The following is a comment I received from a sister in Christ on November 9th, 2016, the day after the U.S. presidential election. .. When I first read it, my plan was to share it right away. .. But, for some reason, I was compelled to hold on to it for a bit. .. I didn't know why then, but I do now. .. This is the time NOW to share it. .. I believe it says most all of what we Christians need to be focused on in these final days of the Church age. .. I pray you appreciate this message as much as I did .. and still do ...... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "By the mercy of God, we have a few more days to gather in the lost, and to exhort the Church to get right with God.  Jesus is coming for a Church without spot or wrinkle...or any such thing. As I observed the events leading up to this election, and watched the furor of the corrupt and profane as they proclaimed their intent to stamp out Christianity, and listened as individuals and authorities from the recesses of darkness, emerged to insist that we, as a nation were founded upon satanic principles, I was reminded of the words Jesus sent to the 7 churches.  Every Church was given the option to repent.  Specific sins and shortcomings were pointed out, and specific advise was given in order for the churches to get right. It doesn't matter which church America might be, because there are elements in each reprimand that would fit us.  What matters is that we most definitely have been given a narrow window of opportunity, and we know the exact things we need to examine ourselves for, and repent of. Several years ago I heard a person speak, who is involved in helping the Church in China.  This individual said that the persecuted Chinese Church prays for America to undergo enough persecution to purify Believers, but that we would be preserved as a free nation so believers from other countries will have a place of refuge from the persecution that is yet to come.  A few days ago I read a similar testimony from a place in the Middle East. As a Christian people, we have not been spared, for our lives to go on as before, pursuing our own agendas;  only concerned with what happens within our own homes.  We have been given the task of a front line stand against evil, but more than that;  we have a sacred duty to send out a call for repentance to Believers across this nation;  to first toss out the trash in our own lives, then begin to earnestly contend for the faith that has been given to us. I absolutely do NOT advocate attempting to take over our government and I resist any attempt to "usher in the kingdom so that Jesus can come back." We have been granted a few years at best, to get right with God, as individuals, and prepare to stand before Him without shame, at His coming.  More than ever before, we have to find what God wants us to be doing, and do it with all of our might, and continue until He comes, in person, to claim His own. As I interpret the letters to the churches, we need to separate ourselves from religious hierarchy, where there is a distinct and rigid line drawn between 'the leadership' and the 'laity'.  We need to separate ourselves from the teachings of those in the church, who tolerate immorality and perversion, separate ourselves from false prophets who want to take over the secular government, or teach prosperity as a 'right', or that we are 'gods, with a little 'g', and those who determine a person's spiritual status by the amount of money in their bank account.  Flee these organizations, gather with people who want to serve the Lord above all else. Jesus advised the churches to repent, and turn to Him, we need to do that.  Immediately.  The Church that Jesus was, and is, speaking to, is not a building made with hands, but is a spiritual body made up of Believers of all times, and all nations who have been washed in His Blood. We need to do practical things to help persecuted Christians in other nations.  We can send food, water, and clothing.  We can allow persecuted Christians to come to our country, where, as Christians, they will integrate, flourish and grow, because their values are compatible with ours.  Honest and responsible organizations need to be created now, while we can do it, to channel funds and resources to Believers who are in prison, poor and naked, as Jesus told us to do.  Let the latter works of this Christian nation be greater than the former.  Let us, as individuals and as a nation, be found doing His will when He returns. At home, we can become more independent, grow as much food as we can for ourselves and our neighbors, because darkness is coming, this is just a reprieve.  Be wise.  Get out of debt.  Serve God.  Pray, ask for guidance, listen to the Holy Spirit.  Do not be afraid.  God is going to judge the secular governments and peoples of this planet, but we are not destined for wrath, but for salvation, if we have been washed in the blood of the Lamb.  His promises are sure, and His Word is established.  We are His.  He will keep us and present us without fault before His Father. If we, as believers, are doing what the Lord has released in His Word, that we should be doing, then it will affect the entire nation, and shine like a beacon into the ever-darkening world. Do not be deceived.  This respite has not been granted to us so we can continue as we always have, or to set up a cozy nation where we can smugly declare ourselves to be a Christian nation again, it has been given so we can repent, serve God with every fiber of our being, and cross the finish line with robes white, without spot or wrinkle and hear the words:  "Well done... " Sherry Koskella -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For now, nothing more needs to be said ..................... Until next time, Red