What if I were to tell you that a Canadian man was arrested and jailed for refusing to obey a court order to refer to his daughter using male pronouns? It reads like an ‘it could never happen here’ story. But, it is true. For the crime of resisting a state ordered mandate to cooperate in the mutilation of his daughter, Rob Hoogland was jailed for six months. And the only reason I can tell you his name, is that I do not live in Canada and as such can ignore the state sponsored gag order.

The reason I bring this up is to reinforce the call to prepare. It could never happen here….until the day it does. It could never happen to me, or to you…. until the day it does. A father resisting the mutilation of his daughter upon the altar of insanity, he could never be jailed for doing so… until the day he was.

They say one of the reasons the Nazi’s were able to round up the Jews so successfully is that the Jews never believed it could happen, and certainly not happen to them. Surely somebody would protest, surely somebody would say something? They didn’t then, and they won’t now. Outside of a small cohort, the media and politicians will always turn a blind eye to the abuse – those that are not actively acting as persecutors themselves.

This is the kind of thing I mean when I say we need to prepare for the coming storm. All of us, sooner or later, in one way or another, will come to that choice. To walk the Calvary Road of suffering, abused by and jeered at by the crowd, in fellowship with our Saviour. Or to shrink back, to flee away, or even to join the crowd itself.

On the day of your decision, it will be too late to Prepare. You will have already made that decision in choices leading up to that moment. This is why Jesus calls us to discern, purchase oil for our lamps and be ready.

Choose THIS DAY whom you will serve. Tomorrow is too late.