The Truth hurts and I think we all need to face the fact that we had a role in where we are as a society. It is a dark place and I am as guilty as the next person in not fighting for God’s truth, The Truth. So may say even to the point of acting as if we are ashamed of the gospel. Dark days ahead for this world.
Remember, the darker it gets, the brighter and farther our little light shines!
Maranatha, Lord come quickly!
myblessedhope
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Mar 17, 2014
by Terry James
We have, it seems, bred ourselves out of a biblically based, quasi-Christian culture in America and into one more in line with that which so sorely vexed Lot. It is a frightening prospect we now face.
While this is not to cast such dire aspersions upon all of the young within the nation–for I have some among them whom I love with all my heart as honorary grandchildren—the fact nonetheless is in front of us. America is faced with a deteriorating societal soul and this portents absolute disaster if things don’t change for the better. And, there’s only one change that can make the difference: Jesus Christ being brought back into the culture and residing at its center.
Jesus Christ being allowed to be marginalized by the God-haters and God-deniers, and now made a mocking, hated Name in our culture, is not the fault of the youth who are caught up in the tragedy. (And, this is not to excuse their own sins in any way.) It is us with whom the sin rests. The generations preceding the youth of today have decided that seeking and attaining material comforts and appropriating entertainment at the expense of attending to matters of morality have brought this nation to the brink of disaster.
I am aware that many upon whose toes I’m stepping will be angered by my thoughts–prayerfully considered though they are. The truth must be confronted, however.
Many–I would conjecture the majority—within Christianity today are part of this massive failure of nurturing our youth. The church, beyond any doubt whatsoever, is where the nurturing should be most pointed. But, the minds and spiritual hearts of a great many of those in the pew have been observably on things other than Bible truth and adherence to godly morality over these past couple of decades.
One particular blog piece struck hard at my thought processes this week and sparked this essay. Some of that piece follows.
The author of the blog quotes the writer of a commentary in stating that support for gay marriage is growing at a staggering rate across the nation. The phenomenon has invaded the “red” (southern and mostly Republican) states almost to the degree the movement has dominated the “blue” (mostly Democrat, other states). The quoted article states:
Contrary to what one might expect, today Texans and southerners are evenly divided on the issue of same-sex marriage. Forty-eight percent of Texans favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry legally, compared to 49 percent who oppose. Support for same-sex marriage among Texans has doubled during the last 10 years, up from 24 percent a decade ago according to a 2003 poll from Pew Research Center. And despite Texans’ pride in being “like a whole other country,” Texas is no outlier among southern states. In the South overall, support for same-sex marriage has similarly risen from 22 percent in 2003 to 48 percent in 2013. (Robert Jones, “The South’s Stunning Embrace of Gay Marriage,” The Atlantic, Prophecy Blog, March 11, 2014, Denny Burk, http://www.dennyburk.com.)
The writer of the article in The Atlantic goes on to express his profound conclusion.
The Millennial Revolution How do you explain that revolution of public opinion in just ten short years? The data show that the primary factor is not regional but generational. The Millennial generation and younger simply do not believe what their parents and grandparents have believed about the definition of marriage. Ten years ago, these young people were not a part of public opinion polls. Now they are, and they are beginning to outnumber their more conservative forebears. In another ten years (perhaps before), the revolution will be total. Those of us who hold to a traditional view of marriage (and of sexual morality in general) will be in a decided minority from sea to shining sea. (Ibid.)
The author says the South will soon find itself no longer a cultural Zion in the midst of Babylon. Christians will have to, he says, begin developing a vision of how to “be a genuine counter-culture moving forward.” Sort of an underground church, I presume.
We are, however, approaching the wrap-up of this Age of Grace–this according to the flood of prophetic signals coming at this generation from every angle. I am of the firm opinion that there is no time remaining on God’s prophetic timeline for the re-energizing and re-building of an underground church in America in order to produce a new birth of religious liberty as in the time of ancient Rome or like in times of our founding fathers. We now face a bitter, brutal era of anti-Christian hatred that will, if allowed, suffocate the life from the gospel message we were commanded to spread.
This, of course, will never be allowed to happen. We have it on the Word of the Creator of all that is–the Lord Jesus Christ: “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).
The last rays of twilight might be gleaming over America, in terms of Christian freedoms. This means, beyond any doubt, that the light from the Son of God Himselfis about to burst forth to blind the whole world to what has happened as He brings His church home! (Read Titus 2:13; Revelation 3:10; John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians15: 51-55; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.)
–Terry
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Click on the article title for a link to full original referenced article.
In Romans 10 Paul lays out how salvation is open to all, Jew and Gentile. He writes:
“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” – Romans 10:4-5
What he is saying is now it is not about works or how closely to a “T” you follow the law. But that it is through God’s gift of grace through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. It is really that simple, and yet a hard step for some of us.
“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” – Romans 10:9
Christ is the narrow gate (Matthew 7:13-14), through faith in Him you will be saved. It is the only “works” that God requires for eternal salvation.
It is The Gospel of Jesus Christ. To learn more check out the following link.
