“And he said to the disciples, ‘The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, “Look, there!” or “Look, here!” Do not go out or follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
“’Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
“’On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.’” (Luke 17:22-33 ESV)
I believe we live in a present day and time, at least here in America, where so many things are being faked and altered and made to look one way when they are actually another. And so if we are people who are seeking after the Lord and after truth and righteousness, we may have to sift through a whole lot of fakery and altered truth to finally unveil the truth and to get to the real biblical Jesus. For so many people today are altering the truth of the character of God and of his church and of his gospel to attract the world.
For, although many profess faith in Jesus Christ, many are those who are following an altered Christ and gospel created in the minds of human beings which is presently permeating the church in America at large. For they are writing over and covering over the truth of who Jesus is and of why he died on that cross and of his gospel message in order to make him and his gospel more attractive and appealing to human flesh and to the ungodly. So what they are presenting is not biblical Jesus nor his biblical gospel message.
And this is being done via cartoons, movies, TV shows, music lyrics, social media memes, short (or long) videos, books, devotionals, poetry, sermons, and various other means of spreading their messages to the people of this world. The mediums themselves are not evil, for righteousness is being spoken through many of these mediums, too, but so is so much fakery and lies and deceptions which add on to and which cover over the truth of who Jesus is and the truth of his gospel message, and many are deceived.
So, we are being cautioned here to be discerning people and to not follow after the fakes and the phonies and the false gospels of men which are intended to present a different Jesus and another gospel other than the Jesus and the gospel message of the Scriptures. For it is the self-indulgent, the disobedient, and the pleasure-seeking who are altering the character and the word of God to make it more attractive to human flesh. For so many are teaching that a mere profession of faith in Christ is enough to secure for us salvation from sin and eternal life with God in heaven.
And so we live in a day and time when so many who are professing faith in Jesus Christ are living not much different from those who make no such professions of faith. So we are living in the days of Noah, basically, when so many people, professing Christians and not, are living for self-pleasure and for what feels good, and for sinful pleasure and not for the will of God, and not in walks of obedience to his commands, and not in holy living and moral purity, honesty, and faithfulness. For they are being convinced that they don’t have to and that they can continue in sin and still go to heaven.
And so we are being warned here of the dangers of living for self and for self-pleasure and not for the will of God, according to his commands. And the warning is a strong encouragement to change course and to remove from our lives all that is in opposition to the Lord and to his commands. For we are to be his holy people who are living in moral purity and uprightness and in godly living and who are no longer walking in deliberate and habitual sin against our Lord. And this is a warning, too, to cast off all these false and altered teachings which are leading so many people astray.
For if we go our own way, and we ignore our Lord and his commands, it will not end well for us. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for the sake of Jesus we deny self, and we die with him to sin daily, and we walk in obedience to his commands, in practice, then we have the hope of eternal life with God. For not everyone who says to Jesus, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God the Father (Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).
[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Galatians 5:16-21; Galatians 6:7-8; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Hebrews 10:23-31; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZv3jzOTE70
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