Am I My Brother's Keeper?

Genesis 4:9. You are probably familiar with the story of Cain and Abel, that Cain murdered his brother and was cursed because he did it. What is interesting in that story is that everything was fine until the Lord rejected Cain's offering. Until his offering was rejected, there is no indication that Cain was an evil person, on the contrary, the very reason Cain was bringing his offering was a good indication that he was trying to please God. See what the Lord tells Him: Genesis 4:7. What does to do well mean? The answer is found in Hebrews 11:4. Abel did his offering by faith, that's why the Lord accepted it: Hebrews 11:6. I've been talking a lot about faith in this blog and this story (Cain and Abel) shows that God required faith since the beginning, actually, the very reason Adam sinned was because he didn't believe in God's words: Genesis 2:16-17. Why am i saying that Adam didn't believe? Because of what James wrote: James 2:20. John the Apostle answered the question "am I my brother's keeper?": 1 John 3:10-12. If we are children of God then we will be our brother's keepers, if we are not our brother's keepers, we are children of the devil! Is John saying that i must love christians (brothers in Christ) only? Of course not! See what Jesus Christ taught: Luke 10:25-37. So, according to the Bible we must be "our brother's keepers".

As It Was In The Days of Lot...

Luke 17:28-30. Much has been said and preached about Lot, as they say: "I heard a lot about Lot (funny or not)"! Most preachers condemn him for his mistakes and say that if he had allowed his uncle (Abraham) to choose first, things wouldn't go that bad for him. Along the years I learned with God that I have no right to condemn anyone, much less the ones who cannot defend themselves (dead people). It's easy for us to read Lot's story and condemn him for his mistakes, but in reality we all made bad choices and very few of us God considers to be righteous persons, as He considered Lot: Genesis 18:22-23. 2 Peter 2:7. I don't want to justify Lot's sins and mistakes, but as Peter writes, Lot lived a righteous life among the most wicked people of his time and a person like that deserves to be honored, so i'll try to show the "other side of the coin". We, who grew up in the church (organization) or are there for a long time, tend to become critics and judges, like the older son in the parable of the prodigal son, letting our light shine inside the church but forgetting to be a light in the darkness (world). In that regard, Lot did what Paul the Apostle told us to do: Philippians 2:15. If we think for a second, we will realize that the darker (crooked and perverse) the generation, the brighter our light will shine. Have you ever seen a firefly glowing in a shiny day? Of course not! Why can't we learn from nature? Remember how many times Jesus Christ used nature to teach us His amazing lessons? "Birds of the air", "lilies of the field", "sheep", "wolf", etc. Don't get me wrong, the church (gathering) is a good and necessary thing, Hebrews 10:25, but it is like a "gas station" (spiritually speaking), where we go to refill and then go out again. Unfortunately many people "run out of gas" because they forsake the assembling, thinking that they are some kinda "spiritual lone rangers" (there is no such thing). Lot was a witness of righteousness to the unrighteous, his light shone in a very dark environment. So, why God couldn't find ten righteous people in Sodom? Genesis 18:32. Well, the Apostle John gave us the answer: John 3:19. As it was with Jesus Christ so it was with Lot, people loved darkness rather than light, wickedness rather than righteousness, sin rather than holiness. So, if you really believe that Jesus Christ spoke the truth, better, that He is the Truth, than you have to consider His words about the time we're living (last days), this generation is becoming more and more like Sodom. Of course, if you are a pre-trib person, fear not, but if you can read (you are right now), than you should check this site: http://www.persecution.com/. It's VOM's (Voice of the Martyrs) web site, there you will see what's going on around the world, how many people are being killed, imprisoned and beaten just because they confess the Name of Jesus Christ. Of course, if you consider yourself better than anyone of those brothers and sisters, you should be fine, if not, pray because things will get really bad, besides, Lot was taken just before the destruction of Sodom (read the post From the Hamptons to the Heavens: Bewitched by Left Behind). Are you prepared to die for Jesus? Better, are you living for Him? Are you willing to abandon everything to follow Him? Can you say that you are a righteous person (like Lot)? Is your Light shinning in the darkness? Do your words match your behavior and your behavior your words? If this was your last day alive, what would be your legacy? If your're thinking that i am exaggerating because your neighborhood preacher said that according to his interpretation Jesus is pre-trib, read this: 2 Peter 1:20-21. Will the "rapture" occur before, during or after the great tribulation? That's the million dollars question. Fortunately God has the answer and one day (before, during or after) the great tribulation we will know the answer. Revelation 2:10.