Dead Fish

“Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. “Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.”              Revelation 3:10-11  NKJV

“Any dead fish can go with the flow’”. Have you ever heard that saying?  As funny as it may sound, I believe it might be the best description of where the Church today finds itself in respect to the world around us.  Truth be told, how many churches today have chosen to go with the flow and abandoned biblical principles in order to please an increasingly intolerant society? I don’t believe there is any passage in the Bible more applicable to the Church right now than this verse from Revelation where Jesus commends and instructs the Church at Philadelphia.  It describes perfectly the situation the Church today finds itself in with regards to how the world views it, especially as they attempt to change God’s laws and punish those who choose not to conform to their agenda.

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! “                                       Isaiah 5:20  NKJV

“Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, Who write misfortune, Which they have prescribed”                Isaiah 10:1  NKJV

While many are hoping for much needed changes as a result of the election of a new administration in this country, we should not be under the impression that evil will dial back its attacks on the righteous. I must confess that I am not at all surprised that at this time, especially in this country, believers are coming under attack for their faith and be vilified and persecuted for choosing to acknowledge God’s laws as the standard for our beliefs and actions.  Never in my memory can I recall such a time as we as believers face right now, where the world considers us to be an intolerant, prejudiced people. The level of vitriol and hate speech focused on Christians today is alarming to say the least, and the speed in which this world is becoming more and more like the days of Noah is breathtaking. Fortunately for us, this is a subject God had much to say about. 

“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you."  John 15:18. NKJV 

“It is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in man.”  Psalm 118:8. NKJV

“Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.”  2 Corinthians 6:17. NKJV

“Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love.”                                                   1 Corinthians 16:13-14  NKJV

For those who follow sports, an ongoing argument that many participate in surrounds the debate “do great teams win with offense or defense"? I'm sure most would say both, but it is a question that many fans enjoy arguing about, simply because there are those who love watching a great offense and others who would rather watch a great defense. In the fight against Satan which all Christians participate in, God tells us exactly how we can win and that is with a good defense.

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”                  Ephesians 6:10-13  NKJV

One of the most important points Paul makes here is in verse 11 where he tells us that what is expected of us as believers is simply to "stand". He repeats this in verse 13 where he tells us that after doing everything, we stand firm. In his way, God is telling us through Paul that all He expects from us is to play defense. We next see in verse 14 that we are told we can stand firm if we remember those parts of God's armor we have already put on when we made the decision to follow Christ. Those parts were reminding us of the truth of Christ in which we believe, remembering our position before God thanks to the righteousness of Christ, and resting in the peace that is ours from the knowledge of the first two which was promised to us in the gospel of Christ.

“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;”                                Ephesians 6:14-17  NKJV

In verse 16 Paul introduces us to the most practical piece of our armor, the one that we will need to use the most, and that is the shield of faith. Now personally I like this picture because to me, it realistically illustrates what Satan is trying to do to us as believers, and the way he tries to attack. An arrow is not all that large, and if one is coming straight at you I expect it is pretty hard to see. Also, arrows fly at an extremely fast speed and are pretty quiet. You can look at an arrow as the first of the stealth weapons, because the first time you hear them is when they hit you, and obviously by then it's too late to do anything about it. Most important, though, is the kind of arrow Satan uses. It's not your everyday arrow, but a flaming arrow which not only wounds you, but starts a fire that will continue to burn until put out.

As a result, God tells us that we need to take up the shield of faith. Have you had the opportunity to watch a movie that illustrates the use of a shield to defend against an attack by arrows?  I know I have seen a few that have done a great job showing what it must have been like to be in a battle like that. You have an army marching forward, carrying their shields which are almost as big as they are tall, and the opposing army launching their arrows. As soon as they fire, the opponent kneels down and hides behind their shields as thousands of arrows fall from the sky. As the attacking army continues to fire their arrows, the defending army simply waits behind their shields until the advancing army is out of arrows, and then they begin their attack. God tells us something in verse 16 that I think is very critical for us to remember. He says that if we take up the shield of faith we “will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one”.  Not some, ALL. This is what most of us would consider to be a winning defense!

Since we know we can win with God's help, it is also important to understand what these arrows will look like so we can recognize the "stealth" attack by Satan. I think the clue is in how God describes them when He says they are "flaming". Obviously a flaming arrow will start a fire, which then burns until put out. How does Satan "burn" us inside? I think these arrows will have two characteristics no matter what form they may come in. Remember they are coming from Satan, and we already know his method of attack. Satan wants us to doubt the truth from God in which we have believed, so first of all these flaming arrows will come out of our own thoughts. It's a sneak attack that seems to come from nowhere when we begin to doubt what we believe in.

Also, they will attack our position in Christ, the faith in Him that we have, which has already been described in the first pieces of armor we put on. You see, the key to overcoming a good defense is to first create doubt in the mind of your opponent that he is capable of defending himself. That works in any sport you can think of, as well as our fight against Satan. The trouble with doubt is that if you allow it to have its way with your mind, the effect will be to make you turn away from the conflict.  Sadly though, many do not understand that running away from a conflict only makes you a better target!

What is important to us to understand is the difference between what we believe, and the shield of "faith" which we are instructed to take up. What is faith? The best answer I can give you is that faith is "acting" on your belief. You see, belief is one thing, but taking action by making the decision to stand fast, demonstrates your faith. Faith is always action. The fact that you may have doubts proves that you have faith. So apply your belief to everything, every situation you find yourself in, and you will be demonstrating faith and defeating Satan and his arrows. We need to be "active" believers, Christians DOING not just believing, and we can best do this by standing firm in our belief in God and His commands.

Much of what I have read in the past few months agrees with the idea that this fight is only going to get worse.  Individual Christians, and the Church as a whole, must choose to either stand for the faith, or go with the flow. I truly believe God is orchestrating the events we see as the world fast approaches the time of His return for the Church.  Fortunately, we have Jesus’ promise that He is “coming quickly” to take us away before the judgment of the world. The question for us all is will we stand and fight?  God’s command to us as believers is to “hold fast” rather than going with the flow.  While I and many others are encouraged by the selections of individuals to help lead our country going forward we can not and should not expect a lessening of the attacks by Satan on the Church.

If you are reading this today and have never made the decision to allow Jesus Christ to come into your heart, and accept the free gift of eternal life He has offered you, I urge you to do so right now. You can do that by simply praying this prayer and accepting the gift of eternal life God has offered all of us by the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ.

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner and I believe You died for my sins. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life to you. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank you for saving me. Amen.

Keep watching.

The Eyes of a Fool

“Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every intent of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.”    Genesis 6:5-6  NKJV

“The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.”   Genesis 6:11-12  NKJV

Like many who are familiar with how Jesus describes the last days, I have often considered His reference to the conditions to be found on earth at the time of Noah and wondered what the root causes of them might really be.  Not a week goes by without hearing or reading something from other believers wondering just what this world, and especially our own country, might be thinking to explain the actions of many people.  I am reasonably sure many if not all of us would agree that we are fast approaching, if not already arrived, at a place where today could be described in the same manner as this passage from Genesis; “the wickedness of man was great” and “the earth was filled with violence”.

While the results of the election this past week are encouraging to many, and expectations of change are extremely high, I believe a word of caution is not only appropriate, but necessary.  The reason you see, is that while our situation may appear to have changed, people haven’t.  As I thought about these things this week, and tried to understand how so many people could be filled with such hate for those with whom they disagree, the Spirit reminded me of a phrase found many times in scripture which, as I thought about it, seems to explain just how easily man has arrived back at the same place as the men in Noah’s day.  Rather than seeking God for the answers to questions about acceptable behavior, men have decided that those standards are to be found “in his own eyes”.  I think today will be one of those times where I do very little talking, and instead will allow the Word to explain what the Father thinks about where we are to look for guidance.

…in his own eyes,

“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but He who heeds counsel is wise.”    Proverbs 12:15  NKJV

How often do you make a decision to do something without seeking the advice of God?  One of the hardest things I went through as a father was watching each of my daughters mature to the point where they slowly began making decisions on their own without coming to me for advice.  Of course, as they grew this was to be expected and I learned to accept my new role as the occasional source of counsel, but spiritually, do we really ever reach a point where we no longer need to look to God for guidance?  Truthfully, with my track record I know I need to look to Him for everything.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil.”   Proverbs 3:5-7  NKJV

…in his own eyes,

“All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirits.”     Proverbs 16:2  NKJV

Is the motivation behind your decisions based on what is pleasing to God, or pleasing yourself?  The spirit of this world seems to revolve around self-gratification as the gold standard by which we measure our decision making.  If the only law which governs our actions is whatever makes us happy, in reality there is no law and just as in Noah’s day the earth will be “filled with violence”.  As believers we have been given the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit to help us know what will be pleasing to God, and in turn guide our decisions.

“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.”           1 Corinthians 2:12  NKJV

…in his own eyes,

“Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts.”   Proverbs 21:2  NKJV.

  

I think we would all agree that when you truly love someone, your heart is always filled with thoughts of how to please them.  If you look at the condition of the world today is it really very hard to come to the conclusion that most are motivated by self-love?  Not a week goes by without hearing someone use the word “entitlement” to describe someone’s motivation for doing something.  The heart of the believer on the other hand, should be focused on searching the scriptures to find ways to please God, and do His will on earth.

“For the word of God [is] living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”     Hebrews 4:12  NKJV

…in his own eyes,

“The rich man is wise in his own eyes, but the poor who has understanding searches him out.”  Proverbs 28:11  NKJV

If you read the first ten verses of this chapter you will see that in this verse the “him” that the poor man searches for refers to the Lord.  The picture painted for us here is one of a rich man believing he is wise because of his success and therefore needs only look to himself, and a poor man who understands that true wisdom and understanding comes only from the Lord. How much better would this world be if every man sought out God and tried to walk in such a way as to please Him?  It was Paul’s prayer to the Colossians, and may it be our prayer as well both today and in the weeks ahead.

 

“For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing [Him], being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;”     Colossians 1:9-10  NKJV

While we wait to see the effects of the changing of the guard in America’s politics, the one thing we do know for certain is that God has promised to take His Church home to be with Him and escape the coming judgment promised to this world and those who have chosen to reject His gift believing that they are right “in their own eyes”.  As always, the most important question is this, have you chosen to accept the gift of eternal life provided for us by God the Father?  If not, I would urge you to do it today.  Time to make that choice is indeed rapidly running out and Jesus returning to take His own back with Him to heaven could happen at any time.  All you need to do is simply ask Him for forgiveness for your sin, invite Him to come into your life, and believe He died to pay the price for your redemption.  A simple prayer like this is all that He wants to hear from you.

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner and I believe You died for my sins. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life to you. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank you for saving me. Amen.

Keep watching.

Expectations

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.”         Romans 8:18  NKJV

I’m sure that many of us are familiar with the phrase, “don’t get your hopes up”.  Although I can’t remember when I first heard it, I can certainly recall hearing it often. Or maybe as I do, you can also remember other times in your life where you experienced the emotion of expectation while waiting for something you wanted very much to finally occur.  While most of us have, in one way or another, experienced the joy of expectation, I have to ask another question which is related to the first.  Have you ever experienced disappointment when the reality failed to live up to your expectations?

Truth be told, I think many of us would have to agree that we have been disappointed far more than not when experiencing unfulfilled expectations.  In fact, in our family as my three daughters were growing up, their favorite saying was “reality bites”.  As much as we might have tried to alleviate it, they experienced their fair share of disappointment as the realities of life failed to live up to their expectations.  If you are like me, it’s possible that you have never escaped the habit of asking “why?” when considering the complexities of life and the disappointments we often are called to endure. 

As I thought about the coming election, and the choice facing this country in regards to it’s future direction, the Spirit led me to this passage from Romans that I have to admit, caused me to pause and consider carefully exactly what the apostle Paul was trying to tell us.  To be truthful, the idea that creation itself has feelings causes me to take a step back and raise my eyebrows, yet that is exactly what Paul tells us here.  Just as we are living with the expectation of being delivered from the bondage of sin at the rapture of the Church, so creation itself is waiting for the return of Christ to this world.  

It might seem strange to consider, but I wonder if, as so many are focused on their short term expectations, we as believers should be more focused on our long term expectation. The unfortunate result of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden was that this earth, and all of nature was punished along with man through no fault of its’ own.  While natural disasters are taking a back seat to the election next week, it shouldn’t escape our notice that creation is certainly “groaning”.  I can’t help but wonder if the earth is trying to tell us that, it too, has an expectation which it feels might certainly be fulfilled shortly.

“For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.”  Romans 8:22  NKJV

Now let me ask you a question here.  If, as Paul tells us, “creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed”, and  “the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs”, is it not logical to conclude that what the world describes as “natural disasters”, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, drought, floods, fires, etc. is just creations’ way of revealing its’ own expectation of deliverance just as we do?  Now at first that might sound a little strange, but consider how often we are told much the same thing throughout the scriptures.

“Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; Let the sea roar, and all its fullness; Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the LORD. For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with His truth.”        Psalms 96:11-13  NKJV

The heavens will rejoice, the earth itself will be glad, the sea will roar, the fields will be joyful, and even the trees will rejoice when Jesus returns at the end of the Great Tribulation to judge the world.  Jesus Himself said that the stones He created could cry out with rejoicing and praise in this passage from Luke describing His entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

“Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying:“ ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”  Luke 19:37-40  NKJV

So my thoughts were that if creation itself feels much as we do, and is waiting patiently (or impatiently) for the return of Christ, it seems logical to assume our expectations are the same.  We are waiting for the promise of His return and the expectation of deliverance from the effects of sin.  As I grow older I find myself appreciating more and more the promise of a new body that will never grow old, and a life free from my sin nature and the temptations to do wrong.  I’m sure many of you would agree with me, and have given thought as I have as to just what we can expect when we finally meet our Savior in the air.

Although I highly doubt that any true believer feels that there is a possibility of being disappointed when we finally get to Heaven, I think it is reasonable to assume that the reality of what we find when we do go home might be somewhat different from some of our expectations as to what life might be like.  I recall one time listening to a pastor from California talking about his expectations of surfing on the perfect endless wave in Heaven and wondering if he missed the description in Revelation which says there will be no more seas.   

The passage from Romans uses the phrase "earnest expectation" to describe what creation is feeling.  In the Greek, this phrase means "anxious and persistent".  Are you anxiously and persistently looking for the return of Christ, or are your expectations of what we will find when we get to heaven being overshadowed by your short term expectations?   While the decisions we as a nation are facing are certainly important, we should take care not to let them take away from our expectation of deliverance from this earth, and the joy that awaits us in eternity.

If you are reading this today and have never made the decision to allow Jesus Christ to come into your heart, and accept the free gift of eternal life He has offered you, I urge you to do so right now. You can do that by simply praying this prayer and accepting the gift of eternal life God has offered all of us by the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ.

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner and I believe You died for my sins. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life to you. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank you for saving me. Amen.

Keep watching.

Escaping the Coming Judgment

“Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”                                                 Genesis 6:5-8  NKJV

As we are approaching the anniversary of Noah’s flood, I thought since Jesus linked the flood of Noah to the end of this age I would share some of my thoughts on the subject.  For no reason I can think of, (other than the prompting of the Holy Spirit), I have always been fascinated by the story of Noah.  In fact, so much so that at one point in time I spent considerable time and effort to research the possible location of where the ark might have come to rest.  

Much has been said and written lately on the subject of God judging this world, and even singling out America as a nation deserving God’s special attention.  As we see evil growing and manifesting itself in sometimes horrific ways around the world, is it any wonder that many believe that we are approaching, or even have arrived at the time where God will once again reveal Himself to mankind by directing His wrath upon an unbelieving, sinful world.  As believers, we know that God has already warned that there will be a coming time of judgment just as there was in Noah’s day but instead of using water, this time around He will use fire.

“knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”             2 Peter 3:3-7  NKJV

While many in the world would use promises like this to portray God as being cruel and vindictive, they choose to not only ignore the fact that this judgment is well deserved, but also that God has provided both a way of escape and given mankind ample opportunity to make the right choice.  In Noah’s day, even those witnessing the ark being constructed over a period of so many years never made the choice to join Noah and his family on the ark.  It has been almost two thousand years since Jesus Christ lived, died, and rose again as a sacrifice for mankind’s sin, yet slowly but surely that sacrifice has been ignored by more and more of the world’s population until we find ourselves once again facing the time of God’s judgment.

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”                      2 Peter 3:9  NKJV

I’m sure most of us have heard people say that although they believe, the rapture of the church is still many years away and the world is really no worse off than it ever was.  Unfortunately these people mistake God’s patience for indifference or “slackness”.  I can recall while raising my children and setting boundaries they often mistook my patience for indifference.  The looks on their faces when my promise of judgment actually occurred was often priceless.  Although God has promised a sure and final judgment, He is giving the world time to make the right choice because as a loving father, He wants no one to go to hell.  Yet as in Noah’s day, more will choose to ignore God’s providence than accept it.

“And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”                                                     2 Thessalonians 2:11-12  NKJV

The lie that God will not judge is the same one that Satan introduced in the Garden of Eden so many years ago when he convinced Eve to ignore God’s warning not to eat the fruit of the tree.  Just as he was able to deceive Eve, he is also able to deceive many in the world today.  The question for us as believers is how do we react to the situation we find ourselves in as the world looks more and more like it did in Noah’s day?  Noah made the choice to be obedient to God, and followed His instructions to build an ark.  In much the same way, salvation by faith in the gospel of Christ is the modern day ark which will save mankind from the coming judgment, and it is our responsibility to share it with an unbelieving world.

Many have come to believe that after watching what has happened in this country over the past few years we as a nation are at the forefront of God’s attention for future judgment.  I would have to agree with that assessment and truly believe we are fast approaching the time when our well deserved judgment will occur.  Our responsibility as believers is to share the gospel with those who may not know Christ in the hope they will choose to believe and escape the wrath of God which is on the horizon.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”                                 Romans 1:16  NKJV

Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.  Have you?  Have you made the choice to accept the gift of salvation made possible by the sacrifice of God’s Son, Jesus Christ?  If not, if you are reading this you still have time to do so before God’s judgment begins.  Becoming a believer is accomplished by asking Christ to come into your life and to begin to help you live life as He directs.  If you want to do that today, simply pray this prayer to Him; "Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I believe You died for my sins.  I want to turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life to you. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank You for saving me. Amen."  

If you have done this today, or have done it in the past, you have God’s promise that you will be spared from the judgment He has promised is going to occur to those who choose not to believe.

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools,”               Romans 1:18-22  NKJV

Keep watching.