Home Archives for sin

How Does God Define Evil Vs. Good? How Do You?

3

In last week’s blog, Take the Spiritual Battle Seriously Don’t Become a Casualty, I had this line: “It’s the battle between good and evil, Jesus and Satan, which will continue until the time of Jesus’ return.”

I talk often about the battle between good and evil and assumed that we would all have similar thoughts on what is evil. I was wrong!

Let me back up a bit. On Facebook, I saw a meme that caught my eye and I was going to ask permission to use it in last week’s blog. It said something to the effect that “We’re Way Beyond Democrats vs Republicans or Liberals vs Conservatives, It’s Good vs Evil.” I thought yes, I agree and went to the page of the meme creator and discovered that person didn’t see evil through the same lens that I do. Obviously, I didn’t use the meme.

But it started me thinking that there’s no longer a universal view of evil. When I mentioned this to my pastor, he said yes because we’re now in the era of what was once evil is now considered good and good is evil. God knew this would happen in the world.

What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter. Is 5:20 NLT

The Bible tells us “The Lord is watching everywhere, keeping his eye on both the evil and the good” (Prov. 15:3).

So that raises the question: What does God consider evil?

Evil Was Not in God’s Original Plan for Us

We first learn of God differentiating good and evil during the creation of the earth: 9 The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Gen. 2:9 NLT

Then God set boundaries for his first human creation, Adam. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Gen. 2:16-17

But as we know, the serpent Satan tempted Eve to eat from the tree anyway, “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.” Gen. 3:5

Sure enough, after Eve and Adam gave into the temptation from Satan and ate from the tree, “And the Lord God said, ‘The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil.’” Gen. 3:22

Sadly, people chose to do more evil than good. “The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. Gen. 6:5-6

So next, we have the story of Noah building the ark and God wiping everyone but Noah’s family off the face of the earth with the flood. Something God said He would never do again, even though the Israelites did tempt Him, “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood.” Gen. 8:21

And there it is. We’re born knowing how to be evil and have to learn how to be good. God gave us godly rules to follow in how to live a good life pleasing to Him in the 10 Commandments. (Ex. 20:2-17) But seeing that people couldn’t even live by these ten simple instructions, God went silent for 400 hundred years.

Then Came Jesus!

God sent His one and only Son to die for our sins so that we could receive undeserved forgiveness and redemption from our inevitable evil sins, with one stipulation: You must ask God for forgiveness, repent, and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Then the Holy Spirit will enter your heart to guide and lead you to do good and not evil. (Acts 2:36-38)

Evil still tries to invade the lives of those saved by grace. Satan will always try to tempt us, just like he did with Jesus in the desert. But like Jesus, by faith and the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, we can resist. Sadly, some may give in momentarily to the sin, but a believer always knows in his or her heart that they’re sinning.

Just as I wrote in last week’s blog, from the beginning of time, the source of all evil is Satan. The Bible often refers to him as the “evil one.” When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. Matt. 13:19

Jesus goes on to help define for us evil in Matt. 15:18-19: 18 But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. Evil.

Moral evil can exist even without external action. Murder is an evil action, but it has its start with the moral evil of hatred in the heart (Matthew 5:21-22). Committing adultery is evil, but so is the moral evil of lust in the heart (Matthew 5:27-28).

As Christian philosopher J. P. Moreland said, “Evil is a lack of goodness. It is goodness spoiled. You can have good without evil, but you cannot have evil without good.”

Anything that contradicts the holiness of God  (Psalm 51:4) or anything committed against God i.e. unbelief, idolatry, blasphemy, is evil.

 As God’s children, we are to live by this command: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21).

But people often make up their own definition of evil based on personal opinions that might be contrary to yours. When I went to that Facebook timeline that I mentioned earlier, I saw that my conservative beliefs were considered evil by that person. But the Bible tells us this will happen:

Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Luke 6:22

It’s a Choice: Jesus or Satan

Here’s a hard truth but it’s real: anyone not following Jesus is following Satan. They are the only two spiritual forces in this world. It doesn’t mean unbelievers are satanic but they are influenced in thought, mind, and actions by Satan and they need our prayers for an awakening.

I know you’re thinking: But I know some really “good” people who aren’t Christians. If Jesus doesn’t have their heart, than Satan does. I’m not saying this, Jesus did about those who reject Him: This is the verdict: Light [Jesus] has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” John 3:19

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

Paul emphasized, But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth [Jesus] and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. Rom. 2:8

Job’s introduction in Job 1:1 describes whether he is a follower of God or Satan, the only two options then and now. Not how he looked physically but his spiritual persuasion: “There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless—a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil.” (NLT)

21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of[a] your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. Col. 1:21-23

God wants all of His creation to turn from evil to good, but He doesn’t force it. Even Jesus didn’t make a mandate that all should be saved. It’s a choice.

Evil is disbelief in God. OR belief in God but rejecting Him. OR a believer trying to justify ungodly thoughts and actions. We’re watching all of this take place in our culture openly today.

28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Rom. 1:28-31

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. Ps. 14:1

BLM and Antifa are blatant self-described atheists, therefore motivated by Satan’s evil, not God’s good, but look at all the people, including misguided Christians, supporting them and their violence.

What about the ungodly laws being passed and supported not only by many in government, but by constituents, even some Christians. There is no way to legitimize the murder of babies in the womb as “good.” But many do. Evil. Satanic.

A deceived Minneapolis DFL called the evil burning of a police precinct “an act of pure righteousness.”

Mutilating the bodies of children in the name of “gender identity.” Evil. God created each of us in the image of God, male or female and He doesn’t make mistakes. (Gen. 1:27)

CRT is evil. Many school boards are calling it “good.” God looks at our heart for goodness and character, not the color of our skin that He gave each of us. “The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Sam. 16:7

Child and sex trafficking, smuggling of drugs across the border. Evil. But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea. Matt. 18:6 NLT

I could go on, but I hope I’ve prompted you to not just look at issues politically or emotionally, but spiritually. What’s in the hearts, motivations, and actions of those promoting issues and ideas? Then prayerfully ask God what He sees as “good.” What does He want you to encourage and support. How does He want you to live.

 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Eph. 5:15-17

Finally, dear brothers and sisters,[a] we ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you. 2 Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer. 3 But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. 2 Thess. 3:1-3 NLT

Note: There was an error in last week’s blog link to Dr. Charles Stanley’s “Dressing in Your Spiritual Wardrobe.” It is corrected now (and here), but I was surprised that my husband was the only person to alert me to the mistake. If ever a link doesn’t work or you see a typo, please contact me so I can correct it.

If you received this article by email, please leave a comment here.

August 16, 2021
Return to top of page

America’s Problem is Systemic Secularism NOT Systemic Racism!

7

Recently, a “woke” phrase has emerged and is repeated so often that many people accept it as true: systemic racism.

Let’s look at the definition of systemic: something that affects the whole instead of just parts. Embedded within and spread throughout and affecting a whole system, group, body, economy, market, or society.

Those who have now applied systemic to racism infer that the systems in place create and maintain racial inequality in every facet of life for people of color.

Liberals, the radical Left, mainstream media, and anyone trying to stir up strife and unrest tout “systemic racism” is factual. It’s become a mainstream mantra and few question its validity.

But could it possibly be true? If racism is systemic, how do they explain a black president for eight years (whom many white citizens voted for) and the popularity of his wife? Numerous black mayors and police chiefs, including women. Black athletes. Black politicians. Black lawyers. Black business men and women. Black business owners. Black physicians and scientists. Black media personalities and celebrities. The list goes on.

Let me be clear, I am not discounting that racism does still exist in many facets of our society, and maybe those who became successful experienced it at some time, but I am saying that it is not “systemic” today. Many blacks agree with me. Even as I was writing this blog, two prominent well-respected black men spoke on this very topic:

“‘Systemic racism’ is used as a ruse to avoid talking about the real problems. To deflect from real issues in areas run by their own people of black officials and systems.” Bob Woodson, founder of the Woodson Center and the 1776 Project

“You hear this phrase, ‘systemic racism’ [or] ‘systemic oppression’,” host Mark Levin told [Thomas] Sowell. “You hear it on our college campuses. You hear it from very wealthy and fabulously famous sports stars. What does that mean? And whatever it means, is it true?”

Thomas Sowell replied:

“It really has no meaning that can be specified and tested in the way that one tests hypotheses. It reminds me of the propaganda tactics of Joseph Goebbels during the age of the Nazis in which he is supposed to have said ‘People will believe any lie if it’s repeated long enough and loud enough!’ Even people who use it don’t have any clear idea of what they’re saying. Their purpose is served by having other people cave in.” –Black economist and author Thomas Sowell interviewed on Life Liberty & Levin.

America repented of the sins of slavery long ago. In his essay Understand What Is Happening: A Christian Response [which I encourage you to read in full] Larry Alex Taunton reveals the motive behind this attempt to rekindle racial divides:

“Now, the self-righteous types filling the ranks of Democrats, BLM, Antifa, and the radical Left in general, themselves wronged by no one and possessed by a hateful, secular, utopian ideology absent any notion of grace, see themselves as the embodiment of retribution and national reckoning. They are determined to keep America’s sins—both real and imagined—ever before her, reminding her, flogging her, as a means of reducing us all to a pathetic national guilt that will be leveraged for evil purposes.”

One of those evil purposes is to silence anyone who disagrees with them by calling a dissenter a “racist.” This overused term has lost any real meaning but people still quake at the thought of being called one for fear they will lose their job or reputation.

Most Americans are NOT racist, but they are being accused of racism just because of their skin color and because it’s part of a political power-grab agenda.

It astounds me that people are accepting this falsehood touted by white people on television scolding us while apparently not looking in the mirror. Or high-paid, well-coiffed black commentators trying to convince us that we are back in the sixties.

Sadly, the public is allowing the promotion of this racial divide. People in leadership, including many in the church, are afraid of offending the secular culture. They stay silent or go along with it when the real answer to racism is spiritual.

We don’t have a skin problem, we have a sin problem.

Systemic Secularism Will Be America’s Downfall

“I hope we don’t just go back to ‘normal,’ if normal means a nation that continues to defy and rebel against God and His ways, a nation that is openly hostile to Christians, a nation that rejoices and revels in godless behavior.”—Franklin Graham, Decision Magazine June 2020

Systemic secularism, immorality, and evil runs rampant in our world today. Secularism is another word for what the Bible calls “worldly” or “the world.”

Applying secularism to the earlier definition of “systemic,” secularism is truly embedded within and spread throughout and affecting a whole system, group, body, economy, market, or society, including the church.

When is the last time your pastor preached against abortion, homosexuality, living together, pornography . . . sin? I hope it was recently.

On the 4th of July, many of us sang “God bless America” and the Battle Hymn of the Republic. But we also saw systemic evil prevail throughout the streets with flag burning, murders of innocent black children, and hateful words spoken about the greatest nation in the world.

Good versus evil. Jesus versus Satan. Truth versus lies. Patriotism versus socialism. Freedom versus bondage.

How did we move so far away from the ideals of our nation’s founding fathers? How did America go from biblical to secular? How did Christians let Americans forget that God is the original Founder of America and the world?

The authors of the Constitution and Bill of Rights believed in God as the Creator who guides our lives and our country. Even those who weren’t Christians understood that we needed to live by the guiding principles in the Bible. Thomas Jefferson, whose statues are being toppled, said, “The Bible is the cornerstone of liberty.”

Is it any wonder that as we watch the Bible degraded and discounted today that we’re also watching the attack on American ideals and patriotism. We’re losing “inalienable rights” such as free speech. People are too afraid and intimidated to speak out against the mob and “woke” censorship.

The Declaration of Independence declares, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Everyone no matter race, color, or background is important to God and therefore should be important to the governing powers.

Abraham Lincoln, whose statues and legacy are also being torn down, declared of the Bible in 1864: “All the good the Saviour gave to the world was communicated through this book. But for it we could not know right from wrong. All things most desirable for man’s welfare, here and hereafter, are to be found portrayed in it.”

But aside from putting their hand on the Bible when sworn into office, and some recently the Quran, you seldom hear the Bible mentioned today in the same breath with laws and rights that govern our country.

We can’t go back and change history whether it’s racism or secularism, but we can make a difference as much as it is up to us.

Returning to Systemic Biblical Values in America

1. God Wants Christians to Heal Our Land

I always appreciate when VP Pence ends his speeches with “God heal our land.” I assume he’s referring to 2 Chronicles 7:14, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

But God puts conditions on healing our land and you and I are the ones responsible for fulfilling those conditions.

God doesn’t say if the secular culture will change. He specifically says “If his people,” Christians, will humble ourselves to prayerfully repent from our sins, then He will listen and forgive us and start healing our land.

Wow that means the healing of America is up to you, me, and the church. We can’t change the world but we can change ourselves and cleanse our lives from the sins that God hates.

We need to purge secularism out of our own lives. Don’t wait for a convicting sermon because you might not hear one.

Read God’s Word, the Bible, and prayerfully live by its guidance not the guidance of the world!

Then when we take the plank out of our own eye, watch the world change. Not because of what we’ve done but because of what God says He will do in and through us.

The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. 2 Chr. 15:2

For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. 2 Chr. 16:9

2. Make the Bible Systemically Relevant in Every Aspect of Life!

I heard a troubling quote: “Satan is discipling America because the church isn’t!” Ouch!

We need to learn how to speak the Truth in terms the world can understand.

Scripture doesn’t usually have meaning to the unbeliever because they don’t believe in following Jesus so they won’t relate to it or might just argue.

Slip into your everyday conversations the way the Bible would handle specific situations without saying, “the Bible says.”

Don’t alter your conversation when around unbelievers; talk just like you would with a group of believers.

Satan is a false teacher, but many are succumbing to his lies. Satan’s will is done more in America than God’s will! That should break every Christian’s heart.

Don’t let the Bible lose relevance in our culture. It’s up to us to be living examples.

It’s up to us to become systemically biblical in our every action, thought, and word.

And then watch God heal our land. Heal our racial issues. Return patriotism and love of America. Take down secularism and replace it with a love for God, our country, and each other.

#3. Pray and Ask God Where He Wants Us to Get Involved.

In an interview with the mother of a black sixteen year-old boy shot while walking home from the store, her black attorney pointed out that often the senseless brutal black-on-black killings are not coming from gangs. They also stem from anger. They haven’t been taught how to deal with anger, so they pick up a gun and start shooting. He said they need someone to invest in their life.

Ben Carson tells the story of being an angry young man who threw bricks through windows to express his aggression. Like so many black families, he didn’t have a father in the household, but he did have a praying mom. He found a Bible in the bathroom, opened it to the Book of Proverbs, and started reading. He recounts that he realized he wasn’t living like the Scriptures said to live and his anger left him. Proverbs changed his life.

He went on to become a pediatric neurosurgeon, ran for President, and is now the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

Carson realized the Bible is relevant to every area of life. It’s systemic!

In my June AHW Ministries Newsletter, I shared another story of an angry black young man in a fatherless home who had flunked out of school when a “white” mentor stepped into his life and helped him find purpose to succeed. That young man is Senator Tim Scott.

Jesus spoke in stories to share the truth. We all have a story. Not everyone will read the Bible but each of us can be a living Bible.

God is looking for those who are willing to make America Systemically Biblical Again!

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
    the people he chose for his inheritance. Ps. 33:12

“Freedom is not doing what we want. It’s doing what we should.” Mike Huckabee

You might find it helpful to read Forsaken God? Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten, or Everyday Brave: Living Courageously as A Woman of Faith. Both were written for such a time as this.

July 13, 2020
Return to top of page

I Only Bend My Knee to Jesus Christ and No Other!

3

In the middle of a pandemic and possible recession, we find ourselves also thrust into a racial war. I’m not going to discuss the merits or faults of a peaceful protest, but violent malicious rioting is wrong. Detestable! Evil!

I mentioned in last week’s blog something I’ve been posting all week, “The rioting has nothing to do with the original frustration over an injustice. Doing wrong to justify another wrong still makes your wrong, wrong!”

There are so many things that alarm me, and I’m sure you too, about what is portrayed about the racial division being stoked in our country.

Bad cops made a bad decision and they will pay the price. But why are the rest of us paying the price?

If this is a racial protest, why are black communities and black businesses being destroyed, looted, robbed, and burned? Why are blacks being killed by blacks?

There’s only one answer to these questions and so many more like them: Satan!

God created one race—the human race!

God gave us the color of our skin. We had no control over that and yet today many Caucasians are bowing down before those who are promoting chaos and mayhem and apologizing for the way God made them. Only Satan could create such an atrocity.

Satan wants to destroy God’s creation of all skin colors because we’re all made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27).

When I watch a Black Lives Matter man create a video of him demanding several times that a young white woman bow down before him and repeat after him that she needs to apologize for being “white privilege,” and she does it, I am revolted.*

Or the video of hundreds of people with their hands in the air in a position of worship repeating a renouncement of white privilege mantra led by someone on a stage. Like followers of a false religion. A cult. *

I wonder how many Christians are in that group thinking they are doing something righteous by kneeling to the culture and the world?!

I have another image in mind when I see these videos and it’s not righteous, it’s evil: Hitler, Stalin, Mao Zedong, Mussolini, or even King Nebuchadnezzar from the Bible.

 King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue ninety feet tall and nine feet wide[a] and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 Then he sent messages to the high officers, officials, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the provincial officials to come to the dedication of the statue he had set up. 3 So all these officials[b] came and stood before the statue King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

4 Then a herald shouted out, “People of all races and nations and languages, listen to the king’s command! 5 When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments,[c] bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue. 6 Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”

7 So at the sound of the musical instruments,[d] all the people, whatever their race or nation or language, bowed to the ground and worshiped the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

8 But some of the astrologers[e] went to the king and informed on the Jews. 9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “Long live the king! 10 You issued a decree requiring all the people to bow down and worship the gold statue when they hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments. 11 That decree also states that those who refuse to obey must be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 But there are some Jews—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—whom you have put in charge of the province of Babylon. They pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They refuse to serve your gods and do not worship the gold statue you have set up.”

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego trusted God to protect them when they refused to bow down to the gold statue and if you remember, they walked out of the fiery furnace untouched.

Like these three brave men, we should never take a knee or bow to anything or anyone except our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Otherwise, we’re not only renouncing our heritage, the color of our skin, our country—or whatever else they come up with to try and get us on our knees—we are renouncing our God.

Don’t do it; it’s not worth it. Only Jesus Christ deserves our prostration before Him. Everything else is an idol of power, control, manipulation, intimidation, and evil, yes evil.

Because . . .

And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father. Phil. 2:8-12

Christians of Every Color, Nation, Tribe, People and Language Are United in Christ!

Many of you know that my family has different “skin colors.” When I look at our family pictures, I see a big happy, handsome, smiling, loving family. I see different hair colors. I do not see different skin colors.

When I see my Christian brothers and sisters, I don’t see skin color, I see the family of God!

It is sadly true that racial injustice is a part of our country’s history, which we should as Christians admit and repudiate the sins of the past. Admission demonstrates humility and acknowledgement that wrongs happened, but it does not have to characterize who we are today. Our job is to make a difference in our generation.

No matter what our skin color or heritage, we aren’t defined by what our ancestors did or experienced. We are defined by what we do and who we are now.

Since Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, we’re all born into this world as sinners. “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5).

Until we learn a new better way to live, we will keep on sinning. That’s why everyone needs a Savior and to be born again out of our unrighteousness into the righteousness of following Jesus. Not followers of any fringe or woke group that wants you to change for their benefit. Your identity is in Christ alone!

22 This righteousness is given through faith in[a] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, [black or white]23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Romans 3:22-24

As Christians, we live counter-culture! We get ourselves right with God and then we can love on others.

Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matt. 22:36-40

Today, politicians, anarchists, and agitators want to keep the old wounds open and look for every opportunity to fester them. It is to their advantage to maintain division and unrest. They have no desire to unite us because then they lose their power and control.

Race isn’t a political issue, it’s a sin issue. It’s not a skin problem, it’s a sin problem.

We’re not dealing with systemic racism, we’re dealing with systemic secularism!

Change won’t happen with a policy change, it happens with a heart change. Hearts transformed by Jesus Christ.

We can’t legislate or demand unity. Only God is the Unifier. It’s our responsibility to continue to love our neighbor as ourself, no matter what their skin color. God’s Golden Rule (Matt. 22:36-40); (Mark 12:30-31).

We defy Satan’s schemes for disunity when we live under God’s plan for unity!

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:2-3

I remember the song we sang in Sunday school as a child, “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and Yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world.

When you don’t embrace your own skin color, you deny who you are in Christ.

When you bow to anyone or anything other than Jesus Christ, you deny God who said I will have no other gods before me.

We must be on our knees in prayer for the civil and spiritual unrest in our world.

Let’s look for ways this week to keep the focus on God and not the works of Satan. That means we need to outshine the divisive voices in the news and many on social media. We need to bring the light of Jesus into the worldly darkness.

Then we will counter evil with good like these pastors who led a praise march singing Waymaker in the streets of Milwaukee.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj4IrB3I20s

*You’ll find the woman kneeling and the people reciting the mantra in this news clip.

June 8, 2020
Return to top of page

Preparing Our Hearts for Easter

0

Yesterday was Palm Sunday, which ushers in Holy or Passion Week. Yet, the White House Coronavirus Task Force is warning us that this could be a grim and difficult week as we see a “peak” in Americans contracting and succumbing to Covid-19!

It was also a difficult and grim week for Jesus 2020 years ago when He would die a horrific death on a cross out of love for each of us.

But three days later, He arose! Hallelujah!

16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave[a] his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:16-17 NLT

I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. 1 Cor. 15:3-4

A New Kind of Easter Celebration

Easter is going to be different this year, but I wonder if the meaning of Easter might be more real to us during the stay-at-home restrictions of this Covid-19 crisis. In the past, we might’ve been more concerned with what we were going to do after church rather than what we would do at church.

Typically, family’s discuss who is going to host Easter brunch or dinner or is the family going to fight the crowds trying to get a reservation to eat out. What do the kids want in their Easter baskets and what’s everyone going to wear. Sunrise service or spend the morning hunting Easter eggs and go to church later?

We attend a worship service hearing the traditional Easter message and then out the door on to the activities planned for the rest of the day. We felt spiritual and reverent while we were in church, but now let the fun begin!

Believe me I enjoy having fellowship and fun with our family and I will greatly miss them this year, but I also think quarantined at home, I’ll spend more of the day truly reflecting on the actual meaning and significance of Easter.

President Trump has said he would’ve loved for the pandemic self-distancing to be over and churches filled on Easter Sunday. “What a beautiful thing that would be,” he said. It would for sure since it would’ve taken a miracle for that to happen.

But could it be that God has a bigger miracle in mind for us?! We’ve been forcibly removed from outside distractions and given the opportunity to renew and refresh our faith and commitment to the Lord—individually, as a family, as a church, and as a nation.

Church is a building, but the risen Savior lives in every believer’s heart every moment of every day no matter where we are—in church or in our homes.

Easter commemorates the foundation of our Christian faith. The Gospel! The Good News! Without Easter, there would be no hope.

Easter is the reason we can repent and ask forgiveness for our sins. The assurance of eternal life. People need to hear that message and know salvation is available to everyone. They don’t need to live in fear of the Coronavirus or of death, because for all who believe in Him, Jesus conquered death when He went to the Cross.

Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die,[a] this Scripture will be fulfilled:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.[b]
55 O death, where is your victory?
    O death, where is your sting? 1 Cor. 15:54-55 NLT

It’s our job as Christians to help others experience the love of Jesus for them. That could be the real miracle of this crisis.

Samaritan’s Purse has setup a temporary hospital in Italy and in New York’s Central Park to treat coronavirus patients. They openly say the volunteer doctors and nurses are there to save lives in the name of Jesus. The Mayor of New York City and others were skeptical and critical that not everyone would receive equal treatment! They needed to hear and understand that Jesus loved us enough to go to the cross while we were still sinners. Their concern underscores the misconception the world has of Jesus and believers.

As the Apostle Paul reminded the Corinthians, we need to share with the world:

Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.

I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.—1 Corinthians 15:1-4

9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. 1 John 1:9-10 NLT

Jesus lives within the heart of every Christian and He wants us to live as if we believe it, no matter what the circumstances!

So don’t let anyone tell you that Easter is cancelled this year. Easter, the commemoration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to offer every sinner forgiveness and eternal life, is NOT cancelled. Jesus cancelled our debt but no one can cancel Him. He is the same today, tomorrow, and yesterday.

What is happening in our world doesn’t affect Jesus. He only cares about what is happening in our heart!

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.—Ezekiel 36:26

What should we do this Holy Week to prepare our hearts for an Easter celebration like none we’ve ever had before?!

1. Fill your mind with words from the Lord and not from the media.

Let’s take a break from the media that wants to scare and alarm us and focus our minds on the reason our Lord and Savior went to the cross—to offer us eternal life regardless of what happens in this life. No one wants to die, but if Jesus is in our heart, we have the assurance that we will be alive with Jesus for eternity. That should calm our hearts.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.—Romans 12:2

I heard Pastor Greg Laurie say in his Palm Sunday message, “There are five gospels . . . you’re the 5th! You are the temple of God.” Read the four Gospels, Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John. Get to know Jesus up close and personal. Walk with Him in His shoes; listen to His words and stories.

  • What was He trying to get people to understand?
  • What does He want you to understand?
  • Look for His personal message to you in your generation.
  • What would He be doing during this pandemic?
  • What does He want you to do during this crisis?

If you were giving the sermon this Easter, what would you include?

2. Tell people what Jesus means to you. Why you love Him. That even while you were a sinner, He still loved you enough to die for you!

Our church has a Cowboy Breakfast for the community on Easter Sunday, which we’ll all sorely miss this year. It was my privilege to share the gospel message one year, with my granddaughter reciting John 3:16. Other years, members of our church shared their testimony with their friends and neighbors who attend the breakfast. My husband also shared his testimony.

When is the last time you told someone your testimony of surrendering your life to Christ? It’s hands down the most important and meaningful day in your life. Yes, it’s greater than the day you married, gave birth, bought your dream house, or signed that important contract. Your rebirth in Christ should top them all!

And yet, we eagerly tell the story of these less significant events in our life, but often are reticent to tell the story of Jesus coming into our life.

We know He is with us every day, but do we give Him the credit and the glory for the things we know He has done and is doing in our life?

This week ask yourself why you don’t talk more about Jesus!

Then share your story with someone! Reflect back on the day the death and resurrection of Jesus really meant something to you. Tell people why it still does.

There is no greater witness to God’s goodness than sharing what he has done in your life. No one can question your testimony because it’s your personal experience.

Your story becomes your testimony when the focus is on God, not on you.

Your testimony simply shares your life before Jesus. How he changed your heart and spiritually, maybe literally, saved your life.

God has given you a story to share, so seize every opportunity to tell it.

Sometimes God redeems your testimony by surrounding you with people who need to hear your past so it doesn’t become their future.

Who needs to hear this Easter what Christ has done for you and could do for them?

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.—Titus 3:3-7

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.—1 John 5:11-12

“Let’s use this time to reflect on our own relationship to God. And Pray. Pray for the medical workers, they’re really warriors. Pray for the families who have lost loved ones and ask God to comfort them in their grief.” President Donald J Trump

“Pray for God to protect us and release us from this plague. Pray for the patients. There is sin in the world. Ask for God’s forgiveness not to condemn but to save a fallen world.” Franklin Graham

I look forward to hearing how this Easter was your best Easter ever!

You might also enjoy an article I wrote for Crosswalk, 5 Refreshing Ways to Welcome Renewal Beyond Easter.

Have a blessed Easter the way the Lord leads you to celebrate this glorious day!

April 6, 2020
Return to top of page

Do You Need a Pardon?

0

Do you need a pardon?

Pardons were in the news last week as President Trump pardoned and commuted sentences of several prisoners. Speaking at a graduation ceremony for Hope for Prisoners, President Trump said that he “loves” finding those treated unfairly by the criminal justice system and offering them pardons.

The discussion of pardons started me thinking about how God has pardoned every Christian. Since Romans 3:23 reminds us that, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Christians are the recipients of unmerited grace and mercy.

In my Bible Study Face-to-Face with Euodia and Syntyche: From Conflict to Community, I describe it this way:

  • Justice is getting what you deserve.
  • Mercy is not getting everything you deserve.
  • Grace is getting what you don’t deserve.

Mercy is showing more love and kindness to a person than he or she expects or deserves. Undeserved pardon! Grace is undeserved forgiveness.

It’s so easy to look at the transgressions of others and say they deserved the punishment rendered, and often they do. But what about Christians who had their debt pardoned and paid for by Jesus who unjustly endured the brutal cross for us? He took the punishment that we deserved. That’s mercy! That’s grace!

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:1-5

All we had to do for a pardon was confess our sins to Jesus, ask for forgiveness, and repent! Our dark sins became white as snow. Erased! The Bible says that God has forgiven and forgotten and will never bring them up to us again.

“Come now, let us settle the matter,”
says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool. Isaiah 1:18

Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. Acts 3:19 (NLT)

15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. For he says,

16 “This is the new covenant I will make
with my people on that day,[a] says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”[b]

17 Then he says,

“I will never again remember
their sins and lawless deeds.” Hebrews 10:15-17 (NLT)

What a gift! How did we deserve such a pardon? We didn’t! Yet, how often do we take our pardon for granted. Almost like we did deserve it. How often do we remember the price and penalty that Jesus paid for our release from the punishment due us? I would suggest, not often enough.

We may not have been in a cold, dark, prison cell, but we were in a cold, dark spiritual hellhole. Satan had us shackled to him in sin and shame. Then Jesus entered into our life and set us free. But Satan never gives up. He’s always trying to lure us back. We can never forget the cost of our pardon.

“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24

Sin Has Consequences

Just like with all pardoned prisoners, there will always be consequences of our sins that we will have to bear ourselves and assume the responsibility. God told the Israelites who refused to follow His lead, “You will bear the consequences of your sin . . .” (Numbers 14:34 HCSB)

As Christians, we must ask for Jesus’ help and strength to make restitution for our sinful behavior when possible. If we broke the civic law, or God’s law, we’ll pay the penalty. The scars will be with us, and possibly with others, for life. Often our actions negatively affected someone else. That’s on us. Jesus forgives us when we repent of our sins, but we may need to forgive others or seek their forgiveness and they might not grant it. The hurt is too deep. The debt too high.

But President Trump also told the crowd of 29 graduates from Hope for Prisoners, “the best part of your life is just beginning.” “Today we declare that you are made by God for a great and noble purpose. You are valued members of our American family and we are determined to help you succeed,” the president said.

And that’s what the Lord says to us too:

Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. Micah 7:18

My Second Pardon

Do you need a pardon?

In Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter, I share my testimony of accepting Jesus into my life at eleven, but as an adult I backslid into a sinful life for seventeen years while raising my daughter. I was a prodigal raising a prodigal. I can’t change those years, but when I rededicated my life back to Christ, He gave me another pardon I did not deserve. Praise God, He is the God of endless pardons. I was a changed person—a new creation in Christ.

Like President Trump told the released prisoners, God did have a great and noble purpose for my life as He used me to start the Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry and write and speak for Him.

But there were consequences to my wayward years. I had to ask my daughter for forgiveness, and while she didn’t understand what that meant at the time, she does now. I prayed and begged God daily to open her eyes to the life she could have with Christ. After six years of a mother’s prayers, she accepted Christ as her Savior.

No matter what you’ve done in your past, or are currently doing, Jesus waits eagerly to mercifully forgive you and restore your life for a great and noble purpose. All you need to do is ask Him for a pardon.

Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. Isaiah 55:7

________________________

God has put on my heart that my next writing project will focus on the loneliness epidemic in our culture. If you have a story of seasons of loneliness, or you’ve helped someone through their loneliness, I would love to hear your story. Please contact me or email at [email protected].

February 24, 2020
Return to top of page

Is Your Church Being Invaded?

4

Is Your Church Being Inaded?

Since the beginning of time in the Garden of Eden, Satan’s sole purpose has been to destroy God’s kingdom on earth and overtake the world with evil and his tactical invasion is succeeding, not just in the world, but also in the church.

In the past, Satan’s tactics to divide churches were things like, chairs vs. pews. Hymns vs. contemporary music. Guitars and drums vs. pianos and organs. A young pastor or a seasoned pastor? Central campus or satellite campuses? These strategies of Satan seem trivial compared to today’s divisive issues that attack the central heartbeat and foundation of Christianity. Satan has methodically and effectively:

  • Changed God’s definition of marriage. Shockingly, certain denominations embrace gay marriage and gay clergy and it’s dividing their churches.
  • Legalized the killing of unborn and born babies—many of whom might have been Christian leaders, presidents, pastors, evangelists, parents, and loud voices in the wilderness.
  • Removed God, prayer, and Bibles from schools.
  • Eliminated God from the public square.

What has the church done to stop any of this? Very little.

Instead of the church influencing culture, the culture is influencing the church.

So is it any wonder that we see Satan zeroing in for a strategic blow: destroying unity in the church body and causing bitter divisions even among evangelicals.

Liberal politicians and commentators tout that Bible-believing Christians haven’t kept up with world changes and are thus becoming extinct. There’s no longer a universal definition of evangelical. The current political arena is revealing many shades of Evangelicals and Christians in what traditionally was simply, “the church.” Some Christians find it necessary to distinguish themselves as “gospel Christians” or “Bible-believing Christians.”

For a fantastic discussion on the biblical meaning and foundation of Evangelical Christians, and what liberal secularism will mean for our country if it takes over, watch this interview with Mark Levin and Pastor John Hagee, “Secularizing of America Will Lead to Heartache and Chaos.”

In Forsaken God? Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten, I warn of Satan’s impending invasion of the church if believers, who comprise God’s church, don’t take a firm stand against the devil’s schemes (Eph. 6:18):

Satan won’t like you making a concerted effort to remember God. Satan wants you to forget God’s goodness. Let that sink in a minute. If you forget God and his role in your life, then Satan has you just where he wants you. Satan’s target is believers. He doesn’t care about those who love the world because he already has them in his grip. He focuses on luring believers to love something else more than they love God. Satan wants to break God’s heart. Unfortunately, he seems to be succeeding in many areas. If he can get believers to look to the world’s ways, and forget God’s ways, Satan smirks.

Satan’s five strategic tactics to destroy churches with worldliness invading holiness.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” —John 10:10

Secularism

In an article in the Washington Post, Michelle Boorestein quoted Pastor Rick Scarborough, who is trying to politically mobilize evangelical voters: “Evangelicals are so divided….It’s because we are living in a growing age of secularism that is forcing itself on people who hold traditional values . . . .Some frame the split as Christian pragmatists vs. Christian idealists.”

No one, not even Satan, can force secularism or pragmatism on people who stay true to biblical values and principles. It’s a choice between compromise or commitment.

Satan is hijacking high-profile liberal pastors, speakers, authors, and several mainline denominations who expound that: the Bible isn’t inerrant or relevant, God is a myth, Jesus is a legend, and the church needs to catch up with the culture and abandon God’s Word regarding sin.

Culture never trumps Scripture.

Those who call themselves “progressive/liberal Christians” defiantly ignore Jesus’s warning that Christians are in the world, but not of the world. And Jesus didn’t come to conform to the culture; he came to reform the culture.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. —Romans 12:2

Selfishness

The center of all divisiveness is selfishness and pride. We want things our way, the way we think is right. The church often doesn’t agree on what Christ wants for His church.

No one likes admitting they’re wrong, but the heart of Christianity is admitting mistakes and misconceptions. Selfish pride is at the root of arguments, dissention, hurt feelings, gossip, and complaining. God hates pride; Satan loves it.

For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.—1 John 2:16

Sin

When was the last time you heard a sermon on what Scripture calls sin? Parishioners often want a pastor who doesn’t challenge them. How many in congregations today are living a sinful life without feeling any pangs of remorse because the church isn’t confronting them? How many pastors are afraid of retaliation if they call homosexuality, living together, adultery, abortion, lying, or cheating a sin?

Satan is the father of sin and he has done well when the church cowers in fear of being called judgmental, haters, prejudice, legalists and the latest, racist. The very foundation of the church is that Christians confess their sins, repent, ask for forgiveness and turn their lives over to Jesus.

Why did Jesus have to endure the painful cross for forgiveness of our sins if the church now refuses to call sinning wrong? Jesus loves all people, but he hates sin—“the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23).

If a church doesn’t know how to love the sinner without embracing the sin, it may abandon the sinner or avoid confronting them thus condoning their sin.

Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!—Matthew 18:7

Scandal

Pastors, church leaders, and prominent Christians succumb to moral or financial failures. Some even lose all hope and commit suicide. Churches don’t always have, or enforce, a system of accountability and mentoring at every level of leadership. Church staff may think they’re safe and above needing protective measures, and that’s right where Satan wants them with a target on their back. When one of these Christian leaders or someone in their family falls, the media and many Christians and fellow pastors are quick to voice opinions and denounce them publically. The church may not respond biblically, which is why nonbelievers characterize Christians as the only group that “eats its own.”

Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.—Galatians 6:1

Social Acceptance

Many voices are screaming louder than the church, which in its attempt to be culturally relevant, may widen the road that Jesus said is narrow. Political correctness and ideological inclusiveness overshadows biblical truthfulness.

The church should only seek the exclusive acceptance of, and answer to, the Head of the Church—Jesus Christ.

If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.—John 15:19

Sensationalism

Cultural Christianity creates an entertainment church, emphasizing popular people more than Holy God. Churches try the latest trend rather than leading from the Holy Spirit. Concert-style worship can detract from the purpose of musical worship—inviting in the Holy Spirit and drawing close to God, an atmosphere Satan hates.

Satan loves it when earplugs accompany the bulletin, little children plug their ears, and only those on stage sing. Or people don’t bring their Bibles to church because it’s too dark to read them.

For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. —Eph. 5:8-9 NLT

What should the church do to combat Satan’s divisive encroaching tactics?

Believers must agree to stand together united as the Christian church—led by Christ and based on biblical truths—and fight Satan using prayer and the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, as our battle plan and strong fortress.

But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. —Jude 1:17-21

Otherwise, “If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand” (Mark 3:25).

“I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought” (1 Cor. 1:10).

Is your church being invaded?

If you received this blog by email, please leave a comment here.

July 29, 2019
Return to top of page

Has the Church Focused too Much on God’s Love and Not the Fear of God?

10

Is the Church Focusing to Much on the Love of God and Not the Fear of God

“God is love. He doesn’t care,” she continued.

Those are the words of a “gospel singer” who left her husband to enter into a lesbian relationship. I couldn’t help but think this woman has sung many songs about God over the years and certainly heard as many or more sermons. So how did she conclude that because God loves us He doesn’t care when we sin? He’s fine with it?!

You can tell that she knows this is wrong or why try to justify this relationship?

Then there’s the gay Democrat presidential contender, Pete Buttigieg, who explains his homosexual relationship/marriage, “At a recent fundraiser, he said of his same-sex “marriage”: “[it] has made me a better man [and]…moved me closer to God. If being gay was a choice, it was a choice that was made far above my pay grade.”

He then added, “That’s the thing I wish the Mike Pence’s of the world would understand, that if you have a problem with who I am, your problem is not with me. Your quarrel, sir, is with my creator.”

“The reality, of course, is that the mayor’s quarrel isn’t with Mike Pence. His quarrel is with the clear texts of Scripture that both identify what marriage is and what it is for, as well as how homosexual behavior is sinful. His quarrel is with natural law, reflected in the biological roles our bodies play and the universally embraced connection of marriage and procreation, even by societies not influenced by Christian morality. And of course, his quarrel is with 2,000 years of unanimous Christian witness on marriage and sexual morality.”–The False God of Feelings: Mayor Buttigieg’s Pro-Gay Christianity

Buttigieg is rationalizing that how we live is God’s fault because He created us with the ability to make choices. Yes, it’s true God gave us free will, but we’re accountable for how we use it. We can’t blame God for the bad things we do or the sinful way we choose to live and then say He’s ok when I sin. Naught!

God made Adam and Eve too and He gave them a choice to follow His commands. And we know how their choice turned out. Following the politician and singer’s rational, it would be God’s fault for Adam and Eve’s bad choice so God was Okay with it. Again, naught!

[Tweet “Death and hell became realities when Adam and Eve chose the Devil’s ways and since the day God kicked them out of the Garden of Eden, we all have the propensity to sin, but God is not okay when we make that choice.”]

Death and hell became realities when Adam and Eve chose the Devil’s ways and since the day God kicked them out of the Garden of Eden, we all have the propensity to sin, but God is not okay when we make that choice. The Bible proclaims just the opposite. God is never OK when we give in to Satan’s evil wiles.

But the singer and “Mayor Pete’s” comments are worthy of our discussion because there are many today, even in the church, who agree that our feelings and what we want to do, even sin, is fine with God because He’s a God of love. However, they conveniently overlook the fact that just because He gave us feelings and choices, He also gave us commands and Scriptures to guide us in making the right choices and avoiding the wrong ones.

[Tweet “To say that God endorses sin of any kind in his creation is blasphemy, even when said by those who should know better in the church.”]

To say that God endorses sin of any kind in His creation is blasphemy, even when said by those who should know better in the church.

Satan knows how to twist Scripture and tempt with, “Did God really say_______?” Fill in the blank with any sin. It’s not just the homosexual lifestyle. Last week I wrote about Abortion: The Crime of Passion.

It can be cheating on your taxes, lying, stealing, coveting, taking the Lord’s name in vain, adultery, abuse, and so many more sins of choice.

Scripture is “Inclusive”

A popular word in today’s culture is “inclusive,” which can be used as a weapon for forcing people to accept precepts that go against their faith and beliefs. The Bible also uses inclusive words, but in a different  context. Everyone is born with potential to do many wrong things and we’ve all sinned. Absolutely everyone. Not just the singer or the politician, everyone. “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23 NLT). That’s pretty inclusive. We all have sin in common.

But God doesn’t want us to stay in that degenerate place of sinning. “If you love me,” Jesus says in John 14:15, “you will keep my commandments.”

[Tweet “Sadly, Satan makes evil look good and blinds to the Gospel.”]

Sadly, Satan makes evil look good and blinds to the Gospel. When he turns hearts away from Jesus, we become just as we’re born, selfish and self-determining. “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5).

We want what we want and think a loving God would want that for us too.

Wrong!

Yes, God made us with the potential to do many things, but He doesn’t say everything is right. He doesn’t want us to stay sinful.

“No one is righteous—
not even one.
11 No one is truly wise;
no one is seeking God.
12 All have turned away;
all have become useless.
No one does good,
not a single one.”[b]
13 “Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave.
Their tongues are filled with lies.”
“Snake venom drips from their lips.”[c]
14     “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”[d]
15 “They rush to commit murder.
16     Destruction and misery always follow them.
17 They don’t know where to find peace.”[e]
18     “They have no fear of God at all.” Romans 3:9:18 NLT

There is an answer to our sinful nature: ask and accept God’s grace and forgiveness. 

All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) Ephesians 2:3-5 NLT

Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Romans 6:1-2

Buttigieg may feel that his same-sex relationship has somehow brought him closer to God, but if so he would know and honor God’s commandments and sense the Spirit’s conviction.

The singer might think because God is love, he’s ok with her sinning. He is not. He loved her so much John 3:16 says  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life, so she could be forgiven to go and sin no more.

What Does It Mean to Fear God?

[Tweet “Have we forgotten how to fear God, but have turned Him into some fake God who loves us so much He has no problem with our sin.”]

Have we forgotten how to fear God, but have turned Him into some fake God who loves us so much He has no problem with our sin? My mom used to say, “Remember God is watching what you do.” That’s a good thing to remember. We’re not getting away with anything. God knows everything.

We always know our parents love us, but there should also be a healthy fear of them catching us doing something wrong because they’re going to discipline us. Not because they hate us, but because they love us. If they let us do anything we wanted from childhood, we would probably err on the side of selfishness and self-serving. That’s why they gave us boundaries and guidelines for life. And if we love our children, we should do the same.

That’s what the Bible is for Christians: a guide in how to live a life pleasing to God. And when we choose to live differently, it saddens Him because He knows we know better. But He will let us live with the consequences of our sinful choices. “Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts.” Romans 1:18-32 describes God’s anger at sin. Don’t think that those words don’t apply to all of us.

[Tweet “the consequences on judgement day will be a horrible fate for those who have spent their lives trying to make God the Deity they want Him to be: trying to make God in their own sorry sin-loving image. “]

It’s tough love and the consequences on judgement day will be a horrible fate for those who have spent their lives trying to make God the Deity they want Him to be: trying to make God in their own sorry sin-loving image.

[Tweet “Never doubt there will be a judgement day and how we have lived on earth will define our eternity.”]

Never doubt there will be a judgement day and how we have lived on earth will define our eternity. “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” (Galatians 6:7)

That’s not fear, that’s fact.

Many try to describe the fear of God as simply meaning to be in awe of Him. That’s certainly one meaning, but the meaning of fear more prevalent in the Bible is reverent, respect, honoring, cherishing, fear of disappointing our Great God by doing wrong in His sight.

Just like we never stop being our parents children even when we hurt them by doing wrong, Christians will always be God’s children, but He will never be “ok” with our sin.

Dr. Jeremiah summarizes this contrast between the love of God and the fear of God in his book What Are You Afraid of?

“On many occasions throughout my forty years of ministry, people have questioned me about the subject of God’s judgement. Often they say something like this: “My God would never send anybody to hell or punish someone for doing evil. My God is a God of love.”

I usually answer by telling them that their God does not exist. There is a God to love and there is a God to fear, and He is one and the same! Did He not judge His own Son as a demonstration of His love for the world? And did He not then show His love for the Son he judged by raising Him from the dead? How silly to think that if He is a loving God, He cannot also be a fearsome God. The two attributes complement each other.”

I’m sure you’ve heard many sermons on the love of God, but when is the last time you heard a sermon on the fear of God? 

Don’t wait to hear it from the pulpit, read it for yourself in your Bible. You won’t be held accountable on judgement day for what your pastor did or didn’t preach. No, you’ll be held accountable for how you loved God enough to respect and fear Him by obeying His commands.

For the honor of your name, O Lord,
forgive my many, many sins.
12 Who are those who fear the Lord?
He will show them the path they should choose.
13 They will live in prosperity,
and their children will inherit the land.
14 The Lord is a friend to those who fear him.
He teaches them his covenant. Psalm 25:11-14

If you received this blog by email, leave a comment here.

Photo by Tyler Nix on Unsplash

June 10, 2019
Return to top of page

Climate Change Won’t Kill You, but Moral Change Will

6

Climate change won't kill you but moral change will

Today, many are calling it a “moral obligation” to warn us about climate change before it “kills us.” But these are some of the same people who advocate legalizing immoral change destroying our country. They have no concern for killing babies, every second of every day; in fact, they champion it, but stop eating hamburgers now! That’s their real concern.

[Tweet “When’s the last time you heard a pastor speak on Romans 1:18-32 and speak about the truths of God’s anger toward sin?”]

Our pastor recently spoke on Romans 1:18-32. When’s the last time you heard a pastor speak about the truths of God’s anger toward sin, many of which our culture idolizes and tries to force on us as “tolerant” and acceptable. God is never tolerant or acceptant of sin. Never! I put a link to these verses because I want you to go read them and then think about the moral change happening in our country today.

You can’t study the great Book of Romans without addressing these verses, and yet many churches, pastors, and Christians are not only ignoring them, they’re trying to whitewash them out of the Bible. God’s Words ignored because the world tells us they’re irrelevant and don’t actually apply to a 21st Century culture or even worse that they’re “hate speech!”

[Tweet “God’s Words ignored because the world tells us they’re irrelevant and don’t actually apply to a 21st Century culture or even worse that they’re “hate speech!””]

Many have applauded my last few blogs, and others have said I’m preaching to the choir. Well that’s exactly who I want to reach. I want the “choir” to get out of their safe pews, take off their protective, comfy choir robes, move out of the safety of like-minded people groups, and take a stand for God’s Words and God’s ways before moral change completely envelops our country.

[Tweet “Today the biggest problem facing America is how humans are redefining morality not how humans are changing the climate.”]

Today the biggest problem facing America is how humans are redefining morality, not how humans are changing the climate.

In my blog, 5 Examples of How to Join God in Bringing Good out of Evil, I made the point that everyone knows right from wrong and has a conscience. People who are doing wrong, know that it’s wrong, but they do it anyway for any variety of reasons: greed, power, social pressure, self-gratification.

[Tweet “People who are doing wrong, know that it’s wrong, but they do it anyway for any variety of reasons: greed, power, social pressure, self-gratification.”]

Romans 1:18-23 (NLT) reminds us that every living human being has to acknowledge God. Even those who are so worried about the climate change are looking at the air they breathe, the forests, the water, the animals . . . and so: 19 “They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 Forever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.

Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.”

So anyone who doesn’t acknowledge God and his ways, leaves himself or herself wide open for Satan to take hold of their mind, will, and actions. They become dark and confused . . . “utter fools” . . . which aptly describes many of the secular population.

[Tweet “Anyone who doesn’t acknowledge God and his ways, leaves himself or herself wide open for Satan to take hold of their mind, will, and actions. They become dark and confused.”]

And don’t we see a flood of dark, confused, “foolish ideas” today. We’re baffled how adults can actually champion with a straight face the absurdity of “the new green deal” with no cows, no planes only trains, every building in America rebuilt and on and on…and if you don’t get on board you’re going to die in 12 years, which was also predicted in 1989, 1999, and will still be “12 years” in 10 years from now! Foolish!

Or foolish talk of Socialism for America. Or defending and lying about an illegal coup to take down a duly elected president. Or an actor who gets away with a sloppy contrived hate hoax. Or rich parents thinking they’ll never get caught cheating their children’s way into college. Foolish! Dark!

[Tweet “How deceived the churches, denominations, pastors, and Christian speakers/authors who are foolishly ignoring Romans 1:24-32 and trying to convince us that these sins aren’t really sin”]

But what about the foolish confused churches, denominations, pastors, and Christian speakers/authors who are foolishly ignoring Romans 1:24-32 and trying to convince us that these sins aren’t really sin. I just read an article “French bishops spokesman calls homosexual relationships ‘something of God’. Here’s what God’s something says about it:

24 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.

Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God [and the way he created them sexually] he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. 31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. . . .Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too. Romans 1:24-32 NLT

So what are we to take from these verses that describe the same world today that Paul described in Rome? And almost every family today has one of these issues described in the above verses. God says he doesn’t release people to sin, but if they won’t listen to him, he does withdraw his loving restraint. (Romans 1:24) Like so many claim today, they do have a choice and a right to do what they want, and God will let them make that choice, but He’ll also let them suffer the consequences.

[Tweet “Like so many claim today, everyone has a choice and a right to do what they want, and God will let them make that choice but He’ll also let them suffer the consequences.”]

So does that mean we should give up on them? Absolutely not! But it does mean that we don’t get caught up endorsing what God calls wicked by redefining sin. That’s not helping them. If we say that because we love someone it means their sin is Okay, we’re essentially giving up on them and their eternal salvation.

[Tweet “If we say that because we love someone it means their sin is Okay, we’re essentially giving up on them and their eternal salvation.”]

C.S. Lewis summed it up this way: “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’ All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell.”

I would add that all who are in Heaven choose it too.

Climate change is nothing compared to eternity in Hell. That’s what kept me on my knees praying for my daughter, and I hope there’s someone you’re staying on your knees for too. Because if you’re truly a Christian, you know that Heaven and Hell are real. Pastor Greg Laurie recently wrote a devotional where he said:

“I want to do everything I can to warn everyone I know so they won’t end up in that horrible place. Tell them about what Christ has done for you. Tell them about the hope of Heaven. Tell them about the forgiveness of sin. And tell them what the repercussions are if they don’t believe. Don’t leave that out. Don’t dilute it. We have the hope of Heaven, but we don’t want anyone to go to Hell.”

But let’s make that clear. “You don’t get to Heaven by living a good life. And you don’t end up in Hell by living a bad life. Heaven is not for good people; Heaven is for forgiven people. Everyone who turns from their sin can go to Heaven. This is why God sent His Son, Jesus, to die for us on the cross.”

[Tweet “We’re not helping or showing love to anyone when we condone their sin. And much of what the world endorses, God condemns. “]

This is why we celebrate Easter. This is the message churches should be sharing. We’re not helping or showing love to anyone when we condone their sin. And much of what the world endorses, God condemns. And so should we. When immoral evil is condoned and legalized, as Christians we don’t tolerate it or obey it. We fight it with everything we have in us.

O.S. Hawkins says in his book The Believer’s Code: “Yet the Bible gives clear instructions: we are compelled to disobey civil law when it is in direct opposition to God’s laws.”

[Tweet “Today, you will be called all sorts of horrible names when you don’t go along with immoral laws. But so what?”]

Today, you will be called all sorts of horrible names when you don’t go along with immoral laws. But so what? Jesus said: “Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also” (John 15:20).

If we offend with the Gospel, then Glory be to God. Hardships and persecution are all part of a life devoted to Christ.

[Tweet “If we offend with the Gospel, then Glory be to God. Hardships and persecution are all part of a life devoted to Christ.”]

Don’t shy away from calling sin a sin. Even in our own lives. We sin too. Hopefully, not in the ways described in Romans 1:18-32, but in other ways unpleasing to God.

[Tweet “Don’t feel like you have to defend God. He can defend himself. He’s made his presence known to everyone, some just choose to ignore him”]

Don’t feel like you have to defend God. He can defend himself. He’s made his presence known to everyone, some just choose to ignore him. But God is always good in His invitation: His call to everyone is to repent and be saved. Not saved from climate change, but from moral change.

[Tweet “But God is always good in His invitation: His call to everyone is to repent and be saved. Not saved from climate change, but from moral change.”]

John 3:18 says,  “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

It’s not just that someone is a sinner; it’s that he or she rejected God’s solution to moral change in his or her own life.

“God is saying, ‘I love you. I don’t want you to go to Hell. I put My own wrath on my Son, whom I love, so you can be forgiven.’ That rejection of Jesus is what brings judgment. It isn’t going to be a sin question in the final day. It’s going to be a Son question: What did you do with Jesus?” Pastor Greg Laurie

[Tweet “The most loving thing you can do as a church and as Christians is to not give up on someone you know who has rejected Jesus. Climate change is nothing compared to an eternity separated from God.”]

The most loving thing you can do as a church and as a Christian is to not give up on someone you know who has rejected Jesus. Climate change is nothing compared to an eternity separated from God.

If you received this blog by email, please leave a comment here.

If you haven’t already read last week’s post, Why You Should See #Unplannedmovie.

If you haven’t seen Unplanned, please go see it and take someone with you. Lives are depending on the truth of the immorality of abortion to be known.

April 8, 2019
Return to top of page

Tell Me the Old, Old Story of Jesus and His Love

0

Tell me the old old story of Jesus and His love in your testimony

Several weeks ago, Dave and I flew into Alamosa, CO. to keynote at the Southern Colorado Women’s Conference. We met a wonderful group of women, and I’m pictured above with the sweet women who worked so hard to make this annual conference possible. Dave and I had quite an adventure as we took an 8-seater tiny plane from Denver to Alamosa. Let’s just say my 6’4’ hubby had to bend in half to get to his seat. When we arrived, only his bag arrived with us!

Treasured memories. That’s a cedar chest in the center made by the pastor for his lovely wife Kay!

The theme of the conference was “Remembering the Goodness of God,” which the conference coordinator chose after reading my book, Forsaken God?: Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten. The decorations were amazing designed to help us remember our treasures. Dave has traveled with me to many conferences and retreats and he said he’d never seen such beautiful and detailed decor.

On Friday night, I gave my testimony, and then Saturday morning, I talked about eight of the twenty-three ways I share in Forsaken God? to remember God’s goodness in your life, starting with sharing your testimony. There’s no greater witness to God’s goodness than sharing what he has done in your life. No one can question your testimony because it’s your personal experience.

[Tweet “There’s no greater witness to God’s goodness than sharing what he has done in your life.”]

 We often start conversations with questions like:

  • How was your day?
  • What’s going on in your life?
  • How are you doing?

Or when meeting someone new:

  • Where do you live?
  • What do you do for a living?
  • What church do you attend?
  • Where did you and your husband meet?

But when is the last time you asked:

  • What is your spiritual journey?
  • What’s your salvation story?

When’s the last time you told someone about your spiritual/salvation story?

Many think the Great Commission is just for the disciples and pastors, but it’s for every follower and believer of Jesus Christ. You don’t have to be an evangelist to share your story.

[Tweet “There’s no greater witness to God’s goodness than sharing what he has done in your life.”]

God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age. (Matt. 28:18–20 The Message)

You and I are Christians today because those twelve disciples did just what Jesus instructed them to do. They shared the gospel they had experienced with anyone who would listen . . . and with many who didn’t listen.

We receive the Advocate—the Holy Spirit—when we become Christians and our charge is the same as the disciples: you must testify with everyone you meet.

You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven. (Matt. 5:14–16 The Message)

[Tweet “Your spiritual journey is your testimony that describes your life before you turned it over—or returned—to God”]

Your spiritual journey is your testimony that describes your life before you turned it over—or returned—to God and how you’ve transformed into a new creation in Christ.

You may not think you have a testimony if you’ve been a Christian most of your life and life has gone smoothly for you. Well, that smooth life didn’t just happen. God has been walking beside you guiding your life every step of the way. That’s your testimony to others who worry about losing something by turning their lives over to God. You’re a living example of how good God really is!

[Tweet “God can use every experience for His good and glory”]

If you have a hidden past you’ve been too embarrassed to talk about, now is the time to deal with those buried hurts and hang-ups. God can use every experience for good, but not if we don’t let him. The Bible tells us “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23), so hidden sin holds us in a death grip that silently destroys us spiritually, and often physically, from the inside out.

Exposed sin loses its power.

We don’t have to waste energy and emotion worrying about others discovering our past. We can “thank God we’ve started listening to a new master, one whose commands set us free to live openly in his freedom!” (personalized from Rom. 6:18 The Message).

Think back to an experience where you know it had to be God who rescued you and how you might make that a testimony to his goodness.

Ways to Remember God’s Goodness—Share Your Story—Make It Your Testimony

[Tweet “The most effective encouragement for trusting God in the present is remembering His Goodness in the past.”]

The most effective encouragement for trusting God in the present is remembering His Goodness in the past. As we mature spiritually, we move beyond just remembering God’s goodness for our own benefit and start retelling our testimony to help others.

Every time you give God the glory for something in your life, you testify to God’s goodness.

[Tweet “Sometimes God redeems your story by surrounding you with people who need to hear your past so it doesn’t become their future”]

Sometimes God redeems your story by surrounding you with people who need to hear your past so it doesn’t become their future.

When we don’t share our story, we don’t share His story.

Being willing to share how God helped you through difficult times requires vulnerability, approachability, and responsibility. It’s your witness to His faithfulness. It’s the opportunity to give purpose to a crisis.

Otherwise, you might spend your life feeling sorry for yourself—living as a victim instead of victorious.

[Tweet “Revealing is the first step to healing.”]

Revealing is the first step to healing.

Your story doesn’t have to have a “happy ending” for you to share it. You give your testimony to show God’s faithfulness regardless of the circumstances, and to assure others they’re not alone or to stop someone else from making the same mistakes you did.

Every day you encounter opportunities to share your testimony, and every time you tell it, you’ll remember how good God has been to you. Let your loving heavenly Father guide you.

Sometimes you’ll only share a short snippet—less than three-minute—an “elevator testimony.” Other times, the whole story.

Tell me the Old Old STory of Jesus and His Love as your testimony

Women sharing their 3-minute testimony with each other.

Don’t dramatize how bad you were; characterize how good God is!

Your story becomes your testimony when the focus is on God, not on you.

[Tweet “Your story becomes your testimony when the focus is on God, not on you.”]

Don’t tell graphic details or anything to make someone else or you uncomfortable. It’s not a tell-all, and it’s not a time to tell someone else’s story.

If you haven’t written out your spiritual testimony, think of it in five parts:

  • Your life before Jesus.
  • How, when, why you realized you needed a Savior.
  • Making the commitment, or re-commitment, and surrendering your life to Jesus.
  • The change in your life since becoming a Christian.
  • What being a Christian means to you. How does knowing Jesus help you do life?

In Psalm 71:15, the psalmist admits he’s not sure if what he says will help, but he’ll tell his story and let God choose how to use it: “My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of your saving acts all day long— though I know not how to relate them all.”

Some people may reject or rebuff your testimony. That’s not a sign to stop telling it; you plant a seed, and God does the watering. Peter reminds us always to be ready to share our testimony.

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. (1 Pet. 3:15–16)

So don’t worry about how God will use your testimony, or how someone will receive it. Just be willing to speak up when you feel the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and He’ll use it for God’s purpose. Sometimes it will be in a spiritual setting, other times when you least expect it. Be ready to share with or within . . .

  • Bible study group or small group.
  • Mentoring relationships.
  • Others going through something similar.
  • Conversations acknowledging God’s goodness in your daily life.
  • Social media.
  • Unbelievers or skeptics.
  • Support Groups.
  • Where else?

“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” —1 John 5:11–12

But as for me, how good it is to be near God!

I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter,

and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.

—Psalm 73:28 NLT

What testimony does God want you to share and who needs to hear it? Who needs to know the reason for your hope?

If you received this blog by email, please leave a comment here.

*This blog uses excerpts from Forsaken God? Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten.

Remember the goodness of God so you don't forsake Him in your life.

 

October 22, 2018
Return to top of page

Unity Only Comes Through the Prince of Peace

0

Jesus the Prince of Peace is the only answer to world peace!

This will be my last Monday Morning Blog for 2017 since Christmas and New Year’s Day falls on Monday this year. I hope you’ll be enjoying those Mondays and not spending time on electronics! So I wanted to close out the year with a Christmas poem I wrote December 2001, three months after 9/11. With all the unrest and fear in our nation today about North Korea and terrorist attacks again, I thought this poem was still appropriate.

[Tweet “Everyone is looking for “someone” who will bring lasting peace and justice to our world, but that will never happen through a mere human.”]

Everyone is looking for someone or something to bring lasting unity, peace, and justice to our world, but that will never happen through mere human efforts. Just like one human or one thing doesn’t cause division and injustice in our world.

[Tweet “One human doesn’t cause division in our world.”]

Sin causes division in people groups, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” (Romans 3:23 NLT)

[Tweet “Sin causes division in people groups,”]

Only Jesus can restore unity.

Sing along with Petra in this YouTube video, “When Will the World See That We Need Jesus?

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlFVVXqrs6U

“For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.” (Ephesians 2:14 NLT)

[Tweet “Only Jesus can bring about truth and peace. He is the Prince of Peace!”]

Remember that true peace is found in only One Person (Luke 2:8-14) and Truth and Justice (John 14:6) is fulfilled in that same Person, the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.

For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor,[a] Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6 NLT)

CHRISTMAS POEM 2001

Never Forget 9-11

 

We call on You in times of trouble,

Some sense to make amongst the rubble.

But as the ashes form a heap,

Normal life is what we seek.

 

‘Oh My God,’ is soon replaced

With don’t put Jesus in our face.

Prayers once heard throughout the land,

Now return to being banned.

 

God displayed on screen and lawn,

Soon will fade into a yawn.

A cycle repeated year after year,

As the final trumpet call draws near.

 

A Babe was born on Christmas day,

So you and I could be saved.

What will it take for all to heed,

Jesus Christ is all we need.

 

Lord, help us gathered in Your sight,

Make a difference in this plight.

Give us boldness to proclaim,

Peace on earth is why You came!

Janet Thompson  12/11

This was the note that went along with the poem my husband and I sent out Christmas 2011. Like the poem, it’s still applicable to our times today!

Reading Chapter 5 of Isaiah inspired this poem. Our small group is [was] doing a Bible study titled “ISAIAH: Trusting God in Troubled Times.”* Amazing how the book of Isaiah in the Bible parallels the world’s happenings today! No one could have forecasted the events of our times more accurately than God, the Creator of our world. We encourage you to read the book of Isaiah.

With so much talk about survival kits and what to do in an emergency, we can tell you from our experience, the only survival kit for anything that will ever happen in your life and our world is all found in one place—the Bible. Is a modern translation on your Christmas list?

Do you know someone who needs a Survival Kit for Christmas? Are you wondering what to get that hard person to buy for on your list? Do them a favor that could save their life—buy them God’s Survival Kit and manual for life—the Holy Bible.

[Tweet “Are you wondering what to get that hard person to buy for on your list? Do them a favor that could save their life”]

Our prayer is that your Christmas focuses on Christ and relationships more than ever before! That you experience the peace, joy, and hope that comes from personally knowing the Babe in the manger. He’s all grown up now and so in love with you. Celebrate each day of life as a gift from Him, and in return, give Jesus Christ the gift of your life.

Merry Christmas and Happy Blessed New Year, Janet and Dave Thompson

*Isaiah: Trusting God in Troubled Times by Howard Peskett; Inter Varsity Press  A LifeGuide Bible Study

*Picture shared from Church of God of Prophecy

If you received this blog by email, please leave a comment here.

December 18, 2017
Return to top of page
« Previous Page
Next Page »
Return to top of page · Copyright © 2024 Crown Laid Down Designs All Rights Reserved · Our Privacy Policy