A friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Jas 4:4  Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Friendship of the world is enmity with God.

And YET, we are to love one another, so this must be something totally different, yes?

A friend of the world is the enemy of God.

This is TRUTH.

This is such amazing truth that all who would know our Savior should study this, really study this because Satan has presented this world as all there really is, and when we fall for that we are in his deceptive trap.

A friend of the world.

So why shouldn't we be a friend of the world?

Especially when so many are extreme in promoting this world as something we should love- in most respects.

 To tell anyone NOT to be a friend of this world is to risk being thought of as someone who is extremely strange and in truth- loveless. If we aren't loving- as the world loves and as those in the world choose to love -then we are the strange ones. Why shouldn't we love the place we live in? Some will even go as far as to say God made this world and we must love what He made, we must not only be friends with the world but, love the world.  Yet here we are in God's word being told outright NOT to be a friend of the world and if we ARE a friend of the world then we are an ENEMY of God's.  So how do we reconcile the love we are supposed to have for the things of God and being told that even to be a friend of the world is to be God's enemy.

Did Jesus love this world? People tend to answer 'yes' without giving it much thought. Jesus did not love this world, Jesus loved the people in the world.

Jesus wasn't a part of this world and we are not supposed to be a part of this world but we FORGET this!

Joh 17:9  I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
Joh 17:10  And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
Joh 17:11  And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
Joh 17:12  While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
Joh 17:13  And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
Joh 17:14  I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Joh 17:15  I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
Joh 17:16  They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

WE ARE NOT TO BE PART OF THIS WORLD so WHY do we try so hard to be a part of this world, why? WHY?

Why do we let the alienation we feel towards this world and the people that are friends with the world get to us so badly? When we feel out of sorts, when nothing seems to be going quite right, we let it worry us, we get upset. We like when things are going smoothly, calmly, the world and all in it are in harmony with us - at least those in our little part of world. We want to get along with the world because to do otherwise would put us at odds with things and we don't like that feeling. We want to find love from this world, we want to find acceptance from this world, we want to be at peace with this world - so much in life - movies, books, school, families all emphasize this idea. So it's no wonder that when we don't fit in we get upset. The world - the ruler of this world- wants us to strive to be friends with the world rather than enemies and most people are truly caught up in doing just that.

It'd be strange to believe we should actually celebrate our lack of friendship with the world- right? Just writing it sounds strange. Maybe we really should celebrate it though, because in truth, aren't we celebrating our closeness with God, our friendship with God, when we celebrate our lack of friendship with the world?

If we took every instance when we begin to feel that lack of friendship with the world we are living in and praised God how would this alter our perception about life in general?

Would we draw closer to God through this praise? Closer to God and further from the world? Isn't this what we are supposed to - draw closer to God and further from the world and things worldly.

Putting our hope in God- not in this world. Putting our love in God- not in things of this world, this is what we are to do, right? 

So, why are we so determined to be friends with the world?  To fit in this world?  To get along with this world?

The truth- the closer we are to our God the more loving we would naturally become towards others. Not being a friend of the world does NOT mean not being friends with others, it does not mean not loving others. We will love others more the less we love the world and this is God's truth! It sounds contrary but it's not. 

Mat 4:8  Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
Mat 4:9  And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

The Devil rules this world- He even told our Savior He had ownership- so much so that He could offer the kingdoms of the world to Jesus.

Mat 12:32  ... neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

We are told that there is a WORLD to come.

We are not to live for this world but we are to live for the world to come, the world our Savior will usher in after the thousand years of reigning with Him in heaven. This is Biblical, this is factual.

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and REIGNED WITH CHRIST A THOUSAND YEARS.

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and SHALL REIGN WITH HIM A THOUSAND YEARS.

Rev 21:1  And I saw a NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH: FOR THE FIRST HEAVEN AND THE FIRST EARTH WERE PASSED AWAY and there was no more sea.
Rev 21:2  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband

Biblical!

Truth!

If you DO NOT fit in this world, if you feel more at odds with the world than you do a part of it, there is a reason for it and it's not a bad thing, not like those in this world, those who are a part of this world want you to believe it is. They want you to be depressed, they want you to be angry, they want you to feel lonely, feeling a lot of heart ache and they want this because this is Satan's world and he will do anything and everything to bring us to himself, wanting us to die lost in Him, lost in this world.

 We truly cannot be friends with this world we live in, we can't and we have to stop trying.

We must love God and because loving God means loving others, we will love others, but we will NOT love the world and the horrors of this world, or the lusts of this world. We will NOT seek to be friends with the world. We have to check ourselves when we get upset for not fitting in, for not feeling affection for this world. No matter what any person says- we are NOT to be friends with this world unless we want to be enemies of God.

More tomorrow by the grace of our SAVIOR!

All in His love!

Cleansing

Cleansing-

Eze 36:25  Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.

Eze 36:26  A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

Eze 36:27  And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Psa 51:10  Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Psa 19:12  Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.

Psa 51:2  Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

Psa 119:9  Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.

2Co 7:1  Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Eph 5:26  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

Eph 5:27  That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

Jas 4:4  Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

Jas 4:5  Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

Jas 4:6  But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

Jas 4:7  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Jas 4:8  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

Jas 4:9  Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

Jas 4:10  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

1Jn 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Something only needs to be cleaned if it's dirty, right? You don't clean that which is already clean, because that second cleaning is senseless. In this day and age with massive amounts of people have OCD- obsessive compulsive disorder- you do find a lot of people cleaning things that are already cleaned because they have an abnormal fear of the unseen germs, the unseen filth that could be lurking on something that only appears to be clean but in reality isn't clean at all. 

It's true that since we've discovered the invisible culprits in many sicknesses that we don't always know when something is free from that invisible filth. Yet, we know that our God sees even the invisible stains upon us. In fact most of our sin-filth is invisible isn't it? You don't find any medical examiners removing the hearts of dead men and exclaiming how filthy they are. Our internal organs are not generally filthy. They might have diseases that will alter them from their normal healthy state, but to say they are covered in a filth that can be cleansed would be wrong. Our heart filth, our spirit dirt is often very invisible.   I can't point a finger at a person and tell them they have a corrupted heart, or a diseased spirit. We are told that 'by their fruits you'll know them' and this is true to an extent. Our spirit sickness and heart disease that has nothing to do with clogged arteries or defective valves, don't always produce outward signs.

A smiling, corrupted person who seemingly has everything going great with God could be the farthest from Him in truth and because of deception we wouldn't know- but God ALWAYS knows.

Our God knows the extent of our filthiness. Our God will cleanse us in a way we cannot cleanse ourselvs but our God also expects us to fight the good fight of faith as well and not sit back and allow sin corruption to run rampant over us without us ever trying to deflect it. We are given armor, spiritual armor to fight a spiritual war. The war of Satan tempting us to sin, to cover ourselves in spiritual filth, against our God who would have us found clean and pure from all sin in Jesus Christ.

Why give armor if there is NOTHING to fight? Explain that, please.

Just for show? Our God would not put on a show without reason, He does NOTHING without a reason. Would He tell us to deck ourselves in armor and strut around for the fun of it? No, He would not.

We are given spiritual armor to fight a spiritual battle, a very real battle that has us facing the temptations to sin all the time, unceasing barrages of temptations to overcome us, overwhelm us, defeat us. Satan loves when He can get us to stop fighting. Satan loves having us lay down our swords, our shields, taking off our helmets, our breastplate,  removing the protection from our loins, kicking off the boots we need to keep peace. If we can stand before Satan without our armor he has to do very little to wound us, to cover us in His sin filth.

Jas 4:7  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Jas 4:8  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

RESIST.

DRAW NIGH.

CLEANSE YOUR HANDS.

PURIFY YOUR HEARTS.

2Co 7:1  Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

CLEANSE OURSELVES from ALL FILTHINESS.

PERFECTING HOLINESS.

We have our part to play, and it's silly, in fact deadly silly, to believe otherwise. 

We must SUBMIT ourselves to God.  And once we submit ourselves to God we must live as one submitted to God. We cannot submit ourselves to someone and continue to act as if we haven't. That's like a wife submitting to her husband and then going out on dates with other men- has she truly submitted herself to her husband if she's out cheating on him by submitting to others? Can you submit yourself to someone and then turn around and submit yourself to another without betraying the one you first submitted to? No. We must submit ourselves to God and in doing so we live according to HIS WILL, not our own. If we say we've submitted ourselves to God and then go about doing the devil's will, have we truly given ourselves to God? No.  There has to be a conscious choice to live for God not because doing so will earn you anything, but because in living for God we are choosing to allow the SACRIFICE of our Savior mean something to us, in saving us with His sinlessness. We are choosing the way of Christ, who is the WAY the TRUTH the LIFE.

Joh 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

He is the Way, He is the Truth, He is the LIFE.  We are to follow Him and HIS ways, not our own. When we are touched by the Holy Spirit and shown the way that is Christ's and it's contrary to the way we are going we MUST choose Christ's way.

Satan is around every corner ready to throw his filth at us and tempt us to go his way, to believe his lies, to be lead down the path of permanent death.

We have been given the armor of God and while it's not a physical armor we can put on, much to the dismay of many because how much more simple would it be to put on the REAL PHYSICAL armor of God and declare we are His. This armor is the HELMET of  CHRIST'S SALVATION, the BREASTPLATE of CHRIST'S RIGHTEOUSNESS, LOINS GIRDED in CHRIST'S TRUTH, FEET shod in CHRIST'S GOSPEL OF PEACE, holding a SHIELD of CHRIST'S FAITH, wielding a SWORD of CHRIST'S WORD.

Salvation

Righteousness

Truth

Gospel of Peace

Faith

Word of God

This is our ARMOR!

This is what we MUST put on as we go about living day by day in a world where Satan is slinging his evil darts every which way.

We will be permanently cleansed by our God, our hearts will be made new by Him in a way that is impossible for us to achieve on our own. Only Christ's blood can make us whiter than snow, this is the ultimate cleansing miracle.

May our stony hearts become hearts of flesh, may His Spirit keep us in His way doing His will always!

Ungodly Sinners

Jud 1:14  And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
Jud 1:15  To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
Jud 1:16  These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.


The ungodly aren't always aware of their ungodliness. It's true. You'd think you'd know, right? Like some bright lighted sign flashing inside your brain announcing the path you're on is the path to destruction, that you're on the road of the ungodly. The thing is, people choose to live in darkness and when that choice is made there is not bright lighted sign going to flash.

A choice, we make hundreds, thousands of choices - in fact we make choices every single day and yet because we aren't given a clipboard and told to check which choice we don't really believe we are making choices. We are not automatons, we are not programmed to run only one certain way. We are living, breathing, thinking beings that are given this amazing power of choice.

I bet you could tell me right now of at least one bad choice you've made in your lifetime. Those bad choices tend to stand out a little bit.

Yet for all the thousands and thousands of choices we make how often do we make them with any real contemplation?  What will I get for breakfast- mmm- pancakes or cereal. Cereal. Choice made- not really much thought put into it, no sit down and let's contemplate this for a moment.  Not all choices really need tons of contemplation, right? But some should have more than others.

The fact that we can CHOOSE darkness over light should be a choice we contemplate long and hard. Because when we choose that darkness we are essentially choosing to cut ourselves off from eternal life. We are choosing to place ourselves somewhere that no bright lights, flashing or otherwise, will penetrate.

You might doubt this by an experience of your own where you were in a very dark place and the bright light of hope brought you up out of that darkness, and that's okay, doubt away, but while you're doubting get down on your knees and praise God for that amazing truly undeserved blessing.

Sometimes when we place ourselves in deliberate darkness from that point on we are unable to see any real truth.  We might even believe we are godly, we might believe we are saved but the truth is something much different. Remember that verse I've probably referenced a hundred times by now-

Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Sinners, ungodly sinners who believe they are living godly.

How much further into the darkness can you get? Blind to your own ungodliness. So consumed by the pitch black surrounding you that you aren't seeing a single flicker of the light of truth. Yet that darkness you've wrapped around yourself you've chosen to call something good, you've lied to yourself and called it truth, and you believe your own lies. You'll be shocked in that day when Christ says to depart from Him that He never knew you.

Yet you won't have to be shocked for long because--

Jud 1:14  ... Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
Jud 1:15  To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
Jud 1:16  These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.

Judgment will be executed upon all.
And all that are ungodly will be convinced of their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed.

No one at all will perish eternally without understanding why, and no one left alive will have any doubt as to the guilt of those that perish. All will comprehend that the deliberate choices they've made have led them to that place of guilt. They might initially be shocked that they are not known by our Lord, but then they'll know why our Savior doesn't know them. They'll be able to look into their own filthy hearts and see the sin stains there that they refused to give over to the Lord for cleansing in His blood. They'll know that their condemnation is just and wholly by their own fault.

Have you ever been 'found out', has the 'jig' ever been 'up' on something you've done? Were you ever caught in a lie without any way out? Fumble and stumble all over the place but in the end you had to admit to your wrong? Embarrassing as all get out, shamed beyond belief, yet there was NO other recourse but to admit to the wrong. Then the punishment for that wrong is given and you know it is a fair punishment. You accept it don't you? You accept the fact you screwed up and must pay for it. Okay, maybe that's the ideal way of things, but in the end all unrepentant sinners will have no choice but to admit to their wrong, they'll know why they are being denied eternal life and it will be a just punishment. Most likely they'll even know deep down at least that they never would have been happy in a sinless world.  No one clinging to sin, no one unrepentant would be happy in the world our God has prepared for them that would be truly His, how could they be?

Jud 1:16  These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.

Murmuers.
Complainers.
Walking after their own lusts.
Mouths speaking great swelling words.
Admiring others for selfish advantage.

Sadly who isn't in this list?

God forgive us, God help us! God SAVE US! Because we most assuredly cannot save ourselves, our filthy, filthy  selves. God alone can preserve us by the righteousness of His Son Jesus Christ. Surrendering ourselves fully, wholly unto Him, to His will.

All by the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ may we be known by Him, found in HIM, ready for HIM, loving Him, loved by Him.

Deliver us from Evil

Jud 1:10  But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.
Jud 1:11  Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
Jud 1:12  These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
Jud 1:13  Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

Speaking evil
Brute beasts
Corrupting themselves
The way of Cain
Ran greedily after the error of Balaam
Perished in the gainsaying of Core
Feeding without fear
Clouds without water
Carried by the wind
Trees with withered fruit, without fruit, dead, plucked up by the roots
Raging waves foaming shame
Wandering stars reserved for the blackness of darkness forever

Evil.

Look around you.

Look around you, don't hide yourself in a protective bubble refusing to see the evil that truly exists.

I'm like a lot of people, I don't like reading or hearing about all the nasty, horrible things going on in the world. Why would I like it? Why would anyone like it? Yet it does exist and our news people today have no problem whatsoever with exploiting every bit of evil they can as often as they can making it very easy for those who want to see just what state our world is in. Some would say, and they'd be right, that what is revealed in the media is only the tip of the huge iceberg of evil that truly exists.

People we'd never suspect are living in evil and when a few of them are caught we are shocked- yes, even today we can be shocked. You wouldn't expect your cousin, your uncle, your mother, your neighbor, your mailman, your grocery cashier, your bank teller, etc of sick, evil, depraved beyond our comprehension. Yet every single person we do read/hear about is the relative of someone, is the person who is known by another and loved by people.

Evil.

We cannot forget the evil exists as much as we'd love to. 

We have to continue to watch- to know what is happening in our world. If we find ourselves becoming desensitized by what we hear and read, we need to pray and pray hard. If we allow our horror, our heartache to  die away then we become accepting of it all and lose our compassion. We must have compassion without compassion we've lost the ability to love others as our God would have us love them. Without compassion we are most likely among those who can turn their heads away from those in need, and as soon as we turn away from those in need our heart is in the process of hardening and when that happens we cannot claim the love of God as ours.  God doesn't want us to harden our hearts! God doesn't want us to stop crying and feeling the pain and heartache of the results of all the evil around us. We have to watch, we have to know, we have to comprehend that evil exists beyond anything we want to imagine and know that Satan is the cause, Satan is the reason, and Satan will be destroyed, completely and utterly destroyed and all His evil will be destroyed with him.

Do we want to be among those who are destroyed? Most will be. But we don't have to be. We are given a choice and depending upon our choice we will have eternal life or eternal death.

Jesus said this when praying to His Father, our Father in Heaven-

Joh 17:15  I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

Keep us from EVIL  heavenly Father! Keep us from EVIL!

And this…

Deliver us from EVIL!

Mat 6:13  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Keep us from EVIL.
Deliver us from EVIL.

Why say this? Why ask for this? Why would our SAVIOR ask our Heavenly FATHER to keep us from evil if it weren't something that would be everywhere and easy for us to succumb to?

Evil is everywhere and we are fools that want to remain blind to the truth if we don't realize that fact.

We need to pray to be delivered from evil.
We need to be kept from evil.

Please LORD, only by YOUR grace, only through YOUR power may we be kept from the evil that surrounds us, that constantly confronts us, that would drag us down and keep us from You. Please SAVE US!

The Lord Rebukes

Jud 1:9  Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

Michael the archangel.

There is only ONE archangel.

1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first

This is another verse  -  'the voice of THE archangel'.

A single archangel, just as there is a single nemesis.

Rev 12:7  And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels

The dragon.

Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Satan, the Devil.

The war between good and evil has its key players- Our Savior and Satan. 

Good vs. Evil.

Michael - the archangel WHEN contending with the devil--  DISPUTED about the body of Moses - and He DIDN'T bring a railing accusation against Satan but said- THE LORD REBUKE THEE.

Rebuking Satan.

Luk 4:41  And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ.

Jesus rebuked the devils inhabiting people- and he SUFFERED THEM NOT TO SPEAK.

Rebukes.

The Lord rebuked the evil devils- the evil angels cast out with Satan and the Lord rebuked Satan himself.

We've been discussing the fact that there is a REAL judgment for us, a REAL punishment for our failing to choose the love of our Father God, the love of our Savior Jesus Christ over self, over evil.  And here we have this verse--

 Jud 1:9  Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.

The LORD rebukes Satan.  Evil doers will have their punishment, Satan will have His as well. Satan the chief of evil, the father of lies, He dares dispute with the Lord Himself and the LORD had NO NEED to engage in  any sort of spirited dispute, no railing accusations were necessary at all. There was NO NEED because the truth stands on it's own. A rebuke was given, nothing more was needed. A rebuke.

We are rebuked. 

By being told, by being warned we are being rebuked aren't we? Seriously, we are being rebuked when we are told that there will be a judgment, that there is GOOD and there is EVIL and we have to CHOOSE! The message could not be clearer, it just couldn't and yet so many never, ever think about this most important of choices.  So many go about their day to day lives without ever thinking about the choices they've made concerning the most important aspects of their lives- eternity.

We are rebuked. We are chastised. We are warned. We are LOVED.

Rev 3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

We, unlike the evil one who decided his fate long, long ago by refusing to repent, do have the choice of repenting of our sins and receiving the pardon of our Savior.

We are loved and out of that love we are rebuked and chastened- we are told we need to surrender to the mercy of our Lord, to rely upon His grace and His mercy, His LOVE.

We must listen!

Our Savior wants us to listen and will have done all He possibly can through the Holy Spirit to reveal His love to us as a very real thing, a living thing, a necessary thing.

All in HIM, always!

Evil will end

Jud 1:7  Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
Jud 1:8  Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.

Sodom and Gomorrha--

Fornicators.
Strange flesh.
Filthy dreamers.
Defiling the flesh.
Despising dominion.
Speaking evil of dignities.

Gen 13:13  But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.

Wicked sinners.

Gen 18:20  And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous

Very grievous sin.

Isa 3:9  The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.

Declaring their sin like Sodom- not hiding it.

Jer 23:14  I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.

Committing adultery.
Walking in lies.
Strengthening evildoers.
Not returning from their wickedness

Eze 16:49  Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

Pride.
Gluttony.
Sloth.
Lack of compassion.

2Pe 2:6  And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly

Living ungodly.

There is a whole list of evils there isn't there? Sodom and Gomorrah was a wicked, wicked place without any doubt. People get all caught up on the sex aspect of Sodom and Gomorrah and neglect all the other evils that go hand in hand with those who choose wickedness over Godliness.

It wasn't just abnormal sexual perversions- it was lies, pride, delighting in evil, despising their position of being a creature and not their own creators, sloth, having no real love for others, helping others with their evil, wanting to live in and promote evil in any way they can. Evil, so incredibly evil that there couldn't be found even TEN people who didn't love evil, not ten people in a city full of people that didn't live for the evil they were intent upon committing.

Evil. Pure evil.

Evil that corrupted completely, leaving no hope at all for any because NONE desired good over evil!

Pure evil on this level is something we can unfortunately understand because we see it all the time these days. The last days are filled with this same evil. As it was in the days of Noah- evil. As it was in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah- evil. As it will be in the last days- evil. FEW will be found faithful.  Few just as in the days of Noah and the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, ONLY A FEW survived!

This world will NOT end until that evil is full and all we have to do is look around us to know that there is an incredible amount of evil. Read the news, watch television, listen to people around you. Where is the love- the TRUE love that runs deep, that is unselfish, that comes from our Savior through the Holy Spirit?  We can all agree that there are a lot of kind, loving people, and a lot of us would love to believe we are among those kind, loving people. But God knows the hearts. God knows all the hearts, He knows the truth of us all.

We have no righteousness that we can claim as our own, none, not a single bit.

God alone is righteous and through the sacrifice of our Savior we are to claim HIS righteousness as ours through FAITH, believing and loving Him, choosing to believe in Him as our Redeemer, our Creator!

You can be as sweet as the sweetest person ever and unless you have faith in God, believing in the truth that He is, that sweetness will not stem from love, true love.  We can fool ourselves all we want, we're very, very good at that and we have a great helper who loves to assist us in pulling the wool over our eyes.

God will punish the wicked and the wicked will include a lot more than just sexual sinners, a lot more than murderers, a lot more than sadistic torturers, a lot more than deceivers, joining them will be liars, the arrogant, the selfish, those who deny God, those who deny Jesus Christ, those who have no faith.

God will NOT spare the unrepentant sinner, He can't, He can't allow any evil into the new world, not the tiniest bit. What we as sinners might label evil isn't always what He would label evil. He knows the deepest depths of our hearts and He alone can clean them, He alone can make them new. He won't allow evil to exist endlessly, there will be an end to ALL evil unlike love which will endure forever- without beginning and without end. 

By His grace may we LOVE Him always, faithfully with the love He gives us to love with. All through His mercy, His longsuffering, through the righteousness of His sacrificed Son, Jesus Christ our Savior.

Please Lord we would be Yours.

Angels in everlasting chains

Jud 1:6  And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

Like some modern day movie- 'Angels in Everlasting Chains.'  The plot - a world of angels under the rulership of their Creator. The angels decide to rebel under the guidance of the greatest of rebellious angels- one of the Creator's anointed gone bad.  As part of their rebellion they undertake the task of seeking to wholly corrupt human kind. Unable to allow such horror to exist as the angels seek to create a whole new kind of being, the Creator must take action.  The action taken is the ultimate binding of these beings in chains that are unbreakable, put into darkness unable to manipulate creation ever again.

Sounds like a possible plot for a rather exciting movie, yes? Only this isn't a movie, it's real life.

You can shake your head all you want but you cannot believe in God without believing in all the rest of it- angels, the devil, fallen angels, it all goes together. If you try to take one piece out of the whole picture you no longer have an entire picture but only bits and pieces and often taking one piece out is enough to make it impossible to figure out what the big picture is supposed to be.  If you choose to delegate these angels that are being talked about here in the book of Jude, to mere fiction, then you are removing a part of the whole puzzle that we've been given so that we may truly comprehend all truth given to us by God through the Holy Spirit.

What's so important about this verse? As the verse before it, we are being asked to recognize that our God is a God that chooses good over evil, truth over lies, and He will judge each one of us based on this criteria of His- and our choice to choose good- Him and all He is- over evil- Satan and all He is.

Too many people don't want to believe they will be facing God in judgment. Too many people have been lulled into a deep sleep by Satan and have been taught to believe that eternal damnation  (a person no longer existing in any shape or form whatsoever- after receiving a punishment just to fit their guilt) isn't real. It's not real this judgment that we must face. As long as we believe this then we have nothing to worry about - it's life as usual- day by day, year by year- living as best you can in this world that exists in which NO one has a hand in creating because it created itself, unless of course you do believe in a Creator and if you do like I said earlier then you HAVE to believe in all the rest of it, you have to believe in this judgment we will face and it will be a judgment that will decide the fate of everyone.

People were destroyed when they chose NOT to belief in the truth of God, but rather embraced evil.  There again you have no choice but to embrace evil if you are not embracing God- because you are either embracing another false god or treating yourself as if you are your own god- neither of which are acceptable. You can't get away with saying you aren't embracing anything at all because ultimately that entails your believing in nothing and if you believe in nothing you are not believing in your Creator, your Redeemer. The vicious cycle it becomes is something that keeps you from the truth.

There will be a judgment.

This is something we need to truly think about because otherwise we will be caught in the snare of Satan who wants us to do anything but think about our coming judgment.

At one point in time the living will all be judged, they have to be, because our Savior will have judged us either worthy or not worthy before He returns.

Rev 22:11  He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
Rev 22:12  And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
Rev 22:13  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

1Th 4:14  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th 4:15  For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

We which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air-- there will be those who have not died and yet have been judged while living because they'll be judged worthy and they will rise and meet the Lord in the air and be with Him forever.

1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1Co 15:53  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
1Co 15:54  So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
2Th 2:9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
2Th 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

Rev 20:12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

There will be a judgment and our lives, the choices we make during our lives will be judged. If you die tonight you will be judged upon the life you've lived until death's sleep overcame you. Did you accept Christ as your Savior and live with Him as Your Redeemer? And as we've already talked about briefly- before our Savior returns the living will be judged in the same manner, judged on their choices. Do we choose truth in our Savior, do we choose His righteousness, His mercy, His grace, His love, His forgiveness? Or do we choose not to believe, not to live as if we serve a living merciful, wonderful, exacting God, a Creator, a Redeemer, Love.  Many will choose not to believe, far too many but it won't be because our God hasn't afforded everyone the opportunity to believe, an opportunity to love.

All in Him, all in His love, we must surrender all to Him our Creator and Redeemer, our Savior, our God. All in His LOVE always.

Always Him, Always His.