Enduring to the End
The Lord woke me up today (September 24, 2012) at 4 am to share this:
We Christians follow the only religious belief system in America that is not tolerated...because ours is the only one of which satan is afraid. There is no other name by which a man or woman can be saved - except the name "Jesus".
Therefore, the man-made religions created by Mohammad, Krishna, Buddha, science fiction writers, atheists, agnostics, humanists, child molesters, worshipers of drugs, perversion, and on and on will be encouraged and celebrated.
Only one belief system will be hated: real Christianity...because real Christianity is based upon total reliance upon...hence REAL worship of Jesus the Christ, God who came to be with us.
The End is not here but draws ever more near. The beginning of the The End was signaled by the death of Jesus on a Cross in A.D. 33 and His resurrection three days later. Things have been heating up for Christians for some time. They seem to be getting harder. Churches in other countries and even in America are being burned, suicide bombers are striking Christian churches...and now the American government is seeking to censor Christian ministers to tell them what they can and cannot preach at the risk of losing their tax exempt status.
Things are heating up.
It was for times like these that Jesus said this:
Mark 13:5 And Jesus, answering them, began to say: "Take heed that no one deceives you.
Mark 13:6 "For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and
will deceive many.
Mark 13:7 "But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet.
Mark 13:8 "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows.
Mark 13:9 "But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will be brought before rulers and kings for My sake, for a testimony to them.
Mark 13:10 "And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations.
Mark 13:11 "But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.
Mark 13:12 "Now brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.
Mark 13:13 "And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
Choose now to "endure to the end." To "endure to the end" simply means to "remain".
Set in your mind that no matter what happens you will REMAIN an active and vocal disciple of Jesus. Have in your heart your plan for what you will do when someone threatens you in exchange for you renouncing your belief in Jesus - the One True God.
Then, if it comes down to that....live your faith...your total dependency upon Jesus. TRUST Him.
If the government where you are takes away the tax exempt status of your church or ministry, give anyway.
If the system shuts down your building, meet anyway in your homes, in the marketplace, in the streets, parks and in the forest.
If your leaders are arrested for teaching the Word of God and guiding in ways they believe the Lord is leading, support them. Step up and take up the reins where they had to drop them.
Pray anyway even if it is forbidden by man.
Love one another in meaningful ways.
Trust Jesus.
“And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” (Mark 13:13)
YOU WILL BE SAVED. You will be saved, healed, preserved, delivered....protected. It's a promise from God, the only ONE who really has ever kept all His promises.
“And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15)
We will serve the LORD.
The thing is the end that is drawing near is not a surprise. He has given us a heads up AND He has given us the grace, power and peace to withstand it. We don't have to drum up the strength to endure. We only have to focus on Him and let His strength do it.
And boy does He have strength!
So, what do we do now as the end approaches? Stand, don't be deceived, don't be distracted, and don’t forget to breathe, smile and stand up straight.
Maybe most important, we should love one another. I mean active love. Build and strengthen relationships. Not just with words but with interaction, activity, sharing, serving, talking and listening.
Take inventory of the assets the Lord has provided to the body through each of us for each of us. Work out and practice scenarios.
Do daily exercises to build up our physical, emotional and spiritual muscles, not just individually but as a team, family, community, body.
Plan, prepare and execute a difficult project. Then, in shared exhaustion, we can rest recoup, and laugh having gained new depths of trust, respect and confidence to work together on the next even more difficult task.
The end is something to look forward to. Not something to fear. We are privileged to be here now, to represent Him at this crucial time.
We don't have to; we GET TO!
Now, having said all that, I’m going back to bed. Its 4:45 a.m. I’m going back to sleep.
I am entirely at peace. The Lord has me and you in the palm of His hand. When all is said and done, we will be saved.
Let us endure for Jesus’ name sake. WE SHALL BE SAVED.
Rest well.
Mike McInerney
Mike McInerney Ministries, Inc.
© September 24, 2012
"Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things." (2 Timothy 2:7)