While talking with my mom this morning about a number of issues happening around the world an interesting topic of discussion came up.  Namely the very lukewarm, lackluster state of the church, and the incredible, willful blindness of the American people.  The world is practically screaming to their faces that something very bad is about to happen, and you want to know the response of most people is?  "This is America!  That would never happen here!"  Um, yes, it will.  The two primary reasons are 1) America has rejected God, so therefore God has abandoned America and given her up to judgment, and 2) we're so arrogant nationally that we think, "God would never judge us!  He's on our side!"

Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong!  First off, the church has been prayerless and lukewarm, not wanting the REAL God of the bible, but rather a pocket god that they can whip out anytime they have a problem that needs fixing, treating Him, the very God of the universe, as their personal doboy, expecting Him to snap to and do their every request.  Secondly, the rest of this nation, those who want nothing to do with God, have cast Him to the curb, treated Him like trash, and said to Him, "We don't need you!  We can do this ourselves!"  Well, God is about to give them their wish.  He's also about to wake up the Church by showing them that He is NOT their personal doboy, nor is He a pocket god that can just be pushed and ordered around.

They are about to come face to face with the very powerful, omnipotent God of creation, the one they've tried to put in a box and control, and it won't be a nice meeting, or a reunion.  But here's the kicker.  God does not wish anyone to perish.  Those who perish do so of their own free will.  What do I mean by this?  Well, let's let the bible do some explaining.  First off, if you look at biblical precedent, when it comes to regional or national (or even worldwide) judgment, He works in two stages.  The first is to warn people of the judgment, ensuring that as many as possible are saved FROM the judgment, either by repentance or divine protection.  The second is to bring the judgment itself causing others, who previously would not turn to God, to be saved BY the judgment.

What do I mean by that?  Well, let's start with the flood.  God, through Noah, warned and warned and warned and warned the people about the coming judgment.  120 years total, as a matter of fact.  Even so, in the end the only ones who listened to God's warnings were Noah and his family.  God was offering everyone on the planet a way to be saved FROM the flood.  But they refused, mocking all the way up to the point when the rains began to fall.  Once the door was closed, only Noah and his family could be saved both FROM the flood and THROUGH the flood.  Those outside could only be saved IN the flood.  Yes, they would die, but if they repented and turned to God, even with their last breath, they would be saved, but only IN the flood.  They still had to die, even if their souls were saved.

Now go forward a little bit and look at Daniel and his three friends.  Daniel and his friends served God LONG before the events that took him to Babylon.  In that God saved Daniel FROM the lions, even though by necessity he had to go into the den, and his friends were saved FROM the fire that they, by necessity, had to go into.  So in order to provide proof and witness to the unbelieving, God allowed them to be thrown into these various trials, but they were saved THROUGH them, not IN them.  They were already saved before these started.  The trials were merely a proof of their faith, and God's power to save.  It was not there to save them.  They already were.

Now fast forward to the 1st century AD and the thief on the cross.  Had he given his life to God PRIOR to the events that lead him to be arrested and hung on a cross, God would have saved him FROM that terrible punishment.  Instead, he didn't give his life to God, or Christ, until he was ON the cross, and as such God didn't save him FROM the cross (it was too late for that) or rescue him OFF the cross.  He instead saved him ON the cross.  Once those Romans arrested him his chance to be saved FROM the cross were gone.  The only option then was to be saved ON the cross.

And lastly, let's fast forward to the book of Revelation.  What does the bible say about people in that time?  Well, first off, those who are believers, and I believe it'll be strong, sold out, faithful believers who are full of the Holy Spirit, will be saved FROM the Tribulation, a time of trial and testing, by being raptured out.  Those who are saved during the Tribulation will be saved both THROUGH and IN the hour of trial, depending on what God wills.  But it almost invariably will depend on when and how they will come to a saving knowledge of Christ.  Most will become like the thief on the cross, saved IN the Tribulation, but not THROUGH it.  Only a handful will have that honor of being saved through it.

And these are just a few biblical examples of how God saved people FROM, THROUGH, and IN the time of trial and testing, or in some cases judgment.  So how does that relate to modern day America?  We are going into a time in this nation when God will cast us into the blazing, fiery furnace of judgment because of our national sin, as well as the sin of prayerlessness in the churches.  The lukewarmness and Laodaceanism of the modern church, those who think they're alive, but are really dead, and the blatant, fist shaking hatred and vitriol towards God, has necessitated this.

So that now begs another question.  If we, by necessity, like Noah, like Daniel and his friends, and like the thief on the cross, ALL must soon go through the judgment that has been declared by God upon this nation, a judgment that is unmovable, unshakable, and without ability to be revoked anymore, a judgment that comes by necessity as a repayment for the sins, arrogance and pride this nation has so blatantly displayed in the face of God, how will we each, individually, come through this coming storm of judgment?

At this point in time it's too late to be saved FROM the storm.  That door closed more than a decade ago.  The ark is shut, and none may enter.  The fires are lit, the lions are hungry and the nails are being driven in.  As such, our chance to be saved FROM this coming judgment is no longer possible.  If you're a believer, yes, you will not suffer judgment, but you will face severe chastisement, and oh how great that chastisement will be!  It will be so painful you will almost wish you'd been judged.  However, there is still hope for the believer.  But that hope ONLY comes with utterly, heart felt, deep brokenness before God.  This must be a repentance that goes beyond any repentance you've shown before.

At this point you have two options left to you, and the window on the second is rapidly running out.  You can either repent before God of ALL your sins, even the pet ones, and shed ALL your iniquity and lay it before the cross, and be protected THROUGH the storm, or you can be protected IN the coming storm.  Remember what happened with Daniel and his three friends?  They were thrown into certain death and walked out without a scratch.  But they were ready BEFORE that happened.  Remember that.  You can either be saved (ie, protected) THROUGH the coming storm, or in it.  There are no other choices anymore.

The thief, and the people outside the ark, they WERE NOT saved prior to the judgment falling.  The thief got saved IN the storm, and I'm sure at least a few in Noah's time did as well when the rain began falling.  I can't think that EVERYONE outside the ark died without God.  I'm sure at least a few made deathbed confessions.  But even so, the point is, they were saved IN the storm, not BEFORE and not THROUGH it.  Either way, they died as a result of waiting too long to come to God.  So when the bombs start dropping and the fires start raging and the ground starts shaking and the judgment begins to rain down on this nation in its fullness, a judgment it rightly deserves, the time to be saved THROUGH the fire will be over, and that door will be closed forever.

At that point the only option left for you is to be saved IN the fire, and as I've read in the bible and seen throughout history that rarely ends well, and almost always ends in death.  Yes, you can still be saved IN the fire at that point, but not FROM or THROUGH it, which means that your lateness in answering God's calling and your lateness in turning back to, or just turning to God period, will result in great harm to you.  God can save you THROUGH (the judgment of America) and even FROM (the Tribulation) what is coming.  But you MUST turn to God and REPENT ENTIRELY of ALL your sins NOW, and become a radical, sold out, born again believer and follower of Jesus Christ.

And when I say sold out, I'm talking completely sold out.  Not 50%, not 75%.  A full 100% without limit or reservation.  The bible IS NOT trail mix.  You can't pick and choose what you want to follow.  Either you follow it all, or don't even bother following any of it.  This is an all or nothing proposition.  You either follow it all and live for God or you follow none and live for Satan, and we all know how things end for him.  So remember that.  God wins, Satan loses.  Get on the winning side, be saved FROM and THROUGH what is coming, rather than IN or not at all.  God loves you, and He wants to save you.  But you must do the right thing, or else face the consequences.

And this isn't meant to sound like a threat.  It's meant to be a warning.  Would you rather I warn you that the building is on fire, or would you prefer I stand back and watch you burn?  This is your fire warning.  It's time to make the right move or go down in flames.  The choice is yours.  Either act now, or regret it for eternity.