“Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For Certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 3 NASB).
“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Tim 4:2-5 NASB).
Are you prepared to contend for our faith? Jude and Paul both thought very strongly that we should be prepared at all times. Have you ever been called out, or put in a place to where you had the chance to either stand up and defend the gospel, or to stay seated, and silent, as we have all been so guilty of as a church these past few decades?
I found myself in that very position the other day at work. I am a paramedic, and I work at a plasma donation center. I am truly blessed to be able to interact, talk, and witness to so many people about the truly remarkable way Jesus saved me, a horrible sinner, and the changes He has brought about in my life.
As I was setting up one of the machines for someone to donate, the gentleman next to me donating already started to spew his vitriolic word vomit about how the Bible is a book of lies, written by just ordinary men, and that none of it is true—quite loudly, I might add. I immediately turned to him and asked him if he had ever read the Bible. As it turns out he had not, but knew it to be a book full of stories that were simply not true.
I told him that I had actually read it cover to cover more than once, and not only was it the Truth, and nothing but the Truth, it is the most verified and authenticated text in the history of mankind; that it is the inspired and God-breathed Word. My supervisor quickly came over and quashed what would have been a, at least civil on my part, discussion about the gospel, and said it was neither the time or the place to discuss such things, to which I disagreed.
But the gentlemen in question, in seeing that I knew and lived what I spoke of, no longer wanted to discuss the matter, and put on his headphones to tune out the world. But that got me to thinking. Not only was I the only person in at least two dozen that stood up in defense of my greatest Hope, but I was astounded by the realization of the fact that the gentlemen in question had no interest whatsoever in hearing the Truth. He was choosing right then and there to believe a LIE! It broke my heart. These Scriptures I quoted at the beginning of this writing immediately came to mind as I contemplated over lunch about the events in question.
How many of us that say we are Christians and followers of Christ are prepared to defend the gospel? How many of you reading this have read, know, and hidden in your heart the Word of our Lord to where you are prepared to defend it, yourself, and your faith in and out of season.
I am troubled by the thought that probably not many are. But I can assure you what was proven to me is that the enemy is prepared and is actively attacking the Truth, and trying to put out the Light.
Brothers and sisters, it is well past time to wake up and get into the fight. This world is not our best life now. We have a duty and a calling to tell others of our blessed hope, of the sacrifice that Jesus bore on the cross for mine and all of our sins, and that this world is falling apart at the seams. We are in a lawless state of condition.
The signs of His return are all around us, and fewer and fewer are standing up and answering the call. I know that it is a difficult thing to comprehend, the decline and fall of our country, the place we have known as our home our whole lives. But the way things are going, the focus is clearly turning towards Jerusalem. The stage is set, the orchestra is ready, and the curtain is about to go up.
I personally believe that we will not be raptured out until the very last second before the Tribulation, so that all that may come in will come in, and the fullness of the Gentiles is complete. God is merciful and patient and not willing that any should perish. But I have a pretty heavy feeling that things are going to get pretty bumpy from here on in the States before the rapture happens. Are you ready? Are you prepared to defend the faith, to preach the gospel to any and all that will listen when things start to get difficult?
If things do take a turn for the worst, and things start to go downhill like I think a lot of us are feeling they will, we need to be prepared for the masses that are wondering what is going on. The harvest here is ripe, and ready for the gleaming. And I feel that harvest time is almost upon us. I for one am standing up for that call and doing all I can in these last darkest of hours to save as many as we can, to show people that Jesus loves them, that He died for them, and that He is the only Way, the Truth, and the Life.
It is time to dance before the Lord like David did, and not be ashamed of Jesus. He is coming, and He is coming so very soon. I want to be one of those who is looking up for His appearing.
If you do not know Him as your Savior, I will provide a link below to a place that tells you about Him. [1]
I love you all and am praying for us all daily.
Maranatha! Yeshua, come quickly. We need You!
Endnotes
[1] http://www.allaboutgod.com/the-roman-road.htm
email contact: bigfudge1981@gmail.com