When He opened the third seal,
I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.”
So I looked, and behold, a black horse,
and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.
And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying,
“A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius;
and do not harm the oil and the wine.”
(Revelation 6:5-6 NKJV)
For God has not given us a spirit of fear,
but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
(2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV)
By Bruce Porter
I’m turning 59 this month. Honestly, I don’t feel old, but people my age always seemed so ancient to me when I was in my 20s and 30s. I can only say that with the passage of years, God has continually shown His grace and mercy in my life, and I can confidently say that only by His grace I remain on this earth. During my sojourn, I’ve learned a few things, perhaps only a few really useful things, and I’d like to share one of them with you.
The most important thing I’ve learned is that nothing in this world is truly reliable. Nothing in this world can give you true security, peace, or lasting comfort. I’ve learned that we must lift our eyes much higher than this world for that sort of thing.
Since I was in my early twenties I was called by the grace of God into faith in His Messiah Jesus, or Yeshua as He was known by His early followers. I did not come willingly. I resisted His call for a time, and fancied myself more than capable of running my own life and taking care of myself, thank you very much. In short, I liked very much being my own god in my own universe. I despised Christians who tried to “witness” to me about Jesus, or tell me I was a “sinner.” After all, as god of my own universe, I absolved myself of all wrongdoing, and besides, as a highly developed primate what did I care about imaginary ‘heavens’ or ‘hells’ since I was the final judge of all reality and ‘truth.” (NOT) Although my atheist friends like to tag me as ‘religious,’ I do not consider myself so. I’ve just faced TRUTH, and His name is Yeshua.
Truth… Now that has a way of being a terribly annoying thing when you’re busy making up reality according to your own opinion, isn’t it? Truth also has a tendency to knock the SNOT out of you when you can’t avoid it, and run into its brick facade! In the end, I lost the battle, and God, (the real one) was the victor. It really wasn’t much of a ‘battle’ since the outcome was already pre-determined, but I’ll leave that for another blog.
I’ve learned that beyond the door of TRUTH (and surrender to it) there is yet another door… TRUST. Specifically, I am speaking of TRUST IN GOD to lead, guide, order, and determine not only the events of our lives, but also the days of our lives, and the end of our lives in this world. You see, I’m completely convinced that all there is is not all that is seen. Stated less mystically, our time and sojourning in this present world are only a small part of a much larger span of life and existence that we have scarcely begun to fathom. Jesus promised us eternal life, and yet, how many of us cling to this present world as if it were the only existence we will ever know.
All this to say, brace for impact pilgrims. The world around you is about to come apart. Your life, your security, your possessions, your comforts, and your plans are about to radically change. I used to be able to ignore this to some degree, but the evidence all around me, and the witness of the Spirit inform me that we must actively, sincerely, and deliberately put ourselves into the mighty hands of God with TRUST. Certainly what is coming in terms of painful difficulty is not the end of the story! The birth pangs of an expectant mother (I’m told) feel sometimes like the end of the world, but they are only part of a process of life. A new life is coming forth, and God has a plan for each of us.
The following video may be frightening to those whose hope is set on this world. I cannot apologize for sharing it with you, because I believe it is the truth. Some will try to discount it as so much fear-mongering by a worldly man who just wants to sell newsletters. However, before you blow him off, or give into the temptation to marginalize me or anyone else who cares enough about you to share this, I beg you to consider the follow scripture:
And the lord commended the unjust steward,
because he had done wisely:
for the children of this world are in their generation
wiser than the children of light.
(Luke 16:8 KJV)
What can you do with this information? First, have a long and sincere conversation with God. He led Joseph in wisdom just as He gave wisdom to the early believers on numerous occasions after the fall of Jerusalem. He will also lead you and I. I cannot tell you what to do, and wouldn’t want the responsibility of giving too much advice. You need to hear from God. The most important thing is don’t walk another step in denial! Get your instructions, and ACT, not in fear, but in FAITH. It’s pretty simple really. In all cases, however, STAND AGAINST A SPIRIT OF FEAR that is coming upon the whole world. Act in diligence, wisdom, and faith, but never in fear.
