“Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come fearlessly into God’s presence, assured of his glad welcome.” Ephesians 3:12.

You’re experiencing periods of depression because you feel you’re not worthy of God’s free gift of salvation. You’re terrified God might send you to hell even though you’ve said yes, to Jesus Christ. You’re in constant fear because you can’t accept that God would allow you to be saved since your motives for being saved are only to avoid an eternity in hell. You’re living a defeated Christian life.
Above are some common concerns generated by some of the readers of my past commentaries. Mostly these kinds of feelings are submitted by new believers, but occasionally even the lifelong believer can come to a place where they too feel defeated.

Fears and doubts, ups and downs are commonplace in the lives of believers. I say this so you won’t feel you’re all alone. As we grow in our knowledge and understanding of God’s word, the lack of worthiness and sometimes overwhelming fear about losing our salvation mostly dissipate. Those who neglect a Bible study routine can expect the enemy to use these doubts and fears, frequently leading the believer into a life of defeat.

Depending on where you are in your walk with the Lord you may still be in a position that many refer to as a “babe in Christ.” I hated it when a mentor of mine referred to me as a “babe in Christ” but as I grew in the Lord I came to realize what he meant. He wasn’t trying to berate me or make me feel insignificant as a member of the Body of Christ, but as a new believer I still had a long way to go to grasp the deeper meanings of God’s Word.

I believed and read my Bible, but I wasn’t studying my Bible. As such, my understanding of His word was, for the most part, superficial. I couldn’t see all the falsehoods that were at work around me, many of which were right in front of me where I worshiped.

At times we all experience lackadaisical emotions concerning our Christian, and then other times we seem to be on fire for the Lord. This rollercoaster ride of emotions diminishes over time, and depending on your frequency of Bible study will determine you’re being on fire for Jesus or simply in a rut of apathetic indifference.

The sin nature which we all bear in our flesh is a drag on our emotions. Believers, for the most part, want to do everything right and yet many times we fail. It’s not easy to cast all the old things away, all the sinful things we were into while we were unregenerate (lost). What we’ve all had to learn is how to say no to the flesh.
The apostle Paul was no different than any of the rest of us when it comes to overcoming the sin nature. Just look how he struggled.

“ For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do” (Romans 7:15, 18-19).

Even Paul, a mighty man of faith, could not overcome the sin nature by himself. So what do we do? Continue in sin? By the end of chapter 7 Paul gives us the answer: “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”

I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” Romans 7:24-25. Our flesh is at war with our spirit, for this reason we will continue to sin. The only way to avoid sinning is to be rid of these fleshly vessels. But we won’t be separated from them until we die or we’re raptured.

When it comes to believers, Satan has a specific agenda. His agenda is to do everything he can to disrupt the believer’s life. He does this by stealing our joy in the Lord. Before we were born again we belonged to Satan. Even though we may look like the same person on the outside, inwardly, at least, we are a changed and new creation, in Christ.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Obviously this new arrangement doesn’t set well with the enemy. We were Satan’s property and through a simple change of mind (belief and repentance) we now belong to God.

God sealed us with His Holy Spirit at the instant we first believed. That’s why we now belong to Him. That seal can never be broken – not by you or anyone else. All the hateful, prideful, scornful, pitiful emotions the enemy will bombard us with or that we may be laying on ourselves can’t change the fact that we have been justified in God’s eyes.

Of course the enemy of God now becomes our worst enemy ever. Becoming a new creation “in Christ” only adds fuel to the flame which is the enemy’s distain. Satan has always hated humanity, but those who belong to God are hated many times over.

The enemy is a deceiver and he’ll endeavor to convince you that you can do all the sinning you want since you aren’t, and can never be, worthy to be called a son of God. If we fall for that lie we may slip back into a rebellious state standing against God until we come to the realization that it was only our enemy’s lies that we’ve been listening to.

A great example that points to a believer’s security is the parable of the prodigal son. (Jesus’ parable begins in Luke 15: 11). The story begins with a man who had two sons. The youngest grew restless and asked his father for his inheritance so he could go out and experience all that the world had to offer. His Father relents and gives the youth his inheritance and the boy goes out from his Father’s home and begins to live a riotous lifestyle, with drinking and all forms of perversions.

Finally after exhausting his entire inheritance he ends up working for a pig farmer (which for a Jew would be the lowest of low) where all he gets to eat is the pig’s leftovers. When he comes to his senses the young man returns to his Father’s home ready to plead for his Father to forgive him.

What the young man didn’t understand is that even though he had left his Father’s home he never lost his Father’s love or the relationship he enjoyed by being his Father’s son. He was only out of fellowship with his Father (A place of defeat because we allow doubt and fear to rule and reign over our lives).
We read that his father rejoiced when He saw His son approaching and He ran to welcome him back with open loving arms. This parable is proof that once we become sons of God we cannot lose our sonship (salvation); no matter how far we move away from God all believers remain forever His children.
If that boy had died in that pig sty before coming to his senses and returning home he would not have lost his sonship (salvation). Once we belong to God we are His forever. Whenever a born again believer in Christ goes through a period of rebellion he/she is only depriving themselves of God’s fellowship. Instead of living with God they are living with the pigs.

There are verses in the Bible that will haunt you if you take them out of context or if you determine their meaning to be different than what they were originally intended. Never allow anyone to tell you God can lose His grip on your soul. That person has definitely misinterpreted the scriptures
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Romans 8:14).
In God’s eyes a son is a son forever.

Our enemy Satan and his demonic hoard delight in erecting strongholds such as doubt and fear in a believer’s life and they are relentless in their efforts. But Paul tells us:

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds” (2 Corinthians 10:4).

Satan will never stop his attack on believers but the enemy strongholds can be defeated. Only through God and His word is the believer given weapons to demolish satanic strongholds. A major stronghold that the enemy will exploit is an attitude of defeatism in a believer.

“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

The devil can’t stand it when we open our Bibles; as we begin to rely on the word of God, Satan flees. God gave us life and He wants us to live that life abundantly. But if we live life so abundantly that we neglect God or we relegate Him to a position of insignificance, or we allow the enemy to build those strongholds over us, then we will live our life defeated instead of in the abundant love of the Lord Jesus.

It’s an understatement to say the enemy isn’t happy about your decision to follow Christ. Satan considers your change of mind as a defection from his camp. This leads to a battle over the soul of every believer. That supernatural battle rages on all around us.

The enemy is outside of our plane of vision and yet he continually lobs stinging darts at us. You avoid those darts through the study of God’s word and prayer. God’s word is likened to wearing armor and the enemy has nothing in his arsenal that can penetrate it.
The process of being born-again is complete and there is nothing that can add to our salvation, or for that matter detract from it. But justification is only the first part of a three part process. Next comes sanctification. This is of course God’s domain and He is fully involved. God will do His sanctifying in us and through us for the rest of our lives.

God keeps us saved, we don’t keep ourselves saved. That would be as impossible as saving ourselves. Lastly we’re glorified. This happens when we die. At some point after we die we will be given our new glorified bodies and we will live forever with Jesus Christ.

Don’t let anyone tell you that if you mess up and sin you can lose your salvation. That is a lie and completely non-biblical. If we are born again, we are born from God, and God doesn’t have butterfingers. He will never lose any of those He has brought to His Son.

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.” John 10:27-29.
That’s God’s promise to the believer. He knows us, we will never perish, He gives us eternal life, and He will never lose even one believer.

Lastly, and give this final point some serious thought, when Jesus died on that cross some 2,000 years ago, He did it not because He was guilty of any sin but because we are all guilty. We deserve the punishment that He endured. God died for His creation.

Jesus, while hanging on that cross, looked into the future and saw every sin you and I would ever commit, and still He died for us. Man did not take our Lord’s life from Him, but God gave up His life so that we could have life.

“So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit” (John 19:30).

The Greek word which Jesus speaks from the cross is “tetelesti”. In our English Bibles we read it as “It is finished”, but “tetelesti” actually means “Paid in full”. Your sins and my sins as well as the sins of the rest of the world were “Paid in full” when Jesus died on that cross.

Jesus Christ defeated the enemy and sin when He died, was buried, and rose again on the third day. And all anyone must do to receive the covering Christ provided with His shed blood that day is believe.
Defeated? Not hardly.

God bless you all,

Ron Graham

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

It is my sincere hope and my fervent prayer that my brethren are all in the same frame of mind and that they are all, metaphorically speaking that is, looking up right now. We are so close to the return of Jesus Christ that many believers have moved into the position of being watchmen on the wall.

The Israelites had their watchmen to sound the alarm when danger approached and the Christians today have their watchmen who are sounding alarms. Listen to the voices of those who are telling you to get ready for there is no doubt that we are very close to the Rapture of Christ’s church.

Letters from my brethren are continually flowing in concerning the Rapture, and folks are now becoming concerned with the lateness of the hour. Obviously many are now seeing the signs which are beginning to make a real impression on us. Jesus spoke of signs as future history as He sat with His disciples. He fully explained the end times scenarios which were to unfold.

We can read all about them in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. As we read those chapters the light begins to shine on us. What do those chapters say to those who are watching and waiting? Read them and at the same time read current world events and you’ll come away thinking the Bible was written yesterday.

The signs Jesus addressed would begin gradually, and increasingly those very same signs would appear to be even more severe, ultimately bringing their frequency and severity to a raging crescendo of catastrophes. And what do we currently see unfolding before our very eyes? The beginning signs Jesus told us to watch and be mindful of. Remember, Jesus said that when they begin to appear “look up”.

Right now, and each day from here until the Rapture, the signs Jesus spoke about will become so numerous and intense that it will be impossible to keep up with these events as they rapidly unfold. We can see that we are currently standing just this side of the seven year tribulation period.

Speaking for myself, I can hardly wait to get up in the morning to see what has transpired overnight with my country and world events. I know the signs are emerging exactly as Jesus foretold. I’m not frightened by those signs, no, not at all. Instead I’m encouraged and even excited with each sign that unfolds.

Those of us who follow Jesus Christ were given our history lesson in advance for one reason, so we would know how very close His return is and put forth a definitive cry of warning to those who are still lost.

As we watch world history unfold around us we are to prepare ourselves for the inevitable, “…then look up, and lift up your heads…” Luke 21:28.

But it is more important that we share the gospel of Christ as never before. Believers in Christ must not allow themselves to be muted, but clearly and concisely—speak the truth to all who are perishing.

So, what are the signs before the Rapture Jesus spoke about?

Let’s take a look at a few of them, sign by sign. First of all we read:

“Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.” (Luke 21:8)

We’ve seen the damage wrought by those who’ve falsely declared that they are the Christ, and through their deceptive ways many have been led astray. Clearly not everyone has heeded Jesus’ words. We aren’t going to stop these deceptions from occurring but we need to be on guard, ever watchful, and ready to confront deceptions.

Second, we read:

“But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by.” (Luke 21:9)

Jesus basically tells us that these are non-signs. Not to get all worked up over rumors of wars and even full blown wars when they take place because they are ever constant and somewhat predicable, they’ve always been numerous as well as frequent, so essentially they’re non-signs.

In three of the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus lays out a scenario that pretty much details the future of humankind.

“Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake.” (Luke 21:10-12)

Surely we’ve all witnessed, either by reading about them or being there firsthand, great earthquakes in many different (divers) places. They are increasing in intensity and frequency, and apparently, according to many scientists, we haven’t seen anything yet.

All of the above mentioned signs Jesus prophesied are going to open up for many to behold in the last days, but for the believer in Christ we will only see the beginnings of these signs.

“And when these things begin to come to pass…” Luke 21:28. “Begin” is the key word here; believers won’t be on earth for the brunt of the action.

“Nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom.” This, too, is currently in the making and can be somewhat unnerving as we read about all the saber rattling. And Israel is constantly being blamed for every little skirmish.

Certainly, we are currently witnessing around the globe and within the boundaries of many nations, turmoil, nation against nation, their own citizenry rebelling and fighting in the streets, many are being slain and many more are being injured, and for what? Because their governments, in many cases, have cut back on the handouts people were accustomed to receiving.

It takes money and lots of it to withstand the turmoil besetting the world, and this world’s economy is very much at risk of failing. The U.S. economy is teetering on a knife edge; watch for the turmoil of aggressive demonstrations beginning to occur here in the states in the not so distant future.

The unrest now surrounding Israel due to the flotilla incident is a worldwide phenomenon; the hatred is obvious in practically every nation. This unrest will continue and worsen as the days progress. Most of Israel’s enemy’s are arming themselves to the hilt.

They have one purpose in mind, one agenda, and that is the annihilation of Israel. Their only reason for living is to eliminate Zionism from the face of this planet. God says in His word to pray for the peace of Israel and we should be doing so daily. But we also know that God’s hand is upon Israel and He will not allow the annihilation of His chosen people no matter how many come against her.

“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.” (Zechariah 12:2, 3)

The Scriptures are clear, and they point out that every nation will come against Israel and that God will destroy them. Seemingly, since all nations wish to curse Israel and to do so without fear of God’s retribution, believers should be keenly aware of just what’s around the corner.

Every nation is going to be in the mindset of destroying Israel; clearly those who faithfully follow the Savior of the world should be looking up.

Earthquakes, pestilences, fearful sights, great signs from heaven will only be as a prelude for those of us who are in Christ to be witness to. But for those folks who remain on earth after the Rapture, they will witness the full force of all those prophetic catastrophes.

Besides all the news on the national and world fronts which clearly indicate the last days are upon us, and that we should be “looking up,” there’s a strange spiritual, supernatural side unraveling before us. Jesus also tells us of a great apostasy (falling away from the faith) in the last days.

This phenomenon is quite pervasive. How do I know? By the many letters I receive concerning the inability of many believers to find a Christ centered, Bible believing congregation where they can attend worship services. I can tell you all, that the apostasy Jesus speaks about has now infiltrated many a Christian church worldwide.

When these things begin to come to pass?

My brethren, they’ve begun. Our days on planet Earth are clearly numbered. As such, those of us who are diligently following our Lord Jesus Christ and His commandments—should be in the midst of the unsaved sharing the gospel of Christ with them, praying for the ones we’ve spoken to who are fence setting, and looking up intently as our “redemption draweth nigh.”

God bless you all,

Ron Graham