“Seek Yahweh while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return to Yahweh, and He will have compassion on him. Turn to our Elohim, for He will abundantly pardon.”

Isaiah 55: 6-7

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Faith that hasn’t been Tested can’t be Trusted

Please read this article by Kelsey Vlamis from Business Insider: “Rep. Lauren Boebert said humanity is in its ‘last days’ and Christians should ‘rise up,’ invoking Christian nationalist imagery that’s linked to violence”.

Vlamis is a breaking news reporter for Business Insider. She covers stories about the environment, religion, politics, and Indigenous communities. She is very confused. For example, this is how her article begins:

Boebert echoed Christian nationalist talking points and invoked the end times in a speech last week.
She said it’s time for Christians to “rise up” and “influence this nation as we were called to do.”
Christian nationalism experts say such rhetoric has been linked to violence.

“It’s time for us to position ourselves and rise up and take our place in Christ and influence this nation as we were called to do,” the Colorado Republican told the crowd at a Christian conference held by the Truth and Liberty Coalition in Woodland Park, Colorado, on September 9.

“We need God back at the center of our country,” she added.

Boebert heavily quoted scripture in her speech. She framed the formation of the US as divinely inspired and described the founding fathers as men of faith who were motivated by God — contentions that have been challenged by historians.

Now, please take the time to watch Congresswoman Lauren Boebert deliver her speech and see what she said: U.S. Congresswoman Lauren Boebert’s Speech.

Finally, please read the passage below from John 16:

“These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to Elohim. These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.” (John 16: 1-4)

If you are a believer and you have read the article and watched the video, you know that Kelsey Vlamis doesn’t know Yahweh. Rep. Boebert was not calling believers to engage in violent acts. She was calling on believers to take Yahweh seriously and to stand firmly on His principles.

In a representative republic, that’s what believers are supposed to do. That’s our duty as citizens and as believers, but Vlamis interpreted Boebert’s words as a call to violent acts or maybe a violent attempt to overthrow our government. Boebert said nothing of the sort.

Boebert was calling on believers to get involved in their communities and to let their voices be heard wherever they are. She was telling us to let the power of Yahweh’s Spirit flow through us and change our nation.

Vlamis knows Democrat jargon, and she thought she heard what Democrats like to call “a dog whistle”. She thought she heard a clarion cry that was intended to rally support from violent extremists on the political right in the U.S.

Vlamis completely misunderstood Boebert’s remarks, but in Vlamis mind, what she thought she heard is what Boebert said. With that thought in mind, consider the short quotation above from John 16.

The Messiah said that the day is coming when people will kill you and think they are serving Yahweh. That day is not far off. In some places, it’s already here. Get ready. It’s coming to you. When it reaches you, what will you do?

With that question in mind, consider what the Messiah said in Matthew 7:21-23:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your Name and in Your Name drive out demons and in Your Name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7: 21-23)

Don’t fear death. Don’t fear anything or anyone except Yahweh. This is what the Messiah said:

“Therefore, do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:26-31)

These are the most frightening words in the Bible:

“I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!” (Matthew 7:23)

Faith that hasn’t been tested can’t be trusted. Be faithful when you are tested. I can’t overemphasize that point.

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“I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me — just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father — and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also. They too will listen to My voice, and there shall be one flock and one Shepherd. The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father.”

John 10: 14-18