Jeremiah 23: ²¹ “I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran.
I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied

During the times of crisis in the world, false prophets rise up in numbers and in force. They see their opening with a faithless generation and start predicting all sorts of things. The main one being “the world will end soon” as they scour newspapers and prophesy off of the headlines.

The draw of a false prophet is subtle. They know how to deceive the masses by predictors. Remember a clock is right twice a day.

Meaning “A normally unreliable person or instrument can occasionally provide correct information, even if only by accident.“

One can predict the outcome of a game for example simply by guessing. You have a 50% chance of always being right with an either or scenario. Does it mean you are a prophet from God for being correct? Not in the least! It just means you guessed and it was a correct guess.

Example, I can predict that Jesus will return in September of 2020. If He does, does it mean I was given divine inspiration? NO! Why? Because it is only God who knows then this will happen. And MORE false prophets show themselves in this scenario than any other one in history. I have heard it yearly for most of my life, “the Lord will return this year” or some year a false prophet predicted. Sadly, some buy these lies and then follow this person religiously, anxiously waiting for the next prediction.

During this COVID-19 crisis, false prophets are on the rise again. Is this the tribulation? You will need to read and study Scripture carefully because I believe those who lived through the 1918 Spanish Flu or the black plague could tell you that the false prophets got it wrong.

If an actual prophet from God voiced a prediction, they would be able to provide a second by second scenario and would never be wrong and not once in their prophecy. Why? Because it is God who is speaking through the prophet, they cannot fail in the prophecy nor can that prophecy change.

My favorite false prophets are the blood moon purveyors. Almost each and every Fall, they predict the end of the world based on a moon phase or “blood moon”, generally in September or October. When the world continues on, they simply change their prediction timeline. Remember, if the prophet was from God, their prophecy could not change, God is immutable, He doesn’t change His mind.

Conspiracy theories during COVID-19 are also developed by false prophets. A vaccine being somehow a marking device for example, or wearing a mask is the mark of the beast or some wild theory which will proved to be wrong time and time again. The lesson during a crisis like this? DO NOT get caught up in the fallen ways of the world! Trust in God and His word alone. The tribulation when it comes will NOT have a question mark placed upon it, you will KNOW it is here based on the Scripture account. It will be a time like no other in history.

BEWARE of the false prophets who have risen up and are roaming for prey. Always remember that a clock can be correct twice a day, so take every prediction with that discernment. A true prophet from God on the other hand will be correct 24 hours a day. Don’t be swept away in conspiracies and wives tales. Trust in the revealed word of God!

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

In the Christian world, many are told by their church or the religion they follow “you are a Christian”. But what are the qualifiers? Well, these are mainly vain declarations and by church attendance, some religious involvement. Many times this type of sinner has experienced really nothing but possibly maybe some new friends to hang out with or a place to go once a week. But this is NOT indicative of being a new creation.
So who can answer the question? The ONLY person who can answer this is yourself. And your testimony would be the answer to others who challenge this. There should be a distinction of your old life and your new life. If this challenge is not met, expect that actual Christians will meet your declaration with much skepticism. Even those who are not Christians will question the veracity of your claim if they view you living the life of your old creation as well.

Scripture teaches us plainly, ALL things have become new. In order for this to happen, your old life must completely vanish or logic tells us that it is not renewed, or a new life. Often times, a sinner is told they have been born-again, yet the sinner carries on as if nothing really happened but believing they have been born-again.

Examine your faith, examine something called growth and maturity. If you have been re-born by God, like an infant you will grow and mature. You are learning new things each day and your enthusiasm to do so is also growing. If you find faith and repentance as a chore, this would be indicative of your old self thus most likely you have not been reborn. If you find yourself shirking and rebelling against biblical truths, again this is indicative of an old fallen creation.

You should be able to look back on your life as an old creation and now as a new creation and provide specific details and progress. If you cannot? Ask yourself if your church lied to you. If after many decades you cannot coherently share the Gospel, I am sorry to inform you that you are still an old creation. And I say this humbly out of love for you, not out of pride or condemnation.

The sad fact is that there are MANY deceivers out there. They are tare planters from the devil, telling anyone who buys their line that they are “new creations” only for that sinner to behave as their old self.

And this is the truth! If and when God makes you a new creation, there really is NO confusion about this. Every part of you realizes what just happened! You will want to shout this Good News to everyone! You will condemn your old life of sin and boast now only in the person and work of Jesus Christ who saved you from the pit of hell, who enabled you to walk through the gates of Hades into eternal life with Him!

If you have owned a dog who sadly has passed away, you have realized and most likely experienced a deep hurt and sorrow. If you haven’t been through this, this article may not make much sense to you. You may think “well, why the tears, it was just a dog”. But was it “just a dog”?

There are certainly mysteries in God’s creation and His will in this. A dog’s life on average is very limited. Imagine if a human being was considered very very old at the age of 16. When a dog is born, their death clock ticks 4-5 times as faster as the human being who owns them.

But being a dog owner who has had dogs pass away, to me it is not so much the limited time which I miss, it is the qualities they possessed. Those who have never owned a dog, who never lived with them day in and day out, are exempt from this true blessing they bring. They simply take each day as it comes. They don’t look backwards or forwards, and unlike human beings they truly comply with Jesus Christ’s command at just taking care of today.

Their consistent loyalty, forgiveness, love, kindness, and obedience are just some of the qualities human beings have, but in the case of a dog it is truly consistent each day. In other words, if we could be more like our dogs is what I believe God is teaching through them.

God blesses us for just a short while with them, and I believe their task from God is to teach us these qualities we definitely lack in consistency. Some may not see it this way. They may look at the dog as a toy or a taken for granted companion and then miss out on all these things they were tasked to bring into your life. But I assure those who have done this, you will face MUCH regret when they do pass away.

My Leo who just recently passed away possessed an innate quality that I definitely lacked. He would greet everyone he knew with so much excitement and love as if they would have returned from a war. He would see my neighbor each day and greet him this way, and I would often comment to him that “if humans would treat each other this way, what a different world we would live in”. Leo NEVER took for granted those in his life, not for a single second. Somehow I think he knew his time with them would be limited and wanted every last second with them to be important. I saw glimpses many times of God in him, the perfection in the consistency.

I believe that this how Jesus Christ greets His children and vice versa, the same way Leo did with my neighbor or all of those he knew and loved in his life, with such sheer joy and with sheer genuine excitement. What an awesome quality! And I am truly sad for those who have yet to experience this and pray that one day you will!

Being considerate was also one of Leo’s greatest qualities. He instinctively knew how to be empathetic. There was a never a reason to treat another as “lesser” or as a waste of time. He also never took for granted the torn up things he would find. The analogy are those broken people you may not have had time for or those who feel don’t fit neatly into your social circle, Leo would not look the other way. To him, the silliness we sometimes get caught up in was a total waste of time and energy, he never wanted to waste his day on brooding or grudges or nonsense.

Obedience is another quality we can learn from our dogs. They are naturally obedient, human beings are not. They don’t ask as we do “why should I, God”, or “maybe next week I will do that”, they simply submit. They don’t argue with their owner, they listen and obey. They submit to the training in this. Think about this when Jesus commands us to repent of sin, to be obedient to His commandments. He isn’t asking you for a dialogue, an argument, a rationalization, it is simply “DO AS I SAY”. And if you don’t have dog-like obedience to this, most likely you are not saved, rather you are in rebellion to Him. You can deceive yourself, but He isn’t your owner!

Lastly, dogs don’t come and go. Getting back to consistency some so-called Christians lack. Some believe they are Christians but only for a season and then come and go back to the world as they please, posting a FB post here and there to try and portray themselves as a Christian for example, and then live a life of degenerate debauchery so far from any Christian principle. If you are this person, query yourself if Jesus would be excited to see you or would He even know who you are. Would He be the proud Father of you?

We can learn MUCH just from a dog!

What are your honest thoughts if the Lord has decided that today is your last day on earth? Would you be scrambling or worried to do those things you wanted to do, or are you at ease. The true regret will NOT be what you didn’t say to others, or the things you left unfinished on earth, it will be if you had spurned and rejected the Gospel of your salvation.

The regret will be knowing and finally realizing what God had said, that the love of the world and the things in it added up to one giant hopeless goose egg.

If you have not placed your faith in Jesus Christ alone, you will always love this fallen world with its disease and destruction and sin. There are no in betweens, no fence sitters in the Kingdom of God. You are either following Jesus Christ or you are following the world.

Those ready for eternal life are those placed in Jesus Christ, those who have placed their faith alone in Him.