Hebrews 4:9-10

So then, there is still awaiting a full and complete Sabbath-rest

 reserved for the [true] people of God;

For he who has once entered [God’s] rest also has ceased from

 [the weariness and pain] of human labors, just as God rested

 from those labors peculiarly His own.

     The concept of the Sabbath has been a controversial and often contentious subject among fellow Christians and our Jewish brethren, alike.  I believe it is a much bigger concept than most of us realize.  To the casual observer, it seems to be a question of semantics and timing.  It usually begins with a discussion as to what day is the Sabbath?  Is it Saturday, or is it Sunday?  Does the command to observe it belong to the Old Testament law, or is there a greater principle that still applies to us today?  Is it as simple as setting aside a day to honor God, or is the picture of the Sabbath and Sabbath-rest a much bigger canvas?

      I happen to think that there is a huge spiritual element to the concept of the "Sabbath as rest" that all of us (both Christian and Jew) miss.  We all tend to want to assign physical attributes to it, but miss the fact that we are called to "enter into it".  What does that mean, and how do you "enter God's rest"?

     Let me just say, that I am a Christian who believes that the Sabbath "day" is Saturday, and not Sunday.  History has shown us that Emperor Constantine, a pagan king who professed Christianity (yet remained a pagan sun-worshipper at heart) issued an edict in 321 A.D:  "On the venerable Day of the sun (which we know as Sunday) let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed."  

     We must remember that Constantine hated the Jews because he blamed them for killing Jesus.  Therefore, he wanted to separate his newfound religion (and convenient political tool) from any semblance of Jewish compliance.  We also need to understand that the Jewish people "kept the law of the Sabbath" for more than 1500 years, so its observance on Saturday was closely associated with them.  Therefore, it should come as no surprise that, close on the heels of the Edict of Constantine, there followed the Catholic Church Council of Laodicea Edict (circa 364 AD): "Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday (Sabbath), but shall work on that Day: but the Lord’s Day (the Sun Day, substituted by Constantine), they shall especially honour; and as being Christians, shall, if possible, do no work on that day. If however, they are found Judaizing, they shall be shut out from Christ."  The threat was clear:  do not observe the Sabbath as the Jews do (on Saturday), or you will be excommunicated from the Church.

     Following this initial legislation, both emperors and Popes, down through the centuries, have added other laws to strengthen Sunday observance. What began as a pagan ordinance ended as a Christian regulation.

     The question as to whether Christians should keep a particular day as the Sabbath is answered very plainly in Scripture ... Romans 14:5 to be exact:  "One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord...".  Each Believer needs to be wholly convinced in his own mind; and if he is, then he must follow his conviction by honoring the Lord on that day.  But I do not believe that we are called to demand it of others who do not have the same position of faith.  

     Ok, now that we have covered the matter of the Sabbath DAY, let's consider what it means to "enter the Sabbath rest", or to "enter God's rest".  It can all be summed up in the simple principle of "God rested on the seventh day [Sabbath]" (Genesis 2:3).  Consider this ... it wasn't that God was so exhausted from creating the world that He had to stop and rest (or relax, or recharge, or slow down because He was weary).  No, He had completed what He had set out to do, and was ready and willing to accept that what He had created would go forward as planned.  He no longer had to work at it; it was complete as it was.

     So, how does that concept of Sabbath rest apply to us?  It is the same principle when we stop trying to control ( or work out) every situation in our lives, and step back and realize that we can, in full confidence, trust, and faith, rely on God's Word and what He has set in motion in our lives. 

     So can you imagine what that means to enter into HIS rest?  It is the same rest that He enjoyed at the moment He knew His work was done; He is inviting us to join Him in that place where, we too, can experience the presence of His authority and power.  True Sabbath rest is something that we have no part in making happen.  It is a spiritual understanding that takes place in our minds, souls and spirits.

     It is that moment when we look beyond the physical day, and come to the realization that we no longer have to worry that somehow we will fail to get the job done in our lives.  It's time to "stop working" (another attribute of the Sabbath) for acceptance by God.  There is nothing we can do to accomplish that goal; all of our efforts will never be enough.  So, we can take a Sabbath and rest in the work Jesus is doing in our lives, through our faith.  

     Part of learning to "rest in God" is learning to be obedient to God; to trust Him and rely on Him; and let Jesus do the rest.  When we can do that, and quit trying to finish our faith by our own efforts, we will find that we have peace in our minds and our hearts and our emotions.  It is having that "heart knowledge" that God will work things out in a manner that is pleasing to Him, and best for us.  That is true spiritual rest; a true spiritual Sabbath.  Remember:  Jesus said He would give rest to those who were "weary and heavy laden."  Give it all up to him, and take Him up on His offer!  

This is really just a cursory discussion on the spiritual essence of Sabbath.  But hopefully, it will entice you to study Scripture on your own, and come to an understanding of what Sabbath means to God, and how we are to "rest" from our labors.  Thank you to AmazingDiscoveries.org for the historical facts on the Edicts of Constantine and the Catholic Church Council at Laodicea.  Thanks also to Steve Highlander and Crossroads Ministry for insightful and Biblical references on the Sabbath rest.

     

     

"A Call To Courage In The Hour of Evil"

     Yesterday, I voiced my opinion on the evil carried out in Charleston, South Carolina.  What we see on the surface is a despicable act of hate based on racial differences.  As I tried to explain yesterday, Evil doesn't distinguish between races, but it will dispense its hate against God's people by using race as an instrument to divide us -- both from each other and from God.
     Now I would like you to read the opinion of Armstrong Williams, printed in an editorial on Breitbart.com.  Mr. Williams is a cousin of Dr. Clementa Pinckney, the Pastor of Emanuel AME Church.  He is far more qualified than I am to render judgment on how we should perceive this tragedy, as well as how we should respond. I pray that his words will resonate with all of America, and that we will honor the legacy of his cousin and the saintly souls who died with him.

Pastor Clementa Pinckney

     Among the nine innocents murdered at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston Carolina this past Wednesday was Pastor Clementa Pinckney. Reverend Pinckney is my cousin, and our parents lived just across the field growing up in Marion, South Carolina.  Our families have remained very close over the years. I knew them before I knew the world.  We were all molded from the same clay.
     Pastor Pinckney was the real deal.  He was always one of the bright ones. He did very well in school, and was called to preach at the age of 13.  By the age of 18 he had become a pastor.  After college he served as an intern for a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives. When she retired, Clementa ran for her seat, and at the age of 23 was the youngest person ever elected to serve in the House. In another unprecedented achievement, Pinckney was elected to the South Carolina Senate at age 27.  In between raising a family and serving as a pastor, Pinckney earned at least two masters degrees.  At the age of 41 he was just beginning to fulfill all of the promise his hard work and dedication had earned him.
     But growing up back then in rural South Carolina we were just normal kids.  Our lives were full of innocence, laughter, harmless mischief.  Our community saw our parents’ offspring as the future potential at a young age.  They said we were the hope for a brighter future. So when Rev. Pinkney and my brother Kent were elected to the state senate, this represented the fulfillment of that hope.
     Some of that hope died yesterday in that church.  The survivors, including my bother Kent and I, know that Clementa’s absence puts more responsibility on our shoulders to continue the work he had begun. That will not be easy. Pinckney was always a bridge builder. Everywhere he went, he was a living example of his faith. His sermon and his testimony was how he lived his life. He was affable. He was just. He could be trusted.  As a state senator along with my brother, where he served on the senate finance committee, he was doggedly principled.  Clementa left a legacy of achievement despite his humble origins.  He did not allow the circumstances to define him. He changed the circumstances and made the world better. He was able to accomplish at age 41 what most people never do in a lifetime.
     Our job as people of faith and those who are from the community of Charleston is to keep moving forward. We must grieve and we must heal. We cannot allow the evil that crept into Emanuel A.M.E. church to infect our own hearts. Even though vengeance may be a tempting thought amidst so much agonizing pain, it is best left for the Lord to right this wrong... To some people of faith evil is merely an abstraction, something we read about in the Bible but don’t really see in our daily lives.  But evil does exist in this world, and it infects people with a spiritual sickness.  It is one thing to see these things on television – whether it was the mass murders at a Colorado movie theatre, or the murder of children at an elementary school in Sandy Hook.  It can sometimes seem like an abstraction.  But when it hits so close to home, it forces us to confront the reality that evil does exist in this world.
     All of our humanity was robbed yesterday. No matter what the stated motives of the gunman, whenever you murder so many innocent people it is a hate crime.  But it is not about the race of the victims or assailant.  This was an act of hatred against humanity.  And so no matter what the setting or what the origins of the victims, when events like this occur we are all affected.
     We cannot win against the onslaught of evil if we continue to be divided over things like race, class, gender, and nationality.  We cannot be so easily manipulated by the devil as to believe that there is a black humanity and a white humanity.  If anything this tragic event should be a warning to us all of the ultimate problem of teaching our children to hate another person based on their race.  That goes for black and white parents, educators, and law enforcement alike. Teaching inferiority is just as bad as teaching superiority.  Either allows one to view someone else as less than human and undeserving of being treated with human dignity. You cannot win a war against evil with a divisive strategy that destroys us from within. That is precisely what the devil wants.
     In the absence of courage, fear and hatred lurk and fester.  Hatred is the opiate which emboldens the fearful to commit acts of true horror... These times call for courage.  Let all of us come together and honor the courage and sacrifice of those brave and innocent souls who were called to God.  Let us put on the armor of the Lord and sally forth as one nation, indivisible, upholding the banner of liberty and justice. For only then will we be able to defeat the moral enemy in our midst.

     I thank Mr. Armstrong for his wise words and for his call to courage.  Courage takes strength and commitment, and I think it is quite apparent that it is going to take courage on the part of all of us to keep those with unscrupulous and immoral agendas from seizing this opportunity to spread more hate.  Hate is not what Pastor Pinckney and his church exhibited in their hour of tribulation.  And it is not what family members of the dead have shown, as they have voiced their willingness to forgive the killer.  
     Satan is the Father of Lies, and a Deceiver.  He wants nothing more than to convince us that hate is the proper response in this hour of grief.  But we should follow the lead of the victims' family members, who responded as Jesus has taught us.  One by one, during Dylann Roof's initial court appearance, they offered him the opportunity to repent, and they expressed their forgiveness. In the words of the grandson of 74-year-old victim Daniel Simmons, hate is not an option: “Although my grandfather and the other victims died at the hands of hate, this is proof; everyone’s plea for your soul is proof they lived in love and their legacies will live in love... So hate won't win.”

Psalm 16:8      "I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken."

It's The Devil, People!

   

     The heart of the nation is reeling in grief at the violence against God's people in a church in South Carolina.  Nine saints were targeted and persecuted as they communed with Jesus in prayer.  Yes, you read that correctly ... I do not see this evil in terms of race or politics or social issues.  I am not like those who wish to lay this crime at the feet of racial prejudice; or who want to point to the fact that the perpetrator used a gun, or that his front license plate sported a Confederate flag --- all convenient charges for those who view this tragedy through a narrow lens.
     No, I see it through a spiritual lens; and that means it is bigger than our small earthly minds can see.  I will agree that it is a crime of "hate", but the hatred is at the behest of the Prince of this World.    You see, the Devil hates God and His plan for the world, and it is his goal to oppose God, Jesus, and those who belong to them; and he will use whatever method makes it easy to lead people into rebellion against God's chosen people.
     As God reveals more to me about spiritual warfare, I am learning that so much in our daily lives opens us to spiritual wickedness.  Our spirits may be sealed with the Holy Spirit, but our souls (our minds, emotions, and wills) and flesh can still be subject to influence by Satan.  On a benign level, I know that there have been times that my mind reels with doubt and fear, and I know those are not from God, but from the Enemy.  Or what about the times my mouth has gotten me into trouble, when I clearly knew that I was disobeying God?  So, just contemplate how easily it would be for someone who doesn't know Christ to be "hijacked", so to speak, to do the bidding of the Devil?
     There are things that we do, or that happen to us, that open up opportunities for Satan to tempt us into evil.  Among them are adultery, abortion, abuse, depression, poverty, addiction to drugs or alcohol, divorce, the occult ... and on and on.  All these situations (and more) can open the door for the Enemy to enter our lives.  These experiences give him legal right to be there, because he is the Prince of this World and these are experiences that occur in this realm.  But, as Christians, we have the authority to deny him access to our souls; we are filled with the Holy Spirit and can shut those doors!

     I do not see any evidence that Dylann Roof, the murderer in Charleston, South Carolina, knew Jesus or the Holy Spirit.  His presence in that Bible study at the Emanuel AME Church simply shows me that he was there on assignment for the Devil.  And from the early reports on his background, Satan certainly had open doors to influence this young man.  To begin with, Dylann was caught in the middle of a divisive child custody case during his parents' divorce.  There is Satan's opportunity to introduce spirits of rejection, fear of rejection, and self-rejection.
     Secondly, Dylann has an arrest record involving possession of suboxone, a narcotic painkiller.  In the aftermath of this tragedy, people are now coming out with their own stories of the side-effects of this opiate drug.  A user on one website relates how her husband “became violent, smashing things and threatening me,” after just a few days of coming off suboxone.  Another person who posted relates the story of how his personality completely changed as a result of taking suboxone.  "Nasty", "Violent", "Self-Destruct Mode" are just some of the other descriptions associated with this drug.
     It is important to understand that drugs are one of the open doors through which Satan can influence us.  Did you know that there is actually a spirit of Pharmakeia mentioned in the Bible?  The English translations often use the word "sorcery"; whereas the Greek translation is "pharmakeia", from which we get "pharmaceuticals".  Just consider this relevant passage in Revelation 18:23: “The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived.”
     Big Pharma can certainly be classified as a great merchant in the 21st century, and the prodigious use of drugs in this country (and the world) cannot be denied.  How convenient for Satan to use both the spirits of rejection and pharmakeia to seduce and deceive Dylann Roof into snuffing out the light of God's lamp (the Emanual AME Church)!
     It will be interesting to see how much comes out about this young man's life in the coming days.  While the media, and the race-baiters, and the gun-control advocates will point us all to the obvious differences in skin color between the murderer and his victims, as well as the need to "stop the gun violence", I refuse to reduce this tragedy to a convenient agenda that some of our leaders wish to take advantage of.
     Just like the troubled young men of Columbine, Aurora, Tucson, and Sandy Hook, Dylann Roof is just the latest in a group of glassy-eyed, vulnerable youth whose empty souls were easily occupied and exploited for Satan's gain.
     While my heart is saddened at the loss of such faithful followers of Christ, I rejoice that they were in prayer with their Savior when their tragic deaths came.  Now it is time for us all to pray that Satan will be restrained by the Holy Spirit from gaining anymore success from his latest attack.  Let's pray that the hatred, discord, and selfish ambition that Satan will attempt to reap from this tragedy will be covered over by the Love, Faithfulness, and Self-Control that radiates from Jesus Christ.
     It is so important that we Christians come to realize that our thoughts and actions can give legal authority to Satan to wage his battle against God and the Saints.  Don't keep your focus on what appears to be happening here on earth; but look towards the spiritual realm and the war that is really taking place.  We must recognize what is truly going on and not give the Devil any more ground or territory, and get in the spiritual battle!

2 Corinthians 2:11   "... that no advantage may be gained over us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes."

What Has Been Will Be Again

     Wow!  Has the world gone mad, or what?  I am totally blown away by some of the things I have read and heard in the last 24 hours.  To begin with, I read a fascinating article by Benjamin Soloway on the ForeignPolicy.com website.  First of all, the title is enough to make you want to hide under the covers ... "You Don't Have to Watch 'Jurassic World' To See Bioengineered Animal Weapons."
     Mr. Soloway, in a compelling and informative article, relates how -- once again -- Hollywood forecasts what is going on behind the scenes of the real world.  In the fourth installment of the Jurassic Park series of films, we see how far the storyline has progressed.  (Don't worry, I'm not going to give away all the details of the plot).

Jurassic World's hybrid dinosaur, D-Rex

     In the first movie, scientists bring dinosaurs back to life by filling in the gaps in recovered dinosaur DNA with genetic material from frogs. But in Jurassic World, scientists take these experiments a step further, when they realize they can create dinosaurs more to their liking through genetic manipulation — and that the newly engineered dinosaurs might be put to use by the military-industrial complex.  It's always about the money, isn't it?
     No one is making the assertion that scientists are about to figure out a way to bring the dinosaurs back; at least not yet.  But Soloway points out the film is not far off in its assumptions about the militarization of genetic science.  Are you willing to consider that the United States’ military is already experimenting with genetically engineered animals for war?  Why not?
     In her 2013 book, titled Frankenstein’s Cat: Cuddling Up to Biotech’s Brave New Beasts, author Emily Anthes related that in 2006, DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) asked scientists “to develop technology to create insect-cyborgs” capable of carrying surveillance equipment or weapons.  (That has been documented by current "insect drones").  In the past decade, the agency has encouraged and funded research into methods that can let humans control insects and mammals through electronic impulses to the brain, and through genetic modifications to the nervous systems of insects to make them easier to manipulate.  Why is it so outlandish to consider the possibility that animals could be genetically modified to do the military's bidding?  Makes you think differently about the rider of the Pale Horse and the Fourth Seal in the Book of Revelation, doesn't it?   They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.  Could this prophecy be describing a military power using conventional weapons, biological weapons, and genetically-engineered "beasts" as weapons?  It's enough to give me pause.
     Now, switch gears with me and consider an odd little segment on Fox News, in which psychiatrist Dr. Keith Ablow was commenting on the ongoing controversy regarding Rachel Dolezal's self-identificaton as a black woman.  Dr. Ablow warned that we are entering dangerous territory when we allow people to identify with whatever they "feel" closely associated with, instead of using their genetic and biological identities.  We have to ask the question, "How far is society willing to go?"  Dr. Ablow pointed out that the culture has quickly embraced "transgender", thanks to Bruce Jenner; and now with the uproar over the Dolezal affair, "transracial" has entered the public conversation.  What's next -- "transpecies"?  I'm paraphrasing here, but he actually suggested that someone could identify with an animal, and in this moment's cultural climate, it would be acceptable to genetically modify that person in order to produce a tail!
     I almost fell off my chair when he presented that possibility!  How many of us Christians have been ridiculed for believing that the Bible reveals the existence of hybrids through genetic manipulation?  How many times have we been scorned for suggesting that the cave drawings and reliefs and statues at ancient historical sites were actually depictions of real creatures, and not just some mythological fable?
     What concerns me most is that all these conversations are lacking an important element ... God!!!  Frankly, I am tired of hearing all the commentators and their "politically correct" assessment of these troubled people.  I'm waiting for one ... just one! ... person to stand up and ask, "But what do you think God, their Creator, thinks of their confused identity?"  And I think that is the crux of the situation ... they have been "confused" by Satan, whom Jesus called "the prince of this world".  And how have they become so easily fooled and deluded?  It is exactly for the reasons that Jesus tell us ... "because they cannot bear to hear My word."  And because our culture has rejected God, they desire all the things that the devil is whispering in their ears.  The sad thing is that the devil has nothing to do with the truth.  They are simply adopting his nature, which is a lie ... and that fits right in with their mistaken identities.  It's all a lie.  And it's all been done before.  Too bad they won't hear the Word and know how God dealt with the corrupted DNA in the past, and how He plans on dispensing His judgment this time!

Ecclesiastes 3:15   "Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account."
   

Which Battle Are You Prepared To Fight?

     I was having a discussion with my husband, Peace-Loving Warrior, the other day, and it went something like this ...

ME:  With all these crazy headlines -- meteors slamming into the earth; financial collapse coming; EMP possibilities; threats from Russia; domestic race wars; the encroaching police state, etc., etc. -- is there anything specific we need to turn our attention to?
PLW:  At this point, nothing much more is going to matter.
ME:  We will just go with what we have, put on our armor, and rely on God, right?
PLW:  That's our best plan.

     There was a time; 2008 to be exact, when we would have spent anxious hours planning every detail of our "prepper" plan.  We wanted to escape the "expendable" and "throw-away" mindset of our American generation, and return to the sustainable lifestyle of our grandparents.  We wanted to embrace the lost traditions and skills that allowed past generations to perpetuate and preserve things of value.  We didn't want to take anything for granted -- and that included our ability to provide food, shelter, and protection in any storm that threatened our lives.

     But it is now 7 years later, and I feel comfortable in my ability to think critically and solve problems.  I know how to garden, can my own food, start a wood fire, defend myself, and most importantly, do without.  I know I can withstand hardships and I am prepared to live a simpler, less complicated life.  In regard to the above conversation with my husband, this is what "we have to go with", and it's going to be enough.  And that's because I've also discovered in these last few years that it won't be the "things" I have or can do, but my faith that will be my most important asset.  And that's a subject that has been a new revelation to me, as well.
    You see, I want to make it clear that we are not among those Christians who said, "I don't need to do any planning or learn any new skills.  I'm just going to rely on God, because He says He will take care of us."  No, we used the brains He gave us, listened to the Holy Spirit, and completed the instructions we were given.  But we also heard the message that saving this life is not our ultimate goal; that we are to do all we can to help people, tell them about Jesus, and stand tall during our coming trials.
     That doesn't mean that we are to put all our efforts into the fight to keep this life, but we are to live what remains of it to the glory of God.  And to that point, I am sensing a growing split among the Christian community. There are those who are staunchly in the Prepper camp; who are relying on God and their physical efforts to deliver them from this world's troubles.  While believing that God is Sovereign, they are buying as much gold and silver as they can, stocking up on food and ammo, while they plan their exit strategy to a "safe place" out of the country... because God told them that's how they were to prepare.
     Then there are those who are discerning that the real battle that must be won is spiritual.  It's not that they aren't physically prepared, but they see the bigger picture; and what we need to be preparing to fight are the spiritual enemies of God's chosen.  These Christians are preparing to win the coming battles by putting on the armor of God, rather than relying on all their tactical gear and maneuvering abilities.
     In fact, those in the Christian Prepper camp don't want to hear about the Christian Spiritual Warfare camp ... it's too scary and bad for business, so to speak. Christians, generally speaking, don't have a clue that there is even a spiritual battle to be fought.  Satan has fooled them into keeping their eyes downcast and focused on their fellow man and his tactics.  That leaves us all -- Believers and Unbelievers, alike -- completely vulnerable to the real Enemy's attacks.
     As you've heard it said so often, Satan's time is short and he is ready to take as many of us out of the fight as he can, NOW!  And that means attacking us in ways we don't see coming ... through the loss of spouses, parents, children, pets, jobs, health ... and in ways we aren't prepared to defend ourselves.
     So, while I have not abandoned my new skill sets, and still look for bargains on life's necessities at the grocery store, both PLW and I have studied the ways to fight back in the spiritual war that is clearly being waged.  Our armor is not anything that can be seen with the naked eye; our physical enemies will not find us intimidating.  But we plan on being on the front lines of the spiritual battle, and it is that victory we confidently seek.  You see, we know there is a war coming, and there will be many horrendous battles to fight.  But the war in which we are being prepared to fight is in the spiritual realms, and our power will come from the throne room of God, and in the name of His Son, Yeshua.  So, I agree with PLW ... we'll go with what we've got.  It's a plan I can live with ... eternally.

2 Corinthians 10:4    "For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds."

 

Everywhere You Look, It's Double-Mindedness

   

     Does anyone really know who they are anymore?  Is there anyone who is confident in their identity; or who is committed and unwavering in their individual selfhood?  Or has the whole society decided to let themselves be blown about by whatever the culture is fixated on?
     I mean, just look at all the people who are now doubting their gender, and don't want to identify as the one they were born with (preferring to be called transgender) ... or they don't want to be labeled with any gender, for that matter!  We have a whole new lexicon that just appeared out of nowhere; did you know that you were not simply born a man or a woman?  Now you're referred to as "cis-gender".  The official definition is "denoting or relating to a person whose self-identity conforms with the gender that corresponds to their biological sex."  But the important qualifier to that translation is the addition of the phrase "not transgender" -- as if THAT is either the norm, or equal to it!
     In fact, in our increasingly perverted culture, the word cis-gender actually exists to serve as an equal to transgender. Think of it as a parallel to the use of the words homosexual and heterosexual.  It used to be that people were single-minded in their identities.  They were uncompromising and sure about who they were.  But now it is permissible -- no, even encouraged -- to doubt oneself, or to adopt multiple identities.  So much so, that there are now over 10 ways to identify yourself on Facebook, gender-wise that is.  I kid you not!  Among these designations are the following:  you can either be bigender (identifying as two different genders); cis-gender (which I would label normal); FTM (Female to Male) indicating you were assigned female at birth, but are transitioning to male; gender fluid (flowing between gender identities; however you feel that day); non-binary (meaning you don't want to assign either femaleness or maleness to yourself, indicating there might even be another gender assignment out there); and two-spirit (describing someone who embodies both the spirits of a man and a woman) -- that is truly frightening!  These are just a few; you can check out all the various options here, if you dare.
     But don't think that the "trans" or "cis" identifiers are just for the question of gender.  Now, it seems that you can be transracial or cis-racial.  Take the incredibly bizarre story of Rachel Dolezal, the Spokane, Washington, NAACP president, who claimed to be Black, but whose parents outed her as a white woman.  Does it seem to you that there should be no question as to her true identity?  Not so, to MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry, who wondered aloud on her show, if Dolezal “might actually be black.”  According to Harris-Perry,  "There is a useful language in "trans" and "cis", which is just to say [that] some of us are born cis-gendered, some of us are born trans-gendered.  But I wonder ... can it be that one would be cis-black and trans-black; that there is actually a different category of blackness, about the achievement of blackness, despite one’s parentage?”
     But listen to the authenticity of Dolezel's parents statement:  “Rachel has wanted to be somebody she’s not,” Ruthanne Dolezal, Rachel’s mother, told a local TV station. “She’s chosen not to just be herself, but to represent herself as an African-American woman or a biracial person. And that’s simply not true.”

      And there you have it ... our culture is becoming one that is not interested in the Truth.  Whether that truth lies in who they are racially or who they were born to be -- they don't want to be held to any standards and want to be free to follow their base inclinations and desires.  Little do they know that it leads to a life of profound instability, and what the Bible calls Double-mindedness.
     A double-minded person is restless and confused in his thoughts, his actions, and his behavior. Such a person is always in conflict with himself. One torn by such inner conflict can never lean with confidence on God and His gracious promises, which is where the real Truth lies.  Take for instance, those teachers in Pennsylvania who spent a one-day tax-payer funded workshop attending a mosque and learning the ins and outs of Islamism, including the call to prayer and bowing to Allah.  (Can you imagine the screams of "separation of church and state" if the teachers had attended a workshop on Christianity and participated in a baptism?!?)
     All of this compromise and doubting and acceptance of multiple choices leads to instability and a half-hearted commitment.  As the website GotQuestions.org points out, "We cannot be both certain and doubting, as is the double-minded person. One part of his mind is sure of something, while the other part doubts. It brings to mind the “pushmi-pullyu” of the Dr. Doolittle stories, an animal with a head at either end of its body and which was constantly trying to walk in two directions at once. Such is the double-minded man."
     Mankind needs to come to the rapid realization that God will not grant His blessings upon those who are double-minded. As Jesus pointedly declared, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.”  That applies to the current issues of gender, race, and faith.  We would do well to remember that God is a jealous God.  He is single-minded in His demand for loyalty and obedience.  He will not accept a mind and heart that He has to share with Satan.

James 1:8    "[For being as he is] a man of two minds (hesitating, dubious, irresolute), [he is] unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything [he thinks, feels, decides]."







   
   

A Shared and Committed Faith

     I am deeply saddened to read in The Christian Post that Iranian-American Pastor Saeed Abedini has been “viciously beaten” by other prisoners, and punched in the face in what appears to be an unprovoked attack in the Iranian prison where he is being held.  The suffering and persecution he has received for his Christian faith seems as if it will never end.

   According to his wife, Pastor Abedini's "life is continuously threatened not only because he is an American, but also because he is a convert from Islam to Christianity."  A brief review of his history, shows that Saeed Abedini is a former Muslim who converted to Christianity in 2000 in his native Iran.  In 2002, he met and married his wife Naghmeh, an American citizen. In the early 2000s, the Abedinis became prominent in the house church movement in Iran, at a time when the movement was tolerated by the Iranian government.  With the election of Mahmoud Ahmedinejad in 2005, however, the house church movement was subjected to a crackdown by Iranian authorities and the Abedinis moved back to the United States. In 2009, during a visit back to Iran to visit his family, he was briefly detained, interrogated about his conversion to Christianity, and threatened with death.  He was ultimately released after signing an agreement to discontinue any association with the house church movement in Iran.
     After becoming an ordained minister in the U.S. in 2008, and gaining his U.S. citizenship in 2010, Pastor Abedini continued humanitarian work in Iran, in which he was permitted to freely work, as long as it was not related to religious doctrine.  In July 2012, Abedini made his ninth trip to Iran since 2009 to visit his family and continue his work to build an orphanage in the city of Rasht. While in the country, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps confiscated his passports and placed him under house arrest. He was later transferred to Evin Prison, where he has been incarcerated since.
     In a way, Abedini has become the face of Christian persecution in the Middle East, as well as a symbol of the West's lack of pressure in demanding that prisoners of religious persecution be released.  And perhaps because I am about to begin a personal study with my home church group on the Acts of the Apostles, I can't help but compare the good Pastor's journey with that of a previous Christian prisoner and enemy of the State, the Apostle Paul.
     Like Paul, who founded numerous churches first-hand, and is indirectly responsible for countless others through his apprentices, Saeed Abedini is credited with establishing about 100 house churches in 30 Iranian cities with more than 2,000 members.
     Iran, much like ancient Rome, seeks to suppress any movement that 1) threatens the tyranny of the  State government, and 2) contradicts the worship of their State religion, Islam.  In Rome's case, they objected to the growing Christian movement because it was in opposition to their pagan deities; in Iran, it is illegal for Christians to proselytize or evangelize to Muslims.  In both Empires, Christianity is a threat to oppression, despotic injustice, and the State cult.

    Yet, the Apostle Paul and Pastor Saeed Abedini were unable to stop sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ ... even on threat of their deaths.  Whether in the year 64 A.D. or 2015 A.D., it is still true that a simple confession of Christian faith is enough to condemn someone to prison and persecution.  Our faith is seen as a subversive act; a rebellion against the established institution.
     In a letter to his wife, Abedini describes a similar prison experience to Paul's:  "This is the process in my life today: one day I am told I will be freed and allowed to see my kids on Christmas (which was a lie) and the next day I am told I will hang for my faith in Jesus ... One day there are intense pains after beatings in interrogations, the next day they are nice to you and offer you candy."  Too often, Saeed's visitations with Iranian family members were abruptly ended, and a cover was put over his eyes and he was returned to the dark room of his prison cell, void of any natural sunlight.
     Paul was, at times, kept under a fairly relaxed house arrest; while at other times it is believed that he spent a cold winter in the Mamertine prison in Rome; a location that was originally created as a cistern for a spring, and access was through the floor of the second lower level. Prisoners were lowered through an opening into the lower dungeon, where he was kept in total darkness.
     Pastor Abedini has been imprisoned for over two years, and just like Paul, it appears that “justice delayed is justice denied.”  Both the Pastor and the noble Apostle's fate lay in the hands of a government hostile to the growing influence of their faith.
     Like Paul, fellow Believers in the Faith are praying for Saeed Abedini and his deliverance from persecution.  But, also like Paul, Saeed is on record as being a single-minded soldier of the Faith:  "I forgave the prison doctor who did not listen to me and did not give me the medication that I needed. I forgave the interrogator who beat me,” he wrote in a letter to his family. “Every day when I would see the interrogator and for the last time when I saw him, I forgave him. I smiled at him and with respect shook his hand and I said my goodbye."  Even in captivity and imprisonment, he lives his life by the example Christ showed us.  Like the Apostle Paul and all the persecuted Christians throughout history, Pastor Abedini is not afraid to die; and it is because of his hope in the resurrection.
     And like the growing number of Christian martyrs in the Middle East who accept death rather than renounce their faith in Jesus, hell is more frightening than their killers.  Can you say the same?  Would you be able to say, as Pastor Abedini has said:  "When we forgive, we become free and we become messengers of peace and reconciliation and goodness. And whoever stings us, we can take into our embrace and love them. And in this dark and evil time, we can live full of love and full of peace and full of joy and shine like the stars! So, forgive them and use the antidote of love and be Victorious! Glory be to His Name."
     So, please, at some point during this day, take a moment and speak to the Lord on behalf of this courageous and obedient Pastor and his family.  As the American Center for Law and Justice has reported, Pastor Saeed Abedini was sentenced by Judge Pir-Abassi – known as the “hanging judge” — for “threatening the national security of Iran through his leadership in Christian house churches.”  It's a charge as old as the Church, and still as threatening to Satan and his minions in this world.  Pray that this committed man of God will continue to find his strength in the Lord and that God will send an army of angels to surround his prison cell and protect him.  Better yet, let's pray that like the other imprisoned Apostles in Acts, Chapter 5, "the angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them forth...".
     
Psalm 107:14   "He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness, and broke away their chains."

James 1:21-25

21 So get rid of all uncleanness and the rampant outgrowth of wickedness, and in a humble (gentle, modest) spirit receive and welcome the Word which implanted and rooted [in your hearts] contains the power to save your souls.

22 But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth].

23 For if anyone only listens to the Word without obeying it and being a doer of it, he is like a man who looks carefully at his [own] natural face in a mirror;

24 For he thoughtfully observes himself, and then goes off and promptly forgets what he was like.

25 But he who looks carefully into the faultless law, the [law] of liberty, and is faithful to it and perseveres in looking into it, being not a heedless listener who forgets but an active doer [who obeys], he shall be blessed in his doing (his life of obedience).

   This is a rather long passage, that is often summarized in the simple axiom, "Be a Doer of the Word, not just a Hearer."  But, as with all Scripture, there are deeper gems that can enrich our souls.  James, the brother of our Lord, makes it clear from the beginning that we are to change our lives and get rid of the ugliness of sin.  In modesty and humbleness, we are to welcome the Word, which is Jesus, Himself, into our hearts.  By hearing the Word spoken, and accepting it, we have access to the supernatural power that can save our souls.

     But James immediately cautions that hearing the Word is not enough.  We must obey the message by following and observing (doing) the commandments God has given us.  And then James gives us a mini-parable about a man who hears the Word without obeying it; he is likened to a man who looks in the mirror and thinks he knows who he is, but when he looks away, he forgets "what he was like".  

     It is the purpose of God's laws and commandments to remind us that we have been saved from our sinful flesh, but those commandments must be acted upon.  Without active efforts to follow the commandments, we forget what we were like, and slip back into what is natural for our flesh. There must be work done on our part to free us from our past.  That involves repentance and an active, physical turning away from our sins... merely hearing the message of God, with no compliance or observance of God's commandments, will only get us so far.

     Here, in simpler terms, is the message:  Hearers (and acceptance) of the Word will gain eternal life and save their souls (verse 21).  But Doers of the Word will gain an inheritance in God's Kingdom (be blessed in their deeds; verse 25).

     Jesus says the same thing in Matthew 7:21-27.  This is the familiar Scripture in which our Lord says, "Not every one that says to me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of my Father, which is in heaven."   He then goes on to give a short parable of the Two Builders.  Our Lord teaches that the man who hears His sayings (the Word) and does them is like a wise man who builds his house on a rock.  That house withstood all that beat against it, and it didn't fall.  But the man who hears the Lord's sayings and doesn't apply them, or do them, is like a foolish man, whose house is built upon the shifting sands.  When the storms of this life came against that house, it fell.  And Jesus says, "And great was its fall."

     So let me ask you, "What is the house?"  It is the temple of our soul and where the Holy Spirit resides within us.  If we only hear the Word, and thereby accept it, we are assured our eternal salvation.  But Jesus and our Father want more for us.  They want us to experience the freedom that the Law and Commandments afford us.  Think about it ... just hearing that the Lord commands us to keep the Sabbath holy does not provide the blessings that actually keeping the Sabbath as a holy day will do for us.  Simply knowing that the Sabbath is a holy day does not please God.  He wants to see us observing that day as holy, by dedicating it to Him with prayerful study of His Word and seeking Him through time spent with Him.  That's where the blessings come from!

     And, I don't know about you, but I take seriously the cautious word from our Lord that the foolish builder's fall was "great".  That tells me that, although he heard the Word, and was saved, he missed out on so much more that God wanted to give him.  I know this for sure ... I not only want to hear all that Jesus and the Holy Spirit want to impart to me, but I want to be a faithful doer of His Word and commandments, so that I may receive all the blessings that my Father in Heaven has in store for me.  I don't want to miss out on a thing!

    

What Disrespect Has Cost Us

     I've wanted to talk about this idea for awhile, and with all the turmoil we're seeing in our nation, it just seems like the time is now.  Do you remember when, as children, we were taught to call our elders by "Mr." or "Mrs."?  When it seemed impertinent to refer to them by their first names?
    And do you remember when we held the door for women, or helped the elderly carry their groceries, or smiled and said, "hello" when you passed a stranger on the street?  When was the last time that the teenage cashier at your local convenience store thanked you for your purchase, or even met your eyes during the transaction?
     Somehow, in the last 50 years we have allowed the spirit of Disrespect to poison our relations with others.  It has never been more prevalent than the ongoing scorn and rude behavior being displayed to our law enforcement officers.  Has there been some concern about the lack of respect that some of the officers have shown individuals?  The honest answer is "Yes".  But that does not imply that all policemen should receive a blanket indictment of contempt.  The large majority of them do their job well, and I must admit, I would find it hard to show respect and civility to some of our citizens, myself.  But, as mediators between society and unlawfulness, they deserve our respect and admiration.  Without respect for the law and its custodians, we are doomed to chaos and tyranny.
       Now, think about our teachers and educators.  I remember when insolence and rude behavior was not tolerated in the classroom.  You can ask my husband how many times he was paddled for not behaving in school; and that was when a trip to the principal's office was seen as an embarrassment.  But today, according to a teacher's blog on The Guardian website, a poll of more than 1,500 teachers by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) revealed that more than half of teachers in state schools have faced aggression from pupils in the last year, and more than a quarter have experienced it from parents or care-givers. Does anybody else find this appalling?!?
     But, here's the deal ... disrespect in our school systems ranges from acting out in class, to verbal insults, to physical threats.  Those kids have learned that behavior ... either in the home or in the culture.  Haven't you noticed the increasing number of headlines detailing teachers being attacked inside and out of the classroom?  What is happening to our society?  Why the disdain for respect towards others, where did we get so far off track?
     I think we have to look at how, as a society, we have stopped demanding a standard for ourselves; we've eliminated a code of behavior, or a code of honor, morals, scruples, and ethics, if you will.  Somewhere along the line, it was determined that we were too hard on ourselves, and it was time to relax the guidelines a bit.
     But do you see where that line of reasoning has taken us?  It was too difficult to expect (or respect)  a lifelong commitment in marriages, so adultery and divorce were given a green light.  It was too much for our kids to be expected to work hard for good grades, so we taught them to disrespect themselves, disregard education, and then we dumbed them down with the "every kid gets a ribbon" standard.
     Perhaps the biggest social mistake we made was instituting the welfare system, in which the government convinced our citizens that self-respect and dignity were worth nothing.  The poor bought the lie and exchanged the disintegration of their families, and the satisfaction of a hard day's work, for a monthly pittance.  Now disrespect is running rampant; and that same lie, which was generated by the government, is being foisted upon small businesses and successful entrepreneurs.  "You didn't build that" is just the latest manipulation of disrespect against free-thinking and industrious people.
    However, the greatest example of relaxing our standards can be seen in how we treat God.  How do you think He views the wearing of shorts and flip-flops when we come into His House?  What about our relaxing the standards for His shepherds and elders?  And what about how we've turned His Temple into entertainment centers, defiling the holy atmosphere of being in His presence? How we no longer rebuke or discipline sin among the members of the Body of Christ; the "don't ask, don't tell" policy towards abortion, adultery, sexual perversion?  Is the stench of our Disrespect as offensive to your senses as it is to mine -- and as it most assuredly is to YHWH?
     Respect is defined as "a feeling of deep admiration for someone or something elicited by their abilities, qualities, or achievements."  When we decided that the measure of those abilities, qualities, and achievements should be disregarded in the attempt to make everyone equal, then there was no standard in which to regard each other.  When we decided that those standards could be reduced, or weakened, then there was less to admire about each other.  And when standards begin to crumble, we find that our code of behavior suffers and the results are destructive ... we no longer honor commitments and promises; we think only of ourselves and stop caring about others; and we stop listening and talking to each other.  It all adds up to DISRESPECT.  
     We're paying the price for decades of this harmful mindset; and at this point, I'm not sure we can turn the tide.  Only through the full recognition of all our mistakes, can we begin to reintroduce moral absolutes and a standard of righteousness.  And we can't do it without God.  Reverence towards Him, His House, and His statutes would be a good place to start.

Isaiah 53:6    "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."

The Legacy of Anne Frank

     Seventy-three years ago today, a young Jewish girl receives an autograph book for her 13th birthday.  She decides to use it to record her thoughts of the chaos in her world.  That diary would become a defining icon of the manifestation of Evil to millions of people.  I received a copy of Anne Frank: The Dairy of a Young Girl on my thirteenth birthday and it has haunted me ever since.
     As I contemplate the story of Anne Frank and her legacy, I am struck with obvious considerations as I juxtapose what happened during that historic time and what we are facing today.
     For over two years, Anne and her family, along with four others, would hide in "The Secret Annex" above her father's business, in hopes of escaping the growing Nazi threat against Jews, which had driven them from their home in Germany in 1933.  They hoped to start a new life in the Netherlands, but on May 10, 1940, Germany attacked their new country. Five days later, the Netherlands officially surrendered.
     For those who think that the fate of this country, or any other for that matter, cannot change in a matter of hours or days, I ask you to contemplate how quickly it was accomplished in 1940 -- without all the modern-day superiority of military power, or the option of shutting down electronic grids, and utilizing today's surveillance capabilities.
     Would we, in this nation, put up a stronger fight than the neutrality-minded Dutch? How would we react if we saw an occupying force take over our country and begin to round up Jews, or Christians, or Muslims, or homosexuals, or anyone who fit their description of "undesirables"?  Would we see a similar collaboration among our citizens, such as happened when occupiers deported the majority of the Netherland's Jews to Nazi concentration camps, with the cooperation of the Dutch police and civil service?  Or would we be righteous and attempt to hide our neighbors, at great personal risk, such as those who hid and cared for Anne Frank and her family for two years?
    It is not so hard to fathom in today's climate, that with the defeat of the Netherlands, the Nazis immediately passed anti-Jewish laws and edicts, and all hope that the Frank family might be able to leave the country were ended when the borders were closed.  Now, I ask you, if borders could be closed that easily and quickly and completely in the 1940s, what excuse do our politicians have today?  Unlike the Nazi's, who closed the borders to keep a tight control and order on the population, our borders remain open to ensure that destabilization within our country increases.
     As I contemplate, in awe, the effects of a single young woman's thoughts during the most Evil time in modern history, I am struck by the power that one individual can have on the world.  Anne Frank dreamed of becoming a writer, and even hoped to have her diary published after the War.  But in her daily record of her hopes and fears; her ambitions and her apprehensions, she speaks for anyone who has faced the terror of simply trying to survive.  Through her short-lived life and legacy, we see how quickly hate can consume the world, and how easily Satan can tempt us to go along for the ride.
    Consider these words of Lini Grol, a young Dutch girl who lived in the Netherlands during the Nazi occupation ... "In the beginning of the war, they tried to bribe us, more or less; tried to be friendly; trying to talk us into a 'good thing':  Hitler with one united Europe, all one big German Reich... Hitler had promised there would be work.  And indeed there was work, for those who worked with the Germans.  They would do that -- bribe us, more or less.  Then gradually they took everything away.  They took everything we had:  the newspapers, the radios --- and then there was no communication.  Everything was in Hitler's hands.  So they could more or less brainwash us and convince us that everything was fine."  The methodology hasn't changed much, has it?  We've just added the false promises of welfare to the insinuated threats of internet control, and you have the 21st century version of the Reich reincarnated as the New World Order.

Dr. Fritz Klein, a former camp doctor
who conducted medical experiments on prisoners,
 stands among corpses in a mass grave.
Bergen-Belsen, Germany, after April 15, 1945. 

     Throughout the years since the end of WWII, there have been those who deny that the Holocaust was reality, and declare that the story of Anne Frank's diary is a forgery.  But the light cannot be held back by the darkness; the light that was Anne Frank's life resists the power of Evil, and her personal diary delivers a testimony of the abominations of men.
     Her words survived the Holocaust for a reason.  And her tragic death in the Bergen-Belsen death camp could not stop the world from knowing that she existed.  It was 73 years ago today that an unknown 13-year-old Jewish girl would begin an archive that would make her world-famous and pierce the hearts of all moral people.  A few photos and a short video are all that remain of a likeness of Annelies Marie Frank.
     Unbeknownst to her, she would become a published and celebrated author.  She has become a symbol of the millions of children that died in the Holocaust; a voice for the 6 million voiceless who were murdered by Evil personified.  She embodies the human spirit in the midst of horror and humiliation.
     Buy the book for your daughter or grand-daughter.  Teach the Millennial generation that there is real danger in the world.  Teach them that one cannot concede moral or spiritual territory to the evil machinations of man.  Show them the difference that one voice can make, and above all else, let them know about Anne Frank and what she stands for; that she represents this important truth ... "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

Psalm 83:1, 3:    "Keep not silence, O God; hold not Your peace or be still, O God ... They lay crafty schemes against Your people and consult together against Your hidden and precious ones."