Heart Tracks - The Last Word

"And she will have a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." Matthew 1:21....."...herefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." Hebrews 7:25

If you've followed any of the recent Heart Thoughts, you know something of my brother and his recent near death hospitalization. The Doctors had told both he and the family that he had only a few days left to live and everyone needed to prepare for that. Yet just two days after this, he was sitting up in his hospital bed, and the next day, had gotten out of bed and into a chair. He is now in a rehab facility with the expectation of gaining the strength to be able to go home. As the pastor and I talked and prayed on this, I gave praise to Him that it was not the Doctors but the Father that had the final word in all things. My friend then said that in all things the final, last Word was Jesus. In all things, everywhere and everyplace, it is and always will be....Jesus.

We live in a world where it seems someone always wants to have the last word. In disagreements, conflict, or debate, having the last word in anything is seen as having the victory. In this world, a fallen world, the devil will always seek to convince us that it is he that has that last word. His pronouncement on any situation or need is to be seen as the final, last word in that place. His last words always convey despair, hopelessness, defeat. It is his wish and plan that those words, that word, be the only word we hear. As always, he lies. He deceives. His word is an empty word when confronted with Him who is the Living Word. Jesus is the Last Word in all places and things. Our question has to be, do we have ears in order to hear that Word?

It is a tragedy that the people of God, those who profess to know and follow Him, so often lack the ability to hear Him, especially in those moments of deep crisis and need. We seem much more attuned to the words of this fallen world than the Word of Life and of the Kingdom of God. Because of this, we so easily lose hope in the face of the crisis and need. The Trickster, satan, has deceived us into believing his version of reality, and not Christ's. Where in our lives might he be doing so right now?

The above Scriptures are powerful and hope filled, and they dispel every lie of hell. Jesus saves. Always and forever. He saves to the uttermost. To me, this means that there is and can be no limitation to the ways and means in which He saves. Sin, its effects, and the devil behind it all, can not prevent Him from doing this. Yes, we live in a fallen world, and yes, at some point, our bodies will fail, and we will physically die, but the eternal destruction planned for us by this enemy is blocked by the One who saves....and saves to the uttermost. He does this as regards eternity, but He does so in the here and now as well. In the midst of all things, He is and will remain, the Last Word. The Victory.

So, today, in our lives, who has the last word, and who is the last word? The enemy will speak his lie, and He who is the true and only Last Word will speak His Truth. Who do we hear? Who will we believe? Who is the last word to you and me?

Blessings,
Pastor O