No Need for Despair

The Wake-up Herald

And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof. Romans 13:11-14

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Robert McCurry, Editor & Publisher
July 2, 2013
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No Need for Despair

It is well for Christians to remember, in times when great moral tragedies arise to discourage us, that the basis of our faith has not changed. Anthony Kennedy, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen Breyer cannot overturn God’s definition of marriage. Regardless of what federal benefits sodomite couples may receive, or taxes they may pay, or documents they can proudly wave, no man is married to another man, or a woman to another woman. God long ago defined marriage, and He also defined their lifestyle as an abomination. And, lest we should forget, He is still the same LORD that changes not.

It does become easy to get discouraged when we see the wicked boasting themselves, glorying in their great power, spreading themselves like a green bay tree. The wicked seem to be getting their own way at every turn. They get their legislation, their stars get all the earthly riches and popularity, the courts consistently rule in their favor, while striking blow after blow at righteousness, and further marginalizing God’s people to the point where active persecution is a very definite possibility.

But let us never forget that word of Holy Scripture, “The triumphing of the wicked is short.” Their hatred and persecution Christ’s sheep is in reality not a demonstration of their power and malignity, but it is “a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God.” Thus Paul wrote to the Thessalonians. And he shortly after uttered words of unspeakable solemnity, but of very definite comfort to the Lord’s people: “And to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power.”

We are far from the first set of Christians in the world to face the enmity of the world. Many in other places know the hostility of Satan and his minions in far greater cruel detail than we ever have. Moral decline, apostasy by professing believers, persecution of Christ’s church, has been the norm rather than the exception throughout history. It is true that the world has never seen such a morally stunning development as “gay marriage.” Nevertheless, we may know that these enemies of God and righteousness will as surely suffer the same miserable fate as have the Caesars, the Roman bishops, the socialist dictators, and other persecutors of Christ’s lambs.

Let us, then, not be troubled that we see the wicked boasting themselves, and sodomites proudly strutting their new “rights” in public to the admiration of the media, the president, and many of our congressmen. God’s king is still on His holy hill of Zion, and these avowed enemies of His scarcely realize that their boasting, reveling, and triumphing over the defenders of public decency is in fact tragic evidence that they have been given over to judicial blindness by an indignant, holy God.

As I was praying today, that last clause from Proverbs 1:32 came to my mind: “… the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.” It seems illogical to the natural mind, but the true believer knows that the very worst thing that can happen to a wicked man, or a wicked culture, is to prosper in their wickedness. They shall, the scriptures say, eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. The time shall come when they will call upon God, but He will not answer. Rather, He will laugh at their calamity, and mock when their fear cometh; not because He is vindictive and sadistic, but because “they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord.”

Surely, God has set this reprobate culture in slippery places, where their feet shall slide in due time. We ought not to tremble on the precipice of despair, when we are pained by the victories that the forces of wickedness are winning in our society. When we come into communion with our God, we will remember their end, and thank and praise the King of heaven that He did not leave us in our blindness to be partakers of wrath and judgment with them.

Sam Ashwood |:http://wp.me/p2gt8d-fW

Wake-up, Pastors! Wake-up, Christians!

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The Wake-Up Herald is published by Robert McCurry. The publication is designed to exalt the true God of the Bible, the Lord Jesus Christ, and inform, inspire, and challenge its readers regarding biblical truth and real-life issues. The contents are the sole responsibility of Robert McCurry and do not represent or speak for or on behalf of any other person or group. There is no subscription charge. The publication is a ministry of faith dependent on the contributions of its readers. Contributions are not tax-deductible. Send all correspondence to: Robert McCurry, 605 Moore Rd, Newnan, GA 30263 or herbap@aol.com Remove? Send reply with “remove” in Subject line