Will He Really Find Faith on the Earth?

"When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

—Jesus 

(Luke 18:8)

Over the years I've asked myself, and others, this very pointed question:

"If you absolutely knew for certain that Jesus Christ was coming back to earth in exactly 30 days from today, what would you do differently starting right now, in how you lived your life?

However, most people are often hesitant to answer that question.

But here's a couple that I have heard:

"No, I'm not ready for Him to come back yet. I want to get married and have kids and raise a family first."

Or,

"I'd like to enjoy retirement first."

This will be a pretty short blog post. Much of what I wanted to say, I already said in my last post; "Are You Ready?" (August 31, 2017).

I don't know about you, but I feel my remaining days on this earth are few. 

Whether through natural death, or the Rapture, I have as the bible directs, "numbered my days." The time is short. And when Jesus, the Lord of Glory comes for His Church, I don't want to be out serving myself, spending my time on life's simple pleasures when there are people eternally perishing all around me. How can I?

How can I live for myself when Jesus paid the price for my sins on the Cross? How can I enjoy a selfish leisurely life when He suffered, bled and died for my iniquities? How can I focus on loving myself when He showed me by His example that there is no greater love than this, than a man would lay down his life for his friends?

All the stuff of this life; possessions, money, valuables, yard, houses, even the beautiful creation God has made, shall one day be burned up. It's all going to be firewood. (See 2 Peter 3:10-12)

So why hold onto it so tightly now?

The apostle wrote: "For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come." (Hebrews 13:14)

We as followers of Christ are called to be faithful to preach the gospel. The results are not up to us. We can't make people believe. We cant 'seal the deal.' All throughout the gospels and NT we see that some believed and some didn't, or wouldn't. It's no different today. We can't save the whole world or solve the whole world's problems. God has placed each of us in our personal sphere of influence. Bloom where He has planted you. Speak the truth in love. Help whoever you can help with the needful things. Love courageously and unselfishly. And leave the results to God.

So I'll leave it at this, what Jesus asked of us all:

"When the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

Are You Ready?

“For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”—Jesus 

(Matthew 24:38-39)

In a day when people are living care free, "business as usual" lives, Jesus Christ will come with a startling unexpectedness that will take the unbelieving world by surprise.

Never before, has our world been so self absorbed, self indulgent, and completely oblivious to the spiritual reality of just where we are as a civilization—circling the drain.

I don't need to list all the serious problems in the world. Just turn on the TV news or search the Internet and it's everywhere you look, the world over.

Most people simply don't have a Heavenly perspective.

I believe there is a strong delusion on many people who profess to be "christian." A complete lack of real spiritual discernment. An utter failure to recognize where we are at prophetically, and in history, as pertains to the Kingdom of God and His coming back to earth. Many are blind to the truth.

You see it in people's political views, in how they prioritize and spend their time and money, and in how they respond—or fail to respond—to the lost and hurting people all around them. Hobbies, leisure, self interests, personal issues, marriage, family, business, wealth—all distract people from what should really be important to God's people in these perilous last days of our current world.

Did you know that all Christian believers will stand before Christ and give an account of every single thing we did in our life as a Christian?

“Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:9-10)

How can I stand before Jesus Christ, who willingly died on the Cross for my sins, and hear Him say, "You wasted much of your life on pleasing yourself, while lost and hurting people all around you were perishing eternally." 

Most of us need to get outside our 'selves' and rise 10,000 feet up and get a Heavenly perspective on the true condition of this lost and dying world. Then, get a true perspective on the condition of our own hearts. Who are we living for?  Our self? -Or for Jesus Christ and His Kingdom?

Jesus said:

“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13)

Sitting on the porch this morning sipping my coffee, I realized we've lived in this house for 27 years... That's nearly half of my entire lifetime. And it hit me just how short this life really is. My 58 years have blazed by like a runaway train. This present life is not even a blink of an eye compared to eternity. 

And yet, most people are so bound up in this present world, they give little to no thought to the afterlife. I'm so convicted today, for the rest of my time here to be mindful of investing myself in what really matters in this life. None of us know when we will step into eternity. But it will probably be sooner than we think.

The hearts and eternal souls of people are what really matters in this life... the same world full of eternal souls that Jesus Christ gave His life for on the Cross, because "God so loved the world." That's why we have been saved, and called—to point people to Jesus Christ, who is the only One who can save our eternal soul.

"To whom much is given, much is required." —Jesus

Are you ready to meet Him at His coming?


—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit

“And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, 

and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.” 

(Acts 2:2)

Whether you are a Christian or not, does modern Christianity in America seem to you to be a genuine, effective and powerful movement that is truly changing the world in a spiritually redeeming way?

When I examine my own experiences in modern Christianity over the last twenty five years, I see churches that are caught up in the 'cult of  personality.' People follow the personality that they like best. It's like a big popularity contest much of the time. And the Christian sub-culture of method, music, and style dominates much of the movement. Post modernism has also crept into Christianity, complete with modern psychology, activity centered ministry programs, and "community" or common interest "fellowship" groups. And a lot of this activity is much more culture-centered than Christ-centered.

But does modern Christianity overall in any way resemble the original Church that Jesus began, some 2,000 years ago?

Much of what I have witnessed in "church" over the last twenty five years has been powerless, man-centered, and ineffective.

I see a lot today of what I call "good deed-ism." Church people are doing some truly good things to help others, including feeding those who are hungry, giving clothing and other items to those in need, volunteering to help at ministry fund raising events, running half marathons for a good cause, serving dinner at a rescue mission, and adopting orphaned or special needs children. These are all very wonderful things by themselves.

But many of the people doing wonderful deeds, while meeting the immediate needs of others, are not ministering to every human being's ultimate need of salvation that is through Jesus Christ alone.

It does little good to give a homeless man $5, or a burger and fries, or even your coat, and then drive away without addressing his greatest spiritual need.

So how was the early church in Jesus' day different?

They operated under the power of the Holy Spirit.

What did Jesus command the first Christians to do?

“And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”  But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1 :4-8)

Jesus didn't tell His followers; 'Go immediately out and become an organization of nice people, just doing nice things for others.'

There are a lot of non-Christian people out there who are pretty nice people, doing a lot of nice things for others.

He first commanded them to wait, until they were baptized with the Holy Spirit. And once they were baptized with His Spirit, they would receive His power to be His witnesses. First there at home, and the surrounding regions. Then to the very end of the earth.

This is where there is a big disconnect today in Christianity. There are a lot of very nice people out there, trying to do some really nice things to help others. But there is no power of the Holy Spirit in their good works. There are wonderful intentions, but no power.

Many people have never been taught about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, much less ever received it.

This was also a problem at times in the early church.

“And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”

So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”

And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?”

So they said, “Into John’s baptism.”

Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized (in water) with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.”

When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.” (Acts 19:1-6) 

Not everyone "speaks in tongues" nor is it the main focus of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The primary purpose of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is to be empowered to be witnesses of Jesus Christ. And then to do whatever He commands us to do through His power—not through our own. And why would that be?  Because we have no power of our own to do or be what God requires. No wisdom. No strength. No goodness. Our hope of glory is Christ in us.  Without Him we are nothing. Jesus said, "Without Me you can do nothing." (See John 15:4-5)

This is why He commanded His first disciples to wait there in Jerusalem—until they received power once the Holy Spirit came upon them. Only then would they be empowered to be His witnesses.

Have you ever been baptized in the Holy Spirit?

So how do you receive it?

Ask.

Jesus said:

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:13)

I recall several years ago at a men's retreat in the mountains, a friend of ours was asking us what the baptism of the Holy Spirit was all about. We shared with him from the bible what it is and what it's for. He said, "I want that baptism!"  What's amazing about this, is this man was always very shy at the home fellowship we attended. He never spoke up. Never prayed aloud. He was always very quiet. But after we laid hands on him and prayed for him as he asked God for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, he soon started doing street witnessing, preaching the Gospel of Jesus to people he met downtown. At the home fellowship he began to boldly share scriptures with confidence, many of which he said he had never heard or read before. Soon after that he was leading teams of people downtown to teach them how to share the Gospel with people. His wife said he had gone through a dramatic change, ever since he prayed to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  We were all amazed. God is so good!

Would you like to have that kind of Holy Spirit power in your own life?

This is where making a difference for God has to start. 

You have to acknowledge that without Jesus empowering you through the baptism of His Spirit, you can do nothing good. You can't bear any good fruit to God. You can't effectively preach the Gospel of Christ to anyone. Cant rightly teach a bible study. Can't be an effective worship leader. Cant be an effective pastor. Nothing.

Are you living in victory today?  Or are you constantly failing to live according to God's Word? If you are not experiencing victory over the trials and temptations that constantly plague you, have you wondered why you have no power in your life? It's because you are trying to do everything in your own strength. The problem is you have no power. This is why Jesus said He will send another helper, the Comforter; who is the Holy Spirit. We need His power to be witnesses of Jesus Christ. Please understand: this has nothing to do with salvation. That is a gift from God by grace through faith in the atoning work of Jesus Christ; through His death, burial and resurrection.

So if you are living a life of failure, defeat, and you are stuck in a revolving door of sin, repent, and cry out to God and confess your sin. Your weakness. Your powerlessness in your own strength. 

And then start by asking Jesus Christ to baptize you in the Holy Spirit. 

Sometimes historically, this occurred when other Christians who already had been baptized in the Spirit were laying hands on a person, praying for him, and they then receive the baptism. But not always. 

Again, the best place to start is talk to the Lord Jesus and ask Him to baptize you in His Holy Spirit. And keep asking daily for His power to walk in spirit and in truth. This is not a one time thing.

I try to ask God every day for His wisdom and power to overcome sin and weakness. To walk in purity. To be a good husband. To do my job in a way that brings glory to God. To be an effective witness for Jesus Christ and share the Gospel with people. To be a good father to my children. To be a good friend to my friends. To love those who do not love me back. To pray for those who curse me and spitefully use me.

Trust in God to teach you and lead you.  As you do, things will begin to happen in your life that will surprise you. When they do, give God all the glory.

Most of all, as you are being empowered by the Holy Spirit, in His love, keep sharing the Gospel and pointing people to the risen Savior; Jesus Christ. He is our only hope.

Amen.

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

Not Many Wise

“Not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.” 

(1 Corinthians 1:26)

Have you ever been talked down to by someone who has a doctorate in theology? And they basically tell you that you'll never understand the bible until you, (like they have) take multiple college level courses on exegesis, hermeneutics, bible theology, biblical history, Greek, Hebrew, and read scores of writings from the early church fathers, etc.

I have.

And the more I talk with some of these people, it becomes obvious that when it comes to the bible, more often than not, they miss the forest for the trees.

Think about it...  Would an all-knowing, loving God, who intimately knows that we as a species are weak, not all that bright, and with limited understanding, give us a bible that no one would ever be able to understand except a small group of the most intellectually elite biblical scholars?

That would be cruel to say the least. But more importantly, the bible never teaches that.

Look at the rest of the passage from 1 Corinthians chapter 1:

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”

Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greek foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.” (1 Cor 1:18-29)

Read that entire passage a couple of times and really let it sink in. Hear what it is saying.

God calls simple people to bring a simple message of hope to the world.

When we're brand new to the bible, we certainly need someone knowledgeable to teach us. But even though the prophetic books of the bible are at times difficult to understand, as they contain metaphor, symbolism, and some allegory, most of the bible is not that difficult to understand, if you will take the time to read all of it, several times, and just take it at face value. Even more important, before you study the bible, and while you're studying it, pray and ask God for wisdom and understanding of what you are reading.

God would not give mankind a book that is a mysterious riddle that cannot possibly be unlocked. 

The bible is for believers, that we may more intimately know our Savior, and His will for us, and our eternal future with Him.

But the bible is also for unbelievers, that they may know what Jesus did on the cross to save them from their sins, and to call them to repent of their sins and turn to a loving God, lest they perish forever.

No one understands the entire bible 100% perfectly. I've been studying the bible for twenty five years, and the more I study it, the more I realize how much I don't know. But most people fail because they refuse to regularly read and study it at all.

The other group that can be frustrating to talk to are the strict bible contextualists.

While the individual scriptures may have an immediate, historical, cultural context, they also have an overarching spiritual context, purpose, and application that thousands of years cannot change or undo. 

Rigid contextualists will argue that a particular verse can only be understood or applied relative to its immediate historical or cultural context. But again, the Word of God is timeless in its ultimate spiritual purpose and application.

When I read the Bible, no matter what topic I am studying, I want to know what was God's purpose for putting this in the bible. What is God's heart on this passage or topic? How does it apply to my relationship with Jesus? And how do I apply it to my life? How will this passage help me to know God better?

I once had a lengthy discussion with a religious intellectual who earned a doctorate in theology from a bible seminary.  I was asking him to expound on what Romans 7:15-20 means. And he refused to offer his thoughts on the passage. He was the guy who told me I need to go take some courses on hermeneutics and exegesis and then read some books by his favorite early church fathers. And only then I could understand what this passage means. I challenged him, "You were an assistant pastor for years, teaching the bible. Why can't you expound on and apply this passage?"  He again refused and said, "I would rather stand on the shoulders of giants who have gone before me, than say something about this passage and be wrong."  His time at his bible college ruined him. What did his fancy doctorate degree profit him?  He was so afraid to be wrong he was paralyzed by his own fear and advanced education.

Consider the simple fishermen Jesus called to be His disciples and Apostles. They had no formal advanced education. No degrees in theology. Why would Jesus use simple unlearned men in this capacity?  1 Corinthians 1:29 tells us:

"But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.”

God could have called only the super intellectuals, the brightest and most accomplished religious people of their day to be His apostles and disciples. But most of them were just the opposite. These simple men and women turned the entire world upside down with the Holy Spirit-led and Holy Spirit-empowered Gospel of Jesus Christ.

"That no flesh should glory in His presence."

Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is not so much about what you know... It's more about Who you know.

Tell the world about Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

The Word of Our Testimony

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.” 

(Revelation 12:11)

I just finished reading a book about the life and salvation of the late iconic actor, Steve McQueen.

Steve had been saved a short time before he was diagnosed with a form of cancer due to lengthy exposure to asbestos. Steve's greatest regret in his impending death was that he would not be around to tell others how Jesus Christ had saved him. And how He had dramatically and forever changed his life.

I have often thought over the years since I've been a follower of Jesus what the "word of our testimony" really is. Was it just what God has done in our own life?  That's certainly part of it. And a powerful one.

But there is more to it than that.

The quoted passage above from Revelation 12 says the believers overcame the devil by the blood of the Lamb—and—by the word of their testimony.

First, without the cleansing, atoning blood sacrifice of the Lamb—Jesus Christ—there is no salvation. No forgiveness of sins. No overcoming anything. No power. No goodness. No new life. No Heaven. 

Like the old song says, "What can wash away my sin...nothing but the blood of Jesus."

In both the the Old and New Testament it speaks of this:

"Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission/forgiveness of sin." (Leviticus 17:11, Hebrews 9:2)

Why a blood sacrifice?

"For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul." (Leviticus 17:11)

In Old Testament times the high priest (though not sinless), would go once a year into the innermost portion of the Jewish temple, and through the blood sacrifice of lambs, make atonement for the people of Israel. But this had to be done once every year. It was not a permanent atonement. And it was only a picture, or 'type' of the ultimate atonement to be made once, for all, by the only sinless, perfect High Priest; Jesus Christ.

"For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever." (Hebrews 4:26-28)

Because He was God in the flesh, Jesus Christ is the only sinless Person to ever walk the face of the earth. And as the only perfect High Priest, the one perfect sacrifice He could offer up to atone for the sins of man was Himself: the pure, sinless, Lamb of God.

We who have been saved by Christ have forever overcome sin, death, hell, and the devil, by being spiritually washed by the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, shed for our sins on the Cross.

So part of the word of our testimony as Christians—the most important part—is that we are saved because of what Jesus did on the Cross for us. 

And another part is how He has personally changed our lives. 

In my own story, I was a "repeat offender" sinner. I was a prideful, scheming, lying, cheating, stealing, adulterer, who regularly blasphemed the name of the Lord, and I thought the whole 'religion thing' was just a big joke. My wife and I as young unbelievers used to laugh and joke to people when they asked if we were married yet. We snickered, "No, we're still living in sin!"

Once we did get married however, the honeymoon soon faded and we then began many years of, frankly, putting each other though a whole lot of hell. We were both self-centered, selfish, self-absorbed, headstrong people who always wanted to get our own way. It was a tumultuous roller coaster ride of high and low emotions. Fighting, screaming, brooding, sulking, resentment, blaming each other, making up, then starting the whole maddening roller coaster ride all over... again and again.  I used to think my wife was bi-polar since she was so up and down all the time. I now realize it was because we both were such selfish sinners. There was absolutely no peace in our home. Over a ten year period starting in the early 1990's, we went through several separations and two divorce proceedings. I committed adultery. After ten more years my wife eventually forgave me.

But that forgiveness did not come until we both surrendered our selfish, battle-hardened hearts to Jesus Christ. We could not fix our broken marriage. Or our broken souls. We could not change each other, or change ourselves. We needed a Savior... for our marriage, and for our hearts.

We started going to my Mom's church. I remember them always talking about Jesus as "The Word." What did that mean?

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He (Jesus) was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." (John 1:1-4)

Oh. Wow. Jesus is God?

Yes, Jesus is God!  

He IS The Word of our testimony.

Once I got that written on my heart...that Jesus is God and because of His amazing love for me, He chose to become a Man and die on the cross so I can forever be forgiven of my sin.. it was then that I surrendered and gave my heart to Him.

However, because of my stupidity and stubbornness, my life as a Christian started out to become a long and bumpy ride. But God has been a loving, patient Father, teacher and disciplinarian to me. Both merciful and strict, loving and kind. Always a faithful, perfect Father. He lets me strip off line for awhile, then He gently reels me back in by His kindness, grace and love. I'm a slow work in progress... but thankfully, I am His workmanship, not my own.

As I've learned over the last twenty years, being a born again Christian doesn't make you perfect—it makes you saved.

None of us knows the day of our departure. Our life is a vapor... Here today, gone tomorrow. So make the most of the time you have left. Count each day... each moment... precious. When you're gone, what will be the impact that your life, words and actions left on others? What will you be most remembered for?

As followers of Christ our most important function and purpose on this earth is to tell people about the love and saving grace of Jesus—the Word of our testimony. 

Sharing what He has done for us by saving us through His grace, by the faith He gives us.

And by sharing our own testimony of how He has restored and changed our lives. Given us new hearts. Given us hope, peace and joy that surpasses all understanding. How He has placed us in His own eternal family. We are spiritual orphans no longer. 

He is our Father forever.  We are loved, forgiven and free.

Tell everyone you can of this Jesus who came to save the world from their sins. He loved the whole world. 

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

Amen.

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

The Great Apostasy

“For that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first.” 

(2 Thessalonians 2:2)

The Last Days falling away foretold here by the Apostle Paul is the Great Apostasy—a defection from the Truth of God's Word. 

And I believe we are smack-dab in the middle of the Great Apostasy right now—and yet, many self-professed "Christian" people seem completely oblivious to it.

The falling away began even back in Paul's day when false teachers were already polluting the truth of God's Word with false and deceptive doctrines. It starts with subtle changes, with a twisting of the Scriptures to say something other than what it plainly says. Teachings that tickle the itching ears of carnal hearers, rather than proclaim the convicting, life-affirming truth as God spoke it into existence.

And we've been specifically warned about the perils of these last days false teachers and apostates:

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.” (2 Timothy 3:1-9)

Look at the foretold detailed list of traits that many people will exhibit during this perilous time. 

"Lovers of themselves."  Many people today are so caught up in their own lives and serving themselves, that they are oblivious to the spiritual and physical needs of others, and more importantly, to the true spiritual condition of the world around them. Most people are living completely 'business-as-usual' lives, doing their careers, promoting their personal business empires, lovers of money, focused on their hobbies, their material things, and looking out for #1. 

A common worldly mantra today is, "You can't love others until you first love yourself."  

But Jesus taught the following by His example, 

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

Paul goes on to say:

“But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (2 Thessalonians 3:13)

A very popular, but extremely error-ridden book and movie out right now is "The Shack." You'll need to thoroughly research this distorted story for yourself. It is not biblically accurate and mis-represents God throughout. Here is a good review to check out:

http://www.ltw.org/read/articles/2017/03/six-major-problems-with-the-shack

"The Shack" is just one of millions of examples of underlying false teachings that appeal to the emotions rather than stand on the eternal, rock-solid truth of God's Word. The creators of this distortion tell the people what they want to hear, as opposed to what they need to hear. Please beware. While it may initially make you "feel" good and it may sound good on the surface, every word must be thoroughly tested by the Word of God.

Jesus said:

“But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” (Matthew 24:37-39)

Just before Jesus returns to judge the world, people will be living business-as-usual lives, self-focused, going about their daily business with no awareness of His imminent return. With a startling suddenness, they will be caught completely off guard. 

A lot of Christian people today are doing good deeds. Truly helping people in need. And that's a very good thing. 

But are you waking up those whom you know who are spiritually falling asleep at the wheel? Ready to run off into a ditch? Are you yourself spiritually asleep at the wheel, simply living your daily life business-as-usual? Self-focused? With no expectation of the imminent return of Jesus?

Contrary to modern religious philosophy, we're not "Just supposed to love people." 

We're to preach the gospel. Warn people of the impending judgment of God. Tell them the good news of salvation by grace through faith, because of what Jesus did for us all on the Cross.

And we're to remind our fellow followers of Christ to walk uprightly. And that it is high time to awaken out of sleep, if they are spiritually dozing. To pray and seek God's face and turn from whatever wicked ways we're walking in, that God will hear our prayers from heaven—that He will heal our spiritually dead land.

“I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent.” (Isaiah 62:6)

You who make mention of the LORD—do not keep silent.

Many are called to be watchmen on the walls—warning others of the danger, apostasy, and complacency all around us. And to not keep silent in our prayers. Pray to God without ceasing.

The hour is urgent. Point people to Jesus Christ.

So much is at stake...

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

The Religion of Self Effort

“And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves.” (Genesis 11:4)

Around 2242 B. C. the Tower of Babel was built. It was man's monument to himself: a testament of man's ingenuity, strength, wisdom—and arrogance.

The religion of self effort.

But in the Genesis account we see that God had other plans for man.

“But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city." (Genesis 11:5-8)

If you examine most of the world's religions, belief systems and philosophies, they all have one thing in common—man's efforts to elevate himself.

Attain nirvana. Do good deeds to undo his karma. Climb his way to heaven through works. Make himself righteous. Bring out his own inner godliness. Atone for his own sinfulness.

Some of the cults in the world today even claim to believe in the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. They may even use His name on their churches or statements of faith. But almost all include additional requirements to suffer and/or do good deeds, or some kind of penance to get ones own soul, or that of another person, out of some kind of purgatorial holding place.

Or they falsely claim "what Jesus did on the Cross was not enough—it's only after all we can do that we are saved."

Or other religions claim they cannot know their god personally, certainly not as a loving Father. And that they have no certainty of going to heaven, but can only hope that by doing enough "righteous" acts, (or murderous acts that their religion sees as righteous martyrdom) that they can possibly enter heaven with honor. But none of these can ever be 100% sure.

So exactly what then is different about biblical Christianity?

Plenty.

For starters, it's the only religion where all the good works of man are of absolutely no value in getting you to Heaven. Period. You cannot earn God's favor. You cannot undo your so-called "karma." You cannot attain your own righteous standing before God. You cannot ever be good enough to please God. You cannot do enough good deeds to undo your sins before God. 

The Bible says: 

"There is none righteous, no, not one." (Romans 3:10)

“The law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God.” (Romans 3:19)

"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)

The Bible could not be clearer. None are righteous, not one. The whole world is guilty before God. All have sinned and fall short before God.

Biblical Christianity is also completely different from all other world religions because of one revolutionary and utterly amazing thing—Grace!

Grace is getting what we do not deserve. It's the free gift of God's unmerited favor.

When you choose to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ—His death, burial and resurrection for the purpose of forgiving you, paying the penalty for your sins against God, and saving you from the filth, consequences and corruption of your sins—you are now forever seen as 100% righteous in God's eyes. God has given you the free gift of His own righteousness, through the sacrifice of His Son; Jesus Christ. Your sinful account was wiped completely clean. Your sins have been forgiven, and forgotten, forever. Jesus' own righteousness has been put on your account. Your name has been written in the Lamb's Book of Life. The seal of the Holy Spirit has been placed on you by God as your absolute assurance of eternal salvation in Christ. God has placed you in His own family as His own daughter or son. Everything Jesus has is yours. And you will live forever and ever with God, face-to-face, never to be separated from Him for all eternity. And in Heaven, there will be no sadness, no sorrow, no sickness, no pain, no death, or suffering.

You can't earn God's grace. You can't do enough good things to get salvation. And you can't do enough good things to keep it. 

Some highly religious people asked Jesus:

“What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”

Jesus answered and said to them, 

“This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” (John 6:28-29)

Paul the Apostle wrote:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

The whole world is guilty before God. But salvation by Grace is freely available to the whole world if they will believe in Jesus whom God has sent.

Jesus said:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

Jesus is the Truth—the door, the life, the way to the free gift of eternal salvation—the Grace of God.

Will you believe in and receive Him?

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.