The Flood

                 When Hurricane Ida hit and caused so much destruction around the country, I was telling my son about all the homes, property and streets that got flooded. He answered me by saying, but God promised He wouldn’t flood the world again. Of course he is referring to Noah and God’s promise to never destroy the earth again with a flood. I did tell my son that is true, but God did not promise He wouldn’t bring other waves of destruction to the earth before His return. Luke 21:6, Jesus is speaking to his disciples, “The time is coming when all these things will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!” Verse 10-11, “Nation will go to war against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes and there will be famines and plagues in many lands and there will be terrifying things and great miraculous signs from heaven.” Revelation clearly defines that this world will be destroyed to bring the re-birth of the new heaven and earth. God’s Kingdom will be the everlasting one that no one can ever conquer or destroy.  

              No matter when the season of God’s return the Bible does mention that the end times will be very similar to the way it was during Noah’s time. Matthew 24:37-39, When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered the boat. People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes. We have seen over the past year the doctrines of Christ being distorted to fit the lives of sinners and an increase acceptance of sin. No one expected Ida to cause this much damage to places that have never been known for flooding. People had to leave their cars on the road because the water was so high. Property and many people’s earthly treasures were destroyed. Many living in New Orleans lost everything they possessed in an instant. So many have died so suddenly that I am afraid they did not repent and give their life to Christ before their death. Countless lives lost in Afghanistan and many were Christians. Nothing is guaranteed in this life. 

               The people that lived during those times, I think they would even agree that the world looks even worse than the times of Noah/Sodom and Gomorrah. Luke 17:28-32, And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot. People went about their daily business-eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building-until the morning Lot left Sodom. Then fire and burning sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. Yes, it will be business as usual right up to the day when the Son of Man is revealed. On that day a person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. A person out in the field must not return home. Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! This is exactly the world today. No care in the world, living their best life now and not thinking about their eternity. Seeing value in your life only by the followers and likes on your Social Media account. So many believe this is the only life they have and because of that, their souls are headed towards the fiery pit. James 4:14, How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog-it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. Time on this earth is short, just look what is happening around us in places like Afghanistan, earthquakes in Mexico, Covid-19 killed millions without warning. This death is only the first death, but the second death is the punishment for those who did not obey God’s commands in this life. Revelation 21:8, But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murders, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshippers and all liars-their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. Revelation 20:14-15, Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.  

   Revelation 12:12, Therefore, rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that he has little time. Satan is going to flood our lives with as much sin/temptation as possible because he knows his time is limited. He is coming for the believers, our churches, family structure and to distort God’s commandments. Society as a whole is probably worse now than they were during the time of Noah. 2 Timothy 3:2-5, For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. The will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that! The world openly criticizes God’s word and His truth. Twist His truth to fit their sin and do not repent. They openly deny His existence and live their life according to their own sinful nature (Previous Post – Nature). 2 Peter 3:3-10, Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.” They deliberately forget that God made the heavens by the word of His command and He brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. Then He used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood. And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgement, when ungodly people will be destroyed. But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about His promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. Those that mock God will answer at the judgment. He wants all to be saved but the world continues to harden their hearts to His Grace (Previous Post- Grace) and Mercy.  

               This earth will go through so many calamities during the end times. We can see in Revelation 6, the 1^st 4 seals are broken by the Lamb (Jesus) who is only worthy to do it. They ride horses and are given authority over-one fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword and famine and disease in wild animals. When the 6^th seal is broken, there was a great earthquake. The sun became dark as black cloth and the moon became as red as blood. Then the stars of the sky was rolled up like a scroll and all the mountains and islands were moved from their places. Then everyone-the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful and every slave and free person-all hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountain. God’s wrath is just beginning to come on this world. Revelation 16, mentions Armageddon where all the demonic spirits will gather, all the rulers and their armies to battle God’s army. Verse 17-21, Then the 7^th angel poured out his bowl into the air. And a mighty shout came from the throne in the Temple, saying, “It is finished!” Then the thunder crashed and rolled and lightning flashed! A great earthquake struck-the worst since people were placed on earth. The great city of Babylon split into three sections and the cities of many nations fell into heaps of rubble. So God remembered all of Babylon’s sins and He made her drink the cup that was filled with the wine and His fierce wrath. And every island disappeared and all the mountains were leveled. There was a terrible hailstorm and hailstones weighing as much as seventy-five pounds fell from the sky onto the people below. They cursed God because of the terrible plague of hailstorm. The end result will be, Revelation 21:1-4, Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.  

   I believe we have declined morally and spiritually as a whole, like in the times of Noah. Sin is more prevalent and accepted now in our society. Due to technology being so easily accessible, this allows sin to occur much easier in our lives. Social media glamorizes sin through celebrities and wanting young minds to fit in with society. They rather fit in with sinful society than be an outcast for Christ. We are being flooded with sin at all angles and can be lost because we do not know Christ or His Truth! Those who believe can see the wickedness rising in our world. When you are spiritually weak the devil can easily influence your mind. Whatever the flood may be in your life, remember we have a Redeemer and a Deliverer. God has a way of using storms to bring us to places in our lives that we would not have gone on our own. Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together. God wants to show you that this world can’t hide from his wrath and no matter how strong your infrastructure is, it will fail.  2 Peter 3:11-13, Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, He will set the heavens on fire and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth He has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness. Christ is the answer to any Flood causing damage in our lives whether spiritually, physically or mentally. No army, fortified castle, safe room, underground bunker can protect us if God judges us to be a sinner and we will face his coming wrath. With everything that is going on this world, only one thing is sure…. that Christ is returning! 

 

Nature

           The definition of human nature is the general psychological characteristics, feelings and behavioral traits of humankind, regarded as shared by all humans. What does the Bible tells us about our human nature? Our human nature is to sin and this causes harm to our relationship with God. Our self-nature is destructive, just look at the world around us and we can see the proof. We are controlled by our sinful nature and we alone can never defeat our nature to sin. Romans 8:3, The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. Romans 7:5, When we are controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death. Jeremiah 17:9, The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Romans 8:8, Those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. Our sinful nature always wants to do evil. How can we fight against our sinful nature?  

            When we love this world more than God, our sinful nature will drive our decisions. All the sins of the world, lusts, addiction, greed, adultery, sodomy, gluttony, anger, pride, lack of self-control, focusing on status, etc., will be in control of our lives. I John 2:15-17, Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only cravings for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. How do we please God? By obeying His commandments. The first step is accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. Romans 10:9, If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised from the dead, you will be saved. The next step is John 3:5-7, Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ Accepting Jesus and Baptism will cause a rebirth. 2 Corinthians 5:17, anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun. Our sinful nature can be washed away with acceptance and baptism, allowing the Spirit to drive our nature.  

            There is a battle between our spirit and the flesh, which is our human nature. We must live by the Spirit’s power and guidance. Galatians 5:16-25, So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the Holy Spirit produces the kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Only way we can defeat our human nature is by living in the Spirit of God. It will only direct you towards Godly desires and can help warn us against the devil’s evil intentions.  

            We must continually read, pray, fast, learn and desire God to have the Spirit within us. You must let God into your heart so His Spirit can lead you. We are a slave to the Spirit, rather than being a slave to sin. Romans 6:16-18, Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin and you have become slaves to righteous living. We who believe know that sin leads to death and hell. We can’t live a righteous life without the Spirit in us. This world is being attacked by Satan and his forces, against every righteous doctrine of Christ currently. He is deceiving, twisting and lying to the world under the disguise of being like Christ. The world doesn’t even recognize it because they are still a slave to sin. 2 Corinthians 4:4-5, Satan who is the god of this world, has blinded minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’s sake. We are servants to the world to glorify Christ to change their sinful nature before it is too late.  

The Holy Spirit is the key to this war between the flesh and spirit. When baptized we are also born of the Spirit. It is the comforter and power that can help us overcome the bondage of sin. I Corinthians 2:9-16, No eye has seen, no ear has heard and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. For, “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him? But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ. When you imitate Christ (previous post) and have the Holy Spirit inside you, guiding you, sin is defeated. Our sinful nature will always lose to the Holy Spirit. Reading the Bible for yourself will give an opening for the Spirit to show you God’s Truths. Without knowing God’s Word the world can easily deceive you. The Spirit will never lead you astray and will never contradict the Word of God because it is from God.  

There are consequences of our sinful nature and be watchful who you listen too, follow or teach false doctrine yourself. In 2 Peter 2, Peter speaks about false teachers and they can lead you to a sinful nature rather than to God. God does not show any partiality and He even did not spare the angels who sinned. He threw them into hell, in gloomy pits of darkness where they are being held until the day of judgement. Verse 10-15, He is especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desire and who despise authority. These people are proud and arrogant, daring even to scoff at supernatural beings without so much as trembling. But the angels, who are far greater in power and strength, do not dare to bring from the Lord a charge of blasphemy against those supernatural beings. These false teachers are like unthinking animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed. They scoff at things they do not understand and like animals, they will be destroyed. Their destruction is their reward for the harm they have done. They love to indulge in evil pleasures in broad daylight. They are a disgrace and a stain among you. They delight in deception even as they eat with you in your fellowship meals. They commit adultery with their eyes and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people to sin and they are well trained in greed. They live under God’s curse. Verse 18-19, They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting. With an appeal to twisted sexual desires, they lure back into sin those who barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception. They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you. God will punish those who lead His children astray and it is because they don’t have the Spirit guiding them. When you know what the Bible says and allow the Spirit inside your heart, it will never lead you to false doctrine or false teachers. It will show you the truth and if someone is speaking God’s truth.  

When we become a new person our old life is gone and sin’s power is broken. We become controlled by the Spirit and it seeks out God’s purpose in your life. Romans 6:6-9, We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. We can defeat sin in our lives because we are more concerned with things of the Spirit and God. Romans 8:5-14, Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children (Children of God previous post) of God. If we live according to our sinful nature we will surely die but with the power of the Spirit our nature can be changed and sin defeated.   

If you want spiritual peace in your life and eternal life, seek what the Spirit seeks, which is God! Ephesians 4:21-24, Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on new nature, created to be like God – truly righteous and holy. Colossians 3:9-11, Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature and be renewed as your learn to know your Creator and be like him. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters and he lives in all of us. You have a choice whether to be a slave to your sinful nature or allow the Spirit to drive your life. Desire and crave for the Spirit of God because it will lead you to eternal life. Colossians 3:5, So put to death sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshipping the things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. We don’t want to be around when God’s wrath comes upon those who have publicly denied His Truths. The Spirit of God is waiting for you and it will transform your sinful nature into God’s nature!