Posted on July 21, 2023 by Elizabeth Welte in Freedom Fighters
“But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” Daniel 12:4 (NKJV)
A lot has changed in the sixty years that God has given me to exist. My first 12 years had been spent in Philadelphia where I was surrounded by relatives from what was called “The Old Country.” I had great and regular grandparents who were from Ireland, Italy, and Scotland, their accents were hard to understand at times but I feel privileged that it was part of my growing up. Hearing stories about where they were from could be heard from time to time around the dinner table. You could tell they missed where they were actually from but they made it clear that they had accepted their new home with gratitude. Oh, before I forget, they did make going to church part of their lives.
There’s a phrase out there that goes something like this, “back in the day.” I hear that a lot as well and it’s said as with a melancholy kinda tone. I get it, my generation (and others as well) wishes we could have what we had back then, kinda like my great and regular grandparents saying the same around the dinner table. So, given that little analogy, I think it is safe to say that wishing for the way it once was has not gone outta style yet. Although for some of us, me included, that had made a mess out of their lives and needed the salvation provided for us by Jesus Christ we take a “not going backwards” approach to living and we make being the church part of our lives.
But we’re all living in a world that has become faster in its moving towards its own end and one of things that can be said of it is that we can get instant information to it from the search engines provided for us by the world wide web whenever we want. The internet has brought us to a point where it is safe to say, out loud, that God already saw this coming and that a captive named Daniel, (who probably wished for the old days in the old country as well) would have an encounter with the archangel, Gabriel, concerning visions to the time of the end. Until then, take a gander at those seven churches in Revelation and see where you are now. Hmm…
“Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.” — Daniel 12:10
I don’t believe that God intended for us to live in a world of fast-paced confusion. I mean there wasn’t any disorder in the Graden until disobedience happened and God had cursed the very earth that He created so that mankind understood the struggle towards holiness is real. But God is holier beyond holy in the grand scheme of all things and He calls out mankind in big way by saying, “The way of peace they have not known, And there is no justice in their ways; They have made themselves crooked paths; Whoever takes that way shall not know peace.” (Isaiah 59:8) You almost wanna ask why we are acting like six billion ants scurrying around trying to outdo each other at every turn when living holy in His peace is supposed to be the actual goal.
Jesus was clear about this as well when He said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27) At every turn you’ll find one of the three in the Godhead tell you not to be troubled or afraid and yet mankind would reject this peaceful way of existence for a world full of hate and discontent. What we need to do, individuality, is reject the idea of confusion, which the official seal of Satan’s society, and turn to The Cross of Christ. Bold statement maybe, but putting it into motion, may not be that easy. Some of us would rather stay busy by keep up with the Joneses, that ain’t good either.
I don’t think it a bad idea to look “back in the day” and see what could have been now that you have more insight into what went wrong. However, somethings cannot be fixed that simply so moving forward is a better alternative but the way in which we do this should be God ordained and God honoring. Anyway…
Over the next few contributions to the Freedom Fighter devotional blog, I hoping to cover what it commonly known as “The Rat Race” and by way of introduction I hope you got that sense today. Until then I pray that you take what Jesus has said about His peace and keep it hidden in your heart. Amen?
Written by Chris Hughes: Chris is a child of El Elyon, a son, a husband, and a father. He has an education in Biblical doctrine and is a graduate of The Colony of Mercy, 11/2003. He has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008. You can email him at cphughes515@verizon.net.
Think About This: “Compromise will take the pressure off. Satan will not bother a man who has quit fighting. But the cost of quitting will be a life of peaceful stagnation. We sons of eternity just cannot afford such a thing.” — A.W. Tozer
The Daily Bible Reading: Isaiah 29-31. You can download our 2023 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here.
This Week’s Verse to Memorize: “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Hebrews 4:14-15
Consider a retreat at America’s Keswick retreat center.
