Some are perceiving it, others are not, but everyone is experiencing it. We are living in days of darkness when evil is reigning.

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons” (1 Timothy 4:1 ESV).

We are seeing our government and other entities being overtaken by spiritual forces of evil. We are accepting the marching orders of radicals, the breakdown and overturning of social and sexual mores, and the abandonment of basic law and order. Our religious liberty is being threatened while lies, deceit, and hypocrisy go unpunished. The fear of God, our Creator, has been subordinated to the fear of man, merely part of creation. Of special concern is the apostasy, the falling away of believers.

Although the wicked continue to conspire and plot evil, the time is coming when God will suddenly shoot his arrow of judgment and bring the wicked down. “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap” (Galatians 6:7). Until then we must now, more than ever, stand up and contend for the truth (Jude 3). We need to be bold and courageous, unwilling to compromise, and unmoving in faith. “The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion” (Proverbs 28:1).

These days are calling us to have an unwavering faith and to be a bright light. We are set apart by God and for God. We trust in the name of our Lord! Having that kind of trust means that we have a confidence to stand firm based on the character and reputation of God himself. Our relationship with God is built on his character and his reputation. And because of that relationship, we have every reason to be encouraged during these times of testing and tribulation.

God is faithfully moving according to his plan and his purpose for glory. We are obliged to continue to shine brightly in our faith and for the truth knowing who God is, whom we belong to, and why we are here. True believers are not to be entangled with the world and these evil spirits. We are called by God to be separate and stand out and up for the truth, clean, pure, and undefiled.

We must remain in the Word to know the Word to live the Word and to share the Word. Whether it be from the pulpits or in the streets, we believers must stop telling stories to connect only on an emotional level with people. Rather, we must be letting God’s word speak for itself, allowing the Holy Spirit to convict the heart and change the spirit and person.

I personally believe we’ve become people so sensitive we’re afraid to speak the truth for fear of causing others to feel offended. I’ll let you in on a secret, truth offends us all. Don’t be afraid of it!

This is the hour to stand fervently proclaiming the truth to a nation and a culture adamantly rejecting the truth, but needing it so desperately more. This is not a time to retreat, but to stand up for truth moving forward and advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Messiah! “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Timothy 4:16 NIV).

Thomas Yerman is an FCA pastor ministering at Living Hope Church in Elk Grove Village.

by Thomas Yerman

Here we are, in a world and nation full of changes, challenges, and controversies. We are being told to do this and don’t do that. We are trying to live a life that is full of uncertainties! Yet in the midst of the storm, we must not forget about the Advent Season we are in.

In the middle of turbulent hurricane winds, there is a place called the eye of the storm were things are calmer. Now is a good time to find that peaceful place. I believe Advent season provides an opportunity for us to do that.

Advent began on November 29 and ends on December 24. It’s a period of time to prepare our hearts before we celebrate the birth of Christ on Christmas Day. These four weeks have been given to us to remember, to pray, to meditate, to read Scripture, and to deeply contemplate the true meaning of the birth of Christ.

There ought not be anything that takes superiority over that. For it is Christ who holds all things together.

“He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Colossians 1:17

Let us not be distracted by the virus and the politics going on around us. Distractions come to weaken you. It’s a tactic of the enemy to take your focus off of that which will strengthen you and give you hope. You will find things being thrown at you to interfere with achieving the peace you’re seeking. Don’t give up! It is God who has given us Christ that we might be reconciled to him and have peace. A peace only God can give—a peace that transcends all understanding, a peace that will guard your heart and your mind. That peace is found only in Jesus Christ.

So, make every effort to find your place of peace and calm in the eye of the storm, with Jesus. Take time each day to remember the importance of Christ’s birth for your life. Prepare your heart for a joyful Christmas. It’s yours, embrace him like never before. Christmas is coming, and Christ’s coming return is evident. Be alert, aware and blessed!

“But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things
that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:36)

Thomas Yerman is an FCA pastor ministering at Living Hope Church in Elk Grove Village.

by Thomas Yerman

Hope seems to be in short supply these days. Media reports are often bleak and pessimistic, despite occasional attempts to end with a “feel good” story.

This year’s lead up to Easter has been unlike any in recent memory. But what an opportunity for us to offer the world some life-giving hope!

Hope means to expect—even anticipate—certain things to happen. Hope helps us avoid worry or, at the least, manage it. Without hope, worry can distort the way we see things, the way we feel. Worry can rule over us, dictating what we do. Worry can manipulate our feelings, feeding fear and even despair.

Worry strangles the strength of hope. Seven hundred years ago, the Old English word, wyrgan, which evolved to become our word, “worry,” literally meant “to slay, kill or injure by biting and shaking the throat”—as in an antiquated phrase about a dog “worrying” an old shoe.
That’s what worry does to hope!

Spring and nature remind us that hope can be a common experience, essential to life. This “common hope,” however, is more of a wishful expectation that something you want will come. There are benefits in having that kind of hope, but there are no guarantees. In fact, common hope could set you up for disappointment when your expectations fail to materialize.
“Essential hope” on the other hand, is quite different from common hope. Essential hope is, well, absolutely essential to life.

Where do we find that essential hope? How can we offer essential hope to the world? That kind of hope is based on God’s presence and promise, found specifically in Jesus Christ and salvation that comes through him. That’s why I like to define HOPE as: Heavenly Optimism Promoting Eternal-life.

Essential hope is an expression of a confident expectation we find in a three-way relationship between the Creator, his Creation (us), and his Word. Connect these three properly, and our feelings and desires will align with God’s. It’s a hope that points to our future life in eternity: “…we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved…” (Rom. 8:23-24)

In this season especially we remember the source of our hope. Through Lent, Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter celebrations, believers are revived in the hope God has given through the resurrection of his Son, Jesus Christ.

If we are truly building our lives on the redemptive work of Christ, we should all be optimists, filled with hope. We know whatever happens to us here on earth is temporary. Jesus promised us that after life with all its hardships has ended, we will be in a place where pain, suffering, and death are no more. Jesus came to earth to take our sufferings upon himself so we could one day be free from every form of suffering forever.

The reality of Christ’s atoning sacrifice and his promises throw open the gates of heaven that give us the optimism we need for promoting eternal life in and through our lives today.

When we stray from living out our redemption as God intended, we can lose our hope. When people feel no hope, they begin to fear. According to Cliff Wilt, FEAR is “Forgetting Everything About Redemption.”

Hope is dependent upon our redemption—having our sins forgiven. Because without redemption a person has good reason to fear.

So hold on to your faith and your hope in Christ! It gives us the strength to make earthly suffering bearable. It gives us the confidence to trust in God’s sovereign plan, looking forward to the day of Christ’s return when our bodies will be resurrected and all creation will be redeemed.

It’s good to cut pollution and clean up our planet, but it’s even better to remove sin and redeem our lives. Jesus has the authority and power to restore all things, perfectly. Both “a new heaven and a new earth” will come in God’s timing.

In the end of the age, the earth will be a place where God makes his dwelling among his people as he originally intended in the garden of Eden. Everything happening between now and then is moving us toward that glorious time.

God is fulfilling his sovereign plan! We trust in him as we anticipate heaven and Christ’s bodily return. Hope might not remove today’s suffering, but it can help us put pain in perspective. The time is coming when we will participate in the glory of Christ, but for now we are being prepared for eternal life. We have a purpose to accomplish while we are here and a hope to sustain us until we get there.

Our hope enables us to rejoice and celebrate even in the midst of suffering.

“Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Col. 3:1-2).

Jesus gives us the hope we need so we know something good is going to happen.

Let “Heavens Optimism Promote Eternal-life” in and through you today! God is building his Church, and he still has his arms wrapped around the world. Believers in Christ have an essential hope and calling. Jesus promised to be with us always, to the very end of the age when the permanent will overtake the temporary. Heaven is coming, can you feel it?

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with the seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14)

Thomas Yerman is an FCA pastor ministering at Living Hope Church in Elk Grove Village.

by Thomas Yerman

Our Declaration of Independence for the United States along with our Pledge of Allegiance certainly make the case that this nation was and is influenced by Christianity. Our history and documents provide strong evidence that testifies to our being a nation that holds to the truth of worshiping God, the Creator—in whose image people are made, by whose authority we have a system of government, and under whose power we live.

We live in a nation and world that is constantly changing. And because we believers are those who truly trust in God, and therefore his Word, whenever these changes come to challenge our lives and ministries, we take a stand in faith. Our faith is not merely an intellectual belief but a down-to-the-core heart belief that is acted upon no matter what changes might come. Faith changes lives. Our faith not only impacts our lives, but the lives of those around us.

I understand that it is only human to be anxious about what might lie ahead, particularly in uncertain times. Growing anxious is a human trait—what I call our “default mode.” It’s been around for a long time. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, while being held as a prisoner “in chains,” gave the people of Philippi a message they needed to hear in their sufferings. They lived in an age of frequent disease, war, and famine—times that caused their future to look questionable and uncertain.

Paul wanted them to take their eyes off their troubles, which were like an immovable mountain, and look instead to the One who could move it. They were more focused on their troubles than on their God who could help them. He wanted them to know that their lives were in the hands of a loving God who would give them peace. He didn’t tell them that all the bad stuff would go away, but instead gave them direction with a promise:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”(Philippians 4:6-7)

Paul promised believers in Jesus Christ that God would calm their fear and comfort their spirits. He encouraged them to put their worries in the hands of Someone bigger than themselves and more powerful than the troubles they were facing. It was a reminder to trust God.

We are also living in a challenging time, one that is calling believers to trust in God and shine in an hour of darkness and doubt.

We are being moved out of our comfort zone, called to put our faith over fear—in a God we can trust: The God who is the Everlasting-God, the Great-God, the Living-God, the Merciful-God, the Faithful-God, and the Mighty-God. The God who loves you! Our Refuge, Fortress, and Shield. He renews the strength of those who trust in him. So in anxious times, we should be able to display such a peace that those around us will bathe in the overflow. Faith not only changes a life; it changes the way a person looks at life.

Holding to the right perspective equips us with the divine power that will enable us to persevere the storm or “war” (as the battle with COVID-19 is being called). The Body of Christ must have no doubt that God is in control and that he cares and comforts those whose hearts are open to receive him. Only then will we be able to effectively reach out to the world. This is a time for the Church to be seen at its best. There is power in the name of Jesus!

“For he says, ‘In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’ I tell you now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2)

Our attitude must be one of acting wisely and responsibly in what we do and in confidence leave the rest with God.

As individuals, now is the time to live out our faith and find out what we are made of. Our U.S. currency states, “In God We Trust.”  Now is the time to show that we actually do. As a nation, this is a time providing an opportunity to turn back to God and be united. We give our pledge as “One Nation Under God.” Are we?

Now is the time to show that trust even as we advance this “unity under God”! We are equipped to see this world (beyond what we perceive with our physical eyes and senses) through the Holy Spirit and knowledge of God’s Word. We can see into a “spiritual realm.”  Because we know God is in control of all creation and active in this world, we must also be aware that God is saying something in what he is allowing to impact our nation and the world by this coronavirus pandemic.

I believe God is allowing things to be shaken up to get the attention of the world—including his Church. In the distress of the day God is calling all of us back to himself. He is calling us to look to him with submitted hearts that will restore a relationship with him, the way he wants it.

It starts with his Church and particularly from the pulpit. As God’s spokesman and Priests of God to the people, we must speak and teach God’s Word plainly and clearly. We should hold back from saying what we think or what feels good to the people. It’s time to avoid the popular, not wanting to offend people. We should not fear or mistake people being offended by God’s Word with the Holy Spirit bringing conviction. It’s what should and must happen.

As we are learning to see things as God sees them, we must also speak things in line with what God feels—on every topic. Everything that God says is right and good.

Yes, there is a battle going on, and it’s spiritual. As a nation, we’ve strayed too far from God. People need to be led back to where they belong, where God wants them. We have what it takes. Now is the time for individuals and a nation to put its faith over its fear. And it starts with us.

Thomas Yerman is an FCA pastor ministering at Living Hope Church in Elk Grove Village.