Boy, did these scriptures speak to me today!
I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; And you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name's sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. - Revelation 2:2-5
Christ in Revelation talks to the churches and here, while He commends the church at Ephesus for their works against the evil and deceits (which sounds so very familiar to me), He admonishes it for forgetting its first love. And that is HIM! And His salvation! And remembering where we would be without Him! Just as easily lost in the deception, and lost in an eternal death! "There, but for the grace of God, go I." Very literally, except for God's gracious gift of salvation and redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ, there I would be! There we would all be! And Jesus wants us to remember that!
The works against evil are important and commendable, but let us not forget WHY we work against evil! It's really all about salvation in Christ! That's the most important thing! That is the only thing! A world lost in sin is lost to Christ and to eternal life. A world lost in sin sins against God! A country based on wicked laws oppress the people and cause them to sin against God!
Think about the laws that allow the murder of unborn babies for the convenience of the mother, or laws that elevate homosexual relationships to God-ordained marriage, or those that remove God from the public square. While some people may have no regard for their Almighty Creator God and wish to purposely blaspheme Him, many people may get lost in a sinful lifestyle being told all the while, they are perfectly right in doing what they do. Why, there are liberal churches that seek to change the word of God! While people are perfectly able to sin on their own because of their own selfish lusts, you can bet that Satan is at the forefront of any laws or ways of thinking that will keep people from the saving grace of Christ! And THAT is the reason we fight against immoral laws!
That is the main reason. A very important one, indeed! It is the great commission of Jesus Christ to bring people to the truth of His salvation. But we must remember (I must remember!) our first love! We can get lost in our work and the work (even the most unselfish work) can become our focus rather than our Savior. Very specifically, from the scriptures above, we can become focused on the work of exposing evil and the lies, and forget our first love. Let us remember why we do what we do and let us remember our first love, our Lord Jesus Christ.
O Lord, bring us back to our first love! Let us remember where we came from and where we would be without you! Let us repent and return to the first and foremost works of love and sharing Your gospel. Let us walk in love with You, in prayer and communion in Your Word. Amen.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
We Are Led by Children and Silly Women!
Once again, I am struck by the thought that you can no longer trust the news to be true news. The people are lulled into a false sense of security and encouraged to feel "I'm okay, you're okay", so anything goes. A huge part of it is the misleading media and deceptive leaders, but the people themselves are to blame. Wisdom comes only from God, and godless people basically have no wisdom. They can be led as lambs to the slaughter, which is exactly what is happening in the world today.
The big news of late is about the "democratic revolution" in Egypt. It's quite interesting that Obama praised and encouraged this movement in Egypt, but it's an entirely different story in his own country where the Tea-partiers are rising up against his overreach of power. He praises the young people. Murbarak spoke of the youth uprising. I couldn't help but think about the scripture in Isaiah 3:12:
As for My people, children are their oppressors, And women rule over them. O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err, And destroy the way of your paths.
There is a reason Obama speaks to the youth! They are gullible! As are silly women, unfortunately:
For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with diverse lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. - 2 Timothy 3:6-7
We are seeing a time when youth and silly women (Oprah, the women of "The View", women "news" anchors, many women politicians) are leading this country and changing policy. Oh, they are ever-learning and sometimes can even sound intelligent, and silly godless people eat up what they tell them!
What we are actually seeing in Egypt is a victory for the Muslim Brotherhood, you know, that "peaceful" and "secular" group we are told they are. And what we are seeing in our country is an infiltration of socialism and communism, but somehow silly people have been led to believe these are good things!
We are oppressed by children and silly women and godless people don't even realize it! We are slowly losing our freedoms in our country while the world is taken over by Islam, the "religion of peace". Please see this eye-opening site for just how peaceful Islam is:
Islam: The Religion of Peace
The only way we will know the truth is to get back to God, make Jesus Christ the true Lord of our lives, and study His Word. Only there will we find wisdom and truth!
The big news of late is about the "democratic revolution" in Egypt. It's quite interesting that Obama praised and encouraged this movement in Egypt, but it's an entirely different story in his own country where the Tea-partiers are rising up against his overreach of power. He praises the young people. Murbarak spoke of the youth uprising. I couldn't help but think about the scripture in Isaiah 3:12:
As for My people, children are their oppressors, And women rule over them. O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err, And destroy the way of your paths.
There is a reason Obama speaks to the youth! They are gullible! As are silly women, unfortunately:
For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with diverse lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. - 2 Timothy 3:6-7
We are seeing a time when youth and silly women (Oprah, the women of "The View", women "news" anchors, many women politicians) are leading this country and changing policy. Oh, they are ever-learning and sometimes can even sound intelligent, and silly godless people eat up what they tell them!
What we are actually seeing in Egypt is a victory for the Muslim Brotherhood, you know, that "peaceful" and "secular" group we are told they are. And what we are seeing in our country is an infiltration of socialism and communism, but somehow silly people have been led to believe these are good things!
We are oppressed by children and silly women and godless people don't even realize it! We are slowly losing our freedoms in our country while the world is taken over by Islam, the "religion of peace". Please see this eye-opening site for just how peaceful Islam is:
Islam: The Religion of Peace
The only way we will know the truth is to get back to God, make Jesus Christ the true Lord of our lives, and study His Word. Only there will we find wisdom and truth!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)