Keep the Spirit - from the best gift ever- going to prosper

It has become almost a cliche to say that we must remember the reason for the season. As this world focuses so much on getting, it makes sense that we would say giving is more important, to the point where we ignore calls to remember what God gave to us. They are drowned out.

So, instead I want to encourage people to pray - which makes sense because that is the title of this blog - for true change in our hearts.

After all, simply remembering the reason for the season during the season doesn't help us after the season. Nor does it help us do anything about it. Sure, I can ask people what they're most anxious to give or what they enjoyed giving the most. That helps a little. But, truly acting on the reason for the season means being  Christ-like long after the season.

Treating others with compassion

One big thing Christmas shows us is how to care about others. Whether it is volunteering to help the poor or just putting something in a Salvation Army kettle, if it is visiting an elderly neighbor or just sharing gifts with your family, there are many things we do at Christmas because there is a spirit of giving. However, these are things we should be doing all year round  if there is truly a spirit of giving in us.

As one example, standing against bullying is a sign of Christmas cheer. Putting an end to taunting and calling others names is something we can do to help. It also goes along with New Year's resolutions if one does these things. However, we can resolve to do better at any time. Christmas and New Year's just happen around the first of the year so it is a logical transition in people's minds.

This is what repentance is - turning from our own fleshly ways and turning our hearts to God's way. We as human beings often struggle with our fleshly nature.

Oh, some people are naturally more compassionate. Some people are naturally sweet and considerate and caring toward others, though even that has to be taught to some extent. They find it easy to follow those models of empathy and kindness, though.

Our culture likes to talk about a general spirit of Christmas causing this. However, we don't truly have the spirit of Christmas unless we have the Spirit living in us that we can because of Christmas.

That is because if we try on our own we might succeed sometimes but we will be doing it for ourselves or for others, rather than to honor the God who gave us that gift.

Think about it. It makes sense. Even if you think Christmas should be more about getting those presents, you need to be thankful for the present. Because, a person chose to give it to you out of kindness.

We don't earn presents; they wouldn't be presents if we did. They would be wages. A gift is something you don't learn - it is given out of the kindness of one's heart.

Just like the kindness of God's heart that gave us Christmas.

Receive the Best Gift Ever

The gift that keeps on giving. It can be used over and over. It changes your life for the better.

These and more describe what would be the perfect Christmas gift as a worldly thing, it would be something different for each person.

God provided us with one gift, however, which is even better. It is so special we need to not only receive it but tell everyone about it. Because it can be received any time, not just at Christmas. It matches all of those above sayings and then some, as it is the best gift ever.

We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. But, it was while we were still sinners at odds with God that H e chose to come to this world as a baby. Not as a rich King somewhere, not even as a prince in a palace, but as a humble baby in a lowly stable.

We all hear the stories, we love that part of it. But, do you have head knowledge or heart knowledge of Jesus?

A good question to ask others - and yourself - is this. If you were to stand before God and He were to ask "why should I let you into My perfect Heaven," what would you say?

We can only rely on what Jesus did to get us there. You need to have heart knowledge because head knowledge doesn't help. It is like knowing a chair will hold you and standing next to it, claiming all the time that you can sit in it and it will hold you up but never sitting in it.

That faith is as easy as ABC. Admit you are a sinner, that you aren't perfect so don't deserve to be in God's perfect Heaven. Believe that Jesus died on the cross to take the penalty for your sins and rose from the dead. And, Call on him to save you from your sins.

You can pray a simple prayer like this, or lead someone in it. The words are not what saves, what's saves is when you put your whole faith in Jesus to save you. Talk to God and tell Him something like this.

"Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. I know I can't reach your perfect heaven on my own. But I know you died to take the punishment for my sins. And, you rose from the dead. Lord Jesus, I pray trusting you to forgive me and make me new inside and save me from my sins. Lord Jesus, I trust you with all my heart and call on you to come live in me. In Jesus name, amen."

Once you have made that decision, of course, it is a matter of trusting the Lord to help you daily. He will be a constant guide, comforter, helper, friend, and so much more.

That's because it is a relationship with God that is the real gift of Christmas. He wants to guide and direct you through life.

Overcoming obstacles because Jesus knows all about them

We all face so much stress in our lives. We need God's love to get us through. Thankfully, that special gift of God coming to Earth is the key to that.

Remember, this means that Jesus knew what it was like to have homework, to go through the struggles of growing up, to have all sorts of different situations in His life. No, He didn't have video games or other modern things, but Jesus did have different things that could have distracted Him.

That is the key. He had those things in His life. And yet He never sinned. Jesus never had a sinful action, word, or thought. That is how He could be the substitution for our sin.

That also means that He can be our guide when it comes to life's problems. He is the wisdom that we need and with Him living in us through the Holy Spirit, we have access to that. And, if we do sin because of our fleshly nature, He is always there to forgive us.

I work with some inner-city youth. It is very hard for some of them to understand how He can help. One girl in particular has been bullied and realizes it is a spiritual battle to keep from retaliating, but it is hard for her to recognize God's power in her to rejoice and to let God be the strength she needs to get through things. Please pray for her, that she will learn to pray consistently and that she will start to grow in the Lord. She struggles also with pouting when she doesn't get her way, she is working on that but doesn't realize yet just how much power God can give her to overcome that.

There are also a couple boys who struggle with name calling because they don't realize it hurts her even so they talked about how it hurts. Please pray for them to stop bullying also and to behave better in general because they have many problems that have erupted over the last half year or so for some reason. It may be as simple as a spiritual battle but I don't know. Pray for that whole family, please.

 The whole ministry needs prayer in fact, so please pray as the Lord leads you about whatever situations may erupt.

These are the kind of things we need to talk to God about. When we don't, God knows the needs but we act as if we can handle them ourselves.

"Sure, Jesus could handle them when He was a kid," you might say. "But He is God." And, that's true. But when you know Him, He lives in you and you can turn to him for anything. From the biggest to the smallest.

That is what our country needs. For everyone to turn to God for help, because He is an ever-present help in time of need. That's why it's so important to know Him here, not just to be saved from sin but to be guided through this life filled with people who do not know Him.

Sharing his love so others can know

We share Christ's love so others can know Him and have Him living in them. We do it through our words but also our actions, by helping others and being Godly examples. Then, when people see how different we are they will realize there is something to what we say.

In other words, we aren't just saying it, we believe it and show it by living it.

That is showing the spirit of Christmas all year long. That is what this country needs. It is a relationship. It is not religion because religion is all about me and trying to reach up to God. However, none of those work. God had to reach down to our level and we just have to trust and call on Him.

Be part of the solution by dedicating yourself to the Lord. You can share something like this which can be freely printed out and used to lead others, or this where you can talk to volunteers about growing in your faith. you can get little pieces of paper known as tracks from Child evangelism Fellowship or the American tract Society or like the four spiritual laws to give people and use yourself. Posts in this blog cover numerous subjects such as the end of times and avoiding deception, God's justice being better than man's, overcoming obstacles, ending oppression, having victory over things, and much more.

 So, as one of them says, be the role model that many people need. So many need someone to look up to, and while Jesus is the one they should be, they need someone here on Earth to be that example so they can see how it is time.  you may be the only example of Jesus Christ they have ever seen. Don't shirk that responsibility. Many people need someone just like you. People need you to be christ-like and share the gospel.

Don't be distracted: Souls need saved for anything to change

Problems and frustration seem to be everywhere. So many seem angry and ready to tear things down or just overwhelmed and numb.

Whatever you see as the biggest problem today, God has the answer. Imperfect people can't provide perfect solutions like He can, though the devil will try and soon will deceive the world by uniting all against God's perfect love, a time you must prepare for as I show here. I also show how to avoid it (or spread around to help people if it's too late) in this post. Here you can see how to turn to Him, and how turning things over to God will free you.

I know I made that sound very simple. However, you can easily start a Gospel presentation that way.

How to start true change 

It starts with an individual choice. Because let's face it, if you want to go to Florida becasue it's really cold this winter, you have to go the right direction or you'll end up in Alaska, and no road to Alaska will get you to Florida.

 

Many expect protest and rage over a variety of things, but hearts must change through God's love and forgiveness. That means for ourselves first so we can be reconciled to Him, forgiven and saved from sin? The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. We earn spiritual death because of our sin. That is separation from God forever, from His wonderful love and mercy and separation from any goodness or peace. The good things so many truly want.

God promises us that if we receive his free gift by faith, though, we will go to his perfect Heaven someday where there is no pain, no suffering, no sorrow, no sin. And, He'll give His peace to you whenever you turn to Him once you've trusted Jesus personally to save you.

You can make that choice today. Just call on Jesus by faith, believing He died to take the punishment for your sins and rose from the dead.

You can pray a prayer something like this. "Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. I am not perfect and don't deserve your perfect heaven. But I know you died for my sins, you took my punishment for my sins, and you rose from the dead. Lord Jesus, today I call on you to save me, I trust you to forgive me, I ask you to forgive me and come live in me and make me new inside. Lord Jesus, today I believe that you saved me not because of any work I've done, but because of simple faith in calling on you to save me. In Jesus name, amen."

We must choose individually whether to follow God or the devil every day. We can be sure of our Salvation once we are saved, but we lose blessings and rewards when we stray from Him.

God provides a way for us to follow Him which is very simple if we come together as equals before Him. We complicate it so much as people. We also add things that don't need to be there.

Focus on eternal, call on Him to solve here and now

We are easily distracted by things on the outside. But, causes we stand for and  man-made things we love won't last forever. God may or may not want us to support them - it depends on if they line up with the perfect will of our Creator. Some do, but many things people support don't. Also, sometimes there are important causes but we must remember to put God first and let him use us to make things right in  Godly way, not through disruptiveness. Sometimes, like with certain scandals, it is most important to seek the Lord and pray evil be revealed quickly. As hard as it is for some, myself included, t, let go and let God work, it is important to keep giving things over to Him since He handles issues of the heart best and always has a better solution than people can have.

We must look at the heart for God to change things, and give that heart to Jesus, as I have shared when discussing things like the reconciliation needed for Revival.

Jesus loves everybody. He always has. The cross is not political. It is sad that some try to politicize it. But that doesn't mean it is. It only means that people are using it the wrong way - selfishly, not glorifying God.

It's just like if you lift a lawn mower to trim the top of your hedges. That doesn't make it a hedge trimmer, nor is your mower bad.

The true answer to everything is to take it to God who forgives any who come to Him in Repentance becasue He makes them new inside. He can even revive this nation, but it must begin with us.

it must involve talking with each other and coming to an agreement, understanding and not just planning one's own agenda. Imperfect man can't create a perfect system,  so it stands to reason that we all bring different thoughts of what things represent and need to get along.

However, just 'getting along" isn't going to create a perfect world - that won't come till Jesus returns. We still should work as hard as we can to support Godly causes, but followers of God should be known for what they're for - a loving God who forgives sin and makes people new inside and so on - not just what they're against.

Anything else - as much as we may love things like our country - distracts you from the real issue.

Trust God to heal this land - counter-intuitive but logical

I posted numerous times that God's justice is better than man's, and how God will bring peace and justice when He reigns. We need to be careful because, as noted, the Antichrist will come first and try to lure people into his false peace.

 

 God's peace is something you can have now and forever.

It may feel counter-intuitive, because we want to solve things ourselves. However, since we, as imperfect people, can't create something perfect becasue of that heart problem, it makes sense to need to solve that heart problem first, in ourselves and then in others.

God can use us to heal the land, but it must be through cnostructive, not destructive things. If you drop something on your toe, you might soon forget about your headache, but you might also have a broken tow because of it. That might make you forget your headache but it won't heal it. (So, if you wondered if I'd come up with a different analogy for a change, there it is. :-) )

This is why I've posted before about resilience being important, and the importance of teaching it, so we can be constructive in our actions. Of course, rumor has it that some people are siply paid to protest, but I won't get into whether I even believe that.

The important thing is tht it doesn't matter how much we try, how much we clamor for change, true change can only come from heart change, and that can only come because the Holy Spirit is working in hearts. And, the Spirit will only work in hearts when we repent of our sins and turn to God. then, he will hear from heaven and heal this land.

 

 We need people to follow Him and not be distracted by all the mess around them. It's not going to last.

 

What we can take with us if nothing here will last - signs of a healed land

So, if everything here is going to disappear someday anyway, what will those who trust Christ s Saviour take with them?

The rewards they earn for doing Godly things here for Him, and the souls of those they helped.

A healed land would have people helping others - including you, the reader - for God's sake, not angrily acting out for selfish gain in things that won't even last.

It would have everyone working together for good, just as many people seek now anyway.

It would have all of these thigns done for the glory of God because people wouldn't be selfishly thinking only of what they can get out of it, they would not be throwing money at sensual thigns that can only harm relationships.

This nation hasn't been perfect - it has ideals that it hasn't lived up to, but we can take the right kind of action by calling on Jesus to heal us and to change hearts from our own all the way to the White House and everywhere in between.

Rather than taking thigns totally the wrong direction, falling into the hands of the devil, we can and must call on the Lord and turn to Him for salvation and for Godliness to return to this land.

Have peace now and forever

The international day of peace is celebrated September 21st. In fact, the United Nations has declared that this year will be one focused on peace and safety, along with a couple other words. It makes one wonder - with all the other things going on - if God made this to happen becasue He wants our attention. The Bible talks about these specifically in relation to the end of the world. "When they say peace and safety, sudden destruction will come upon them." 1st Thessalonians 5:3

I'm not trying to say when the end will come. I do, however, want to discuss how you can have that perfect peace.

Because, of course, this world has a lot of things that bring fear to people's hearts. All the Hurricanes, earthquakes, and other disasters combined with the increased violence and other problems make many people long for peace.

Here is how to have peace in your life. It's a peace we must share with others so others know how to be free from the burden of fear and sin and shame.

Know the Prince of Peace

Peace comes in a relationship. That can be hard for some people. Sometimes betrayal and bitterness and sadness at things that did not go the way you hoped they would can bring much pain. However, there is hope.

It is not just a hope like the world gives, such as I hope the Indians finally win the World Series. Hey, the Cubs finally did last year so who knows? What's important is that this is more than just a possibility or even a likelihood. The hope that this relationship gives is one where you have a certainty of God's love for you.

Even when things don't go the way you expect them, they will go according to God's perfect plan, which is better than what any of us can hope for. We plan for things thinking we know the perfect solution, but we don't always. We don't know the future, except for what God tells us in general about the world.

That's because we are all sinners. We all say, do, and think things that are not perfect. They hurt ourselves or others or they go against that perfect plan that God has for our lives that will make things so wonderful. Not everything will be pleasant in this world, but that is why the Bible calls it the peace that passes understanding. Philippians 4:7. It is a piece that gives us strength to go on even when things go very badly.

For instance, I know a woman who just had a stillbirth. People may wonder how she gets through it. The answer is she knows Jesus. She really has to rely on him a lot because it is very painful for her. All the world can't give the assurance Jesus can give.

She knows she'll see her little boy again, because she has trusted Jesus Christ, God in flesh, to save her from her sins.

You can do that right now. It's as easy as ABC. Admit you are a sinner and fall short of God's perfection. Believe Jesus Christ, God in flesh, died to take the punishment for your sins and rose from the dead, because you can't get to heaven on your own. And, call on Jesus to save you, choosing to let him forgive you and make you knew inside.

You can pray something like this. "Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. I know I don't deserve your perfect heaven. But I believe you died to take my punishment for my sins and rose from the dead. Lord Jesus, today I calling you with all my heart to save me and make me new inside. I trust you to forgive me and I believe that you have written me in your book of life. Not because of anything I have done but because I have called on you today because this is all because of what you did. In Jesus name, amen."

If you wander from Him of course you will struggle. However, He will always be there working in you lovingly drawing you back to Himself. You can go here to talk to someone about that life forever that begins right now.

Pursue peace with others

I have written several times, like here, about how we must all work together. We are all One race and one people. There have been people who have thought they were superior because of false pride. However, those people are wrong. We are all equal before the cross. And, God made us all equal here too.

The only difference is some of us are Saved Sinners and some of us are still Lost Sinners. Those of us who are saved need to be sharing our love as well as that of Jesus Christ so that those who are lost can be saved. After all, as I said we don't know when the world will end but it could be soon. It has been very recent for a number of people.

See, we need to ask Jesus to help us to love others despite their differences. This can be hard for some. It's easy when you have families who go to the same school and work in the same offices. At least it should be. It's harder when they are from different communities.

We need to work on building common ground. That common ground is that this is a world of sin and we need to be protecting others and helping them.

While it is true that we cannot bring God's Kingdom on our own - the time spoken of in Revelation must come first oh, a horrible time in this world I will mention later - it is also true that we must work to show God's love while we are here. We must not sit back and just wait for others to do things. We should be feeding the hungry and helping the poor and things like that and not relying on government for it, because we can do so much better as God's people helping them to help themselves.

That means getting rid of some of the sin in our own lives. It means getting rid of sensual things and things were we simply consume them for our own lust. It means getting rid of the vulgar language. It means being dedicated to good, clean, wholesome things. There are so many good things and hilarious things that can happen which do not involve vulgarity and meanness and stuff like that.

The world tries to enforce this on its own through things like political correctness. But, again, this is a human creation and therefore imperfect. No imperfect creature can ever create a perfect system. Only God can help us truly be resilient in this world so we can help others to be.

God, on the other hand, has a perfect system where we accept others and where we do work to respect others and not be bullying and treat others with kindness, doing to others what we would have do unto us. the Holy Spirit must be our guide, being filled with the Spirit means being controlled as God leads us to be the people He wants - but that includes standing for the truth of His Word and speaking it in love. This is why the Bible is so important, especially the New Testament. It shows how we should live Godly lives. And, as I mentioned before, the King James version is the one that should be followed. It is from the original Antioch Greek.

This focus on Godly attitudes toward others will eliminate the problems people have caused. It is not the political correctness as much as it is the lack of calm, consider a discussion with each other which has so damaged Society. We must get to the back to the point where we accept and understand each other, talking to understand and not just to respond.

A warning about false peace

If I am not predicting the end of the world, what am I saying?

As I mentioned in the beginning, there is a false peace coming. This is the peace of which I said the Bible warns, when they say peace and safety sudden destruction shall come upon them.

This destruction does not mean the end of the world right away. Of course, as you can see in Revelation, many things will happen eventually that will lead to the Lord needing to return to restore things. When he does, as we see in other passages about the millennial Kingdom as well as Revelation 20, it will be a world of peace that lasts.

The Bible tells of many things that I have warned before, such as the mark of the beast. Nobody can take that Mark and enter God's perfect heaven. Those who do take it will be lied to by the devil into thinking that it will give them some sort of immortality or a connection with the Antichrist that is so pleasing for the moment but will be destructive in the end.

This is the kind of thing God wants us to avoid. He has made a way to avoid it, by knowing Jesus Christ is your personal savior. As mentioned before, if you are reading this after many have disappeared, it may be that there will be a false peace developing that was also prophesized about. It will last three and a half years and will lull many into a false sense of security. This is why it is so important to know God so that he can protect you and guide you away from this.

That false peace we'll begin with some sort of Covenant that is signed or confirmed buy a world leader known as the Antichrist.

There have been many things stated by others and we don't know what is actually going to happen. Will there be some demon coming down claiming to be an alien life form? Will Holograms and artificial intelligence and other things be a major part of the deception which will come? These things we do not know.

We Do know, however, that God will protect us and save us from that terrible Wrath. Because, he is about to come sometime and bring down judgment upon the terrible evil of this world. People who have acted like Monsters doing so many horrific things, but also people who have been so prideful thinking that they can do anything they want without any consequences. Remember, that false Pride is something that I said in the beginning leads to such horrible things as racism and hatred of others and all sorts of things.

People, in their imperfect way, have tried to stamp out those things. They have been unsuccessful because only God can change hearts.

Our own hearts need to change, too, so we'll be reconciled to God and, following Him, to each other. That is the most important thing to remember. It is in our hearts that we have that peace from God. It is in our hearts that God must work to bring that peace, so we can share it with others.

Jesus is near, even if eclipse not a warning, so share the Good News

I've blogged before about whether America would soon be judged. Some feel it already is being judged, of course. The major eclipse on the 21st may not be a sign of doom - but many other things show that we need to return to God, anyway. We must do more, so people know what we're for, not just against, and see God's love in us.

In fact, if you can't do any more, this post should be spread everywhere, in every social media, even if that's all you can do, but there are so many ways to rescue people from evil that we see all around us.

Jesus warns of signs in the Heavens making people very fearful - He doesn't say the signs will *cause* anything, but that the terror will be part of the End Times. We may not have 40 days from the eclipse till judgment as some believe, but we could have only 40 minutes, we don't know when the Lord will return.

How do we prepare?

1. Get Your Heart Right

We must repent, as I've said in various posts, not just what we've done, but what we've failed to do.

Young people can do so much good.You can let the Lord use you even to be the leader of your family, as I wrote in this free blog book and encourage everyone to share.

You are only a single sincere prayer of repentance away from a personal relationship with God who will be that constant guide, comforter, Helper, and friend we all need now, the start of eternal life. 

It is single. Only one time you need to call on Him to save you from your sins, and to make you new inside, then you will be reconciled to him.

It must be sincere. You must truly want Him to save you from the penalty of your sins, which is separation from him forever any horrible place where there is no love or compassion, it is all evil and pain.

And, it must involve repentance. It's as easy as admit, believe, and choose.

Admit you are a sinner, and don't deserve his perfect heaven. Believe Jesus Christ, God in flesh, died to take the punishment for your sins and rose from the dead. And, call on him to save you, choosing to let him forgive you and make you new inside.

You can pray something like this. "Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. I'm not perfect and I don't deserve your perfect Heaven where there is no pain, no suffering. But, I know you died to take the punishment for my sins and rose from the dead. I believe you Lord Jesus are God in flesh and you made a way for me to have that eternal life and peace that passes understanding, with a relationship with you starting now so you can use me to make a difference here. Lord Jesus, I call on you with all my heart to save me and make me new inside. Forgive me Lord, and come work in me so I can be more loving and everything Christ-like. In Jesus name, amen."

You know we can't do it ourselves. This world has too much evil in it. But, we can trust God. You can call and God will answer and move in your situation and community once you know Him. Maybe not exactly the way you want it but according to his perfect plan. And, he is not willing that any should perish but all come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9.

Young people often have hearts more ready to hear of God's love and forgiveness. 

God is personal and wants to help you understand Him. People may have told you different but they have an agenda to control you. They want to make you think like them and feel you're just an animal. However, God gives you freedom to choose Him. We don't do it because we have to. We follow Him and His love and commandments because we want to, out of devotion for what he did for us.

That means letting God the Holy Spirit move in our lives once we have trusted him as Savior. You can go here to learn more but this aloen will help, too.

2. Let the Holy Spirit Move You

Of course, we can't command the Spirit, and we must pray the devil not counterfeit things, as I posted here with a prayer a while back. So, we can't ask God to move ehings for selfish reasons - which connects back to having your heart right above. However, when we step out in faith with our hearts right, the Spirit will lead.  We must beware of the Great Deception, as I posted about a few places.

However, we can trust God the Holy Spirit to work in our lives and in others when we pray and are filled with his guidance and put on the whole armor of God and bear more and more fruit of the Holy Spirit and be filled (controlled by) His Spirit..

God wants to move, but we have quenched the Spirit by ignoring God.  And, we are told we must avoid quenching the Spirit. This quenching is what has caused fires of revival to die, just like throwing water on a fire to quench it.

So, you could say that we have so many problems in this world, with racism growing worse when we are all one (I've posted numerous times, such as this, on how to unite and let God end such evil), with mean people still hurting others, with so many turning away from what is right, because we have quenched the Holy Spirit. We, being the church.

We have refused to be Christ-like. We spend too much time criticizing and complaining and not showing the love that Jesus showed. Yes, we must tell the truth about sin but we must tell it in love, showing that there is a Saviour who can make them new and change them so there "want to," changes, so they desire much better things than they have been chasing after, eternal things, so they want to follow what is right.

We must edify one another  and ensure that we, too, want those better, eternal things so people can't see a difference in us. So we can focus on our home in heaven and not wealth or power or control or this country or anything that will pass away.

The fruit of the spirit, in Galatians chapter 5 verses 22 and 23, show what we should have.

3. Trust the Lord to grow His fruit in you

Love is unconditional love that can only come from the Lord. Family love is very strong but even that is breaking down nowadays. God's unconditional love will give you all that you ever need and fill all the holes in your heart left by people who have disappointed you.

You can find joy and perfect peace in the good things in life, not tear others down. This is why the Bible says to edify one another, we should be building them up so they can know they don't have to turn to the raunchy and mean lifestyle and don't have to follow or heed such awful things.

There cannot be true goodness if we are just animals. And yet, there is good in this world.

There is so much good out there, so many people doing things with altruistic motives that it must be that God created us. He created everything, this world had no sin in it when it was formed.

By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, so that death passed on to all men for that all have sinned. Romans 5:12

God gives us freedom to choose to follow him, as noted before, so that we don't have to do good, we get to do good.

That includes being gentle with others, being slow to anger, not showing the wrath of man because it will never produce the righteousness of God. James 1:20. That is also where meekness comes from. Meekness is power under control, using self control which is temperance, another gift of the Holy Spirit.

That self-control is important because we are also to be long-suffering, that is to be patient. We must not keep jumping at each other's throats, but talk cordially. That friendliness is something that is lost so much nowadays because we have turned away from the Lord and quenched the Spirit.

We must have faith that God can provide. We must turn to Him in faith, because Hebrews 11:6 says He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. He will bring that Revival when His people turn to him and call on Him for help, knowing that we can't do it ourselves.

There are other things, such as Ephesians 4:32. Be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. That is something which comes from the fruit of the Spirit as well, as does thankfulness, grace, mercy, all those other things which God wants to give us freely and where we should not be quenching the Holy Spirit. Only if we stop quenching it can God give us freely.

That means turning away from the idols of this world, things we put ahead of God, and following Him. If we give those things we treasure over to God, He will use that for His glory and could give them back so that we can use them for His glory.

4. Pray without ceasing

We need to not only repent and turn toward the Lord of again but we must pray consistently. I don't know if we have only 40 days, that is what some say but we could have only 40 minutes. We don't know when the Lord will return. We must pray and witness in love and give out Gospel tracts now.

Let us pray now, with a sample prayer like I have done at other times you can read and pray over so that we can turn to the Lord at this time and call on Him to save this land. Remember, of course, that the first prayer He hears is the prayer of Salvation so you must know Him personally and be right with God before turning to Him on behalf of your family, community, and country.

"Dear Lord Jesus, we realize we have quenched the Holy Spirit. We have failed to show the love and kindness and everything else you want us to show, and turned to meanness and tearing others down rather than building them up. We have followed our own ways and not yours.

"Lord, today we turn from our sins, I first repent of all I have done and said and thought wrong and I invite you to change my heart oh Lord and make me new inside.

"Lord Jesus, please come to this community of mine, my home, my family and  friends, my nation,  and revive us, we no longer want to quench the spirit, Lord we want you to flow down with your unending love and change our hearts. Lord, we need you desperately. We know that there is so much wickedness and evil and it will continue to the end, but we also know that you are full of mercy and grace and can still save. Lord, we know that your Holy Spirit still works in this world, the restrainer is still keeping back the full extent of the evil until it is time.

"So, Lord, we pray that you will work wonders first in my heart and then other's hearts, unite us as one people to accept other races especially and not to put one above another. We do not ask for physical healings and all those other things that draw attention to people. We ask for emotional and spiritual healing and change away from idols and toward you; we pray for a revival like none other. Lord, we invite you, we beg you, come to our churches, even if it is just the youth departments because they are not set in their ways yet, with all of the wickedness we have put in this world, but please come to all of us.

"Lord, we especially ask you to bring revival among the young people. May they all turn from the evil and sensualness of this world. May they share their faith and share their testimonies with Incredible boldness. May their kindness and goodness toward others be so much greater than that of the world, so that people can see there is a difference. Oh, may that Christ-like attitude be evident among your people everywhere, young and old. May an attitude of goodness and grace while standing for what is right be apparent in all of us.

"Lord Jesus, change our hearts, move in a mighty way so that true tears of repentance are flowing, so that people will truly want you at the head of their lives and make you that head, change the wicked ways of this nation and turn us toward you. May all of the young people, teenagers and younger, get saved, covered by your blood before your return, for there being led astray by such evil and they're so impressionable now, and may they share their faith and proclaim the gospel and may many souls be saved in whatever time remains. In Jesus name, amen."

Get freedom by turning to God for salvation, strength

I promise not to discuss how much better the world seemed when I was a kid. You've heard - or told - all the stories. (The world changes so fast a grade schooler might tell them to a preschooler. :-)

Rather, I encourage everyone - especially those going to school, who can relieve their stress with God's unconditional love- to be specially bold in the Lord's love, just as I urged youth early in this blog to take back their inner cities, and in this free blogged book to take the lead in families or with friends where there's no spiritual leadership. I've blogged about all the freedom we have in Jesus to help, care for others, be kind without worry, and so on, and how that freedom is so much different than what the world has to offer. You can read these posts at your leisure.

You can claim God's promises and let Him provide you freedom from all of the problems and then declare independence from this world's system of corruption, evil, hatred - Jesus says we are all equal with no distinction between races - and so on. Yes, that system that ignores God is to blame, as several posts here show.

First, claim God's promise of salvation and a relationship with Him

It's hard to find lifelong commitments today. Thankfully, God will give you one. He will give you perfect peace, comfort, strength, and so much more. whenever you turn to Him, because He promises to come live inside you. This relationship will free you. Some call this relationship dangerous, but that's because they don't have your best interests at heart. In fact, only God can have your best interests at heart because He knows all things. Take a baby who wants to put something poisonous in their mouth. Obviously, you say, that child doesn't have their own best interests in mind.

It can be true of adults, too. Just by not following a map, you can end up in a totally different part of the world, or where you don't know the language.

Sin is not following that map God created for our lives - it also offends God, too, of course. Look how lying, for instance, can hurt others, lead to anxiety (what if it's found out?), lead to bigger sins to cover it up, etc.. Sins like racism, cruelty to others, etc. aren't done by everyone the way lying ot selfishness are, but the point is, we've all sinned, we've all acted agaisnt that map God has for us.

There is a penalty of sin, a price Jesus paid when He died on the cross for our sin and rose from the dead. Of course, we have freedom to reject Him, but like with anything else, we must understand the consequences of rejection of His free gift of salvation.

Accepting His free gift of salvation is as easy as ABC. 1. Admit you are a sinner in need of a Saviour, that you can't save yourself becasue your sin separates you from God so you can't get to His perfect heaven on your own; 2. Believe Jesus Christ, God in flesh, died for your sins and rose from the dead to take the punishment for your sins; and, Call on Jesus to save you, Choosing to trust Him completely to forgive you and make you new inside, to change your "want to." You can do that right here reading this blog, as can anyone you share this with.

Rejection of God's free gift of salvation means separate from Him forever in a horrible place that He doesn't want to send anyone. It was created for the devil and his fallen angels. In God's great love, He clearly spells out that He doesn't want anyone to go there and how they can avoid going there.

Because God loves us, He wants us as His followers to share that love and salvation with others You can share it like above, use the Gospel here or in a tract on another page on the site, send them to abundantlife.godlife.com, etc.. But, for it to work, remember they must believe you, so don't be a Pharisee.

I'll share some other ways we can have freedom, and joys through it, in the last segment of this post, but read all of it to help you grow in the Lord once you know Him, or just to understand more.

Drawn to God's love to gain freedom

He wants to draw people to that love so they can have freedom.

This is where those who call a relationship with Jesus dangerous are wrong. They do not have your best interests at heart. They have their own. Sometimes, it is for selfish reasons such as wanting to have control of you. Other times, they don't want to have consequences to their actions, even though there will be no matter what they want. Just like that baby who wants to put poison in his or her mouth. It will hurt them even if they don't want it to.

God tells us in His Word - which we know is fully reliable - how much He loves you. He draws you to His love by giving you that comfort, perfect peace, nurturing, understanding, and so on. However, he alsoshows it by letting you know that sin has consequences and how to let Him take those consequences on Himself. It has consequences even  if someone doesn't want or believe in them.

So, there is freedom from the penalty of sin. There is also freedom from the power of sin.

This is a wonderful promise. It means we can withstand all the evil of this world, though only through the power of the Holy Spirit in each believer. Yes, we are flesh, too, so we will still sin, and we must put our full trust in Jesus to be our strength so we don't.  However, the Word of God is a valuable tool in doing this, because it is the major way the Lord speaks to us. The Spirit teaches us how to apply it to our lives. He will show us how to avoid sin.

This avoiding of sin is needed because sin is what enslaves us. Sin can only be escaped through God's mercy, through what Jesus did for us. This is why the Bible says the truth will set you free - Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. John 14:6.

Indeed, Jesus will one day save is from the very presence of sin. That just shows, though, that all that sin will be somewhere else. A place you want to avoid if you're looking for your own best interest.

It's not just in Heaven we can have that great peace, though.

Life More Abundantly Here, Too

I've posted before about how we can have life more abundantly here on Earth(John 10:10) and indeed that there is a even a verse speaking to those who would love life, 1 Peter 3:10-11.

This can't be done on our own, of course. We can't bring the Kingdom in ourselves, as discussed on shows 115 and 116 here. That's because some aspects are impossible for mankind to create in the Millennium, such as all animals being peaceful or no more war occurring. It's also because in Heaven, nothing will grow old or wear out.

 The way we have life more abundantly here is through the joy the Lord gives each of us when we are clsoe to Him, and the tenderness with which He treats us when we wander , being slow to anger and rich in mercy.

Being strong in the Lord in the Bible is from a Greek verb meaning a continual action from the outside. We need Jesus to work in us to provide that strength, because we can't fight the intense spiritual warfare ourselves.

It may seem rough because this world has so many problems. There is so much injustice. There are so many charities that need support, so many spiritual needs people are trying to fill on a shoestring, especially because inner city ones like this don't get church support.

It's pretty silly to say to imagine something with what I'm doing next: Quoting part of 1 Corinthians 2:9 - "eye has not seen, nor ear heart, nor has entered into the heart of man" the wonders that God has prepared for those who love Him. His mercies are new every morning. He loves to make all things new, and He will create a totally new world one day. Imagine the incredible beauty of colors that are much more dazzling than anything we have ever seen.

 But, we can have joy in other things, too. It's not just in looking forward to what is to come.

Other joys God gives when we receive His freedom

Sharing that message of God's free gift of salvation with othersgives great joy when we know we have a part in God's plan. It's vital to pray first, of course, nd let Him guide us, since as noted He knows what's right in each situation. WHen we mess up, we must admit our wrong right away and confess and forsake it to God, but even that shows growth just like a batter who sees and corrects a flaw in his mechanics so he can improve.

Knowing God will make everything right and end injustice helps so much; our sin nature is such we always make things more of a mess when we try to fix things, as numerous posts here show. We can't hope to re-create the awesomeness which will come.

However, the devil will try to seduce us, which is why I've noted before we also must avoid the great deception which will come on the world. that's SO vital I made this which should be spread everywhere if millions disappear. If you put your trust in God, though, you'll be safe, and just imagine what's in store.

You can have joy in good, wholesome entertainment. You don't have to do evil or mean or raunchy things or even tell such jokes. You're free from having to tear others down; you can work to build them up, as Jesus tells us to do.

 You can enjoy the freedom of knowing whatever life brings - even the frustration and pressure of tests and grades, and all the popularity stuff that is just false pride - it doesn't have to define you.

Instead, you can trust in what God says about you - that you are fearfully and wonderfully made, and that He is a personal God who desires a relationship where he shares with you His unconditional love, no matter who you are, no matter what happened on some day in school.

You can stay away from those bullying sites, for instance that tear you down, and you can lead others away, too, by helping them realize they are special to God and to you. You can be an encouragement, you can be someone for whom other people matter.

There are so many other joys and promises, but just get alone with God and pray each morning that He will use you to impact lives for His honor and glory, to bring them to salvation. (There are many good tracts you can hand out if you don't feel comfortable talking as well, search for them on the Ineternet or ask your local church - oens with itles like the above "God's Simple Plan of Salvation" which was linked, or "Amazing Love," or "Who Can Enter," ones that minister to others and can be ordered in some cases for free. Just be sure you use the King James version if you can, becasue it's fromt he original Antiochan Greek, as mentioned elsewhere in this blog and here.)

Above all, remember to make much of the Lord Jesus, and He'll make much of you. Becasue, He truly wants you to know Him and to be a great force for change in your world, to reach out to the hurting and share that message of His hope and salvation.

Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves for revival to happen

More is happening with the previous post and other warnings, as one can see with this video by JD Farag.There is great deception coming we must avoid, as noted in the previous post, with much danger from our fallen world that will leave us fooled if we're not careful.  Even such facts as that the God of the Bible is not the same as that of Islam are hidden by our sinful world.

The most important wisdom is that God wants a person relationship with you, something that isn't taught elsewhere. It isn't about what you can do, it's about what God already did for you.

All you need is to:

1. Admit you're a sinner and fall short of the Perfection of God, and while your sin separates you from Heaven God created a way for you to get there;

2. Believe thatJjesus Christ, God in flesh, died to take the punishment for your sins and rose fromt he dead; and,

3. Call on Him to forgive you and to save you by Calling on Him, repenting of your sin and trusting Him to make you new inside.

Being wise, then, means knowing what is right and wrong. After all, if you are going the wrong way you wont' get where you're going, right? You want something reliable, right? Here is a good site, by the way, on how we can know the Bible is reliable. (Read below, too, for an answer ken Ham says has help many believers with just a simple verse.)

Jesus told his disciples 2,000 years ago to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. This is important to do even today. How do we do that to survive in this confusing world?

Center wisdom on the God of love, comfort, mercy, etc.

Sometimes people don't notice words. Some see "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" and ignore that word, "beginning." (Some also ignore that the word "fear" means a healthy respect, like when you choose not to put your hand into a fire because you will get burned. You're not scared of it.) That's really dangerous because it can make a person sound like a Pharisee if they act like there is nothing more to know. I wrote a lot here on not being a Pharisee. We can open our minds to so much as long as we remember to keep the Lord's wisdom at the start of what we know - that's why it's the beginning of wisdom.

That ties into salvation - you get saved because you have a healthy respect for the fact you're a sinner in need of a Saviour because you can save yourself through good works, since we have all sinned; nobody is perfect. Once you are saved you can easily live by getting other wisdom as long as you keep that salvation and God's Word, the Bible, in general as your foundation.

Here's an example of other wisdom - germ theory. It was laughed at when it was first proposed because it was unlike what people had known before. However, it didn't contradict the Bible. As a matter of fact, Hebrews 11:3 says that things which are seen were "not made of things which do appear." In other words, they are made of things which don't appear to the eye without help. The Bible sometimes talks of the invisible meaning the spiritual realm, which Chuck Missler notes in a number of places is proven to exist by scientists; there may be as many as 10 dimensions or more. (He is in those links and some in a few of the links above.) However, unseen things can just as easily mean things we can't see with our own eyes, as it does in this case meaning atoms and electrons. (This is likely a verse with a double meaning, physical and spiritual.)

So, after a while science established germ theory. it was not part of science "falsely so called" as Paul warns Timothy of; germ theory is proper science. It doesn't conflict with the Bible. On the other hand, there are many things which do, as just a study of Answers in Genesis can show.

It's important to note that you don't have to be a Creationist to be saved from your sin, of course. That will be discussed later when I talk about sharing God's love and salvation with humility and care for others. For now, I'll just link this very good site if you are interested in the discussion and scientific evidence for Creation, and go back to the idea of centering wisdom on God's Word.

Just like the germ theory example, there are other things the Bible is silent on, but that isn't a problem. Even though the Bible is not a science book, it is still true in everything it says about science - indeed, it warns against science falsely so-called(1 Tim. 6:20), that is things that are called science but are not.

It's like a person who has not studied history for a living can still know George Washington was the first president. There are other things one can learn. One must use the Bible as a guide to the truth of such things, though - just like that non-history student needs to look at the list of American presidents to find others and not at the list of British monarchs. :-)

Wisdom means applying knowledge, too. Now, unless you are a time traveler, you don't need to rely on George Washington being the first president for more than a test answer. However, other wisdom can be used.

Like germ theory, things come up that didn't in the old days. Traffic safety rules, for instance, have a basis in Scripture - put others before yourself - even without laws being passed about them. Something like post-traumatic stress disorder, for instance, is not mentioned but we know that we are to be compassionate toward others and tenderhearted, understanding that some need treated differently as we see in Jude 22-23. (I suppose 1 Samuel 30, where David pursues and enemy and lets those who remained behind to take part of the spoil, could be an instance of those with PTSD,  but I think those are simply people who were not physically capable of fighting. However, this is a good example of where Christians can easily agree to disagree.)

The ones in first Samuel and those mentioned in Jude also are good verses to show how we need to be very kind to others, and Jude demonstrates how with some we must share the gospel as Jesus did with the woman caught in adultery, not condemning but simply loving and understanding she needed saved. That will be covered more in the second part of this post on not being a Pharisee, though.

Back to the person with PTSD, we also have to realize that there are ways to help a person recover from it and to deal with what they are going through that are Biblical and some that are not. This, then comma shows that need to have a Biblical foundation, how following the Lord needs to be the beginning of wisdom so that when you go out and find all the other things that are out there, that you have that foundation that can leave you being a Godly person and faithful follower.

Be harmless as doves

One big aspect of wisdom is knowing how to figure things out. This requires using be praying that God gave you. Not everyone has the same brain. Some, like Ravi Zacharias, have incredibly deep minds. But, you don't have to be someone like him to be able to use Godly wisdom. as noted aboveAny believer can determine how to act even in areas where the Bible is somewhat silent, like post-traumatic stress disorder, which was discussed before, or totally as with the aforementioned Germ Theory, becasue of the power of the Holy Spirit in that believer. We can't do it in our own strength, but God can and will strengthen us when we trust Him to.

Being harmless as doves is one command of Jesus that will greatly help as you interact with others - and, since Jesus is God, He will give power to obey that command. (Yes, the context is that He tells His disciples this then, but there is clearly a spiritual aspect where we must do it today, too.)

One important thing to remember is that we should not be Pharisees. I wrote this post looking at some of the major problems with being a Pharisee and why one should not do that. There are others, too, though.

Pharisees, by definition, are not as harmless as doves. Jesus says they of their father the devil, among other things. They do nothing to draw people to Christ.

In today's world, Pharisees keep people from Jesus by not being kind, understanding, and so on. Of course, we must take a stand against sin, but we must also love the sinner, just like Jesus with the woman caught in adultery in John 8.

How do we do this?

Loving Others to Jesus

While we have to take stands against sin, we don't know peoples' hearts, so we can't even presume they are committing specific sins unless we see them doing it. Even then, the simple ABCs above need to be done in such a way that draw people, not repel them. A dove is a symbol of people, and is a very harmless bird - it doesn't go around attacking others like, say, a blue jay.

In other words, admit you're a sinner, too. We all are. We all fall short of God's perfection. So, it doesn't help to just accuse the person of sin -the Holy Spirit does that well enough anyway. (Yes, john John 16:712 it says the Spirit is even there to convict unbelievers.) They need to know that sin is a problem impacting all of us, ut that there is a remedy so that God doesn't have to keep us out of Heaven, and that in fact He desires a person relationship with each of us.

That relationship is the key. A person who is having a discussion about Creation might be convinced that God created the world, but what good does that do if they don't trust Jesus Christ to save them? It is worthless. However, if they trust Jesus Christ to save them, they have a erlationship with God and they can then pray and read the Bible and have the Spirit convict them, or they can just go to Heaven someday and have a very stunned look ont heir face, as if to say, "Wow, I never realized that."

You can even tell them, "One of us will have an amazed look on our faces, and wouldn't you want to be there to see mine if you're right?" It's just like if you are witnessing and you tell someone, "If I'm wrong, I have lost nothing, I have pleased many by being amoral, upright person who loved and helped others. if you are wrong, you have lost your soul, and it won't matter what you havd in this world. Because, what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul?"

In the same way, you can be friendly and engaging with others while keeping the Gospel the main thing. For instance, that person with PTSD may struggle with ordinary life. Even such thigns as getting out of bed can be a struggle for someone suffering from depression. They may have suffered horribly in a war, or maybe just because of issues growing up. Certain thigns you say may have little meaning to you or even be very positive things but may bring very negative reactions to them.

In cases like that, you need to keep an open mind. Don't make it so open your braisn fall out, as the joke goes, but remember to approach the situation from their perspective. If you hd, for instance, been mistreated growing up by people who claimed to be Christians but weren't, how would you be able to be won to Christ? Isn't it by being told calmly and gently that God isn't like the abusive people they knew, but that God is instead a loving God who never acts out of spite, malice, etc.. Just explaining that anyone can claim to be a Christian can help.

No, the Bible doesn't talk about PTSD or some of the worst things people can have done to them or germ theory or other things, but the Bible does have principles that can govern our lives, like being tenderhearte, acting just like Jesus does throughout the Gospels.

His itneraction with the woman at the well in John 4 is a great example of how He interacted with someone He encountered ina  way that drew her into the conversationa nd got her thinking about spiritual things. And, there are ways you can get others thinking, too.

Answers You Can Use for Everyday Encounters

One example I've used here before concerning people who claim to be Christians is the King of Belgium example. If I say I'm the King of Belgium, whatever I do, good or bad, has no bearing on what the real King of Belgium is like. In the same way, people can't define what Christians are based on their own ideas, it has to come fromt he Bible, jsut in the same way the definition of "King of Bekguim" isn't, "anyone who claims to be King of Belgium is automatically King." it is, "The person who was born into the royal family and succeeded to the throne after the previous King's death."

Of course, some might just complain about the hypocrites in general, but with that, you can say something like this: If you are a dog lover, and you want to hang out with other dog lovers, does the fact not everyone love dogs impact your love if them? No, it shouldn't if you really love them. You might hang around people you think are really goofy, in fact - they say "Here is a picture of my dog" and you look and nothing is there, or they pull a leash around with a hamster cage attached and pretend it's really their dog. You would still love your dog the same, though. In fact, these crazy people should inspire you, if you hang around them enough, to say, "Hey, don't just talk about dogs, get one, they're so awesome!"

In fact, that's a part of this I hadn't thought about till just now: The presence of hypocrites should make us want to live for God even more so we can show people just how wonderful it is to truly live for God in our walk and not just in our talk.

People will have questions, of course. For instance, Ken Ham has said that he has found lots of people become believers when he answers a specific question with a specific verse. That quesiton is, "Where did Cain get his wife?" The answer is found in Genesis 5:4, Adam and Even had sons and daughters. (According to a historian, Josephus, an old tradition said Adam had 33 sons and 23 daughters, but this shows it could have been a lot more.

Other people might have questions about all the evil in the world. We have some very good radio shows here about that, among other shows, but a good simple answer is that God doesn't want us to be mindless robots. He would, in fact, have to use cartoon physics to stop our free will. he wants us to choose to love Him because we want to, because of His great care for us - for it was while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.(Rom. 5:8) thankfully, he then rose triumphantly fromt he grave, but He had to humble Himself and come down here to do that. He chose to do it willingly, becuase you and I and every single person was on His mind.

He suffered in all ways like us(Heb. 4:15-16) so we can go to Him with anything. In fact, when I first started reading the Bible I would ask questions about lots of things, and He would always assure me in prayer that He cared for the exceptions, for the handicapped like me, for those who were unique. He loves each and every one of us.

Because of this, He doesn't want us to act like rules are the only things that matter. We need to show grace and mercy. Jesus knows each of our hearts, just like that woman caught in adultery whom He set free because He would soon take the punishment for her sin and for everyone's sin. (Including the guy - the Pharisees were so much into show but they didn't want to take responsibility themselves - the guy committing adultery should have been in the temple condemned with her since they were caught in the act, but he was nowhere to be found.)

Jesus hated that attitude of the Pharisees. They would criticize the fact that He healed on the Sabbath, even though they would stop and do things like pull an animal out of a ditch or something; as Jesus asked them, "is it lawful to do good or evil on the Sabbath?" God was making a point that He didn't want people to be overly burdened, and the Pharisees were taking what God meant for rest and recuperation (the Sabbath) and making it all about themselves and their rules.

Yes, rules are vital to make things run smoothly, like traffic rules or rules in the home. However, we must be careful that rules do not become our gods. God Almighty loves and cherishes everyone, even those who don't follow the normal pattern for things like a two-parent family with the dad being a Godly leader. God accepts and cherishes exceptions - a Godly parent isn't going to mind if you're 5 minutes late because you stopped to rescue a baby from a burning building, after all; they'll be proud of you because you sacrificed yourself for the Lord; nyou've honored your parents by following what God called you to do. I once heard of a 3YO who - during a fight between his parents - was able to recitehome rules like "be nice," "say you're sorry," etc. to help them to settle down and possibly prevent what could have spiraled down to divorce. (Probably not, but the point is that God used that child for His purposes.)

While the Bible's examples aren't quite as drastic, the Bible does show people like David, to continue something like the curfew analogy, who was almost surely expected back right away from taking food to his brothers in the field, and instead he stay around and killed Goliath.(1 Sam.) Gideon tore down the idols his father had put up because they dishonored God and his father was worshiping them instead.(Judges 6) And, we see people such as the Shunemmite woman, who He calls great for leading her household when her husband was unwilling.(2 Kings 4:8 and onward) That's because God loves each of us, and wants to help us grow into people who will be like Him regardless of our circumstances and who will seek to dow aht is right in His sight, not their own.

Be the kind of person who will draw people to the Lord

I wrote an entire blogged book about that Shunemmite woman and how women or even children/teens/youth can be used by God to lead. It can be found here and should be printed out and shared via print or online with everyone.

The key, then, is to be kind, friendly, the kind of person who people will see that love and faith resonating in. That doesn't mean that you have to be perfect. People  should be able to see that you accept you're not perfect but that you know the one who is and that He is guiding and directing your path to help you to become better.

When you show that love, you accept people. It's like a guy in a t-shirt and jeans bringing his family to church - nobody should care what he wears, it's the person on the inside that counts. Now, if his t-shirt is filled with cursing you can politely suggest that he's sending the wrong message, but you don't have to have your "Sunday best" - especially if you don't have such clothes. The idea of wearing a suit and tie is a cultural thing, and another problem that can arise which is like the Pharisees is that people mistake cultural norms for Biblical ones.

When we accept each other as beggars telling other  beggars where to find bread, we will be able to be humble and loving and to the thigns the Bible commands - e4dify (build up and not tear down) one another, exhort (strongly encourage/urge to do good things) one another, love one antoher, pray for one another, consider one another better than ourselves, etc..

Each of us is better than somebody else at something and worse at something. Maybe you're not as outgoing but you can share the gospel in other ways, simply by being therefore someone and maybe not talking as much as just listening. Others, like me, overcome handicaps and other adversities without complaints, sowing a confidence that can only come from God.

The important thing is, remember that others might not be able to verbalize their questions. We do need to use words to share the Gospel, and in fact ask people if they know for sure they're going to Heaven. A really good way to put it is, "If you were to stand before God and He were to say "why should I let you into my perfect Heaven, what would you say?"

Be wise as serpents, so you can keep your main focus, your beliefs, your attitude, your life, centered on the Lord. And, be harmless as doves, so people will want to be in God's perfect Heaven, where there can be no sin, selfishness, etc.,. God will make each of us new on the inside continually as He works in us, and will perfect us when we get to Heaven. But, it makes sense that we follow His perfect plan for our lives so we can have those blessings and rewards for doing so.

Avoiding the Great Deception and False Peace

I talked before about how to avoid being fooled, since nobody wants to be lied to, and some lies have horrible consequences if followed, hence this one of numerous posts warning about spiritual warfare, including this, which should be copied and I hope goes viral after the rapture on what will happen..

This is one of numerous posts about some of the evil out there in the spiritual realm. However, I wanted tog et more in depth on the coming deception and avoiding it. God is personal, after all, and not just a New Age idea. He is real and warns us because He loves us.

In order to be deceived, there must bee truth that the deception takes you away from. A map drawn upside down, so north is south, is deceiving since there is a north. Plug an address into a poorly programmed GPS (or the wrong address) and you can be miles from where  you want to be. All the wishing in the world won't get you to Miami if you drive to Seattle - only roads to Miami lead there.

God's Word is completely reliable, much more so than other ancient documents we trust. He warns us of deception because the devil is a counterfeiter, and you can only counterfeit a real thing - hence people say you can't have a counterfeit $47 bill, there is no real one. All religion is a counterfeit of the real thing because all religions talk about how people can work their way to heaven when in fact there is no way to do that. God rescued us and we must rely on Him by faith to save us from our sins.

So, am I saying this great deception is based on works? That is only part of it.It's based on imperfect people trying to create a perfect system, which we can't. And, it will have a spiritual part, too.

I'm not saying when it'll happen. And, don't worry, there won't be lots of math. However, this recent YouTube message with lots of great physics stuff inspired me to write.

So, how do we connect the video with deception - and given how some readers might feel about it, how do we avoid the math? :-) There will be some mentions, but it'll be very straightforward. And incredible. There's lots of room for the spiritual realm.

The Part God's Enemy Plays

 See, most space is taken up by plasma. Not the type in the blood, but a similar type of material. This Chemistry site for kids may be more understandable for some. All the electrons come loose since gravity doesn’t have enough power between stars, so it's like a fourth state of matter.

I know, in physics people generally learn only of solids, liquids, and gases. This shows how complex the world is, and how wonderfully designed, though, in ways we don't comprehend. Indeed, Intelligent Design has been gaining popularity. The problem is that the devil can use this for evil.

The devil was a created being with untested creature holiness. He had a choice, as the angel Lucifer, to be loyal or to rebel. he chose to rebel and take 1/3 of the angels with him. He has been trying to ruin God's creaction ever since, to bring people down to his level and to wipe out God's chosen people. Matthew 25:41 shows that Hell was only created for the devil and his rebelling angels.

God's perfect plan includes showing us His love and mercy, because we rebelled, the plan to redeem mandkind went into motion. God didn't want anyone to be forced to choose Him - He wants people to choose Him on their own, so they wouldn't be mindless robots.That plan of redemption for for Him to take the punishment Himself for our sins, when Jesus Christ - God in flesh - died for our sins and then rose from the dead, having taken that punishment once for all time, as long as we trust Him by faith and accept He did that for us, letting Him come live in us and make us new inside. Each of us is only a single, sincere prayer of repentance away from eternal life.

More on that later, but for now,suffice it to say that the devil is not omniscient like God - He doesn't know when Jesus will return but he does know his time is short. That's why there is such increased bitterness, hatred, etc.; look at 2 Timothy chapter 3 as one example of the end times and you can tell we're there.

I'll expand on the plan of salvation when I explain how to escape that deception, but suffice it to say that the spiritual realm, like that plasma, is something you don't hear much about, but it's there. The devil and his demons may be behind UFO and other stuff. We know already that there is demonic stuff out there, which is one reason I warn against occulltic stuff, show God is personal while warning against New Age stuff, and other things as I share the need to avoid being fooled.

However, we wont' be able to just say "the devil made me do it." We, as humans, have a sin nature that separates us from God.

Thankfully, god loves us so much that He made that way to reconcile us to himself. Still, when we are not following Him, and drawn away of our own lusts, we can be led astray whether or not demons posing as aliens are somehow involved in the end times.

The Part People Will Play

People matter to God. He loves each of us, and calls us to repent of our sins and trust Him to save us. He loves each of us so much that He did everything needed for you to get to Heaven. And, because our sin separates us from God, we can't save ourselves because we can't become sinless.

So, why do people get deceived into thinking otherwise? And, how will the biggest deception be any different?

Remember that  all religions are about people trying to work their way to God. However, we can't do it because of our sin. God made the way of salvation by reaching down to us.

So, people will be caught up in a desire to turn from God and try their own ways - that's been happening from the start, right? What makes this different, you ask?

The difference is that a worldwide system will be created like never before; a system that seeks to unite people to oppose God.

People will fall for it if they don't have Jesus as Savior. In some cases, it's because the heart is exceedingly wicked. These people will want to be able to get away with anything.


In other cases, well-meaning people will not realize they are following a counterfeit. It will look nice because it talks about peace and safety in a very dangerous world, but it will be a false peace. Look at 1 Thessalonians 5, for instance. It says that people will say peace and safety, and sudden destruction shall come upon them.

The two will combine with the devil to create a perfect storm to lure people into the devil's trap. The devil will have all kinds of lying signs, miracles that come from evil spirits in the spiritual realm. He may use the idea of aliens. He may use technology and the promise of living forever. He may use something else or all of these.

Whatever all the above he uses, though, the important thing is that he will force people to swear allegiance to him through a mark. His system will prevent them from buying or selling without it.

People who refuse to take the Mark will be killed. Those who take the mark will be damned for all eternity.

This may sound harsh, but it is quite plausible that something in the mark will render the person not human anymore, and thus not having a soul. Remember also that God warns us of this, so that we will not take the mark.

How To Avoid Such Problems 

Jesus is the Good Shephered - and, He said "My sheep hear my voice."(John 10) If you are in Christ, you have the Holy Spirit in you and won't have to worry about being fooled because the Spirit will assure you God's Word is real despite what people say. Even if something looks nice doesn't mean it will be - Jesus warns of false Christs in the end times, after all, and even before that.

It's easy to be led astray, of course, if you don't know God's Word. It is entirely reliable, much more so than any other old documents, and speaks to people in ways others can't because of the working of the Holy Spirit. God inspired it and it tells of His love for us, our fallen state becasue of sin, and the way home to Him.

That way is simple - Believe ont he Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."(Acts 16:30) This isn't just a head knowledge. It's a heart knowledge - it's trusting Jesus with your whole heart, realizing you are a sinner and inviting Him to save you and make you new inside. He will come live in you then, and be a cosntant guide, comforter, helper, friend, and so much more.

The words aren't what saves, but you can pray something like this, believing with your whole heart: "Dear Lord jesus, I know I'm a sinner. I have sid, done, and/or thought bad thigns that displease you. But, Lord, I believe you died to take the punishment for my sins, Lord Jesus, and that you then rose from the dead. You did all that was needed to save me. SO, today, Lord, i put my total trust in you to save and forgive me and get me to heaven, and also to begin my eternal life right now through you coming to live in me through the Holy Spirit. Lord, come into my life and my heart and make me new, more and more like you. In Jesus' name, Amen."

God is personal, as noted before. he has told us what will come upon the earth. And, the problems of this world show the end is close. there is so much angst and anger and violence and such everywhere. but, God will help you through all the valleys as well as helping you celebrate on the mountaintops of life. ANd, you can be assured that one day He will say to you, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant," if you trust Him to save you.