We are in the times that the Bible calls
Perilous Times in 2 Timothy 3:1-5. These are strength reducing times: times
when people turn away from the truth, vulnerable to every wind of doctrine and
not given to sound doctrine. They are dangerous times indeed! We are in a time
that even the mighty are falling away from the truth on a daily basis. One of
the things that is quite worrisome in these times is the denial of the Person
of Jesus Christ and His works amongst believers. There is so much that God has
put within us that we must give expression to in this times. The reason why a
lot of people deny Jesus Christ as Lord is because of the love and preservation
of self. Let’s see an example in the Scriptures, Psalm 78:9 – “The children of
Ephraim being armed and carrying bows turned back in the day of battle.” The experience of the children of Ephraim is
being re-enacted in this times. People are running away from challenges or
taken over by the troubles they are going through. God never promised us a
problem free life, rather, He promised to be with us every step of the way. He
admonished us not to lose heart because He has already overcome the world. Thus
with this in mind, we are to enter every battle as victors and conquerors
because the battle had been fought and won by our Lord. What we are only seeing
is a physical manifestation of a finished spiritual work. God expects that
every challenge or trouble we face should make us stronger than the way we were
before the challenge. The men of Ephraim lost out of their eternal inheritance
because of their cowardly act. It is naïve and a great delusion for us to think
we will not go through these challenges, we forget that every word of God
released or sent to us will be tried. When Jesus Christ came out of the water
during His baptism, the Bible says that the Heavens opened and God the Father
said: This is My Beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased.” A few verses later we
heard the devil say to Christ: “If You are the Son of God…” The devil has
continually used the same pattern ever since the beginning. Thus, we are in a
battle field and the devil is the enemy. The reason why so many fail and fall
in the battle is because they didn’t prepare for the battle in the first place. Friend, you don’t prepare
for battle on the battle ground but you make your preparations before you get
to the battle ground. How could a people who were armed for a particular battle
flee from before their enemies? Nothing offends God like a man turning his back
to run in the face of battle he was prepared for. No wonder Revelations 21:8
lists cowards as the first set of people that will not inherit the Kingdom of
God. In 1 Peter 2:9, the Bible said we have been called to show forth the
praises of Him that has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.
This goes to show that we have been called out of something, in this case,
darkness into something which is light. When we live our lives as though we
were called out of something into nothing it is an affront to God. It is time
to be awakened to the consciousness of the fact that God has called us for a
definite purpose to showcase His power in our lives. Proverbs 24:10 tells us
that “If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.” My friend,
we are in a battle for our souls, to win we must be firm and strong. God has no
delight in any one who draws or shrinks back (Hebrews 10:38). We have been
called to hold fast to the word of truth and righteousness. Remember that there
is no reward for the man that started but didn’t finish the race. In Revelation
7:1-8 when the children of Israel were numbered, Ephraim lost out because they
did not hold on. Can you see that backing out of this battle will not only cost
us our lives but equally our eternal and glorious inheritance as well? How will
it be when the roll call is called in Heaven and your name is missing because you
never stood for God in the battles of this life? It is time to cry for mercy
and return because we must win and we have been created to do so! Can you
humbly pray this: Lord help me not to turn away from the battles you have prepared
me for and forgive me for the instances that I turned my back in the face of
battle. Restore and forgive me because I don’t want to lose my eternal and
glorious inheritance in You in Jesus Christ name, Amen! Take charge my friends!
"So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.” Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me” (Isaiah 6:5-8). As the Coming of the LORD draws ever closer, there is an increase in dryness, apathy and preoccupation with the world and its treasures in the hearts and minds of many children of God. Looking around our Nation (Nigeria), one would realise that things are not as they should be. The realities on the ground give the impression that the institutions that ought to regulate the lives of the citizen...
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