Are we in the last days?

Jesus spoke a lot about the end times, as far as things leading up to the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem in 70 AD, but so did the Apostle Paul, who was in His own last days.

In the very last letter he wrote, Paul said, “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good” (2nd Tim 3:1-3), and worse yet, they shall be “treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people” (2nd Tim 3:4-5).

 Of course, you can’t avoid them all because we’d have to leave this world, but Paul means we ought to separate ourselves from those who practices these things because they’re storing up wrath against that Day of judgment. Can’t you see that we are living in dangerous times? There are nuclear threats from North Korea, terrorism, both domestic and abroad, and escalating violence in our land. And I believe it is going to get worse and worse as we approach the day of Jesus’ return.

 

Jesus, in what is called the Olivet Prophecy, said that “as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matt 24:37).  What were Noah’s days like?  Genesis tells us about the human state at that time, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen 6:5).  So Noah’s days where days when mankind used every imagination in their minds to do evil and do evil all the time!  So Jesus says will be the days leading up to the return of Jesus Christ (Matt 24:37) where “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark” (Matt 24:38) “and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matt 24:39).  In other words, no one saw the flood coming and few expect Jesus return today.

Many of the things that Jesus prophesied in Matthew actually took place in or just before 70 AD. Things like the destruction of the temple, where not one stone was left upon another because the Romans sought for gold that they believed was hidden in between the stones. That’s why Jesus said “there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down” (Matt 24:2b), and that happened. The disciples appear to ask two questions. One about “when will these things be,” meaning the destruction of the Temple (Matt 24:3a), because that’s what they were talking about when they walked out of the Temple (Matt 24:1-2), but they also ask, “and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age” (Matt 24:3b). That sounds like two more questions, but I believe they’re asking about the same thing. It is from this point that Jesus launches into the “last days” prophecy or sometimes called, The Olivet Discourse or Prophecy, however we know from history that some of these things happened in the disciple’s lifetime. There were rumors of war and then war (the destruction of Jerusalem, and the Jews failed attempt to take back the city and Judea). That came in the late 60 AD’s. By then, there were actually false Christ’s, who literally proclaimed that they were the Messiah, however today we might see that as someone who is proclaiming another Christ and not the God of the Bible. For example, some cults and other world religions teach that Jesus is not God, but just a prophet. Another one (a cult) teaches that Jesus became God, and so can we, but that is a totally different Jesus they are teaching about. That is not the Christ, but the thing is, it is as Jesus said; they have led many astray.

We should not get tangled up in timelines or prophecy studies as much as I desire to focus on being a disciple of Christ. That means you should follow Him wherever He went and do whatever He did, and then go wherever He tells you. You must live for Christ and share Christ since no one knows the moment of the return of Christ. I have no secret information. I only know that nothing prevents His coming at any second, and besides, everyone’s “last days” are right now since we’re all only one heartbeat from eternity. Where will you spend it?

Why my gospel songs are Just good enough- No secular music

 
Christian music is not of a lower standard than secular music. That view is wrong. Having listened to both sides, I now honestly say that I prefer Christian rock to secular rock. This is not because of the lyrics and the subject matter (though I prefer the Christian lyrics), but because of the sound of the music. I’m not an expert in such things so I can’t critique the skill of the bands, but I just prefer the sound of the Christian bands.

 In my opinion, there is one reason for this: passion. I’m not saying that secular bands aren’t passionate, I know that most of them are, what I mean is that in the Christian rock, there is something that permeates the singing and the playing. I can only describe it as a fire for God, a driving force behind the music that infuses it and makes it something more. If you don’t believe me, listen to something like ‘Forgiven’ by Skillet or ‘Eternity’ by Disciple for examples of this.

Everything is permissible but I would not be brought under the power of any

Paul was saying that “everything was permissible” for him yet not everything was beneficial (1 Cor 6:12). 

We shouldn’t love sin

Because we live in a fallen world, it’s true that often the music we listen to reflects the sin we introduced. Music about promiscuous or premarital sex, songs full of swearing and lyrics that objectify people are all problematic.
The Bible says “Do not love the world or the things in the world” (1 John 2:15). It’s pretty clear that we aren’t meant to love what some songs talk about!

We should guard ourselves

Because of their sinful content, some songs might make us feel angry at the world, or make us feel like God is a killjoy for not letting us do everything the world says is good and fun.
Worst, some music might make us fall into sin – we might lust after seductive pop stars, or decide that we should try drugs, or get caught in a pattern of swearing and rude talk.

If this is happening, your relationship with Christ will be affected. So what should you do if the songs you listen to are having a negative effect on you?
In Matthew 5:29, Jesus says, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.” If Jesus is so harsh about eyes, what might he say about a song that causes you to sin? Get rid of it! He might even say, smash the CD or delete the file from your computer!
God wants us to think about good things. He wants us to fill our minds with things that help us praise him and love him. So if any of the songs you listen to are tempting you to sin or drawing you away from loving God, it’s best to stop listening to them.

But… we don’t have to block out the world entirely!

The Bible never says we need to completely disengage from the world! In fact, before we messed it up, God did create this world for us to enjoy and the beautiful creation he made inspires a lot of secular music, art, media and more. Secular music can be enjoyable, beautiful and thought-provoking. So it’s definitely possible to enjoy secular material and glorify God while you’re doing it!
A good question to ask yourself when deciding whether a song or artist is appropriate is… “does this help or hinder my worship”? I personally really love Taylor Swift and I find her music and lyrics really fun and interesting. I thank God for music and fun when I dance around listening to Tay Tay! But for another person, Taylor Swift’s music may be really unhelpful. It may cause them to idolise romance, or become angry at people who have hurt them.

Obviously the line is clearer in other cases. Songs full of swearing are unlikely to help you worship God because they’ll fill your mind with bad language. Songs that speak inappropriately about other people (for example, “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke, or “Famous” Kanye West) are probably a bad idea to listen to because they normalize abusive actions and unkind language.

It’s important to ensure that if you are enjoying secular music, you’re aware of what you’re listening to and conscious of how it is affecting you. And if you aren’t sure whether the song you’re listening to helps you glorify or not, maybe it’s best to switch it off. I am also aware that not everyone will agree with me on this. I remember something that happened only a few months after I made the switch, when a guy at school demanded rather roughly why I only listened to Christian music, was it because I thought that secular music ‘wasn’t good enough’? ‘No,’ was the answer.

There is a huge amount of talent in the secular music world; the reason you need to switch is because that’s what I felt God would tell anybody to do. Moreover, I’m saying that Christians shouldn’t listen to secular music.Some Christians watch things like Harry Potter and, it’s a matter that they have to sort out .

Why you need faith to be righteous before God...solfard.com

God presented a perfectly logical idea to Adam and Eve; that a knowledge of right and wrong would enable them to achieve righteousness. It makes sense, doesn't it? How can a person do what is right if he does not know the difference between right and wrong? And God knows the difference between right and wrong, doesn't He? And look at how holy God is! But God told Adam and Eve that learning right and wrong would be a sin worthy of death. He asked them to ignore 'logic' and take Him at His word; to simply trust Him.
Why would God do that? Why would He command Adam and Eve to act contrary to their own intelligence? Because God's commandment represented the question of whether or not Adam and Eve would acknowledge Him, and His infinitely greater wisdom as the Creator of the universe. Adam and Eve were being asked to acknowledge the profound difference between God and themselves; that the smartest of human beings are mere children in comparison to the One who created us. They were being asked to acknowledge that, no matter what might seem to make sense to us, if God says something different, then we are always smarter to trust Him above ourselves or anyone else.
Adam and Eve's choice was simple; when challenged with the most important decisions of life, would they lean upon their own understanding, or would they acknowledge God's glory and depend upon Him? In both the Old Testament and the New, God's relationship with mankind is frequently compared to that between sheep and a shepherd. God wants us to acknowledge that in comparison to Him, we as human beings truly are 'sheep'. We need the guidance and protection of a Divine Shepherd. Sheep who wander off often come to tragic ends; those who stay close to their master enjoy safety and our righteous state before God is as filthy rags before Him is what He says in the book of Isaiah

Man does not live by bread only, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 8:3, Matthew 4:4

Know that the Lord, He is God. It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves. We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

Psalm 100:3

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:8-9

For you were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

1 Peter 2:25

I would ask my reader to bear with a story. Many years ago there was a public employee, working for a local county road commission. Some of the men who worked there had other careers on the side, doing construction and other things after work. Sometimes his co-workers would laughingly tease each other, saying 'Man, if I had your money, I would burn mine!'. In other words they were saying that the other guy was so rich that, if they could have his money, they would take their own money and waste it.
Although this idea is silly, it conveys the point that I am trying to make here. God's wisdom is so much greater than ours, that if confronted with a choice between His wisdom or ours, every one of us would be well-advised to take His and 'burn' our own. This is what the forbidden Tree in Eden represented; the question of whether or not we would acknowledge God, and how much wiser He is than we are. When God's wisdom is properly appreciated, it can rightly be said that it is He alone who really has any wisdom at all:

Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Timothy 1:17

To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever. Amen.

Jude 1:25

It was not that God wanted mankind to be ignorant. He did not forbid Adam and Eve to build computers, split the atom or map human DNA. In fact, God commanded Adam and Eve to subdue the earth and rule over it. God loves human intelligence, industry and creativity. It was He who made us this way, and put these traits within us.

It is true that many professing Christians give people the impression that Christianity is a religion of ignorance and superstition, but this is not true. God does, however, require us to acknowledge that ultimately, when confronted with a choice between knowledge or simply taking Him at His word, the truly intelligent person will always trust God above all else.

Romans 3:21-26 (NIV)

Righteousness Through Faith

²¹ But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ²² This righteousness is given through faith in^[a] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,^[b] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— ²⁶ he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

Righteousness by the gift of Christ

The word of God is indefatigably constant on his stance on our basis of righteousness because his truth can not be undone by the fallacious structures built by people who are trying to satisfy their bellies alone.


 In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus uttered these words: “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). This comes at the end of the section of the sermon where Jesus corrects His listeners’ misunderstanding of the Law. In Matthew 5:20, Jesus says that, if His hearers want to enter into the kingdom of heaven, their righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees, who were the experts in the Law.

Then, in Matthew 5:21–48, He proceeds to radically redefine the law from mere outward conformity, which characterized the “righteousness” of the Pharisees, to an obedience of both outward and inward conformity. He says, “You have heard it said, but I say unto you” to differentiate between the way people heard the law taught from how Jesus is reinterpreting it. Obeying the law is more than simply abstaining from killing, committing adultery, and breaking oaths. It’s also not getting angry with your brother, not lusting in your heart, and not making insincere oaths. At the end of all this, we learn that we must exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees, and that comes from being perfect.

At this point, the natural response is “But I can’t be perfect,” which is absolutely true. In another place in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus summarizes the Law of God with two commandments: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37–40). This is certainly an admirable goal, but has anyone ever loved the Lord with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength and his neighbor as himself? Everything we do, say, and think has to be done, said, and thought from love for God and love for neighbor. If we are completely honest with ourselves, we have to admit that we have never achieved this level of spirituality.

The truth of the matter is that, on our own and by our own efforts, we can’t possibly be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. We don’t love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We don’t love our neighbors as ourselves. We have a problem, and it’s called sin. We are born with it, and we cannot overcome the effects of it on our own. Sin radically affects us to our core. Sin affects what we do, say, and think. In other words, it taints everything about us. Therefore, no matter how good we try to be, we will never meet God’s standard of perfection. The Bible says that all of our righteous deeds are like a “polluted garment” (Isaiah 64:6). Our own righteousness is simply not good enough and never will be, no matter how hard we try.

That’s why Jesus lived a perfect life in full obedience to the law of God in thought, word, and deed. Jesus’ mission wasn’t simply to die on the cross for our sins but also to live a life of perfect righteousness. Theologians refer to this as the “active and passive obedience of Christ.” Active obedience refers to Christ’s life of sinless perfection. Everything He did was perfect. Passive obedience refers to Christ’s submission to the crucifixion. He went willingly to the cross and allowed Himself to be crucified without resisting (Isaiah 53:7). His passive obedience on the cross pays our sin debt before God, but it is the active obedience that gives us the perfection God requires.

Paul writes, “But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe” (Romans 3:21–22). 

Through faith in Christ, the righteousness of God is given to us. This is called “imputed” righteousness. To impute something is to ascribe or attribute something to someone. When we place our faith in Christ, God ascribes the perfect righteousness of Christ to our account so that we become perfect in His sight. “For our sake he made him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Not only is Christ’s righteousness imputed to us through faith, but our sin is imputed to Christ. That is how Christ paid our sin debt to God. He had no sin in Himself, but our sin is imputed to Him so, as He suffers on the cross, He is suffering the just penalty that our sin deserves. That is why Paul can say, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

By having the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, we can be seen as sinless, as Jesus is sinless. It is not, therefore, our perfection, but His. When God looks at the Christian, He sees the holiness, perfection, and righteousness of Christ. Therefore, we can say with confidence, “I am sinless, as Jesus is sinless.”

A must watch Christian movie- God's not dead

Freshman university student Josh Wheaton attends a philosophy class, where the uncompromising Professor Radisson requires all students to submit a signed statement that the "God is dead" and never existed. When Josh refuses due to his own Christian beliefs, the Professor challenges him to defend his position that his god, Yahweh, is real, leading to a series of confrontational presentations between himself and the professor, with the class as jury. Josh's plans to go to law school depend on not failing this class. Josh's girlfriend urges him not to throw away his future with this pointless act of defiance. At the same time, Pastor Dave and African missionary Jude attempt to leave town on a trip, but are hindered by comical accidents. Student Ayisha is at odds with her father's conservative religious principles. Businessman Mark acts cynically towards his mentally ill mother, while his journalist girlfriend receives bad news from a doctor.

Radisson gives Josh twenty minutes at the end of the first three lecture sessions to argue that God exists. In the first two debates, Radisson has counter arguments for all of Josh's points. Josh's girlfriend Kara (Cassidy Gifford) tries to convince him to either drop out of class or follow Radisson's rules, fearing that standing up to Radisson will jeopardize their academic future, but she eventually breaks up with him when he refuses to disown his belief in God. Ultimately, it comes down to the third and final debate between Radisson and Josh, who again both make compelling points. Josh then halts his line of debate to pose a question to Radisson: "Why do you hate God?" After Josh repeats the question twice more, Radisson explodes in rage, confirming he hates God for his mother's death that left him alone despite his prayers. Josh then casually asks Radisson how he can hate someone that does not exist. In the end, Martin (Paul Kwo), a foreign exchange student whose father had encouraged him not to convert to Christianity so he can stay focused with the class, stands up and says "God's not dead." Almost the entire class follows Martin's lead, causing Radisson to leave the room in defeat.

Against the backdrop of the debates, a series of peripherally related subplots develop. Radisson dates Mina (Cory Oliver), an evangelical whom he often belittles in front of his fellow atheist colleagues. Her brother Mark (Dean Cain), a successful businessman and atheist, refuses to visit their mother, who suffers from dementia. Mark's girlfriend, Amy (Trisha LaFache), is a left-wing blogger who writes articles critical of Duck Dynasty. When she is diagnosed with cancer, Mark dumps her. A Muslim student named Ayisha (Hadeel Sittu) secretly converts to Christianity. However, when her brother caught listening to the passage of 1 Corinthians 15 on her iPod, she is ultimately disowned by her infuriated father when he finds out.

After the final debate, Josh invites Martin to attend the Newsboys concert that is in town. Radisson reads a letter from his late mother, and is moved to reconcile with Mina. Amy confronts the Newsboys in their dressing room, only to admit that she wants to get to know God. While Radisson is on way to find Mina, he is struck by a car and fatally injured.. Reverend Dave (David A.R. White) witnesses the incident just couple meters away. Reverend Dave finds him and guides him in becoming an evangelical Christian as he dies. Mark at last visits his mother, only to taunt her; she responds that all of his financial success was given to him by Satan.

As the film ends, the Newsboys play a video clip of Willie Robertson congratulating Josh. The Newsboys then play their song "God's Not Dead", dedicating it to Josh.

Christians shows you should watch

1. By the Book (CBS)

It is based on  the bestselling book The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs, By the Book centers on an everyday man (Jay R. Ferguson) who decides to start living according to the Bible. The twist? He doesn’t just keep the better-known rules like speaking honestly and giving to charity, he also adopts the more obscure laws such as calling the days of the week by their ordinal numbers to avoid voicing the names of pagan gods, playing a 10-string harp, growing a hipster beard, and eating crickets.

Why Christians Should Care: If done right, By the Book could be an excellent show for starting conversations about faith. Watching the lead character wrestle with scripture and his modern identity could be refreshing for viewers, and it’s fun to laugh at the more awkward quirks of Christian culture. Either way, the Bible will be front and center, which means Christians will be watching.

2. Splitting Up Together 

Based off a Danish series, Splitting Up Together follows a longtime couple (Jenna Fischer and Oliver Hudson) in the process of getting divorced. Surprisingly, instead of drifting apart, the two slowly discover their love remains. Now they’ll have to relearn what it means to be husband and wife all over again, with some added confusion from their friends and family.

Marriage has always been an important topic for Christians. Splitting Up Together doesn’t just challenge the purveying idea that divorce is a good solution to marital troubles, it also encourages viewers to take marriage seriously. Whether the rest of the show’s content is as edifying remains to be seen.

3. Kevin (Probably) Saves the World (ABC)

 An oblivious and self-centered man (played by Jason Ritter) encounters a spiritual entity (Kimberly Hébert Gregory) who claims to be a messenger from God. She explains that in every generation there are righteous souls who are chosen to save the world, and lucky Kevin has been selected. Obviously, this proves more difficult than either of them expected.

 There are faith-based aspects to the show such as honesty, charity, and learning to be selfless. Not to mention, Kevin’s personal ark revolves around fixing relations with his broken family. Still, Kevin’s spiritual guide appears pretty lax on certain religious details, and the God she serves may just be another generic, ethereal version who wants people to be happy. Either way, it’s worth taking note.