BE FAITHFUL—Again & Again—UNTIL THE END!
“He who has an ear, . . . ” d;fkklkgs;sl;k’dksf dk;fa’a fs dak pi; fk;rwekd. ;dk ae
We live in a place and time when anyone, anywhere, at any time can say just about anything he wishes to say, & oftentimes, the listening world will take his words as the Gospel truth.
GIBBERISH.
We live in a world of MUCH GIBBERISH.
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. . . .”
(The Revelation to John 2: 11a NASB)
It is amazing what can occur if our fingers move over to the left or right, move off the “home” keys (as we were taught) when we are typing our words, sentences, and thoughts.
- STRUGGLES.
- TRIBULATIONS.
- IMPRISONMENTS.
- SUFFERINGS.
- TESTED.
PURE EVILNESS AT WORK WITHIN THE WORLD.
PURE EVILNESS AT WORK, STRIVING TO DESTROY ALL THAT IS GOOD IN YOU.
- BE FAITHFUL.
- BE FAITHFUL.
- BE FAITHFUL.
- BE FAITHFUL.
BE—FAITHFUL . . . AGAIN & AGAIN . . . BE FAITHFUL—UNTIL THE VERY END of the fight.
“Do not fear what you are about to suffer.
Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days.
Be faithful until death,
and I will give you the crown of life.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.”
(The Revelation to John 2: 10-11 NASB)
The apostle John was writing to the people in the churches. This particular warning, written in RED, denoting how they are the VERY WORDS of JESUS was given to the church in Smyrna, a strong group of believers who had held tightly to their FAITH during perilous times when struggles, tribulations, trials, slander, and everything they may or may not have prepared for—came at them in full force.
- Evilness only comes from one place!
- Evilness only comes from one who is the embodiment of PURE EVIL!
- Evilness only comes from Satan (Lucifer, the evil one, the devil)!
“And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened;
and another book was opened, which is the book of life;
and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them;
and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.
This is the second death, the lake of fire.
And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
(The Revelation to John 20: 12-15 NASB)
Yes, evilness only permeates from Satan, from the realm of hell, where Lucifer, the devil, the pure-evil one—will one day be cast—“into the lake of fire”!
Friend, we are not to play with fire!
We know this to be true; we teach this truth to our children. So, why is it that we do play with fire: with temptations, with evilness, with all that is not godly in action, word, or thought?
When, in fact, we were reminded by the apostle Paul (a follower of Jesus) with “a checklist” for our preparation of what we need to wear for the battle we are to face. Paul wrote this in the concluding words of his letter, recorded in the Word of God, to the early church living in Ephesus. Read with me & Let us be reminded how we must BE FAITHFUL—Again & Again—UNTIL THE END!
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might.
Put on the full armor of God,
so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,
- but against the rulers,
- against the powers,
- against the world forces of this darkness,
- against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Therefore,
take up the full armor of God,
so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and
HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS,
and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE;
in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,”
(Ephesians 6: 10-18 NASB)
We are to press into Christ, and when tempted, when facing struggles, trials, or any possible suffering—we are to press into Christ Jesus. Again and Again, we (the saints saved by the grace of God) are to BE FAITHFUL UNTIL THE END!
- The belt of truth.
- The breastplate of righteousness.
- The shoes of peace.
- The shield of faith.
- The helmet of salvation.
- The sword of the spirit.
- The small group, the community of believers, the Christian friends—
Those who rally around one another & those who continually encourage one another & those who faithfully, daily pray for one other & those who are willing to reveal their vulnerability & those who are equally willing to share intimacy with one another & those who share the Gospel message with the lost—that is the church we are called to be in this world.
We are not promised only ease, calm, sweet-smelling roses.
The church is promised a battle.
May we be “armored-up & ready” to face the devil, the evilness, and ready to FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT!
May we remember what God’s Word promises!
When we do as we are commanded to do, when we resist Satan, when we turn away from his darkness, then the devil will flee because it is IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE DEVIL TO REMAIN IN THE PRESENCE OF ALMIGHTY GOD!
There is a melody that reminds each saint where we must begin our preparation. “Start Right Here” by Casting Crowns—Listen & remember.
“Lord, start right now.
It’s got to start right here.
Lord, start right now.”
Thus,
Since we do currently live in a place and time where it is possible for anyone, anywhere, at any time to post just about anything he wishes to say, &
Since it is quite possible that the listening, reading world will take the words of the one posting as the Gospel truth, when in fact, the person only speaks GIBBERISH!
READ God’s Word, continually studying as God repeatedly reminds the child of God—
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. . . .”
(The Revelation to John 2: 11a NASB)