Happy Wednesday to y'all!
My mind is literally brimming with thoughts and I am not sure what direction this post is going to take....haha! All that is going on this world today pretty much boggles this mind of mine. Ebola virus, cancer, wars and rumors of war, it just goes on and on! One could sit down and ponder all of this and panic or the other option is to sit down with the Word of God, the Bible, and be comforted as ALL of these things have been foretold long ago. None of the things going on today should come as much of a surprise because God has spoken of all of this in His Word, addressed each of them one by one. And as a Christian, who has been renewed by the Holy Spirit, I am able to be discerning and knowledgeable regarding the past, present and the future. I am certainly not saying I am a fortune teller but by reading the Word of God I can see how all of this will turn out!
I grabbed my Bible this morning to read a bit as I awaited the awakening of my extremely slow and turtle-like computer...... I opened up to the book of Jude which God strategically placed right before the Book Of Revelation, the telling of the end times! Yesterday I read of the mayor of Houston who is demanding to examine the sermons of 5 Christian pastors in that city who have opposed the appointing of this mayor. These pastors, who are leading the flock of Christ and preaching the Word of God, in season and out of season, who are calling what God calls sin, sin, are being threatened for doing what God has commanded them to do! She wants to be sure that these church leaders are being politically correct?! And has threatened to fine and/or imprison those who do not comply by handing over their sermons and any private communications with church members.....Uhhm, pardon me for a moment, do we not reside in America, the land of the free and the home of the brave? Seems to me that we do have freedom of speech according to our First Amendment rights, at least last time I checked we still had that intact!!!! Meaning that a pastor or any citizen of the United States of America, for that matter, can speak their mind regarding truth...Hhmm, but now it appears that maybe we can only speak the truth if it is agreeable to the mayors of our cities. I'd sure like to know how that works!
Starting in the book of Jude verse 11 of the King James Bible, I quote:
" But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit. But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life."
So I can see here that God, speaking through Jude, the brother of James, has addressed this issue for us! I truly believe that we are living in the last days, my friends. So many things are changing, even regarding our basic rights as citizens, changes to the constitution, the basic principles that this country was built upon. We are supposed to watch what we say or we shall be silenced!! But I pray that we, as brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, will stand up for all that we believe and for the things that we do NOT believe. Let us pray for those being persecuted for their faith in Christ Jesus that they may remain steadfast and faithful to God and His Word, not only all around the world, but also for those involved in the beginnings of persecution in our own cities, as we see happening in Houston. Let us remember to pray for those who are NOT of the body of Christ, that they might turn from their sin and be saved as Jude states in verses 21-23: "Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire: hating even the garment spotted by the flesh."
I will end these thoughts with the last few verses of Jude verses 24-25:
"Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God or Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen."
