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During our lifetime, we all seem to go through some periods of time when we have feelings of depression. Life just doesn’t seem fair, and the world seems to be a weight on our shoulders. Our Savior told us we would have trials and tribulations, but if we rely on Him, He tells us to take heart, as He has overcome the world. (John 16:33) The day is coming when we will be free of the bonds of this evil place, and if we have Jesus as our Savior, we will be with Him forever. That day is very near. (ESV – all emphasis mine)
If ever there was a person who could have lived a life of total misery, that would have been Fanny Crosby. When she was just six weeks old in 1820, she had an inflammation of the eyes, and a doctor mistakenly ordered mustard poultices to be applied. Rather than cure her ailment, her optic nerves were damaged, and she was blinded for life.
Her father died before she was a year old, and her mother encouraged her to learn the Bible. As time went by, Fanny not only accepted her blindness but actually thanked the Father for her condition. She stated that if she had sight, she would most likely be distracted by worldly things; but as it was, she had Jesus in her heart and on her mind constantly. At age 8, she wrote her first poem, and it said she was blessed by the providence of God for her blindness, and she fully thanked Him for it. Though the doctor that caused her blindness never forgave himself, Ms. Crosby said she forgave him completely.
During her lifetime (3/24/1820 – 2/12/1915), she wrote more than 8,000 hymns. She wrote many other things that were published as well and used numerous pen names so that she would not overfill hymnals with her name above all others.
One song she wrote in 1868 was titled “Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior.” It’s said it was a plea for all people who had handicaps and severe emotional issues to call out for Jesus to abide with them, and for Him to not pass them by.
1.) Pass me not, O gentle Savior; hear my humble cry. While on others Thou are calling, do not pass me by.
Ref) Savior, Savior, Hear my humble cry. While on others Thou are calling, do not pass me by.
2.) Let me, at a throne of mercy, find a sweet relief. Kneeling there in deep contrition, help my unbelief. (ref)
3.) Trusting only in Thy merit, would I seek Thy face. Heal my wounded, broken spirit. Save me by Thy grace. (ref)
4.) Thou the spring of all my comfort, More than life to me. Whom have I on earth besides Thee? Whom in Heaven but Thee? (ref)
Jesus made a promise in John 14:12-14 that fits the theme of Ms. Crosby’s Hymn. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.” He was giving encouragement to His disciples, as He was nearing the time of His crucifixion and would be leaving them soon.
For some, this passage given by Our Savior becomes a stumbling block because they feel if they ask for selfish or sinful things, and they don’t come to pass, then God and our Savior must be false. James 4:3 states, “You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions, you adulterous people.” Going to James 4:10, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.”
Christians have been persecuted all the way back to Calvary. God’s chosen people before Calvary often received His discipline because they would turn away from His will. Probably the best example of this is when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt. They no sooner had the miracle of crossing the parted waters of the Red Sea when they started complaining and even worshiping golden images. They got a 40-year sentence, and only a very few out of the original mass of people made it into the Promised Land.
Please understand, just because the Father disciplines His children, that does not mean He doesn’t love them. Hebrews 12:5-11 tells about being disciplined by earthly fathers out of love, and the same holds true of our Heavenly Father. We are all imperfect beings with a sin nature that goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3).
Once we are free from these imperfect bodies and this sin-filled world, we will have perfect, imperishable, and immortal bodies with a mindset like that of our Savior that can never again fall to temptation.
There is coming a day soon as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-53. There will be the sound of the Trumpet of God and a cry from an archangel. Then, those who have died and were in Christ will rise up to meet Jesus in the air, and their souls will be reunited with their bodies. At that instant, they will be converted into their forever bodies.
Right after the dead rise, all who are – and this is critical – in Christ will be taken up to meet Jesus. They will be converted into their forever bodies as they come into His presence. At this point, to finally see our Jesus face to face, I believe it may take seven years for me to be able to stand again after having fallen at His feet.
For all who were out of the will of God prior to Calvary and all who refused the free gift Jesus gave us on that cross, their outcome will be horribly different.
At the end of the Millennial reign of our Savior on this earth, there will be a very harsh judgment for those listed above. All will be at the Great White Throne to find out what their eternal punishment will be (Revelation 20:11-15). There will be no other outcome at the end other than Heaven or Hell.
To avoid having our Savior pass you by, today would not be too soon to call on Him, ask His forgiveness for your sins, and have Him as your Savior forever (Romans 10:9-13). All who truly call on the name of our Jesus will be saved.
God made the promise, and He will honor His commitment. He will also allow anyone to choose not to receive His Son, and they will end up in the Lake of Fire.
Our Savior died for all who will receive and accept His free gift. No one has sinned so greatly that His blood cannot cleanse them. Before it’s too late, consider honestly where you wish to spend eternity. If you will choose the Savior, He will not “Pass You By.”
The post Pass Me Not :: By Dennis Huebshman appeared first on Rapture Ready.
