Living in the Last Hour

I am a Christian woman. One might ask, “So, what does that mean?” Well, it depends on who you ask. My daughters tell their friends I know a lot about the Bible. I have a friend who doubts my faith, because I am not a member of any church. Another doubts because I refuse to take a stand on abortion. I lost friends and family because I rejected Trump as savior of Christianity. On the flipside, I had a close friend tell me I was crazy because I told her she needed to trust God as her husband, in all things. She agreed, except in that God could not satisfy all her needs. She was in search of a husband, a godly man, and felt strongly that God would give her the man she desired. So, this meant that she had to try them all on, if you get my drift. She did this for years. She was a devoted church goer, small group member, etc., yet living a life of sexual immorality. If truth be told, many single Christian folk live that life, so I take it with a grain of salt when people boast about their Christian beliefs. I had come to conclusion that I can read the Bible regularly, and still live a life far from God.

Articulating my faith, has never been easy. To some friends it comes so easy, especially those that work in some kind of ministry. My ministry was my family. After thirty some years of calling myself a Christian I realized that people were always looking at how I lived, how I handled stressors, and mostly how I loved. Yes. It took years, but one day I realized that people that had crossed my path were looking at how I loved. That’s important to know, because the world has grown cold. We’ve lost the ability to show compassion. We’ve forgotten that Jesus came because God so loved – the world. Yes. God loved this sinful people.

To me, it doesn’t matter what percentage of the world, or what percentage of Americans believe in God. Because the road to heaven is narrow and wide is the road that leads to destruction.”, and considering the secrets hiding behind the various pulpits, well Scripture seems to speak to that truth. Scripture says, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” When Christians live a secret life of sexual immorality, I don’t think it can be considered persecution. If anything “Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed (James 1:14).” Fellow Christians can choose to believe such headlines are mere fake news, to be propagated by some liberal agenda, but to believe in the Scriptures is to believe that this is a picture of what Jesus said we should expect, and that we should not fear. And such behaviors have always been part of the Christian/human experience, only today the sins of those we put on pedestals become national headlines. The enemy desires to expose the sins of God’s people. And guess what, God exposes the sins of all. He said, “For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.”

My husband shared a couple of articles with me US Southern Baptist churches facing ‘apocalypse’ over sexual abuse scandal; Texas pastor says gay people should be ‘shot in the back of the head’ in shocking sermon. He just shakes his head and I read in disbelief, as I remember the attitudes and behaviors of the Pharisees in the days of Jesus. These things and worse are happening in our churches. The money changers are still in control. That’s the one problem I have with megachurches. They resemble a mini mall with the pastor’s latest NY Bestseller front and center. Unfortunately, this is what attracts people to the church. It’s what the church goer desires. As with everything American, it’s all about the money. When a pastor is prepared to be martyred, who gets the glory?

Romans 3:10-12
As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one.

I believe that boasting in one’s self-righteousness is not of God. There are so many evangelical folks (and political conservatives) in the limelight fighting for all sorts of rights. Some folks believe that these folks can rid the world of evil. That is a big lie. These folks are so entangled in the affairs of the world, they attack those that are not like them as if they were a holy people. These folk remind me of the the two men spoken of in Luke.

Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Luke 18:9-14

The people of God do not wage war as the world does. The nature of man is sinful. Apart from Christ no man will see God. All our righteousness is as filthy rags before a holy God. To believe in God, to believe in His Son, to believe that the Spirit of God can transform a heart and mind, takes faith. To believe this as truth is to realize that the world will call one a flake, delusional, naïve, weak minded, foolish, and other names, but that’s why Jesus said the world would hate anyone who believed in Him. God’s own people hated Jesus. His followers had a difficult time believing that He was the Son of God. God’s people did not see themselves as Jesus did. They did not see themselves in need of a Savior. They knew God and His ways and lived according to His ways. They relied on works. Sure, there are Bible scholars, teachers and such that believe any topic (the Scriptures) to complex for any novice to understand. No one will change their mind. I will trust in the Scriptures and in the Spirit of God that gives understanding to those who seek Him.

Matthew 7:13-14
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

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. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

John 3:16-19

God will hold every man accountable for the deeds done in the flesh. God doesn’t exist because we believe in Him. God exists, because He is. How easy is that to understand?

For everything there is a season. It’s time to speak. More later. Be blessed.