I was tempted to do the Hokey-Pokeymon but I turned myself around.
“Pokemon is just harmles fun.” Really?
First, the bible says we are to redeem the time. If something eats up half our month, that is not redeeming the time. We have to give account to God for how we used our time, talents, and treasures.
If the world is running in one direction, it is usually safe to make a b-line straight in the other direction. Even though I don’t know what a b-line is. Or is it a bee-line?
I wonder if Pokemon says jump, if any of today’s Christians say, “No I don’t have to listen to you Master Pokemon, for I am under grace, not law.”
The fact it is now a craze shows how desperate America is to find itself and how we truly have an identity crisis. The first concern I have is how much this reveals the spiritual vacuum in the heart of America. We have a God shaped hole in our hearts because God wired us to be satisfied in Him and God wired us to worship HIM. HE made the sun out of nothing with only HIS VOICE. That deserves our awe and the focus of our hearts. Not a little yellow animated hamster or whatever Pokemon is. Or anything else we try to replace God with. Better homes and gardens. Sex/drugs/rock-n-roll. Gardening. Golf. Gold. Gandolf. Ghostbusters. Gambling. Go Pokemon.
You will give account on Judgment Day if you did not use your time and talents and treasures for God. Works don’t save you, but when you plug in Jesus Christ into that vacuum, your priorities will shift immediately and the LORD will change your desires, your direction,and your destiny. Anything else is a band aid and keeps you distracted from making sure you are ready for that day.
Are you saved? Are you just as passionate about the Lord Jesus Christ and what he says?
Anything you love more than God is an idol, no matter what it is. We have plenty of American idols to choose from, Pokeman included. The bible says no idolator can enter heaven.
Just look at Pokemon as an example for a desire to worship God but looking in the wrong place. If you can apply that same passion and commitment and love to the God who created the sun, moon, and stars, you’ll find your life, and you’ll find yourself and you will find satisfaction. Keith Richards and the Rolling Stones can’t get no satisfaction because they won’t look to the one that satisfies.
I’m simply hooked on Jesus.
Most folks get hooked on one of the devil’s devices. It comes warm and cute and packaged nicely, like a, um, Pokemon. That seems unfair.
Life doesn’t seem fair at times. The early bird gets rewarded.
The early worm doesn’t.
Life may not be fair, but we need to get to the bible to find out how not to waste it. The devil I find distracts us, and if he can’t distract us, he defeats us and that discourages us.
My Pastor said something interesting that Christians can learn from.
We had a Sunday school split session this past Sunday and he talked to the guys about prayer and temptation.
He said he will have people in his office that had fallen into some sort of besetting sin, or some sort of serious fleshly sin such as pornography. He will ask them about their bible reading. Sometimes there is little bible reading in the time period that leads up to the sins.
But often the person is in their bible regularly and reading daily. When I have fallen back into my sin I can say that is accurate but I never understood why.
Then he said, he’s NEVER had someone in his office testify that they were reguarly praying and having a strong prayer life and falling into sin.
I got to thinking. Prayer humbles us. Bible knowledge alone puffs us up. We tend today to be self sufficient but we want to impress the brethren with our knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up says the bible.
By the grace of God, my prayer life has improved dramatically since then. And so has my passion for God.
We need to get our priorities and pleasures right. Until we are hooked on Jesus, we will be snared by the American idols of this land.
The Bible says Blessed is the nation who’s God is the Lord. America has lost it’s thirst for God and the Pokemon craze is proof of that.
America was great:
When it had the open door and the Great Awakening and 15,000 would gather to hear a George Whitfield. Where America sent out missionaries. Where true independent bible believing churches popped up. When american church goers got sick of the taxes and the abuse and went out to war WITH THEIR PASTORS (at least the Baptists did that!) and fought a professional army AND WON by the GRACE OF GOD.
IF you want the truth about America – read 1) America in Crimson Red by the late James Beller or 2) What Hath God Wrought? by Dr. William Grady.
America is great because and only because of the Christians in America that would not stand against the abuses of America and turned the tide and fought the wickedness of their day.
Today we put up with it and simply complain. To make America Great, we must rise up and stand for truth, stand and be counted, and not fear what men can do to us. No matter what it costs us. And there’s the rub — we aren’t willing to pay the cost our fore-fathers paid but we still want the blessings.
We need to get back to being hooked on Jesus.
Because Eternal LIVES MATTER!
If you are one of those that say Purple or Pink or Polkadot or Pokemon or Green Lives Matter, what I really see is you don’t give a flip about anyone but yourself. In JESUS there is no insecurity over one’s color and we all look the same on the inside. Until the love of Christ reigns in your heart, you will be not able to truly love anyone different than you because it means you must admit you aren’t all that and a bag of chips. You will either feel superior or inferior but when In CHRIST you will be able to love your enemies and know you are accepted in the Beloved so you will be able to truly take a vested interest in those that don’t agree with you.
Salvation ends the selflessness. Jesus said if any man come after me, let him deny himself. The Bible says in the last days perilous times shall come for men shall be lovers of their own selves.
Truth in advertising, really they should be honest and say Only My Life Matters — and the rest of you can go to hell.
Others should be what we care about. Not Pokemon. Not ourselves. But the eternal lives of souls all around us.
And that comes from knowing how weak we really are.
If you are a fundamental Baptist, we need to be more DEPENDENT Independent Funamdental Baptists. Dependent on JESUS CHRIST.
We need to be hooked on Jesus. Not Pokemon!