Tag Archives: Genocide of Christians in Nigeria

Upheld By The Word of His Power

27 Thursday Aug 2020

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free bing sky now the end begins

2 Peter 3:10-14,“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.”

More and more often I find myself in grief over all that is transpiring in this world, the absolute madness, the carnage, the devastation, the pain, the suffering. Since the Fall of mankind these things have been with humanity. But, something is different now. Things are suddenly intensifying and accelerating. Even the persecution of Christians has gotten dramatically worse. It seems to be open season on all called Christian. In China those in authority are withholding checks from the elderly and sick if they do not worship their president; they are also taking children from Christian parents and threatening to place them in reeducation camps. In Nigeria roving shepherds are slaughtering Christian families who are often betrayed by their neighbors. In India they are beating up Christian ladies gathered for prayer, usurping church buildings and placing their idols in them, and killing others. In America they are threatening pastors and churches that dare to obey God by meeting with fines and imprisonment and even bulldozing.

Indeed, it is just like Romans 8:22-23 says, “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.” Everything is “groaning” which in the Greek means that what is deep inside comes out with frustrated moaning, compressed feelings of grief or anger or desire are vented. Like a tea kettle must let off steam because of the intense pressure inside, and a woman in labor groans in childbirth, we as Christians, and I definitely recently, have been sighing, groaning, weeping over the intense pressure coming upon and from within the world. For the entire earth and all of creation, from continent to continent, from ocean to ocean, from nation to nation, all is simultaneously travailing in great pain. It is everywhere. And I am feeling it, and my spirit is crying out internally and via external emissions.

Have you been feeling this too?

So, what is going on? Two things: A great transition from the kingdoms of this world to the Kingdom of our God, and…. the earth is passing away. The earth passing away is the topic of this article.

Second Peter 3:11 expresses this well when it says, “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved…” In the Greek language, to be dissolved means, “to be loosed, released,” and has a secondary meaning of “destroy, annul.” At first glance, any reader or student may shake their head at the definition of “loosed, released,” but in that definition is great significance!

You see, Jesus holds all of creation together. In Christ the Creator everything created coheres, consists, is adjoined, stands together.

Colossians 1:15-17 reads, “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”

Hebrews 1:3 declares the profound truth in this statement concerning Jesus, “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high…”

In science there is the big question, what is it that holds an atom together? They explain it as a force. The scientists at CERN are attempting to blow this “force” apart in order to open a portal, to see what is on the other side of the portal. They are unsure what will lie beyond it, and they fully acknowledge that destruction could follow. But, they are unconcerned about that, and are undaunted by such possibilities. After all, their mascot is Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction, who dances upon the ash heap of a fallen world.

But, God has not placed the destruction nor the creation of this world into the hands of a bunch of blood drinking, occultist scientists at CERN, or any other person for that matter, not even the inventors of the atomic bomb. The end of this world will in no way look like the 1959 movie “On The Beach” wherein man wiped out mankind with nuclear weapons.

Why? Because Jesus is keeping everything from flying apart, holding it all together with His word. Think about that!! The force called gravity or electromagnetism, in all actuality, the powerful word of Jesus. Jesus is holding it all together not with His hands, but with His word!

But one day very soon… Jesus will let it all go… and the heavens and the earth will pass away and “shall be dissolved” (2 Peter 3:11-12), which means that everything will be “loosed/released” from the word of Jesus’ power, and everything will liquefy from fervent heat and be annulled.

And thus, the earth and all of creation is groaning collectively and simultaneously and is growing old and wearing out. Psalm 102:25-27 explains, “Of old hast Thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of Thy hands.26 They shall perish, but Thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt Thou change them, and they shall be changed:27 But Thou art the same, and Thy years shall have no end.” The earth is tired and worn out. Just as the physical body of a human being ages significantly through the years, even so the earth has aged and is elderly now and is worn thin like an overused piece of cloth.

Because the earth and all upon it is dying and destined for destruction, the Apostle Peter reminds us that we are to become all the more focused on living godly lives that are completely God-focused and God-centered. Furthermore, we as Christians are to be expectantly anticipating and eagerly desiring the coming of the day of God – Jesus’ return! We are called by God via Peter to expect and anticipate this, and therefore, are to be all the more zealously eager to be found, after intense inspection, to be blameless, without flaw, and with our minds kept in perfect peace in the sight of our great and awesome and holy God is who is an all consuming fire! (Deuteronomy 4:24; Hebrews 12:29).

Think about this one thing a moment: “that ye may be found of him in peace.” This is the peace of God which passes all understanding that will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7). This is the peace that Jesus promised to leave with us that was not like what the world gives (John). This is the peace of Isaiah 26:3 which comes to those whose minds are “stayed” on God. This is a peace that holds us together even as the world and everything in it is falling apart. Jesus is returning for His own who are unshaken, undaunted, and at rest as they abide in Him. As Psalm 91:1-2 powerfully says, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust,” and Psalm 27:1, 3, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?…Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.” In what will King David the psalmist be confident? That the Lord is his light and salvation and the strength of his life and that there is no need to fear. This is that peacefully confident state of mind that God wants to find His Bride in when He returns! He does not want us burdened and weighted down in our thinking with the anxiety, worry and cares of this life (Luke 21:34).

A woman of God and fellow Christian named Joanie Stahl who has a channel on youtube, went hiking in the woods with her husband for a few days at the end of May 2020. I don’t recall if this “get away” was preplanned, but either way, she needed the time to clear her head and hoped to hear from God. She kept asking Him different questions about the issues of the pandemic, face masks, test swabbing, lock-downs, failing businesses, the collapse of the economy, the vaccine, etc. She wanted His direction on what to share with others for their benefit. And then… God spoke. Essentially, as I recall, God said to her regarding everything she’d asked, “That’s not going to matter.” She was puzzled. How was it possible for it not to matter? It was affecting everyone’s lives and causing everything to be disjointed and out of sync. But God kept saying over and over to her in the time she was camping that “that’s not going to matter,” and finally, “all those things are not going to matter anymore, forever.”

I want to encourage us today. Everything that seems too big to us such as losing our job, schooling our kids at home, whether or not we have to wear a mask to get our groceries, who will win the election, or even bigger things like intensified persecution of Christians in every nation and the new world order being established worldwide right now via this pandemic, is not as big as it appears.

First of all, I want to remind you regarding the Goliath of our personal problems, God knows what we need even before we ask Him (Matthew 6:8). Remember? God clothes the lilies of the field more beautifully than rich King Solomon was ever arrayed (Matthew 6:29). And He promises to provide for our needs according to His riches in glory (Philippians 4:19). So, why are you worrying? Why are you so focused on the problems of life when God is so much bigger? And remember too, it’s all passing away. Nothing we are going through now compares to our eternal weight of glory (Romans 8:18; 2 Corinthians 4:17)!! Second of all, regarding the Goliath of the new world order, remember what God said in Psalm 2 to the nations and peoples and leaders of the world gathered in unity overthrow God and His Anointed One. God in heaven laughs and holds them in derision!! And He warns the proponents and conspirators of this new world order to kiss the Son lest He be angry and perish in the way when His wrath is kindled but a little! (“The Time is at Hand: Psalm 2 and Where We Are Right Now,” https://holylight4u.wordpress.com/2020/07/10/the-time-is-at-hand-psalm-2-and-where-we-are-right-now/). And thirdly, when it comes to persecution, Jesus guaranteed we’d be persecuted and that we are blessed when we are persecuted (Matthew 5), that His grace is sufficient, His strength made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).

So, I encourage myself and the Christian who is reading this, let’s set our minds on things above and not on earthly things (Colossians 3:2). Take off the glasses of this world, and put on an eternal perspective. Let’s make sure our minds are full of peace, that our lifestyles and behavior are holy, and that we are eagerly anticipating the return of our King, our Beloved, our Bridegroom, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord! Jesus is coming soon!!! Shake off your depression! Refuse to be anxious! Get up, Bride!!! Make sure your garments are white and wrinkle free, that your oil is full, that your lamps are trimmed and burning, that you are fully awake! This world is not our home! Stand up in elation and triumph and lift up your heads, for your redemption is drawing near!!!!

Sources:

https://biblehub.com/interlinear/

Joanie Stahl, “E277 Heaven Land Devotions – Something BIG Is Coming,” May 27, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/atch?v=tlLQ4uHfL3Y

“China Seizes Children from Christian Parents, Threatens to Send Kids to Reeducation Camps,” July 26, 2020, https://www.christianpost.com/news/china-seizes-children-from-christian-parents-threatens-to-send-kids-to-re-education-camps.html

“Chinese Government Orders Low-Income Families to Abandon Their Christian Faith or Lose Financial Aid,” July 2020, https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2020/july/chinese-government-orders-low-income-families-to-abandon-their-christian-faith-or-lose-financial-aid

“China Orders Christians to Take Down Images of Jesus From Homes,” July 20, 2020, https://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2020/07/20/china-orders-christians-to-take-down-images-of-jesus-from-homes/

“China Withholding State Aid from Christians Who Won’t Worship Communism,” July 20, 2020, https://www.thenewamerican.com/world-news/asia/item/36442-china-withholding-state-aid-from-christians-who-won-t-worship-communism

“The Ignored Genocide of Christians in Nigeria,” August 19, 2020, https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/08/ignored-genocide-christians-nigeria-raymond-ibrahim/?fbclid=IwAR1GrdEQQ2eZVJ-5KeioeOmwXAKd7ulGegO2HmwWMGXD216LJaKoEaLVU_Q

“Christian Persecution in America Has Arrived,” July 21, 2020, https://holylight4u.wordpress.com/2020/07/21/christian-persecution-in-america-has-arrived/

“Chicago Threatens to Bulldoze Churches for not Complying with Coronavirus Orders,” July 15, 2020, https://patriotdailypress.com/2020/07/15/chicago-threatens-to-bulldoze-churches-for-not-complying-with-coronavirus-orders/

“‘Whatever Means are Necessary’: Chicago Threatens to Close Church that Defied Order,” May 26, 2020, https://www.christianheadlines.com/contributors/michael-foust/whatever-means-are-necessary-chicago-threatens-to-close-church-that-defied-order.html

“Four Christian Women Hospitalized After Brutal Attack In Northern India,” August 17, 2020, https://www.persecution.org/2020/08/17/four-christian-women-hospitalized-brutal-attack-northern-india/

“Hindu Extremists In India Viciously Attack Christians While They Pray,”  August 20, 2020, https://www.bibliatodo.com/En/christian-news/hindu-extremists-in-india-viciously-attack-christians-while-they-pray/

“Christian Families Endure Constant Threat Of Attacks By Hindu Radicals,” August 14, 2020, https://www.persecution.org/2020/08/14/christian-families-endure-constant-threat-attacks-hindu-radicals/

“Church in India Set on Fire by Suspected Radial Hindu Nationalist,” June 15, 2020, https://www.persecution.org/2020/06/15/church-india-set-fire-suspected-radical-hindu-nationalist/

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