For this month in Christian Corner, I’ve decided to discuss the times that we live in, and what we can do to avoid experiencing far worse times, and a far darker fate. It doesn’t take much attention to notice that our world and societies are heading in a bad direction. Turn on the news and you’ll be met with a barrage of negativity, sin, divisiveness, and the persecution of Christian beliefs. For example, today I read an article about a bill that’s up for a vote in California, Assembly Bill 2943. This bill, if passed, will make it illegal to distribute resources, sell books, offer counseling services, or direct someone (to a biblical-based model) to get help with their homosexuality or gender confusion. In a nutshell, if someone is looking for help with their homosexual desires, it would be a crime to offer them any help, or provide them with any Bible-based resources (even if the resources are free).
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Regardless of how you feel about homosexuality, it is clearly laid out in the Bible that this type of behavior is sinful, as are gambling, drunkenness, lust, lying, etc. Our world is filled with sin, and if you’ve been on this Earth long enough, you have probably seen that these behaviors are becoming more and more acceptable as time goes on. Prostitution is now legal in the United States; pornography addiction is at an all-time high, and caring for one another (regardless of one’s beliefs) is, for the most part, long-gone. Did you know that in just one year more than 4,599,000,000 hours of pornography was watched?(1) Break out your calculator, and figure out how much time that is. Hint: it’s nearly 5,250 years of time. There are websites, legitimate websites (with advertisers) that offer services for you, or anyone, to cheat on their spouse, or sell your body to a stranger.
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I think you get my point. Sinful behavior is becoming acceptable behavior, and the Bible foretold that this would come. “You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will only love themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred.” (2 Timothy 3:1-2) It goes on to say in the last half of verse 3, “…. They will be cruel and hate what is good.” There are numerous other examples of the Bible teaching about the Last Days. If I’m being frank with you all, I truly believe we are witnessing Biblical prophecy unfolding – right in front of us. If you follow Christ, and are a part of the Christian faith, you know that our faith and beliefs are being persecuted and stepped on around the world. This is an undeniable fact. While Assembly Bill 2943 doesn’t outright state that the Bible will be illegal/banned – if they are proposing to ban the sale of any text that speaks against what the Bible defines sexual sin, or how to help someone overcome it, we can work out where this is eventually headed.
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My point is, we live in very treacherous times, but things are going to get a lot worse. Once the rapture of the Church occurs, the anti-Christ will rise to power and the tribulation period will begin. According to scripture, the tribulation is going to be a time that no person should ever want to be a part of. If you’d like to know what the tribulation is going to be like, turn to the book of Revelation and read it in its entirety. I propose you to watch Dr. David Jeremiah’s sermons about it on YouTube. He’s a far better teacher about the times that we live in than I ever will be.
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The point of this post isn’t just to illuminate how rampant and acceptable sin has become, but also to offer you (the reader) a solution if you wish to change your life. Accepting Jesus Christ doesn’t cost you anything, it’s free, but it does take work. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) When you become saved, your life should change dramatically. Not only will you walk through life with Jesus Christ, but he will be there for you to strengthen and guide you in times of weakness. I can’t count how many weak and sinful moments that I’ve had throughout my life, even after I got saved. The enemy (Satan) doesn’t want us to be saved, he wants to corrupt us. This is amplified when we turn our lives over to Christ. The Devil wants us to falter, so the temptation to sin will grow even stronger. It is in these tough times that we must rely on Jesus and our relationship with him. We will never be perfect on our own, but through Jesus and his resurrection, as well as our trust and faith in him, we are saved and forgiven. It doesn’t matter what we’ve done in our pasts, how bad our actions may have been, the invitation is an open one. I invite you, right now, to accept Jesus Chris as your Lord and Savior. I love all of you, I mean that.
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Footnotes:
1 https://fightthenewdrug.org/by-the-numbers-see-how-many-people-are-watching-porn-today/
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