I’ve been thinking and praying about what’s going on in the world. As I’m sure many people have.
History seems to be hurtling toward the Last Days, as we find ourselves trying to navigate through an increasingly hostile world.
Politics are dividing our country and even our churches. People are becoming more cold-hearted, selfish, and angry. We are experiencing a breakdown that feels irreversible. While these problems do not have simple solutions, there is guidance in scripture.
America was originally founded on Christian principles, but this foundation seems to have started eroding after World War II. These days it seems the downward trend in building faster.
The government, the educational system, the entertainment industry, and the media no longer share these values, which means Christians are becoming alienated from the dominant forces in society. To have good, decent values means being demonized, ridiculed, and marginalized.
Persecution is what is happening to Christians in America. To be presented for righteousness sake means that we are hated or opposed for solely following Jesus and living for God.
We are experiencing religious suppression, stereotyping, threats, intimidation, and litigation. I think America is a long way away from persecution that involves the torture and death that took place in the New Testament and occur in other countries today. But who knows what lurks around the corner? I never in my wildest dreams thought following Jesus would be under fire as it is now in the United States.
I think about how early Christians suffered more severe persecution than anything we currently face, and we never find them responding in anger. Instead, they found that suffering had positive benefits.
They discovered suffering promoted character. In Romans 5:3-5 we find that it promoted courage. Acts 4:19-20, Acts 4:19-20 proved godliness, and 2 Peter 5:10 produced joy. there are more scriptures I’m sure).
There are three decisions we must make during these times, to stand for truth, draw support from each other, and derive our security from the Lord.
When we view the current political climate in light of God’s eternal plan, there are decisions and steps we must make in advance in order to prepare ourselves for that moment when persecution comes.
How do we prepare ourselves:
- Be determined to stand for truth. It is imperative that fear of rejection, criticism, and loss does not cower us into hiding the truth. We must be prepared to stand for God’s truth without bending.
“Watch! Stand firm in the faith! Be courageous! Be strong. Let all that you do be done in love” – 2 Corinthians 16:13-14
2. Draw support from one another. We cannot be believers alone. We need the company of others like ourselves who we can share encouragement, struggles, and victories. It’s easy to feel alone and discouraged, but the fellowship of others who have your beliefs will draw strength, discipline, knowledge, encouragement, support and love. It’s important to have a “church family.” A courageous example can spur any one of us to say, “If they can do it, by God’s grace so can I.”
I think the key to standing firm in the face of persecution is to remember who we belong to and where we are going. We belong to Jesus, and He secures us in His hand. Therefore we do not need to fear the danger of losing our reputation, our jobs, our finances, or even our physical lives. Jesus said,
“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” -Matthew 16:25
In Matthew 24 God predicted the future of world history and the end of the age. I think Matthew 24 represents a description of the first half of the tribulation period, but I may be wrong, many have different theories concerning this. But these trends are not going to happen at the speed of light. They are going to increasingly characterize the last days leading up to the rapture of the church, as they vibrate through time.
3. Derive our security in the Lord
It is in God that we find security. Throughout the Bible, there are aspects of God’s character, we find the depth of His goodness, love, hope, and sovereignty during changing and seemingly hopeless circumstances that are more firmly rooted and understood in the hearts of the sufferer. None of us want to suffer if we walk with Jesus, we know it will come. And we need to be prepared for it.
From Pity to Praise 