OMG

Tonight at Bible study, I sat around a table with some dear women and watched Beth Moore (via DVD) speak on the "mystery of lawlessness" and the "mystery of righteousness" and the anti-Christ and other end times topics.  At first, as she talked, my mind wandered.  I think I let the idea of end times overwhelm me and figured I wouldn't be able to understand hardly anything she was saying in the first place.  BUT, as she continued, she captured my attention.

Several things she mentioned stuck out to me BIG time, and so I thought I would share them with you before I go to bed and forget, or get sidetracked with all my mom responsibilities that I never get around to it:

*Just as we do not know the day or the hour that Jesus will return, nor does Satan.  And thus, he must always be ready.  He didn't know how God was going to restore His relationship with fallen man.  He didn't know how God was going to pay the penalty for our sin.  He didn't know these precious secrets God had hidden in His heart from before time ever began.  So, Satan had to be on his toes at all times, ready to attack, to destroy, to thwart any attempt God made to offer salvation, to prevent us from receiving this gracious gift.

*Satan still does not know how God will fulfill His plans and promises.  But you can bet your bottom dollar he is on the look out every single day.

*As Satan watches what God is doing, he does his best to imitate it.  God tells His disciples to "go into all the world and preach the gospel," and so Satan sends out his deceivers to lead people astray, to distract them from the Truth, to corrupt their minds, to harden their hearts.

*Whatever God intends for good, Satan has to counteract with evil.  This evil, this lawlessness is being held back, however.  The Holy Spirit, via the work of the church (which includes me and YOU if you are a believer in Jesus Christ), is not allowing Satan to unleash his full potential of wickedness.  As scary and vile and dark as the world may seem now, it's only going to get worse.  Much worse.  That can be extremely disheartening.  BUT, we must not forget how the story will finally end.  God WILL prevail!

*Beth shared how her grandson, a first-grader, would go ahead shouting, "OMG!"  His mom, Beth's oldest daughter, finally asked her young son what he meant when he said "OMG," and with a confused look on his face, the little boy responded by sounding out the "word" OMG makes.  He had no idea the letters are an abbreviation for the phrase, "Oh my God!" or even "Oh my goodness."  As we laughed, she then commented how casually people use God's name in this way.  She assured us this is NOT how God intended His name to be spoken and immediately showed us in Scripture how it is to be proclaimed:

Psalm 3:7
"Arise, O Lord!  Save me, O MY GOD!  For You strike all my enemies on the cheek; You break the teeth of the wicked."

Psalm 25:1-3
"To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.  O MY GOD, in You I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. Indeed, none who wait for You will be put to shame."

Psalm 38:21
"Do not forsake me, O Lord!  O MY GOD, be not far from me!  Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!"

THAT is how God wants His name to be used.
And boy when He responds to our call, you better believe people will be saying, "OMG!"

*Beth ended the session by reminding us yet again that the Gospel WILL win.  God will prevail.  "The day of the Lord will dawn with the appearance of Christ."  Not only that, but get this:

"The Lord Jesus will kill the lawless one with His breath and bring him to nothing."

With His BREATH.

Think about that.

In the very beginning, God breathed life into man (Genesis 2:7)

Later, Jesus breathed on His disciples and told them to receive the Holy Spirit (John 20:21-22).

At the final chapter, He will once again use His breath, but this time to utterly destroy Satan.

No huffing or puffing necessary.

Though I can picture God filling His lungs with air and letting out a deep breath, maybe even a huge sigh of frustration mixed with relief, and knocking Satan over with the wind pouring out from His mouth and nostrils.

I don't know about you, but that gave me chills.

Talk about OMG!

The next time you hear someone say this all-too-common phrase or see someone type those letters in a post on Facebook or hashtag it on Twitter, remember what those words REALLY mean.

Fall to your knees and WORSHIP this God who created the universe out of nothing, who loves you and cares about even the tiniest of details in your life, who sent His Son to die for you that you may have everlasting life, who invites you to enter into His very presence, who promises to work all things together for good, and who guarantees your place in heaven if you just believe in Him. 

MARVEL at who this God is and what He wants to do in your life.

Let Him in.

Give Him free access to your heart, mind, and soul.

Surrender to Him.

And watch to see what He does in and through you.

"No eye has seen; no ear has heard; no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him."  ~1 Corinthians 2:9

"Now all glory to Him who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to do immeasurably more/infinitely more than we could ask or think or imagine." ~Ephesians 3:20

Once again, talk about OMG!

That right there is the epitome of the phrase...