Good morning,
Passing the terror test!
When God made the earth and filled it with all kinds of life, He also made it a place of testing for those who would be given human life before they would be given eternal life or eternal punishment. God made the world a place of beauty and love and safety and eternal life but He also allowed his arch enemy, Satan, to offer the human race a life based on their selves, their control and their success. God made sure that every generation would have the choice of knowing and loving and believing Him. Satan’s favorite tools have been giving the need for the right of personal pleasure or the threat of losing control of life, or facing terror and death. Now that we are at this time of history we find our whole world facing terror and death in some very powerful ways. I believe that this challenge is allowed by God to test and reward people for their genuine love of God or to be outed as enemies of God by the intensity of the terror they are facing. For those of us in God’s family it is our opportunity to Never Give Up in time as we prepare for our eternal life with the family of God.
We will Never Give Up if, We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don't try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this.(2Cor.4:2) By contrast Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don't understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.(v.4) God’s children have a very different outlook. You see, we don't go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus' sake.(v.5) While the world around us is terrorized in darkness, We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.(v.7) While the people in the world around us are doing their best to control themselves and everyone else around them, it is clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.(v.7) What makes the world around us hate us even more is, We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God.(vs.8,9) For those of us who are in God’s family we know that God has said, "I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”(Heb.13:5)While the people around us who belong to Satan are terrified by the possibility that they will die and maybe go to hell, We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. ((2Cor.4:14)
The truth about God’s family is, That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. (v.16) While the rebellious people around us feel overwhelmed by wave after wave of terror, God’s family know that, our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!(v.17) We must remember that if we are really going to pass God’s test for each of us, we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen.(v.18) As God’s children, He will help us to keep remembering, For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.(v.18) Dear Lord, Please help us to remember what you have promised us, to do our best to live and love like you do, and to feel a deep sorrow for those who refuse your love and who hate us because we will not stop loving you.
2 Corinthians 4:1 Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up.
Roy Wisner
