Victory Is Ours

Hello Friends,

Thank you for keeping up with my posts and passing them along to others. I am again blessed by your support and beautifully encouraging comments!

We continue to live in challenging times. The news is frightening. France declares war on ISIS. And we continue to wonder who has slipped into our country, legally or otherwise, and what threats they bring to our own soil. Are they in our own states? Even cities? What acts of terrorism are around the corner? Is this, as some headlines suggest, the beginning of World War III?

I may not know much but I know that fear is everywhere. It is palpable in a way that reminds me of the days following 9/11. It might not be to that extreme for most U.S. citizens but there clearly is a mindfulness of looming danger as terrorists succeed in terrorization.

Who rises up? Who shuts down? Who believes good can prevail? Who becomes paralyzed by the presence of evil? Where do we, as individuals, fit into any of this?

I don’t presume to know all of the answers to these questions but I choose to keep doing what I do. I keep pointing to God. I keep believing He has not abandoned us. I keep believing that people need Him and the abolishment of fear in our country begins with each individual’s heart to recognize and receive the truth of God’s mercy, guidance and grace. I do this not in any way to diminish the stark realities of what we’ve come to but to rise up with the kind of courage that only comes through humility and surrender.

Friends, we need Him.

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I see people around me giving up their search for God. Too overwhelmed by the “work” it takes to make sense of it all, they lay down their weapons and the Enemy is all too quick to consume.

The Bible prophesizes the end times and many think we’re here. Whether this is a matter of years or decades or even centuries, no one knows. Some scholars present arguments that we’ve actually been in the end times since the time of Christ’s first coming. The Word of God assures us there will be signs to be read but as far as a date, this is not to earthly knowledge. Matthew 24:36 states: However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.

End time prophesies include warnings and encouragement from 2 Timothy 3:

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. ² People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, ⁴ treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— ⁵ having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

⁶ They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, ⁷ always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. ⁸ Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. ⁹ But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.

How do we forfeit the “form of godliness” 2 Timothy speaks of? We turn to our own understanding. We seek resolution outside of God. Our pride takes over, fueled by fear. We forget that it is only in the recognition of God in our world and in ourselves that we have the power to overcome darkness.

So, who will stand up for the truth? Who will expose the “folly” of those who think this darkness will actually win? Indeed, darkness will spread but just as a single candle’s flame produces a far reaching light which quickly consumes the darkness, so will the light of every believer who is to shine brighter in the face of such opposition…in the acceptance of the power of God.

The Bible paints a very different picture of the end times than the world around us. There is victory found in and between the lines of its pages. We are not helpless. The power of God is stronger than the power of the Enemy. Jesus did warn about end-time apostasy but He also proclaimed and promised end-time harvest. Matthew 24:14: And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

The words of Peter in Acts 2:17-21 states: And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. … And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Peter was adding to Joel’s prophecy (see Joel 2:28-32), telling us the last days would be characterized by a significant outpouring of the Spirit and a massive harvest of souls. If you look closer, you’ll see this is already happening. The light is prevailing. But you won’t read about that in your headlines. You’ll find these truths in the Word of God.

The powers of hell will not prevail against the church. (Matthew 16:18)

The darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. (1 John 2:8)

The night is far gone, the day is at hand. (Romans 13:12)

Whatever Satan means for evil, God can turn for good. (Romans 8:28, Romans 8:38)

But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. (1 John 4:4)

The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn which shines brighter and brighter until full day. (Proverbs 4:18)

And how do we become righteous? By receiving the grace of God. By accepting the divine exchange: our sins for His righteousness. If ever there was a time to humbly and gratefully trust and receive, perhaps it is now. Our salvation does not rest in our own works but in the surrendering to His.

Catherine Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, stood against great opposition to help create the far reaching organization still ministering to the masses and changing hearts and lives 150 years later. The resilience of Booth’s heart was found in her humility and trust. In God, she found confidence enough to say: “The waters are rising, but so am I. I am not going under but over.”

Friends, I often worry when I write and share Scripture, I am confusing those who read. That’s a little lack of confidence on my own part – but I’m working on it. I know my greatest desire is to instill the confidence of Christ in others. So again, I would ask that you weigh every teaching, even Scripture passages that are difficult to understand (without studying original Hebrew and Greek terminology or outside of context) to the knowledge of His great love for you. Your victory awaits in that knowledge. There is power available to anyone who comes to Him. He doesn’t condemn. He is the very picture of the dad of the prodigal son and when he seems you coming back to Him, even if shame fills your heart, He will run to you, embrace you and clothe you in His finest. The celebration of His heart and all of heaven will be greater than any celebration you’ve ever known.

You are safe. You are loved. And the world around you desperately needs your light.

Believe, receive…and live. As prophesized in Daniel 12:3, He will make your light to shine bright as the sky and as you lead others to the righteousness of Christ, you will shine like the stars forever.