Ripe

A sense of security--of invincibility
The seat of violence
Content with things as they are
Self over others--I want over they need
Living in luxury
Absorbed in a culture of music
Spiritually impudent--"Keep quiet. For the name of the Lord is not to be mentioned."
Joy in the worthless

Who does that describe? You know. A nation ripe for God's judgment. You do know who that describes.

Divided Loyalty

To try to live a godly life with one foot firmly planted in the self-centered lifestyle of the world is Laodician--it is to be spiritually proud and to become spiritually blind. I cannot serve two masters. Divided loyalty is disloyalty. Disloyalty is the death of lovingkindness, smothering the love I need to lavish on my neighbor in His place. And smothering the intimacy He wants me to have with Him. Sobering is it not, to think that my "spirituality" can make me an object of God's discipline? He pleads with us, "Behold I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him, and will dine with him, and he with Me." Have you placed the idol of worldly approval and worldly acceptance in the center of your heart? Have you "locked out" His presence in the heart you claimed to have given to Him? "Be zealous, therefore, and repent."

An Evil Society

A society is evil when its righteous citizens are distressed, when its leaders make decisions based on monetary kickbacks--even if they are called political contributions, when the poor are turned aside, and when the prudent--those who see the evil coming and try to warn others--are silenced.

An Internal Life

The Christian life is an internal life; it begins on the inside. It works itself out and becomes visible to the world through God's Spirit working through us as we submit to Him. To lie to oneself then about the need for daily submission to His presence is a spiritually deadly decision. A life of external obedience--going through all the rituals of "spirituality"--yet accompanied by an inner apathy or by spiritual pride is an ungodly life--a life lived without a fear of God, a reverence for His supremacy in our daily walk. Daily embracing the truth in our inner man, the truth that without Him we can do nothing, protects our walk--makes us distributors of the fruit He is producing through our abiding relationship with Him.

The Nations

Every nation on earth and every one of its leaders are accountable to God. The dilemmas they face, the conflicts they must respond to, and the decisions they make in every situation all have moral implications. And there are moral consequences for those decisions, for each choice they make. And if the decisions they make are in defiance of God's truth, all their past greatness, all their present earthly power, all their human intellect, and all their dynamic abilities cannot in any way thwart God's just judgment. A nation does not want God to become its enemy.
What, then, should be my response as His ambassador to the nations--particularly the nation that He has assigned me to? Pray diligently for each leader. Diligently! Give them the honor that God says is our obedience to Him. Be the pillars of encouragement that they need in order to do right--again an act of obedience that God requires. Live a life of obedience to God--"as lights in the world holding forth the word of life." Love my neighbor as Christ loves me and thus "fulfill the law of Christ.".

"If I be lifted up, I will draw all men to Me."

What is Christ-likeness? Obedience.

Loving Someone

Loving someone begins with prayer, is nurtured with prayer, and deepens through prayer.

Saturation

The key to transformation is saturation. The Word--the thoughts of God that He has given His children--act as the Spirit's mirror, sword, cleansing water, refreshing fountain, and light for the path. Do you want to see yourself as God sees you and understand the adjustments that need to be made in your walk? Do you want to be able to wield the sword against the darts of the enemy? Do you want to be cleansed of all those things that impeded your ability to abide in Him and bear the fruit of His likeness? Do you want to be constantly filled with His spring of joy? Do you want to know what steps to take all day in obedience to the One you love? The more time you spend in His thoughts, the more time you spend in the Word, the more the Spirit can take the Word and put it in you. You cannot be filled with the Spirit, under the Spirit's control, unless you are immersed in the Spirit-inspired Word. Cannot. And how many days do you desire to be under His control? Saturate your mind and heart--daily.