Maineville Lighthouse Church

 

I was thinking…Pastor Steve

 

“People will oppress each other— man against man, neighbor against neighbor.  The young will rise up against the old, the base against the honorable."  

Isaiah 3: 5  (NIV)

​

     I was thinking about the phrase “in that day” and did a search in my Bible software on my computer.  There were 71 verses that came up with that phrase or a variation of it.  Doing a cursory survey, it seemed to me that many times the phrase referred to the day that the Lord will bring judgment upon Judah or Israel.  Other times, it may mean when the judgment has finished and all things have been restored.  Not too surprising is that 69 of those references are found in the Old Testament, many of them spoken by God to the prophets to be relayed to the people. 

     I chose this particular verse because I see that we are at a time when there is tremendous division.  In this country, we are divided politically, by ideology, by race, by gender, and even on the status of vaccines.  I think that Satan has caused all this, even divisions between friends and families.  When you see people attacking other people on whether they are wearing a mask or not, our society has devolved into chaos.  Satan thrives in chaos.  He drives fear.  He is the confounder in chief.  Who would have thought 10 years ago that there would be any debate on how many genders there are?  I read the news and the counter-news and get so frustrated, because I know there are people lying to the citizens, both from the media, the universities, and the political arena.  Honestly, when these entities embrace anywhere from 12 to 64 gender identities, then “Houston, we have a problem.”  (Some of their reasoning is that gender is different than sexual makeup, of which there are only 2.)

     Only three times is “in that day” listed in the New Testament (in the NIV version anyway).  They are all spoken by Jesus to His disciples.  I noticed another thing in my search.  I knew that Jesus spoke of the End Time in Chapter 24 of the Gospel of Matthew.  As I skimmed through that Chapter, I saw that Jesus said “in that time” several times instead of “in that day.”  It is still a warning, for those people and for us.  Here’s the verse that stood out to me.  “At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.”  (Matt. 24: 10, 11)

     Now, I am not one to say we are in the Last Days, however, I need to point out things not of God.  We need to understand that Satan is still trying to control this world, and lies, confusion, and hatred are but a few of the ways he will do that.  This a real struggle that we have to deal with each day.  That’s why we need to be continuously aware and alert to his plans.  And, we need to fight back against untruths.

     I remember when a wave of counter-cultural issues came up back in the 90’s.  Dona and I were involved with trying to give voice to the Truth in the midst of all the lies.  Today, it has gotten even worse, and I have to wonder, “When is the next generation going to stand up and give voice to Truth?”  I think, as we continue in the Faith and sometimes become less able to physically confront evil, we need to pray and pray big time.  Pray that God will turn America to repentance.  Pray that a new generation of Believers will lift up the name of Jesus to a people who have not heard or rejected Him.  Pray that more people will be bold in their Faith and proclaim what is True and Holy.

     There’s plenty more to pray about, but that’s a start, and I think the Holy Spirit will place other requests on your hearts as you pray.  Don’t get down; our team has already won.  Continue to love, even those who go against you, and understand the Truth as the Apostle John wrote in his first letter:  “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”  (1 John 4: 4)  You have the Holy Spirit within you.  God bless.