I Wish We'd All Been Ready

 

“Life is filled with guns and war and everyone was trampled on the floor. I wish we'd all been ready. Children died. The days grew cold. A piece of bread would buy a bag of gold. I wish we'd all been ready.” This is the first line of a song written by Larry Norman in 1969. It was a time when one of the most popular Christian books written was by Hal Lindsey. It was entitled The Late Great Planet Earth. There was a great concern that the end of the world was about to happen. Israel had become a nation in 1948 and many Christians felt that the Bible had expressed the idea that Jesus would be coming back within 40 years or so after this event. The world did not end in 1969 or even a few years after that but as we head into the latter part of 2022 we see the world moving toward the true fulfillment of what Larry Norman wrote in his song. Currently, Ukraine is fighting Russia, China is saber-rattling over Taiwan, and there are famines, floods, and droughts happening all over the world. Children are being trafficked and abused on a large scale. In school, children are encountering Critical Race Theory, drag queen shows, and being encouraged to question their gender. What used to be anathema to the majority of Americans has in the last few years been shoved down our throats as normal behavior. We're told by the World Economic Forum that we should give up our liberties so that we can have a one-world government that will take care of us. Their mantra is “You will have nothing and be happy”. The Zero Population Growth (ZPG) of the 1970s has morphed into population control by the elites. These evil individuals, want to drop the current 7 billion people of the world down to a mere 500 million. Their way of doing this is by providing vaccines that are not vaccines but rather are used to eliminate large swaths of the population. The most vulnerable are the elderly and those with pre-existing health conditions. They are using health crises to crumble economies and to eliminate further population growth because the vaccines tend to make those who take them infertile. Those who wish to control our world attempt to convince us that they're doing this for our benefit.

Larry Norman continues: “Man and wife asleep in bed, she hears a noise and turns her head, he's gone, I wish we'd all been ready. Two men walking up a hill, one disappears and one’s left standing still, I wish we'd all been ready. There's no time to change your mind, the Son has come and you've been left behind.” This is a reminder of what Jesus said in Matthew 24:40-42, “Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore, keep watch because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” Just like in the days of Noah, life will be going on its normal course. Those in Noah's time disregarded and mocked Noah’s warnings. When it started to rain, and the door of the ark was shut, the people suddenly realized their folly. Just as it was too late after the door was shut for the people in Noah's time, when the end comes in our time, it will be too late for those who do not heed the warnings.

Our response may be that we are Christians and attend church therefore we should not have to worry about when the end comes and whether we're ready or not. Really? A recent poll has shown that only 38% of pastors have a biblical worldview. Another poll points out that of all those who claim to be Christians, a mere 10% hold a truly biblical worldview. Jesus addressed this issue in Matthew 25 verses 34-46. Here he says, “Come you who are blessed by my father and inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink I was a stranger and you invited me in, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me. Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? And the king will answer them, I will tell you the truth, just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine you did it for me. Then he will say to those on his left, depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels! For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger and you did not receive me as a guest, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me. Then they too will answer, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not give you whatever you needed? Then he will answer them, I tell you the truth, just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me. And these will depart into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” This is an indictment against those who think that just doing good works will get them to heaven. Being a good person and doing good work is admirable. however, that is not the requirement that God asks for us as our passports into heaven. God requires in addition to works for us to confess our sins and believe in Jesus as our Savior. Our salvation is to be based on grace and not works, lest we are opened up to boasting about our works being our means to heaven.

Syncretism seems to be the word that best defines a good share of the church today. It is the marriage of culture and Christianity. We see syncretism in the early church. Paul warns both the Ephesian church and the Corinthian church against the false teachers and false doctrines that are trying to creep into the church. It is well known that the Catholic Church, to make the gospel more acceptable to the pagans, incorporated some of the Pagan belief systems into the Catholic Church. We see this expressed in the example of overlaying Saturnalia with Christmas. That is one of many examples. Today, we see our culture invading our churches. New age beliefs are rampant. There are churches, having added New Age teaching, that extends their spiritual leadership to include Angel boards in place of Ouija boards, and in place of tarot cards Angel cards, Things like astral projection, and in the place of the true moving of the Holy Spirit, the chaotic rendering of the kundalini spirit is passed off the as the moving of the Holy Spirit. Culture has invaded our churches, encouraging things like abortion, same-sex marriages and attractions, and even drag queen shows in the sanctuaries. So few Christians know truly what the Bible says on these topics, since a large share do not avail themselves of Bible study therefore, are easily led down this pathway.

Larry Norman ends his song, “There there's no time to change your mind, how could you have been so blind? The father spoke the demons dined, the Son has come and you've been left behind.” Norman expresses there will come a time when it will be too late. In the meantime, however, an effort should be made to prepare the church. The question of today's church should be, “How can we prepare our people for the times they will be facing?” What pastor wants to stand before their church and have to say “I wish we'd all been ready? “

Query: Follower or Disciple?

 In this day of social media having a large number of "followers" is considered a good thing. What does that mean, however? Most people choose to "follow" someone whom they agree with most times, and they watch for any "posts" the person may make. It does NOT necessarily mean that the post reader acts on the post other than to read it. Occasionally a "like" will be made and/or a short comment on the post will be left. 

If Jesus were on Facebook, how many "followers" do you think He would have? I'm thinking that He would prefer disciples over followers. Disciples are learners whose goal is to become like their teacher so they can also teach. A follower is just that. Someone who follows and listens to the teacher but has little to no impetus to go the further step to becoming a disciple. Jesus at one point had a large amount of followers desert Him, so many in fact, that He turned to His disciples and asked them if they were going to leave also. 

I contend that Jesus has millions of "followers" but few disciples. Part of the Great Commission is to "make disciples of all nations". Instead, we seem to be making followers. Followers lack commitment and "follow" to try to get those things they are interested in and to avoid those things they don't care about. How would you categorize those who "name it and claim it" or see things from the angle of "living their best life now"? Would you consider them followers or disciples? When the going gets tough where are they? Do you think they would click the "like" button on Jesus saying, "In the world you will have tribulation..."?

What are you? A follower or disciple?

Contend for the Faith

 The Book of Jude tells us to "contend for the faith". What does that mean? The dictionary defines "contend" as: 

• 1) To argue or state earnestly, 
• 2) Struggle,
•  3) Compete with others in a struggle to achieve (something).

It makes one wonder how they might "contend for the faith". First, it needs to be said that we are not to pick and choose what we wish to believe in God's Word. Only reading and believing the "positive" parts of the Word leaves a lot out.

In New Testament times, Christianity was competing with Gnosticism. The Gnostics saw Jesus as merely a spiritual being and not a physical being. They felt that the physical part of life was evil and only the spiritual mattered. This was convenient in that it meant that they could literally do whatever they wished with their physical bodies as long as their spiritual body was on the right path. 

Paul was thinking about the Gnostics when he admonished the believers to make sure that anyone who taught them needed to believe that Jesus is God and that He was raised bodily from the dead. Consider that since we are saved by faith, if Satan can destroy the faith, he has destroyed salvation.

The Book of Jude addresses the fact that false teachers in the church are to be condemned and removed. He wanted to expose the false teachers that had infiltrated the church and to encourage Christians to stand firm and fight for the truth. Jude thought more than just being aware of false teachers and their teachings, believers were to stand against those working against the faith. How?

• Remember the teaching of the apostles.
• Build each other up in the faith.
• Pray in the Holy Spirit.
• Keep themselves in the love of God.

"Christianity was never intended to be the follow-the-leader-blindly cult" (Dave Hunt) It is important for us to do as the Bereans and to search Scripture to ensure we are not being led astray. We need to stand against error and to not allow the Gospel to be homogenized with our culture. Gnosticism did not fade away. It is alive and well today, just difficult to see unless you are looking for it.

We should be asking the questions, what can make a church vulnerable to false teachings today? Have we been "sucked in" because we don't know the Word as well as we should?  

According to a poll:

• Only 36% of those who attend church weekly believe Jesus is the only way to heaven.
• 57% believe other religions can lead to eternal life.
• Only 22% believe the Bible to be God-inspired.
• Over 82% of American Christians only read their Bibles on Sundays while in church.

Christians Don’t Read Their Bible | The Ponce Foundation

Thoughts: What is a Prophet?

 

Truth

There were prophets in the OT, not so much in the NT. Perhaps because once the Holy Spirit was given, God could and would speak to individual believers. The office of prophet was not entirely eliminated however, since it is listed as one of the five ministries. Today I see several "prophets" arise. The question is, "Do they all speak for God?" How do we know which do and which do not? How do they compare to the OT prophets? Think about the OT prophets, Moses, Jeremiah, Elijah, Elisha, to name a few. What did they all have in common?

1. They all were not particularly liked by the nation's leaders and the religious leaders.
2. Most, if not all experienced some type of persecution.
3. Their message focused on repentance and returning to the Lord and the consequences of not returning more than what might happen tomorrow.

If we were to line up those who profess to be prophets today, how would they line up?

1. Does what they say come to pass?
2. Have they been persecuted for their message?
3. What is the focus of their message? Is it repentance and returning?
4. In Jeremiah, the people only wanted to listen to the prophets that gave hope. Are we doing that?
5. I have heard a few of today's prophets talk about Christ consciousness. How many people would recognize that for New Age teaching?
6. How many people would prefer to listen to these prophets than to read or study their Bibles? Wouldn't that make the prophet almost operate as a medium?

Don't be fooled, in the last days many prophets will arise. Be careful who you listen to. Realize that the dark side has their prophets too.

We need to be able to discern double agents. Those who profess one thing but hide the fact they are working for the enemy. It disturbs me that a recent poll shows only 37% of church leaders have a Biblical worldview. That would mean almost 60% of our church leaders are double agents. Where do you think they are leading their people?

Antidote: 

• Watch to see or hear a message of repent and return. 
• Study your Bible to know if you are following the right path and pray for discernment.
•  Remember the dark side is skilled at fake news.

Thoughts: Taking the Name of the Lord in Vain

 

What does it mean to take the name of the Lord in vain? Most of us have been taught that means we should not swear. True, but there is much more to it. The Jews neither speak nor write God's name, choosing to avoid any chance of using it in vain. Christians, on the other hand, bandy God's name around without much thought. They even risk using it as a magical incantation. What thought is given to the phrase, "In Jesus' name" when it is tacked on the end of a prayer? If we would be honest, it comes off as a type of listing our requests and since the Bible says, "If you ask anything in My name, believing, you will receive", we think we can blackmail God into giving us what we want because we asked in His name.

At marriage, a woman takes her husband's name. As a result, from then on everything she says and does reflects on her husband. The same thing is true for a nation's ambassador. He is operating under the authority of the nation, but his words and actions also reflect on the nation. As Christians we are ambassadors for Christ, operating under His authority. 

How often do we think upon how our words and actions reflect upon Him?

 If we took our respect for His name seriously, wouldn't we be more careful how lightly we use His name?

 Would that change the flippant way we use the phrase, "In Jesus' name"? 

How can we use God's name more respectfully?

  Are we offended when someone doesn't show proper respect? 

Are we really any better than those who use God's name as a swear word, if we use it disrespectfully?

Are we so vain that we choose to speak for God? How would that look?

Don't Be a Rock, Be a River

 

I've been considering Moses. He was known for his humility which made him an asset to God. The times he stepped out of his humility put him in a lot of trouble. The event of striking the rock to get water instead of speaking to it, as he was told to do, got him banned from the promised land. Moses also dealt with a group of frustrating people, yet he also acted as a mediator between God and them when God wanted to get rid of them.

The idea of "don't be a rock, be a river" opens the door to better understand humility. The rock sticks up in the river, not moving, but causing the river to go over or around it. Sometimes the rock seems to impede the water's flow. We are like the rock when we insist on our own way. The river on the other hand, doesn't allow the rock to stop it. It gently flows over or around obstacles. There are times you can hear the river crying as it encounters a group of rocks. Rapids or waterfalls may impact the river, yet it continues on its course. The rock stubbornly remains in its place while the river moves on to create power, beauty and life, eventually making its way to the sea. The river uses the rocks in its way to enhance its beauty and increase its force.

If given a choice, I would be a river. The river doesn't fight the rocks it encounters it uses them. If I were a rock, I would want everything to be about me and would find forgiving and moving on near to impossible. I would impede other's lives and sometimes be the source of hurt to them

Which would you choose to be? A rock or a river?

In the Last Days there will be Prophecies, Dreams, Visions...

 "In the last days there will be those who prophecy, dream dreams and see visions." We read this both in Joel and Acts. There is no question we are in the last days, but there are some questions about the prophets, dreams and visions. The Old Testament prophets had a strong bent toward calling the people to repentance and returning to following God. Those who claim to be prophets today mostly resemble reading a horoscope or getting a "reading" from a medium, those things we are warned to avoid. I am not saying that God doesn't tell us what to expect, but where is the call to repentance? If Jeremiah were alive today, I'm sure he would have some strong words for the church. I'm also sure there are some of the prophecies/dreams/visions that truly are from God, but it has almost become a fad to say, "God gave me this word." Why are there suddenly a plethora of those "hearing from God?" When we become filled with the Holy Spirit God said He would speak to us directly. Why do we seek out these "prophets" to get a "word from the Lord"? Are these people a smoke screen sent by Satan to distract us from what the Holy Spirit is actually saying to us? Maybe like in Jeremiah's day, we would choose to listen to the false prophets over the true because they speak words we want to hear. "Repent and return to Me" is not a comfortable thing to hear as we would rather hear wonderful things are coming. Refusing to hear truth doesn't make it any less true. Believing a lie over truth because we don't like the truth can get us into so much trouble.

Having A Form...

                                     

"Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof." 

What is a form? An empty shell that is used to build something around such as a dress form or the edges put up to pour concrete to produce a particular shape. It also can be a type of empty mold that serves to contain a substance perhaps like a form used to make an image. The problem with having a "form of godliness" is that you are trying to create God in the image you choose instead of allowing God to create you into the image of His choosing. The image you create has no power while the one God creates in you is filled with His presence. Your image is like a robot, all action and no substance. The robot may go through the actions but there is an emptiness there. How much more fulfilling it is to allow God to mold and fill us!!

The Giant We Face Called Fear

 Of all the giants we face in life, fear is the biggest. If you remove fear all the other giants are easier to control. Why do you think that the verse that says, "God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind (self-control)" only mentions fear? God wants us to be clear that fear is not from Him. "Perfect love casts out fear". God is love and He works to remove fear. Now, that doesn't mean you should jump off a building to show you have no fear. When Satan told Jesus to jump off the Temple roof because the Bible says, "He gives His angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways", Jesus did not jump. To jump would have been arrogance. As soldiers we should go into the battle confidently, yet we still need to wear our armor. Having no fear does not mean we should not be prepared. 

We cannot defeat the giant of fear on our own. We need to take the power, love and self-control that God offers. The opposite of fear is faith. The question we should be asking is why it is easier to fear than to have faith?

Think about this, psychologists will tell you that 90% of all illnesses are psychosomatic (in our mind), now if I wish to control you, I introduce a suggestion, perhaps as a TV ad for a certain drug that "cures" a relatively unknown illness. You see this ad several times over the course of watching TV and after each ad it mentions that "doctors recommend". They do not, however list which doctors. Sure, they may list several side effects, but those are sandwiched between the "good" parts. It won't be long before lots of people are being diagnosed with whatever this drug purports to cure. Sometimes people specifically go to their doctor to try to obtain the drug, convinced that they have the mystery illness. The ad has introduced fear and then "just happened" to have the cure. It most likely will be packaged as being "good" for you. Little by little you can be convinced to take poison, under the impression it is helping, while it is actually killing you. We don't ask questions because we think the doctors, government and Big Pharma are working for our good. Granted, sometimes it really is for our good, but in many cases, they are conditioning and controlling us through fear toward the goal of another agenda which may be mind and population control. Those who don't die become enslaved mentally and/or physically, some believing they must have their particular drug. What if I threatened to take the drug away? What might the person do to get the drug? Anything. 

Are we being controlled? You bet!!

One Way

The children were on their way to school for the first time that year. There was a whole group of them. The mom had told them how to get to the school building and that there was only one way to get there. Into the journey a couple of the kids began talking about a shortcut they had heard about. Sally insisted there was no shortcut, yet Dan was persuasive and was able to convince most of the others the shortcut would be easier and faster. Even some of those who were hesitant became reluctantly convinced the shortcut would be better and would allow for extra play time. Sally and George kept to the original path and eventually arrived at the school. the teacher asked where the others were, and being told the others took a shortcut responded, "There is no shortcut. The only way to get to the school is the way you came." The others had become lost and ended up being taken prisoner by an evil man who was the one that had spread the rumor of a shortcut. He intended to trap as many as he could. He didn't want them to discover the true path.

There is only one way to Heaven and that is through Jesus. No matter who tries to convince you otherwise, you will only get there through Him. Satan, like the evil man, spreads rumors about shortcuts to encourage people to take a different route only for them to find a trap at the end of the way he directed them. A few escape, and return to the right path, but most stay on the wrong path because it is easier and /or more fun at the time. What path are you on?

Thoughts: The word "press"

“PRESS”URE 

A series of words that "press" is the base word: 

• Depress-to push down
• Suppress-push into hiding
• Impress-press mark on/ conform
• Pressure- a firm push/force
• Repress- to not allow something, especially feelings; to control what people do, especially using force
• Depression
• Impression
• Suppressant
• Express- push out
• Oppress- to govern people in an unfair and cruel way preventing them from having opportunities and freedom

Romans 12:2 Do not allow the world to pressure, depress, impress, suppress, conform you into its mold. A mold works to make all pieces alike, easier to control. Some many say they wish to express their individuality yet end up becoming/doing what everyone else does. Peer pressure is used by worldly forces to take the valuable gift of free will from us. Without free will we lose the ability to choose or to consider that there may be a loving God who wants more for us than for us to live as an automaton. Without free will we become robots withing the world system. It certainly seems as though our today's government/society is using forms of the word "press" to control and manipulate us. Is that what we want? What are we doing to resist? Consider that the pressure may begin as something which we rationalize is not a big deal, but over time, becomes intense. When the pressure is increased in small increments, one day we awaken to find that what we would have never allowed is indeed become a part of our daily life. An example may be, "two weeks to stop the spread" and two years later where are we, and what has been added?

666 breaks down to making God in our image (humanism), removing man's soul and making man into the equivalent of a beast. The mark of the beast may be more than an individual who sets up a world system. Could it also be a wresting away of our spiritual side? What do you think would make the devil happy? I submit that he would find joy in causing whoever he is able to get to experience the same judgement he knows is coming for him and his cohorts. He knows he cannot win against Almighty God, but he CAN do as much damage as possible on the way to his demise.