Our nation is hurting right now. Division and hatred are being spread like pollen during allergy season. My heart is broken for this nation. I’m pleading for our world to band together and come to the understanding of the magnitude of what is happening right now. Matthew 24. It’s getting bad out there and it will only continue to get worse. It’s not black vs white, cops vs civilians, predator vs prey, left vs right. It is, and always has been good vs evil. It’s our job as disciples of Christ to be prepared for the evil that’s coming and to continue showing the love of the Lord to everyone we encounter regardless of our situation, our circumstances, or the amount of evil we are subject to encounter.
Ephesians 6:12 ESV
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Matthew 24:12-14 ESV
12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
I broke down in my kitchen sobbing today. I couldn’t take another headline, another story. Insects plaguing Asia and now parts of India, dams breaking, fires spreading, rioting, political wars, people dying, people lined up for miles in line for boxes of food, millions unemployed, stock market issues, viruses, people wearing masks and being afraid to even talk to one another, people not wearing masks and being jerks about not respecting other people’s space. The list goes on and on and on.
Matthew 24:33-35 ESV
33 So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. 34 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
What takes the cake today is the pure evil displayed in the murder of Mr. Floyd. This is probably the most awful thing I’ve ever seen. My heart breaks for his family. No one ever deserves to be treated that way, to die in that fashion. No one deserves to have their death videotaped. Many are cheering for the arrest of the man that murderer him. I can’t blame them for wanting that. He committed murder. Yet, what I see when I look at him, just as I do when I look at everyone else, is a child of God who is LOST. I see someone who was influenced by the EVIL that is in this world. Can anyone really say that they’ve never done anything sinful? I can’t. I feel for the bystanders, the officers, for the Floyd family, for the entire community. What I see, are children of the Lord who don’t understand who they are born to be on this earth. I see the evil that has blinded the eyes and clogged the ears of so many for way too long. I see someone who needs Jesus, just like you or I do.
Micah 7:18
Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.
Should a murderer go to jail, yes. I’m not defending the officer in any way. I’m just trying to expose the greater issue behind all of this. My spirit wants to scream at the top of my lungs that we are battling evil in the end of days!! People can think I’m crazy and that’s fine if they do. I can’t sit here with good conscience knowing, seeing and feeling what I do without sounding the alarm.
Ezekiel 33:6 ESV
6 But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, that person is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand.
As I sobbed sitting on my kitchen floor, the intensity of the pain impacted every nerve in my body. I was feeling as if my entire body was in the most agonizing pain of my life. I heard the Lord loud and clear “I feel for my children”. Plain and simple. He feels all of our pain and He hurts for us when we hurt. The Lord is yearning to connect with each and every one of us on a personal level to change our hearts and to stop the spread of hatred on this planet. Hatred is rooted with hurt.
2 Corinthians 1:3-8 ESV
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.
The pain began to lift and I felt peace descending all around me as the Holy Spirit showed up with a level of comfort that I haven’t felt in the longest time. As I was breaking down, I felt the presence of the Lord behind me. I almost always see his feet and the bottom of his robe first. As I turned, there He was. My eyes were filled with tears, my nose was all snotty, my hands were shaking and He looked down at me with those eyes that pierce you and make you feel as if you’re made entirely of clear crystal. That feeling of complete transparency, acceptance for who you are, your shortcomings, your flaws, your mistakes, your sins all washed away in one glance. The feeling of every bit of you being loved for no other reason than that you are YOU. That smile that is like that of a best friend and father all rolled into one. One that shows love, laughter, and conveys a never ending bond no matter what the circumstances.
Romans 5:5
And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
That’s Jesus guys. He’s love. He’s understanding, He’s Truth, He’s light, He’s eternal. Once you understand and feel that love, you can’t help but feel it for others and to want to share it with everyone you can. You might not get it, that’s ok, I’m not going to force you to accept my experience as truth. It’s just my duty to warn you, to show you, and to help reveal the truth behind the lies we have all been taught. Seek the Lord on your own and see what He will reveal to you.
John 14:21
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.
John 4:9–10
In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
I stood up and threw my arms around Him, still sobbing. Feeling like I haven’t prayed enough, fasted enough, spent enough time in the word. I felt like I fell into sin with my temper being short with Leah this week. I haven’t done all I could. Some days I can barely keep it together. I didn’t deserve to see Him standing there. I didn’t deserve to hear His voice. Who am I but a spirit in love with the Lord, trapped in a flesh that’s drawn to this world, all because of an Apple. I asked for forgiveness, not only for my sins but for my inability to see myself the way the Lord sees me. That can be a scary thing if you’re not ready to be honest with yourself. If you are ready, reach out to the Lord and ask Him To reveal to you how He sees you. You are a child of the Lord. You are loved by Him to be His love here on earth. To show the Lord to the world. He loves us all, even the murderer, the drug addict, the rapist, the burglar. Now we need to learn to love each other with His Love. Don’t throw stones, reach out your hand instead. You never know when you will be exactly what someone else needs. Moments later He was gone, leaving the reminder that He sees me. Just like He sees each one of you. All of us. The sweet presence of the Holy Spirit never leaves us, we just have to realize He’s always there. Call upon the Lord and be saved, find peace, and love in the love He died for us to walk in.
John 15:9
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love
Psalm 109:21
But you, O God my Lord, deal on my behalf for your name's sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!
Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
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