Living in light of eternity

DAILY BIBLE READING:

Ezra 4:24–6:22 
1 Corinthians 3:5-23 
Psalm 29:1-11 
Proverbs 20:26-27

TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

1 Corinthians 3:12-13 (CSB) "If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, each one's work will become obvious. For the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire; the fire will test the quality of each one's work."

REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

Our Verses for Today tells us that there is a Day of Judgment coming so live your life in light of that day.

There are two Judgments after death, one for Jesus-followers and the other for those who failed to trust in Jesus for eternal life. Jesus-followers will be at the Judgment Seat of Christ (Romans 14:10-12; 2 Corinthians 5:9-10) and the lost will be at the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15).

Everyone who finds themselves at the Great White Throne Judgment are lost. No one at that judgment will end up in Heaven. That judgment is for the purpose of determining the extent to which the unbeliever will be punished and it is based upon how they lived their life. (Notice in Revelation 20:12-13 that it says they will be judged "according to what they had done.").

Everyone who finds themselves at the Judgment Seat of Christ are saved - they have trusted in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life. No one at this judgment will end up in Hell. That judgment is for the purpose of determining the extent to which the Jesus-follower will be rewarded and it is based upon how they lived their life. 

Notice in our Verse for Today that there are various types of material that illustrate how the saved live their life. Some of the material is valuable and represents those deeds we did that glorified our Lord. Yet, some of our actions are like "wood, hay, and straw" and will not survive the judgment because they were done with wrong motives. There are no rewards for these sort of works.

Friend, if you are saved you aren't simply going to Heaven. There is coming a time when you will be judged as you stand before the Throne of God and He assesses your life. It will be a judgment of grace but it will also be a true assessment of how we lived our lives. I suspect that it is at this judgment that we will be able to see how much of our life we wasted - and God will have to wipe tears from our eyes (Revelation 21:4).

So, live today for Jesus. Do the things He has told you to do. Believe the things He has told you to believe. And make sure that you are doing what you do with the right motives (see Matthew 6:1-18). Finally, realize that our God is a God of grace so go boldly into His Throne Room (Hebrews 4:16) through prayer seeking whatever you need to live this day for Him.

Living for the Judgment

DAILY BIBLE READING:

2 Chronicles 29:1-36 
Romans 14:1-23 
Psalm 24:1-10 
Proverbs 20:12

BIBLE VERSE(S) FOR TODAY:

Romans 14:12 (CSB) "So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God."

REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

One day, God will judge everyone. The lost will be judged at the Great White Throne (see Revelation 20:11-15) and the saved will be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ (see 2 Corinthians 5:10).

While the lost will be judged for every sin they committed, this will not be the case for the saved. Those who have trusted in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life will not hear a single sin mentioned at their judgment. Why? Because every sin they ever committed has already been paid for by Jesus on the cross.

So, what will our judgment be? Simply put, it is a judgment of rewards. What we have done will be rewarded ... or not rewarded based upon what we did and (even more importantly) why we did it.
I believe that there will probably be many a tear at the judgment of the saved even though our previous sins will never be brought up. I just wonder if when our life is judged by the fairest Judge of all, we will see how little we actually did of eternal consequence.

So, friend, live this life in light of eternity. You will stand before Jesus one day. If you are lost, He will have no choice but to consign you to Hell forever and ever. And if you are saved, He will fairly assess your life and reward you for only what you did that was done with the right motive.

Live in such a way that He will be able to look at you on the day you are judged, and then raise His hands to applaud as He says, "Well done! Well done!"

Act like who you are

DAILY BIBLE READING:

2 Kings 22:3–23:30 
Acts 21:37–22:16 
Psalm 1:1-6 
Proverbs 18:11-12

BIBLE VERSE(S) FOR TODAY:

2 Kings 23:25 (CSB) "Before him there was no king like him who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength according to all the law of Moses, and no one like him arose after him."

REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

In 2 Kings 23:25, we read some incredible words about Judah's King Josiah. These words are God's assessment of this godly king.

Wouldn't you like for God to think such things of you?

Then, give your heart to Jesus if you haven't already been saved. In the moment that you repent (turn your back on sin and self-rule) and trust in Jesus alone to forgive and save you from God's wrath, many remarkable things will happen. Among them is the fact that Jesus will trade with you - He will take your sin and you will get His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). So, positionally speaking, you are more righteous than King Josiah if you are saved because you have the righteousness of Christ credited to your account.

Second and finally, act like who you are. Since you are declared righteous, then pursue righteousness (2 Timothy 2:22). Again, the message of Christianity is "act like who you already are." Since you are declared righteous, act that way.

After all, this life isn't all there is. Our pursuit (or lack thereof) of righteousness will have eternal ramifications. When we breathe our last breath and stand before the Lord on the Day of Judgment (2 Corinthians 5:10), almost certainly we will wish that we had been even more serious about pursuing righteousness and seeking first His kingdom (Matthew 6:33). Eternal rewards to be enjoyed will be given out or withheld based upon how we lived this one life.

So, recognize that in Christ you are righteous if you have been saved. And then pursue righteousness each day of your life. All the while, look forward to the Day when your Lord will reward you for acting like who you are.

Sin distorts our ability to help others

Sin distorts our thinking. How? Here's one way ...

In my Bible reading this morning, I came across the story in Genesis 38 where Judah had sex with his daughter-in-law thinking she was a prostitute because she had covered her face. (Yep, the Bible doesn't gloss over anything. God tells us the good, the bad and the ugly.)

So, Judah committed adultery and thought no one knew about it. Three months later, someone tells him that his daughter-in-law, Tamar, is pregnant. (Remember, he doesn't realize that the child she is carrying is his.)

How does he respond to the news? He gets livid! He is furious that someone in his family has engaged in such sin!

Genesis 38:24 "About three months later Judah was told, 'Tamar your daughter-in-law has been immoral. Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality.' And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned."

There is no grace at all in Judah's words. He's ready to wipe her out. Destroy her!

That's one way that we often think about others who are engaged in sin. When we have the proverbial beam in our own eye (Matthew 7:5), we often tend to deal very harshly with others who are in sin. Because we subconsciously want to get our mind off of our own guilt, we project it onto others, get angry and refuse to evidence any grace whatsoever.

Note to self: You don't want to be the one caught in sin by a legalistic hypocrite. You're going to get hurt and hurt really bad. They are dealing with the guilt of personal sin and they are going to project their anger onto you.

But, there is a second way that personal sin distorts our ability to see sin in others. When we have engaged (or are engaging) in sin we feel guilty. We feel like we would be a hypocrite if we pointed out sin in others. So, when we see someone caught in a sin (Galatians 6:1), we don't step in to help them get rid of the destructive choice they are making. We let it go. We look over it. We think: "No one's perfect." And sin continues.

I think this scenario plays out much too often in the parent / child relationship. Parents are all too aware of what they did as a child or young adult and so they let their children go down sinful, dangerous roads because they would feel like a hypocrite if they told their children to stop it. Or, they are presently involved in sin so, once again, they would feel like a hypocrite to expect their children to live to a higher standard than them so they don't address it.

Or, they may feel so guilty about what they have done or are doing that they come down hard, really hard, on their kids. They are unrelenting. They are merciless. And if their children ever had a sin struggle and wanted someone to talk to about it, their parents would be the very last ones they would consider.

So, the two ways that sin distorts our thinking when we see sin in others are: 

• law without grace (the sinner gets slammed) 
• grace without law (the sinner gets a pass)

Neither of these options are healthy or biblical. So we need to do ourselves and others a favor by taking our walk with Jesus seriously. We need to kill sin and pursue personal holiness first. Then we can correctly and compassionately help others.

Matthew 7:5 "You hypocrite, FIRST take the log out of your own eye, and THEN you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye." (emphasis mine)

God never promised that life would be fair

Have you ever noticed that life isn't always fair? Of course you have. We all have.

In Ecclesiastes 7:15, the writer says: "I have seen everything in this meaningless life, including the death of good young people and the long life of wicked people."

You've seen things like this before. The hard working employee gets overlooked and the lazy bum with seniority gets promoted. The healthy driver takes the handicap parking spot while the elderly lady has to park far from the store entrance. The crook goes free and an innocent man gets jailed for years. 

On and on this list could go. We all know that things like this happen all the time.

... and we get frustrated. We throw up our hands and say, "Why, Lord?" "Why do the wicked prosper, growing old and powerful? (Job 21:7)."

Or as the prophet Jeremiah put it: "LORD, you always give me justice when I bring a case before you. So let me bring you this complaint: Why are the wicked so prosperous? Why are evil people so happy?" (Jeremiah 12:1)

Well, let me tie this up quickly with a few observations:

1) The propensity we have of getting frustrated with injustice simply points to the fact that God "has put eternity in our hearts" (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Created in God's image (Genesis 1:26-27), we have a deep-rooted desire and expectation that righteousness will prevail and be rewarded. This knowledge of right and wrong and a craving to see right rewarded is a strong argument for the existence for a Law Giver in arguments for God's existence.

2) The key to understanding the book of Ecclesiastes and the frustration that the author wrote about is found in the phrase "under the sun." He discovered that life was utterly meaningless if we only looked at the hear-and-now - "under the sun." But, when we look OVER the sun and try to see things from God's eternal perspective, life begins to make a little more sense. The purpose of meaning of life begin to come into focus.

3) Right will not always be noticed or rewarded in this life and wrong will often prevail. But, we know that there is coming a day when Jesus will judge everyone of us in righteousness (Acts 17:31). That is when righteousness will ultimately be acknowledge and rewarded while wrongs will be exposed and punished.

So, will life be fair today? Not necessarily. But God is taking notice and will one day set things straight. Just live your life with the knowledge that one day you will stand before Him and give an account (Romans 14:12) of how you lived. If possibly, stand up for those who are being wronged. Be "salt" and "light" (Matthew 5:13-16) and stand against injustice. But, when things don't go well, rest assured that God is taking notice and will one day set things straight.

Why repentance is a good thing

The "offense" of the Gospel is that it strikes at the root of human pride. None of us like to be confronted with our failures and sins. Yet, the Gospel demands that we fall at the foot of the cross and ask for forgiveness because we feel the weight of our guilt in the sight of a holy God.

Repentance, while it goes against our very nature, is the only way to eternal life. It is the only way to avoid divine judgment.

Imagine climbing to the top of a mountain for your first time. Your partner is an expert climber who is assisting you on your trip. When you finally reach the top you stand tall, throw your arms up in the air and celebrate. Yet, to your shock, your friend yells, "To your knees! To your knees!" You comply but wonder why. He then tells you that the wind at the top of the mountain can be so strong that it can knock you off your feet and send you sliding down the mountain to your death. If you would seek your self-interest, you must drop to your knees.

That's what it takes to be saved from our sinfulness. One day, we will stand before Jesus and give an account of our life. The only way we will hear Him say, "Welcome to Heaven" is if we have sought our self-interest and dropped to our knees in repentance in this life. Have you done this? If not, why not do it today?

Acts 17:30-31 (NLT)

“God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”

Why Does God Seem So Unjust?

In my Bible reading this morning, I came across the age old question: "Why does life seem so unfair?" In fact, an even more specific, targeted question is: "Why does God let those who oppose Him seem to live without any divine punishment? In fact, many of them do quite well in life."

This very sort of question was posed by Job:

Job 21:7-15 (New Living Translation)

7 “Why do the wicked prosper,

growing old and powerful?

8 They live to see their children grow up and settle down,

and they enjoy their grandchildren.

9 Their homes are safe from every fear,

and God does not punish them.

10 Their bulls never fail to breed.

Their cows bear calves and never miscarry.

11 They let their children frisk about like lambs.

Their little ones skip and dance.

12 They sing with tambourine and harp.

They celebrate to the sound of the flute.

13 They spend their days in prosperity,

then go down to the grave in peace.

14 And yet they say to God, ‘Go away.

We want no part of you and your ways.

15 Who is the Almighty, and why should we obey him?

What good will it do us to pray?’

Here are a few personal reflections in response to Job's question:

1. It only SEEMS that many folks go through life without trouble. That is a faulty perception. In truth, everyone (righteous and wicked - and everyone in between) experience trouble in life (Job 14:1).

2. God's patience and love for His creation keeps Him from immediately dealing with wrongs. Because He loves the world (John 3:16) and longs for people to repent, He is long-suffering with even the wicked and gives them time to return to Him (2 Peter 3:3-10).

3. Ultimately, the Day of Judgment will right all wrongs. There is coming a day when every knee will bow before God and give an account of their life. Those who are saved will be at the Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:6-10) and those who are unbelievers will be at the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). This accounting with be so thorough that even the casual words that we speak will be weighed in God's righteous courtroom (Matthew 12:36).

4. This is why we can forego treating even our worst of enemies with cruelty (Romans 12:19-21) and why we can forego immediate approval for our righteous deeds (Matthew 6:1). We know that one day, we will stand before Jesus. On that day, He will punish all wrongs and reward all rights.

So, does it seem that sometimes those who live a godly life experience more than their fair share of trials and some folks who stiff-arm Jesus experience more than their fair share of successes? Just wait, my friend. One day, our God will make all things right.

In the meantime, we should strive to share the Gospel and take as many as we can to the Judgment Seat of Christ!

Praying to avert God's judgment

In my Bible reading this morning, I came across a principle that exposes every human heart. This reflection can be 'positive' but only if we allow God's Word to show us what our hearts are really like so that we are motivated and empowered to make the necessary adjustments.

Second Kings 20 begins with the prophetic word that King Hezekiah was going to die. Upon hearing this news, the king wept and prayed. In response, the Lord added 15 more years to his life.

Sometime later, an envoy from Babylon (not yet recognized as a threatening powerhouse by Israel) came to visit Hezekiah. He showed them everything he had. Based upon the prophet Isaiah's response, they were spies who were gaining information.

Listen to Isaiah's prophecy:

2 Kings 20:16-18 (New Living Translation)

"Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, 'Listen to this message from the LORD: The time is coming when everything in your palace - all the treasures stored up by your ancestors until now - will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD. Some of your very own sons will be taken away into exile. They will become eunuchs who will serve in the palace of Babylon’s king.'"

So, essentially, in this one chapter Hezekiah has been told of two horrible tragedies - his own death and the death of Israel's present way of life. Their wealth and many of there people (including his own children!) were going to be taken off into captivity.

In response to the prophecy about his death, we read in 2 Kings 20:2-3 that Hezekiah prayed passionately that he would not die. But, unfortunately, Hezekiah had no such reaction when he heard that his own children would go into captivity.

Listen to how he responded:

2 Kings 20:19 (New Living Translation)

"Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, 'This message you have given me from the LORD is good.' For the king was thinking, 'At least there will be peace and security during my lifetime.'"

He wasn't moved to pray for the people of his kingdom (his own children!) who had such a calamitous future. Why? Because it wouldn't affect him. He wouldn't experience any discomfort so he didn't care what happened to others.

How insanely self-centered!

Yet (and this isn't going to be a warm and fuzzy application), when we look at the state of our churches (most of them are plateaued or dying) and the state of our country (the moral, financial, social, etc. decline is obvious), where are the people who are praying? Where are the followers of Jesus who see the obvious direction we are taking and crying out to God to spare us?

Is it because we, like Hezekiah, pray passionately about only those things that affect us? Is it because we are unmoved by the tragedy that others will experience so long as we are left untouched? Is it because we think things will eventually fall apart but not on our watch? Is that why we are not motivated to cry out to the Lord?

Lord help us if we are that self-centered. May we recognize this tendency before it is too late and join together to pray for our churches and country ... and world!

"There has never been a spiritual awakening in any country or locality that did not begin in united prayer." - A.T. Pierson

2 Chronicles 7:14 (New Living Translation)

"Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land."

#OncCry

6 Reasons Why I Talk Often About the Day of Judgment

I was told recently that I bring the topic of the Day of Judgment into my sermons quite often. I appreciated the comment because it made me reflect upon whether or not it was true. But, it also caused me to question why I was motivated to do that.

It only took a few moments of reflection to realize that the statement was true. I do talk much about the Day of Judgment. Here are a few reasons why:

I want to be motivated the same way the Apostle Paul was motivated:

He kept going. He didn't give up. Why? Because he wanted to receive the prize at the end of his life.

2 Timothy 4:7-8 (New Living Translation)

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me - the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing."

Jesus entices us to live holy lives by promising rewards:

Is it wrong to follow Jesus, in part, because of the rewards we will receive on the Day of Judgment? Apparently, Jesus didn't think so. As Jesus gave instruction on how His followers are to live, He said "Your Father who sees in secret will reward you" three separate times in Matthew 6:4, 6 & 18. I want to live this life so that I get as many rewards as possible on that Day.

Focusing on rewards keeps us focused on Heaven:

Instead of getting bogged down in the details and discouragements of life, we can keep our head up and live in light of eternity. When we focus on earning heavenly rewards, we'll think of Heaven often.

Matthew 6:19-21 (New Living Translation)

"Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be."

Thinking about our heavenly rewards keeps us from becoming worldly minded:

Many people, even believers, do not think about the Day of Judgment (I am guilty of this more often than I would care to admit). We often live for ourselves and for the moment. Or, as the Apostle John warned us:

1 John 2:16-17 (New Living Translation)

"For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever."

Simply stated, when our primary focus is on earthly things, we are acting like unbelievers. When we focus on our eternal rewards, we are acting like followers of Jesus.

Looking to the Day of Judgment short-circuits our desire for revenge:

I have a confession to make. Some may read this motivation and think that it's really the primary one. It's not. But I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge it as one of the reasons why I'm looking forward to the Day of Judgment. While I strive to love and pray for my enemies (those who have deeply hurt me) and while I genuinely pray for their salvation, I am looking forward to the day when the Righteous Judge will right all wrongs. I can abstain from revenge or even finding satisfaction in simple thoughts of retaliation because I know that the Apostle Paul said there is coming a day when God will deal with all wrongs.

Romans 12:19-21 (New Living Translation)

"Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, 'I will take revenge; I will pay them back,' says the LORD. Instead, 'If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.' Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good."

Thinking about Judgment Day motivates us to be certain of our eternal destination:

A terrifying truth is that many people who think they are headed to Heaven are only a heartbeat away from Hell. Many of them will not realize their error until it is too late.

To satisfy their hearts and minds that they are saved, they look around at how their peers are living, compare themselves to those who claim to be saved, assess that they are at least as good as their peers if not better, and come to the conclusion that their eternity in Heaven is secure. On the Day of Judgment, they will fall to the ground in terror as they realize their error ... but it will be too late to remedy their doom.

Matthew 7:21-23 (New Living Translation)

Jesus said: "Not everyone who calls out to me, 'Lord! Lord!' will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, 'Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.' But I will reply, 'I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.'"

Do you want to read more about what this terrifying Judgment will be like? Simply turn to Revelation 20:11-15. It's described in enough detail to keep your imagination busy all day.

Many people who think they are headed to Heaven are not. This is another reason why I speak on the Day of Judgment. I desire to entice the saved to pursue holiness like Jesus and Paul did. But, I also desire to warn the lost like Jesus did.

Conclusion

So, am I looking forward to the Day of Judgment? Yes! I know all too well that I will be denied many rewards because of a lack of action or a wrong motivation or any number of other things. But, I believe that there will be many rewards for me to obtain and enjoy. I want to live this life in light of the fact that one day, I will see Jesus look at me, smile, applaud and say, "Well done! Well done!" (Matthew 25:23). And I want to take as many folks with me as I can!

A pastor's heart

If a pastor takes his job as seriously as God's Word instructs, he realizes that he has a massive weight resting firmly upon His shoulders. Not only is he responsible to pursue personal holiness (1 Peter 1:15-16), he is also responsible for his family's spiritual well-being (1 Timothy 3:4-5) as well as his congregation's (as is noted by Hebrews 13:17 cited below).

To add to this weight, we are told in James 3:1 (in regard to the teaching aspect of pastoring): "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness." In other words, "You'd better be sure that you have studied God's Word, know what it says and accurately convey what it says to God's people as you show them how it works in your own life."

To further add to this weight, every pastor who leads a congregation finds that the folks he leads struggle with temptation and sin just as he does. Often, they (like he) go through times when they are apathetic to the things of God. Often, they (like he) resist being corrected when in a condition of sinfulness. Etc., etc., etc.

Yet, all of this and more being true, a godly pastor's heart craves to see folks become more like Jesus. He wants to see men and women, boys and girls live in such a way that God is free to bless them and use them for His divine purposes. He wants the folks he leads to stand before the Lord on the Day of Judgment and hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant," and know that he played a small part in getting that person fit for Heaven.

And so He speaks God's Word to them. He preaches from God's Word. He instructs from God's Word. He counsels from God's Word. His job is to get people fit for here and Heaven.

As long as He is appealing to the authority found in God's Word, the following instruction is a must for things to go well with a church family...

"Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit." (Hebrews 13:17 - New Living Translation)

Jonah, judgment and revival

The four short chapters in the biblical book of Jonah shed incredible light on the state of America. In many ways, America is just like Nineveh.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, we are a country that used to hide sin in back allies. Now, we parade it down Main Street. We hear that our country has long since passed the 50 million mark for abortions performed within our borders. Infidelity and divorce and pornography and homosexuality affect just about every household. On and on we could go.

I know that we all are sinners, certainly including me. Yet, a true follower of Jesus will do battle with sin and become more like Jesus as the months and years pass. Our nation is headed in the opposite direction. We are straying farther and farther away from a biblical worldview that once was used to write our founding documents.

So, just as God sought to warn Nineveh of His impending judgment, I think we can hear Him speak through Jonah to us, too.

"The LORD gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: 'Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.'" (Jonah 1:1-2)

What was the result? When we read Jonah chapter 3, we see that the people listened to Jonah's warning from the Lord and they repented. Listen to how God responded to their genuine repentance:

"When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened." (Jonah 3:10)

In Jonah chapter 4, we come to understand what God's intention was all along. God sent Jonah to warn Nineveh of His coming judgment so that they would repent. He did not want to bring judgment upon them but they needed to repent and stop their evil ways in order for that to happen.



Draw a circle around yourself.
Commit to pray for revival for everything in the circle.

Listen to Jonah describe the heart of God:

"...I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people." (Jonah 4:2)

It is my conviction that America is already experiencing God's judgment. Yet, I believe that it is possible for God to once again bless us. But, the way that this will happen is the lesson we learn from the book of Jonah. Our nation must repent.

One Christian ministry that is working to this end is Onecry. Consider going to onecry.com and join thousands of other believers who are praying for our nation to turn back.



Sermon (video): Running in the Christian Race (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Knowing that one day, each of us will stand before the Lord as He judges us, how should we then live? This sermon digs into the truths of Hebrews 12:1-2 and reveals practical steps that we must take to make the most of this one life that the Lord has entrusted to us.

To view this sermon, simply click here.

Sermon (video): Rewards at the Finish Line (2 Corinthians 5:9-10)

Did you know that ever man, woman, boy and girl who is a child of God will have to stand before Him at the Judgment Seat of Christ? What will it be like and how does this knowledge motivate us to make the most of this one life? Listen to this sermon to discover the answer to these and more questions.

To view the sermon, simply click here.

Sermon (video): Preparing for the Day of Judgment (Matthew 25:14-30)

To view the sermon, click here.

As Jesus taught about the Kingdom of God, He told a parable about a master who entrusted a large sum of money to his servants. After doing so, he went away into a far country. The bulk of this parable has to do with when the master came back and called his servants to give an account for how they had managed and increased his wealth.

This parable speaks volumes about the Judgment Day each of us will experience as we stand for Jesus and have to give an account for how we spent our short life here on planet Earth.

Recipe for the Demise of a Nation

Over and over in the Old Testament, we see how nations rose and nations fell. If we had lived in those cities/nations, we may have suspected (like we do today) that they declined because of poor leadership, or an inferior military, or bad fiscal policies, etc. Yet, through the vantage point that the Old Testament provides us, we realize that there is always a spiritual aspect to it. God tended to bless nations that complied with His commands and tear down nations that did not.

As we approach the New Testament, we come to a text that is incredible in regard to this topic. God essentially gives us the step-by-step process that nations take as they fall into anarchy (and thus their own demise). The four step process (that seems to be a 'general' rule) is as follows.

Ingredient 1: They serve other gods (Romans 1:18-23)

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things."

Simply put, people and nations who act as if there is no God who rules supremely cannot claim ignorance. Creation itself testifies to the fact that there must be a God. Yet, people/nations willfully choose to act as if He doesn't exist. Rather than have God as the One they enjoy and serve, they live their lives for themselves and go after other things (i.e. power, possessions, prestige, entertainment, gluttony, drunkenness, etc.)

But, once we throw off the restraints of God's commands, we begin to slide down the slippery slope of immorality that leads to our own destruction.

Ingredient 2: They participate in sexual immorality (Romans 1:24-25)

"Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen."

In search of fulfillment and enjoyment, a society who has thrown off the restraints of God's Word will find itself in a sexual revolution (think 1920's and 1960's in America). Rather than valuing the human body, it becomes an object capable of satisfying one's selfish desires outside the confines of marriage.

Ingredient 3: They approve and practice homosexuality (Romans 1:26-27)

"For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error."

Since in a deteriorating society, norms for what constitutes a right sexual relationship are increasingly non-existent, its citizens will continue to push the envelope. Homosexuality is approved and practiced by a growing number of people in that society. (Think America in the 1990's and beyond.)

Finally, Ingredient 4: They obtain worthless minds (Romans 1:28-32)

"And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them."

 

The end result of this whole process is what one would expect. If truth and righteousness are abandoned, who makes up the rules? Society? Well, we've seen in American society that our rules/norms keep changing. What wasn't approved in the last decade is embraced in this one.

 

So, as society continues sliding down the slippery slope of immorality, anarchy becomes a very real possibility. Governments will need to take serious measures to maintain control. Does that sound far fetched? Then why does it seem that as our country has clearly made it to step 3 (embraced homosexuality) that we are also hearing that our country is talking about stricter gun laws for its citizens, drone flyovers of American cities, collection of citizen data from places like Google, etc.?

 

If we don't turn back as a nation soon, we will run full steam into the wall of God's wrath. The question remains as to whether enough of God's children are willing to apply the truths of 2 Chronicles 7:14 in time.  "If my people who are called by name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." Only then is there any possibility of hope!