Naked and Proud

Signs of The End Times: 

The Naked Epidemic

     Today, in Laodicea, you cannot tell the difference between a porn star, or a rapper, singer, or athlete. Today, even gospel singers and First Ladies wear the latest trends in revealing clothing, embracing standards set by celebrities. Today, men's clothes are just as tight, short, and revealing as the women's clothes. Sliced, netted, cropped, distressed! All the ways we can show more skin! Celebrities are idolized as they wear floor length gowns made of nothing more than a translucent fabric draped with holes, and completely sheer dresses which show their entire anatomy. All are naked, all are proud. 

      In a day where the less you wear, the more attention and 'likes' you get, a day where the new definition of classy includes tasteful nudity(?) how does one navigate their course and stay in the will of God? 

         Just twenty years ago what we now consider to be "classy" would have been classified as the clothes of a harlot. And what we classified then as harlot behavior, has now become the average millennial's weekend out 😖 What is happening in our society, and why is it happening so rapidly?

In Revelation 3, God says to the church of the last days (yes, that would be us), 

           ...Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”

               ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭3:17-18‬ ‭KJV‬‬

        It certainly seems that we are blind- we have clearly reversed the definition of what is acceptable and what is not. We blindly eat the fruit of our decisions, watching the rise of divorce, plastic surgery, fatherless children, molestation, child trafficking, vanity, suicide, and the erosion of human morality. 

        I encourage you to watch out for the spirit of lust that has blinded an entire generation. Watch for that spirit of pride, that believes that this flesh is worthy of display, that these bodies that we have started building, and manufacturing (as the day allows), are worth more than the dust they are created from.

       Yes! To the children of God I caution, you are bought with a price! Your body is not your own! It belongs to God! You are engaged to Jesus Christ- and he is a jealous God who does not fancy your nakedness being revealed to all. 

        So, you ask:  Would God deny me the opportunity to generate thousands of followers on Instagram, based on the body that HE gave me??? In a world where nakedness is popular, would God have me suffer the awkward persecution of being the only one of my friends, totally covered? Would he condemn me to the agony of having to deny my fleshly desires that thirst for attention and likes, and the praise of my peers? To these burning, modern era questions God answers, "Yes."

              “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.”

                          ‭‭James‬ ‭1:12‬ ‭KJV‬‬

         “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

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

                       ‭‭Romans‬ ‭12:1-2‬ ‭KJV‬‬

 In a day where nakedness is the standard, buy (seek!) of the Lord white raiment, to be clothed in the beauty of His righteousness. If you cannot see the value in yourself being covered, ask God to reveal this to you! He will create in you a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within you.          Besides, without even seeing you, I can tell you that you are more beautiful covered than naked. 

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And ALWAYS Stay Noisy For God!

"Stay Woke?" : The Empty Pew Epidemic

 

 Something inside of me wants to yell,

           "ITS TIME! WAKE UPPPPPP!!!!!!" 

    I know I can't be alone in this. It's time for those of you who are seeing- those of you who have a heavy heart- to take action. Isn't it amazing that secular people are now saying "stay woke"? Did you know that's biblical? 

           “The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.”

                           ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭4:7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

      It's chilling to me how we are so blind, as the final days before judgment come upon us. Have you not seen the attendance of local churches dropping, lower, lower? Haven't you noticed the empty pews at bible class? Churches everywhere are struggling to keep their doors open. The saints will no longer support, attendance-wise or financially. There are now more enemies (tares) planted in the pews than true Saints of God. 

          The enemy has launched a major attack on the body of Christ, he has planted suicide bombers in the church, and every time they go off, they kill and wound many souls. The devil grins as People cry "church hurt, church hurt"- as though our Savior was not the ultimate example of that. We have stopped working together to carry our faith. We have started to stay home, to participate in the gossip, we have begun to reason our way out of bearing the responsibility of the great falling away.

       Why are we wasting so much time worried about things that really carry no eternal weight? Concerned about social media and celebrities when Christians at being killed by the thousands in other countries? Just last week a busload of Christians were killed in Egypt- 28 dead. (Say their names) Because of the constant occurrence, our own president has are called it an anti-Christian genocide. Are you aware?

       The scale has been tipped. How are they being killed for their faith, and we believe we deserve an award for attending a Sunday Service? (Where all we do is sit...) We have become non-descript, undistinguishable, unremarkable- we are now no different than the world. We go to the same places, do the same things, we dress the same, we think the same- we believe the same. We have lost our savour.

         “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”

‭                          Matthew‬ ‭5:13

       Somehow we have glamorized the church of old, saying it "ain't what it used to be". And I agree. The main reason being the saints aren't what they used to be. Saints of old made their way to service, rain, sleet ,or snow. Sickness or grieving, they brought their burdens to the altar. They didn't use meditation, exercise, marijuana, vacations, or social media to self medicate. 

        The church will continue to fall apart because the devil has a plan. Long term it involves bullying us into submission. Denying churches grants. Forcing preachers to submit their sermons to the government. Poisoning our children through the tv and the Internet. Persecuting Pastors until they are dead or wounded. And watering us down until we don't even know wrong from right.

    Please wake up. Be faithful to your local ministry. Be an example of enduring love to those around you- those who do not know God. Spend time with Jesus everyday. Read a chapter, listen to worship, and pray. You must remain vigilant, you must eat to stay strong. We already have the victory. A movement is brewing...Are you willing to fight?

" I can't stop sinning!"

Killing the flesh- is it a process, or a sudden death? Scripturally, when you are baptized, it is a type of burial. The old you goes down beneath the water and is supposed to stay there. The new you arises, prepared to walk in the newness of life. Old things have passed away, and behold all things are become new (2Cor5.17)...Or have they?

     I say this not to question the power or validity of the watery grave of baptism. I know people who have been baptized and came up completely delivered from their struggles with sin, and I mean completely. 

"God is taking too long"

  

    Who can stand to wait on God when everyone else is gaining success and outdoing us daily? We need to "arrive", and stat! There is simply no time to pray, read our bible, AND seek God in every little thing...Or is there? 

     Wisdom says that if you don't make that time, God will create that time. None experienced the painful process of patience quite like the Ex-Egyptian-Prince turned lonely shepherd, Moses. Pastor Moses spent forty years on the backside of that mountain shepherding sheep before God called him into his greater purpose of shepherding His people.

     Let's use our imaginations and envision what those forty years must have felt like. You can easily see a nearly depressed, guilt ridden Moses. How he replayed his sinful mistakes, over and over again.