by Pastor Joseph Cortes So, what does the Bible say about the spiritual temperature in the last days? The answer is sobering. It is not a pretty picture, and it is not the picture many people are presenting today. The Bible does not describe the last days as a time when the whole world suddenly turns to God in a sweeping global revival. It describes something far more serious. It describes spiritual decline, deception, compromise, and a departure from the faith. Jesus Himself raised a searching question in Luke 18:8 when He said, “Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” That is not a question we should pass over lightly. The Lord did not say, “When I come, will I find the whole world full of faith?” He asked whether faith would be found at all. That does not mean there will be no believers when Christ returns, but it does show us the condition of the age. Faith in Jesus Christ will not be the popular thing. Truth will not be loved by the masses. Genuine trust in God’s Word will be rare in comparison to the unbelief, religious confusion, and spiritual deception filling the earth. The classic passage written to the church concerning the last days is II Timothy 3. Paul wrote, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.” He then gives a long description of what people will be like: lovers of their own selves, covetous, proud, blasphemers, unthankful, unholy, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. Then he says something very important in II Timothy 3:5. They will have “a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” That means religion will still exist. Church language will still exist. Spiritual vocabulary will still exist. There will still be meetings, movements, and outward appearances. But the life, truth, and power of God will be denied. That is one of the most dangerous conditions of all—not open atheism, but powerless religion. Not no godliness at all, but a form of godliness without the truth of Christ at the center.

Get Your Flares Out by Pastor Joseph Cortes We are living in a time when the church does not need more couch potatoes for Jesus. We need Christians who would rather burn out than rust out. There are too many rusty Christians sitting around while the world races toward the cliff. There are too many churches babysitting instead of equipping. Too many pastors managing crowds instead of leading the flock. Too many believers have turned church into take, take, take. They want social activities, programs, entertainment, and something to keep the kids busy, but where are the flares? Where is the warning? Where is the burden for souls? I am not against fellowship. I am not against believers gathering and encouraging one another. But if socializing is the main reason people go to church, something is wrong. The church is not a religious social club. The church is not a babysitting unit. The church is supposed to proclaim Christ, teach the Word, strengthen believers, warn sinners, and prepare people for what is ahead. There are too many Christians who have no flares in their hands. They may not be called to preach, but there is no excuse for doing nothing. You can point people to the Word. You can hand someone a card. You can share a message. You can tell them where they can hear about Jesus. You can speak when God gives you an opening. I am going to be honest. At this point in my life, you cannot shut me up. If there is an opening, people are going to hear about Jesus whether they want to or not. And I am finding that people are more receptive now because of the confusion and chaos in this world. People are uncertain. They are concerned about war, nuclear threats, economic collapse, moral insanity, and what the future holds. There are so many avenues now to tell them about Jesus and why they do not need to fear the future if He is the captain of their ship. We know what is coming after this age is done. We know who wins. We know who saves. His name is Jesus Christ.

Pride Has Been the Problem Since the Garden by Pastor Joseph Cortes Pride has been the problem since the beginning. In Genesis 3:1-5, the serpent came to Eve and said, “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” Satan was subtle. He did not start by making an obvious attack. He started by questioning God’s Word. Then he questioned God’s goodness. Eve repeated what God had commanded, and then Satan said, “Ye shall not surely die.” That was the lie. But before the lie came the suggestion that God was holding out on her. Satan said, “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” That is still the same lie today. Satan is still telling people that God is holding out on them. He is still telling people that God’s Word cannot be trusted. He is still telling people that they can become enlightened by breaking away from God. He is still telling people they can define good and evil for themselves. That is the ultimate manifestation of pride: man making himself god in his own eyes. Eve looked at the tree, saw that it was pleasant to the eyes and desired to make one wise, and she yielded. Adam followed. And from that moment on, mankind has been trying to live independently from God. Romans 1:18-20 says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.” Paul says that what may be known of God is manifest in them, because God has shown it unto them. The invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so they are without excuse. God has given human beings knowledge of their Creator. Creation itself preaches. The problem is not that man has no witness. The problem is that man suppresses the truth.

Love Warns Because Danger Is Real by Pastor Joseph Cortes Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-40, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” Then He said, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. But again, we must let God define love. Loving your neighbor does not mean affirming everything your neighbor does. Loving your neighbor does not mean staying silent while your neighbor walks toward destruction. Loving your neighbor means caring enough about their soul to tell them the truth. Leviticus 19:17-18 says, “Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him,” and then it says, “love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.” That is powerful. God connects love with warning. He does not say love means silence. He says if you love your neighbor, you will not let sin destroy him without warning him. Now that does not mean we beat people over the head with the Bible. There are plenty of religious people who have used God’s Word like a club, and that is not what I am talking about. But it does mean love hates what evil does to people so much that it sets aside comfort to warn them. This is where the picture of the flares comes in. Imagine driving down a dark highway at night, and there has been an accident ahead. You cannot see the danger yet, but someone is standing there with flares, waving them, trying to get your attention. Warning. Warning. Warning. Stop. Slow down. Danger ahead. That person is not being hateful. He is not trying to ruin your night. He is trying to save your life. That is what believers are called to do in this world. We are called to stand with the flares of truth and warn people about what is ahead if they remain on the path they are on. In Matthew 5, Jesus said His people are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. But some Christians are stuck in the salt shaker. They have truth, but they are not touching anything. They have light, but they keep it hidden. They do not want to be thought of as weird, extreme, judgmental, or out of control. But what good is salt if it never gets poured out? What good is light if it never shines in darkness? We have to connect with people. We have to love people. We have to warn people. We may not love what they are doing, but we love them enough to tell them about the consequences of staying on that road.

God’s Love Is Humble, Not Selfish by Pastor Joseph Cortes In 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, Paul gives us the character of God’s love. He writes, “Charity [or love] suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Love never faileth.” That is not the kind of love the world usually talks about. That is not sentimental emotion. That is not selfish desire. That is not cheap kindness that refuses to tell the truth. God’s love is patient. It is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast. It is not puffed up. It does not seek its own. It is not easily provoked. It rejoices in truth. It endures. God’s love is not puffed up. God’s love is humble. That alone exposes much of what people call love today. Whether you visit a church or talk to people in the streets, you will find many people who say they are walking in love, but their love does not resemble 1 Corinthians 13. Their love is rude. Their love is selfish. Their love is easily angered. Their love keeps records of wrongs. Their love envies, boasts, and believes the worst about others. I have seen plenty of this in the Christian world. It is not God’s love. It is a cheap imitation. This is one reason so many relationships and marriages fail. I do not usually give much marriage advice, but this needs to be said. You cannot get married to someone hoping they will complete you and make your life perfect. That sounds romantic, but it is not reality. Marriage is not about getting. Let me say that again: marriage is not about getting. It is not even really about some 50/50 arrangement like the world talks about. Marriage is about giving. If you want a marriage that lasts, find someone you can pour your life into and someone who will pour their life into you. See who can out-give and out-love the other. That is far closer to God’s kind of love.