Author: Faith

Can you imagine going to bed, a Ukrainian or Russian soldier, wondering if you will be alive at the end of the week or end of the month?  What will happen to the wife you love so much, or the son or daughter who bring so much joy and laughter to your world?

The soldiers on the ground often know nothing of the politics above them.  They are just trying to survive.  To protect those they love, and themselves.  Their courage and selflessness are  without question, but that does not mean that they do not suffer. We all “bleed the same”.  We all hurt the same.  And many of us believe the same.  And God Loves us all, on all sides.  These are the soldiers that understand what is coming and many fall to their knees in prayer begging God for Mercy.

Then there are the soldiers, many of them young.  Just kids really.  Who don’t realize the suffering that  war brings.  They run towards war, not realizing how truly horrific it will be, but sadly, they will soon find out.

But although the suffering of war may not be avoided, suffering alone can be. 

Forty-one years ago, The Minnesota Vikings and the Dallas Cowboys were playing for a Divisional Championship (football).  The Dallas Cowboys were loosing, until Roger Staubach threw an improbable touch down.  “A come from behind” win”.  The fans, of course, went wild.  And ever since then, the” Hail Mary pass”, a “Hail Mary”, became a “thing”.

We, as a world are losing now.  I woke up this morning to read about yet another “satanic” club opening in a middle school.  How did we ever come to allow such a horrific thing around God’s Most Precious, Innocent Gift, our children?  And how have we let war come so close?

When Mary, our Blessed Mother, appeared in Fatima, She warned us of what would happen if we kept “offending” God.  And indeed, our world, our country, has clearly continued “offending” God!  And it’s time for the “Hail Mary pass”.

The Rosary is a simple ,but powerful prayer.  Any one can say it and every one should, especially now.  The Our Father, Ten Hail Mary,. a prayer to Jesus for Salvation, and a Glory Be To God…  We can each pray five decades every day for the comfort and salvation of all.  On the battle field, where the worst suffering comes, soldiers can pray it every day and be assured that if their time comes, they will not face it alone.

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” – Matthew 6:21

There is a song that says “Through it all , my eyes are on you”.  On and off the battle field, that is where our eyes need to be.  For God is with us-all of us.  And He Loves us all!

Are we in the “time of the end”?  Jesus said that even He did not know the hour or day that He would return.  But Jesus did share with us some of the signs to look for:

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 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.” -2 Timothy 3: 1-7

Watch, Prepare and Pray!

“And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.  Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.”

“Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.  But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.”

The words were sealed up, but now, people all over the world are speaking.  Some are having visions, especially in the Middle East.  In the Middle East, there are many stories of people who have had visions of Jesus and came to believe. 

There are some people who say they have been to Heaven – and back with the command to share all that they have learned with others.

How do we know when those who prophesy or see Jesus or Heaven are sharing honestly with us?  Of one thing we can be sure, someone who is honestly sharing will never, ever contradict God’s Word.  And since one of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit is discernment, we can ask the Holy Spirit ?

Is the out pouring of visions and prophesy a sign that we are in the Time of the End?  Only God knows for sure.  But if we live as if today is our last day, if we love the Lord and others as if this were our very last day; we will go in the right direction, Amen ?

“Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”-Matthew 14:2

One of the first visits in Matthew 14, is the verse that describes the destruction of Israel, which we know has already happened.  But the Apostles wanted to know what would be the signs  of His return to them.  And so Jesus told them in Matthew 14:3-14:

“As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

^“Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁵ For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. ⁶ You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. ⁷ Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of birth pains.”

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. ¹⁰ At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, ¹¹ and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. ¹² Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, ¹³ but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”

There are many lessons taught in the above verses.  But one very important lesson comes from this verse: ^“Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, ¹³ but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”-Matthew 14:12-13

When our heart grows cold, we can’t love anyone.  Not even God.  It’s just not possible.  And, of course, we know what “standing firm” means ?

“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”-Matthew 5:10

So if we want to be Saved in these very dark days, then we must continue to Love God and one another, and Stand Firm.  “With God All Things Are Possible”.  We need to pray now that God will soften our hearts, and continue to keep them soft, so that we can love others!  And we need to stand firm!  Which we can start today.  We can stand FOR God and WITH God, no matter what today’s culture says and does.

^“In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.”-Revelation 1:16

“Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.”^[a] He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.”-Revelation 19:15

There will come a day when Christ’s Sword (God’s Word) will mark the End of this world and the Beginning of the New Jerusalem.  But Jesus will not forget the people who follow Him.  He will still be the Bridge.

And we, who follow Jesus, we need not fear the Time of the End, for Christ is coming for us!  And as long as we belong to Him, we need not fear, because He is coming to bring us Home!

Christ’s “love is the bridge”, both now and in the End of Days.  We may encounter some rough waters (so to speak) and there may be persecution, but Jesus will always be with us and He will keep our souls safe 🙂

“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:”-Ephesians 6:11-17

There are so many important lessons shared in the above verses, but two of them are regarding who we fight (wrestle) and “sword of the spirit”. 

The first.  Who is it that we fight?  We “wrestle” not against our fellow human beings.  People who God loves too!  We fight against the “rulers of darkness”.  In other words, we do not fight against the person who is behaving badly, perhaps really badly, but the power of darkness that rules their spirit and makes them act so badly.  It may seem a small difference, but it is an important one!

The second:  “The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God”.  There is nothing more powerful than the Truth and God’s Word is the Truth.  We need to hold it in our hearts and remember that the “Battle is the Lord’s”.  For with the Sword of the Spirit, we can face any challenge.  We need not fear ?

“Whosoever there fore shall confess me before men, him I will confess also before my Father which is in Heaven.  But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” – Matthew 10:32-33

“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.  And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.”- Matthew 10:34-36

In this day and age, so many are divided.  Not just in this country, but all over the world.  Jesus warned us this would be so!  Some would accept Him as Savior and Follow Him, and some sadly would not.

It can be heartbreaking to see someone we love make a choice to refuse to follow Christ..  It can be truly frightening to see millions of those we do not know refuse to follow Christ.  But in the end, our choice to Accept and Follow Jesus will be well worth it.  And any unhappiness or hurt of our time will be gone-forever.

We may at times be scared and hurt, but Jesus is here to comfort us right here, right now, because He loves us! It’s not over. We need not be afraid and we need to give all of our hurts to Jesus. For He loves us and will help us in our time of need!

Our life on this earth is but a moment compared to our Forever Home In Heaven. And there will be no more hurt or fear in Heaven. Choose Jesus , He will never let you down ?