Difficult Times Have Come!

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather  than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”  –  2 Timothy 3:1-7

In seeking to understand the times we are living in and the people who I live around, I felt that I needed to study what Paul had written to Timothy about the last days. In studying this passage, I believe I have identified twenty-one distinct characteristics of the people of my generation.

In order to avoid verbosity, I’ll just list the characteristics of our last days culture:

1. Unexcusable focus. (“lovers of their own selves”)

2. Unfulfilling pursuits. (“covetous- lovers of money”)

3. Untruthful estimations. (“boasters”)

4. Unbridled arrogance. (“proud”)

5. Unfearing disrespect. (“blasphemers”)

6. Ungrateful losers. (“disobedient to parents”)

7. Unthankful lips. (“unthankful”)

8. Unholy lives. (“unholy”)

9. Unnatural love. (“without natural affection – unloving”)

10. Unfaithful words. (“trucebreakers – irreconcilable”)

11. Unreliable witnesses. (“false accusers – malicious gossips”)

12. Uncontrollable desires. (“incontinent – without self-control”)

13. Uncivil motivations. (“fierce – brutal”)

14. Unscrupulous morals. (“despisers of those that are good”)

15. Unloyal actions. (“traitors”)

16. Unproductive attitudes. (“heady – reckless”)

17. Unrealistic expectations. (“highminded”)

18. Unheavenly affections. (“lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God”)

19. Unjustified hypocrisy. (“having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof”)

20. Ungodly influencers. (“lead captive silly women laden with sins”)

21. Unpossessing fools. (“always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth”)

Many will say, “Well, brother, we have always had these kind of people in our societies. That’s just the way of the world.” I agree. But now these are the PREDOMINATE characteristics of our culture.

Paul’s counsel to Timothy in light of all this was two-fold: live the Word (2 Tim. 3:10-17), and preach the Word (2 Tim. 4:1-5). As in Paul’s day, our culture needs to be confronted with both life and lips. Its time for some sanctified “show and tell.”

Church, Where is Your Heart?

“Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure. But nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their minds and consciences are corrupt. Such people claim they know God, but they deny him by the way they live. They are detestable and disobedient, worthless for doing anything good.”  –  Titus 1:15-16

I live in a part of the country where it is almost impossible to find someone who will admit that they don’t know God. In south Alabama, the response is always, “Sure I’m a Christian. I know God. I’ve been going to church all my life.” You would think I live in the most wholesome place in the world. Wrong!

Hypocrisy and false profession are nothing new in our world. Titus was warned by Paul that he would run into people like that. It is amazing, though, how thin the veil of separation has become between the church and the world. Many who profess to know God are living such godless lives that they make demons blush.

I am once again reminded that it is not a person’s profession but their possession that determines their authenticity. Anyone can say they are a Christian but where is the fruit of a Christian life? We flee from those who emphasize the importance of fruit…but then again so did the Pharisees when it came to John the Baptist’s preaching.

There will be no fruit where there is no root. Ultimately, our authenticity comes back to the issue of the heart. It takes a transformed heart to evidence a truly transformed life. Paul told Titus that a transformed (or pure) heart would interject purity or transformation into every facet of a person’s life.

Conversely, Paul told Titus that a heart that had not been transformed by the power of God was only capable of corrupting everything in a person’s life. Whether it be attitudes or actions, everything would be characterize by corruption and unbelief.

Church, how can we look like the world, act like the world, talk like the world, walk like the world, and ever expect to be transformational? In order to make a difference, we must be different! We must lay aside the things of the flesh and put on the Lord Jesus Christ. We must “cleanse our hands and purify our hearts” (James 4:8), if we ever expect God’s presence and blessing.

It is time for the Church to answer God’s call to holiness…it’s time for the Church to get a heart!

Shepherds with No Senses

“The shepherds of my people have lost their senses. They no longer seek wisdom from the Lord. Therefore, they fail completely, and their flocks are scattered.”  –  Jeremiah 10:21

The words of Jeremiah are hauntingly relevant in our day. They paint a picture that is too accurate to keep us from blushing. They indict the modern-day pulpit as never before.

There is a creeping darkness in our land today and I believe it is because of the lack of light from our church’s pulpits. Many a preacher is “treading water” in the pulpit on Sunday, just biding time until Monday when they can pursue their own personal interests and hobbies.

This is the day of the “microwave message.” Instead of spending hours in prayer and the word, sermons are “got” from the internet and every other conceivable source…and gotten quickly. Illustrations that are not personal and anecdotes that ring emptily, line the average sermon and leave the sheep week and anemic. Messages are no longer blood-filled but instead leave a “good feel.”

The so-called shepherds of our day “no longer seek wisdom from the Lord,” and the sheep show it to be so. Discernment is almost a lost jewel in the church today. The ability to identify truth and error is almost gone. Pews may be full, but hearts are empty. The slightest blow of the enemy brings many casualties in the church. Failure has become commonplace among the converts of these miserable ministers.

What can be done for the “shepherds that have lost their senses?” I found as a boy that the senses in my knees were intensified when a few layers of skin were peeled back. The flesh exposed became highly sensitive  to everything it came in contact with once the outer layers were taken away.

Drastic times call for drastic actions. It is time for the outer layers of hypocrisy and sin to be peeled back in the lives of those who call themselves shepherds. Let this happen and there would be a mass defection from the ministry. Pulpits would be emptied by two-thirds; that’s because many “good men” are not “God’s men!”

Judah was being warned by Jeremiah of coming destruction. America is facing destruction under the mighty hand of God. Jeremiah responded by praying:

“I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to plan our own course. So correct me, Lord, but please be gentle. Do not correct me in anger, for I would die. Pour out your wrath on the nations that refuse to acknowledge you–on the peoples that do not call upon your name…”  — Jeremiah 10:23-25

Shepherds, come to your senses! Pray! Seek the face of God before it is too late! Stop dabbling and babbling and repent with your whole heart! Realize that your life is not your own! Realize that you don’t have all the answers…you don’t even know all the questions! Humble yourself before the mighty hand of God and He will lift you up!