Perilous Times Have Come, And They Are Not Going Away!

This article was published sometime last year. The more I look around at the condition of the world, the more I feel the need to repost it. If you have read it before, then I hope it blessed you then, and I hope it blesses you again. If this is your first time reading it, take it to heart, and compare the scriptures during your study time. I am sure that the Spirit of the Lord will speak to you…

2 Timothy 3:1-7

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,

Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Obviously, we are living in the last days….

Unless you have been asleep for the past twenty years, you can see that all of the above have come to pass right here in the United States, and all over the world.  We see how much men love themselves, for they do anything that will satisfy their flesh.  Humanity loves itself so much that we are not willing to suffer any inconvenience for any reason.  We put all kinds of measures in place to make sure that life is smooth sailing for us.  We love to feel good, look good, and have others’ admiration.  1 John 2:16 says “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”  Sound familiar?

The Word says that people will be “..boasters, proud…”  I really don’t even have to touch that.  When I think of boasters, I think of social media.  People are all over social media parading their sin, doing shameful things in shameless fashion, using no discretion.  I am one of the few people left on earth who does not have a page on a social media website, but I peep over my daughter’s shoulder when she is on social media.  Sometimes my jaw drops at what I see.  I don’t know why I am so shocked, but I always am.  People never cease to amaze me with the levels to which they will stoop to gain the attention of the world on the internet.  So sad.

The “blasphemers” of the world include those persons who continue to deny the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.  I was listening to some Bible teaching yesterday on the different beliefs amongst cults and false religions about the person of the Lord Jesus.  Some believe that He was a prophet, some say He was the Son of God, but not God Himself, and others say He doesn’t exist at all.  My response to those persons is simply this:  I pray that you turn to the Lord Jesus Christ before it is too late.  When your soul is required of you, you had better believe the truth, because there are no “do-overs” in eternity!  If you do not get it right on this side, you will spend eternity in the place where there is “…fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” (Mark 9:45b-46).

The Word says that in these days, children will be “…disobedient to parents…”  That is an understatement.  Any trip to the grocery store, the doctors’ office, or any public place where parents and children are present, there is always an opportunity to witness disobedient children.  Parents these days are not like the parents who raised me:  my parents didn’t deal with foolishness from children, and I am the same kind of parent that they were.  When my parents spoke, their children listened.  My parents’ no meant no.  There was no questioning, no backtalk, no temper tantrum, and no threats to call 911.  The adults, the responsible parties, ran the show.  If you didn’t like it, you didn’t dare express your dislike, because if you did, you would get what you deserved.  Proverbs 10:13b says “…but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.”  My parents believed in that principle, but now we have talk show hostesses who have never borne any children, telling us that we should not spank our children.  That, however, is not what the Word says.  Proverbs 23:13-14 says “Withhold not correction from the child:  for if thou beatest him with the rod he shall not die.  Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.”  I KNOW that is not “p.c.”, but that is “B.I.B.L.E.”.  The Word says that when your child needs a spanking, give it to him.  John MacArthur says this:  “Now very simply, folks, how do you get this little guy or this little girl to obey? Bottom line, you hit them with something, it’s here called a rod. You say, ‘You sure that’s what it means?’ Well, what’s the point in just saying…look, here’s a rod, would you please obey? If the rod has never been applied, I don’t think they understand the picture. You basically are called to use corporeal punishment. That’s what it says. A rod is for the back of him who lacks…and isn’t it interesting the Lord even tells you where to hit them? Not on the front and not on the top, on the back, where they’ve been designed to be hit.”  God, in His infinite wisdom, gave parents a space on their children’s bodies that is reserved for correction.  He designed their bodies that way because He knew what they would need.

God said that in the last days they would be “…unthankful, unholy…”  That describes a generation of young people ranging in ages from birth all the way up to their mid-thrities.  Today, parents can give their children their absolute best, and the children walk away as if they deserved it.  Sometimes, when I do things for my children, maybe one of them will say “thank you”.  I ask, “Were there not ten cleansed?”  In Luke 17, Jesus cleansed the ten lepers of their leprosy, but only one came back to say thank you, and he was a Samaritan.  Jesus asked, “Were there not ten cleansed?  but where are the nine?”  Ten were healed of the leprosy, but nine were unthankful.  Sounds like children of today…parents can give them their best, and the child will still stand there with their hand out as if there ought to be more.  Perilous times have come.

“…Without natural affection…”  It burdens my heart beyond description that the youth of today are exposed to so much perversion.  Homosexuality and lesbianism are treated as the norm instead of the abnormal, sinful abomination that it really is.  I was watching an interview with a famous person recently who shared with the world that his youngest son has “come out” as a homosexual.  He then showed a video of the son and his male companion walking down the street, holding hands, as if there was nothing wrong with that.  He even went so far as to say that he was proud of his son.  I thought, how sad….a father who is supposed to be the head of the household, and the most influential male figure in his son’s life, has condoned his vile lifestyle.  School systems are condoning this behavior; and unfortunately, so is the church.  The music ministry in the church of America is a breeding ground for homosexual men.  I recently learned the term “down low”, which refers to men in the church, mostly married men, some with children, who are sneaking around with other men.  The church has done such a poor job of calling sin what it really is until that spirit has made itself right at home in the church.  Once it becomes comfortable in the church, there is no one to call it out on the street or in the world.  That is how the president of the United States could actually try to rebuke my home state of North Carolina for voting against perverting marriage.  That is how he could go on national television on May 9, 2013, and say things about North Carolina that are not true, because the church has not stood on God’s Word and said what IS true.  I could go on and on about this topic, because I feel very passionately about it.  Instead, I will move on…

This generation is full of “…truce breakers, false accusers…”  As a child, I was taught that one’s word was his bond.  If two men shook hands on something, that was it.  No more needed to be said, because the agreement would be carried out.  That is not the case anymore.  A contract is nothing but a promise with loopholes.  Get the right lawyer, and you can get out of any contract you make.  If you cannot afford the right lawyer, then think of the biggest lie you can tell, and that will get you out of the contract.  This is the new millennium way of honoring contracts.  Not only do we not honor contracts, but we do not honor covenants.  A covenant is a promise that is made and kept, no matter what.  Outside of fundamental Christian circles, you never even hear the word covenant.  No one keeps a promise anymore.  People will falsely accuse others in order to get out of a contract or a covenant.  Husbands accuse wives of not supporting them or being submissive in order to end their marriage.  Wives accuse husbands of being domineering or unloving, or whatever they can think of, and they leave their marriages also.  Almost half of the marriages in evangelical Christian households are ending in divorce.  Can you see the peril in that?

The sad fact of the matter is that most of the people who claim to be Christians in America are doing nothing more than claiming…they “…[have] a form of godliness, but [deny] the power thereof”.  How sad, because a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ empowers us to endure hardships, trials, and temptations better than any other thing there is in the world.  The greatest security system in the world is the connection between us and Him.  Our source for everything that we need is Him.  He has given us all we need for life and Godliness.  He supplies all of our needs according to His riches in glory.  He has given us access to His throne, so that we can come to Him and receive grace in the time of need.  He has sent to us a Comforter, the Holy Spirit, Who is our Leader, our Teacher, and our Guide.  He teaches us everything…we learn nothing of Him on our own.  As a matter of fact, we cannot even learn of Him if we do not have a relationship with Him.  This is another subject about which I could go on forever, because I am so thankful to my God for all that He has done for me, from His humble birth to His death on the cross, to keeping me up to this very moment.  I will, however, try to stay on task.

Perilous times have come.  Fortunately for the believers, we can come to the knowledge of the truth by staying in God’s Word.  We need to know the truth, so that we can stand against the tricks of the enemy.  Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ:  I compel you to take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and stand on it…all day every day!  I implore you to take on truth and use it as a mighty sword!  Nothing else is effective in the war against sin except for God’s Word.  Read it.  Study it.  Learn it.  Live by it.  It will take you into eternity.

If you are reading this and you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior; if you have not repented of your sins, and have not acknowledged that the Lord Jesus Christ died for your sins, I pray that you will do that right now, because the next millisecond is not promised to you.  The time is right for Jesus to come back and take His people up in the rapture.  If you are not one of His own, you will be left behind.  If you are left behind, there is a better than good chance that you will spend eternity in hell.  He could also come and require your soul individually.  You could get into your car and have a fatal accident.  You could die in a house fire.  You could contract a deadly disease.  You could take a bullet that is meant for someone else.  Anything could happen and your life could be over.  I hope that you will not let this moment pass without asking the Lord to save your soul.

Perilous times have come.  Won’t you ask Him to be yours before it’s too late?

 

And Now, A Word From The Apostle…

A Tale of Two Cities

Matthew 24:44

Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh.

2014 has proven to be the year of the interesting weather.  About two weeks ago, the city of Atlanta was hit with a snowstorm that paralyzed the city.  If you listen to the news, they make it seem like the governor of Georgia and the mayor of Atlanta are at fault.  Even the weather channel weighed in, so I am told, defending the fact that they warned the city of Atlanta that this storm was coming.  It appears as if their warnings fell on deaf ears.  Cars were stranded and abandoned on major highways in Atlanta.  It is my understanding that people spent hours in their cars trying to get home.  The highways were so jammed that road crews could not get through to do their jobs.  Since the road crews could not clear the snow and ice, travel was treacherous.  It was a mess.

Fast forward two weeks, give or take a day or two.  Travel six hours up the interstate to Raleigh, North Carolina, where the same kind of snowstorm hit the area.  Road crews spent two days spraying brine and salt on the highways and major arteries within the city.  School let out early and in some cases, there was no school at all.  Churches canceled Tuesday and Wednesday night functions in order to keep their parishioners off the roads.  Banks shut down.  The mall closed.  Even McDonald’s was closed.  Now, you know it is major if McD’s shut down!

Even after all that preparation, Raleigh suffered the same fate as Atlanta.  Cars were stranded and abandoned on major highways and thoroughfares in Raleigh.  People spent hours in their cars trying to get home.  Trips that normally took eight minutes turned into trips that lasted two hours.  The highways were so jammed that road crews could not get through to do their jobs.  Since the road crews could not clear the snow and ice, travel was treacherous.  It was a mess.

So, two cites, Atlanta and Raleigh…one seemingly ignored the warning and one heeded the warning.  One failed to prepare in advance and one prepared very well.  One has a governor and mayor under fire, while the other has a governor and mayor who took all the precautions and had all the right people in place.  Ultimately, the results were the same.

I wonder why that is….well, no I really don’t wonder because I already know.  I already know that there is no way that man can fully determine what God is going to do.  Neither city could have known that God had decided it was time for the deep south to experience some rigid temperatures and deal with feet of snow.  Jesus said “O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?” (Matthew 16:3).  Regardless of the technology, and there is some sophisticated technology out there now, no one could have known what would happen weather wise in February 2014.  I do not know about other cities, but it is my understanding that Raleigh has some of the most sophisticated weather tracking technology in the United States.  I was watching the weather forecast, and the meteorologist said that there are only a handful of cites in the country that have the technology that they used to determine what time the snow would start falling and how much accumulation we could expect.  As good as they may think that technology is, no one knows the mind of the sovereign God except God Himself.

Jesus told the Pharisees that they had all the knowledge and learning that the world afforded at that time; so much so that they could discern what the weather would be like, but they had no clue that they were in the presence of God Himself.  They knew a lot, but they didn’t know the right stuff.

So we have two cities who, no matter how you slice it, are not discerning the signs of the times.  The snowstorm that came through has been attributed to global warming and a polar vortex, but I want to climb on the roof of my house and scream to the top of my lungs, it is the wrath of God!!!  It is only God’s wrath that has a city in a deep freeze, and a week later, experiencing tropical temperatures.  It is not Global Warning…it is God’s Wrath.

If you do not have the ability to discern the times, then you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ.  You are not in relationship with Him.  You have not repented of your sin and surrendered your life to Him.  God’s wrath here on this earth is nothing like the wrath to come, when the unredeemed meet their father, satan himself, in a place where there is outer darkness, weeping and gnashing of teeth, the unquenchable fire, and the worm that does not die (Mark 9).  You are headed there if you do not have Godly sorrow for your sin.  Repent today and be saved.  Heed the warning.  The sign of the times is upon us.  The Lord Jesus Christ is coming again and it will not take as long as some think.

Romans 10:9-10

The Dream Is Now A Nightmare…

In light of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, I wanted to pause and address what Black America looks like today versus when Dr. King was alive.

I believe, from the things that I have heard and read about Dr. King, that he wanted justice in America for Black people.  I believe that he wanted us to have the basic human rights that were afforded to other people groups in this nation.  I am convinced that he was not looking for a handout, just a fair chance.

One of the first words that comes to mind when I think of Martin King is nonviolent.  He strove to protest the treatment of Black Americans in a way that did not cause harm to those with whom he disagreed.  He did not encourage our people to burn down neighborhoods, or go on shooting rampages.  He did not encourage using physical weapons at all.  I think of the Apostle Paul, who said “…For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds…” (2 Corinthians 10:4).  I believe that Martin King probably spent a lot of time in prayer to that end.  He was the third Black American to receive the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize, and only the twelfth American.  He was only 35 years old, which also made him the youngest recipient at that time.  The Nobel Peace Prize is accompanied by a financial gift, which I have read, King donated to various charitable organizations.  I believe that he had a compassionate, servant’s heart.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born Michael Luther King, Jr. on January 15, 1929, to Michael Luther King, Sr. and his wife, Alberta Williams King.  Michael King, Sr., a Baptist pastor, legally changed his and his son’s name to Martin in honor of Martin Luther, the 16th century Protestant Reformation leader.  What a fitting tribute to a man who changed the course of Christianity bestowed upon a man who would change the course of human history.

Being a pastor’s son, Martin King did not feel the full weight of the economic depravity born in the Great Depression.  His father’s position shielded him from that; however, that did not make the Kings immune to their surroundings.  One of the things I most admire about them is their fierce determination to become educated.  At 15 years old, Martin King enrolled in Morehouse College.  I read that he initially did not want to become a pastor because he was embarrassed by the emotionalism of the Black church.  Martin King graduated from Morehouse after only three years.  It is my understanding that he was an exceptional student.  That makes perfect sense, if he was able to graduate in three years.  He then received a fellowship for graduate studies at Boston University, and he also took classes at Harvard.  Martin Luther King, Jr. was no dummy.  He was a hard worker who obviously had a standard.  He completed his doctorate in June 1955, and the rest, as they say, is history.

We have all heard the struggles that Martin King faced.  He took a leadership position in the year-long boycott of the Montgomery bus system.  He was arrested during that time, his home was bombed twice, and his life was threatened repeatedly.  While on a promotional tour for the newly formed Southern Christian Leadership Conference and his autobiographical book, “Stride Toward Freedom”, he was stabbed by a mentally challenged Black woman.  He was arrested during the 1963 Birmingham march, and this event, amongst others, led to the publishing of his book “Why We Can’t Wait”.  Then, in 1963, King led the March on Washington, where a reported 60,000 whites showed up in support of civil rights for Blacks.  He delivered his now-famous “I Have A Dream” speech, and was chosen “Man of The Year” by Time magazine.  King was vehemently opposed to the United States’ involvement in Vietnam, which proved to warrant his skepticism.  He was in the process of organizing another march on Washington called the “Poor People’s Campaign”, which would call attention to the government’s lack of response to those living under the poverty level.  During this time, he accepted an invitation to come to Memphis, Tennessee to assist in the sanitation workers’ protest for better working conditions.  On King’s initial trip to Memphis, local gangs rioted and there was much violence.  Of course, King was opposed to violence, so he returned to Memphis to lead a peaceful protest.  It was there, where a 39-year-old Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered on April 4, 1968 on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel.

King’s work and legacy did not die with him.  President Jimmy Carter awarded King with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977.  In 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed into law the King holiday, celebrating his birth on the third Monday of January.  The first legal holiday was celebrated in 1986, but it would take 14 years for every state to recognize the holiday.

King’s legacy is one that has been marred tragically by the community for which he literally gave his life.  No longer are we “non-violent”.  The streets of Black America are full of gangs, drug dealers, and thieves who are ready in an instant to violently overtake anything or anyone with who they disagree.  I feel safe assuming that this is not the legacy that King wanted to leave for America.  I do not believe that he sacrificed his safety and the safety of his family all those years to give us the right to have gangs terrorize the streets of America.  I do not think that he sacrificed all that he did for the rights of young black men to embarrass themselves and others by hanging out on street corners, with their pants hanging down underneath their gluteus maximus, tattooed beyond recognition, while fathering children for whom they provide no spiritual, moral, or financial support.  I do not believe that he sacrificed his safety so that the prisons in America could fill themselves up with young Black men who have nothing better to do than get themselves in some kind of trouble, only to have their mothers snot and cry in the courtroom claiming that her son is a “good boy”.   I do not believe that he sacrificed his safety so that Black America could become self-righteous in its dealings, justifying every sin by claiming racial bias.  I do not believe that he would have sanctioned the desecration of the Black community by the high numbers of abortions performed on us in this country.  I also do not believe that King would have defined marriage as anything other than one man and one woman for life.  I feel strongly that he would have withdrawn his support from any man or woman who ran on a platform that stated otherwise.

King was an educated man.  He studied at some of the most prestigious schools in the country.  Not only was he a student, but he was a good student.  He graduated college in three years.  Rarely do we hear of that happening at all, let alone in the Black community.  He was reluctant to go to a religious institution because of his embarrassment over the hysteria of the Black church.  There would be few, if any, in the Black community who would acknowledge this, much less agree with it.  King, however, was spot-on with his hesitation.  The Black church centers its “gospel” on things that are not taught in scripture.  The Black church primarily teaches a “feel-good” gospel; one where you can “have what you say”, “when the praises go up, the blessings come down”,  and everyone is going to either be  millionaire someday or they are going to soon get a new house, new job, or new car.  There is very little study of scripture within the Black church, and the ones who do study scripture typically cannot remain in the Black church.  I know that is true because I am one of them.

King led protest marches for the rights and justices that he felt Blacks should have.  By doing so, he left a legacy of ambition:  when you want something badly enough, you have to go out and fight for it.  He did not take the easy way out, which is the montra of the Black community today.  No longer are we willing to work for what we want; we are willing to settle for a government handout.  We claim that we hate the slavery that our ancestors were forced to endure, but at the same time, we are willing to be enslaved to welfare and food stamps.  We claim that we want our children to be proud of their history and themselves, but we neglect to teach them their history and we certainly do not exemplify anything in which they should be proud.  We have a terrible habit of blaming everything on “the white man”, when in essence, the blame lies within ourselves.

I was unaware that King authored several books until I began reading up on his history in order to properly represent him in this blog post.  That information is not shared with the general public by the mainstream media, because after all, who would want to read a book?  We would rather speculate on what we THINK he would have done in today’s society, rather than pick up one of his books and actually read his position on the issues in his own words.  There is an old joke about us that is really more sad than funny, but I will admit that I think it all the time, and sometimes I even say it aloud:  if you want to hide something from a Black person, put it in a book.  Like I said, more sad than funny.

Time magazine recognized King as the “Man of The Year” in 1963.  It was President Jimmy Carter who awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and it was President Ronald Reagan who ultimately signed into law the King holiday.  It looks like “the white man” may not be as bad as we portray him.  These men acknowledged King’s efforts by honoring him in a very fitting manner.  I think that King would have been humbled at the honor bestowed upon him by two presidents.  I also think that King would have been equally embarrassed by the lack of self-respect, self-control and dignity that is present within our community.

I sincerely believe that his life and legacy have been marred not only by the aforementioned atrocities in our community, but I think his memory has been smeared by the likes of those who call themselves civil rights activists in the 21st century.  As far as I am concerned, the NAACP should disband.  No longer is it the institution that works for equality and freedom for people of color, but it has become an organization of ambulance chasers and opportunists who seek their own 15 minutes of fame.  How tragic that the North Carolina branch of the NAACP found itself on the wrong side of the scandal that broke out at Duke University when a Black woman lied on members of a sporting team, costing them their final years of study at one of the most prestigious institutions in the state.  Equally tragic was the involvement of local NAACP chapters in the protests labeled “Moral Monday”, where a bunch of liberals interrupted numerous workdays at the state legislature building, to protest something that has been designed for the good of all citizens.  The NAACP shows up at the worst time, in the worst place, spouting the worst rhetoric, inciting the name of Martin Luther King to give itself credence.  How tragic.

If Martin Luther King, Jr. were alive today, I would thank him for all that he persevered for the civil rights of Americans.  I would also apologize to him for the embarrassment that I am sure he would have suffered seeing the route that the “African Americans” (which, I don’t know why anyone would use that term unless they were actually BORN in Africa, and became an American citizen) have chosen to take.  I would also ask him to pray, as I do, for the future of not only Black America, but America in general…because this is not the America about which Dr. King had a dream.

The Spirit of Christmas

Luke 2:11-14

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

The “sign” was not the star in the east.  The sign was not the swaddling clothes.  The sign was not the angel or the heavenly host praising God.  The sign was the manger.  Why do I say this?  Well, we know that Jesus, the Messiah, could have come riding on a white stallion in all His royal garb for all the world to see.  However, He chose to come in the form of a helpless baby and allow Himself to be laid in a manger.  If you know anything about farming, you know that a manger is nothing more than a feeding trough!  It is the wooden “bowl” that the farmer built to put the slop in so that the animals could come and eat.  I remember when my family used to raise hogs, and we threw the corn, grain and table scraps in the feeding trough, and then watch the pigs rush to the trough, fighting over the food.  Pigs love mud and being dirty.  So can you imagine how nasty it looks to see all these muddy, dirty pigs rushing up to the trough?  That is where the Creator of the universe allowed Himself to be laid.  Such humility.

These are the kinds of things that I think of during the Christmas season.  I do not concentrate so much on gifts, decorations, food, sales, etc.  I think of my Lord coming to save a world that all but ignores Him.  I think of Mary and Joseph with their precious baby Boy in a dark, smelly stable with all those animals, enduring the lowliest of accommodations while the world suffers very little lack. He did this for me, and I am humbled beyond words.  In my mind, this is the true spirit of the Christmas season.

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas, Or Is It?

Christmas Eve 2013 is here. You would not know it by the hustle and bustle of the crowds in the shopping malls, but the day that we reserve to celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ is upon us. How will you celebrate the Savior’s birth? Will your celebration focus on material things? Will you glorify the Babe in the manger or the gifts underneath your tree? Will you honor Him this Christmas by acknowledging that He came to earth for one reason only: to die for your sins? Or will you continue to ignore Him because you have your own agenda?

My prayer for you on this Christmas Eve is that you will confess the Lord Jesus as your Savior, repent of your sin and be baptized in the Name of the only One Who can save you from your sin. Then you will know the real meaning of Christmas, and your celebration can truly begin…

Perilous Times Have Come!

2 Timothy 3:1-7

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,

Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Obviously, we are living in the last days….

Unless you have been asleep for the past twenty years, you can see that all of the above have come to pass right here in the United States, and all over the world.  We see how much men love themselves, for they do anything that will satisfy their flesh.  Humanity loves itself so much that we are not willing to suffer any inconvenience for any reason.  We put all kinds of measures in place to make sure that life is smooth sailing for us.  We love to feel good, look good, and have others’ admiration.  1 John 2:16 says “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”  Sound familiar?

The Word says that people will be “..boasters, proud…”  I really don’t even have to touch that.  When I think of boasters, I think of social media.  People are all over social media parading their sin, doing shameful things in shameless fashion, using no discretion.  I am one of the few people left on earth who does not have a page on a social media website, but I peep over my daughter’s shoulder when she is on social media.  Sometimes my jaw drops at what I see.  I don’t know why I am so shocked, but I always am.  People never cease to amaze me with the levels to which they will stoop to gain the attention of the world on the internet.  So sad.

The “blasphemers” of the world include those persons who continue to deny the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.  I was listening to some Bible teaching yesterday on the different beliefs amongst cults and false religions about the person of the Lord Jesus.  Some believe that He was a prophet, some say He was a Jew, some say He was the Son of God, but not God Himself, and others say He doesn’t exist at all.  My response to those persons is simply this:  I pray that you turn to the Lord Jesus Christ before it is too late.  When your soul is required of you, you had better believe the truth, because there are no “do-overs” in eternity!  If you do not get it right on this side, you will spend eternity in the place where there is “…fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” (Mark 9:45b-46).

The Word says that in these days, children will be “…disobedient to parents…”  That is an understatement.  Any trip to the grocery store, the doctors’ office, or any public place where parents and children are present, there is always an opportunity to witness disobedient children.  Parents these days are not like the parents who raised me:  my parents didn’t deal with foolishness from children, and I am the same kind of parent that they were.  When my parents spoke, their children listened.  My parents’ no meant no.  There was no questioning, no backtalk, no temper tantrum, and no threats to call 911.  The adults, the responsible parties, ran the show.  If you didn’t like it, you didn’t dare express your dislike, because if you did, you would get what you deserved.  Proverbs 10:13b says “…but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.”  My parents believed in that principle, but now we have talk show hostesses who have never borne any children, telling us that we should not spank our children.  That, however, is not what the Word says.  Proverbs 23:13-14 says “Withhold not correction from the child:  for if thou beatest him with the rod he shall not die.  Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.”  I KNOW that is not “p.c.”, but that is “B.I.B.L.E.”.  The Word says that when your child needs a spanking, give it to him.  John MacArthur says this:  “Now very simply, folks, how do you get this little guy or this little girl to obey? Bottom line, you hit them with something, it’s here called a rod. You say, “You sure that’s what it means?” Well, what’s the point in just saying…look, here’s a rod, would you please obey? If the rod has never been applied, I don’t think they understand the picture. You basically are called to use corporeal punishment. That’s what it says. A rod is for the back of him who lacks…and isn’t it interesting the Lord even tells you where to hit them? Not on the front and not on the top, on the back, where they’ve been designed to be hit.”  God, in His infinite wisdom, gave parents a space on their children’s bodies that is reserved for correction.  He designed their bodies that way because He knew what they would need.

God said that in the last days they would be “…unthankful, unholy…”  That describes a generation of young people ranging in ages from birth all the way up to their mid-thrities.  Today, parents can give their children their absolute best, and the children walk away as if they deserved it.  Sometimes, when I do things for my children, maybe one of them will say “thank you”.  I ask, “Were there not ten cleansed?”  In Luke 17, Jesus cleansed the ten lepers of their leprosy, but only one came back to say thank you, and he was a Samaritan.  Jesus asked, “Were there not ten cleansed?  but where are the nine?”  Ten were healed of the leprosy, but nine were unthankful.  Sounds like children of today…parents can give them their best, and the child will still stand there with their hand out as if there ought to be more.  Perilous times have come.

“…Without natural affection…”  It burdens my heart beyond description that the youth of today are exposed to so much perversion.  Homosexuality and lesbianism are treated as the norm instead of the abnormal, sinful abomination that it really is.  I was watching an interview with a famous person recently who shared with the world that his youngest son has “come out” as a homosexual.  He then showed a video of the son and his male companion walking down the street, holding hands, as if there was nothing wrong with that.  He even went so far as to say that he was proud of his son.  I thought, how sad….a father who is supposed to be the head of the household, and the most influential male figure in his son’s life, has condoned his vile lifestyle.  School systems are condoning this behavior; and unfortunately, so is the church.  The music ministry in the church of America is a breeding ground for homosexual men.  I recently learned the term “down low”, which refers to men in the church, mostly married men, some with children, who are sneaking around with other men.  The church has done such a poor job of calling sin what it really is until that spirit has made itself right at home in the church.  Once it becomes comfortable in the church, there is no one to call it out on the street or in the world.  That is how the president of the United States could actually try to rebuke my home state of North Carolina for voting against perverting marriage.  That is how he could go on national television on May 9, 2013, and say things about North Carolina that are not true, because the church has not stood on God’s Word and said what IS true.  I could go on and on about this topic, because I feel very passionately about it.  Instead, I will move on…

This generation is full of “…truce breakers, false accusers…”  As a child, I was taught that one’s word was his bond.  If two men shook hands on something, that was it.  No more needed to be said, because the agreement would be carried out.  That is not the case anymore.  A contract is nothing but a promise with loopholes.  Get the right lawyer, and you can get out of any contract you make.  If you cannot afford the right lawyer, then think of the biggest lie you can tell, and that will get you out of the contract.  This is the new millennium way of honoring contracts.  Not only do we not honor contracts, but we do not honor covenants.  A covenant is a promise that is made and kept, no matter what.  Outside of fundamental Christian circles, you never even hear the word covenant.  No one keeps a promise anymore.  People will falsely accuse others in order to get out of a contract or a covenant.  Husbands accuse wives of not supporting them or being submissive in order to end their marriage.  Wives accuse husbands of being domineering or unloving, or whatever they can think of, and they leave their marriages also.  Almost half of the marriages in evangelical Christian households are ending in divorce.  Can you see the peril in that?

The sad fact of the matter is that most of the people who claim to be Christians in America are doing nothing more than claiming…they “…[have] a form of godliness, but [deny] the power thereof”.  How sad, because a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ empowers us to endure hardships, trials, and temptations better than any other thing there is in the world.  The greatest security system in the world is the connection between us and Him.  Our source for everything that we need is Him.  He has given us all we need for life and Godliness.  He supplies all of our needs according to His riches in glory.  He has given us access to His throne, so that we can come to Him and receive grace in the time of need.  He has sent to us a Comforter, the Holy Spirit, Who is our Leader, our Teacher, and our Guide.  He teaches us everything…we learn nothing of Him on our own.  As a matter of fact, we cannot even learn of Him if we do not have a relationship with Him.  This is another subject about which I could go on forever, because I am so thankful to my God for all that He has done for me, from His humble birth to His death on the cross, to keeping me up to this very moment.  I will, however, try to stay on task.

Perilous times have come.  Fortunately for the believers, we can come to the knowledge of the truth by staying in God’s Word.  We need to know the truth, so that we can stand against the tricks of the enemy.  Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ:  I compel you to take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and stand on it…all day every day!  I implore you to take on truth and use it as a mighty sword!  Nothing else is effective in the war against sin except for God’s Word.  Read it.  Study it.  Learn it.  Live by it.  It will take you into eternity.

If you are reading this and you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior; if you have not repented of your sins, and have not acknowledged that the Lord Jesus Christ died for your sins, I pray that you will do that right now, because the next millisecond is not promised to you.  The time is right for Jesus to come back and take His people up in the rapture.  If you are not one of His own, you will be left behind.  If you are left behind, there is a better than good chance that you will spend eternity in hell.  He could also come and require your soul individually.  You could get into your car and have a fatal accident.  You could die in a house fire.  You could contract a deadly disease.  You could take a bullet that is meant for someone else.  Anything could happen and your life could be over.  I hope that you will not let this moment pass without asking the Lord to save your soul.

Perilous times have come.  Won’t you ask Him to be yours before it’s too late?

 

A Tribute to My Children

Psalm 127:3-5

“Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is His reward.  As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.  Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed…”

There are not many things about my life of which I am very proud.  I lived a life of sin before I came to know the Lord in my late teens.  I struggled in the early years of my walk with the Lord.  I have even struggled now that I have known the Lord for many years.

There is, however, an area of my life of which I am very thankful.  I am so thankful to the Lord for my four children.  My children vary in ages:  my oldest daughter is 23.  After 13 years of waiting and hoping, God blessed me again with my second daughter, who is 10.  Five years after her birth, the Lord blessed my husband and me to be able to adopt two beautiful children:  a five-year-old daughter and a two-year-old son, who are now nine and six years old, respectively.

God has used these four people, and my love for them, to change my heart and my mind in many areas.  I have a lot less concern about what people think of me, but I am very concerned with how my children perceive me.  I hope to be like the woman of Proverbs 31, where “she is not afraid of the snow of her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet…” from verse 21, or like verse 26, “…she openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue the law of kindness…”  I especially hope that “her children arise up, and call her blessed…”

I give God glory every day for my four children.  There are days when they make me pull my hair out, and there are nights when I cry out to the Lord on their behalf.  One thing is for sure:  I wouldn’t trade a moment, good or bad, of being their mother.

Thank You Lord, for my children…

In Times Like These…

2 Timothy 4:1-5

I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, Who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom;
Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist…

I was reading the other day about a certain celebrity who has become a crusader for the rights of animals.  This person abhors the cruelty that some animals must endure, and has made it his personal mission to wipe out animal cruelty in the US.  There was another celebrity a few years ago who filed suit against a restaurant because they cooked chickens that had been killed in a chicken plant.  The manner in which the chickens were killed was the issue; they were placed in some sort of contraption and decapitated.  The issue was not that the chickens were killed and eaten in the restaurant, but the manner in which they were killed.  (I had to repeat that to make sure that I understood!)  Still another celebrity has made it her personal mission to adopt as many pets as possible to make sure that all pets have a good home.  After all, it would be inhumane to allow an animal to be homeless.

As I was reading about these people, the only other thing I could think of is the fact that they are crusading for animals while 4000 babies die in abortion clinics every day in the US.  Four thousand.  Every day, 4000 babies who are potential taxpayers, have their lives snuffed out because they are an inconvenience to their mothers or fathers.  The way they die is more than inhumane; it is downright abominable.  But when was the last time you saw or heard of a celebrity crusading to wipe out abortion?  When was the last time you heard that a celebrity filed suit against an abortion clinic because of the manner in which they kill their clients’ babies?  When was the last time you heard a celebrity offer to adopt as many babies as possible to make sure that no child is left without a home?

Paul warned Timothy “…that in the last days perilous times shall come…” (2 Timothy 3:1).  Times are perilous when we value the life of a dog more than we do the life of an unborn child.  God said that He “…created man in his own image, in the image of God created He him…” (Gen 1:27).  No one will go unpunished for murdering the image of God.  Genesis 9:6 says “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made He man.”

God loves the human race.  That is obvious in the fact that He sent His only Son to earth to die for the sins of humanity.  He loves children…He says so in His Word.  Matthew 14:10 says “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not…”  Jesus loves and is intimately acquainted with every aborted soul that has died over the past 40 years in the United States.  Each of those souls in seated at His feet, because He accepted them into His presence the moment that their mothers so carelessly gave up their lives in an abortion clinic.  And He does not wait for the celebrity endorsement to take in their souls…He does it because He loves them.

God hates abortion, but He does not hate women who have abortions.  If you have had an abortion, cry out to God for forgiveness of that sin, and He wil forgive you and make you new.  He has welcomed your baby into His presence and He would love to welcome you into His presence also.  All you have to do is ask.

In times like these, it is nice to know that God forgives.  Won’t you give Him the chance to forgive you?

The Sinfulness of Sin

This past May, as I was ordering my summer reading materials from the BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) Summer Reading List, I came across a book entitled “Respectable Sins” by Jerry Bridges.  I thought, wow…so I ordered it.  It is a pretty little book; the cover has the fall leaves in the background, which I like so much.  I was reading something else at the time, so I put my book on the shelf, with every intention of coming back to it once I finished reading my present book.  Needless to say, life happened and I did not get back around to my new book.

Fast forward to September.  My Sunday School class used a curriculum for six weeks by another author, and lo and behold, that book was the segue into the new book, which happened to be “Respectable Sins”!  When our pastor made the announcement, my heart leaped with joy because I already had the book, and I knew that God was up to something.

So, we are on chapter three of the book in Sunday School.  Within the first three chapters, the Lord has convicted me of so many of the sins that I commit on a daily basis, thinking that there is nothing really wrong with what I am doing.  My thoughts, my attitude, my quick temper, my impatience, my fear, my resentment, my bitterness, my silent anger, my sarcasm, my legalism, my pride, my prejudices, my anxiety, my worry, my doubt, my envy…the Lord has dealt with all of these and then some within the first three chapters!  I am almost afraid to keep reading.

Isn’t it interesting how believers really do not think of themselves as sinners?  We think that since we believe in the Lord Jesus, have been saved from the penalty of our sins, washed in the blood of the Lamb, and are on our way to heaven, that we are just okay?  We think that we have no need to remember that the Lord bore our sins on His body on the cross.  We think just like the Pharisee, who thought he was so much better than others, when we really should humble ourselves like the publican, who said, “God be merciful to me, a sinner…” (Luke 18:13).

We justify the sins that others cannot see.  Sure, most of us may not be involved in adulterous relationships.  We may not be murderers in the sense that we have taken a person’s life maliciously.  We not have stolen money from a bank, or embezzled from our employer.  Most of us do, however, harbor resentment against others who have hurt us in the past.  We have allowed the root of bitterness to grow in our hearts.  Most of us are envious of those who are seemingly more successful than we, or are thriving in an area where we struggle.  We believe that since another person hurt us, our anger or bitterness is justifiable.  We feel that we have to right to withhold forgiveness from one who disregarded our feelings, when in reality, that is exactly what we have done to God.  We have disregarded His Word that says “…Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself…” (Luke 10:27).  We are as guilty as our offender, and then some, because our sin placed the King of kings on the cross to bridge the gap between the Holy God and sinful man.  No one else could accomplish such a feat.  Only Jesus.  We would be wise to remember that the things that we justify were the very things that sent Him to the cross.

It would be wise for us to remind ourselves every day that Jesus died for the sins that we commit on the outside, the grievous sins, and the sins that no one can see, or the respectable sins.  Sin is sin.  We would also be wise to teach ourselves not to categorize our sins.  Preach the gospel to yourself on a daily basis.  Draw closer to the Lord so that the sins that no one can see will begin to disgust you as much as the sins that everyone sees…