My sisters who are mothers: We remember well what we endured before the birth pains began. Our bellies were swollen to near explosion, our backs were in constant pain from carrying so much weight on our fronts, we could not stand, sit, lie or walk in comfort...and we cried out: "Please God, no matter how much it hurts, LET THIS BABY COME!" That's where we are today. We "Pre-Tribs" are waiting to be delivered from the rest of the prophecy of Matthew 4. Many of us are not waiting without taking action, for "the night comes when no man can work". (John 9:4) What we know as believers is that a screaming, angry child is about to be born. ...and his equally angry twin is coming with him. Maybe they are on earth now, or are just beginning the slide down their mother's birth canal, but they're coming: the Anti-Christ and the False Prophet."Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful". I Corinthians 4:2. Our nation was birthed by people who rejected the false prophets who put them back under the Law and murdered their fellow believers who wrapped themselves in the blanket of the New Covenant. These Pilgrims worked hard, fought hard, depended upon the God that had rescued them from the tyranny that had come upon the Church of England. Hard-won affluence resulted, but then, because of the fallenness of man, greed followed and their descendants enslaved hundreds of thousands of innocent people in order to increase their riches. That score has never been settled. ...yet. After greed runs its course, and it is, our country is caving in on itself as poverty sets in. God is judging this nation. (An FYI: "Replacement theology" declares this: The church has supplanted God's promise to Abraham: "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great and you will be a blessing. I WILL BLESS THOSE WHO BLESS YOU AND WHOEVER CURSES YOU I WILL CURSE." GENESIS 12:2,3. Our Awesome God will not stand for His decrees to be chucked aside by our nation's leader.)
I have no degree in Psychology, but that does not seem to be an issue with couples(some Christians, some not) who call, ready to separate or divorce from not being able to achieve "oneness" with their marriage partner. I have run out of patience and boldly ask: "Did you have sex before you were married? Yes? Are you willing to face your sin head-on, confess it to one another, then to God, ask forgiveness and receive His cleansing by the shed blood of Christ? No? You see that question as irrelevant to your not having oneness in your marriage? ...then call another counsellor!"
My dear teenagers who gather on Thursday to study the Word will have no excuse if they choose not to "flee sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore honor God with your body." (I Corinthians 6:18-20).
We will spend Thanksgiving with the couples and children who are left in my family. We will grieve that our Pappa and brother/son/uncle/dad are not at our table, but rejoice that they are free from all the inevitable consequences of our sin that face this nation. Let me remind you once more: SEE TO IT THAT YOU ARE NOT ALARMED! Hide His Word in your heart, but PLEASE DON'T HIDE FROM THE REALITIES THAT ARE CLOSING IN ALL AROUND YOU. PUT ON YOUR ARMOR AND FIGHT!
Jo