We are each called to do something special in these dark days. Some are aware what it is right now, others will be made aware in the coming days. Regardless, we will not avoid suffering if we desire to follow the will of the Father. The good part is that these sufferings will not even be worth comparing to the glory that shall follow.

We may indeed be the first fruits, but rest assured all will come into the knowledge of the truth. God is calling us to rescue some from the fire of these times of tribulation.

Let's all stay encouraged and know that our Father is in complete control. Let us pray for courage and guidance so that we can be a light for others in the dark days ahead.

I have been reading books on the saints who were persecuted in China during the Communist takeover and they have been very enlightening to say the least. With God all things are possible!

Your question is a good one. I believe you already know the answer. One cannot read the New Testament, or study the history of the martyrs, without observing that suffering has been a portion of the disciples of Christ from the beginning.

2 Timothy 3:12
Yes, and ALL who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

The church in America and many Western nations has abandoned this understanding. Suffering has been avoidable, but only by failing to "live godly in Christ Jesus." Godliness has been redefined so as to not make this so obvious.

The word "godliness" literally means "God likeness." IF we would be godly, we need only look to Christ as our example. To see Christ was to see the Father. This was so because Christ did nothing of His own initiative. He did not even speak a word of His own initiative. He spoke and did only what the Father commanded Him to do.

This is to be the pattern of all who would be godly. They must take up their cross and follow after Christ. Christian discipleship has been redefined as confessing Christ while continuing to live from one's own soul. Christ did not do such a thing, and neither should His disciples.

Throughout the past 2,000 years, ALL who surrendered their life and their ways to be led of the Spirit were led to experiences of persecution. Yet now, at the end of the age, God will judge His people who refuse to come out of Babylon. Those who participate in her sins will also partake of her plagues. Judgment must begin at the house of God, and it is the hour of judgment. These things have been testified to by the great shaking in Christchurch.

Now, at the end of the age, all things must come to maturity. The sons of God must come to maturity at the same time that the sons of the devil also come to maturity. Light and darkness will grow apace.

We are told that the one who endures to the end will be saved. In another place we read that the saints overcame Satan as "the loved not their lives unto death."

This attitude of loving not our lives must begin somewhere. We must come to an end of a self-directed life that seeks the things satisfying to our own soul. Otherwise, how will we ever fulfill the words declaring that the overcomers "loved not their lives"?

The hour is late, and Christ is determined to have a firstfruits company of overcomers. For this reason these things must be intensified at this time.

Kim

You asked if I thought the earthquake in Japan was manmade, or a result of HAARP. I do not, for the following reasons which I shared with another brother a day or two ago.

From a Biblical, revelational, and practical perspective I have not been able to accept the idea that the recent quakes are manmade.

Yahshua testified clearly to His disciples that there would be signs on the earth, equating to birth pangs before His return. He specifically named earthquakes, and what better representation of the contractions of birth pangs could there be than earthquakes?

If man were able to duplicate such things, then it seems likely that the Lord would have warned His disciples to beware of false labor pangs, and to have disclosed that Satan would be mimicking such signs in the last days, but there is an absence of any such warnings in the Scriptures. We are simply told that earthquakes, and the roaring of the seas and the waves, would be signs preceding the return of Christ.

On a revelational level, the location of the quakes has been very significant. From the 8.8 quake in Concepcion, Chile, to the two recent temblors that devastated Christchurch, and all of these recent ones being on the Ring of Fire, there is a profound testimony coming forth and I see no reason to attribute it to man when Yahweh has always been the one to whom such events have been attributed. Even the secular world calls them "acts of God."

On a practical level, I have heard much theorizing about things like HAARP, or the giant collider being able to generate earthquakes, but I have never seen any proof, only speculation. It seems to me that the theory of evil men causing these disasters is appealing to the mind of man and has given such hypothesis traction in this hour. I certainly do not contest the evil man is capable of, but I have very sincere doubts about man's ability to control, or cause, such enormous events as the recent Japanese earthquake.

I encourage the saints to guard against such speculations. I know how easy it is to be allured by them, but we are called to proclaim the truth of God. I find in myself the need for much self-restraint in writing and speaking of the causes and meanings of the world events that we are observing.

May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days.

Do you think that earthquake in Japan was HAARP man-made earthquake and other quakes.

Nancy

This does not sound foolish to my ears.

Psalm 119:71 It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.

Thank you for your faithfulness.
Steve

I, for one, do not find it foolish. What you speak about is truly helpful for those desiring to further their walk with Christ and prepare themselves for the rocky trials ahead. I thank you for the message you are bringing to the attention of all those who have an ear. I'd much rather be aware of these things than to turn a blind eye because my carnal mind does not want to see it, and risk being a virgin who hasn't enough oil.

I thank God that He lead me to your site only yesterday, as I've been earnestly praying for more wisdom and more training. I've found some much needed meat here that I've been yearning for. Your focus on suffering and affliction is very timely and much needed, especially among God's lost sheep.

Thank you for your ministry and your vision through the eyes of Christ. I'm hooked on the truth you shine the light on and will no doubt be stuck (in a good way) by your side as I soak up your teachings, both your blog entries and writings from the past, and your future messages. I look forward to learning more.

God of peace and grace be with you.

In Christ alive,

Tammy