Even though... (___________), fill in the blank, He loved me.
and the most eye-opening, life-changing revelation I've ever experienced is when I realized, accepted and trusted the fact that because He loved me, He died for me, and He made a way for me in all my blackness to spend an eternity in His presence. He took my place and put upon Himself the punishment that I was due for my sin. He did that because He loved me.
"We love, because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19
and He continues to love me. And nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate me from the love of my Father. And no one is able to take me away from or remove me from His love. I will always remember the day I came to Jesus, because He first came to me. I will never forget the darkness of my soul, nor the conviction of my lostness. And I will never forget the peace that flooded my entire being, nor the peace He instills in me since.
"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39
Is the day of reckoning approaching? Are you ready?
Is the Bride of Christ? Or is she playing church--pressured by every wind of doctrine and withering from the breath of wolves in her midst?
I believe America is going down the path of destruction because Christians have ignored the "wrath" of God. Preachers rarely speak of it or warn of it. From what do we need saving if all sin is tolerated? It seems our tolerance now supersedes God's holiness.
We've whispered the word sin and substituted it with anything and everything to appease the world so it will "like" us better. We're like frightened sheep among the wolves. Have we forgotten we have a Shepherd?
Few of us endure like Joseph, dance before the Lord as David, obey like Daniel, or preach like Jeremiah, or fast like Jesus, or sacrifice like the disciples, or pray all night like Peter, or write like Paul or humble ourselves like the tax collector.
Politicians tell us our country is in turmoil because we didn't make the right "deals" with the world leaders. Because we don't cater to women and support their choice to slaughter babies in a mother's womb. They say we have violence on city streets because we won't hand over guns. They say we're attacked because we don't bow to other gods (or because we offend others who do), when we dare to speak of our allegiance to Jesus and our desire to follow God's Word.
We travel the world over to win the "lost" to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Joseph, but fail to bring the message of "lostness" to the neighbor next door. We're afraid to stand for God and therefore are falling for everything.
We go to our denominational meetings and make decisions based on economics rather than faith. We pat ourselves on the back for making resolutions that water down the Biblical commands and weaken the warnings of God. Is our righteous indignation any better than the filthy rags we once wore before Christ's blood wrapped us in his robe of righteousness if we do not speak out for the unborn, or our own faith?
Unless God's people who are called by His name, humble themselves, seek God's face and confess their own prideful wickedness, the Creator of this planet and universe will not heal our lands. It won't happen. We can assemble and sing praise choruses till the moon turns to blood and the sun falls from the sky. It won't happen. God is the same, yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Until people change, the church won't change; until churches change the family unit won't change; until the family unit changes, the community won't change. Until the community changes, the country won't change. Until the country changes, the world will remain a cesspool of hate, of evil, of godlessness and immorality. Why would the Lord need to exact His wrath upon us? He merely has to give us up to our own desires.
Americans have given their wealth to worship American Idols. We've flocked to movie theaters to amuse ourselves and filled the boots of wickedness to press against our own throats and crush our power to make a real difference in society. We've financed our own adversaries. We've nodded sheepishly at the sin and waved away what some call "prudish" and judgmental opposition to attain the goodies they offer in faux humor. As we dip our self-indulgent straws into their porridge of entertainment, we've turned ourselves into the slaves of a new Babylon: Political Correctness. New Age Tolerance. Progressive Acceptance. Liberal Compliance.
Soon we'll bow to the New World Order of silence. Speak now, or forever hold your peace. The Censors are watching, legislating, judging and will soon be imprisoning all who dare stand like the Cathys, the Greens, the bakers in Oregon, the Paul Churches of Boston, or the Sisters of the Poor. The child who writes about Jesus, the Chaplain who preaches Jesus, the officer who writes a Bible verse on his white-board, the churches who display crosses, the communities who seek to keep crosses and nativity scenes in the public square...
How long will it be before we are no longer allowed the freedom of expression and religion? While there is still time...
"Shout aloud!
Don’t hold back!
Lift up your voice like a trumpet!
Declare to my people their rebellions,
and to the house of Jacob their sins.
They seek me day after day,
and are eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that practices righteousness
and has not forsaken the justice of their God." Isaiah 58: 1-2
OH BUT THERE'S MORE:
"You seek pleasure on your fast days. Is this not the fast I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice? Then your ruins will be rebuilt."
GOD help us. God forgive us. God give us courage to speak boldly as You would have us speak. Spare us your wrath, Oh, Lord; have mercy upon us-- not for our sake, but for the glorification of your Son. There is but one Answer for the World today.
"Jesus is the Answer for the world today, above Him is no other; Jesus is the Way."
You see; the world manufactures stress on a 24/7 basis. It never stops churning up waves, tides, winds, storms, battles, wars, rumors, illness, viruses, and disease.
Life lives and dies with bacterial growth. Good and bad reside within us...each striving to keep the other at bay...each vying for control.
Life flows to each inch of our veins by the beat, beat, beat of a heart muscle. As tough as the heart is, the tiniest infection can interrupt its rhythm. To determine its health, doctors give a "stress" test. The better we do under the greatest of stress, the more commendable result is diagnosed.
Can we handle the truth? Yes, we can. And we can rest in the serenity of God's watch care and grace in the face of famine, turmoil, lions, fire, earthquakes and even death. We can sleep in the midst of a storm. We can face giants and know our aim is sure, our future is already secured in Christ.
"What time I am afraid, I will put my trust in Thee." ~Psalm 56:3
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth Thee." ~Isaiah 26:3
"In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety." ~Psalm 4:8 SERENITY...ah, yes.
