“But mark this:
There will be
terrible times
in the last
days.
People will be
lovers of
themselves,
lovers of money,
boastful, proud,
abusive,
disobedient to
their parents,
ungrateful,
unholy,
without
love,
unforgiving,
slanderous,
without
self-control,
brutal, not
lovers of the
good,
treacherous,
rash, conceited,
lovers of
pleasure rather
than lovers of
God—having a
form of
godliness but
denying its
power. Have
nothing to do
with such
people” (2
Timothy 3:1-5
NIV).
This verse seems to reflect the condition of the world today. It’s like
summing up the
daily news or
what is on TV or
what you hear on
the radio. Or
what is going on
in people’s
homes and lives.
It is really sad
though that this
is happening
here in the last
days. You can’t
seem to go
anywhere, even
churches, where
this debauchery
is not
occurring. It is
horrible that we
live in such
times. Yet here
we are—living in
the middle of
the fire, trying
our best to be
clean and
blameless before
the Lord (at
least those
believers who
are truly of the
Lord).
Does the introductory verse above sound like you? Read it again. If it
does then you
are in a world
of hurt with the
Lord. You’re mad
at me for
calling you out?
Good, because
you need to be
awakened to your
shortfalls with
the Lord. If you
proclaim you are
a Christian and
are described
above, you need
to reconsider
your standing
with Jesus.
In church on a recent Sunday, the pastor was talking about fruitfulness.
He asked the
congregation
what they
thought
fruitfulness
meant. Some said
that
fruitfulness
means personal
wealth. What?
Did I hear that
correctly?
Fruitfulness
means getting
personal wealth?
Then another
said, “Having a
good life and
material things
like a nice
house or car.”
What? What is it with these people? These comments came from a people who
have attended
this church for
years and they
spilled out this
junk of what
fruitfulness is.
And they say
they are
Christians?
Unbelievable!
Fruitfulness is
not a good life
or material
things. It is
different from
that as the two
verses below
give examples of
what
fruitfulness is:
“That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful
in every good
work, and
increasing in
the knowledge of
God” (Colossians
1:10 KJV).
“But the fruit
of the Spirit is
love, joy,
peace,
longsuffering,
gentleness,
goodness, faith,
Meekness,
temperance:
against such
there is no law”
(Galatians
5:22-23 KJV).
Then there are those who live wild lives Monday through Saturday night (or
into the early
morning on
Sundays) and
come to church
smelling of
alcohol or look
strung out on
something. They
are lovers of
themselves and
selfishly
partying and
living it up
during the week,
only to come to
church to
“proclaim” their
love for Jesus.
Hypocrites! This
just makes me
upset. I mean
I’m not perfect
in any way and
am a sinner and
make mistakes
like the rest of
us—but I don’t
live my life as
described in 2
Timothy 3:1-5.
Then there are those who are boastful about themselves. They talk about
the things they
have, things
they do, what
good Christians
they are, and
how perfect and
blameless they
are.
But you
know what, I see
them outside of
church and they
are by no means
acting like
Christians. They
party, they
gossip, and they
curse out
people; they
live out parts
of the 2 Timothy
Scripture.
What is this world coming to when professing Christians act this way? It
upsets me and
frustrates me:
Because the
world sees these
people, and
assumes that
this is what
being a
Christian is
like. They think
they can have
all the worldly
pleasures and
still find their
way to heaven
because of the
examples some of
these so-called
Christians
portray.
“To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do
not believe,
nothing is pure.
In fact, both
their minds and
consciences are
corrupted. They claim
to know God, but
by their actions
they deny him.
They are
detestable,
disobedient and
unfit for doing
anything good”
(Titus 1: 15-16
NIV).
These people are corrupted. For some reason I don’t think they are really
saved and walk
with Jesus. As
this verse says,
they say they
know about Jesus
but their
actions don’t
show it. Really,
they are worldly
people
pretending, or
believing by
delusion that
they are
Christians. Just
because you go
to church and
are nice to
people or smile
and shake hands
doesn’t make you
a Christian.
Some may say
they believe in
God and Jesus
and they are
saved, but their
actions and
demeanor outside
of church say
otherwise.
These people are kidding themselves. If they truly accepted Jesus in their
hearts they
would be
different and
act differently.
Jesus doesn’t
say its okay to
go party Friday
night and then
get right with
Him on Sunday at
church, every
week. He doesn’t
tell you to go
make as much
money as you can
or buy all the
material things
you can’t
afford. He just
wants your heart
and when you get
Him in your
heart, you
change. You
become a new
creature.
Pretending to be
with Him, you
are still the
old creature of
the world and
live in and of
the world.
But people are deceived, both in and out of the church. Maybe it’s our
society, maybe
it’s their
misinterpretation
of the Bible,
but I know it is
of Satan. He has
slipped into
these people’s
lives and they
have fallen for
his lies of what
being a
Christian is
really about. He
has them
believing things
like
fruitfulness is
about money and
good lives, and
people believe
it. They think
to have Jesus is
to get a better
life and to have
better things.
That is not what
Jesus is about.
Jesus is about
love and having
love in your
heart. Am I
wrong?
Being a “Christian” while living in the world is the best of both worlds
is probably what
these people
think. They
think they can
have it both
ways: Get the
fun and “good
things” of life
like wealth and
partying, or
living unholy
lives and have
Jesus at the
same time. They
are wrong. You
can’t have your
cake and eat it
too. Living for
Jesus does not
include living
in the world.
It means delving yourself into Jesus and His desires for you and having
Him in your
heart to live
the life He
wants you to.
Jesus doesn’t
want us to
pursue the
worldly things
of this world,
but to be
content and
thankful for
what we have
with a humble
heart and to
follow Him and
to strive for
Him in our walk
in salvation.
“That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the
living God, who
is the Savior of
all people, and
especially of
those who
believe” (1
Timothy 4:10
NIV).
We who love God and follow Jesus do labor and strive to live the way He
wants us to and
to follow Him in
our walk through
this life with
Him. We have the
hope of
eternity, the
hope of
everlasting life
with Jesus. We
believe in His
Word and do our
best to live out
His will for us;
not to do what
we want, but to
do His will for
us. This is what
we strive for
and have hope
and labor for:
Jesus in our
heart and heaven
with Him
forever.
There are those who don’t get this. They may know it and believe it, but
they are not
living it. They
go about their
lives thinking
they have Jesus
when in fact
they have
nothing of the
sort. They are
either ignorant
of that fact or
are deceived by
Satan—that how
they live is
their path to
heaven. I say it
is both. They
are ignorant to
the truth
because Satan
has been able to
deceive them to
believe a
different truth
than the real
truth. Jesus is
the way the
truth and the
life. Some
people are blind
to this and I
feel sorry for
them that they
think they on
the right path,
but they took
the wrong exit
somewhere along
the way.
“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is
light; in him
there is no
darkness at all.
If we claim to
have fellowship
with him and yet
walk in the
darkness, we lie
and do not live
out the truth.
But
if we walk in
the light, as he
is in the light,
we have
fellowship with
one another, and
the blood of
Jesus, his Son,
purifies us from
all sin” (1 John
1: 5-7 NIV).
There are people (including so-called Christians) who walk in darkness and
don’t know it; I
don’t know what
light they think
they are walking
in. They go day
to day living
life thinking
they are in the
light but they
are not. I don’t
have to revisit
the reasons why,
other than they
have been
deceived into
thinking that
the darkness
they live in is
the light, and
the light of God
is something
they only have
to live Sunday
mornings. They
don’t live out
the truth that
Jesus is the
light, and that
is sad to me. It
grieves me to
think of all the
people that will
stand at the
Great White
Throne judgment
and hear that
God doesn’t know
them.
Is there hope for these people, both in and out of the church? Yes, and
that hope is
Jesus.
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man
cometh unto the
Father, but by
me” (John 14:6
KJV).
I think it is easier for new believers to realize this than it is for
those who have
been in the
church for a
long time and
are deceived by
Satan (as shown
by their actions
which contradict
Scripture). They
have probably
never accepted
or lived by the
simple of truth
knowing they
cannot get into
heaven without
true repentance
and salvation in
Jesus.
If people would accept and live by John 14:6 and were truly saved, they
would not be
living out the
actions
described by in
2 Timothy 3:1-5
(as cited at the
beginning of
this article).
They would be
living for
Jesus. Their
actions and
demeanor would
reflect the love
and the guidance
that Jesus has
for us as given
through the Holy
Spirit and in
the Bible. I
believe this to
be true and I am
reminded every
day by this
verse that I am
to live for
Jesus and be a
reflection of
His love for
others to see.
If you are not living a good solid Christian life, now is the time to get
back on track.
We all make
mistakes and we
are all sinners,
but we must
strive to live
out and reflect
the love of
Christ for
ourselves, our
families and
others. Pray for
Jesus to be in
your heart and
your life. Turn
from your old
ways of living
the worldly life
and turn to the
life Jesus wants
for you; freedom
for the evils of
this world and
the ways of the
worldly life in
which we are
stuck in the
middle of.
Is this hard for some people? Yes, it is hard for all of us because we are
surrounded by
the enemy on all
fronts. But with
the armor of
God, we can
overcome this
world and wily
tricks of the
devil. Will we
stumble on our
walk with Jesus?
Yes, but he will
be there to take
our hand, lift
us up, and put
us back on His
path for us as
long as we trust
in Him and live
for Him.
If you’re reading this and are not saved, or want to be saved from eternal
damnation,
please pray to
God in the name
of Jesus for the
forgiveness of
your sins, and
ask Jesus into
your heart. Dust
off that Bible
and delve into
His Word and
pray often,
every day, for
guidance from
the Holy Spirit
and live your
life for Jesus.
If you do this, you will become a new creature in Christ and will be part
of God’s eternal
family in
heaven. You will
change, no
doubt, and will
begin to change
from the inside
out. Your heart
will change and
you will begin
to look at your
life and the
world
differently. You
will want to
turn from your
old ways and
turn to the ways
of the Lord. Are
you scared of
this? Don’t be.
It is a great
adventure and a
decision you
won’t regret.
Having Jesus in
your heart will
give you an
unspeakable joy.
You will have a
better outlook
on life, and
your eternal
destination once
you pass from
this world.
Don’t want Jesus? That is your choice, but you will be missing out on a
life full of joy
and contentment,
and most
important, you
will miss out on
heaven. Make the
right choice;
make the choice
of letting Jesus
into your heart
and let Him rule
your life and
overtake you
with His love
and compassion.
You won’t be
disappointed.
God bless you.
John Lysaught
John_lysaught@yahoo.com