Temptation Escape

2Th 3:3  But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.

The LORD is faithful.

The LORD is TRUSTWORTHY.

The LORD will establish us.

The LORD will keep us from evil.

1Co 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

God is FAITHFUL.

There is a way to ESCAPE, to keep from sinning blatantly.  The way to escape is placed there so we can BEAR being tempted.

 We will NOT be tempted above that we are able to endure- if we take the way of escape offered to us.

We cannot escape if we do not take that way made for us to escape. We can try all our own methods of escape but they will all fall flat and we will give in to the temptation. The ONLY way to bear being tempted and not succumb to it is through the way of escape that GOD is faithful to make for us. 

trouble comes when we look for our own escape routes shunning the way made for us. We do that all the time, don't we? We have a little voice inside us that convinces us that we should NOT deny ourselves whatever tempting sinful offer is being made to us. That little voice is accompanied by many others- one who tells us that we are too weak to overcome, another telling us we are hopeless, while still another tells us we are only human and what else can we expect.  You know those voices, you have those voices inside you working against God, the voices that would have us keep our eyes, our minds, focused on ourselves at all costs because those voices know that as long as we are looking to ourselves we will not see the way of escape made for us-the way of escape that tells us things like this--

Heb 12:4  Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

And this--

Joh 8:11  ...Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

And this--

1Jn 2:1  My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not…

And this--

Rev 12:11  And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

And this--

1Co 15:34  Awake to righteousness, and sin not…

And this--

Psa 119:11  Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

The way of escape.  We all know about fire escapes, right? They put them on the outside of buildings generally so people can escape a fire inside the building and not perish.  As a rule people who live in buildings with fire escapes know where they're located- what room they're in, what window they are outside of.  If a fire erupted they'd know where to go, right? What good would that fire escape do if they chose to go to a different room, a different window where there was no fire escape? It wouldn't do them any good at all to try and go somewhere else, try as they might- they could even go to the windows but no magically appearing fire escape will come into view. They'll have condemned themselves by choosing their own path and not the path of the fire escape, right?  Some would call it ludicrous to even imagine trying to go where you know there is no fire escape, and it is, it's totally ludicrous. Yet we all the time try to go where there is no escape from sin rather than go to the way made for us to escape.

What was that last verse-  Thy word have I hid in mine heart -  why was the Word of God hid in the heart?  That I might not sin against God.

The Word of God in our heart.  A way of escape!  How often when temptation comes your way do you look to the Word of God? Seriously?  That first inkling of temptation presents itself and you …. do…what?  First of all, that temptation isn't going to be quiet, remember those little voices that accompany temptation? So what do you do, you're under attack by temptation, do you stay put and listen to the voices of temptation? Have you been suddenly paralyzed? No, your limbs still work. Do you rush to get your Bible all the while humming loudly some Christian song that will hopefully drown out those temptation voices? Where is your focus?

Temptations are REAL and POWERFUL! Those voices won't be drowned out easily! We are fighting a SPIRITUAL battle that is REAL. The sword the enemy may wield could be a bottle of alcohol, or a recreational drug, or a prostitute, or the television tuned to sinful shows, or a chocolate cake and a 1/2 gallon of ice cream, or a fuse of anger ignited and simply ready for you to take over and go with the flow, or it could be a streak of jealousy, of covetousness, you name it the spiritual enemy we are at war with has an entire arsenal of your most powerful temptations at his disposal and he's not afraid to use every single one of them.  We need to recognize the power of the enemy and temptation, not ignore it. We need to recognize it for what it is, a SPIRITUAL POWER poking at us trying to get us to walk HIS path, not GOD'S! If he can poke and prod us into his path we are lost.  God makes a way for us to escape every temptation, we won't be tempted above what we're able to endure, this is a fact! It doesn't say God will take temptation away, that you will never again be tempted, if anything the word of God tells us that we are going to face more temptation the closer we are to God.  Satan doesn't need to tempt those that are comfortably his, he doesn’t need to waste effort on those he has, but he has to expend a lot of effort going after those he doesn't have and the only ones he doesn't have are those whose hearts belong to God, those who have CHOSEN to LOVE GOD.

It's no joke that you'll face your greatest trials and tribulations the closer you come to God.  So many Christians falter and flail about when they are put to the test, their first line of defense is to BLAME God for allowing their trial, their temptation, their tribulation, Satan LOVES that!  That weapon of Satan's is one he has honed to perfection- he whips it out often and whispers it into our minds conveniently so that we do NOT focus on going to God for help but rather blame him for needing help at all.

Temptations are REAL and POWERFUL, I'm saying it again! These are REAL and recognizable things. They aren't things that just pop up out of no where and are something we've never imagined. We've fallen to our temptations so often that we know them, but we fail to recognize our need of an ESCAPE. We'd rather just face temptation when it comes around and hey, sometimes we'll succumb and sometimes we won't, sometimes we're strong other times we're not. Do you see the flaw in that logic? We need to be prepared- we NEED to know where our FIRE - our TEMPTATION escape is!  We need to KNOW that there is a temptation escape and that is the WORD of God hiding in our hearts! That's CHRIST hiding in our hearts! That's HIS WORD TO US! The SWORD of the Spirit of the Word of God!  We have armor, we have an escape, we have weapons, we have everything we could possibly need when we HAVE a REAL, LIVING, BREATHING relationship with our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!  When we TURN to God and look away from ourselves and our own failings, our own weakness and to HIS STRENGTH, that is our HOPE! JESUS !

2Th 3:3  But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil.

PRAISE GOD! PRAISE OUR LORD! He will establish us and keep us from evil!!!!!!!

All glory to God!

For all men have not faith

2Th 3:1  Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:
2Th 3:2  And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.
Unreasonable and wicked men.
We don't want to believe they really exist, do we?  I mean, we know they do, history proves it and so does our daily news. We know wicked and unreasonable people are alive and well walking the earth but we cannot judge their eternal life. And just because we cannot point a finger and judge another doesn't mean we can't be aware of the wickedness going on. We are told here that 'ALL MEN HAVE NOT FAITH'.
If a person does not have faith they don't believe in God and our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ- right?
It's a fact that not all men have faith. I know several that have no faith by their own admission.  Are they horrible, wicked people? As a rule, no, at least not to my knowledge. Yet that is exactly how Satan wants them to appear isn't it? He wants those who do not believe to appear calm, reasonable, and not at all wicked.  He's changed his strategy time and time again and will continue to do so to fit the needs of the present time. When our Savior died and rose, and went to heaven promising to return again, this threatened the current leadership in the churches of the times. Church leaders were FURIOUS and reacted by having the Christians tortured and killed.  These were truly unreasonable and wicked men that had no faith.  And in MANY places today these same types of people exist and they are killing and torturing and making the lives of Christ followers horrific. Yet in my little world I don't know a single person who is out to kill or torture Christians, not one. 
The Apostle wanted to be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men.
The Apostle pointed out that 'all men have NOT faith'.
Today those who live in my type of world - without any real, visible persecution from unreasonable and wicked people- have to be alert as well because the enemy surrounding us is spiritual and our Christian battle as real as anyone's.  All men do NOT have faith, all people do NOT have faith.
I say it again- the nicest person in the world isn't saved by their niceness. The sweetest person isn't saved by being sweet. The most seemingly loving person in the world is NOT saved unless that love is a genuine love which can ONLY stem from God! If the most loving person outright denies God and Jesus Christ, can they be saved? Do they have faith?  
God KNOWS their hearts and ONLY God. Their mouths could be professing one thing while their hearts are professing another. We see it ALL the time with men of faith professing their faith and then committing grave sins- their hearts filled with filth while their mouths speak of perfect peace in God.
Truly only God can judge, and we are to pray to be delivered from any that would hinder our own faith in God no matter what they appear to be.  God knows if they have faith in Him, God knows.
We need to be kept from deception, we need to be kept from the wicked who would have us lose our faith.
Please LORD help us. Help ALL those throughout the WORLD who are suffering under the wicked and unreasonable people who have NO faith in You! Please this is our prayer that Your word may have free course, and that Your word may be glorified! Please God help us, save us from the evil in this world, keep us from the evil, please. We live in desperate times as Satan grows angrier and angrier knowing his time will end and he will be punished and then exist no more.  The closer to Your coming to take us Your people home with You, the more horrid this world grows. Keep us in YOU LORD, always!

 

Belief of the Truth

2Th 2:13  But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth

We all are CHOSEN from the beginning to SALVATION THROUGH the SANCTIFICATION of the SPIRIT and BELIEF of the TRUTH.

We are chosen just by being born, just by being blessed with the intellect our Savior has given to us or order to make choices, to comprehend truth.  We choose. We make the decision, it is NOT made for us. Salvation is NOT forced upon anyone at all. I've said it before and I know I'll most likely say it again, NO ONE IS FORCED TO ACCEPT SALVATION! You are NOT forced saved. You will NOT rise in the air and meet the Lord against your will! Not a single person will be hogtied and dragged to heaven. You choose! If you choose NOT to be saved it's horrible tragic and heartbreaking to our Savior, but He will always and forever respect your right to choose.

If we CHOOSE to be saved then we are sanctified-made holy- by the SPIRIT and by our BELIEF of the TRUTH.

We do NOT make ourselves holy- but the SPIRIT does that work. We MUST believe, we MUST have faith in the TRUTH.

2Th 2:14  Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Praise the LORD!

2Th 2:15  Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.

Traditions-teachings- and they were and we are taught so much, if only we avail ourselves of the teachings in the gospel of our LORD JESUS CHRIST.  We can't stand fast in something we do not know. You can't live something you aren't learning. I could know more call myself a cook if I never went to a cookbook than I can truly call myself a Christian without going to the WORD of Christ. 

Yes, I could dabble in cooking and come up with all sorts of things, some probably even good, but my knowledge would be extremely limited if I never learned from an outside source.  There are millions of Christians who call themselves that name who NEVER read the word of God, who NEVER study the word of God.  Is it right? Is it wrong? Only GOD can judge, but from what we can read in that Word we are told  we need to hold fast to what we are taught in the word of God.  Whether you read it for yourself, or listen to others, whether your heartfelt prayer is to have the word explained to you by a true source of truth, it doesn't matter, you are SEEKING to be taught of God. He and HE alone knows our heart and our desire, He knows and He will give to us all we need and in the way we need it. We just can't let ourselves be deceived because as we discussed yesterday PEOPLE WILL CHOOSE to be DECEIVED loving unrighteousness!  God help us not be among them!

2Th 2:16  Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,
2Th 2:17  Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.

Such a blessing, may it be true for ALL of us who seek to follow our LORD JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF, and GOD, OUR FATHER-  HE LOVES US!

Deceived

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

The mystery of iniquity- the mystery of sin had begun way back then and it was as real then as it is today. Why don't we believe the Apostles? Why don't we believe the word of God given to them through the Holy Spirit? Why do we choose to ignore the truth in favor of our lies? Because sin has clouded our minds and stained our hearts black.

Sin will continue until it is taken away, it will NOT disappear of its own accord. Sin will not leave quietly, willingly. Sin will need to be taken out of the way, sin and those ruled by sin from the greatest to the least.

2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

That WICKED revealed.
That WICKED will be consume, destroyed by our SAVIOR, and until our SAVIOR returns sin will continue with all it's horrors. The wicked controlled by sin from the impersonator of Christ himself, to the beast whose mark will be placed upon all who do not love the LORD of TRUTH, will continue working. He works today and will work endlessly, tirelessly until he can work no more!

2Th 2:9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

HIM- whose coming is AFTER the WORKING of SATAN- with ALL POWER and SIGNS and LYING WONDERS!

This person who will come is REAL! And it will be a PERSON who will be alive when CHRIST returns! They could not be destroyed if they did not exist.  This MAN will do the WORK of SATAN!  Do we believe in a person like this or have we regulated them to the movies and books, to fables and horror stories? We have, haven't we? Seriously, we've put this evil person on the big screen and we watch him commit atrocities and sometimes we watch him be defeated and other times we watch him continue to live on much to the delight of those who want the sequels where this evil wrecks havoc with people in ways we don't want to believe could ever truly be real. Satan has done his work well, and we could expect no less from him.  He's got most people totally deceived.

2Th 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

ANYONE - that include YOU who are reading this, it includes ME who is writing this, and it also includes everyone else in the whole entire world- anyone who does NOT receive the LOVE OF THE TRUTH, will be DECEIVED by UNRIGHTEOUSNESS, and NOT SAVED!!!!!!!   Only those who LOVE THE TRUTH WILL BE SAVED!!!!!!! 

Loving the truth. How unfortunate it is that so many would much rather believe lies, comfortable, familiar lies that keep their lives filled with equilibrium that they rely upon. The truth is hard hitting and does not wait for us to feel comfort, our comfort is not mandatory to the truth! Yet we think it is. We think we have to like what we hear, that it has to be soothing to our ears, but it doesn't!  We are DECEIVED by Satan! Eve liked the way the fruit looked upon that tree, it was pretty. Eve loved the soft, alluring voice speaking to her. Eve felt comfortable in the presence of evil itself and enjoyed the conversation. People can argue that Eve didn't know it was evil-  ARGUE all they like because the point is, WE DON'T RECOGNIZE IT ANYMORE THAN SHE DID! We listen to the soothing voice, we take in the lies and we like it! We follow that voice and we are DECEIVED!   Why? Because WE DO NOT WANT TO LOVE THE TRUTH!  We choose to love the truth! This is a CHOICE we make. It's not automatic to a single person!  The TRUTH!  We say those words in court- the truth and nothing but the truth- but SO MANY lies are spoken and believed.

2Th 2:11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2Th 2:12  That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

When our conscience feels the prick of unease, when we sense that tiniest bit of something not being quite right, we NEED to listen to it! We need to comprehend that sin in all its PLEASURE will lead to DEATH everlasting and eternal!  That PLEASURE we have in UNRIGHTEOUSNESS will KILL us eternally! No one is going to tell you that sin isn't fun and pleasurable, that'd be a huge lie! Sin is wonderful fun and great pleasure, but it's like poisoned icing placed upon poisoned cake.  It looks wonderful, it tastes delicious, but eating it will ultimately kill you. You might LOVE every bite of that cake, it could be the best cake you've ever had the pleasure of eating, but it will end up killing you. Don't believe anyone who tells you that sin isn't pleasurable, that you can't find pleasure in unrighteousness. You can find all sorts of pleasure in sin.  You can also deny yourself all kinds of pleasure and your sin will be found in your self-righteousness.  We HAVE to ONLY believe in the TRUTH, not the lies that Satan wants us to believe.  Go to GOD, go to CHRIST'S WORD, read it, study it, live it, love it! If you don't love it now LEARN to LOVE, CHOOSE to love it! 

All by the GRACE AND LOVE OF OUR GOD AND OUR SAVIOR HIS SON JESUS CHRIST!

Be not shaken in mind, or be troubled

2Th 2:1  Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2Th 2:2  That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is REAL.

What do you think you'd believe if let's say twenty years after Jesus died, rose, and returned to heaven, you were told that Jesus wouldn't return for just under two thousand more years? Would that shock you?  What if you were told today, right now, that Jesus would not return for another two thousand years? Would it change anything about the way you hope for His return? It's a given that we ALL, every single Christ follower, want Him to return as soon as possible, right? We want the Bridegroom to come for His Bride, which we are! We want the Master to return home for His servants! We long for our Savior to come save us from not just this awful existence we deal with day in and day out, but save us from ALL sin which has created this horrific world. Don't tell me it's not a horrific world just because you are bent on finding the good in it. We can shove on a pair of rose colored  glasses and see the world as something beautiful, because there IS a lot of beauty in the world. But all the beauty in the world does not negate the horrors that make this world NOT OUR TRUE HOME. The beauty of a newborn babe, does NOT negate the horrific death her mother faced when a total stranger sliced open her belly to remove that babe.  Why am I being so graphic, because this is reality. This sort of thing exists in our world. How many beautiful newborn babes have NEVER reached that stage because their mothers have chosen to scrape them from their wombs? How many children are growing up neglected not only physically but spiritually, emotionally, mentally facing a huge void because of the horrors of this world.  I'm not saying we are to be blind to the beauty God allows us to see, but we can't let that beauty blind us to the sin infested world we live in.  That gorgeous flower will wither and fade, that majestic mountain remains and yet how many have lost their lives on it?  Yes, I'm playing pessimist but I'm NOT advocating anyone worry about any of this. We have to face reality, but trust in our heavenly Father to care for us as only He knows best to do.

We cannot be shaken in our beliefs. We cannot be trouble- not by spirit, not by word, not by Biblical books. We CANNOT let anything  move us from our faith in CHRIST.  We cannot let anyone deceive us and many will try. Many like the idea of getting us to leave our faith because they feel victorious, as if they won some contest and brought us back from the brink of unstable thinking. They want us to be grounded in their logic and fact which do NOT require faith. They believe faith is something detrimental to a person because they set themselves up to believe delusions, not reality. They believe in fantasies and not fact. People want to steal the faith of others because they have none themselves. Many will try to deceive us who believe, they won't stop trying either.

Our Savior will come. We don't know when and yes, we've joined the ranks of those who were alive almost two thousand years ago believing the same thing. That day will come and before it comes there will be a falling away…

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God

The man of sin will be revealed-  the son of perdition- who opposes God, who exalted himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped. This man of sin will be as if he is GOD sitting in the temple of GOD, showing that HE is GOD, but HE WILL NOT BE GOD, HE CANNOT BE GOD! He will be a liar, an imposter!  This evil one will be real and many, many will worship Him as if he is God, they will be deceived.

WE CANNOT let ourselves be DECEIVED!  We can let man deceive us, we can, it's within the realm of possibility and we are fools if we think we are above being deceived. We have to PRAY for the protection from deception that ONLY our God can give to us!  We need to desire the truth in all its purity, not sugar coated with deception that will only prove deadly.

It's almost frightening to realize that there will be such a person deceiving those who desire to be God's but not to the point that they desire to believe all His truth with all their hearts. But we are warned! No one is going to be able to say they weren't told, they didn't know, no one informed them. It's right there in God's word for all to see!  His truth is visible, not hidden. It will only seem hidden to those who do NOT truly desire to know the truth. Those who want to be blind will be allowed to be blind, no one is forced to see.

Please LORD help us NOT be deceived by the man of sin,  please protect us! Help us! Love us! Save us, even from ourselves, especially from ourselves and our tendency to seek blindness over the light of truth, because the blindness allows us not to have to adhere to Your truths fully. Please help us LORD.

In YOUR LOVE!

You who are troubled - rest with us

2Th 1:6  Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you

Recompense tribulation to them that trouble you.

GOD will do the recompensing, NOT US. It's NOT our job, not our place to judge. We cannot judge with perfect justice, with perfect righteousness, only GOD can. Our judgment is cloudy and skewed. Even the best of men and women who sit on the benches as judges are NOT impartial. They may claim impartiality, they may claim they stick to the letter of the law without anything else interfering but the truth is even the most minute thing may alter a judges ruling. You might shake your head and say 'no way' they'd be in trouble if they didn't adhere to strict rulings but there is a lot more leeway with judges than people imagine.  It's the SAME with juries.  Juries are made up of 12 average people who are NOT judges and steep deep in the letter of any law. They look at evidence but ALL too often their emotions come into play. Lawyers know all about this. I'm sure you've seen movies about juries and such, and while they are works of fiction they are also based on a lot of truth.  Something a simple as NOT liking the way someone looks can steer a jury a certain way. It's no lie that people on trial are cleaned up good so they don't appear as they would normally, everyday. Our judging, our rendered recompense to those who trouble us is just as faulty because we are basing our judgment on our belief that person troubling us is evil, when in truth we don't know their heart at all. IF they go on unrepentant God will call them to pay for their sins, even the angels will be judged.

Jud 1:6  And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

Am I against trials, judges, and juries? No. We do what we have to do to keep some sort of order in our world, even if our justice system itself is filled with corruption.

Personally we have to know that we cannot expect those who hinder our walk with Christ, man or angel, to be punished now, or ever punished at our hands. We are called to LOVE, not hurt, not use our very fallible natures to judge others.

2Th 1:7  And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
2Th 1:8  In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
2Th 1:9  Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
2Th 1:10  When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.

Our SAVIOR is going to return. This is a FACT.

Our Savior will return and when He returns He will take vengeance- JUSTIFIED IN THE SUREST WAY EVER- on those who do NOT know God, and do NOT obey the gospel of our LORD JESUS CHRIST. The truth is those who choose NOT to know God, those who choose NOT to obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ are making that choice KNOWINGLY, fully aware of the consequences. They are NOT being duped. They are NOT being tricked in any way shape or form. NO one and NOTHING is stopping them from believing, knowing, obeying, but themselves and the choice they make. You hear quite a bit that people don't want to believe in a God like the God they believe our God is, unfair, unjust, unloving, etc.  That's the choice they make, and when Christ comes again and they realize in that instant all the LOVE He has, the TRUE love, LOVE we can barely fathom, they'll understand that that the hardness of their own hearts has condemned them. What a tragedy that will be, a tragedy of their own making, egged on by the evil enemy of God- Satan himself.


2Th 1:11  Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power:
2Th 1:12  That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Please LORD count us worthy of this calling. Please LORD, through YOUR righteousness, through YOUR grace, YOUR love, YOUR mercy!  All through YOU!

Glorify YOUR name in US and US in YOU all according to YOUR GRACE both FATHER and SON!

Please Lord, please.

Worthy of the kingdom of God for which we suffer

2Th 1:3  We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;
2Th 1:4  So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure

You faith groweth exceedingly.
The charity of everyone of you all toward each other aboundeth.
For your patience and faith in ALL your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure.
The righteous judgment of God.
That ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God FOR WHICH YE ALSO SUFFER.

Yes, there are REAL physical persecutions of Christ's followers all over the world. There are also REAL spiritual persecutions of Christ's followers all over the world. In fact, not a single Christ follower can escape the spiritual persecution. The same goes for tribulations, every Christ follower will suffer them, if NOT physically then spiritually and all too often both.

We truly do need PATIENCE in our persecutions and tribulations. They are NOT going to stop coming not as long as Satan walks this earth, right up until the last possible moment he will be fighting with everything he's got to keep us from our Savior.

Imagine the worst possible human being you can, take history as an example, take the fictional movie bad guys-the worst of them. I say the fictional because there is a lot of reality mixed with that fiction. I'm talking the worst of the worst, the most heartless psychopath torturer and KNOW that Satan is a million, trillion times worst than that person in His unquenchable thirst to keep us from God, no matter what it takes.  Does it take a tragedy in our lives- so we blame God? Does it take a natural disaster we accuse God of allowing wrongly? Does it take giving us our selfish, perverted desires so that the last thing we want is the selflessness of God in our lives? Does it take the self-righteous concept that we know better than any God? Tragedy isn't the ONLY source for Satan to get us from God.  Once we are God's though and firmly established in our faith, Satan LOVES to throw trials and tribulations, persecutions at us and they come in many, many forms. We cannot shrug off a SINGLE simple upset as being merely bothersome. We have to recognize the attacks coming at us. If we don't recognize the attacks then we are in danger of succumbing to worse attacks.  Satan likes nothing better than hearing us blame God for even the smallest thing. He knows if He can get us believing the God abandons us, that God is unjust, that God is wrong, that God is hateful, spiteful, malicious, overbearing, etc, then he's won us. He got Eve to believe that God was unfairly keeping something wonderful from her.

2Th 1:5  Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer

Our patience when we endure LIFE and ALL it's horrors and they are horrors, true horrors, true upsets that rock our very core, our patience in all this can only exist because we have faith in GOD'S TRUTH, in GOD'S LOVE, in GOD! We can be counted worthy but NOT if we waver to and fro, not if we doubt every single time we are faced with trials and tribulations, persecutions and awful spiritual attacks. We must believe! And our belief must be manifested in our LIVES. ALL BY THE GRACE OF GOD!

We are so weak, God, so incredibly weak!  Please LORD strengthen us! Help us endure, help us, LORD WE BELIEVE, HELP OUR UNBELIEF!!!!!!! 

Help us be counted worthy of the kingdom of God which we do suffer for as we are put through life's spiritual warfare, and its physical warfare.  Please Lord in YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, not ours, YOURS!


All IN YOU! Always in YOU!