"The World is a Vampire"

The title of this post is the opening line from a song by 'Smashing Pumpkins'. The artist goes on to say:

"The World is a Vampire, sent to drain. Secret destroyers, hold you up to the flames. And what do I get for my pain? Betrayed desires, and a piece of the game..."

There is so much wisdom in this verse. And to think it comes from one who is not a Christian. In fact, the last line of the song is "...and I still believe that I cannot be saved." How unfortunate it is that he believes that he can't be saved and yet he has an excellent insight of the true nature of the world around us.

This world is a vampire sent to drain us of our connection to Jesus Christ. The Bible says that the god of this world is Satan and we know that his sole mission is to drive us away from God. This world is filled with enticements designed to draw your attention away from Godly things. They fill you with desires that are spiritually unhealthy. Lust, greed, indulgence in food and drink; these are just a few. God's word speaks against all of these:
1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
I know that much of this post sounds negative but it is merely meant to be a warning. The things of this world are created to destroy us; whereas the things of God are meant for salvation and eternal life. Many times the Christian society comes across as very negative, as in "don't do this and you can't do that and you must stop everything you are doing to follow God". It is unfortunate that we come across this way, for we make many people want to have nothing to do with Jesus because He won't let them do anything. The truth is, however, that the things Jesus wants us to do are so much more fulfilling than the things of the world. Helping each other, fellowship, friendship, discussion of the word of God, helping those that we do not know, spreading the Gospel to others; these are some of the Do's in Christianity and they are wonderful when done from the heart and in the Name of Jesus.

When I became a Christian I was a partier and a heavy drug user. I did not have to quit any of that to become a Christian. However, once my heart was in the hands of God, He began to change me and mold me into what He wants me to be. One day I found myself without the desire to party or do drugs anymore. I found that being sober is more gratifying. The point is, we do not have to change to be saved. Mike Warnke (a Christian comedian that I grew up listening to) once said "You don't have to get cleaned up to take a bath".

One of my personal favorite pastimes is talking about God and Jesus and the Bible. I enjoy a good healthy discussion about what the Word of God says and how it applies to our lives today. I will talk to anyone about God but I sometimes have a hard time starting the conversation. But when someone opens the door such as the Jehovah's Witnesses that come to call or the Mormons I get excited and welcome the conversation. I encourage anyone to invite the JW's or the Mormons in but be cautious, they do know the bible and they know what they believe. They start out connecting with you through the similarities between your beliefs and theirs and then they slowly slip in what they consider the "truth". My advice is to hear what they have to say and then study the bible for yourself, by yourself to discover what it truly says.

During a one year period while my wife and I lived in a town in Oregon we were visited by the JW's for about 6 months followed by the Mormon's for the other 6 months. We learned more about the Bible during that time than any other time in our walk with God. While examining their beliefs we discovered some of the truths of the Bible. I do not, however, have all the answers (there is always more to learn from God's word) but I do know that neither JW's nor the Mormon's are correct. The Bible quite plainly contradicts their beliefs. As I said though, discussion with them is very educational because it forces you to get into the Word and find some answers.

In closing today, I encourage you to fellowship, get together with some brothers and sisters and talk. Above all, forget about politics because the government is of this world which is perishing and is going to do whatever it wants, open the Bible and discuss the Word this leads to an understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven, which is everlasting, and to salvation.