Now Think On This - Steve Martin: January 2015

Saturday, January 24, 2015

Wearing Down The Saints - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

Wearing Down The Saints

- Now Think On This

by Steve Martin

“'He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One…”

Daniel 7:25 NASU

The devil is constantly directing his henchmen to use any means possible to wear down the saints of God, the believers in Jesus Christ (Yeshua HaMashiach). Their goal is to get us to quit the fight, to lay down our weapons, and to take us out from fighting the good fight that rages on in the spiritual realm. They will use both natural and spiritual weapons of war to push us down, cause us to grow weary in doing good, and keep us from standing strong on the solid, eternal foundational truths of God’s Word.

I became even more so aware of this during a time of personal sickness. The constant coughing that nagged me for days, both day and night, wore me out in my mind, my emotions and my physical being. During a particular night of constant coughing, robbing me of valuable sleep, the Lord was making me even more so aware of the same tactics which the enemy of our soul does use to wear us out. It can be that ongoing pounding at our beliefs, which brings such weariness at times that we become discouraged in the fight and want to give up. That is what the lying accuser of the brethren confronts us with as we chose daily to walk in faith.

In the 2014 movie Unbroken, which portrays a portion of American Louis Zamperini’s World War II endurance – surviving first a plane crash, enduring 47 days in the Pacific Ocean lifeboat, and then living through brutal captivity in the Japanese POW camp - brings a stark demonstration of being beaten down, to wear one out, in the attempt to break the spirit and bring mental surrender. But from a strength that had to come from the Lord, Whom He ultimately accepted as His deliverer, Louis survived.

Today, as the world around us continues in its fast moving plunge into darkness, we see the rise of evil realities being exposed through godless forces. Believers are being left homeless, tortured, raped and murdered, as they will not bow down to the false, wicked god of the destroyer. These martyrs are choosing life over death.

We have these Scriptures from our Lord to stand on from Matthew 24:7-14 (NASU).

"For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

Our faith will be tested. The enemy is increasing his attacks against the Lord’s anointed, to wear us down. But by the grace of God we can endure to the end, and see our God’s kingdom come.

Now think on this,

Steve Martin

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Now Think On This #166 - “Wearing Down The Saints” by Steve Martin

Date: In the year of our Lord 2015 (01.11.15) Sunday at 11:30 am in Charlotte, NC

All previous editions of Now Think On This can be found on this Blog.

Friday, January 9, 2015

Big Picture. Full Picture. - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

Big Picture. Full Picture.

- Now Think On This

by Steve Martin

“You're a fountain of cascading light, and you open our eyes to light.” Psalm 36:9 (THE MESSAGE)

You are surrounded by the forest. All around you is nothing except the dense foliage, with a few streaks of sunlight piercing the darkness. You can’t see much at all and you think this is it. This is the known world.

As the camera pulls back, the forest gives way to a winding river, and then majestic clouds as the view expands higher up. Moving quickly now, you see through the lens a large land mass, surrounded by a huge ocean. Then the round ball of earth comes into further view, followed by a galaxy with massive groups of stars. There is no stopping point to the vastness of the creation.

At times our world we move in seems nothing more than what we can see through the trees in the forest. The daily routines, work schedules, and the ongoing maintenance of life keep us from seeing the big picture. For some, our boundaries are the small confines we are familiar with, and it sometimes seems that is all we can handle. Keeping life simple, within that established and familiar perimeter, is ok within our world, we at times believe.

For many, the bigger picture is rarely seen, if at all. Just maintaining the day in, day out routine is enough for the typical person, seeking to make it through another week, another season, another year. What is happening elsewhere offers nothing that will touch our lives. Or so it would seem.

To have a world concept, to go beyond what we typically come in contact with, requires something outside of ourselves. It will push us to see more than we would normally want to see, to get involved within a sphere outside of our own. Having a world view will require more than the “me and mine” attitude, if we are to affect the world beyond our known borders.

At times I am content to keep within the confines of the world I typically walk in – to do well on the job, maintain the few relationships I have, and accept the routine I have grown accustomed to. It just seems good enough. And yet fulfillment lacks. More must be attained.

Seeking the Lord’s purpose and plan for our lives will bring the full picture in view, as we realize that His world, the one we have been called to walk in, is beyond ours. Having His vantage viewpoint gives us the opportunity to get beyond our immediate surroundings and expand our world view.

As time goes by, the zeal we had to change the world in our youth must not be replaced with a complacency and tendency to shrink back from serving His purposes. Rather than believing we have completed our assignment and can now sit back and let others do it, our prayer must be to have His passion and love for the world renewed in our spirit. It is a daily walk, one that by His grace we can keep pressing on to achieve.

The enemy would like for us to sit back and let the world go by, allowing “que sera sera” – whatever will be will be. But that is not what we have been given to do, and we must continue to walk by the guidance of the Holy Spirt, Ruach HaKodesh, to be overcomers in this life.

The big picture, the full picture, has the world in view. Our place in this world is to continue to bring His kingdom into that part that He has for us to impact and fulfill. Until He calls us home to our eternal reward, let us keep seeking the Lord so we can be instruments of His love here on earth.