The Love of Many Will Wax Cold

In the previous blog post comment thread, a Christian blogging friend of mine was undeservedly labeled with a disparaging remark. I thought that a portion of my response deserved a blog post [a.k.a. a “Blogment”] all its own.  So here it is, with some added links and commentary:

 

Originally in reply to GMpilot:

From my perspective, Black3Actual does not deserve your disparaging remark. Just because you reject what he is sharing doesn’t make him what you called him in your comment.

For the longest time, you have disparaged God because of your own negative opinion of Him. You believe that the call in Scripture for the fear of God is something to dislike; even hate.

In Matthew 10:28, Jesus said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

The fear (meaning, dread) of God happened to Adam and Eve the moment that they sinned. Prior to that, they had a forever kind of loving relationship with Him. We (all human beings since) have inherited this tendency to sin, and thus unredeemed men and women (if honest with ourselves) also have the same dreaded fear of God.

Upon being saved, that slavish “fear of dread” turns to a reverential awe of God. This is what Jesus Christ accomplished for us at the cross. We no longer live in dread of our Heavenly Father – it turns around 360 degrees [meaning, a TOTAL turn in which we can face Him because of His agape love] towards a renewed and caring love for Him! And, because of our reverence for Him, His righteousness, and His Holiness, we fear to do evil.  Our desire is to live rightly, for Him!

I see Black3Actual’s heart as being a believer who wants the Lord to use him for His great purposes and His glory. Through reading his blog – The Oil For Your Lamp, I see him as desiring to meet people who are lost with whom he can share the Gospel of Christ.

Jesus shows us many times in Scripture how to pray. There is a great difference between those who say pagan prayers (where he/she tries to harness the spiritual powers of the universe to do his bidding… and so will say, “As I will so it must be.”) They are actually proclaiming, “my will be done.” It is the “being their own God” syndrome. Contrast that with the Christian prayer, “Thy [God’s] will be done.”

The Bible has been attacked over the last 200 years or so like never before. We have been warned in Matthew 24 that this will be the case the closer we get to the end times when “the love of many will grow cold.” The KJV says, “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many will wax cold.”

“Wax” as a verb from Dictionary.com:

1.  to increase in extent, quantity, intensity, power, etc.:
Discord waxed at an alarming rate.

[Note: Chuck Smith has a great written sermon on this verse. Read it HERE.]

Why has the love of many wax cold?

Because of lawlessness. Because iniquity shall abound.

We have seen the explosion of lawlessness and abounding iniquity here in the United States over the past 30 years! However, it most obviously became ratcheted up back in the 1960’s when the Bible was removed from the schools.

Mat 24:12

“And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.

Many secular “scholars” have joined in the savage attack. Yet, the critical scholars are proven wrong again and again. Why? Because as history unveils itself, the Bible is vindicated.

You, GM, choose your scholars. You choose your experts, in which mostly all express anti-Christian opinions. The point is that somebody chose those particular “experts” and they didn’t choose them by chance. They often stack the experts in such a way as to promote unbelief. [A recent example in the Darwinism vs. Intelligent Design battle is the so-called Homo naledi, which is already being questioned as a unique species of unclear evolutionary importance.]

The truth is, that link questioning this unique species will not get anywhere near the exposure via the media as the “discovery” of Homo naledi has.

But that is only one example. The quest to disprove (as well as disparage, twist, misinterpret, demonize etc.) the Word of God will go on until Christ returns. Meanwhile, Christians are rest assured that:

Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven. – Psalm 119:89

 

GM, I don’t ban you and I continue to answer your anti-Christian rants here for the purpose of countering what you write; and hopefully helping those who may come upon this blog to read the posts and comments to see what the Bible says on such matters. I don’t know everything, but God’s Word has the correct answers. Whether you agree or not doesn’t really matter.

Dostoyevsky famously said, “If there is no God, then all things are permissible.” That is why the fear of God is good, and to be a God-fearing person is healthy.

I have attempted to begin to express the relationship between the love and the fear of God. I’m sure there is much more evidence of this that can be shared from the Bible.  I would like to encourage readers to share such evidence in the comment section!

~  Christine

 

Hat tips to all links.

H/T:  Black3Actual

H/T:  GMpilot

 

 

In the Midst of Darkness, We Continue In What God Has Called Us to Do!

Sadly, I have seen several Christian bloggers choose to discontinue posting at their blogs.  I can certainly understand why.  The evil, sin, hatred towards Christians and Jews and awful deaths done by the radical Islamic terrorists in the world has increased exponentially over the past 6+ years!  Such things can be difficult to deal with on a daily basis.  Most of us would rather shut our T.V.’s off and also ignore the bad news given every day via the internet.  After all, it’s more fun just to play video games, post on social media, and text to our friends on our iPhones!

One of the most recent blog shut-downs that I have noticed is Muddy Streams: When the Crickets Stop Singing…

All that the author wrote was this:

After being a cricket chirping in the reeds for years, this is the 1,000th chirp from the Muddy Streams swampland, and quite possibly the last. We could write and read and talk about the muddy streams of spiritual convergence all day, but there are more important things to do. Can you hear the winds of change blowing in the reeds? A storm is coming, it’s time to get ready.

Get Right With God . . .

There are two videos there. The second one entitled, “The Only Hope in the Coming Storm” is quite sobering…to say the least! However, it ends with a powerful message for the Church of Jesus Christ in what can seem to be alerting us and reminding us that we are closer to the end times with each passing day.  I read comment sections where people fear that the U.S. might be approaching its final hour.

However, we are told in Scripture that we do not know the day nor hour when Christ will come for His own and whisk us away from this fallen world. We know that Christ’s kingdom is NOT OF THIS WORLD. He has specifically told us this in the Bible.

Jhn 8:23

And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.

Jhn 18:36

Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”

However, He has given all of us “assignments” – if you will – in this world; and we are to remain faithful until He brings all to the completion that we so desire!

Jesus provides many Scriptures of comfort for us. Among them are:

Jhn 11:9

Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. [italics mine]

Jhn 11:10

“But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”

He gives us Scriptures of warning:

1Jo 4:3

and every spirit that does not confess that [fn] Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

Rom 12:2

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

And, He gives us Scriptures of encouragement and blessing, like those in 1 John 4!

Below are just a few of the verses from that chapter, but the entire chapter (link above) describes God’s love towards us perfectly and how we are to continue our work until the day of redemption.

1Jo 4:2

By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,

1Jo 4:4

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

1Jo 4:6

We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

1Jo 4:9

In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.

1Jo 4:10

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

1Jo 4:11

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

My comment over at Muddy Streams is still awaiting moderation, but wanted to share it here.

on April 21, 2015 at 11:21 pm | Reply christinewjc
Your comment is awaiting moderation.

I hope that you will change your mind and continue your excellent blogging!

I know it can be taxing – especially when so much evil, sin, and death is happening at such a higher rate than ever before! Sometimes it helps to take a week off (like I recently did) and come back refreshed to continue posting the TRUTH.

People NEED to hear and read the TRUTH of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and they need to be reminded of what God’s Word – the Bible says!

As bloggers, we have no idea how many people may have been blessed by our online work for the Lord. Perhaps we will learn of this in the future in heaven?

I, for one, truly appreciate the work you do here at this blog!

In Christ,
Christine

https://talkwisdom.wordpress.com/

Do Not Be Afraid

Update 5/15/14

This post went to drafts, untitled, yesterday.  It is amazing how events transpired afterwards, which gave this post even more meaning and a choice for the title!  Read on to see why.

~ Christine

Jesus stated in John 14:27:

 

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.

I do not give to you as the world gives.

Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

John 14:27

 

My post that was started and written 5/14/14:

While trying to recall the name and artist of a beautifully encouraging song that  I had heard yesterday, I just happened to click on what is trending as “most popular” on You tube.   There, was a video in that category which showed a democratic representative from Florida picking dirt and wax from his ear and eating it. It had over 900,000 views! Maybe kids in 5th grade might be enthralled with such a thing, but 900,000 views?

I find that when I don’t watch much news or cruddy TV shows, movies, or reality shows, my mind enjoys what Scripture describes in this beautiful Bible verse:

Phl 4:8

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

While channel surfing last evening, I ran across a show called, “True Tori.” It’s a reality show about Tori Spelling and her cheating husband Dean McDermott. Why would anyone in their right mind devise a TV show that spatters all of their dirty laundry, while making the claim to want to “save” their marriage? It could only be for the money.

I feel bad for the kids of selfish, narcissistic, screwed up celebrities that do such things for the sake of grabbing public attention (and money!) in order to keep them “relevant.” One day, this particular  couple’s  four children are going to grow up and the videos of these fighting and cursing parents will live on through eternity.  What a sad state of affairs!

I like to celebrate good, working, ambitious, creative, and loving people! Those who have, and associate with  such great family members and friends KNOW how wonderful it is to have God as their cornerstone in life. Such joy can’t help but rub off onto their children, extended family members, friends, and acquaintances.

I truly believe that people can’t accomplish such a life on their own. We all need God first, family second, and job third in order for our lives to truly flourish in goodness, mercy, and grace.

Update 5/15/14

I started this blog post yesterday. I could not recall the name of the song, nor the artist’s name! I did a search for “all Christian music artists,” but still could not find Tanner Clark’s name!

Then…the fires started here in North County, San Diego! Our little town literally became surrounded by 7 fires all around us! I was glued to the TV, following the progression of each of the fires. When the one right next door to us – just a few miles away began burning – we packed up for possible evacuation if the wind shifted and brought the fire our way!

While I was packing, I looked in my closet and tried to decide which clothes to pack. I thought about losing much of what was in my closet if (heaven forbid!) our house burned down. I picked up the newest items that I had purchased.  I was sure to pack my Mother’s Day gifts from my adult children! And as I threw some items into my suitcase, Tanner Clark’s song came back to me!  Below you will find the music video. I sang it to myself throughout the day and found it very comforting. Made me realize that life isn’t made up of “things” because what’s most important is God and His Son, Jesus Christ in my life!  Plus, add in the love of my family and friends! Who could want or need more?

With Jesus in my life, there is no need to be afraid!