FROM JUDGMENT TO SALVATION
Amos 8:11
Look, the days are coming—
this is the declaration of the Lord God—when I will send a famine through the land: not a famine of bread or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.
God declares a sifting is coming. I believe that the people throughout the world have been going through that sifting process since Christ rose from the grave, or more precisely since the coming of The Holy Spirit upon the church as seen in Acts 2.
There's good news, the plowman is overcoming the reapers. God has kept his word. In his Son Jesus and through the Holy Spirit he has spared the remnants of his people. He's sifted the lands, all the nations of the world. And that sifting continues even now.
Israel's sifting and eventual restoration has been the focal point of both history and prophecy. (Just an example - Jeremiah 30-33 8. Micah 7:14-20.) Israel became a nation again in 1948. The people gathered together there from all the nations of the world. The Israeli flag flew once again over Jerusalem in 1967. And according to Bible prophecy, the nation of Israel will never be uprooted. The kingdom God has promised them is well on the way to becoming that reality!
All that is well under way...and yet there is nothing new under the sun. The famine of the Word of God is greater than ever before. In the USA today; family, marriage, morals, sexuality, religion, substance abuse, corporate greed, political violations of the people's rights are all under the influence of Satan and his demonic influencers who are extremely excellent advocates for sin. And they've successfully managed to confused the minds and pollute the spirits of most people...and I mean those who claim to be Christian people. They did this by using the famine of the Word. They've removed most of its wisdom from every aspect of the nations character development and education systems. The people are mostly ignorant to what the Bible teaches. And it shows.
I'm watching now the Republican National Convention and following closely all the social media nonsense. I've been drilling down into the unbiblical narratives being used by so many to excuse the platforms of the parties and the progressive movement that is creeping in under the guise of unity and inclusion. And of course I see this for what it is, it's Satan's influencers doing what they do. And unfortunately many who lack wisdom, those who can't see the lurking danger, are distracted by the ripples on the surface. And so the Christian who loves God's word is being told to be silent, and for them who refuse to hush up, they're not going to be tolerated by the influencers. And what I'm learning from all this is that many are "almost Christian", not really informed by God's Word. Mostly they're impacted by their passions. And it's likely this comes about because they've neglected the Word, but also more importantly because they've refused to submit to it. They might have the seed planted, but they don't nurture it, and cultivate it. They don't feed on it. And they won't adhere to it.
This is the state of the nation. It's being sifted still. And the sieve is the Word of God.
So why should we care? What does the Word have to say?
Folks, our future is written and we must know how our story ends. We can look for wiggle room today, but we'll wiggle right off a cliff if we aren't careful. If you're going to call yourself a Christian you need to know what that means. God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Rejecting that truth to make room for the pop culture and all its careless attempts at a spiritual life through pagan principles will not somehow help the overall culture. This ultimately comes down to knowing what God wants for everyone. Not what the Party wants. Not what the influencers on social media want. Not what the signs of the times dictates.
1 Thessalonians 4:3-5
"It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God"
It's about the instructions God gives you through his Holy Spirit. Instructions you're not going to truly know, or believe, if you're not submitting to it.
Yes live a quiet life. Mind your own business. Work and live, being respectful for all the world to see. But don't tolerate being ignorant to what God wills for all the people. Do not reject the teachings of Jesus Christ in order to be respected and loved by the world. You should not accept being uninformed regarding Christ's Words.
What do we believe?
We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus all those, living and dead, who are in him, those who love him and believe in his gospel. He'll come for those who teach and preach his gospel, those who are making disciples in every nation, among EVERY people. He'll come for those who nurture the congregations and feed the people both spiritually and physically. And we know this because we know his Word. We feed on it. And we submit to it.
Chew on that for a while. And don't forget to swallow it.
God bless you all.