2011 Off With a Bang!

Wow!!  What’s happening out there? Earthquakes, wars,  riots, bloodshed, lies, treachery and betrayal of countries by kings and citizens by their governments! The bigger question, however, may not be how did we get here, but where are we going and what are we going to do about dangerous place we are in?

Everyone will answer that differently. Some will try to get more involved in their church, or country, or make a shift in the direction they sense their moral ship is going. Others will continue to live a laissez-faire life of ease and self-indulgence common to the those whose finances allow them to live the life of the generally privileged. Some may still be ambitious enough to think we can make a difference. Others are wondering where God is or waiting for Him to step in and put this world in a judgment head-lock.

Some are sad and won’t be putting forth as much effort to believe for anything. “It is what it is” is all it will ever be, has bound them to the past with the belief that nothing will ever change. Many are tired of lies and false hope. Their gods and grues have misled them or left them stranded on the undefined shores of a distant land and all they want to do is go home. And for the ambitious and oblivious, life is far too busy and full of fun to despair of hope or think soberly about it all ending.

It truly is  as in the days of Noah. They continued on with their daily activities, eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage and never giving a thought to anything more pressing than the moment, until the flood came and swept them all away.

These are the best of times and the worst of times, as were many other times recorded in the chronicles of mankind. “Perilous times” (II Tim.3:1) the Bible calls them. “For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despiser of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power.”

If there is any consolation in this passage and ones like it, that comfort comes from the fact that even as we see these things appearing before our very eyes, we can also know that what they predict is not far behind.

If all this stuff about God and what His Word says will happen, is true, then both wisdom and logic would tell us, our only hope is in the One True God. In spite of the fact that most have left Him for dead, or gotten mad at Him for being sovereign or for not catering to their every whim, He is still in control of everything, even those things that seem to be “out of control”.

I am more convinced than ever that very few of us understand the weight of the spiritual context in which this life is written. The battle between God and Satan sits at the core of everything that happens down here whether we want to believe it or not.

I know many of you do not believe in the devil, or in God, for that matter. Nothing says you have to believe in anything. Nothing forces you to believe in God, or in His Son, Jesus Christ. You can believe whatever you want, but remember, just because you believe something does not make it true.

One objective observation on truth is that the One Who seems to pull the highest ratings as  public offender number one, is Jesus Christ.  What world act of violence He actually did to get those ratings is not clear, though what is clear is that when He was down here, His actions were the essence of justice, truth, mercy, goodness, love, patience, tolerance, meekness, hope.

Doesn’t the fact that He kept His word even to the point of personal sacrifice and death make you wonder, who determines the” Man of the Millennium” ratings, and who is the most threatened by His continued presence here on the earth?

We are His disciples and if they hated Jesus Christ, they will hate us. Jesus Christ is the anointed appointed Redeemer sent to pay the ransom and release the prisoners of sin and death.

Don’t be fooled by this world’s discussion of truth or their new standards of tolerance and social justice.

Follow those who criticize the Son of God or the sovereignty of God at your own risk. What merit or testimony can they add to yours on that final day when we all must appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ?

No one who follows Jesus Christ will ever be politically cool or correct as long as the prince of the power of the air rules the world. We are not shocked that the prince does not like his territory being threatened. Nor are we surprised when he messes with those who do not serve him.

The Day of the Lord is at hand. He told us to look up and watch for His return when He will come back as the King of Kings,to set up His Kingdom and rule here on this earth as the Prince of Peace.

God’s will for us has always been peace, but not the global passivity that steals men’s freedom. We serve out of love, not fear.

God has come to save us from the Devil’s domination and eternal damnation.

So what can we know for sure about the end, about what is next, about now?  First, we cannot change ourselves, though we may all feel the pressure to do so. No amount of change, or achievement, or fun, or stuff will ultimately deliver us from the feelings that drive us to anxiety. Only the peace of Christ within us will quiet our restless souls and calm our anxious minds in these troubled times.

It is sure, the earth is not going to repent of its ways. It is sure, that the prince of this world is not going to give up his prisoners without a fight. It is sure the lies that spew out from everywhere will continue to dominate our thinking, our purchases, our activities and our general direction, unless we  repent, (change our minds) and let the Lord God defend us in the up coming battle. Call upon His Name, (Romans 10:9-10). Submit to Him, trust His Word, rely on His Faithfulness, He is coming back to rule and reign upon this earth and His reward is with Him.