Third Peter: Recent Episodes
Pete Beck III
Messages designed to increase your biblical understanding and help you better follow Christ and his teachings.
I hope you will travel with me down the dusty roads of Israel with Jesus, learning from the Master Fisherman.
We will never know what it is like to lead people to Christ, watch him heal, or see him deliver people from oppression, unless we are willing to get out on a limb by using our God-given authority.
Like an insecure battered wife who returns to her abusive husband over and over again only to suffer further beatings, we cannot keep going back to the the Law in an effort to be "good enough." It cannot help us.
Sometimes it is helpful to be able to define what is a local church, especially in the context of rapidly expanding church planting operations that sometimes take place in areas where the Holy Spirit is gathering a mass harvest of souls. The following is my attempt to do just that.
How could the sins of those long dead, such as King David, and the sins of all who would later be born be included in what Jesus did on the cross, unless it was an eternal once-for-all sacrifice?
Every believer needs to understand the gospel, know its makeup, and be able to share it competently. Imparting this knowledge and charging disciples with the responsibility for sharing the good news is the work of the local church.
I do not think that it is hyperbole to say that teaching followers of Christ to take the plunge into obedience to the Spirit is a top priority in disciple making.
The Big Bang - Heliocentric Theory misrepresents God's creation and testifies that there is no God. Not surprisingly, its primary exponents are mostly atheists who mock those who believe that the Bible is literally true.
The doctrine of the priesthood of all believers states that all believers in Christ share in his priestly status; therefore, there is no special class of people who mediate the knowledge, presence, and forgiveness of Christ to the rest of believers, and all believers have the right and authority to read, interpret, and apply the teachings of Scripture.
The Son of Man revelation is a fault line that divides humanity. We must choose one side or another as we wait for the great unveiling of the truth at his Second Coming.
After Adam's and Eve's rebellion and expulsion from the garden, almost from the beginning, their descendants, like Satan, were not content to remain in our assigned place.
Since the Garden of Eden, humans have been on a quest to throw off God's rule and escape the limitations of his Word.
The battle of the ages is being fought over Genesis because, if it can be shown that it is not literally and actually true, there is no reason to assume that anything else in the Bible is true.
The post The Primary Importance of Genesis Chapter One appeared first on Third Peter.
In my previous article, I described the firmament and what it contains – the sun, moon, and stars. God’s throne is situated above the firmament. From his lofty position above the earth, he watches and sovereignly rules over all things as the Creator, Sustainer, and Lord. It is He who…Continue Reading
The post The Firmament, the Throne, and the Apocalypse appeared first on Third Peter.
Introduction Before becoming convinced that Genesis Chapter One is a literally accurate account of creation and the cosmos, I did not know quite what to think about what the Bible calls the firmament. I didn’t have to consider it much at all since most modern translations render the Hebrew word…Continue Reading
The post The Firmament, the Throne, and the Apocalypse appeared first on Third Peter.
In the meantime, we are encouraged to live with the confident expectation of our glorious eternal state with God.
The post Chapter 82: The Eternal State appeared first on Third Peter.
Our willingness to deny ourselves in the pursuit of Christ and his kingdom indicates how much we treasure the rewards God offers.
The post Chapter 81: Eternal Rewards appeared first on Third Peter.
If we as Christians choose to rely more upon the world's wisdom to guide us in our thinking and actions, rather than upon the written Word and the Holy Spirit, it will put us in danger.
The post The Danger of Being Wise appeared first on Third Peter.
Jesus did not condemn them, and he will not condemn us when we stumble through lack of faith and allegiance to God's Word, but he will correct us and challenge us to believe every single word of God.
The post Are We Willing to Declare Allegiance to Every Word of God? appeared first on Third Peter.
I think a series like this needs an introduction. Why am I writing articles on developing a biblical cosmology?
The post Introduction appeared first on Third Peter.
If Jesus is who the Bible says he is, there is no other way to God and no other way to escape condemnation at the last judgment.
The post Chapter 80: The Last Judgment appeared first on Third Peter.
As Christians we are confronted with the choice between believing God's testimony regarding creation or what so-called science theorizes. I believe we are being tested today in the same way that Satan tempted Adam and Eve. Did God really say? Did he mean what he said?
The post The Genesis Testimony appeared first on Third Peter.
As I attempt to provide a basis for establishing a proper biblical cosmology, I will rely upon certain presuppositions.
The post Presuppositions appeared first on Third Peter.
Here are some resources that I think are very good that should help anyone who is interested in developing a proper biblical cosmology.
The post Resources for Those Wishing to Develop a Biblical Cosmology appeared first on Third Peter.
Since God is a spirit, he is invisible to the natural eye. In order to properly reveal himself to us, he fashioned his creation to reflect an accurate image of his divine attributes and power.
The post Only a Biblical Cosmology Reveals God Properly appeared first on Third Peter.
We pass the fourth big test by learning how to properly relate to and live under delegated authority, trusting that God is bigger than all who have such authority and is at work in their lives, too.
The post Test 4: Grumbling against God’s Appointed Authority – the Traitor in Us appeared first on Third Peter.
The third big test we all will face at one time or another is connected to our choice to be satisfied with God and content with what he is allowing us to experience.
The post Part 3: Putting Christ to the Test – The Rebel in Us appeared first on Third Peter.
Whereas test #1 exposes any remaining idolatry in our hearts; test #2 searches our hearts to ferret out any moral infidelity so that we can confess that to the Lord and be set free.
The post Wipe Out! How to survive life’s four big tests – Part 2, Immorality – The Infidelity in Us appeared first on Third Peter.
Jesus Is the Resurrection The apostle Paul wrote that the resurrection from the dead is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your…Continue Reading
The post Chapter 79: The Resurrection appeared first on Third Peter.
There are four big tests that most of us will encounter on our discipleship journey. Each will reveal some aspect of the condition of our hearts and our devotion to God.
The post Wipe Out! How to survive life’s four big tests – Part 1, Idolatry appeared first on Third Peter.
I have decided that I am okay with being God's fool, but I am no longer willing to be the devil's.
The post A Cosmological Fool for Christ appeared first on Third Peter.
Just as it is crucial that we preach the correct gospel, it is also important to have a correct cosmology; therefore, it does matter what we believe about the shape of the earth.
The post Cosmology and the Heavenly Gospel appeared first on Third Peter.
Mea culpa for not always demonstrating a proper humility in the way I presented my recent teachings on biblical cosmology. I still hold to my convictions and interpretation of God's Word on this matter, but ask forgiveness for any exhibited arrogance and harshness.
The post Mea Culpa appeared first on Third Peter.
Following such a hermeneutic, if God's Word does not line up with accepted "science," then we must accommodate the Bible to it, which is the equivalent of making science Lord.
The post Science is NOT Lord! appeared first on Third Peter.
In order to ascribe to heliocentrism, we must believe some very preposterous things.
The post A Few Preposterous Things Heliocentrists Must Believe appeared first on Third Peter.
I am convinced that the lie that supports all other lies is that God is a liar and his words do not mean what they appear to mean.
The post We Dare Not Ever Agree with Satan the Great Liar appeared first on Third Peter.
The partial preterist viewpoint frees us up to understand Daniel's seventy weeks in a way makes sense historically and prepares us for the imminent return of our Lord. It teaches us to carefully consider how some prophecies have been already fulfilled in many cases, instead of assuming their fulfillment is all in the future. It does not explain everything, but neither do other interpretations. God keeps some things hidden so that we will need to trust in him instead of leaning on our own understanding.
The post Chapter 78: Daniel’s Seventy Weeks appeared first on Third Peter.
One of the more shocking conclusions I have observed is that heliocentrism requires faith in the atheistic Big Bang theory.
The post Belief in Heliocentrism Requires Belief in the Big Bang appeared first on Third Peter.
Here are some resources that I think are very good that should help anyone who is interested in researching the claims of the flat earth position. I plan to update this page when I discover more such material. This list includes biblical explanations and scientific reasons for believing that the…Continue Reading
The post Some Great Resources for Those Wishing to Investigate the Flat Earth appeared first on Third Peter.
Throughout church history the restoration of truth always produces controversy and sometimes persecution by those who wish to suppress the truth.
The post Why I Will No Longer Participate in Suppressing the Truth about the Earth’s Design appeared first on Third Peter.
Any study of end time prophecy should properly begin with the words of our Lord and specifically the Olivet Discourse when he answered three specific questions posed by his disciples.
The post Chapter 77: The Olivet Discourse appeared first on Third Peter.
As a result of the Copernican Revolution, people began to cease thinking biblically about the earth and began to conceive of it as one of the planets - a wandering star, a fallen angel.
The post What If I Told You that Planets Are Fallen Angels? appeared first on Third Peter.
Jesus will raise the dead on the “last day,” and Paul said that the resurrected dead will precede the living saints who will be caught up to heaven. Therefore, there cannot be a rapture ahead of the general resurrection which will take place at the Second Coming.
The post Chapter 76: Introduction to Knowing Jesus as Coming King and Judge appeared first on Third Peter.
If you read this series of articles, you probably already deduced my conclusion: the earth is not a globe as
we have been brainwashed into believing.
The post The Startling and Liberating Conclusion – The Earth Is a Plane appeared first on Third Peter.
Every person will eventually face a crisis that tests our loyalty to God's Word.
The post Loyalty to God’s Word appeared first on Third Peter.
Whatever route we took on our personal journey to the Lord is our testimony.
The post Chapter 75: How to Share Our Personal Testimony appeared first on Third Peter.
Understanding God's design of the world in which we live can liberate us from pervasive deception.
The post Why Understanding God’s Design for the World Is Important appeared first on Third Peter.
Since most people accept that something cannot self-generate from nothing, those who reject the Creator as the source require another "god" to account for the emergence of the universe - gravity.
The post Gravity – the god of the Big Bang Theory appeared first on Third Peter.
When we come to know the one called Truth, our souls find rest from our restless quest.
The post Chapter 73: The Gospel Satisfies Our Thirst for Truth appeared first on Third Peter.
I believe it is time for God-fearing Christians to reaffirm our allegiance to God's Word as our authority on the creation.
The post Reaffirming Our Allegiance to God’s Word appeared first on Third Peter.
Just as the Passover and Exodus effective removed Israel from slavery in Egypt, the cross of Christ and his subsequent resurrection transferred us believers out of Satan’s kingdom into God’s.
The post Chapter 71: The Gospel in Relation to the Passover, Exodus, and Crossing Over into the Promised Land appeared first on Third Peter.
When engaging in this sort of syncretism, something has to give, and it always seems to be our adherence and allegiance to the written Word of God.
The post Repentance from Syncretism appeared first on Third Peter.
When engaging in syncretism, something has to give, and it always seems to be our adherence to the written Word of God.
The post Repentance from Syncretism appeared first on Third Peter.
Once the devil can get a person to go against his or her own sense of right in favor of a convoluted lie, the mind has been captured by deception.
The post Repentance from Embracing the Deception of Evolutionary Theory appeared first on Third Peter.
Once we understand the mechanics of deception, it should make us even more determined to live within the framework God has given to us, using the map and the guide.
The post The Mechanics of Deception appeared first on Third Peter.
Once Adam and Eve poked a hole in the wall of truth that guarded their lives, it opened a flood of deception upon the earth. All of us to some degree or another have become co-conspirators in a giant assault on the truth.
The post The Entrance and Extent of Deception appeared first on Third Peter.
Both the extended time of favor and the cataclysmic day of judgment are part of the gospel message.
The post God’s Coming Judgment upon the Wicked Is Part of the Good News appeared first on Third Peter.
Understanding the covenants will greatly increase our appreciation of Jesus and his finished work on our behalf and can give us new insights into the gospel.
The post Chapter 70: The Gospel and the Covenants appeared first on Third Peter.
When we come to Jesus, the Holy Spirit removes the blindness from our eyes. He opens our deaf ears and heals our hardened hearts, enabling us to see and believe.
The post Chapter 72: The Gospel Opens Blind Eyes appeared first on Third Peter.
We simply cannot rely on human intelligence and ability if we want to be good at relational or any other kind of evangelism.
The post Chapter 73: Relational Evangelism appeared first on Third Peter.
The Bible reveals that God is a Person who is good and loving and who communicates with people.
The post Gospel in a Minute: Jesus Is Alive and Communicates with Us appeared first on Third Peter.
Jesus encouraged us to endure suffering for the gospel, not pin our hopes on a "great escape" called the rapture.
The post Don’t pin your hopes on the rapture. appeared first on Third Peter.
Come… Follow… Fish. Each of the three calls invites us into a deeper relationship with God, and each has a higher personal cost associated with it. Many are called, but few embrace all three.
The post Chapter 69: The Gospel Presented as Three Calls from God appeared first on Third Peter.
Our goal is to present the gospel in such a way that our hearers understand that Jesus is the One for whom they are searching.
The post Chapter 68: Gospel Paradigms appeared first on Third Peter.
Unity is important in the church, family, nation, or really any group, but disunity often, maybe always, accompanies any important new activity or truth coming from God.
The post Disunity Can Be a Sign that God Is at Work appeared first on Third Peter.
The Holy Spirit "blows" or "breathes" upon us when we are born again, reconnecting our dead spirits to God from whom we receive his never ending life.
The post Have You Been Born Again? appeared first on Third Peter.
Christianity is not a religion devised by men as a way to reach God. It is a relationship initiated by God who came looking for us. God knows each of us by name and has personally called us to belong to his family.
The post Has Jesus Called You? appeared first on Third Peter.
Jesus is looking for those who will take the gospel and his healing ministry to the lost and dying.
The post Chapter 47: Lordship Matters – Authority to Heal the Sick appeared first on Third Peter.
Paul wrote that confessing Jesus as Lord is what saves us. (Romans 10:9-10) Adam's and Eve's sin was a renouncing of their submission to God. They chose instead to obey the serpent. It is not surprising, therefore, that the fundamental element of our salvation is the reestablishment of our proper relationship to Christ's lordship.
The post Chapter 32: Lordship Matters – Jesus Is Lord appeared first on Third Peter.
Let us remember that casting out demons is not a power struggle between us and the evil spirit. It is an authority issue.
The post Chapter 46: Lordship Matters – Authority to Cast Out Demons appeared first on Third Peter.
As God's children, we have been given enormous privileges and authority related to sonship.
The post Chapter 31: Christ’s Finished Work – Sonship appeared first on Third Peter.
Is God indeed taking down the mockingbird, the government's false narrative machine? I certainly believe we should pray to that end and do our part to spread the truth.
The post take down the mockingbird… appeared first on Third Peter.
Our glorification will be the final defeat of death and sin's power in our lives and in God’s creation.
The post Chapter 30: Christ’s Finished Work – Glorification Part 2 appeared first on Third Peter.
Glorification, however, is completely in the future, even though God reckons it to already be done.
The post Chapter 29: Glorification appeared first on Third Peter.
The reason many people resort to religion as a means to experience God’s presence is because they have never experienced the reality of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
The post Escape from Religion appeared first on Third Peter.
Relying on money instead of God is rooted in the fear that God will abandon us, which he promises us he will never ever do.
The post Worry about Money and the Fear of Abandonment appeared first on Third Peter.
Peace with God is the root of all other forms of real peace. It is a treasure freely given to all of God's born again children that comes at an incalculable cost to God.
The post The Effect of God’s Kindness Is Peace appeared first on Third Peter.
Every time we come face to face with God's kindness instead of his judgment, it reminds us that Jesus absorbed God's wrath for our sake to make this possible.
The post Encounters with God’s Kindness appeared first on Third Peter.
Nothing makes Jesus happier than to tell us all about his Father's amazing love and the inexhaustible riches of his kindness.
The post The Inexhaustible Kindness of God appeared first on Third Peter.
When we believe a lie, it is a form of idolatry. Lies are meant to destroy us, but the truth sets us free.
The post Believing a Lie Can Kill Us appeared first on Third Peter.
Does Father God delight in us because we do the things that please him, or do we do what pleases him because he delights in us? The Bible gives us the answer: the chicken comes before the egg.
The post The Chicken or the Egg? appeared first on Third Peter.
Sanctification or transformation depends upon changing how we think so that we come into agreement with God's truth.
The post 28: Christ’s Finished Work – Sanctification or Transformation appeared first on Third Peter.
It is important for us to communicate in words, attitude, and demeanor that we love, appreciate, and delight in who others are in Christ, instead of judging them for what they are not.
The post Escaping the Trap of Other People’s Expectations first appeared on Third Peter.
Christ’s Finished Work is a deep, multi-faceted subject, but I believe we can say that the purpose behind all Jesus accomplished on the cross is contained in the one word, "reconciliation."
The post 27: Christ’s Finished Work – Reconciliation first appeared on Third Peter.
Believers now have the authority of Christ that enables us to cast out demons. The Holy Spirit backs up our commands to these evil beings and forces them to obey.
The post 26: Christ’s Finished Work – Redemption from Demonic Oppression first appeared on Third Peter.
Physical healing is part of the atonement just as much as the forgiveness of sins.
The post 25: Christ’s Finished Work – Redemption from Sickness and Disease first appeared on Third Peter.
When earthly fathers speak blessings over their children, it opens a conduit from heaven in their lives.
The post Receiving and Giving Away Three Spiritual Treasures first appeared on Third Peter.
When we are filled with God's Spirit, we have the authority of Christ which overcomes the power of the enemy and the power of the Holy Spirit within us to enforce Christ's authority.
The post 24: Christ’s Finished Work – Redemption from Powerlessness and Fear first appeared on Third Peter.
Spiritual authority derives from God alone, who created all things and consequently has every right to do with his creation as he sees fit. In his wisdom, our Creator delegated some of his authority to Adam, when he commissioned him to govern the earth.
So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it...” Genesis 1:27-28 (NLT) Adam was responsible to use this God-given authority for good, just as his Creator does. Satan, who has no inherent authority, since he is also a created being, desired to have the authority delegated to Adam in order to use it destructively. Satan is a hater and loathed the humans God had created. Perhaps he had an inkling that they were destined to share God's throne one day, something Satan tried to snatch for himself.
God gave Adam the choice to love and work in harmony with him or not. He put both the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden. He was free to eat the former but forbidden to eat the latter. The tree of life would impart eternal life; but the other one, death. Sadly, Adam and Eve chose to go their own way, swallowing the serpent's lie that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would make them like God, allowing them to be independent from him.
The essence of sin is found in this lust to be independent from God.
By submitting to Satan instead of God, they relinquished the delegated authority God had vested in them and turned it over to Satan, thereby becoming his slaves.
Satan uses usurped authority in a completely different way from God. Whereas the Creator imparts life and blessings, the devil only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. (John 10:10)
Once Satan acquired authority over mankind, he set about to destroy us. Since he cannot possibly harm God, he attacks men, women, and especially children, the most defenseless and guileless. He is working to deform and pervert us through sin and deception in order to eliminate as many people as possible from earth and heaven. Essentially, he is working to nullify God's very first commandment, which is to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth.
Those who actively serve Satan today are doing everything possible to keep people from bearing children and raising them to glorify God. Instead he is trying to kill, pervert, and recruit children into his service.
Never before have we seen such things.
Satan can employ his stolen authority and power over us when we surrender to his lies and temptations.
He must continually convince us to chose him and his ways over God and the good news of the gospel - lies over truth and death over life. A case in point is the abortion issue.
Child sacrifice was long ago enshrined in the worship of Chemosh and Molech in the Old Testament. We know from Scripture that such gods or idols represent demonic beings hiding behind the facade. (1 Corinthians 10:19-21) These evil beings have not gone away. All demons serve Satan, including those connected to Chemosh and Molech. They demand the blood of infants. People then willingly sacrificed their children in order to gain some sort of occult spiritual advantage. There is one particularly intriguing passage at which we should look.
When the king of Moab saw that he was losing the battle, he led 700 of his swordsmen in a desperate attempt to break through the enemy lines near the king of Edom, but they failed. 27 Then the king of Moab took his oldest son, who would have been the next king, and sacrificed him as a burnt offering on the wall. So there was great anger against Israel, and the Israelites withdrew and returned to their own land. 2 Kings 3:26-27 (NLT) In this instance, evil power was released against Israel when the king of Moab sacrificed his eldest son to the devil. This man willingly killed the heir to his throne to enlist Satan's power to defeat God's people, which apparently was granted. This was an extreme case which we may consider barbaric, but was it any less gruesome and horrific than modern day mothers choosing to execute over 60 million of their own unborn babies in the United States alone since 1973? The king of Moab wanted victory over his enemies. What do modern Americans want? Most of the time mothers kill their unborn babies to avoid embarrassment, inconvenience, career interruptions, or economic hardship. Most of these women probably have been deceived, as was Eve, into thinking that these babies are not really human beings at all, just blobs of tissue. They do not understand that God says he knows us before the creation of the world and personally forms us in the womb. (Jeremiah 1:5) Those unborn infants may be just tissue to these mothers, but to God they are beloved children. Some have declared that they rejoice in their abortions, but many others rue having aborted their child or children. Thankfully, God offers forgiveness, if we turn to him with a repentant heart.
Not only does Satan kill and destroy, he also steals. One way he accomplishes this is through homosexuality and transgenderism. If we accept the premise that God created us to bring glory to himself and joy and fulfillment to us, how could we ever believe that he would create humans who somehow were mis-sexed or mis-gendered? It is not surprising that atheists might come to such a conclusion, since they believe humans are an imperfect accident of evolution. If we came to be purely by random chance, how can we have any confidence at all that we are what we are supposed to be? In fact, how can we have any confidence in anything? But if God created us, as the Bible records, and what he created was "good," then we have been made perfectly in line with his benevolent will and purpose.
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. 17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! 18 I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me! Psalm 139:13-18 (NLT) It is obvious to any thoughtful person that our reproductive organs were given to us to bring new humans into the world. In the process they also bring pleasure, joy, and fulfillment to us, a wonderful blessing from a gracious Creator. Their chief purpose is the multiplication of humanity, as commanded in Genesis.
So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.” Genesis 1:27-28 (NLT) It is obvious that abortion is a blatant attempt to circumvent this commandment. Homosexuality, on the other hand, is a more roundabout way to defeat God's purposes. Sin has caused a great amount of trauma, damage, and perversion of God's creation and purpose. As a result of Adam's first sin, because of the nature of inheritance, we are born into this world with a predisposition to sin called the "flesh" or sin nature in the Bible. Some of us are bent toward anger, fear, alcoholism, etc.
All of us are skewed sexually by sin, some more than others. It's all part of Satan's evil scheme to pervert what God made beautiful.
To take the "easy" way out by claiming that God deliberately created some of us with a desire for others of the same sex makes him appear to be unjust and slanders his integrity. Sin has done this, and the lie is being propagated that this is normal and a good thing. People are enormously susceptible to lies, especially when they allow us to do what we wish. These lies are designed to convince us to give ourselves over to sin instead of resisting it with God's help. The warning issued to Cain still stands.
You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” Genesis 4:7 (NLT) We all must engage in resisting whatever sin easily besets us. We all have some areas which are more troubling to us than others. In the case of homosexuality, using basic logic, God would not create people in a way that sets them up to violate his first commandment to be fruitful and multiply. This is a ploy of the devil, which seems to be gaining momentum, which must be renounced and overcome with God's help, just like any other sinful propensity. I am not making light of this. Sin is a human condition. Overcoming it cost Jesus his life, and it will cost us as well, but with God's help we can be victorious.
Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. 13 Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 14 Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. Romans 6:12-14 (NLT) The claim that God puts the souls of men into women's bodies and vice versa also takes a swipe at God's benevolence and wisdom. God would not do that, but the devil seeks to convince us that this is the case. Pagan religions have long promoted transgenderism. We know that the demons behind these false gods report to the devil. Ashtoreth, an ancient female deity whose worship and cult goes back thousands of years, claimed to have the power to transform men into women. Her followers engaged in all sorts of sexual perversion. The devil seeks to take God's benign and beautiful purpose for sex in marriage and mutilate it into something ugly and defiling, just as he promotes the mutilation of sexual organs in the quest for abandoning how God made us to become something else.
When we rebelliously or naively abandon God and the purpose for which he created us, we open the floodgates of evil and confusion.
So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. 25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved. Romans 1:24-27 (NLT) That being said, there is hope. God cannot be defeated, and his plan for the people he created will yet come to pass. That is why he sent his Son, Jesus the Messiah, to wrest delegated authority back from Satan into the hands of man once again. The Book of Revelation gloriously announces this turn of events.
Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven: “The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.” 16 The twenty-four elders sitting on their thrones before God fell with their faces to the ground and worshiped him. 17 And they said, “We give thanks to you, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who always was, for now you have assumed your great power and have begun to reign. Revelation 11:15-17 (NLT) Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he told his disciples that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him. (Matthew 28:18) Jesus shares this authority with his born-again people in the church. Consequently Satan no longer has authority in our lives, and his influence in the rest of the earth will soon be terminated.
When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!” 18 “Yes,” he told them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning! 19 Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you. 20 But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.” Luke 10:17-20 (NLT) Let us remember that our ultimate battle is a spiritual one (Ephesians 6:12) between the kingdom of God and the realm of darkness and evil ruled by Satan.
We understand that even though Christ dealt a death blow to Satan and his kingdom when he rose from the dead, God in his wisdom has permitted us, his people, to be part of the "clean up operation" here on planet earth. It is our Lord's intention that we his people will have the privilege of crushing Satan under our feet (Romans 16:20), just as he used Moses to crush Pharaoh.
All will be over when Jesus appears in the clouds with great glory, just as he promised. Until then, we are living through an intense contest between two opposing kingdoms for the hearts and minds of people. Each kingdom is enlisting the consent of people to be governed by their respective kings.
God's kingdom is enlarged as more and more people declare allegiance to the true King, Jesus the Messiah.
The gospel is a proclamation that God will forgive the rebelliousness of those who repent for serving self and Satan. He will transfer them into his glorious kingdom, if they will accept his offer to be reconciled to God through Christ.
We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, 12 always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. 13 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.Colossians 1:11-14 (NLT)The acknowledgement that Jesus is Lord, therefore, is the goal of the gospel and the undoing of our alliance with Satan.
As more and more people consent to be governed by the Lord Jesus, Satan's power and authority on earth is further weakened. Therefore, the proclamation of the gospel is our greatest spiritual weapon. The door is still open for people to change sides and come back to God. Which side are you on? Time is running short. When Jesus appears in the clouds as he promised, the time for deciding will be over. Choose life and God now, before it is too late.
PrayerO God, forgive me for allying myself with Satan. I did not understand what I was doing, but now I see. I choose to surrender my life to the Lord Jesus. I receive forgiveness for my sins, eternal life, and reconciliation to you, Father God. Thank you for giving me your Holy Spirit to live in and through me. Use me to help others escape from the kingdom of darkness. Amen.
Over the years I have asked many people this important question. If you were to die today, would you go to heaven? The usual answers are: "I hope so," "No," and "Yes." The follow up question helps me to know how to proceed in the conversation. "Why do you think that?" Some respond by saying that they feel that they are basically good people. Others say that they go to church or try not to hurt anyone. Those who have heard the gospel and understand it reply that they have put their faith in Jesus to save them. Some who say that they have believed in Jesus are not sure whether they will go to heaven. Does God want us to be sure, or does he hold us in suspense in order to motivate us to keep on the "straight and narrow?" This begs a larger question, can we be truly saved and then lose that salvation, or are we permanently saved once we are born again? If the former is true, then we cannot know for sure if we are going to heaven until our last breath is exhaled, even if we are believers. If the latter is correct, then perhaps our eternal destiny can be known while we still live and breathe here on earth.
In his first letter, John wrote that we can know for sure.
I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. 1 John 5:13 (NLT) This verse hinges on the meaning of two words: believe and eternal.
Faith consists of at least four components: revelation, trust, allegiance, and obedience.
It is not mere mental assent to a set of doctrinal facts, as some suppose.
Faith is the result of an interaction in our hearts between the Word of God and the Holy Spirit.
The words of God carry within them an explosive capability to release revelation and faith. The Spirit of God takes the Word of God and "sparks" a divine internal "explosion," which results in our being able to "hear" or truly understand, receive, believe, and respond to what God says or what is written in the Bible. Some people call this interaction the "rhema" word of God, as differentiated from the written or logos word of God. The key thing I want us to grasp is that people can read or hear what is written in the Bible without any attendant revelation or faith. Unless the Spirit of God is at work in a heart that is open and receptive, God's words fall on deaf ears.
For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’ Matthew 13:15 (NLT) When an open heart truly hears and believes God's Word, a trust in God forms. This is because we begin to see or understand who God really is and what he has done for us and will do. Love for and loyalty to God follows, along with a developing obedience.
Real faith always produces obedience, even if it takes a while to develop. Faith without loyalty and obedience to God is not genuine faith. Probably it is mere mental assent or an emotional response without any substance. Jesus spoke of this in his parable of the sower and the seed.
The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. Luke 8:13 (NLT) Since faith grows out of a revelation of who God truly is, faith results in our knowing God.
This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. John 17:3 (NASB) This is a spiritual knowing. It is one thing to know about God and quite another to truly know him. It is akin to how a married couple comes to know one another after making their vows. Sex in marriage results in a deep "knowing" that establishes a strong emotional and spiritual bond and, when everything is working properly, children or "fruit." Our knowing God is in the spirit as a result of our spirits and God's becoming one (1Cor. 6:17), which allows us to commune with him and know him.
Knowing God produces spiritual fruit in our lives called the fruit of the spirit. Our fruit will also be new people coming into the kingdom of God as a result of our testimony.
Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. Romans 7:4 (ESV) When the Holy Spirit comes into our lives when we believe, he bears witness with our spirits that we are God's children.
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, Romans 8:15-16 (ESV)Now that we have explored the meaning of "believe," let's think about the word "eternal". Its meaning is clear based on other teachings of Jesus. On many occasions, he taught his followers that those who believe in him will never die.
Simply put, having eternal life means we will never die, or as our Lord said in John Chapter Five, we have passed from death to life.
Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. John 5:24 (NASB) This important verse also tells us that those of us who truly believe in him will never be condemned to death for our sins. Jesus already took our condemnation upon himself at the cross. A debt never has to be paid twice. As a result, we have already passed from the realm of death into eternal life.
Those who truly believe in Jesus already have eternal life and will never die.
Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?” John 11:25-26 (NLT) Even though our pre-resurrection bodies will eventually cease to function, since they are still part of the old order of things because of Adam's sin, the spirit within us, the new creation (2 Cor. 5:17) which has already been born into God's kingdom, will never die. It cannot because it is united with God's Spirit. (1 Corinthians 6:17) It has passed from death to life and from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's Son. (Colossians 1:13) We are now seated with Christ at God's right hand. (Colossians 3:1-4) He is in us, and we are in him. (John 14:20) As children of God, we are part of the family of God forever. (John 8:35)
The Holy Spirit is God's seal of ownership that he puts on all who belong to him.
And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him. Ephesians 1:13-14 (NLT) God knows those who belong to him.
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, 29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.” John 10:27-30 (NLT) So do the angels and the demons.
Not only does the Spirit mark or seal us as God's own possession, he is a type of down payment or earnest money guaranteeing that God will finish what he began in our lives.
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Philippians 1:6 (NLT) When we are born again, we receive the first installment of our "great salvation." This part of our salvation might be called justification and is based on Christ's past finished work on the cross. After being born again, we begin a daily process of being transformed so that our thoughts, words, and actions come into greater conformity with what is already true in our spirits. Some call this sanctification. It is a process requiring fresh grace or help from God moment to moment. The last installment will happen at the resurrection when our Adamic bodies will be transformed into new spiritual bodies that will never die.
The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit. 46 What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. 47 Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. 48 Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. 49 Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man. 1 Corinthians 15:45-49 (NLT) Ephesians 1:14 tells us that the Holy Spirit is given as a pledge to those who were purchased by God and who now belong to him.
God purchased us by using the precious blood of his Son. We no longer belong to ourselves.
Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NLT) To conclude, our wonderful salvation consists of three parts that work together to convince us that we indeed have been forgiven, saved, given eternal life, and belong to God.
For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree... 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself... 1 John 5:7,10 (ESV)The blood is the price paid for our salvation. God the Father chose us from before the foundation of the world to be his children. (Ephesians 1:4-5) He sent his Son Jesus to die for our sins, shedding his precious blood in the process, which was the price paid to satisfy the wrath of God against our sins, provide forgiveness, allow Christ's righteousness to be given to us in a great exchange, reconcile us to himself, give us eternal life, and make us his children.
The water refers to our declaration of faith and allegiance to Jesus our Lord which takes place at water baptism. God declared his love for us by sending his Son. (John 3:16) We declare our love for him by confessing him before men. This confession agrees with what God did for us through the blood of his Son.
The Spirit is God's seal of ownership in our lives which inwardly testifies that we belong to him. He is the source of life and all blessings we have in Christ. He lives Christ's life through us, something we could never accomplish on our own.
When we put our faith in Christ and his finished work, confess him before men, and receive the Spirit, these three things work together to convince us that we belong to God, have eternal life, and that God will indeed raise us from the dead as he promised.
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. 1 Peter 1:3-5 (NLT)
Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. Psalms 34:5 (NLT)Shame can be either a painful negative emotion for having done something specific that was wrong of foolish, or it can be a general pervasive negative emotional state resulting from a chronic sense of self-reproach or sense of failure. The latter may originate in childhood and is more difficult to alleviate. Some of our shame is well-deserved. If we sin against God and others, shame can be the consequence. It certainly was for Adam and Eve.
The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. Genesis 3:6-7 (NLT) Sin reveals the unseemly side of us that most of us wish to conceal, as did Adam and Eve.
When the shame of our sin is exposed, we usually try to hide.
This can make relating to others a big challenge, since they/we often go to great lengths to prevent being known in certain areas in which we might feel ashamed. We anticipate that, if we are truly known, we may be rejected, which is sometimes the case, it turns out. As a result, sometimes we grow to like or love someone based on the façade presented to us, rather than the real person. This is unnerving to the person who is hiding because of the fear of one day being exposed. This kind of hiding can involve big issues or small. Eventually who we really are will surface, however, and that is when relationships get tested. This process can end in disillusionment, when we get rid of our illusions about the person and face the truth. This is often a necessary step in building a great relationship or marriage.
Deep friendships and great marriages can happen when people take down the façade and continue to love one another despite knowing the other person’s weaknesses and sin.
Conversely, friendships and marriages can rip apart if the deception and resulting disillusionment are too great. This can also happen in a church.
Most of the time we do not truly know a person until after we have a disagreement with them or go through a crisis together. How we weather those storms can more perfectly reveal the nature and depth of our relationship. One of my mentors once told me that he never truly trusted a person until after he had a fight with him. Whenever a new person or family joins our church, I am usually excited to get to know them. My hope is that they will prove to be good friends and valuable assets to the kingdom. In the back of my mind, however, is the realization that one day they may turn out to be just the opposite.
Disappointment and disillusionment are risks we take when we dare to love people.
There are countless numbers of believers who are drifting with no church home because at some point they were hurt and disillusioned by members of some local church. This is a very sad commentary. Part of the problem is that they were not prepared to encounter these things. If we are going to survive and thrive in a very sinful world, we must come to terms with the fact that people are not always who they pretend to be.
One person who is incapable of being disillusioned is God.
God knows us completely and anticipates every thought, world, and action we will ever take. Nothing we ever do surprises him.
O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. 2 You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. 3 You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. 4 You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD. 5 You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand! Psalm 139:1-6 (NLT) God’s omniscience makes it even more remarkable and encouraging that he chooses people to belong to him even before they are born.
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. Ephesians 1:3-5 (NLT) Adoption is never by accident. It is an intentional act of love. Every child, whether biological or adopted, is a treasure. Parents may have some idea of who their biological children are, but the full revelation comes over time. Adoptive parents have less idea of who their children may be, since they usually have no idea what family traits may have been passed down. But God knows everything about all of us. He will never step back in disgust or disappointment after we make a huge misstep or sin, thinking that he made a mistake in choosing you or me.
God knew ahead of time all we would ever think, say, or do, and still chose to love us. This is a big antidote to shame.
Abandonment and rejection are at the root of much shame. These two things signify that the other person is of little value. Sometimes the reason for the abandonment or rejection is understood; sometimes, not. In the latter case, the affected person is left to imagine the reason. Little children are quick to assume blame, thinking that there must be something wrong with them. This can lead to the development of a pervasive since of shame mentioned in my opening definition.
Sometimes shame can be associated with sinful things we have done or were done to us. People who commit sexual abuse, for example, should feel shame for their actions; that is, until they experience the forgiveness and cleansing provided by our Lord Jesus. Children who are preyed upon also experience a sense of shame in many cases, even though the abuse was not their fault. Unfortunately, many predators tell their young victims that it was their fault, establishing a “lie-based stronghold” in that young one’s mind. This sort of lie must be replaced with the truth in order for shame to be eradicated.
Whether our shame was earned through our own sinfulness or improperly thrust upon us by some predator, Jesus has done everything necessary to set us free.
When Jesus hung naked upon the cross, enduring scorn, rejection, abandonment, injustice, and disgrace, he took that shame on our behalf, along with the shame attached to our sin. Just as He carried our sin and guilt to the cross, He also bore our shame there.
...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2 (NASB) Because He carried our shame, we do not have to bear it. Here are some promises.
"Fear not; you will no longer live in shame. The shame of your youth and the sorrows of widowhood will be remembered no more, 5 for your Creator will be your husband. The LORD Almighty is his name! He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth. 6 For the LORD has called you back from your grief—as though you were a young wife abandoned by her husband," says your God. 7 "For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will take you back. 8 In a moment of anger I turned my face away for a little while. But with everlasting love I will have compassion on you," says the LORD, your Redeemer. Isaiah 54:4-8 (NLT)But the LORD will save the people of Israel with eternal salvation. They will never again be humiliated and disgraced throughout everlasting ages. Isaiah 45:17 (NLT) Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame." 1 Peter 2:6 (NKJV) But that is now. Did Jesus ever liberate anyone from shame during his three-year itinerant ministry? The answer is "Yes!" He set free the demoniac, who endured the shame and disgrace attached to his condition. He was forced to live alone in the tombs away from society. Jesus healed lepers who had to isolate themselves and cry out "unclean" whenever they moved about. Jesus allowed the adulteress in John Chapter 8 to walk away forgiven and with dignity after rescuing her from those who would have stoned her to death for her publicly exposed sin. He forgave and restored Peter, who shamed himself and his Lord by denying him publicly three times. Jesus was big on delivering people from shame then and continues to be to this day.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Hebrews 13:8 (NLT) Therefore, we who follow Christ must believe that our shame has been carried away by Our Lord Jesus Christ and we no longer must bear it. Jesus came to liberate his followers from shame. To believe and live out anything less is unbelief. We must throw off any oppressive weight of shame by faith in Christ's finished work on the cross.
Now we have the privilege of honoring the One who was shamed for our sake.
We should make it our aim to honor and glorify God by putting our full trust in him and his promises and by boldly declaring the Gospel and name of Christ without fear of any shame the world may attempt to thrust upon us for doing that. If we are proud of our Lord, he will return the favor at the Last Judgment.
Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven. Matthew 10:32-33 (NLT) Let’s trust the Lord to help us to be bold witnesses for Christ. Whenever we may fall short, let’s quickly repent and receive forgiveness and cleansing from our sin and shame and have another go at it.
Recently someone I know suggested that if one gets too involved in politics, it brings into question his or her devotion to Christ. My first thought was, "who authorized you to be the judge of another person's heart"? All of us are prone to judge others. It's part of the human condition. Here is what Paul wrote about it.
Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? They are responsible to the Lord, so let him judge whether they are right or wrong. And with the Lord’s help, they will do what is right and will receive his approval. Romans 14:4 (NLT)Paul said in another place that he did not even judge himself. He left that up to the Lord, the only one who sees perfectly into our hearts and motivations. (1 Corinthians 4:3)
At times we get the idea that other people must measure up to the standard we set for them. One definition of a legalist is someone who demands everyone else come up to the level of righteous behavior he thinks he has attained. We like to do that to other people, but hate it when it is done to us. But God makes it clear that only he can adequately see into the heart and properly judge us. (1 Samuel 16:7) We tend to judge ourselves by our good intentions and others by their actions.
Even a leader as great as Moses failed in this area. Let's not forget how reluctant he was to take on the leadership of Israel to guide them out of Egypt. He came up with all kinds of excuses, but finally he agreed. He should have been merciful to his people's reluctance to follow God, but he became judgmental of them toward the end of their desert wanderings, which cost him the privilege of being able to lead them into the promised land. (Numbers 20:10-13)
When leaders judge the the people under their care, they stop properly representing God and may reap the judgment they sow.
This begs the question, is it even possible to measure our own or others' devotion to Christ? What standard should we use? A great diagnostic question I sometimes ask is, "Are you doing enough for the Lord?" The answer will tell a lot about how someone understands what Christ has done for them. A friend of mine recently told me that he believed he had done enough that day. Naturally I asked him how did he know? He gave the perfect answer: he felt he had done what the Holy Spirit showed him to do that day.
The Bible says that Jesus fulfilled all the requirements of the Law on our behalf. (Romans 10:4) He measured up perfectly to God's holy standard so that we do not have to do so. Therefore, we begin each day with an A+ on our spiritual report card. Now all that remains is for us to follow the leading of the Spirit, not to measure up, but simply for the joy of it.
Have you ever noticed that people who really enjoy their work usually go above and beyond what is required or expected? I have a friend who loves woodworking. He builds furniture for people and charges far less than what one would expect considering his labor. He does it because he loves his work. He refuses to cut corners even though he isn't getting a proper return on his investment of time and effort. He produces a very good product because he loves and is good at what he does.
I spend quite of bit of time writing. For some people, writing is difficult and unpleasant; so, they don't do much. For me writing comes fairly easily and is very satisfying. For that reason, I am happy to spend whatever time it takes to write and rewrite an article like this one because it brings me satisfaction and joy. No one is making me do this. I certainly am not getting rich. Because I love to write, I spend time to do it as well as I can and hope it benefits others and somehow glorifies the Lord.
Paul wrote that his labor in the gospel was done because of love.
For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (NIV) Certainly not everything Paul did was fun, but he loved what he did because he loved his Lord and deeply appreciated all that Jesus did for him. Paul said that he worked harder than his contemporaries, but gave all the credit to God.
But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace. 1 Corinthians 15:10 (NLT) Jesus also did his work for the joy of it. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews wrote:
We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. Hebrews 12:2 (NLT) Someone once said that, if you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life. Paul and Jesus worked very hard doing what they loved. Love compelled or motivated them to expend themselves for the Father's and our sake.
I have never met a missionary who did not love missions. God seldom calls us to go against how he made us. Some women are tremendous mothers because they absolutely love being a mom. It is certainly not easy work, but love motivates them to be excellent. They take joy in their calling. Some fathers do a great job being a dad because they love their kids and greatly value having that role.
Those who resent what they do rarely go the "extra mile," and they will certainly not inspire others. However, when someone loves what he does and goes above and beyond what is expected or required, his enthusiasm becomes contagious.
The elder brother of the prodigal son faithfully served his father, but not for the joy of it. His resentment bubbled up when his father blessed his younger repentant brother. Many of us Christians, sadly, are like the elder brother. We resent those in the church who do not seem to work as hard as we think we do because we are serving for the wrong reason. When love motivates us, we will joyfully serve whether or not anyone else does or not. We realize that we too are by nature reluctant to obey God at times; so, we extend mercy to others who have yet to "see the light." People generally respond to our tone as much as they do to our words. If we are joyful in our service, we will more be more likely to inspire others.
No one likes to be "guilted" into obedience. God loves a cheerful giver, not someone who obeys merely because they are under duress. (2 Corinthians 9:7)
As a great man of God once said, "Expect the best from God and the worst from people, and you will never be disappointed."
Can we know if we are doing enough for the Lord? By now I hope you see that this is the wrong question. First of all, Jesus has done it all for us already. Secondly, how can we even measure our devotion and performance, since only God can see into the heart? We are not even adequate to judge ourselves. Thirdly, what right do we have to make that judgment? Only the Accuser of the Brethren (Revelation 12:10) enjoys pointing out our deficiencies. God reserves to himself that responsibility, and the Bible says he is our advocate, not someone who condemns us. (Romans 8:33-34)
Perhaps a better question might be what is it that we truly love to do, and how can we translate that into blessing others and glorifying the Lord?
Do we love talking to people? How then can the Holy Spirit help us to nudge conversations toward the Lord? Do we love to be hospitable? How can that be used to make people feel welcome and loved? Do we love to fix things? How can we serve our neighbor in that way? Do we love to cook? How can we bless people with that gift and skill? Do we love to play golf? How can we use that sport to talk to people about Christ? Do we love to work with wood? How can we use that skill to make connections with people and bless them? Do we love to kayak, camp, hunt, fish, sew, clean, do yard work... The list can go on and on.
You get the point. If we can serve others doing what we love to do, we will never resent or avoid it.
I have known someone who regularly shared the gospel in a public setting, who told me that seeing results was not his concern, only being obedient. I am fairly certain that he saw little fruit because people quickly pick up on whether or not we love them. His demeanor did not exude love. If we don't care if someone comes to the Lord, why on earth should we bother? How can we properly represent Christ who laid down his life for his enemies? If we share the gospel out of a sense of duty, it will be less than inspiring to the one listening to our message. We need to realize that how we come across is an advertisement for what we share. We should never share the good news about Jesus merely to check off another task in the hope of eventually "doing enough." We should share because we are excited about the Lord and want more people to know and love him as we do.
People will likely be more open to our message when they observe excitement and enthusiasm in the speaker.
Some of us pray only because we hope to get something from God for our efforts, and the Lord understands that. Sometimes our aspirations are quite noble and sometimes selfish. We may put in time in prayer in the hope that God will pour out revival. We may think that we have to earn it. But shouldn't our motivation be something even higher? What if we prayed simply because we love to be in God's presence? How would we like it if our spouse or child only came to us when they wanted ask us for something, but did not care to spend time with us otherwise? Isn't that how many of us treat prayer?
It all boils down to our motivation. God's motivation in all of this is crystal clear. He loves us past comprehension, wants to be with us, and wants the absolute best for us. King David discovered the joy of being in God's presence. Here is a psalm he wrote, perhaps as a young man.
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16:11 (ESV) These are not the words of a resentful, dutiful servant. David did not worship God when he tended sheep in the wilderness because someone made him do it. He did it for the sheer joy of being with God. Worshiping and spending time with God seemed to be one of his chief desires, at least when he was at his best. His love for God propelled him into worship, psalm writing, fighting God's enemies, and government service. David was exceptional at most everything he did because, I believe, his love for God motivated him to give his very best. As was the case with Paul, he no longer lived for himself, but for God.
Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. Colossians 3:16-17 (NLT) We see a progression here. Spend time with the Lord, in his Word and in worship, because we love him, and then we will be inspired and able to heartily and joyfully serve him and others as he directs.
Like us, David and Paul had their ups and downs. No one is perfectly consecrated all of the time, except for Jesus. We should not beat ourselves up when we fail. Since Jesus has already made us measure up, that is not a concern. The only thing we really should focus on is growing in our love for God and others. When love motivates us, we just naturally go the extra mile.
So instead of asking, "are we doing enough," perhaps we should first thank Jesus for doing enough on our behalf and then ask him to so work in us so that we love him and other people more.
Perhaps we should follow David's example and spend quality time with the Lord in the Word, worship, and prayer. Then perhaps we will find ourselves expending ourselves out of love for God and others, and no one will be able to rate our performance, because love cannot be measured, except by God, the one whom we serve and who loves us past comprehension.
Recently I sensed the Holy Spirit guiding me to read and study Solomon's Ecclesiastes. It is a sort of "dark" cynical look at life from a secular vantage point for the most part, not a place you would expect to find something life giving. Was I wrong!
I have reached the age when I find myself looking backward in an assessment of my life, to some extent. Even if I reach the age of my parents, I am now in the last quarter of my earthly existence. Each day could be my last one here on planet earth; so, it's a good thing to take stock of things in the hope of making my remaining days the best possible. In this Solomon and his father King David agree with me. We do not look backward in nostalgia or regret, hopefully, but to learn. I would like to think that what I have learned thus far has prepared me to finish well. How about you?
I have pastored Liberty Church / LifeNet for going on 34 years. Before that, I was an elder and assistant pastor at my father's church in Greensboro for a number of years. In other words, I have been at this for most of my adult life. The church growth movement entered the scene during the seventies and eighties, which introduced a new sort of competitiveness among local churches. It became the goal of pastors to engineer a growing church, usually at the expense of neighboring churches. New Christians were not coming into the kingdom in record numbers; so, if a church enjoyed astronomical growth, it was because people were leaving their former churches to join the growing church. In general people want to feel good about themselves, and being part of a "happening" church can help with our self-image. It's like pulling for a winning team. Everyone likes to win.
All sorts of methods and strategies were employed to insure growth, so much so that the idea of church franchises came into being. Church networks figured out how to blitz an area with advertising and launch a new fully funded church plant with a core of committed people which would be up and running in no time. I came to view these behemoths as "vacuum cleaner" churches because they were sucking up members of other churches by the droves. It would be like Walmart moving into an area and sucking customers away from the more traditional "mom and pop" stores. The movement toward huge has been a part of our society for a long time now.
For smaller churches to survive, they had to learn how to fill a niche, so to speak. For many, it was the promise of real community, which is more likely to happen in smaller groups. For charismatic churches, we could say that our churches were open and encouraging to the gifts of the Spirit, something megachurches shied away from to avoid offending the uninitiated. Every church seemed to be in competition for members, which harmed unity among pastors. Large church pastors sometimes looked down on small church pastors. Small church pastors were suspicious of the motives of megachurch pastors. Working together became difficult if not impossible. Even small churches competed among themselves for members. Among charismatic churches, following the latest spiritual "fad" might be a way to draw people. It had a wearying effect on me over the years as I watched people come and go in their search for something better than what we offered. Eventually I realized that I had had enough.
The last significant exodus from our church happened after we made the decision to become more "missional". That is, we decided that making disciples would be our main thrust, since that is what Jesus commissioned us to do. We began to rethink how we did church and move toward a model that focused on helping people to become more intentional in their pursuit of discipleship. That required us to try to adequately define discipleship. What does it mean to be a disciple? I came to the conclusion that it meant following Christ and fishing for people.
We have been doing this for about twelve years now. Eventually we got rid of our building and began to meet in homes and other venues, believing that small groups offered the best opportunity to build solid relationships and influence our communities. We plunged into trying to impact our neighborhoods in various ways through friendship building, ministry projects such as doing yard work for needy people, hospitality, neighborhood watch creation, praying and ministering to people, etc. Over the years we saw some good fruit from this activity, but overall it was disappointing how few people seemed to want to join us in our quest to build an authentic community of disciples in a small group setting. Tradition is a huge influence, and not having a building made some regard us as a kind of cult. A lot of people expressed their liking for the idea of what we are doing, but few were willing to make the commitment. We grew little by little, but usually it was with people who just seemed to find us, rather than the people we pursued.
Then Covid hit, which effectively put an end to most outreach. People got used to being holed up at home and would look at you suspiciously if you simply showed up at their door. Our small groups continued to meet after a very brief time of Zooming, but some of our folks were still skiddish about going maskless and being in small groups. Many of us caught Covid and survived, even the ones who were jabbed. Eventually less people feared the dread disease and our groups are running as before the outbreak.
If Covid did nothing else positive for us, it got us all off the treadmill of trying hard to be a "successful" church. We were just glad to be with one another on this challenging journey called life.
This January we are in the process of fasting and praying for LifeNet. We are asking the Holy Spirit to speak to us as individuals, families, and as a church, and that brings me back to Ecclesiastes. I have been pastoring long enough that I have done most everything there is to do to grow a church. In fact, I am a sort of church growth expert, I tell people, because I have helped churches all over our area to grow. Many of our former members are happily ensconced elsewhere, as other churches' members are now with us. We have tried most church growth strategies and found them wanting. Like Solomon, I can say.
Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content. Ecclesiastes 1:8 (NLT) I see people who are not content in their marriages, their jobs, their ministries, or their churches. I decided a long time ago that it is impossible to satisfy the needs of discontented people; so, I gave up trying. I truly enjoy being with people who are content in God's love and how God made them, who they are in life, and with the people around them that they love. Yes, I still want to share the good news of what Jesus did for us to reconcile us to his Father. Yes, I still love teaching the Bible and ministering in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Yes, I still have a heart for lost and hurting people, but I do not want to try to make discontented people happy any more. Only God can do that.
This brings us to the whole idea of what it means to be content. Solomon shared what he thought brought contentment.
Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life. 19 And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God. Ecclesiastes 5:18-19 (NLT) Some of us are so engrossed in the pursuit of what we do not have that we fail to enjoy and appreciate what we do have. What a waste. I could lament that our church has never grown very large or I can rejoice in the wonderful family of friends that we have become. We can see life as a glass half empty or half full.
Contentment begins with appreciation for what we have.
That is a huge key to relational happiness as well. It is a very grave mistake to focus on another person's faults because, if we are not careful, that is all we will be able to see. Likewise, we can fault find at work and at church. It never ends well because we always reap what we sow.
When we know we are loved and make it our goal to love others, we find a large measure of contentment.
John wrote about this in his first letter.
We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. 18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. 19 We love each other because he loved us first. 1 John 4:16-19 (NLT) Earlier when I tried to define discipleship, I failed to mention love, which is a surprising oversight, since Jesus said that people will know we are his disciples by our love for one another. (John 13:35) How could I have missed that? Was it because I was still too focused on doing the work of making disciples rather than on being one? Was it because I was still pursuing something God has given to us? Was it because I was still missing the main point? Most likely. I was focused on teaching people the mechanics of being a disciple without properly emphasizing the heart of it.
When we are not sure that we are loved by God for who we are rather than for what we do, it engenders discontent. Picture a cat purring as it nestles up next to his owner. That is a great example of contentment.
God wants us to be thoroughly content in his love for us. That is the foundation from which we can do the work of the kingdom without sending a mixed message.
John Piper once said that God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in him.
There is a reason that Jesus rose from the dead on the day after the Sabbath. We begin our week resting in Christ's victory. We start from a place of rest.
We are not trying to earn our victory or rest: it is a gift to us.
Jesus invited us to join him in his position of perfect contentment and rest.
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT) This is Jesus' invitation to the discontent. Come to him to be set free from your wearisome pursuit. Learn what it means to be content in God's love. Let that love overflow to those around you, including the lost.
When love is our foundation and the Holy Spirit is our guide, we will find contentment in whatever God gives us to do because we are content in who he is and who we are as his beloved children.
So don't be surprised if I am not overly enthused with church growth strategies or methods to convince God to pour out revival on us. Been there, done that, and have the t-shirt. What makes me enthusiastic is being with my family of friends as we come together in God's presence to talk about what it means to be God's children. I am excited when the Holy Spirit opens a door to share God's love with someone. We cannot orchestrate the Spirit of God. He orchestrates us.
I believe people who are searching for contentment will be drawn to those who have found it in God.
I also believe that discerning people will flee from any so-called gospel message delivered by someone who is using ministry to try and quench his or her desperate longing for acceptance by God. Why should I buy into a movement that makes its people discontent? When I came to Christ, he gave me peace and joy as I had never experienced before. When I share Christ, it is with the promise that he will open the door into the experience of God's amazing love. Who we are is perhaps as important as what we say. People will pick up on our spiritual vibe as well as our words. If we carry in our person a different message from our words, people may doubt our words. It would be as if a harsh critical parent tells his child that he loves him or her. The mixed message inspires doubt instead of security. As we find our joy and contentment in God's love, our demeanor will match the gospel message. People will be drawn toward the God who makes us content in his love.
Yuval Noah Harari is an Israeli-born World Economic Forum member and a lead advisor for Klaus Schwab. Klaus Schwab is the author of COVID-19 / The Great Reset and The Great Narrative. Schwab is founder of the World Economic Forum, which has a 666 logo. Yuval Noah Harari is an openly gay best-selling author who abstains from eating meat and who is celebrated by Barack Obama, Mark Zuckerberg, and Bill Gates. Yuval Noah Harari has been praised by the New York Times, Stanford, TED, MIT, Silicon Valley and TimesTalks. Yuval is a Hebrew first name which means “father of music,” stream, brook, or tributary." In the Hebrew Bible, Yuval (also Jubal) was the son of Lamech and Adah and a descendant of Cain who is referenced in Genesis 4:20-21. To learn more about the mindset of Yuval Noah Harari read 2nd Thessalonians Chapter 2. In other words, he embodies the antichrist spirit. I am not saying that he is the Antichrist; rather, he expresses that spirit through his words and life. He stands in opposition to God's truth and will and uses his position to defame the Lord.
Here is a collage of quotes from this man that I will examine in this article.
"Jesus Never Claimed to Be God, He Was Basically This Hippy Guru Who Wanted to Reform Judaism. Jesus Did Not Think He Was Yahweh. Decades After He Is Dead, People Say This Rabbi Who Had a Small Following Was Actually God." 1
The Bible chapter I referenced above, which I hope you took time to read, contains this passage.
This man will...use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. 11 So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. 12 Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth. 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 (NLT) Many of us can easily discern that there is an abnormal level of deception being poured out on the earth today. Sadly, humans in general are not very good at identifying and rejecting what is false. This inability goes back to the Garden of Eden. Apparently God deliberately created us so that we need him to know what is necessary. If we look elsewhere, we will suffer for it. In his eyes, we are all children, and we know how gullible children tend to be. He wants us to freely believe him, without fear or doubt, but flatly refuse any other source of "truth" that contradicts what he tells us. Adam and Eve failed this test miserably. Today is our turn at passing it.
If what Harari said about Jesus is true, then Jesus was either a lunatic or a liar. Let me quote the great C.S. Lewis from this classic book, Mere Christianity:
Jesus [. . .] told people that their sins were forgiven. [. . .] This makes sense only if He really was the God whose laws are broken and whose love is wounded in every sin. [. . .] I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.”
That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.
The Bible makes it clear that Jesus' enemies knew that he claimed to be God. Let me give you two examples. The first is an encounter he had with his opposition, the Jewish religious leaders. They are the first to speak in the following passage.
"Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be?" 54 Jesus answered, "If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, 'He is our God'; 55 and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word. 56 "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." 57 So the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?" 58 Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am." 59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple. John 8:53-59 (NASB) The name of God revealed to Moses was "I am who I am," which is translated Yahweh in many Bibles. When Jesus declared to his enemies that he is the "I am," he knew what he was doing, and so did they. That is why they immediately picked up stones to kill him.
Another example is when our Lord stood before his accusers during his nighttime mock trial before his crucifixion. The Sanhedrin's false witnesses did not give them what they needed to condemn Jesus to death; so, as a last resort, they asked Jesus directly if he were indeed the Messiah. He did not simply affirm what they asked: he went much, much further, giving them grounds for declaring him a blasphemer. Here are our Lord's words.
But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. 66 What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.” Matthew 26:63-66 (ESV) Now to those who do not know the Old Testament scriptures, this may not seem like much. But for those Jewish leaders, who did know the scriptures, what Jesus said was a claim to be God. The reference is to the writings of the prophet Daniel.
“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. Daniel 7:13-14 (ESV) Even though many claim that Jesus' self-identification as the "son of man" was a reference to his humanity, I believe first and foremost it is a reference to this passage in Daniel. This son of man is a heavenly being who has been given everlasting dominion and will judge all peoples. This fits perfectly with the Christian position that Jesus is the God-man who died as the Lamb of God for our sins and rose again as the Lord of Lords, who now sits at his Father's right hand, waiting for his enemies to be completely subjugated, at which time he will return as the divine Son of Man to judge the living and the dead and rule over God's kingdom forever.
It is obvious that Harari and his interviewers are ignorant of the Bible, since they make many false statements during the interview I footnoted. Or they may simply be spinning a deliberate lie to deceive the simple. They will account to God for their haughty dismissal of Jesus' claims and the Bible. In either case, Harari is being used as an instrument of Satan to weave a web of deception to drag as many people to hell with him as possible.
There is still time for repentance, even for Harari. Until we stop breathing or the Lord returns, we all still have hope. Let's be proclaimers of truth, not collaborators with deception. Are you ready to align yourself with the truth about Jesus? Here is how.
Prayer Jesus, I have finally reached the point where I am ready to acknowledge that you are Lord of all. I surrender my life to you and ask you to use what time I have left on earth for your glory. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. I ask you to baptize me with the Holy Spirit and power and help me to be your faithful witness. Amen.
1 From interview at - https://armchairexpertpod.com/pods/yuval-harari-returns-again - beginning at 1:00:46.
Having the ability to distinguish good from evil in times of great deception is extremely important. Paul warned us that Satan has the ability to masquerade as an angel of light, and his lies can be very alluring. (2 Corinthians 11:3 and 2 Corinthians 11:14) That being said, once our eyes are opened to see the truth, it is quite easy to see the difference between what God provides and what Satan seeks to do to us.
Jesus described the enemy of our souls very succinctly.
For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44 (NLT) In another place he added:
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10 (ESV) Putting all this together, we can state the following:
- Satan is a murderer, liar, thief, and destroyer.
- God is a life-giver, a truth speaker, generous, and a builder of what is good.
How do we practically apply these simple truths?
- Any person or government that seeks the welfare of others is from God, but one that robs people is satanic. (repressive taxation, business suppressing policies)
- A person or government that protects the sanctity of life and the unborn is from God, but one that encourages the murder of innocent children is from the devil. (abortion, increasing risk of death through forced vaccination, etc.)
- A government that tells the truth to its people is from God, but one that lies continually is satanic. (censorship of the truth, misinformation, propaganda)
- A government that ministers justice to its citizens, protects the innocent, and punishes evil doers is from God. One that promotes lawlessness and a two-tiered justice system to protect the rich and powerful but punish opposition is satanic.
- A government that promotes peace and prosperity if from God, but one that promotes war and plunges its people into debt is from the devil.
Quite simply, life, truth, prosperity and freedom come from God, which sounds a lot like our Declaration of Independence, but death, lies, debt, and slavery come from the evil one.
You must serve only the LORD your God. If you do, I will bless you with food and water, and I will protect you from illness. 26 There will be no miscarriages or infertility in your land, and I will give you long, full lives. Exodus 23:25-26 (NLT) Health comes from God, but sickness and death come from sin and the devil. Blessings and prosperity come from God, but Satan wishes to curse and impoverish us. Children are a blessing from the Lord, but Satan wants us to be childless; hence, the emphasis on birth control, abortion, and population control. God wants us to be healthy and enjoy life, but Satan wants us sick and miserable; hence, the emphasis on medicines and vaccines that actually make us sicker and reduce childbirth and fertility. God wants us to be debt free, but Satan wants us crushed and impoverished by a mountain of debt; hence, his servants have spent our nation into a hopeless debt situation.
Is there any good news? Absolutely! The Bible tells us that Jesus came to set the captives free! He came to heal the sick, raise the dead, and pay back a hopeless debt!
The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, 19 and that the time of the LORD’s favor has come.” Luke 4:18-19 (NLT) Jesus said that he came that we might have an "abundant" life here on earth and live forever in heaven! He came to reveal to us just how incredible God's love is. He came to change us on the inside so we can become more and more like God, loving others, telling the truth, and helping others find their freedom in God, too.
How can we experience what Jesus came to give us? It's really very simple. All we have to do is recognize that we need help and turn to Jesus. God wants us to acknowledge that we are incapable of living without him. He wants us to return to the Author of Life so he can be our all in all - our Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer, and Hope.
If we give Jesus our trust and allegiance, he will give us all that he is. We will discover that he really is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and we will escape from the tyranny of the devil.
For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. Colossians 1:13-14 (NLT) Why not make the exchange today? Give to God your sin and hopeless situation and receive all Jesus died to give to you. You might pray this simple prayer from your heart.
Jesus, I am weary of being subject to the devil. I have had enough of his lying, stealing, and murder. Forgive me for being allied to him and for the things I have done, thought, and said that have evidenced my rebellion against you, Lord. I ask you to forgive me for trying to live independently from you, Lord. I give you my life, and I receive your forgiveness. Thank you for giving me eternal life. Come, Holy Spirit, fill me to overflowing. Live your life through me. Empower and equip me to be a proper follower of Christ and his witness to others. Amen.
In Greek mythology siren's were female-like creatures who lived on a rocky island. Their beautiful songs were irresistible and lured sailors too close to the island where they would wreck and perish. Homer wrote about them is the Odyssey.
Today we have another sort of siren calling out to our people inviting them to believe the lie that we can live without responsibility. Those who believe this deception will shipwreck their lives.
The United States began her journey as a nation following the hard fought war of independence. Its political leaders hammered out a Constitution and Bill of Rights that depended upon its people being resolute in their will to keep it intact. Our founders knew that it would only last as long as its people feared God and embraced personal responsibility. Once its citizens figured out that they could vote into office those who would use the government treasury for their constituents' benefit, all would be lost. Once its people abandoned moral integrity, everything would fall apart. That is where we are today.
When God put Adam and Eve in the garden, he gave them two basic responsibilities - to be fruitful and multiply and to work and tend the garden. (Genesis 1:28 and Genesis 2:15) Having children is both pleasurable and painful. It carries with it the built in necessity of hard work to nurture, feed, protect, and train. Following God's first command increases our responsibilities, but it also multiplies our joy and fulfillment. God's blessings make us richer without adding any sorrow to our lives. There is no down side to embracing a life of responsibility. (Proverbs 10:22)
Today our government and conventional wisdom tell us that the planet is overpopulated, and we need to refrain from having more children. Does this sound like Satan to you? He is always trying to negate God's clear commands. To make this possible, many forms of contraception are available, and, when that is not used or fails, abortion is held out as the ultimate solution. That reminds me of Hitler's ultimate solution - the gas chambers. Isn't interesting that Satan's solutions always involve killing innocent people? The deception is that we can defy Gods command to multiply and enjoy the pleasures of sex without any responsibility. Embracing such outright deception will crash our lives upon the rocks.
There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death. Proverbs 14:12 (NLT) God meant sex to be enjoyed between a man and a woman who are committed to one another for life. Obviously sex was created to produce children. The associated pleasure is part of the inducement to bring new lives into the world, but the little ones carry with them their own pleasures, as every new parent discovers. Sure, children add to our work load, too, but over the long haul, the pleasures outweigh the negatives, especially if we attain to old age when adult children bring their own little ones into the world. The choice not to have children may provide an escape from the work of rearing them, but in the long run it has quite a bit of sorrow and loss attached to it.
Marriage was also instituted because God said it is not good for us to be alone. (Genesis 2:18) Married sex heightens our mutual love, enjoyment, and satisfaction with our spouses. Today, however, people often choose to "hook up" without any long-term commitment. This provides temporary pleasure but long-term pain. Experiencing old age is difficult enough with our life partner by our side. Alone it can be excruciating.
Violating God's way of doing things always shipwrecks us. Doing things his way is always best and most satisfying.
Our government, for whatever reason, encourages people to embrace life without responsibility. During the covid lock down, we were given government checks not to work. Many seem to have come to the conclusion that a work free life is a good thing, but it is not. God instituted work in the beginning. A job well done brings us a lot of satisfaction. Laziness destroys. (Proverbs 18:9)
People also try to discard the responsibility of using our God given abilities, but that also is a dead end. God put abilities and potential in each of us that must be developed, if we are to experience life at its fullest. Modern society tells us that we do not even have to accept how God created us. We can even change our genders at will, pretending to be someone and something we are not, which is the height of deception and irresponsibility.
When we try not to be who we really are or try to be something we are not, it shipwrecks our lives.
Our government tells us that we can attend college without having to pay for it. We can break laws without suffering the consequences. We can even illegally enter the country and be rewarded for it. All of this is a deception. Borrowing money without paying it back is theft. Breaking the law invites God's justice, even if man fails in this regard. Even though many seem to be getting away with murder, so to speak, a day of reckoning is certainly coming.
It is impossible to live irresponsibly without eventually paying the piper.
Perhaps you fell for the siren's song and now have regrets. Is there anything we can do? The answer is "yes!" God provided a way for us to recover from shipwreck, but it requires us to adopt a whole new way of thinking.
When Jason piloted his ship called the Argo, he brought along a musician named Orpheus. When the ship got in range of the sirens, Orpheus sang loud enough to drown out their song.
God wants us to embrace the truth of the Bible to offset the lure of deception this world offers.
Once we surrender our lives to the Lord Jesus, we must let God's Word transform how we think. This is our only safety.
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2 (NLT)
Once we escape the deception of the world system, we should try to help others do the same. Sharing what Jesus did to set us free, the gospel, is the first thing. Next we should teach others to follow God's ways, which lead to life, instead of the way of the world, which leads to sorrow and death. Politically we should vote for those whose positions most closely mirror God's ways and against those who spread deception and rebellion against God. That is our responsibility.
Any student of history understands that the United States of America was birthed by the idea that governments should promote liberty and justice for all, rather than for the elites only. It bubbled up in the turmoil produced by oppressive taxation and unjust laws coming from a long established and powerful monarchy in Great Britain that was accustomed to forcing its will on its subjects. The idea of having personal liberty to worship according to one's own conscience, the right to own property, and no taxation without proper representative government, inspired men and women to risk all, even their lives, in the quest to obtain it via a revolution. I have been inspired personally by reading of the heroism, perseverance, and faith of those men and women. One cannot help but conclude that they won only because of divine intervention.
The question before us is this: is personal freedom an idea birthed by the mind of man via the Enlightenment, or did it come from God?
When God created Adam and placed him in the garden, he gave him tremendous freedom. The only restriction put upon Adam and, by extension, Eve was to avoid eating from one tree, the one that would give him the knowledge of good and evil. The reason God prohibited that one is because it would kill him. In other words, God only forbade that which would destroy Adam. He was free to eat and enjoy everything else.
This is an eternal principle: God's heart is to give us freedom in all things except that which will harm us.
Satan afterward planted the idea in Eve's mind that God only banned the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in order to withhold something good from her.
This is a satanic principle: the devil tells us that the thing that will destroy us really is something wonderful that God is keeping from us, sowing in us a desire for it. He also tricks us into believing that God cannot be trusted.
The serpent began his questioning by misrepresenting God altogether.
The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the LORD God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” Genesis 3:1 (NLT)
This deliberate falsification of God's position was the first recorded instance of the use of misinformation or propaganda to deceive. Jesus called Satan the "father of lies" in whom there is no truth. (John 8:44) Adam and Eve were newly created beings who did not have any inherent bias toward believing lies with which we were born. Nevertheless, the serpent's lie proved to be irresistible to Eve. Satan also accused God of deliberately withholding something wonderful from Adam and Eve, the ability to be like God by knowing good and evil for themselves.
“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” 6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. Genesis 3:4-6 (NLT) Why is being like God so alluring to us?
God created us to be dependent beings who can enjoy God and his creation with unbridled joy as long as we are satisfied with remaining in the condition he made us.
The only thing that could destroy all that was the attempt to be something more, to be like God himself. That is what brought Satan down, and he used the same lie to destroy God's most wonderful creation called humanity, plunging all of us into slavery to sin, death, disease, demons, and all sorts of destructive behaviors and addictions. Adam and Eve exchanged the life and freedom God graciously gave to them in a foolish pursuit of godhood status.
The lesson we learn from this is that freedom comes from God. Oppression and slavery come from the devil. Anything that promotes true freedom originates in God. Everything that enslaves emanates from the evil one. No matter how falsely it may be represented to us, the fruit will be sorrow, regret, loss, and death.
When Jesus announced his mission at the beginning of his three-year public ministry, he made it clear that his goal was to liberate humanity.
The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, Luke 4:18 (NLT)
Jesus went about setting people free from sin, sickness, demonic oppression, and even death.
And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. Acts 10:38 (NLT)
The Law, which previously had been put in place by God to reveal our need for a Savior, did its work by making it clear that no one could keep it. Anyone who seriously tries to keep God's commands eventually concludes that doing so is impossible.
Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed. Galatians 3:23 (NLT) Nevertheless, the Jewish leaders of Jesus' day used to Law to bolster their position of power and prestige and keep those under them in bondage. When Jesus arrived on the scene, it became immediately clear that he posed a threat to the power of the Jewish leaders, which incited them to hatred and murder. Little did they know that God was using everything to break the bands of oppression off all those who eventually would put their faith and allegiance in the crucified and risen Lord.
After his ascension into heaven, Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit upon his followers, enabling them to carry out the mission to take the wonderful news of freedom from sin, death, demons, sickness, and bondage to the ends of the earth. Paul understood that the core of the gospel message is that Christ gave his life to bring us back into proper alignment with the Creator, the source of freedom and life.
For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:17 (NLT)
The gospel truly proclaimed and understood will always produce freedom in its hearers. Those who pervert the gospel always do so to bring us into bondage.
Even that question came up only because of some so-called Christians there—false ones, really—who were secretly brought in. They sneaked in to spy on us and take away the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. They wanted to enslave us and force us to follow their Jewish regulations. Galatians 2:4 (NLT) Therefore, we are to resist any corruption of the gospel that promotes legalism and slavery. Satan has not stopped trying to pervert what is precious to God and us. He has not ceased telling lies. If he can corrupt our understanding of the most freeing message in the universe, he can bring us back into bondage.
Legalism is the attempt to be like God by thinking we are capable of earning our own way into God's favor and blessing through our own efforts and establishing our own righteousness apart from God's.
The gospel makes it clear that no one can do that. The way to freedom requires us to admit we are thoroughly dependent upon the graciousness of God, who freely gives us our right standing with him.
The issue at the heart of being free is whether or not we are willing to embrace our status as dependent beings who joyfully serve our Creator-Sustainer-Redeemer God. Freedom immediately collapses when we reject that status and pursue independence from him
The men and women who founded the United States would be astonished that we have allowed the government won through the spilling of their blood to become even more tyrannical than the British monarchy of the 18th century. How did this happen? I believe we got here by an incremental rejection of God's rule in our individual lives and nationally. Every good thing is eventually corrupted, unless we steadfastly hold on to God and biblical truth. The idea of freedom to live according to God's precepts was gradually turned into freedom to do whatever we might choose.
The paradox of liberty is that true freedom can only be experienced when we live as dependent beings in the pursuit of God's glory. Anything else leads to bondage because it elevates self-will to godhood status.
Today our nation's pledge of allegiance still affirms that we are one nation "under God," and our money still declares, "In God We Trust;" but our leaders have enacted laws and policies that are thoroughly against God and contrary to his revealed will in the Bible.
The purpose of government, according the Bible, is to ensure justice and to promote the well-being of those who are governed.
For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you. 4 The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. Romans 13:3-4 (NLT)
Any government which perverts justice and works against the well-being of its citizens has moved outside of its God-given mandate. In a very real sense, it is illegitimate because it falsely represents God.
The laws and policies put into place in response to Covid revealed just how far we have fallen from the constitutional republic bequeathed to us. The government, against all sound reason and true science, mandated that its citizens take an experimental "vaccine," which harmful side effects are still being discovered. Citizens were denied access to worship, public transportation, medical care, and employment depending on whether or not they would bow the knee to a government mandate. This is the height of tyranny and anti-God. Our soldiers and many in law enforcement and the medical profession were forced to take this experimental jab or be ejected from serving their country. This is oppression pure and simple. The government is never supposed to coerce its citizens to violate their consciences. Such a government has transgressed God's purpose for it and attempted to "be like God." It has become "beastly" in its pursuit of the power and the authority that belongs only to God. (Revelation 13:1)
The question then arises: what is our responsibility in the matter? When Benjamin Franklin was asked what kind of government our founding fathers set up, he famously replied, "a republic, if you can keep it." History will eventually record if we were successful. If we are to preserve political liberty, we must first do everything to maintain spiritual liberty. Loving God, embracing truth, and serving God with a good conscience are essential. We must also pray. Ultimately, the battle is the Lord's. He is greater than all human governments, and he promised in the Bible that his glory will fill the earth. (Habakkuk 2:14) If we pray for God's will to be done and his glory enhanced, we will always be centered in his will.
Next, we must be practical. As good citizens of the United States, we must do everything possible to reform our government and elect representatives who will govern with the fear of the Lord. At the very least, we should stay informed and use the right to vote in the upcoming election. Those who are inspired to become more involved politically need our support.
But none of this will mean very much unless we first become servants of the Lord Jesus.
We cannot do much for freedom until we come into alignment with the source of freedom.
Having done all, we must stand in our confidence that God ultimately is in control.
“Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.” Psalm 46:10 (NLT)
Disillusionment is sometimes associated with betrayal. At other times it is connected with naivete. Whatever the immediate reason for our disillusionment, somewhere we had expectations that were dashed.
Humorous (for us, but painful for them) examples of disillusionment can be seen on old episodes of auditions for the TV show, American Idol. (Note the title, which itself is an illusion.) Every season people who thought they were great singers were unceremoniously told that they could not sing by the judges. Someone had led these contestants to believe that they had great voices, and they believed it. They suffered under the illusion that they were wonderful, when they were actually awful. The judges disillusioned them. They were forced to face the truth about their singing ability. Many of them became angry and lashed out at the judges, declaring they did not know what they were doing. It was funny in one way, but tragic in another. In the last analysis, it was very necessary. Now they could get on with their lives rather than waste their time in the pursuit of a fantasy.
Most of us serve illusions of one sort or another, about ourselves, others, marriage, work, God... While counseling young couples who are preparing for marriage, I usually tell them that the man hopes his wife to be will never change, but the woman hopes to change her man. They both likely will be disappointed, or disillusioned. We try to put our best foot forward during the dating or courting process. After we tie the knot, we tend to relax into our "normal" way of doing things, which may be a surprise to the spouse. Sometimes young couples go into a marriage expecting that their spouses will be responsible for certain things, as they saw modeled in the home in which they grew up. I often ask the couple during counseling, "Who will clean the bathroom?" "Who will handle the finances?" "Who will wash the dishes?" "Who will do the cooking?" Where will you spend Christmas? Thanksgiving? Do you want children? How many? You get the point. These are things to talk about ahead of marriage to avoid unwelcome surprises.
We all tend to be deceptive and become deceived. Women wear make up to create an illusion of beauty that is not naturally there. We all tend to "put our best foot forward" in order to help (deceive?) people to like or accept us. But if we get people to like the illusion we project, do they really like us? We are afraid they will not like the real us, so we become hypocrites of the best (worst?) sort. I have always said that true friends know what we are really like, but love us anyway. What a relief to let go of pretenses! It is delightful to meet and relate to truly honest people, even if it makes us a little uncomfortable.
Many, if not all, of us, have illusions about God. It is popular today to imagine that God is all love - that he would never condemn anyone to hell. But that is not the God of the Bible, is it? When God revealed himself to Moses, he told him that his name is "I Am Who I Am." Not "I Am Who You Want Me to Be." This is very important, because, if we serve our illusion of God but not the real God, are we not idolators? Jesus is the Truth, not an illusion created by us to match what we want God to be. A big part of life, especially for the disciple, is coming to terms with who God really is and surrendering completely to him.
Many disciples have illusions about ministry, too. We receive a "call" from God to serve him, but we often imagine what that will look like based on what we have seen others do. We may end up pursuing God's real call on our lives or our imagination of what that should be. As you have already guessed, if we pursue an illusion, eventually we will become disillusioned.
I remember when we first launched what was then called Liberty Church here in Burlington, NC, I had my five and ten year plans. I had been taught to treat the church somewhat like a business in that regard. (We did not start that way, but over time as the home church in Greensboro grew, we resorted to worldly ideas. That was serving an illusion for sure because the church is not a business.) I had the illusion that we would quickly grow to the 400 number and would need a building to accommodate that crowd. Thirty-four years later I now realize that in reality I have grace to be a small church pastor because that is what I have always been.
Whatever grace is upon our lives will produce fruit in keeping with that grace, not in keeping with some illusion we have.
I am much happier now just being who God created and gifted me to be, instead of reaching for an illusion that was always just beyond my grasp.
Illusions can work just the opposite, too. Some people labor under the illusion of inability and incompetence instead of believing that God can and will use them to do his work. Moses was just such a man. Early in life, Moses felt called or sensed the inner desire to help the Israelites. He tried doing it in his own way, but was quickly thwarted and disillusioned. He fled to the desert where he spent decades tending sheep for this father-in-law on the back side of the desert. Then one day God appeared to him and commissioned him to go back to Egypt and liberate a nation. Moses came up with excuse after excuse. He had been so disillusioned in himself that he had lost faith in God.
We are never to allow our disillusionment to spill over into unbelief.
God wants disillusionment to spur us on to pursue him and the truth. We want to move from self-confidence to God confidence.
Illusions are a type of lie that the Bible calls a "stronghold."
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (ESV) Beginning with Adam and Eve, mankind has shown a propensity for believing lies. Satan knows this and is a master deceiver. Jesus identified him as the "father of lies."
In general, people accept lies more easily then they do the truth.
One salacious slander is usually more easily believed than a hundred truthful protestations of innocence. Knowing this, politicians use smear campaigns to "dirty up" their opponents. People remember the dirt, even if it is later refuted. Sadly, once people make up their minds, it can be very difficult or impossible to change them. Delaware Senator Joe Biden and company pulled this ugly trick on Clarence Thomas during his Supreme Court nomination. Everyone should read Judge Thomas' biography to see what this man had to overcome on the road to greatness.
To be blunt, illusions are lies. If we believe a lie, we need to be disillusioned.
Disillusionment takes place when it becomes evident to us that the lie we once believed is not true.
This can be very traumatic. Some people never recover; while others are able to learn from their mistakes and move forward. Can you imagine how difficult and it would be for a college professor who built his or her entire career on promoting Darwinism and evolution to come to terms with the truth of intelligent design and specific creation?
There are perils and benefits to being disillusioned. Jesus’ disciples, like us, needed to be disillusioned in certain areas. They had false ideas about Jesus’ mission and their roles in God’s kingdom. Despite the fact that Jesus repeatedly warned them that he would be crucified and rise again, his disciples were not able or willing to process that reality and expected him to lead a glorious revolution against Roman oppression. When the truth finally dawned on them, it was very painful. In their pain and confusion, all of them except John deserted the Lord at least temporarily.
When we are afraid to confront truth, it makes it probable that we will adopt a convenient illusion.
The Benefits of Peter’s Disillusionment Just before his passion, Jesus told his followers that they would be scattered when he embraced his assigned destiny to die as God’s Lamb.
Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ 32 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” 33 Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” 34 Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” 35 Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same. Matthew 26:31-35 (ESV) Peter believed a lie about Jesus’ destiny, and he held on to false beliefs about himself, too. He imagined that he was much stronger and more faithful to Jesus than he actually was. His confidence was based on trust in his own strength and convictions. He was proud and due for a fall, and he was not alone. The other disciples said the same thing, but Jesus chose Peter to be an example to us all.
When Jesus was first taken captive in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter sprang into action, just as he promised Jesus that he would. He took his sword and attacked those who came to arrest Jesus, cutting off the ear of the servant of the high priest. Jesus commanded him to put away his sword and healed the wounded man. (Matthew 26:52-56)
It was one thing to die defending Jesus, but quite another to find out that Jesus had no intention of resisting those who came to kill him. Peter was ready to die fighting, but apparently not prepared to die without a fight, as Jesus did. Peter was disillusioned: he learned that following Jesus was not what he thought. His confusion led to his denying the Lord three times.
Why did Jesus call Peter out on this earlier, when he prophesied that before the rooster crowed he would deny him three times? I believe it was to help Peter hang on by faith after the denial. Knowing that Jesus knew in advance about his coming failure must have given Peter hope. Jesus did not reject Peter for his faithlessness under fire. Luke’s account of the incident adds some important details.
“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” 33 Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.” 34 Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.” Luke 22:31-34 (ESV) Knowing that God selected us to belong to him, despite knowing all about our sins and weaknesses in advance, should give us all great hope, just as it did Peter.
Peter needed to be disillusioned. He needed to find out that he was not everything he thought he was. He needed to discover that God loved him despite his sins and weaknesses. Disillusionment brought humility.
I feel sure that Peter was never the same afterward. His faith in himself was less, but his faith in the grace and mercy of God was far greater.
The Peril of Judas’ Disillusionment Judas was another disciple who became disillusioned, but he did not benefit from it. His idea of who Jesus was (and is) and what it meant to be his follower was overthrown. He gradually realized that Jesus was not on a trajectory to acquire wealth, power, and fame (of which he would be sure to share). Rather, he apparently became offended at Jesus’ disregard for money, when Mary anointed him with expensive oil prior to his death. It was just after that pivotal event that Judas agreed to betray Jesus for a fee. The sad part is that Judas never found room for repentance. His disillusionment led to his destruction.
What we do when we are confronted with the truth makes all the difference.
Principles for Handling Disillusionment Following these principles can help us to profit during the times when we become disillusioned. Otherwise, we may become permanently embittered and disabled by disillusionment.
- Decide to follow Jesus, no matter what. Following Christ means we surrender ourselves to his Lordship. This means we give up control over our lives, choices, and destinies. If we live a surrendered life, it will help us to hang on faithfully to Jesus, even should things get painful and confusing to us. Disillusionment will not rock the world of a surrendered person. We know we are serving a person who ultimately controls everything and is working all things for our good and his glory. (Romans 8:28)
- Become well acquainted with the Bible. Disillusionment becomes necessary when we believe a lie. We can insulate ourselves from deception by embracing the truth of God’s Word. If we value truth above all else, we will be thankful when God delivers us from believing a lie.
- Develop the habit of being thankful. Thankfulness reveals a heart that is humble and surrendered. The Bible teaches us that thankfulness glorifies God. (Ephesians 5:20) God works in and through disillusionment for our benefit, if we keep our eyes on the Lord. Thank God for any area in which you are struggling. You will experience a new measure of God’s grace when you do.
- Expect to encounter suffering and tribulation in life. One of the greatest illusions many Christians face is that following Christ should be trouble free. Quite the contrary, God uses suffering and pressure to make us more like Jesus. Those who are ready for such things will find it much easier when suffering arrives on the scene. (1 Thessalonians 3:3)
Prayer Jesus, you are the Truth. Thank you that you are leading me into more and more truth. Please deliver me from any area in my life in which I believe a lie. Help me to pass through every period of disillusionment and come out on the other side a stronger and more devoted follower. Help my faith not to fail, Lord. I give you thanks for how you are working all things together for good in my life. May I bring glory to your name. Amen
I have friends who attend United Methodist churches that are embroiled in the process of disengaging from that denomination because of their radical views regarding LGBTQIA+. (The list of letters gets longer as time goes by.) One has to admire the courage and passion that Charles Wesley, the founder of Methodism, possessed. I believe he would be appalled at what has happened to those who claim the name of Methodist today. Where did this once powerful force for the gospel of Jesus Christ go wrong?
The Babel principle is that every man-made organization always slides toward centralization, self-rule, and self-glorification.
This is true of denominations, individual churches, governments, businesses, clubs, etc. It is a human problem that is generated from the sin nature we receive from Adam at conception, which, by default, leads us to abandon God's leadership and establish our own kingdom. Christ died and rose again to bring us back into the kingdom of God, but, until the resurrection from the dead, even we Christians still have conflicted souls and are plagued by tendencies to rebel against God. Therefore it should not surprise us at all that the Methodist denomination has corrupted itself and abandoned the truth.
How did it happen?
I believe the slide into deception begins for any group or individual when we abandon our faith and conviction that God's Word is inspired and the gold standard for truth.
When I became a born again Christian in 1971, I began to talk with other believers who regarded the Bible as infallible and the highest authority in their lives. As you can imagine, I struggled a bit with this for a while, but I finally reasoned that if Jesus rose from the dead and believed the Bible was infallible (John 10:35); so should I. I have never looked back.
When we accept the Bible as the gold standard for faith and practice, it impacts our lives tremendously. If we refuse to let God's Word change us where needed, we experience a certain internal tension between what we want to do and what God says. If the tension is great enough, it begs for us to do something about it - either repent (change our minds) and align with the Bible's teaching or deny that the Bible is true and authoritative.
We are in great danger of deception when we choose to believe some parts of the Bible and reject others that do not agree with what we think is right or desirable.
Let us look at a couple of current day examples.
- Evolution. The Bible clearly teaches that the earth was created in six days and is "young" by geologic standards. Since unregenerate man automatically rejects the idea of a Creator, to whom we would be accountable by default, alternate explanations are required, no matter how nonsensical or self-contradictory. Children are taught to believe in the Big Bang theory, without giving thought to where the original matter and energy came from. We are taught that highly complex life self-generated from chaos, which contradicts the second law of thermodynamics. We are taught that humans have been on the planet for millions of years, despite the fact that genetic entropy does not allow for this kind of time line. Once we abandon what God says, we go careening off course into wilder and wilder levels of error and deception. It is unavoidable and tragic. Professing ourselves to be wise, we become fools. (Romans 1:22)
- Transgenderism. The Bible clearly teaches that God created humans as male and female. (Genesis 1:27) I have lived for seventy years, and it is only very recently that people have been confused about this order of things. It should not surprise us, however, that people would adopt such nonsensical thinking. When we abandon God's Word, we have nothing upon which to base anything when it comes to the truth. Truth becomes subjective. No matter what chromosomes and genitalia I may have, I can be whatever I deem myself to be, which is deception pure and simple. It remains to be seen what kind of destruction results from this sort of thinking. Those who encourage children to abandon their God-given understanding of gender and embrace something different are engaging in child abuse. The rejection of our God-given gender is simply another form of rebellion against the Creator.
- Judgment. It is currently fashionable to believe that since God is love, he will not condemn anyone to hell. This sort of universalism contradicts Christ's clear teaching and negates God's justice. It also denies the necessity of Christ's death for our sins. If God does not condemn, why did Jesus have to die? Why did Jesus tell the Pharisees that they would die in their sins, if they did not believe in him? (John 8:24) Why did he say that we should fear him who will cast people into hell? (Luke 12:5) The desire to escape God's judgment against sin cannot and will not negate his judgment against sin. It is deception. Those who teach such things misrepresent God and deny the truth.
Jesus said that his disciples would be lovers of truth who would be liberated by adherence to his words.
Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32 (NLT) The opposite is also true. If we reject God's Word, we will descend into deception and bondage. In fact, we cannot even be saved without having a love of the truth. (2 Thessalonians 2:10)
The choice is ours. What will we decide? If you are struggling whether or not to surrender your life to Jesus and be governed by the Bible, you are not alone.
The Holy Spirit was given to us to help us on our spiritual journey. You can turn to him and ask him to guide you into truth.
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. John 16:13a (NLT) You can trust him to show you the way. He did so for me.
Prayer Holy Spirit, I am at a crossroads in my life. I can live according to the Bible's teachings or continue to try to figure things out on my own. I do not want to make a mistake on something this big. I am struggling to know if I can really trust that the Bible, in its entirety, can be fully trusted to guide me in life. Please help me in my search for truth. Open my eyes and understanding. Help me to believe more fully. Amen.
One of the oldest tricks in the book is the bait and switch. We get lured into talking to a sales person by responding to an amazing sounding deal only to find out midstream that that particular product is no longer available, but something more expensive is. Satan used something like that on humanity. He lured Adam and Eve into disobeying God by telling them they would not die, despite God's warning to the contrary. Now that we have fallen victim to that lie, he continually uses the great switcheroo against us. Now the enemy of our souls uses the fear of death to enslave us and keep us from obeying the Creator. It would be like making a lot of money by doing one little thing for the mafia, only to find out later that there is no way out and the demands keep escalating. Is there any way out of this trap?
Jesus came as a human being to set us free from this most basic of fears.
Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 15 Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. Hebrews 2:14-15 (NLT) The only way for us to escape the enslaving power of the fear of death is to put our faith and allegiance in the only One who has actually conquered death. Anyone who can predict his own death and resurrection and pull it off, is someone worth following. He is the most important person who ever lived. His name is Jesus the Messiah. He is the Lord of life.
I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave. Revelation 1:18 (NLT)
The Lord of life is also master over death and the grave. He taught us that those who put their faith and allegiance in him actually will never die.
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26 (ESV) So, Satan told us we would not die, which was a lie. Now he tells people that obeying God will cause us to die. Is that not how he deceived the Israelites into rebelling against God's command to conquer the Promised Land the first time around? Satan is still at his old game of telling us that God brings death, but he brings life. Despite the Bible's clear teaching that the wages of sin is death, people overwhelming fall for Satan's lie that sin does indeed bring fulfillment and life. Do you ever wonder why God has gone to such lengths to redeem people like us? I do.
Jesus told his disciples that the truth will set us free. (John 8:31-32) The truth is that Jesus and his teachings bring life. Faith in Jesus transfers us out of the kingdom of darkness, death,and slavery into the kingdom of light, life, and freedom.
We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, 12 always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. 13 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. Colossians 1:11-14 (NLT)
Nevertheless, many, if not most, still actively choose satanic tyranny over God's freedom.
Why is this? Simply put, we prefer to believe a lie than the truth. We would rather run our own lives, even if it leads to bondage and death, than serve the Creator.
The way out of this lunacy is to accept God's amazing offer called the Gospel.
God sent his Son to pay the penalty for our rebellion against God. Jesus died for us so our sins against God and other people might be forgiven and we might be reconciled and restored to God the Father as his children. He died and rose again to liberate us from the tyranny of the devil and bring us into the glorious freedom of God's children!
the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. Romans 8:21 (NLT) Isn't it time for you to make the switch? Stop following the father of lies and declare allegiance to the Truth, our Lord Jesus the Messiah King. Start truly living!
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. Romans 10:9-10 (NLT)
Prayer Creator God, I am amazed at how patient you have been with your rebellious creatures. Forgive me for my part in all this. I now realize that I have been trying to live independently from you. I believe that you raised your Son from the dead and I now accept that Jesus is my Lord and Savior. I receive the forgiveness he died to provide for me. Thank you for reconciling me to yourself and making me your child. Holy Spirit, come live your life in and through me. I devote my life to you now, my God. Use me as you see fit. Help me to boldly tell others about this glorious good news. Amen.
If you prayed this prayer and meant it, your life will never be the same! Now I encourage you to find a group of believers who can assist you on your discipleship journey. Get water baptized to make a public declaration of your allegiance to Christ. Receive the baptism in the Spirit to empower you to be a bold witness. Share your faith with others. Grace and peace be to you.
The Bible forewarns us that every society that refuses to acknowledge and worship God will sink into the abyss of sexual perversion. (Romans 1:21-27) The definition of perversion is the turning away from what is right, proper, or good. Any time we stray from God's intended purpose for anything in creation, it is a perversion and turns into something that dishonors God and hurts us. This is especially true regarding sex. What God intended for great good has been used to bring incredible harm.
Satan's strategy in the garden of Eden was first to bring into question the truthfulness of God's words. That remains one of his chief weapons of mass destruction.
He began by asking Eve a seemingly innocuous question.
The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the LORD God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” Genesis 3:1 (NLT)
The serpent couched an accusation inside his question. The Bible calls the devil the "accuser of the brethren" for good reason. (Revelation 12:10) In fact, God generously permitted his first people to eat from any tree of the garden, except one. Satan twisted that into God's saying they could not eat from any of the trees, which put Eve on the defensive immediately. The penalty for eating that fruit would be death. Eve quickly revealed that she did not fully understand God's command, which was perhaps the purpose of the probing question. She thought the prohibition also included not touching the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Perhaps Adam added that extra bit when he passed on the commandment to Eve, thinking it would strengthen what God said and make the fruit seem even more "off limits". Whatever the case, we can safely say that it is never a good idea to add to God's words. That is where most legalism starts.
Next Satan escalated his attack by flatly contradicting God's warning.
“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” 6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. Genesis 3:4-7 (NLT) What so quickly convinced Eve that God was a liar? Why did she so soon turn against her Creator and doubt his good intentions toward her and Adam? If we learn nothing else from this account, it is that humans are extremely susceptible to deception and more quickly accept lies than truth.
Humanity took a nose dive that day. God's beautiful creation was perverted at its core, setting the course of history into a downward spiral which continues to this day. Only God can and will save us. In fact, that is just what he did when he sent his Son to live, die, and rise again. Jesus' death and subsequent resurrection set in motion God's great reclamation project which will culminate at Christ's Second Coming, which will include the generation of a new heaven and earth. In the interim, we, the church, are engaged in a worldwide operation called the Great Commission by which God is offering to forgive us for our participation in the satanic rebellion. Those who accept his offer and put their trust and allegiance in Christ become part of God's ever growing eternal family, those who will reign with Christ eternally.
For all practical purposes, the war was won and the final outcome determined when Jesus rose from the dead some 2000 years ago. Nevertheless, skirmishes and battles continue as human history moves toward the glorious return of God's Son.
The Lord is working to increase his family through preaching the gospel and making disciples. Satan is likewise advocating a false gospel of humanism and developing his own followers who will take his lie globally.
Yuval Noah Harari is often referred to as “the prophet.” He is an openly gay pro-transhumanist who is obsessed with rejecting the God of his fathers and turning humans into gods. He is the lead advisor to Klaus Schwab and has been praised by Barack Obama, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Silicon Valley, the New York Times, TED, Stanford, Harvard, and the World Economic Forum. He made the following statement.
“History began when humans invented gods, and will end when humans become gods.”
Let's examine this lie. History did not begin when humans invented God. Rather, it started when God created humans. However, the last part may indeed be true. God may bring history to a close when men make their final attempt to throw off God's rule by proclaiming themselves to be God. (Psalm 2) In the interim, Satan seeks to inflict as much damage to God's creation as possible, dragging as many souls with him into the lake of fire as he can. One way he does this is by continually calling into question God's Word. When we reject the Bible's truth we have nothing upon which to stand.
In the realm of sexuality, he is especially active. The Bible says that God made us "male and female."
So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27 (NLT) For most of human history this has been a "no brainer," but no longer. A great number of people once again have fallen for the serpent's lie.
Now, contrary to thousands of years of historical precedent, male and female are no longer an absolute thing.
One can declare oneself whatever one wishes and even use surgery and hormone therapy to make the change look somewhat real. However, the truth is that we can never alter our DNA. Men have X and Y chromosomes, and women possess a double X. As much as we may wish and as hard as we may try, how God made us is irreversible. Some things we must simply accept and play the hand we were dealt.
Behind the push to deny and pervert how God created us is an implacable rebellion against the sovereign choice of the Creator.
Why are the nations so angry? Why do they waste their time with futile plans? 2 The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the LORD and against his anointed one. 3 “Let us break their chains,” they cry, “and free ourselves from slavery to God.” Psalm 2:1-3 (NLT) Sexuality goes to the core of our identity. Today we see Satan's hand at work in bringing confusion to gender and sexual identity. What was formerly obvious has now become complicated. The government, in an attempt to play God, increasingly demands that everyone accept and affirm the new politically correct order of things, even as we observe the obvious negative consequences. Little girls are put at risk when males self-identifying as females enter the women's bathroom. Women are unfairly losing to men identifying as women in athletic competitions. Common people understand the insanity of these things, but governmental elites are forcing them down our collective throat.
This is a clear sign of the devil's activity and his determination to corrupt God's creation, demoralize the nation, and include as many as he can in his rebellion against the Creator.
Today this rebellion has escalated into a push for more laws to legitimize and normalize sexual and gender perversion and to punish those who will not accept and affirm the new order of things. Freedom be damned in the tyrannical push for new societal norms. As Larry Fink, the chairman and CEO of BlackRock, the world’s largest investment firm with $10 trillion in assets, a firm that has at least a partial ownership of almost every major corporation in the world, including the big media and Big Tech companies, has said:
“Behaviors are going to have to change and this is one thing we are asking companies, you have to force behaviors and at BlackRock, we are forcing behaviors.”
Fink believes the government has the responsibility to force compliance with mandated thinking and behaviors with businesses assisting in the process.
This is a form of fascism, an anti-God tyranny of the mind and soul which we see playing out everyday at one level or another, whether it is in the realm of medicine, sexual identity, gender, or politics.
In addition, the education establishment now is actively grooming young people to accept and adopt such thinking and behavior, often against the knowledge and wishes of parents. This is why Florida recently passed an anti-grooming law, which prohibits schools from engaging in this sort of activity. None of this should surprise us, in light of biblical prophecy.
Bob Chapek, the CEO of the Walt Disney Company, opposes the new law, calling it the "Don't Say Gay" bill. (The Left always tries to capture the vocabulary and frame the argument to its advantage.) Here are his remarks.
“I called Gov. DeSantis this morning to express our disappointment and concern that if legislation becomes law it could be used to unfairly target gay, lesbian, nonbinary and transgender kids and families,” Chapek said. “The governor heard our concerns and agreed to meet with me and LGBTQ+ members of our senior team in Florida to discuss ways to address that... We are committed to support the community going forward.”
Satan always twists things. Rather than protecting God's created order, the bill is framed as targeting people who do not accept or embrace God's order for his creation.
The Left's push is to affirm and normalize deviance from God's intended purpose and function and to shame anyone who does not accept and affirm this perversion.
It is interesting that what formerly was called the LGBT community now has expanded to LGBTQIA+. A quick search for how many genders we currently recognize reveals that "experts" cannot agree. There are anywhere from 15 to 76, instead of just two. Where will this insanity eventually lead us?
Sin has twisted humanity. Yes, there is such a thing as gender dysphoria. Yes, plenty of people are confused regarding sexual identity and gender, but this does not mean that we abandon God's original intention for his creation and affirm the confusion as being normal. We can affirm that we love people no matter what they think about sex or gender, but that does not include affirming their behavior.
When a society rejects God, it eventually descends into the kind of rebellion that actively recruits and encourages sinful behavior in others.
They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too. Romans 1:32 (NLT)
It is vital that we who know the truth stand up for what is right. We cannot afford to bow before the anti-God forces at work all around us.
We must teach our children to stand for truth and resist the efforts to enfold them into cultural acceptance of the current rebellion against God's created order. If necessary, we must remove them from any school system, church, or other institution that works to groom adults and children to accept these blatant attacks against God's truth. Let's demonstrate to our children and others who may be watching how to make a stand for truth before it is too late. God wants us to openly and unashamedly declare our allegiance to our Lord Jesus and to the truth contained in the Bible.
Taking this stand will likely be costly, but if we are not willing to make a stand, who will? If we lose freedom of speech, which has already happened to a great extent, we will find out who is still courageous enough to speak anyway.
Loyalty to Jesus includes standing for biblical truth in the marketplace, not just when giving a gospel presentation in a church meeting.
Modern man prides himself in having progressed beyond the superstitions and ignorance of our forebears. Yuval Noah Harari is an influential thinker among globalists. President Obama recommended his books. He is a counselor to Klaus Schwab and a spokesperson at World Economic Forum events. Recently he gained some notoriety among conservative and Christian circles due to some quotes he made regarding the use of under the skin surveillance which may be linked to the mRNA vaccines. Mr. Harari provides us with a very good example of modern idolatry, which I define as the replacement of God with humanism.
Humanism, the belief that man is the measure of all things, began in the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve decided that they wanted to be like God. (Genesis 3:5) The desire to remove the necessity of God has plagued humanity ever since. The tower of Babel was the next clear cut example of human beings attempting to be God. Before the Lord stopped that venture, he said that unless he intervened nothing would be impossible for humans. (Genesis 11:6) The confusion of languages that God afterward imposed stopped man's progress toward self-determination for some time. Now that mankind has developed computers and gene editing capabilities, those who are considered to be global "elites" have once again begun to build their version of the tower of Babel.
Here is a relevant quote from Mr. Harari.
“There are no gods in the universe, no nations, no money, no human rights, no laws, and no justice outside the common imagination of human beings.” ― Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind The further we drift from a belief in God, the more easily people accept the notion that there is no Creator, no being to whom we owe our existence, allegiance, and worship. Once we adopt such a stance, the next step is for us to take things into our own hands as much as possible. Harari declares that there is no such thing as God, heaven or hell, or free will. According to him our actions, feelings, etc. have nothing to do with the human soul or being made in the image of God. We are simply products of mechanistic evolutionary processes and random chance. He claims that eventually authority will be transferred to artificial intelligence by way of algorithms that will understand us better than we do. In this brave new world, societal elites enabled by amoral scientists will rewrite our genetic code and attempt to create an injectable brain - computer interface that will combine biology with human engineering. Harari states that we may be the last homo sapiens because our genetic code is being rewritten. We believe this is taking place with the mRNA vaccines to some extent already. This new world will include injectable digital monitoring systems that will surveil us at all times. What could possibly go wrong in this scenario? This new world order abolishes all accountability to God.
Humanity has been Satan's dupe for far too long; yet, we never seem to learn. He never has our best interests in mind and he is on the losing team. Those who follow him have adopted his hatred for God and are attempting to finally rid themselves of any and all accountability to the Creator. But God will have none of it. Here is what King David wrote well over 2500 years ago.
Why are the nations so angry? Why do they waste their time with futile plans? 2 The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the LORD and against his anointed one. 3 “Let us break their chains,” they cry, “and free ourselves from slavery to God.” 4 But the one who rules in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. 5 Then in anger he rebukes them, terrifying them with his fierce fury. 6 For the Lord declares, “I have placed my chosen king on the throne in Jerusalem, on my holy mountain.” Psalm 2:1-6 (NLT) Nothing Satan and his minions plan ever turns out well for them. Eventually their futile efforts will come crashing to the ground. The Lord will return in glory to judge the living and the dead. We look forward to the day when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. Until then, boldly keep the faith and boldly declare your allegiance to the Lord of Lords and King of Kings.
Over the past few years, I have endured being labelled as a conspiracy theorist by some, even people I consider friends, because I have openly shared my belief that the so called mRNA vaccine is dangerous and that eventually Trump will be restored to office, and not through the traditional voting process. It became clear to me that holding such positions put me outside the realm of respectability in some circles and even perhaps made me a false prophet.
The warning about the mRNA jab was based on sound reasoning and research. The reason it was considered foolish was because Big Medicine, Big Tech, the Government, and the MSM all sounded a unified chorus assuring us that it was both safe and effective, both of which now have been disproved. It is not effective or safe. The eventual damage to the health of those who received the jab is yet to be seen.
We are witnessing an erosion in trust in what have been the great institutions in our society that have held us together: the presidency, our legislatures, our voting system, the medical system, the Supreme Court, etc. What is left to us now? We have been fed such a stream of lies by the media that many throw up their hands in complete confusion and demoralization, believing that now truth is nowhere to be found. Society has accepted the mantra and truth is subjective and we must find our "own truth." Paradoxically this turn of events has set the stage for a great return to God. Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, (John 14:6) is still the answer.
When everything around us is shaking and falling, we can run to the Rock that will hold strong. (Hebrews 12:27)
My belief that Trump will be restored is based on prophetic revelation and a deep "gut" instinct, which are much more subjective and put me and others much farther out on a limb of our own making. The jury is still out on this conviction, and I will grant you that it is taking much longer than I ever expected. I also realize that I could be wrong and, if so, am prepared to accept the consequences my error. However, I am also prepared to be right.
Sometimes we must stand up for what we believe, even if it makes us look foolish. Playing it safe is not always the best option.
For years many of us have been praying that God would uncover the hidden evil at work in our government and bring it to justice. No one I know had any inkling how deep, wide, and pervasive the corruption really was. It is still coming to light. Sometimes when we ask God to do something, when he begins to answer our prayers, we think it is the work of the devil. What we are seeing unfold before us on the world stage is God's answer to our prayers. He is uncovering evil and will bring it to justice. I guess this belief also qualifies me as a conspiracy theorist.
Another conspiracy I believe is Romans 8:28. God is working everything out for good in the lives of those who love him and are called according to his purposes. Nothing life or the devil can throw at us will ultimately bring us harm. God will always work it for good. The Bible teaches that God is the Sovereign Lord over his creation, working all things out according to his master plan. (Daniel 4:35) That is another conspiracy that even some Christians do not believe.
The Sovereignty of God one of the most important foundational truths in the Bible.
I have noticed that many of my Christian brothers and sisters desire to be considered wise by others. They are hesitant to accept anything that seems to be too far "right" or "left." They try to take the middle section of the road. They are afraid of being labelled as a fool. They want to have the good opinion of other moderates in the church and in the world, thinking somehow that will make them a more credible witness for Christ. This is a great deception, in my opinion.
The Christian faith is founded on one of the world's greatest "conspiracy theories" - the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
After Jesus' death and burial, what was then the Jewish "Deep State" spread the lie that the disciples stole his body in order to be able to say that he rose again from the dead. (Matthew 28:13) You have to admit that the Jews' version of events is much more plausible than ours! It is completely outlandish to believe that the founder of our faith died and rose again; yet, that is what we unashamedly believe and confess, making us to appear to be fools to a skeptical world.
So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. 24 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength. 1 Corinthians 1:23-25 (NLT) We also believe such things as that the Bible is inerrantly true, God created the world, Adam and Eve were the first humans, Noah survived the flood in an ark, Jonah spent three days and nights alive inside a great fish, and one day Jesus will come again in the clouds with great glory as Lord of Lords to raise the dead and judge all humanity. Not one of these things seems reasonable to the modern world. As long as we do not openly declare our faith in these things in public places, but instead confine these confessions to church meetings, the world tolerates us. However, when we publicly pronounce that we hold such things to be true and others should believe likewise, we are told that this is foolish, dangerous, and unwelcome. The world does not tolerate the news that Jesus is Lord of all, just as it did not tolerate the news that the mRNA jab should be avoided.
Could it be that we are afraid of being labelled as conspiracy theorists because we have not come to terms with the outlandishness of the gospel? Do we really think that it is reasonable in the world's eyes to believe that Jesus is Lord?
Now, don't get me wrong. I am not equating the gospel with the belief that the mRNA jab is dangerous or that Trump is coming back. Far from it. However, the gospel is every bit as far fetched in the minds of many people as the other two positions.
I have to confess that once I discern that someone is closed or antagonistic to information about the jab, I tend to stop sharing with them. I justify this by thinking that I should not throw my "pearls before the swine," but is this really the reason? Could it be that I am simply afraid to be labelled as a fool by these people or incurring their displeasure? Could my silence be the reason that some went ahead and took the jab and now must pay whatever health consequences may come? These are heavy thoughts indeed.
Likewise, do I go silent about the gospel when I realize that someone is hostile because I am ashamed of Christ or afraid of their displeasure? Could my silence sentence them to an eternity in hell? This is far more serious than worries about health problems from a dangerous jab.
We must come to accept that bravely holding on to truth in the face of opposition is part of our calling as people of God. One of the marks of a true disciple is unwavering public allegiance to Christ and to truth in general.
Let's break out of our false security of trying to appear wise to the world and embrace the foolishness of the gospel. Let those in the world think of us in any way they see fit. It is far more important what God thinks. He will reward our faith and allegiance to our Lord Jesus and to the truth.
Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32 (NLT)
Presuppositions must always be considered when engaging in debate. The things we consider "self-evident" may or may not actually be true. Our founding fathers considered that it is self-evident that our freedoms originate in God, but increasingly modern people do not believe this fundamental truth, largely because they do not believe in God. Instead, perhaps without thinking it through, many accept that freedoms issue from the state.
The state, by nature, always tries to assume that everything derives from it, belongs to it, and must serve it. In other words, it tries to be God.
Take, for example, private property. If you "own" any, you might assume that it belongs to you, but actually it does not. If you want to find out who actually owns it, try not paying your property taxes. Regarding children, you might think that they belong to the parents, but in reality the state maintains the "right" to take children away from their parents whenever it believes it is in a child's (the state's) best interest. In many cases, it is right to do this, but sometimes the system becomes corrupt and serves political interests instead of insuring the welfare of children. The state's overreach also has played out on many fronts when it comes to Covid.
Our forefathers did not trust government. That is why they built numerous safeguards into our Constitution. Sadly, however, every system eventually gets "played" by conniving people, and that has happened to us as a nation. Our freedoms have been used against us, and currently we are in a situation where our constitutional and God-given freedoms are being routinely stripped by people in government who dare us to do anything about it.
Here is a passage that addresses the fundamental issue of ownership.
Then the Pharisees went and plotted together how they might trap Him in what He said. 16 And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. 17 "Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?" 18 But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, "Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? 19 "Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax." And they brought Him a denarius. 20 And He said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" 21 They said to Him, "Caesar's." Then He said to them, "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's." 22 And hearing this, they were amazed, and leaving Him, they went away. Matthew 22:15-22 (NASB) The presupposition behind taxation is that the government has authority over us. No one "under" us will ever be able to tax us. In Jesus' day, the Romans imposed heavy taxes upon subjugated people groups, which were often exacerbated by greedy middle men who acted as tax collectors. These taxes were punitive in nature and served to drive home the second class nature of the citizenry under Roman rule. The Jewish leaders attempted to catch Jesus in a trap. Either he would acknowledge the Romans' right to impose such taxes, incurring the resentment of the common people, or he would get himself in trouble with the Roman authorities. Jesus, however, managed to answer their question in a way that surprised everyone. Instead of focusing on the issue of taxation, Jesus addressed the underlying presuppositions: whose identity do we bear and who owns us?
Caesar's likeness had been stamped on Roman coinage, which made it clear that he basically owned the money, giving Rome the authority to collect taxes. People, however, bear the stamp of God's image, meaning that they belong to him, not to the state. Whenever the state acts as if it owns people, it transgresses the limitations put upon it by God.
Today we have a clear cut example of such tyranny. Mandates requiring people to be injected with an experimental gene therapy against their will, which may permanently alter our God-given immune systems, assume that we belong to the state rather than to God. The "good" of the many is said to nullify our basic freedom of choice under God. For people such as I, refusing the jab is an issue of conscience as well as good sense. In this case, we cannot submit to a tyrannical state without violating our conscience by tampering with what God has committed into our care. (I acknowledge that many god-fearing people consider receiving the jab a good thing. I am not addressing such people in this article.)
When the state tries to overrule our conscience, it has overstepped its authority and should not be obeyed in that area.
In every other area, where it operates within its God-given boundaries, it should be obeyed, however. (Romans 13:1 and Acts 5:29) Jesus died to set us free to serve God. To voluntarily surrender to an overstepping government is to come into bondage.
It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1 (NASB)
Jesus gave up his life to deliver us from satanic tyranny. It is sadly and dangerously irresponsible to willingly submit to it again.
Never doubt for a moment that the state ultimately wants to own and control you. It is the beast rising out of the waters in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 13:1), whose antagonism against God will not be stopped until Christ ultimately destroys it at his Second Coming.
And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war... 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS...." 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. 20 And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. Revelation 19:11-20 (NASB) Stand firm.
Peter made it clear that God has made the baptism in the Spirit available to every person who would ever come to Christ – those present, their children, the Gentiles (those “far off”), and everyone else throughout time who will respond to the Gospel (“as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself”).
The post Is the Baptism in the Spirit Really for Me? first appeared on Third Peter.
Inviting people to walk with us as we follow Jesus is one way to fish for people.
The post Part 7: Come and See first appeared on Third Peter.
Since everything depends on the Holy Spirit opening our eyes to who Jesus really is; when we share the gospel, we are wise to follow Jesus' example by asking our hearers some form of the question Jesus posed to his disciples.
The post Part 6: A Great Diagnostic Question first appeared on Third Peter.
The evil one will tolerate unopposed many church activities, but he knows that preaching the gospel and making disciples is the greatest threat to his kingdom. If we are easily intimidated, he will push us back and try to crush our resolve.
The post The Evangelist: Part 4 – Front Line Soldiers first appeared on Third Peter.
Evangelists learn to use the art of conversation as a springboard for sharing the gospel. They understand how to present Jesus in a way that arouses their curiosity and interest.
The post The Evangelist: Part 3 – Fishers of Men first appeared on Third Peter.
God made us to depend on him to be our interpreter of reality and source of truth.
The post Countering Deception by Answering Life’s Crucial Questions: Introduction first appeared on Third Peter.
Every day we are challenged to interact with God's Spirit, the Scriptures, and other believers as he works from the inside out to make us more like Jesus.
The post How Can Churches Equip Disciples to Make Disciples? Part 12: Spiritual Transformation first appeared on Third Peter.
Our challenge is to learn how to live in faithful dependence upon God’s leading and direction, instead of simply doing whatever we want or decide. This is what it means to keep the Sabbath in the New Covenant.
The post Observing the Sabbath New Covenant Style first appeared on Third Peter.
When we share our testimonies, we should make sure we include how we too came to this realization. Knowing that Jesus is Lord is vastly different from knowing him as savior. Being forgiven makes no demands upon us, but when we surrender to Jesus the Lord, are lives are no longer our own.
The post What’s the Point? first appeared on Third Peter.
If nothing is wrong between us and God, then any path will do and Christianity is a complete lie that misrepresents God. But it is true. Jesus is the only way to God, which the gospel resolutely declares.
The post Gospel in a Minute: Jesus is the only way to God. first appeared on Third Peter.