Times Change, People Don’t….

Israel’s sins were named in being called out by Amos the prophet. They unequally treated people based on their social-economic status. They committed sexual immorality (incest). They abused their (perceived) power. They abused their (I’ll-gotten gain) money. They caused good, moral people to sin (making people who don’t touch alcohol, drink it). And they banned truth (silencing the prophets). Does this sound like America today?

This is what the Lord says: “The people of Israel have sinned again and again,and I will not let them go unpunished!They sell honorable people for silverand poor people for a pair of sandals.7 They trample helpless people in the dustand shove the oppressed out of the way.Both father and son sleep with the same woman,corrupting My holy name.8 At their religious festivals,they lounge in clothing their debtors put up as security.In the house of their god,they drink wine bought with unjust fines. 9 “But as My people watched,I destroyed the Amorites,though they were as tall as cedarsand as strong as oaks.I destroyed the fruit on their branchesand dug out their roots.10 It was I who rescued you from Egyptand led you through the desert for forty years,so you could possess the land of the Amorites.11 I chose some of your sons to be prophetsand others to be Nazirites.Can you deny this, My people of Israel?”asks the Lord.12 “But you caused the Nazirites to sin by making them drink wine,and you commanded the prophets, ‘Shut up!’ Amos 2:6-12

Thoughts and Intentions Matter…

If you don’t think your thoughts and intentions matter, think again, they matter to God. If they didn’t, why would He search them out? What we allow into our mind eventually comes out in some form or fashion in our behavior. Let in evil, evil comes out. Let in good, good comes out. Let in good and evil, and you get a deceptive mess that you’ll spend a lifetime trying to figure out. How about taking Paul’s advice (God’s words), be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Rom 12:2). You can overcome, but it takes a collaborative effort, with God doing the thought replacing, and us allowing God to do it. When a negative thought enters your mind, immediately replace it with a godly thought. If that doesn’t work, ask God to replace the thought for you. Our thought life matters to God. It should matter to you too.

Then all the churches will know that I am the One who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve. Revelation 2:23c

Void of Hope….

What people fail to realize about evil behavior is that it has zero hope of ever being made whole. Can you imagine what it would be like, knowing what you’re doing is wrong (dealing with a highly functioning conscience), and not being able to conceptualize the possibility of ever being delivered or forgiven? That’s what sin does to us. It destroys the concept of healing, redemption, and forgiveness. Imagine living life with no hope? The woke culture of our day wants to cancel everything that disagrees with them. The problem with that mentality is it’s promoting a world without the possibility of redemption. This is why suicide is so rampant today. Without hope, the will to live diminishes greatly. God can and will rescue those who cry out to Him with sincere hearts, but you have to seek Him out, and accept His terms of rescue. You can live 40 days without food. 3 days without water. 3 minutes without oxygen. But you can’t live (really live and not just exist) 30 seconds without hope. This is why it’s believer's responsibility to continue to share the gospel with everyone. It grants hope to a world void of the concept. And hope anchors our soul.

12 What are worthless and wicked people like?They are constant liars,13 signaling their deceit with a wink of the eye,a nudge of the foot, or the wiggle of fingers.14 Their perverted hearts plot evil,and they constantly stir up trouble.15 But they will be destroyed suddenly,broken in an instant beyond all hope of healing. Proverbs 6:12-15

Karma….

You hear people talk about karma a lot these days. Karma is a Hindu term from their religion. Karma has been modernized to mean “what goes around, comes around”, or better put, “do good, good comes back to you, do bad, bad comes back to you”. Well, today I’m going to introduce the source of its origin. Karma didn’t come from Hinduism, or any other religion. The concept of karma comes from the Bible. It comes from God Himself. Here it is, in psalm 18. David makes it crystal clear. When you honor God, God honors you. When you dishonor God, He allows your sin to dishonor you. God is good, faithful, honest, and true. When we display His qualities, honor follows. When we violate His qualities, we corrupt ourselves. Karma isn’t a mysterious force that equals things out. It’s just a worldly explanation for God being sovereign. So the next time you hear someone mention the word karma, smile, because you know it’s God being God.

21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord;I have not turned from my God to follow evil.22 I have followed all His regulations;I have never abandoned His decrees.23 I am blameless before God;I have kept myself from sin.24 The Lord rewarded me for doing right.He has seen my innocence. 25 To the faithful You show Yourself faithful;to those with integrity You show integrity.26 To the pure You show Yourself pure,but to the wicked You show Yourself hostile.27 You rescue the humble,but You humiliate the proud. Psalms 18:21-27

Sexual Sin….

Reading through the first few chapters of revelation you come to discover the problems in the church. Sexual sin, tolerance of false teaching, dead faith, and being luke warm. These are all prevalent in today’s churches as well. The one sin that seems to be dominating our culture today is sexual sin. You can’t look at your phone, turn on the tv, or even drive down the highway without being plastered with reminders of it. “Sex sells” people say, but is it healthy? According to scripture, it’s not. Two of the seven churches addressed were reminded of their tolerance for this specific sin. Sexual sin includes a myriad of acts, none of which are more serious than others. They are all equally bad. In society today, sex is the cause of so many problems: suicide rates, domestic violence, mistreatment in the workplace, to name a few. But I think the biggest problem caused by tolerating sexual acts is abortion. The root cause is a sexual one, not a political controversy, as most think. People don’t want to be told what they can and can’t do when it comes to sex. Even if it means killing an innocent child. Sexual immorality includes so much more, but imagine if people treated sex within the realm of God’s plan? Think of how many problems that wouldn’t exist. Sin is sin, but some sins have a greater effect on society than others. Sexual immorality is one of them.

18 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Thyatira. This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes are like flames of fire, whose feet are like polished bronze: 19 “I know all the things you do. I have seen your love, your faith, your service, and your patient endurance. And I can see your constant improvement in all these things.20 “But I have this complaint against you. You are permitting that woman–that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet–to lead My servants astray. She teaches them to commit sexual sin and to eat food offered to idols.21 I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to turn away from her immorality.22 “Therefore, I will throw her on a bed of suffering, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer greatly unless they repent and turn away from her evil deeds.23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am the One who searches out the thoughts and intentions of every person. And I will give to each of you whatever you deserve.24 “But I also have a message for the rest of you in Thyatira who have not followed this false teaching (‘deeper truths,’ as they call them–depths of Satan, actually). I will ask nothing more of you 25 except that you hold tightly to what you have until I come.26 To all who are victorious, who obey Me to the very end, To them I will give authority over all the nations. Revelation 2:18-26

Cold and Insensitive….

I find myself getting more and more fed up with people. I get frustrated when I ask people questions and they don’t give me answers that are one bit true. When people just say things to shut you up, I get irritated easily. I find my love growing colder for people everyday. I know it’s wrong, and I don’t like it. I wish people would just act with some accountability, or have an ounce of integrity. But then I think about it, and the answer comes easily: how can a man act in love or walk with integrity if he doesn’t know the Author of love and integrity. It’s my job to show them what these terms are. It’s my job to speak and demonstrate truth in their lives. Christians need to rise up and start being the light that Jesus talked about. Even the dimmest of light shines brightly in a dark and lost world. Lord, forgive me for allowing my love for people to grow cold. Bind Satan’s ploy to confuse me into seeing people as the enemy. Yes, help me recognize sin, and be responsive and sensitive to it. But keep my eyes on you, and help my love for You and others grow deeper and hotter. Only then will I be able to overcome a cold and insensitive attitude towards people I should be loving.

1 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven gold lampstands: 2 “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars.3 You have patiently suffered for Me without quitting.4 “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love Me or each other as you did at first!5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to Me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.6 But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do.7 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what He is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God. Revelation 2:1-7

Consistent With Its Outcome….

Sin has a way that blinds us. Without a conscientious effort to recognize sin, we become insensitive to it. Once that happens, our spirituality suffers tremendously. We know truth but fear man more than God, and thus fail to act on what we know to be true. Think about it, when you get high on a drug, are you in your right mind? Of course not. So when a man dives into sin, he can count on one thing: he will only hurt himself, with the likelihood of dragging others down with him. And the saddest part is that he won’t realize it until it’s too late. Sin has this effect, it’s consistent with its outcome.

24 If you assist a thief, you only hurt yourself. You are sworn to tell the truth, but you dare not testify. Proverbs 29:24