It’s incredible just how far we have all come. Here it is 2013, such a long way from the 1950’s. I say, incredible, and what I really mean is an incredibly ignorant and arrogant distance from what we knew when we were young: an honest and wholesome way of life. The majority that will read this article will not know the price that was paid in World War II for freedom for the chance to become better and be a contributing individual of this once great country. They will never know the faces of the generation that had to fight that huge war that donned the eyes of horror and terror in a mask, to ensure happiness and freedom for their young.
The baby boomers know those faces. They were the last to have seen those faces in their moms and dads. And the generations after the boomers were never taught the sacrifices made for their freedom. We boomers failed not only the greatest generation but also our children. I believe it began with “free love” and the “flower children,” the hippie generation. As Vietnam fell, we looked for peace in all the wrong areas, through all the wrong people. We wove our own propaganda and our children have forgotten what right and wrong is all about.
What ever happened to John 3:16?
“For God so loved the world, that HE gave HIS only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
We have not lead our children to understand what real sacrifice is all about! Too many are racing to find happiness in money and “things” rather than to look to God for all our needs. There is another face in these generations, that of contempt, hostility, anger and hatred and these people have no idea WHY! They simply feel they “deserve” something and yet, that something never arrives, they never know what they need so they fill that hole inside with anything and everything!
You know this is true! It’s everywhere you look! It will never get any better, it is going to get worse and worse! I hate being the bearer of such bad tidings, but we set this up and the generations ran with it. All of it falls into place just as the Bible said it would! The problem is no one wants to read the Bible anymore! They say it’s outdated, it’s passe, doesn’t fit in with the modern times of today. What’s strange is this: We see biblical prophecies taking place every single day now. And if we were all willing to read the Scriptures, we would know what the future is going to hold for us. If we took those same Scriptures to heart we would be headed in an entirely different direction. Oh, that we were as wholesome today as they were in the 1950’s! I will tell so many about the Scriptures of prophecy. I know they’ll hear it, but they will never truly listen to the Word of God and seek the answers.
We raise our children, we tell them not to play with fire, tell them they will get burned and it hurts and we hope they will listen and understand. They just have to find this out for themselves, the hard way. The problem is that they then say it’s someone elses fault that they got hurt. Do you see this in other areas of life as well? How about in their work ethic or their responsibilities to others around them? How many are on welfare because mom and dad always were? They simply never learned what “sacrifice” and hard work is all about. You will never hear them saying it begins with love for God and others. And now, we wonder what the “great delusion” is all about, right? Well, maybe not! Maybe they would never understand that, because it is a prophecy in the Bible!
Never mind the other things, like being accountable for ones actions, beginning with the intent of the heart or what SIN is all about — that would upset the apple cart, make too many waves, cost someone some time, or heaven forbid─money! And we simply can’t have any of that! And we haven’t even touched on the feelings of others, or hunger, those are not things we want to think about, right? We are too busy getting what we want, what we deserve, what is, “rightfully mine,” where we should be, hooray for us and to hell with anything or anyone else! I got mine, you gotta get yours, hooray for me, it’s all about me, right?
Can’t go to church, cause it’s going to cost something or some money! Besides there’s nothing there but a guilt trip with all that, “thus and thou stuff.” It never makes any sense anyway, trying to be a goody two shoes and all. Then we turn around and think to ourselves just how wonderful we are and that, “God would never consider sending me to hell!” Of course time passes and then the next thing you know, there’s the house and the cars, the kids, the job that’s going nowhere and we look in the mirror, “Horrors. I’m getting old!” Life becomes a little slower, we begin to think, one day this is all going to stop, there will be an end to it all. And then the next thing you know, that heart attack takes place and then what?
You already know where you are in life and you already think you have it all worked out, right? You already know if there is a heaven and hell, you have known all your life! You have always known what is right and what isn’t — what being righteous or evil is all about. No one needed to tell you these things because it was written in the smallest areas of your DNA. You know, those thoughts about life, about right and wrong, those thoughts that you suppressed because they scared you, so you shoved them way down inside you.
You also knew who God was too, even knew you would have to face HIM one day as well, but, well, you would handle that when you crossed that bridge. So here you are, you’ve crossed that bridge and your standing before God, looking HIM in the eyes. What are you going to say? Do you have any excuses you can use? Maybe mom and dad should have spent more time with you, maybe they should have made you attend Sunday school. Maybe then you would have learned what you should have done, what you should not have done, so on and so forth.
The day comes.You look at HIM and suddenly it dawns on you that you knew about HIM, but you don’t know anything at all. There were times when you should have been listening instead of condemning others, when they tried to say something about this to you. Then the things you lied about pop up and all the swindles in business, the lies and the hurtful words you hollered. All those times you turned your back on those that trusted you and needed you. In the space of seconds, everything you ever did that was SINFUL jumps in your head and now it seems like everyone around you KNOWS what you are, too. You feel that conviction, the shame, the pain and you wish you could slink away into obscurity.
Suddenly you notice the taste of blood in your mouth and your hands are covered in it. Oddly enough, you know that was the blood Jesus Christ gave up on the cross. You feel like filth, you are disgusted with yourself and everyone knows what is going on with you! All of a sudden you watch Jesus Christ─God─turn HIS back to you and walk away. Immediately, you know all about HIM, every little detail and how your arrogant life was fixed to disgrace HIM. And what hurts the most, is HE was the One, the only One who could have saved you from what comes next.
You are wishing more than anything right now that you could take it all back and make everything right. You know you messed everything up for yourself because that is all you ever thought about is─you! What youwanted. You never once considered anyone else, even your children and your wife! You could have taken the time and the energy to foster a life for the Lord in their lives, along with your own, but, well, there were other things you wanted, lusted after, treasured in your heart. It was all about YOU, right?
You fall on your knees, tears streaming down your face, your heart breaking, or even worse, exploding inside your chest. Fear, the likes you have never known in all your life wells up inside of you! You want to scream how sorry you are, that you just didn’t know how important these things really were! You feel the strength in your body begin to seep away and you suddenly feel the emptiness of eternal death begin to close in about you. Never again will you see the light of day, or a crisp cool breeze or a sip of clear, clean water. Suffocation looms its ugly head around you and you want to beg, beg for forgiveness, to plead your case just once but you already know you would fail miserably. God gave you your entire lifetime to understand the consequence of all your SIN but you were having too much fun! Now as you are about to be thrown into the depths of hell forever and ever, what is there for you to say?
All of a sudden the light of God begins to dim and it gets darker and darker with each passing second and the hands that had been holding you up are gone! You begin to fall and then WHAM! You hit the floor and your eyes jerk awake! Tears are all over your face and there is a scream in your mouth and it would come out if it wasn’t for you gritting your teeth so hard! You lay there on the floor in the dark of night just out of reach of your wife, you’re trembling and scared out of your mind! It’s hard to tell if what just happened was really real or just a dream. It felt so real, so tangible. And now you’re drooling all over yourself and you want to throw up so bad. Every breath comes so painfully and you’re out of strength, so you just lay your head on your arm and wait, but for how long?
There seems to be a very small instant when you feel a little strength. As tears well up in your eyes once again, you clasp your hands together and in your head, you hear your scream, “Lord Jesus Christ, I don’t know what just happened, but if I have another second of life in me, I want to ask you to forgive me of all my SIN. Please change me and give me another chance to do what I KNOW is right! Change my life, change my heart and my spirit and accept my heart! I pray this way because this is all I know to say, help me to find out how I am supposed to pray.”
And with that you hang your head, sweat rolling down your face, but you feel the world simply step off your shoulders. Your breathing ragged at first but begins to slow down and smooth out and the same for your heart. The shaking has already begun to subside! You can still see everything that had taken place and you can still feel how real it felt and you know in your heart that you never want to feel that way again. You had never known that level of fear before and you pray you will never know it again. One thing is for sure, you will never be that guy ever again! I think they said the average dream lasts about 10-15 seconds, right?
If you plan to live this life that God has seen fit to give you, which is something all together greater than you ever thought, then you need to learn what it’s all about. There is only one book with the answers to all your questions, you might want to take a few hours out of your way too busy schedule and read that book. It called the Bible and it’s here for a reason! Of course, there is the alternative. You can keep going about your business as usual. Just remember this:
Everything has it’s own consequence.