“And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”

A couple of nights ago I was reading in Luke and this particular scripture, Luke 18:8, jumped out at me. It troubled me that Jesus – knowing all that the Father would and could do for His children, He nevertheless asked…

“Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?”

It got me to thinking, believe it or not, about Rich Mullins and something he once said.

It’s been a while since I’ve had a lesson to share. Well, the last few weeks have been filled with one lesson after another, but as usual…life’s distractions have left me with little time to blog. I read posts as time allows. I have also been busy working on another writing project that has taken precedence. Still, for me blogging is a mission that must be accomplished, so here I am. As always I hope readers will glean what they can from my experiences and lessons from God. As it says in…

Ephesians (4:1-3), “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” 

God has always used His chosen people to pass on the message of hope, love and eternal life, that has not changed. Hebrews 13:8 tells us as much. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” 

In this last hour God is using His obedient and faithful servants to fulfill His purpose.

As in Joel 2:28…

“And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.”

And as the world turns, like everyone, I get caught up with daily living and sometimes a cold, cedar allergies and the flu strip me of energy and desire to do anything, let alone write. I was down with allergies, and a bad cold for a couple of weeks and I have not been able to get my writing groove back. Any other time, well like most… I go through life surrendering to the demands of this world, relinquishing time, and my peace of mind for a lot of worry. The things of God wind up taking a backseat, because unlike God, the world has no patience, no compassion and short on forgiveness. It is cold and heartless and ready to strike fear in the heart of man. Grandkids, keeping house, errands, doctor visits, bills, work, car problems…all take a small piece of my peace of mind. Nothing ever runs as smooth as I would like, but when you live in a multi-generational household the smallest of things can be problematic.

As a believer, the smallest of challenges always seem to turn into major trials. The enemy knows it, and uses it to steal my peace and joy and strip me of faith and hope, but I thank God Almighty that regardless… “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself (2 Tim 2:13).” A few years ago, the enemy could steal my hope, my joy, make me lose faith and I would let him. Even though I knew the scriptures and even repeated them during trying times I hadn’t realized the power behind them, so any victory was short-lived. It was a constant roller coaster ride with me and my faith.

Since I started on this spiritual journey the Lord has taught me so much about Himself, the power of prayer and the two-edged sword in every scripture. This year the goal is to read through the words of Jesus, in different versions of the bible. It seems meaning is lost in translation. I few years ago, I would not have given that notion a second thought. The times are such that as believers we need to be cautious in all areas when it comes to the things of God…even what version of the bible we choose to read.

So, back to faith. Will Jesus find faith on the earth? I think I can confidently say “we” believers get caught up in the affairs of the world, more than we should, or is necessary, and lose sight of our purpose on this planet. Even when we focus on the things of God we want attention for the things we do. I’ve heard Christians talk about the people they blessed, the wonderful things they did. And I am just amazed at how quickly these people will surrender their treasure in heaven for 15 minutes of glory on earth. And I remembered Luke 17:10 where Jesus talked about duty…

“And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’”

It’s like the employee who wants to be recognized for his hard work when he’s only doing what he was hired for. The Lord prepared works for all of us to perform. Yet, our desire is to be recognized and rewarded for our work and the world will happily comply. The world loves to put people on pedestals. That’s what was so different about Rich Mullins. All the glory belonged to God. For Rich Mullins it was all about faith. He always shifted any attention to his heavenly Father.

Rich Mullins also said…

“Most Protestants have no problem saying ‘The Lord told me this’ and ‘the Lord told me that, but they won’t believe that the Lord speaks through the pope. At least the guy has some credentials”

Focus: the Lord told me…and the guy has some credentials. 

The notion of credentials piqued my curiosity – for a lot of reasons. Christian believers and credentials, do we need any when we speak of the things of God? Schools of theology are everywhere. Are they producing men and woman of God sufficiently trained to rightly divide the word of God? These schools are like any other college or university offering education in a specific discipline. Are they necessarily teaching truth?

There are many Christians that truly believe “the Lord told me” and they run with it. And when it never comes to pass, well they just find a way to rationalize their statements. I hear it a lot from fellow believers. Sometimes it’s a simple message, sometimes it’s an elaborate message. Who should we believe? Should anyone who delivers a message from God be required to show his credentials? Well, the only credential we should recognize is the Holy Spirit. Whether a layman theologian, or highly educated one, it is the Spirit of the Lord that reveals truth to those that seek it. Hence, why all believers should read the bible and learn the scriptures, so they can identify truth when they hear it.

Beware of the scribes Luke 20:4547

“Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”

Will the Son of man find faith when He returns?

Luke 21:34-38

“But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Faith is like water, we need it to live. Whether it’s faith in ourselves, others, or faith in the living God, we all exercise some form of faith, but only faith in the living God produces righteousness…

“For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Rom. 4:2-3.

Faith, during trying times…like tonight where a young man was shot and killed and another injured…in our back alley of all places…is what we need to have. Because the first thing that wants to take over is fear. Fear must not reign in our mind. When things like this happen in our communities and so close to home it is challenging to not express fear and doubt, especially when you witness some part of the incident. Please pray for us, especially for my two daughters that may have seen the culprit before he did the ultimate deed of taking another man’s life. Pray that the culprit be identified and apprehended quickly. Pray for our safety and protection. Pray for peace of mind for my grandkids. As SAPD collects the evidence, the coroner picks up the body, as they clean up the crime scene, please pray for the family of the young man. I don’t know why this young man’s life ended. My daughter and I can make no sense of the violence. We are just trusting God to work things out.

In faith, be blessed.

Thank you reading.