Clear and Present Danger

     This era is certainly the last days. They are as in the times of Noah. The big ship is ready but few are willing to come aboard. Everyone must squeeze in more pleasure before boarding God's "ship." If anyone misses the closing of the door, it's not as simple as going to the next port and boarding. The door closes for all until safety is reached. The Captain's Journal lists the destination, but the time of arrival is uncertain. This time, the ship is not of wood sealed with pitch; it is an invisible boat sealed with the Word. Theologians call that journey "the rapture" and it is the snatching up of all those whose ticket is paid by Jesus of course who redeems the lost.
     Of course, the ticket is one way and for one date only. There will be no other cruise. The destination is the beautiful City of God; not Atlantis in the Caribbean, but the Garden Paradise with the River of God running through it, sheltered by the Tree of Life. Heaven is sanctuary from Hell. The twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are symbolic of Hell as it was destroyed by fire and brimstone. Only a few escaped "hell," but before they were saved, Lot's wife looked back. There is a clear and present danger in us looking back to the pleasures of sin.
     Those who believe in God often have cognitive dissonance. They want to be saved by God, believe He can save, but want to enjoy the pleasures of the world before they board. The port of call is a place of pleasure, and the destination is joy and contentment. The allure of pleasure oftentimes exceeds the promise of contentment. People, as they say, want their cake and eat it too! They want the pleasure of sin but the security of  righteousness. It can't be both ways. "Can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh" (James 3:12). Christians can't have it both ways, and Lot's wife found that she was the salty one in the company of the fresh water. Today, Lots' wife has been absorbed by water in the Dead Sea. She is dead to God just for looking back!
     The danger at the present is living for pleasure. Everyone is surrounded by fun and enjoyable activities. Some attend fun things while others praise God at church. Perhaps the doors to church will be closed next week. There is a danger that that may come soon. Jesus has become the enemy of the state, the people, and even the church - the three estates. Jesus is public enemy number one, and most Christians are Peters - not just denying Jesus thrice but daily. When people choose pleasure over worship, they are denying Jesus. They prefer the harlot Satan's brothel to our Father's House:

And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God: And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee. (Gen 28:20-22).

      Jacob (Israel) set a stone as a symbol that the Jews were a pillar in God's House. Christians are living stones in God's House - the Church - and us living stones are the pillars of the Church:

Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. (Rev 3:12).

    Being part of the Father's House is not for everyone. It is for those Christians who overcome? Overcome what? Evil with good (Rom 12:21). Overcoming evil is not being of the world; it is being apart from it. Christians cannot continue in the world as before, not looking back, they are to forsake the pleasures of the world. There is danger in being in the flesh when God wants Christians to be in the Spirit.
     The entertainment industry lures Christians away from God. Think not? Can you not tear yourself away from your favorite artists even when they are against all things dear to God. Can you not turn off the television when actors curse God, and homosexuals arouse your sympathy? Can you not walk out of a movie when it is profane? Am I the only one who is offended by the decadence of Hollywood and New York?
     I believe that Islam is a clear and present danger to the world. On the other hand, I believe Christians are asleep in entertainment. Some say that people partied as Rome self-destructed. Are Christians self-destructing as the pleasure goes on? Miley Cyrus is much more dangerous than Saddam Hussein ever was. She has the hearts of adults and the children. Many thousands of people want to be like Miley. Many people want to be like the bachelor and bachelorette. Some people even want to be like Hillary Clinton! Many of those "stars" are more dangerous than a crazy Mulluh! They rob the souls of the people of the world, and even Christians.
     Safety from the world is in the House of God. The only place that I feel safe is in the presence of the Lord, most often in the church building. Even in my home, I am attacked every day by evil people from far away as they seek to tantalize and provoke me to do things their way. People become acclimated to sin. We often watch perversions that we never knew existed in yesteryear. Rather than walking out of a movie for one F-bomb, the limit has been stretched. Rather than never denigrating God, now people listen and even laugh at entertainers undermining the Savior.
     Entertainment is dangerous for two reasons: (1) People prefer to be entertained rather than entertain God. That makes them as gods, and (2) entertainment is generally far from righteous.
    I like a good movie as well as the next person, and to be honest, pretty girls help make the plot of movies more "interesting." However, filthy language and denigration of Christian doctrine is really offensive. Never get accustomed to sin, and never support sin! I've heard Christians say. It was just one g.d. word. I've heard Christians say, It was just one sex scene. One is too many.
     The idea is that Christians must be set apart from the world. That doctrine is "sanctification." Those not sanctified, even though they are safe, make themselves unsafe and vulnerable. Sanctification is making a commitment to please God in our thoughts and deeds. If that is our desire, then God does the sanctifying. "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thes 5:23). May He? God does not infringe on our will. Sanctification must be welcomed.