Now Think On This - Steve Martin: devil

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Monday, March 2, 2015

Martyrdom - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

Martyrdom

- Now Think On This

by Steve Martin

“And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.” (Rev. 12:11-12 NASU)

Fear, especially of death, can grip a person, a city and a nation. It can keep you from doing the right thing, or speaking the truth when it is your time to stand for truth. Fear keeps us from love, and from walking in righteousness and justice.

Do you know who is the one who is the most fearful of all? It is the devil. The master of fear is the one who is the most afraid of all, for he fears the Almighty One Who will end his reign of terror on the earth. Out of this eternal fear and hatred, he continually seeks to kill, destroy and martyr the saints of God who have taken the Name of Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

During this short time of hellish destruction, while he yet been given time on the earth, men, women and children will give up their lives by the edge of the sword, rather than give up their souls to eternal hell. Because they are called Christians, these believers of Jesus will die by the hands of hateful “followers of God”, or more accurately, believers of Allah. These evil ones have masked themselves as the conquerors, when in fact their soon coming end will result in eternal damnation, along with Satan himself.

While it is gruesome to see our brothers and sisters blood flow from beheadings and ruthless torture, we need not fear that which may come to us too. We have a promise we can stand on.

“…they did not love their life even when faced with death.” (Rev. 12:11) Our temporary life on earth is nothing compared to the eternal life in heaven with our Lord. Therefore we can stand without fear when faced with death. For this reason, heaven rejoices at the death of a godly one.

"These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful."

(Rev. 17:14, NASU)

Our brothers and sisters in the Middle East, Africa, China and more, are with the Lord, and He with them, for they have been called and chosen. They will be faithful even to the end, as they face the edge of the sword. The lord of Lords and King of kings’ strength and love will empower them to give their lives for the greater glory, to later join Him in heaven when others will be judged and condemned to the eternal lake of fire for their murderous actions.

We need not fear our coming time of martyrdom, should that also be the end of this temporal life for us. I for one do fully expect that at some point I too will be called upon to proclaim my faith in Jesus, and be killed as a result of my conviction and belief. By His compassionate grace, I will look into His eyes of love, rather than the eyes of the evil doers.

“Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.

And he said to me, "These words are faithful and true"; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place.

"And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book." (Rev. 22:1-7 NASU)

A glorious time awaits those who give their lives for the One Who gave His life for us. These are the faithful and true words that we can believe, now and forever.

Now think on this,

Steve Martin

Founder

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Now Think On This #168 “Martyrdom” by Steve Martin

Date: In the year of our Lord 2015 (02.27.15) Friday at 8:00 am in Charlotte, NC

All previous editions of Now Think On This can be found on this Blog, and on the website: Now Think On This

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.