Psalm 27:13-14 “I had fainted, Unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”
My husband and I love to travel, but there are just some places that we would rather not visit due to the amount of depravity that is known to be at those particular locations. Nevertheless, this past year, we were given the opportunity to visit ‘Lost Wages’ for a work trip, so we took the offer despite our inner qualms about it. Of course, ‘Sin City’ did not disappoint! What with all the gross fumes of marijuana smoke wafting up into the air as we walked through the stinky plumes all along segments of the sidewalk strip. Not to mention the ladies who were undoubtedly younger than even our own daughters who were walking around practically naked, if not for their strategically covered outfits, if one could even call it that! All the while shamelessly flaunting themselves as if there were no Heavenly Father that can see them with His holy eyes of fire up above this openly wicked place!
Revelation 19:12 “His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself.”
Even though we tried to make the most of our complimentary time there by eating at a fancy restaurant like the one next to the well-known fountains and opting to go see some of the more family-oriented performances and shows, even still, it was largely unenjoyable for us! My takeaway from not only hearing about this place for so long and after actual’ feet on the ground’ visiting there, for me it was more or less a huge ‘Nothing Burger’! Seriously?! Celebrities and people from all walks of life and from all around the world make a big ol’ deal about coming to this ‘much ado about nothing’ location as if it were totally ‘Living the High Life’?! (Insert incredulous stare)
The devil’s playground is no longer so-called fun for God’s children because once our spiritual eyes are opened, we see things through the lens of God’s wisdom and discernment! Therefore, we are able to perceive the true intention in indulgences like that and can avoid the inevitable outcome of such revelry because we now understand the nefarious nature of it all! It was also especially unappealing for us to have to walk by and see all of the drunkenness, suffer through all of the cigarette smoke, and make our way around all of the gambling that was going on even during normal daytime hours, and apparently all hours of the night as well!
Since ‘us children of the day’ like to go to bed at decent times, such as between 9-10 pm, and only like to go out and about during the daylight hours, needless to say, this party atmosphere for those of the night/darkness was definitely ‘not our cup of tea’! So much so, in fact, that we chose not to wait to fly back but instead opted to pay to fly back a whole day earlier! Yes, it was that unappealing! Upon arriving home, we vowed that next time, no matter if another trip is offered, if it is a place that we know we truly would not want to visit, we are not going to go regardless!
Between immoral places like that and all the depravity happening to our children these days, the economic and financial uncertainty/instability, the wars and rumors of wars, the toxins and poisons put into our air, water, food, and health care products, and on and on blatant corruption and never-ending cycle of ‘insane events’ goes – this world we live in is definitely not the ‘Land of the Living’ as described in the Bible! It is more like the land of the downright debased, the walking dead, the mindless zombies, the blatant liars, the all-out deceivers, and total evildoers, to be exact!
1 John 2:15-16 “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. 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.”
Just recently, I was doing some research on the death of an actor who I was pretty infatuated with back in the late 80s and early 90s. This person grew up living in places in the world such as Venezuela and Oregon but apparently ended up in California and was essentially ‘sold out as a child star’ to the Hellywood Industry.
If he had continued to live, he would have no doubt become more famous than some of the big-name actors of our time! Seeing how he was obviously living ‘without the sovereign protection and hand of God’ upon his life, he was, in turn, demonically lured to the ‘wrong place at the wrong time’! Sure enough, as soon as he was deceptively given a lethal cocktail to drink, he then indiscernibly guzzled this toxic mixture down and instantly became violently ill. He subsequently began convulsing out on the sidewalk in front of the street until his young heart gave out! Talk about an utter tragedy… yet evil stuff like this happens all the time in this ‘reality of living in the land of the walking dead’ that we call our world!
Mortifying, isn’t it?! Once again, like the great Psalmist said, “I had fainted unless I believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living “… then the Psalmist goes on to say, “Wait on the LORD and be of good courage and He will strengthen your heart.” (((Sigh))). It is hard to wait on the LORD sometimes, isn’t it? Especially when we want to go HOME already! I remember looking up at the clouds and crying while driving home from work back in September 2015 because the rapture didn’t happen on this ‘particular prophesied day and time’ (information from a sensational YouTuber Channel, no doubt). Still, I sooo wanted to go home even back then! Every day my heart’s cry is still… Maranatha! (Come Quickly, Lord Jesus!)
Speaking of ‘death’ every time a person dies, I tend to look up what their beliefs were, and unfortunately, 9 times out of 10, they died as an utterly ‘lost person’ because they clearly did not put their trust in the LORD JESUS CHRIST! Instead, these ‘worldly people’ often laid their trust in false gods and idol worship, or they were into various religious cults or subscribed to all-out humanism. Interestingly enough, more often than not, search engines often claim them as having some sort of ‘Christianity,’ but their lives, social media posts, and how they lived it undeniably reveals otherwise!
Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
Recently, the idea that “Hell is not a real, physical place or one of eternal punishment” has come to the surface in our community, and I have to say that is a very dangerous idea, teaching, or suggestion on so many levels! One is that people are taught that it is not real or permanent or that they can ‘pay their way out’ (kind of like in the teaching of ‘purgatory,’ an unbiblical idea that one can supposedly ‘pay their dues or do their time’ then can get out sooner or later depending on several factors).
This kind of false teaching leads people to believe that they can ‘redeem themselves’ by relying on their own good works, or prayers of loved ones, or penance paid to get them out of Hell! This, in turn, indoctrinates these lost souls to not trust in or rely on the LORD JESUS CHRIST and in what He did on the cross as propitiation for our sins to satisfy God’s righteous standards to save us! All of which only helps to grease their inevitable slide and descent into Hell!
The absolute truth is this: Only GOD can save souls; we cannot! Only JESUS was the perfect and holy sacrifice; none of us can ever even remotely compare! Only JESUS is the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE… certainly not us! If anything, please point people back to JESUS! He is the only way to the Father; there is no other way! This is the truth and nothing but!
2 Corinthians 4:18 “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
The fact is that JESUS spoke about Hell many times in the Bible, and He did not mince words either! Therefore, Hell is a real place, more real than what we see in the here and now! For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are unseen are eternal! Hell is also a place of outer darkness (separation from any hope of ever seeing or knowing God again), a place of bitter weeping and gnashing of teeth! Where their worm dieth not, where the fire is not quenched, where Hell, Death, the Beast, and the False Prophet will be thrown into the subsequent Lake of Fire for all of eternity, along with all those who died without JESUS as their Personal Savior! Those who did not trust in His precious blood to wash away their sins, those who did not rely on His Righteousness to vindicate them and instead relied on their own good works and trusted in themselves to be ‘good enough’ to enter into Heaven!
As if we could ever be good enough… for the Bible plainly states that no one is good (except for God), no, not one!
Romans 3:10 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.”
Is hell real? Is hell eternal? | GotQuestions.org
Another question that has been brought up in recent circles is: “Can the devil read our minds?” To which I responded that the devil is not ‘omnipresent.’ To which this person went on to say that the devil roams to and fro throughout the earth; therefore, he can read our minds. Inevitably, the correct answer is that the devil is a created being and is in no way ‘on par’ with Almighty God; therefore, no, he cannot read our minds. Only God has that authority and power. The devil and his minions are sure to study us and can ‘influence what we think,’ but the enemy is not omnipresent (everywhere at the same time); only God is!
Can Satan read our minds or know our thoughts? | GotQuestions.org
Excerpt from: Psalm 27:13 Commentaries: I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. (biblehub.com): Heaven, however, is still more properly termed the land of the living; where there is no more death; this earth being rather the land of the dying. And nothing is so effectual to keep the soul from fainting under the calamities of this present time as the believing hope of seeing the goodness of the Lord in that world, with foresights of those glories, and foretastes of those pleasures, which are for evermore. -End Source
I agree with the above Bible commentary; this present world is not the ‘Land of the Living’ but a place of death, dying, debauchery, and decay! (Side note: I still miss our 10-year-old ‘kitty cat son Dallas’ who passed away in June…. I hope we get to see all our pets in Heaven when we get there and even hear them reply and talk to us, too, like God allowed certain animals to do briefly in the Bible! It would be nice to hear Dallas (10), Callie (12), and Harley (12) say, “I missed you and am so happy to see you again!” For now, I ask our new 6-month-old ‘kitty cat daughter Jellybean’ how she is doing every morning. In response, she just runs around and plays in the curtains in our room and then races me down the hall as if she’s competing against me in the Olympics…. I think that means she had a good night’s sleep! Hopefully, in Heaven, she’ll be able to answer and tell me what she thinks.
“For eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart/mind the things God has prepared for those who love HIM!”
Either way, Heaven (our real HOME with GOD) is the true ‘Land of the Living’ because His Word tells us that there will be no more death, sorrow, crying, nor pain! Hallelujah to CHRIST JESUS forevermore!
Revelation 21:1-7 “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.”
Until next time… Maranatha!
Sincerely & In Christ,
Candy Austin
(I have no Accolades….
I am just a Nobody
trying to tell Everybody
about Somebody who
can save Anybody!)
My Mission is to be ‘Salt and Light’ to a lost and dying world.
To be an Ambassador for Jesus Christ.
All for Him and His Glory!