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Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. Therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.” --Genesis 10:8-9 In our previous devotional we looked at the place known as Babel…a place that was ruled by an evil and powerful king named Nimrod. He was, in effect, the first great world ruler. The very name Nimrod means “the rebellious one,” and this guy certainly didn’t disappoint. He was strong and powerful physically as well as politically.  The translation of the text seems to imply that Nimrod thought he was mighty in God’s sight—that even God was impressed with him! King Nimrod is a perfect illustration of another person Jesus warns us about…the Antichrist. Nimrod was strong and arrogant, and he ruled over the world, then known as Babylon. The Antichrist will also rise up in the last world system, and lead arrogantly against Christ, including hunting down God’s people. Yesterday we saw yet another terrorist attack, an attack by one filled with evil.  More and more we see the spirit of Antichrist—those who oppose Christ and anything Christian—at work in our world today.  But just as God has always protected His people, so He will protect you and me even in these unstable and somewhat scary times in which we live. Our calling is to stand firm and continue being lights to a world that is slipping deeper into darkness.  My prayer for you is that you won’t give into the fear that so easily pervades our world today, but instead, be a strong and mighty witness of the power of God to change a life! Stand firm in God’s protection so that you can be a light to our dark world.

The Clarity of the Truth

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”
1 Corinthians 14:31–33

Our society is filled with confusion. Truths that have been known and believed for centuries are being questioned and cast aside. Everything seems to be up for debate, discussion, or decision through a popularity contest. A good deal of this confusion is the result of a concerted campaign to blur the clear lines of truth and replace them with indistinct markers that can be crossed or redrawn at any time without consequences.
The reality is that no matter what the world around us may say, truth is eternal and unchanging. What God said in the past is still true today. Just as the law of gravity operates whether a person believes it or not, the laws God has given in His Word apply equally to believers and unbelievers. There are no exceptions—no special cases to whom the rules do not apply. And while we should always be gracious in our dealings with others, we should not allow the confusion that clouds the truth to infect our language or our thinking.
When God’s people abandon the certainty of truth, confusion always follows. We should not be surprised when the world blurs the lines. That process has been going on since the Garden of Eden. Our task is to take a stand on the truths God has declared in His Word and refuse all efforts to change or alter what He has spoken. Both the church and the world need the clarion voice of truth, more in this day of confusion than ever before. “For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?” (1 Corinthians 14:8).
 

Today’s Growth Principle: 

It is impossible to rightly follow Jesus without being willing to take a stand for the truth.