"All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe." John 1:3-7
"For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect." Mark 13:22
The notion that any of us who have acknowledged salvation through Jesus Christ would so willfully reject the grace of God for the approval of the world is tragic indeed. But the grace of God is still greater than our sin. My prayer is always that even the vilest sinner would awaken to God’s grace now, and be convicted by the Holy Spirit that they need to seek His forgiveness, repent, and be saved.
The healing of our land is waiting for the people of God to humble themselves. All nature is waiting for those of us who trust in Jesus Christ for salvation to humble ourselves and pray and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways, then our loving Father, who knows us better than we know ourselves and loves us more than we can comprehend, will hear us, and from His throne in Heaven and His throne in our hearts where His Spirit abides, He will forgive us and heal our hearts, heal our loved ones, heal our families, heal our friends and our neighborhoods, heal our cities, heal our states, heal our nation and heal our world!!!
It all begins with me, and it all begins with you. It all begins with us, His Church. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. We are His change agents.
What is wrong with our world?
If we truly want the answer to that question, we need look no further than the mirror in front of us, and cry out as Isaiah the prophet did, saying “woe is me for I am undone, for I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell among a people of unclean lips” [Isaiah 6:5]. In that moment of His confession there came the purifying fire from the altar of God to forgive his sins and purge his lips, and the Word of God to raise him up to be holy, righteous, and empowered to do the will of God and bring His purpose to be realized on the earth.
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV
Isaiah 6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
"Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. 6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." Isaiah 6:5-8
We have the only life-saving message there is for the world. It will not be easy for many to hear because of their sin, but the Holy Spirit will go before us, and indeed He has already gone before us to convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement
“But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. John 16:5
That we are in the last days seems evident. Some would say, we have been in the last days since Jesus ascended to Heaven 40 days after His resurrection. The madness and wickedness of the world then has not changed to this day. Much advancement has been made because of the spread of the Gospel around the world and, in that sense, we are much better off than humankind has ever been. But sin and wickedness have always been with us, just as it is now. The only difference is the presence of the Church as the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit in the world.
In recent times past the Church held a greater place of respect among people in the western world and was more reasonably accepted and its declared truth of God's Word submitted to, even by those who were not believers, at least in this country. From its founding the nation has looked to God, the God of Christians, and Jews, as the standard bearer for decency and moral uprightness found in the Holy Scriptures.
Now, sadly, many who say they are Christians have fallen into the same pattern of rebellion as described by the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah concerning Israel's rebellion against God when they turned from Him to worship the idols of the nations around them, committing abominable practices even allowing the degeneracy of the pagan nations religious practices and gods to be displayed and worshipped in the holy places of God.
Even now the hand of God's grace is extended to welcome anyone who will humbly come to Him and repent of their sins and accept the priceless sacrifice of Jesus's sinless blood for their sin and be saved. That is still our message to all people and the nations, regardless of those who are daily seeking ways to silence us and diminish our influence in the public arenas of education, entertainment, politics, government and now the whole of the economy, seeking ways to restrict those who preach Christ from freely participating in the society as a whole.
It is the light that shines in us that the darkness cannot comprehend. So evermore vigorously the children of darkness are seeking to quench us and that light. But darkness can never comprehend or overwhelm the true light which is God Himself.
And though this world with devils filled, should threaten to undo us.
We will not fear for God has willed His truth to triumph through us.
The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him
His rage we can endure for lo, his dome is sure.
One little word shall fell him!
That Word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them abideth.
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also.
The body they may kill. God's truth abideth still.
HIS KINGDOM IS FOREVER!!!
A Might Fortress Is Our God, by Martin Luther, (verses 3 and 4)
Therefore, let us continue to let our light so shine before men, that they may see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven.
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."Matthew 5:14