The Goodness of God: Don’t Close

28 Jul The Goodness of God: Don’t Close

July 28, 2024

The Goodness of God: Don’t Close

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. Revelation 3:20 NIV

The Altar Call comes at the end of each service in most churches.  Recently, during this part of the service, as the pastor ended the call for souls, he stopped and said the Lord said, “Don’t Close.” This statement grabbed my heart, and the faces of people I knew needed to be saved and delivered… started coming before me.   See, so many strange things are happening in the world today.  I have said, Lord, you have got to be coming soon, as what we see in the news, in our community, and in the world is just crazy and way too much.  2 Timothy 3:1-4 says “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—”

It’s all true, but when I heard the man of God say, “Don’t Close,” a thought came to my heart. Yes, Lord Jesus, please don’t, as there are people who need to come into the kingdom.

If I was not saved, I would get saved. 

Here in the USA, we have had all-time record heat this summer; records have been tired or set. I remember the older people at church saying when it was scorching hot this is repenting weather.  So. “If I was not saved, I would get saved.”  Jesus is the only way he stands at the door and knocks, please let him in. Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  John 14:6 Also Acts 4:12 says “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”  This week, let’s reach out to those we know, meet on the street and invite them to Christ.  You can use various methods, such as phone calls, text messages, cards, meal invites, and sow time and resources; God the Holy Spirit will tell you how. Just ask.  Don’t let the door close as they come across your heart; please respond.

Got saved but living like I’m not.

Check out this Jeremiah 3:14-16

14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.16 And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.” God repeatedly invited Israel back to him. Jeremiah 2-9

If you fall into this category and are reading this today, Come back home. God is married to the backslider. This state can happen intentionally or gradually; either way, you are out of fellowship and need to repent. We have all made mistakes, but God’s got mercy, grace, and, above all things, He is a God of Love. Come back to the true lover of your soul. Nothing and no one is worth spending another day out of true fellowship with God.

You are saved in fellowship with God, but you find yourself saying where is my harvest?

The most discouraging place to be is when you don’t know what to do next. You’ve followed the instructions to the letter, and you have a scripture for everything from health to bill payments to the furnace running through the winter. I have been there, too!

I remember I had left my job, and the furnace went out; I was so frustrated. Called the repair company, and the guy looked at it and said it was gone. You need to buy a new furnace; Lord knows I was barely paying the utilities then. The repair guy was preparing to leave, and the Lord said, “Tell the guy to humor you and try it again. The guy said I have been doing this for over 20 years; Ms. Woodard will not work.   He looked into my face and said, but for you, I will do it.  He took the tool and turned it, and that furnace started up like the motor on a muscle car. “His comment was I’m a deacon in my church, and I’m unsure if I should be afraid of you or God.” That furnace continued to run for an additional 20 years.

Some plateaus and valleys come as we live this Christian life.

I stumbled on this scripture many years ago, and it got me through a rough(s) season. Psalm 27:13-14 I would have fainted, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord!

Believe God, and you have got to see it (what your believing for) in your heart first. God told Joshua in chapter 6, And the Lord said to Joshua: “See! I have given Jericho into your hand… and He told Abram to look in Genesis 15:5 “Then the LORD took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” They both had to see it before they possessed it.

And Jesus says to us in John 14:13-14 CEV “Ask me, and I will do whatever you ask. This way the Son will bring honor to the Father. 14 I will do whatever you ask me to do.”  Do that quick self-check session with God, and know also some things take a little longer. Just Don’t Close before it’s time.

I’m concluding with a quote from Billy Graham: “The Bible says today is the accepted time, today is the day of salvation… But there will come a time when it will be too late for you.”  Let’s get to work!

Theresa Woodard