Promise of Peace, Safety and Pregnancy: A Glorious Time
We are living at the end of time; some say the time of the end of earth’s history. It is a most special and glorious time, that we have been chosen and born for a time like this.
Much is being said that our future will be most promising, that great things are on the horizon, which include economic prosperity, public safety, controlling our border, world peace, less taxes, greater personal financial freedom, respecting liberties of conscience, less inflation and an improved cost of living where food and shelter become affordable for all.
What does the Bible say and what does it mean for us?
“For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman”. 1 Thessalonians 5:3
Labor and labor pains are a unique experience. For some people, labor pains are over in a matter of hours or less. For others, a long labor may test the limits of physical and emotional stamina. Early labor isn’t predictable. It may stop and start. The average length varies from hours to days. It’s often shorter for people who have had a baby before.
During active labor, the cervix opens. Contractions become stronger and closer together. They also happen more consistently. Legs might cramp. The stomach may feel upset. If it hadn’t happened earlier, one might feel the amniotic water break. One also may feel more pressure on the back. Head to the labor and delivery facility, it’s the time.
The initial excitement may fade as labor goes on and one gets more uncomfortable. Ask for pain medication or anesthesia if needed.
One won’t know how labor and childbirth will unfold until it happens. But one can prepare by understanding the series of events that typically take place during labor and delivery.
The last part of active labor can be particularly intense and painful. Contractions come close together and can last 60 to 90 seconds.
The baby is delivered during the second stage of labor. Push! Push through it!
How long does this labor last? It can take from a few minutes to a few hours to push your baby into the world.
After the baby’s head is delivered, the shoulders are delivered. Then the rest of the baby’s body follows shortly. The baby’s airway is cleared if necessary. If the delivery didn’t involve any health concerns for you or your baby, your healthcare professional may wait a few seconds to a few minutes before the umbilical cord is cut. Waiting to clamp and cut the umbilical cord after delivery increases the flow of nutrient-rich blood from the cord and the placenta to the baby.
So, it is with the second Coming of Jesus Christ. His Second Coming was expected soon after His ascension by the disciples. Two thousand years later, we are waiting for His imminent return, that will be the new birth for the universe. We have been waiting for a long time for Jesus to return, but the end of time , the climax of earth’s history is unfolding before our very eyes.
For most of mankind the parousia will happen suddenly, sadly unexpectedly and painfully.
The good news. The end is near. Deliverance is coming! A new day, a new life, a new beginning! The preparation, pain and effort have paid off. Enjoy the miracle of the new birth in Christ.
What lessons from history can be learned from the stages of labor and delivery?
What lessons are there for our new life in Christ?
Are we aware of the time that we are living in? Sadly, we are part of a generation that has lost its moral compass. But Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Light.
Let us each know the time that we are in and take the time for the necessary spiritual preparation and Get Ready! Get Ready! Get Ready! Jesus loves you!
“Ignorance will not excuse young or old, nor release them from the punishment due for the transgression of God’s law, because there is in their hands a faithful presentation of that law and of its principles and claims. It is not enough to have good intentions; it is not enough to do what a man thinks are right or what the minister tells him is right. His soul’s salvation is at stake, and he should search the Scriptures for himself. However strong may be his convictions, however confident he may be that the minister knows what truth is, this is not his foundation. He has a chart pointing out every waymark on the heavenward journey, and he ought not to guess at anything.
It is the first and highest duty of every rational being to learn from the Scriptures what is truth, and then to walk in the light and encourage others to follow his example. We should day by day study the Bible diligently, weighing every thought and comparing scripture with scripture. With divine help we are to form our opinions for ourselves as we are to answer for ourselves before God.
All who value their eternal interests should be on their guard against the inroads of skepticism. The very pillars of truth will be assailed. It is impossible to keep beyond the reach of the sarcasm and sophisms, the insidious and pestilent teachings, of modern infidelity. Satan adapts his temptations to all classes. He assails the illiterate with a jest or sneer, while he meets the educated with scientific objections and philosophical reasoning, alike calculated to excite distrust or contempt of the Scriptures. Even youth of little experience presume to insinuate doubts concerning the fundamental principles of Christianity. And this youthful infidelity, shallow as it is, has its influence. Many are thus led to jest at the faith of their fathers and to do things despite the Spirit of grace. Hebrews 10:29. Many a life that promised to be an honor to God and a blessing to the world has been blighted by the foul breath of infidelity. All who trust to the boastful decisions of human reason and imagine that they can explain divine mysteries and arrive at truth unaided by the wisdom of God are entangled in the snare of Satan.
We are living in the most solemn period of this world’s history. The destiny of earth’s teeming multitudes is about to be decided. Our own future well-being and the salvation of other souls depend upon the course which we now pursue. We need to be guided by the Spirit of truth. Every follower of Christ should earnestly inquire: “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” We need to humble ourselves before the Lord, with fasting and prayer, and to meditate much upon His word, especially upon the scenes of the judgment. We should now seek a deep and living experience in the things of God. We have not a moment to lose. Events of vital importance are taking place around us; we are on Satan’s enchanted ground. Sleep not, sentinels of God; the foe is lurking near, ready at any moment, should you become lax and drowsy, to spring upon you and make you, his prey.
Many are deceived as to their true condition before God. They congratulate themselves upon the wrong acts which they do not commit and forget to enumerate the good and noble deeds which God requires of them, but which they have neglected to perform. It is not enough that they are trees in the garden of God. They are to answer His expectation by bearing fruit. He holds them accountable for their failure to accomplish all the good which they could have done, through His grace strengthening them. In the books of heaven, they are registered as cumberers of the ground. Yet the case of even this class is not utterly hopeless. With those who have slighted God’s mercy and abused His grace, the heart of long-suffering love yet pleads. “Wherefore He saith, awake you that sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, . . . redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:14-16.
When the testing time shall come, those who have made God’s word their rule of life will be revealed. In summer there is no noticeable difference between evergreens and other trees; but when the blasts of winter come, the evergreens remain unchanged, while other trees are stripped of their foliage. So, the falsehearted professor may not now be distinguished from the real Christian, but the time is just upon us when the difference will be apparent. Let opposition arise, let bigotry and intolerance again bear sway, let persecution be kindled, and the halfhearted and hypocritical will waver and yield the faith; but the true Christian will stand firm as a rock, his faith stronger, his hope brighter, than in days of prosperity.
Says the psalmist: “Thy testimonies are my meditation.” “Through Thy precepts I get understanding: therefore, I hate every false way.” Psalm 119:99, 104.
“Happy is the man that finds wisdom.” “He shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.” Proverbs 3:13; Jeremiah 17:8.
Promise of Peace, Safety, and Pregnancy: A Glorious Time
