Are You Ready?

"But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God." Acts 7:55


While Stephen was being stoned by the religious leaders in Jerusalem he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Acts 7:59 Luke said, that Stephen "saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing (at God's right hand)!" Stephen was clearly serving God no matter what the cost, he was truly "full of the Holy Spirit."


I have been asking the Lord lately to reveal to me what he wants me to do for Him and His Kingdom and although he is silent on the specifics he continues to reveal to me that there will be troubled times ahead. He has given me Jeremiah 13 and 17 as well as Revelation 2 (the "persecuted church" as his words to me. He is clearly reminding me of difficult times ahead for the Body of Christ. These are the days of Noah and we will all need to have the strength that Daniel had in his faith if we are to persevere.


In my study in the Book of Acts, the Lord has made it abundantly clear to me that what Stephen suffered because he chose to tell the truth of the gospel, is an echo of what life soon will be like even in America. Today, verbal stones are constantly being hurled in our direction. The congregations of many denominational churches are shrinking. I believe there will be a day in this country that many Christians will have to seek the underground as they do in China and North Korea. Churches of the future will most likely look like the home churches that were first organized in Stephen's day.

Just as our European brothers and sisters do in England and elsewhere, Christians battle in an increasingly secular society to practice what their moral compass requires even at the risk of their jobs. The rise of socialism and diminishing freedom in the name of societal engineering is driving out ethical behavior and replacing it with moral relativism and a strong centralized government that desires to enslave its citizenry and control every aspect of daily life. The United States is fast becoming a socialist "democracy" with a leadership that is imposing its will upon the people through fear. Christians are the last bastion of resistance and the length of freedom's reign in the United States will be directly proportional to our willingness to endure the "stones."

While we stand and pray for our leadership to seek the will of God for our country, we are preparing ourselves for a spiritual battle unlike we have ever experienced. The Spirit-filled Christian will be the last man standing in a war against tyranny.

Are we ready to take the persecution?

Do we have enough love for Jesus and our fellow man to stand up for what we believe and speak the truth even when the rocks begin to reign down on our heads?

The time is now, to man up and serve the God who loved us enough to hang on a cross so that we could spend eternity with him in Paradise. Lord, give us the strength to endure to the end, like our brother Stephen.

I'm in! Will you join me!