Few Find the Way.

2Ti 4:1  I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom

I have a question, if the living (quick) and the dead (not living) will be judged at the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ- who exactly is He judging? 

What do I mean? The living and the dead cover everybody who was ever lived from Adam to the baby born a moment before His return, right?

Let me rephrase the question- how can the Lord Jesus Christ judge the dead if… they… are… not… dead?

What do I mean?

The majority of people believe that death is just another way of living, don't they?

Raise your hand if you've been taught that when you die you are instantly living in the world of those who have died. You've either gone to heaven, or an place of torture, or you've gone to a waiting/working place until you can get to heaven.  In this place you've gone you can still witness all your loved ones till living in the flesh and some believe you can help those still living in the flesh.

Keep your hand raised if you believe in some sort of after death instant life- reincarnation, paradise, etc.

People have sought proof of this instant life after dying, and they say they have the proof from various people who have died and come back to life. Some of these people tell about the wondrous heaven they've encountered. Some talk about walking to a light. Some say they've seen themselves dead as they left their bodies and all this proves that they'll live again as soon as they die.

Let me ask my original question again in light of all we've just talked about.

Let me rephrase the question- how can the Lord Jesus Christ judge the dead if… they… are… not… dead?

If we are either only living in the flesh or living in the non-flesh form we're given immediately upon dying, then we are all alive in one form or another, aren't we?

And if we are told the Lord Jesus Christ will raise the dead upon His return, isn't that odd? What is He raising them from if they are all already raised? Seriously, what is He raising up?

And how could David still be among us in his grave having never received his reward, if he was brought into a new form of life right after he died?

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

Act 2:25  For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: 

Act 2:26  Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: 

Act 2:27  Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 

Act 2:28  Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. 

Act 2:29  Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. 

Act 2:30  Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; 

Act 2:31  He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. 

Act 2:32  This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. 

Act 2:33  Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. 

Act 2:34  For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, 

Act 2:35  Until I make thy foes thy footstool. 

Abel all the way down to Samuel, David, the prophets… have NOT received the promise.

Heb 11:39  And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 

Heb 11:40  God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect

They- all those who died in Christ- would not be made perfect without all those who haven't died in Christ, but are Christ's.

Why does it all matter?

I was recently told that believing you go right to heaven upon death isn't such a big deal.

No, it isn't such a big deal if you want to believe that Jesus Christ died for no reason.

Seriously. Why would Jesus have had to come to earth in the flesh and suffer if people just automatically go on to live upon death already? If a system was already set up for people to live in heaven, why die?  Where is the significance of death if you just live? Where is the significance in Jesus dying if it only means as soon as He died He lived in a new form? We talk about believing that when Jesus died for some reason He didn't instantly live again like others, He stayed in His grave - why, how, if that's not how death works? Why did He tell His disciple Mary not to touch Him until He'd ascended to the Father? That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever if Jesus died and instantly took on His new form and went to heaven, instantly meeting God. That's not what happened though, He didn't go instantly in a new form like most believe everyone does, to a new spirit life. 

And why, please tell me why, Jesus would bring a person back to life from death if they've suffered through the worst of life-dying- and entered their new and much better life?

IT MAKES NO SENSE and IT DOES MATTER A LOT because, if we believe a lie we are DECEIVED.  If we choose deception over truth whose side are we really on?

Ignorance of the truth is one thing, coming face to face with the truth and turning from it is another.

Everything makes perfect sense if the dead truly are just that- dead (not living). If the breath of life given to them returns to God, and they sleep in the dust of the earth until Christ returns to raise them to life out of that dust, is makes perfect sense. Christ raising from the grave is so much more a miracle when we realize the dead aren't raised from the grave automatically, but only by a special dispensation. That is why it is remarkable when we read about the very few who have been raised from the dead.  That is why a body couldn't be found for Enoch, Elijah… Jesus, because they'd been raised from the dead- their entire body raised and then transformed, or simply taken while still alive. That is why so many remarkable men and women of God have not received that promise yet, they are still in the dust of the earth- or else we would read about how they have received their promised reward.

It's important, it really is, because Satan used it as his first lie to deceive Eve.

Gen 3:2  And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 

Gen 3:3  But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 

Gen 3:4  And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die

What would it matter if she died if it meant a better life for her?

Why was death something to fear, if it means a better life?

Death is an end to existence and that end is ONLY temporary until our Savior returns and wakes us up-  some to life and some to another death.

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power

Dan 12:1  And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. 

Dan 12:2  And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 

Who exactly are sleeping in the dust of the earth that need waking up, if they are already and have already been awake this whole time- in a new form?

 Are we to allow ourselves to be deceived by the same lie that Satan told Eve which set us on a course of sin, or are we going to believe the truth, and recognize our need of a Savior for our salvation. Are we going to believe that eternal life is to be lived in Christ upon His return for all of His people- living and dead? Are we going to believe the we will receive the promise along with all the others that are Christ's, all of us together, or believe the lies of Satan.  Is our hope in Christ and salvation offered through Him or do we place our hope in Satan's lie and live for the lie he offers?

It matters.  Truth matters.

We must remember this--

Mat 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 

Great signs and wonders will be used to deceive people… and they will be so great that if God didn't intervene through the Holy Spirit- that even the very elect - those who are God's, would be deceived.

When you say you witness a loved one in spirit form - communicating with you - please know that a whole hoard of evil spirits can do many things to perpetuate deception.

2Co_11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

Hold fast to truth, always seek truth! Do not believe in comfortable, soothing lies just because they've been handed down to you, and just because the majority believe the lies.

Mat_7:14  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Mat_7:13  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat

And…

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.

God help us ALL.

All in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, NOW and FOREVER!!!!!!!

May we be truly Yours, Lord, truly Yours!

All glory, power, honor, praise, all thanksgiving unto you LORD, always!

Amen.

Little Evils.

If someone wrongs you, do not wrong them in return.

Be known for your honesty.

Live in peace (if possible) with all people.

Don't seek revenge- the LORD will take care of the need for all vengeance.

If you have an enemy and he's hungry- don't withhold food from him- feed him. If you have an enemy that is thirsty- don't keep water from him- offering him a drink.  By feeding your enemy and giving your enemy something to drink you are revealing the love of God in you and prayerfully your enemy will desire to know how you could be kind to one who is so evil to you, barring that, your kindness will bring out even more evil from them and for that they will have to answer.

Do not let evil overcome you, don't become like your enemy- overcome the evil in the situation with the good that comes from God.

Rom 12:17  Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. 

Rom 12:18  If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. 

Rom 12:19  Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. 

Rom 12:20  Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. 

Rom 12:21  Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. 

I don't know when it begins, the need to hurt others because you've been hurt, but it is at the root of most bullying- not all, but most. I'm not just talking about school yard bullying, I'm talking about adult bullies as well, and there are a lot of them. Often the bully will not use his or her bullying against the one who caused their inner anger, but use that built up anger on others. They are not overcoming the evil with good, but increasing the evil with more evil.

That's what happens when anyone is evil towards us in any way. The subtle slight, the small dig, the humor wrought at your expense and brushed off as just kidding around, no harm done- all of that has a base in evil.

Evil at its core is the worst you can imagine, but evil tendrils from that solid core can stretch out far and thin making themselves into the smallest of hurts, pinpricks of emotional pain.

The tiniest of evils still must be overcome by good.

You don't have to wait around for a substantial evil to be committed against you before you choose to overcome evil with good. All you have to do is hold the door for one who pushed past you only a moment ago giving you a sneer of disdain. To the one who gives you that backhanded compliment- for example- That old shirt looks good on you. Acknowledge silently that yes, you've been slighted but are going to choose to ignore the slight, that is overcoming evil with good. 

So often, too often in fact, people excuse their evilness behind the guise of meaning well, of caring or else they wouldn't have said anything.

Little evils have a way of taking on disguises that the big evils could never pull off. Little evils dressed up in glitter and sunshine surround us and we in turn find it very easy to fill our lives with these pretty little evils.

We need to overcome all the evils in our lives, every single one without any excuse for their cute, harmlessness.

Loving our enemies, includes the loved ones who are enemies in disguise.

Overcome the evil with GOOD, not with more evil.  Payback is left to God not us. No return of evil for evil in anyway is a good thing. No spreading the evil in anyway is a good thing.

May God help us to overcome evil with good in all the ways we possibly can and if we find ourselves wanting to return evil for evil, please Lord, help us repent and seek forgiveness.

Please, Lord, we would be Yours, now and forever!  We believe, help Thou our unbelief! Teach us in the ways we should go. Let the Holy Spirit live in us in all things. You are our HOPE, our everlasting, eternal HOPE. Keep us from evil- Jesus prayed this for us, and we pray for this- deliver us from evil. YOURS is the kingdom, YOURS is the power, YOURS is the glory forever, God, forever!

Amen.

Enemies.

Mat 5:43  Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 

Mat_5:44  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you (Luk_6:27)

Yesterday we talked a little about serving those we love, today let's talk about serving those who hate us.  I couldn't say- loving those we hate- because let's be honest, we are not to hate others. The worst of the worst, the worst we could ever imagine- belongs to God's judgment, not ours. No, I'm not saying we don't lock up in prison or mental health facilities those worst of the worst, I'm saying we do not judge their eternal life.

In the news very recently was an article about a man hugging a woman in a court room, the man was the brother of the one the woman killed, and he was hugging her because he was forgiving her for killing his brother. There was quite the uproar in the media about the judge allowing the hug, and giving the convicted killed her Bible.

Will the hug or the giving of the Bible stopped the woman from serving time in prison for her crime? No.

Loving our enemies, and out of that love we can be called to serve our enemies. People often asked women and men alike, why they stay in what others believe are abusive (mentally, and possibly physically) relationships. Sometimes, not always, but sometimes it is done knowingly by the abused because they truly are loving their enemy. NO, I'm not saying women or men should stay in abusive relationships, I'm saying sometimes people do stay in them because they feel called to love their enemy in that manner- suffering under the abusers hand. And sometimes, NOT always by a long shot, the abuser will alter their ways because of the long suffering of their partner. And yes, sometimes the abused are killed by their abusers, and vice versa.

Jesus tells us to - Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.

Love our enemies- yet we are often filled to overflowing with hatred for them.

Bless them that curse us- yet we are often cursing those cursing us.

Do good to them that hate us- yet we are often plotting our own ways to get revenge against those hating us.

Pray for those who despitefully use us- we often do not pray but rather curse and seek retribution against those using us despitefully.

Pray for those who persecute us- yet we often pray for revenge using the hatred we feel towards those who are persecuting us.

Our natural inclination is revenge, retribution, returning hatred for hatred, cursing for cursing. Some times our knee jerk reaction is to give back the abuse we are given.

I see it all the time on the messages in various groups I belong to on Facebook- there the so called 'Trolls' come out and attack what people are saying with snide, awful remarks and in turn those who don't consider themselves trolls become the revenging defenders of the ones being hurt by the trolls- giving that troll just the same if not more abuse than the troll gave out. Hate for hate, not love for hate. However, to be honest, I have seen plenty of people taking that higher road and ignoring and pitying the trolls.

Loving our enemies.

Who is our enemy?  It isn't like we have clear cut lines drawn such as those found in wars where you know the enemy your fighting against by their nationality. The Americans fought the Germans- our enemy- Germans unless you were German and then your enemy was American. Distinct lines and it was easy to simply classify all soldiers from the opposing country are enemies. 

As we live day to day in a time of peace or rather a place where there is no active war going on, do we still have enemies?

Dictionary definition of enemies - somebody who hates or seeks to harm somebody or something.

Yes, we still have enemies. There are people who hate others based on race and it has nothing to do with the individual but the color of their skin. There are people who hate those who are rich, poor, a different gender, have a different sexual orientation. There are people who hate those who are smart, snobbish, shy, nerdy, fat, ugly and the list goes on. There is a lot of hatred in our world, and there are a lot of enemies.

As a Christian your enemy could be any non-Christian, or other Christians with different beliefs.  An enemy could be a member of your own family, or a friend who decides they no longer want friendship.

Jesus wants us to LOVE those who hate us and seek to harm us. And that love is HIS LOVE.

More on this tomorrow by the GRACE and WILL of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, now and forever!!!!!!!

Serve

Let me ask you a question. When you love someone are you to serve them? Seriously, are you to serve those you love? Maybe you're saying it depends on what you mean by serving them. What I mean is let's suppose the Savior was walking upon earth again (not going to happen - we were told He would return in the same manner He left - all eyes could see as He ascended.) But, let's just suppose Jesus were to knock on your door, enter your house and sit down on your couch. Would you serve Him? Would you desire to know if He needed anything and if you could help Him in any way? Would you want to see to any needs He had? Feed him, get Him fresh clothes, allow Him to use your shower to wash if needed? Would you offer Him a place to sleep if He wanted to nap? I think if you're a Christ follower you'd want to do anything He asked of You, that you would serve Him. Do you think you'd complain under your breath, muttering even if it's just inside your head, that doesn't Jesus know you're busy right now with something and your needs should be taken into consideration before being asked to serve in any fashion?

I'm going to ask again, when you love someone are you to serve them? Seeing to their needs before your own? Not buying into the take care of yourself first before you take care of others or you won't be able to take care of them. Wait, what? Yes, if we neglect our vital needs of living (whatever they may be for your particular existence), we are going to stop being able to serve others. Anyone who starves themselves to the point of sickness and death, just because they can't stop serving others even long enough to put a crumb in their mouths, well that person has taken things a bit too far. It takes seconds to put crumbs in your mouth, seconds to drink some water. Anyone who has ever taken hours to prepare a huge meal for family and then watches as it is consumed in mere minutes, knows how quickly people can eat.  We need to put others first while taking the opportunities when they arise to tend to ourselves. We value ourselves way too much, and way too often. We don't like stepping out of the comfort zones we've surrounded ourselves with all in the name of self-preservation. 

1Ti 6:1  Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed. 

1Ti 6:2  And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren; but rather do them service, because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit. These things teach and exhort.

Servants need to honor their masters-  this is the will of God. Servants need to honor their masters even if they are unbelievers- this is the will of God. Servants should not despise their believing masters because their masters are not choosing to serve them, but serve them because- this is the will of God.

I don't know of any servant/master relationships today. I do know employee/employer though and it's along the same lines as servant/master. I do know that wives and husbands,    children and parents,  younger and elder - all these are relationships and it's the same bottom line for all of them. Serving.

Sometimes the master will serve the servant, but this isn't something we are ever to strive for- being the one served. IF we are the one who needs to be served, we need to be very gracious to those serving us.  We need to serve those serving us with prayer, kindness, gratitude, thankfulness.

Remember this-

Mat_20:27  And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant

Mat_23:11  But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.

Mat_24:46  Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

Joh 13:3  Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; 

Joh 13:4  He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. 

Joh 13:5  After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. 

Joh 13:6  Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? 

Joh 13:7  Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. 

Joh 13:8  Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. 

Joh 13:9  Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. 

Joh 13:12  So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? 

Joh 13:13  Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. 

Joh 13:14  If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. 

Joh 13:15  For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. 

Joh 13:16  Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. 

Joh 13:17  If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. 

We are to serve, ever serve, ever seek to serve.

Php 2:14  Do all things without murmurings and disputings

And we are to serve in love, not begrudgingly. We need to ask for forgiveness, over and over if needed, if we find ourselves murmuring and disputing (even in our thoughts) when we are called to serve another. By the grace of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit we are to stamped down the rising self-server in us, and instead give praise when we are called to serve. God's will be done, always!

Through Jesus Christ our LORD, our SAVIOR, now and forever!

Amen.

Fact Over Fiction

Do you enjoy fiction? What kind of fiction am I talking about? Any kind of fiction. Do you enjoy something that isn't based in reality?  The dictionary tells me that fiction can be- stories about imaginary people and events, an untrue statement made up to deceive, the act of pretending or inventing something, also something assumed to be true whether it is or not.

Every single story that has an imaginary person in it, or an imaginary event is fiction.

The fiction market is huge! Some people live for fiction- they work in the fiction industry, they seek fiction in their leisure time, they find happiness in fiction. There are a lot of people who prefer fiction over reality and is it any wonder? Reality isn't all it's cracked up to be, is it? Reality falls short of producing happiness in a lot of ways because it is so flawed.

If I were to take fiction out of my life that would mean very little television- almost none really because so much of television, even in the so called reality shows are staged for entertainment value. It'd be very boring if there were no conflict to deal with, no element of survival, no rivalry. Most, but not all books would be unreadable- again, a lot of the so called reality based books are even filled with situations more intense than they really were- for entertainment value, for sell ability. I couldn't play any video game because even the realistically based games included exaggerated events. It's almost safe to assume that a lot of our supposed news today is also pumped full of fiction for shock and awe reactions.

Fiction surrounds us and tries to consume us. It warps perception of reality as well. I remember recently stating something about how beautiful and perfect actresses are in movies, and a reply was given that there is a lot of make up involved in things, a lot of air brushing, touch ups and so on. Even supposed beauties will have body doubles for reasons- imperfections abound in a lot of people. I'm not saying by a long shot that there aren't a lot of beautiful people out there, but it warps the perception of reality when the majority of people are not flawless and perfectly shaped. The ideal of what is desired is held up in front of us over and over- for men, women and children alike and when we fall out of that desirable category we know it because it is in our face constantly. So, we make the best of what we have, holding a lot of fiction up for our ideas of reality.

I know there are many who want to believe the Word of God is fiction- a book full of tall tales and good versus evil, made up stories. Once someone said to me that every plague in the time of Moses was based on a real, logical reason not the fiction of supposed miracles brought on by God through Moses. Another said that it's a lie made up, the whole Bible is a huge lie masterminded by people to control other people.  Beliefs of that vein are numerous. It's easy for someone to say a Bible believer is duped, they do it all the time.

The Bible is not fiction.  You can doubt me, it's your right to do so. Bible is fact. The Bible is miraculous in its very existence. There is no other book like the Bible in existence, not one.

What captivated me back in 1982-83 more than anything else, was when I was shown prophecies that had come to pass. One after another of the prophecies- situations predicted hundreds of years, thousands of years before they occurred, actually happened.  What cinched things for when Satan would try to throw in my face that I shouldn't believe- was the fact if so many Biblical prophecies have come to pass without fail…. the REST of the prophecies would come to pass.  We are talking HISTORICAL proof of the validity of Biblical prophecy and still so many choose NOT to believe in FACT, they want fiction.

Jesus said-

Joh_13:19  Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.

Jesus told them BEFORE what would happen, Jesus made a prophecy and then the prophecy came to pass. Why did Jesus do that? So the people would believe Him.

God help us believe, to seek truth, to seek fact over fiction, and not let Satan deceive us by twisting fact into fiction.

All through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, now and forever!!!!!!!

Broken World.

The fictional novel reads as follows- a planet overrun by an evil ruler is found to have a small group of non-evil people who rebel against the evil ruler and after many battles, some won, some lost- the rebel forces subdue the evil world domineering dictator and the good people overcome the bad. The reader cheers as tears of happiness flow down their cheeks- they've been through such a whirlwind of emotional ups and downs as this small group persevered and saved the day. Good overcame, all the evils of the dictator were over and there were many, many evils. The new ruler, one of the small group of fighters, would set up a fair and just society where evil would be frowned upon, not encouraged, evil would be subdued, not allowed to flourish.

Yes, this is the basic premise to a lot of fictional novels and movies. Some of the movies have gone on to be great successes with this as their back bone. When you do away with all the trappings, it boils down to the above description. The details change over and over again, and when a person or persons get the details just right they have a hit on their hands and people fall in love with their story telling.

Good vs. evil.   Even when good wins out over evil in these books and movies, the sequels will reenact the scenario in another way. Evil will have not quite been completely destroyed so it is allowed to come back so the good has another fight on their hands. Always, the evil isn't allowed to vanish, there must be some left even if it is a tiny tube of dna it lives on. Time and again you may think the evil is gone for good, and yes, some books and movies do allow for this, but in the back of the minds of the creators of these stories they know if they want they can resurrect a foe to fight once more.

We also have quite a bit of evil-good out there too- where the bad guy does bad things for good reasons. The gangster is a more conscientious gangster than the one he fights.  I'm not saying there aren't some evil- truly evil wins over good entertainment out there with evil being glorified because there are. I'm saying this though, and I believe it, the MAJORITY of parents will never raise their children with watching glorified evil. Note I said majority, there are always exceptions to the rule.

When fiction meets reality- when the mass murderer takes your family member for a victim- you no longer root for the killer no matter how charismatic they may be. When the collateral damage of a gang fighting another gang is your son or daughter, your mother or father, your sister or brother, you don't find either gang appealing- not even the one with a higher moral code. Strip away the fiction from the narrative and insert reality's evils that are in existence, destroying the lives of person after person, infant, toddler, child and teenager- animals large and small- defenseless against the horrors, and evil is no longer glorified- NOT when it hits home. And YET… the perpetuators of the evils do so because there are followers of evil. They've found a market for the evil, they can benefit from the evil. In fact there is a huge market for evil and there are evils so evil they will never be allowed to be called good, not ever- and yet they continue to exist and flourish because people desire that evil. Every now and again when the news of those evils surface we are appalled, sickened, mortified, and part of us can't even believe such things exist- yet they do.

Reality over fiction is horrific, yet, it exists.

To the person who says evil doesn't exist that it is a creation of society, I say they are ludicrous, they and their belief. I know evil exists, I know it does. I also know that evil will NOT always exist, there will be an end to it.

Reality tells me life was NOT supposed to have evil in it. Reality tells me that we were not meant to suffer.  I think reality tells this to a lot of people because so many are constantly trying to make the world a better place in large and small ways. The push for betterment has never stopped. Even when the push is someone's warped idea of a better society. The pretense is given for making things better, and people want that so they give into the pretense supporting it because of what they think it means. Very few politicians will set up a platform on anything other than making things better- their plan for doing so compels people to follow them. If in the end the plan turns out not to be better, they ultimately try to get a new leader, or they suffer under the weight of dictating regimes we know are alive and well in our world today.

From the internet-

'As of today, there are 50 dictatorships in the world (19 in Sub-Saharan Africa, 12 in the Middle East and North Africa, 8 in Asia-Pacific, 7 in Eurasia, 3 in Americas and 1 in Europe). We define a dictator as the ruler of a land rated “Not Free” by the Freedom House in their annual survey of freedom.

Free-  86 countries

Partly Free- 59 countries

Not Free- 50 countries

Free - 1 territories

Partly Free - 5 territories

Not Free - 8 territories

Total 196 countries 14 territories

From <https://planetrulers.com/current-dictators/>

There are MORE countries NOT completely considered free today than there are Free countries. This means, there are more people ruled by freedom restricting governments, and the free obviously to not approve of them.

Even in our free countries laws of the land exist, laws of government exist that a lot of people would claim restrict true freedom.

We live in a very BROKEN world, everybody in their heart of hearts, deep down in their souls they know it is broken and if something is broken it is NOT as it should be.

I agree with anyone who says that this world will never be good, that it truly isn't fixable. I believe there is ANOTHER world to live for, to hope for, to strive for- and I'm not alone in this, a lot of people also believe this to be true.

I personally HAVE to believe there is another world, another way, another plan simply because I refuse to believe that all there is evil fighting good endlessly. With the reality of suffering of so many innocents with no recompence for them at all through no fault of their own, I can't live with that as a reality. I have to believe good triumphs ultimately, I have to. All the innocents will be rewarded for their innocence stolen, every single one. Not one abused child will have suffered in vain.

I believe in an ancient truth. I believe in ancient prophecies that have come to pass over and over again- and in those ancient prophecies there are unfilled predictions that will come to pass, they have no choice based on all the prophecies that have been fulfilled.  I believe in this truth, I have faith in the unseen, I hope for what these prophecies say will come to pass. My faith isn't baseless by any means. There is a firm foundation, a rock solid immoveable base for my beliefs. The naysayers are blind to the truth of it all, because they choose blindness, and that is their choice- no one can be forced to believe.

Heb_11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Joh_13:19  Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.

Heb_11:13  These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

1Ti_1:1  Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope

Come soon, Lord Jesus, come soon and put an end to all evil forever! Please! Thank you! All glory, praise and honor unto You now and forever!

Are Your Battles Spiritual or Temporal?

'Because this is a sinful world and it is full of sinners and if you did not know, this let me break it down to you - sinners have a tendency to sin. That is what they do. Should I be shocked when a dog barks, a cock crows or a sinner sins? Brothers, these things are about as shocking to me as turning another page on the calendar at sunrise. It's expected.'

'This is where our power comes from. It comes from the spiritual world and the spiritual battle going on behind the scenes of which we are only vaguely aware. This is where so many Christians miss the point. This is a spiritual battle that will only be won with spiritual weapons. The devil is real good at getting us to misdirect our energies into temporal battles. He does this for a reason. He is genuinely afraid (terrified may be a better word) of the effectual prayer of a righteous man (Jam 5:16). He knows that when old man Jones or grandma Smith gets on their knee's and starts praying, the Kingdom of hell starts to shake and shudder under the weight of their supplications.'

Mark Watson

I read the above today from an article written by Mark Watson of Watson's Web https://markswatson.com/ .   I don't agree with everything that Mark Watson writes on his own belief system, etc, but from time to time he writes articles that just hit home.  This time when I read his article - Soiled, Defiled And Rejected (Published on his site Oct. 16th) a few things hit home for me and I'm going to tell you why.

Recently I've been engaged in a very long spiritual battle that began back in May of this year, so five months ago, yes that's a long time to be caught up in a spiritual battle on a very specific thing. Usually I can pray about something troubling me and by the grace of God it is resolved to the point it's not overly bothering me to the obsessive point, I've given it to God and trust that it will be resolved.  This battle has been different though and while I know you may be expecting details, they won't be forthcoming. Some of our spiritual battles are ones that aren't meant for full disclosure in details (at least that's my opinion this moment).  

Back on point here, this troublesome battle has had me in all out spiritual combat. I'm talking weapons drawn, shields up and the fight is on! Time after time when a particularly gruesome, very spiritually bloody skirmish takes place I believe I'm victorious through Christ, but then comes the next bloody fight. This enemy does not give up! No sooner have a few days gone by with the peace that comes from believing things are understood, and acceptance of the situation has been found- then a striking blow blindsides me all over again and the battle is on, another skirmish unfolds. You'd think I wouldn't be blindsided, seriously, you'd think I'd expect the attack, yet don't we get to a point where we trust that things have been resolved, and the issue won't be an issue any longer? SURPRISE! Satan has so many tricks up his sleeve that he will NOT relent, NOT ever! As long as He is able to, Satan will find ways to grind us to the ground, attacking us and trying to wear us down.

When I read Mark's article a few points jumped out at me, not the entire article, but a few points made in that article. I copied those points and pasted them above.

The first bit was about sinners being sinners and we can't expect them not to be.  It's true, so incredibly true. We… there I go including everyone in my issue, let me rephrase that… I get lulled into not expecting sin from people. So when sin occurs on a semi-grand scale it knocks me for a loop. I'm STUPID, seriously, I'm stupid. We can NEVER ever expect anyone not to sin, why? We are all sinners.  Some of us are sinners who seek not to sin, and feel the weight of accountability for our sins, while others don't even recognize their sins as sins because they don't believe they are accountable to God for their sins. A thief steals and knows it is a crime to do so in the society they live in. They comprehend it's criminal but they may feel no guilt for that crime, they may even justify their stealing to themselves. The fact a crime was committed for which they feel no guilt, no sense of wrong doing fills them, leaves them caught up in the criminal act- guilty, whether or not they comprehend their guilt. If you don't feel you're accountable to God then in your mind you are not a sinner, because sin is a transgression of God's law. You may believe you are a bit morally reprehensible, but justify it by believing it is simply your particular human nature. The world is FILLED with unrepentant sinners who quite happily ignore the fact. As long as they believe they aren't sinners, to them they are not. But to those who do believe in God, to those who do believe we are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God, it's a different story. To those who confess their sins and repent of them, to those who strive not to sin, seeking constant help from God, and seeking forgiveness as each known and unknown sin is committed- they know sin is real for EVERYONE.

If I encounter a person who blatantly claims no belief in accountability to God, I have to comprehend that person is a sinner, prone to willful sin, and any sin committed by that person should NOT be a surprise to me, right? And truthfully, even those who claim to be accountable to God and are striving to enter that narrow way, they are ultimately prone to sin as well. I shouldn't be shocked by ANYONE sinning, not a single person. I AM A SINNER TOO!

So the shock factor of ANYONE sinning should not be, it just shouldn't!

Sinners sin.

Some people who do not claim accountability to God, we should expect more sinning from, yes? Is that logical? It probably is logical. When someone we know believes they are accountable to God, sins, we expect them to be filled with remorse and in active repentance- a NOT desiring to continue in sin. From a non-accountable, unbeliever we don't expect that desire for repentance to fill them, they aren't going to have the remorse that someone who recognizes their sin is going to have, or should have. There should be a degree of expectation, so why then are we, or am I, shocked when my degree of expectation should be towards sin occurring, not a keeping from sinning?

Mark's words above about expecting sinners to sin hit home and made me face up to the fact I've been expecting sinners not to sin. The truth is as I mentioned already more than once, we are all sinners, sinning sinners should not shock us and if we expect different we are the ones caught up in a deception that Satan has laid down perfectly just to entrap us at his will.

The second part of what Mark wrote in that article which caught my attention was the reality of the spiritual warfare we are in as Christians. Satan wants our attention on the TEMPORAL stuff because as long as it is there on the temporary to eternity stuff it is NOT on the eternity stuff where it belongs.

Read this again…

'This is where our power comes from. It comes from the spiritual world and the spiritual battle going on behind the scenes of which we are only vaguely aware. This is where so many Christians miss the point. This is a spiritual battle that will only be won with spiritual weapons. The devil is real good at getting us to misdirect our energies into temporal battles. He does this for a reason. He is genuinely afraid (terrified may be a better word) of the effectual prayer of a righteous man (Jam 5:16). He knows that when old man Jones or grandma Smith gets on their knee's and starts praying, the Kingdom of hell starts to shake and shudder under the weight of their supplications.'

'The devil is REAL good at getting us to MISDIRECT our ENERGIES into temporal battles'!

We have to ask ourselves as we fight the good fight, striving to belong to Christ  and be known of Him, whether or not the angst in our lives is being caused by temporal things- things that will NOT matter in eternity. 

My personal spiritual chaos of the last five months or so is first of all- not expecting sinners to sin, secondly focusing on the temporary, focusing on my earthly temporary home, my earthly temporary existence.

Satan would have us all caught up in the here and now in any way he possibly can.

Where is my home supposed to be? Not here.

Where is my home going to be? In heaven.

Jesus said--

Joh_8:23  And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.

Joh_17:16  They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Joh_18:36  Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

Heb_11:13  These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

1Pe_2:11  Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul

Strangers, pilgrims, temporarily homeless- this is us- as followers of Christ.

In all our relationships with - friendships, family, strangers, and enemies- we must comprehend our true place in the grand scheme of things. God first, others after God, self last.

God first- we do nothing we know to be offensive to God. How do we know what is offensive to God. He has given us His Holy Spirit inspired word AND before people jump on the bandwagon labeled Interpretation Is Subjective, He has given us each individually the HOLY SPIRIT to guide us to all truth. God lets us know what is offensive to Him and should we choose to follow the offensive things we are deliberately choosing NOT to put God first in our lives.

God first.

Others second to God.

If we do NOT have God first, then any attempt to put others second will fail. If we put others first before God, we fail them and us.

God FIRST, the spiritual FIRST, the heavenly FIRST. In EVERY and in ALL situations GOD NEEDS TO BE FIRST. 

When God is first, then others will be second, and we will be last.

God first is eternity all else is temporal.

Is it any wonder at all that Satan would have us focused on the temporal things in life?

I'd love to be able to say my spiritual upset and this particular five month long battle is over,  but I know better. I can say, by the grace of God, the Holy Spirit has reinforced my armor and prayerfully this battle will be solely focused upon the spiritual, not the temporal.

May God bless us all and keep us IN HIM first and foremost!

All through His amazing and perfect LOVE.