Hosanna Restoration Church

“I never want to go back!” This was an early prayer in my walk with God. There is probably a book’s worth of thinking that went into that prayer, but that was the most in depth thing I could say!

With all that is going on in our world today, there is much talk of this being the time of the Lord’s return. We do not know the day, but we must be convinced that one day He will return. His word gives us many plans and ways to prepare as well as many warnings about being alert.

In the very beginning, God warned them to be aware because the devil was waiting at the door to destroy us. Yes, the devil only wants one thing, and that is to destroy. He steals, kills, and destroys and of course his favorite targets are those who believe in Jesus and love the Lord.

With that said, it is important that we do not forget or let down our guard or become complacent in our walk with God. When we do that, we are like stragglers in the herd. Fortunately, God has set in place folks to help and encourage, but it is up to us to receive the encouragement and reboot our zeal for the Lord.

Paul gives us great advice, telling us to be strong in the Lord and His mighty power. He reminds us that God has given us everything we need to stand. Yes, when we have done everything to stand or at least we think we have done everything we know how to do, the Lord’s advice is to stand longer. Keep standing. Keep seeking. Keep stirring up the gifts that He has provided.

Put on all of God’s armor! It is quite possible that we might not get fully dressed before we go out. I recently went to church and to jail for chapels with two different shoes on. I never even noticed till one of the guys started smiling and looking at my shoes. It was a good laugh. Well, it is possible for us to go out into the world without all of the armor.

If we do, we can be caught unprepared. We can trip into wondering why God let us be so surprised. We can decide that it was God testing us rather than us going where we should not or not having on our full armor.

We should be aware of what we wear! We should know by faith that we have this. I have coats, vests, and pants with a lot of pockets. On many occasions I spend a lot of time searching for things that I know I put in my pocket at the start of the day. Honestly it is like searching my tools for the missing tool. It seems to me that if I can spend time searching for those things, I should be able to stop and check my armor. God has provided us with His mighty power.

We need to be determined that there will be no falling away for us and confident that we have all that we need to stand. You see God warns that one of the signs of the end times will be a great falling away. Let’s watch for ourselves and for others so that we will be found standing and faithful, ready to welcome the Lord.