In Whom Do You Put Your Trust

​Are you truly in the Father or are you just playing lip service while you live in the world? There is an issue in the world today where there are so many things that take us away from time with the Father and living for an in Christ. With the television, internet, music, video games, work, and worlds of fantasy, we find so many reasons not to open the Bible or spending time in prayer. Some are so involved in their “recreational activities” and “personal time” that those have become their idols. An example out there is this fantasy involving Anime and other T.V. shows, video games, and movies in which people pretend to be these imagined characters. Some take it to the extreme where they lose themselves in the characters and it becomes their life. This ok when you’re young (to a point) but what are you going to do when you are 45, or 65. Basically, walking around as a fictional character without getting paid to do it and believing that is who you are is a psychological danger to the individual and those exposed to it. Another is sports, losing themselves in the spirit of the team and near worship of players.  I know some individuals that lost a companion, husband or wife because the real person was no longer there.
There is also a striking absence of godly living due to the acceptance of sinful behavior. If sin becomes acceptable in our lives, do we still carry the Word (mark) of God (See Exodus 13:9, 16; Deuteronomy 6:6-8, 11:18 Living in the Word), or are we carrying the mark of the beast (living in the sins and in the world; Rev 14:9-11). Hint, the mark is not a microchip. Both are in the head and the hand but that is another subject altogether.
Just because we are to love our neighbor as ourselves does not mean we are to rejoice with them as they relish in their sin. Just remember, it is not for us to condemn (judge) but help them see the light. Is it not our mission to share the Word, the Gospel, and the Truth which is Jesus? We must be vigilant in prayer for those lost in sinful behaviors.   
I have five questions to ask you. I hope these questions make you think about where you are with Christ.  
I want you to Look at your life and see how you are living.
 “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates (an unprincipled person ((unsaved))?” 2 Cor. 13:5
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2 


Was there a change in your life, 2 Cor. 5:17?
 
Are you living in the Love of the Father? Do you do your absolute best to follow a Christian way of life? If not, don’t you think it may be time to change for God.
 
What are your priorities?
Is Jesus first in your life, do you love Him above all even your own self?
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33
So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 2 Corinthians 5:9
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21
So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Colossians 1:10
What and who do you love, what do you do, and what do you live for?
“Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall,” 2 Pet. 1:10.
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. Matthew 6:19 
And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! Luke 12:22-24 

If you love me, you will keep my commandments. John 14:15 
 
Are you living for tomorrow or each day? Do you desire material wealth or spiritual wealth? What wisdom do you seek?


Who/What are you trusting for salvation?
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. Matthew 6:24 
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. Matthew 22:37-38


Were you compelled to come look to Jesus alone for salvation, John 6:44?
No amount of money can keep you alive forever, No other god has entrusted you with the spirit that will guide you to true happiness. Roku and Pikachu did not die on a cross for you.
Do you remember your salvation experience, examine it?
What happened in that moment you are trusting as the moment when you were saved?
Was there an awareness of your lost, sinful condition before the Lord? In other words, was there conviction of sin, John 13:7-11?
Was there a moment when you looked away to Him by faith and instantly saw the truth of the Gospel, Isa. 45:22?
The implication here is simple, don’t take what you think you have for granted. Don’t just assume that you are saved because you have checked off a box or two on the Salvation checklist. There are conditions to meet. Love your neighbor as yourself; the Lord thy God is your best source of comfort in troubling times; Children are innocent, do not let them make choices based of fantasy characters and fantastic beasts. There is no other way to be saved except through Christ, but you must be committed to following Him, even if it means death.
I want you to be sure you are saved. I do not want you to go to Hell trusting a false profession. I want you to be able to stand when the enemy comes against you and seeks to make you doubt. I fear that sometimes, we blame our doubts on the devil, when all the time it is the Lord Who is trying to show us that we need to be born again.
 Brothers and Sisters I urge you to share this with our youth.
The future for you is now. There are so many escapes from the world but the right one, the Truth, is actually written in the heart already. In our very DNA. Stay in the Lord and keep fighting the good fight. Do not get lost in the music of the world but be a part of the song of the creation. Stand firm in your faith and do not let it waiver. Love, but understand what you truly love is deep rooted within your very soul waiting to be loosed upon the world.