A view toward eternity; a readiness to die

"For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." -Philippians 1:21.

In Matthew 7:16-20, Jesus tells us that, "By their fruits ye shall know them." Along this train of thought, I have observed a very bad spiritual fruit within the professed body of Christ today; it is a fear of death, an unwillingness to leave their temporal life in the flesh.

Two days ago, a 32 year old woman from our locale was on her way to nursing school in the morning; she was set to graduate with a B.A. just 48 days from now. Apparently, a vehicle coming from the other direction lost a tire (a big tire), and it struck her car in the windshield, and she was killed. No one knows yet where the tire came from, and it was apparently unknown to the person who lost it.

"And it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" -Hebrews 9:27.

God appoints the time of our deaths, and for many it is sudden, unexpected. What if you had been this young woman? Are you ready to die, and face your maker? What is your attitude toward dying? These matters are important, for they reflect well the state of your spiritual standing with Christ.

"He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal." -John 12:25.

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." -I John 2:15.

And that is the real issue; professed believers in Christ loving their lives in this world. Never, never, never should such a thing be! You can hear it from their lips, see it in their actions- especially when confronting death. They don't want to die, don't see in this world the evil that prevails, don't see themselves as being mere "pilgrims" upon the Earth (Hebrews 11:13).

How many times have I seen and heard of it? Supposed Christians taking every treatment, having every operation, wasting enormous amounts of both time & money, just to spend a few more years (or less) here in utter corruption! Then I sometimes hear, "Oh, no- you don't understand. I am ready to die, but I want to 'be here' for my children." Such a statement indicates a severe lack of faith, and a lack of the LORDSHIP of Jesus Christ in a person's life. Trust in God to heal you physically, or to take you home as He sees fit. And the Lord is well able to take care of your family after you've gone. Your dependence should be upon Him right now, and then that trust will naturally continue through at the time of your departure.

If you struggle along these lines, please don't be ashamed- just take it to the Lord! Ask for Him to work the changes in your heart/mind through the blessed Holy Spirit which He has given to those who have received Him. Study the Word; through it, you will understand what God expects from His children, and how He will grow and perfect that work during the course of your life.

After reading the obituary of this young woman, I at least have hope that she was in right relationship with the Lord at the time of her death. Perhaps God took her home, before any worldly corruption could come into her, and turn her away (Is. 57:1,2). Someday, we will know...

These next verses are from II Corinthians 5:1-11, a section that I encourage you to read entirely. It gives us a great idea of what our sentiments should be, that are pleasing to God.

"For we know that if our earthly house is dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven... We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ..."

Honesty with God

"The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth." -Psalm 145:18.

"Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight." -Prov. 12:22.

Dishonesty and lies seem to be everywhere these days; from the head of our nation on down through its judicial system, in virtualy every business, and in nearly every home. I'm sure that in our present day world, George Washington wouldn't be quite so forthright about that cherry tree! We are just seeing lies on every possible level, and in every relationship imaginable. It has become so deeply ingrained within us, that many times we are not even aware when we tell a lie, or hear one!

Brethren, honesty starts at home. "He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much." Please make sure that what proceeds from your lips is the truth, and is not meant to be deceptive in any way. The Bible is a terrific place to start, in developing a pattern of TRUTH.

"Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." -John 17:17.

Above and beyond our honesty with others, is our honesty with God. Such is the reflected truth of this blog's opening verse. I have been guilty of this many times myself; though of course it was not a premeditated eventuality. Upon discovering this hidden duplicity, I was rightfully grieved at my own corruption. Have you ever pledged something to God, and not followed through? Does your Christian walk accurately portray Jesus our savior, whose brother you claim to be? Remember that nothing ever escapes the watchful eye of our Lord!

"Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight." - Prov. 12:22.

We do not intend to lie to God, and we are certainly aware that he already knows our every thought. Yet we are given strict warning about deceit, caused by our very own hearts;

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" -Jer. 17:9; with bold type, italicized, and underlining added by myself for emphasis.

Most of us realize that repentance is a vitally necessary part of salvation (Acts 2:38). But do we even know what genuine repentance is all about? To repent means not only a sorrow for sin (II Cor. 7:9,10), but also a change of behavior, or intent. When the Lord repented for the creation of mankind in Genesis 6:6, it wasn't because He had sinned! It expressed a regret, and the consequence of His repentance was the flood.

Perhaps someone you know is habitually running late, usually arriving with the apology, "Sorry that I'm late." Such an apology does not reflect a genuine repentance, because their behavior never changes! Still, only too many of us tend to "run through" prayers of supposed repentance, in order to quickly clear the slate, and get back into good standing with God. I know this, for I have also been very guilty of such behavior.

God HATES sin! The brutal beating and tortuous death our savior endured was for our sins. We need to take time during repentance, asking God to reveal yet even more sins, and the grief they bring to Him. Yes, He does love us, but the sin He hates; and so should we! We also need to take the time to seek the Lord's wisdom in how to avoid these areas of sin in the future. This is the type of self-denial, and daily cross bearing that Jesus told us about (Luke 9:23,24).

In short, is Jesus the LORD of every part of your life? Why do you call Him Lord, when you are not doing what He says? See Luke 6:46, Matt. 7:21, John 12:48, and John 14:23. Yes, it is also true that we will be growing in spiritual perfecting our whole lives; let us then pray with the Psalmist, "Unite my heart to fear thy name." -Ps. 86:11.

We need to stop compromising the instructions from God's Word; this is a form of denying Christ! Break those yokes you are sharing with spiritual unbelief; come out from among them, and be separate (II Cor. 6:14-18).

Please understand, that being honest with God means to live what you profess- which is obedience to the Bible! Remember that words count just as much as actions (Matt. 12:36,37; Eph. 5:3,4), and our time here is short.

Also remember that we are accountable for every instruction preserved for us in God's Word, which is a far greater sum than merely the 10 commandments. Think of the example with the "rich young ruler", as we discussed in an earlier blog. He knew those basic commandments and kept them, but was still found lacking (Matt. 19:16-22)! I John 3:22 shows that we should keep the commandments, but also do those things which are pleasing in God's sight.

Yet if we address the 10 commandments, we find that we are not to take the name of the Lord in vain (Ex. 20:7). Brethren, this means far, far more than merely swearing! If you claim to be a Christian, you had better be well committed to living like one at all times- nothing can be hidden from our God (I Cor. 4:5).

Jesus was also tested regarding which commandment was the greatest (Matt. 22:36-40), but He did not respond from the writings on the tablets He had given to Moses! His response came from Deuteronomy 6:5, and Leviticus 19:18 (the 10 commandments are in Exodus 20, and Deut. 5).

Are you being honest with God? Is He the Lord of your finances, your time, your thoughts? If you actually pray about any of those things, is it with a mind open to where the Holy Spirit will lead, or have you already determined your course of action in advance?

This life, brethren, is a real challenge! To see the results that are pleasing to God, we need to submit all of our ways to Him. It won't be popular or well-received by those around us, but it is road that follows Jesus.

"I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." -John 17:14.

Christians and Government

With the incredible deterioration of constitutional law taking place in America today, we Christians need to look closely at God's Word for direction. This seems to be a fitting time to bring forward this topic on the blog. If your church pastor is teaching something contrary to the direction of the Bible- the ENTIRE Bible, you must separate yourself from him.

This blog is featuring the teachings of Pastor Chuck Baldwin, with the first being the article, Romans 13 revisited. It is a medium length article, and easy to understand.

Then there are 2 videos at http://www.infowars.com/, entitled American churches are being neutered.
The length of the 2 combined is about 30 minutes, yours to listen to if you desire.

Standing for Christ has always had a cost! We need to be encouraged in the true faith more today, than at any time previously in history.

Don't be a Deer caught in the Headlights- run!

"And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light." - Romans 13:11,12.

The sky is thick with dark, lowering clouds; lightning flashes down upon the not-so-distant hills on the horizon. Even the animals have grown silent, and taken cover! How can mankind, so much wiser than the lowly animals, refuse to acknowledge the pending storm? Is it really more desireable to go forth toward destruction, willingly ignorant (II Peter 3:3-7) of the impending calamity? Yet this is exactly what I have been witnessing amongst my fellow citizens; even those that would claim the name of Christ as their savior!

"For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged." - I Cor. 11:31.

It is time for true Christians to come apart from the world, and finally lived the lives that we attest to. When we see the wrath of God approaching, being consistently poured out, we can be certain that it is a reflection of His displeasure with SIN. The proper response is for the believer is to humble themselves, repent for their wickedness, and turn away from doing evil (II Chron. 7:14). Yet today, most simply think that God loves them so much, that they automatically have His approval.

If this message sounds similar to others brought forth by me, it is because these warnings are the primary duty of a watchman (Is. 62:6, Ezek. 33:7). But today, I wish to urge you into action- that you would actually begin taking the necessary steps of separation (Read II Cor. 6:14-17) in your deepening walk with Christ. I want you to stop playing church, and come into right relationship with God! Receive the truth (John 4:23) discovered and acknowledged by 19th century saint George Mueller; "The Word of God is our only standard (II Ttim. 3:16,17), and the Holy Spirit our only teacher." (I John 2:27). These false shepherds which lead organized churches are, the vast majority of times, feeding themselves; and thereby destroying and scattering the real "flock of Christ." Take these warnings with the utmost seriousness:

"For I know this, that after my departure shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." - Acts 20:29,30.

"...Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness..." - from II Cor. 11:14,15.

"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; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." - II Tim. 4:3,4.

Just recently, it was Franklin Graham, the son of Billy Graham, that caught my attention (My wife actually told me!). Now, I have known that father Billy has some deep spiritual problems, by which I consider him to be an antichrist figure rather than a Christian. But for Franklin, I had more hope! Yet now I see that this "nut" has fallen close to the "tree" (i.e., Franklin is much like his father Billy), and is more concerned with status, than in stating the truth...

Apparently, Franklin was publically critical of President Obama's professed Christianity. That is a good thing, and though I don't know what he said, I readily applaud when someone will stand for the truth. Due to his criticism, however, he received a good bit of flak from the Obama camp. Unfortunately, Franklin then apologized for his remarks! How can a "man of God" repent for telling the truth?

God gives to His people the spirit of a sound mind (II Tim. 1:7). How could any believer actually think that the President is a Christian? What about the dozens, upon dozens of lies that he has told, and continues to do so? What about his relentless promotion of homosexuality, both in the U.S. and the world? What about his ruthless slaughter of alleged enemies? What about his Indonesian citizenship which lists him as a Muslim, and thus he is named? Did you know that he also prays with Muslims? How could such a thing be for a Christian, for whom Jesus is the ONLY way of salvation (John 14:6)?

Jesus told us that, "By their fruit, ye shall know them." If Franklin Graham is that blind to the truth, or has somehow prioritized people-pleasing above the truth of the Bible, he is clearly just another antichrist figure (I John 2:18) amongst the professing "church of Christ" (Matt. 15:7-9).

Instead of prioritizing "getting along", we need to put holiness first. The emphasis on unity is the main thrust for a coming world religion; one that will not tolerate the uniqueness of Christ! Please read (KJV) the following scriptures about the need for separation; Matt. 18:15-17, I Cor. 5:11-13, II Thess. 3:6,14, I Tim. 6:3-5, Titus 3:10,11. Will you have the courage to believe these words from God, or will you care too much for your own standing with men?

"If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple... So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple." - Luke 14:26,27, 33.

Brethren, we are at the very end of the "last days." God's Word is always true, and this time was bound to come at some point. He said that we would know the season of the end, and for that we must WATCH. As much as is possible, put away all worldliness from you. Seek the Lord diligently. Fast, pray, take time off work to remove distraction. Nothing, but nothing will bear any relevance when compared with our eternal destination (Matt. 16:24-26).

The wrath of God is even now falling upon the earth, and mankind. We need to be assured of the blessed mercies of Christ, and His eternal protection. For that, we must turn away from all else, and serve the blessed Lord Jesus Christ with every bit of our strength.

"Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger." -Zeph. 2:3.