The Wickedness around Us

The Wickedness around Us

Often, as I am dwelling on, and praying about the wickedness of this world, a fit of mild depression comes over me. We hear the daily news; read the newspapers, and it seems that all hope for sanity has been swept away by conniving minds, and workers of iniquity. We are surrounded on every side by humanism, and immorality, and flagrant idolatry and it seems as though we are thrown into the pot with them, and all is coming to a boil, but praise God that he is in control. As I dwell on these things, I am also reminded of my part in them!
Yes, I have a part in the wickedness of the world too, and so do all of us. Let us not be too quick to condemn, lest we fall into our own judgment, and wallow in a wretched pool of filth. You see, I have to be reminded that I am as wicked as they, except that I have put certain restraints on that wickedness, or rather, the Lord has, and now I am guided by His Blessed Spirit.

Yes, we seem to be living in a cesspool of evil, and there is not much that we can do about it on our own, but thank the Lord, he can do something; He can change lives and hearts. Let this be our prayer; that God would stir the hearts of His people to pray, and that He would change the hearts of others and turn them around, and change the entire world by doing so. Though we dwell amidst evil, we need not be companions with it; seek the wonderful life-changing grace of God, and “draw nigh” unto Him.

Galatians 3

We are all, spiritually speaking, the “seed of Abraham.” Hence we too have the promise of fruit bearing, and of being the “Father of many nations” as it were. Some today though, have accepted the handmaids of Satan and produce corruptible fruit. Satan has many handmaids, but there is only one true wife! Illegitimate fruit is prevalent today because of the corruptible seed Satan has sown among the congregations of America. Too many times we let the “Bible scholars” of our day steal the blessing of the promises away from us. The Old testament Promises are ours as well as the New. We are all under the promise as the seed of Abraham, spiritually speaking..

1 Peter 2:19, 20

There is a certain glory in suffering wrongfully and taking it patiently. Christ entered into His glory at the point of suffering wrongfully (Lk. 24:26), and when we enter into His suffering, or suffer with Him, it is only at this point that we do so. When we are “buffeted” for our faults, this is justice; but if we are buffeted “innocently”, this is glory for us Look at 1 Peter 4:14: “If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.” Do you want the Spirit of God to rest upon you? If so, you need to pay the price. Consider also the three Hebrew children of Daniel 3: Until they entered the fire, they did not see Jesus, but as soon as they were in the fiery furnace of affliction, Jesus came to visit! Jesus is there for us, whenever we need Him, and even when we think we don’t! So we see the value of patience. Are you willing to enter the fire?

Defying Nature-In Birth

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.” (Mt 1:18)

One of the great things about Jesus was that He was often found to defy nature. Here, we have a woman who “Had never known a man” (Lk. 1: 34) and yet, she became the mother of our Lord! Her reputation was at stake, but she seemed willing to honor the Father, and be used to bring the Savior into the world. Mary was, no doubt, ostracized by her peers because everyone knows that a woman cannot be “with child” unless something unscrupulous had taken place! She bore the pain of rejection; she submitted to the Holy Spirit of God, not refusing to suffer the expected shame and reproach; Mary was quite a woman, but the main point is that God is quite a God! He defied nature several times in scripture, and blessed His children as a result of it.
Sarai, Abraham’s wife, was over ninety years old when she bore a child! It was unheard of in those days, and still is today that a woman of that age should give birth, and yet, God defied nature, and she had Isaac.
Hannah, a woman who was barren for many years, bore Samuel in her old age, and he became a mighty prophet and judge.
Elisabeth, a woman also of great age, childless throughout her marriage, was called “barren” though she longed for a child. God defied nature again! Elisabeth conceived and bore the greatest of the prophets, John the baptist. God is a God of miracles, but Lo! and behold! He performed a greater miracle in me; He gave me a new heart! He took a barren soul and gave it life! He took a wayward young man and made him into a useful vessel, and what an amazing feat that was! He defied nature again--in me! He took a natural man, and changed him so that he became supernatural, and was “born again”. I became a new creature in Him, and wonder of wonders, I still am! He continues to defy nature to this day, over and over again in providing for wandering souls a second chance--in giving them a new birth too! What an awesome and amazing God!

Thou shalt not kill?

The quote above is from the Bible, Exodus 20:13 to be exact. It is probably the most quoted and best known verse in the Ten Commandments. There is much confusion as to the duty of the veteran and law enforcement and even the judicial system because of the misunderstanding and misapplication of this verse. Critics will often quote it to make a point in an endless argument against war and justice, but none of them live by the other nine Commandments either! The implication of this verse speaks of murder, and any unjust or undue killing. The same Bible that condemns killing also condones capital punishment; in Genesis 9:6, God says “Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.” God does not contradict Himself, neither can He because a contradiction is a lie on the one side or the other. As one reads the Old Testament, he soon realizes that God sent the armies of Israel to battle against many enemies, and He worked many miracles among them. So…why all the confusion concerning this verse? Because man is ignorant to the ways of God. What then is man to do? Obey God first, and the law next.

The word “kill” here speaks of malicious killing—murder, with intent and deliberate planning, and out of hatred. It can only be interpreted this way lest we call God a hypocrite and accuse Him of lying to boot! I shudder to think of anyone being so brash, and foolishly bold. When men take it upon themselves to interpret the Word of God, there is always prejudice involved, and self will. How can prideful men see truth? How can evil understand good? Too often we base our lives on our own interpretation of scripture, and the end is always disastrous. The Bible says what it says, with no need for clarification, but with a God-given sense that honors Him and His name.

Two Rrelated Verses

“Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” Romans 10: 17

Hearing what? The Word of God.
The Word plants the seed;
It nourishes the “seed;”
As we absorb the Word of God, we increase.


“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy Word.” Psalm 119: 9

Taking heed “thereto”--to that effect; taking heed to cleansing;
Cleansing also comes by hearing (and heeding) the Word of God.

Initially we obtain faith, and at the same time we obtain cleansing.

Hearing is often spoken of as “heeding”; so then Faith cometh by hearing , and heeding by the Word of God. Heeding is applying it personally; as we apply it, we are cleansed by it. These two verses, though written many years apart, are in harmony with one another.

I am…

I am…

I’m stuck in a world I do not want;
I’m bored out of my gourd, and there is nothing amusing here;
Nothing seem to attract my interest,
So I just stay inside…a recluse.
I don’t have friends, I have no fellow to share with;
I am sick unto death,
And await my final redemption.
The wait is long, and tedious,
And it seems the end is too far off.
I feel like a prisoner in a body of flesh;
A body that will not do right;
A “cell” of my own making,
And yet, I seek to feed it more.
Oh, I find comfort in my wife,
And great fellowship and companionship,
But there is no other;
No man to talk “man talk” with;
No one seems to want to share the blessings of God.
In a sense, it’s a lonely world,
This world I live in;
My greatest friend is He that is invisible;
My Friend, Jesus.
I can spill my heart out to him, and He always listens;
He comforts me when I am blue,
And rebukes me when I am proud;
I guess, in reality,
He is all I need in this loathsome world;
He is all I desire.
He is all I need.

Idolatry

Idolatry
Idolatry is much more prominent today than we usually think. Any thing, or any one, that we look to constantly for our “help” or strength, or encouragement, we make them an idol. Don’t we see that God wants to be our joy; our sustenance; our hope and stay; our protector; our EVERYTHING? These (as well as much, much more) are the very things we ought to be looking to our God for! These dependent issues are His glory! We rob Him of His glory whenever we depend on mans means, whether it be welfare, or self-help groups, or unions, or whatever! Any organization that we look to, to keep us secure in any way, to comfort us, or to give us “peace of mind” becomes an idol, we rob God of the joy of being these things unto us!