This Present Time

Galatians 1:3-5 To the churches of Galatia: 3Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, 4who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

There are a number of folks out there who have become convinced that the time in which we now live is the millennial reign of Christ and there are also a number of people who believe that the thousand year reign has come and went and we are currently in the period of time spoken of in Revelation 20:7,8 “Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.” Now, this is not intended to be an end times study, nor will it be. I bring up the millennial reign of Christ to say this… in the headlines of the newspaper just the other day I found the following articles on the CNN and Fox news websites:

-Iraqis arrest 4 in suicide attack on U.S. troops

-Governor Elliot Spitzers sex scandal continues

-Suspect arrested in UNC student’s death; second sought

-Mother and federal agents ask father to return children unharmed

-Texas mother, son charged in sex slavery plot

-Mississippi bank shooting leaves 4 dead, including gunman

-Teen admits to beating and stabbing model to death

-'Hollywood Madam' Heidi Fleiss: client 9 is an arrogant jerk

Friends with things like this in the news can we really believe that Satan is bound, if so,  is this present time or any time in the past the best God can do? If it is, what do we have to hope for? Sure, you’ve got the new heaven and new earth along with the new Jerusalem coming in Revelation 21 but how spectacular can that possibly be if you believe that Gods peace involves sex scandals and school shootings. I would also point out that nowhere in nearly 2,000 yrs since the crucifixion of Christ can you carve out a thousand year period and say that there was no war, no bloodshed or evil running amuck.

Friends, Jesus Christ died that we might be delivered from THIS PRESENT EVIL AGE, the time in which we now live. There is a reason the Spirit of God had Paul write that statement in the present tense and I believe it is because this present evil age has not passed furthermore I would say the facts point toward the notion that we are living in an  age more evil today than in any other time in recorded history. Friends do not be blinded and deceived by the god of this world, you have not missed the ship, Jesus is still coming soon… the hour of which we do not know and His blood has not run dry, it still has the power to cover you this instant for the forgiveness of your sins and to present you in right standing before God. Friends, I plead with you it is not to late to accept Jesus into your heart.

If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior and want to; right now where you are cry out to Him and say a simple prayer from your heart that says: “Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I believe you died for my sins. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life. I confess you as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank you for saving me. Amen.”

Friend, perhaps you’ve been backslidden and have faded into the darkness. Often there is a certain misery that comes with being backslidden. Why? Because you have just enough of the truth of God in you that you can’t be happy in the world and you have too much of the world in you that you can’t be happy in the body of Christ and until you are ready to deny one and serve the other you will continue to be unhappy. Again, Christ gave Himself for our sins that we might be delivered from this present evil age, the age in which you need to let go of.

Finally friends, perhaps you’ve been with the Lord for a while and it feels like you’re trying to ride a ten speed bike uphill in the tenth gear, you’re moving forward but putting in an incredible amount of work with very little yield and you still feel like you’re on the verge of rolling backward at an incredibly high rate of speed. Perhaps you’ve taken back areas of your life that you once gave over to the Lord or… perhaps you’ve added burdens to your load that you weren’t supposed to and maybe you just need to get back to the basics, rededicating your life to the Lord and taking up the burden and yoke of Christ alone.