Volume 25, Issue 4
WisconsinChristianNews.com
Page 31
Strangers In A Foreign Land
By
Lynn
Life will always be a challenge to sur- vive. The little fawn will follow, watch and imitate everything its mother does. Watch a deer come through the woods. The only time you see it run, is to flee danger. Wolves, bears, bob- cats, coyotes and humans. It slowly walks, stopping frequently to look all around, listening and smelling the air. The deer is using all of its trained senses to alert it of danger. The deer will use that same training, that is passed down, from mother to fawn, year after year, to recognize and flee danger, to know where to find food though out the seasons, even how to get water when it’s all frozen, licking frost, ice and snow. It will go much better for us, as fol- lowers of God and Jesus, when we accept that we are strangers in a for- eign land. There are and always will be predators that seek to discredit or destroy believers or draw us away from our faith. We need to learn from God when it is best to flee or flat out run away. God’s Word is full of in- structions, cover to cover, on how we, as followers, must live in the godless land that is all around us. It has al- ways been this way. Daily training will reveal things, like followers may have troubles, but the Lord will deliver them from them all. (Psalm 34:19). We find that the eyes of the Lord search for someone loyal to Him, so that He might show Himself strong on their behalf. (2 Chronicles 16:8). He will protect us and give angels charge to lift us up. (Psalm 91). Unlike the deer, we humans have a commission. We are to tell other peo- ple about our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. There is no peace in liv- ing a godless life. Living in sin is but an attempt to fill a soul hole that only God can fill. We carry the good news of the gospel and freedom from the tyranny of sin and its inevitable eter- nal consequences. When a person desires to leave their godless life and join us, as strangers in this land, it is then our responsibility to take on the role of the mother deer. Train the per- son in God’s Word, how to navigate this world, as we journey to the heav- enly one that God has prepared for us. Lynn Fredrick is the author of “Stand Firm.” Stand firm over sin. Stand firm in your faith. LynnFredrick.com
Fredrick August 2024
How are you faring with all the news of the day? Abortion, the rise of ter- rorist groups, gang violence,
open borders, sex trafficking, trans- genderism, the normalization of pornography and same sex marriage, no justice from that department. The list of “crazy,” grows daily. We ask what is happening to our world? Without some kind of intervention, a person could get depressed and there they came, a welcome detraction. We have been watching the mother for weeks, very cautiously, enter an alder brush area across the road. She would always go and come back alone, but seemed to have the ap- pearance of searching for something. Did she lose her baby to one of the local bears? Last evening, we got the answer. The mother deer came across the road closely followed by her spotted fawn. She stopped in the corner of our yard, as the fawn stood under the protection of its mother. The route they were on told me that the fawn was on the first trip to the evening feeding grounds. Tonight’s meal would be the first of clover and birds foot trefoil. It was as though mom stopped to show off her baby to the local couple sitting on the porch, watching the sun set. From the safety of the fawn’s hiding place, it was now stepping out into the wilderness where everything had to look big and dangerous. Bears, bob cats and wolves are all present on our land and the little fawn will need to adhere to and demonstrate life and death de- pendence on its mother, every day, for about one year, until it learns her survival skills. Is there something to be learned from the fawn and its mother? I think so. What would happen if we, like the
fawn, would demonstrate a life and death dependance on the teachings of God, every hour, every day for one year? I think we would learn how to navigate through a godless society. Not just navigate but live a victorious Christian life. In the beginning of Psalm 33 it reads “The Word of the Lord is right and true; He is faithful in all He does.” Joshua put it this way, 23:14, “... not one of all the good promises that the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.” This is not the first time in history that people and countries have walked away from God and lived in immorality and outrageous behavior. Sometimes we think something new is happening, when in reality, “there is nothing new under the sun.” (Eccle- siastes 1:9). “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again.” The point is that we, as followers of God, need to fix our eyes on Him. “The Lord foils the plans of the na- tions; He thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations.” I believe our eyes should be focused
on God, not man. I like some of the slogans on flags and adorned on hats and shirts. “Make Jesus Great Again” or “Bring Back Jesus, He is our only hope.” “Trusting in men will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.” (Proverbs 29:25). In the same context, we read that the only true justice comes from the Lord and the righteous detest the dis- honest and the wicked detest the up- right. Yet we fret when we hear or read the headline news. “Oh my,” we say, “what has happened to our coun- try?” I’ve said it and I’m sure you have. But the Word of God says “Be still.” Meaning drop your hands and quit striving. “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger. Turn from wrath. Do not fret, it only leads to evil.” (Psalm 37:7-8). Sometimes we forget who and Whose we are. We get all caught up in the political terminology of what is my ethnic background, the color of my skin or to what country am I a cit- izen, am I republican or democrat? If we are a follower of God and Jesus Christ, then none of those titles apply. We are aliens and strangers on earth. (Hebrews 11:13). We are looking for a better country and God has pre- pared that heavenly one for us. The heavenly one is our destination; on earth, we are but strangers in a for- eign land. If we are strangers in a foreign land, why are we so surprised at the god- less condition of the land we find our- selves living in? Hebrews 11, known as the “faith chapter,” is something
we all should read. We need to live by faith, in this land we are living in. Liv- ing by faith is to have absolute confi- dence that God’s Word is true. We should never expect that somehow, we will find heaven on earth. There are many promises and blessings to living by faith but there can also be hardship. Deliverance from hardship and miraculous interventions are a part of living by faith, but so are per- secution from unbelievers, including imprisonment, harsh treatment and even death. I firmly encourage everyone to vote, in every election, for the candidates that would be best at preserving our freedom. Freedom from the tyranny of Marxist socialism, freedom to pro- tect and preserve all human life and freedom to worship our Lord. When it comes to faith, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfector of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2). No elected person can save us. An elected per- son who acknowledges Jesus, flawed as they might be, is the best we can hope for. Through it all, we remember that the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love, to deliver us from death, keep us alive in famine, He is our help, and our shield. (Psalm 33:18). That little fawn will never think the wilderness is not a fearful and dan- gerous place. It does not plant or har- vest but seeks food from the forest every day. The torment of deer flies, mosquitoes and ticks in the summer and the loss of all green vegetation, deep snow and freezing temperatures in the winter. Deer hunting season.
Faith Baptist Church Evangelical, Reformed
‘Contending for the faith once delivered unto the saints.’
Freedom From Pornogr Pornography & Sexual Sin www.LynnFredrick.com
Faith Baptist Church is dedicated to pro- claiming the whole counsel of God (Acts 2:27) and UNAPOLOGETICALLY UPHOLDS the 5 solas:
Watch the online video and then share it with your friends. (Self publishing needs help). If you decide to read my book, please give it a 15+ word review on Amazon.com
• Sinners are justified by faith alone, through grace alone, in Christ alone, by the Holy Scriptures alone, to the glory of God alone.
2003 10th St. • Monroe, WI Pastor Bob Leverton • (815) 541-6773 We would identify with those who preached the “old time” gospel. Our confession of faith is found in the old “London Confession of 1689.” We hope you will join us in worship to our Triune God. It is so needful in these last days that we are a Church Family! You are very welcome to join us! Sunday, 9:30 am • Prayer Meeting Wednesday 7:00 pm
STAND FIRM is the story of my journey as God led me out of addiction into the freedom found only in His grace. STAND FIRM is my story, but also a Bible- based guide of how to use the divine power of God to transform a person’s life.
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