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We are
at war! I'm not referring to the war against terrorism,
but a great cosmic war that has been raging for
millennia. The stakes are very high. The battle
is for the life, the soul and the destiny of each
human being. The enemy is very dangerous. Satan
and his fallen angels are fighting to destroy
every human being, by keeping us corrupted, alienated
from HaMakor the Source of Life and Blessing.
His aim is to prevent us from being reconciled
to God. Conversely, the Lord of Hosts, with His
mighty angels, is fighting for people to be restored
to Himself and to share in His eternal life. He
has made the way possible, by sending His Son
to take upon Himself the punishment for all our
sins.
Life in
this world is dangerous, because the god of this
world is seeking to destroy human beings; but
in the Ah cha reet Ha Ya meem (the Last Days),
times will get even more difficult. Persecution
will increase, as will anti Semitism and contempt
for true Christianity. The world will become more
corrupt. We must not allow ourselves to become
ensnared by a world which ultimately will be dominated
by a godless, immoral, anti Christ, anti Israel,
false religious/political/economic system. We
need to be all the more prepared and alert as
we get closer to the difficult and dangerous Last
Days.
Rabbi
Yeshua told at least five parables warning His
followers that though His physical presence would
leave the Earth, He will return one day. Since
we don't know exactly when, we should constantly
be alert, and always be prepared. The Lord wants
us to be doing the things He instructed us to
do, so that no matter when He comes, or if we
die and meet Him face to face, our earthly lives
will have been successful, and we will enter into
the eternal and heavenly phase of our existence.
To be
ready to meet Him, we need to be aware of the
deceitfulness of sin. Sin is seductive and deadly,
and comes to us in three ways: through the world,
the flesh and the Devil. Commenting on the temptation
of “the world,” Ray Stedman tells us that "the
world" is not the physical world in which we live.
There is nothing wrong with loving God's creation.
God has given us an astoundingly beautiful and
intricate variety of trees, plants, flowers, animals,
fish and birds, insects, mountains, magnificent
lakes and rivers, seas and sky. There is nothing
wrong with loving the created aspect of "the world."
Nor is "the world" the lost world of humanity,
because God Himself "so loved the world that He
gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes
in Him should not perish but have eternal life."
"The world" that we must watch out for is a system
that ignores God or suppresses the truth about
God. Its value system is more concerned with what
it considers success in this life than the true
success of life in the World To Come. It's more
concerned about riches in this life than the true
riches in the World To Come. It's more concerned
about status in the eyes of men than the approval
of the Ultimate Judge. It's more concerned about
the pleasures of this life than the bliss of the
World To Come. Don't be seduced by this world
system! It's temporary. It won't last! It is soon
coming to an end! Don't love what the world loves.
Don't think like the world thinks! If you do,
you may be ensnared by the deceitfulness of sin,
and miss the joys of the Everlasting Kingdom.
Since
neither the world nor the things of the world
can make you truly happy, don't allow yourself
to become caught up in the pleasures and worries
of the world. You don't need the most money, the
fanciest clothes, the latest gadgetry, the nicest
or newest car, the biggest home (not to mention
the biggest mortgage that comes with it), and
your credits cards charged to their limit. If
you restrain your desires, you will have fewer
worries. You won't be ensnared by the deceitfulness
of riches, and your life will become more fruitful
in the things that matter. If you restrain your
desires, you might even be happier!
The second
area that we need to watch out for is the flesh.
The things which temporarily satiate the body
like drugs, sexual promiscuity or alcohol, can't
satisfy. The flesh can't make you truly happy.
Oh, you might obtain some satisfaction at first,
but in order to maintain that pleasure you will
need ever increasing amounts. When it comes to
the pleasures of the flesh, the law of diminishing
returns applies you need more and more to get
less and less. Scripture warns us against yielding
to the lusts of the flesh, especially sexual desires
outside of marriage.
The third
area to be on guard against is the Devil. He primarily
operates in two arenas: through false religion,
and through tempting us where we are most vulnerable.
If there is an area of the flesh where we are
weak, the Devil and his demonic accomplices will
target and then tempt us in that area, so that
we become increasingly corrupted and ineffective.
Since the holy God hates sin, this will have the
added effect of taking us farther away from God.
The other way the Devil seeks to destroy us is
by keeping us entangled in false religion. Since
humanity is already fallen, lost, headed in the
wrong direction, headed for Hell, all our Adversary
has to do is maintain the status quo for each
individual born into this world. The occult, which
appeals to our pride with its promise of superior
spiritual power, will do nicely. But it's not
just the occult that can destroy us. Any other
religion, any other path, any other way, any philosophy
other than the one true Faith based on the God
of Israel, His Messiah, and the Holy Scriptures,
will destroy us! So be of sober spirit and be
on the alert! Your adversary, the Devil, prowls
around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to
devour. Our hearts are so easily deceived. We
can so easily rationalize flirting with the things
of the world, the lusts of the flesh, and with
the seductions of the Devil, convincing ourselves
that we are OK when we are not, that we are on
the right track when we are not, that we are acceptable
to God when we are not! Be aware of what is happening
in your soul. Monitor yourself like the engineers
at a nuclear power plant, who are constantly monitoring
the temperatures, the pressures and the flow rates
for all the systems. If they see things getting
out of line, they immediately take corrective
action. We can monitor ourselves by asking ourselves
the right questions, and being brutally honest
with our answers: Am I spending too much time
on myself and on my pleasures? Is there sin in
my life from which I need to turn away? How can
I resist it? Am I failing to give of my time,
talents and resources to the Lord? What would
Yeshua be doing if He were in my position? Am
I wasting time on things of lesser value? Are
there more important matters that I have been
neglecting? How can I serve my fellow believers?
Am I filled with the Spirit? Am I praying enough,
devoting time to talk to God during the day, thanking
Him, praising Him for who He is and what He is
doing? Am I losing my first love, becoming lukewarm,
and drifting away from the Living God?
Life is
so short; it goes by so quickly. We have so little
time to serve God in this world. There are such
great rewards to be gained for making the right
choices, for the sacrifices to deny self, deny
sin, and serve God. And, conversely, there are
such terrible consequences for ignoring the Creator,
for not being willing or diligent to serve Him!
Don't let your opportunities slip away! We will
have all eternity to relax and have fun. In the
meantime, while there is so much work to be done,
and so few who are willing to do it, won't you
make the decision to do the work, and wait until
the World To Come for gratification? Since you
will reap what you sow, won't you sow into the
things of God? With eternal riches to be gained,
won't you invest heavily in the Kingdom of Heaven?
Most
people are unaware of these spiritual realities,
the battle we are in right now and the dangerous
times that are coming. They are wasting precious
time on trivialities and missing wonderful opportunities.
They are like the man who works for the train
system and has only one job to do, but it is all
important to turn on a switch at the right time.
If he doesn't, two trains will wind up on the
same track and collide with devastating destruction;
but the negligent employee is asleep at the switch.
Don't be like him! "You who are asleep, wake up!
You who are in a trance, arise! Search your doings
and repent; remember your Creator! You who forget
constant truth in vanities of the hour, and indulge
all year in trifles which can't profit or save,
look rightly into your souls! Amend your ways
and your deeds. Let each one of you give up his
evil course and purpose" (quote from Maimonides).
"Get up sleeper! Arise from the dead, and Messiah
will shine on you. Pay careful attention to how
you conduct your life. Live wisely, not unwisely"
(quote from Rabbi Paul).
Do you
sense that we are living in dangerous and difficult
times? Do you know that we are at war? As we enter
2004, I encourage you to be alert, prepared, filled
with God's Spirit, zealous, praying, witnessing,
sharing in Messiah's sufferings, carrying His
cross and fulfilling your God entrusted responsibilities!
As Adolph Safir said, "by constant faith in Messiah
Yeshua, through watchfulness, through self denial,
through prayer and fasting, by constantly paying
attention to our way according to His Word, and
with God's grace, may each one of us reach our
goal."
Shalom!
Rabbi Loren
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