As I write this second installment, I find myself greatly challenged by the words at the close of Part 1: "Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless." (2 Peter 3:14) I am so glad that the way I am to be found by Him is not dependent solely on my efforts, but that the key is to be found in Him.
Thank God that's settled, and I hope that you can say the same thing because you are in Him (Christ). There have certainly been enough things unfolding on the world scene this past week to upset anyone's peace. I'm so glad that the peace Jesus offers is separate and distinct from the peace which the world offers (John 14:27). I am sitting here in the comfort of a nice home office; my wife is getting a headstart baking Christmas cookies; my 12 year old Lab is sleeping at my feet recovering nicely from surgery and the world seems quite peaceful.
However, I just spent the last hour checking in with some reliable sources who present the news with the insight that comes with a biblical world view. It should come as no surprise that most of that news is not peaceful. In Matthew 24, the first birth pang (also the first bud on the fig tree) which Jesus mentions is deception promulgated by false Christs and those who come in His name. (v. 4-5) Interestingly, when the first seal is opened on the scroll in Revelation 6:1-2 there is revealed the rider on the white horse, marking the arrival of The False Christ. Three clues as to who he is are in his appearance: 1) he rides a white horse - Jesus the true Christ rides a white horse in Rev. 19; 2) he has a bow with no arrows which represents conquest, but not by brute force at this point; and 3) he is given a crown, which represents authority.
Today, false Christs are everywhere. Just look at some of the things proposed by large religious bodies (which represent authority) this past week, plus one example of a person suffering, in the church, because she repented of sin.
1) The World Council of Churches has endorsed and has urged all of its members to the Climate Change Council meeting in Copenhagen, December 8-13. There is a treaty proposed by this council, which President Obama appears to be in favor of. If it is signed by the USA, this would go a long way towards the loss of our national sovereignty.
2) The National Council of Churches USA and World Church Service has noted that God has called them together to proclaim the gospel and restore justice to the world. The concern here is that this is just a further advancement of the social gospel and a slipping away from what Jesus commanded in Matthew 28:19-20.
3) The Mormon Church surprisingly endorsed 2 ordinances passed by the Salt Lake City Council, making it illegal to discriminate against gays in housing and employment.
4) Abby Johnson, the former Planned Parenthood director who became so troubled by the sin of abortion during the 40 Days for Life Campaign that she quit her job and has become a pro-life spokesperson has come under heavy fire from an unexpected source - her own St. Francis Episcopal Church.
Those are just four of many signs in just one week, all pertaining to the first birth pang and the first bud on the fig tree. Jesus, in his long-suffering grace is calling the church to repentance and to be restored to her first love.
"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." (1 John 2:15)
Until next time........be encouraged by Christ
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