“I sought the Lord, and He…delivered me from all my fears.” (Psalm 34:4)

Dear Brethren,

“Except those days be shortened…” (Mark 13:20), so said Jesus concerning the end times.  I look back over the past six months I wonder where the time went.  Time is flying by…things are moving so quickly…I hear from person after person that they just can’t keep up with what is going on around them.  It’s just too much – too fast – and too overwhelming.  It seems that someone has hit the accelerator and there is no slowing down.  

We know from Scripture that there will be a day when the devil realizes that “his time is short” (Rev 12:12) and his freedom to “kill, maim and destroy” will be restrained, at least for a thousand years (Rev 20:1-3).  But for now, he does have his freedom and is working the world over through temptation.  Lucifer is also hard at work tempting believers to abuse their freedom in Christ.  We have the liberty to obey the Lord or not; to walk with Him or to walk in the footsteps of the devil and “fulfill the lusts of the flesh” (Rom 13:14).  We are free to choose (Josh 24:15).  While we are living in grace, the Law is still the standard.  Will we choose the Lord’s way – “the narrow way” (Matt 7:14) that leads to life everlasting – or are we floundering around in the playground of the flesh and walking in fellowship with the enemy?

There is a famous poem that begins, “There comes to every man and nation a moment to decide…”  Brethren, we who believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior live in a continual moment of decision.  Surrounded by temptations – bombarded by marketing and images continually – we are easily overloaded in all our senses.  Our culture is loud and the noise can hinder our hearing as we listen for that whisper of the voice of the Lord.  He is always near to us, through the Holy Spirit and His Word.  Are we listening?  (Ps 119:112)  Are we seeking Him – His guidance – His encouragement?  (Jeremiah 7:24)  

We recently watched a film called “Defiance”.  It is based on the true story of four Jewish brothers who fled into the forests of Lithuania and “decided” to resist the German invasion of their homeland.  Their parents, wives and children were murdered by the Nazis as part of the pogrom to cleanse Europe of Jews.  These men and women resisted the invaders and along the way provided sanctuary for thousands of Jews who fled without hope into the wilderness.  They were lost and floundering, “like sheep without a shepherd (Matt 9:36).  By the end of the war, these men who were willing to resist the evil of National Socialism, managed to help twelve-hundred men, women and children survive.  They resisted the devil with all their strength in the flesh.  The Word of God tells us, as believers, to “resist the devil” (James 4:7), not in the flesh, but in the power of the Spirit and the Word.  In this tragic and worsening battle for the souls of men, women and children today, am I resisting the powers of the enemy in order to help save souls for the greater glory of God my Father?

These are perilous times (2Tim 4:1-4), and Jesus warned us they would come (Matt 24).  Yet He promised that our Father would not leave us without a comforter (Acts 1:8).  We have His Holy Spirit abiding with us and through the Spirit we have full access to the Throne of Heaven (Eph 2:18).  “Our Father, which art in Heaven…” (Matt 6:9) is waiting on us.  He is longing for our fellowship – our worship – our obedience – so that He may be glorified in all that we do (John 4:23).

What are we doing day by day to bring glory to the Father?  What are we doing to advance the cause of Jesus the Christ in this sin sick and corrupt world?  God is glorified in our obedience.  His desire that “all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the Truth” (1Tim 2:4) gives us the opportunity to serve Him in His holy work of redemption.  Jesus died so that the sins of men could be forgiven – that is the redemptive work of His sacrifice on the Cross.  Our duty in His plan of redemption is to share the Gospel – the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus the Christ.  We have freedom to do our duty.