the special subject of Paul’s epistles, as Peter states:

“AND ACCOUNT THAT THE LONGSUFFERING OF OUR LORD IS SALVATION; EVEN AS OUR BELOVED BROTHER PAUL ALSO ACCORDING TO THE WISDOM GIVEN UNTO HIM HATH WRITTEN UNTO YOU;

“AS ALSO IN ALL HIS EPISTLES, SPEAKING IN THEM OF THESE THINGS…” (II Peter 3:15,16).

How gracious has our Lord been in delaying His return for His own and the judgment to follow! How gracious to extend the day of grace until now! Now that we are saved we would fain be with the One we love and long for, but how grateful we should be that He waited for us, and how eager we should be to have the Lord tarry so others awaken to Him, and find His salvation for them while He waits still longer!

As we consider the lost about us, therefore, we cannot implore the Lord to “come quickly,” though His coming for us is indeed a “blessed hope,” and we remain on the alert for it to take place at any time.

In this connection it is interesting to observe that the prayer, “Come, Lord Jesus,” and its counterpart “How long!” are both “tribulation” prayers, uttered by saints (not of the Body) who will live during that dreadful time of God’s wrath. Both are found in the Book of the Revelation and both in connection with our Lord’s return to earth to judge and reign, and not in connection with the rapture. In both Revelation 2:5 and 2:16 our Lord says: “Repent…or else I will come unto thee quickly,” i.e., to judge. In Revelation 3:11 He writes to the church at Philadelphia, but again in warning: “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” Revelation 22:7 and 12 are used in the same way, indicating that in that day only those who are “overcomers” will long for the Lord to come and put an end to the world’s rebellion. Thus John closes the Revelation with the declaration: “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly”, and the response: “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Verse 20).