Recently I was awakened in the middle of the night. I stayed up and began to work in my office at home. I sent out a few e-mails and read a few news reports on CNN and ESPN (sports news – lol).
What I am about to say is not meant either to scare us or to make us panic. It is merely a reminder of what Jesus told us during His earthly ministry and was recorded by His followers in the Bible. I will make sure we hear the Good News that we have victory in Jesus throughout this article!
More and more I see Scripture being fulfilled as I live my life of 52+ years. The Body of Christ is under attack as Satan tries to gather his forces of evil for the battle at hand. Keep in mind that the war has already been won (Good News), but battles rage on all around us every day. Even after the war was over between the states, battles and skirmishes continued. As we read the news, more and more there are reports of the Christian church coming under fire. One news cast will talk about the Ten Commandments coming down. Another will talk about nativity scenes being outlawed in public places. Still another report will say that you can no longer say Merry Christmas but must say Happy Holidays. In other reports Christmas decorations are forbidden in the schools while Druid symbols are all over the schools (during Halloween) (so the Christian holiday of Christmas is turned into just another holiday without Christ and Satanic worship symbols abound in the name of Halloween).
Jesus said in John 15:18 – If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. We shouldn’t expect to get a fair shake from the world or even from the American government. Our right to worship God has long been protected by our government; it was actually established for that very reason. But our rights are slowly being removed by a government that protects the perpetrators of crimes better than law abiding Christians. Jesus warned us; Matthew 28:9-14 – 9 "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. We must stand firm in our faith in Christ. We don’t have an option folks if we are to remain faithful to the One who gave His life for ours.
I’m convinced that the Bible and history show us that Satan will do whatever he can to misdirect the church, to persecute her, to convince her to give up the fight. Mt. Oak is trying to reach out to others with the Gospel story. We are striving to grow and expand our outreach and influence for Jesus. Much is in the works and Satan will not stay idle. He will lie in wait to attack our pastors, our leaders and our members. 1 Peter 5:8 - Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Satan will not allow us to DO for Jesus without a fight. But fight we must, for Jesus’ sake.
A friend recently sent me a link that represents what I am talking about so clearly. Ultra liberal personality Rosie O’Donnell recently attacked the Body of Christ on one of her show aired on ABC. She clearly equated the conservative Christian circle, which she equates with President Bush, to the terrorists of 911. You can listen to a clip of her show by hitting this link http://www.afa.net/Petitions/Issuedetail.asp?id=214. Such attacks, if perpetrated against many other groups in our society would have forced her firing and an immediate apology from the broadcast company the show aired on. But the media and society does nothing when she and others attack the Body of Christ. Christians have a target on their backs and it is open season. In the media, in the workplace, in the schools, in society, attacks are made and supported by many in power. This is what Jesus said would happen. Don’t be surprised brothers and sisters. It seems that even those in the church are leaving the truth.
The Episcopal Church for example has been in the news in recent years for their acceptance of the sinful homosexual lifestyle. They have ordained self-proclaimed, practicing gays and have even elected a practicing gay as a Bishop. And now this Bishop wants his homosexual relationship honored and supported by the church. The Bible warns us that some may go astray and begin to believe what they want, to please themselves. 2 Timothy 4:3 – For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. We cannot get caught up in the small battles that rage around us. As the storms rage, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus, like Peter did at first and he walked on water (Matthew 14:25-33). When he took his eyes off of Jesus and put them on the storm around him he began to sink. Focus on Jesus who has given us the victory over Satan and the grave already at the cross of Calvary.
The Good News is that Satan can do nothing to us that God doesn’t allow (see story of Job in the Bible). God is in control and knows all. Nothing catches our God off guard. When God is fooling around, He is still smarter than the wisest among us. His weakness is stronger than our strongest! 1 Corinthians 1:25 – For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. We will not find fairness in the world; only in Christ will justice be found. Set your eyes on Jesus and help Mt. Oak do the same. And God will lead us to everlasting life.
Posts
1 comments:
I would suggest that every Christian in every church around the world build each other up so that Satan will not get one inch of a foothold. Satan thinks he is smart and he will try to destroy a church one person at a time if he can. Especially picking off the individuals that are new to Christ. Those that have a soul that has been vacuumed clean of sin by His redeeming blood. Those souls must be discipled into the church, learn God's word and learn to dwell on his scriptures and seek his face in every situation. Be wise and develop a discerning spirit so that you will know when Satan is lurking in your mists. I pray that MO continues in her growth. I pray that those mature in Christ will put on their full armour - Satan does not like a church that grows.
Post a Comment