By Timothy Johnson
Preacher’s Point
As you drive or walk around, notice the people around you – those in vehicles, those walking down the street, those sitting on benches at the park, bus stops, or the town square. How many smiles do you see? Smiles are a rare thing these days. Some will try to convince you that the lack of smiles is due to the economy, the political bantering, climate change, the war in Ukraine, former President Trump, or Biden Inc., among other things.
While some people are very interested in these things, others pay attention to these situations but do not dwell on them; still, others do not think twice about current news events.
Unless it is one of those events that everyone knows what they were doing when it happened, such as the Kenedy assassination or 9/11, the current news cycle has little to no impact on a person’s mood for the day.
What does impact a person’s mood is usually personal. The inability to pay a bill will wipe the smile off a person’s face if the economy is robust or in a depression. An argument with the spouse would remove a smile regardless of whether the person’s least favorite politician was indicted or not. A loved one in the hospital will remove a smile if this summer is hotter than last summer or not.
We tend to forget that all the problems in Washington and our homes are spiritual issues.
How so?
On a global scale, God has outlined the future for us in the Scriptures. We do not know when, but we know that Jesus Christ is returning. We know from the Bible that there is a seven-year tribulation period before His return. During this tribulation period, we know that a man will rule the world. The nations will still be here because the Bible speaks of the leaders of those nations, but the Antichrist, the Beast, the Son of Perdition, will be in complete control.
The government of the Antichrist will be precisely that – anit-Christ. Many people are wondering what has happened to the world in recent years – what was right is now wrong, and what used to be wrong is now right.
What is happening is spiritual. The world is in preparation for the Antichrist. The Antichrist will not show up one day, click his fingers, and suddenly everyone loses their morals and turns from God. The turning away from God has been in process since the start of the twentieth century and continues to grow. The Antichrist will appear on the world stage when the world is ready to accept him. From the looks of everything, it will not be much longer.
On a personal scale, God has provided everything necessary for our joy. The human race has a cancer. Not the cancer that puts people in the hospital, but a cancer that sends all of us to our graves – that cancer is sin.
Death entered the world because of sin. Because Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, death now reigns in all of us. Sin is killing us physically and spiritually, but God provided the cure. The blood of Jesus Christ cures the sin problem. Our bodies will still die physically, but at the resurrection, we will receive a new glorified body that will last for eternity. Spiritually also, we pass from death unto life. All things become new. As far as our current life on this earth – the Holy Spirit now lives in our heart, and our desires are no longer selfish, but our soul seeks to do God’s will in our lives. The frowns become smiles as we live out the purpose set aside for us by our Creator. The joy of the Lord becomes our strength. When life seems to go the wrong way, we can still have joy because we know that in everything that happens, God somehow works in us, through us, or both.
How does this work? Put your faith in Him. You cannot save yourself; only the blood of the Saviour can save you. Stop relying on your goodness or that you have not done something horrible to get you right with God. Do not rely on religion. Only the blood of Christ can save you and bring you a fulfilling life.
Whether global, national, regional, local, or personal, it is all spiritual. On a worldwide scale, God is bringing this world to its conclusion. On an individual scale, God is attempting to bring you to Him.
Preacher Johnson is Pastor of Countryside Baptist Church in Parke County Indiana. Website: www.preachers-point.com; Email: [email protected]; Mail: 25 W 1200 N; Kingman IN 47952. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Timothy-Preacher-Johnson-101171088326638. All Scripture KJV.
