Dear Ones:
In the shifting sands of culture and history, finding the “Solid Rock” on which to stand, and rest all of our weight, is a very difficult thing to do. In one of Paul’s last letters, the second letter to his “son” Timothy, he writes that in the last days, “…perilous (difficult, hard…) times will come.” (2 Tim. 3:1) Why? Because the assault on everything that we know about God, Christ, and the truth, will intensify. In the 12th chapter of the book of Daniel, the Lord revealed to Daniel the following: “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: may shall run to and fro, and KNOWLEDGE SHALL BE INCREASED.” (v.4) Never have the “distractions” of knowledge been so intensely imposed upon mankind. Though true knowledge is a welcome thing, the flood of the truth mixed with that which is false is so condensed, that at times it is very difficult to “see the forest for the trees.” The truth, and the knowledge of the living Truth, is hidden under the leaves of our imaginations and suppositions, based on when we see and hear, instead of upon the Word of God. To neglect the Word of God, at the expense of an overabundance of knowledge is a very “difficult,” perilous danger to be in, for in doing so, we deprive ourselves of the basis of faith. The objective Word of God is the basis for faith in the subjective (but Truthful) Living Word…the Lord Jesus Christ.
In Matthew 24, in speaking of the days leading up to the return of the Lord Jesus, the Lord says concerning “…wars and rumors of wars, ” “…see that ye be not troubled.” (v.6) Why does He say this? For two reasons, the first of which is that we cannot change history…wars will come. The second reason is that He would not have us distracted and preoccupied with that which would absorb our attention, which would have the result of turning us aside from that which is essential, our purpose of loving Him, and walking with Him, so that He can operate in and through us His purposes and will.
The Lord Jesus, in speaking of the parable of the sower, specifically referencing the “…seed received among the thorns,” (Matt. 13:22), said that this “one,” or “person,” is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” Here we have again emphasized that there are those things which can render us unfruitful, the “cares of the world (turned in on ourselves, overwhelmed with the need without and within),” and the “deceitfulness of riches (…because we are deceived into trusting in them and not God..). Whether in times of war, peace, prosperity, great knowledge, the great essential is this…KNOW THE OBJECTIVE WORD OF GOD…HOLD TO IT FIRMLY; DO NOT LET IT GO. It is that means by which we can put our foot down upon the Rock of All Ages, rest all the weight of our existence upon Him, and find the eternal security, and peace of God that passes understanding.
Love, Dad