© 2021 Don Pinson | [Download]
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There are three positions Christians are taking in the current pressure. Some are saying, “It’s so bad now. Persecution is growing. These are just the last moments of time, and I’m just looking for Jesus to come back any day.” Which translates into: “I don’t believe we can do anything about this time, so I’m just thinking about me and I’m going to hide my head in the sand. Don’t count on me to protect the liberty of my children.” On the other hand, there are those who would love to see liberty preserved, they just think that there’s no hope now. But then there’s a third group—perhaps fewer in number—but those who thrill the heart of God. They’re saying, “This is the hardest time the world has ever seen, and it may be the beginning of the end of history; but come what may, until ‘the trumpet sounds’, I’m going to do everything I can to preserve the liberty of my children to be able to hear and respond to the Gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ!”
Which group are you in? “…What can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3) in this pressurized time?
We can choose to believe that God tells the truth! Jesus said, “In the world you shall have tribulation [(pressure)]; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) Jesus promised us that pressure would come, but He’s already faced it and He overcame it. Now, He lives inside those of us who are committed to Him; He will now live through us in this world of pressure. And because of His life in us, others will be led to find Him as their life also. Light shines brightest in the darkest night!
So “…What can the righteous do?” We can move our individual lives into the order of God revealed in the Bible. When we are in God’s order, the life of Jesus automatically flows through us. If we will surrender every area of our life to His rule, and confess every known sin to Him—and to others if they know about it—we will move into His order. In His order there is His provision of the food, shelter, and clothing we need to sustain life. Likewise, there is the protection we need from harm or death, unless He chooses to use those things to reveal Himself more to us or to others. So, in any circumstance, we get in on the peace that Jesus promises. Just before He said we would have tribulation in the world, He said, “[My] Peace I leave with you…” (John 14:27) He promised us peace before He promised us pressure. And He tells the truth!
How were America’s Founding Fathers able to stand the pressure on them through the Revolutionary War? They had pledged “their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor” to seeing liberty restored in their land. Some of them died in British prison ships in the cold winters of Boston harbor. They died rather than break the pledge of their “sacred honor.” How did they have the strength to do that? The indwelling life of Christ saw them through their darkest hour. Others of them had the British burn their homes and businesses. Still others watched their sons die for liberty in the battles of the war. What sustained them in the horrendous pain of such losses? “[My] Peace I leave with you,” they heard Jesus whisper to their hearts in those awful moments. They kept their pledge because, from way down inside them, Jesus was releasing His faith through them.
Have you pledged to your children to preserve their liberty to hear the Gospel of the Kingdom of Christ? Will you cry to the Christ Who lives inside you to enable you to keep that pledge?!
Think about it; because if you don’t, someone else will do your thinking for you—and for your children! And you won’t like what that brings to you. I’m Don Pinson; this has been Think About It.