Simple Thoughts

I was discussing martyrdom and suffering with my husband the other day, then the conversation shifted to Good Friday. And a thought occurred to me. Why is it that in the American church, we come together on Good Friday, and we discuss the sufferings of Christ – we may shed a few tears thinking of what He did for us, and may express our thankfulness – but we totally miss what Jesus is looking back at us and saying… “Yes, I did that for you. But I want the same from you!” We completely overlook suffering – the fact that we are called to share in the “fellowship of His suffering” (Phil. 3:10). He told us to take up our cross and follow Him (Luke 9:23). He told us to go to the nations and make disciples. He didn’t say, “Go to the safe nations to make disciples.” As Americans, we have been thankful for our “safe” Christianity. But here’s a question… if Christianity is safe, convenient, and lacks persecution & suffering, are we really living like Christ has asked us to? Are we b...

I was reading Daniel 7 this morning. While reading about the end time saints, the antichrist’s prevailing against them for a time, and the ultimate victory of the Lord’s judgment in favor of the saints, the Great Teacher made a connection for me. The Holy Spirit whispered to my heart, “Mordecai.” Suddenly the parallels began rushing into my mind. Mordecai, Queen Esther’s uncle, was influential in the saving of his people. Check this out… Mordecai, which means “Warrior”, was hated by Haman, which means “Magnificent, Illustrious”, because Mordecai would not bow to Haman. The end time warrior saints will be hated by the Antichrist, who will appear magnificent to the rest of the world, because they will refuse to bow to his idol and to his kingdom established on the earth. Haman made war on the Jews because of Mordecai. He commissioned the King to write a law that would allow for the annihilation of the Jews and for the plundering of their possessions on a certain day. The Antich...

2Ti 1:7 - For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. I read this verse today. And thought of child birth. After all, I am 30 weeks pregnant. Fear is not of God. But power, love and a sound mind is of the Lord. It's almost like thinking about the pain of prophesied crisis, or future end times tribulation, or martyrdom. Expected pain. I went to get my blood drawn today. I HATE getting my blood drawn. I think because you are sitting there waiting on the pain to come, expecting the pain and then bam! They stick you with a needle to draw blood, and you look away and bear it, gritting your teeth until you are done and have given enough blood. Expected pain. I don't like pain. I guess I don't know anyone who does. But it's the expected pain... or more so, the expectation itself of that pain that seems painful. I suppose when it boils down to it - it is truly a fear of the pain to come. But God has not given us a spirit ...