The base camps have been established by the saints who have left bloody footprints in the snow. The Lord Jesus Christ is ready to help each one of us climb to the summit.

We are so very close to indescribable, incomprehensible glory. But don't forget, to whom much has been given, much shall be required.

We have been given so much today, especially in America. But we also are living in Sodom and Gomorrah, so to speak. Sin is readily available. Wealth also is available to many.

It is nice that we go to church with other Christians. But are we really that sold out to God? Are we truly utterly sincere, utterly faithful, or are we holding back enough money and goods that we can survive personally in case of calamity?

One time, when I was attending a large Christian church, the Lord asked me, "What would the people of your church do if the knock on the door came at 2:00 in the morning: ‘We want you to stop talking in tongues in the church service or you will never see your children again'?"

Notice that the demand was not great: just don't talk in tongues in the service. Almost scriptural. Just three grains of corn offered to the Emperor.

"How many," the Lord queried, "would reply instantly that they were servants of Christ and would obey Him rather than man, whether or not they ever saw their children again?"

I thought I knew the answer. Very few! We all were happy Christians, talking in tongues, prophesying, singing the songs of Zion. But were we that consecrated to Christ? Not really!

We look back at the poor wretches in Kosovo and think, "This could never happen in America!" Why not? What is so special about us? Why shouldn't we or our children be forced to lay in thin clothes on the ice—ice covered with our own frozen vomit?

Does God love us more than He does those Muslims? I don't think so.

But what will we do if such does happen? What if we are invaded by China and Russia, or terrorists manage to blow up our atomic installations or poison our main water supplies? What if we wake up one morning and fifty million Americans have been killed? "Impossible," you may say. I am referring to a circumstance that can and may take place. We are not as safe as we think we are in America.

What is the Lord telling you in prayer?

Are we really faithful to Jesus Christ to the point that our life is as nothing as long as He is glorified?

I think we have some growing to do. I think God loves America, even though we have been unfaithful, and will bring enough fire on us to save us into His Kingdom.

We are near to the fullness of the Glory of God, perhaps closer than any other generation of history.

But if we are not utterly faithful and sincere, we are infinitely far from the new world God has prepared for those who love Him. (from So Near and Yet So Far!)