"In His days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely:
and this is His name whereby He shall be called,
"THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS"
(Jeremiah 23:6)
I recently received an e-mail from a friend in which one graphic image
depicted junk food as garbage for the body, side by side with another
image portraying the duplicitous news media as garbage for the mind.
But what about the garbage which infects the human soul?
The proud and arrogant of this world, who seem invincible (for now) against
being held accountable and punished for their evil deeds, are living on borrowed time.
If they continue to choose not to repent, or turn away from evil, and do not surrender
at the foot of the cross while there is still time to do so, they will one day stand
before their Maker at the Great White Throne of Judgment and shall be
declared guilty, or without excuse for the deeds they have done.
(Revelation 20:11-15)
The Bible declares that these unrepentant sinners will be cast into the lake
of fire prepared for Satan and his angels. Often people think this is a terrible
fate for many who believe they are good people at heart, or deserve to go
to heaven because of all the charitable actions they have done in their life.
If this is true, than God would have never sent His only begotten Son
into the world to save us.
It is not always easy to pray for those who are proud and arrogant
or those who purposely hurt others for personal or political gain.
Sometimes, the only prayer I can utter these days is, "Lord have mercy."
I am reminded often that Jesus came into this world not only
to save me from my sins, but to also pardon the people
that we too often misjudge as unredeemable due to some
aberrant lifestyle choices they have made, or perhaps even
hideous crimes they have committed. It is at these times
that I remember the thief hanging on the cross
alongside Jesus at Calvary.
The man was truly sorry for his crimes. He also rebuked the
other criminal hanging on a cross on the other side of the Lord,
asking him, "Do you not even fear God while you are dying?"
The repentant thief then asked Jesus to remember Him.
And Jesus, who could see this man's heart replied,
"This day you shall be with Me in paradise."
Unfortunately, in the sophisticated, high-tech society which defines the
United States of America today, inferior human wisdom has been exalted,
while God's wisdom is either challenged or ignored by many people,
including many professing Christians, who do not believe in
God's eternal judgment for sin. They have instead fallen for satanic
lies which claim, "All good people are going to make it into heaven"
or "There are many paths to God"-apart from Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
No one comes to the Father but through Me."
(John 14:6)
I am a sinner saved by the grace of God provided to me through
my Lord Jesus Christ. The sinless Son of God took my sins and
nailed them to His cross. I can never claim to be good or righteous
due to my own merits. The only way I can proclaim to be good
and righteous and worthy of God's mercy is because of Jesus.
Jehovah T'sidkenu "The Lord Our Righteousness"
(Jeremiah 23:5-6)
I am often reminded of how the times we are living in today reflect the
days of Noah. People laughed and scoffed at him for building the ark-
until the day of the great Flood. Noah and his family found refuge and
safety inside the ark (which represents Jesus Christ/Jehovah T'sidkenu)
while the rest of the unbelieving world perished in the flood waters.
Unlike the self-serving pledges and phony promises we often
hear from our leaders and other prominent members of our society,
God is always faithful in His promises-and always perfect in His timing too.
I believe that God does not want to see anyone perish or die
needlessly in their sins, and therefore He has extended the window
of His grace in these last days. But this said, I also feel the window
is slowly beginning to close with each passing day.
This is why it is imperative for the remnant of true believers in this
nation to separate themselves from the growing and appalling
apostasy which is influencing much of what proclaims to be
Christianity in America today.
We must remember that we are a called-out assembly and will stand
accountable for our actions in these troubling and perilous times.
We must strive to keep contentious political arguments, racially-
insensitive issues of social justice, and other worldly ideas
in opposition to the Word of God, out of the Church.
Our main concern should be, whether from the pulpit or
on the street corner or through other social venues, to
proclaim with love, the soul-renewing salvation message
of the holy Gospel, to the lost and hurting within
our society, while there is still time.
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