As my first new real blog entry, I am going to address my shift in focus, interest, and perception of the world around us, to the calling of Christ in the end times we are now in.
I reference Standing in the Faith, Holding Fast to that Faith, and lastly the Worldly Undertow that tries to drag our feet out from under us to make us stumble or fall from that Faith, because the days are evil and full of deception.
There is a reoccurring theme in the Bible about Standing and Holding Fast which is tied into Patient Endurance and Faith.
It is found in the classic Christian Armor writing of (Ephesians 6:13-14a), to the warning of Christ in (Luke 21:34-36) about the weary heart bogged down in the world, to (Romans 14:4) where Paul levels the playing field of judgment by men as irrelevant, by stating that all who belong to Christ will stand before Him (Stand before the [Son of Man] His kinsman redeemer title) regardless of what anyone thinks or feels, because Christ is able to make them Stand.
This reference in Romans 14 is no less than the BEMA seat judgment of Christ itself, in (1 Cor 3:10-15), where all who stand here before Him, must be redeemed fully at this time and place to even be able to stand here. This is no earthly location.
The antithesis of this of course, is the evil one, his lies, his deception, and his distractions of the world, pulling out the ground from underneath your sure footing and stance.
It is perhaps fitting then, that I chose the term Undertow be used here for the title, since in biblical terms, the noun of Sea(s) is often used to represent multitudes of people in Prophetic scripture. A good example is Rev 13 where, standing on, and viewing from, the shore of the Sea, the first beast rises out of the Sea. This Sea, is the peoples and nations of earth.
Undertow is a term often interchanged with Rip Tide and Rip Current, but they are not the same things, though You will find that Undertow is often a result of a Rip Current. A Rip Current is one that is below a Surface Current going in another direction, where Undertow is the action on an object within those currents.
The classic example is standing with your feet on a sandy beach as the waves crash on the shore, and the water and sand under your feat are going the opposite way, out to sea.
We can carry this concept over into the spiritual sense of the state of affairs in the world now in these last hours of the end times.
The end times are defined and marked by some major things in Bible Prophecy, some of which are:
- Pride
- Narcissism (the self will and idolatry of self)
- Hypocrisy
- Lies
- Deception
All these and more, lead to distraction, and it is this distraction that I consider the Undertow of the World.
Two consistent phrases are used often in relation to the quality of Faith of the Grace Age Christian believer in the New Testament.
- (to) Stand / Stand Firm / Stand Fast
- assume or maintain an upright position
- a firm, fixed, or settled position (literally and figuratively)
- to Hold Fast to (cling to, retain, be rigid in, or guard) a principle or idea, to Stand Fast/Firm in a position or belief, to not change one's mind, even though others try to persuade otherwise.
- a root like part by which an organism (such as Kelp, Sea Lilies, Vines) clings to a substrate or rock.
Obviously they both pretty much speak of the same thing, that death grip on the Faith of Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Paul often talks about some aspect of Standing in the Faith in his epistles, because it describes the quality of faith that should be compared to the world and it's lack of it. They are diametrically opposed, as should be expected.
You either Stand Firm and immovable in your Faith, Holding Fast to that Faith and our Lord for your very survival, or you stumble and fall victim to the world and the flesh, forever sliding down the hill into the abyss.
This Faith is tested in the quiet and dark gloomy hours of trials where uncertainty and doubt loom in the shadows.
Thankfully, overcoming the world comes by our Faith in Christ (1 John 5:4-5). Christ has overcome the world, and His victory is sufficient. We share in that Victory by reason of His gift that is sealed in us at salvation. This is the reason for His command to endure patiently. We need only trust and believe in Him.
The quintessential question then for anyone to themselves, but most especially a believer, is What are you holding fast to?
In recent years I have dropped interest in a lot of things. Spiritually I have just come to really realize how distracted I have been lately.
I also am my own worst enemy trying to fight off the self centeredness that comes with my illnesses, or the loss of my beloved pets, where on many days, I sit around because I can't do much else. It tests your faith, tests your character, and tests your commitment to God.
Affliction is used to slap you up side the head and wake you up for your watch on the wall. And it is also that fire that cleanses the underbrush of our lives.
I had become a bit lost in endless insane politics that hold no promise in reality, worn out and clasping my ears from the relentless broadcast of digital media sewage of putrid and insane opinions and expectations, falling prey to reactive endless word struggles with someone who only wishes to force others into a conformity that has no part in true meaning of scripture, spinning knobby tires and flinging mud on everyone in proximity, lamenting the past of my life, fermenting on the "what could have been" with my family relations... I've been running for the woods both in the physical and literal, as well as the spiritual need of solitude, like Elijah to the wilderness from Jezebel. All the things that waste the hours and minutes of our lives...
How did I get here to this point? I was doing so good for a long time... It's like the Sleep Walker who wakes just before they are about to step off the roof.
It's that Worldly Undertow, pulling at our feet. We get lulled into the dimness of the room of routines, distractions, and passions, subjugated by Fear, Obligation, and Guilt, like a dog watching the hand of the man with the beating stick, terrified and waiting for the pain.
This is not how we were meant to live.
The adversary comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Steal your Joy, Kill your Faith, and Destroy you, by insidiously using you, against yourself. The punk is a crafty one, convincing us that we have already lost before we ever raise the weapon of the Word.
So I return to reflection and faith. I return to the Word. The very thing the enemy doesn't want you to know or remember you have. I see the Church of Philadelphia and the commendation by Christ for this church.
They had little strength, yet their strength was the long haul steadfastness of patiently enduring all things and yet still keeping His word, and by so doing not denying His name, for He is the Word.
And their reward! Escape! If they think they were under pressure, pressed in on all sides, afflicted... They escape the real horrors coming. No sane person would want to be here for it.
Is Faith then, after all, Faith the size of a mustard seed, so hard a thing to have and to hold, for better or for worse? Do we remember whom our Bridegroom is? His burden is light.
I am once again encouraged and ready to Stand Firmly on and Hold Fast to my Faith. To keep my focus on Him as my trust and my hope is in Him. He is faithful even when I am not and have stumbled yet again.
I remember His word, No one that calls upon Him will be made to be ashamed...
Stand Firm then...🦊 Jack
On the Blogger site here, you can comment in one of 3 ways.
