Monday, May 18, 2009

There will be a test

What lies ahead for our United States of America? Tremendous change! There is no doubt about it. Will it be change for the better or for the worse? Well, this author personally sees our beautiful country going in a wrong direction (which has been going on for some time now) and firmly believes that one day our precious freedoms will be either taken away or, at the very least, suppressed to some degree. On the other hand, the future is not in any way under our control, and our Lord made it very clear that we are not to worry about it. It is true that we are to be alert at all times, watchful, prayerful, and wise to plan for what lies ahead. Worrying, however, about what lies ahead, is something else. Each day, as our has Lord said, has its own troubles which need to be dealt with.

With everything going on in our country, and the rest of the world, it is becoming more and more evident that for every single Christian there will be a test. 1 Peter 1:1-7 speaks of the testing of our Christian faith. Perhaps your faith is being tested at this very moment in your life. Jesus told us before that we will have tribulation in this world. Are you facing tribulation in your life right now? It is one of His promises. What is radical about His promise is the other part of it, He has already overcome the world! We can rejoice and be of good cheer in spite of anything we may face! (John 16:33) Our Lord warned us about facing immense suffering, persecution, and possibly even death for His sake and for the Gospel’s. Once again, we can be of good cheer because He has promised us a blessing in all of this. (Matthew 5, The Beattitudes.)

One of the main reasons why this country is going in a wrong direction is because the true and living God and His Gospel are being rejected at a broader scale, in comparison to not too long ago. For example, recently the “Hate-Crimes Bill” has been passed by the House of Representatives and is on its way to the Senate. It is that much closer to becoming effective as Law! Do you know what that means for those of us who stand and speak for the truth of the Bible? Reader, are you ready to stand for the truth, even when the opposition becomes more bold and combative? Are you ready to give an answer (apologia: "verbal defense, a speech in defense") for the hope that lies within you? (1 Peter 3:15) There will be a test, Christian. How will you respond to what lies ahead? These things are not to scare you, but to prepare you.

Why such a hard message? The intention is not to be all gloom and doom. Christian, there is something that each one of us needs to fully realize as believers in this present world: What you believe in is in total opposition to the main message of the secular and religious world (apart from Jesus Christ). It is in total opposition! What we believe in concerning who the true and living God is and what His message of the Gospel is, goes entirely against everything the world and its god (the devil) has to offer. So, what is the message of the secular and religious world (apart from the Lord)? If you sum it up, the world and its god offers the deification of man and his enjoyment in the world‘s pleasures, the complete denial of the true and living God, and the all-out rejection of His Gospel.

Read the words of the humanist, the atheist, the satanist, and it is evident: (The serpent’s teaching from Genesis 3 is still being taught today. See also 1 John 2:15-17.)


The humanist

- “Religious Humanism considers the complete realization of human personality to be the end of man's life and seeks its development and fulfillment in the here and now. This is the explanation of the humanist's social passion.” (Humanist Manifesto I #8, Roy Wood Sellars and Raymond Bragg, 1933, allaboutGod.com.)

- "No deity will save us; we must save ourselves,"
- "We are responsible for what we are and for what we will be,"
- “…the battle for humankind's future must be waged and won in the public school classroom by teachers who correctly perceive their role as the proselytizers of a new faith: a religion of humanity that recognizes and respects the spark of what theologians call divinity in every human being."
- " Utilizing a classroom instead of a pulpit to convey humanist values in whatever subject they teach, regardless of the educational level - preschool day care or large state university." (Humanist Manifesto II, Paul Kurtz and Edwin H. Wilson, 1973, Wikipedia.org.)

The atheist

- “Do whatever you will, but first be such as are able to will (able to live your own will and no one else‘s).” Friedrich Nietzsche

- “The word "Christianity" is already a misunderstanding - in reality there has been only one Christian, and he died on the Cross.” Friedrich Nietzsche

- “There cannot be a God because if there were one, I could not believe that I was not He.” Friedrich Nietzsche

- “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?” Friedrich Nietzsche


The satanist

- "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law." (The Book of the Law, Aleister Crowley, 1904, Wikipedia.org.)

- “1. Life is the great indulgence - death, the great abstinence. Therefore, make the most of
life - HERE AND NOW!”
- “2. There is no heaven of glory bright, and no hell where sinners roast. Here and now is
our day of torment! Here and now is our day of joy! Here and now is our opportunity!
Choose ye this day, this hour, for no redeemer liveth!”
- “3. Say unto thine own heart, "I am mine own redeemer." (The Satanic Bible, The Book of Satan IV, Anton LaVey, 1969.)


These are some of the most blatant and the boldest statements of blasphemy I have ever read outside of what was revealed about the devil himself in the Bible. What is alarming is that these things were written within our own generation! Are we indeed in the last of the last days that are spoken of in the Scriptures? What lies ahead for our country? God knows, and His response to the way our country has chosen will be full of justice and truth. “For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, [those] nations shall be utterly wasted.” (Isaiah 60:12) “Blessed [is] the nation whose God [is] the LORD; [and] the people [whom] he hath chosen for his own inheritance.” (Psalms 33:12) Proverbs also tells us that righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach (or disgrace) to any people.

Our part, while we are here in this dark world, is to be salt and light. Know your God, know His will, know the Bible, be in prayer, fellowship, share the Gospel. Live out 1 Peter 3:15! The enemy of righteousness is very real (you have read from his messengers) and he desires to steal, kill, and destroy as many souls as he can while he still has time. Always be on guard, for your adversary is not always so blatant and so bold. Remember that the serpent is also very subtle.

But be encouraged, Christian, for the enemy’s days are truly numbered. God has already lived out Genesis 3:15 … at the cross!


The trying of our faith is more precious than that which perishes,

One Clay Soldier among many