It’s been pretty snowy in Chicago lately. Makes sense; its Winter of course. But do you know some people in Chicago don’t prepare for winter? No shovel, no salt! They are seemingly oblivious to what season they’re in. The same can be said regarding the state of our world and the state of our spiritual preparedness as followers of Messiah. Are we oblivious to the fact that our world, including America, is spiritually bankrupt? Have we forgotten that the Scriptures told us that this would be the case before Messiah ‘s return?
Recently I was encouraged to read a book called “Live Not By Lies” by Rod Dreher. The author warns that the societal shifts currently occurring in America are reminiscent for Christian immigrants from the former Communist Eastern Europe of their own experiences within an oppressive secular state. Dreher tells the stories of clergy, laity, martyrs, and confessors from the Soviet Union and the Eastern Block, and offers their practical advice for how we should be more aware of what is going on and be preparing ourselves to live as spiritual dissidents in our own time.
A few weeks earlier I had read the following chilling statement from an Orthodox Rabbi in a Jewish Magazine, “At the root of anti-Semitism, then, in all its protean forms, is intolerance for a Jewish view of G-d and His relationship with man. Given the current global rejection of Divine authority, religion and any and all absolute values, the projection from rabbinic thought would be that there will be much more anti-Semitism ahead before it gets better.” His call is for American Jews to prepare themselves for harder times and growing anti-Semitism because of the growing secularization of our society.
No one likes to suffer or be labeled as an outsider, yet isn’t that what G-d has called us to as followers of Messiah Yeshua? We must not focus our hope on political solutions to fix serious spiritual problems. Instead we must heed the call of the Scripture which says, “Therefore, to make the people holy through His own blood, Yeshua also suffered outside the gate. So let us go to Him outside the camp, bearing His disgrace. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the one that is to come (Hebrews 13:12-14 TLV).
Despite the moral and ethical bankruptcy of our society today, we know that G-d is moving our world to where he wants it to be before Messiah Yeshua returns. Let’s be prepared and keep proclaiming a bold spiritual message of hope to those around us as Messiah’s spiritual dissidents!
Forward for Messiah!
Kirk Gliebe
Rabbi &
Director
