“Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it.”  (Ezekiel 14:13)

“I made you thrive like a plant in the field; and you grew, matured, and became very beautiful .  Your breasts were formed, your hair grew, but you were naked and bare.  When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; so I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness.  Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into covenant with you and you became Mine,” says the Lord God.  “Then I washed you in water; yes I thoroughly washed off your blood and I anointed you with oil.  I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of badger skin; I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk.    I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck.  And I put a jewel in your nose, earrings in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head…You ate pastry of fine flour, honey, and oil…Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendor which I had bestowed on you,” says the the Lord God.  “But you trusted in your own beauty, played the harlot because of your fame, and poured out your harlotry on everyone passing by who would have it.“  (Ezekiel 16:7-15)

     Our land has sinned.  We have taken the extraordinary gifts that God gave to America at her inception and we have called them our own without reference to the One who owns it all.  We have accepted His gifts, but are in the process of rejecting the Giver.  Because of this, we are in imminent danger of losing the gifts.  Don’t believe this?  Look around you, brothers and sisters.  The economy of the nation is failing; jobs are becoming scarcer, food prices are rising, and people are becoming poorer.  In response, many have taken to blaming “corporate greed” or government programs  for the failures of the nation.  And while these may certainly play a role in the present havoc, they are neither of them the root cause for the distress that ails our country.  We have become a spiritually and morally bankrupt people in a land that has sinned against the Father.  God spoke through the prophet Ezekiel and informed us exactly how He would discipline those who turned to idolatry.  As I have mentioned before, man was created to be a worshiping being.  We will either worship God, as we were meant to do, or we will find something else to worship:  idols, money, technology, self-rule–even our own beauty, intelligence and strength.  Paul, in his second letter to Timothy, wrote that the time would come when people would “not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables.”  The time has come.

     Last week an online article was published that explained that one of the candidates for the Republican nomination was being taken to task by the Republican establishment because he was still hung up on values issues, while most are agreeing that only the economy and jobs issues are relevant to the coming elections.  My dear friends, I can only tell you what I am certain is true:  that the economy will not improve nor will the nation ever regain its place of economic and political leadership in the world unless we repent of our sins as a nation and hand it back to God.

     In the last couple of years, we have nearly stopped debating the abortion issue, regularized homosexuality, disassociated ourselves from our strong partisanship of the nation of Israel (still the chosen people of God) and banished the name of the Lord from nearly all public venues in a misguided determination to not offend those who do not call themselves by His name.  We are, as a people, displeasing to the Lord.  We who call ourselves conservative Christians have a choice to make.  We can fall in with the conservatives who are determined to oust the present administration at any cost, or we can look into our hearts and ask ourselves how the Lord would have us make changes.  If we replace those in power with others who are not willing to seek the Lord’s will for our nation; if we replace them with those who think money is more important than His commandments, then our “change” will be of no more worth than the last one.  Don’t misunderstand–I am much in favor of a strong economy, less government intervention, and a return to our Constitutional roots.  I am appalled by the present administration’s  handling of our economy and by the sickening lack of respect with which it has dealt with Israel (our best and strongest ally in the Middle East) and her Prime Minister.  I am shocked by the administration’s disdainful disregard of our Christian heritage.  My belief, however, is that it really does matter in what spirit we approach the nation’s ills.  If we focus only on the economic crisis in which we find ourselves, then we are not going to make a difference.  If we raise up holy hands to the glory of God, if we get down on our knees to ask for forgiveness for the sins committed in this land and make a real effort to give God the oversight of the nation once more, then we may become a viable and prosperous people once more.

     We have sinned against God by persistent unfaithfulness, and God is lifting His hand of protection and blessing from us, just as He told Ezekiel He would.  His warnings have manifested themselves as manifold natural disasters, a bad economy and a growing mistrust of the U.S.  It may not be too late.  Pray, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ.  Pray for our hearts to be open to those things God wants of us and that we will be the people He always meant us to be.  Pray that we may spread the wonderful gospel of our Lord Jesus openly and proudly, with love in our hearts for those who are lost.  Pray for His forgiveness of our land, which has sinned. Pray that He will lead this land back into communion with Him. Pray that He will raise up leaders that know Him and are willing to fight the battles that must come in order to serve Him.  And pray that we will all have the strength and the wisdom to make His will our will.

Maranatha!

Because with lies you have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and you have strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from his wicked way to save his life.  (Ezekiel 13:22)

But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die.  None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him…(Ezekiel 18:21-22)

     A few nights ago I watched a television drama which dealt with the “bullying” death by suicide of a lesbian teenager.  It was stated during the climax of the show that this occurred not because of one young person’s meanness or another’s weaknesses, but because we are a mean-spirited people:  we oppose homosexual marriages; we in the body of believers believe homosexuality to be a sin, and we approve of the discrimination against those who do not believe as we do.  Listening to this program and recalling others I’ve seen in the past year, I was struck by the number of TV shows which now have dedicated an inordinate amount of episodes to the regularization of homosexuality.  Christians in particular seem to be the preferred target; we are portrayed as judgmental, rigid and unkind.

     When I wrote “God’s Word About Homosexuality” a few years back, I intended to never address the issue again in a post dedicated only to that subject.  Frankly, with the topic discussed ad nauseum in various media outlets and in every internet resource from every imaginable point of view, I felt it came under the heading of flogging a dead horse.   This last year has brought upon us all great changes socially and, unfortunately, many of these changes have not been for the better.  Increasingly, those in positions either of authority or of influence have been advocating the complete abolition of the word of God, to be replaced with a social gospel of acceptance of that which we know to be sinful.  On the other hand, those who oppose homosexuality as a sin against God appear to be falling primarily into one of three categories:  either they are silent altogether as speaking out the truth of God’s word becomes increasingly more unpopular; or they are caving to public pressure and denying the Scriptural values they have always adhered to, or they are becoming hardened and aggressive towards those souls in such danger of spiritual death.   Therefore, it is time to address the church again about our role in the entire issue of homosexuality.

     When the prophets of Israel promoted their false teachings back in Ezekiel’s day, God accused them of strengthening the hands of wickedness by condoning that which was evil and falsely promising life, thus ensuring that the wicked would not turn away from their evil deeds and be saved.  When we today keep silent about our knowledge of those things which God has condemned or, worse yet, embrace those things in an effort to appease the demonic god of political correctness, we are doing exactly the same thing that God warned the prophets about:  we are endangering the immortal souls of countless people because we hesitate to offend the world by proclaiming the inerrant word of the Father.  God has made known to us in the Bible that we will be required to answer for those souls led astray who could have been saved by our intervention.  Those men and women who call themselves by His name yet are condoning the present evil acceptance of homosexuality, even going so far as to marry homosexual couples,  must answer to the One who has declared this behavior to be an abomination.

     So what, I am frequently asked, about Jesus’ words to “judge not, lest you be judged”?  Dear brothers and sisters, this is NOT my judgment.  This judgment was made by God Himself, long before any of us came upon the scene.  While I cannot judge the relationship between any other person’s heart and God (for that is God’s province and His only), there are certain behaviors that God has unequivocally condemned, and we must certainly condemn these behaviors as He does.  To do otherwise is to assist in the damnation of those who have not learned the truth.  To do otherwise is to commit a sin as egregious as any we can engage in. We are strengthening the hands of the wicked, either by our silence (a sin of omission) or our active acceptance (a sin of commission).

     While the tolerance of evil is forbidden to those of us who are believers, we are commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves.  Too often we view these two truths as mutually exclusive, when in fact they are not.  To hate sin is not to loathe the sinner.  To renounce sin does not mean that we are allowed to revile those who are living apart from God.  How it must grieve the heart of our Lord when He hears those who call themselves Christians use opprobrious words against His wayward children!  The disgusting and degrading words many have used to describe those engaged in homosexual relationships should NEVER be heard on the lips of people of God.  We are commanded to share the truth in love, not out of hate or anger.  We cannot embrace the sin, but we should stand ready to embrace the sinner.  Our purpose is not just to repel evil, but to show those who are unsaved that there is perfect love and forgiveness awaiting them through the shed blood of our Savior, Jesus.  This purpose is not well served by the announcement that AIDS is God’s judgment on homosexuals–a statement that is untrue.  AIDS  is an unfortunate but natural consequence of ungodly and risky behavior, just as contracting other STDs is an unfortunate but natural consequence of committing other immoral sexual sins.  While these are not judgments on specific people, God has certainly allowed us to reap the natural rewards of our sinful behaviors.  We have refused His intervention in our lives as a nation, and He has lifted His hand in order to show us what we bring on ourselves when left to our own devices and desires. God knew that there were certain sexual behaviors that would result in disease, heartache and death; He also knew that if man continued in those behaviors many innocent people would suffer as well.  God’s laws for us are practical as well as spiritual.   God does not offer us the option to behave in an unkindly manner towards those who are dying for lack of knowledge of Him.  He sees all His unbelieving children as sheep without a Shepherd; as those who are ill but are refusing the great Physician who can heal their bodies and their souls.  This is also how He expects us to see them.  We must be sure that we do not strengthen the hands of the wicked by our words or attitudes, but that we bring them to a right understanding of the reality and heart of God.

     Many Hollywood actors and producers have accepted a position of leadership in the fight to marginalize the Christian values system, promote the tolerance of all that  God has deemed unworthy of His family and even to reject the righteousness of God Himself.  They know, as many do not, that art does not necessarily imitate life; that art can actually influence our worldview of life.  We must not be silent, but we must respond–not react–in love.  At this point, I am not certain if this battle against the influences of iconic Hollywood celebrities can be won;  I am certain only that we must continue to spread the Gospel of Jesus and obey the commandments of God.  We must continue to act as Jesus would have us act, behave as He would have us behave, speak as the Holy Spirit leads us to speak, and show love to those in need of His love.  Whether or not we lose this battle, we know with certainty that God will win the war, because He is God–holy, righteous and all-powerful.  The battle is really His.  He does use us, though, as instruments through which He speaks the desires of His heart, and to weaken the hands of the wicked instead of to give them strength.

Maranatha!

“Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.”       Revelation 19:7.

I officiated at two weddings over the last couple of weeks.  Listening to the vows the new couples made to each other and re-reading the Scriptures presented at the ceremonies, I began to wonder if the “bride” and “wives” passages of the Bible referred only to women in the traditional marriage of a man and woman, or if in these words God was telling us–the church–what He expects of those of us who refer to ourselves as the Bride of Christ.  I expect it is more difficult for men to contemplate this, as few can easily identify themselves with the “bride” passages; yet if there is any validity in the idea, then men as well as women need to take a fresh look at how the Bible characterizes a good wife and decide if we all need to be applying these standards to our lives in Christ.

The first reference we have to marriage in Scripture occurs in the second chapter of Genesis, with the creation of Adam and Eve:

And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.  Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.  And Adam said:  “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”  Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Just as Adam and Eve became one in spirit, so we are to become one in spirit with the Father when we come to Him at the time of our profession of faith in our salvation through the shed Blood of Jesus.  Too often the tendency is to believe that the union ends when we  first repent of our sins and accept Christ.  While my intention is not to enter the “Can one ever lose their salvation?” debate here, it must be noted that God has set some pretty high standards for those who would call themselves by His name.  Are we really trying our best to live up to these standards and to be worthy of the fine linen in which we will approach the marriage supper of the Lamb?  Proverbs 12:4 tells us that “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones.” Most married couples can tell you that becoming an excellent wife is not easy.  It takes work, love, commitment and constant vigilance.

Who can find a virtuous wife?  For her worth is far above rubies.  The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain.  She does him good and not evil all the days of her life.  She seeks wool and flax, and willingly works with her hands.  She is like merchant ships, she brings her food from afar.  She also rises while it is yet night, and provides food for her household, and a portion for her maidservants.  She considers a field and buys it; from her profits she plants a vineyard.  She girds herself with strength, and strengthens her arms.  She perceives that her merchandise is good, and her lamp does not go out by night.  She stretches out her hands to the distaff, and her hand holds the spindle.  She extends her hand to the poor, yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy….Strength and honor are her clothing; she shall rejoice in time to come.  She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness.  She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.   (Prov. 31: 10-20, 25-27)

Wow!  If you read this passage carefully, you will see that it is an incredibly high standard for any human being  to achieve and maintain.  I believe that God is calling all of us to be vigilant and virtuous brides. According to a footnote in my Bible, in Hebrew this form of “virtuous wife” which we see in verse 10 literally means “a wife of valor” in the sense of all forms of excellence.  We are all to be brides who are faithful, industrious and generous to the poor.  We are to advance the kingdom of the Bridegroom by our very natures and examples.

Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands… (1 Peter 3:1)

In our society, submission is looked upon as a show of weakness and inferiority–hence the extreme resistance to following God displayed by so many people today.  However, submission as it is looked upon by God by no means demands that one has to quash one’s personality, or have no opinions or thoughts of one’s own.  It does not mean blind obedience to the sometimes unreasonable or even vicious temperament of another.  In a Christian marriage, a submissive wife will not follow her husband into sin, but will be ready to accept his spiritual headship and to help him carry it through.  Are we submitting ourselves before our Bridegroom?  Are we rejecting our fleshly desires and our lusts for money, power, popularity or adulation in deference to His will?  Are we being obedient to Him, and are we being faithful to Him and Him alone as long as we live?  If we are to be His bride, we must behave as His wife must.

Do not let your adornment be merely outward–arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel–rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.  (1 Peter 3-4)

This too must be a admonition for us all.  As the bride of Christ adorning herself for the coming marriage, certainly we must see to the conditioning of our spirits, that we may appear spotless and righteous before Him!  The world says the outward appearance is of very great importance, but the Lord looks upon the heart.  As I said in an earlier post, there is no great spiritual gain in not making ourselves look as nice as we can, but the Bride–male and female as we are–must be clothed in the white garments of virtue  and righteousness.

Scripture has some pretty pithy sayings about those who refuse to live as faithful wives of the Lord our God.  The book of Hosea illustrated to the Old Testament Hebrews that God looked upon their apostasies and their unfaithfulness  to Him as a state of whoredom, deserving of divorce by their eternal Husband.  John was given such warnings to give the church in the Revelation he received from God while in his island prison on Patmos.  Jesus told John to tell the church of Ephesus (and us as well) that He can tell when we have left our first love of Him, and does not like it.  He (Jesus) goes on to say, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place–unless you repent.” (Rev. 2:4-5)  He later promises to cast the false prophetess Jezebel into a sickbed along with those who commit adultery with her (i.e. stray from the teachings of Christ and worship falsely).

Beloved ones, Jesus is coming soon for His bride.  Scripture is filled with examples of what makes the perfect wife, and what constitutes the wife that is unfit to be acceptable to God.   Read them for yourselves and decide what kind of a bride you want to be to Jesus.  Then pray that we all may be found worthy to attend the marriage supper!

Maranatha!

“But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”  (2 Cor. 4:3-4)

“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed…”  (2 Cor. 4:8-9)

“The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God shall stand forever.”  (Isaiah 40:8)

My dear brothers and sisters, people are perishing for lack of the gospel.  Some are perishing because the god of this world has blinded them to the glory of the great Lord Jehovah, and made them believe that He has been replaced by technology and scientific paradigms.  Some are perishing because their hearts are evil and they have actively made the decision to live in the presence of darkness and hell.  And some, my friends, are perishing because we Christians have failed them.  We have failed to take the gospel to those who are unsaved, and we have failed to tell the truth concerning God’s commandments and the ultimate destination of those who do not turn to the Lord Jesus for salvation.  We have failed to show His love to those who are living in less fortunate circumstances than we may be, and we have failed to lift up His name in praise and thanksgiving in the public square.

Please understand, God’s word is unchanging.  That was what Isaiah meant when he said “the word of the Lord stands forever.”   What He wants us to be and what He wants for us to do has never changed.  His laws have never changed.  What He loved before He loves now; what He hated before He hates still.   He loves good and abominates evil.  We have gotten so used to believing that good and evil are relative terms that we no longer seem to fully comprehend either the difference between the two or God’s true aversion to evil.  He made it quite clear throughout all of scripture that evil will never be allowed to invade heaven.  It cannot be allowed into His presence, and those  persons who are not His belong automatically to the evil one.  Jesus said that any person who was not with Him was against Him (Luke 11:23).  This is in direct contradiction of what is being preached today:  that all paths lead to God and that (as our President told a Muslim contingent at a Ramadan dinner) we are all children of a loving God, regardless of to whom we pray .  Jesus is the way, the truth and the life; and NO ONE comes to the Father except through Him. (John 14:6)

Throughout time, God has shown His displeasure with His people by lifting His hand of protection from the nations that disregard His authority.  The United States had been especially blessed over the last 200 years because the cause of Christ had been made paramount in the nation.  Now, severe weather patterns are devastating the country; flooding has ruined crops in the mid-west, heat has annihilated crops in the south, tornadoes have wiped out several towns and hurricanes have ruined a major southern city and several smaller rural areas, and a huge amount of people are asking why!  Is it our deodorant’s fluorocarbons or global warming due to our refusal to revere Mother Earth properly?  And why did our economy fall?  Was it because “the Rich” sucked the nation dry, or because the politicians spent too much on social programs?  While a lot of factors entered into the economic equation, very few people  look at the real truth–that God is lifting His hand of mercy from us because we as a nation have sinned against Him.

We are commanded by God to be a holy and righteous nation, and to share the gospel.  We are commanded by an ungodly government to not annoy others who might be offended by hearing the name of God in public.  We are commanded to keep the laws of God but we are encouraged by television, advertising, political activism and even by some people of God to be greedy, blasphemous, covetous and even to allow the killing of our unborn children.  We are commanded to love His chosen people the Jews in the nation in which He has regathered them as He had promised a couple of thousand years ago He would do, but now we support Israel’s enemies financially while trying to bring peace to the middle east by trying to force Israel into giving up more of her God-given territory than she already has.  God said clearly He would bless those that bless Israel, and curse those who curse her.   Much of our nation’s prosperity has been predicated on the aid we have been to Israel and on the part we played in her rebirth.  Are we now to become another cursed nation because we are allowing those who want the annihilation of Israel to gain in strength and power?

A group of mid-western pastors recently signed a statement that homosexuality is no longer to be considered a sin.  New York recently became the most populous state to allow homosexual marriages.  A move is being made in California to require the teaching of the contributions of homosexuals in the public schools.  A new television ad features well-known actors and actresses bemoaning the fact that homosexuals are the subjects of prejudice and suffer from depression not because they are gay, but because they are not accepted.  While we should never treat others unkindly for any reason, the truth is that most of that depression is due to the fact that gays are living lifestyles that are strictly forbidden by God.  We can sign all the statements in the world denying this; we can ordain homosexual pastors and lesbian bishops all we want, but we cannot change the word of God concerning homosexuality: a practice that He refers to as an abomination.

We are commanded to care for the poor, the needy, the hopeless and the down-trodden.  I cannot tell you how many e-mails I have received over the past year suggesting that we allow the homeless to starve since they’re in the trouble they are in due to their own negligence, that we should not allow foodstamps to women on welfare for too long or without testing them for drugs regardless of whether or not their children would go hungry without help, etc.  I have said before that I do not believe that it is the government’s place to force its citizens to work and pay for those who will not;  however, God commands us to care for widows and orphans, to take care of needy children, and to show our neighbors the right way to live.  I realize that there are welfare recipients who are third generation recipients and yes, that is annoying.  However, if we do not show these people a better way to live, then we cannot blame them for making the poor decisions they tend to make.  If we do not teach them God’s laws for purity, for work, for righteous living, how can we blame them for not following the way of the cross?  Do you not believe, brothers and sisters, that God will not judge us for how we relate to those around us in need?

God commands us to forgive our enemies, yet we revel in hatred as long as it is something or someone it is politically correct to hate.  Every time a youthful gang member is arrested on an assault charge, the internet posts are full of people suggesting the best thing to do is kill them quickly.  They suggest ten-year-olds who kill be thrown away like garbage.  While I by no means think violent people should be allowed to continue their crimes, I know that God has a better plan for these people.  As  a Christian, I know that His love can redeem those we consider irredeemable, and that we must make the effort to share both the knowledge of His grace and the knowledge that they will spend an eternity in hell if they do not accept the salvation of Jesus with those who we consider to be damned.  We give money to missionaries who go spread the gospel overseas, but we don’t want to share that gospel ourselves in our own jails and prisons and hospitals or with our next door neighbor.

There is good news in all of this, dear ones.  2 Corinthians 4:8 and 9 says we are hard-pressed but not crushed; perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.  This is because we know that the word of the Lord stands forever.  He is the same yesterday, today and forever.  God loves us all so much that He sent His only Son to die for our redemption, so that we need not pay the eternal price for our sins.  God is judging America and the world, and His judgment is both harsh and righteous.  It is time to stand up for Him and His word.  It is time to share the gospel as we never have before. Time is running out and people, including some that we know and love, will perish for lack of knowledge of the gospel of Christ.  We must not fail them.

If you have not accepted the Lord as your savior, it’s not too late—–yet.   Read the scriptures, and see all the wonderful things that the Lord has in store for those who love Him.  Read also the fate of those who ultimately will reject His offer of love and an eternity in His presence.  Heaven is real; so is hell.  Make the choice while you can.

Maranatha!

And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him.  But Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.  For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed! ’  Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’  For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?”  (Luke 23:28-31)

     I read an interesting post the other day by a man who announced that God is passe; that He and His word belonged only to a time in which people who had no knowledge of science needed a way to explain the unexplainable.  This man was not alone in voicing this opinion.  Even many who call themselves Christians today do not believe the Scriptures to be the inerrant and unchangeable word of God.  For many centuries, these opinions belonged mostly to those who prided themselves on their “intellectualism”; now they are commonplace to the yawning point.  Often in the centuries following Christ’s death and resurrection, while the wood was still green, even those who didn’t turn their hearts over to Him acknowledged that the precepts given to us by the Father in the Old Testament and by Jesus in the New Testament were necessary for decent living.  Now we are in a time in which it has been determined that we are in charge of our own destinies; that believing in God is a private indulgence and believing in His word a foolishness that must not be inflicted on others.  Putting forth the precepts given us by God as the righteous way to live is now considered to be hate speech, and those who would suggest following His commandments are branded as intolerant “haters”.      Brothers and sisters, the wood is now so dry that a simple spark could ignite a conflagration. 

     When the wood of our souls grows dry,  Jesus’ name–which is the Name  above all names and who is the Lord of creation and of all the universe, may be blasphemed while the names of the false, demonic gods must be protected from ridicule.  While we pray for the spiritual eyes of the Muslim, Hindu, and other pagan worshippers to be opened to the love of their true Savior, we face charges of bigotry and hatred.  The Name of our precious Lord becomes a joke and a profanity on our television programs, our books, our movies, and even in our own homes.  The wood is very dry.

     When the wood is dry, human life becomes of little importance.  Husbands and lovers kill their women; women kill their children; abortion becomes a common occurance;  Children harm each other and themselves because they have been taught that they themselves, rather than God, are the center of the universe.  Terrorist activities escalate as the desire to triumph over the people of the One, true and most holy God grows most desperate. 

     When the wood is dry, evil becomes good, and good evil.  Homosexuality abounds as this lifestyle, condemned by God, is romanticized and regularized by a people who cannot believe in a God who will not allow sexual deviance amongst His people.  All sexual immorality flourishes since there is little belief in heaven or hell.  Whatever one is inclined to do must be good; only calling evil by its name is truly evil. 

     When the wood is dry, even those who call themselves children of God can be indifferent to the suffering of others. They can embrace the evil surrounding them and promote it while they walk in darkness, supposedly in the name of Christ.  They can drink of the cup of demons as they claim the Blood of Jesus.  They can make idols of money, status and authority while giving lip-service to the goodness of God.

     When the wood is dry, we can watch God’s warning signs come upon us in the form of natural disasters, economic crises, social devastation; and call them scientific anomalies.  We can hear the word of God and dismiss it as a fairy tale while we can believe in the science fantasy world of Star Trek. 

     When the wood is dry, we can watch with indifference as our Christian and Jewish brothers and sisters are threatened, slaughtered, ridiculed and enslaved around the world while we preach the need to embrace all paths to God.   We pray to Him in secret and openly declare that He has no authority in our nations.  Yes, the wood is very dry indeed.

     Many of us who love Him have been in crisis over the last few years: physically, emotionally and spiritually.  Often we feel as though we are barely keeping our heads above water, trying to survive in a world that is rapidly turning its collective back on the One whom we love the most.  Take heart, my friends!  God is not asleep;  He has not left us, nor has He taken His Holy Spirit from us.  All of these signs of spiritual dry wood are part of the birth pangs that we must go through before His coming again.  If you are not yet sure if you are a believer, please take the time right this minute to hand over your life to our Lord Jesus.  There is little time left in which to make the decision, and as the wood grows dryer still, hearts will begin to close up even more and harden against the most high God.  Repent of your sins and call upon His name; receive His forgiveness and everlasting life.  If you are a believer who is in distress, know that you are not alone.  Your Savior has promised to stay with you through the storm and deliver you safely at the other end.  There are many of us sharing your pain and your frustration.  No matter what happens in the near future, do not be afraid to speak the name of the Lord openly and with praise and love.  There are still those who need to hear about the truth of His love for us and the redemptive plan He made for our salvation–who knows?  Your words may be the last witness someone you know needs to hear before the Holy Spirit can lead him to Christ!  It’s time to be looking heavenward.  The wood is dry, but the word of God is fresh and unchangeable–and He said that when we see these things coming to pass, we should look up, for our redemption draws near!

Maranatha!

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.   (Isaiah 53:5)

In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  (1 John 4:9-10)

         While our Jewish brothers and sisters are observing Passover in remembrance of God’s mercy in providing a way for the angel of death to pass over Hebrew households living under the Egyptian pharoah’s rule and allowing them to begin their journey to the land He had promised them, Christians across the world are celebrating Holy Week: the yearly commemoration of the crucifixion, death and triumphant resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.   This involves a measure of Passover observance for us as well.  Our roots as a Christian people remain in Judaism.  The Jews were and will always be the chosen people of God–His wife.  We, as believers in Jesus as the Messiah, are the bride of Christ.    This relationship between the two faiths is the most basic and simplistic of reasons why many believers also acknowledge the season of Passover; however, there is a further dimension for us:  God has provided us with a second Passover:   a “passover” from sin and death to righteousness and eternal life with Him! 

      Like most believers, I love Christmas; celebrating the Word and Love of the Father coming down from God Himself in  human form.  It was not until I was born again, however, that I understood the overwhelming power of that last week in the life of my Lord.  Now Easter will never be a “secondary” holiday for me again. 

     God loves us.  He loves us so much that He hated the idea that our sin could separate us from Him for all eternity, so He sent His own dearly beloved Son to take the entire weight of our sins upon His sinless body and spirit and become the only perfect blood sacrifice  so that we might be redeemed from the eternal fires of hell.   When Jesus, who knew no sin, was horribly crucified on Calvary’s cross, He paid the price of redemption for all who would turn to Him with repentant hearts.  My gratitude and my love for Him is mingled with shame that every lie I’ve ever uttered, every unkind or blasphemous word I’ve ever spoken, every act of rebellion or evil I’ve committed was already known in advance by Him, and helped drive nails into those blessed palms and feet; they were the substance of every lash that afflicted His beaten body.  He died for me!  Not just for mankind’s general evils, but because I, Melissa, have committed evil and He didn’t want me to have to take upon myself the payment for my sins, so He took my sins with Him to be crucified along with Him.  He did it for you, too, brothers and sisters.  He knew your names and your sins even then, two thousand years ago, and He died for you, personally.   Can you even fathom this love?  I can understand a love that would die to save a child or loved one–but a love that would die for a people some of whom would mock and loathe Him forever?  That would curse His name and demand that He be allowed no place in the public arena?  That would reject His divine right to have His word be our nation’s guide and His presence acknowledged?  Can you fathom a love that continues though it be rejected, twisted, cheapened and scorned?   I cannot, but I am unbelievably grateful for it.   I am grateful that Jesus took this horrible punishment from me, laying Himself down on the cross of His own accord so that I might be a part of the great passover from death unto life.   When Jesus declared from His cross, “It is finished” (John 19:30),  the price of our freedom from the bondage of Satan had been paid. 

     Then Christ rose again!  Praise God!   He died for our sins, but His resurrection declared Him to be precisely who He had said He was;  He who could overcome death and hell and change the world!  And because of Him, we need never fear death nor hell nor sorrow, for He has gone to prepare a place for us in heaven (John 14:2) so that we might be forever in His presence.   

     It has become common for people to say that they believe in God, but they have no right to speak about Him publically, which could offend others who do not believe.  It has become correct in the worldly sense to claim that we cannot know for sure that Jesus is Lord and so therefore we must acknowledge that the spiritual paths of those following false gods are as legitimate as our own.   I declare that we DO know that Jesus is Lord, and that if we love others as He has commanded us to do, we will do everything possible to spread the gospel so that those who are doomed may meet our Lord and be saved.  I declare that there is but ONE way to God; Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)   And I declare that if I am ashamed to speak of my Lord to others, He will be ashamed to present me to our Father.

     If you still have not accepted Jesus as your Lord and savior, search your heart, repent of your sins and come to Him now.  Jesus loves you and is waiting for you to call upon His name:  He will forgive you of your sins and grant you eternal life.  Time is growing short. 

Happy Resurrection Day to you all.

     “Blessing and honor, and glory, and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!”   (Rev. 5:13)

Maranatha!

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.  And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?”  So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”    (Job 1:6-7)

“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.”  (John 15:18)

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:  for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God…Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.  But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.    (2 Timothy 3:1-4; 3:12-13)

     We are becoming truly adept at ignoring those truths which we choose not to acknowledge.  While we speak readily of the world economic crises and of regime changes in the Middle East and argue incessantly over whether or not the government should fund National Public Radio, we pay little attention to the growing persecution of Christians and Jews around the world–after all, what does that have to do with those of us here in the free, civilized and technologically advanced west?  My friends, the perilous times Paul warned us of have arrived, and from now on nothing will happen in the world that will not have an effect on our lives.  Back in November of 2008, I posted a word I’d had from the Lord signifying that the final years of choosing sides had begun.  We have since seen the results of those choices world-wide.  The United States is still straddling the fence, but it is a precarious position we will not be able to maintain. 

     The United States became a world power quickly after her birth because she had been blessed by the Almighty God to be a shining light to the nations, pointing people always towards Christ.  Like Israel, our foundation was based on the knowledge that God is our country’s ultimate authority and that He rules over all the kings (or premiers or presidents) of the earth by right.  While as a democratic republic we understood from the earliest days the need for people to have the freedom to worship or dissent without fear of retaliation, we also knew that the principles of freedom granted in our Constitution would never promote justice or prosperity without the accompanying obedience to the word of God.  This is no longer the case.  While we are being told that our freedom of religion is an inviolate right, Christianity itself is being eclipsed by a new and dangerous gospel of the tolerance of evil. 

     In just the first few months of 2011, many changes have been taking place that have a direct and devastating effect on the safety of Christians and Jews around the world.  In Egypt, whose Mubaric-run government the Obama administration helped to topple, the Coptic (Egyptian Christian) communities believe that the upcoming elections will pave the way for Islamist groups to rise in power and lead to further persecutions.  Already several of their monasteries have been attacked and many of their monks and other Christian workers have been wounded and/or arrested.   In Pakistan, still considered an ally, the Minister for Minority Affairs, Shabaz Bhatti, was gunned down in the backseat of his car. Bhatti was the only Christian in the Pakistani cabinet and had been critical of the blasphemy laws which imposes the death penalty for those who leave Islam for another religion.  Christian-owned fields and shops have been seized by landlords with the aid of local officials, and Christian symbols have been desecated.  The blasphemy laws do not help those who are not Islamic.  Pakistani Christians are in great danger, but, says Keith Davies in his article  “Christian Persecution: a Choice Between Shame and War?”  posted on BigPeace.com, although the US State Department is fully cognizant of their plight, they will allow no Pakistani Christians visas to enter the US; a state of affairs he likens to the refusal during WWII to allow entry to Jews escaping the death camps of Nazi Europe.  Attacks on Christians or arrests of Christians have been carried out also in Indonesia, Malaysia, Tunisia, Takjikistan, the Sudan, Somalia, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Turkey, the Gaza strip and Iraq.   Nearly every Islamic state is cruely enforcing their blasphemy laws.  Satan is going to and fro on the earth, and walking back and forth on it.

     So what about us here in the west?  The gospel of the toleration of evil is alive and well. In our government, in our media, in our schools and even in many mainstream denominations, a social gospel has replaced the Gospel of Christ.  This gospel proclaims that God does not judge our actions; He just loves us.  It proclaims that there is no hell (except maybe for serial killers, pedophiles and those who do not approve of all life-styles).   It proclaims that there may be many different roads to God and that we cannot offend anyone by sharing the Gospel of Christ.  It proclaims that we must not open people’s eyes to the truth that the Lord our God is the true God or that Jesus is the only Savior and Messiah.  It proclaims that the false god Allah or the demon gods of India or the ancestor-worship of Japan are all just in the eyes of God.  It proclaims that non-believers must be protected from the disgust they may feel at the mention of the name of God or His commandments.  It proclaims that Christians must not call sin by its proper name.   It proclaims the true freedom found in the presence of our all-holy God to be old-fashioned and mythical shackles that bind us into narrow-minded intolerance.  Yes, Satan is going to and fro upon the earth and walking back and forth on it.

     We are not arrested or abused for being Christians here in the west—yet.  But the rights of Christians to speak out against evil are rapidly diminishing. 

     An article appeared on the Net last week about a judge that was attacked by the ACLU for requiring defendants to read a book written by a Christian author.  I’m not sure how I feel about that–I don’t think I’m in favor of it, but I was stunned by the comments from readers that followed the article.  The venom displayed was beyond anything I had read following articles about murderers or child abusers (and some of those were pretty bad!).  Many of the comments expressed the hope that Christians would really suffer once the crack-down on them comes as come it will; some called for the rounding up of all Christians.  As I mentioned before, the choices have been made.  Already it is to invite media attack and governmental intervention to speak out against abortion or homosexuality.  Antisemitism and anti-Christian feelings run high at our schools and universities, both in the name of promoting tolerance.  What is happening to Christians in the Middle East and some African nations can happen here, and will, if we refuse to open our eyes to what our country is doing and make an effort to stop it. 

     The good news is that certain things cannot change.  God is still the ultimate authority for what happens here just as He always was and always will be.  If we walk in His love and lead lives of righteousness, we will be His for all eternity!  Paul’s prophecy for the last days is coming to pass before our eyes, but that doesn’t mean we should cease our activities on God’s behalf.  Our country could still be but lightly touched by the judgments to come if we see that good and godly politicians are elected to office; if we turn as a nation with repentent hearts to the Father who made of us a great country.  Whether we will actually do so, I very much doubt, but I continue to pray for the heart and soul of the United States and for our ally/sister Israel.   

     Take heart, my dear brothers and sisters!  Jesus told us that we would be blessed in being hated for His name (Luke 6:22); and that if the world hates us, it hated Him first.   In Matthew 24 He gave us the hint of what would be happening in the world at the time of His return.  We can see the appointed time coming all around us.  Paul’s letters also chronicle things that would be in motion at the time of Christ’s return, and those too are already in place.   I think if we listen closely, we can hear Him packing His bags and putting one foot out the door!  Yes, Satan is going to and fro on the earth and walking up and down on it—–and so is the Holy Spirit of God!

It’s not too late, dear ones!  If you haven’t accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, do it now!  Be born again; washed clean of your sins in the precious Blood of the Lamb of God, sent to redeem us and reconcile us to our Father in heaven.   If you wish to be born again but have questions about how to do so, please feel free to e-mail me and I’ll get to you as quickly as possible!

Maranatha!

“But I say to you who hear:  Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.  To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also.  And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either.  Give to everyone who asks of you.  And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.  And just as you want men to do to you, do to them likewise.”–Luke 6:27-31

“Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.  And whoever will not receive you when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”–Luke 9:4-5

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power.  And from such people turn away!”–2 Timothy 3:1-5

But let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.–Amos 5:24

     My heart has grown exceedingly heavy over the past few weeks as I have read the news and the accompanying opinion posts on the internet news sites.  So much violence, betrayal, murder, abuse and hatred has become such a sordid and integral part of our lives!    This was not unexpected; nothing is happening that was not predicted in Scripture for the latter days.  The biggest conundrum for those of us who love the Lord is how to react to what is going on around us.   Do we close our eyes to the pain and suffering and look up because our redemption draws nigh? (Luke 21:28)  Are we to shake the dust of the unbelieving world off our feet as a testimony against them, or are we to pray for them and those who spitefully use us?  Most of all, is Christ’s dictate to love our enemies and to show love and compassion to those who oppose us incompatible with His intolerance for sin?  Can we show both compassion and righteousness?

     Most of you who have read many of my posts will not be surprised if I confess to being a political conservative.    Most fundamentalists or quasi-fundamentalists tend toward political conservatism because we are more concerned with advancing the kingdom of God than the kingdoms of this world.  We tend to prefer smaller and less restrictive governments, and most of us freely admit to believing that God should be the ultimate and absolute authority in guiding our nation.  Conservatism does not equal born-again Christianity, but born-again Christians usually adopt a more conservative world view.   My distress today arises from the fear that in our righteousness we are losing our sense of compassion.  Although they sound like contradictory terms, God demands both from us.  Yet the more sinful our world  becomes, the more we seem to be living only in condemnation of the evil rather than in the advancement of the Gospel of Christ.

     “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.”  Remember being taught that in school?  While that may be  true in the physical realm, it should not be so in the spiritual realm.  Our reactions to those circumstances in which we find ourselves should be carefully thought out and studied in the light of what best constitutes the will of God.  Lately, in the zeal to combat a tendency toward creeping socialism many Christians seem to be losing the sense of compassion that Jesus exhibited for our understanding.  More and more I’ve heard rumblings that socialized medicine is bad; therefore, if the poor cannot get health care, that’s too bad for them.  If they can’t make enough money to pay for insurance, that’s their problem.  If they can’t afford food for their families, then they shouldn’t have had children; therefore why should we be supporting them?   We often take the mistaken position that because taking from those who have worked hard for their living in order to give it to those who have not worked hard is wrong (which it is)  and decidedly not the lawful business of the government (which it is not), then the answer is to ignore the plight of the destitute, the homeless and the helpless.  This is one of the few times in which I would agree that we should not be mixing our politics and our faith.  I agree our government should not be requiring the “haves” to finance the “have-nots”.  I agree the government should not force upon anyone the care and feeding of others.  I agree that our government should not encourage or support those who choose to live an immoral or irresponsible lifestyle at the expense of those who do not.  God has never required that we be forced into financial slavery for the benefit of  those who do not choose to support themselves or who deliberately engage in behaviors that are in direct contradiction to His will and commandments.  He does, however, require that we as Christians take personal responsibility for the truly needy who surround us.   We must learn not to confuse or equate need with sin.

     Another disturbing trend within the confines of our supposedly advanced society has been the growing violence and godlessness exhibited by young people.  I’ve quit keeping track of the babies and young children who have been recently abused and/or murdered by their parents.  At least a half dozen  cases have surfaced in the past year of children killing their parents over what seems to be trivial matters.  School shootings, beginning with the Columbine killings, while not frequent, have taken place at least enough times to make the issue a worry for parents.  Again, each time one of these tragedies take place, conservative Christians take to the internet to call for the immediate and harshest punishments while rarely addressing the root cause of the rise of the problem.  Don’t misunderstand me here:  criminals, regardless of age, must bear the consequences of their actions.  Only sheer foolishness would turn a violent fourteen-year-old back out into an innocent and unsuspecting public due to his or her age.  However, I believe that it is our job as Christians to try to offer solutions to the underlying causes rather than to just virtuously congratulate ourselves on not having ourselves raised monsters.  As a society, we have now raised at least one–and possibly two–generations to believe that their economic well-being and their lust for fame, possessions and freedom are legitimate ultimate goals for their lives.  We have taught them that all their desires, even those that are selfish and evil, are perfectly valid; but we have not balanced this with teaching them the values God has imposed on His people.  Naturally, the majority of young people will survive this without committing horrendous crimes, but I’m not sure we have the right to be so shocked and astonished when the inevitable happens and some tragedy ensues.  Pray for these generations, brothers and sisters.  Most of the tragedies I’ve written about would never have occurred had the young people been brought up in the love and admonition of the almighty Father and His Son.  A compassionate people would teach their offspring to show kindness to others who are less fortunate, to exhibit friendship towards those who are less socially adept or acceptable, and to take some responsibility for the needs and feelings of those around them.  In this compassion is righteousness.  If we continue to allow our young people to believe that their emotional and animal needs are to be met at any cost, we will continue to suffer the consequences.  Pray for the secular world, that the God of love and righteousness will be made manifest in their hearts.  Pray that the crooked paths will be made straight and that the way of salvation will be opened to those who have not been  raised to see it.  It is time to pray, “Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth.”   It is time to hurt for those who do not understand the true meaning of love.

     The government has mistakenly been trying to exhibit compassion by encouraging the tolerance of evil.  Paradoxically, it has been exhibiting what is considered to be righteousness in the condemnation of Biblical Christianity.  The endeavor to enforce tolerance has supported the rise of the prevalence of radical Islam in countries here in the west and has endangered both our moral character and our freedoms.  The truth is that Christianity and radical Islam cannot coexist in harmony.  The belief that “all roads lead to God” is fallacious:  Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and no man comes to the Father except through Him. (John 14:6)  Radical Muslims believe that infidels (all of us who are not Muslims) must be destroyed, and that all nations must eventually be ruled by sharia law.  Their hatred of our Jewish brothers and sisters is well known throughout the world.   What should our reaction be to them?  Here again, Christians are losing sight of what constitutes the will of God.  Righteousness demands that we put a stop to terrorism and stop the spread of this false religion.  Compassion demands that we pray for the Muslim’s hearts to be washed clean in the Blood of the Christ.  Although difficult to accomplish, both can be addressed at the same time.  Our reactions to the world around us must always be in line with the word of God.  God has no tolerance for sin, yet He calls upon us to convert, to whatever extent we can, the sinner.  It is not a sin to pray for the vanquishing of this enemy, but it is a sin to hold hatred in our hearts for those who oppose us.  Fighting the evil is necessary, but the soul of the sinner should also be of concern to each of us. 

     In discussing the issues of compassion versus righteousness, my friend Alan wrote to me rightly that “righteousness and compassion can only be brought together through the work of the Holy Spirit in an individual’s life, and then only by each individual completely submitting his or her will to our Lord on a day-to-day, moment-by-moment basis.”    My dear friends, can we do this?  Can we remember that God hates not one person He has created, and submit ourselves to His will to show compassion and uphold righteousness?  God is not willing that any person should be condemned to hell, and continues to knock on the door of the hearts of all men until they have drawn their last breaths.  Let us not prove ourselves unfaithful in submitting our will to God’s until His will becomes ours. 

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He that believes on Him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation; that light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness better than light, because their deeds were evil.”  (John 3:16-19)

Maranatha!

“Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,” grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.  “It’s so dreadful to be poor!” sighed Meg, looking down at her old dress.—-(Chapter 1, “Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott)

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder.  And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end…” (Isaiah 9:6-7)

“…After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.  Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.  But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.  And she shall bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”  So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”   (Matthew 1:18-23)

     “It’s not gonna be much of a Christmas this year, that’s for sure.”

          I overheard the above comment in Wal-Mart the other day, and what instantly came to my mind were the opening words from Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women.”   The grumbles really haven’t changed much over the years, have they?  I had even had the same thought myself this year in a moment of insanity.  Then the Lord reproved my inaccurate and really very silly words:  “I sent Light into the world and into the darkness of your heart; I sent my Love to you so you could spend eternity with Me, I sent My own Son as a baby to grow up to be the one, perfect Sacrifice who’s blood would wash away your sins forever–and you complain it won’t be much of a Christmas without  extra spending money?”   Whoops.  Praise God!  We have a heavenly Father to set us back on the right path when we look away from Him for a moment and begin to look only at our selfish selves!  That being so, I thought it was a good time to revisit the topic of the gift-giving of Christmas.

     Never having spent Christmas in another country, I’m unsure of how large a part the giving of presents plays in the celebrations of some of you who read The Watchman and live in other countries.  Here in America it has reached gargantuan and often ridiculous proportions, accounting for a large percentage of many retailers income.  As greed became a staple ingredient in the holiday, the real meaning and gifts of Christmas became obscured until, in many households, the One who’s birthday we celebrate is no longer invited to the party! 

     Since the beginning, when Adam and Eve sinned and were banished from the presence of God in Eden, men had tried to make a way to redeem themselves and find their way back into the good graces of the Almighty God.  They made sacrifices to God, sinned and fell again; made sacrifices to God again, sinned and fell again and again.  The blood of rams and goats could not cover or remove the evil that men continued to perpetuate.  The darkness of evil filled men’s hearts and there seemed no permanent way to incur the favor of God.  Satan appeared to be winning the battle for the souls of those whom God created. 

     Then, as prophesied by the Old Testament prophets, God Himself came down to earth in the form of man–a baby born in Bethlehem of Judea.  Jesus, the only-begotton Son of God–the second Person of the one triune God–became the true and greatest Gift to all of mankind.  The gift of Light shining in the darkness of evil;  the perfect Lamb of heaven who would die thirty-three years later to redeem and deliver all who believed in Him, and to bridge the chasm that sin had created between God and man.  This free gift of deliverance belongs to us today because of the Baby born a couple of thousand years ago.  Celebrate, brothers and sisters!  Celebrate because God loves us and dwelt among us, and casts our sins as far from us as “the east is from the west” and remembers them no more!  Celebrate the birth of our Lord–the greatest Gift the world has ever seen!  Invite Jesus to spend this season in which we acknowledge His birth in your home with you.   He is, indeed, the only Reason for the Season!

     As always in Christmas posts, I need to speak to those who repudiate Christmas as Christ’s birthday.  Yes, we know that Christ probably was not actually born on December 25.   Yes, we know that it was deliberately placed close to the time of the pagan winter solstice festivals.  What better time to celebrate the triumph of the One true Light of the world over the demonic powers of darkness?  What better time to celebrate Love coming down and freeing us from the shackles of the evil one who held us in the bondage of sin?  Placing Christmas here did not just give people something more godly to celebrate; it symbolized the ultimate authority of our Abba/Father over any demon or principality that would try to separate us from His perfect love!

     Won’t be much of a Christmas because there isn’t much money?  How many game systems and other gifts do our children actually need?  Will having one or two presents as opposed to ten bring the Light of Christ’s love into our children’s hearts?  Will the gift cards to Lowes or Applebee’s set our friends and family on fire with the presence of the Holy Spirit?  Search your hearts, and remember why we began giving gifts during this holiday season:  to bring to remembrance the first and greatest gift of all–the salvation brought to us by Jesus ; born in a manger to a young girl and her new husband who bent their wills to the will of God:   the salvation brought by Jesus that we could never earn by ourselves, that we do not deserve and yet receive freely from the heart of the God of love!

Maranatha! 

Then some of the itinerant [roving or nomadic] Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.”  Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.  And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”  Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowering them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. (Acts 19: 13-16)

     Shame on me!  I’m embarrassed to admit to it, but this story of the seven sons of Sceva has always made me laugh.  The mental image it conjures up never ceases to strike me as funny.  And yet, seen in a more thoughtful light, the warning contained in it is far from amusing.  These men, with no true connection to the Lord, were using His name like a magic talisman, assuming that they had to be taken seriously because they claimed to be servants of God.  As always, the scripture quoted above was not just meant to be a chronicle of an event which took place two thousand years ago, but a lesson to those of us today who need to learn how to discern between true and false ministries, teachings and prophecies.  In an age in which we can, if we choose, be inundated with various Christian teachings via internet, satellite and cable TV, we must learn that not all preaching is equal, and not all “prophets” with enough money to buy weekly space on INSP or the God Network are worthy of being followed.

     My purpose today is not to denigrate any particular preacher or ministry, but merely to sound a warning that we must not blindly accept everything that is said on TV by every man or woman who claims to have received special revelations from God.  Note:  many, many of those you see each day preaching the word  are fine and divinely-gifted ministers of God.  They have brought many souls to salvation, and their work must indeed please their heavenly Father.  TV, radio and crusades have made it possible for millions of people to be introduced to their Lord and Savior who might never have gotten the chance otherwise.  Through the work of some ministries, we are able to delve into the fascinating study of Christianity’s Jewish roots, and to have our souls refreshed by timely words of love or admonishment. Some teach us about what God wants of us as He sets it out in the scriptures; some teach us how to tell others about God’s love, or how to live lives that are pleasing to the Almighty.   However, scattered throughout these worthy ministries are many who excite large followings with fantastic yet questionable displays of what they consider to be “gifts of the Spirit.” 

     The gifts of the Holy Spirit are real and are available to God’s people today.  According to chapter 12 of the first epistle to the Corinthians, Paul lists these as wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, and the gifts of speaking in and interpreting tongues.  Not everyone displays the same gifts; some are in operation most of the time, others are revealed when they are needed by the prompting of the Holy Spirit.  When I hear preachers telling world-wide TV congregations that they cannot have the Holy Spirit within them unless they speak in tongues, I cannot help but immediately think of some of the best and most Godly men I have heard who have wonderous teaching gifts, but do not speak in tongues, or those who’s prophecies have come to pass, yet cannot interpret tongues.  I cannot say with any certainty whether or not the gift of tongues always accompanies what is known as the “baptism in the Holy Spirit.”   I well remember watching one famous TV evangelist telling those in attendance at one of his crusades that the Holy Spirit was about to descend on the auditorium and they would all begin to speak in tongues.  Some, he said, would speak in another language, and some might say “BaBaBaBaBaBaBaBaBaBa”, but either way they would have “spoken in tongues.”  I was distressed when I saw this, since, as I said, I’m not sure if the  baptism of the Holy Spirit comes only through the speaking in tongues; also, I am somewhat skeptical as to whether the repetition of a single syllable constitutes “tongues.”  It was, however, an effective way to immediately raise the emotional level of the meeting, and to convince all present that they had experienced the sudden presence of the Holy Spirit.   A dear friend of mine had the thought that he was trying to produce another Pentecost–which I am not at all certain is possible.    Another prominent member of the TV evangelist fraternity has a terrible track record of publically making dozens of prophecies he claims were given to Him by the Lord, but which never came to pass.  As we have noted before, the Bible’s criteria for a true prophet is that no false prophecies will escape their lips.  Yet this man’s followers number in the millions; with people being drawn to him by a charismatic  manner and a desperate desire to receive a miracle during one of his crusades–crusades in which healings are claimed, but few proven.   Although I believe some miracles may indeed have occurred during these spectacles, because we have a good and loving God who hears our pain and our desperation, the style of many of these miracle-crusade type preachers is one of pride and self-aggrandizement: more in the nature of showmanship than of men of God.   Some claim powers there is absolutely no way to verify.  A good friend and sister in Christ forwarded an e-mail to me that disturbed her (and me as well).  One show was advertising having on a man who could see everyone’s demons. That, of course, makes for sensational TV, but is it a true gift from the Lord?   The person who originally sent it to my friend believed in it absolutely, but I felt a distinct check in my spirit as I read the article.  Can there be a spirit associated with the sons of Sceva which seeks self-gain and glory in the name of Jesus?

     Another disturbing trend today deals with what is known as ”prosperity theology.”  Based on a few Bible texts, this newish teaching claims that God intends for all of His people to be well-to-do, and that wealth is a sign of God’s approval and love for us.  Now, Jesus did indeed say that if we asked anything in His name we would receive it.  So did He mean that if we want a new sports car or a mink coat all we have to do is ask God for it in His name?  I don’t think so.  I do not believe that we were ever intended to pray to God for riches of any kind, and I do not believe that Jesus’ ancient Hebrew audiences would have assumed that was the case.  Jesus spoke several times about the difficulties attached to wealth–that as wealth grew, so did the desire to hang onto it.  The best use of money, according to Him, was to give to those who had none.  Yet we have at least half-a-dozen well known preachers who triumphantly point to their jets, their mansions, their cars and their vacation homes as proof that God favors them.  Worse, they mislead their followers by making them believe that God must jump through hoops to bring them whatever they wish for if they pray and believe.  I certainly and heartily believe Paul when he said that “my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phillipians 3:19).  I believe that God knows what we have need of and will supply it as Jesus said in Luke 12.  I believe there is nothing wrong about asking God to help you through a financial crisis and believing He will do so.  But Jesus did say not to worry about these things of the flesh, but to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.”   This is to be the real plea that a believer makes to the Lord.  Another thought here is in order:  prosperity theology may make some sense to the American mind, but how do its proponents explain the poverty forced upon Christians in many other nations?  Are the Christians in Islamic nations or in atheist nations like China and N. Korea who lose everything they have–including sometimes their liberty or their lives–because they won’t renounce Jesus,  lacking in their prayers or beliefs?  I think not.  I think some prayers are always answered by God, freely and quickly:  prayers for salvation, for forgiveness, for righteousness.  These people have their answers in abundance!

     As I said earlier, there are many wonderful Christian teachers who do wonderful work for the Lord.  Many do sell books or tapes, but that is necessary:  airtime is expensive and must be paid for; money given to good works must come from those upon who’s hearts God has laid it to make offerings for His glory.   Please, brothers and sisters, please, pray for discernment when you follow any person’s teachings about God.  No matter how personable or suave a leader may be, open your Bibles and study to see if teachings you have not heard before line up with the word of God.   If they do not, reject them.  The spirit of the sons of Sceva still seeks self-glorification.  If an evangelist’s words or actions bring glory to themselves rather than to God, they may well be on their way to becoming one of those poor souls that Jesus said would stand before Him one day saying that they had cast out devils in His name,  yet would be told that He never knew them.

Maranatha!