Real Hope And Change Is Coming
Because of the debauchery of our culture, too many Christians have given up all hope and they have become gloomier than the Addams Family at a Taylor Swift concert. I cannot tell you how many Christians keep talking about end times, book of Revelation, Jesus coming back, and on and on. Well I got news for you, brethren: Jesus is definitely coming back, but maybe not in the way you think He is.
While I hear people talking about satanic entertainment, anti-theist professors indoctrinating the next generation, our current president trampling on religious liberties, and just all around Christianity being mocked in our society, I like to ponder on other things. For example, I like to think about the new History Channel series The Bible and how, despite its inconsistencies, it has gotten ridiculous attention from celebrities and the various media outlets. I like to think how it will motivate people to not only read their bible and know more about what they believe, but also for someone out there to make an even better production of it so that 5 years from now we can look back at the current series and think “Wow, the new series makes the old one look like a joke.”
I like to think how the election of Pope Francis (even though I am not a Catholic and I don’t endorse their theology or authority) has reminded people that the Church is still relevant today and makes headlines even out of atheistic Europe. I like to think how Pope Francis was elected despite his traditional views on abortion, marriage, and homosexuality. I like to ponder how the music community across all genres (from pop to heavy metal) has received a fiery surge of the Holy Spirit and we are beginning to see young people gain a new hunger for the living God.
I absolutely love to think about the pro-infanticide folks over at TIME magazine consider abortion rights activists as “unequivocally losing.” I think about how my generation will not pass away until we see every abortion clinic shut down and transform our nation to protect and defend the very least of these, the unborn. I like how Iceland is banning Internet pornography in an age where porn is more prevalent than tobacco or alcohol.
I don’t vacation my mind on the awful things that are happening in our society, and I will grant you that they are bad. Because even though our sin is great, indeed, our God is greater. Jesus defeated death, hell, and the grave when He rose on the third day and every time you utter a word of hopelessness about “end times” or “Jesus come quickly” you are diminishing the work of the Holy Spirit that He is trying to make happen through your gloomy backside. Wake up, pray that stank off your mouth and ask God to come into your life and use you so that the evil establishments of our society can be torn down and pillars of righteousness can be built in their place.
Remember, the apostles were called people who turned the world upside down. They put sinful people out of business, they stood before kings and proselytized, they watched prisons that were holding them back break open, and they took great joy in being murdered for the cause of Jesus Christ. They weren’t afraid of being slandered on Facebook or losing a few friends, they were focused on changing the world for God even if it meant an excruciating death. Get a grip on that and examine yourself.
So is Jesus coming back? Absolutely He is. He is coming back to our schools, to our government, to our youth, to our marriages, to our culture, and to the arts. So next time you think about how we are living in the “end times” do all of us a favor, bottle that noise up and get out of the way while the rest of us are trying to change the world for Him.