The Ghost of a Good Thing (2025) :: By Pete Garcia

Published on: by RR10 Category:General Articles

Back in 2014, I remember thinking about Emily Letts, who briefly achieved notoriety by filming her own abortion. Throughout the gruesome procedure, she smiled tentatively, attempting to put a positive spin on what I saw as infanticide. Though I couldn’t bring myself to watch the entire video, I was struck by how broken we, as a society, had become. It seemed to me that it must grieve God to witness the terrible things we inflict upon ourselves and each other. Of course, Emily was just one example among many, but for me, her actions highlighted the depths of depravity some people would plumb for a fleeting moment in the spotlight.

Watching Captain America: The Winter Soldier around that time frame, I found its themes surprisingly relevant to life in the early 2010s. The American government’s willingness to trade freedom for security resonated eerily with the NSA bugging scandal, internet monitoring and censorship, and the mass data collection that was becoming increasingly prevalent. In the movie, the superhero, of course, prevailed. But the failing of that movie, and all superhero movies, is the erroneous idea that evil comes in the form of giant monsters or villainous villains. The reality is that evil often comes cloaked in the guise of tolerance, and often moves at the speed of rust.

It’s a slow rot, an infecting agent that spreads from one organism to another. Just as Adam, in his defiance, did not die the day he sinned but began the process of dying from the moment he consumed the forbidden fruit, so too it is with the death of this sin-stained world. This process is mirrored in the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which states:

The entropy of an isolated system never decreases, because isolated systems always evolve toward thermodynamic equilibrium, a state with maximum entropy.

Over time, everything breaks down. This principle seems even more relevant today, as we witness further decay in societal values and moral foundations.

In movies, if some alien force threatened to kill 50 million people, the X-Men or the Avengers would assemble to combat the foe. But when we allow 50 million babies to be aborted in the womb, well, that’s just the way things are. We can’t do anything about that because some judges back in 1973 made it legal. Even though the acceptance of this supposed ‘eventuality’ bothers us at our core, we just accept it as a fact of life. In make-believe, the good guys win and the bad guys lose, but in reality, good is compromised and evil is ever pervasive.

People seek refuge in movies as an escape from the routine wickedness that our earthly existence has become. The constant grinding down of this world’s system on Christians is particularly taxing. It doesn’t bother the unregenerate because they are spiritually dead, and aside from the clearly wrong things (to them, that is) like murder (of the born), violence, corruption, and theft, their discern-o-meter doesn’t send up any red flags when a Planned Parenthood abortion mill sets up in a neighborhood. It has to be something overtly unfathomable for them to wake up and see the wrong in what’s transpiring.

The Kermit Gosnell trial, for example, barely registered in the news cycle. If it weren’t for a handful of journalists reporting on it, the world at large would have remained ignorant. Only because the discoveries were so ghastly and revolting did anyone take notice. I still guarantee that there are plenty more ‘Kermit Gosnells’ out there in the world.

Today, people seem even more deadened to the oppressive, Babylonian nature of the world. They know deep down that things aren’t right, but they can’t quite articulate what’s wrong… so they escape. This “escapism” manifests as sentient beings retreating into fantasy through drugs, alcohol, books, or shows. We seek temporary refuge from the realities of everyday life: bills, taxes, problems, defeats, and inevitability.

And now, in 2025, this escapism has taken even stranger forms. The rise of internet influencers, showcasing curated and often unrealistic lifestyles, provides another avenue of escape for the masses. The parade of filtered images and manufactured narratives further distorts reality, leaving many feeling inadequate and disconnected from their own lives.

Furthermore, societal trends have taken darker turns. Consider the growing number of young, healthy Canadians and Europeans seeking euthanasia, not because they are terminally ill, but because they feel overwhelmed by the pressures and anxieties of modern life. This reflects a profound sense of hopelessness and a disturbing devaluation of human life.

Was this God’s design? I don’t think so.

Satan has sold everyone on the lie that life will continue as it always has, routinely and predictably. The “normalcy bias” suggests that the way life is today is how it should be. There is no heaven, no hell, so you must seize life by the horns and extract all possible enjoyment from today. Many people fall for this, pursuing worldly lusts only to find them vapid and unfulfilling, leading to disappointment and restlessness. Satan keeps man constantly chasing after the ghost of a good thing in hopes that they will finally reach their pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. But it rarely comes…and even if it did, the pot of gold is a letdown.

Man is unique in that we are the only creatures created that have a “God-Shaped” hole in our beings. The only person who can fill that is God, and nothing else will satisfy that deep desire we have. Drugs and power can’t fill it, religion can’t persuade it, sex and money can satiate it, and things (clothes, jewelry, cars, houses) could never be big enough or fulfilling enough to fill that empty space in our hearts. Nothing can capture the longing and satisfaction that only a meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ can bring…because nothing else fits. Like inserting the proverbial square peg into a round hole, it just doesn’t work.

What makes Christianity so unique? It is night and day different from every other belief structure out there because Christ says, ‘I will take you as you are no matter how broken you think you might be, and I will fix you and make you new.’ Other religions, particularly cults, draw people in who are lonely or seeking, not through truth but through friendship and in the form of identity…identifying with a group and feeling like you finally belong. And when they finally get their hooks in these lonely people, then they bring out their crazy, ritualistic, works-based method of whatever they deem salvation is. Do this, don’t do that, wear this, don’t wear that, give up your money, time, friends, family, etc., etc.

People are so desperate to find meaning in their lives in the here and now, they are willing to do just about anything to either fit in or escape from the burden they currently carry around. That burden is loneliness, which is brought on by the loss of identity and sense of purpose, which comes from being separated from the One who created them. It is indeed a heavy cross to bear. Christ said, ‘Come to Me all ye that are weary and heavy laden; take my yoke for it is light.’ In identifying with Christ, we have finally, for the first time in our lives, the ability to identify with Someone who will never leave us nor forsake us. We aren’t just followers, or disciples, or even servants, but we become family.

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together” (Romans 8:14-17).

Assessment

I still think that part of the reason that so many out there in Christendom struggle with the concept of a Pre-Tribulation Rapture is that it seems too fantastical to fit into today’s mundane existence. It seems too good to be true, and we as human beings have been let down so many times throughout our lives that it’s easier to believe it’s not real than to believe that it is. We don’t think we are good enough or that we deserve that level of deliverance, but rather, we should suffer first and ‘purge’ our sins.

But there it is in scripture, clear as day. Still, many go out of their way to do the mental gymnastics of making it more complex and more unattainable than it really is.

The “blessed hope” to me is not about escaping this broken world in the nick of time (although that’s admittedly an added blessing), but it is about finally being in a reality where all things are made right. And that reality can only exist for us when we are finally freed from sin. And our freedom from sin can only be by one Person, the man Christ Jesus. When Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”…He meant it. Not simply because He wanted to be exclusive and shut people out, but because His blood was the only thing in the entire universe that could forever wash man’s sinfulness away.

And although as Christians we are forgiven and we have our sin-debt paid in full, we still struggle in the flesh because we have to live in them either until death greets us or Jesus meets us in the air. The flesh will war against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; and thus is our struggle from birth to death. I mean, even the Apostle Paul was on the struggle bus (Rom 7 anyone?). But when Jesus comes, we will be transformed by His might, to fulfill the purpose for which we were destined to become even before He spoke the universe into existence.

So, friend, if you’re struggling today to find peace in your life, and joy in this fallen world, consider this:

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

Maranatha!

 

Walk in Unity: Ephesian 4:1-16 :: By Sean Gooding

Published on: by RR10 Category:General Articles, Sean Gooding

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

8 Therefore He says, ‘When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.’ 9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”

Over the past few weeks, we have looked a lot at the individual responsibility that we bear before the Lord and as we see the end drawing near. But what about how we interact inside our local bodies, our local churches?

Paul endeavors, led by the Holy Spirit, to help us learn that in this 4th chapter of Ephesians. He will point out and call us to things that we need to do as a body, how we act and interact with each other, and as such, strengthen the body of Christ, the local church. The fact that we are fast approaching the return of our Lord and Savior should focus us on the work at hand. The time for lukewarm churches is past, and we should seek to be diligently working to help each other. We are challenged by Paul to walk worthy of the calling we have in Jesus. We are to take the way that we live with each other very seriously and not take each other for granted.

How then are we to carry ourselves as members of this church and in relation to each other?

We are to be lowly, gentle, and long-suffering. We are not to be pushy and always in defense of our own rights and wants. We are not to be driven by having our own agenda. We are to be lowly and gentle with each other. All too often, we can be harsh and use this as a call to be holy. But Jesus is gentle with us, and He came as a servant, lowly in His ways. We have to learn that, in the Kingdom of God, we are to be lowly, humbled, and that the highest calling is that of being a servant. Jesus came as a Servant, and we should seek to mimic Him.

We are called to be long-suffering. We all fail each other, we all mess up, we all say that wrong this, do the wrong thing, jump to the wrong conclusions, and it is inevitable that wrongs will come between us. We need to be forgiving and patient; we need to understand that we are all simply dust; we cannot read your mind, read your hints, know how you will react all the time, and sometimes we just put our foot in our mouth. Please forgive me, please cover my sins in love, and remember all that God has forgiven you.

In Matthew 18 21-35, Jesus tells us the parable of the unforgiving servant who refused to forgive his fellow servant even though he had been forgiven so much. In the same passage, Peter is reminded to just keep forgiving each other; don’t keep count, just keep forgiving and forgiving.

The bond of Peace. We are called in verse 3 to endeavor to keep the peace. Peace in a local church is had by hard work; it is a constant act that, if neglected, will end in the fall and destruction of that local church. Notice that we are aided and, in fact, empowered by the Holy Spirit to do this. Peace, lasting peace, does not come without hard work and with the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus, we are called to be submitted to the Holy Spirit. Is He leading our daily lives? Are we actively listening to Him and obeying Him?

There is no doubt that we are being led to forgive, to be humble, and to be gentle with each other, but we are defiant and think that these things are signs of weakness. But in Christ and because of Christ we can be these things, and these things – lowliness, gentleness, longsuffering – make our churches stronger. When these things are in place, when we are actively in submission to the Holy Spirit and to each other. When we set our goal as helping the other person be more like Jesus, and they set the same goal for us, then we can actively pursue unity and peace. The local church is more important than the association; in fact, there is no association without the local church.

Peace and unity are to be grounded in the Truth; that is why it is so important to be led by the Holy Spirit. He, we are told in John 16:13, will lead us into truth.

“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”

Too many churches will sacrifice truth for peace and unity; this is not the peace and unity from God. The foundation of our peace, our unity, our lowliness, and our endeavors must be led and sustained by the Holy Spirit, who knows ALL TRUTH. In this local church at Ephesus and in other local churches, the power of the Holy Spirit was able to unite Jews and Gentiles into one body, which is proof that God can unite anyone at all in His power. Only true faith, only true submission, and a true desire for holiness can bring unity into a body of sinful men and women. These are all based on the truth of God’s word.

Obedience is always the foundation of unity (see verse 4-6): one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and so on. What truly unites us is that we are all children of God by faith in Jesus. This is the very foundation that we have to unite us. All else is division and confusion, to be honest. Now we can be cordial to unbelievers, and we can be nice to them. We can be friendly to them, but there can be no true unity unless we are in Jesus, and not only in Him, but also obedient to Him.

A lot of people talk about believing in Jesus; good, but do we obey Him? This is the real question. In John 14:15, Jesus says this, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” Well, one of the most important commandments is here in the way that we treat each other, honor each other, and serve each other in the Lord’s local church.

Jesus is coming soon. Are we ready to meet Him and give an account?