1-17-21 In Times Like These

In Times Like These – Jonathan Brentner - https://www.jonathanbrentner.com/https/jonathan-brentner-g8fgsquarespacecom/config/2021/1/8/in-times-like-these When the disciples asked Jesus about the signs of the end of the age, Jesus began His answer with these words, “See that no one leads you astray” (Matt. 24:4). Jesus’ first warning about the last days concerned those who would seek to deceive His followers and lead them away from the truth. We cannot trust the vast majority of news sources in America, not at all. They purposely deceive people in order to promote their socialist agenda. We live in an age where deception is king and sadly some of those who deceive us also lead churches. In Colossians 2:4, Paul cautioned the new believers in Colossae about those who would lead them into error, “I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.” Paul, fully aware of the devil’s tactics (2 Cor. 2:10-11), warned his readers that false teachers would come along with persuasive but erroneous reasoning in order to deceive them. Does this not depict the day in which we live? In 2 Timothy 4:2-4, apostle Paul also wrote about the departure from truth during the last days. In verse 4, he warned that many would “turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” or false narratives that would appear valid, but contradict Scripture. How do we deal with the myriad of opinions and doctrines that daily confront us in today’s world? WE NEED THE BIBLE During the past week, I have often had the song In Times Like These in my head. Ruth Caye Jones, a mother of five, wrote the words and music for it during World War II. The second stanza begins with these words, “In times like these you need the Bible.” Because of the rampant deception and misinformation of our day, we need Scripture just as much now, if not more than in 1944 when Jones penned these words. In Proverbs 2:6 we read, “For the LORD gives wisdom; / from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” It was the phrase “from his mouth” that catches my attention every time I read this verse. 2 Timothy 3:16 similarly begins with these words, “All Scripture is breathed out by God. . . .” Scripture is our ultimate source of “knowledge and understanding” because its words come directly from God’s mouth to us (see also 2 Peter 1:21). I believe we can trace much of the widespread apostasy we see in today’s church to either a rejection of the words of Scripture or a lack of knowledge of what it says. The understanding that the Holy Spirit gives us through God’s written word guards us against error in more than just doctrinal matters. People who know and understand Scripture, particularly its message regarding the end times, are less susceptible to the deception of the media or the lies they read or hear on social media. There are many exceptions to this, of course. However, from what I have observed, those who know Scripture, understand the Gospel message, and believe what the Bible says about the end times are less likely to fall for the lies and deception so rampant in the news and on social media. WE NEED A SAVIOR I have never in my life been more disappointed with human leadership than I have been in the past two years. Even pastors I once looked up to for guidance have let me down in various ways. Politicians that I once regarded as trustworthy and in one case godly have sorely betrayed any confidence I ever had in them. The words of Psalm 118:8-9 have never been truer for me than they are in this present day, “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. / It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.” This again brings me back to the song In Times Like These, which begins with these words, “In times like these you need a Savior. In times like these you need an anchor; be very sure, be very sure your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock.” That Rock, of course is Jesus. As we face perilous times in the remaining time before the rapture, we need our Savior as never before. We need the anchor of our soul firmly secured in our Rock. I believe the year ahead for us will be more turbulent than 2020, especially for Bible-believing followers of Jesus. We will see increased opposition and persecution here in America, which will grow steadily worse and likely turn violent if Jesus does not come first to take us to our home in heaven. WE NEED OUR ANCHOR SECURED IN THE ROCK If you have never put your faith in Jesus alone for the salvation of your soul, now is the time to do so. Just hours before His death on the cross in our place, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Jesus is the only way of salvation; He is the only path the leads to eternal life rather than the seven-year tribulation and eternal death in hell. The familiar verse, John 3:16, contains this same message, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” I love the simplicity of the Apostle John’s words in 1 John 5:11-12: “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” Knowing Jesus as your Savior equals eternal life. Please do not delay; call upon Him now before it is too late to avoid experiencing the Lord’s wrath upon the Christ-rejecting world. This is why I say now is the time to put your faith in Jesus. For those of us securely in the arms of the Savior, now is the time to recognize we may soon be with Jesus in paradise via the rapture. Now is the time to hold our future dreams and earthly aspirations loosely in our hands. I am not saying it’s wrong to plan or look to the future, but we must do so with hearts and minds open to Bible prophecy and our eyes aware of the growing storms clouds in our world that grow darker and more ominous each and every week. I do not know the timing of the rapture or the start of the seven-year tribulation, but I recognize the multitude of signs throughout the world pointing to the soon arrival of the seven-year tribulation and thus to the rapture that happens before its start. For example, the statements I hear coming from members of the incoming Biden administration tell me that his presidency will hasten the arrival of The Great Reset in America, which will in turn accelerate the arrival of the antichrist on the world scene. Biden’s own words foreshadow a time of forceful opposition toward those of us who hold to a biblical worldview and accept all of Scripture as the Word of God. Biden once said that that Christians who oppose the LBGTQ agenda are the “dregs of society.” He still holds firmly to this opinion. If one anchors his or her life to anything else but Jesus in times like these or in those that lie on the horizon for us, that anchor will not hold. Jesus alone is our secure Rock. Hebrews 6:18-19 says this about our need for such an anchor, “So that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain” (Heb. 6:18-19). Jesus alone is Our Refuge, our rock, and the Anchor of our soul for times like these and those that lie ahead for us. I encourage you to listen to the hymn, In Times Like These, and reread hopeful and encouraging passages such as 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 Corinthians 15:51-57, and Revelation 20-22. These texts unveil the many promises regarding our future that the Lord has placed there for our comfort and encouragement. I have also found it helpful to read through the book of Proverbs each month but reading once chapter a day that corresponds to the day of the month. The “wisdom” of the book points us to Jesus.