We live in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation

We live in the midst of crooked and perverse nation. Yet the majority of people would lay claim to their normalcy. The majority of people would be quick to say that things and people are mostly good- that there are only a few bad apples in the bunch.  The truth is the majority of the people are wrong. We want to believe that people are mostly good, we do. We want this to be the truth for not only our household, our families, our neighbors, our towns, our cities, our states, our countries and our continents.

When we say it's not truth, when we label most people in our world as crooked and perverse we put a target on ourselves. That target is one that will have people asking us who do we think we are to say such things. That target will have us questioning ourselves because we don't want to be among those who think they are in the few, the elect, because we hear a small voice in our conscience saying if we even think we might be among the few, the elect then that's conceit, that's arrogance, that's pride and those things knock you right out of being in the few and elect, right?  It's almost as if we are afraid to believe the truth, we're afraid to call ourselves God's, in truth- sinful and forgiven, truth seekers and repentant, sighing and crying for all the abominations going on around us. We can't be blind to the abominations.  We can't be blind to the truth.  We can't placate our sinning selves by telling ourselves that our sins and the sins of others mean nothing. We cannot believe in God's word and believe that the majority of people are God's. And while we can NEVER judge another person's eternal life, we have to be able to recognize sin. Only in recognizing sin do we know what to seek repentance and forgiveness for. If we refuse to recognize sin for what it is we are in danger of allowing ourselves to be blind to truth, not wanting to see.  We are accountable for every bit of truth we reject.

As we talked about yesterday- the majority of people don't want to believe they have a Creator who demands obedience and is love.  They've perverted love to mean accepting every sin as good, when love in truth is accepting every sinner as good while rejecting sin.  Every sinner has the potential to be forgiven. But nowadays we want to call sin good and it rarely matters what sin it is. We don't want to point out the covetousness, the selfishness, the anger, the lusts surrounding us as sinful. We label them with other names and call them good. It's good to want to have things others have, it spurs you to make your life productive so you can have what others have. It's good to be selfish, you are the only one who will look out for yourself, you need to desire more for yourself than others, no one else is going to. It's good to be angry, you've every right to be discontent over things and reveal that discontent in anger. It's good to have lusts, they give spice to life, they're a part of us, they're natural as breathing.   We tell ourselves all kinds of lies to bury the truth. We live in a world of self-delusion and we do so all the while patting ourselves on the back for our superior intellect and beliefs.  We are too smart to be duped by silly Christianity. We are good people all on our own without any label.  These are the things we believe and hold fast to. We lie and believe our lies to be truth because when we come face to face with the real truth it's appalling to our sinful selves that wish to be saved in our sins.  We don't want to believe sin even exists, it's just easier. We don't want to believe we are accountable to anyone other than ourselves.  We are so wrapped up in our self being the center of all things, that we can't allow ourselves to believe there is a God over us. We refuse to believe there is a standard set by God that we are called to live up to. We refuse to believe a God would let horror in all its many aspects exist at all. 

The truth is- God's love is our only real hope.

Without God and His salvation plan, there is no eternal hope but rather existing briefly, enduring pain in all its forms and enjoying pleasures that are a best temporary.  Life is a struggle- it is enduring. To truly believe that this life is all there is, is an awful way to exist. To believe that we aren't accountable daily for our sins, is to believe a lie.  We are allowed to choose our delusions, Satan has millions of them and is constantly inventing new delusions to suit us individually. The truth isn't welcome to the one who embraces lies.

Do we live in a wicked and perverse nation- that means truthfully the majority of people in that nation are wicked and perverse?

Php 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; 

Php 2:16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.

We live in a wicked and perverse nation.

We live in a world ruled by the wicked and perverse.

And we MUST hold forth the word of life. We must shine as lights in the world. And not become a part of the world and all its lies and deceptions. The world will call us hateful and liars, the world will believe we are the perverse and wicked. And there will be many so called Christians that are perverse and wicked, and this will give some a reason to consider all Christians perverse and wicked.  We must hold fast to our Savior no matter what. We must hold fast to the hope found in Him and Him alone. 

Please Father in heaven, please keep us in YOU! We need Your truth and only Your truth! Help us not to be deceived! Let the Holy Spirit live in us teaching us, praying for us, sustaining us! We would be Yours!

All through our Savior, our Lord, Jesus Christ!

Amen.