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Tuesday, October 16, 2007

As long as you're not cold!

I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. (John 17:14-15)

I had been sitting outside in my tree stand for a long time, since long before daylight. It was cold out, and I was pretty bundled up. After a few hours of being in this environment, a thought occurred to me - it's not so bad being out in the cold, as long as you're not cold!

This world is cold toward all things Christian. We shouldn't be surprised by this, for Jesus told us all about it. He said, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first." (John 15:18) And in another place, He warned that it will only get worse and worse the closer we get to the end times - "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold." (Matthew 24:12)

America is less and less Christian, and often openly hostile to Christianity. It's getting colder and colder.

But I'm encouraged by Jesus' prayer in John 17, where He prayed for our protection when things get cold, not for our removal. He wants you and I to keep right on being salt and light in this cold world until He comes. We don't have to succumb to the cold just because it's all around us. We are in this old world, but we don't have to be of it. We can bundle up in His Word and prayer. We can take advantage of the heat that's generated when the church gathers together. We can stay warm by working ever harder no matter how cold it gets! And just as the longest winter eventually must give way to spring, so for the church will come that glorious warmth when the winter is over, and we are with Christ.

Are you looking forward to that?

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