This week, the breaking news has been about the first major named hurricane in the Atlantic this season. Scientists were shocked by how fast the storm intensified and how big it grew. Hurricane Erin became the first Category 5 hurricane this season.
Most meteorologists were caught off guard by how fast the hurricane intensified and to the degree it did. It was only predicted to reach a category 3, but blew past that late this week.
They also predicted that the storm would not affect the U.S.; however, Puerto Rico was battered by the storm. Fortunately, most of the spaghetti models agree that the hurricane will not affect the US mainland and eventually become a fish storm out in the Atlantic.
Once again God has shown people who really is in control and the truth about this fallen kingdom:
- Temporary
- Dangerous
- Corrupt
One of the key Christian arguments about the world today is how more and more science and world events align with and agree with God’s word.
The creation account has become more accepted by many scientists (Genesis 1:1-27); each day it becomes clearer that this temporary kingdom will be destroyed (Amos 9:5, Malachi 3:2, 2 Peter 3:10).
Just as the Bible predicted, nature and creation are going crazy with chaos (Nahum 1:3, Matthew 24:7). I believe more and more we see the reality that creation is in agreement with God’s Word (Psalm 119:105, Matthew 4:4).
What Is Believe
We all believe in something in life, whether it’s patriotic, political, social, or spiritual; we each have beliefs. Deep down inside, we know there is a connection between what we believe and what we do, but we forget it all too easily.
Believe is defined as “To accept something as true, to have a firm conviction; think.” Our beliefs influence our actions. Thus, we understand what we believe should always agree with our actions; if not, we are lying.
That is the state I lived in for six years of my life before my accident, when God taught me how to die to myself to really live out what I believe. If we don’t believe right, we won’t live right.
That is why the Bible has a lot to say about believing in what we should do with it (Psalm 112:7, Acts 16:31, Hebrews 11:1). As God’s people, we must agree with God’s Word and His ways (John 1:1-14, 2 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 4:12).
What separates us from this corrupt and fallen kingdom is that we put our hope and faith in God, not ourselves, politicians, or the things of this world (Romans 12:2, 2 Corinthians 4:18, 1 John 2:15-17). The problem is Western faith is we put too much emphasis on head knowledge and not enough on biblical belief through application.
God’s people cannot believe in worldly things and greatness and also believe in God, I don’t care how much a false teacher, demonic politician, or false prophets say you can (John 15:19, 1 Timothy 6:17-19, Hebrews 11:1, James 4:4). The apostles remembered their Jewish education about believing and agreeing with God.
‘Āman
The Torah gives us the basic teaching of what biblical belief in God is, starkly contrasting Western belief (Genesis 15:4-8). Abram believed so much in God that he obeyed and followed God and His ways the rest of his life.
He believed in God to the point that God changed him and gave him a new name, Abraham (Genesis 17:5). Biblical belief changes us and our ways. The Hebrew word in the Old Testament for relief is ‘āman, and it can also mean “Assurance, faithful, steadfast, trust, bring up, or father,” depending on the context it is used in.
Although it sounds a lot like our Western spiritual response, “Amen,” it goes much further because it implies an active response to a belief. One of the major aspects of Judaism is the need for deeds and good works if you believe and follow God:
- Talmud study
- Mitvot
- Synagogue attendance
- Observing the Sabbath
- Keeping religious holidays
- Be ethical
- Be moral
Jesus and the New Testament writers continued this idea of believing it requires change and action (Luke 9:23, 2 Corinthians 4:10, Galatians 6:14, Colossians 3:3). Jesus reminded His followers of the patriarchs of the faith (John 20:25).
Image by Pixabay
Despite what many apostates in the church teach today, if we believe in God we must be born again and die to our selfish hearts (John 3:3, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 Peter 1:23). There is no such thing as a lazy or passive Christian faith (Matthew 5:16, Titus 1:16, James 2:14-16).
Trump/Putin Summit
The big news this weekend has been about the peace summit in Alaska between President Trump and President Putin. Before the summit, President Trump confidently believed he could achieve what no one else had: end the war, negotiate a cease-fire, and bring peace. As of today, neither goal has been accomplished.
On the other side of the talk, President Putin and Russia continued attacking Ukraine before and even during the peace summit. Clearly, President Putin’s actions contradicted his words about what he believed and wanted.
Clearly, the leaders’ words do not agree with their actions; their hypocrisy reveals what they really believe. The same truth applies to the life of every believer (Matthew 7:15-21):
- Sacrificial
- Compassionate
- Forgiving
- Humble
To be honest for the past year or two I have felt like I live in the twilight zone, the church has become more like the world and America is no longer a free and safe nation, not because of a political party, but because God’s people believe more in a corrupt man and temporary kingdom than they do Jesus and the Word of God (Luke 8:14, 2 Timothy 3:1-5, James 5:1-5).
There is a demonic cult that has deceived America into believing it can serve two masters. Our Lord isn’t a liar, and God’s Word is perfect, unlike their lying idol. Their pursuit of earthly greatness and temporary happiness has led them away from the faith they claim to believe (Matthew 16:26). A person’s actions always reveal what they truly ‘āman!
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