Psalm 50: Real Versus Counterfeit Faith

 Greetings in the Lord!

Well, here it is -- summertime; time goes by so fast.  For a teacher, July usually means a moment to stop and rest and get revived from the school year, and that includes me.  It's good to take a moment and reflect on all that is going on, and for me, to get out my journals and recall the word of the Lord from the past year or so.  It is good to re-read what He has said will come and give thanks as to how it was fulfilled, as we prophesy in part.  Even when the prophetic word is a bit troubling or trying, it is good to give God thanks that He knows the end from the beginning, there are no surprises with Him.  And that no matter how difficultly things may have played out,  His wisdom is perfect and we can trust in Him always.  

I've received prophetic words over the past year that more trials would come to Trump and it has.  We watch as our two-tiered justice system keeps trying to point fingers at Trump while all the corruption of the Democrats & Biden family gets exposed more and more.  It's funny how the wicked can't see that.  Everything they mean for evil on the upright comes back to them!  They get ensnared the more they plot to ensnare others.  We've seen woke companies lose billions; Big Tech get exposed and Jan. 6th shown for the orchestrated circus of lies it was.   In September 2022, I wrote about how evil infiltrators would be coming into the churches, schools, big business, entertainment and sports even, to push a woke agenda and try to re-write cultural values in this nation -- but the backlash!  The divine backlash to it all!  Gotta love when God turns the tables on the wicked.  

And then the prophetic word on the rising of the Maccabees!  There is no doubt that films like "Sound of Freedom" and others are apart of this rising godly turning of the tide.  I have written what it was like for me to live in countries where this industry was a pervasive occurrence.  There was one city in Albania where my basketball coach would not let me walk alone for fear that I would be kidnapped off of the streets!  In this same country I traveled to stopping points along the Balkan Trail, the underground network through Eastern Europe where they move industry captives along to other cities of captivity; you could feel the wickedness and violence and deadness of these places.  Since that time in early 2005, I have recognized those same hallmarks in many other cities around the world--this industry truly has spread like mildew!  But God is raising up Maccabees to confront and expose and liberate--praise the Lord.  But there is more sifting to come.

Today's word comes from Psalm 50 and it is a discourse about God's desire for true worshipers versus those who continue in their counterfeit and ritualistic faith and ultimately, immoral lifestyles.  The characteristics of a true God-loving person is that they embrace God's word, His love of holiness based on His word, and righteousness based on Jesus Christ is seen in their lifestyle.  Following Jesus has been and will continue to be counter-cultural, even to the point of suffering persecution.  More sifting will come to the Western Church as Christians must make choices on what they believe about God's word and how that will play out in their churches and lives.  The sifting will also come to their "everyday" life as compromise with the world becomes more and more spiritually toxic for their souls.  We pray for repentance before hearts get too hard.  

Verse 18 is especially telling: "When you see thieves, you approve of them, and you spend your time with adulterers."  Thieves can steal more than money and material things, they also attempt to steal honor, purity, dignity, promotion, prosperity, and the like.  Males that compete in women's sports is a good example of this, as well as the woke "take from the rich" mentality.  And adultery can be the adherence to any form of idolatry or idols of the heart.  I bet Christians spend just as much time online as non-Christians do without realizing the effect that can have on their spiritual life.  When we begin to examine this scripture from a wider perspective, it becomes more useful in understanding how it applies to our own lives and current cultural narratives.

So today, I pray that God's will for our lives and this country will continue to make and mold our hearts after Jesus Christ; that He would open the eyes of our hearts to enable us to take a moment to re-examine those areas of our lives that are not embracing God's word or His ways and repent.  We have more shakings to endure, so let His discipline get our attention and His wisdom teach and mature us in His love and will for our lives.  Do good always.

Be blessed and be a blessing.  

  

  

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