Sunglasses On

“Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has been released from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh in the lusts of men, but in the will of God.  For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in licentiousness, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.  In this regard, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same overflow of dissipation, blaspheming.  They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.”  1st Peter 1:1-5

 

All over the world people have their sunglasses on in regards to the Truth.  They are blinded to the reality that is all around them.  They can not see because they refuse to see.

 

They are willingly ignorant to the world around them, to God’s Truth. 

 

“And the disciples came and said to Him, Why do You speak to them in parables?  He answered and said to them, Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.  And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: Hearing you will hear and shall not at all understand, and seeing you will see and by no means perceive; for the heart of this people has grown dull, their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, that they should not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand with their heart and convert, and I should heal them.  But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.  Therefore hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the Word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is that which was sown by the wayside.  That which was sown on stony places, this is he who hears the Word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when affliction or persecution arises because of the Word, immediately he stumbles.  And that which was sown among the thorns is he who hears the Word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the Word, and he becomes unfruitful.  But that which was sown on the good ground is he who hears the Word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: this a hundredfold, that sixty, that thirty.”  Matthew 13:10-23

 

They refuse to see the deception of their riches. 

 

“Because you say, I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing; and do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked;  I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.”  Revelation 3:17-19

 

People go through life, they go through the motions.  As a child they are educated, as they get older they enter the workforce.  People get married, they have families, they buy homes and cars, they retire and eventually they get old and die.  A lot of things happen during such a timeframe, a lot of different problems will arise, a lot of different things will be purchased, friendships will be made, clubs will be joined, sports will be played, jobs will be worked, numerous other things that makeup what could be considered an average life.

 

Yet a lot of other people might not fit in the so-called ‘average’ lifestyle, but nonetheless they do their own things, they live their life.  They might not get married, they may not have kids, they might not own a home, they may only have a bike or a wheelchair, they might be a beach bum or a drifter, or in and out of prison.  Some don’t like sports, some like video games, some prefer to just be outdoors, there are so many different things, but one thing is in common of all of them, they all have sunglasses on.

 

I’ve met a lot of people through various businesses that I have managed and owned.  Albeit small businesses of the past, it gave me the opportunity to interact with people from all sorts of different backgrounds, social classes, etc.  My father was numerous years older than average and this gave me an interesting perspective into the ‘old American ways’ that one couldn’t find anymore. 

 

It wasn’t too long ago, that people like my father grew up on a farm in rural northern Michigan.  The only electricity when he was a bit older was a small windmill attached to a battery, in order to listen to a radio.  Hi-tech for sure!  Other than that, it was a time where there were not so many distractions that people have to deal with today.  Just how hard is it to take off those sunglasses nowadays where a man can hardly get a break from some sort of screen, whether a television or a cell phone?!

 

There is rarely peace and quiet in most areas of the world nowadays.  Radios are blaring, cars are speeding past, televisions are on, even in restaurants distracting from normal communication.  The world is a busy, noisy place.  One must consider the distractions and simply how much harder it is nowadays to contemplate the things of God.  Does one read the Bible in the same room as someone watching television or in a busy restaurant?  I suppose you could, but certainly when the sunglasses slip off for a second, people can see briefly.

 

“Woe to those who join house to house, laying field to field, until there is no more space for you to dwell alone in the midst of the earth!”  Isaiah 5:8

 

“But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”  Matthew 6:6

 

How often do people run into a situation, a bad situation, and suddenly they remember God or they seek God or they think about Him?  This is not just an individual or a family problem, but this is a societal problem.  Every time there is a major catastrophe there are candle vigils, crosses, etc.  People get involved in prayer, is this not the same that happens in households.

 

A loved one gets in a car accident and is in the hospital, in critical care.  Suddenly, though they may have mostly forgotten about God, there they call upon Him who Created them to intervene in the life of their injured family member.  And then there are those who simply don’t care to hear that ‘religious nonsense’ no matter what happens.

 

In such times, the times when people have crises in their lives, they remember God, they think about their ways, they want Him to intervene, but what if they always lived their lives like that, without the sunglasses on that are full of the deceptions of this world?

 

“There is a way which seems right to a man, but the end of it is the ways of death.”  Proverbs 14:12

 

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”  Romans 12:2

 

“By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the temporary pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the recompense.”  Hebrews 11:24-26

 

One must have their ‘sunglasses on’ to not see the clear evidence of a Creator, simply by taking a look around. 

 

“For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is clearly recognized by them, for God has revealed it to them.  For ever since the creation of the world the unseen things of Him are clearly perceived, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they know God, they do not glorify Him as God, nor are thankful, but become vain in their reasonings, and their stupid hearts are darkened.  Professing to be wise, they become foolish, and change the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man, and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.  Therefore God also gives them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who change the truth of God into the lie, and fear and serve the created things more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.  For this reason God gives them up to vile passions. For even their women change the natural use for what is contrary to nature.  Likewise also the men, abandoning the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust toward one another, men with men performing what is shameful, and receiving the retribution within themselves, the penalty which is fitting for their error.  And even as they do not like to have God in their full true knowledge, God gives them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with every unrighteousness, sexual perversion, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, depravity; whisperers, defamers, haters of God, insolent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, without natural affection, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do them, but also approve of those who practice them.”  Romans 1:18-32

 

One must have their ‘sunglasses on’ to think that sodomites, lesbians and transgender behavior is acceptable behavior to God.

 

“A woman shall not wear anything that is fitting to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garments, for all who do so are an abomination unto Jehovah your God.”  Deuteronomy 22:5

 

“But from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female.”  Mark 10:6

 

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be led astray. Neither prostitutes, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.  And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”  1st Corinthians 6:9-11

 

One must have their ‘sunglasses on’ to think that there are other ways to God or other gods out there.  Yet week after week people fill themselves and dabble with things they should not, while practicing yoga, unbiblical meditation and such other things.  They fill the pews of unbiblical churches where the so-called preacher-man tells them they will be rich, serving a god of wealth, not God, the only God, known from the beginning of Creation.  The same God who gave us the Holy Scriptures, so that we have no excuse to know any other supposed god.

 

“Thus says Jehovah, the King of Israel, and His Redeemer Jehovah of Hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and besides Me there is no God.  And who shall proclaim as I do, and shall declare it and set it in order for Me; since I founded the ancient people? And the things that are coming, and shall come; let them declare it to them.  Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you and declared it since then? Thus, you are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Yea, there is no other rock. I have not known any.  Those who make a graven image, all of them are vanity; and the things which they desire shall not help. And they are their own witnesses; they do not see nor know; that they may be ashamed.  Who has formed a god or smelted a graven image that benefits nothing?  Behold, all his companions shall be ashamed; and the craftsmen, they are men. Let them be gathered together; let them stand up; they shall be in dread; they shall be ashamed together.  The craftsman in iron makes it in the coals with the tongs, and fashions it with hammers, and makes it with the strength of his arms. Then, he is hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water, and is faint.  The craftsman in wood stretches a measuring line; he makes an outline with a marker; he works it with carving tools, and he marks it out with the compass, and makes it like the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man, that it may remain in the house.  He cuts down cedars, and takes cypress and oak, which he secures for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir tree, and the rain makes it grow.  Then it shall be for a man to burn; for he will take some of it and warm himself. Yes, he kindles it and bakes bread; he also makes a god and bows down to it; he makes it into a graven image and prostrates himself to it.  He burns part of it in the fire; with part of it he eats flesh; he roasts a roast and is satisfied; indeed, he warms himself, and says, Ah! I am warm, I have seen the fire.  And the rest of it he makes into a god, his graven image. He prostrates himself before it and bows down, and prays to it, and says, Deliver me! for you are my mighty god.  They have not known nor understood; for He has shut their eyes so that they cannot see; and their hearts so that they cannot understand.  And no one considers within his heart, nor is there perception nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; indeed, also I have baked bread on its coals; I have roasted flesh and eaten; and shall I make the rest of it into an abomination? Shall I prostrate myself to a piece of wood?  He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has turned him aside, so that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is this not a lie in my right hand?”  Isaiah 44:6-20

 

“I am Jehovah, and there is none other, no God besides Me; I embraced you, though you have not known Me; that they may know from the rising of the sun, to its setting, that there is none besides Me. I am Jehovah, and there is no other; forming the light and creating darkness; making peace and creating evil. I, Jehovah, do all these things.  Rain down from above, O heavens, and let the clouds pour down righteousness. Let the earth open, and let salvation bear fruit; and let righteousness spring up together. I, Jehovah, have created it.  Woe to him who strives with the One who formed him, a potsherd among the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to the one who forms it, What are you making? Or your work, He has no hands?  Woe to him who says to his father, What are you begetting? Or to the woman, What are you writhing over?  Thus says Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and the One who formed him, Do you ask Me of things to come? Do you give command to Me about My sons, and about the work of My hands?  I have made the earth, and created man on it; I, with My hands, have stretched out the heavens; and all their host have I ordained.”  Isaiah 45:5-12

 

“And the soul who turns to mediums and fortunetellers, to commit adultery with them, I will set My face against that soul and cut him off from his people.  Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am Jehovah your God.”  Leviticus 20:6-7

 

“Jesus said to him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.  Philip said to Him, Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.  Jesus said to him, Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how do you say, Show us the Father?  Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak from Myself; but the Father who abides in Me does the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me; or if not, believe Me on account of the works themselves.”  John 14:6-11

 

“No one is able to serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. It is not possible to serve God and mammon.  Therefore I say to you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Observe the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?  Which of you by being anxious is able to add one cubit to his stature?  So why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?  Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear?  For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”  Matthew 6:24-34

 

“But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not do homage to demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which are not able to see nor hear nor walk.  And they did not repent of their murders nor their sorceries nor their sexual perversions nor their thefts.”  Revelation 9:20-21

 

“All Scripture is breathed by God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”  2nd Timothy 3:16-17

 

Likewise when one dies their sunglasses are tossed aside and though they can not proclaim to those who are living, they see, they know and there is nothing more than weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Just how much would they wish that they could have one more chance, that they might awake from the grave and live differently?!  That they might repent and by faith believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior, inheriting Salvation, believing the Gospel, that they might be Saved!  No, rather they have no other chance, for there is one life and then the Judgment.  Though if they could they would warn family, friends, indeed perhaps even the world, but they can not. 

 

“There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.  And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.  So it happened that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.  And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.  Then he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.  But Abraham said, Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.  And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you are not able, nor can those from there pass to us.  Then he said, I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, that they not also come to this place of torment.  Abraham said to him, They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.  And he said, No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.  But he said to him, If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one should rise from the dead.”  Luke 16:19-31

 

“Then one said to Him, Lord, are there few who are saved? And He said to them, Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.  When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us, and He will answer and say to you, I do not know you, where you are from, then you will begin to say, We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.  But He will say, I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves being thrust outside.”  Luke 13:23-28

 

“And as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, without sin, unto salvation.”  Hebrews 9:27-28

 

“And the devil, who led them astray, was cast into the Lake of Fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.  And I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away. And there was found no place for them.  And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God. And books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, out of the things which were written in the books.  And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one, according to their works.  And Death and Hades were cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death.  And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake of Fire.”  Revelation 20:10-15

 

Right now is your chance.  Take off the sunglasses of the world and put on Christ!

 

“And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.  The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.  Let us walk decently, as in the day, not in carousings and drunkenness, not in cohabitation and licentiousness, not in strife and envy.  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”  Romans 13:11-14

 

“For the love of Christ holds us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should no longer live unto themselves, but unto Him who died for them and rose again.  Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”  2nd Corinthians 5:14-17

 

Right now is your chance, you only have one.  Realize the deceitfulness of this world, take a look around.  Understand that one must repent, understand the great gift of God, the free gift, Salvation, to all who will accept it.  You can ignore the Truth, you can go on refusing to repent, but one day it will be too late, don’t let that be you.

 

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; is not of the Father but is of the world.  And the world is passing away, and its lust; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”  1st John 2:15-17

 

“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man some would even be bold enough to die.  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.  For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.  And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.  Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to every person, because everyone sinned.  For until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not accounted when there is no law.  Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.  But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.  And the gift is not like it was through the one who sinned. For the judgment from one offense was unto condemnation, but the free gift from many offenses is unto justification.  For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who are receiving abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.  Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment was to every person unto condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift is to every person unto justification of life.  For as through one man’s disobedience many were declared sinners, so also through one Man’s obedience many will be declared righteous.  Moreover the Law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  Romans 5:6-21

 

“Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has established a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has appointed. He has given assurance of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”  Acts 17:30-31

 

…”for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”…  Romans 3:23

 

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 6:23

 

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that everyone believing into Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  The one believing into Him is not judged; but the one not believing is judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the Light and does not come to the Light, lest his deeds should be reproved.  But the one doing the truth comes to the Light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been worked in God.”  John 3:16-21

 

Amen!