Lately I have been feeling depressed. I can’t really put my finger on what is causing it. I can say though that I need to be spending more time in God’s presence, praying, meditating etc.. I have a lot of time on my hands. I am not working. My only activities are things related to church and physical exercise. So, I can’t even use the excuse that I don’t have time. That is a pretty lame excuse anyway.

I think about the return of the Lord a lot. Sometimes I’m wondering if the pre-trib believers are right, or, if what I believe is right, that is, that the church will go through much of the tribulation and then be raptured. That also causes me to think about my own life. I know that I am not doing enough to reach people for Christ. I mean how hard is it to share your faith? How hard is it to tell someone that God’s loves them or, that He sent His Son to die for their sin?

I believe our time is growing short in America. The sin that caused Sodom and Gomorrah to be destroyed, we have surpassed many times over. We have corrupt politicians in power. Our poor people can’t get any help. The sick and elderly are being abandoned. We kill our unwanted children before they are born and call it “pro choice.” We start wars motivated by money. Homosexuality is not the only sexual sin in America running rampant. We have sexual predators, child molesters, rapist, child pornography, human trafficking, physical abuse on women and children. There is racial prejudice across the board. We openly make known our disdain for God our Creator.

President Obama was right when he said this is not a Christian nation. We have moved very far from the principles upon which this country was founded. There are Christians here. However, we no longer seem to have the influence we had in the past. Is that of our own doing? Sin has literally exploded in our nation. Is that somehow our fault? Could believers have stopped these developments? I don’t know. We have the most religious freedoms in the world. We have more Christian TV than any other nation. You can hear the gospel in the United States literally 24 hours a day. So I have a hard time believing that it is the fault of believers that sin is so rampant. In any other cultures, passed and present, there has only been a remnant of God’s people.

However, if it is our fault let me be the first to repent. I am saddened by our condition, in the church. Perhaps it is our fault. How many of us claim to be Christians but you can’t tell us apart from those who don’t believe? How many of us men are addicted to pornography? How many of us have cheated on our taxes; cheated on our spouses; cheated in many areas of our lives? How many of us “Christian” act one way on Wednesday night and Sunday morning but, we are someone else on the rest of the days of the week? I mean there is nothing about us that would make others want what we have.

I don’t even know how to express what I see, but, I see it in me, and I see it in others. Is there something about your life that is drawing non-believers to Christ, or, is there something about your life that is drawing non-believers to you? If it’s you then it  is your sin. We need to change. Repent! The kingdom of Heaven is at hand! The Lord WILL return and HE WILL JUDGE THE NATIONS! I’m concerned for myself and my fellow Christian who claims to follow Jesus Christ. Please wake up. At this point I don’t know what else to say. He is coming. I want to be ready.

In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”

In the church today I know many who believe they worship a push over God. They think they can say the right words and play the game, and that God will have a blind eye toward their little indiscretions. I have played this game myself. Thinking God won’t really punish me he will give me a pass.

But could God be loving, and could God be Holy, and could God be honest and true if he allowed his children to continue to live in sin? If we claim to be followers of Christ and we go about sinning and we never see the consequences or never feel a rebuke or feel the heavy hand of God come down on us, what should we think? If my son or daughters go out and do something wrong and I say nothing is that love? I love my children so when they purposely make the wrong choice I punish them. God is the same way. He cannot allow us to continue to make the wrong choices.

Often circumstances force us to our knees and to look up to God. Yes this is a sin scarred world, and often life comes at us and we have to deal with things that are not fair, that we have no control over. But sometimes the case may be that we are the cause of what is occurring. Sometimes it is our sin, our pride; our dependence on anyone other than God that leads us to failure.

When we fail because of our own choices and God’s discipline occurs in our life, we should not be embittered we should not gnash our teeth, but we should rejoice that we are considered the sons and daughters of God. For if he allowed us to continue to walk in our sin than we are probably not a part of the family of God.

I was back in Texas visiting family and friends in June. We are all looking very much older and dealing with our own issues. Many of us have been through divorce, major illnesses, and other things that life sends our way. The stress of it all shows on our faces in wrinkles and other aging features caused by gravity.

Bob

I guess at this age health becomes a  real issue to contend with. My friend Bob had a hemorrhagic stroke this passed Sunday. All of us are praying for his recovery, and I ask that you also pray. It is just a reminder that we are all getting older. And with that in mind how should we be living life in order to prolong our time here? I have other friends younger than Bob and I who have already passed from this earth.

At age 47 I am  realizing that I can’t just sit back and not do anything physically. I have to find the  will and energy to exercise my body. If I do not the body really begins to atrophy. Arteries clog, muscles weaken, you get stiff, and laziness sets in. A sedentary life style allows you to become fat and out of shape, bringing on more health dangers that threaten life.

It is not a time to give up. Just like the battle in our spiritual lives there is battle to be fought to ensure our physical life continues. Even though this battle is for the physical it begins with the thoughts being changed. The bible says in Roman 12:2, “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.” And God’s “good and acceptable, and perfect will,” is our good health in this life. The way we renew the mind is with the Word of God. We must let the Word of God change our minds. For anything else to change in our lives our minds, our thought processes have to be change.

Having said that, many Christians who believe that the laws of the old testament are for a different time and a different people choose to ignore in particular God’s dietary laws. It is what the Jewish people call “kosher.” Many of us are not mindful of what we put into our bodies. And much of what we put in our bodies is forbidden by scripture. I am not saying that your salvation depends on what you are eating but, I am saying that the reason God gave these laws is to ensure our good health. He created everything on this earth including our bodies and He knows what should be put into them to keep them healthy. If you want to know where to find these laws go to the book of Leviticus in the bible.

Here is an example in my own life. I always thought that shellfish was a healthy choice, so I ate a lot of it. I loved all shellfish, especially shrimp. The bible says that you can eat any fish that has both scales and fins. This does not include shellfish. It also shortens the list of what you can eat from the ocean considerably. On a visit to the doctor for some blood work I found that my cholesterol was above 350. I didn’t know how that could be because I ate mostly sea food – the wrong kinds of sea food. My dietitian  told me that shellfish is almost totally cholesterol. I was literally poisoning my self. The Lord reminded me about His laws. Reading the scriptures concerning this help me to change my mind. Now I have no desire for shellfish. It didn’t happen over night. But it was not a slow process either. The desire is completely gone.

Aging is not for cowards. You must step up to the plate and engage in the battle for your health or you will be leaving the earth early. Don’t get me wrong there are accidents and other things that cause premature death. However, much of what can kill us can be avoided by being diligent in God’s word and doing what He tells us to do. Open your eyes. Don’t let the devil tell you that you are under a new covent and that you don’t need to obey God’s law. It could kill you.