Home | Articles | Poetry | About The Author | Contact Us |
In name only of a great historical novel published in 1859 by Mr. Charles Dickens comes the title "A Tale of Two Cities" with a dramatic and attention piquing opening sentence of "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times", albeit a most memorable paradox to ponder. This novel is a condensed version of the violent upheaval of the French Revolution in 1789, told through an Englishman's eyes and perspective. Not an easy read or a novel to skim through but rather a thought provoking account on societal norms of the day, injustice, sacrifice, suffering, and the decisions made affecting many lives. It may well be a little over 230 years since the storming of The Bastille occurred, yet it was exactly 100 years since Dickens' book was placed into print on 26th November of 1859, that the year of my birth in 1959 came about. For me, it is fascinating looking through history with geographical information that we were not alive to experience. The title of my piece of writing with a similar name is no coincidence with the story about to unfold from current, modern times in the year 2024 set in Australia, far, far away from late 18th Century London and Paris.
Similarly, we have the best of times now while we have been called out of the world by God to faithfully serve Him in grateful obedience. No other time in history have kings and queens lived in the luxury we experience during these modern times of technological development. On the other hand, these end times are challenging but are not quite yet the absolutely worst of times, but they are coming, headed our way like an express train. Anyone who is awake and watching would agree that the stage or circumstances are being set for worldwide upheaval akin to revolution with catastrophic events about to unfold and unleashed as God completely withdraws and removes His blessings on America, on Australia, and all the English speaking nations which include Canada, New Zealand, and the peoples of England, Scotland and Ireland once known as Great Britain and The United Kingdom. We are rapidly transitioning into the most dangerous and worst of times unimaginable to our sensibilities and yet we have been warned from God in our Bibles, and we know that we know, because of receiving the gift of His Holy Spirit. We must ensure we are prepared by looking to God, listening to God, trusting in God, having faith in God, and be ready to do what He says. There must be no doubt, not even a shred for the devil to take a foothold which could lead to a stronghold as written about in James 4:7, 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, and Ephesians 4:27. Will angels take us away in the very early hours of the morning like they did with Lot and his family? Interesting to consider and at the very least it will be a supernatural event that will be by God's doing for all those wise virgins spoken about in Matthew 25:1-13. Then there is the obvious fact that some will have died and will be safely ensconced in their final resting place prior to Christ's return (Proverbs 14:32b).
With this in mind, let the following accounts of two ladies become not only a thought provoking read of their experiences which are based on actual examples, but also a warning or wake up call for the poor choices made. One was known as a wise virgin while the other, a foolish virgin. As to be expected the wise virgin was watchful of her condition focussing strongly on listening to God and doing what He says while redeeming the time (Ephesians 5:16). The only way she would stay home on the Sabbath was due to being infectious with a cold, flu, COVID, or anything that would be transmissible. Transport problems, broken bones, and sick children were other issues that kept her home much to her annoyance as the desire to go was incredibly strong. She knew God's commanded assembly is the most important event of her week (Hebrews 10:24-25). If she was not up to full energy levels or had a very busy week then all the social outings, as lovely as they might be, were politely declined as God was her number one priority. After all, she thought she could always attend her regular pursuits after she was feeling up to it. This lady had faith that once at the service with her spiritual family God would see her through with afflictions such as allergies/hay fever, muscular aches/cramps/spasms, lethargy, sore feet, and the like, and this culminated in grateful thanks because God took care of her. It was always incredibly encouraging afterwards to experience God's healing power on the Sabbath through the trust she placed in doing what God asked of her. There are many accounts of healings in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. A few scriptures are provided here to see that Jesus Christ delighted in healing on the Sabbath day. Mark 1:21-31; 3:1-5, Matthew 12:9-13, Luke 13:10-17, Luke 14:1-6, John 5:1-9; 9:1-14
The second example is of a lady who could be a lot of fun to be with but her focus was moreso on life's pleasures with her will over God's will thereby making herself a false idol. Without realising it the lady had elevated herself above God and was only prepared to have Him in her life on her terms, as and when it suited her purpose. This person had become deceived, justified her choices, and believed wholeheartedly that she needed to do what she did. The result was she often stayed home but was the first to attend social outings. There was increasing deception as she had no idea that her priorities were the opposite of where they should be. There were angry outbursts, ugly pride, and contentions even with authority. For those close to her who tried to provide support it was very hard to see her slide into sinful ways. Where did her healthy fear of God go? Mentally there was depression, wrong discernment, and a marked dissension into self pity which was not helpful. This had gone on for years and those around her wanted to help without enabling which they could see had occurred. It was the best of times for the wise virgin but the worst of times for the foolish virgin. It is impossible to tell the deceived that they are deceived. What to do? Prayer and fasting.
Proverbs 12:15 and Proverbs 26:12 come to mind. Furthermore, Jeremiah 17:9 speaks soundly to show that human hearts just don't want to adhere to the law and will justify and find ways around it. This is what the foolish virgin was doing — justifying, compromising, and having her way first. It was evident that wisdom and discernment had departed, replaced with anger, pride, and very poor decision making. It was unimaginable that a converted Christian with God's Holy Spirit would no longer read the Bible or pray each day, and would only attend the Sabbath service if it was at a certain time of day. This virgin was in extreme danger and had succumbed to the negative transmitted thoughts from the enemy to stay home. He had her where he wanted her — away from the flock, depressed and wallowing in self justification — poor me, focussed on the way of get rather than giving fellowship to others. She had become blind. Would God remove His Holy Spirit at some stage? The danger was incredibly complex and upsetting to consider as her sisters-in-Christ all wanted to help and pull her away from deception.
One comfort and great hope is that God knows and sees everything. He has got this. He wants all saved. He can do anything yet we each have free will which gets us into trouble many times as I have experienced in the world and even out of it if focus comes off God. Our choices can have dire consequences such as missing out on attending the Feast of Tabernacles or any of the Holy Days, but there are consequences for a reason. Cause and effect. The simple answer to all these poor choices and mistakes is to put God first, yourself second if you live on your own, and put your faith in God to give you the ability to attend His commanded assembly on the Sabbath. There is plenty of time after the church service to walk pets or go for a walk by yourself to enjoy the outdoors and admire God's creation while getting gentle exercise which is very beneficial for those with Diabetes Mellitus. We really love our pets but our love for God should surge through the stratosphere in height, depth, width, and breadth for our Creator and Father. Once again think carefully of what or who should be our first priority. God sees our choices and we must not follow in the footsteps of the Israelites who committed spiritual adultery over and over again.
What was occurring with the foolish virgin reminded me of the saying which points out that you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink. Summarily, as one sister-in-the-faith said, she would hope that her sisters would help her if she became deceived as in the above example provided of the foolish virgin. We heartily concur with the wise virgin's sentiments exactly. 1 Peter 2:25 says we were all once sheep going astray and this is a reminder that any one of us can stray, fall under the influence of the devil and suffer from deception if we do not listen and allow God's Holy Spirit to lead the way. While we may not be able to wake up another we do have a responsibility to support in a wise way and to do this in patience for any length of time is particularly hard, especially when all offers of help, in this case with transport, are quickly refused. Scratching my head, as it were, to wonder just what will break through the hard shell, stiff neck, or hardened heart which sadly seems impenetrable, yet we know that God can bring it about in a way that will surely be successful to save even one stray lamb.
At the heart of this matter is caring, being our brother's keeper for a sister-in-the-faith, and sincere concern for her well being. This is not only a severe trial and test for the foolish virgin but it is also a big test for those around her to support by facilitating Godly wisdom and not enabling poor choices which do not line up with God's word. Interference in causing great havoc by our Adversary, who is always ready and eager to pounce on any of our weaknesses, is not to be taken lightly or even ignored to our peril. We must be on alert and not fall into the trap of underestimating the devil's abilities to separate, divide, and conquer. Since COVID we now have opportunity to watch an on-line service for legitimate reasons such as infectious diseases by responsibly quarantining at home. How convenient it would be to do this for any number of perceived issues which play to our weaknesses, but therein lies the trap. Should we turn a blind eye or care for others? How long do we pray and fast for God to fix all these sorts of problems? How long does it take for a person to drift away completely to be lost and become part of the world again? These are all questions that have crossed my mind as they involve life or death. We must all have certain experiences in order to be ready for God's soon coming Kingdom so that we can help others. As hard as it is to see others suffering it is all for a purpose. We must learn and develop righteous character rather than running away from problems like Jonah did, and look to God for wisdom. It may only be simple physical help in a form that we are able to give but it is something within the realm of our duty and capability. Keep James 5:19 in mind.