Unfortunately, many Christians have been so assimilated into the social fabric of our world that it’s difficult to recognize them as being any different than the average person.  Or if they are recognized as a Christian they are found to be quite immoral, blatantly opinionated, and harshly judgmental.  As the world recoils in one natural disaster after another the prophetic message to a dying world is ridiculed or simply ignored. God’s message of love is completely lost among the pagan do-gooders or openly rejected as a clanging cymbal of empty rhetoric. Sadly many so called Christians are swept away by the same flood of dissipation as the pagan world and have lost their footing not allowing them to stand firm.

As we approach another year of uncertainty, a mounting national debt, a possible economic earthquake, lawlessness in our streets, and a real threat from foreign enemies one begins to wonder how he can stand firm. As the storm clouds arise and another pending catastrophe looms on the horizon one wonders deeply how he can stand firm in 2012 and beyond. As the world rushes to purchase more guns, store up food, and harden their heart to the less fortunate one may question their own ability to stand. As excessive passion is demonstrated to force a candidate to victory in order to save the world from its pending doom it boggles the mind and still leaves the question on how to stand firm unanswered.

So we must return to our original question; “What is the one thing you can do to stand firm in 2012?” As a born-again Christian you must allow transformation to take place in your life. You must be growing from one degree of glory to another. That is the only way you will ever be able to stand firm. For many it might mean returning to the basics, getting back to the first principles of your faith asking God to help you put off the old life and put on the new. It will be a complete re-orientation for some who have been caught up in the ways of the world or in their favorite theological doctrine. You have been made into a new creation and it’s time to start acting like it allowing God’s love to flow through you to others.

As the world grows more ruthless and self centered you will grow more loving and other centered. As the world grows deeper in debt you have learned to live debt free. As the world has grown more materialistic you have learned the bondage of material items releasing them to the four winds. As the world has grown more dependent on government you have learned the humility in accepting any kind of work. If the only job you can find is washing dishes then be the best dishwasher you can be allowing your face to radiate God’s love as bright as the noon day sun. To do so will not only help you to stand firm in 2012 and beyond, but it will also allow you to experience the real joy of being a Christian.

Part I of a II Part series that demonstrates that the Church has already begun to enter the Great Tribulation. This is a powerful and moving video that will awaken the spirit in every Christian who wants to know the truth and to be prepared for what lies ahead.

Let’s be clear about one thing we are not talking about terrorists. We are not talking about an alien invasion. We are not talking about organized crime, but we are talking about people who gave us no warning that they would explode causing unbelievable carnage and untold suffering to their fellow citizens. From the best I can tell most of these people looked rather normal to their peers, family members and friends. Although one similar trait among them was that they appeared aloof, distant or a loner. What was going on to cause these people to explode? What kind of pressure were they under?

We all know that a boiler that has too much pressure will eventually explode. Let me suggest that this country has lost its way and are churning out citizens who expect everything to be handed to them on a silver platter with little or no work. They expect to be treated with honor and respect when they have never been taught how to give it. They look at all that the world has to offer and if they don’t get it then the pressure begins to build. Or if someone attempts to take away what they do have then the pressure continues to build to unsafe limits. Unfortunately most people in this country would be horrified to lose all of their material possessions, because they cannot separate their life from them.

Add to this the moral decline and the total disregard for the law and you have a recipe for disaster. As our leaders in high places are caught in every manner of sin and the talking heads continue to fan the flames of discontent, then many question their moral authority to pass laws or even their right to enforce them. Then if that were not enough the philosophy of tolerance has led many to reject the truth peddled by the establishment for their own set of values which in many cases are no values at all, but rank lawlessness.  Regrettably with this country’s drift away from Christianity and absolute truth, she has lost her moral anchor.  Set adrift in the sea of immorality she will continue her decline into lawlessness. So where will this all lead? Anarchy!

As the world comes crashing in from all around you it is time for every true Christian to take a deep look within and make sure you have not been captivated by the world of materialism. Can you give up everything for the cause of Christ knowing that He will not allow you to be tested beyond what you can handle?  Are you unsettled when you do not receive the honor and respect that you have become accustomed to or are you following the example of Christ who humbled himself to death even death on a Cross? Do you follow the world in their godless counseling and drugs to ease the pain or do you run to Christ who promises to be with us in the midst of our greatest suffering? Friends, it’s only going to get worse as we fast approach His Second Coming so please do not follow the world in these godless acts, but remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ to love one another so that the world will know that we are His disciples.

And the truth is the good news of Jesus Christ. It is good news that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father. Jesus Christ is the Messiah who had been prophesied thousands of years prior to His coming. One who would preach the good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind. Although He was killed by lawless men by hanging Him on a cross, it was all in God’s plan to use His death and resurrection to bring salvation to the world. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) As Christ hung on the Cross of Calvary all the sins of the world past, present, and future were placed upon Him as He became the perfect sin offering for the entire world. Through faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and by believing in your heart that He was raised from the grave then you too can receive forgiveness of your sins and the promise of eternal life.
True faith is more than just believing the historical facts of who and what Jesus Christ did. No longer do you trust in the works of your own hands. No longer do you trust in the establishment or other world religions. No longer do you trust in your own knowledge or understanding. No longer do you trust in the counsel of the world. Through God’s grace you learn to trust in Him alone. In order to receive forgiveness you must repent. Agree with God that you are a sinner, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23); then repent of your sins by turning away from them. The good news is Jesus Christ will give you the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Power on high to show you your sins and help you to turn away from them and live a godly life.

Then you must be baptized which is an outward act of an inward change that takes place in your life. As you are plunged into the water it signifies your dying with Christ – you choose to no longer live the old life but you put it off by dying to self; then as you are raised up out of the water it signifies that you have been raised with Christ and given a new life in Him. No longer do you live for self but you live for the Lord Jesus Christ. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (II Corinthians 5:17)
Dear friends, this is only the first step into the Kingdom of God, the step of faith. Although you will encounter many trials and tribulations they are meant for the strengthening of your faith and the outcome is more glorious than words can describe. As a new disciple of Christ you want to read His Word daily (the Christian Bible) allowing the Holy Spirit to lead, convict and encourage you. You want to immediately begin to tell others about Jesus Christ and the good news that He brought to a dying world. You want to spend time in prayer to God the Father and meditate on His Word. And finally you will want to join with other believers in Christ to experience the joy of true fellowship and mutual encouragement.

Friends when you come to Christ the blindfold will be removed from your eyes and for the first time you will see and understand spiritual truth – truth that will set you free.

A large part of humanity has rejected God as their Divine Creator. Everywhere you look God’s sovereignty has been exchanged for the fatalism of Mother Nature. The dependence on God has been exchanged for self-help. The sufficiency of God has been exchanged for counseling from the professional psychologist, which is the new world religion in disguise. Faith in God as the Divine Healer has been exchanged for dependence on drugs and the medical practitioner, who sanctions the intervention of psychology. The absolute truth from God has been exchanged for tolerance – a clear agenda for the “Global City of man”. The only way to God has been exchanged for religious pluralism. Dying to self has been exchanged for increasing your self-esteem – a major doctrine of psychology. Obedience to God has been exchanged for lawlessness. A heterosexual relationship has been exchanged for same sex marriage. And God’s structure for the home has been exchanged for social intervention and its perverted teachings of psychology.

When the Church also follows this same path of unchecked rebellion against God she becomes the lukewarm church spoken of in the book of Revelation. Her witness to a dying world will all but cease. No more revivals, no more saw dust trails, and fewer crusades have weakened the church. Watered down preaching and the introduction of secular psychology has lessened the effectiveness of gospel preaching. And as the world slips deeper into the abyss of gross immorality with the church not far behind, the modern day prophets are proclaiming that all is well and the church can expect a secret rapture to deliver them from this evil world.

But what does God say? Will God really deliver the lukewarm church prior to the Great Tribulation or will He allow her to go through the Great Tribulation to strengthen her faith and cleanse her of all unrighteousness? “God uses trials and tribulations in the believer’s life to remove the barnacles of the old sin nature… He uses the powerful storms of life to strengthen your faith and dependence on Him. Only a lukewarm church that has been essentially free from persecution will fabricate the secret rapture to whisk them away in the nick of time to escape the Great Tribulation.” (Final Warning, Daniel W. Blair) Great trials and tribulations have always been the seeds of the church. Why would God expect anything less in the last days? When Christ returns in magnificent glory to punish those who are disturbing you and to rapture His Church at the end of the age, will you be ready?

So what must the church do? She must prepare for the Great Tribulation, but more than that she needs to repent of her unholy exchange. We must believe that God is in control of this world and nothing happens by accident. Mother Nature does not send the storms or the severe weather; God does it with the hope that men would repent and turn back to Him. The church must stop trusting in the world to counsel her people. Let the church return to God’s Word that has given her everything she needs for life and godliness. Let the church return back to trusting in God alone to bring complete healing to man – physical, mental, and spiritual healing. God saves the whole person. Finally, let the church return to the commandments of God and reject the perverted teachings that have been accepted by the modern world. And if she refuses, then true believers must come out of her and form their own fellowships trusting in God to give them godly leaders.