Psalm 127:1  A Song of degrees for Solomon. Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
2  It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.

We are living in very interesting times for sure. We have just received more news of another active shooter situation in Illinois. Six people are dead and more than 20 were injured by the gunman. The governor of the state spoke in front of cameras and stated that he was angry. He stated that it was time to talk about gun violence. He stated that the founders carried muskets and he did not think they would condone the weapons allowed today.
The interesting fact that is overlooked by many people is that a gun is an inanimate object. It does not get up and start shooting on its own. It is not the gun that is the problem. It is the individual who picks up the gun and has evil in their heart and decides to use that gun for harm. That is the situation that is not being addressed.
At the front of our pulpit we have the verses that are at the top of this devotional. We are reminded every time we have services, of the importance of having the LORD build the house. That refers to our local church. It also refers to our own lives. If God is not building our lives, then there will be trouble. Not every lost person picks up a gun and starts shooting at others. Some take knives. Some use drugs and alcohol to try to deal with their stress and guilt. It is by God’s mercy that mankind has not destroyed itself up to this point.
We know that violence is not a new problem. We know that Cain hated his brother Abel, because God accepted Abel’s sacrifice and rejected Cain’s. We know that Cain refused to listen to God’s counsel to him and he murdered his brother. After murdering his brother we see further the hard heart of this man. He did not have access to video games or even rock music or any of the other things that lost people get involved in.
I am not excusing video games and rock music. I am simply pointing out that violence has its roots in the devil. Lost people are influenced by the devil. All people are born lost sinners. Lost people build their lives, but they build them in vain. They may make money and they may have success in other ways, but it is all in vain.
The Bible warns us that in the last days perilous times shall come. We seem to hear of more shootings in recent years. We know that the media likes to play these events for all they can. I listened to an interview with a witness to the scene where the latest shooter was arrested. The reporter had already noted that this arrest took place on a major highway and he immediately suggested that high speeds may have been involved prior to the arrest and that would add another level of danger. This reporter asked the witness if there had been a high speed chase prior to the arrest. The witness let the reporter down. He stated there was no high speed chase and that it was a textbook case with regard to how it all ended.
Who knows what this man was involved in, but as we noted earlier, the fact that he is a lost man is what led him to do what he did.
For those who are reading these devotionals, it is very important that each person know the God of heaven as their own true God and the Lord Jesus Christ as their own personal Saviour and Lord. It is also important that each person be a part of a true local church. The casual nature with which many treat the matter of truth is not good. A person may justify their lax attitude by assessing their own family situation and saying: my family is doing pretty good.
Your family may be doing fairly good in your eyes, but you are of no help to others who need to know the truth. God, in His wisdom and grace, has chosen to work through people to proclaim His Gospel to others. He does not need man. Jesus stated that He could use the rocks to cry out and declare Him as the Messiah and king. He could do that. However, God has chosen to use people. We have the Scriptures. Jesus Christ promised to build His church upon Himself. God is still withholding evil to a degree so that God-fearing people can meet together in true local churches and we can also still talk to others at their homes and by phone and in other ways. These things are being threatened, but we still have that opportunity today.
As I mentioned in our services this past Sunday, a true local church is an essential part of any community. It is of greater importance than having a hospital in a community. We have a hospital in our community but due to the foolish and evil mandates of the governments, they cannot staff that hospital and so it is closed for the summer. Imagine that. We, the taxpayers are paying for that hospital. However, that hospital does not have any patients in it at present and is not staffed to receive even emergency patients.
Our local church is open and we are available to receive anyone who will come. The taxpayers do not fund our church. It is God’s people that support our local church. That is as it should be. The crime and unrest we are witnessing is due to the many who have rejected God’s truth and have chosen to build their lives on lies, rather than on truth.
I ask again that those who are saved be praying for one another. Let us also be faithful in witnessing and praying for neighbours and strangers who need to be saved. Let us be sure we are supporting a good local church in our area, as well as others that are faithfully serving the Lord. The day will soon be here when there will not be any true local churches left on this earth. The buildings will be here, but they will be void of any born again Christians. The world may take them for dance halls and other wickedness. That will be their choice. The antichrist will rule and the world will welcome him with open arms. He will use subtilty to begin his reign. He will soon demonstrate who he truly is. His rule will be far worse than anything this world has ever experienced. Many of those who do get saved during that time will be killed and a few will remain but they will suffer greatly.
God is longsuffering and He is withholding the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to give more people the opportunity to be saved in this current dispensation.
If you are reading this and not saved, today is the right time to be saved. Not because I say so. Rather, because God says so. He is working in your heart right now to convince you of your need to be saved. Turn off your junk music and get away from your social media distractions and listen to Him. Call a godly Christian and talk to them about your need to be saved. Don’t do it as an experiment. Don’t try to cut a deal with God. Turn to God in repentance and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour. Then find a good church in your area and go there. If there is none in your area, then you would be wise to move to an area where there is a good local church. You need to build your life on the truth. You need the fellowship of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and other saints. As you grow in the Lord, you will also have opportunity to invite others to know the true God as well. That is how you build your house on the LORD. You get saved and you serve the Lord as your Saviour and Lord.

Ephesians 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Pastor Bartel