WE WERE BORN FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS

In the face of such a time of divisiveness and strife, when the first reactions of many people may be driven by fear, we can look to the narration of the Book of Ruth for inspiration and to under gird our resolve to walk ahead in faith, trusting the Lord of Righteousness and Peace.

Whatever happens, God is our strong tower. The Lord is always ultimately victorious and those who are called by His Name must rely on Him as we move through storms. We must not fall into fear and despair. We must cling to hope and rest assured in His presence.

We must have the courage to realize that with God all things are possible. The battle belongs to the Lord and God is always victorious.

When my daughter was born I hemorraghed and almost died. I had never heard of Near Death Experiences (NDEs), and it wasn't until Krista was six that I read "On Death and Dying" by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. After reading the book, the first person I told about what had happened to me was the friend who allowed me to read the book.

During part of the NDE, I was given a vision of my whole life. I even saw my parents before I was born. As I watched the vision, I could feel how I was feeling during all that took place. I could slow down the images and look more carefully at what was happening.

God said He was showing me the vision because I expressed being sad not to be able to be with my daughter and how sad it would be for my husband if I died. God said I could choose to go back to my life, but that He wanted to show me all of it before I decided what to do.

I saw times of great difficulty and sadness, especially two periods -- surrounding the divorce and having to do with the time of the nervous breakdown. And I saw that beginning in the 90s, chaos and violence would lead to another world war, even more horrible than the wars of the 20th Century. I felt that God was telling me that He had purposes for my life, including to help people during time of strife and devastation. I was charged with lifting up the Lord helping people have hope.

After seeing the vision, the Lord told me that it was time to decide what to do. Despite how beautiful being in the presence of the Lord was and how peaceful I felt, i only wanted to be with my daughter, so I chose to return.

The Lord is so good and so faithful.

The Lord told me that I would not remember everything from the vision, but that He would always be with me. Nevertheless, always before times of strife, for months before the difficult times I would have deja vu dreams and wake up remembering that I had first seen what happened in the dreams during the vision in the NDE. At one time I complained to the Lord that I felt like I was going through it all three times, but He answered that He wanted me to remember the outcome, that He would see me through whatever happened, and that all would be well.

As Baby Boomers, our lives have been formed and overshadowed by what our parents and grandparents went through in the Great Depression and in World War II and beyond. We have worked for peace, but as we are now in the generation that is in power in the world, we can see that decisions we have made as a nation have not always led to the furtherance of peace.

We have a responsibility to repent to God and seek His face.

As believers in God in Jesus Christ, we must realize that indeed we have been born for such a time as this. No matter how difficult life may become, we always have the choice with God's help to stand up for justice, righteousness, peace and mercy.

No matter how difficult life may get, there is always hope. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness does not overcome the light.

As we who believe in God in Christ Jesus continue to stand up for justice, righteousness, mercy and peace, we will have our work cut out for us.

The most important decision we will make every day is whether or not to trust the Lord and to allow God to work in and through us to relieve suffering and to work toward victory in the Lord.

If you believe in Jesus Christ, I ask you now to seek God's face and to offer yourself to Him. He has work for us to do. There has never been a more important time to allow the Lord to work in us and through us. No matter what the conditions may be as we go forward, the battle belongs to the Lord and He always has victory.

May the Lord continue to bless us, keep us, strengthen us, guard us and guide us as we move through this time.

Lord, have mercy.

Christ have mercy.

Lord have mercy.

Maranatha, Lord Jesus!