Common Sense Isn’t So Common Anymore :: By Jim Towers

People everywhere are searching for cover from all they see happening in our world. Things such as war, famine, natural disasters, economic woes, and manmade viruses. Bunkers and bomb shelters are being built by those who can afford to have them built. Preppers are stocking up on food; this is the commonsense thing to do in today’s chaotic world.

After reading the news on the internet and watching the news on television, they cower in fear from all they see happening in the world. What with wars, rumors of war, and the very real possibility of a nuclear holocaust in their own backyard, people have good reason to be afraid. Freezing to death without fuel to keep them from doing so, finding themselves homeless, and scrounging in garbage cans for food like the Venezuelans and people in other communist countries must do to survive – are other very real fears.

Yet many American people still cling to the hope that the government can save them from these catastrophes. However, they are the very ones causing much of this calamity. Those without common sense look to an illegitimate government that continually lies and is incrementally taking their constitutional rights away from them (a puppet government who gives our money away to other outlaw countries like the money was their very own) and, all the while, imposing ever higher taxes on its citizens – even while they are turning out thousands of armed tax collectors to get even more from the populace.

Oblivious to the times in which we live are homosexuals and transvestites, parading around in varying degrees of nakedness. They want the right to indoctrinate our children and force us to acquiesce to their way of life. There are those among them who even want the age of so-called consent lowered so they can legally have sex with children. Even Monkey Pox, STDs, AIDs, and Syphilis can’t stop them, so Sodom and Gomorrah live on in present times. Other assorted lunatics are causing trouble and chaos everywhere they go. We have those who worship trees, animals, and other inanimate things. Some even demand the right to worship Satan openly. How absurd, and what an affront to Almighty God who gave them life! Such people have this in common: they’ve been blinded by Satan, the father of lies; they willfully suppress the truth of God by their wickedness.

These same people also believe the lies their governmental leaders of today tell them, although anyone with any degree of common sense can see that they are wrong in all they do because their belief systems and motives are skewed through and through with sin. It’s funny how they want others to believe that they are intelligent, loving and kind when, in fact, they are inclined to do evil and are self-righteous, self-serving, devious, and vindictive.

It makes us wonder if there is redemption for those who have fallen for Satan’s lies. I hope so because we all know someone just like that, even among family members.

The apostle Paul writes in the book of Romans that these people are those, and I quote:

“Who changed the truth of God into a lie and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise, also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet” (Romans 1:25-27).

“Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful” (Romans 1:29-31).

The book of Timothy says somewhat the same thing, only it is a little less severe. In reading these verses, we can see that people are going down that path in increasing numbers. In speaking of the “last days,” the apostle Paul tells Timothy what it will be like when many people forget about God and the teachings of Christ Jesus, which are declared in the Bible.

“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 such people. They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:1-7).

Doesn’t this scenario sound familiar?

We all know people like that. They may even exist within our own families and friends; they may even be neighbors. The best we can do is try to get them to acknowledge God, repent and receive Christ. Sooner or later, they will thank you for your concern. In reaching out to them, however, we must be careful to do so out of true concern.

Although most people know that world-shaking events are taking place everywhere, they search for cover and answers in vain – when the answers can be found in the only God-breathed book in the world – the Holy Bible. The Bible says this about itself: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).

If you consider yourself a true Christian, then you shouldn’t be able to find yourself in the lists of people in either book. If you do, then maybe it’s time for you to repent and get right with God.

Nevertheless, you must keep in mind that no one is perfect even after receiving Christ, but now we have an advocate with the Father. One who will never fail us.

Book review:

I’m looking forward to reading Eric Metaxas’ (one of my favorite Christian writers) Letter to the American Church. The book is published by Salem books. This latest book deals with the church and what they must do before the imminent rapture and the soon coming of the Tribulation period.

YBIC

Jim Towers

You can email me at jt.filmmaker.@yahoo.com or visit my website www.propheticsignsandwonders.com or www.dropzonedelta.com.

Hebrews Study: Be Diligent…. God Sees You :: By Sean Gooding

Hebrews 6: 9-12

9 “But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. 10 For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. 11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

You and I are secure in Jesus. I am currently reading through the Torah, Genesis-Deuteronomy, and I see our spiritual patriarchs that are dealing with the flesh, multiple marriages, cheating, lying, and loving one son more than the other, as is the case with Isaac, and on we can go. Yet, they are secure in their relationship with God, not because they are good, but because God is good, and it is He who secures them. This foundation gives us a sure footing upon which to build our lives in the Lord. One of the most crippling things that we can face as children of God is doubts; we all have them. They can often come even after great victories in our lives as we walk with the Lord. Let me give you a few examples.

We often pick on Thomas for doubting the resurrection of Jesus, but in John 11:16, it was he who threw caution to the wind when he understood that going to help Lazarus could see them killed; nevertheless, he was ready to go and die with Jesus.

Then Thomas (also known as Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, ‘Let us also go, that we may die with him'” (NIV).

In the same way, we see Elijah have a great victory over the priests of Baal and lead a great revival in Israel, only to be running scared from Jezebel in the next chapter and asking God to kill him. We can get caught up in our own little worlds and forget that God loves us and is on our side. Paul, the writer of Hebrews (in my understanding), encourages us to be diligent; he calls us to stop being sluggish and reminds us that God is watching.

  • Salvation is just the beginning, verse 9

There are things that accompany the salvation that we have in Jesus. These are referred to as ‘fruit’ in the scriptures. We can find these ‘fruit’ in Galatians 5: 22-23 (NKJV),

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

These are tangible areas of life that we can use to gauge our progress in the Lord.

My wife and I have a beautiful granddaughter who is about to turn one. We can see the normal progress that she should have, and it comforts us. There are some one-year-old babies that are already walking, but she is holding on and walking. She can stand for short periods by herself, and she can even feed herself small things. She is not walking, but we can see the progression. All babies develop at different times, but they develop, and if they don’t, we can see that there is something wrong. In much the same way, we can gauge our growth in the Lord by the above verses. These all happen simultaneously and complement each other.

We need to be growing in the Lord. Now, like human babies, we will all develop at different speeds, and one aspect may grow more or faster than the other, but we should see progress. Even if we cannot see progress, the desire to be more like Jesus should be in us from the leading of the Holy Spirit. Do you even want to be more like Jesus? Do you have this desire? If yes, then this is a great place to start; that desire is from God.

  • God See your actions, verses 10-11

I was wondering just the other night, does God only see when I fail, or does He see when I get it right as well? We think of God more like a traffic cop; He only gets you when you are in the wrong. Wouldn’t it be cool if you got pulled over and the officer praised you for being a good driver? I have never had that happen, and we can begin to see God as only seeing when we fail.

Paul reminds us that God sees all of our good works as well and that He remembers them. This is a stark contrast to the fact that He forgets our sins, Hebrews 8:12 (NKJV),

“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”

God forgives and forgets our sins, but He remembers our good works. He washes us clean, and we are declared righteous long before we are permanently perfected in Jesus. Paul writes to the church at Galatia and says this in 6:9 (NKJV),

“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

Don’t stop doing what is right. In our text here in Hebrews, Paul encourages us to be diligent right to the end; don’t lose hope. Whether we live for Jesus till the rapture or die and meet Him there in the Kingdom, live for Him diligently and consistently. He sees, and He knows all that we are doing. He forgets our sins and remembers our good works. One day, we will inherit the promises that God has for us. We will get new bodies, a new home, and a new perfect life; we will see the face of Jesus one day, and we will meet men like Abraham, Daniel, Elijah, and David and women like Esther, Ruth, and Rahab. We will have the answers to all the questions and see things only God’s people get to see.

One day, God will ask you and me to give an account of the life we lived once we were saved. And there, He will judge our faithfulness, our diligence, and our obedience. Are you and I ready to meet Jesus there at the judgment? This is what Paul warns us about in 2 Corinthians 5:9-11 (NKJV),

“Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.”

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church
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