This is about confronting the wolves. If you are wise, it’s what you’ll do.

“Whaddya’ mean, ‘If I’m wise!?'” I can hear the question already.

The Bible teaches that wisdom begins with a fear of the Lord (Prov. 9:10). Let’s unpack that and see where it goes…

In this verse, “fear” is not the same thing as “afraid” – – not mostly, anyways. If we are IN the faith, we should have an awe for God that reminds us of His holiness, His justice, and His righteousness. That’s what’s meant by ‘fear.’

And yes – if we have this posture, we’ll also properly “….fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell” (Matt. 10:28). God is the final judge. Even for the Christian there will be a face-to-face accountability with God (2 Cor. 5:10) that evaluates our works on earth.

But what Proverbs is emphasizing is all legitimate definitions of learning, awareness, and applicable knowledge begin someplace. That “someplace” is a correct attitude towards God and a right respect for who He is.

Here’s a gut check. If you doubt Jesus Christ is who He claims to be, then you display a lack of wisdom. If you choose not to believe Him, or if you’re comfortable defining “God” by your personal preferences, then you cannot be wise.

If you believe the Bible doesn’t mean what it says – if you opt to diminish God’s eternal power and divine nature – then wisdom will elude you. You’ll be ridiculous and foolish instead (Rom. 1:20-21), and it’ll be obvious to others.

The issue is quite plain. If you think you’re wise by any definition other than what is found in God’s Word – you’re not.

Forget college degrees, framed certificates, and all such forms of man’s recognition. Big deal! Those things just mean you got the assignments done.

Those things mean you did what you were told to. A trained dolphin does the same thing. Some of the most inept and foolish people I know have a parade of alphabet soup after their name.

The truth is real wisdom starts with a proper relationship with God. There is a direct and inviolable connection. That’s the essence of what Proverbs 9:10 is saying.

If you’re not in a proper relationship with your Creator, your views and your actions will be futile, irrational, and unwise. If you’d rather embrace a cultural view of Jesus Christ that paints Him as racist, imperfect, genderless – – or anything other than what the Bible plainly states, then you don’t – and you won’t – have wisdom.

The implications of this go further. If you don’t have a right reverence for God, you won’t have a right respect for morality. You won’t pursue God’s values. Sound character – and virtues like honesty, self-control, integrity, and fairness will mean little to you.

Institutions like rightful leadership, true justice, law and order, the nuclear family, two distinct genders, and national boundaries are some of the things you will be inclined to mock if you don’t have a right view of God. All of these things find their foundation in God’s inerrant Word.

Furthermore, if Biblical truth is not valued BY you, then human life holds no real value FOR you. This is especially so concerning those who haven’t taken their first breath or with those who are close to their last one.

Here’s the heart of what I want to say. We are surrounded by wolves who are working to tear down and suppress God’s truth. They don’t like it, they don’t want it, and so they’re attacking it. Those wolves are assaulting the very pillars of wisdom, and they are breeding rapidly INSIDE the church and OUTSIDE of it.

It’s not a new problem. It was a dilemma many centuries ago when God’s faithful encountered wolves inside and outside of their religious practices. Daniel 11:21-35 tells the whole story.

Here, we find a corrupt leader who came to power deceptively. He tried to enforce cultural conformity because he had no tolerance for the truth. Everyone had to goose-step the same way because his agenda was one that did not revere God.

Though his policies were foolish and deceptive, and though they made no sense, he still managed to get some of the religious leaders on his side. He flattered them. He made them feel special when they unwisely compromised the most important things they needed to cling to instead.

Here’s where it gets interesting. Daniel 11:32-33 contains a remarkable statement, “….the people who know their God will be strong and take action. Those who are wise will instruct many….”

These people were the real heroes. They stood up for what was proper. They contrasted starkly with all the foolish folk. They preserved a proper reverence for God, and they held others accountable to the things that were right. They were wise for doing this, and they displayed great strength in the process.

These folks bucked the system. They called a spade a spade. They bravely stood their ground and they cried, “Fraud!” when it was so. They refused to compromise or bend. They knew the truth and they clung to it. They paid a price for doing what was right, but they did it anyways.

As it was true in the past, so it is true now. Those who still “know their God” – those who are wise – will “display strength and take action” against deception and compromise just as those who revered God before did. Those who embrace the principles of God’s Word will stand firm and resist the encroachment of the world’s system upon it.

The hard-hitting truth of Daniel 11:32-33 is there is a distinction between two types of people: those who are strong, and those who are not. It is the strong ones that will wisely resist any invasion into the pillars and expressions of their faith.

It is the strong of faith that will achieve the things which Daniel 11:32-33 calls “great exploits.” And it’s not just individuals we’re talking about here. The same is true for churches. It is also strong churches that don’t buy into the ‘smooth talk’ that they are doing the right thing when they let the world define them and their choices.

The wolves are among us – there is no doubt about that. Just look around you.

Standing up to the pack takes wisdom and strength.

Romans 10:17; “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Matthew 17:19-20; “Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, ‘Why could we not cast it out? [a demon].’ He said to them, ‘Because of your little faith. For truly I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” (ESV – all emphasis mine)

To give a bit of perspective, a mustard seed is smaller than the middle of a typed “o.” Doesn’t seem like much, but in today’s world, even that much faith in the Lord is missing. If something can’t be seen or touched, belief becomes difficult. The turning away from Jesus is becoming more evident with each passing day. Video games and “chat” rooms are opened a whole lot more than Bibles. Also, a number of previously Bible-based churches are becoming entertainment centers, and the true word of God is absent.

Missouri is commonly known as a “show-me” state, which implies they will only believe what can actually be shown to them. When it comes to Christianity, our whole country is acting like a “show-me” nation. Sadly, Satan is only too willing to present every kind of so-called earthly pleasure that will draw multitudes of people away from Jesus, and he knows every “lure” there is to tempt us.

Our Savior’s message is plain, simple, and in easy-to-understand words. John 14:6; “Jesus said to him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” That leaves little room for any other meaning to anyone who believes the Bible is the inerrant word of God. And therein lies a big problem. The New Testament is full of warnings about false prophets and antichrists being present and influencing the masses, especially near the end of this age. They were here in Jesus’ time, and their numbers have grown a lot in just the past couple decades. Satan has his minions proclaiming that there are many ways to heaven without Jesus; all religions worship the same god; all sexual relationships are perfectly okay; and so on and so forth.

This world can be very confusing without telling a child they can be any gender they wish. Matthew 19:4; “He answered, have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female?” Mark 10:6 echoes this; “But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.” Nowhere in the Bible does it say anything about humans having a choice of what gender they are. That’s pure satanic.

With all this confusion taking place in the world today, it would seem logical for us to go to the source the Creator gave us as our instruction manual. Some have said the word “BIBLE” actually stands for “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.” God doesn’t force His word upon us, but it is there for our use, if we choose to study it. There are several true interpretations to help us understand what is written, and a study Bible is an invaluable source of learning.

John 14:6, as given, is a definite statement that tells us Jesus is the only way to eternal life. Acts 4:12 makes the same statement; “And there is Salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Furthermore, Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21, and Romans 10:13 all tell us that “All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Seems this would be enough to convince everyone that if they have Jesus in their hearts, they will have eternal life in an imperishable, immortal, pain-free, death-free, forever body. But first of all, they must accept God’s word as truth, not as just a book of fairytales and myths.

Romans 10:9-13 gives the steps to Salvation in ABC form. First, we admit and confess we’re sinners; believe and have faith that Jesus died for our sins and that God raised Him from the dead; and we are to call on Jesus to forgive us and to be our Savior forever.

Simple enough, but for some, it’s too simple. Surely, to get a place in heaven, we must do “x” number of good deeds to earn or buy our way in, don’t we? After all, there can’t be anything such as a free gift of eternal life for everyone, is there?

How about Ephesians 2:8-9; “For by Grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast.” We’re saved by the Grace of Jesus, through the Mercy of the Father, with a gift we could never “afford” on our own.

James 3:1 is a warning that I take very seriously; “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.”

Romans 10:14-15 puts in perspective why myself and others try to get the true messages out. “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news.'” The good news is what “Gospel” stands for, and the passage Paul referred to is Isaiah 52:7-8.

It has never been my intent to impress others with “eloquent speech” filled with fifty-cent words when nickel words would do just fine. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14:19, “Nevertheless, in church, I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others than a thousand words in a tongue.” Jesus’ Church is all the believers of the world, not a building that people go to for a couple hours each week. Anywhere the Gospel is given is Church. Our Savior gave messages and parables from boats at the shore, on hillsides, and just about any other place other than the Temple that was there. He stated, “For where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I among them” (Matthew 18:20).

Today, more than ever before, we all need to have Jesus as our Savior. This era is rapidly coming to a close, and the next one will be absolutely terrible, especially for anyone who tries to receive and accept Jesus as their Savior. God has promised to keep all true believers from that time of wrath/tribulation. That will be through the “taking up,” “Harpazo,” or “Rapture” which takes place before the ultimate evil one begins his 7-year reign. Our Heavenly Father will provide comfort and security for all who accept Jesus. We may face some persecution here, but our faith lies in our Father’s word that our eternity will be wonderful. He cannot lie, as given in Titus 1:2.

Right now, the evil one is being held back by the Holy Spirit, but during the 7-year tribulation, the world, through Satan, will lead you down many fearful and confusing and evil paths. There will still be a possibility of calling out and being saved during that period, but most likely at the cost of your life.

As for entering eternity, all who refuse the gift from Jesus that He paid so dearly for and by accepting the things of this world rather than Him, it will be a very painful forever. What is available here on this earth isn’t even a blink of an eye compared to eternity. Revelation 20:11-15 tells of all the unbelievers’ final judgment. The antichrist, false prophet, and Satan will already be in the Lake of Fire – Hell. All the cartoons of little devils tormenting people there are so wrong. Satan and all his demons will have their own misery and won’t torment anyone else.

This is so unnecessary to endure. It’s your free-will choice of where you will spend eternity – Heaven or Hell. And yes, it’s just that plain and simple. Receive and accept Jesus as your Savior, and have faith and believe He will forgive you and save you. Heaven will be your eternal home.

Reject Him, and it will be Hell forever with no chance of pardon. No one has committed sins that are bad enough that they cannot repent and be saved. The thief on the cross next to Jesus was saved because he accepted Jesus before taking his last breath. The unforgiveable sin is to not have Jesus when you die. Jesus could return at any minute now, as everything that had to be done before His call has been accomplished. It’s just a matter of time before the Father sends Jesus to gather His “flock” and to take us Home.

Call today – right now would not be too soon.

huebshman46@gmail.com