Psalm 37 Help when facing hard times

Psalm 37:1–2 —Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; *for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. *

It is easy to say “do not be agitated,” but it takes a strong faith to reach this level of confidence in the Lord. The cause for anxiety in this case is envy of wrongdoers who prosper in the world. A deep trust in the Lord enables people to delight in Him, and He will give them the desires of their hearts. Those desires, however, will be in harmony with God’s will. The Apologetics Study Bible

‎As Job’s friend Zopher noted, “the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment” (Job 20:5). Why should the righteous be envious of that? KJV Bible Commentary

Psalm 37:3 —Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. *

The cure for fretting is faith. Regardless of the circumstances around us, we must still trust in the Lord. But there is more, and do good. True faith always produces good works. A faith that trusts in the Lord will find active outlet. And truly you will be fed. The Good Shepherd is always present to care for His sheep. Feed on this thought, and you will fret not. KJV Bible Commentary

Psalm 37:4 —Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. *

The life of the believer is here described as a delight in God, & we're thus certified of the great fact that true religion overflows with happiness & joy. They who love God with all their hearts find that his ways are ways of pleasantness & all his paths are peace. Morning and evening

‎The promise, He will give you the desires of your heart, is based on the condition, delight yourself in the Lord. One who delights in Him will have righteous desires. The Bible Knowledge Commentary Here is the third lesson we must learn. If we make the Lord God the object of our affection, our meditation, and our activity, then we will find ourselves rejoicing in the Spirit. Evildoers delight in their position; but as a child of God, if you delight in yours, you will never envy theirs. And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. When we find pleasure in the Lord God, we will then be rewarded with our innermost desires; we will have all that God intends for us to have. KJV Bible Commentary.

Psalm 37:5 —Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: *

‎A heart of true praise never uses the word if. “If God heals my son, I will thank Him.” Rather, the fountain of genuine worship flows through all the peaks & valleys of nevertheless. “If my son isn't healed, nevertheless I will praise Him.” “If my bills aren't paid, nevertheless I will extol Him.” Pure praise for our great & awesome God is never diminished by circumstance. Unfettered worship comes from hearts who understand that God owes us nothing, but has given us everything. ‎All that accompanies life is a gift from God, given because of His immeasurable love. We can't earn physical life or our salvation. True praise focuses on the astounding attributes & character of God. It rejoices in His goodness. Enter His gates

Psalm 37:6 —He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. *

‎The believer should transfer all anxiety about life to the Lord “and he [emphatic] will do it,” i.e., the Lord will take care of the situation. Whereas the just cause of the psalmist has been hidden, Yahweh would make it shine forth like the sun rising out of the darkness of the night. The rightness of his cause will become as clear as the full light of the noonday. The wisdom literature and Psalms

Psalm 37:7 —Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. *

We are to wait knowing the Lord will protect us and save us because of His great love for us.

The remedy for impatience is to “rest in” or “be silent to” God in the calmness of faith. One should not be angry over the prosperity enjoyed by the wicked. Discontent is not only foolish and useless, but dangerous. It may lead one to deny God’s providence and to cast his lot with the wicked. The wisdom literature and Psalms. ‎

God’s promises are your hope as you wait on Him. Waiting on God does not mean being idle. It is active, daily obedience in the things you know to do with supreme confidence in His perfect, sovereign answer. Waiting on God means you know that He is at work when all appears silent and frozen. In His time, in His way, He will meet your needs and bring honor to His name. Admit your helplessness. In your weariness, cast your burdens on Him. Remember, nothing is too difficult for Him. Enter His gates

Psalm 37:8 —Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. *

The message of “Relax! Don’t react!” returns from verse 1. The Lord’s intervention is imminent. The MacArthur study Bible

‎Fretting means getting out at elbows mentally or spiritually. It is one thing to say ‘Fret not,’ but a very different thing to have such a disposition that you find yourself able not to fret. It sounds so easy to talk about “resting in the Lord” and “waiting patiently for Him” until the nest is upset—until we live, as so many are doing, in tumult and anguish; is it possible then to rest in the Lord?

Resting in the Lord does not depend on external circumstances at all, but on your relationship to God Himself. ‎Fussing always ends in sin. We imagine that a little anxiety & worry are an indication of how really wise we are; it is much more an indication of how really wicked we are. Fretting springs from a determination to get our own way. Our Lord never worried & He was never anxious, because He was not ‘out’ to realize His own ideas; He was ‘out’ to realize God’s ideas. Fretting is wicked if you are a child of God. Put all ‘supposing’ to the side & dwell in the shadow of the Almighty. Deliberately tell God that you will not fret about that thing. All our fret & worry is caused by calculating without God. My utmost for his highest

Psalm 37:9–10 —For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land. *A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. *

The other side of his admonition is the command not to be agitated by evildoers, since their success is temporary. Eventually, the “meek” (or humble) will inherit the earth (v. 11; see Matthew 5:5). This inheritance comes as the gift of God, to whom the meek have committed themselves and before whom they humbly submit themselves. The Woman’s Study Bible

Psalm 37:12–13 —The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them; *but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming. *

God, who sees the end from the beginning, knows the day is coming when the wicked shall no longer prosper. KJV Bible Commentary

The wicked plot against the righteous. Just as the nations plot in vain against God, their plots against the righteous are also in vain. God is not concerned with their plots; He ridicules them. Faithlife Study Bible

Psalm 37:14–18 —The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright. *But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken. *Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked; *for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous. *The days of the blameless are known to the LORD, and their inheritance will endure forever. *

‎God cares for the godly. He knows “the days” of the upright, i.e., their lives are under his watchful care. The wisdom literature and Psalms.

Psalm 37:19–21 —In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty. *But the wicked will perish: The LORD’s enemies will be like the beauty of the fields, they will vanish—vanish like smoke. *The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously; *

The wicked are brought to poverty. They are forced to borrow what they can never repay. The righteous person, on the other hand, has enough and to spare. He is generous with his bounty. The former condition proceeds directly from the curse of God, the latter from his blessing. The wisdom literature and Psalms

Psalm 37:22–23 —those the LORD blesses will inherit the land, but those he curses will be cut off. *If the LORD delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm; *

If God directs the steps of a person then he will delight in his way. When he stumbles in life he will not be “cast down,” for God will uphold him with his hand (power). The wisdom literature and Psalms.

Psalm 37:24 —though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand. *

‎Your performance doesn’t determine your standing in Christ; your standing in Christ determines your performance. Good works are the necessary result of salvation (Eph. 2:10), but they don’t save you or keep you saved. That’s God’s work. Jude said, “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy … ” “Able” in this verse translates a Greek word that speaks of power. “Keep” literally means “to secure in the midst of an attack.” “Stumbling” refers to falling into sin. Together they say that God is powerful enough to prevent you from stumbling into sin and falling away from Him, no matter how intense Satan’s attacks might be. He will continue to protect and cleanse you until the day you enter His glorious Heaven perfected. Drawing Near

‎The righteous fail and fall down; yet they never experience total defeat. From personal observation the poet drew the conclusion that God never abandons His children. Though they may experience the heartaches of a fallen world, God’s children are never completely forsaken. In fact, His blessings will extend to the next generation. The Woman’s Study Bible

Psalm 37:25–26 —I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. *They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed. *

‎The psalmist says that he has never seen the righteous abandoned, nor their children reduced to begging. This is a general observation of God’s faithfulness; it does not mean life will be easy or trouble free for the righteous. Since God will never forsake the righteous, He will ultimately rescue them, but in His time. Through periods of difficulty it will seem as though God has forsaken people, but in such cases He is calling upon them to exercise a deeper trust and commitment. The Apologetics Study Bible

‎What David is saying is wonderful—God is with us all the way. When David was young, God was with him and helped him kill the giant. When David became old, God was still there and helped him stabilize the kingdom and prepare for the building of the temple. ‎This is a heartening promise for the Christian believer. No matter how you may change or how life may change, God never changes, and His promises never fail. But what about those hours of disobedience? Yes, there were times in David’s life when he disobeyed God and sinned. Did God approve of that sin? Of course not! Did God deal with David’s sin? Yes, He did. David was chastened for his disobedience. But did God forsake His child because he had sinned? No!

There were times when David was not acceptable, but he was still accepted. David’s salvation depended on the grace of God, not his own good works; and God was faithful to keep His promise. God had to rebuke and discipline David, but God never forsook him. ‎The fact that God does chasten us when we refuse to confess our sins is proof that He is with us and not against us. As parents, we often have to spank our children, and we do it because we love them. When a child disobeys, he doesn’t cease being a member of the family! His fellowship with the family may be broken, but his sonship goes right on. We don’t forsake our children when they disobey, and God the heavenly Father doesn’t forsake us when we sin. He lovingly warns us, convicts us, rebukes us, and, if necessary, chastens us; and all of this is proof that He has not forsaken us. ‎

The promise of Psalm 37:25: also assures us of God’s provision—we never become beggars. David is saying: God will always provide whatever we need so that we don’t have to turn to anyone else except Him. No matter what your circumstances are just now, if you know Christ is your Savior and are living for Him, you can be sure that He will meet your every need. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Mat 6:33). The bumps are what you climb on.

‎God cannot afford to fail us. If He fails, then everything in this universe falls to pieces. God must be true to Himself and true to His Word. God cannot lie. His promises are sure and steadfast. If God once failed to care for one of His children, He would lose far more than we would. His very character is at stake! He has promised to care for us, and if He doesn’t keep His promise, then He has ceased to be God. You can be sure that this will never happen. Yesterday God helped me, Today He’ll do the same. How long will this continue? Forever—praise His name! The bumps are what you climb on.

Psalm 37:27–29 —Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever. *For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. They will be protected forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off; *the righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever. *

‎God loves justice. He will not forsake his saints (holy ones). The descendants of the wicked, however, will be “cut off” (destroyed). The wisdom literature and Psalms

The righteous man has a generous impulse that causes him constantly to be a giver. The righteous are preserved, but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. KJV Bible Commentary

Psalm 37:30–31 —The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just. *The law of his God is in his heart; his feet do not slip. *

A man’s character is frequently betrayed by his tongue. The law of his God is in his heart. Because the godly has the law of God in his heart, none of his steps shall slide. KJV Bible Commentary

Jesus tells us: Luke 6:45 —The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. * We're also taught that it is by being in God's Word daily that we keep ourselves from sin and evil, and grow in our faith.

Psalm 37:32–33 —The wicked lie in wait for the righteous, seeking their very lives; *but the LORD will not leave them in their power or let them be condemned when brought to trial. *

The wicked hate the righteous and want to do us harm. They may not even realize why they hate us, but their sin nature is convicted by the Holy Spirit that lives in us, and they can't stand that and try to stop it by hurting us. But God is the one who is really in control, and He will protect us.

Psalm 37:34 —Wait for the LORD and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it. *

Again we're told to wait for the Lord and to continue to live upright lives while we're waiting. When we do that, we will eventually see the wicked get what's coming to them.

Psalm 37:35–36 —I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a green tree in its native soil, *but he soon passed away and was no more; though I looked for him, he could not be found. *

Here we're told that even if we have to wait till the wicked man dies, we can know that they will have no pleasure nor any good thing after death, but will receive all they have coming to them in hell. And we will never have to deal with them again. It's taken for granted that we will continue and live forever with the Lord, having such a wonderful life for eternity that we can't begin to imagine how wonderful it's going to be. This is what he's comparing to the life the wicked will have after death, as we'll see in the next verses.

Psalm 37:37–38 —Consider the blameless, observe the upright; there is a future for the man of peace. *But all sinners will be destroyed; the future of the wicked will be cut off. *

Most of the time, when we think of our lives, we only consider this one and we think of our eternal life as though it was something separate and very distant. But it really isn't. We've already begun our eternal lives. (which makes celebrating birthdays here kind of funny lol) David and the others we read about in the Bible, didn't think this way. To them, it was all one life and just as we might plan for our retirement in this life, they planned for their eternal lives, storing up treasure in heaven like Jesus tells us to.

Psalm 37:39–40 —The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD; he is their stronghold in time of trouble. *The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him. *

Lest there be any doubt, we're reminded this is all from God and not of our own doing.

‎Conclusion: The believer should never waste a minute fretting about his enemies, but should look forward with the eye of faith, when he will see no reason to envy wicked people their short-lived prosperity. Those who make God their heart’s delight will have their heart’s desire and will be fully satisfied in Him. ‎
Striking Facts: Come what may, the saints are safe in Christ Jesus and because He lives, they shall live also. As heirs with Him, heaven and eternity shall be theirs. Who would not be a Christian on such terms, in spite of all the oppression of the godless? Summarized Bible

Which one are you in the parable of the sower?

Which one are you in the parable of the sower?
Do you ever read the parable of the sower and think about which one you are?

Matthew 13:18–23 —“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: *When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. *

The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. *But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.*

The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. *

But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” *

‎What kind of hearer am I? ‎Do we seek to really understand the gospel? When we hear it told again and again, does it merely lay on the surface as commonplace? When our faith is put to the test, do we find ourselves putting hope in everything else but the good news? Or, when we become anxious about the cares of this world, do we find ourselves grasping for a firm foundation that isn’t there? ‎The seed that falls on the good soil describes a completely different reception. This hearer receives the word and “hears it and understands it.” It doesn’t stop there, however. The hearer is also known for his good works, which display a heart that has been changed. These hearers bear fruit according to what they have been given. Jesus emphasizes that the pursuit of Him isn’t lethargic, or merely emotional, and it isn’t cerebral. It involves pursuing Him with all of our being—in a posture of humility, with an ear that hears and a life that is changed. It involves complete surrender to His will. Connect the Testaments

Does God hear our prayers when we've sinned or continued to sin?

We know that the Lord loves us, and since we're saved, we've become His children and heirs with Jesus to all that is His. It's an even more drastic change then a pauper becoming a King! It's truly amazing! This is why Jesus tells us that we can now call God, "Abba", or Father, or as it literally translates, "Daddy."

The problem for many of us begins when we sin, or when we know we're not living the way the Lord wants us to. We become convicted by the Holy Spirit. That's good! That's what's supposed to happen and shows that we're hearing from the Holy Spirit. Our job then is to confess our sin and repent. That phrase simply means that we're to agree with God that what we're doing is a sin, ask His forgiveness and then turn away from the sin and not repeat it again. No problem, right? I think we're all used to doing that.

The problem can come though when we do repeat the sin, whether it's right away, or a year later. We again are convicted, but often Satan will join the fight at this point and tell us we can't be forgiven, or that God doesn't love us anymore, or that we can't be saved because if we were, we wouldn't do such a thing, and of course, he usually throws in that God won't hear our prayers any longer because we've sinned. Every single one of those statements is an outright lie from Satan. But he often manages to take our feelings of guilt, and mix it with some scriptures taken out of context or misunderstood, and pulls it off. He causes God's child to stop praying and causes them to believe that God won't listen to their prayers any more. So while Satan rejoices, God and His child are weeping, and the child is feeling lost without their father.

If we think about this logically though, we can easily see through his lies. If you're a parent, and your child disobeys you, what happens? Do you throw your child out of the house, and disown them, or refuse to hear anything they say, refuse to provide for their needs, letting them go hungry until they behave? Of course not! And neither does God. Basically, parents attempt to get their child to admit what they did, they dish out discipline if needed, and let their child know they're forgiven. Before that happens, there's a separation between the parent and child. The child is uncomfortable in the parents presence because they know they've done wrong, even if the parent has discovered it yet. That puts a wall up between them because the child can't be comfortable with the parents love until they come clean. Once they have though, then once again the parent and child can be comfortable together.

And that's pretty much how it is between us and God too. He first convicts us of our sin, so that we will come to Him and tell Him about it. He already knows about it but wants us to tell Him so we can get it off our conscience and know without any doubts, that He's forgiven us. When we don't talk to Him about it, it eats at us and causes us all kinds of problems emotionally.

David tells us how he felt when he didn't go and confess his sin to the Lord in Psalm 32:3–4. He said the longer he went without talking to the Lord about it, the worse he felt. We know that because he wouldn't admit to his sin with Bathsheba and her husband, the Lord had to send a prophet to him, to tell him that the Lord knew about what he'd done with Bathsheba and how he'd killed her husband. Finally then David confessed to the Lord, (psalm 51) and of course, since David was His child, the Lord heard his prayer and forgave him. We know that due to the seriousness of the sin, that David was also disciplined for it and suffered some serious consequences from it as well. The consequences were not the Lord's discipline, they were simply the consequence of sin in his life and that's true for all of us when we sin.

But what about all those scriptures that say that God doesn't hear the prayers of sinners, we ask when we're confused and ashamed of ourselves. Again, we need to really think about what they're saying. God doesn't hear the prayers of the wicked, and sinners are wicked in His eyes. But my dear friend, remember, we are not sinners any longer! We're saints, His children, and there is NO condemnation for those who belong to Christ! God does not stop listening to our prayers when we sin. If He did, I'm afraid that He wouldn't have very many prayers to listen to.

In psalm 51, David asks the Lord not to cast him from His presence or take the Holy Spirit from him. He doesn't ask that because that's what God normally does. He asks that because he knew that because of Saul's great sins, God removed His Spirit from him. The Holy Spirits role in the Old Testament was different then it is now. Having the Holy Spirit didn't have anything to do with salvation then, instead it was given as an enabling presence. The loss of the Spirit then didn't mean loss of salvation, but loss of enablement for whatever ministry the Lord had wanted them to do. God rejected Saul as King and removed His Spirit from him, and David was asking God not to do that to him. And of course, we know He didn't.

You know, we often think about how God chose David to be King of Israel, and then David went and disappointed Him. But the truth of the matter is that God knew what David was going to do, long before He ever told David that He'd chosen him to be King. It's the same with us too. He knows about all our sins. He knows what we're going to do today, next year and every day after that. He knew it when He chose us to be His child and called us to Himself. He knew when He hung on the cross for us. And you know what? He didn't change His mind! He still loved us then, and He still loves us now!

So what happen when we repeat a sin? God wants to hear from us, and He still hears our prayers. When we repeat a sin later, that doesn't mean that we didn't really repent before, it simply means we sinned again. God knows we're not perfect and He knows we will make the same mistakes over and over at times. He doesn't have a set limit for us that once we cross then it's all over. What matters to Him is what's in our hearts. If an alcoholic confesses his drinking and is truly sorry for his sin, repenting of it, promising he won't do it again, then he's forgiven, period. If he turns around an hour later and drinks again, and again confesses his sin, truly repenting of it, he is again forgiven. And he will be forgiven again, and again, and again, and again, as often as it takes until he learns how to overcome it with God's help. The same is true of any other sin as well.

Sadly, it's at times like this that Satan often comes in and convinces the person that God won't listen to them anymore. But God loves us and will always listen to our prayers and answer us. Yes, we may be disciplined for our sin, but that's simply more proof that we're his beloved children, and He loves us!

What happens when we've fallen for Satan's lies and we're too afraid, ashamed or embarrassed to pray and ask His forgiveness? God doesn't leave us. He is always with us and always will be. He will continue to take care of us, and continue to love us, and He will continue to convict us of our sin and constantly try to draw us to Him in prayer and draw us into His Word so He can show us the Truth. Think how you would feel and what you'd do if your child had done something wrong and was too afraid, ashamed or embarrassed to come and talk to you about it... it would break your heart, wouldn't it? And so it breaks our Father's heart too. Hear the heart of our Father: Isaiah 49:15–16 —“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! *See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. * And again when He had to discipline His children: Jeremiah 31:20 —Is not Ephraim my dear son, the child in whom I delight? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,” declares the LORD. *

Let's make sure we remember this the next time Satan tries to convince us otherwise, and go running to the Father who loves us and wants only the very best for us!

How the Lord eased my mind yesterday

Yesterday, as I was praying over a problem we have, I was telling the Lord how I thought He could solve the problem and acknowledging that I obviously wasn't God and didn't know even a tiny fraction of what He did, so I was sure there were other ways He could solve it as well, even if I couldn't imagine how. As I prayed though, I kept coming back to the hard fact that only one or two things would solve the problem, no matter how He handled it. There simply was no other way. There just wasn't enough money to pay all the bills and that's all there was to it. Eventually, I assured the Lord that I trusted Him and would accept whatever He did with gratitude and left the matter alone. I knew I couldn't do anything about it anyway, so why worry?

When I got done with my work and sat down for a minute in the living room, I turned on my Kindle to listen to Moody Radio. After a great praise and worship song, they came out with a short teaching. And what did they bring up but the miracle when Jesus fed the 5000! I honestly have no idea what they said about it though, because as soon as I heard what they were going to speak about, I instantly received a message in my mind. The Lord gently reminded me of how few fishes and loaves He'd had to work with to feed those 20,000 people. (that's the total number that were actually there that day that He fed. The 5000 were just the men that were there) And then reminded me of how many baskets of leftovers they'd picked up after everyone had been fed! There was a little more to it, but I got the message right away. He knew about my problem, He understood that in my view there wasn't enough to go around, and was letting me know that He was a master at creating an abundance out of very little.

If anyone had come in the house at that moment, they would have wondered why I had such a huge grin on my face. It just tickled me that my Lord loved me so much that He would take the time to remind me about what I learned in His Word before and show me yet another application of it, one that was exactly what I needed to hear that day, and a direct answer to what I'd been praying about. I knew then that I really didn't have to be concerned about anything, because He really will take care of us and provide all that we need. So now, I'm just waiting expectantly and kind of excitedly too, to see just how He's going to pull this off!

I just wanted to share this with you guys as an encouragement as I know many of us are in similar situations right now. I know what the Lord does for me, He will do for others as well, especially all of you because I pray for you guys as well!

If you want to read about the miracle, it's in all 4 gospels beginning at: Matthew 14:13, Mark 6:30, Luke 9:10 and John 6:1.

When Perversion is Called “Love” and Abuse is Entertainment

Today Marie Notcheva is my guest blogger. Marie is a biblical counselor and the author of an excellent book on eating disorders, Redeemed from the Pit. Biblical Repentance and Restoration from the Bondage of Eating Disorders. She makes her home on the snowy east coast of Massachusetts.


There are certain things I never expected to see go completely mainstream. By “go mainstream”, I mean to reach a level of complete societal acceptance. Such things would include “Daisy Duke” shorts. The militant GLBT agenda in American education. And….pornography marketed to women.

If you harbor any doubts that this world has completely lost all moral compass, look no further than the recent “50 Shades of Grey” phenomenon. (I nearly typed, “this country”, but the trilogy seems to be quite popular with teenage girls in Europe.) This Valentine’s Day, the sadomasochistic duo of Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey are coming to a cinema near you.

A disclaimer: I have not read the books, and do not plan to. I am, however, familiar with the premise: A college student begins a BDSM relationship with a businessman, which is somehow construed to be a romance. From what I read on Wiki, there doesn’t seem to be much of a plot – just a lot of “incompatibility”, leading to breakups; beatings; and violent perversion. The books portray an abusive relationship as being a romance; Ana, in fact, displays classic battered women’s syndrome by falling “in love” with the man who victimizes her. I will assume the readers of this blog are adults, and do not need me to explain what “bondage porn” is. A University of Michigan study demonstrated that women who read these books were statistically more likely to have an abusive partner (25%); binge drink (65%); and were more likely to have eating disorders.

We are about to see a new wave of counseling cases because of “50 Shades of Grey”, and here’s why: Christian women are reading this tripe at the same rate as the general population. A Barna survey shows that nine percent of American adults have read “50 Shades”, and the statistic is exactly the same for professing Christians. Shocked? Screenings for the movie sold out fastest in Bible Belt cities, too. This is not a demographic - these are our sisters in Christ. There is something desperately wrong when a Christ-follower chooses to put this kind of material in her mind. Let’s consider three specific “heart issues” involved with choosing to read or watch “50 Shades”.

The Normalization of Sexual Sin

First of all, let’s dispel the myth that lust is uniquely a man’s sin. It’s not, and we can safely say that adult women can also violate Matthew 5:28, since they are huge consumers of pornography. The difference, of course, is that it is literature designed to titillate, rather than actual photography (although the movie is said to be the most graphic R-rated movie released to date). Therein lies the difference: men are more visual; whereas women are more relational. Men are more likely to habitually view porn, while women prefer to indulge in “romance novels”. In both cases, the heart issue is the same: lust. A craving for satisfaction outside of the way God intended it.

While I am not justifying it, I understand – up to a point - why women are more likely to fall into emotional affairs than men. Or why men enjoy the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition. Certain weaknesses are inherent in our DNA. What I cannot understand, however, is what the attraction is in BSDM porn – the most extreme perversion of human intimacy imaginable – and how on earth porn has gone from public perception as seedy and shameful to being celebrated as a romantic art form. Philippian 4:8 commands the Christian to think on what is right; pure; honorable; lovely; and of good repute. Does this kind of “literature” fall under any of these categories?

What, exactly, does reading about a deviant, violence-filed sexual relationship do for you, ladies? Does it help you to grow in holiness? When you put it down, what does this book’s “wisdom” inspire you to do….unload the dishwasher? Pack your kids’ school lunches? Iron the family’s clothes? I like to think things over while ironing. I’m sure that’s it.

Abuse as Entertainment

A 2013 Journal of Women’s Health study stated the novels “romanticize abuse of women” and deemed the ironically-named “Christian” to be an emotionally and sexually abusive cad. No kidding, really? Did we really need a study to tell us this?

It is no secret that filmography has gotten increasingly violent and more graphic over the last decades. “50 Shades’” glorification of violence against women has been well-documented, and is reason enough for anyone to avoid the film. But there is another truth that Christian ladies need to acknowledge: By watching this film or reading these books, you are choosing to entertain yourself with the very things that nailed Jesus to the Cross.

Let that sink in for a moment.

The increase in violent films, video games etc. has led to an increasingly de-sensitized culture. Consider this: the sex trade is alive and well. Real young women like “Ana” are trafficked around the world, every day, and degraded against their will. They are all someone’s daughter. There is nothing more blatantly satanic than the degradation of another human being, who is made in the image of God.

The Message to Our Daughters

Knowing she had not read the books, I asked my 17-year-old daughter if they were popular among girls her age. She snickered, and admitted she didn’t know anyone who had read “50 Shades”. “It’s women your age who are reading that stuff, Mom…and older women, in their sixties. We laugh at it.” (Most of the readers of “50 Shades” are between the ages of 29-66). While I was glad that the book isn’t popular among American teens, the fact that my generation is popularizing “Mommy Porn” (and thus “normalizing” it) is tragic. If I didn’t have two daughters, who I want to raise as godly young women, it might not disturb me quite so much. But it does.

While we’re here, let’s dispel another myth popular among evangelicals: we cannot “guard” our daughters’ purity. In fact, we cannot guard anyone’s purity, except our own. We can only give them the Gospel; show grace, and pray that they will follow Christ. We do not want them to embrace a moral code and think they are Christians – we want them to embrace the living Christ; and follow His moral Law out of love and gratitude. If Christian moms are reading “50 Shades”, what message about God’s plan for marital love does this send? Does it keep the marriage bed pure (Hebrews 13:4)?

Renewing the Mind Defiled by “50 Shades”

While Christians may be reading “50 Shades”, I do not believe they are able to do so without conviction. The shame attached to this particular sin makes it harder for female porn users to admit they want help in forsaking it, although they are not unusual in the counseling room. The first step is in admitting that reading or viewing erotica is, in fact, sin. For the believer, this shouldn’t even be a question. This is simply not a gray area.

Next, she needs to see the behavior porn depicts as God does: filthy. While images and thoughts cannot be “unseen”, all believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and are no longer enslaved to sin. We can control what we think about, and self-discipline is a fruit of the Spirit. It is wise to start with 2 Corinthians 10:5 (“Take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ”) to break the stronghold of sexual sin.

Throughout much of Scripture the process of choosing to think pure, godly thoughts is described. Renewal and transformation of the mind with the Word of God is crucially important for women who have become enslaved to porn, and “taking thoughts captive” is a good metaphor. Jay Adams wrote, “We do not have to let our minds go wandering down every alley; poking into every garbage can along the way.” Since all sin begins in the mind, I think of the first step of repentance as closing a door in my mind: “This is not an option. Period.”

Looking Upward; Not Inward

Unlike psychotherapy, which delves into the deeper reasons of why we may be prone to certain desires or behaviors, biblical counseling is more concerned with the solution: turning around and “putting on” the godly alternative. Forsaking a sinful thought pattern or behavior does not mean constantly ruminating on it or asking for deeper revelation into the reasons why we went in that direction. We sin because we are sinners; it is our nature. For example, when counseling bulimics, I do not ask them to keep a food journal - it focuses undue attention on the food itself; rather than the idols in their hearts. Likewise, a woman repenting of erotica/porn use needs to be in the Bible, but not necessarily fixating on every verse that deals with sexual sin. The whole of Scripture renews the soul by revealing the character of God – a start contrast to the dark, demonically-inspired world of “50 Shades”.

In the Gospels, one sees the character of Jesus as one filled with compassion – whether He is healing a leper; forgiving an adulteress; or calling a tax collector. We see it implied everywhere (and stated explicitly in Romans 2:4) that it is His kindness that leads us to repentance – not guilt; shame; or fear. Coming to know the true character of God and receiving His grace is what will change the heart of a woman seeking fulfillment in the broken cisterns of literary porn.

posted with permission

http://bc4women.blogspot.com/2015/02/when-perversion-is-called-love-and.html

We can make a HUGE difference...right now!

I know that many folks no longer attend church as they've been unable to find one that teaches the Truth from God's Word, and others can't go because of their health. Yet I feel that we still can have a great deal of influence in the church, even though we can't attend one. We can do that, by praying for the churches in our area as well as the churches of pastors who have blessed us through their teachings, such as Pastor John MacArthur and Pastor Warren Wiersbe. (assuming they're still alive).

At my old church, I was part of a prayer ministry that would pray over the service each Sunday. We took turns so that we'd only miss one service every few weeks. When it was our turn, we'd go into a small prayer room and pray for the pastor, for the congregation as a whole, for individual members, those who couldn't make it to church that day, for the worship team, for the service itself, etc. We'd pray that God would open people's hearts and eyes to His Truth and that His Truth would be preached with power, received and applied by the congregation etc. We'd ask the Lord to protect the pastor and congregation from any disruptions and all sorts of things like that. Remembering that, made me realize that I could continue to do that even though I was no longer able to attend church myself, and I could pray for many of the churches in my area.

But, since I'm not attending any church regularly, how do I know they're teaching the truth? I don't. But the Lord pointed out to me that I didn't need to know that. Instead, I could pray that they would teach the truth and that they'd not fall prey to false teachings.

And so a couple of years ago, I began praying for a bunch of the churches in my area, plus a few other pastors and their churches, like MacArthur's and Wiersbe's. I like to pray God's Word whenever I can because it's so powerful, so I use a lot of scripture in my prayers. Besides, God's Word says exactly what I'd want for them anyway, so why not go with a sure thing?

The main scripture I began praying with was one of Paul's prayer requests, to which I added one of his mighty prayers:

Ephesians 6:19–20 —Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, *for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. *

Colossians 1:9–11 —For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. *And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, *being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, *

Because we know that pastors are especially targeted by Satan, and that the stronger they are in the Lord, the more they are harassed by Satan, I also ask the Lord to be a sheild around each of them, & each of their families, preventing Satan, his demons, and his children from interfering in their lives and ministries, harassing them, & from causing strife and division. I also ask Him to protect them all from the evil plans & desires of others & from unhealthy or dangerous situations.

Finally, knowing the times we live in and how many people need help, I also ask the Lord to be their provision so that they can in turn provide for the needs of others.

I wanted to share this idea with you guys, just because I think we could have a HUGE impact on the body of Christ and on more people being saved before the rapture, if more joined me in this endeavor.

I thought I'd just type my prayer as I pray it today, hoping it would encourage others to do so as well.

Father, I lift up to You, the body of Christ, and the various churches we attend. Specifically I lift up to you all my local churches, especially: Harvest Christian, New Hope, Trinity, New Wineskin, & Hope Nation, as well as Grace Community Church in California; & all their pastors: Pastor Joshua, Pastor John, Pastor Jeff, Pastor Rob, & Pastor Gabe, & Pastor MacArthur, & also Pastor Mills, & Pastor Wiersbe, asking that You keep all of them in your truth, guide them & inspire them; protect them from all false teaching and give them boldness to always speak your truth in love. I ask that You would fill them with the knowledge of Your will through all spiritual wisdom & understanding in order that they may live a life worthy of You & may please You in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, & being strengthened with all power according to Your glorious might.

Please defend all of them from all error, sin & evil, Keeping them from all false teaching. Lord, I also ask that You would be a shield around each of them, & their families, preventing Satan, his demons, and his children from interfering in their lives and ministries, harassing them, & from causing strife and division in their churches and lives. For we are aware of Satan's schemes and that he attacks those Pastors who are teaching the Truth. Please also protect them all from their evil plans & desires & from unhealthy or dangerous situations.

Help Your Pastors each continue to grow in Christ and to grow the members of their congregations up in Christ. I pray that You would enable them to preach with clarity making it easy for their congregations to understand your Word, and with passion, causing their congregants hearts to be set on fire in love for You. I pray that many would come to Christ and enter His Kingdom through their preaching, and that through their teaching, many will be prepared for the coming of our Lord to catch us up into the air with Him.

Please strengthen them, encourage them, and refresh them. Cause them to preach and teach only Your Truth & to never waver from it.

Please also be their provision so they can give to others in Your Name. Multiply all that they have so they never run out and they're able to provide freely and with great joy, for the needs and wants of all who come to them.

For the body of Christ I would ask that you would grant each of us a heart of love and passion for You and Your Word, & ears to hear what our pastors are teaching. I ask that you grant us each a great, overwhelming longing to always desire an ever closer, more personal relationship with You, and a greater understanding of Your Word so that we can all live lives worthy of Your calling.

I ask all of this that my Lord Jesus would receive the praise, honor and glory due His Awesome Name. Thank You Father! For it's in His Name I pray. Amen

A shocking Reason Why Honoring our Parents is so Important

Maybe it's because I'm so tired as I've been awake all night, but this hit me like a ton of bricks today, so I just had to share it with you. Psalm 91 is a wonderful psalm full of promises from the Lord of how He will provide and care for us if we will "dwell in Him." It's also has the verses Satan used or tried to use to tempt Satan with when he told Jesus to throw himself off the top of the temple parapet because God would send angels to prevent him from being hurt. Just after those verses is another very important verse:

Psalm 91:14–16 —“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. *He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. *With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.” * The phrase "acknowledges my name", means to understand God's character, and no one can do that of course unless they know God well.

What blew me away though was when I read in one of the commentaries a reference to the 5th commandment - to honor our fathers and mothers so our days will be long... (Deuteronomy 5:16; Exodus 20:12; Ephesians 6:2) At first I was confused wondering why they would have that there. It didn't make sense. Then all of a sudden it did! All through His Word, God is called the Father. And He was especially so to our Lord Jesus who told us we were to call Him "our Father."

Now, before I go jumping off the cliff, let me first say that I've understood for a long time that honoring our parents is important because our relationship with them is a reflection of our relationship with God. I simply didn't realize how much of a reflection it was or completely understand why.

In the verses I quoted above though, you'll notice that God says that He will protect the one who loves Him and grant him a long life. Remember, in the 5th commandment is called, "the first commandment with a promise" and the promise is for a long life. Recall too how Jesus always spoke of God as being His Father. So it's easy to see why Satan would speak of the other verses as applying to Jesus. Jesus certainly dwelled in the Father and understood His character, since He and the Father were one. No one could have done so better then He. Just like everything else, Jesus modeled this psalm perfectly for us!

Once we understand that God is the Father and that He is speaking to those who love Him "with all their hearts, all their souls and all their strength", and who "dwell (or abide) in Him constantly (rather then like those who just run to Him when they have a problem for example). Remember, Jesus and the apostles frequently told us that we had to "abide" or "dwell in" or "continue in" Him and His Word in order to be His followers and bear fruit. We read that all through the New Testament. A person who is doing that, is a picture of a beloved child who is well behaved and honors their parents! It's a picture of Jesus, who as I said, was the perfect model of this.

It's amazing to me too how each element of this depends on and interacts with the others. Only someone who is really abiding in God, putting Him first in their lives and living for Him, can truly know Him, because they'll also be constantly in His Word, just as Jesus said. And they are the ones who will be bearing fruit for the kingdom as well, again as Jesus told us. Just as a well behaved child bears fruit for their parents. They're able to do so because they love their parents so much that they do their best to really get to know them. That way their parents don't have to tell them what to do all the time, because they already know their parent's will and do it without being asked. They also try to determine in advance what their parents will want and do it for them. As they grow in the love and knowledge of their parents, the better they're able to do what their parents want and expect.

It's the same with us and God. So our relationship with our human parents is a reflection of our relationship with the Father, which is why He tells us to honor them without any conditions attached to it. He doesn't say to honor them if they've been perfect parents and deserve it, He simply says to honor them. This doesn't mean that someone who has abusive parents has to place themselves in danger or that they have to even maintain contact with them if that would be dangerous. It means exactly what it says: to honor them. (Not speaking badly of them, forgiving them, being respectful even if they don't deserve it, etc.) God continuously holds us to higher standard because we're His children, so to honor Him, we're to honor them.

Isn't that neat though? I love how all God's Word ties together like this! (hope I didn't ramble too much being so tired ) Oh here's a bit of trivia for you too. Here's what Luther said about Psalm 91: “This is the most distinguished jewel among all the psalms of consolation”

Life is a School

I love this quote about life being a school in which you learn the lessons after you take the test, as I've found it to be so true! And God will just keep putting you in circumstances to get you to learn the lesson He has to teach you from His Word until you do so. Amen?

"Effective discipleship depends on close attention to the Word of God. The Spirit of God teaches us from the Word, & then He directs our lives into circumstances that force us to trust the Word & act upon it. It has well been said that life is a school in which you learn what the lessons were after you take the test. It is not enough to appreciate the Word and hold it in high esteem; we must also apply it. A true disciple is much more than a learner; he is one who lives what he learns. It is not in the studying of the Bible that we grow spiritually, but in the doing of what God has taught us." Wiersbe, Prayer: Basic Training

 

 

This World is an Illusion

I've often felt that this world was nothing more then an elaborate illusion that Satan has painted for us. As we read and study God's Word, applying it to our lives, that becomes more and more clear to us. I believe that's one big reason the Lord tells us to take our thoughts captive and replace them with His Truth, and why He says to live by faith and not by sight. I've found that the longer I've taken my thoughts captive and replaced them, the more I'm able to see through the illusion to the Truth behind it. And the Truth is nothing like what we see, hear, and feel! In fact, it's often the opposite.

As God's Word saturates our minds and renews them, we begin to see things as they really are. It reminds me of the story of Elisha and his servant in 2 Kings 6:16–17. They were surrounded by enemies and about to be attacked and his servant was panicking. Elisha prayed that God would open his servants eyes so he'd see things as they truly were and when God did, his servant saw that their enemies were the ones that were surrounded -surrounded by an uncountable number of God's Warrior angels! We usually focus on the miracle of God opening the servants eyes, but I wanted to know how Elisha already knew. Why were his eyes already open?

It's not hard to discover that answer. He saw things as they really were, or at least a lot closer to how they really were, because he was saturated by God's Word and had a very close relationship with Him where he was constantly talking to Him (and listening to His replies). And of course, he didn't just know God's Word, he did what it said, always obeying the Lord.

We tend to think of Elisha, Elijah, Paul, David, Peter, and the others as somehow special and that we don't stand a chance of being like them, but God takes great pains to point out to us that they were just normal people just like us. He also constantly tells us that He doesn't change. What He did for them, He will do for us! I don't know how others feel, but I want to see the world the way it really is, not the illusion that Satan's painted for us!

I love how Warren Wiersbe puts it in one of his books, so I copied excepts of it here for us:

How the Word of God helps us overcome the world is an important thing to know. The Word exposes the world as it truly is. Lot was impressed with Sodom, but Abraham was not. Why? Because Abraham had his eyes on a better city. Had Lot consulted Abraham, he'd have avoided Sodom & stayed with his tent. But the world attracted Lot, so he moved into Sodom, & eventually lost everything. Had Moses been captivated by the prestige and pleasures of Egypt, he would never have left the palace and identified with the Jewish nation. But he saw Egypt as it really was, and he didn’t want it. He considered “the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward” (Hebrews 11:26). Sad to say, the people of Israel did not share his vision and often wanted to go back to Egypt when things got tough. Christians still do that today.
Wiersbe, Prayer: Basic Training

The Word reveals to us what the world is really like; the Word exposes the world’s deceptions & dangerous devices. ‎One of the 1st steps toward a worldly life is the neglect of the Word of God. D.L. Moody wrote in the front of his Bible, “This book will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from this book.” ‎The Word of God not only brings us God’s joy & love, but it also imparts God’s power for holy living. (John 17:15–17). The Bible exposition commentary

What are your false gods, your idols?

I wrote a long time ago in I used to think that I couldn't ever be an Idolate...
about how I discovered to my shock that I was an idolator. When you discover something like that, the obvious first thing you want to do is stop doing it! The problem is that with idolatry, we generally have quite a few idols in our hearts that we've been unaware of and we have to discover what they are before we can get rid of them. With the Lord's help, I've learned of one way to discover what my idols are, and it's actually pretty easy to do. It makes sense too when we realize that anything we've made into an idol is going to be something we feel strongly about.

When we feel strongly about something, that means we're also going to have some real strong emotions concerning it when we feel it's threatened. The main emotions we tend to feel when an idol is threatened are anger, fear, and/or jealousy. I learned that if I pay attention to what makes me really angry, or hurt, I'll come to quickly know what my idols are.

Our emotions can tell us what we hold the most dear, what's the most important to us. If someone spills something that stains on a piece of carpet that we think of as trash anyway, we're not going to get upset about it, or at least not real upset. But if someone stains something we value highly, then we're going to get really upset!

I'm not suggesting that every time we get angry it means we've got an idol lurking behind it. The way we can tell the difference is by how often we get angry about something. If we consistently get angry or fearful or feel jealous about something, we need to examine what's behind it to find out what our false god is. If we're generally angered or hurt by things other people say and/or do to us, if we examine what made us angry about what each person said or did, we'll most likely find a pattern, and that pattern will lead us to our false god.

We all have the false god of self that we have to deal with. The major symptom for that god is selfishness which can show up in many different ways. When we're saved, our part is supposed to be to die to ourselves and live for Christ, so it's natural that our "self" is going to fight that to the bitter end. But if we're not aware of it and keep alert, it's going to take back control or try to. So the idol of self is one I think we all have to fight fairly constantly.

The other false gods may not be so easy to spot. There's false gods of money, success, image, beauty, materialism, etc. Anything can be made into a false god, and probably has been by someone.

When we feel angry or fearful about something consistently, we need to ask ourselves why we're feeling threatened; what are we afraid we're going to lose; what goal is being blocked, or what's so important that it's causing us to lose control, and what are we getting from this area that we should be getting from God? What need is it filling for us that we should be having filled by God?

Strong emotions are a good reason to look and see just what those emotions are pointing us to. Fear, anger, hurt feelings, and jealousy are especially good signs that will often point us to who or what we're putting our hope in. I've also realized that the things that have hurt us in the past, how and why were were hurt and what we think we need to stop the pain and prevent it from happening again, will also help point us toward our false gods.
A false god or idol is anything that we have put our hope in, or that we're looking to for love, acceptance, contentment and/or happiness. Our strong emotions can tell us that something's wrong, that we've misplaced our affections, because God is supposed to be first in our lives. He demands to be first...above our parents, children, spouse, siblings or anyone or anything else.

I'd like to end this by simply including a few of my notes about idols as they've helped me to find many of mine.

We’ve defined idols as anything that is inflated to take the position of God in our lives, anyone or anything that becomes an ultimate thing. We’ve discovered that some of their roots trace back to experiences of being unloved, rejected, abused—or the flipside, of having it all while ironically having an insatiable desire for more. We’ve identified a few of their more prominent characteristics, which revolve around subtle deceit, blatant lies, and flashy seduction. No other gods

“Belief in Yahweh doesn’t come with your mind, Hezekiah. It comes with your heart. When you only believe in things you can see with your eyes and touch with your hands, it is idolatry.” Trusting in Molech, as Ahaz did, or trusting in your own wisdom and intellect—there’s no difference in God’s eyes. It’s all idolatry.” Gods and kings: A novel.

Idolatry is thinking anything about God that isn’t true or attempting to transform Him into something He isn’t. God: Coming face to face with His Majesty

The essence of idolatry, is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him. Be Determined.

The love of pleasures and possessions is but an insidious form of idolatry, demonic in its origin and destructive in its outcome. To make possessions and pleasures the most important things in life is idolatry. The Bible exposition

Anything becomes an idol when it keeps us away from God. Morning and evening
According to Paul in Romans 6:16, we all have a yoke and we all have a burden—there is no getting around this, as much as we might like to think we can skip through life weightless and independent. Every day, every minute, we will serve something. The trickier part is who or what will that be? The idols of our hearts—the people I depend on for approval, Ashley’s dismal boyfriend, five more social drinks—are not gentle, and they are far from humble. They are cruel with our hearts, promising what can’t suffice yet grooming us as repeat customers. Their yoke is weighty and binding. Christ’s is easy and light. No other gods:
To keep yourself from idols is to live with a whole heart of faith in Jesus. John’s last line properly leaves us with that most basic question which God continually poses to each human heart. Has something or someone besides Christ taken title to your heart’s trust, preoccupation, loyalty, service, fear & delight? It's a question bearing on the immediate motivation for one’s behavior, thoughts, & feelings. In the Bible’s conceptualization, the motivation question is the lordship question. Who or what rules my behavior, the Lord or a substitute?

The 1st Great Commandment, to love God heart, soul, mind, & might, also demonstrates the essential inwardness of the law regarding idolatry. The language of love, trust, fear, hope, seeking, serving—terms describing a relationship to the true God—is continually utilized in the Bible to describe our false loves, trusts, fears, hopes, pursuits, false masters. If idolatry is the characteristic & summary OT word for our drift from God, then desires is the characteristic & summary NT word for the same drift. See Gal 5:16ff; Eph 2:3 & Eph 4:22; 1 Pet 2:11 & 1 Pet 4:2; 1 John 2:16; James 1:14f Both are shorthand for the problem of human beings.

The 10th commandment's also a command that internalizes the problem of sin, making sin psychodynamic. It lays bare the grasping & demanding nature of the human heart, as Paul powerfully describes it in Rom 7. Interestingly & unsurprisingly the NT merges the concept of idolatry & the concept of inordinate, life-ruling desires. Idolatry becomes a problem of the heart, a metaphor for human lust, craving, yearning, & greedy demand. 2nd, the Bible treats idolatry as a central feature of the social context, “the world,” which shapes & molds us. Idols of the Heart

1 John 5:21 —Dear children, keep yourselves from idols. * 

Part 2:  The times we're most likely to turn to an idol

I used to think that I couldn't ever be an Idolater 2

I've been studying Revelation again and began studying about Babylon and it's destruction and why God destroyed it. I wanted to know what the sins were that God hated so much, because I knew that those same sins must be present in our time too. I'm sure they've always been present, but felt they must be even worse in our time since everything seems to be so much worse now and we've been seeing so many previews of all the judgments that will be coming during the tribulation.

What I found both did and didn't surprise me. I guess the part that surprised me was because it's something the Lord has been teaching me about lately anyway. (He often seems to point out things He's teaching me personally during my study time lol) This time one of the main things was about idolatry. The Lord's been teaching me about the sin of idolatry for almost 2 years now, and I've discovered that it's much much more then just bowing down to some statue.

I think it would be safe to say that most of us would never think idolatry would be a problem for any of us. After all, we do worship the one true God, so we're safe, right? Wrong. The Lord's shown me so much about this sin, that it's mind boggling to me. I've learned since I wrote that first piece that idolatry is very much a sin that's familiar to all of us. This is the sin that's going to continue to grow until it's so ugly and monstrous that it should be obvious to all what a horrid sin it is.

One of the first ways I learned to define idolatry, besides bowing to a statue, was that it means putting anything before God and His Word. Most of us would instantly say that we would never do that, and we'd mean it too. But the Lord's shown me how insidious this sin is, and that in fact, most of us are guilty of it and not just once in a while. Yet another definition of idolatry is thinking anything about God that isn't true or trying to make Him something He isn't. It's something God also calls Spiritual adultery. If you think about it, God often accuses Israel of spiritual adultery in the OT, and He warns us from that in the NT too. But what is spiritual adultery? It's when we become involved in false teachings and things like that. It is NOT when we mistakenly believe something that's not true, because we haven't gotten to that truth yet in our daily studies with Him. But, if we hold to a false teaching, and do not study His Word with Him daily, then He does hold us responsible and does call it spiritual adultery and idolatry, because if we had, we would have known the truth.

Knowing this then, and knowing the state of the Church right now, seeing the direction it's going, it's easy to see how this sin is going to continue to grow. There will be no great revival to bring people back to the truth, like the false teachers say, before the rapture. So this is just going to get worse and worse. Then, after the rapture, although there will be a tremendous and great soul harvest during the tribulation, with many saved who know and live the Truth, this sin will continue to grow in the majority of mankind as they basically worship themselves as god, and/or the god they create in their one world religion.

This is one part of the sin of idolatry that will be practiced by the harlot, the woman riding the beast. Remember that she's dressed in purple, and gold and precious gems and jewels, showing luxury. This shows us the other part of the sin of idolatry practiced by her and all who follow her. (the one world religion). Remember how Jesus told us that the love of money was the root of all evil? This is another aspect of idolatry. It's when the love of pleasures or possessions becomes the most important thing in our lives. And this will be very true of the people during the tribulation.

In fact though, it's already true of the majority of the world, even of Christians. This was the hard one for me to learn about. At first I denied that I could possibly be guilty of this. After all, I don't have much money anyway! Think though of how Satan, the prince of the air, has used the media to encourage this sin in our lives. People were much more content with their lives (like God tells us to be) before radio and especially before TV! They weren't being constantly barraged with pictures and sounds of the "new, improved, and better" things they could have like we are. No matter what we own, we constantly see commercials for the same thing only the next model up that's newer, prettier, improved, better, etc. And of course, everyone wants it! Somehow, you lose your desire for the one you've got, and find that you just have to have the newer, better kind.

I think back to my parents childhood, then mine, my children's and now my grandchildren's and it's so very different! Now days, kids have things that many people didn't get until they were adults, if then! The US prides itself on being so prosperous, but what we are is idolatrous, not prosperous and it's getting worse every day.

Let me quote something from one of the commentaries about the verses describing the downfall of Babylon and the sins she's judged for, and see if it doesn't sound an awful lot like how it is today:

A third sin is Babylon’s worship of pleasures and luxury. To “live deliciously” (Rev. 18:7) is to live proudly in luxury while others go without. It means to make possessions and pleasures the most important things in life, and to ignore the needs of others. John summarized this attitude as “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). The world system satisfies the desires of the earth-dwellers who follow “the beast” and reject the Lamb. But worldly things never permanently satisfy or last. The love of pleasures and possessions is but an insidious form of idolatry, demonic in its origin and destructive in its outcome. The Bible exposition commentary.

Babylon’s sins ‎(18:3). The verse links spiritual adultery (idolatry) with “excessive luxuries.” A focus on material things leads not only to self-indulgence but also to an arrogance which denies any need for God. The worldly person puts his or her hope in possessions and in this sense puts things in the place rightly occupied by God. Idolatry is not just bowing down to images; it is also relying on wealth or power rather than on the Lord. The Bible reader’s companion

When we need something, how often is our first thought of how much money we have...do we have enough to buy what we need or want? Do we have enough to see the doctor or pay for those tests? Do we think of things like that or think of how we might be able to make the money before we ever think of God who is our real provider?

I've found that the twin to this is the sin of self idolatry because we often rely on ourselves long before we turn to God. We save God for the things we can't do for ourselves. At least most of us do until we learn better. When I first heard the term, "self idolatry", I thought it meant worshiping myself, and again figured I was safe. But that's not quite it is it? It's when we rely on ourselves instead of God, and that's already something just about everyone's guilty of in our time, and again is only going to get worse.

Note too how idolatry is linked to Satan and the demonic. It's easy to see in God's Word how the love of pleasure and possessions soon draws demons into our lives. So many warnings against getting caught up in it, both in the old and new testaments. Now we know why. And look how all these forms of idolatry are growing tremendously, and right along side them, so is the occult and new age trash, and the false teachings like the prosperity gospel! It's all nothing more then idolatry.

Suddenly, Babylon was looking awfully familiar! I wrote about it when God first started teaching me about idolatry and what it really was, I used to think that I couldn't ever be an Idolater... thinking I'd learned my lesson. I had no idea there was so much more to learn! I see now that much of what we consider normal in life is nothing more then idolatry. God wants to be involved in every part of our lives. He wants to be a constant part of our lives... of every thought, every action. He's not interested in being a part time God or a genie when we want something. That was one of the things that impressed me in studying Leviticus. His laws were made so that the Israelites were forced to make him part of everything they did, and that was the point. When I think back to the first Christians, that's how they lived too, especially since they knew that at any moment they could be arrested and/or killed for their faith, and also believed that at any moment Jesus could return. In reading Revelation, I realized that's how the tribulation saints will also live, except they'll know almost exactly when Jesus will be returning. Neither group makes us look very good does it? I have to admit it really makes me ashamed of myself. It makes me want desperately to live only for Him, to make Him proud of me. I want to heed His call to come out of her, don't you?

“One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. With her the kings of the earth committed adultery and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.” Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. This title was written on her forehead: MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” (Revelation 17:1–5)

“With a mighty voice he shouted: “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird. For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.” Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues; for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Mix her a double portion from her own cup. Give her as much torture and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow, and I will never mourn.’ Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.” (Revelation 18:2–8)

I used to think that I couldn't ever be an Idolater

I used to think that I couldn't ever be an idolater, but boy was I wrong! I also used to pride myself that I could never be called an adulterer and again, I was wrong! When I was first saved, my idea of "sin" was breaking one of the commandments and I took all of them quite literally. (not that there's anything wrong with that). As I grew in my faith though, I came to realize that anything and anyone I put before God was idolatry. Then I got a real shock when God showed me that an idolater was also committing spiritual adultery! Tell you what, those revelations really knocked me down a peg or two!

I'm a pretty stubborn person though,which, by the way, is usually also a sin unless it's being purposely used to obey the Lord, and I was determined that I wasn't going to let anything come before the Lord in my life. Needless to say, the Lord seemed to immediately start throwing wrenches in the works to show me the truth about myself.

One of the hardest things for me to get straight was "other people" and where they fit in my life with the Lord. It seemed like every time I decided to spend time with the Lord, I'd be interrupted. My kids needed this or that, husband wanted something, or others would call and things like that. I knew I was supposed to love others and think of others before myself, so at first I always jumped up and did whatever was asked of me, even if it was just visiting with someone. The hard thing about this was that often when I did that, by the time I was finished, I had to go do something else, like housework, errands, etc. and before I knew it, the day was over and I hadn't had my time with the Lord and His Word.

Then I realized that by allowing that to happen, I was putting all of those people and things before God. I just didn't know what to do then, because I knew that people were important to the Lord but that I also really needed that time with Him and His Word every day. So, I asked Him for help. I asked Him to help me by protecting my time with Him. I'd love to say that He did and no one ever bothered me again during that time but that's not what happened. Nothing really changed much at all.

Finally though I realized that I was going to have to speak up and let people know that I was spending time with Him and would like to have some privacy during that time. My family was fairly cooperative but it was still hit and miss, and again I realized that it was mainly my fault. I didn't have a "routine" set up. I just did it whenever I "felt like it" each day, or whenever I "had the time". So I decided to make a routine for myself to follow and actually schedule time for the Lord at the same time each day. This took some trial and error for me as well as I had to find the time that worked best for me, both physically as well as spiritually. I finally settled on first thing every morning and have been doing it at that time for more years than I care to count now.

Once I had my routine in place, I had to again let everyone know that 6am to 7am was my time with the Lord and I didn't want to be disturbed. Once I did that, the Lord did protect my time with Him, and I've rarely been disturbed. When I was disturbed at first, I simply reminded them about it and that was that. Now, all I have to do is let "new folks" know so they know not to call during that time.

Sounds fairly easy and straight forward doesn't it? It is really, but for me, it was hard to tell people I loved not to disturb me during that time. It wasn't until later that the Lord showed me that by doing that though I had set a good example for my children and everyone else. There was/is no question in their minds that I mean it when I say that's my time with the Lord and no one else. It let them know that He was and is that important to me.

The other part that was hard for me was forcing myself to spend time with the Lord even when I didn't feel like it. I know, it sounds just awful to say that out loud, but there were times when I just didn't want to study His word, or times when I just didn't feel like praying and times when I didn't want to do either one, especially if I wasn't feeling well. It took time, but the Lord eventually showed me that I was once again being idolatrous when I did that. I was shocked because there was no one before Him! But there was. I was putting myself and my feelings before Him. As I prayed about it, I remembered when Jesus prayed in the garden and knew then that He most likely didn't "feel like" being crucified that day either. I felt pretty ashamed of myself then, and since then simply have reminded myself of what He did for me and that took care of that bit of idolatry.

I have to share too though that every single time that I didn't "feel like" spending time with the Lord and His Word, but did it anyway, within a few moments of starting, 5 at the most, the Lord always, always, got me so interested in what we were studying, that I'd wind up not wanting to stop! He's always like that though. Every time we take the smallest step toward Him in obedience, He blesses us so much more then we deserve!

I've also learned over the years that having a routine like this really helps prevent us from backsliding too. Because once you've done something like this long enough, it becomes second nature to you....it's not something you even think about doing, you just do it. When we're studying His Word daily with Him, it nourishes our spirits so they become stronger and which enables us to fight sin and temptation in our lives and win. It enables us, with the Lord's help, to live a life of victory here and now as we apply His Word to our lives each day. Plus, it's through His Word and staying in communion with Him, that He changes us to be more and more spiritually mature.

My idolatrous ways were finally over then, right? Nope. I found another one. Oh, I kept my routine, but sometimes I'd find myself "cheating" and just kind of skimming through things or praying in general or out of duty rather then from my heart. Those were always times when I felt that I was "running behind schedule" and that I had to get here to Fresh Hope and start posting. After all, this was/is God's site and He gave me this job, so didn't' I have to be here for X hours a day every day to do it? If I was "late" wouldn't that mean I was being disobedient to Him? If I was the Lord, I'd have been pulling my hair out over me by this time. Thankfully though, He showed me that working for Him, wasn't as important as being with Him. I always get this picture in my mind of not being plugged in to Him, when I didn't have my time with Him first, so since I wasn't plugged into Him, I therefore couldn't do my job for Him the way it was/is supposed to be done. (my version of the vine and the branches ) I wish I could say that I realized that truth quickly but I didn't. Once He got that through my thick head though, I repented from that as well.

I do still ask myself and the Lord every once in awhile if I'm putting anything or anyone before Him, because I don't ever want to be guilty of that again. Isn't it amazing just how many stumbling blocks we put in our own way when it comes to spending time with Him and His Word daily ....even when we know there's nothing more important??? I guess it shows us just how stubborn our sin natures are though....

Sunday School?

I'm beginning to wonder if we should even bother to have Sunday School in our churches anymore. Do you realize that when they were begun in the 1780's, their function was to teach the children of the poor to read? those children worked 12 hour shifts 5 days a week in order to help their parents earn enough money to keep their families fed, and because of that, the parents weren't able to homeschool them and they weren't able to go to a public school either. So a school was started on Sunday's to teach them the basics.  As the economy got better, it was no longer needed as all children were then able to go to school.  Around that time it began to slowly change over to what it is today.  A place to keep the kids out of their parents hair when they were in church.

Originally the parents were expected to teach their children about God and what His Word says.  Interesting, since that's exactly what God tells us too.  I could go on about history and how parents slowly but surely gave up their obligation and rights to teach their children, but that's not what this is about. The reason I'm wondering if we should even have Sunday School any longer is because of what's coming of it.

In our country especially, people are very hard to reach for Christ because they think they know all about it already.  And the reason they think so is in good part because their parents took them to Sunday School when they were kids. While there, they heard the little bible stories, colored pictures and sang songs and played as all kids do. And I know many of them supposedly "gave their heart to Jesus" while there as well.  But did they really?  Most were too young to really know what they were doing.  They might as well have been pledging to become the next president of the US. Many of them are now atheists, agnostics, or according to them, "nothing", as they simply don't think about it.

But, try to talk to them about Jesus and they'll soon let you know that they just don't believe all that stuff!  They hear prayers & sometimes scriptures at public events; they hear talk about Christians and Christianity on the news, and by politicians constantly too, and of course have seen movies and TV shows about Jesus and other Christian subjects too, so it's not anything new to them.  All those things come together to make the person think they're knowledgeable about God and His plan of Salvation as well. They usually can't be too specific about what it is they don't believe, because they really don't remember much, just enough to know they don't believe it. Many throw in too that it can't be a big deal since the people who go to church are no different then the ones who don't.

Even if you can get them to listen to you, they don't really hear what you say because they start tuning you out before you even begin.  I'd say their salvation was completely hopeless except I know with God nothing is impossible. 

So I'm wondering...are we doing more damage then good with Sunday School?  What are the children actually learning?  I know for a fact mine didn't learn anything worthwhile and neither did I. At first I was very interested, but quickly found that when I asked questions, my teachers couldn't answer them.  I eventually gave up on "Sunday School" and started staying in church with the adults and listening to the sermons.  At least there I got some answers and some real information.

While I realize that it's difficult to get young children to sit still and be quiet for an hour and a half or however long the service is, it isn't impossible.  It just takes training and patience.  More importantly though, children are much more intelligent and capable of learning a lot more then we tend to give them credit for.

I keep thinking back to the first Christians though.  They didn't have "Sunday School" and they didn't water down things for their children either.  As soon as one or both parents began following Christ, they were immediately thrown out of their families, their synagogues and their community. No one would have anything to do with them or their children because they were heretics and blasphemers.  And that was the easy part!  It wasn't so many years later that they began to be persecuted for their beliefs.  In fact, many were persecuted from the very start.  The short period of relative calm came kind of in the middle of those early years. So these folks knew that when they decided to follow Christ, they were most likely going to lose everything and everyone they held dear to them, and if they were lucky, they might be able to keep their lives.

In situations like that, you don't decide to become a Christian lightly.  It took a lot of guts and a whole lot of faith to decide to follow Christ.  Parents had to be prepared to give up their lives and the lives of their children for Him and they had to teach their children as quickly as possible what their beliefs were and why they were therefore willing to give up their lives for Christ.  They had to do that so their children would be ready to do the same if it came down to that.

I can guarantee you that during those times, the parents didn't mince words with their children or tell them they weren't old enough to understand. Those children were taught everything the parents could possibly teach them as quickly as they possibly could. I don't think there could even be a comparison between what an 8 year old child knew and understood back then and what an 8 year old in our day knows and understands about God today.I often wonder what they'd think about our churches and Sunday Schools if someone from that time period were able to come to the future and see them now.

I know this isn't true of all churches or all children or all parents today, but I do think it's true of the majority. I think it's partly because we really don't see God and Salvation as being all that important.  Even those who see it as important, certainly don't see it as being a matter of life or death, which is a real shame, because that's exactly what it is. 

It's probably a real good thing that all my kids are grown up, because if I had little ones now, I'd raise them as though knowing God and His Word was a life or death matter and I'm pretty sure that wouldn't go over real well in our society today.  I'd probably wind up in jail with my kids taken away from me.  But even if that happened, I'd know they already knew the Truth and me being locked up would only reinforce it.

OK, I'll get off my soap box now lol.  What do you think about Sunday School?

We're Reliving Isaiah right now

As I study Isaiah again, over and over I've been shocked to see how closely it correlates with what's going on in the world today. In Isaiah 33, the prophet tells the Jews what's going to happen to them and why, and then comforts the remnant who will be left, telling them what they can look forward to in their future. Here and now, we are that remnant. No, not the Jewish remnant, I don't mean that. There will always be a Jewish Remnant and in the tribulation they will be kept safe and saved. I'm not talking about them, but rather I'm talking about the remnant of true believers that God always leaves for Himself in every generation.

Let me share with you the reason Isaiah gave for the disasters coming on the people and their land and you can tell me if you agree that it sounds just like what's going on right now.

There were a couple of specific types of people that were bringing this judgment on Israel then. The first group were the traitors who'd sold out to the enemy completely. The second group were the ambassadors and government officials who tried to manipulate things, and get help from other countries instead of seeking God's help. Basically they sold out Israel to other nations thinking that if they did, the other nations would help them. The third group were all the hypocrites who pretended to serve God but really didn't. They were the false prophets, and false teachers that were over running the land.

Just by looking at the news that's been posted here I see all three of those groups here and now, and I see them in an abundance. They've always been around, so it's certainly nothing new. What is new though is the abundance of them and the sheer numbers of their followers. Enough followers to elect Obama, not just once, but twice! And to elect congressmen, representatives, and state governors who are all saying and doing the same kind of things he does. We have more traitors in the government then those who are fighting for truth and justice and following the ways of the Lord.

Again, just looking at the news we can also see that there's an abundance of hypocrites, false teachers, and false prophets. Again, they've always been around, just not in the vast numbers with the vast number of followers they have now. There are more of them then there are of us.

Some people try to convince us nothing has really changed, that there have always been this huge number of hypocrites and traitors. They say the difference is that due to technology we can cover it all now where we couldn't before, so we just didn't know about it before. I don't believe that for a second. Why? Because if that were true, a majority of people's life styles would have looked like they do now, way back then too, and they didn't.

They say the same things about the judgments we see in so called natural disasters, bad weather, etc, but again, I don't believe them because it doesn't hold up to the way life was back then. Judgments that we've seen recently would have made it into people's life stories and been passed down through generations, so we'd know something about it even now, and it wasn't.

Isaiah speaks of the land itself wasting away saying it was happening because of God's judgment. Isn't that what we've been seeing more and more of here? Horrible storms, tornadoes, dust storms, hurricanes, blizzards, droughts etc. all have had devastating effects on our land and continue to. And once again the false teachers tell us that this has always happened and isn't anything new, that we shouldn't be alarmed about it... funny, that's what the false teachers said in Isaiah's time as well.

Crime has gotten out of hand all over and we're experiencing it in ways we haven't ever seen in this country, and that hasn't been seen in other civilized countries in a long time either. Disease has increased all over the world. More people are sick then ever before and more people are disabled then ever before. Everywhere we look there's a health crisis. The governments have tried to blame that health crisis on just about everything except what's really behind it - sin.

The remnant in Isaiah are distressed by it all and cry out to God, just as we do: Isaiah 33:2 —O LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress. The Lord watches over them, but that doesn't mean that they didn't go through some very terrible times. We know in fact that they did. However, the Lord gave them the strength to make it through those times and they gained an ever more personal relationship with Him because of it.

Then, when things looked their worst, when there was absolutely no hope left because everyone knew that it was beyond human ability for Jerusalem to be saved, then, God stepped in and took over. That's what He often does, in all kinds of situations. He waits until we have to admit there is no possible way any human can change the course of events in whatever it is we've been begging Him for, and then He does the impossible for us.

Like many prophecies, Isaiah's had both a near and a far fulfillment. In the case of the near fulfillment, (near to Isaiah's time) God rescued them at the last second by killing the 185,000 Assyrian soldiers that were encamped around Jerusalem overnight. By doing that, He saved the faithful remnant and caused some of the hypocrites to turn back to Him and serve Him faithfully instead. The far fulfillment speaks of Armageddon, when the Lord will return and save the remnant of Jews from the Antichrist and his army.

But it also can speak to us today as well if we apply what we've learned to our own lives. We can see that if a Godly remnant prays, that the Lord will save them. He won't necessarily save them from experiencing some of the troubled times, but He will enable them to get through those times and become even closer to Him and know Him better because of them. To those people Isaiah says, He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure. (Isaiah 33:6).

So the first result we see is that the trials we're going through in our time will drive us closer to the Lord, and into His Word for wisdom and knowledge, developing an ever deeper relationship with Him in each of us. It tells us that this will be our sure foundation so that we can't be shaken by fear or worry, or stress. That's always true of those who fear the Lord, for when we fear Him, we realize we have no reason to fear man or what man can do. Of course that doesn't happen automatically, instead, as we find ourselves driven to the Lord and His Word more and more, we find that our faith grows stronger and the more we grow, the more fear of the Lord we have and the less fear of man we have. The fear of the Lord isn't a cringing fear of someone who's afraid, but rather a respectful awe, reverence, and love, which always includes obedience. It's what we see in a young child toward their parents, if the parents are good ones anyway.

Lastly, I think we can also count on another fulfillment in our time too, and that is a supernatural rescue before God unleashes His final wrath on this world. The reason I believe this is true is because of why God says He does this. He says he rescues them at that last minute that way so that He is exalted. He wants it to happen in such a way that no one can figure out any way for it to have happened except for His supernatural intervention. I can't think of a better way of explaining the rapture, can you?

So how can we apply this to our lives? The same way the faithful remnant did in Isaiah's time. As this world continues to get darker, instead of allowing it to cause us to withdraw, we should listen to His Spirit and let it draw us closer to Him and into His Word for encouragement, strength, and hope. Knowing that our God always keeps His promises, we should wait expectantly for our Blessed Hope. And as we wait, we should do as they did, and warn others of what's to come, in hopes that they'll turn from the darkness and come into His light. We need to warn brothers and sisters from the false teachers, and warn them of the traitors and hypocrites that abound. We need to remind them that Satan goes around like a roaring lion, seeking those he can devour, and that he often masquerades as an angel of light. Remind them to be alert and to keep their guards up all the time, and stand firm in their faith, for we're in the last battle and can't afford to stop for even a moment right now. We also need to remind ourselves of all those things as well. Keep in mind too, that we can't and don't stand firm in our own strength, but rather it's God who will make us stand firm. (2 Cor 1:21) But again, in order to have that strength from Him, we need to stick close by His side and be in His Word daily! So let us encourage each other as James tells us, You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. (James 5:8)