Friend,

Are you paying attention? Are you awake or waking up to what’s going on… to the times we’re living in?

With each new day, the signs which point to the time of Jesus’ arrival appear nearer. So much is happening, and at breaking speed, it’s literally difficult to keep up with the fast pace of it all. Sin is not only running rampant… it’s ramped up. Good is now called evil, and evil is now called good by many – not just in America but sadly everywhere – globally.

Unthinkable things – things that never would have been accepted even 10 years ago – are now being embraced and called “normal.” The depravity is off the charts! It should grieve every heart to see all that’s good being dismantled and all that’s evil being elevated and put on a pedestal.

With all that’s happening, it’s as if the pages of Revelation are literally jumping off the pages of the Bible and into our daily news headlines.

Guess what? It seems like that’s exactly what’s happening.

After all, everything God says in His Word is true, and every prophecy either has been fulfilled already or will be fulfilled sometime in the present or the future to a tee, just as He said. All because He is perfect, His words are perfect, His plans are perfect, and His timing is perfect.

Luke 21:28 says, “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”

Just like us today, Jesus’ disciples, thousands of years ago, questioned the timing of Christ’s return.

Matthew 24:3-8 says, “And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.”

I find this thought incredible: Our heavenly Father loves and cares for each of us so much that He has given His perfect Word, with specific detail, so we would know what’s coming. He also says many times in His Word, “Do not fear.”

The Bible, His love letter to us, provides us with wisdom, knowledge, direction, hope, joy, and peace. I’m not surprised but rather in awe that God’s love is so great and His love and care for us so incredibly perfect that He lovingly gave us the Holy Spirit and the Bible to help us navigate through this life. And through both, He encourages us, guides us, loves us, and helps us.

This is just another example of His great big love. He planned everything perfectly. He has perfectly provided all we need to live victoriously for Him in this life.

Despite all we’re seeing, the times we’re living in, we’re told to trust in our Savior and to not be afraid. We’re told to keep our eyes on JESUS.

Are you, in the midst of all that’s happening, keeping your eyes on JESUS?

Are you fully focused on Him and what He’s calling you to do?

Are you totally trusting Him, or are you trusting in other things?

Are you clinging to Him, or are you clinging to the things of the world?

I’ve realized (like Peter, when he was walking on the water toward Jesus) that if I focus completely on Jesus, I feel a sense of peace and confidence. But the minute I take my eyes off Jesus, like Peter, I begin to feel fearful at all I see around me and start sinking like a rock.

Something I know to be true is just how incredibly important it is to not take my eyes off Jesus. No matter what I go through, I have to keep reminding myself that my Savior has me in the palm of His hand, and because of that truth, I am going to be okay.

And you, too, are going to be okay.

I also know that no matter what I hear on the news or what I see going on in this depraved world, God wants me to keep my eyes on Him and to do all I can to serve in the years, months, days, hours or seconds that I have left.

And God wants you, too, to keep your eyes on Him and to do all you can to serve in the years, months, days, hours, or seconds that you have left.

The signs are quickly converging and are consistently coming.

Our time on this earth seems to be running out.

In these final hours, the mindset of every believer needs to be,

“Don’t Walk… Run!”

Run!

Do all you can now for others. Do all you can now for the Kingdom.

Take off your walking shoes and put on your running shoes.

And RUN!

The faster things are happening, the more we need to pick up the pace.

Each day is one day nearer to Jesus’ return for his bride, and that day could be any day now.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 reminds us of this wonderful time to come: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”

Time is ticking fast.

Do all you can now, friend.

Don’t Walk… Run!

spate.holly@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

As we get closer to Christ’s return, we are seeing a greater rise in compromise within churches. So many have become the poster children (to a tee) for the Laodicean church the Bible describes.

Many today just want their ears tickled. Many are content to seek a place where they can socialize, grab a cup of coffee, listen to a feel-good message, and be entertained. What’s that called?… seeker-friendly? Not all, but more and more churches are looking more like the world and accepting its philosophies and ways.

Aren’t we called to be salt and light? Aren’t we told to be in the world but not of it… to separate ourselves? If so, why are so many so quick to want to emulate the world? Why are so many so enamored with mimicking what the world does? Christians should stand out from the world, look very different from the world, because we’re called to not be like the world.

1 John 2:15 says, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

Something that greatly bothers me and grieves my heart is how “celebrity” has been ushered into the church. Worship services feel more like entertainment than true worship. It’s hard to get into the right mindset to worship the Savior when the worship leaders on stage seem more like they are performing and trying to soak in the limelight rather than fade into the background and point people to Jesus.

And, the loudness! So many churches crank up the decibel level so incredibly loud that even earplugs can no longer serve as protection.

How loving is it to harm people’s hearing so that the church can provide some “experience” that they deem important or that they feel they must provide to compete with other churches? Isn’t looking out for others important? Isn’t protecting one’s health and well-being important? Isn’t pointing others completely to Christ with every action and decision important?

One would think celebrity in the church and among Christians would be clearly understood to be wrong. Celebrity always casts a shadow… it elevates someone over God. It is IDOL WORSHIP!!! If we truly love God and want to obey Him, we have to reject all aspects of “celebrity” both in the church and outside of the church.

These verses are very clear:

Exodus 20:1-5 “And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.”

Romans 1:25 “Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.”

Matthew 6:24 “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

Matthew 22:37 “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”

In a nutshell… the church is not called to compromise. Christians are never called to compromise, and everything we do should point to the Savior, not ourselves and not others.

There are some things in life that are gray and some that are black and white. There are things in life that may require a question mark and other things that undoubtedly require a period. Celebrity in the church is not a gray area; it’s clearly black and white, and it’s wrong… period.

It is very sad to see compromise creeping in. Because, with every compromise, the light we’re called to shine grows a bit dimmer.

Several years ago, I felt moved to write about the topic of celebrity and how it’s crept into the one place it should never be… the church.

https://www.raptureready.com/2019/08/03/servants-not-celebs-holly-spate/

I hope this article, shared many years ago, will stir your heart to pray for our churches. Because He, our great Savior, deserves all our adoration, awe and praise!

spate.holly@gmail.com