Impostors in the last days
But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. 2 Timothy 3:1-5
Second Timothy 3 begins by listing the various characteristics which identify a large portion of the population who will be living in the last days. Surely each generation since Christ has observed some of these unsavory traits in their own unique time period, but now, unfortunately, reading these verses is like checking off a complete laundry list of the prevailing godless attributes in our own time.
Verse 13 goes on to say, “But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”
Take a closer look at the word “impostors” in this verse. First, consider the definition of impostor—one who “assumes [a] false identity or title for the purpose of deception” (MerriamWebster.com). To assume an identity or title that is not your own is lying.
Next, impostors are grouped in verse 13 with evil men. Since lying violates the Word of God, it’s not hard to understand why the Scripture places impostors alongside evil men as those to beware of in the last days.
The verse continues to reveal that impostors will proceed from bad to worse. A lying individual who supposes that he won’t get caught in his falsehood will likely continue to lie. In fact, the lies will become more and more far-fetched because this individual counts on never getting caught or facing consequences. And since lying violates the Word of God, obviously telling a lie is bad. However, as this person continues in his deception and his lies snowball, he gets worse. Impostors—unless they repent—will proceed from bad to worse, just like the Bible says.
Last of all, verse 13 tells us how impostors spend time. They are busy deceiving and being deceived on an ongoing basis. When a person invests in deception, he will eventually believe his own lies. Because of this, deceivers become very deceived. In other words, impostors don’t live in reality. And if those in leadership posts throughout the nation are involved in any part of the deception cycle, their grasp of reality is, at best, faulty, and those under their authority will likely suffer because of it. Hence, the need to pray.
This scenario spelled out in 2 Timothy 3 has caused many in the Body of Christ great concern. If the evil men and impostors among us are going to proceed from bad to worse, then what hope is there for us to even dream that our prayers will be answered?
Tomorrow and Wednesday I want to share with you some “inside facts” in 2 Timothy 3 that have given me great encouragement and resolve. It is my desire that you, also, will find comfort and be fueled to continue in effective prayer for our nation despite what you may see with your eyes.
Stay tuned!
Dorothy
Read MoreConsider your heritage
If I had been the one choosing, I would have lived my entire lifespan in far less interesting times. However, since I am not God and He is (and the world is better off for it!), He saw fit to plop me down in what began as a more quiet time in history. During my life, however, as I toddled through the 50’s, played outside without supervision throughout the 60’s, drank, drugged, and then met Jesus in the 70’s, established a career in the 80’s, bought a home in the 90’s, wept—along with the rest of America—on 9/11/01, and watched wrinkles develop within the past decade of this new century, the history I’ve experienced has raced from placidly boring to hyper-multi-dimensional to what it is now—bordering on violating every boundary.
The Body of Christ is finding herself in an unusual time in history. I believe we are seated on the culmination of history and the return of Jesus Christ; but if not, we are certainly living in interesting times, nonetheless.
And I believe two things. Each of them gives me great hope.
1.) Acts 17:26-27 lets us in on an important secret about our lives. “…He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.”
God Himself determined the time and nation of your birth. He chose this year and the particular age you are now to intersect; He chose you for this time. Are you uncomfortable about what’s going on in the world today? It was God’s decision to put you here now; could it be that He did so because He knew that by His grace you would be able to rise above the chaos and fulfill all His purposes? I know that He did not place you here to destroy you. Neither did He bring you forth at this time for you to live timidly, hoping to be bland enough to escape the disapproval of a godless culture. Could it be that God has a specific purpose for you to fulfill in this hour? According to the Bible, the answer to that question is YES.
2.) Bible scholars have referenced a “scarlet thread” in the Old Testament—prophecies, types, and shadows—which point to the Messiah to come. In a similar way, throughout the centuries since Jesus walked the earth, God has woven a strong cord of testimony to His faithfulness, power, and kind intervention. Here’s a chronological sampling:
- God spoke to His people in the first century and established Himself as their God and Father through signs, wonders, and bold preaching of the gospel. The Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, Epistles, and the Book of Revelation were written by inspiration of the Holy Spirit and then entrusted to posterity.
- The spark of the gospel remained aglow through humble souls and martyrs who knew their Lord, illuminating the dim light of the dark ages.
- God met with His people and enlarged their tents during the Reformation when once again men started to understand that the just shall live by faith.
- Men and women, both in America and the British Isles, were gripped with fear over the state of their eternal souls and cried out to a Savior who alone could set them free during the First and Second Great Awakenings of the 1730’s and 40’s and 1800’s.
- God watched over His people, sending His mighty Holy Spirit during the great revivals flaming out of Wales and Topeka and Azusa Street, setting men and women ablaze with Pentecostal signs and zeal at the beginning of the twentieth century.
- The Healing Revivals of the teens and twenties and again in the forties and fifties of the twentieth century filled men and women with faith that with God all things are possible.
- God reminded the Vietnam-era psychedelic scene of sixties and seventies that He was not dead but still alive and on the throne during the Jesus Movement. This not so distant time in our past captured the hearts and minds of disenfranchised, counter-culture youth to the love and forgiveness of Christ. Many now in leadership in the body of Christ were swept up as young men and women in those confusing days to be set free by the power of God from sin, addictions, and despair.
- Occurring simultaneously with the Jesus Movement was the Charismatic Renewal. This sovereign move of God started in the 60’s when a group of students from Duquesne University went on a retreat to study the book of Acts and to investigate the claims of Pentecost as described in two books, The Cross and the Switchblade and They Speak with Other Tongues. Many of these folks were baptized in the Holy Spirit, and from there, Charismatic hunger and zeal spread rapidly into both Catholic and mainline Protestant church memberships as well as into the ranks of the unchurched.
- Since the seventies, God has poured rich teaching ministries into the earth, training His people to walk by faith, not by sight, and to live as new creations and more than conquerors, using the full armor of God to resist in the evil day, and having done everything to stand, to keep standing.
- Churches that preach the uncompromised Word have grown in size and strength in their communities, equipping the body of Christ to walk in love and good works which God has ordained beforehand that they should walk in them.
It is precisely our rich Christian heritage that inspires me to believe that surely God has prepared the Church for such a time as this—even now—even at this time in history. He has equipped us—through the testimonies of our heritage, through His Word, and by His wonderful Holy Spirit—to face with bold integrity and resolute faith anything this world might throw our way.
My contention is this: Just as the scarlet thread woven through the pages of the Old Testament pointed to fulfillment and salvation in Christ, so too does the strong cord of testimony to God’s faithfulness, power, and kind intervention throughout Church history point to the summation—possibly during our very time—of all things in Christ. And if God poured out His wonders during those past dark times, I can’t help but believe that to expect anything less than the supernatural outpouring and intervention of God during our own time—however dark—would be a slap in the face of the Author and Finisher of our faith.
Dorothy
Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. 1 Thessalonians 5:24
Read MoreOne reason I wrote the book
I ran into a friend a while back who was halfway through my book, First of All, Pray. She grabbed me by the arm as if she was letting me in on top secret information and said, “I know why you wrote this book! You wrote it so we wouldn’t give up on praying for our country!” Honestly, I couldn’t have put it any better.
She continued, “I got so tired of everything going on in government and politics that I just backed off of praying for the nation. But now I see that we can’t afford to quit—we’ve got to keep pressing in no matter what it looks like.”
She beautifully summed up my purpose for writing the book. I realize that God’s raised up others who are far more adept and experienced in the things of prayer than I am and who have articulated the art of prayer far better than I ever could. Yet, at the same time that I was witnessing widespread, far-reaching decline in the nation, I also observed that that many of my fellow Christians were either bewildered and overwhelmed by everything they saw going on or they refused to acknowledge that anything was amiss at all. And I knew that for God to truly have His way in this nation, He must first have His way in the Church. And that involved two things: being honest about the state of the nation and being boldly vigilant in maintaining an overcoming faith in the God of the Bible.
And so, I am praying this: May the will of God be done—in the Church, in the United States of America, and across the globe—as it is in Heaven. May God’s people in this nation not give up on the high calling and privilege to stand in the gap and pray for America!
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
17 [For I always pray to] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation [of insight into mysteries and secrets] in the [deep and intimate] knowledge of Him,
18 By having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones),
19 And [so that you can know and understand] what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength,
20 Which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His [own] right hand in the heavenly [places],
21 Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and in this world, but also in the age and the world which are to come.
Ephesians 3:17-21, Amplified Bible
Read MoreIs it appropriate to pray about current events?
Is it appropriate to pray about current events in our time? Sometimes, because of the intensity of everything going on in the world, you may decide that it’s too much—I’ll just let God handle it; after all, He’s sovereign.
I’ve learned that when I don’t gauge what I’m hearing in the news by the Word of God, a sense of despair can creep in, seeking to weigh me down with fear, worry, and hopelessness. The feeling of oppression that accompanies being overwhelmed can constrict your faith and pressurize you into backing away from praying for our nation. Like the Israelites of long ago, you might feel like a grasshopper before the seemingly insurmountable circumstances facing the country and exploding around the world, and as a result, this can cause you to recoil from praying about what’s going on.
In the Bible, the majority of the men sent in to spy out Canaan were overwhelmed by what they saw. They said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us” (Numbers 13:31b).
And yet Caleb declared, “We should by all means go up and possess the land, for we will surely overcome it” (Numbers 13:30b). Because of his good report, Caleb was commended by God who described him as having a different spirit in following after Him fully (see Numbers 14:24).
I’ve heard several Christians say that they don’t like to intercede about current events because they’re concerned they might pray against the will of God. “After all,” they confide, “we’re in the end times. The Bible says that things will go from bad to worse. If we pray for things to change, aren’t we in danger of praying against the plan of God?”
Jesus said that the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy (see John 10:10), and many of the events we witness today absolutely involve stealing, killing, and destroying. When you pray to inject light and truth into situations or pray to hinder or thwart evil, you are not praying against God but against the author of stealing, killing, and destroying—the devil. Of course, as you pray, be alert to the Holy Spirit— He knows the details more intimately than you ever could, so let Him direct how you pray.
You may not be able to impact every current event going on in the world, but if you don’t pray, one thing is certain—you won’t impact anything.
You may be familiar with the story about the man who walked down a beach after thousands of starfish washed ashore. He stooped frequently as he walked to pick up another “sea star” to throw it back into the waves. A companion, seeing the multitude of beached starfish in both directions, asked him, “Look at all those things! Picking up a few dozen and tossing them back into the water won’t make any difference!”
The man straightened back up with another starfish in his hand. Tossing it into the ocean, he replied, “It’ll make a difference to that one!” You may not be able to impact every current event going on in the world, but if you don’t pray, one thing is certain—you won’t impact anything.
But if you are still concerned that you might pray the wrong thing at the wrong time—after all, it may be the end times when things will go from bad to worse—consider this: The Lord Jesus didn’t condemn the man in the parable for pulling his sheep out of a pit on the Sabbath—the day when all work ceased (see Matthew 12:11-12). Instead, this man’s labor of mercy in freeing his innocent animal was acknowledged by Jesus as appropriate despite timing of the Sabbath rescue. In light of this, are we called to turn a blind eye to creeping agendas of lawlessness meant to steal, kill, and destroy our neighbors and countrymen when we have been given the power in prayer to bind and to loose? (See Matthew 18:18.)
The Bible declares that you are more than a conqueror (see Romans 8:37), even now, even when things seem to be spinning out of control. As you refuse to cast away your confidence (see Hebrews 10:35), you will find that the prayers you pray will become bolder, more targeted, and more saturated with Scripture.
It is written in two places in the Old Testament that God sought for an intercessor but found none (Isaiah 59:16, Ezekiel 22:30). Be found of Him, willing to take a stand in prayer about those things in the nation and the world that grip your heart. Then, if Jesus does return in your lifetime, He will be able to say that He did, indeed, find faith on the earth, for He found it in you.
Dorothy
However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth? Luke 18:8b
Read MoreFirst of all, give thanks Part 3
This week I have been posting excerpts from my book, First of All, Pray. Paul urged in 1 Timothy 2 that the people of God top their to-do list with praying for others. Thanksgiving is included in that list of “first of all” ways to pray.
Excerpt from Chapter 1:
A Warning Concerning Thanklessness
“It is absolutely essential that you maintain an attitude of thankfulness. Romans 1:21-23 delivers a clear warning: ‘For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures’ (emphasis added).
“What is the outcome if you believe in God yet neglect to give thanks to Him? You gravitate toward anything except Him! You become futile in your speculations and your heart becomes darkened. Without realizing it, you start worshiping material things and slide into folly. The Word says you become good for nothing, self-serving, and ignorant of your own dangerous stupidity. On the other hand, when you cultivate a thankful heart, you protect yourself from falling into the foolishness of self-absorption and delusion. Indeed, gratefulness surrounds you with a deception-resistant shield.
“The challenge in 1 Timothy 2:1 is to offer thanksgiving to God even when you are praying for someone with whom you have fundamental disagreement. If you incorporate thanksgiving into all of your prayers, then the grace of God will meet and overtake you in your endeavors. Thanksgiving: don’t let yourself pray without it!” (Excerpt taken from pages 23-24; First of All, Pray: Prescription for a Nation in Crisis; © 2013–Dorothy Frick)
This Thanksgiving and throughout the Christmas season, I challenge you to be aware of the flow of your heart, your mind, and your mouth. Despite the circumstances, the stress, the conflict, the disappointment, or any general sense of heaviness or oppression you may be encountering, make it your cause to give thanks to God. Give thanks for all that is good in your life—make it your daily holiday habit—and give thanks in spite of all the “stuff” that may be piling up and weighing you down. Give thanks for the good; give thanks despite the bad.
As a former eighth grade teacher who taught the scientific method to her science-fair weary students, I learned the value of testing hypotheses against variables. Here is your two-fold assignment from now until the New Year:
- Perform a scientific experiment. Enforce the flow of your mind and your mouth. When pressure or bad news arises, bring your mind and your mouth back to the good report, i.e., what does the Bible say? Where is the miracle in this madness? God will provide it, and I will give Him thanks before I see it, now, even though I don’t feel like it. Remember, you won’t be able to control the circumstances that come your way, but you can control the thermostat of your mind and heart with gratefulness—and you can curb what you say. Stick with it throughout the holidays, and then, on New Year’s Eve or Day, look at the outcome. You will find that the scientific method and the Bible go hand in hand.
- Give thanks consistently to the Lord as your birthday present to Jesus. Not only will you be performing a scientific investigation of meritorious value, but you will also be delighting the heart of your Savior. Honor Him with your thoughts and words this holiday season; make it your ambition and aim daily to please Him with your hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute inner and outward conversation, and find out just how much you will thrill His heart as you minister to Him in this way!
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 1 Timothy 1:17
Happy Turkey Day, and may your thanksgiving to the Lord be glorious! See you on Monday, December 2, when I return by the grace of God to the First of All, Pray blog.
Dorothy
Read MoreFirst of all, give thanks Part 2
This week I am posting excerpts from my book, First of All, Pray. Paul urged in 1 Timothy 2 that the people of God top their to-do list with praying for others. Thanksgiving is included in that list of “first of all” ways to pray.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6
Excerpt from Chapter 1:
The Direction You Gaze Determines Your Destination
“A second truth in this verse empowers you to pray about the chaos around you without being weighed down by the sheer awfulness of the situation. You see, as a human, your natural tendency is to gravitate toward the object you are observing. I learned this from my drivers’ ed teacher when I was fifteen. He warned the four of us crammed into the well-dented ‘beginner drivers’ car that if we watched cows and horses grazing in the field, that’s where we would end up—in the pasture and not on the highway! That’s why God included thanksgiving in His list of prayer methods—so that you gravitate toward Him and not the problem!
“Have you ever been frightened about situations in your life and asked God for help? If you prayed without thanking or praising Him, you probably continued to feel very afraid, trying to battle anxiety on your own because your eyes remained glued to the problem. Giving thanks to God pulls your attention off of the enormity of the problem and onto the greatness of God. As you gaze at God, giving Him thanks for His willingness to do wonderful things for you, the anxiety you feel drains away. If you find it creeping back in, you just ramp up your thanksgiving to God again! Thanksgiving is a powerful antidote for the anxiety you feel.
“Do you try to ignore fearful situations in your life in an attempt to resist fear? Do you think about Job when he said, ‘For what I fear comes upon me, and what I dread befalls me’ (Job 3:25) and try to avoid Job’s outcome by pretending there is no problem? Is denial your strategy for dealing with fear? Is that the way you walk by faith?
“Think of the boy David, one of the greatest worshipers in the Bible, watching sheep out in the pasture. When he spied the lion and the bear stalking his sheep, did he conquer his fear by ignoring the situation? Of course not! He rose up, likely with a mixture of adrenaline, fear, and a strong protective instinct and killed the carnivores! His faith empowered him to confront those hungry varmints despite the very real danger! He didn’t seek to protect his faith by looking away from the predators or by denying their existence. Dead sheep would have been the outcome of that kind of faith walk. Even worse, without the experience of subduing the vicious beasts, David may never have been equipped to take down Goliath!
“Ignoring evil, by definition, is ignorance! Thanking God, however, in the face of evil acknowledges His greatness despite the growing darkness. This powerfully applies to facing the destructive forces at work in our nation. Faith confronts the frightening events with the Word of God. Ignoring such forces in our country in an attempt to stay in faith actually prevents you from becoming a part of God’s solution to change the course of events. The sense of fear is not always the spirit of fear spoken of by Paul (see 2 Timothy 1:7); at times Holy Spirit-initiated warnings are alarming—even frightening—yet they are sent by God to reveal that danger is looming. In response you pray and dig into the Word to prepare for battle—and victory.
“When fear does rise up—and it will—ask God how to deal with it and the fearful situation instead of hiding under the covers, hoping the boogeyman will go away! Declare like David, ‘When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You’ (Psalm 56:3). Then in prayer confront the giants both in your life and our nation, giving thanks to God for His Goliath-defeating power!” (Excerpt taken from pages 20-23; First of All, Pray: Prescription for a Nation in Crisis; © 2013–Dorothy Frick)
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread?
2 When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.
3 Though a host encamp against me,
My heart will not fear;
Though war arise against me,
In spite of this I shall be confident.
4 One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord
And to meditate in His temple.
5 For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle;
In the secret place of His tent He will hide me;
He will lift me up on a rock.
6 And now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me,
And I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
Psalm 27:1-6
Thank You, Lord, for the wonder of Your abiding and protective presence in our lives!
Dorothy
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