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Godless America: Let not your heart be troubled - the last days are here
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"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 them." 2 Tim 3: 1-5
Consider Paul's words and think back as far as you can recall. When was the last time you can say about American business, religion or politics that the participants in them were NOT, 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?
You can't!
How then can we claim that America is a Christian nation? How can we hold out hope that under different leadership or a different dynamic, that we can return to a better time? What era or time in America or the world for that matter would we return and find it a godly place?
Shall we wind the clock back to the good old 1940's and 1950's with Adolph Hitler, Mao Tse Tung, Josef Stalin, and Benito Mussolini? Too soon! What about to the days of slavery and the Civil War? Yeah, still not far enough. How about the Crusades, certainly men were more civilized then? Okay, perhaps we need to go all the way back to the days when Paul and Peter were spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. Surely these times were full of love. Surely there was no persecution and men were godly toward one another!
Oh, yeah! "Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned," sorry Paul, I forgot! And remember Peter, he like Paul was crucified by Nero as was Andrew, and Matthew. What about the rest? Surely the other disciples found love and comfort in the bosom of their fellow-man.
No! James, the brother of John (already exiled to a deserted island), was beheaded. Jesus' brother James was thrown from the highest point of the temple and then beaten with clubs. Jude, another of Jesus' brothers, was executed with arrows and Nathaniel was flayed with knives and then beheaded. Finally, Phillip was hanged and Thomas, who put his fingers in Jesus' nail marks, was run through with a lance and left to die at Coromandel in the east Indies. No none were spared persecution and death in "the last days."
When Jesus was with his disciples, he said to them, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:27) Knowing that each would die on account of the gospel, Jesus comforted his followers with these words. The peace which the bible tells us, "passes all (human) understanding," Jesus gave to them and he gives to his children today if we will just receive it.
Times are bad and, brothers and sisters, they will get worse. The bible promises it and history confirms it. The last days began when Christ was born and two thousand years later they are still with us and they will worsen until Jesus comes back for us. Until then, we must keep our eyes on Jesus and not let ourselves be caught up in the deception and the lies. Forget making millions of dollars in real estate and struggling to climb the corporate ladder. Don't trouble yourselves with the empty words of politicians more concerned with their own advancement than doing what is right. Don't be afraid of the swine flu, HIV, or cancer, trust the Lord and follow him into eternity.
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life." (John 14:6) He did not say I will find a way or the truth, he said he WAS the way and the truth. In Him is life. Life cannot be found from any other source especially a welfare check, the lottery or a bigger home. All of these things are deceptive and will lead you away from the true source of life. Don't fall for the lie and the empty promise.
My prayer. Father, we live in difficult days as your word has predicted and our experiences confirm. Help us Lord when we stumble, trusting earthly promises which deceive and lead us away from the Way, the Truth and the Life. Lord, forgive us in our folly and put us back on the path when we stray. Give us Lord your supernatural peace and help us to realize that we, being full of the Holy Spirit, are kings and priests and it is our godly conduct that will bring heaven down to earth and breathe life into dry and thirsty souls longing to drink of your living water. In Jesus name I pray, Amen!
