Now is the day of Salvation

 

New Introduction: I know I have reposted this blog more than any of the others I have written, but God is calling me to publish it again.  I originally wrote this blog on June 6, 2014. It has been edited several times from the original and I have removed and added a few sentences.  

The world is an even more perilous place to live in now, and it will only get worse from here.  I fully believe we are in the "beginning of sorrows" as mentioned in Matthew 24 & Mark 13.  In fact, I am writing a novel with that same title that will be part 2 to the novel I finished a few years ago titled, "The Visionary." 

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers [many various] places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Matthew 24:7-8

Hopefully this post offers some hope. I changed the titled from, "How do we survive in this world?" to the current one as I feel the main point I want to get across today is that time is short, and we never know when our time is up.  NOW is the day to call on Jesus Christ.  Don't wait!  Let's face reality, we face our own mortality 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  

Now is the Day of Salvation 

The world is going crazy!  How many of you feel this way right now?  It seems we are not safe anywhere.  They are even selling new “stylish” vests and backpacks that are bulletproof! Today as I add to this updated post, we have all experienced buying, selling, and wearing medical masks to try to stay safe from a deadly pandemic. Where we live, the stores are alarmingly bare of many common food staples and even pet food, toiletries, and cleaning supplies.  Or if you can find them, they are triple the price!

  

That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9

Violence (and even deadly pandemics) are nothing new.  Since the beginning of time there was a homicide (see Genesis 4).  All of this because Adam and Eve chose their own selfish wants over fellowship with their Creator (see Genesis 3).  We live in a fallen world because God chose to give us free will.  Adam and Eve betrayed this gift and chose to listen to the serpent’s lies rather than God’s warnings simply because the serpent’s lies were more appealing than God’s Truth.  This is why we live in a world full of death and tragedy, not because God is cruel, but because man chose to alienate us from God by using his free will out of the desire of wanting to be like God.  Humans do not want fellowship with God, nor do they want His advice, protection, or correction, they want to be gods!  They want to be independent.  They want to use their free will to do whatever they so please, then cry out, “God save me,” when it’s convenient.  Or curse at God even though they have made no effort to live a holy life and only pray when they want something. Therefore, “He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:45) not because He is cruel, but because man chose to defy God.  Man caused this fallen world and the good suffer because of it. 

 “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” Luke 21:25-26

It is not your imagination, this world is growing more and more ferocious, and the storms are even growing more turbulent. Fires, floods, tornados, earthquakes, etc., are being reported in "many various places" and as the fiercest in history. There have even been unprecedented plagues of locusts sweeping Africa, destroying their precious crops.   So how do we endure such an aggressive environment?  Are there any easy answers?  No.  The sad truth is you could be a young college student who dies at the hands of a crazy gunman in CA simply because he felt rejected by girls.  You could be an innocent 2-year-old in NJ whose father, in a jealous rage, decides to strap a car jack to your car seat and throw you off a bridge.  Loved ones die from cancer and other deadly diseases. Life is unpredictable, scary, and unfair. 

So how do we survive in this world? 

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul… Matthew 10:28

I will not say nothing bad will ever happen to you in this life.  People who believe God will prevent all bad things from happening end up hating God.  Christians walk around with joy in their hearts, in spite of tragic circumstances because we have a hope of eternal happiness. For no matter what “we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”(Romans 8:28)   We know God grieves with us and does not intend for bad things to happen.  Jeremiah 29:11 states, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope,” which means God does not want bad things to happen.  Does that mean God does not have any control? No, this means we will never fully know why things are allowed to happen because there is a war going on we cannot comprehend.  “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12

For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.  I Corinthians 13:12 

This means that we cannot understand why things happen as they do because we cannot see the big, eternal picture, but when we get to heaven, it will all be crystal clear.  This senseless world will make sense.

Again, I ask how do we survive in this world? 

Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31:6 & 8

If we cry out to God, He will hear our pleas.  He wants to protect us and save us.  It may seem like evil is winning, and I do not believe that this world will ever improve.  In fact, I know it will only get worse.  Man’s desire for independence corrupts him more and more.  The mentality of not wanting to be told what to do is only getting worse as laws support immoral desires, not Biblical principles.  It is up to you to surrender yourself to God as well as your independence.  It is up to you to choose to live right and separate yourself from this world.  

If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. II Chronicles 7:14

The key words there are “if,” and “humble themselves.”

The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. Psalm 34:18

Humble yourself and admit you have done wrong.  Salvation begins with repentance and admittance of sin. If you were to die right after you say the sinner's prayer, you would go to Heaven, however, most of us live on, and not losing your salvation is a daily decision. In spite of the very popular belief that you are now saved forever and will automatically go to heaven because you ask Jesus into your heart is a lie.  It is an excuse to live however you want because you are a “Christian.” There is no desire to please your Creator or live a truly Christian lifestyle. There is no self-evaluation or repentance.  

Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross DAILY, and follow Me. Luke 9:23 

I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die DAILY.  I Corinthians 15:31  

Daily very simply means we must crucify our flesh every day not just once.   Psalm 139: 23-24 should be a daily prayer: Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.

Do we wait until some crazy gunman is at our door (so to speak) before we choose to make the decision to live a holy life, or wait until we have the symptoms of the Coronavirus?  Of course not.  "There are no atheists in foxholes," so the saying goes.  And it is also true that God will have mercy on your soul if you wait until you are on your deathbed to call upon God and repent of your sins.  Yet, why would you wait until then?  If everyone died at the age of 99, most would wait until they were 98 ¾ to start living right.  But no one ever knows when their time on this world is coming to an end.  Nobody is invincible.  Let's face reality, we face our own mortality 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Age, race, wealth, none of it matters when you’re on a highway full of reckless drivers or the day to decide to go to the courthouse to renew your driver’s license just happens to be the same day a man with bombs storms in and blows the place up.     

For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. II Corinthians 6:2

That is my answer on how to we survive in this world.  You must repent to Jesus and ask him to save your soul and daily evaluate your life and walk with God and make sure you are still living a pure life.  This will never guarantee a life of sunshine and roses, but when you have as sincere walk with God (not just one of convenience), angels will protect you more than the average person. For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. Psalm 91:11 (See all of this Psalm posted at the end.) 

I know this is a heavy subject, so I will end by leaving you with a few scriptures to help encourage you in this strange and scary time. 

“The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:6

Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.  Matthew 10:31 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. Luke 12:7

 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.  For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. Romans 8:14-16 

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.  II Timothy 1:7

Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust."

Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.

He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,

Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday

A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.

Only with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked.

Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
 No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;

For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.

In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.

You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.

He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.

With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.

Psalm 91:1-16