Are Demons at Work Today?

The Bible has a lot to say about demons in both the Old and New Testament. In the Old Testament they're usually just called "evil spirits", and usually named "demons" in the New Testament. other names for them are "familiar spirits", unclean spirits, lying spirits, and principalities. Today I took a look at a great many passages that dealt with demonic possession or influence.  Once you begin reading them and writing down the symptoms each person had, it becomes very obvious that demons are alive and hard at work in our world today!  Let me give you some examples.  Remember that these are just examples and there are many more in the old Testament and even a some more in the New Testament. But this will give us more then enough to chew on for today. The Bible tells us that although all of these things can be cause by demon possession or demonic influence, they are not always caused by demons. People can get sick or do many of these things just because of our sin nature and/or because we live in a broken world. 

Demonic possession manifests itself in many ways: 

1. can’t speak, can’t hear, self harming, (Mark 9:17, Mark 9:18, 25; Matt. 9:32). 

2. can’t speak or see (Matt. 12:22). 

3. epilepsy, self harming, attempted suicide (Matt. 17:15, 18). 

4. great strength, insanity, cutting, self destruction, attempted suicide, screaming, going naked - inappropriate behavior, living in tombs or other inappropriate places, isolating, violent, (Matt 8:28–34; Mark 5:1–20; Luke 8:26–39) . 

5. convulsions, screaming, self harming, (Mark 1:26; 9:20). 

6. paralysis, screaming, cripples (like from a stroke) (Acts 8:7). 

7. high fever, Demons often manifest symptoms of diseases.. (Luke 4:38). However, not all physical problems are of demonic origin. In the Gospels illness and possession are often differentiated (cf. Mark 1:32, 34; 6:13; Matt. 4:24; 10:8; Luke 4:40–41; 9:1; 13:32).

8. harming others, (Acts 19:15–16). 

Also from the Old Testament: 

9. attempted murder, violence (1 Samuel 19:9–10 and many others). 

10. acting treacherously, (Judges 9:23). 

11. depression, (1 Samuel 16:14-16). 

12. prostitution, orgies, idolatry, murdering children, are all things that the people who worshipped idols (which are demons) did. When you worship a demon, they have a hold on you and cause you to do all these things and more. This is spoken about all though the OT, but I’m only going to list a couple that speak about it. (Deuteronomy 32:17, Ezekiel 16:15–21). 

Finally, back in the New Testament in Romans 1:21–32 we see a lot more of what demons cause in humans: 

13.  adultery, fornication, homosexuality and other perverted sexual acts, transvestites, trans genders, envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, boastful, disobedient to parents, senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless, and finally filled with every kind of evil and wickedness.  

I'm sure you noticed as you read through this list that many things are repeated over and over. This whole list, and especially the last part may have made you think of another passage like it did for me, as it's very similar. This is the passage that speaks about what people will be like in the last days... the very times we're currently living in:  “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 Timothy 3:1–5) 

So does this mean that we can blame all the horrible things that are happening today on demons and say it's not the fault of the persons themselves?  Absolutely not!  Demons can't influence or possess anyone who's not willing to allow it. Do you think that if we told people that these things could be caused by demons that the people would be horrified and quit doing them?  No, they'd just say we're crazy and continue, because they like their sins, and they like not being held accountable for them. That's why they pushed so hard for them to be normalized. I think the most we can say "in general" is that these things can be caused by demons, but also by our sin nature.  How can we tell the difference?  I honestly don't know for sure as I haven't tried to study that. What I do know though is that it doesn't matter what's causing it.  If we have a loved one that is described by these things, all we need to do is pray to our loving, and merciful God that He would save them and free them from Satan's clutches.  Another thing we can do is tell them to flee from sin like Joseph did (Genesis 39:10–12), resist it and draw near to God instead (James 4:7–8) and He will draw near to you. So we don't have to worry about figuring out whether it's demons, sin, or the world we live in that's causing these things to happen to people.  I just think it's good to know that demons are often involved when these things manifest.  Another way we could add to this study would be to look up the scriptures that speak about Satan and how he operates. That could give us more insight into what's going on today too. 

Knowing  all this, especially in the times we're living in, shows us that Satan and his demons are alive and well, and working as hard as they can to harm and kill as many people as they can, prevent people from being saved, and make as many who are saved as useless to God as they can. Mainly it reminds us that we are at war and need to stand firm in our faith and not fall prey to Satan's schemes. We can fight back by making sure we read and study God's Word daily, and so allow it to keep renewing our minds, apply the scriptures we read to our lives and pray constantly for the salvation of our loved ones and for ourselves to become more like Jesus daily. Most of all, don't allow this to cause you to fear. We have a friend who is much stronger than any demon or Satan, so we have no reason to fear as long as we know Him!  

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13). 

Animals in Heaven

 

There are many scriptures that show that God loves all the animals He created and that He considers every single one of them His own. He has made covenants with the animals just as He has with people. There are quite obviously animals in heaven already as scriptures show us. (think horses for one thing-but not the only thing such as the one Jesus rides in Rev 19:11 and “The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.” Revelation 19:14)

One major thing I've heard over and over from some folks who refuse to even consider this is that animals can't be "saved" and since only the saved go to heaven they can't go to heaven. That sounds good on the surface but only if you don't follow the thought through. God created heaven and earth for us as places for us to live and be happy. Heaven is to be our ultimate home. Heaven is not going to be some big empty place with only God and humans in it! Plants also cannot be "saved" and neither can gold or jewels yet we know that God has made Heaven to be so beautiful that we can't even imagine it. Why? He did it for us!!!! He loves us!!!! We know that we are going to have new immortal bodies and although we don't know if we will "have to" eat, we know that there is food in heaven because God is going to give us a banquet there!  R.C. Sproul in his book, Surprised by Suffering, says, "One thing we are sure of: Biblically, redemption is spelled out in cosmic terms. Just as the whole creation was plunged into ruin by the fall of man, so the whole creation groans together awaiting redemption. (Romans 8:19-21) Images of heaven and future redemption include animals. The lamb, the lion, the wolf are all mentioned. Again, these images may only be metaphorically illustrative. But coupled with the promise of cosmic redemption they lend some real hope to the future redemption of man’s animal companions."  For many years people followed the Catholic church and thought that the bible was not to be taken literally.  But since the Reformation happened and people discovered that the Bible was indeed quite literal, they have begun to understand that Heaven would in fact have animals there.  There are still many seminaries that teach the Bible isn't to be taken literally, and some that teach that it's literal except for Revelation and any scriptures that refer to the Millennium, the 2nd coming and Eternity. Pastors from those seminaries will say that animals aren't in heaven.  Some that have left that belief system, and know that the bible is literal, but still teach that animals aren't in heaven, generally do so because they simply haven't taken the time to study the subject with the Holy Spirit's guidance on their own yet.

God knows us better then we know ourselves. He knows what we enjoy and what we love. In fact, God gave us our desires and the ability to love. The two most important commandments that are the base for everything God commands us is to love Him and love each other right? God Himself is love! Now, does it make any sense at all that a God who is love, would make an animal that He loved and cause us to have feelings of love for, and then prohibit that animal from joining us in our final home? I'm sorry but to me it goes against everything the bible teaches us about God Himself and how He operates.

Yes, only saved human beings will be in heaven, but no animal has a sin nature. They are all simply under the curse that God put on the entire earth when Adam sinned, and God Himself lifts that curse when Jesus returns at the Millennium. At that point all the animals still alive and those born from then on will be like they were in the Garden. Nonviolent and loving. There will no longer be a "food chain", like there is now. God will provide for them as He did in the Garden just as He will provide for us as well.

Now, that begs another question. Does that mean that there will be no meat eaten in heaven? No it doesn't. God gave us some animals, (not all) for food and therefore we know there will still be some available at least in the millennium. ( and possibly on the new Earth that God will make for us, we can't know either way about that though as so very little is actually said about our time in eternity after the Millennium.) In fact there is a specific verse that actually says that we will eat meat (if we want to) during the Millennium.

Isaiah 25:6–8 On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.

I suspect we won't be eating meat after the millennium, but that's just me, the Bible doesn't say either way.  God loves to give us good gifts! He loves us and nothing pleases Him more then to be able to give us things that will make us happy!

Jeremiah 31:12–14 (ESV) They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall languish no more. Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy; I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow. I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, declares the Lord.”

So based on everything I know about my God from His Word and from my relationship with Him, I feel 1000% positive that there will be and are animals in heaven.

I started a bible study on this for myself and was just blown away by how often the Lord mentions animals in His Word. I believe that there will be animals in heaven and that our pets go to heaven when they die.  I will give a list of scriptures to back this up at the end of my post for those who would like to study this for themselves. Here are some of the things that impressed me about animals in the Bible:  God had Adam name the animals. God saved the animals from the flood, which most agree is a picture or type of the Rapture, so why wouldn't they be in heaven also?  God made a covenant with the animals...they are that important to Him. (Gen 9:9-10 ) When God institutes the Passover, again animals are included and in a very unusual way:  “So Moses said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the slave girl, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any man or animal.’ Then you will know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.” (Exodus 11:4–7) God in fact did kill the firstborn sons of all the Egyptians and the firstborn sons of all the cattle of the Egyptians, but none of the livestock belonging to Israel were killed, and amazingly, although every dog owned by Egyptians was howling that night, not a single one owned by an Israeli made a sound!  Amazing!!! Israel was always to remember that the firstborn of her sons and animals belonged to God   We know that this first Passover was a picture showing how Jesus would save His people, for He is the Lamb of God.  Jesus also told us that He wouldn't drink wine again until we are all with Him at the start of the Millennial Kingdom when He has returned.  There we will eat Passover with Him and remember how He saved us. Feasts of the New Year, Passover, and Tabernacles will be reinstituted during the Millennium which shows that there will be animals then and that we will still eat meat during that time. (Ezek. 45:18–25; Zech. 14:16–21)

Another indication of animals in Millennium and on going through Eternity is that God says He will make another covenant with them at His Second Coming:  “In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that move along the ground. Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety.” (Hosea 2:18) God speaks directly to the land a number of times telling it that it will be restored from the curse.  Here He speaks to first the land and then the animals:  “Be not afraid, O land; be glad and rejoice. Surely the LORD has done great things. Be not afraid, O wild animals, for the open pastures are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their riches.” (Joel 2:21–22)  Prior to that, when Joel is speaking about the Great Tribulation, we're told: “Even the wild animals pant for you; the streams of water have dried up and fire has devoured the open pastures.” (Joel 1:20) And we know what Romans and the NT says about how all of creation is waiting for the sons of God (that's us!) to be revealed.  That one little word in those scriptures, the word, "all", includes the animals.  There's simply no way to get around that.  God inspired every single word in our Bibles.  The more I realize that, the more I learn from scripture.  God made no accidents, and there are no slips of the tongue in His Word.

We can even go back to when God first spoke to the Israelites after bringing them out of Egypt.  He told Moses how they should get ready for when He would speak to them and what rules they needed to follow for this.  His rules included the animals: “No one is to come with you or be seen anywhere on the mountain; not even the flocks and herds may graze in front of the mountain.”” (Exodus 34:3)  I'm showing this only to again prove how God didn't leave the animals out of anything that was important.

We all remember Balaam's donkey I'm sure and how he saw the Angel of the Lord, (which was most likely Jesus) and the Lord made the donkey talk. (beginning in Numbers 22:21) We remember how God caused a giant fish to swallow Jonah too. Those aren't the only times that God used animals though. He used them many times to teach or show us something. Again though I want to return to pictures of Heaven.  There are many references to animals in scriptures about either the Millennial Kingdom, New Jerusalem or Eternity.  One that I'd never really thought of before is from Ezekiel and Revelation.  Ezekiel is given a vision of God's Throne in heaven and John is taken to Heaven and sees the same thing.  They both see what the Bible calls, "Four Living Creatures"  They sound like something out of a science fiction novel!  They each have the features of a man and of an animal and of a bird! (I'll quote the passages at the end). These "living creatures" were as close to God as anyone can possibly get, as they surround His Throne. This is one of the things that I can't wait to see for myself, but I'm bringing this up only because I think it one of the things it shows us that God doesn't leave animals out of Heaven.

The Lord tells us specifically that He owns every animal and bird (and fish etc) and cares for them.  God asks Job questions with the answer expected that it is God who takes care of these things: ““Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in a thicket? Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?” (Job 38:39–41) ““Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn? Do you count the months till they bear? Do you know the time they give birth? They crouch down and bring forth their young; their labor pains are ended. Their young thrive and grow strong in the wilds; they leave and do not return. “Who let the wild donkey go free? Who untied his ropes?” (Job 39:1–5) He continues about the animals for quite some time after this, showing us that He cares for every creature He creates and knows everything about each and every one of them, just as Jesus also reminded us.  “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26)

One of Job's friends who was a lousy comforter, but still spoke some truth said: ““But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” (Job 12:7–10)  I can see you shaking your head and saying, I know all this, but what does it have to do with Heaven???  Nothing and everything. I'm simply attempting to show that God loves all of His creation and doesn't intend to leave anyone or anything out of Heaven.  The whole of creation was put under a curse when Adam sinned.  You could say it's our fault that the animals have pain and die etc. God intends for them to enjoy the earth as He intended, just as He intends for us to do so as well.  There's even another picture of Heaven in the Psalms: “Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.” (Psalm 84:3)  Yes, it could be speaking about the temple in Jerusalem as well, but the idea behind this psalm is how we yearn to be with God and how blessed we will be when we are with Him forever, and that will include the animals and birds as well.

Many scriptures about the Millennium, Heaven, New Jerusalem and the New Earth, have animals somewhere in them. You may be wondering at the way I've worded this.  It's because eventually, "heaven" will be not "out there" or "Up there" somewhere, but will be on the earth.  God will destroy this earth with fire and make a brand new one for us to live and play on for all eternity. If He has gone to all the trouble He did with this earth to keep His Word to people and animals, and all of His creation, I hardly think that He will leave them out of His perfect creation.  By that time we will all have our perfect bodies and our sin natures will be long gone.  All who enter the new perfect creation will be perfect and I'm sure the Lord of creation who loves us all and loves the animals and creatures He made too, will have them in this final perfect Heaven too.  Why would He speak of them lovingly and make covenants with them through all of history if He didn't plan on them enjoying the New Earth as well?  It simply doesn't make sense any other way.

Here are some scriptures for you to reflect on or begin your own study with.  I've also included some scriptures that I mentioned above but didn't share there. But these are not all the scriptures about animals.

“for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine.” (Psalm 50:10–11)

“The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” (Romans 8:19–21)

“Also before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.”” (Revelation 4:6–8)

“and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was that of a man, but each of them had four faces and four wings. Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. Under their wings on their four sides they had the hands of a man. All four of them had faces and wings, and their wings touched one another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved. Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a man, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle.” (Ezekiel 1:5–10) There's more but too much to post.

“I looked up again—and there before me were four chariots coming out from between two mountains—mountains of bronze! The first chariot had red horses, the second black, the third white, and the fourth dappled—all of them powerful. I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these, my lord?” The angel answered me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going out from standing in the presence of the Lord of the whole world. The one with the black horses is going toward the north country, the one with the white horses toward the west, and the one with the dappled horses toward the south.” When the powerful horses went out, they were straining to go throughout the earth. And he said, “Go throughout the earth!” So they went throughout the earth.” (Zechariah 6:1–7)

“Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding, you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds, kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth, young men and maidens, old men and children. Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.” (Psalm 148:7–13)

“They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the LORD— the grain, the new wine and the oil, the young of the flocks and herds. They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more.” (Jeremiah 31:12)

““The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will plant the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the offspring of men and of animals. Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 31:27–28)

“He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows. The oxen and donkeys that work the soil will eat fodder and mash, spread out with fork and shovel.” (Isaiah 30:23–24)

“The desert owl and screech owl will possess it; the great owl and the raven will nest there. God will stretch out over Edom the measuring line of chaos and the plumb line of desolation. Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom, all her princes will vanish away. Thorns will overrun her citadels, nettles and brambles her strongholds. She will become a haunt for jackals, a home for owls. Desert creatures will meet with hyenas, and wild goats will bleat to each other; there the night creatures will also repose and find for themselves places of rest. The owl will nest there and lay eggs, she will hatch them, and care for her young under the shadow of her wings; there also the falcons will gather, each with its mate.” (Isaiah 34:11–15).  While God will destroy His enemies during the Tribulation, He still uses even that for good!

“The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the LORD.” (Isaiah 65:25)

“The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:6–9)  Notice it's not just humans that will be full of the knowledge of the Lord, but all of creation will know the Lord and Honor Him. Reminds me of the psalms that often say that the trees, rocks, animals etc are praising God or telling them to praise Him.  Or how Jesus said that if people didn't proclaim Him that day, that the rocks themselves would do so!  (Luke 19:40).

“In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that move along the ground. Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety.” (Hosea 2:18)

“Be not afraid, O wild animals, for the open pastures are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their riches.” (Joel 2:22)

“And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man.” (Genesis 9:5)

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.” (Revelation 21:1–3)

“No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.” (Revelation 22:3–4)  

Set Apart to be Holy

God has set us apart and has good reasons for doing so. He says: 1 Cor 15:33 Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character. Of course He has other reasons as well; what took me the longest to understand was that from the moment I was saved, I became "holy", consecrated to God, just like the temple was in the old testament or the priests or the vessels used in the temple or the Ark of the covenant itself. Here is what God says about that: Exodus 30:26-29 Then use it to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the ark of the Testimony, the table and all its articles, the lampstand and its accessories, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand. You shall consecrate them so they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy. Leviticus 20:7-8 “ ‘Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy. Zephaniah 1:7 Be silent before the Sovereign Lord, for the day of the Lord is near. The Lord has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated those he has invited. I know we don't "feel" holy, or at least I don't, but that doesn't change the facts that God says that I am holy now and that He expects me to act that way. I looked up a few terms just to see what they said and when we apply them to ourselves, it's really eye opening:

The Holy Spirit writes these verses to us about being holy: 2 Cor 7:1 Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. 1 Peter 2:5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Heb 12:14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

Do you remember what God told people would happen if a non-consecrated person were to touch the Ark of the Covenant? Even accidentally or in an effort to protect it? No matter what the "reason" was, God said that person would die because they had simply touched something that He said was Holy, consecrated etc. 2 Sam 6:6-7 When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God.

That to me again shows just how dead serious God is about this. God tells us over and over that He has separated us from the world and He expects us to stay that way. We are not only to not participate in things that are sinful, we are not even to be nearby--we are not to give anyone even the impression that we might or could be doing something sinful! 1 Thess 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil. He explains another reason for that here: 1 Cor 6:19-20 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Now if He would kill 3000 people for idolatry, if He would kill Uzzah for attempting to save the Ark even though He wasn't supposed to touch it as He wasn't consecrated, how much more so does it anger Him when we who ARE consecrated by Him, made Holy, by Him, take and use our Holy and very sacred temples in ways that are obviously sinful? For example, would we swear standing face to face with God? If we were standing face to face with God, would we invite Him to sit down with us and watch a show that was full of foul language and promiscuity? Or would we sit down with our Lord and read a book that was all about someone who used magic, sorcery, or one filled with all kinds of sexual immorality like homosexuality and sex outside of marriage ? I seriously doubt it! Yet every single time we use foul language, every time we watch that kind of TV program, movie, or read that kind of book, etc. we ARE doing it WITH GOD!  Every time we gossip, every time we tell someone to go to Hell, every time we put our wants or needs above another person's, or when we tell a crude joke or laugh at one, we are doing those things with God standing right there with us! God dwells within us! We ARE making ourselves unclean and angering Him. We are, to put it quite bluntly, grieving the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. We should thank the Lord that He doesn't treat us as our sins deserve! (Psalm 103:10) Then we should repent and do all we can with the Lord's help to act the way the Lord sees us, as Holy, and set apart for Him.  

Those are things that God will in fact discipline us for, just as we would discipline our children for doing something we told them not to do. Discipline is never fun.  We need to truly repent and ask the Lord to help us to stop from that behavior and remember that we are His children and ambassadors to others on this earth. The unsaved are watching us. so our attitude should always be the same as that of our Lord Jesus. (Phil 2:3-4).

You’re Not Awesome…and You Know It

 I am absolutely weary of some of the memes aimed at Christian women these days. You know the ones I mean, ladies- the ones with lovely pictures of flowers or an ocean or a meadow with a superimposed flowing script practically BEGGING us to believe how much worth we have to God, how awesome we are, how we need to discover the greatness within, how God gives us limitless potential and a superfantastic divine purpose, blah, blah, blah.

You know why they have to take that begging tone to try to get us to believe those things? Because they’re not true. You know it, and I know it.

You’re not awesome or great or imbued with some radical purpose or potential that will magically make your life phenomenal and give you oodles of self esteem once you discover it.

You’re a dirty, stinking, rotten, rebellious sinner. You yell at your kids. You don’t submit to your husband. You act out of selfishness. You lie. You gossip. You covet. You bow down to your idols instead of to Christ. You sin against a holy and righteous God in a thousand ways every day in thought, word, and deed. Just like I do. Let’s put on our big girl panties and just admit it. (1 John 1:8, 1 John 1:10)

That’s why these memes and false teachers have to try so hard to convince us of how terrific we are- deep down we know we’re not. It’s a lie. And putting all our eggs in the basket of that lie of greatness sets us up for disappointment and self-loathing every time we sin.

Ladies, stop listening to this hearts and flowers, cotton candy, pump up your ego so you’ll feel better about yourself dreck, and put your faith and hope in the One who will never let you down. The One who looked at all your nasty thoughts and evil deeds and said, “I’m going to the cross for her anyway.” The One who sees all your daily faults and failures and is still willing to forgive when you repent. The One who’s faithful to you even when you’re not faithful to Him.

Stop focusing on how great you are – because you’re not – and put your focus on Christ and how great, and awesome, and superfantastic, and terrific He is. Because if you’re feeling bad about yourself, it’s not because you don’t have a high enough self esteem. It’s because you don’t have a high enough Christ esteem.

We’re not worthy. He is. Let’s get over ourselves and give Him the glory, and honor, and attention, and focus, and praise He so richly deserves.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,

“therefore I will hope in him.”

Lamentations 3:22-24

Posted with permission

https://michellelesley.com/2020/05/08/youre-not-awesome-and-you-know-it-2/

A House of Prayer

Do you remember the story of when Jesus cleaned out the Temple of all the money changers and sellers? This is what He said at that time:  ““It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ‘den of robbers.’”” (Matthew 21:13)  Since He was cleaning out the Temple at the time, we all associate what He said with that and that's fine, we should do so. But I think there's another meaning we could also see.  Jesus taught that now we are His temple! (1 Corinthians 6:19)  Looking at it that way, the saying that His house will be called a house of prayer, and indeed, the whole story of Him cleaning out the Temple, takes on a whole new meaning!  

Most of all, the part about His house (the temple) being a house of prayer really resonates with me and convicts me too.  Jesus prayed a LOT and He was God!  If He had to pray as much as He did, then we should have to pray a whole lot more!  No wonder His Word tells us to pray constantly! “pray continually;” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:18) Jesus often told His followers and disciple this:  ““Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”” (Matthew 26:41) In Acts 6:3–4“ we're told that the Disciples devoted themselves to prayer and studying and speaking God's Word.  Then God tells us through Paul to devote ourselves to prayer:  “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” (Colossians 4:2) I don't know about you, but I don't think I could honestly say that I devote myself to prayer or that I pray continually every day. I have a problem of my mind starting to wander at times when I'm praying. Then I found this gem that really spoke to me:  “The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.” (1 Peter 4:7)  Remember when Peter fell asleep when Jesus had asked him to pray?  It looks like he learned from that experience.  It sounds like he may have also had the problem of his mind wandering when he prayed and because of those things, gave us that instruction.  What's really neat though is that self control is one of the fruits of the Spirit, so God is growing our self control all the time, if we are being as obedient as we know how to by reading His Word daily and applying it to our lives. (because God uses His Word to change us and grow us up in our faith).  Isn't that kind of neat though?  We have to use self control (and discipline) to make studying our Bible daily a habit, and the more we do that the more our self control grows. Then as we make prayer a daily habit that also helps grow our self control. Finally we can grow to where we're praying all the time.  

By telling us to pray continually, it doesn't mean we're to stop everything else and do nothing but pray. Instead, we're to pray about whatever we're doing and while doing everything else!  Nor is it saying we have to be on our knees to pray.  Nowhere does the Bible indicate that there's a certain "acceptable way to pray". We can pray while standing, sitting, laying down, walking, running or whatever.  And we should pray while doing all those things.  Prayer is nothing more then talking to God.  We hear about having a personal relationship with the Lord all time, but how often do you think about that relationship?  If you only spoke to your spouse when you wanted something, do you think your relationship with them would be close? Of course not!  It's the same way with the Lord.  If we want a close relationship with Him, then we need to talk to Him, a lot!  So knowing that our body is a temple for the Holy Spirit, let's also make this temple a house of prayer!  

When you have time, please open your Bible and read about the two times Jesus cleansed the temple and meditate on how much of the story can be talking about our lives now. You'll find the stories at: The first cleansing:  John 2:12–25; The Second cleansing: Matt 21:12–17; Mark 11:15–19; Luke 19:45–46.  

Vaxxers, Anti-Vaxxers, and the Health of the Body

The way Michelle answers this question is a fantastic way for us to determine how we should respond to any debate or problem with another person we're having!


by Michelle Lesley

Q: I was wondering if you could help me work through this issue: some people at my church did not vaccinate their children. While I do see that people have very strong opinions about this issue, it creates a hazardous situation for some of the members. For example, a young expecting mom can not come and worship because she could contract measles from an unvaccinated child and put her unborn baby at risk. (Not a hypothetical, these are the doctor’s orders. She should not be around unvaccinated children.) The same goes for newborn babies and their families. I am wondering if I should speak to the pastor about this issue, since I believe that the anti-vaxxers act unlovingly towards those who cannot come and attend church until their children are vaccinated. However, I fear that it would cause division and divert the focus from Christ to political or medical issues.

A: To vaccinate, or not to vaccinate? It’s a tough issue to discuss these days. I have a strongly held position on vaccinations. I’m not going to share it because as you’ve aptly pointed out, that would do nothing but cause division and divert the focus of this article and my ministry from Christ and His Word to a far less important issue. I will say, though, that, my personal position on vaccinations aside, I miss the “good old days” – like 30 years ago – when this wasn’t an issue that had Christian women practically scratching each other’s eyes out. We really should be ashamed of that regardless of which side of the issue we’re on. As sisters in Christ, we can, and should, do better.

I’m not a medical professional, so if you clicked on this article looking for me to say, “Vaxxers/Anti-Vaxxers are right because…science,” I’m sorry, but you’re going to be disappointed. (You’ll also be disappointed if you came here to argue your position in the comments section. I won’t be posting argumentative or inflammatory comments from either side.) My priority is to address the biblical side of how individual Christians and our churches should approach this issue.

Being godly and obedient to Scripture is exponentially more important than your stance on vaccinations.

So let’s take a look at some biblical principles involved in the vaccination issue:

Is your stance on vaccinations an idol?

How strongly do you feel about vaccinating compared to how strongly you feel about evangelizing the lost? How much time do you spend talking about vaccinating compared to how much time you spend discussing Scripture with others? How much reading have you done about vaccinating compared to how much you read your Bible? Has your stance on vaccinations ever caused you to sin in thought, word, or deed?

Making decisions about your child’s health is, of course, important. But it is not anywhere near as important as the things of God, and it is certainly not more important than the things of God. Prayerfully reflect on the portion of your heart, soul, mind, and strength you invest in the vaccination issue. If it’s more heart, soul, mind, and strength than you invest in studying your Bible, prayer, evangelism, or attending and serving your church, then the vaccination issue has become an idol for you. Repent.

You shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30

Do you trust God’s sovereignty?

God is sovereign over life and death, sickness and health. The reason you are alive and reading this article is that it is not God’s will for you to be dead right this minute. If it were, you would be.

Think of all the stories you’ve heard of people who were practically religious about wellness, healthy eating, and exercise who dropped dead out of the blue in their 30’s or 40’s. Now think about the people who have lived into their hundreds. When the newspaper interviews them and asks about the secret to longevity, the centenarian inevitably responds with something about eating eggs and bacon and drinking a few beers every day. You can do everything “right” and still die young, and you can do everything “wrong” and live longer than most people. Even if the pregnant woman isn’t exposed to measles at church, she could be exposed at work, the store, the park, the post office, a restaurant, even her own husband or her other children could bring it home. And even if she is exposed, it’s not a foregone conclusion that her unborn child will be harmed. God is the one who decides all of that, not our own actions.

Should we be good stewards of our health and our bodies? Of course. Christians are to be good stewards of everything God gives us. But beyond being a good steward and making decisions as wisely as possible, the life and health of your child is in God’s hands, right where it belongs. If it is within God’s plan for your child to be healthy, your child will be healthy. If it is within God’s plan for your child to have an illness or disability, your child will have an illness or disability. And there’s nothing you can do about that except praise God in whatever situation He sends your way.

And let’s consider why we’re being good stewards and making wise decisions. Sometimes, without our even realizing it, fear of what might happen causes us to think that if we can get all our ducks in a row just right, we can ward off anything bad happening. It’s kind of a superstitious or even a prosperity gospel (“If I just do all the right things to appease God, He’ll protect me from what I fear.”) way of thinking.

Superstitious worry and fear are not to be our motive for stewardship and wise decision-making. Our motive should be honoring and obeying God in every aspect of our lives and then trusting the outcome to Him. There are health concerns with vaccinating and there are health concerns with not vaccinating. Whichever choice you make, you must trust God with the outcome of your child’s health, rather than trusting in your decision, the experts, studies, statistics, etc.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of Lord.” Job 1:21

What’s love got to do with it?

A major problem in the church today is that everybody thinks she gets to define what Christian love is. And most of the time that individualized definition is selfish or worldly or both. If Sister A says something or does something Sister B doesn’t like, Sister B accuses Sister A of being unloving.

No way. We don’t get to mishandle God’s Word and use it as a weapon or tool of manipulation against our brothers and sisters. That is wrong. If we’re going to accuse someone of being unloving, we’d certainly better make sure we’re using the Bible’s definition of love, not the world’s and not our own. And the Bible nearly always addresses the issue of Christian love not from the perspective of, “Is my sister in Christ being loving to me?” but “Am I being as loving to my sister as Christ is to me?” John 15:12-14 is Jesus’ example to us of this: This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Jesus’ instruction to the disciples is to give love, not to concern themselves with whether or not they’re receiving enough love from the other eleven.

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.

Who is about to lay down His life here? Jesus. And who are His friends? The disciples. Jesus is teaching them to focus on laying their lives down for others, not to expect others to lay down their lives for them.

The fact of the matter is that we’ve got to demonstrate selfless love to others even when they’re not demonstrating that kind of love to us.

By not vaccinating, are anti-vaxxers being unloving to fellow church members who can’t be around unvaccinated children? Are vaxxers being unloving toward anti-vax church members by accusing them of being unloving for not vaccinating their children? We need to be very careful here. The Bible does not address vaccinations, which means it’s not a sin to vaccinate and it’s not a sin not to vaccinate. That puts vaccinations in the category of adiaphora, or Christian liberty, to work out our own salvation and follow our own, biblically informed, consciences. It is a sin to violate your own conscience. So, if a sister in Christ has prayerfully searched the Scriptures and made a decision about vaccinations that is in keeping with her conscience, and you are insisting she do something that violates her conscience (or you’re saying she’s unloving for refusing to violate her conscience), who is the one who’s really being unloving here?

Which is greater, our love for our position on vaccinations or our love for brothers and sisters in Christ who hold the opposite position?

…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, Philippians 2:12b-15

And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. 1 John 4:21

Are you dying to self?

The Christian life is a continuous act of crucifixion of the flesh and denial of self. There is no point in our journey with Christ at which we can sit down, cross our arms and say, “I’ve been serving others non-stop. Now it’s time for somebody to serve me.”. (I’m embarrassed at how many times I’ve had this attitude myself.)

How does that work itself out in the context of this reader’s question? The pregnant woman does everything she can to love and serve her anti-vaxx brothers and sisters while protecting her unborn child. She looks for a workaround in which she bears the burden of making sacrifices, not the anti-vaxxers. At the same time, the anti-vax church members do everything they can to love and serve the pregnant woman while maintaining what they believe is the wisest decision for their children’s health. They look for a workaround in which they bear the burden of making sacrifices, not the pregnant woman. (Every decision we make comes with responsibilities. Christian anti-vaxxers, part of your responsibility when you choose not to vaccinate is not only to protect your child, but also to protect, as far as you’re reasonably able, anyone your child might infect.)

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:3-4

So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Romans 8:12-13

Are you thinking outside the box?

Outside the world of math, there is rarely only one solution to a problem. (And even inside the world of math there are some problems which have several possible solutions!) It’s probably not the case that the only choices in this situation are that either the anti-vaxxers keep their children at home (or vaccinate them) or the pregnant woman has to stay home. Your idea of going to your pastor is spot on. Just make sure you’re going to him with the attitude of, “Could we meet together as a church body and brainstorm a workable solution to this issue? I’m willing to make sacrifices,” rather than, “Please tell those anti-vaxxers how wrong they are and make them vaccinate their children or stay home.” (Not saying you would have that latter attitude, just making a comparison.)

Is your sanctuary large enough that if the pregnant woman sat on the far end of one side and the unvaccinated children sat on the far end of the other side that they would be far enough apart to keep her from exposure to the measles? (She would need to discuss this with her doctor.) Does your church have more than one worship service (two a.m. services or an a.m. and a p.m.)? An agreement could be reached in which the pregnant woman comes to one service and the unvaccinated children come to the other service. Does your church have a baby cry room/nursing room (a room fussy children can be taken to so they don’t disrupt the service and/or in which moms can nurse babies, that has the sermon “piped in” via video or speaker)? Could something be worked out where the pregnant woman and the unvaccinated children take turns “attending” the worship service in this room each week? If your church doesn’t have a room like this, could one be rigged up? If no other solution can be worked out, and it actually does boil down to someone having to stay home from church, could the pregnant woman and the unvaccinated children take turns staying home from church?

These are just some possible solutions off the top of my head. If the vaxxers and the anti-vaxxers will all come together in an attitude of self-sacrificial love (and, what an incredible opportunity for a pastor to lead his people through putting this into practice) and the desire to serve one another, surely something can be worked out. (And let’s keep in mind, this is only a temporary situation until the baby is born and is old enough to be vaccinated himself. It’s not going to last forever.)

In the body of Christ, no issue is an “us vs. them” issue. It’s always a “we’re all in this together” issue.

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:1-6

Posted with permission:

michellelesley.com/2019/04/22/the-mailbag-vaxxers-and-anti-vaxxers-and-the-health-of-the-body/

One of the great "hidden" Perks of being Saved!

 

I'm sure we're all familiar with the scripture that tells us to count it all joy when we face trials (James 1:2), and most of us have basically said: "What???" when we read that.  However, once we understand why the Bible consistently tells us that, it will bring us joy, for this is one of the great blessings, or "perks" that God gives us when we're saved.  You see, before we're saved, like everyone else, trials and suffering have no real purpose. They happen to everyone. No one is ever left out. You just have to get through them however you can, and keep on going.  But once we're saved, they DO have a purpose!  Their purpose is to make us more like Jesus, which is God's main plan for us on this earth. He's preparing us to live with Him forever.  Now when I say, "making us more like Jesus", I don't mean anything more than that He's forming our character to be like our Lord's. We will still be our self, with our own personality, talents, etc; but we will respond to life, both the good things and the bad, the way Jesus did and does. 

To me, when I see an unsaved person going through a really hard time, my heart aches for them. I can't imagine having to go through those kind of things and it having no purpose at all.  In fact, lately I've been seriously considering using this as a way to tell people about our Lord.  Simply beginning by asking them, "If you're going through a trial, which would you prefer? To have it mean something - to have a wonderful purpose in your life, or to have it be totally meaningless?"  I can't imagine anyone saying they'd rather have them mean nothing in the bigger scheme of things, can you?

All this ties in with knowing that our God, the God who loves us and died and rose again to save us, is in control, and He is using whatever has happened in our life for our good, to make us more like Jesus so we can have an even closer, deeper relationship with Him.  In other words, that boss who fired you, or who won't give you the raise, or the teacher who hates you, or the accident that injured or killed your loved one, wasn't a surprise to God.  He didn't suddenly give His control of everything over to anyone or anything else.  He has either caused or allowed this to happen and He will use it to make you the very best you can be, to make you more like Jesus. He's doing that because He loves you and wants to have a deeper, more personal relationship with you. 

So when trials come, your job is to trust Him, knowing that He will take care of you.  If you lost your job, He will be your provision and will give you another job at the perfect time. If you're ill, or in pain, He will comfort you and even ease your pain at times, and will heal you in His perfect timing - either in this life or the next. But either way, He will take care of you. 

If a loved one has died, grieve yes. Even Jesus did that! But grieve knowing that this is not the end, if your loved one was saved, then you will see them again. If people are slandering you or treating you unfairly in some way, realize that God wants you to trust Him to take care of the situation. Your job is to continue to trust Him to do just that, remembering that you're to rely on Him and not take matters into your own hands. We're to always have the same attitude that Jesus had, which is shown to us in His life and in the following scriptures. (Philippians 2:5, 1 Peter 2:19-23, Romans 12:19–21, Matthew 5:21–24, Matthew 5:39–42, Matthew 5:44–47) Obviously, it's not easy to live the way the Lord wants us to, and we couldn't do it at all without His constant help and encouragement. Another great encouragement is when we can look back at our lives and see how trials really have made us more like Christ!

Realizing this, we can truly be joyful that our Lord has given a great purpose to the bad things that happen in our lives. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2–4) By the way, that word, "consider" could also be translated, "evaluate". He's not saying that we should automatically have a feeling of joy when something bad happens to us. He's telling us to look at the situation and see it from an eternal viewpoint - how God is going to use it. Then we can be joyful and also give Him thanks which is the other thing He tells us to do at all times: “give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18) and “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4) Notice that we're not told to feel joy about whatever is happening, but instead we're to "rejoice in the Lord".  We rejoice because God has saved us and given us a purpose, and even given the bad things that happen to us a good purpose. We rejoice because we now belong to Him and one day this awful sin nature will be completely gone and we'll never have to deal with it again!  Just writing this makes me want to stand and praise our awesome God!!!!

Is God Judging us now?

I hear people ask or wonder if God is judging their country, the world or their city, etc. They generally site things like the transgender garbage or abortions or both or other things like them. The thing is that God began judging most of the civilized countries a while ago and no one seemed to notice it. Well, we noticed it, we just didn't realize it was a judgement. I'm speaking of how there seems to be little true discernment in the Church; like it disappeared some time ago. This is in fulfillment of scripture. It's easy to know why there's no true discernment, which is why the people are swallowing false teaching and even outright heresy whole. It's because they no longer read and study their Bibles daily as the Lord commands us to do. He even tells us that is the only way we can get discernment. But because of the lack of discernment and all the false teaching and heresy that's now in the church and every part of our lives the Church is going through what's usually called "the great falling away" (1 Timothy 4:1). That is a judgement of God on His children who haven't obeyed Him. Remember, 1 Peter 4:17 tells us that judgement always starts with God's family. The great falling away is actually preparing the way for the Antichrist.

Then, on top of the great falling away, as though that wasn't enough, we have the fact that sin has gone rampant all over the world. By this I mean all sin, but we see it especially in sexual sins which is another indication that the end is near. This is because God first allows those who have rejected Him and His Word to have a sexual revolution. He simply stops restraining sin and that causes the sexual revolution. We saw that as far back as the 60's, but people didn't turn back to the Lord. Then the Lord lifts his restraint even more and allows the sins of homosexuality and transgender etc to increase, a homosexual revolution if you will, as judgements on those who refuse to accept His gift of salvation. (see Romans 1:18-32)  Still in Romans 1, when people still don't return to Him, He gives unbelievers over to a reprobate or depraved mind. This is a mind that's marked by corruption and evil; it's perverted. When we take even a quick look around today, it's very easy to see that this mind is what is at work in unbelievers today, including those unbelievers that are pretending to be Christians. 

So all of these particular sins are happening today as a judgement of God - again, preparing for the Antichrist. Romans 1:24-28 is especially relevant here. Finally, God tells us what else will happen because He's given them over to these sexual perversions, and here we see all the other sins that we're seeing in abundance today: “They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.” (Romans 1:29–31) Another good list of what people are like today can be found in 2 Timothy 3:1–5.

In conclusion we can see that the falling away is God's judgement on the Church, and the sexual sins and perversions etc are His judgement on the unbelievers. Both of which are preparing the way for the Antichrist. That does not mean the Tribulation has begun - it hasn't. This is preparing for it to begin though. Just as all the so called "natural disasters" are also preparing for the antichrist and are like mini previews of what will happen during the Tribulation. They are therefore warning His children that play time is over and they need to get really serious about their faith, as well as judging those who don't believe. The problem is that in most judgements, including these, true believers also get hurt because of them.  Believers can be hurt by these judgements because unsaved family members will have the depraved mind, so there is more division in families; Christians will also face more persecutions. But we are safe from the depraved mind, because we have the mind of Christ.  The difference between a believer and unbeliever being hurt by a judgment is that the judgment that harms a believer will be used for His good by the Lord to make him more like Christ; so it has a purpose. 

While being made more like Christ is always the best thing that can happen to us - to be made more like Christ -, now it's especially important that we become more like Him. So now is the time to put our noses into His Word every spare moment we have, as well as dedicating a good amount of time to reading His Word every day. For it is through reading and applying His Word to our lives that God changes us, transforming us to be more like Christ, and renewing our minds so we can have the mind of Christ. There's not much time left before the rapture will occur, (it could be today!) so I'd suggest getting rid of anything in your life that interferes with spending time with the Lord and in His Word.