Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them. And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money. And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto them in the absence of the multitude. Luke 22:3-6

​The devil filled the heart of Judas with avarice; and that infamous passion led him to commit the crime here specified. This at once accounts for the whole of this most unprincipled and unnatural transaction. None but a devil, or he who is possessed by one, could have been guilty of it: - let the living lay this to heart. A minister of the Gospel, who is a lover of money, is constantly betraying the interests of Christ. He cannot serve two masters; and while his heart is possessed with the love of self, the love of God and zeal for perishing souls cannot dwell in him. What Satan could not do by the envy and malice of the high priests and Pharisees, he effects by Judas, a false and fallen minister of the Gospel of God. None are so dangerous to the interests of Christianity as persons of this stamp. Adam Clarke

There's several accounts of Jesus taking note of Judas being a traitor, it was evident that He knew the heart of Judas, from the beginning.

Joh 6:70  Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? 
Joh 6:71  He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve.
​
Joh 12:4  Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, 
Joh 12:5  Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? 
Joh 12:6  This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein. 
Joh 12:7  Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this. 
Joh 12:8  For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.

Joh 13:21  When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. 
Joh 13:22  Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake. 
Joh 13:23  Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. 
Joh 13:24  Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake. 
Joh 13:25  He then lying on Jesus' breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it? 
Joh 13:26  Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. 
Joh 13:27  And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly. 

Satan entered into him - He had entered into him before, and now he enters again, to strengthen him in his purpose of delivering up his Master. But the morsel was not the cause of this entering in; the giving of it only marks the time in which the devil confirmed Judas in his traitorous purpose. Some have thought that this morsel was the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper: but this is an utter mistake.
That thou doest, do quickly - As if he had said: “Thou art past all counsel; thou hast filled up the measure of thy iniquity, and hast wholly abandoned thyself to Satan; I will not force thee to turn from thy purpose, and without this thou wilt not. Thy designs are all known to me; what thou art determined to do, and I to permit, do directly; delay not, I am ready.”
Adam Clarke

​The world seemed in arms against the greatest Lover of souls that had ever trod earth’s soil. Satan entered the heart of Judas, for it was his hour, and he gathered all his strength for one last prodigious effort to overthrow the Son of man and thwart His sublime purpose of redemption. Judas, one of the inner circle, did not hesitate to choose thirty pieces of silver rather than love, purity, compassion, as they were incarnate in the Son of man. The religious leaders of the age also eagerly caught at their chance.
In the meanwhile the Lord girded Himself for the conflict by gathering to His heart the remainder of the apostolic band, though none of them really understood. The arrangement of the man with the waterpot was evidently to elude arrest during the supper, as Judas could not inform his accomplices beforehand of the selected supper room. Remember that Jesus asks each of us for the guest chamber of our heart! Ask Him, not to be as a wayfaring man who tarries for the night, but to abide always. F.B. Meyer

​And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him. But Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the
​Son of man with a kiss?  Luke 22:47-48

​By the “Son of man” was evidently meant “the Messiah.” Judas had had the most satisfactory evidence of that, and did not doubt it. A kiss was the sign of affection. By that slight artifice Judas thought to conceal his base purpose. Jesus with severity reproaches him for it. Every word is emphatic. “Betrayest” thou - dost thou violate all thy obligations of fidelity, and deliver thy Master up to death? Betrayest “thou” - thou, so long with him, so much favored, so sure that this is the Messiah? Betrayest thou “the Son of man” - the Messiah, the hope of the nations, the desire of all people, the world’s Redeemer? Betrayest thou the Son of man “with a kiss” - the sign of friendship and affection employed in a base and wicked purpose, intending to add deceit, disguise, and the prostitution of a mark of affection to the “crime of treason?” Every word of this must have gone to the very soul of Judas. Perhaps few reproofs of crime more resemble the awful searchings of the souls of the wicked in the day of judgment. Albert Barnes

​The Traitor’s Kiss

Consider some of the traits, and moral lessons to be conveyed to us:
 
I. A TRAITOR AMONG THE DISCIPLES. Many of them were weak in faith and carnal in apprehension, but only one a traitor.
II. THE CHARACTERISTIC OF HIS TREASON. Betrayed Lord into cruel hands of foes. Professed followers of Christ may betray Him to the scorn of the world, giving the sceptic arguments for his infidelity, and the worldly excuses for rejection of Christ.
III. THE MANNER OF THE BETRAYAL. A kiss.
1. It was the accepted token of affection.
2. It was here prostituted to the basest of uses.
3. It was received with lamblike meekness by Him who knew it meant treachery.
IV. THEY BETRAY THE SON OF MAN WITH A KISS WHO--
1. Compliment and deny Him with the same lips,
2. Profess to be united with Him at His table, and then act as lovers and servants of the world.
3. Exalt His humanity to the skies, and deny His rightful divinity and the efficacy of the atonement. (Homiletic Review.)

1. We see how needful it is that we, each one of us, look well to the state of our own hearts. Here is a man who knew the truth, who had preached the truth, who had wrought miracles for the sake of the truth; and yet became a castaway. Now, why was this? He “held the truth in unrighteousness.” The man who has been a hypocrite in religion is very rarely recovered; he deceives others, but yet more fatally does he deceive himself.
2. Again: the history teaches us how little security against our falling away, there is in the possession of eminent spiritual advantages. “Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve.”
3. Again: we learn from this history how insensible and unperceived is the progress of the downward course in sin. When a man once enters on the way of transgression, he can never tell where he shall stop. Neither wickedness nor holiness attain to their full stature all at once. We cannot suppose that Judas had the remotest thought of his treachery when he first accepted the invitation to become one of the apostles.
4. The enslaving power of the love of this present world. (D. Moore, M. A.)

​People who say this have done themselves no favor. It has gotten the attention of the Father of lies, and now he will set out to make you a liar as well, just like himself. He won't spare anything to accomplish this; people, circumstances, crisis events, lust,  no temptation will be too despicable for him to get you into the place of giving in and becoming his pawn. And whether you want to admit it or not, you've probably been sorely tempted many times and only the grace of God has kept you from going headlong into the sin your condemning someone else of; to this point.

Then there are those who can't see themselves in light of what God thinks of them, because they are willfully blind. These are like those who sit at the bar stool on Friday nights with their favorite drink, watching "light" porn on the TV over the head of the bartender, and gossip about the girl he just had a quick one night stand with a couple of nights ago, with the buddy sitting next to him; and gulps down the last of his drink before heading home to his wife and kids. You can imagine other scenarios; such as the men at hunting camp, or the road trip... These men laugh at and ridicule the women they've ruined, gotten pregnant, helped get abortions; then go home to their respectable tidy lives. Many of them in high places.

Then the respected woman of town who lives a good upstanding life for the public while living her own version of Peyton Place. She condemns anyone else's failures and sins in order to hide her own dirty laundry. It's an old strategy, but a proven one that works. It gets her a following of other's of like mind; out to put on the best front for the public. The false fronts, big smiles, and coy maneuvers eventually destroy the persons true personality completely and your left looking at a mannequin, a talking puppet. Sadly by the time they get to this place, they cannot see themselves as they really are; they have self destructed.  One of the most dangerous places to be for a woman who wants to never become like this, is the women's community action programs and "coffee brunches". Do I hate women? No, but I know them, and how they go about cutting somebody to pieces with their mouths, and nothing is beneath them to do it. These gatherings become a den of laughing hyenas, and Parana.

​You may be someone reading this and knowing exactly what I'm talking about, because it's been done to you. It takes time, but you can heal from it, and learn to stay away from them for your own sanity and self respect. I know this is too much truth and reality for a lot of people-so be it.

Everyone has a bit of Pharisee in them, but a great many will never allow themselves to see what is really in their hearts. If they read the bible, it would read them, which is also why so few do. How many Christians go to church every Sunday, with not a bible in sight, the main topic is the social programs, and the next pot luck dinner. Think about it; they have become social gatherings only. I have no time to waste on such stuff.

Jesus gave an example of these kind of people:
​
Luk 18:10  Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 
Luk 18:11  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 

If you've given your life to the Lord, repented of your sins, and desired to walk a righteous life after coming out of great sin, you very well may find that people will never forgive you of your past. Those sins are now washed in the blood of Christ, and forgotten by God. He never mentions it again to you, your now on the path of righteousness, and a new creature in Christ. But the world does not care, and many will never let you forget your past. This goes for family members as well. No matter how many years go by, they will continue to remind you of what you once were. They can't, or won't see the change God has made in you. It will be an ongoing struggle to accept the misunderstanding, forgive them, and keep moving on. Don't allow the world or the devil to destroy your walk with the Lord, because of  sins He's long ago forgiven and forgotten-forgive yourself. Allow the Holy Spirit to restore your inner man, and help you become the person God always intended you to be, when He created you.

When we open our hearts to Jesus, and give him our lives, the bible tells us:
2Co 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 

Lets break this down:

"a. If anyone: This is a promise for anyone. Anyone! It doesn’t matter what class, what race, what nationality, what language, or what level of intelligence. Anyone can be a new creation in Jesus Christ!

b. Is in Christ: This is a promise for anyone who is in Christ. This is not a promise for those who are in themselves, or in the religion of men, or in someone or something else. This is for those in Christ!

c. He is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Paul here teaches the great principle of regeneration. Jesus Christ changes those who come to Him by faith, and who are in Christ. The saved are not “just forgiven.” They are changed into a new creation.

i. It is unfair for us to expect those who are not in Christ to live as if they were a new creation. However, it is not unfair to expect a changed life from people who say they are Christians! “I know no language, I believe there is none, that can express a greater or more thorough and more radical renewal, than that which is expressed in the term, ‘a new creature.’“ (Spurgeon)

ii. However, being a new creation doesn’t mean that we are perfect. It means that we are changed, and that we are being changed.

d. Who makes us a new creation? This is something God alone can do in us. This isn’t just “turning over a new leaf” or “getting your act together.” But the life of a new creation is not something God does for us, but in us. So, we are told to put off . . . the old man, and to put on the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness (Eph_4:22-24).

i. Being a new creation is a gift from God received by faith. “God is surely the author of the second creation as he was of the first.” (Harris) “A phrase which argueth the greatest change imaginable, and such a one as can be wrought in the soul by no other power than the power of God.” (Poole)

ii. The work of a new creation is even greater than God’s work of creating the world. “My brethren, it was more difficult, if such terms are ever applicable to Omnipotence, it was more difficult to create a Christian than to create a world. What was there to begin with when God made the world? There was nothing; but nothing could not stand in God’s way - it was at least passive. But, my brethren, in our hearts, while there was nothing that could help God, there was much that could and did oppose him. Our stubborn wills, our deep prejudices, our ingrained love of iniquity, all these, great God, opposed thee, and aimed at thwarting thy designs . . . Yes, great God, it was great to make a world, but greater to create a new creature in Jesus Christ.” (Spurgeon)

iii. Living as a new creation is something God works in us, using our will and our choices. So, we must both receive the gift of being a new creation, and be challenged to live the life of a new creation. But it is God’s work in us that we must submit to. This reminds us that at its root, Christianity is all about what God has done for us, not what we can or should do for God.

​“Beloved, if you have no more religion than you have worked out in yourself, and no more grace than you have found in your nature, you have none at all. A supernatural work of the Holy Ghost must be wrought in every one of us, if we would see the face of God with acceptance.” (Spurgeon)

e. All things have become new is the language of God’s perfect, recreated work (Rev_21:5). God wants to do a new thing in our life!

i. “The man is not only mended, but he is new made . . . there is a new creation, which God himself owns as his workmanship, and which he can look on and pronounce very good.” (Clarke)" 

In situations of being misunderstood, and judged by ignorant people it is vital to stay, very close to Jesus, and read His word daily, because it is the only thing that will keep you, and give you the strength in your spirit to stand against the attacks that will come your way; even by those close to you in your family. 

If you are in a place of being misunderstood, judged and condemned; talk to the Lord, pour out your heart to Him and allow Him to be your shield and buckler in every battle you face. The power of the Holy Ghost will give you all you need to get through it in victory.
Lorna Couillard

Many of us are far more successful than we imagine; perhaps more than our humility could handle. It is tragic to find in the body of Christ an ear accused of failure because it cannot see, or an eye that thinks it’s let the body down because it cannot smell. 
​
What the world thinks, what other Christians think, what you think, is irrelevant. Nothing matters except God’s approval. It is the sole measure of a ministry. 

Don’t be too hasty is despising what you imagine to be your flaws and weaknesses. 

The Mocker glares at you. ‘Cracked pot!’ he snarls. You shrink inside, unable to hear the adoration of people in the age to come. ‘Exquisite vessel, perfectly formed to touch our lives!’ they cry to you. ‘Through that crack God’s oil flowed out to us.’ 

Paul’s epistles seem a desperate reaction to the annoyance of distance or prison keeping him from his ‘real’ mission. (Romans 1:10-13; 15:22-23; Philippians 4:1a; 1 Thessalonians 2:17-18; 3:10) He might have felt as frustrated as an injured sportsman reduced to urging his team from the sidelines. Yet it is this ‘side-line’ ministry, rather than his ‘real’ one, that has snowballed down the hills of time. According to Andrew Bonar, we have gained more from Paul’s imprisonment than from his visit to the third heaven. 

We seem the object of ridicule, yet we’re the focus of infinite love. We’re fruit growing sweeter, wine gaining value; not milk going sour. We’re not cardboard caving, colors fading, under the weight of time; we’re concrete drying stronger, trees growing higher, dawn glowing brighter. 

Though the pool of examples seems bottomless, to dip further is superfluous. ‘In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.’ (2 Corinthians 13:1; Deuteronomy 19:15) The case is proved: we may be mightily used of God when least aware of it. What seems an infuriating hindrance to service could actually be eliciting vital ministry. 

See Jesus naked on the cross, scorned by demons, soldiers and Jews. To even his supporters his failure was undeniable. Thousands were ashamed of him. We, too, may be pounded within and without by accusations that we are weak, ineffectual, useless.

We have no right to imagine we have failed unless heaven expressly reveals it to us. 

It’s scary being different. We’d rather hide, trying to clone someone else’s ministry. But there’s simply no demand for more impersonators. There is, however, a demand for your unique contribution. 

Resist the pressure to conform. You may die of embarrassment, but you’ll live in glory. The world needs your distinctive ministry.

The most powerful ministry is probably intercession. And the world’s greatest intercessor could be the ‘no-body’ sitting next to you in church last Sunday. Only the spirit-realm comprehends what Christ’s sacred service agents accomplish behind closed doors and behind enemy lines. 

No one who always surrenders to criticism will achieve anything significant for God. There is no type of music, for example, which appeals to every Christian. Suppose ninety-nine percent of people find your ministry atrocious. If your band played at an anti-nuclear rally, they wouldn’t know whether to ban the bomb or bomb the band. What should you do? Assuming they are reacting to your style, and not spurning spiritual truth, it would seem desirable to serenade the one percent when the others were out of earshot. 

If you appeal only to a minority, it could well be a minority that is not being reached by other means. If so, the church would be poorer without your specialized ministry. Heaven’s approval outlasts earth’s applause. 

Though bent by Adam’s crash and bashed by my own sin, God gave me my personality with its tastes, and for years I’ve been looking to him to mold me. So I believe that somewhere are people with cerebral plumbing like mine. They will appreciate my style and are most likely the ones God has called me to minister to. Should there be millions of them, I’ll be famous; if only a few, I’ll blend with the wallpaper. But it won’t affect God’s view of me. If popularity is a valid measure of success, our deserted Lord was a failure.  Ah, but wait, three days later, what the world saw as a failure-rose from the dead! There will come a day, when, though it does not appear what we will be here, the word of God tells us, we will be like Him, and see Him as He is. Our minds, in this world, cannot comprehend this; but we can put our entire trust in the truth of it. The risen Christ, is our assurance.
 
‘Experts’ regularly berate the simplicity of Fanny Crosby’s hymns. It is said she had the literary skill to silence her critics but she deliberately simplified her songs to meet more powerfully the needs of the distressed, the infirm and the poorly educated. 

That does not mean I can be lax. To limit oneself to a particular style can be very demanding but because Fanny considered it the most effective way to reach her target audience she strove for perfection within this framework.
 
We are often so over-awed by God’s moral standards that we overlook other aspects of his nature. Our Lord is Creator as well as Savior, and the Maker of rainbows and nightingales didn’t suddenly lose his creative urge at the close of Day Six. God’s creativity is inexhaustible. And you were made for him. He longs to express his creativity through you. As an instrument and musician together make beautiful music, you and your Lord can unite to create exquisite beauty. What you can do together defies imagination. You make an awesome team. 

Yield to Christ, like a brush to the artist, and from your life will flow unearthly beauty. 

Too often I think and act as if the darkness of my inadequacy could extinguish the brilliance of Christ. I have seen myself as a failure and I have seen the results of such thinking. Now I endeavor to see myself as a born failure, born again a success. That’s scriptural. Without Christ I am brain-frozen with inadequacy. But I am not without Christ. I am tired of being hauled through the sludge by my former view of myself. I had backed off so far from the monster of pride that I had almost fallen into the ditch of despair, dragging God’s glory with me. Though I hate egotism, I must hate doubt with equal passion. 

‘It seems as though everything I do is wrong,’ cried Gladys Aylward in a letter from China. Great men and women of God often long to quit, but they wobble on. (E.g., Jeremiah 20:7-8) When they are hit, they bounce – like flat footballs usually, but enough to stay in the game. After a while they are pumped up again and their erratic zigzag course resumes that vaguely goalward trajectory that sends angelic cheer-leaders wild. 

Success is failure that tried one more time. As we look to God and courageously move ahead, stumbling blocks turn to stepping stones to a beautiful ministry. Not only are apparent failures rarely the disasters we imagine, they are often not even failures. God’s definition of success may be far more generous than you imagine.

If your life is on ‘hold’, the hands holding you bear love-prints and they’re nestling you close to the Father’s heart. 
Glorious things are ahead. 

Not to be sold. © Copyright, Grantley Morris, 1985-1996, 2015. For much more by the same author, see www.net-burst.net No part of these writings may be copied without citing this entire paragraph. 

This video/material may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes only. This constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. There is no monetary gain in posting this information.
Lorna Couillard-Two Sparrows Ministry

The story of the sufferings of Job in the Bible has a great deal of wisdom, and insight. After Job had lost his children, and his possessions, and his health, he sat in silence, his body full of sores. For several days, three men had sat with him, but when they began to talk to Job, they were full of advice and criticism. Finally, Job gave a blunt reply:

Job 16:1  Then Job answered and said, 
Job 16:2  I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all. 
​
Many times people have good intentions, but lack the wisdom, or insight to give advice that comes from the heart of God. Human effort without God in it, is vain. Job's suffering was so deep, the three friends would have been better off if they had stayed silent, and left him alone. Instead, they heaped needless and hurtful words on him, that only added to his suffering, and more weights of burdens he could not bear. They falsely accused him of crimes and secret sins he didn't commit.

People talk many times, just because they want to be heard, and need to feel important. Job's friends thought they were trying to help Job, but their real goal was self-gratification. Their long winded advice and accusations were to elevate themselves, attempting to be a counselor and advisor for Job, without any real understanding of his case. They should have listened to him earlier:

Job 13:4  But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value. 
Job 13:5  O that ye would altogether hold your peace! and it should be your wisdom. 

Most of the time, your best response when you see someone in grief, or sadness, is just be there, and say nothing-or as little as possible. You do not know the full extent of what is going on in their life-you could be adding to their pain by your empty words.

If you do speak-make sure it's when you have a deeper level of understanding of their situation-and only if you really care enough to listen.

In the last three years, the suffering and death from Covid, and the deceitful conduct of many in the drug and health industry has wreaked havoc on untold numbers of lives. Millions of innocent people's lives were destroyed, along with businesses, and structures of society brought to ruin. 

People are still suffering and dying from the effects of these clot shots-but it's not reported much anymore. The world and news media has moved on to other topics; war, the collapsing banks, government bailouts...and more.

The ones still suffering from the Covid holocaust, are now left to deal with it alone and forgotten, and the truth is as hidden as past holocaust's in history. The cold, calculated conduct of the health industry, the CDC, the government mandates that made no sense, nor proven science (the useless mask mandate for example), the poison concoctions the drug industry forced on millions of people, and the false reporting and intentional cover-ups from news media, all played their roles to use this "live exercise" as Mike Pompeo described it, moving forward. 

www.brighteon.com/1c52ebf6-3901-484c-959c-536aaa0acf43
Definition of a Live Exercise: A Live Exercise is an exercise in which actual forces participate. A Command Post is a headquarters of the exercise involving commanders and their staffs, and communications within and between participating headquarters, in which NATO and friendly forces, as well as opposing forces, are simulated.

If you still believe your government, or society cares about you at this point, there's nothing anybody could say that would wake you up. Those who know and follow Jesus, and see the evidence that we are in the last days, and the converging events that scripture teaches us, and we are aware, that Christ's return is coming soon.

Scripture teaches that in the last days, people would be rude, lovers of themselves, boastful, hateful, brutal. There's a lot of this today. Timothy talks about it:

2Ti 3:1  This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 
2Ti 3:2  For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 

Boasting, pride, and blasphemy-each act as if I am the most important person. Each of them say, “You don’t matter and God does not matter. All that matters is me.”

Today boasting, pride, and blasphemy are apparent everywhere, especially among the celebrities that our cultures idolizes. 

2Ti 3:3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 

Ever since Adam, humankind has been marked by these things to one degree or another. Here, Paul said these things will be especially prevalent in the last days.

Unloving (translated without natural affection in the KJV) literally means, “without family love.” Paul said that the end times would be marked by an attitude of growing disregard of normal family love and obligation.

Men will be . . . slanderers: Men have always told hurtful lies about other men; but today, in media and in politics, slander has been elevated to both big business and big money.

In politics, candidates routinely and knowingly distort their opponent’s positions, just to make their competition look bad - and they don’t feel bad at all about the lying if it helps them get elected. In media, editors and news directors serve as prosecutor, judge, jury, and executioner to innocents who are wrongly suspected - and usually refuse to apologize when they are proven to be wrong.

Men will be . . . without self control: The story of no self-control can be written across almost everything today - sex, drugs, alcohol, food, work. Whatever we do, we often do it out of control.

In the 1990s the Los Angeles Times published an article about Michelle, who was a successful writer and editor. She feared the day her husband might discover her secret stash of credit cards, her secret post office box or the other tricks she used to hide how much money she spent shopping for herself. “I make as much money as my husband . . . If I want a $500 suit from Ann Taylor, I deserve it and don’t want to be hassled about it. So the easiest thing to do is lie,” she explained. Last year, when her husband forced her to destroy one of her credit cards, Michelle went out and got a new one without telling him. “I do live in fear. If he discovers this new VISA, he’ll kill me.” A school teacher explained more: “Men just don’t understand that shopping is our drug of choice,” she joked, even while admitting that some months her salary goes exclusively to paying the minimum balance on her credit cards. “Walking through the door of South Coast Plaza is like walking though the gates of heaven. God made car trunks for women to hide shopping bags in.” A young professional named Mary explained: “Shopping is my recreation. It’s my way of pampering myself. When you walk into [a mall] and you see all the stores, it’s like something takes over and you get caught up in it.”

Men will be . . . brutal: Cruelty and brutality are nothing new in the world; but Paul wrote by inspiration of the Holy Spirit that the last days would be marked by a particular brutality.

A newspaper article in the 1990s described how an Oxnard man was accused of murdering his roommate after the two disagreed over the brand of beer the man had brought home. The accused man brought home Natural Light, and the murdered man wanted him to bring home Michelob. As he poured the Natural Light down the kitchen sink, he was stabbed to death.

We like to think of ourselves as more advanced than previous generations; but more people have been murdered in the 20th century than ever before; these are violent, brutal times.

Men will be . . . despisers of good: There just seems to be too many examples of this in modern society to pick out examples. For one example, there was a time when most people thought letting people live was good and killing them was generally a bad thing. Today, we live in a culture when the simple good of life is now despised and attacked, through abortion, through the glorifying of violence and murder, through the new agenda of pushing homosexuality and transgenders, and through euthanasia.

2Ti 3:4  Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 

These characteristics are all about one thing: Self. Men are traitors because of self, they are headstrong because of self, they are haughty because of self, and they are lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God because of self.

This attitude marks our current age. For example, think of national advertising slogans from the late 1990s:
• Nothing is taboo.
• Break all the rules.
• To know no boundaries.
• Relax: No rules here.
• Peel off inhibitions. Find your own road.
• We are all hedonists and want to do what feels good. That’s what makes us human.
• Living without boundaries.
• Just do it.

The message is the same: You make your own rules. You answer to no one. You are the one that matters. Your universe revolves around you. (David Guzik excerpt)

I am finding these characteristics to be much more evident these days when I go out. There's a lot of very aggressive, belligerent people and drivers today, who use their vehicles like tanks, and weapons.  

Paul's description fits our day very well:
2Ti 3:5  Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. 
2Ti 3:6  For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 
2Ti 3:7  Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 

Most who to teach the bible today, know the only way the majority will listen to anything, is if most verses on morality, the ten commandments, and those that speak about discipline and correction are deleted. People do not want to hear about repentance, changing their conduct, or their hearts. They want to be told how wonderful they are, how to achieve success; by deceit, and corruption. Jesus called out the Pharisee's as "whitewashed tombs", and there's plenty of this today.

People who live in the flesh, eventually reap the rewards of their doings. But, unless the Lord is able to bring them to their senses, they will keep going in sin, until something happens, and they end up flat on their backs in bed, or dead. If someone tries to speak to them of the dangers of what they are doing, the reactions range from laughter, mocking, scorn, and rejection. When I get these reactions, I leave them to themselves, and just pray for them, giving them to God, and ask Him to convict them, and then walk away. I know there's no point in going any further with them.

In these evil days we are seeing it escalate every day-the deeds of the flesh are these:

Gal 5:19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 
Gal 5:20  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 
Gal 5:21  Envying's, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 

When you look inside yourself-be honest, do you find any of the things above, working in you? I don't need, or want an answer-but you will answer to God one day about it. It's your choice, go to Him in repentance, and ask for His help to change-or face a coming eternity in hell when your life is over here. 

In these last days, the difficulties are going to increase. But, the word of God remains the same-it has the answers to every situation and every problem we face. It's up to us to decide whether we will follow those in the world; or allow the word of God to be our foundation for living.

Rom 3:3  For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? 
Rom 3:4  God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged. 
Lorna Couillard

​Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. James 2:19

A great many people believe that if they profess to have faith in God, this assures them of heaven after their death. Most churches will never use this verse of text for a sermon, because it causes them to have to dig deeper into scripture to find out what James meant by it, and when they do, it brings out even more controversy for them. Why?

Because though their confession is very good, it can't change their state of damnation, or their condition. The demons believe and confess Christ for who He is, but they do not love, or obey Him. 

Mat 8:29  And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? See also Mar 3:11, and Luke 4:41, 4:34

Their proclamation and confession of who Jesus Christ is, does not justify them in their damned state, it only increases their torment; they shudder with horror, they believe and tremble, are increasingly tormented; but they have no desire to change the state of their conditions.

Many people who sit in pews on Sunday, are in this same category. They believe in the existence of one God. How far their knowledge may extend respecting God, we cannot know; but they never go beyond this point. There is never evidence in their conduct, or change of lifestyle, that proves that they have opened their heart, and allowed Jesus to enter their souls, and abide in them. There's no evidence in their life, that they have taken the step Jesus tells us we must do, to be truly saved-which is to be born again. 

Joh 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (it will be a good idea to read all of ch. 3)

Jesus’ reply to Nicodemus shatters the Jewish assumption that their racial identity - their old birth - assured them a place in God’s Kingdom. Jesus makes it plain that a man’s first birth does not assure him of the kingdom - only being born again gives this assurance. 

This act of being born again, happens when the person sees in his mind and understands with his heart that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah  prophesied in the Old Testament-and believes He is the Son of God, indeed-God in the flesh, and confesses this with his mouth, and repents of his sins, and surrender's their life to Jesus, making Him Savior and Lord of their lives.
​
John Wesley brings out some good points:
"Thou believest there is one God - I allow this: but this proves only that thou hast the same faith with the devils. Nay, they not only believe, but tremble - At the dreadful expectation of eternal torments. So far is that faith from either justifying or saving them that have it."

A living faith in Christ will be evident in the person being willing to give of time, and money, as God enables them, and a pattern of good living habits. There's much teaching on these principles throughout the Bible, and takes a lifetime to put into practice. There will be a boldness in their confession of faith in Christ, they will not be ashamed to speak of their faith and love for Him, and will be open in their defense of Him, if they see the Name of Christ reproached. They will not avoid persecution, but will be courageous in standing for their faith in the midst of adversity, and scorn. This is living faith. Jesus tells us, if we are ashamed of Him before people, He will be ashamed of us, on Judgment Day:

Mar 8:38  Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

But, it's a choice. Satan was thrown out of heaven because of his rebellion against God, that's why the demons cry out to Jesus, but will never change, because they were thrown out of heaven at the same time as Satan. A third of the angels were cast out with him, and are here on earth now, tormenting people, and deceiving them. Jesus said he saw Satan fall from heaven. For reference to this read Isaiah ch. 14 and Luke 10:18-and corresponding verses.

Luk 10:18  And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. 

Many who speak of faith in God is well and good-but the question is...Who is your God? What is His Name? This is the defining difference between living faith, and dead works, and dead faith in a false god. Peter breaks it down very well in Acts ch. 4-

Act 4:10  Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. 
Act 4:11  This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. 
Act 4:12  Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

We are living in a day, and an hour, when the dividing line is getting much clearer, and more dangerous. God's people are going to be tested in this area, to a much greater degree. Those with living faith, and those who are pretenders-will be clearly seen.
I'll leave this with a question:
​Is what your living for, worth dying for?
Lorna Couillard