Jesus invites you to come to him!

As I listen to folks vent to me about how difficult things are becoming for them on a daily basis, I can’t help but think, “It does not have to be that overwhelming.” The world around us is truly having a temper tantrum. We see strife and troubles in politics, social life, workplaces, family life, schools, colleges and universities, and so much more. I have never seen so many people so stressed out as I do right now. The anger and animosity between neighbors have reached a high point as so many people have come to be so easily

offended. John must believe in what Jane believes or she will be offended by his beliefs and curse him. Mary must have the same opinion as Jimmy or Jimmy will unfriend her from social media. News stories are no longer about reporting the news, they have become mere commentary and op-eds based upon the personal beliefs and agendas of the reporter authoring them, which generates opinion wars filled with vile hateful comments from those who feel the need to interject their opinion into it. A simple social media post about a restaurant someone dined at can spark some of the nastiest comments to each other that one can imagine, turning into political, racial and anti this and that insults, all because of someone posting where they ate dinner. Think I am exaggerating? Just go and take a look and you will see it is true right there in print.

People have created so much stress in each other’s lives and it continues to grow like out-of-control weeds in a garden. Who do you think might be behind all the anger, hopelessness, agitation, mistrust, disease, etc.? Who do you think thrives and capitalizes on such turmoil? We as Christians, as believers know the answer, but it seems in today’s day and age many have lost sight of it. The answer is none other than Satan himself. The world as we see it right now is ripe for him to slide in and wreak havoc among Christians.

1 Peter 5:8-9 tells us: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”  The more turmoil and confusion that we put into the pot; the more Satan enjoys stirring it up. He is a deceiver, a liar, trickster, and we are seeing his work firsthand as Christians fight among Christians. That is what he wants! Divide and conquer is one of the oldest strategies of war, and my friends we are definitely at war with the evil one. Not a war of the flesh as we know, but a spiritual war among each other fueled by the deceptive acts of the devil. I will be doing many blogs about this topic including scripture about false prophets, being strong against the devil and more.

But I want you all to remember that there is someone who has openly invited you to come to Him with your troubles. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ waits with open arms for us to walk to Him. Whether you are a lifelong believer who has kind of forgotten just how precious a true relationship with Jesus is to your life, or a newly born-again Christian who is discovering the incredible beauty is walking with Jesus every day, this verse is priceless to you.

Matthew 11: 28-30 says: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Loved ones, reach out and take His hand, walk beside Him and turn your troubles, your sadness, your pain and suffering over to Him. He has invited you to do so and all He asks in return is that you accept His invite and love one and other as He loves you. Jesus wants us to follow Him, to live good Christian lives. He wants us to know however that Satan is always trying to divide us. Satan does not want us to be united as Christians, we are far too spiritually powerful for the devil if we all follow the Lord Jesus Christ. We must ensure that we as believers never become involved with Satan’s desire to make Christians turn on each other.

Philippians 2: 1-2 tells us; “Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind”  But do not misinterpret this as Jesus telling us to compromise on the Word, no friends that is not what He is saying. He wants us to come together in the truth of the Word, His Word, not ours.

1 John 5:19 says; “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one." As we said, the devil is always, and I do mean always trying to create chaos among believers and non believers. He knows he is defeated in the end times, but he is destined to take as many with him as he possibly can. He cannot do that if believers are united in Christ.

We must understand that we are human, and we all have opinions that may vary from one person to the other. But we are Christians and that means that we must also avoid creating our own interpretations of the Word to suit our own lives. The Word is the Word and that is as simple as it can be said. The notion of New Christianity in which the Word is altered in order to justify a person’s actions or beliefs or qualify their lifestyle in any way is not what is meant to be. The slippery slope of alteration in the Word is brought upon by the clever deceptive influence of Satan. I already stated he was a trickster and a liar and will do his very best to confuse believers into believing his opinion is the right one. Never forget what we know about the deception in the garden. Such deceptions are all around us today and are taking a rather powerful stronghold on so many people who are falling for the blatant lies the serpent still tells. These lies create dangerous opinions which therefore create divisions among Christians which leads us right into the snare set by Satan himself. He may be evil but folks, he is not stupid.  

Romans 16: 17-18 tells us; “Watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naïve.”  Did you notice how the verse said such persons DO NOT serve OUR LORD CHRIST, but their own appetites? When you disagree with those referenced above, they call you all sorts of hateful names and despise you for your belief. Do not fall for it, as true Christian believers you will be scorned for truly believing the Word, it is that simple. But, put your heart in Jesus, put your faith in our Lord and Savior as he has invited you to do, and he will lighten your burden. For His yoke is easy and His burden is light!

May God bless you and keep you holy. Remember that you will always find the truth when you Follow The Word.

Chaplain Bill