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Category Archives: Eschatology

Code Red For Believers

09 Saturday Dec 2017

Posted by Patrick A Cooper in Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Devotional, End-Times, Eschatology, Faith, Inspiration, Opinion, Religion, Spirituality, Theology

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From the Genesis account of mankind’s fall (Genesis 3) to the moment your eyes scan across these words. The reliability of God’s word has been and continues to be the focal point of the enemy’s attacks against the Christian faith. If God’s word can be disproved or discredited at any point, the whole of scripture implodes, the cross symbolizes nothing more than a historical period of barbaric savagery, and we must bow in submission to the dark side of the philosophical argument; Nietzsche is right, “God is dead” and we are but cosmic accidents, grown-up germs having no purpose or objective meaning.

Jude wrote:

“Dear friends, I’ve dropped everything to write you about this life of salvation that we have in common. I have to write insisting-begging! – that you fight with everything you have in you for this faith entrusted to us as a gift to guard and cherish. What has happened is that some people have infiltrated our ranks (our Scriptures warned us this would happen), who beneath their pious skin are shameless scoundrels. Their design is to replace the sheer grace of our God with sheer license-which means doing away with Jesus Christ, our one and only Master” (Jude 3-4 – The Message).

No picture can be drawn to more vividly depict the age in which we live, nor could there be voiced a greater sense of urgency to contend for the faith than these: “I’ve dropped everything to write you about this.” Jude’s “compelling sense of obligation to the people of God prompted him to change his focus for their spiritual good,” one commentator writes. The text suggests His original intent was to write a letter of encouragement to the church concerning their common salvation but was overcome by an imminent danger infiltrating their ranks.

Believer’s, the Christian community is under siege. Much in the same way as when Jude penned the above words, a serious effort to undermine and destroy the undergirding truth claims of scripture is in full swing and picking up speed. Humanism, secularism, relativism, pluralism, and a countless host of other such isms are being served the gullible society we have become from every conceivable platform and media outlet including the pulpits of many mainstream churches and their respective denominational hierarchies. We must come down from the bleachers, get off the sidelines and get out on the field with more than a pea shooter.

Attending church on Sundays, returning thanks over meals, and saying bedtime prayers is good and encouraged but insufficient in and of themselves to defend the faith from those who would misrepresent and malign it. As the serpent reasoned with Eve in the garden challenging the truth of what God had said, and Satan with Jesus in the Judean wilderness; the war being waged is one of words, of ideas, of opposing worldviews and systems of belief.

Paul instructed Timothy to be a good soldier of Jesus Christ; should we be anything less? In 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 he wrote:

“The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way-never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity” (The Message).

This is a Code Red call for followers of Christ to take a stand, “. . . all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed” – Romans 13:11 NLT.

Salmon Do It

06 Monday Jun 2016

Posted by Patrick A Cooper in Bible, Bible Study, Blog, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, End-Times, Eschatology, Faith, Inspiration, Life, Opinion, Religion, Spirituality, Theology

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Salmon do it; every year, mid-July through September (into November for some species), these herculean creatures migrate from the ocean waters where they have grown to maturity to spawn in the upper reaches of the rivers of their birth, depositing their eggs on the same gravel beds where they were spawned – it is called the Salmon Run.

With uncanny precision, Salmon return to the natal river where they were born, and, yes, even to the very spawning ground where life began for them. With as amazing as this is, the greater wonder is for most species, it will be their last voyage, afterward, they will die.

Although death is a ninety-nine percent certainty once the salmon has spawned, many will not survive the journey itself. Swimming upstream often against high water and powerful currents brought about by early floods take an unfortunate toll draining their bodies of the strength needed to continue forward but they won’t give up the quest. Their will to survive, to proliferate the population is simply mind-boggling.

Another interesting fact about Salmon is their ecological contribution. In places where the salmon have become extinct, the entire ecosystem is at risk. In turn, river otter, mink, bear and eagle experience loss of population.

Okay, where am I going with this? I believe followers of Jesus should be as Salmon in our fight to reproduce other followers of Jesus. As our world continues in what appears to me a downward spiral into utter godlessness, and the true gospel (not the watered down, feel-good, prosperity, name it and claim it version) looks as if it may be in line for a place on the endangered species list, our spiritual ecosystem is at risk. No, it will not ever become extinct; Jesus has promised, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35), but it will shrink into obscurity as the world will become delusional in latter days choosing to believe lies, and be damned (2 Thessalonians 2:11). Tragically, the headwinds of this approaching storm are already blowing across many of our colleges and university campuses as the new atheist movement and other such anti-Christian, anti-God groups grow in number and influence.

Salmon go against the flow and are not deterred from their goal by opposing forces, nor are they familiar with roadside parks and spring break. Each day they continue forward doing whatever it takes, if necessary paying the supreme price so that a new generation can be born. We should be salmon-like.

Christ follower, there is too much at stake to risk taking a lackadaisical posture with the issues before us. Our families and friends are in the crosshairs, daily falling prey to the deceptive practices of a very real, highly persuasive and extremely aggressive enemy.

Jesus, speaking in Matthew 11:12 tells us this: “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force”. The Lord does not alert the reader to an enemy attack on the kingdom of God with these words, but the zeal and determination with which his followers were advancing the gospel. The overriding thought is that of the gospel being propagated in the world not passively, but aggressively. “The gates of hell shall not prevail against the church” (Matthew 16:18) is another passage where we find Jesus speaking in such terms, there suggesting not a defensive strategy to be held by his followers, but an offensive one. Should we be on the march? Yes, I think we should.

I do not suggest disruptive demonstration or advocate picket lines and boycotts that in many ways only give the enemy added ammunition to shoot back with, but a determinate effort by believers to unashamedly stand up for, proclaim and defend spiritual truth (the gospel) in love. The good news being proclaimed respectfully, out of love and concern for the eternal well-being of others, will result in many coming to faith in Christ and in turn, many more will follow. We find our Heavenly Father does not desire that any should perish but that all should come to a place of repentance and be saved (2 Peter 3:9); it should be our desire as well and we should be serious about it while we still can be.

Edmund Burke has said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”, Burke is right. We cannot sit on the sidelines or up in the bleachers and just watch the game, we need to be out on the field playing hard, playing to win. Writing to the church at Corinth, Paul said this, “Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!  All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NLT). Those do not sound like the words of a mere spectator do they? No, not at all, armchair quarterbacks are not what he has in mind.  Friends, fellow followers of Jesus, there is simply too much to gain to lose.

Lastly, if you choose to enlist in the effort to keep the fires of faith burning, expect resistance (salmon do), expect to at some point, somewhere, go head to head with a person as much against the faith as you are for it. What you have that your opposition doesn’t have, however, is a promise; the same promise God made to Joshua when he said to him, “This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9 NLT).

That’s my opinion – what’s yours?

End Note: There are many helpful books and websites on sharing your faith and the subject of Apologetics (defending the faith) available online and in your local Christian bookstore. If your church does not currently offer training in these areas I would recommend asking your pastor if such may be worthy of his or her consideration. You will also find helpful Facebook pages such as “Apologetics: Defending the Faith”, and “Reasonable Faith” groups which provide supportive and informative insights and local group meetings where you can interact with others learning to meet challenges effectively.

In Times Like These

06 Saturday Feb 2016

Posted by Patrick A Cooper in Bible, Bible Study, Blog, Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Devotional, End-Times, Eschatology, Faith, Inspiration, Life, Religion, Spirituality, Uncategorized

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Most every follower of Jesus living in America will agree that our country appears to be going to hell in a hand basket and it seems we are on the fast track. We will also agree that Jesus is the answer, the only answer for the spiritual crisis sweeping across our 2 cornation. With each passing day, we see passivity growing in the heartland as people become more tolerant choosing to appease and please rather than stand against moral corruption and ethical decay. From my vantage point, I see Christians entering a period of time where 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 may become the song we sing should we choose to exit the mainstream highway of societal norms taking the road less traveled.

Is the curtain about to drop? Has the final countdown begun? Honestly, I don’t know, but in view of both Old and New Testament prophecy (when overlaid over the current world scene), there is good reason to believe that it has. That being said the church must step up – put on a bold face and be busy about the Father’s business.

As believers, it is our job, our spiritual duty, in fact, to bring Christ to the world. There is no time to sit back and foolishly debate the use of modern music, multi-media, and other such methods utilized by many churches today (the devil loves to see believers bicker). I too, like other baby boomers, was raised up in a traditional church setting singing the old hymns and listening to sermons preached from the King James Bible. Certainly there is nothing wrong with either and both have a place and role to play out in God’s redemptive plan. We cannot, however, permit trivial differences to blur our vision and get us off-track, keeping ever before us and making clear note of the great commission which does not establish a “how to do” set of rules, but “what to do”.

clifechurch

Community Life Church (Sunnyvale, Texas campus) – The Wknd Event (January 2016)

Personally, I want to be onboard with a risk-taking church. One that navigates the cutting edge of a razor blade without being on the bleeding edge; a church willing to adopt a Star Trek mentality to go “where no man has gone before”; a church willing to take advantage of technological advances using every resource at its disposal to reach out to the community and the world with the life-changing truth of the gospel; a church understanding people aren’t where we want them to be, they’re where they are, and that is where we must go. Jesus said, “I want my house full, go out into the highways and the hedges and compel people everywhere to come in“ (Luke 14:23 My Version).

The highway is the place where most gather doing what most do, the hedges are those out of the way spots where fewer people gather doing what a lesser number do, or we might say in this context, are willing to do. What I hear Jesus saying is “whatever it takes”. Get out of your comfort zone and tell people everywhere the table is set, the dinner bell is ringing; it’s time to dine.

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