2 Timothy 3 ESV
“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.”
Times of Difficulty
Right now we are living in times of difficulty throughout
the world, although certainly some people in some nations have it far worse than
people in other nations. Some people are fearing for their lives every day, not
knowing where their next meal is going to come from or how they will survive. Some
of them live in war torn countries where people are being killed every day.
I believe we are seeing prophecy of Scripture being
fulfilled before our very eyes in real time in the events which are taking
place in the world, and in the decisions that people in positions of authority
are making for people who are subject to them. I believe we are moving ever
closer to a totalitarian rule of a one world government and a one world
religion.
More and more our freedoms are being stripped from us, and
our way of life is being turned upside down. Chaos is everywhere, pretty much. Rulers
in many nations are now teaming together to try to solve the world’s problems,
but I believe they have created many of these problems so that they can come to
the rescue with their preconceived plans for our “rescue.”
We can’t trust what our government heads tell us. We can’t
trust what the media tells us, for much of it is scripted and is being acted
out by paid actors. Lies and deception abound. They want us to be in upheaval
all the time, worried about this, fretting about that, and fighting against
each other, too, over things that are largely made up, not real, or overplayed.
In the USA, our government is not our true government. They
are just puppets working for puppet masters. The de facto government of the USA,
and the world, in reality, is a shadow government of the elite of the world who
are really the ones making the decisions for what goes on in the world and in
the nations of this world.
Political left and right don’t exist. They are just two
sides of the same whole working for the same people who want us fighting each
other. So, they create two sides of issues so we will think we are making a
difference if we choose one side or the other, but history shows that no matter
who is in the White House, business goes on as usual.
And they stir up issues that have been lying dormant and
they make them into something far worse than what they are so that the people
will fight each other. And they constantly are working the fear factor on us, always
trying to make us think that this or that is the worst thing ever, and many
times nothing comes of it at all.
What they are doing behind closed doors is real, though.
Their plans for the takeover of the world are real. And they are working their
agenda one step at a time to bring about the ultimate goal of this one world
totalitarian regime, like a revival of the Hitler regime, only now across the
whole globe. We can already begin to see some of these things coming into play.
Lovers of Self
We also can’t trust pastors or elders of churches
(institutions of men) which are not to be confused with the body of Christ, which
is the church, with Christ as her head, and with the Holy Spirit leading God’s
people in the way that they should go. For, the church (Christ’s body) is not a
building or a denomination or a civic organization or a corporation of the
state.
But these institutions of men have largely turned the
gatherings of the church into a somewhat cleaned up version of what the world
is offering in the way of social activities, fun, music, and entertainment, as
well as motivational speaking. For they are following the pattern of the world
instead of following the pattern Jesus laid out for his church to follow.
And they are marketing “the church” to the world just like
any other business, appealing to the desires of human flesh, wanting to please
the people of the world, rather than with the goal to please God. And so, they
also adulterated the gospel to make it more appealing to human flesh so that they
could lead many astray on a false hope of heaven.
And this is because we have many “hired hands” in our
pulpits, many of whom are wolves in sheep’s clothing or who are shepherds who
are feeding only themselves, and so they dilute the gospel and they entertain
the people so that their numbers will increase, for their goal is to draw in
large crowds of people of the world, and so they cater to those crowds.
And the gospel that many of them are teaching is all about
self, not about God at all. It is a very “me-focused” gospel which gives this
impression that God is so enamored with the people of the world that he just
wants to be our friend, and all we have to do is just accept that he loves us
and now we are saved, and we are going to heaven when we die. LIE!
Many are teaching that because we are not saved by our own
good works, but only by the grace of God, and by faith in Jesus Christ, that
God requires nothing of us at all – no repentance, no obedience, and no
submission to Christ as Lord of our lives. For, they call that “works-based
salvation,” and so many people are rejecting the true gospel as a lie while
embracing a lie.
Lovers of Pleasure
At least here in America, and I am sure it has to be the
case in some other countries, too, we live in a pleasure driven culture both in
the world and in the gatherings of what is called “church.” The “fellowship” of
Christians is not much different than the “fellowship” of the people of the
world, for they all seem to do the same stuff and talk about the same things,
too.
Movies, games, videos, music, entertainment, TV shows,
internet sites, and social media are all the rave and are often the center of
most conversations. Even “Christian” sites or music or videos often are not
much different from the world, for they also include sensuality, lying, using
God’s name in vain, and worldly themes and messages which appeal to the flesh.
Not all of this is wrong, mind you. I am on social media,
but I am on there to share Jesus Christ and his word and to encourage the body
of Christ, which is the reason I am on the internet. Not all games, music, or
videos are bad. I play games sometimes with others. I don’t watch movies
anymore, though, for it is hard to find anything decent, even in Christian
films.
But we need to be discerning. And we need to not make
entertainment our god. And most of all we need to be surrendered to Jesus Christ,
doing what he has commanded us to do, living to please him, sharing him and his
word with other Christians, for their encouragement, and with the world, for
their salvation, for this is why we are here, not to be entertained.
We, as believers in Jesus, need to be reminded of why Jesus
saved us from our sins and what he has commissioned us to do, and then we need
to be doing it in his power and strength. He should be Lord of our lives 24/7,
and we should see our lives as belonging to him to do his will. And if we look
at the times in which we live, we should be able to see that time is short.
For
Our Nation
An
Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: we’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
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