God is Coming

Sell Art Online
Don’t be deceived, my dearly loved brothers.  Every generous act and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights; with Him there is no variation or shadow cast by turning.  By His own choice, He gave us a new birth by the message of truth so that we would be the firstfruits of His creatures.
-James 1:16-18 (HCSB)

I believe that God is about to "come to town".  I believe God is coming.  What is going to happen and how to get ready is expressed well in the song "Santa Claus is coming to town": 

You better watch out
You better not cry
Better not pout
I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
You may not know that Santa is based on a 4th century person named Nicholas, who was a Christian who prayed and God did miracles through him.  Nic also loved to give people gifts, secretly.

The fame of God's miracles through him and his generosity gave rise to a special day on the Greek calendar for him, on December 6th.  How his holiday combined with celebrating Jesus birth and got moved to December 25th is another story.

Watch out, don't cry, and don't pout.

I found eleven verses that say, "watch out".  Watching out is not passive, but has to do with carefulness.  It is like the "caution" sign on a road.

Watch out for:
  • Watch out and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. (Matt. 16:6).
  • Watch out!  Beware of yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees and the yeast of Herod. (Mark 13:5)
  • “Watch out and be on guard against all greed because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.” (Luke 12:15)
  • Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Don’t follow them. (Luke 21:8)
  • Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing securely should watch out so he doesn’t fall. (1 Cor. 10:12, ISV)
  • Watch out for those who cause dissensions and obstacles contrary to the doctrine you have learned. (Rom. 16:17)
  • But if you bite and devour one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another. (Gal 5:15)
  • Watch out for “dogs,” watch out for evil workers, watch outfor those who mutilate the flesh. (Phil. 3:2)
  • Watch out for him yourself because he strongly opposed our words. (2 Tim. 4:15)
  • Watch out, brothers, so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that departs from the living God. (Heb. 3:12)
  • Brothers, if someone is caught in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual should restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so you also won’t be tempted. (Gal. 6:1)
Don't cry!

Why would we say to someone, "don't cry"?  There is healthy crying when we suffer a loss.  If someone does not cry, we sometimes wonder if they are out of touch.

When Jesus said, "don't cry", to the widow, who's only son had died, in Luke, chapter seven; he was not delegitimizing her grief.  He actually was completely their with her in her sorrow, and he was asking her to stop crying and turn her attention to him and what he would do.

Children cry more easily than adults, which is normal.  But when children cry too much or too easily, other children might call them, "cry babies".  Babies cry a lot and it is completely normal.  When a kid cries a bit too easily, that is when the "cry baby" moniker comes out. 

Now, some adults also cry too much.  Self-pity and weeping over your self is not good.  There is something called "crying in your beer", which is the picture of a person sipping on beer and feeling sorry for him or her self.

If you are suffering, God's remedy for you is not weeping over your self in a compulsive manner.  God is in the redeeming business.  He transforms our sorrows into laughter and turns our mourning into dancing.  And the laughter is not the laughter of the world, but joy unspeakable and full of glory (1 Pet. 1:8).

  • You who now weep are blessed, because you will laugh. (Luke 6:21b)
  • When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” he said. (Luke 7:13)
Don't pout:

Pouting is different than crying.  Pouting is grumbling.  I touched on grumbling and murmuring in my previous post.  Grumbling is when complaining turns into bitter judgements.

The pouter is fixed in a posture where their arms are folded and they are frowning and are putting down roots in unbelief.  They are not in a place of weak faith ("I believe, but help my unbelief"), but rather, are having faith in God's so-called badness.
  • They refused to enter the Promised Land, for they wouldn’t believe his solemn oath to care for them. Instead, they pouted in their tents and mourned and despised his command. (Ps. 106:24-5 TLB)


He's making a list, He sees, and He knows.  Get ready, He's coming.

I believe that the rest of the song applies as well, but I won't go through it with verses.  I believe that God is watching and evaluating.  I believe God wants to give us things, and when I say things, I mean invisible things like power to witness and heal, as well as stuff.

We need to get ourselves, our families, and our communities ready for God's coming.  If you look up "day of the Lord" in the Bible, it is an awesome thing.  Awesome, as in you fall on your face, go silent, or run for your life for fear of The Holy One.

When the day of Pentecost came, Peter preached from Joel two's day of the Lord passage.  Was Joel prophesying about the church's birthday or about the end of the world?  Perhaps both.

Read Joel chapter two. It is filled with a message of a solemn call to repentance and promises of restoration and blessing.  Some have said that we are in a Joel two hour and need to call a fast and pray.  Get ready.



You better watch out
You better not cry
Better not pout
I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town

He's making a list
And checking it twice;
Gonna find out Who's naughty and nice
Santa Claus is coming to town

He sees you when you're sleeping
He knows when you're awake
He knows if you've been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake!

O! You better watch out!
You better not cry
Better not pout
I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
Santa Claus is coming to town

Songwriters
COOTS, J. FRED/GILLESPIE, HAVEN

____________________________________________

The artwork above is by Marianne Gonzales and was found here

Comments