Modern Life: The Truth about our Generation

Modern life is changing. The way that we live and think is effecting us more than we know or could ever anticipate. What does this mean for us in the future and the society we will be forced to live in?

The morals and standards of people living today are dropping fast, homes have become divided, people no longer want to “get involved” to stand up for what is right anymore and general morals and standards are also becoming a thing of the past. Let’s take a look at some modern life statistics…

In the 1970’s just 8% of households were headed by a lone parent, but by 2011 that figure had reached 22 per cent. This was mirrored by a fall in the number of two-parent families – either those married or cohabiting – from 92 per cent at the beginning of the 1970s to 78 per cent in 2011. There are now almost twice as many people living alone than 40 years ago (The 2011 General Lifestyle Survey Overview from the Office for National Statistics.) Now I’m not saying that people who come from single parent homes are bad or that they are less valuable than others, not at all because I know what that feels like but the point Is that God intended a mother and father to raise a child to bring stability and happiness. Males without a father figure can suffer the effects of misguidance and  anger, due the fact they haven’t seen that positive male model in their lives. On the other hand, females without a decent mother figure can be more vulnerable to feelings of low self-esteem and loss of decency, not having seen that positive image of how to be a lady from a mother. The effects can be detrimental in young and later life, yet we are seeing more of this type of lifestyle.

Approximately 91% of women are unhappy with their bodies and resort to dieting to achieve their ideal body shape. Studies show that the more reality television a young girl watches, the more likely she is to find appearance important.More than 1/3 of the people who admit to “normal dieting,” will merge into pathological dieting. Roughly 1/4 of those will suffer from a partial or full-on eating disorder. 58% of college-aged girls feel pressured to be a certain weight. (Source, doomething.org) This is a perfect example of modern life. People are now judging others purely based on looks. The effects of vanity are having a really bad effect on young people today, and body image is now seen to be the most important thing, overriding personality, interests and other internal factors. Well, God said this would happen, “for in the last days, men shall be lovers of themselves…” 2 Timothy 3:2. The bible speaks of how people will get more vain and selfish leading up to his return.

I watched a show the other night about live crimes and how they were dealt with. The show did an experiment, they set up a woman getting robbed by a man, both were actors. They began with shouting and the man was shouting abuse at the woman. This was done in a busy town centre, so plenty of people were walking around at this time. By the time they were shouting, people just looked, but carried on. This is maybe understandable, my thoughts were I’d probably think they were a couple and wouldn’t want to get involved either, but things began to get a little heated in the next scenario… The man then began to grab quite aggressively at her bag openly. People this time took more notice, but instead of intervening, the scene began to gather a small crowd! I couldn’t believe it, I was literally shouting at the TV! This went on for a good 5 minutes, then the actor grabbed the bag off the other actor and started to run away. At this point a man came from nowhere and dived on the “thief”. He was later told it was an experiment, and was happy that he got involved. This shocked me, that and many other examples show how people are loosing natural affection and sympathy. “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.” Matthew 24:12 This is another perfect example of the scriptures revealing modern life and how people’s thought’s and feelings are changing around us.

***

Those are just some of the ways modern life is effecting us and what we are living around. It’s good to know what we are facing day to day. We need to stay close to God and let him lead us through the tough times ahead. Thanks for reading this post, be sure to follow the blog. Bye for now guys xoxo

 

Advertisement

The Journey Of The Apostles Begins: Acts Chapter 3

 

The chapter begins with Peter and John going up to the temple at the ninth hour. The number nine in biblical terms mean to achieve something, so here’s where it links in. The next verse says “and a certain lame man from his mother’s womb was carried,” so this man was carried into the temple where Peter and John were, at the ninth hour, very important. As the lame came in to ask for charity, Peter said, “silver and gold I have none; but such as I have give I thee: in the name of Jesus Christ get up and walk.” The man was healed in the ninth hour, but more importantly, his soul was saved and salvation had been achieved in the ninth hour (Jesus died on the ninth hour, the hour of completion, “it is finished”) Can you see the significance here?

Peter then in verse 12 addressed the crowd and asked them why they were so shocked, “Ye men of Israel, why ye marvel at this,” he told them that these miracles and signs they were seeing were all part of the beginning of Gods glory on earth in the following verses. Peter was so humble, he showed Jesus to be the one who deserved all the credit in verse 13, “for this it is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – the God of all our ancestors who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this.” Peter was focused and totally understood where the power from these miracles were coming from and he didn’t let the praise of the locals change him. As  he continued to preach to the crowd, he confronts the issue of the death of Christ and the views of the people. He explains that he now understands that the people of Israel put Jesus to death through ignorance.

The people didn’t understand who they were putting to death and that was the problem, their lack of knowledge and faith that Jesus was who he said he was, even though the prophecy was written in their holy books, they still didn’t believe. Peter knew this and he felt no revenge or need to avenge Jesus’ death because he knew the people were spiritually immature, they didn’t understand. What they needed, was teaching, they needed to understand Gods laws and Jesus’ life, although they were a part of it. Peter seized this opportunity to teach and speak to the people in the temple here and thoroughly explain Gods plans, “now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away…” Now was the time for teaching to be done, so that the gospel of Christ could be spread throughout the world.

 

***

Thanks for reading this post, keep a look our for the next one in this Apostles edition. Be sure to follow the blog too, thanks again for reading!

The Journey Of The Apostles Begins: Acts Chapter 2

The outpouring of Gods holy spirit on the 12 disciples was one of the most defining moments in human history. Acts 2 takes us into the beginning of the handing down of Jesus’ full and unlimited power and how the apostles carried such a historical and important responsibility…

The apostles were all gathered together in an “upper room” praying earnestly and connecting with God. They knew the power, which is the holy spirit, would one be given to them, Jesus told them in chapter one, so you can imagine the suspense and patience they had felt! Jesus didn’t want them to leave Jerusalem until they had been given it, if you have read the previous post. But now they had finally received it, they were equipped to carry put the full work of God.

The Holy Spirit comes as fire
While the disciples were praying, the holy spirit came to them, verse 2 “suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the holy spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the holy spirit gave them this ability.” So we have the first encounter with the holy spirit to the apostles. When the holy spirit came on them, it gave them the ability to speak other languages, this is so significant, because Jesus came to teach us and to get the message of the cross, to the whole world. Now the holy spirit giving the apostles the power to speak like this is also an outward showing that the gospel will be sent to all people of all languages and walks of life, so amazing.

Peter’s strength to Preach To The Crowd

After this had happened, they were heard by other devout Jews from every nation, living in Jerusalem. They were surprised that they were speaking their languages, and insisted that the apostles were drunk. Having heard this, Peter explains the prophecy that was to happen, vs 17″in the last days god says, I will pour out my spirit upon all people. ” This is where their knowledge and understanding would come into play. People were making their own excuses for what was happening, but now was the time to explains things the way they had been told by the father himself. Jesus of course told them all this, so you can imagine how amazed they were to see all the things he said coming true before their very eyes. Peter began to go in-depth about the resurrection of Jesus and uses the words of King David, “King David said this about him, I see that the Lord is always with me… for you will not leave my soul amongst the dead.” He explains these words of David to be speaking about Jesus, how he knew that he would be risen from the dead, so joy filled his heart. As Peter tried to convince and explain these truths, they brought over 3000 souls to God that day. How inspiring.

The apostles became like sub leaders for Christ, and the bible says the believers “devoted” their selves to their teaching and fellowship. They were so committed to giving every second of their lives to God, they performed miracles, healed people and gave their money from sold possessions to the poor. They worshiped at the temple every day, God was in them, and they were in God. The power that was given to them for the price of their commitment, would not only save themselves but the thousand of others they brought to Christ. Astonishing. The second chapter shows the role of day-to-day life, following Jesus in their minds and hearts, actively doing and seeking after his will in their lives. They had just began to give everything up, and they were reaping the rewards of their faith.

 

***

Thanks for reading this post. Keep your eyes open for the next Chapter commentary, hope you enjoyed and understood it. Thanks again for the support guys, god bless for now xoxo

 

The Journey Of The Apostles Begins: Acts Chapter 1

Where did you first hear about Jesus? Well the apostles were the first and most successful people to spread the message of the cross to the world, through healing, preaching and supporting people, but how did it all begin?

Luke produces the commentary of this chapter explaining the aftermaths of Jesus’ death and what followed after the resurrection of Christ. Verse 3, “During the forty days after his crucifixion, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive”. Now this is really interesting, Jesus appeared to them but on more than one occasion after his death, explaining things to come in the future. Although they had so much to understand, Jesus tried to fill them in on what would happen next and what would be required of them through Jesus’ power.

Jesus’ first instructions for the Apostles

When in one of these meetings with his followers, Jesus told them not to leave Jerusalem until they received “the gift” (verse 4: do not leave Jerusalem until the father sends you the gift promised, as I told you before). This is referring to the Gift of the holy spirit that would help them to do the work set for them. The holy spirit was the tool that they would need, the strength that would empower and uplift their souls in times of struggle and adversaries, because there were a lot of those times and they had to be spiritually prepared for the journey. Jesus in his final meeting with them told them how they would be a witness for him and take the gospel “to the ends of the earth- vs 8” which they have achieved! After he spoke, he was taken up into heaven and they were all amazed, then “two white robed men” explained Jesus would return to the earth in the same way he ascended in his glory. What does this mean? This is referring to the second coming, when God will return to judge the earth once and for all.

The replacement of the Apostle, Judas Iscariot

After what had happened with Judas, when he betrayed Jesus and handed him over to the soldiers, and eventually his death, the apostles went in search for another willing brother to follow them and take Judas’ place. They went to Jerusalem and entered an upper room to pray with each other and Peter gave a speech, “the scriptures had to be fulfilled concerned Judas, who guided those to arrest Jesus.” Now this shows Peters maturity, he now gets it, he understands that Jesus came here to earth to die and pay for our sins. He came to teach and impart his knowledge into us, so we would have the strength to carry out his will in our lives. Peter suggested to choose someone that was there from when Jesus was baptised by John, till when he died. But why? Having seen the whole journey, and all the events that took place, it would only be right to choose someone who had the understanding and who was an actual witness to everything that had happened. So the people prayed for who it should be out of three choices and a man named Matthias was chosen. Now the apostles were now back to twelve, the journey of giving the message of the cross would finally begin…

***

Thanks for reading this post guys, keep an eye out for the next post that will include chapter 2 of the acts thanks again for reading!