'I think' was what I said to myself as I began to write this blog. Actually, I had that thought several days ago and I have been thinking a lot about, well a lot of things.
There are probably very few of you who are not aware of just how out of control things seem to be in our world today. Everywhere you look it seems that what we have known to be truth and logic are being cast aside left and right.
What is even more amazing to me is that this isn't seen in a couple of places but rather in every institution. Religious, business, entertainment, sports, government, and sadly in the church. You can see examples in each where truth and logic are being cast aside. The balance of each has been altered.
In golf, you play by hitting a ball. If that ball is clean, then it is simply affected as it leaves the club face by the action to which it was hit. If you hit from outside in the club plane, it will cause the ball to spin and it is commonly known as a slice. The opposite is true of the hook. Now if you know what you are doing, and I admit I don't know how to do it, you can make that slice a fade or that hook a draw. In other words, you can take that overt slice or hook and use it to hit the ball around obstacles like trees that might line a fairway.
It would appear, that all we are doing is slicing and hooking everything. Overt reaction to how we are hitting life as a people. I want to know more about how to fade or draw the ball. In order to do that, I have to practice. That is what we are lacking today in our world. We are not practicing the things necessary to have a better life. We are just going through life in a haphazard way.
Isaiah the prophet wrote about this in chapter 53 in the first half of verse 6 he said using the ESV-
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way;...
He was making it perfectly clear that like sheep we are wandering around, every one of us, doing what we think is what we should do. If you know much about shee, they are not very bright. They need someone to care for them, to guide them. Our granddaughter has raised sheep before. She told us "Nani and Poppa, sheep are just dumb". She had one that got his head stuck in a fence and couldn't figure out how to get his head out and choked to death. She doesn't do sheep anymore. She is raising and showing hogs but that is a story for another day.
We should not be surprised that God's Word describes people as sheep. We need a shepherd to lead us. Now that is not to say that we are not capable of caring for ourselves but it does however make us keenly aware of how needy we can be. I'm not a sheep who is able to be controlled by others. I can and do think for myself. I pray and listen to God to direct me in my life.
I wish I could say that for humanity in general, but just look around and there is no way you can conclude that people are anything but sheep. They are following shepherds that are leading them to the slaughter. Killing their spirits, kids, hearts, and even their lives.
If you go back to Isaiah 53:6 and read part 2 of the verse here is what it says-
...and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
A prophet of God told us that people are like sheep and are running around —every one—to his own way; meaning that we shouldn't be surprised at how far off course they might go. If you think about this for a minute you will quickly see how devoid of truth and the Lord our world is and that Satan is certainly at work.
In 1 Peter 5:8 ESV he says that-
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour
In Job 1:7 the Lord asks Satan a question and his response is very telling. Using the NLT we read-
“Where have you come from?” the LORD asked Satan. Satan answered the LORD, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.”
Now please understand God knew exactly where he had been and what he had been doing. Satan responds by saying he was (and still is today) watching everything that’s going on. He is doing the same thing today and he is having a field day with so many people on the earth. He is encouraging and hastening mankind to make decisions without full thought of the consequences. There are always consequences and they can be extremely hazardous.
So as I think about all of this,I have concluded that there is no doubt in my mind that this world is definitely getting extremely close to the end as we know it. I mean simply look around at what is happening. Listen to what is being said.
Someone we spoke to recently said they had a friend who was scared to die. I personally don't know why they are afraid to die. I would not want to judge and say if someone is afraid to die that they are lost. I could certainly understand that there could be people who are saved yet they fear dying. I don't fear dying but I am also enjoying the life God has given me. Let me put it this way. In Revelation 22:20 NKJV Jesus told John-
“Surely I am coming quickly.”
If God is ready to send His Son to take His bride the church home, I am all in. Like John, my response is just like his in the second part of that verse-
Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
However, until that day or the Lord takes me home things will continue to spiral out of control like that slice or hook we spoke about earlier.
In God's Grace,
Elbert Nasworthy
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