“Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; this is the way of Christ.” - John Chrysostom
Proverb of the Day (28:13)
“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”
Preliminary Thoughts/A Bit of Well-Intentioned Schizo-Posting
I’m going to be honest, my heart is heavy lately.
I have, as of late, felt a deep and heavy conviction to preach Christ with greater boldness and passion than in past years.
I have been unable to shake the haunting account of the rich man in Luke 16 who gained everything during his time on earth, only to find himself eternally separated from the Lord, in hell and misery, begging Abraham for just a second of relief.
But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.
The day of that great chasm’s eternal fixation draws nearer each hour, and my desire to spend my days making memes grows weaker by the minute.
I want you to ask yourself this question, and think about it deeply: are you being lulled to sleep by the opulence surrounding you? Said another way: are the riches and luxuries of our country leading you straight to eternal damnation? Will we end up like the rich man, begging for just a hint of relief and comfort in an eternity of separation from the Almighty?
Consider eternity. Now consider eternal misery. How can we spend our days joking when souls are at stake? We often think that we’ll be in an eternal dream-state. This is nonsense. It will be more real than anything we’ve experienced yet.
If I have entertained you to death or distracted you from considering eternal things, forgive me. If my social media content has drawn you away from cultivating young Christian souls in your family or from prayer and meditation, know that I repent. Lord have mercy.
We are living in dark days. It seems that evil has never had a greater foothold in our land. This month, our nation flaunts its perversity and puts its full depravity on display, celebrating disorder, disease, and rebellion against our Creator. This is what we are now known for. That’s not easy for me to say as a child of the GWOT era. I grew up very patriotic. My Dad worked in downtown D.C. when the plane went down at the Pentagon. I wanted revenge; blood, bombs, and war. I realize now I was a bit naive, and that our leaders were largely self-interested liars.
But what really stings as a Christian man who loves this country is the realization that our greatest export today is degeneracy. Our government determines a foreign country’s suitability to receive counter-terrorism foreign aid by the degree to which they propagate LGBTQ+ ideals. Read that again and let it sink in. That’s happening right now.
If you don’t think we will soon be sending young conservative men to their deaths to ensure that “trans kids” can be mutilated by doctors in predominantly Muslim countries, you’re not paying attention. You can call me crazy, as long as you shoot me an e-mail when you read the headline in ten years.
It’s hard to accept, but it’s also true: the world we grew up in no longer exists. We are living in a post-revolution America. The rainbow mafia has captured 99% of the institutions. We make Babylon look like an amish elementary school co-op.
Think about it for a bit. Mourn the death of the country you once knew. It’s gone, and it’s not coming back.
And then,
“take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace… take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one… take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication… keep alert with all perseverance.”
Every day that you walk out your front door, you are walking into a war. Nothing is neutral. They want you to hate your fathers, your grandfathers, your ancestors. They want you rootless because rootless men are easily manipulated. Unfortunately for them, the fifth commandment.
Remember that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” We are living in a target rich environment. Evil is everywhere, waiting to be rebuked, exposed, and destroyed.
I’m tired of hearing limp-wristed compromisers tell me that the most spiritual thing we can do is lose, surrender, and justify failure, handing our wives and children over to be discipled by pagans and degenerates. I don’t buy it. I don’t see it anywhere in Scripture, reason, or common sense.
If you’re a man, husband, and father, and you proclaim Christ as King, it’s time to get serious about it. Don’t let it be just a “based” bumper sticker slogan or a phrase to trigger the libs (!!!). Eternity is too important for such silliness.
Quit the games, with one foot in the kingdom and one foot out, paying him service with your lips while serving your own will with your actions. Leave your nets and follow him (Matt 4:20). Say, “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” And then do it. No matter what it takes.
Learn His Word. Store it up in your hearts. You’re going to need it in the camps! Christ is King.
Now back to our regular programming.
A few quotes from The Saint of the Prisons, a book about a group of faithful Christians who endured the living hell known as the Communist prisons:
“To be adequately understood, world history must be theologically judged. Alongside all the social, political or military conflicts that history has recorded in chronicles and archives, ever since man's creation, there is another war taking place (much more important, yet invisible to the human eye): the devil's war against God. The battlefield of this war is man’s heart. As a result of man’s choice, recorded history emerges.”
“Following the example of the martyrs across two thousand years of Church history, the martyrs of the prisons also preferred renouncing this perishable life, together with all it may seem to offer, rather than renouncing Christ by collaborating with the Communist regime and becoming traitors to the credo of their brothers.”
“It is known that a man with no roots is a man without identity and thus easy to manipulate. Only by employing this strategy could the Communists have hoped to replace traditional society with A. Huxley's "Brave New World" and to establish a new religion – atheism.”
“It is often said that the face of a deceased person speaks for the value of his life. In the morning of 18 February 1952, Valeriu confessed and then received the Eucharist; he made peace with everyone around him and asked all for forgiveness. After several hours, filled with love and the grace of resurrection that flooded everyone around him, his pure soul left to meet his beloved Groom, whom he had longed for during all the years he had spent in this Valley of sorrow.”
Today’s Reading: Romans 3:9-19
All have sinned.
“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Here, Paul paraphrases Psalm 14:1-3, Psalm 53:1-3, and a number of other verses highlighting the universal depravity of man. Pastor Joel Beeke, editor of the Heritage Reformation Study Bible, points out a fascinating observation about these verses, noting that “Paul quotes from Psalm 5:9, 10:7, 140:3, Isa. 59:7–8, and Ps. 36:1 (in that order), describing man’s deadly corruption in every area of life, including speech (tongues), actions (feet), and perspective (eyes).” In other words, when he says that “no one does good,” he means it. There is no part of man left unaffected by the fall.
While this is certainly reason to repent, to confess, and to pray for mercy and grace, it is no reason to despair! We know we have a Great High Priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses, who was tempted just as we are, and yet was without sin. “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Don’t gloss over this; re-read it if you have to. Christ, who sits at the right hand of the Father, loves you, intercedes for you, and sympathizes with you. John Newton, at the end of his life, said this: “although my memory's fading, I remember two things very clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.” Amen. Do you believe this? Is it real to you, or is it just like history class; distant, hypothetical, imaginary? Do you realize that in the blink of an eye, you will either hear, “well done, good and faithful servant,” or “depart from me, I never knew you?” Every Instagram like/comment/share, every military award, every work promotion, every football game you ever watched will be one trillion miles away. It will all burn up. None of it will matter. Turn to Christ! Confess Him, submit to Him, serve Him, love Him! He is worthy.
“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” - 2 Chronicles 7:14
Go In Strength - Matthew 10:28
“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Until tomorrow.
Pray without ceasing. Repent and believe.
May Christ bless you.
-LC
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Amazing read. I too, am feeling the pull to be a more open witness and evangelize more. Just started with the prison ministry this week.