Where Will You Be?

Now brothers, when I write these articles it's usually in a spirit (as hard as it may be to believe) of hope and positivity. I try to convey a sense of how we can better ourselves as Christian men and make our little corner of the world a little nicer, a little friendlier and give it an awareness of the blessings that God has provided us through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. I try to suggest ways in which we can better prepare ourselves and those around us for the inevitable return of the Messiah, whenever that may be. But, when I wake up on a Monday morning and the headline of the local newspaper reads:

“Church to allow same-sex marriages”

I am simply heartbroken. But, why should I be?

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.” 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NIV)

There it is, in black and white! We've been warned that these times would come so it should be no surprise to those of us who have read and, more importantly, teach the word. Most of the people have either never heard about this or have simply chosen to ignore it. Therefore, it is our responsibility to tell them, and there will be dire consequences for those of us who don't because we (teachers) will be judged more harshly than the others.

Now, I have never been one to speak of the end times being near. After all, the Bible says that He will not return until every ear has heard his true Word.

“At that time, if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect – if that were possible.” Matthew 24:23-24

“And the Gospel must first be preached to all nations.” Mark 13:10 (NIV)

My friend, Brian, just recently returned from a mission trip in a part of the world where there are millions of souls who haven't heard His Word, and there are some estimates that say as many as 2.5-billion souls world-wide still haven't, so it's hard for me to imagine that they will all be reached within my lifetime. But, when I turn on the evening news broadcasts (a rarity for me these days) and see the state that not only our country is in, but the world in general, I get a sense that things have never been worse. So many have turned their backs on God, or worse, seek ways to pervert Him into something that conforms to their personal situations. Whether it's LGBTQ, agnostics, atheists or those who commit horrific, hate-filled acts, claiming falsely that they do them in His name, the stories seem to get worse and worse. Then the media and even government officials come out and defend their actions in order to support what I believe is their hidden agenda to overthrow the government of this, our beloved, country.

It's almost more than I can stand. There is so much hate spoken in the name of “social justice”, so much repression of what is good in the name of “political correctness” (this phrase makes me want to retch). The false narrative of “income inequality” and “redistribution of wealth” meant only to placate those who exist only as parasites on government assistance programs when they are more than capable of adding to our country's wealth rather than sponging off it, thereby taking much needed support away from those who legitimately need it!

I can't speak for any of you, but I will never rely on my government for anything as much as I will rely on my Heavenly Father, His Son, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit for my everyday needs! He has done a much better job with the past eleven years of my life since I learned to trust Him than I ever did with the first forty-two!

Whew!

I know that there are some of you who will disagree with at least some portion that I've written here and, believe it or not, that's a good thing! We are allowed to disagree and we can still love each other! I'm just a guy who has an outlet, via this forum, for his thoughts unlike that of the majority of us. I don't apologize for my words, but I also don't claim to be right. These are just my opinions. What I know above all, is that we must do everything that we do in love. There should be zero judgement in our hearts against those whom we are here to spread the Word to. We cannot discriminate against anyone for any reason as an excuse not to treat them as they truly are, our brothers and sisters in Christ, despite whatever outward appearance they display. We must always remember that even the worst of them have been led astray by the enemy, the deceiver, Satan. They can't help that fact that they have been living in an environment of hate any more than we can take credit for our blessing of being children of the Most High God! We have had the benefit of hearing His Word from someone who was willing to step out on a ledge, risking rejection and scorn, for no better reason than that they just want us to experience God's blessing too! They wanted to spread His Word because that's what He told them, and us, to do.

Recently, the men in my Bible study have been asked to contemplate what we might do if we were faced with the knowledge that we had 24 hours left in this life. Would we indulge in worldly things? Would we witness our experience of the Word to others? Who is important enough for us to share the Gospel with? But here's what I'd like to ask you: What if you knew that the Rapture was going to happen in 24 hours?

Where will you be?

The battle is on!

 Ephesians 6:10-18 and 2 Chronicles 7:14.

G. J. Fortier is a member of Ironmen Ministries and First Baptist Church, Centerville, GA. Look for his novels on Amazon on Kindle and paperback. Or visit his website at www.GerardFortier.com