PRODIGAL SUN                                              

                                                 January 2023

 

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

 

The predominant emphasis this past year from the Holy Spirit was for the church to return to prayer and the study of God’s Word. How many were obedient I have no idea but the thought alone gives me a sense of foreboding. The study of His Word and prayer are the two primary sources of communication we are to have with the Godhead. To turn a deaf ear to this call may well have everlasting spiritual consequences that we will not want to bear the consequences of.

 

There is a song which in part questions, “What if I had given everything?” That thought is one that may well follow most of us into eternity. Early in my walk with the Lord I was directed to spend two and a half hours a day in His Word. What I learned was that it was not some sort of performance issue, some self prescribed ‘law,’ but what it would take for me to stand against our world view secular culture, and to be a light in the darkness. If God’s Word is not alive in you, and your lifestyle, you are of no value to God’s eternal kingdom.

 

If the above offends you consider this word of wisdom from Thomas Paine. He said, “If you are unwilling to offend you cannot speak the truth.” We must speak the truth for if we don’t it will cease to exist. Isaiah 59:14 reads, “Justice is turned back, And righteous stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter.” The following verse reads, “So truth fails. And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.”

 

Paul, in his writing to Timothy refers to the house of God being the pillar and ground of the truth. (1 Tim 4:15) What has happened? In short, we have opened the doors and permitted Satan to not just enter, but stay.. Jesus Himself described Satan as a liar from the beginning. (John 8:44).We have separated ourselves from the clear cut mandates of God. We first ignored the wicked customs of worldly culture so as not to offend anyone. After becoming desensitized we began to dabble in them finding pleasure for the flesh/emotions. Our leaders found compromising God’s Word filled the pews and coffers. Finally, they (Satan and his minions) took over with the authority we bestowed on them. We are told in James 4:7 to submit to God, then resist the enemy and he will flee from you. If we back up a few verses we read, “Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity (at war) with God?” The adultery here is not just a sexual act but one of transferring covenant loyalty into a perverted relationship. We should have learned from Adam what happens when ignoring God’s Word. The end result is always death. What is happening in the church now first began in the home where God’s Word, His ways, were no longer honored. Children were not being raised up with God’s Word (Jesus) as the center. After getting Him out of homes, and our hearts, it was a simple matter to remove access to a knowledge of Him from schools and now many churches. This plague of wickedness sweeping the land confirms the eschatological time frame we are in. The once leading Christian nation on earth has become a cesspool of filth and wickedness.

 

When viewing 2 Thessalonians 2 we see that the coming of Jesus again will not occur until the falling away occurs and the revealing of the man of sin. Never before in the history of mankind has such a widespread falling away occurred such as we see now in what professes to be the Body of Christ. Just as Jesus wept over Jerusalem so should we weep over what we see with the same brokenness He had. That is impossible for us in the natural but God’s grace can empower the spiritual man or woman to walk in His footsteps. We are having our kingdom removed from us here in America (and I’m sure other places) but it can be the best of times for those who will wholly commit themselves to the Lord’s blueprint for their lives. Yes, we are going to lose our wealth and our liberty, wickedness will continue to escalate, perversion will go beyond even what we see now, and be accepted for ‘normal,’ their right of expression of ‘who’ they are. That part will be true. We will be either children of God or children of the devil. There are only two classes of people in the world, and you are not going to be reincarnated to try to get it right next time. That is another lie of the devil. God says, “And as it is appointed for man to die once but after this the judgment.” Hebrews 9:27

 

Christmas is just a week away and I am so thankful that the little babe in a manger grew up and fulfilled His Father’s blueprint for His life. We can only guess what it was like for God to be born in all the likeness of a baby and knowing that His life’s blueprint could only be fulfilled by being rejected, beaten, and finally tortured on a cross at the end of His ‘natural’ life. His Blood, the Cross, and the Empty Tomb all represent our pardon from eternal condemnation if accepted on His terms. His Word tells us it is the gift of God, received by faith, and totally without any merit on our part.

 

When we turn to the Lord it puts our back to the world’s value system. Walking within it’s confines without becoming contaminated is impossible in the natural so God gives us the gift of His Holy Spirit to guide, strengthen, and equip us for our position in His Kingdom’s business here on earth. Therein lies our responsibility to choose Who or what we will follow. Lot’s wife looked back towards all she was leaving and turned into a pillar of salt. She had disobeyed God’s direction through an angel. (Genesis 19:15-26) Then there was a ruler that thought he kept all the commandments and wanted to inherit eternal life. Jesus quickly showed him that he didn’t keep them all but violated the first and that was to not have any other god’s. His god was riches.

 

Back in the second paragraph of the first page was a question, “What if I had given everything?” Maybe we should rephrase it to “What am I holding onto that hinders my effectiveness in Your plans Lord?”

The Lord once spoke these words to me, “I don’t begrudge you any good thing, only the method by which you get it.”

Let’s meditate on these two things as we enter a New Year.

 

kenhayesfleming@gmail.com                                                       Kenneth H. Fleming

www.wbcis.com                                                                             502 Market Street

(814) 687-3707                                                                              Fallentimber, Pa. 16639