PICNIC SPLENDOR

PICNIC SPLENDOR

                This year’s picnic was about as good as it gets. Beautiful blue skies, long tables loaded with food, people stopping by to watch our graceful dances to the music of Yeshua, clapping and cheering and the blowing of shofars down by the river as one by one, people young and old were baptized into eternity… we hold these scenes in our hearts as heavenly moments. They stand as snapshots frozen in time, like dreams of David and the songs of Zion… like the soon coming reign of Messiah.

                All of this festive joy is painted against a backdrop of suffering. On the horizon loom the rumblings of deep darkness. As far back as memory can take us, God’s people have always celebrated their freedom before a canvas of malevolent darkness and hatred. Riots in the streets of our cities tell us that all is not well. Innocence has been taken and twisted. The fertile fields on a once godly nation now stand in silence, soaked with the blood of history, forgotten and soon to be repeated.

                The pages of our Bibles are filled with prophecies past and future. They tell us of the final conflict, the climactic showdown between good and evil that must take place. Innocent people who only long to dance to the songs of freedom suddenly become enemies of the state. Draconian laws are passed to stamp out such outbursts of joy. How dare we place our faith in one Person who to us stands far above all principalities and powers? How dare we believe in something greater than global politics?

                “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet and upon her head a crown of twelve stars; and she being with child cried, travailing in birth and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns upon his heads.” Rev 12:1-3

                Could it be that we are the man child that is about to be delivered? Do we dare to believe that we are only a month away from the fulfillment of this great sign? Are we just crazy enough to see what others cannot see… to believe that God’s Word is actually real and that we stand on the precipice of that last Great War?

                No one wants to face it and yet the eternal songs of Zion lie on the other side of this great chasm… tantalizing and full of promise… but who shall be able to stand?

                Now, quite apart from the memories of our innocence, a showdown appears on Main Street. What are we really made of?  Is our joy built on clouds of cotton candy, or is there a deeper faith and strength beyond our celebrations? Are we really filled with the Spirit of Yeshua or are we just mimicking the traditions of our ancestors?

                I think we are about to find out and I pray for our people. I pray for the Remnant of her seed, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Yeshua. I pray that we will be strong… that while others are running and hiding, we will be doing great exploits, rescuing the perishing and saving the lost and dying.

                We have a great harvest to bring in. We are called upon to walk in the footsteps of Yeshua and of those who have gone before us. The way of faith is strewn with the casualties of war and soaked with the blood of the saints. Victory is not for the weak, but for those who have learned to wear the full armor and to abide in the secret place of the Most High. After all, it is not a place of hiding, but an Ark of Covenant within our hearts. We are a kingdom of priests unto our God. Our battle gear doesn’t look like the attire of soldiers, but it is mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds. We have come to realize that our war is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and every high thing that has exalted itself against the knowledge of God and we are bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Yeshua. Eph. 6:12, 2 Cor. 10:5

                We will overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony and we will love not our lives unto death. This is, after all, a battle in which it can be said that whether we live or die, we win! And the temporary fears that we face here and now are not to be compared to the eternal weight of glory on the other side.

                So buckle up and gear up my dear friends. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God” Rom. 8:14. And, “If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken our mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in us.” Rom. 8:11.

                These are more than nice platitudes. They are, in fact the weapons of our warfare by which we shall conquer in the mighty name of Yeshua. We appear to be flowing into a convergence, a quickening torrent… a point of no return. Should we believe the prophets, or should we believe those who promise peace and safety?

                We know this; that there shall be in the last days, scoffers walking after their own lusts and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? 2 Peter 3:3, 4.

                “But we have a more sure word of prophecy; where unto we do well that we take heed, as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawn and the day star arises in our hearts; knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of scripture is of any private interpretation., but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” 2 Peter 1:19-21.

                What this tells us is that the holy prophets of old, whether they understood what they were writing or not, wrote it down exactly as the Holy Spirit gave it to them. They did not come back and soften it to fit their own taste. They did not reinterpret it to fit their own ideas, but gave it just as God spoke it. It was written in many cases, not for their own day, so much as for ours. Thank God that they were faithful to His Word, for we now see all of these things coming to past just as they were spoken.

                The days ahead may be no picnic, but perhaps it is time to put up or shut up. Is God’s Word true or isn’t it? Are we His people or aren’t we? Are we more than conquerors through Jesus Christ our Lord… or is truth only fit for picnics? Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Ephesians 6:10. Let’s not hide our heads in the sand… rather let us face these things head on like the Remnant we are called to be.