Revelation 13:16-18 KJV “And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: [17] And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. [18] Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.”

I won’t be surprised if one day you can be sued for not reporting to work (to your job). Or even arrested for that matter. I won’t be surprised if one day there will be repercussions for not answering your cell phone when someone calls you. That’s right, if you ignore the calls of those who are trying to control you your credit score will suffer or something like that. How dare you not answer when they call! 😠

ONE-SIDED

The employer employee relationship seems a bit one-sided. The employer’s position is, “We are your god. Worship us or you and your family can die and go to hell!” It won’t be a surprise to me if we find ourselves saying, “No!” more often to our employers being that the day is coming when no one will be able to buy or sell unless he/she receives the mark of the beast. Your job or business is related to your finances. Your employer, fellow employees, and business associates will (or already do in some way) have the mark. They will not sacrifice their buying and selling power for faithfulness to God. On the other hand you and I must be willing to do just that. We possess something far greater than all the money in the world and we know this! 😁

As employers become more and more greedy, wicked, and unreasonable (and they will) we will have more serious decisions to make. Remember, our finances; our buying and selling power, is attached to our jobs and businesses. When we look at what’s happening in the commerce world today whose cause are financial institutions promoting? God’s or Satan’s? Clearly Satan’s. As this increases you and I will have to make good decisions. Even if those good decisions feel bad momentarily. Beware. And remember:

‭Matthew‬ ‭6:24‬ ‭HCSB “No one can be a slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot be slaves of God and of money.”‬‬‬‬‬‬

Don’t let anything take you by surprise. Satan will use his system to throw everything at us including the kitchen sink. But:

Romans 8:18 KJV “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

2 Corinthians‬ ‭4:17-18‬ ‭NIV‬‬ “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

1 Peter 4:12-13 NIV “Dear friends, DO NOT BE SURPRISED at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. [13] But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.” 😃

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Mark 6:1‭-‬3 GNB “Jesus left that place and went back to his home town, followed by his disciples. On the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue. Many people were there; and when they heard him, they were all amazed. “Where did he get all this?” they asked. “What wisdom is this that has been given him? How does he perform miracles? Isn’t he the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? Aren’t his sisters living here?” And so they rejected him.”‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

What did Jesus do wrong? Nothing. Yet people rejected Him and still do. They hated Him for no good reason. They could not figure out why He was so different. ‘How can He do miracles?’ ‘Where did he get all this wisdom from?’ ‘Isn’t this the lowly carpenter? The son of Joseph and Mary?’ ‘He’s changed!’ Instead of further investigating their questions or simply rejoicing at all the good Jesus was doing they hated Him for it. This proves that these people were truly evil at heart. Just as evil as those who are offended by us no matter how much good God does through us. But didn’t Jesus say it would be this way:

John 15:20-21 NIV “Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. [21] They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.”

“WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?”

Isn’t that what we hear? “You think you’re better!” Funny we’re accused of thinking we’re better than others when we don’t feel that way at all. We believe what the Bible says about all human beings:

Romans 3:10 NIV ,”As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one.” ‘

Ecclesiastes 7:20 KJV “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.”

Romans‬ ‭3:23‬ ‭KJV “For ALL HAVE SINNED, and come short of the glory of God.”‬‬‬‬

‭‭We know that ALL have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. We are no better. We’ve just been shown mercy by God because of our belief in Jesus Christ who is the forgiveness for our sins. 😃 You think it’s because our accusers know we have something special that they are offended by us? The same way they knew Jesus had something special and hated Him for it? Could it be instead of us thinking that we’re better deep down inside they think that we are better and hate us for it? Might this create a certain jealousy within them? The same kind of jealousy Cain felt towards his brother Abel when he saw that God favored him? 🤔‬‬

The real question is not, “Who do you think you are?” We know who we are. We are children of Almighty God! Lord of heaven and earth! And guess what? You can be God’s child too! By accepting Jesus’ sacrifice for the forgiveness of your sins! By being born again by the Holy Spirit you too can become God’s child and receive the free gift of eternal life! 😃

John‬ ‭3:16 ‬NCV‬‬ “God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life.”‬‬

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Luke 4:5-8 KJV “And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. [6] And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. [7] If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. [8] And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”

“Hi, can I borrow your Body? I want to enjoy the human experience through you; inside of your body. If you let me I’ll make you rich. Do you wonna be a movie star? A rapper? Or a famous politician? You just say the word and we’ll make it happen for you. My boss (Satan) runs this whole world and we can give it to whoever we want. Just invite us in to live inside of you. Give me your body and I’ll give you the world.”

Signed, Demons

Who would accept such an offer? Think about it; resorting to following the dark side to make your dreams come true, you have to be really hard up and desperate. Nothing in life must be working. Jesus knew His purpose in life. He had much to live for and even more to die for. The salvation of the human race rested on His shoulders. Hence He turned down the Devil’s offer and chose to live and die for you and me. How many people do you know would give up being king of this world to die for folks that don’t even care about or know them? Jesus is special. And His death gives all of our lives meaning and purpose if we accept Him. 🙂

Demons seek to possess us not to enjoy the human experience through our bodies. They offer pleasures as bait in order to use us, and turn us into tools that can be used in their warfare against God. Yes, as you live this life solely for pleasure you have been recruited as an enemy of God. This happens to many people unawares.

When a demon possesses you you are their vehicle. You are not calling the shots. The car doesn’t drive itself, the driver of the vehicle (or demons) do. They make you think you’re making all the decisions but you’re not. You are being manipulated by dark forces you have often unknowingly given yourself over to.

It’s all a trick. The devil doesn’t care about giving you fame or fortune. Just as the devil didn’t care about making Jesus rich and famous. The trinkets demons offer us are just bait to get us to open ourselves up and invite them in, yes inside of our bodies. Sounds like a science fiction movie? Sounds like invasion of the body snatchers? Only remember that these things about evil spirits were written in the Bible way before Hollywood was invented. Where do you think they get all their movie ideas from? That’s right, the Bible. They owe God lots of copyright infringement money. 🤔

Luke 11:24-26 KJV “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. [25] And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. [26] Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”

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Psalm 16:11 KJV “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is FULNESS OF JOY; at thy right hand there are PLEASURES FOR EVERMORE.”

Pleasure eases the mind and makes us forget about pain. Drinking can give you pleasure. Drugs can too. Sex can ease the pain as well. The happiness that comes with buying stuff can make you feel good. Just the right music soothes the soul. And how about eating your favorite foods? What all of these things have in common is they are temporal. They all pass away. Once you obtain one then it’s off to the next one, and off to the next, and the next, you get the point.

Pleasure also helps you forget? Forget about what? Forget about pain and misery. We as a people are in a lot of pain these days. And some of the very pleasures we seek to ease our pain are some of the culprits causing us much grief. What’s even sadder is once we see this we often ignore it, and off to the next pleasure hunt we go. Why can’t we realize that our antidotes are causing some of our sicknesses? The short answer is because we have rejected the very thing that could give us the most joy right now and pleasures forevermore. We have rejected God.

I know most don’t want to think about what I just said. That goes against our pleasure hunting programming. But has your life been truly wonderful doing it the way you’ve been doing it so far? Don’t we have a saying that goes something like, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result?” What if we come to find that the God we thought was so unpleasurable is really what we were seeking the whole time? What if this God gave us more pleasure than we can stand or even imagine? Would that be so bad?

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to feel good. Only a nutjob would want to feel bad. I beseech you to ask God yes get alone and ask God to reveal Himself to you. What can it hurt? It doesn’t cost you any money to do it. Who knows, what if you find that this is the ultimate pleasure you’ve been always looking for? 😊

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Luke 16:19-31 KJV “There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: [20] And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, [21] And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. [22] And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; [23] And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. [24] And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. [25] But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. [26] And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. [27] Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: [28] For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. [29] Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. [30] And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. [31] And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”

Would it have been too difficult for the rich man to show Lazarus just a little kindness while he was alive? No. He was very rich. He dressed in the finest clothe and lived in luxury every day! Giving a poor beggar a little food wouldn’t have hurt him at all. But now that the tables have turned and he finds himself tormented in hell he wants Lazarus to come to his aid, WOW! Isn’t this indicative of evil people? They don’t believe in helping others, but as soon as they get in a bind they scream, “Help me!”

When you really think about it, is hell too harsh?

Proverbs 28:27 CEB “Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those who turn a blind eye will be greatly cursed.”

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2 Peter 3:3 NIV “Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.”

2 Timothy 3:3 KJV “Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good.”

Jude 1:17-19 KJV “But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; [18] How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. [19] These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.”

Yah think living in a world filled with people like this can’t affect you because you’re a Christian? Think again. When someone scoffs or mocks you this tends to make you feel like you’re the crazy one, when in reality they are. Mocking can even cause you to doubt what you believe. Sometimes to avoid being scoffed at we may decide to stop talking about God all together. Besides, no one seems to be listening anyway. How do we stay up in a world that’s always putting us down? I hope this brief article will give us some encouragement along these lines. 😀

FIND OTHERS LIKE YOU

Hebrews 10:24-25 KJV “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: [25] Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but EXHORTING ONE ANOTHER: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”

Ahh, exhortation is so powerful and needed. If you know believers in the Lord meet with them regularly and exhort one another in the word all the more as you see The Day Of The Lord approaching. The above passage doesn’t mean you must meet with any church group or Christians you know are phony just so you can say, “I went to church.” It’s talking about meeting with true believers in Jesus who are focussed on BEING THE CHURCH not just going to church. Christ’s true body; His church, is focussed on bringing His healing power into this hurting world just as He did when He walked the earth. It also convicts the world of sin as Jesus did and the need to repent in order to be saved by the one and only way: Jesus Christ.

Your meetings don’t have to be large groups either. It can be as little as just two of you. That’s right! (Matthew 18:19-20) And yes, you can even meet some true believers (true friends) on social media. I’ve had Bible studies with Christians in the past through skype, over the phone, etcetera, when we lived too far apart to meet in person. All that matters is we come together with one mind and one thought; one spirit, which is Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:10 KJV “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”

Then we can spur each other on toward love and good deeds; being a source of encouragement for one another. If you don’t have believers or a believer you can meet with pray to the Lord for this.

LEARN TOO FROM JOB

One of the most impressive things to me about Job is he didn’t have a church group to meet with. He didn’t belong to any religious denomination yet he was THE MOST RIGHTEOUS MAN IN ALL THE EARTH! Job was just a good man who loved God. He too was mocked and falsely accused. Yet Job kept loving God in spite of this and in spite of losing all his great riches, in spite of losing his children to death, his friends, his health, all of which hit him all at the same time! This tells me that we can love God regardless of what we do not have. Job did, he was a human being just like us so we can too. And we today have an advantage that Job did not have: we have the written word of Almighty God! Jesus said:

THE SPIRIT QUICKENETH

John 6:63 KJV “IT IS THE SPIRIT THAT QUICKENETH; the flesh profiteth nothing: THE WORDS that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.”

Jesus says that it is the Spirit that quickeneth. That word, “quickeneth,” means spiritual power to arouse and invigorate, to make alive, give life to, vitalize. Basically the Spirit gives supernatural power, life, and energy. Jesus says that His very words are Spirit, and life. Hence, Jesus’ words give supernatural life and vitality.

In order to withstand all the spiritual dark forces surrounding us in this world we must feed on Jesus’ words. God’s words are the only thing that can keep us alive and give us strength. If we’re honest with ourselves we will admit that whenever we felt down and demoralized for long periods of time we were not studying God’s words regularly. That’s why we had that lifeless, dead, depressed feeling:

Matthew 4:4 ESV “But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”

Studying God’s word keeps us alive. Without it we are dead, we have no energy; no life, no light, we cannot shine. Get back into the habit of studying God’s word daily if you’ve gotten out of it and watch how differently and better you feel immediately. 😀

I hope this has helped someone who’s feeling the effects of this fallen world filled with enemies of God. We all get down sometimes. But those who really love God get back up and let their lights shine like Job. God Himself says:

Proverbs 24:16 ESV “For the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.”

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Ecclesiastes 7:29 KJV “Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.”

God made man upright. But man encouraged by the devil chose to do his own thing. Since then mankind has sought out one invention after another with disastrous results. Interestingly all of his greatest achievements wind up being used for war. By the time the mainstream gets these new devices (toys) they have already been weaponized by the world’s governments. Man invents machines that reflects man: killing machines.

What man willingly forgets is he lives inside an enclosed environment governed by laws. He didn’t create this place this space we call earth, man’s creator did. Many willingly ignore the fact that we have a creator. That’s their choice. Yet this in no way negates the rules put in place by Him. Here’s one of them:

Galatians 6:7 KJV “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

The law of sowing and reaping is God’s law. It permeates the universe and affects every living thing. What you do comes back to you good or bad. People call this law karma. By ascribing a Hinduism or Buddhism teaching to God’s law this keeps God out of the picture. We don’t have to think about Him when we reap what we sow, it’s just good or bad karma. Hence mankind refuses to acknowledge God. They are still doing their own thing and are lying to themselves, but at what great price?

INVENTIONS OF WAR

Mankind’s inventions of war will gladly turn on them. Some of them are killing us right now (slowly). But the time will come when all of mankind’s evil will be unleashed back on him. It’s the law. It’s justice. You reap what you sow. Interestingly many who claim not to believe in God or His existence are the first to blame God when everything goes wrong. Isn’t that weird? Yah think deep down inside they know that God really exist but are just living in rebellion against Him? Hmmmmmm.🤔

Had man cared to sow peace he would have reaped peace. Had we cared to read the fine print (the Bible) and follow God’s commands for peace we wouldn’t have gotten into so much trouble. But no we don’t need to read the fine print unless it involves getting a new house or a new car or stuff like that. All these things will perish along with rebellious mankind. But where will your soul (you) be forever? Hmmmmmmm.🤔

Man loves his gadgets (his destructive toys) but his gadgets don’t love him. They will turn on him one day in the worse way. And as usual we will blame the God we don’t believe in and says does not exist for it all. Wow, we are crazy! We are really crazy! And it was us who built these fascinating toys; these weapons of mass destruction?

Amazingly God still loves us crazy and all. But we hate God so much and refuse to acknowledge Him. We have rejected His way for peace. (John 14:6) Hence we have sealed our own doom. There’s nothing more that can be done for us. The aliens who claim to be from outer space can’t help us. It’s a trick. Only God can help us.

Few of us have accepted God’s way. Let him with ears hear what the spirit is saying to the churches, “Get out of this crooked doomed world while there is yet time! God’s judgment is coming on all who hate him! His salvation will save those who love Him!”

1 John 2:15-17 KJV “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. [16] For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. [17] And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”

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Ecclesiastes 5:3 KJV “For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.”

God says that a fool is recognized by his use of many words. Have you ever been around people who talk so much you just wish they would shut up? You might as well stop wishing because they’re not gonna be quiet, hah hah hah. Then there’s the type that are smooth talkers. They charm and flatter you with their lips. The best we can do is pray for patience in dealing with these folks and pray for them. Also we must avoid becoming intertwined with folks God calls fools. That’s right, God’s word says not to be yoked with such persons:

Proverbs 20:19 KJV “He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore MEDDLE NOT with him that flattereth with his lips.”

Proverbs 29:5 KJV “A man that flattereth his neighbour SPREADETH A NET for his feet.”

One of the benefits of having godly wisdom is all you have to do is listen when people speak and they will tell you who they are.

Ecclesiastes 10:14 KJV “A fool also is full of words: a man cannot tell what shall be; and what shall be after him, who can tell him?”

Yet the fool babbles like he/she knows everything.

Proverbs 10:19 MEV “In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise.”

When a person talks too much God says sin is present, and there is no lack of it. Be very careful with those who love to flap their jaws. Remember, when folks talk they are telling you who they are. Accept what you hear, accept the truth. Even the smoothest tongue cannot remain hidden:

Luke 6:45 KJV “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.”

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