As painful and frightening as it is to accept, I believe we are on the verge of a global government and religion that will be very brutal to true Christians. It will take more than a sabbatical from bad news and ominous warnings to prepare for enduring life in such an environment.

Satan, the enemy of our souls, is working overtime right now to “wear out the saints” (Daniel 7:25), but I cannot exhort you enough, this is not a time when born-again believers in Christ can afford to be worn down, bury their heads, and become apathetic toward what is happening around us. For those who cave in to that temptation of apathy, it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to stand when things get truly harsh. The time to prepare is long past, but it’s still not too late. The first step is to wake up and accept truth. It is time to gather and store “oil,” the substance that keeps our light shining. In order to keep that flame lit and not allow it to become a flickering flame on a wick in a near-empty reservoir, we must put into action our confession of faith in Christ. He promises to sustain us as we abide in Him.

It is essential for preparation and subsequent endurance that we acknowledge the spiritual war in which we find ourselves, that we do not shut down our senses because of negative information overload, and that we do not live in a bubble of false security.

May we also remember that this home on earth is not our final destination. We have a home where God dwells in righteousness. Nothing in this life is worth forfeiting the opportunity to live in that eternal kingdom with Him. If we are going to defeat the forces of darkness that seek to minimize our efforts and diminish our faith, we will have to fight, “not as one that beateth the air” (1 Corinthians 9:26) but as informed and equipped saints of God. We must not deceive ourselves and think we can be both complacent and effective all at the same time.

Instead of shutting down, let us look up. Genuine blessed hope is the buffer for the stress of perilous times. It can only be had with a sincere relationship with Christ, a strong knowledge of His Word, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit (who “shall teach you all things; John 14 :26). That is the only focus that makes sense in this period of encroaching darkness. As the psalmist so well stated, let us hope in His mercy, rejoice in Him, and trust in His holy name.

Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name."
—(Psalm 33:18-21)

The Unacknowledged War and the Wearing Down of the Saints
by Cedric Fisher
Lighthouse Trails

'The world is not your home. Why do you act as if it is?

For My children the world should be a waste land filled with the lost and dying.

What is the world to you My child? What is the world to you?"

" To whom can I speak and give warning?  Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the Lord is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it. But I am full of the wrath of the LORD, and I cannot hold it in. “Pour it out on the children in the street and on the young men gathered together; both husband and wife will be caught in it and the old, those weighed down with years. Their houses will be turned over to others, together with their fields and their wives, when I stretch out My hand against those who live in the land,” declares the LORD. From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. They dress the wound of My people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace. Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct? No, they have no shame at all;  they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when I punish them,” says the LORD. Jeremiah 6:10-15

'What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?  Mark 8:36

What will become of the one who exchanges truth for tolerance, holiness for haughtiness, grace for greed?

Soon will come a great shaking. Very soon. Even now plans of the evil one are in motion. Will the foundations you have built withstand the approaching storms? His plans to steal, kill and destroy are in place; reducing to rubble foundations built by the hands of man. I have admonished you to sweep clean your house, removing everything that is not of Me. Pride, arrogance, sexual sins, (in thought, word or deed). Wood, hay and stubble will not withstand the winds of change that are coming.'

"What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. Therefore, come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you and I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty".   2 Corinthians 6:16-18

"But I have this against you: You have abandoned your first love." Revelation 2:4

"This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, 'We will not walk in it." Jeremiah 6:16

'Oh, People of God repent. Come to the throneroom of My mercy and grace. Acknowledge your sins, your faults, your failures. Be washed clean in The Fountain of Everlasting - Eternal Life.' John 4:14

1 John 4:1....
"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."

'What will be will be.

Times and circumstances belong to Me. I tear down and I mend. I judge yet I provide a way of escape.

Your eyes see types and shadows but seldom reality. Many desire to change, to grow closer to Me...yet few determine to do what is necessary to be transformed, to conform to My image. The life of My Son was a life of sacrifice - of devotion to His Father and His Father' will. Today, hustle and hassle have turned sacrifice into seeker friendly, devotion into desperation.' (I, Ali, thought desperation an odd word. Wanting to be assured I had heard correctly I checked its synonyms...anxiety, heartache, sorrow, worry, unhappiness, fear and many others), and all the while My people are perishing for lack of knowledge, lack of Truth.

"Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD". (Jeremiah 23:32)

Many chase after the latest 'hot line' from heaven forgetting to weigh all they hear, all they read against My Word. Refusing to ask "What saith the LORD?"  they rush ahead without regard for Truth or biblical foundation. Just as some shepherds are heirlings, so too are some prophetic voices. Grave mistakes will be made when My followers refuse to seek after Me, chasing rainbows instead of righteousness, grasping for the creation rather than The Creator.

Weigh carefully what you hear, what you read against My Word. Pray for discernment and godly wisdom. Seek the anointing of the Holy Spirit, pray with fervent understanding of Who I AM, casting down imaginations and everything that exalts itself against the Sovereignty of God and bring into captivity every thought making it obedient to Christ.'  2 Corinthians 10:3-6

'All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works’ [II Timothy 3:16, 17]

“There is nothing that Satan fears so much as that the people of God shall clear the way by removing every hindrance, (stronghold) so that the Lord can pour out his Spirit upon a languishing church and an impenitent congregation. If Satan had his way, there would never be another awakening, great or small, to the end of time. But we are not ignorant of his devices. It is possible to resist his power. When the way is prepared for the Spirit of God, the blessing will come. Satan can no more hinder a shower of blessing from descending upon God’s people than he can close the windows of heaven that rain cannot come upon the earth. Wicked men and devils cannot hinder the work of God, or shut out his presence from the assemblies of his people, if they will, with subdued, contrite hearts, confess and put away their sins, and in faith claim his promises.” The Review and Herald, March 22, 1887.

"...to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ..." Ephesians 4:12-13

"You have had abundant time to reflect, to examine your heart. Time to come face to face with the person inside the persona you portray to others. Do you not yet understand I see behind the mask into the heart; waiting for you to draw near, to be conformed to My Image, not an image of the world.

What have you done with My Words? Have you examined your hearts, renounced your strongholds, acknowledging the sins that have so easily befallen those that belong to Me? Have you understood the importance of holiness?  Do you see that your sins keep My Word from achieving all it has been sent to do?

Judgment begins in the house of God and you, child of God, are that house.

Examine yourself closely child of God...examine yourself closely."

"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools..." Romans 1:20-22

"So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness." Ephesians 4:17-19