July 28, 2010
Tina Sullivan

Many of us would agree that we are living in the last days of this troubled world. With each passing day we shake our heads in disbelief at the
things taking place, its easy to lose sight of our purpose, and our
hope. Prophecy
unfolds around us, a new world order is taking shape, we face
tribulation such as the world has never seen, nor ever will see again. As
believers, we are called to fulfill our covenant with God, for 'such a
time as this', we are the 'disciples and followers of Jesus and called
not only to tell the lost of salvation, but to encourage one another
in troubled times. Paul speaks of the Lord Jesus as the
"Father of compassion", who "comforts us in all our troubles". It bids
us to comfort others in trouble, as we ourselves have received. We
are to "Lean not on our own understanding, but in ALL our ways,
acknowledge him", increasing our faith and hope where there seems to be
no hope. And the world should see the hope that is within us.

We are not the first to walk in perilous times, those that followed Jesus knew them well. But they held fast to their hope that was in Christ Jesus, that their suffering would not be in vain. The Bible is
an account of God's ability to bring them through adversity, a light for
our paths. Today we face the same enemy that continues to pervert the right ways
of the Lord, and many will believe a
lie before they accept truth. Our own families and loved ones may
turn on us, the courts and government, corrupted, will come against us.

Jesus called for fishers of men as he walked down by the Sea of Galilee. (Mark 1:17) Some of the fishermen there dropped their nets and quit their jobs to follow him, they were just crazy enough to
believe in this divine call, and left all they knew. As they went from
town to town, Jesus taught them, "as one who had authority" (Mark
1:22) He preached and healed many that were afflicted and suffering
with disease. Faith among the disciples, and people increased as they
traveled and spread the word of God, his mercy and his promises.
Many made the journey to hear him speak.

As they came upon a certain town, the crowds gathered around Jesus and his followers. Matthew 9:20, tells us of a woman with an "issue of blood for 12 years; She had spent all her money on doctors that
could not help her. She heard about Jesus and could see him through
the crowd, but Jewish law would not permit her to go out in public, she
was "unclean".

I can only imagine her desperation, sick in her body, weak and frail; But at some point the desperation compelled her to get to Jesus, would he heal her as he did others? What if she was caught in
public, would she suffer punishment? With the people tightly
surrounding him, she saw the hem of his coat past the feet of the
crowd. I can just see her, crawling and reaching for one touch of his
garment. Suddenly, Jesus called out, "Who touched me?". Jesus saw
her and blessed her, "Daughter, your faith has made you whole". We
should also step out in faith, against all odds, as she did.

"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall
follow them that believe; in my name shall they cast out devils they
shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they
drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on
the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken
unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of
God. (Mark 16:15-19) That is the great commission.

Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works
that I
do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I
go unto my Father. "Greater works than these shall YE do". He is
speaking to those
that are called according to his purpose, you and I. We are the
disciples, the followers of Jesus, we are the Peter, James and Johns of
today

In Romans 1:16,17, Paul says: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who
believes", "For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to
faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith". Paul also tells us to "Be courageous, bold and strong
in the Lord. May you also "Fight the good fight, lay hold on eternal
life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good
profession before many witnesses" (1 Timothy 6:12) He goes on to
say, " For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I
am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that
he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that
day. Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me,
in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which
was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us." (
2 Timothy 1:12-14)