Video Talk
James 5:1-11 ESV
“Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.
“Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.”
Whenever I read this passage of Scripture I think of my own
country, the USA. And it isn’t that we are the only wealthy nation. I am
certain we are not. But I also think of Babylon, for that fits here, too. And
this isn’t about wages and mowing fields today, but it is about depriving
people of the truth, and morality, and decency, and justice. And it is about
taking advantage of the naïve, and using people to get what you want, and it is
about betrayal and hatred and pride and lusts and greed. And it is greatly
about deception and trickery and mind manipulation and taking advantage of the
weak.
So, we have to accept that we live in an age of massive
deception and that we can’t trust anyone, really, to be who he or she says they
are. Now I am certain that honest people still exist, but I think we are in the
minority, just from what I know of human nature and of what our government is
up to and according to what has been going on within the church, too. So we
cannot trust that what we read or hear or think we see is the truth, unless we
have something like the Scriptures to test it against. For fakery is
everywhere, and anything can be manipulated and altered and photoshopped.
We really have to get inside these passages of Scripture
which describe what these last days will be like, for example Revelation 13,
and then take them seriously, and then ask the Holy Spirit to make us aware of
these things in our world today. For if you don’t, you are ripe to being
deceived on so many different levels, and you are likely to trust the enemy,
believing he is your friend, while you will dismiss the righteous as though
they are the enemy, because you believed the lies and you did not test them
before the Lord in prayer and in the Word, seeking God to show you what is
truth.
For the amount of deception that is passing for truth these
days is mindboggling. And we have to stop believing everyone and everything at
face value or we are ripe for being deceived. And I will say here that the Lord
has taught me so much these past nearly 20 years in relation to what is going
on in the world and how all this fits with the prophecies of Scripture. I don’t
understand it all, and I don’t know all the details, but I will share with you
that I believe the US government is not our friend, and that what they are
doing worldwide is not for the good of the people of this planet.
Anyway, all the hatred, and all the deception, and all the
killings and the raping and the taking advantage of others, etc. is
heartbreaking. It is especially heartbreaking when you know the truth behind
all the lies, and you see so many people believing the lies and not the truth.
But we have to be patient and wait on our Lord for his timing to act. And we
have to keep on obeying him and serving him in the areas where he has called
us.
And we have to keep on even knowing that one day it is all
going to come crashing down on us and we may be killed or falsely accused of
wrongdoing, or we may be betrayed and have lies spread about us just like Job
experienced, and just like the prophets of old went through, and just like
Jesus and the New Testament apostles underwent. So, we need to be steadfast in
faith, trusting the Lord and his sovereignty in all things, putting our lives and
our reputations in his hands, believing that he is going to work all things for
good for those who love him and who are called to his purpose.
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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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