Ok - this isn't a very happy blog - but it is what it is. I hope you will be convicted to draw closer to Him, dive deeper into His Word and pray like you've never prayed before.
I keep hearing, "Bad Moon Rising" playing in my head (yeah, I'm that old).
2013
I'd love to give you some sage advice and encouraging words but I just can't find any. Things are bad for many of us and there is no confidence that (baring His coming)they will do anything but get worse.
We see the evil of men, especially men (not to leave out women) in power and we see their godless intentions being worked out. Oh, we tried to beat them at their own game but, well, it was always their game so winning was not an option we had. We've expended countless effort and rediculous amounts of wealth trying to beat a rigged house. And now we will have to experience the consequences of it.
While we have been saying to the unbelieves, "No, you can't do that," and trying to halt the doward spiral of a world which we have been told has no way to go but down, we have forsaken our imperative and compromised our indicative (thanks David). We have not been what we were called to be and hence we have been doing what we were never called to do.
What part of, "Christ the Redeemer," do we not get? We redeem nothing and yet we have wasted so very much of His provision trying to. We are called to be His and to do His will. But, no, we have our own ideas and instead of simply and faithfully obeying Him we poured ourselves into - well - playing in their gym on their court by their rules.
Now we will reap what we have sown.
I am concerned that those who follow Christ will now, similar to the days of Rome, have to submit to a godless authority or pay grievious consequences. While we have spent decades saying, "You can't....." we have lost the voice to say, "We won't....." And now we will have to say "We won't...." and they, like Rome will exact their pound of flesh - actually, several pounds (how much do you weigh?)
We have been so wrapped up in the myth of a Christian America (sorry folks, our revolution was a direct violation of scripture) that we have not given the needed attention to being individual Christians. We have picked a fight with flesh and blood when we are clearly taught that that is not the true fight.
Not only have we picked a fight that was not ours but at the same time we have groveled pleading, "Please like us --- we're not so bad --- see all the cool stuff we do that you like." We have YouTubed the gospel to the point that it's meaningless. We have so focused on "fighting" to keep sinners from sinning that we have ignored our own sins.
Folks, it's time to flee to Pella. Here's an interesting thing. In the battle with Rome in 70 a.d. most believers thought it was the biggy and they booked it out of Jerusalem to Pella. Well, they caught a lot of flack for that so in 132 a.d. when Simon bar Kokhba led his revolt against Rome we hung in there and fought. All was hunky dory until the High Priest declared Kokhba the Messiah. Well, then we dropped our weapons and said, "No!" But it was just a little too late. Our "No!" didn't matter. We had sold out to culture and nationalism - patriotism and ended up having served "another evil."
Well, we didn't seem to learn from that one. And now, our "No!" is meaningless.
Now I'm reading about folks buying lots of guns and ammo. What do you plan to do follower of the Prince of Peace? Kill someone in Jesus's name? Are we going to do another "Peasant's Revolt?" Another "Revolution?" I'm not.
Oh, don't get me wrong I will, for prayerfully considered reasons, defend myself and my family but I'm not getting into an unholy war in His name. If I am told I must offer sacrifices to Caesar (or the modern equvilant) I will not. But I've got to have a lot of His help determining if and when I'm being told I have to do that. The tough part is being sure that what I'm being forced or coerced to do is indeed a denial of Christ.
The issue is, "Who do I have to accept as sovereign?" Christ or the ruling forces? At what point can I say in good conscience, "No, it goes against my faith and would be tantamount to a denial of my Lord."
Now, however I get there and make that decision it will have to be my prayfuly considered decision. I will have to examine everything prayerfully and scripturally and then stand to the consequences. What I can not do is form some weird "movement," some crusade into which we pour and waste more lives, effort and money.
You know, regardless of our corporate calls for being united in refusing to deny our Lord it will always come down to you and me. We will each have to stand before Caesar's alter and the bowl of incense and make our own decision. When we say, "No!" we will say it individualy - only He will be with us.
Yes, God is sovereign but tell that to all those before us who were slaughtered, burned, starved, exiled, imprisonned ---etc. Oh, they know it much better than we do - but we will be learning. It will not be fun it will not be easy but He will be in charge of every moment of it.
I worry that those for whom serving Christ has been a comfortable thing will soon find it almost unbearable. I fear those who have poured out only a little life for Him will stumble when all of it is demanded.
It may not be "lambs to the slaughter" time but the fleecing has begun.
Maranatha - Oh my sweet Lord!!!
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