Yes, the Time of God’s Favor….it wasn’t a typo! (or spelling error for Irish readers : – )
All my songs are registered with Christian Copyright Licensing Inc. I rarely hear from them, but the other day got an email asking me to check that the lyrics of all my songs had been submitted. I went to their website and discovered that for some reason unknown to me, one, and only one of my songs was without lyrics! As I typed in the words of the song that had been given to me many years ago I realized this odd turn of events was the Lord quickening to me the message of this song for this time!
We need a Savior for this land
Someone who can bring relief
Someone who can really understand
Someone who has shared our grief
Someone who can heal a bleeding wound
That saps our life day after day after day
Someone to do the impossible
Destroy hostility and make us one
Oh God is there no way, no way.
I the Lord have heard your cry
And I have sent help
When you called you didn’t know my name
But I the Lord knew who you meant
And so I sent my one and only Son
Then turned away as he abandoned himself for me
And when all the powers of hell were spent
I turned again to him raised him in my arms
And we cried, “Victory!”
Now is the time of God’s favor
Now is the time our cry’s been heard
Now is the time to be saved, to be saved
The Almighty God has spoken
Yet mortal men hear
A word that never can be broken
Yet breaks the hearts of all who hear
A word for all men in all places
And yet a word to us here
A word that first was heard in heaven
But now it’s in our hearts and on our lips
The living word is near.
Now is the time of God’s favor
Now is the time, our cry’s been heard
Now is the time to be saved, to be saved
So today when you hear him
Don’t harden your heart
As they did in the desert
And the light they had grew dark
For today won’t always be today
When time is past
And eternity is begun
When Jesus comes again in glory
And we stand with him in our Father’s house
And cry, “This is home. This is home.
Home at last. We’re home at last.”
Now is the time of God’s favor
Now is the time our cry’s been heard
Now is the time to be saved, to be saved.
America I have heard your cry
Africa have heard your cry
Europe I have heard your cry
Asia I have heard your cry
Australasia I have heard your cry.
………And I have sent help
As it says in Hebrews 12, everything that can be shaken is now being shaken so that that which cannot be shaken will remain. It continues,
“Therefore since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe for our God is a consuming fire.”
In our Foundations Course, I used to conduct “The Why Test” Starting with any behavior I would ask “Why?” a person did that, and then“Why?” and “Why?” again, until I arrived at a core or foundational belief a person held, such as “Money makes you happy” or “It’s important that people like me.” or “Professional success will bring fulfillment.”
Then followed the question, “So is that a good foundation to build your life on?”
The parable of the wise and foolish builders then illustrated the foolishness of building on any other foundation other than hearing and obeying the words of Jesus.
“Now is the time of God’s favor”…… because the current shaking of society as we’ve known it and the enforced slowing down of life gives people a gracious opportunity to re-examine the foundational beliefs they’ve been building their lives on and make any necessary course corrections.
It is a time to ‘be thankful’ and ‘worship God’ rejoicing in the perfectly loving father who disciplines the son in whom he delights. (Prov.3:12)
I was then reminded of the above photo I had been prompted to take in our friends home in Florida a few months ago.
P.S. You can listen to the recording of the song on the Trek of the Bright Hotage CD via Spotify, iTunes etc.