Published by admin on 06 May 2011 at 12:47 pm
THE QUICK AND THE DEAD
The world around us is changing every day, and not much remains the same. You can easily relate to that by visiting your childhood neighborhood. No matter where you lived, there have been changes, and in some cases, you may no longer even recognize what you used to call home. People change, societies change, and what was good and upright yesterday may no longer be the standard today. Now it seems “politically correct” is the new “normal”, and that changes with every whim of people. But thank God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ never changes, and it’s so good to have a solid foundation on which to base your life.
Imagine trying to build a house on the seashore. It would be impossible to lay a solid foundation, for as soon as you dug out the trench for the concrete footing, it would cave in upon itself when the next wave came in. And even if you succeeded in digging the trench, the moment you poured concrete into it, would wash out. Yet people build their lives every day on the same principal, whatever feels good at the moment, do, and if it washes out, try something else. At the advice of friends or someone on TV, they spend their entire lives pouring a new foundation, over and over, never getting to build the life they dream of having. It’s no wonder so many are frustrated at life. But it doesn’t have to be that way. The Apostle Paul charged his young ministry partner with the following:
2Ti 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2Ti 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
2Ti 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
2Ti 4:4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
2Ti 4:5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
Make no mistake about it, God is real, and every one of us will give full account for what we have done in this life. Even those who have long since died in ages past will be judged by Christ Jesus. As we go through life, every wind of doctrine and lifestyle will present itself to us. When we study the Old Testament, we see there is really nothing new under the sun. People back then thought like we think today. God presents His standards by which men ought to live, and they never, ever change. Yet we see mankind as a whole, having been granted the gift of free will, still has to make the same choices today as men of old did: we can either embrace God’s way of life, or we can reject it in favor of what we see as the “new politically correct normal”.
Isn’t it amazing how society has changed since you were young? I’ll bet you remember things that were absolutely unacceptable to be done back then, but yet today they seem acceptable, and even normal.
It goes to show how changeable people are, being blown around with every wind of doctrine. Once again, it’s like trying to build a home on the seashore, it won’t stay where you put it, but will always be shifting around, sinking, cracking, and you’ll spend your whole life trying to fix it, but it can never be fixed.
Paul was certainly right; people no longer want to hear the truth of God’s Word. Instead, they have itching ears to hear the latest definition of what someone defines “truth”as. And the latest “truth” is like what one of our past Presidents so deceivingly put it: It depends on what your definition of “IS” is. God’s Word never changes, so we always know what the definition of “IS” is. And we know what is right and what is wrong, no question whatsoever, for God sees everything clearly, there is only yea and nay, black and white, you either live by His Word, or you will die by your own.
It is abundantly clear that God wants mankind to be blessed, happy, healthy and prosperous, seeing He created Adam and put him in the best place on earth, where he had every possible beautiful thing surrounding him. God put Adam in charge of the earth and whatsoever he named anything that was the name of it. Why, God even created Eve to be his helpmate and brought the only woman on earth to his side. I’ll be she was a looker, too. That’s probably where the word “woman” came from: Adam took one look at her and said, Whoa, MAN!!! Did you know the Lord even showed them where the gold was? And that was before there was ever a Wal-Mart for Eve to spend it at! God gave them dominion over the whole earth. Does that sound like God wanted them sick, poor, and miserable? No, of course not.
But it didn’t take long for Satan to come on the scene, and talk them out of everything, including their relationship with God. By their choice to listen to Satan and disobey God, they brought poverty, sickness, and death upon themselves, and all mankind. Today mankind is still reaping from the seeds they sowed back then. The devil convinced Eve that God was somehow holding out on them, not wanting them to have happiness and knowledge. And the devil is still doing the same today, trying to get our attention off of God’s way of doing things, and telling us he has a better way. Look around you: is war and destruction a better way? Men have built cities and nice homes, and war has destroyed them. Is spending time in a hospital a better life than “By the stripes of Jesus ye are healed”?
We only need read Deuteronomy Chapter 28 to see the blessings we will enjoy if we diligently hearken unto the voice of the Lord to obey Him, versus what will happen if we don’t. It’s clearly written: even a politician could understand it, no loopholes or doubletalk to be found.
Sadly, just like Paul said, we have allowed society to define “right and wrong”, instead of God’s Word, and turned our hearts to fables, deceiving ourselves, and reaping the consequences thereof. But it doesn’t have to remain that way. Individually, we can humble ourselves before Almighty God, acknowledge our sins, and be forgiven and have a fresh start, even this very moment. We cannot change society and nations until we change the individuals that make them up. You may think you cannot as an individual do much, but that also is a lie from Satan. You don’t have to stay depressed, sick, broke, and dissatisfied. You can change YOUR life for better, regardless of what others decide to do with theirs. Secondly, you can show your family how to live God’s way. You have to start somewhere, and home is the best place to start. You can start making your home a piece of heaven on earth, no matter where you are. You are NOT trapped in your situation, for God has given you a way of escape, namely a free will. That means you can choose to change if you really want to. While you cannot change others, you CAN change your own life. Or, you can stay as you are, being sick and tired of your life, and having only yourself to blame, for if you will obey the Word of God, your life WILL change for the better. It’s a matter of choice: YOUR choice. God already made His, and He wants you to have an abundant, healthy, blessed and satisfying life, and He sent HIS WORD to show you how to do it.
I’ve been sent into your life to do the work of an Evangelist, enduring the ridicule of many in order to bring you the truth of God’s Word, making full proof of my ministry by His Word. One day, Christ Jesus WILL judge the quick and the dead. He endured the agony of the cross to buy YOUR salvation, took stripes upon His body for YOUR healing, and left you sound and clear teaching in His Word how to live the abundant life that He came to give you. I’m sure He will hear every excuse under the sun why they didn’t obey God’s Word and enjoy a blessed life and receive His salvation. But I’m not talking to others right now, I’m talking to YOU. What’s YOUR choice? Will you offer Him an excuse, or your worship and a Thank You?