Today, I wanted to write to the believer who is ready to get to work.
If you want to hear something safe, this isn't the Christian blog for you, and it is certainly not the post today! We are seeing the days grow darker; some might believe this is judgment against the Christians. However, I do not think so. For the born-again believer, our punishment was taken on the cross 2,000 years ago. Does God discipline His children? Yes! Proverbs 3:11-12 “My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor detest His correction; 12 For whom the LORD loves He corrects, Just as a father the son [in whom] he delights.” However, for the born-again believer, who is (yes, failing at times) trying to follow and obey the Lord, when there is judgment against nations, it is not something for us. We are not of this world, but ours is a Heavenly Kingdom, and our King is awaiting the moment to call us to meet Him in the clouds. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
So what should we be doing? We see God causing the circumstances for the unsaved to become more unpleasant; this is so that those who are on the fence will decide, and those who are among us who are not saved will leave. 1 John 2:19 “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but [they went out] that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.”
For us who are saved, our mission orders in Matthew 28 have not changed. The Lord's true prayer for us in John 17 is applicable today, as it was the day He prayed it. Yet, we need to get focused! Philippians 3:14-16 “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to [the degree] that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.” Our job is not to groan and complain as it gets darker, but to be the salt and the light as we still can, and to rescue through the proclaiming of the Gospel to those who will listen, disciple new/young believers, and earnestly help them understand what is at stake. This age is ending, but our work is just beginning.
Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,
JL