By Cedric Fisher
Whatever the cause, shutting down is the worst thing a Christian can do at this point of time. Instead of shutting down, believers need to be selective about what they are putting into their minds and spirits. Being informed is essential to being prepared. Shutting down will not prepare one to endure the harshness of the tough days ahead. It’s one thing if believers are focusing on their relationship with the Lord and want to spend less time on the Internet and watching TV. However, the temptation for many (and I have seen it already) will be to shut down by engaging in entertainment media and outlets of benign and mundane information. Rather than adjusting with balance, they are going into denial, choosing to believe we have lots of time before our society, as we know it, collapses. That’s the “Ostrich Complex,” and professing Christians with the Ostrich Complex will pay a severe price for what they are enjoying now.
As painful and frightening as it is to accept, I believe we are on the verge of a global government and religion that will be very brutal to true Christians. It will take more than a sabbatical from bad news and ominous warnings to prepare for enduring life in such an environment.
Satan, the enemy of our souls, is working overtime right now to “wear out the saints” (Daniel 7:25), but I cannot exhort you enough, this is not a time when born-again believers in Christ can afford to be worn down, bury their heads, and become apathetic toward what is happening around us. For those who cave in to that temptation of apathy, it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to stand when things get truly harsh. The time to prepare is long past, but it’s still not too late. The first step is to wake up and accept truth. It is time to gather and store “oil,” the substance that keeps our light shining. In order to keep that flame lit and not allow it to become a flickering flame on a wick in a near-empty reservoir, we must put into action our confession of faith in Christ. He promises to sustain us as we abide in Him.
It is essential for preparation and subsequent endurance that we acknowledge the spiritual war in which we find ourselves, that we do not shut down our senses because of negative information overload, and that we do not live in a bubble of false security.
May we also remember that this home on earth is not our final destination. We have a home where God dwells in righteousness. If we are going to defeat the forces of darkness that seek to minimize our efforts and diminish our faith, we will have to fight, “not as one that beateth the air” (1 Corinthians 9:26) but as informed and equipped saints of God. We must not deceive ourselves and think we can be both complacent and effective all at the same time.
Instead of shutting down, let us look up. Genuine blessed hope is the buffer for the stress of perilous times. It can only be had with a sincere relationship with Christ, a strong knowledge of His Word, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit (who “shall teach you all things; John 14 :26). That is the only focus that makes sense in this period of encroaching darkness. As the psalmist so well stated, let us “hope in His mercy,” rejoice in Him, and trust in His holy name.
Thank you, Cedric, for this exhortation.
Thank you, Cedric, for this exhortation, “Remember that this home on earth is not our final destination.”
God bless you for encouraging believers. I will treasure it.
Thank you so much, Cedric, for articulating that so clearly. I have been burdened lately for my nearest and dearest family members, and former church members. They seem to be so absorbed in this world’s business and popular culture without any sense of urgency to share the gospel. But…. they are Calvinists and that is the fruit of thinking that God will save who He will save and not save those who he has destined for hell. They can just sit back, relax and trust that God will get it all done somehow!
Thank you for that wonderful word of encouragement! We must stand, even if we stand alone, in Christ alone!
Amen! Amen! Amen!
How beautiful the Name of Jeshua HaMashiach, Jesus Christ our Savior, and how much we must love and adore Him moment by moment being led by His Word!!! So many have left their first Love for the lies of the New Age teachings that have snuck in and deceived so many. As believers and those who say we trust Him, we have no other argument….. Come quickly Lord Jesus and may all of our loved ones turn quickly to you and be ready to rejoice at your coming. Meet us Lord quickly in the air, Fairest of ten thousand, and The One Who conquered death!.
Eph. 3:13-21 “Therefore I implore you not to lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. … for reason of this I bow my knees to the Father, from whom every family in the heavens and on earth is named, that He might give you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power by His Spirit in the inner man, for Christ to dwell in your hearts through faith, being rooted and being founded in love, so that you may be fully able, with all the saints, to comprehend what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ surpassing knowledge, so that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God.
“Now to the One being able to do exceedingly above all things that we ask or think, according to the power working in us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all the generations of the age of the ages. Amen.”
Amen! What a wonderfully encouraging message! Only through Christ—the true Jesus Christ—working in our lives can we make it until the end!
And we would do well to always keep in mind what our beloved brother Paul wrote to the Church:
Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Ephesians 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Ephesians 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Ephesians 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Ephesians 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Ephesians 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Ephesians 6:19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
Ephesians 6:20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
May we be ever diligent to obey the word of the Lord!
I pray for all those who love our Lord Jesus in sincerity!
With the love of Christ,
C. Read
Romans 6:11
“Reckon the old man dead”
I agree ~good article
Amen, Amen! Might I add, “Where is the joy!?” We have plenty of mopey gloomy Christians walking around. Why would any one want to be saved into Christ when they see us this way? In joy I can be cut down promptly with murmurers and complainers. Our goal is to edify one another is it not? For God hath not appointed us to wrath (judgment by God), but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify (build up) one another, even as also ye do. 1 Thess. 5:9-11. Yes we are exhort and to warn them that are unruly, but also to comfort the feebleminded and to support the weak and be patient to all men, and not render evil when evil comes to us and we are to rejoice and pray without ceasing and give thanks for everything etc., as the rest of 1 Thess. 5 commands. ‘Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for the things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. ‘ Eph. 5:19-20 Thank you Lord Jesus for saving me! Lets go fishing!
Thank-you Cedric . I needed to hear that today.