The world is getting darker every day. There is such deception upon all, even many Christians. False prophets, fear, false religion, greed, and immorality are rampant, but........
"Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth
and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you
and His glory appears over you.
Nations will come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn."
Isaiah 60:1-3
This is about us, written thousands of years ago by a prophet of God. I believe in my heart of hearts he looked ahead to the times we are living in now, prophesied all through the Bible. I believe we are in the beginning of the end of the end times. I'm not going to go into my opinions on Bible prophecy too much, but I will say that I used to believe that the Church would get raptured before the 7 years of tribulation, yet my views have begun to shift. Either way, I believe that we are to usher Him in with our praise and prayer. He said He would come back for a perfect bride. Where are we now? We are largely divided and worried more about religion and appearances and our doctrine than being unified in what we do believe: Jesus Christ died and crucified and risen in glory to pay the precious cost with His blood for our redemption.
If we do not draw near to the Lord with everything we have, we will also be deceived during these times. We need His presence and His Word and our surrender to carry holiness, justice, righteousness, and LOVE! Stop wondering what your purpose is and look right in front of your face. Everyone around you is your mission field. Family first, friends, coworkers, strangers. Love the one in front of you. Did you know we will judged by the MERCY we extend to people, not judgment. We are not meant to carry that burden.
I just want to encourage you to take time EVERY DAY to still your mind and soul before Him. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise (Psalm 100:4). Connect your spirit with His Spirit. Remain in Him and He will remain in you (John 15:4). Draw near to Him, and He will draw near to you (James 3:8). Let Him love you so you can love Him back and love others. Your identity needs to come from Him so you can allow Him to love you the way He desires. If we don't remain in Him, our love will grow cold (Matthew 24:12).
Don't give up! Let's hold each other accountable. I know I need others. I fail more than I care to admit. But pick yourself back up and keep going. He promises to hold you and pick you up every time, but only if you want Him to. Please feel free to share. God Bless!
