“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Heb. 11:6)
What rewards?
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” (Jer. 29:11)
I fear very few who claim Jesus Christ as Lord live in peace, there is almost always something that causes at least momentary anxiety, a nervousness within them, and generally it has to do with some possible event of the future. It was of course for two years or so the supposed pandemic, the dreaded invisible enemy, and it worked quite well, even upon many of those who are saved, at least what seemed to be a large number of them.
Those who hold the keys to the church buildings fell into fear, those who sat in the pews agreed with them, “It’s time to stop trusting God and put our masks on, to roll our sleeves up, and hope this goes away.”
There were not many thoughts of peace among the children of God at that time, was there?
And now that the history books are being written about those days, while blame is attempting to be laid at the feet of some, a new fear must be envisioned, for without some form of fear the masses cannot be controlled, and those in control might lose that power. They, and by they I do not mean people in assumed power, but he to whom this world currently belongs and the devils who fell with him, have decided to play the “food insecurity card,” and this newest fear, at least when it is fully recognized, will do as all fears before them are intended to do, it will cause the masses to trust those who are the perpetrators of the fear.
“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (Gen. 3:1)
Nothing changes, make God out to be a liar, cause even the most subtle distrust within a person about the truths of what He has said, and the hook will be set. It has always been so.
I was taught long ago a statement which bears contemplation in almost every area of the life of a born-again believer, and that is, where is the line between common sense and faith?
As with the supposed pandemic, a “wait and see” mentality was attempted to be shown as a mistake, by the world that is, for if one did not follow the guidelines and mandates, one might not only die, but cause the death of others, and this mentality was allowed to grow so fast and fervently that laws were quickly enacted, violence was allowed, peace was destroyed, both openly and inwardly.
Philippians 4:7 was destroyed in many because of a lack of faith, and by the allowance of so-called common sense, “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus,” was removed. But not by force, by the free will of each individual, by their choice.
I will ask you this question, now that the supposed danger has passed, at least in this area, has the faith of all those who locked their church doors, who wore masks, accepted the vaccine, practiced social distancing, has their faith returned? Have they decided that the next fear, the food insecurity, the digitizing of all currency, and all those other items that will eventually lead to the fulfillment of Revelation 13:16, “And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:” is not a great enough fear to relinquish a part of the trust they say they have in the Lord Jesus Christ?
In this writer’s humble opinion, there is one truth that Satan has spoken, at least in regards to most people “Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.” (Job 2:4)
92 Percent of all the churches on this planet that locked their doors stand as a testimony to this truth, everyone who put on a mask, practiced social distancing, received the vaccination proved the truth of these words. Their peace was removed, by their own free will, their common sense overrode their faith, they lived in fear, not the assurances of the will and Word of God.
Not in the faith they claim to have.
That is called hypocrisy, and although I will not go as far as to say that it has changed their expected end, I firmly believe that some rewards have been lost.
“Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?” (Psalm 94:16)
