AgapeFocus APPLYING GOD'S SOLUTIONS TO HUMAN PROBLEMS

Joel 2:15 – Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly. Usually, the trumpet sounded in Israel as an alarm to warn the people, signaling war! On this occasion, it is to be used as a summons, to gather the people together. A fast is the avoidance of food for a period. Sometimes it involves the avoidance of both food and water. A sanctified fast was a holy fast. A solemn assembly was a gathering of people, with the intent of humbly seeking after God, in realization of individual as well as collective failure. No one was to be left out. While the message came first to Israel; it is now very relevant to all the people of God. Today’s world is full of permissiveness, nonchalance, arrogance, defiance, disobedience, oppression, terrorism, shady deals, racism and all forms of immorality. This is identical with what Joel witnessed in his days; though on a larger, global scale today. There was economic meltdown as a result of judgment upon Israel. There is judgment over this generation of ours now and greater judgment is imminent! The economic downturn is just a fragment of the judgment; may it not become a meltdown! Everyone must repent, beginning at the church, and initiated exemplarily by the leadership! The latter part of the prophecy directly refers to the people of God globally for generations, including the early church as well as the church today. The occasion was a signal call to repentance. If there ever was a right time for the people of God to repent; it is now in this twenty first century! Who is qualified to receive all the graces and favours from our God. The God who  is strong to deliver and mighty to save! The God who is very loving, holy, just, and unlimited in his ways. He is the God who is light and who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. He does not deal with us according to our wrong ways, yet he stretches out his arms of love, ready and eager to have us back when we realize our folly. There is no one as full of compassion as him; ready to pardon us, ready to heal us, ready to lift us up from the slimy, muddy pits of our errors. This same God is very holy and just and will not wait on us to remain in our errors forever. His holy and just nature would compel him to punish anyone who remains defiant in his /her wrong ways. Modern society would argue about issues of morality, holiness, sin, judgment, heaven and hell, considering these as being subjective. That stance notwithstanding, God has appointed a day in which he would judge the whole world by that man, Jesus Christ. Jesus has already come to take our places individually and collectively as a substitute and ransom, bearing our guilt, and failures called sin. He is the most perfect and sinless man that ever lived on earth!History bears witness to this fact. In order to set us free from the effects of our sins, the righteous man, Jesus, took our punishment for all sins ever committed and in all of human history; both before he came and after he left. He is our sin-bearer. He did so by laying down his life as a ransom for us all. After such feat, he rose up from the grave and he is alive forever. That is yet a greater feat. His tomb is the only vacant one in all of human history! Jesus accomplished his rescue mission for all mankind.  Sin has no more hold or lasting power on anyone who humbly confesses his failure, turns away from them and turns to God in obedience and trust. The Bible states that ‘If you shall confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the scripture says ”WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED”. For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call upon him; for ”WHOSOEVER WILL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED” Romans 10:9-13. If you have not called upon Jesus, please do so now. He would give your life a new and better focus with fulfillment. Jesus is coming back soon. While we await his coming, let us have a solemn assembly now!