Reading from 1 Corinthians 10:21-22; “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of demons. You cannot take part in the table of the Lord, and the table of demons. Or, are we trying to provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we really stronger than He Is?” (NET – emphasis mine)
For all those who are 1-to-3-hour a week “Christians,” God is not amused. Nor will He turn and look the other way as you participate in evil, secular ways.
Paul states in 1 Corinthians 1:23-25, “but we preach about a Crucified Christ, a stumbling block to Jews, and foolishness to Gentiles. But to those who are called [believers], both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God, and the Wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom; and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.”
1 Corinthians 1:18 plainly states, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing; but to us who are being saved, it is the Power of God.”
Satan is having field day in today’s world. The intensity and volume of evil is gaining ground daily. None of this should be a surprise as we were told almost 2,000 years ago this would happen. Consider these verses:
Matthew 24:10-12; (Jesus said) “And then shall many be offended and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3; “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him; that you be not soon shaken or be troubled; neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as if from us, that the day of Christ is at hand [or has already come]. Let no man deceive you by any means; for that day will not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin [antichrist] be revealed; the son of perdition.” (This will be the start of the 7-year Wrath/Tribulation.)
1 Timothy 4:1-2; “Now the Spirit explicitly says, that in the later times, some will desert the faith, and occupy themselves with deceiving spirits and demonic teachings; influenced by the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared.” (hardened in their sin)
I’ve used it before, but 2 Timothy 3:1-5 is worth repeating: “But understand this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For people will be lovers of themselves; lovers of money; boastful; arrogant; blasphemers; disobedient to parents; ungrateful; unholy; unloving; irreconcilable; slanderers; without self-control; savage; opposed to what is good; treacherous; reckless; conceited; loving pleasure rather than loving God. They will maintain the outward appearance of religion, but will have repudiated its power. So, avoid people like these.”
Each trait listed could be a lesson it itself.
The one area that the entire secular world agrees on, is they hate anything that pertains to Jesus the Christ. There are some governments in some countries that condemn anyone who speaks out against the abominations that are being accepted as suddenly being good (Isaiah 5:20). Christians face being thrown into prison, and in some cases, martyred just for being a Christian.
We haven’t gotten that far in America – yet. However, persecution has begun in earnest. We have a group that goes by a whole bunch of letters who declare that all Christians are the “haters.” Their evil lifestyles used to be kept behind closed doors, and not spoken of in public. It consisted of a small minority (less than 10%) of our whole population.
Then, with some moral changes taking place in state and national government, these lifestyles began coming out as being the new normal. Our Supreme Court ruled on June 26, 2015, with a 5-4 margin, that same-sex marriages are to be recognized in all states. This did not start in 2015, but actually goes back several decades prior to that. This was a legacy of our previous president’s administration.
With the “new age” thinking, groups are advocating that any sexual lifestyle that anyone wants to engage in should be accepted as “normal.” There is even a movement to decriminalize pedophilia from being a crime. They advocate that anyone should be able to engage in any sexual freedom, in any way they desire as somehow being a “right.” The one group standing in their way is the Christians.
False prophets are moving into numerous evangelical churches. Their “messages” are designed to create a feel-good atmosphere for the membership. They feel this will make it more desirable to attend “services” and to keep the collection plates full. Starting in 1 John 2:18 and continuing through 1 John 5, we are given specific warnings about false prophets and antichrists. They were already present in the days that Jesus, Paul, John and others walked this earth. The main warning was, and is, their activities would increase near the end of this age; and there would be many that would fall away from sound teaching to accept Satan’s lies. Is it possible to look at world events today, and not believe we are in that time?
Alternate lifestyles are being presented in public schools, starting in the lower grades and going through high schools. In many cases, parents are not being told of this “new” curriculum, but find out it’s there when the kids speak of it at home. The schools have not discontinued these classes, for which many parents are starting to “homeschool” their kids.
Not only are the sexual deviation subjects entering the schools, but religion is becoming an issue. Anything relating to Christian beliefs such as prayer, Bible reading, Bible discussions and wearing “crosses” or other Christian symbols are being forbidden. Yet, at the same time, there are schools that are promoting the Quran, and some are even having the students participate in Islamic prayers, complete with prayer rugs and all. Again, parents are not consulted.
It used to be that if one were to listen to Christian programs, they would get the true word of God. Just one example is Billy Graham. His messages were simple and to the point, and totally from the Bible.
Today, one has to be careful of who they listen to, and check their Bibles to be sure the whole truth is being given. As mentioned, referencing false prophets, their messages are straight from Satan’s playbook. They are saying “all religions worship the same god,” there are many ways to heaven without Jesus,” “did God really say?” “what God called abominations in the “ancient” writings are now okay,” and so on and so forth. Unless a person reads a true translation Bible for themselves, they are subject to the lies of others. God will not allow “ignorance of His word” as an excuse.
As for the world news outlets, many are producing faux facts that lean in favor of the radical left’s agenda. With them, truth is what they say it is. As Bob Dylan once sang in the 1960’s, “The times, they are a-changing.”
It is critical for everyone to decide which path they will follow. The division is getting wider, and it’s difficult to be in the “middle of the road.”
No one can choose Salvation for someone else. The word can be presented, but each individual must accept or reject Jesus for themselves. All who call on Him will be saved (Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13). At the same time, all who reject Jesus will go into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:11-15).
It’s apparent that we are in the last days of this age, and after Jesus calls all believers up to meet Him in the air (Rapture), accepting Jesus will become a path to martyrdom. This can be avoided by asking Him NOW to be your Savior.
To refuse Him is to spend eternity in hell with Satan and his demons. There is no other choice. One has to ask themselves, are the few “pleasures” of this earth worth their eternal soul spending eternity in torment? It doesn’t matter what you’ve done up to now, the Father will forgive you of all past sin for accepting His Son Jesus. He gave us a gift at Calvary that pays our total debt, if we will but accept it. People make the process more difficult than it is because of disbelief. Just remember, God cannot lie, as given in Titus 1:2 and Hebrews 6:18.
Call on Jesus today, and give the angels reason to rejoice.
Luke 15:10; “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”
Call today. Jesus could call for all believers any moment.
Maranatha! (Come, Lord Jesus.)