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Sunday, April 15, 2012

Repent! The End Is Near!

Sometimes I feel like that dirty, unkempt, questionably psychotic man on the street corner, holding the cardboard sign that says, “REPENT!  The End Is Near!!”  You know the type of person; the one you always have to stop beside as you wait on the next green light.  The one whose feverish eyes you don’t want to meet. 
And then there is the other guy, the one who always used to sit behind 1st base at televised major league baseball games, holding a large sign that said simply, “John 3:16.”  Remember him?  Although I noticed him dozens of times over the years, I couldn’t tell you what the dude looks like. That’s because what he was doing was not about him. He wasn’t sticking his neck out, looking like a nut-case for his own sake.  He was serving his Lord, just like the grizzled man on the corner was trying to do.
I can absolutely identify with both of those guys, whoever they might have been. They didn’t care what people thought about them.  They showed love for their neighbor by being willing to look like a fool so they could proclaim the message God had laid on their heart; that God loved the world SO much that He willingly gave up His own son to die in our place so we wouldn’t have to spend eternity in hell, enduring the punishment we deserve.
 The raggedy curbside man obviously had a burning need to warn the lost around him that they needed to repent of their sins before God’s wrath descended on mankind, as the Bible says it will.  People kept driving by, day after day. And they kept watching the ball games, snickering at the doofus in the stands with the stupid sign. 
There are lots of ways to spread the good news of the Gospel.  We can preach, teach, care for children in the nursery or serve in Christian community centers.  We can share what God has done for us at work or at school, knowingly taking the chance of being expelled or fired.  We can write books or start a blog or write articles we hope might pique someone’s interest long enough for them to want to know more about Christ.  We can simply intercede in prayer for the lost, which is a powerful ministry indeed.
The point is, when the Lord is truly number one in your life; when there are honestly no other Gods before Him in your heart, you cannot help but want to proclaim from the rooftops what you know to be true.  It’s very much the same compulsion you feel when you want to announce to everyone you’ve fallen in love with ‘the one!’  This is it!  I finally found my soul mate!
And, brother, you want everybody else in the whole world to feel the way you do!  It’s not bragging; not at all.  You feel enormous pity for those around you who are racing through their busy lives, day in and day out, without the anchor or real hope you have.
I see strangers wandering around the aisles of the grocery store, yapping incessantly on their cell phones and mindlessly tossing stuff in their carts.  I see them sitting in Starbucks, staring at the screen of their laptops as if the secrets of life are held within. They stand on the subdivision curb, waiting for the school bus, gossiping and planning their next tennis match.  And my heart breaks.
 So many are lost and on their way to hell. They are wrapped up in their self-absorbed, overscheduled lives and have no clue of the terror headed to this earth.  If I went up to them and announced, ‘Repent! The end is near!’ or ‘John 3:16,’ they would look at me with wide eyes of disdain or fear my mental state.
It’s very frustrating trying to convey to readers the enormous danger they face in these last days and the horror that is soon to come.  I can’t even explain to my own satisfaction how screwed up this world has become; black is white, up is down. Even the historic beacons of normalcy and morality, the church and Christians, have morphed into something unrecognizable! So many are now mired in the pig pen of post modernism and emerging New Age lies.
How can I convince unbelievers that the ONLY source of truth they can trust in a world that is spinning out of control, is the Word of God? How is the boring old Bible supposed to compete with Oprah and Rick Warren??  It’s not ‘up to date’ and cool.  It was ‘written by man.’    (*So lame!*)
Many readers mistakenly think I’m judging them when in reality, I’m trying like mad to send them a strong warning that they are already condemned by Jesus Christ, the only one qualified to judge. They have no concept of what Holiness is.  They have bought into the lie that ‘God is love and would never send anyone to hell.’  That one makes me want to scream!
Well, they’re partially correct on that point; God IS love and doesn’t send anyone to hell.  In fact, He’s gone to the ends of the universe and paid the ultimate price so they don’t HAVE to go to hell!  They must understand that by not accepting Christ they will, by default, end up in the eternal torment designed for satan and the fallen angels.  Their own choice or lack of choice will be responsible for sending them there.
Then there’s the whole issue of time.  Unbelievers gleefully dance on the precipice of eternity every day, not realizing how the political and economic landscape is gelling into that socialistic lie of a New World Order.  The United States as we have always known it, is gasping its last breaths of freedom, never to be the same again.  Our lives are about to change and not for the better!
Having read about Biblical prophecy regarding the last days for many years, I can see the puzzle pieces falling into place a little more every single day.  It shouldn’t be much longer before a catastrophic event occurs that will rock this world and change international relations forever. I won’t even pretend to know when the doo-doo will hit the fan, but every person on this earth seems to have a nagging sense that something is about to happen. They are right.
*Sigh* I’m sure my fellow Christians will agree that it gets darn exhausting to constantly proclaim the in-your-face, politically incorrect truth.  To swim upstream against the current of popular opinion and the increasing hatred of all things Christian.  We keep working because we care and grieve for the lost and what they are facing. 
The only thing that keeps me going is the knowledge I am obeying my Master.  I rest in the fact that HE is quite capable of taking my marginal writing skills and questionable grammar and blessing and multiplying their effects for His use and glory. He has to because, quite frankly, I’m not that great a writer!
Oh yeah, I can certainly identify with the ‘John 3:16’ guy and the bum on the corner with the scary sign.  I know the things I write can sound crazy and mean and insulting. But, if it gets your attention and causes you to begin to question your relationship, or lack of relationship with God, then I’ve done my job. If I can strongly point out and warn against the false teachings of the emergent church and its preachers, then maybe at least one person will see them for the wolves they are.
Speaking the unvarnished truth has never been the popular thing to do but then again, I’m not out to be elected prom queen.  Which, at my age, is a moot point anyway!





You can reach the author at: bensmomi99@gmail.com



9 comments:

cj said...

Your doing a great job! If you even reach just one it's worth it. The other day I attended a Bible Study, and I asked to pray for the Christians being persecuted, killed in the middle east. Well, my goodness, you could see the distaste in their faces. They said the prayer, but this is what they said: "we pray for the people trapped in a political situation that is unhealthy." HELLO! I am still in shock. I am now praying for the christians here, for God to open their eyes!

GTW said...

I don't know if I would hold the John 3:16 guy up in too high regard. He's in prison right now after taking a maid hostage.

http://articles.latimes.com/1992-09-25/local/me-892_1_los-angeles

DW said...

GTW-I don't know who your person is, but I haven't seen a person on the street with a 'repent' sign for many years. I'm sure there was more than one.

GTW said...

He was the one who started the trend of holding up John 3:16 signs at sporting events. You mentioned this in your post.

GTW said...

I was referring to the person who started the trend of holding up "John 3:16" signs at sporting events. He was mentioned in your blog.

Kate said...

You said: "How can I convince unbelievers that the ONLY source of truth they can trust in a world that is spinning out of control, is the Word of God? How is the boring old Bible supposed to compete with Oprah and Rick Warren?? It’s not ‘up to date’ and cool. It was ‘written by man.’ (*So lame!*)"

AMEN and amen!!! So very true!! They will be judged by that very Word:

He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. John 12:48 (KJV)

Great blog!!!

Kate

Kate said...

He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. John 12:48 (KJV)

They will be judged by the very Word of God they reject!

Love your blog, Donna!!!

Kate

Country Mama said...

Hi Donna! I didn't know you had a blog. I sent you an email recently saying how much I love your rr articles. I'm glad you had a link to your blog on your email!

Anonymous said...

Excellent article on the Ukraine and Russian rejection of the EU. NWO is scarey.

We keep hopin' for divine intervention or destruction then safety if we're on the right side.

Not exactly I'm confidant. Divine intervention enables us to employ common sense and fix this quagmire ourselves. So how to achieve an influencing common sense?

Want with a sincere, genuine desire to feel the real peace inside of you, the one that breathes you. Pray that prayer and you will be led somewhere you never thought possible. And you will still be here.

To assist in first helping people to reclaim the intrinsic value of their own lives. Then we will be in sync with God's vision, not asking Him to be in sync with ours!

Most are blind and hate to say it but faith is blind as well despite the song and so many affirmations about 'Amazing Grace'.

This isn't about group agreement. This is one to one, what sustains your life and being shown the way in, not believing your way in, actually GOING IN EVERYDAY with a ton of INSPIRATION.

Then and only then, one by one we make a difference. Until then, the brakes have been applied to our self destruction, since about 1945.

It's the naked Truth...the only truth which fulfills each of us...frees each one of us, not an assembly. Then down the short road a ways an assembly to balance the ship is already underway almost as though it were naturally occurring.

First things first. Get the message out. Want to discover the underlying value of human life- your life and your mind may be blown by who you run into. Maybe. Hopefully at that point your mind will have a leash around it so you can discern between you and it!!