When the World is Falling Apart
Good morning everyone.
My heart is a little heavy today after reading some of the news reports against Phil Robertson and that whole fiasco. Go look it up if you haven't heard about it yet. But, if you know anything about the battle we're fighting here on earth (the one that is not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers of darkness...too many Christians are missing that part and trying to cut people's ears off and stupid stuff like that), then you're not surprised at all. Satan just doesn't like the truth of God proclaimed to millions of viewers every week. Of course he was going to attack the Robertsons eventually and I'm sure he wanted to before today, but the Lord simply didn't let him. Now He has.
Why now? Why this? Why does the Lord allow us to be persecuted and to suffer here on this earth? I don't know; I'm not God and I'm not going to pretend to know what genius plans are up his sleeve. But I do know that this attack on Phil Robertson and the outrage that has exploded over his views (they are actually only God's views and they are for our ultimate good) is exactly what the Lord wants to happen. No matter what happens in this country to our rights of free speech or religious expression, God is still God. He's not worried in the least. And so we should not be either.
I've been honestly worrying a lot lately about where our country is headed and what kinds of evil I'm going to have to live through before God finally calls me home (I personally would like to go right now, but the Lord is trying to teach my to be less selfish about that whole thing). I have not trusted God in this area like I should be - and so I've given into the fear of man. And stuff like this with the Robertsons and reading the news and the comments people are throwing back and forth at each other just doesn't make me feel any better. Christians, we are living in a time of desperate evil (we are not the first to do live through this type of thing though - look at Noah and Lot, etc.). And there is much greater evil and corruption to come.
And the Lord is whispering to us here on the earth - from our very hearts where he has taken up residence! - "Choose this day whom you will serve." Brothers and sisters, there is no middle ground. Either you are for God or you are against him. Either you believe ever word that he says, or you deny it all. And Matthew 12:30 tells us this: "Whoever is not for me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters." Either you rally together under the flag of Jesus Christ, or you scatter from him. There are no other options.
He is the Way. He is the Truth. And whether the whole entire world believes it or not, it is still the complete and total Truth. Think of what this verse says:
It says that the day when Jesus returns will be like in the days of Noah. Here it says that they will be partying and getting married and having a grand old time. But they will not know the destruction that is coming, nor will they care to listen to those of us who are trying to warn them about it. They'll be too busy having fun and doing whatever they want to listen to some gloom and doom messengers like us. (People have never really like listening to prophets. There's always such Debbie Downers! They really need to just lighted up and have a few drinks!)
In Genesis, it also says that there was "great wickedness" on the earth and that it was "corrupt in God's sight and full of wickedness". It says that God saw that "all the people had corrupted their ways" (Gen. 6). It says that God looked down on the earth - at all the people having their grand parties and engaging in every corrupt and rebellious act that they could come up with - and he found just one man on the whole earth who was righteous and faithful to Him. Just one man. And Jesus says that the day when he returns will be just like that day. Can you even imagine? It's getting easier to the closer we come to that day, but there is still much more to come my friends.
The Bible says that it is not just our freedom of speech that we will lose here on this earth, but our very lives. If you don't believe me, believe Jesus. He is the Truth and he does not lie to us. He wants us to be ready for that day so that we will stand firm and remain faithful to him.
He has warned us of the cost, my brothers and sisters in Jesus. He knows the pain we will face and the hatred that will be thrown at us and the persecution that we will face. He has lived through the very worst of it himself. And that is why we know we can trust him and why we can follow him through the fire he is leading us into - because he knows that it is the only way through to the Father. We must trust him! He is the only Way. He is the only Truth. He is the road and he is the destination. If this Way sounds too difficult for you, you can look for an easier one that still leads to God. But you will not find it. You will only find the path to destruction - it is wide and easy. But in the end you will only suffer for eternity. That's the thing about life - either you suffer now or you suffer later a much worse kind of suffering. But if you do decide to take Jesus at his word and to follow him and to love your enemies and pray for those who hate your twisted views and take away your freedoms, you will find peace and life; both now and on the other side of death.
Take your choice. Either choose to love God and to obey what he says, or choose to find your own way. But - you have been warned - that way will only lead you to where you do not want to go.
But for those of you who have decided to follow the slaughtered lamb, and who have decided both now and forever to live for Love - do not fear. For he is with us. He has given us his Spirit in our very hearts who will not let us go. He is the one who has chosen us - we did not chose him - and so there is no way for us to fail. He who began this good work in us is faithful and he will carry it out to completion.
Listen to Him. He is whispering to us -
"Rest, child. Rest and be at peace. Though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the very heart of the sea, you will be safe. My arms around you are bigger than the whole world around and I will never let you go. Just rest here in my arms and look up into my loving face, and do not worry about the raging storms around you. They are big to your small eyes, but they are really so very small. Though they rage and roar today, tomorrow they will cease and there will be no more sea where I am taking you. There will be no night there. No tears, no pain, and no memory of them at all. All that you fear now and all that will come to pass is just a moment in my eternity of Love that I am bringing you into. So have no fear of man and there small efforts against you. What can they do to you? Though they may kill your body, that is all. And then you will be with me - your Beloved Father - for all eternity.
Oh, if only you could see the lovely home I'm building for you now - my faithful child. It is lovely beyond compare, and it is yours. Always yours. And here you will never need to close your doors and lock them in fear. Here the doors and windows are always open - to let the light and breeze in. Here you will never again have to look over your shoulder in fear. I let no one in who in not filled with perfect Love. And there is no fear in Love. Perfect love casts it out and leaves only joy and peace and rest in its place.
My faithful, beloved Child! How I can't wait to see your face and to say to you, 'Well done! My good and my faithful servant! Enter into the joy of your Father!' I cannot wait to give you the reward I desire to give to you! You will never guess how good this place I have for you is. But for now, just wait a little while longer. I will show you how to walk so that you will make it home to me safely and without loss. Just listen closely to my words and do the things I say.
And I will be with you always. Even to the end of the age."
He is with us. And he is faithful. We will make it home safely brothers and sisters. We will make it home.
My heart is a little heavy today after reading some of the news reports against Phil Robertson and that whole fiasco. Go look it up if you haven't heard about it yet. But, if you know anything about the battle we're fighting here on earth (the one that is not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers of darkness...too many Christians are missing that part and trying to cut people's ears off and stupid stuff like that), then you're not surprised at all. Satan just doesn't like the truth of God proclaimed to millions of viewers every week. Of course he was going to attack the Robertsons eventually and I'm sure he wanted to before today, but the Lord simply didn't let him. Now He has.
Why now? Why this? Why does the Lord allow us to be persecuted and to suffer here on this earth? I don't know; I'm not God and I'm not going to pretend to know what genius plans are up his sleeve. But I do know that this attack on Phil Robertson and the outrage that has exploded over his views (they are actually only God's views and they are for our ultimate good) is exactly what the Lord wants to happen. No matter what happens in this country to our rights of free speech or religious expression, God is still God. He's not worried in the least. And so we should not be either.
I've been honestly worrying a lot lately about where our country is headed and what kinds of evil I'm going to have to live through before God finally calls me home (I personally would like to go right now, but the Lord is trying to teach my to be less selfish about that whole thing). I have not trusted God in this area like I should be - and so I've given into the fear of man. And stuff like this with the Robertsons and reading the news and the comments people are throwing back and forth at each other just doesn't make me feel any better. Christians, we are living in a time of desperate evil (we are not the first to do live through this type of thing though - look at Noah and Lot, etc.). And there is much greater evil and corruption to come.
And the Lord is whispering to us here on the earth - from our very hearts where he has taken up residence! - "Choose this day whom you will serve." Brothers and sisters, there is no middle ground. Either you are for God or you are against him. Either you believe ever word that he says, or you deny it all. And Matthew 12:30 tells us this: "Whoever is not for me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters." Either you rally together under the flag of Jesus Christ, or you scatter from him. There are no other options.
He is the Way. He is the Truth. And whether the whole entire world believes it or not, it is still the complete and total Truth. Think of what this verse says:
"As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, and marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefor keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come." Matthew 24:37-42
It says that the day when Jesus returns will be like in the days of Noah. Here it says that they will be partying and getting married and having a grand old time. But they will not know the destruction that is coming, nor will they care to listen to those of us who are trying to warn them about it. They'll be too busy having fun and doing whatever they want to listen to some gloom and doom messengers like us. (People have never really like listening to prophets. There's always such Debbie Downers! They really need to just lighted up and have a few drinks!)
In Genesis, it also says that there was "great wickedness" on the earth and that it was "corrupt in God's sight and full of wickedness". It says that God saw that "all the people had corrupted their ways" (Gen. 6). It says that God looked down on the earth - at all the people having their grand parties and engaging in every corrupt and rebellious act that they could come up with - and he found just one man on the whole earth who was righteous and faithful to Him. Just one man. And Jesus says that the day when he returns will be just like that day. Can you even imagine? It's getting easier to the closer we come to that day, but there is still much more to come my friends.
The Bible says that it is not just our freedom of speech that we will lose here on this earth, but our very lives. If you don't believe me, believe Jesus. He is the Truth and he does not lie to us. He wants us to be ready for that day so that we will stand firm and remain faithful to him.
"'All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not know the Father or me. I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them.'" John 16:1-4
He has warned us of the cost, my brothers and sisters in Jesus. He knows the pain we will face and the hatred that will be thrown at us and the persecution that we will face. He has lived through the very worst of it himself. And that is why we know we can trust him and why we can follow him through the fire he is leading us into - because he knows that it is the only way through to the Father. We must trust him! He is the only Way. He is the only Truth. He is the road and he is the destination. If this Way sounds too difficult for you, you can look for an easier one that still leads to God. But you will not find it. You will only find the path to destruction - it is wide and easy. But in the end you will only suffer for eternity. That's the thing about life - either you suffer now or you suffer later a much worse kind of suffering. But if you do decide to take Jesus at his word and to follow him and to love your enemies and pray for those who hate your twisted views and take away your freedoms, you will find peace and life; both now and on the other side of death.
Take your choice. Either choose to love God and to obey what he says, or choose to find your own way. But - you have been warned - that way will only lead you to where you do not want to go.
But for those of you who have decided to follow the slaughtered lamb, and who have decided both now and forever to live for Love - do not fear. For he is with us. He has given us his Spirit in our very hearts who will not let us go. He is the one who has chosen us - we did not chose him - and so there is no way for us to fail. He who began this good work in us is faithful and he will carry it out to completion.
Listen to Him. He is whispering to us -
"Rest, child. Rest and be at peace. Though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the very heart of the sea, you will be safe. My arms around you are bigger than the whole world around and I will never let you go. Just rest here in my arms and look up into my loving face, and do not worry about the raging storms around you. They are big to your small eyes, but they are really so very small. Though they rage and roar today, tomorrow they will cease and there will be no more sea where I am taking you. There will be no night there. No tears, no pain, and no memory of them at all. All that you fear now and all that will come to pass is just a moment in my eternity of Love that I am bringing you into. So have no fear of man and there small efforts against you. What can they do to you? Though they may kill your body, that is all. And then you will be with me - your Beloved Father - for all eternity.
Oh, if only you could see the lovely home I'm building for you now - my faithful child. It is lovely beyond compare, and it is yours. Always yours. And here you will never need to close your doors and lock them in fear. Here the doors and windows are always open - to let the light and breeze in. Here you will never again have to look over your shoulder in fear. I let no one in who in not filled with perfect Love. And there is no fear in Love. Perfect love casts it out and leaves only joy and peace and rest in its place.
My faithful, beloved Child! How I can't wait to see your face and to say to you, 'Well done! My good and my faithful servant! Enter into the joy of your Father!' I cannot wait to give you the reward I desire to give to you! You will never guess how good this place I have for you is. But for now, just wait a little while longer. I will show you how to walk so that you will make it home to me safely and without loss. Just listen closely to my words and do the things I say.
And I will be with you always. Even to the end of the age."
He is with us. And he is faithful. We will make it home safely brothers and sisters. We will make it home.
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