In Luke 19:41-42, we read the following about Jesus, “When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.” Jesus wept over Jerusalem because of the impending devastation that was to befall it and its people. However, this terrible devastation, which was partly witnessed in AD 70, and will again happen in these last days (Zachariah chapters 12-14) could have been avoided if Jerusalem and its people had recognized their time of visitation, specifically, the Messiah, Jesus, who was sent to them (Matthew 23:37-39). This is directly applicable to our very lives: to miss the time of your visitation is to set the course of your life in disorder. This is also to live outside the perfect will and purpose God has for you. Such a life will be full of potential but little to no manifestation and full of needless hardships and sorrow. But all these can be avoided if we only learn how to discern the changing seasons of our lives, especially the time of our visitation. How do we do this?
Jesus showed us how to discern the time of our visitation by showing us how the Jews failed to recognize Him as the Messiah. In John 5: 46-47, Jesus told the Jews, “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” Here, Jesus told them that if they had believed the writings of Moses, which was also part of the Scriptures they had, then they would have known that He was the Messiah when they heard His words. Even so, their failure to heed the Scriptures was key to not discerning their appointed time. This is because God refers to the Scriptures as a discerner (that which discerns), even of the things that are hidden: “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). Such is the power of God’s living Word: it has the ability to rightly discern and distinguish between things that are humanly impossible to separate. When we fill our hearts and minds with God’s Word, we fill ourselves with the mind and wisdom of God and are thereby enabled to know what our appropriate response ought to be in every situation God engineers or permits our way. By following the way of the Word, we are able to discern what the seasons in our lives call for, and we are positioned to benefit from it fully. When we give ourselves to God’s Word and live by it, we train our senses, physically and spiritually, to discern good and evil. Consequently, we can tell what good we are to give ourselves to and evil to avoid in each season of our lives (see Hebrews 5:14) and we will not miss our appointed times.
To be continued.
Dr. K. Omari
December 7, 2022.
A Very Important Message
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16). For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). Therefore, If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, I invite you to put your faith in Him. Pray the prayer below to accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour: “I come to you God in Jesus’ name and surrender my life unto you. I repent of my sins and I ask You to forgive me all my sins. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord, and I believe with my heart that God has raised Jesus from the dead. I thank you God for saving me, in Jesus name, Amen”. If you sincerely prayed this prayer, believe and be assured that you are saved, for the Bible says that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13, Romans 10:9-10, Acts 16:31). Find a Bible believing church to attend so that you can be discipled to grow in the ways of God. You can also email me ([email protected]) and I will be happy to grow together with you in Christ.