Abba's Own. David R. Lumsden
ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He shall exalt you.
Speak not one against another, brethren. He that speaketh against a brother, or judgeth his brother, speaketh against the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judgest the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. One only is the lawgiver and judge, even he who can save and destroy: but who art thou that judges your neighbour? In God’s sight, humans are lost sinners, who need redemption through Christ and His work, alone.
Come now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into this city, and spend a year there, and trade, and get gain: whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For ye are a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall both live, and do this or that. But now ye glory in your vauntings (boastings): all such glorying is evil. To him, therefore, that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin,” (Jas 4: 1- 17).
Some people who profess to be Christian do not believe and heed this Word, sad to say. They are not ignorant, but not willing to be humble for which God resisteth the proud, but gives grace to the humble and obedient, for which God is gracious to forgive and save them.
Due to sin, man is morally estranged (separated, out of relationship and fellowship with God) from God. Unless a person repents, turns away from sin and turns to God through faith His only begotten Son, man remains in this condition of moral estrangement, and if he dies in his sins, he faces eternal punishment. But if a sinner confesses sin to God, repents and forsakes sin and turns to trust in Jesus, he is forgiven and cleansed from all his sin and unrighteousness, (1 Jn 1: 9). One who believes God will have one’s sin, transgressions, guilt, and misery removed as far as the east is from the west (Ps 103: 12) and have peace with God (Rom 5: 1), forever. God promises.
Faith is the biblical response to God's truth. God says that without faith it is impossible to please God. God says that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen, (Heb 11: 1). You can have eternal life and know a living hope. The Word of God is faithful and real. You may ask, ‘What is the truth?’ ‘What is reality?’ Our believing God does not make Him truth; God is God and, He is Truth. We do not create reality by what we believe exists. God is God, our loving creator and, our trustworthy owner. He does exist, and what He says is the Truth. Your faith is only as high as the knowledge of the object of your faith: God who has spoken in His Word, “I Am Jehovah,” in the OT, (Ex 6: 3; Ps 83: 18), and “LORD GOD the ALMIGHTY, who was, who is, and who is to come,” in the NT, (Rev 4: 8). He only is worthy of belief, trust, and worship in spirit and truth.
The thought of this age being Post-Christian and Post-Evangelistic is filled with alternative truth (a lie). This age is filled with the 'selfie,' digital information, artificial intelligence, human labour trafficking, the Big Bang theory, ‘scientific evidence,’ lack of biblical foundations taught by parents at home and teachers in the schools to Generation-X and Millennial children, so they understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This age is filled with corrupt TV, religious and cultural pluralism, relativism, and privatism (one’s religion is a private matter, not to be shared, but kept to oneself) and, yes, the old sinful nature even of every believer. All are an effort of the enemy to deny a person the opportunity to know God, be known by God, receive Jesus, have new life and meaning for their life now, and in eternity. Even some former evangelical God-honoring churches have adopted the occult. But, this is the Church Age, and the Church is a body of believers in a place to worship God. Worshippers are thankful for the availability of God’s grace, for the forgiveness of sin. They are thankful to God for all who believe God and repent of their sins, and for the building of His Kingdom of which they will belong through Jesus Christ their Lord. The above information (involvement of the occult) provides part of the explanation why the Church is on the decline; souls are not being converted and added to the kingdom of God, rather, churches are collecting dollars and counting attendance to support a ‘counterfeit’ religion.
The thought of being a personal idol lures some people into worshiping themselves. They are swept off their feet into a whirlwind of thinking of themselves as a god. Some move from a pantheistic view (God is in everything) to thinking of themselves as a god. How well they appear on social media, they believe. They look famous in their self-conceit by how many people follow them on social media, as on Facebook or Twitter. Fame is more important to them than a willingness to believe God and worship Him. Their claim to fame (temporary at best) seems to be measured in their following. Claim to fame is a trap by Satan to draw people’s attention away from God and His Christ, to themselves. One individual asked the author, “How large is your following?” I wonder how he would inquire if not focused on self-aggrandizement and fame on this earth. There is nothing more significant that gives one a sense of usefulness and fulfillment for one’s existence, than being an influence in another person’s eternal state and leading that person to readiness for eternity in Jesus Christ. If you are sensing God’s call upon you to preach and soul win, you could not be more privileged, even in your wildest dreams. The author encourages you in your calling, to pray, to study diligently, to preach the Word for soul-winning. Converts to dwell with Him is what matters to God, not that people perish. Believers need to encourage others to believe God and be circumspect, i.e. Be careful to consider all circumstances and consequences, regarding this life now, and eternal life after this temporal life, (Phil 3:14).
One person on a TV morning talk show had taken twenty-four ‘selfies’ and was sorting to determine which would make her look great for the audience. Her movement and expression were almost that of ‘self-worship,’ while she was making her selection. The scene of self-worship was repulsive (not to judge, but it was repulsive). Self-worship is falling short of God’s call for true worshippers; He seeks for those who worship Him in spirit and truth, as Creator and Almighty God. For a creature to worship another creature or oneself, puts one at enmity with God. One needs to believe God and confess pride as sin. Pride was the deadly fault of Satan that led him to an attempt to usurp God’s throne, for which he was cursed for eternity. I felt compassion for that lady and prayed for her to find someone to show her repentance and faith in Jesus, by which she would become an eternal child of God, concerned about His glory.
In some cases, the signs of imminent danger are pictured right in their selfies. They are not paying attention, nor do they know that their actions are absurd and
dangerous. Why do they not replace, the Self, in their heart to Jesus Christ and let Him fill them with His love and life? One day we will stand before the True Living God, Jesus, and know Him as Judge. Be circumspect!
The author was on one website which showed people taking a ‘selfie,’ moments before dying. One lady, swimming in shark-infested waters, was taking a picture of herself with a shark, shown in the picture, which attacked and killed her, just seconds after she took a picture of herself. Had she thought of believing God, and being in the eternity of God before this disastrous event occurred? Was she ready? Was she too late for making her decision about God and yielding her allegiance to Him? Signs are posted along the beach. Was she circumspect? People need to think that it is not a matter of how many follow them on social media, but on how many follow Jesus Christ because of their influence on others.
Some like to say, ‘I will wait until I am on my death bed,’ not realizing death can be at any unexpected moment, as was the case for the woman killed by the shark. It can happen so suddenly, and one has no opportunity to set one’s life ready for eternity. Yes, then it is too late unless in the last seconds they repent of their sin and turn to Jesus for salvation. Still, your time is now. Once one makes the transition, then it is too late. If one has not decided, this side of eternity, to repent from sin, forsake all forms of crimes, and receive Jesus as presented by God in the Holy Bible, it is too late. May the truth be known.
May you know this day, “And inasmuch as It is appointed unto man once to die, after this cometh Judgment,” (Heb. 9: 27). God is fair and says that people need to be mindful of their eternal destination as a significant reality; being known by God for being welcomed by Him into Heaven, not just hoping that when they die, they will go to Heaven. Their final state may be shocking, and too late