Nothing to do with it

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.  People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God– having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.  They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires,  always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.”  2 Timothy 3:1-7

This was a bad week for our nation, and a foreshadowing of times to come.  Sadly, it confirmed what “terrible times” we are indeed in.  We saw a nation of people blindly following a conceited, narcissistic, slanderous, Godless  leader, and an evil ideology.  What is even sadder, is that WE have allowed this tragedy to happen.  WE have allowed God’s word to be perverted, without resistance.  WE have allowed our  homes and churches to be places of ungodly “tolerance”, rather than beacons of light in a dark world.  WE have vilified God himself, and rejected HIS word by our complacency.

Let’s be clear – socialism is NOT a Christian value – the redistribution of wealth is the embodiment of covetousness – wanting…stealing… the fruit of the labor of others IS SIN.

And what of “social issues”?  I’m not about to pussy-foot around on this one.  Abortion IS murder.  Period.  A child is not a “choice” once he or she is conceived.  Abortion is about a life, not a social issue.

And as for me paying for your birth control, well – if you sold your vote for a few bucks worth of pills or prophylactics, then you sold your integrity and virtue.  Ladies, if that is something that you opted for, then you are one of the “weak-willed women” that the Bible talks about – loaded with sin, and swayed by your evil desires.  I say that with a sincere hope that you will re-examine yourselves and return to God and his truth.  The Bible tells us that the wounds from a friend can be trusted (Proverbs 27:6), so please take my words as just that – the wounds from a friend.

And gay marriage?  God calls homosexuality “detestable”.  (Leviticus 18:22)  It is a sin, NOT to be celebrated.  Are there other sins that we all experience?  Of course!  But we in no way celebrate those sins!  Marriage is between one MAN and one WOMAN.  Period.  And a relationship outside of marriage is adultery.  A government that spits in the face of God and codifies, celebrates and protects sin is actively rejecting God and his protections.  We are not better off when we celebrate sin.  Our “tolerance” opens the door to God’s judgment even further.

These are just a few examples of what we are to reject as Christians, and we are told, in no uncertain terms, that we are to “Have nothing to do with them.”  We must be willing to stand up for the truth – in our homes, in our communities, in our nation, and in our churches.

The question for you today is whether you are FOR GOD or against him.  God has put before you life and death.  CHOOSE LIFE!

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your protection in our lives, and your provision in our lives.  We thank you for giving us your word to guide us in our lives.  We ask you for strength to hold fast to your word, and the strength to stand by your word and in your word when those around us choose the darkness of sin.  Give us wisdom and strength to proclaim your word in a world that is filled with evil, treachery, godlessness, sin and darkness.  Lord, let us be light to those who are in that darkness.  Help us to live lives that are pleasing to you.  Thank you for the hope of salvation, and guide us to bring others into that hope.  Lord, give us inspiration today, especially when we are hurting.  Inspire us to hold on to you when our own faith is weak.  Bless us, Lord, even in these terrible times.  In Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen.

Copyright ConnieD. 2012.  All rights reserved.

 

 

Rejected again

“But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.”  Romans 2:8

I don’t have children but I think I’ve experienced them enough to know at least a few tidbits about their behavior.  I have a niece, and I remember so vividly when she was little, and just starting to assert herself as a person.  My sister heard a lot of “no!” and “I don’t want that!”, on top of a lot of head-shaking and lower lip action.  Most of the time I sat in the corner, quietly, when I witnessed this kind of behavior (and yes, rolling my eyes).  But the day I heard that little girl tell my sister “I hate you!” was the day that my little niece got a dose of …. the Wrath of Connie.  Yes, I’ll admit that before I even knew what was going on in my own head I had already stood up, got my index finger in pointing position, and marched over to that little girl with a look that she probably thought was going to kill her.  I asked her if she would like it if I told her that I “hated” her.  Her eyes immediately shot down to the ground.  I then told her that what she said was very mean and hurtful to her mom.  I told her it also hurt me, because I loved her mom – after all, we’re sisters.  I saw that lower lip begin to quiver, and her eyes and nose got all drippy at once.  Eeww.

I wish I could tell you that was the last time I ever heard those things come out of my niece’s mouth, but I will tell you that when I heard it, she got an earful from me.  Thankfully, we’re beyond that now.

Have you ever heard or seen an adult behave that way?  You know you have – be honest.  I’ve heard that from the person in the mirror once or twice, but always with the inevitable regret.  I’ve seen horrible, self-seeking behavior from bosses, and subordinates alike.  I’ve seen colleagues throw tantrums toward each other when they don’t get their way.  I’ve heard and seen total strangers spew hate against God, Christians, and everything decent.  These people reject the truth of God’s word, and honestly believe that they will somehow be exempt from experiencing God’s wrath and anger.  I find it most sad and unfortunate when entire groups of people behave that way, corporately, as we’ve seen so frequently of late.  These are people whose lives are focused on their need to satisfy their own perverse view of the world – who see murder as an exercise of “freedom”, who reject decency and integrity in favor of lives that are purposefully determined to satisfy sinful impulses.  We’ve seen it in our political system, when entire groups of people openly and defiantly reject God, his word, and his people, including his chosen people, Israel.

These are the things that sadden my heart, and make my soul cry out to God so very loudly.  I can only imagine that our heavenly Father hears the table-pounding “I hate you’s” of those who utterly reject him, and He is no doubt deeply saddened by that kind of rejection.  He is saddened because Christ’s sacrifice was the full and complete atonement for the sins of each and every one of us, for now and always.  He is saddened because the gift of salvation was given to all of us, not just a select few.  He is saddened because the gift He gives us is free, and that it only requires the acceptance of that gift, and nothing more.  And He is saddened because He knows that the rejection of Him, and His gift, means an eternity of wrath and anger for those who reject Him.

Every day we have the opportunity to know God’s love and acceptance.  Every day we have the opportunity to turn one person’s rejection of God into a new beginning for that person.  We are called to stand firm in our faith, and share our faith.  When we do, God will know for certain that He has one more person who will not reject him again.

Heavenly Father, thank you for showing us so clearly in your Word the blessings we will know for believing in You, and the redemptive power of the Cross.  Thank you for reminding us that there is a world that still needs to be shown the way to you.  Thank you for showing us just what rejecting you will bring, and for the grace and mercy that allows us to avoid such a fate.  Lord, we ask you to help us stand strong against evil, and against the ones who promote the evil things of this world.  Use our lives to change the hearts of those who continue to openly reject you, and those who are deceived, who continue to support the evil things of this world yet claim to know you.  We ask for your blessings, Lord, because this world can be a hard place to be when those who follow evil control it.  Thank you for hearing our prayers, Lord.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.

Copyright ConnieD. 2012.  All rights reserved.

A Double-Minded Man

” I hate double-minded men, but I love your law. ”   Psalm 119:113

and

“For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.”  Psalm 37:9

and

“When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan.”  Psalm 29:2

I ordinarily don’t like to talk about current events when I write – I prefer not to get distracted by this world’s insanity, as I prefer to just focus on the eternal truths of God’s word, and the love of Christ.  It makes me feel better, and hopefully it helps you, my beloved reader, to feel better too.  After all, bringing that kind of inspiration to you is why I love doing this.

But today is a little different.  Sometimes things happen in the world that smack us in the head, telling us and showing us that we need to wake up.  These are screaming examples of exactly what God is telling us throughout His word.  So what exactly happened?  Well, we saw an example of how a single “double-minded” man has the ability to destroy good, and promote evil.  Last week the United States Supreme Court issued a decision on obamacare, and one man, one double-minded man – Chief Justice John Roberts – decided that he alone would impose on the nation a law that stripped us of our freedoms, that uses the fruit of our labor to corporately choose death over life through things like funding  the of murder unborn children and the effective abandonment of those who are old or infirmed, and that mandates that we effectively abandon our faith or be punished.  And Chief Justice Roberts heralded the cause of four other Justices, who have long track records of pro-death, anti-Christian sentiments.  And sadly, these few justices echo the desires of an entire group of people in government and society who also desire and strive for these wicked outcomes.

I was utterly stunned by this decision, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that such outright evil is taking control of this nation, and this world.

So what do we do?  What do we say?

We tell the truth.  The whole truth.  And nothing but the truth.  And not just “the truth” – but God’s Truth.

So that takes us back to the Psalms.  David’s words – God’s words through David – are so appropriate and comforting in days like these.  David wrote of the difference between God’s law, which is given to us in love and mercy and eternal Truth, and the imposition of arbitrary, self-motivated rules of “double-minded” men.  Isn’t that what we see today?  Double-minded men?  The Truth – these are people who are supposed to offer us justice, equity, and yes, righteousness, but who in fact are more in love with their positions, power and themselves.  The Truth -these are people who claim to have a superior moral core but who give in to the evil forces and temptation of this world.  These are the people who are willing to sell their souls for temporary gains of the world system.  The Truth – they are willing to fabricate their own reality to essentially become legends in their own minds.  And let me be clear – God “hates” those people.  THAT is God’s TRUTH.  God tells us that these people will be “cut off”.  And God tells us that there is a bright future for those who hope in Him.  In the middle of these dark days, we have to remember God’s promise to us.

I would encourage you to read all of Psalm 37 – God gives us some amazing promises there, and some dire warnings to the wicked.  In Psalm 37:13 God tells us that He laughs at the wicked, for He knows their day is coming.  Yes, you heard that right – he “laughs”.  He sees their evil ways, and He allows them to follow the path of wickedness all the way to their own eternal demise.  He doesn’t reach out, begging them to see the error of their ways.  He doesn’t stop them in their tracks and tell them that He’ll gently help them to see the light.  Nope.  He LAUGHS at them!  He turns them over to themselves and to the evil one.  Some of you may think it’s terrible for me to take comfort in this, but I do.  Why?  Because God wants us to know that the wickedness of this world will not go unpunished in eternity.  And He tells us this so that we might know about His justice, and His love, and His faithfulness.  God tells us this so that we won’t worry, and so that we will continue to put our trust in Him – not this world.

I ask you to remember that we are in this world, but we are not to be of this world.  And through it all, through the wickedness of this world, keep your eyes on the Prize – our eternal future with our Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ.  Never retreat from standing up and speaking up for God’s Truth.  Hope in the Lord, and YOU will inherit the land.

Lord, we thank you for reminding us of your eternal love, and your eternal justice.  Thank you for your promises to bless your servants, despite the evil forces in this world.  Heavenly Father, I ask for your wisdom and guidance as we work to continue to stand for You, and speak up for You.  Bless us so that we don’t lose heart in these evil days.  Hold us up and protect us in your loving arms – when we are tired, when we lose hope and when we struggle to find faith.  Hear our prayers, Lord, and please show us reminders of the hope we have in You.  In Jesus’ name we pray these things.  Amen.

Copyright ConnieD.  2012.  All rights reserved.