by: V. Verona
There's so much evil in the world today this is no time to complacently retreat in defeat while calling ourselves "Christian". Détente in the face of evil is cowardice and agreement. The measureless blessings and protections of Christ are under full Hamanesque assault like no other time in the history of our country.
Remember Mordecai and Esther
“Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther,
Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house,
more than all the Jews.
For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time,
then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place;
but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed:
and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Esther 4:13-14
more than all the Jews.
For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time,
then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place;
but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed:
and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Esther 4:13-14
Christians are called to be Lights and forces for good in this world, not sidelined by it. Therefore, fellow Christians and unsaved need to see true Christianity in action NOW or what will we say at Christ's return?
Denial of reality and complacency before great wickedness is sin. Repentance is in order for the unlovingness of silence and personal sins preventing you from living victoriously in Christ.
Do you trust Christ with your life – like you (Christians) say you do?
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart;
and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."
Proverbs 3:5-6
Proverbs 3:5-6
Don't Blame The Other Guy
We tend to think of evil and the enemy as being, "The Other Guy". Hence, "The other guy did it. The other guy's not doing right. If only the other guy would shape up." as we sit fat, lazy, inactive, hypocritical, and myopic to our failings of Christ, ourselves, and others.
Look at any conservative or liberal news and you'll see the consistent blaming of "The Other Guy". Yet blame prohibits correction and is false righteousness. The blamer "absolves" themselves of any culpability while simultaneously placing "guilt" on the blamee. The blamee returns blame onto the blamer or others -- in such circumstances nothing gets resolved.
Isaiah 58:9 shows, "...the putting forth of the finger..." is opposed to victory and blessings. (Isaiah 58)
Christ's Authentic Righteousness v. Imitation Righteousness
Anyone can "justify" themselves as "righteous" by "world standards", but NO ONE, except Christ, can justify themselves by God's standard: PERFECTION.
Gee... Which justification standard do you think people (including Christians) would be most "welcome and comfortable" with?
Hmm??? Which justification standard do you think people (including Christians) would be most "rejecting and uncomfortable" with?
Exactly.
Character motes, warts, and wrinkles need to be cleared first before we can be of any good use in the faith of Christ.
"Either how canst thou say to thy brother,
Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye,
when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye,
and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye."
Luke 6:42
Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye,
when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye,
and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye."
Luke 6:42
The Erosion Continues
Many of us can, and do, take "The Other Guy" stance, "It's the other guy's fault... the other guy's problem. The other guy will fix it." and so forth. Guess what? The other guy's actions and inactions AFFECT YOU and your loved ones; eroding your blessings and benefits because you're saying nothing. So should you really sit silent as sin runs rampant and detrimental to your best interests?
Rev. Martin Luther King who once stared the evils of extreme hatred and injustice in the face fought it in Jesus' name, with Jesus' people (primarily the African American Christian Church), by Jesus' Word -- The Bible.
Rev. King repeatedly remarked how it was not the shouts of the wicked which were loudest, but the silence of the "good people" in the face of gross sin. Hence, we love the "blessings" of praise and acceptance. We love the "greetings in the market place" and the "best seats" in the house, but when it comes to facing down sin against fellow Christians, we fear for our safety, reputation, material possessions, comfort, convenience, and other self interests, hence -- we shut up.
The Time to Repent Is Now
The Bible shows the front line of victory is: REPENTANCE by God's people of their sins. The Bible shows the second front line of victory is: OBEDIENCE by God's people to His Word.
Repent. Obey Christ. Win.
