What Are You Waiting For?

The grocery store music became monotonous and slightly irritating. All I kept hearing clearly was the often-repeated refrain, “What are you waiting for?” Then I began to think maybe the Holy Spirit was speaking to me through that secular song. He’s done it before. God speaks in all kinds of ways, you know. I asked myself if I was waiting for something. And if so, what? Nothing came to mind. After what seemed a ridiculously long time, the song ended. Whew! Glad it was done.

Now, sitting here typing at my computer, I asked the Holy Spirit to show me what He’s trying to say. Then remember I’ve been asking the Lord for the past day or two what I should write about for my next blog post. And now I recall my previous post, “I Had a Dream,” where people formed a long line to receive prayer, wanting to be saved by Jesus.

I feel like the Holy Spirit is pleading with someone out there who is reading this post, and who also read my previous post. He’s saying, “Don’t put off making Jesus your Lord and Savior.” He’s serious. And I’m serious, too. You may not have another day to live on this earth. Don’t put off dealing with your eternal destiny. Your quality of life on this earth -- not just in the "sweet by and by" -- is also part of the eternal life God offers you.  

What are you waiting for?

Waiting until you’re “holy” enough? Waiting because you don’t want to think about eternity just yet? Afraid you couldn’t live a Christian life? Afraid you’d have to give up some things you enjoy in order to follow some rules?

Know this: He doesn’t offer rules. He offers friendship. Be honest and tell Jesus what you’re afraid of. He wants you to talk to Him. You’ll find He’s not harsh, hard, sharp or pressing, as the devil would like you to believe. The devil’s a liar and the father of all lies. It’s the devil who tries to keep you in the dark through fear and intimidation. The devil wants to control you through procrastination. Don’t let him do it!

Jesus is holding out His arms to welcome you to receive His forgiveness right now. I pray you will surrender your heart to Jesus’ love. He’s kind. Listen to what He said about Himself in Matthew 11:28 – 29: “Come to Me, all you who are labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My Yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (New King James version of the Bible)

Don’t be afraid to let Him love you; don’t be afraid to love Him back. He wants you to know Him, and He wants to be part of your life. The Holy Spirit is gently pleading with you now to say “Yes” to the freedom He offers. Only then can you truly live! When you love someone, you want to please them, right? In a loving relationship, you don’t say to someone, “You have to tell me three times a day that you love me.” Jesus is wonderful!

Don’t delay – choose Jesus today! What do you say? Turn your heart toward HOME.

                                                                Internet photo

“What are you waiting for?
What are you waiting for?

Are you waiting on a lightning strike?
Are you waiting for the perfect night?
Are you waiting 'til the time is right?
What are you waiting for?
Don't you wanna learn to deal with fear?
Don't you wanna take the wheel and steer?
Don't you wait another minute here.
What are you waiting for?

What are you waiting for?

You gotta go and reach for the top
Believe in every dream that you got
You're only living once so tell me
What are you, what are you waiting for?
You know you gotta give it your all
And don't you be afraid if you fall
You're only living once so tell me
What are you, what are you waiting for?

Are you waiting for the right excuse?
Are you waiting for a sign to choose?
While you're waiting it's the time you lose
What are you waiting for?
Don't you wanna spread your wings and fly?
Don't you really wanna live your life?
Don't you wanna love before you die?
What are you waiting for?

What are you waiting for?

You gotta go and reach for the top
Believe in every dream that you got
You're only living once so tell me
What are you, what are you waiting for?
You know you gotta give it your all
And don't you be afraid if you fall
You're only living once so tell me
What are you, what are you waiting for?

Tell me what you're waiting for
Show me what you're aiming for
Whatcha going to save it for?
So whatcha really waiting for?

Everybody's gonna make mistakes
But everybody's got a choice to make
Everybody needs a leap of faith
When are you taking yours?

What are you waiting for?”

(Written by Jacob Kasher Hindlin, Chad Kroeger, Ryan Peake, Gordon Sran • Copyright © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc) From Google Play Music.

I’d love to hear from you. Have you taken the leap of faith and put your trust in Jesus to be saved? Write and tell me about it: elainesplace4@verizon.net. There's a reason I heard that grocery store song. And it's you.

Note: the song is slightly abbreviated because of repetition. 

Copyright © 2016 Elaine Beachy

I Had a Dream

In my dream, I was with my husband, Dave, at a small gathering of some kind, like a casual picnic. As people talked to one another, I felt the authority of the Spirit of God rise up inside me. I stood up, and announced, “Listen, folks, you need to be more concerned about your eternal destiny than about who will be your next president!”

I cried out, “Jesus is Lord! Jesus is Lord! He is King of the world, and all are to worship Him! Do you know where you will spend eternity? Ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins, and tell Him you receive Him as your Lord and Savior!”

One woman immediately came up to me and asked, “Would you please pray for me?”

As I moved to do so, with Dave next to me, others too crowded around, wanting me to pray for them. Soon I saw a long line as far as I could see, getting in line for prayer. I felt overwhelmed by the massive hunger of the people before me and the opportunity it presented to be used of God. I remember thinking, “I need others to help me.” Then I awoke just as I started to pray for the woman.

I prayed, “Lord Jesus, what do you want me to do? How can I pray for all these people?” 

The result of that dream is this blog post, to invite you into a personal relationship with Jesus. He needs you to know that He loves you intensely and wants you as His own. He paid for your sins so you could have peace with God. Did you know that you are already forgiven as far as God is concerned? But just like an electrical cord does no good unless it's plugged into an outlet, you have to get "plugged in" with God to "complete the circuit" so to speak. Agree with God that you have sinned, and tell Him you accept His forgiveness through Jesus.That's how you get plugged in.

Now is the day of grace. Do you know what I mean? It’s like when you can't pay a bill when it's due, for example, and the company extends a grace period so you don’t have to pay until later. So it is with God's grace; we can't pay for our sins, so Jesus paid the penalty for our rebellion against God. This age of grace will come to an end. All people who have not received forgiveness of their sins through Jesus belong to the devil, and will need to go with him to hell on the day of judgement. That's unspeakably terrible, and it breaks the heart of God. I plead with you to save yourself from that eternal horror! And should you go into eternity today without receiving Jesus' forgiveness for your sins, the devil would claim you, and God can't do anything about it. There are no second chances. Once you pass from this life, your destiny is sealed. It's up to you -- it's your choice.

Will you respond to God's love for you? Please don’t delay; accept God’s love and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. If you do, you will never be judged for your sin, and you will be free from the devil’s ownership of you.That's awesome, great, wonderful news! What a gift from God!

“For God so loved the world (that includes you!) that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) “The Lord. . . is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 NKJ)

Seal the contract with God, and be saved from the coming judgment. My friend, there in the quiet of your home, or wherever you are, you can bow your head, and pray something like this: “Jesus, thank You for dying and paying the price for my sins. I repent of all my sins and ask You to save me; I receive your offer of salvation. Come into my life and give me everlasting life. I say you are my Lord and Savior from now on. Thank You for saving me, Jesus! Amen.” (That means, ‘So be it.’)

Friend, if you sincerely prayed that prayer, God has now made your spirit alive toward Him and sent His Holy Spirit to live in you; He will lead and guide you into all truth. Talk to Him by faith (that means even though you can’t see Him). He will help you with everything. Ask Him to lead you to a good Bible-believing church, and to give you Christian friends to support you.

Tell someone you gave your life to Jesus; it will help strengthen you. I’d love to hear from you, too, and tell me about your experience with Jesus. He will never leave or forsake you. You can e-mail me at elainesplace@speakeasy.net.

Jesus is Lord!

Copyright © 2016 Elaine Beachy