The battle for the heart, mind and soul has been going on ever since Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden. This battle is waged in the classroom, in the ballot box and in the home. Countries have gone to war over this. Increasingly, it takes place in the Church, where Pastors choose to lead their Church where God never intended.Take the Pastor of a Scarsdale Church that I recently visited. Every issue that currently divides the Church was on display there. To begin with, the Pastor had a woman preacher sub for him during his recent vacation. Women's ordination has divided the Christian world. "Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you"-Genesis 3:11. God created harmony and a chain of command but we created the battle of the sexes.
That woman went on to call for civil disobedience against the United States Government, letting the congregation know that they are under no compunction to follow a government that is unjust. All the prayers said that day were engineered to teach the congregation to walk in lock-step to goals consistent with her world view. Not, I may add, giving any biblical evidence for her convictions, or very weak ones. "At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another"-Matthew 24:10.
Or, take Pastor Steve* in Switzerland. Two weeks ago, he used the authority given him as Associate Pastor to throw some cheap shots at the President of the United States. He went on to question God's wisdom for battles that He directed the Israelites to wage in Old Testament times. He then proceeded on a sort of apology tour for God. I could not take communion from this man's hands, I could not. This Pastor was attempting to make the Bible, which is God's Word to us, pleasing to people who would not sit in a Church unless they be given a new revised version of Christianity.
The revision that I heard that day made: Christians the chosen people, instead of the grafted on relation of the Jew. The land of Israel the joint homeland of the Palestian and Jew, which contradicts God's written plan. Further, this Pastor was possessed of an arrogant and superior attitude toward the whole Bible creating the image of one adversarial to its' message. "Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many"-Matthew24:11.
As I write this I am in Jerusalem. Nowhere is the battle for hearts and minds and the battle between good and evil stronger than over here! You have to be blind and deaf not to see and hear it on the streets everyday. Men with placards and arguments for why the city of Jerusalem should be the undivided capitol of the Jewish people. Taxi drivers more than vocal both for and against the state of Israel. That's before you even get to your hotel. It is in your face, all the time. What I have seen in the United States and Europe first started in Israel. It is the only place that God himself chose to establish a people and a place for a specific purpose. The battle begins here, and as the Book of Revelation tells us, will end here also.
As I travel, I see that the battle lines are drawn and it's good versus evil in the twelfth round. Most boxing matches don't go all twelve rounds but this fight seems to have gone as far as any fight can go. As the fight to follow God or follow that serpent in the Garden continues it looks like Satan is winning. I see people all over the world busy pursuing meaningless pleasures : shopping, sexually sinning, watching evil movies, misleading television or wasting their time inordinately involved in stupid social media.
I hear people try to convince me that women, student, black, poor or disabled people should get more, more, more. Yet, never do I hear those same people show any concern for the other outside of him or herself. "Then Peter began to speak: I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism, but accepts from every nation the one who fears Him and does what is right"-Acts 10:34-35. I see women abusive toward their husbands. People using their so-called status as an excuse to loot, rage and get away with bad behavior. "Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord"-Hebrews 12:14. I actually counted the number of parents who had healthy interchange with their children and the statistics are dismal. Instead, I see children and parent alike staring at their devices. Elderly of all colors lonely and discarded. None of this is godly.
People espouse so many kooky philosophies. It seems they will believe almost anything, except the God of the Bible. I know they are looking for a transformative experience. But, they are looking in all the wrong places. They look for it in education but only "the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding"- Proverbs 2:6. They believe that traveling the world and living in different cultures will give them what they are looking for. In Europe, people told me what is working for them : yoga, zen reiki, lagom or ikigai. When I tell them Jesus is the center of my life, they know nothing about him except what the hate-filled Professor or media outlet have told them to think. They know nothing of the gospel. Over the years, I have seen all of these various philosophies overrun book store shelves promising the reader balance, happiness, health and perspective. Yet, each fad falls out of favor and then people are searching for the next big thing. "Nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith"-1Timothy 1:4.
Eventually, this gets exhausting and you are left with nothing. Please understand that only God can satisfy that hunger that you may feel. Only He can give the correct answers to the questions that you may have. He teaches us to love and serve. He teaches us everlasting principles that will take us (as He took Abram) on a journey. When we decide to follow Jesus Christ, that decision changes and challenges our whole life. It will get us to where we need to be. God lets us decide, but there are consequences to our decisions.The Amplified Bible, Romans 1:28 says: And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God or consider Him worth knowing (as their Creator), God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do things which are improper and repulsive"
Do you like the things that you see going on around you? Haven't things gotten way out of hand? If you agree, read the Bible which explains the alternative that God offers each and every one of us. "Finally, brothers rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you"-2 Corinthians 13:11.
*the names are changed or given as a star for identity protection.
