The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭3‬:‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Few of us have ever known the experience of war, the feeling of victory afterwards, or the knowledge that no more battles
will need to be fought ever again.

But this is exactly where we are now. The battle rages, victory is a promise, and eternal peace will be ours. We will need no further protection.

To be able to drop our guard at rest within the temple of God will enlist us into the community of former warriors whose eternity is assured.

Faith is the hope for things unseen or yet realized. We endure wounds of this battle hanging on the promises of a God who reclaims his property and makes us new all because of our faithfulness.

Until then, the battles rage on against us.

Soldiers who survive are always those whose vision sees beyond the current circumstances and whose focus remains solely upon the prize of victory.

My friend, you got this. 

I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

‭‭2 John‬ ‭1‬:‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

and again…

I have much to write you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face.

‭‭3 John‬ ‭1‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Not the most spiritually significant verses but they illustrate that nothing possesses greater potential than a personal encounter.

In our day of emails, texts, video, and to an ever diminishing extent, even the phone call, it’s impossible to capture the entirety of the message.

Live and in person chats are rare prizes bestowed of true friendship.

The critical importance of John’s message longs to be shared within a human encounter.

Nobody ever got saved by a Zoom call or text message. Surrendering isn’t achieved by an email.

Whenever and wherever, a face to face meeting has always been the means of connection to God and to others.

Collectively, we’re gradually losing our connectivity and missing the beautiful part that makes us both relatable and human.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.

‭‭1 John‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV

A dozen guys with an identical eyewitness so real that each is willingly martyred in despicable murderous rage rather than recanting their experience.

Today we’d call this a cult. But history’s billions and billions have drank the Christian kool-aid and lived changed lives.

They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.

‭‭1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

One gulp leads to a first then second death. It’s based on a worldview that opposes God and his rightful placement on the throne.

But isn’t most of our existence based on truths we don’t observe first-hand but we trust in the story behind them. Better yet, enacted, they prove themselves to be true over and over.

We will all believe in something.

I choose that which people willingly die to uphold, defend, and prove over and over for centuries.

If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
‭‭1 John‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Oh, how the world loves it when a professing believer falls.

They feel great joy when hypocrisy is revealed and chalk it up for their relentless rebuttal of Christianity in its entirety.

Truth is, a fall that is confessed sincerely and forgiven completely returns us without blemish to the light and fellowship with God.

Those who lie in wait watching for our inconsistencies merely reinforce their ignorance of saving grace and proof against ever obtaining something that doesn’t exist.

It’s gonna happen. Then happen again.

Stop putting on their show and further distancing them from being reconciled themselves and get your act together.

Being a believer means you’re always on stage and in the spotlight of critics and their bad reviews.

Get used to it, get some help, and get better.
Not for them, for you, and for your testimony of God’s love and salvation. 

Lot, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard.

‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Halloween is just around the corner with its more than usual abundance of witches, ghouls, monsters, and opportunities for a scare or two by characters each famous for its own special history of lawless deeds.

Sodom and Gomorrah was ground zero for an uncostumed display of such lawlessness that left Lot and his family in fear and torment from evil so rampant and on parade, daily life there became no holiday.

Things we see, hear and celebrate in our culture, especially living in Sin City, have become so overwhelming we are, ourselves now underwhelmed by them.

But for many, trying to live righteously in constant battle with our own personal demons is no party and it’s become harder and harder to find and number truly good people in our midst to assist.

Celebrating darkness and all it conjures up is now no big deal. The bigger deal is being prudish on the holiday affectionately regarded as the day of the dead.

We are called to celebrate life and life everlasting.

Halloween?

Not a fan.

There were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Some ancient passages read like current events.

As history unfolds before us prophetically, the enemy’s end game is revealed.

I’m all too often surprised when people refuse to see the revelation of events foretold so long ago and still choose ignorance over acknowledgement.

Schooled to believe that faith in God is a weakness instead of means to life everlasting, they buy the lie and deny the power of our Creator to rescue from the very veil that blinds them.

Christianity has become little more than a conspiracy theory.

It’s in these moments that we need to desperately pursue those around us who have been misled and penned in as sheep for slaughter.

Don’t give up. Earnestly present your case and reason for the hope that once rescued you from the same destiny.

Knowing how it may end for some should be the beginning of your prayer for those who may still follow Christ and live. 

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Like Dorothy’s red shoes  we always possess everything we need to take us back home.

Even when we find ourselves off course and in foreign lands, the power of God equips us for a safe return when we cry for His help.

He who called you by His glory and goodness will never leave you nor forsake you powerless and alone.

Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness.
For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭5‬-‭6‬, ‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Peter lists for us a few of those things that give us wings for our return.

Each is an added value to the former like building blocks of a stable foundation and secure structure that reaches ever upwards.

Faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance and godliness are markers along the path we choose when what we need and desire most is a critical redirect to get us back on course.

There’s no place like home when it’s back into our Father’s arms. 

Finally, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭3‬:‭8‬-‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Your worldview is the outlook on which you hang all you are, all you believe, and all you do.

Not surprisingly, your worldview is where change and redemption begins.

Seeing all people as God’s children is difficult when they aren’t like-minded. Sympathy, love, compassion, and humility are suddenly in short order as we’re tempted to lash out as if we are owed more of their agreement and understanding than they can provide at the moment.

Your own spiritual journey began with a different worldview but the empathy of angels saved you from that path and its destination.

Be patient with the struggles of others now living by unsatisfying worldly principles but clearly seeking something with more staying power.
That was once you.

The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Be alert, sober, aware and sensitive to those on this journey. And most of all, love them through it like it’s a matter of life and death.

Because it is.