Christian priorities? What could they be? It’s easy to lose focus right now in the midst of unprecedented events and relentless evil coming at us from all sides. This is true not only in America, but around the world. The news coming out of China, not from the main street press, but from those who are on the inside and willing to share the truth, is not just alarming, but uncovers evil and disaster on the horizon like nothing in the history books. Then there’s the persecution of Christians in North Korea and the threat that evil dictator is to freedom around the world. We can’t forget Iran’s threat to blow Israel off the face of the globe, and the internal unrest in European countries that is threatening their political and economic stability. There is so much going on today, it would require a treatise just to cover current nightmare events around the world.
We have such massive problems in our own backyard in America, let’s face it, we have little emotional energy left to study and consider the threats from the rest of the world. So what should Christians in America to be thinking and doing today and tomorrow and next week?
I would suggest there are at least four major priorities for those of us who are Christians. Consider these suggestions, but please don’t just read them and move on with the rest of the news and chaos in your day. This is not just an article intended to peak your interest:
This is intended to crack open the doorway to your heart in order for the Holy Spirit to prepare you for what is to come, not that I think for a second that my writing could have such power, but if God is speaking to you in His soft voice . . .
As a brief preface to these four Christian priorities, consider that we are certainly living in the last days. No one knows the day or the hour of his coming, but we have clearly been told the signs of the last days, and the signs are unambiguous. We cannot deny them. Do we have decades or years left before the rapture? No one can say, but it is unlikely we have decades left based on the unfolding of Bible prophesy exactly according to Jesus’ own words. It is not unreasonable to suggest the rapture may happen any day between now and 2023. Again, I’m not predicting anything. I am saying you do not know when you will be called home, whether it is tomorrow, next month, or next year, or 10 years from now. Regardless, these Christian priorities all remain relevant, and even more so if the rapture happens sooner rather than later. Are you ready for the rapture?
Priority Number 1: Share the Truth of the Gospel so that souls can be saved for eternity. Assuming you are a genuine Christian, I hope you are not hiding your faith deep within the recesses of your mind and heart, and not sharing it with anyone in the world. It’s scary to share one’s faith, especially in a world that is so anti-Christian and vicious. Someone may rebuke you or verbally assault you for being a Christian, or for believing in God. Do not let that stop you from being an instrument of God that can save someone from eternal condemnation in hell! What a privilege it is to share the good news, and to help someone move from hopelessness and depression and sadness to the fulness of experiencing Christ by faith and living for Him. Sharing the truth about salvation is our number one priority as Christians. Whatever your gift and talents, whether it involves speaking, writing (like me), helping customers or clients in their businesses, working in Child Protective Services, tending to the elderly in assisted care, or working from home, you have been given a spiritual gift from God. Use it! He expects you to use it, and in developing and using your gift, you will experience a fulfillment you have not found in trying to fill that God-shaped vacuum within you.
Priority Number 2: Live for God every day, not just once in a while. The Bible tells us to live for God, not for the world. Do not seek to fulfill the lusts of your heart, but the will of God. I know, that’s easier said than done, but it is our calling. We are to “Be Holy just as I am Holy.” [1 Peter 1:16] We are to be salt and light in the world, not to blend in so no one knows we are Christians. We need people to know we are Christians, so we can lead them to Christ, and so we can administer the grace of God to them when they are in difficult times. How will they know otherwise? They will know by our love.
Priority Number 3: How do we accomplish priorities 1 and 2? With another priority God has given us, and that is to be in His Word daily. Read the Bible to start your day. Study your Bible to grow in Christian maturity and understanding and wisdom. Memorize verses that “I might not sin against thee.” [Psalm 119:11] Learn to use commentaries to learn from wiser Christians. Ignorance among Christians in America is rampant and tragic. We are called to know the Bible and to never stop reading and studying it. The Bible also tells us to pray earnestly and non-stop. This could be listed as another priority, but it is found all over when you read the Bible, and it naturally flows from your heart when you are marinating in God’s Word. Pray non-stop.
Priority Number 4: Learn and study current events so you can intelligently discuss them with others and apply Biblical Truth. We may not be of this world, but we currently live in it. In years past most Christians in America have had the mistaken notion that Christians should not be involved in politics or political discussions. Do not believe satan’s lie that has been so widely promoted, which is summarized in the phrase, “separation of church and state.” That is not found in the Constitution, but in correspondence between our founding fathers, and it never stood for the proposition that our faith must be separated entirely from our government. On the contrary, the U.S. Constitution makes it clear that it is government that is to stay out of our religious lives in every way. Government has no authority to shut down churches, and yet they have all over America, and Christians say and do nothing. This is why America is in a state of evil domination today. Christians have given control of America to non-Christians and atheists who openly hate God, and millions of evil people over a couple of hundred years have practically had free reign to plan and embed their detailed evil agendas into every area and in every place in America. And we let them.
The Bible says “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man.” We are in the last days now. What was it like in the days of Noah?
And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. [Genesis 6:5]
Does that not sound like a description of America today?
Priority Number 5: I promised only 4 priorities, but there is one that should be on the list, but I have not prioritized it, at least not without briefly discussing it. There is a call in the scriptures to go to Church and to fellowship with other Believers. Hebrews 10:25 says we are not to forsake the assembling or gathering of Believers. Unfortunately, it has become increasingly difficult to find a Christ-centered Church in America as so many have gone off into heresies of all kinds, especially the health and wealth heresies. On top of that, Churches have been shut down all over America by State Governors based on Covid-19 rules. Finding a good Church and attending a good Church in America today is increasingly impossible. If you cannot do this, use the Internet to attend Church with your family.
In summary, if you claim to be a genuine Christian, share the Gospel, live for God every day by faith and obediently, be in the Word every day, and do not be ignorant of current events and their relation to Bible prophesy in the last days. Do not hide your faith. I love what the Apostle Paul said in Romans 1:16:
I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.