Valley of Decision: Don't Let The Father Of Lies Steal or Destroy Our Nation

     How sad, that on this Veteran's Day, we are seeing such acrimony and malice being exhibited post-election.  It is estimated that over 1.1 million Americans have died in service to this country since its inception.  I hate to think that the memory of that monumental sacrifice is diminished in the wake of unrealized election results.  I can recognize that one-half of the nation is disappointed at the outcome, but I truly am grieved at the excessive and unreasonable responses -- everything from abusive language and insults, to the calls for violence, destruction, and revolution.  And believe me, if the election had turned out the other way, I would feel the same if I saw such rancor and resentment.
     For those of us who have prayed for peace, reconciliation, and a return to moral absolutes and true liberty, I think we are a little aghast at the venom and poison being spewed.  But what else should we expect?  If President-Elect Trump is to be a genuine instrument of God, then isn't it likely that the Enemy is putting his own game plan into motion?  And let's be honest, we know that Romans 13 tells us that all those in authority have been granted their position by the permission and sanction of God.  Whether Donald Trump holds office as an indicator of God's Judgment or Restoration remains to be seen.  We can be hopeful -- and should be -- at this point, but there are lots of decisions to be made in the coming days that will set our nation on its future course.

     I can't help but compare this tenuous time to what it must have been like when Abraham Lincoln took office and the nation, like now, was so divided in its political character and complexion.  President-Elect Lincoln took a cautious approach in the days leading up to his inauguration, being careful to offer an olive branch to his former opponents, while making it clear that he would take a firm stance on preserving the nation.  And, just as now, he found it necessary to remind the citizens of America that we share a common heritage.
     In the closing remarks of his Inaugural Address, President Lincoln said, “In your hand, my fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath in Heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to preserve, protect, and defend it… We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”
     How appropriate for each of us ... to decide if we are willing to let our differences tear us apart; or if we can find a way to come together for the common good.  How we make that very important decision will have tremendous consequences for this nation.  Because it is clear to me that we have allowed ourselves to be indoctrinated and lied to, while we remanded our civic duties to a federal government who only looked out for themselves.
    I happen to believe that God established this nation.  The Bible tells us, "From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands" (Acts 17:26).  We were appointed to this nation at this time, and there is a purpose for both our lives and our country.   As a Believer, I happen to think our purpose is to glorify God.  Unfortunately, too many have listened to the Father of Lies and their purpose in life has become to exalt, elevate, and enhance themselves.  They listened to the Devil whisper lies of entitlement and privilege, so that they have forgotten that it is God "who gives to all [people] life and breath and all things".  Instead, they now believe that it is the Federal Government who provides all things, and they bow down at the altar of the man (or woman) who promises the most.
     I would caution all who are reading this blog today to be careful about falling into this trap.  Whether you are cheering at the prospect of a President Trump, or are devastated over "what might have been" with a President Clinton, we must not put our hope and trust in a clay vessel.  Yes, we must reside as citizens of the United States until we are called to our heavenly home, and it is reasonable to want a prosperous and free life.  But our first responsibility, as Christians, is to be a part of establishing the Kingdom of God on earth.  And there is no place for hatred or division or exploitation or alienation in that Holy government.
     REMEMBER:  the Devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy.  Don't let him steal the brotherhood you share with your fellow man.  Don't let him kill the Spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness that resides in your heart.  And don't let him destroy your testimony of the Word!  As President Lincoln solemnly swore, We must not be enemies!  Let's recognize our true Enemy and do not allow him to devour us!
     We have been down that road before in this nation, and it has caused a grievous and grave wound upon our land.  So, please pray for our nation and our leaders; it is time for us to come together and heal.  The next two months until Inauguration Day will be a time of momentous decisions.  Let us remain steadfast in our purpose of reconciliation and resolution, and not make the same mistakes the nation made prior to Lincoln's Presidency .... Six weeks later, the Confederates fired on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, and the Civil War began.  May God have mercy on our nation!

And thank you to all the Veterans who have done their part to preserve this great nation... I am especially proud of my father, my uncle, my cousin, and my nephew.  I am grateful each of you answered the call!

Acts 17:30    "Therefore God overlooked and disregarded the former ages of ignorance; but now He commands all people everywhere to repent [that is, to change their old way of thinking, to regret their past sins, and to seek God’s purpose for their lives]..."

Can We Make The Church Great Again?

I wrote this post on the eve of Election Day, so I do not yet know who was voted in as our next President.  And, to be honest, the point of this post is not to comment on the 45th President and the changes that are about to come upon our country -- whether good or bad -- but to remark on the state of the country due to the absence of influence by the Church.  Let's face it, we are where we are because the Church has abandoned its moral obligation to the Body of Christ, and failed to honor God's will.  The question now becomes, "Can We Make The Church Great Again" and change the course of our history?      

     As much as I am inclined to treat the internet with disdain and contempt, it does give me the opportunity to read and hear opinions of others that I might otherwise never have the opportunity to experience.  One of my favorite sites to peruse is one called PassTheSalt.com, written by Coach Dave Daubenmire, and from whom I borrowed todays's blog title and subject matter.
     In case you are unfamiliar with Coach Dave, he is a veteran 35-year high school football coach, who was spurred to action when attacked and eventually sued by the ACLU in the late 1990’s for mixing prayer with his coaching. After a two year battle for his 1st amendment rights and a determination to not back down, the ACLU relented and offered Coach an out-of-court settlement.
    That event led to a decision to leave coaching in favor of encouraging the Body of Christ to enter into the cultural war.  Coach Dave developed PASS THE SALT to bring together the Body of Christ across denominational, racial, and economical lines to demonstrate to America the power of Biblical unity. His vision is to unite, organize, and mobilize the Army of God to be Salt and Light as stated in Matthew 5:12. 
     Coach Dave believes strongly in challenging the status quo of the modern Church, and in doing so, taking the fight to the cultural enemy.  He has become a recognizable voice in the media, and is an unashamed, articulate apologist for the Christian worldview.  So, it is with a nod of approval that I share with you some of his latest opinions, along with my own commentary on the subject.
     As you can guess by the title, Coach Dave is playing off Donald Trump's campaign slogan, "Make America Great Again".  But as all of us who mourn the state of the modern world, we recognize that not only is America not great anymore, but neither is the Church.  Just as America's influence and power have faded in the wake of "political correctness" and compromise, so has the Church's.  Even in my lifetime, the Church used to be a powerful force in demanding morality among our nation's populace.  But today, the promotion of immoral behavior has become America's greatest export, and the Church is largely silent, and certainly not unified in calling for repentance.
     As Coach Dave points out in his blog post, "The greatness of America was that we once taught our children that real liberty was not doing whatever one wanted, but rather choosing to do what was right."  And that idea was supported and taught by the Church, which provided the moral compass of the nation.  Not anymore.  Today, there is no consistent standard of what is right and wrong.  It is all "relative" and according to "what seems right in one's own eyes".
     You might recognize that from a Bible verse in Judges, Chapters 17 and 21, and is a result of the sin of Micah in continuing in idol worship.  There were no judges in the land of Israel at that time to point out this sin, or restrain the people from it.  The law of God had been forsaken and replaced with subjectivism (the philosophical theory that there is no truth outside of one's own experience; or the idea that there is no absolute Truth).  This is exactly what we are seeing today in our postmodern, relativist culture.  It is to be expected that the world will act like this, but this attitude has also entered, and almost overwhelmed, Christendom as we know it.  Christianity is being remade in the imaginations of men.  The rules are being set by false teachers, and the Christian masses are quick to follow.
     But what does the Bible say?  In Proverbs 14:12, it says,  There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.  So Americans are clinging to the idea of making America Great Again, in the hopes that we can turn the tide of wickedness, violence, corruptness, degeneracy, and immoral behavior that has come to define our culture and society.  But the truth is that America will not be great again, until the Church, or the Body of Christ, becomes great again and a force of righteousness in our land.
    It's really very simple to see ... there is a direct correlation between diminishing God in our land, and our turn towards immorality.  We have removed the Biblical foundations that the Church once embodied, and as a result, our families, our schools, our government, and our faith have suffered.  Coach Dave points out that, according to the latest Pew Research Poll, 71% of Americans identify themselves as Christian…a decline of 8% in the past 7 years.  Let that sink in a minute.  Only 4% of Americans call themselves atheist or agnostic, yet it is this very small minority of Americans who have THEIR religious beliefs represented in the government.  How have Christians permitted the values of the overwhelming majority of society to be banished from public discourse? How has the American Church, which was once the backbone of our great nation, permitted our government to become agnostic in regards to moral behavior?
     I believe the truth of our "lukewarm" foundation lies in the impressions of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Lutheran pastor, who came to America in 1939, hoping to wait out Hitler's oppression in Germany and who hoped to return to rebuild the German Church after the war.  But he was greatly disappointed in the American Church, as these comments display:  I now wonder whether it is true that America is the country without a reformation? There hardly ever seem to be "encounters" [with God] in this great country.  But where there is no encounter, where liberty is the only unifying factor, one naturally knows nothing of the community which is created through encounter ... Lively and original, but too much analysis and too little Gospel ... The separation of church and state does not result in the church continuing to apply itself to its own task; it is no guarantee against secularism.  Nowhere is the church more secularized than where it is separated in principle, as it does here.  This very separation can create an opposition, so that the church engages much more strongly in political and secular things.
     Sadly, Bonhoeffer's reflections have come to full-blown fruition these 76 years later.  And as Coach Dave surmises, it doesn't really matter who won the election, The Church should be held accountable for the direction the nation takes going forward.  Will the results look like we got a reprieve from God and a chance to return to a moral nation, or will the anti-Christian tactics of those who continue in power come to bare on anyone who dares to proclaim the Supremacy of God?
     I couldn't agree more with Coach Dave, who finished his blog post with the following statements:  "As goes the Church, so goes the nation. It is time for true believers in Jesus to call out the charlatans in the pulpits masquerading as pastors and demand a return to Biblical values as the foundation of this nation. We must actively oppose the self-centered Gospel currently belching out of the mouths of the hirelings who are peddling snake-oil Christianity in order to advance their own kingdoms".
     Pretty tough assertion, but nonetheless called for and necessary.  Can we, as a nation, be redeemed and forgiven by our God?  Absolutely!  The Bible gives us a picture of just that in the history of the Judean King, Manasseh, one of the most wicked kings that the divided nation of Israel had seen.  As frightening as it sounds, Manasseh's punishment by God was exactly what he and the nation needed:  "Therefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon. Now when he was in affliction, he implored the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God". (2 Chronicles 33:11-13).
     Will that be the history of our nation?  Let us pray that it won't be necessary that we be defeated and taken into captivity.  Let us pray that we, and our next leader, have the heartfelt desire to humble ourselves and pray, asking for forgiveness.  But most of all, it is my prayer that God's Church will repent and ask for forgiveness; and that we, the people, will unite in obedience to our God and return to His righteous ways.  That is where our hope and our strength and our liberty truly lie.

Ezekiel 18:30-31    This is the declaration of the Lord God. “Repent and turn from all your transgressions, so they will not be a stumbling block that causes your punishment.  Throw off all the transgressions you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit"... 

An Open Letter To God: Give Us Your Anointed As Our Leader

Dear God,
  
     I am writing this blog post 24 hours prior to Election Day, 2016.  At this point, I have no idea who will win the election to become the next President of the United States.  Frankly, as I consider my choices, I am not encouraged by either candidate, and like millions of Americans, I am suffering from "Election overload and fatigue".
     I recognize that this nation is in dire need of a leader who is righteous and God-fearing, and who is willing to seek Your [The Almighty's] will.  But neither candidate seems to fit that bill.  So, is all lost for our country?  Can You still work with whomever is elected, regardless of their relationship with You?  And if so, to what effect will we be subjected ... Your Judgment or Your Restoration?
     Sadly, I am afraid we only have to look at world and Biblical history to know the answers.  At this point, I am considering two world rulers that You have used to execute Your will:  The Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar; and Cyrus the Great, King of Persia.  First, I see Nebuchadezzar, the Babylonian conquerer best known for taking Daniel into captivity, and for his prophetic dreams that foretell the history of the world's empires and the eventual End Times scenario.  His reign is notorious for the capture and exile of the Jewish people in Babylon.  But my careful discernment of this history denotes that Nebuchadnezzar is, wittingly or unwittingly, the “servant” You used to discipline the disobedient Judah.
    There is no mistaking Your intention.  Jeremiah 27:6 plainly says, Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant and instrument ... God, it is so clear to me that You used Nebuchadnezzar as Your instrument of Justice against a rebellious and disobedient land of Judah. And here are the questions I am asking myself ... In recognition of our own rebellious nature, what would keep You from using the next President as Your instrument of judgment against our nation?  Does the next President need to have a relationship with You to fulfill Your will?  Was Nebuchadnezzar actually aware that he was Your servant when he was devastating Judah?  As I do my research, historical records do not seem to indicate that he intended his campaign against Judah as an act of obedience to You, The Most High God.
     I am also aware that ancient cylinders have been discovered with the following inscription on them:  "I, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the loyal shepherd, the one permanently selected by Marduk, the exalted ruler, the one loved by Nabû, the wise expert who is attentive to the ways of the gods, the tireless governor, the caretaker of Esagil and Ezida, the foremost heir of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, I, when Marduk, my great lord, duly created me to take care of him, Nabû, the administrator of the totality of heaven and the netherworld, put in my hands the just scepter."  As a serious student of the Bible, I know that Marduk is another name for Nimrod, one of the foremost idolators and rebels against You.  Nebuchadnezzar clearly did not worship YHWH, my God.  Yet You used him to apply Judgment against Your rebellious and disobedient people.  Shouldn't we be keeping that in mind during these final hours of our election process?
    Also, when I consider King Cyrus, a pagan ruler who established the Persian Empire through a series of bloody battles and conquests, as well as ruthless politics, I realize that You actually call Cyrus, "My anointed".  And Father, I know that the 21st Century Church has gotten their theology all mixed up when it comes to that word.  I know that the Hebrew word for "anointed" is mashiah, which has come down to us as "messiah" and translated as christos in Greek.  And because we now use this term exclusively for Jesus Christ, the Messiah, it is difficult for the Church to discern that this term could be applied, by You, to a pagan ruler.
     But I have learned that this term -- "anointed" or "messiah" -- was used by Old Testament writers to refer to kings, priests, and high priests; actually in its most basic interpretation, it means any person that You authorize and set apart for Your service.  And history and the Bible plainly tell us that You certainly used Cyrus to perform Your will.  In Isaiah 44, You specifically say,  To Cyrus, My Anointed, whose right hand I have held ... I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways; He shall build My city and let My exiles go free...  

      So history shows us that You did, indeed, raise King Cyrus to deliver Your people from their captivity in Babylon [under the rule of King Nebuchadnezzar] and returned them to their land.  Careful study shows me that for the real Christ to be born in Bethlehem as the Biblical prophecy states, Jews had to be living in Judea.  And I know that it was You, who also inspired Cyrus to institute his conciliatory policy toward foreign religions so that a Temple could be built to which Your Son could come. And among other points, Jerusalem had to be rebuilt so Jesus could die outside the city for our sins.
     So, God, You clearly had a plan to inspire Cyrus to restore Your nation of Judah and Your Temple.  Yet, Cyrus did not know you as YHWH, either.  Scripture tells us in Isaiah 45 that You say, [I will work through you, Cyrus,] that you may know that I, the LORD, who call you by your name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob My servant's sake, and Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me.  But it is amazing to me, Father, that that doesn't keep You from using Cyrus, or making Yourself known to him.  In fact, Cyrus says, 'The LORD [meaning Yahweh], the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the LORD [Yahweh] his God be with him. Let him go up.'" (2 Chr 36:23).
     But I can't forget that the famous Cyrus Cylinder, discovered in 1879, reveals that like Nebuchadnezzar, the pagan god Marduk was given credit for the reign of Cyrus.  Indeed, history shows that Cyrus restored the various idol temples in his empire.  So, he was clearly a pagan ruler.
    So, God, where does that leave us with this election of 2016?  Can a ruler of a nation who clearly does not know You as Lord, in a real and personal way, still be used by You to accomplish Your purposes?  You've certainly shown us in Your Word that this is a possibility.  Because, Father, I'm not seeing any real fruit from either candidate that tells me they know Your Son as their Savior.  And Father, I have a very real fear that even if one of them has been anointed by You to lead our nation, that they will follow the path of Cyrus -- after fulfilling the mission You assigned to him, he fell victim to a lust for power and glory, and met his death far from home, trying to conquer the nomads of the steppes.  I am well aware that we cannot put our faith or trust in princes [or princesses] of this world.
     In the end, Father, I see the two possibilities with which we are presented:  Your Word has shown me two pagan kings; one raised up to bring judgment and the other raised up to bring restoration.  Which one will we get for this season of our history?  I am left praying for the real Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, who will return to conquer, to punish, to restore and to reconcile all nations to Himself.  All thoughts of the judgment of a tyrant like Nebuchadnezzar, or the intercession of a beneficent king like Cyrus of Persia, will pale beside the glories of the wonderful Kingdom of God.
     So, should you decide to delay the arrival of the True Messiah, it is my prayer that whomever will be declared the new Leader of our nation tomorrow will be like those rulers of old, and will recognize that they hold that office at the behest of You, and their power lies in Your hand.  I hope they realize that it is You who will be directing their ways.  Above all else, it is my earnest prayer that it is for Your purpose of restoration and not judgment.  Have mercy on us, Father!

1 Peter 2:13-14     "Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by Him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good."






     

Hebrews 8:13

When God speaks of “A new covenant,” He makes the first one obsolete. 

And whatever is becoming obsolete (out of use, annulled) 

and growing old is ready to disappear.

     Sometimes I am amazed that in this supposedly "enlightened" age, we in the Body of Christ, can still be so confused about the meaning of Scripture.  Hebrews 8:13 is one of those verses, that if not considered in the whole context of Jesus's mission on earth, can easily be misconstrued.

     I have heard it explained that this verse is spoken in reference to "the Law".  And we have to even be careful when using that terminology, because Christians conflate the Mosaic Law and God's Law, and tend to relegate "the Law" to the ceremonial system of rules God designed to direct the lives of the Israelites under the Mosaic Covenant.  But the Law was more than the Ten Commandments which were embodied in the Mosaic Law given at Sinai.  Those ten commandments were an extension of the eternal moral law of God as it was given to Israel to govern her life as a nation, in order to experience God’s blessing under the Abrahamic covenant.  And God's moral law is eternal!

     But we have been told that we no longer live under the Law and we abide in the Age of Grace... that the Law was instituted under the Old Covenant and we are under the New Covenant, by which Christ told us He came not to destroy the Law and the prophets, but to fulfill.  Then, we are told that "to fulfill" means "to bring an end to", or "to do away with".  That is when this verse in Hebrews, Chapter 8, is brought forth to prove that the Law is equated with the Old Covenant, which is declared in verse 13 to be "obsolete".

     This controversy has led to a whole lot of misunderstanding among the Body of Christ.  There will be those who say the Law no longer has any significance for us, and that is what verse 13 is saying.  But I would venture that this is a gross exaggeration. First of all, it depends on exactly what you mean by "The Law".  Secondly, it depends on a correct understanding of "Old" and "New" Covenant.  The fact that the Mosaic law (and its rituals of animal sacrifice for salvation) has been terminated does not mean that there is no law in this age of grace.  The New Testament is full of references to various forms of law under God's direction:  “the perfect law of liberty" (James. 1:25), “the royal law” (James. 2:8), the Law of Christ (Galatians. 6:2), and the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus (Romans. 8:2). These all point to various commands found throughout the epistles which comprise God's Law. They cover all areas of the believer’s life to direct him in the will of God in today’s world.

     We can all agree that the Mosaic Law was weak because it was dependent on man’s ability, and God put an end to that system with the advent of Christ.  But that was the system God used to divorce the Israelites from the pagan ways of their centuries of bondage in Egypt.  They were so steeped in the occultic practices and sins of Egypt that they had lost any sense of a relationship with their God.  The Mosaic Law was designed to build and maintain a proper relationship (through covenant) between God and His people Israel (blessing versus cursing), but only until the coming of Messiah and the establishment of a New Covenant. The Mosaic Law was never designed to be a permanent rule of life. It was merely a tutor or guardian to guide Israel in all areas of her life until Christ.

     A reading of the entire Chapter of Hebrews 8 clearly shows that it is not "the Law" (in the form of ceremonial rituals and restrictive rules) that is the focal point of what will become obsolete between the Old and the New Covenant; indeed, God says in verse 10, "I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people".  What I believe the Scripture is saying is that the method of instituting God's law through animal sacrifice and ceremonial rituals will become obsolete.  The Law, itself, will be written on our hearts as we walk by the Spirit of Christ in our faith, and the Covenant of relationship with God will be renewed.  It is not a matter of one Covenant being replaced by another.  Rather, the way of receiving God's grace (through the blood sacrifice of animals) will become obsolete, but not the need for the sacrifice, itself.  God still demanded that, and it was fulfilled in the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus.  The need for God's laws remain ... and they are circumcised upon our hearts because the means of blood sacrifice to receive God's grace and mercy is no longer demanded.

     It is no wonder that the Body of Christ is confused, and accused of legalism if you proclaim that the Law still exists, and is written on your heart.  It doesn't help to understand the issue when statements such as these are made:  "Since the Lord Jesus Christ fulfills the Law by His person and work, believers are under a new law; the obligation to walk by the Spirit of Life through faith (Rom. 8:2-4). If we are led by the Spirit, then we are not under the Law (Gal. 5:18)".  Or this statement:  "Against such, i.e., the fruit of the Spirit, there is no law because the believer is then operating under the highest law, the standards are met as we walk by the Holy Spirit and grow in the Word (Gal. 5:22)".  Can you see how difficult it is for us to all come to an agreement of what "the Law" is, or which law we are talking about?  

     It is important to understand that there is a very definite difference between God's laws which are moral commandments, and the commandments contained in ordinances which had to do with the ceremonies of the old Jewish rituals for receiving grace. And it is because the unlearned Church misapplies Bible statements about these different kinds of laws (and their purpose) that they become confused.  And the result?  The Body of Christ ends up in endless and circular arguments; even to the point of disagreeing if the Ten Commandments are part of the "Old Covenant", and therefore obsolete!  It shouldn't be that hard!  Yes, the system of sacrifice under the Law of Moses did vanish away; but those animal sacrifices were instituted and designed to prepare the way for the sacrifice of Christ, and then to pass away -- all as a principle of God's continual Covenant with men.  That covenant of relationship did not end, it was simply renewed in faith in Christ.  And unlike the old sacrificial system (which was temporary), this method of receiving God's grace is designed to last for eternity.  Praise God for His Mercy and Grace!

Changing God's Truth In The Evangelical Community

     As I have previously stated, I don't get too caught up in following the popular preachers and speakers in today's Christian community.  But maybe I should start paying more attention.  Just as a firestorm has erupted over evangelical pastor Andy Stanley's sermon on the sufficiency of the Bible, so has a similar uproar ignited over Jen Hatmaker's remarks regarding same-sex marriage.
     I have to admit that I have heard her name, but was unfamiliar with Hatmaker's position in the evangelical community.  She appears to be part of the new breed of evangelical Christians ... a young author, speaker, blogger, and television personality.  Specifically, she and her husband were hired by HGTV to host a show titled, "My Big Family Renovation," chronicling their overhaul of an old farmhouse.  The show became a hit, and HGTV announced that they have asked Jen and her husband, Brandon, back for a new series entitled “My Biblical Doctrine Renovation.”

     In the words of the network spokesperson, “The Hatmakers have an uncanny knack for tearing down old, worn-out, traditional things and replacing them with new, shiny fixtures and appliances, and they’ll be using these skills to renovate a traditional teaching from Scripture in each episode ... In every fun, relatable episode of the show, the Hatmakers will take a boring, traditional biblical doctrine, rip it to shreds using words like ‘tender’ and ‘nuanced,’ and replace it with something much more modern and acceptable ... Viewers will get to see the detailed, step-by-step process of updating out-of-vogue beliefs into something cutting-edge and trendy.”  If this is the direction the young evangelical community is headed, I'm glad I don't identify with them or adhere to their apostate teachings.
     And it looks as if Jen's first "renovation" project is homosexuality and same-sex marriage.  And by the swift response her stance is receiving, I might suggest that she rethink being "modern and acceptable" or "cutting-edge and trendy", and take another look at what the Bible actually says.
     The hubbub all began as a result of an interview Hatmaker did with Religion News Service, and the answer she gave to the following questions: Politically speaking, do you support gay marriage?  Her answer:  "From a civil rights and civil liberties side and from just a human being side, any two adults have the right to choose who they want to love. And they should be afforded the same legal protections as any of us. I would never wish anything less for my gay friends.
     From a spiritual perspective, since gay marriage is legal in all 50 states, our communities have plenty of gay couples who, just like the rest of us, need marriage support and parenting help and Christian community. They are either going to find those resources in the church or they are not.
     Not only are these our neighbors and friends, but they are brothers and sisters in Christ. They are adopted into the same family as the rest of us, and the church hasn’t treated the LGBT community like family. We have to do better".
     And how would you respond if one of your children were gay?  Her answer:  "I think we would parent that child exactly the same as the rest of them. Which is to say, we would always be on their side and in their corner and for them and with them. We want for all of our kids the same thing: faithful, committed marriage and a beautiful family that is committed to God and the church. I would have the same standard across the board, no matter what".
     You mention faithfulness and God. Do you think an LGBT relationship can be holy?  Her answer: "I do. And my views here are tender. This is a very nuanced conversation, and it’s hard to nail down in one sitting. I’ve seen too much pain and rejection at the intersection of the gay community and the church. Every believer that witnesses that much overwhelming sorrow should be tender enough to do some hard work here".  [There's the "tender and nuanced" that HGTV is looking for!]

     All of this sounds very "New Age-y" and loving and compassionate.  But nowhere do I see her actually address what the Bible says about sexual sin.  As a committed Christian, I absolutely believe in the Bible and what it says about God’s will regarding sexual behavior.  I believe just as strongly in unconditional love and forgiveness.  But that love and forgiveness cannot supersede God's moral laws.  His Word emphatically says, “If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination (Leviticus 20:13)….”.
     But how many in this modern Christian Age actually know what is meant by that word abomination?  According to Strong's Concordance, when used with reference to God, this word describes people, things, acts, relationships, and characteristics that are detestable to Him because they are contrary to His nature.  And what is His nature in regard to the sexes?  It is stated from the very beginning of the Bible, in Genesis 1:27: So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them.  It is not in God's nature to be accepting of anything that goes against what He has created.  And no matter how many laws are passed in favor of gay marriage; or how accepting and loving Society and the Church wants to be, it will not change God’s mind.  And I know that many in the young evangelical movement will cite that verse as part of the out-of-touch Old Testament Law that does not pertain to our modern society.  But to suggest that this verse is invalid today is to advocate the dangerous practice of redefining or deleting God's Nature and what He has said.
     I want to be very clear ... I am not saying we should not love people who have adopted the homosexual lifestyle.  We should love our fellow man or woman with the fear of God and the mercy of Jesus.  We should love them enough to be honest with them, and not distort the Word of God to make them feel better about sinful desires.  We all sin and fall short!  And it is not the lifestyle that I focus on, as much as it is their unbelief in the Word of God.  When the Bible says we are to die to ourselves, and to present our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, I believe it!  In fact, Paul states it so clearly in Ephesians 4:22-24:  in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
     I highly recommend that you read a response to Jen Hatmaker's conciliatory position.  It is written by Rosaria Butterfield, and titled Love Your Neighbor Enough To Speak Truth.  In the article, Rosaria gives her testimony about dying to the [homosexual] life she loved in order to gain Christ.  She makes a powerful statement: "When something feels right and good and real and necessary—but stands against God’s Word—this reveals the particular way Adam’s sin marks my life. Our sin natures deceive us. Sin’s deception isn’t just “out there”; it’s also deep in the caverns of our hearts.
     How I feel does not tell me who I am. Only God can tell me who I am, because he made me and takes care of me. He tells me that we are all born as male and female image bearers with souls that will last forever and gendered bodies that will either suffer eternally in hell or be glorified in the New Jerusalem. Genesis 1:27 tells me that there are ethical consequences and boundaries to being born male and female. When I say this previous sentence on college campuses (Rosaria is a former tenured professor of English at Syracuse University)—even ones that claim to be Christian—the student protestors come out in the dozens. I’m told that declaring the ethical responsibilities of being born male and female is now hate speech".
     In other words, there now appear to be people, groups, denominations, and Christian movements who are willing to depart from God's absolute Truth, and to distort the Biblical doctrine of sin in order to be "on their side" or to relate to "the pain and rejection" that Jen Hatmaker says the Church has caused the LGBT community.
     But as Rosaria Butterfield eloquently explains, "We can not have illicit love and gospel peace at the same time; sin and Christ cannot abide together ... the cross never makes itself an ally with the sin it must crush, because Christ took our sin upon Himself and paid the ransom for its dreadful cost."
     Like Butterfield, I advocate loving relationships with all people and open doorways to share God's Truth.  And like my God, in whose image I am made, I do not wish anyone to be lost.  I truly want my words to reflect His mercy and desire for reconciliation with Him.
     But I am a realist, and I know my opinion will certainly be an unpopular one with those in the world; and most likely spurned among evangelicals, who like Jen Hatmaker, feel the traditional Word is in need of "renovation and updating", while she desperately tries to be politically relevant.
     In summary, I see a form of Christianity being promoted that is only interested in pleasing the masses, rather than convicting the lost.  Pastors, and leaders, and teachers are willing to excuse Biblical sin rather than hurting someone's feelings.  No mention of Judgment is allowed, and Repentance is never sought.  Our faith has become politically correct instead of Biblically accurate.  When we preach indulgence instead of declaring sin, we are deceiving those who are sinning, as well as ourselves.  In the end, we are preaching our words -- not His Word -- and sadly, they are void of Truth and Salvation.

2 Peter 3:9   "The Lord isn’t slow about keeping His promises, as some people think He is. In fact, God is patient, because He wants everyone to turn from sin and no one to be lost."

Andy Stanley and the Sufficiency of the Bible

     Just last week I felt a prompting to present my views on the sufficiency of the Bible, and once again that topic is at the forefront of my conscience and spirit.  In that article, I admitted that I don't focus on the viewpoints of the pastors and theologians who seek the spotlight.  That's not to say that I don't seek out commentaries or teachers who have proven to me that they regard the Bible as infallible and sufficient, and who seek only to understand what God desires to be revealed about Himself.  I understand that not everyone is going to agree on an interpretation, and I can respect the opinions of those who differ with me --- as long as they don't dishonor the Word of God.
     So, I guess it's my turn to wade into the floodwaters created by a recent series of sermons by Andy Stanley, titled "The Bible Says So".  First, let me say, that I have avoided forming my own opinion based on the opinions of others.  I wanted to read and hear for myself, exactly what Andy Stanley said about the adequacy of the Bible as the foundation of our faith.  I wanted to see if I agreed with his premises, and then I would consider what the most prominent and influential of our modern theologians had to say.
     Based on the Stanley transcripts I have read, I am sadly disappointed -- once again -- in the modern Church's willingness to compromise, rather than possibly offend, fellow believers.  I will, first, let Andy Stanley defend himself over the controversy he has caused.  He says he wants to "address the elephant in the room ... I believe the Bible is without error in everything it affirms. I believe what the Bible says is true, is true ... During “The Bible Told Me So,” I wanted educated, dechurched millennials to know [that I knew] that those who supposedly know everything are convinced there was no worldwide flood or Hebrew migration from Egypt. While addressing them directly, I gave them the benefit of the doubt to make the following point: Even if those events never occurred, it does nothing to undermine the evidence supporting the resurrection of Jesus and thus the claims he made about himself...".

     And from what I have been able to discern about Andy Stanley's personal doctrine of belief, he prefers to concentrate on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ as the underpinning of our faith... nothing wrong with that.  But he appears to do that apart from the Bible.  Here's what it comes down to:   Does Andy Stanley believe the Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God – or is it simply “inspiring?”  For instance, in his sermon, Stanley begins by making this point:

Perhaps you were taught, as I was taught, Jesus loves me, this I know – and let’s all finish it together – for the Bible tells me so. Yes. This is where our trouble began.

     What can he possibly mean by "trouble"?  He went on to explain that the canonization process of the Bible was utilized by early Christian Fathers to weed out manuscripts that had not been penned by the Apostles, or by someone who had worked closely with an apostle (such as Mark or Luke). Stanley remarks that the Bible, as a single book, wasn’t really assembled until near the end of 4th Century A.D.  That is true, but the point he derives from that fact is flawed as his sermon shows...

Before the Old Testament and New Testament were combined and titled the Bible – this is unbelievable – Christianity had already, before there was a Bible, replaced the pantheon of Roman, barbarian, and most Egyptian gods, and was the state religion of the Roman Empire. And no one had ever held in their hand a Bible! The first, second, and third century Christians who faced tremendous hardship – don’t miss this – believed Jesus loved them before the Bible told them so. Peter believed Jesus loved him, James did, John, Luke, Paul, they – listen, this is huge – Peter, James, Paul the apostle, they did not choose to follow Jesus because of an infallible Old Testament or a non-contradicting New Testament.

     So, what he seems to be saying is that who Jesus was, what Jesus said, and what He did are, rightfully, of the utmost importance; and perhaps we are putting too much emphasis on the Bible as the authoritative Word of God.  And there is the implication that we no longer need to believe that the Bible is all we need to equip us for a life of faith and service.  He seems to be saying the Early Church didn't even have the finished Bible until the 4th Century, so it obviously wasn't of primary importance to the promulgation of the Faith.
     But that is more than a little misleading.  As Don and Joy Veinot point out in their insightful article, Andy Stanley and the Bible, "For example, it is true that the binding of scriptures into a single volume occurred a few centuries into Church history, but all of the content of the Bible was [in existence]in the First Century. Therefore, the scriptures, though not yet bound together, were all held in the hands of Christians in the First, Second and Third centuries, as separate documents. In fact, the Ante-Nicene Fathers (church leaders before the Council of Nicaea) quoted from the written documents prolifically. The Fathers [of the Church] quoted from the scriptures in order to underpin and validate their own arguments, to prove what they were saying by the revealed and written Word of God! This practice was certainly not new to them – they were carrying on the noble tradition which the Bereans followed with the Apostle Paul and the Old Testament: Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. (Acts 17:11)."
     Sadly, Stanley goes on to undermine the sufficiency and necessity of regarding the Bible as the foundation of our faith with unsettling suggestions that the Bible, as a support for our faith, is both "unreliable and fragile".  During his sermon, he made statements like this:  "In other words, imagine this conversation. You know somebody with all this information, comes to the apostle Peter ... and says, ‘Hey before you [get] all geeked out on this following Jesus thing, do you realize there is no evidence for a worldwide flood? Before you get all crazy about the Jesus thing, do you know there’s no archaeological evidence for the exodus? Hey Paul, before you all, and Peter, before you get all crazy by the Jesus thing, you realize the earth is more than 6000 years old, that whole genealogy in Genesis?’ ".
     Stanley went on ... "Peter would’ve looked at you like, ‘I’m not really sure what you’re talking about, but, but, but, I followed a man for three years.... The reason I’m following Jesus is because I saw him die and I saw him alive and I went to the streets of Jerusalem to say God has done something among us’."  
     And then, this is where I discern that he stated his real doctrine of belief.  He said, "For the first 300 years, the debate centered on an event – not a book. For the first 300 years of the existence of Christianity, the debate was about an event – not a book. The question was not, is the Bible true, is the Bible true, is the Bible true? The question was – did Jesus rise from the dead? Christianity, don’t miss this. Christianity does not hang by the thread of ‘the Bible tells me so.’ And if your church sent you off to college with that house of cards, I apologize. And if your entire life, your whole thing has been, ‘I gotta defend the Bible, I gotta defend the Bible,’ uh oh, there’s information that looks like it contradicts the Bible. ‘I can’t look over there. Honey don’t look over there.’ I’m so sorry you are left with that fragile version of our faith."  You're kidding me, right?  He's not really saying that the Bible is "a fragile version of our faith, is he?"
     So, here's what Andy Stanley fails to comprehend, if I may ... Yes, Peter could say that he saw Jesus crucified and resurrected.  And, yes, Peter heard, first hand, the teachings of the Son of God and knew and understood that the Kingdom of God was among them in the person, Jesus Christ.  But as the Venoits express so eloquently in their article, "Unfortunately, we, as people who were not eyewitnesses to the resurrection, cannot say the same! It is primarily the Bible which makes the case, and we cannot possibly base our faith upon the resurrection without it! How would any of us know the truth of the resurrection without [the Bible's] testimony?"
   
     It makes me extremely sad -- and yes, somewhat angry -- that the modern Church seems hell-bent on making the message of God appealing to the world.  What is it afraid of?  If, as Andy Stanley asserts, the Bible isn't reliable -- or it's just a fragile version of the truth -- then how can the message of Jesus be reliable ... since the Bible is our only reference for His Gospel?!?  How can the Resurrection be believed, since the Bible is our only source of that supernatural event?
    It is my further understanding that Mr. Stanley is now back-peddling somewhat regarding his remarks, although from somewhat of an unrepentant stance, saying, " My approach to preaching is not traditional... The world has changed.  The approach most of us inherited doesn’t work anymore. Actually, it’s never worked all that well. In a culture that had high regard for the Bible, the traditional approach held its own... [But] Eight years ago I shifted my approach. I didn’t announce it. I just did it. The results have been remarkable. You may not like my approach. That’s fine. I just hope you don’t stick with an approach you inherited because it’s comfortable."  Am I understanding him correctly ... "a culture that had high regard for the Bible" seems to indicate he no longer shares that regard.  And I guess I'm supposed to let that statement go unchallenged, because he's comfortable with making it.
     And to be honest, I'm disappointed to find that very few pastors or theologians have publicly challenged Stanley on his disturbing contentions.  And if they did, they more closely resembled John Piper's lukewarm exegesis on Stanley's sermon.  Piper seems more interested in defending Stanley's preaching style, than he does in defending the sufficiency of the Bible.  And is there anyone in the "celebrity pastor" sphere who still believes there is no substitute for Scripture?  (I suggest reading a powerful exposé on both Stanley and Piper by writer Bud Ahlheim at the Pulpit & Pen website).
     I hope that this blog post doesn't seem as if I have overblown the controversy that swirls around Andy Stanley's sermon.  But, frankly, I am tired of the "New Age apologetics" being promoted by popular pastors.  I get it ... I know what they are shying away from, namely the "fire and brimstone" sermons of yesteryear.  They are concerned about reaching the young people, and they don't want to "turn off" an already-alienated culture to the Church.  But, let's be honest --- it is precisely because the  Church has abandoned preaching the reality of hell in favor of a softened and more mellow Jesus who only wants to "love you" that our culture and the world is in the mess it is in.  It is time that we hold pastors and teachers responsible for what they preach ... because whether or not they believe the Word of God is infallible and insufficient, it tells them they will certainly be accountable to Jesus for how they presented His Word.

Hebrews 4:12   "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart."



 

The Demonic Origins of Halloween

   

I'm not going to sugarcoat it.  Halloween is an evil holiday.  It is not some harmless night of fun for the kids.  It actually has its roots in ancient paganism.  In fact, the Luciferian occultists celebrate eight major ritualistic "holy days":
December 21st (Yule, or the Winter Solstice);
February 1st (Candlemas, also Groundhog's Day; a Illuminati Human Sacrifice night);
March 21st (homage to goddess Ostara; Human Sacrifice Night);
May 1st (Beltaine Festival, also called Walpurgis Night. This is the highest day on the Druidic Witch's Calendar. May 1st is the Illuminati's second most sacred holiday. Human sacrifice is required);
June 21st (Summer Solstice; Litha is one of the Illuminati's Human Sacrifice Nights);
August 1st (Lughnasa, Great Sabbat Festival; One of the Illuminati's Human Sacrifice Nights); September 24th (Autumn Equinox); and
October 31st, which is the highest and holiest night of sacrifice for the secret society of the Illuminati.
     Halloween was originally known as "All Hallow's Eve", and began in the 7th Century A.D.  It was initially celebrated on May 13th as a night to celebrate the memories of deceased saints and martyrs. The date was then changed to November 1st, which marked the change from summer to fall, and removed the stigma of the holiday from being so close to Beltaine.  Legends began to be circulated of the ghosts of departed ones revisiting their former homes to warm themselves by the fire, and roaming the countryside retrieving offerings of food and drink, supplied by living family members.  But it was rumored that darker forces roamed the night as well; demons, goblins, and witches, all haunting the night with acts of mischief... i.e., "the trick".
     But real witches also roamed the night, acting out their ritual dances around fires, while the devil himself played music for them.  Modern witches and wicca practice similar Halloween rituals, calling on earth's spirits and goddesses to visit their circles of power.
      In an upcoming book by Tom Horn and Josh Peck, entitled Abaddon Ascending: The Ancient Conspiracy at the Center of CERN's Most Secretive Mission, the authors consider, among other topics, the goddess Hecate, the Titan Earth mother of the wizards and witches, who illustrates perhaps better than any other ancient goddess the connection between Wicca, the Celtic Halloween traditions, and the realm of evil supernaturalism.
     Hecate may be considered the original witch of Halloween, and as the dark goddess of witchcraft, Hecate, like Isis, was worshiped with impure rites and magical incantations. Her name was probably derived from the ancient Egyptian word Heka, meaning "sorcery" or "magical," which may explain her association with the Egyptian frog goddess of the same name.
     That is probably where we get the legendary tales associating frogs with witchcraft, and the witch's various potions of frog-wart.  And here is an interesting fact I bet you didn't know:  Because her devotees practiced such magic wherever three paths joined, Hecate was known by the Romans as Trivia ("tri"-three; and "via"-roads). Later, when the Latin church fathers compared the magic of the goddess Trivia with the power of the Gospel, they found it to be inferior, and thus the pursuit of Hecate's knowledge became known as "Trivial Pursuit," or inconsequential.
     But the fact remained that Hecate's followers sincerely believed in and feared her magic, and her presence was legendary. This was primarily due to her role as the sorceress of the afterlife.  But true believers also feared Hecate's ability to afflict the mind with madness, as well as her influence over night creatures. She was thought to govern haunted places where evil or murderous activity had occurred. Such areas where violence or lechery had a history were believed to be magnets of malevolent spirits, something like "haunted houses," and if one wanted to get along with the resident apparitions they needed to make oblations to the ruler of the darkness—Hecate.
     Hecate's most familiar companion was the night owl, who announced the acceptance of the oblations.  And those who gathered on the eve of the full moon perceived the spooky sound of the creature as a good omen. Statues of the goddess bearing the triple-face of a dog, a snake, and a horse overshadowed the dark rituals when they were performed at the crossing of three roads. At midnight, Hecate's devotees left food offerings at the intersection for the goddess ("Hecate's Supper") and, once deposited, quickly exited without turning around or looking back. Sometimes the offerings consisted of honey cakes and chicken hearts. At other time's puppies, honey and female black lambs were slaughtered for the goddess and her followers.

     These followers were women who were deformed by a curse placed on them, and vicious owl-like affiliates of Hecate, who flew through the night feeding on bodies of unattended babies. During the day these followers appeared as simple old women, and such may account for the history of Halloween's flying witches. The same followers hid amidst the leaves of the trees during the annual festival of Hecate, held on August 13, when Hecate's followers offered up the highest praise of the goddess. Hecate's devotees celebrated such festivals by communing with the tree spirits—(Earth spirits, including Hecate, were thought to inhabit trees)—and summoned the souls of the dead from the mouths of nearby caves.
     Hecate was known by a variety of names:  "the one before the gate," a role in which she guarded the entrances of homes and temples from nefarious outside evils (talk about Satan casting out Satan!); and "the one who leads," as in the underworld guide of Persephone and of those who inhabit graveyards.  Finally, she was known as Hecate-Phosphoros, "the light bearer," her most sacred title and one that recalls another powerful underworld spirit, Satan, whose original name was Lucifer ("the light bearer"). It was nevertheless her role as the feminist Earth-goddess-spirit Hecate-Chthonia that popularized her divinity and commanded reverence from among the common people.
     But it is easy to see the connection between ancient paganism and the modern customs and costumes of Halloween. The Hecatian myths adopted by Celtic occultists continue in today's pop culture, symbolism and tradition in the following ways:
•  People visiting neighborhood homes on Halloween night represent the dead in search of food (the treat).
•  Masks of devils and hobgoblins represent evil spirits seeking mischief (the trick).
•  Those who pass out candy represent the homes visited by the dead, or may also represent worried individuals seeking to appease Hecate and other nighttime terrors.
•  The Jack-O-Lantern (will-o-the-wisp, fox fire, fairy fire, etc.) is, according to some histories, a wandering soul stuck between heaven and hell. Others claim the Druids left Jack-O-Lanterns on doorsteps to ward off evil spirits. Another legend concerns a drunk named Jack who made a deal with the devil. Each claims to be the true origin of the Jack-O-Lantern myth.
     And in case you think this is all just a bunch of harmless folklore, I want you to consider this .... not long ago some 300 exorcists flocked to Poland for a week-long congress to examine the current fashion for Halloween-themed monsters like werewolves and vampires the world-over, and the apparent connection between this fascination and a surge in demonic possession. Is it possible that  the world is experiencing an explosion of ancient occultism combined with wicked fascination for ghosts and all things paranormal?  Those who monitor social trends now say that Halloween is the second most popular holiday, surpassed only by Christmas; itself full of pagan symbolism.
      I don't think we can ignore that in the United States alone, there are as many as 8 million practitioners of witchcraft. On college and high school campuses vampires, werewolves, and other "creatures of the night" are esteemed as objects of desire and idolized by young men and women who view them as cult icons of envious mystical power. (The popularity of the Twilight movie franchise exhibits this dangerous fascination).
     Almost daily we read how Satanism is spreading to public schoolyards and elementary after-school clubs; city council meetings are being opened with invocations to Satan; and even church goers are being enchanted by the darkness.

     It is imperative that we understand that the Mass Media, including the Internet, television, film, radio, and other communications systems, have traded Bela-Lugosi-like vampires of former years and silly Abbott and Costello's Frankensteins and Mummies, (which could be vanquished with Christian symbols), for monsters of profound demonic character depicted as impervious to Christ's power. As a result, today's youth have exchanged yesterday's pigtails and pop-guns for pentagrams and blood covenants aligned with forces far stronger than former generations could have imagined.... and forces that they are ill-informed to withstand.
     It is no stretch of the imagination to suggest this is one of the signs that this age is under demonic influence. If we could see through the veil into the supernatural realm, we would find a world alive with good against evil; a place where the ultimate prize is the soul of this generation and where legions war for control of its cities and people.
     Yet we continue to think that celebrating Halloween is harmless, and we refuse to look beyond the veil to see the dark spiritual forces orchestrating their evil.  I know that there will be those who think this is all exaggerated and nothing but old wives tales, or fanciful legends.  But if you are willing to entertain the smallest possibility that there is any truth to these legends, then why would you partake in the celebration of such wickedness ... and worst of all, why subject a child to the influence of such dark forces.  It's time to come out of our stupor and listen to the discerning spirit that God has given us.  There's a reason these "legends" have existed for as long as they have, and it doesn't take much imagination to see that the forces behind them are gaining in power.

Thanks to Charisma News and author Tom Horn for the research and the information regarding the history of Halloween and its pagan, demonic roots.

Ephesians 5:11   "Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them."
   

2 Peter 1:10-11

Therefore, brothers, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things you will never stumble.  

For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior 

Jesus Christ will be richly supplied to you.

     

     It is obvious from this passage that the subject matter is important to Peter.  He is telling fellow believers to make every effort to confirm (to make sure) of their "calling" and "election".  First of all, we need to understand what is meant by those terms, and then to understand why it is so important to be sure of them.

     Those particular words have caused much difference of opinion in theological circles for centuries.  But, when I have a question, I always go to Strong's Concordance in order to understand what the word was in the original Hebrew or Greek (instead of the sometimes vague or inconclusive English translation).  In this case, the word "calling" is from the Greek word, klesis, and the idea of an invitation is being implied.  It is used especially of God's invitation to man to accept the benefits of salvation.  

     The word "election" has all kinds of implications, and is often used to support the theological premise of predestination.  When one studies the meaning of its origin in the Greek, one finds that it comes from the word, eklegomai, which means "to pick out, select; to choose for oneself".  Interestingly, it does not necessarily imply the rejection of what is not chosen, but "choosing" with the secondary ideas of kindness or favor or love. 

     And how do we confirm or know that our calling or election are confirmed?  Peter says, "If you do these things you will never stumble", thereby affirming your security in them.  But what are "these things"?  They are the faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love that we see evidenced in our lives. (See 2 Peter 1:5-7).  As we see these things in our life, we know that our lives are becoming more like the nature of Jesus. It shows that we are being conformed to His image.  

     As David Guzik points out in his commentary, "It is possible for an unsaved person to do many moral and religious duties. But the "these things" Peter wrote of are matters of the heart, and should be evident in anyone born again. Simply said, if we are called, if we are elect, then we are born again - and if we are born again, it shows in the way that we live".  Furthermore, if we continue to grow and progress in our Christian life through these things, it is a sure way to keep from stumbling.

     Now, we come to the Why it is important to be sure that we have accepted God's invitation and been chosen to live out a righteous life.  It has to do with how you enter into the eternal Kingdom of God.  Peter makes it clear that it is important to know where you stand in your Christian walk so that your entry will be "richly" supplied to you.  We must not skip over the fact that he makes a point about the state of your entrance.  There is more going on here than the knowledge that you will enter the Kingdom of God if you do "these things" and are certain of your "calling" and "election".  The object of not stumbling seems to be how you will enter the Kingdom, and Peter is implying that it should be a goal to do it "richly".  

     The 19th Century British evangelist Frederick Meyer gave a wonderful analogy about our entry into the eternal Kingdom:  "There are two ways of entering a port. A ship may come in, waterlogged and crazy, just keeping afloat by continual working at the pumps; or it may enter with every sail set, her flag floating at the mast-head. The latter is what the Apostle Peter desires for himself and those whom he addresses. He desired that an entrance abundant should be ministered unto them."

     I'm sure you've heard the contemporary version of this analogy ... something along the lines of "if I can just skid into heaven under the wire, that's good enough for me."  But is it?  Is that what we really want?  Which would you rather accomplish --- to come in unrecognized and unknown, or be welcomed by scores and hundreds or thousands of God's heavenly host to whom you have been the means of a blessing, and who are awaiting you in honor and celebration?

     It must not be lost on us that coming into the Kingdom was so important to Peter that he felt it necessary to remind believers to be sure that they did all they could with their invitation from God, so that they could receive the most glorious of entrances.  Do you live each day with that in mind?  Do we realize that our entrance will be a time of celebration?  Which do you want ... to arrive unannounced and unheralded ... or to arrive to the sounds of the heavenly choir singing your praises? We must not take our entrance into eternity for granted, nor as trivial or insignificant.  What a glorious day that will be!

The Election of Our Lifetime

     I got a phone call from my brother yesterday, proudly proclaiming that he had voted early.  Like many of you, he rightly understands that this Presidential election could very well determine the future of our nation as we know it.  If you are not a Christian, then you probably look upon this election as a decision between a life-long politician and an anti-Washington Establishment candidate.
     If you are a Christian, then issues like Supreme Court Justices, who will decide the law of the land in regards to abortion, same-sex marriage, and religious and civil rights, are important to you.  Sadly, if we are looking for a true Christian candidate, then we're out of luck.  But, as I've seen written on several different websites, "we are not voting for a pastor but for a politician".

     And let's not lose sight that we live in a fallen world.  Being Conservative or Liberal does not equal being a Christian.  That's where a candidate's character and integrity come into play.  I think it is pretty safe to say that, the way the world is headed, the next President is going to have a tremendous amount of adversity to deal with.  Which one do you think will stand up to the pressure, and consider what is best for the people, rather than their political future?  I know that is nearly impossible to imagine, given the history of politicians in our lifetime, but I truly believe we are on the precipice of world-changing events that will effect the entire globe... so who do you trust to measure up to that mental, physical, and emotional stress (or at least, which one do you mistrust the least?)
     Here's my true assessment of the Christian voter's dilemma ... It has become clearer and clearer to me that we have abdicated our role as citizens of the Kingdom of God in favor of seeing ourselves as citizens of the United States of America.  Because we have not understood or performed our role as citizens of God's Kingdom, and helped to institute a structured, organized government with the very authority of God behind it, we are suffering the consequences of surrendering our identity.
     Stop and consider this ... To Jesus and His disciples, the term Kingdom of God meant a government that would be established on earth. They anticipated that its arrival would amount to nothing less than a sweeping, overwhelming change in the world order.  Read that highlighted part of the last sentence again.  Have we, the Body of Christ, done that in this country?  No!  Instead, we are seeing more violence, lawlessness, and discord than ever.
     And I firmly believe that we could be facing the advent of one of the most repressive systems in the history of our nation.  So what do we do if God allows that to take place?  What is our role after November 8th, no matter who wins?  It's clear that we have failed in the last several decades to influence the culture or the government.  We have not conducted ourselves as representatives of the Kingdom of God on earth.  Instead we have compromised and made concessions in the hope that we could maintain our status within our own closed faction of society.  But we see where that got us.
     Those who we failed to influence are now not satisfied with our status quo.  And we've forgotten Who we represent on this planet, and sought those politicians we hoped would represent us.  We've lost sight of the fact that America is just our temporary home, and we were to help establish Our Father's Kingdom ... on earth as it is in Heaven.
     Is it too late to reclaim our ambassadorship and citizenship?  Never!  This age in which we live is awash in hostilities, injustice, and fear.  But we serve a King who is the answer to all that!  We can show our fellow citizens that there is a counter-culture that offers hope!  The solution to our nation's problems does not lie in another bill before the Legislature, or a Supreme Court decision, or even who is the 45th President of the United States.  The answer lies in fulfilling our roles as citizens of a very real Kingdom of God on earth.
     If we accept that challenge, we must decide which of the two candidates is most likely to serve our purpose.  To not vote is your choice, as well.  This is the fine line that the Christian must walk; we have dual citizenship, both as citizens of America and the Kingdom.  For myself, I will exercise my right to vote for the leader of my nation; with an eye on which one will allow me to influence my fellow Americans by helping to establish a government with, not only the Authority of God behind it, but with that sweeping, overwhelming change that has been anticipated since our King walked this earth.  It may not come in my lifetime, but I am ready to assume my proper identity and walk out my citizenship in His Kingdom.  May the nation get in step with my Lord.

Ephesians 2:19    "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens [outsiders without rights of citizenship], but you are fellow citizens with the saints (God’s people), and are [members] of God’s household..."

The Primacy and Sufficiency of The Word of God

     As I scan the abundant number of "Christian" websites, I am actually overwhelmed with the divergent headlines.  They all proclaim to represent The Faith, but so many seem in contrast to each other that I wonder what they base their foundational beliefs upon and who or what is their principal source.  Shouldn't it be the Word of God?
     Just a cursory glance at the website, Pulpit and Pen, reveals an abundance of theological movements and positions, and I almost feel like I am looking at a smorgasbord of "Christian-like" promotions.  I will admit that I am largely unfamiliar with all these people and their doctrinal reputations, but it is obvious that controversy swirls around them all.  There is so much condemnation against each other that it is confusing, and honestly, quite sad.
     Here is just a small sampling of headlines:  Bethel Church: Pimping Heresy; iDisciple ... Your Daily Connection with God or Heretics?; Joyce Meyer Undead, David Barton Buys a Ph.D., and Conan O'Brien is Ordained; If You Hate Hillsong, You Hate God; Carl Lentz to Oprah Winfrey:  You Don't Have To Be A Christian To Have A Relationship With God; and my personal favorite, Kenneth Copeland:  If You Don't Vote For Trump, You're Going To Be Held Accountable to God for Murder.

     I'm sure each of these people believe they are spreading the Gospel of Jesus, according to their own understanding.  But look at the fruit of those "understandings" ... Can anyone explain to me the Biblical principals behind movements like the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), Montanism, Revival Us 2016, Evangelicals For Life, Postmillennial Reconstructionism, the new Feminist Theology, New Calvinsim, and countless others?  Also, so many people considered "Leaders" in the modern Christian circles are at each other's throats. Beth Moore is accused of being a False Teacher; John Piper is being questioned about his support for Rick Warren and Mark Driscoll; the Christian Post is accused of promoting filth and world entertainment; and Kirk Cameron is purported to be pushing a false gospel of American Patriotism.
     Maybe it's no different than those first years after the Ascension of our Lord; maybe nothing has changed since the Gnostics rivaled the early Church, or Simon the Sorcerer promoted himself and his philosophical theology as truth.  There has certainly been a parade of "theologians" down through the centuries who have proffered their version of the Gospel Message.
     And maybe I'm just less educated in Biblical studies, and am unfamiliar with higher levels of theological thought, but I am not interested in all these ideologies, new schools of thought, or radical tenets that seem in conflict with what I read in the Bible.  In fact, I would say that I subscribe to the same belief as the 19th-Century pastor, Charles Spurgeon: "If you wish to know God, you must know His Word. If you wish to perceive His power, you must see how He works by His Word. If you wish to know His purpose before it comes to pass, you can only discover it by His Word."
     That's why I find it highly disconcerting to find so many Christians living their faith according to the tenets of The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren; or starting each day out by reading the daily devotional in Jesus Calling.  (You can read about my concerns on this controversial, but popular, little book here).  What has happened to the Authority and Sufficiency of the Word of God?  Why is it not enough for us, and why is it not the first and primary source that we go to in order to discern God's will?
     I think what saddens me the most is that I fear many Christians are unable to defend the Word of God against distorted and false teachings... because they do not open their Bibles and actually read the Word of God!  Just look how easy it has been for the new breed of theologians to gather their followings from among the Body of Christ.  One need only look at the profitable businesses that surround many of these movements and individuals.  Why are so many Christians willing to endorse men, women, and groups whose teachings do not align with Scripture?  Have we forgotten what it means to be a good Berean; to diligently search the Scripture to see if what they are saying is God's Truth?  Or are we captivated by a gospel that makes us feel good and is centered on what we want out of this life?
         The bottom line is this:  We either believe that the Bible is the complete Word of God as He intended us to know it, or we think there is more that He wants to say to us through people and movements.  I, for one, know that there is so much He wants to reveal to me; so much that I do not understand.  But I believe it can all be found within the pages of His Holy Book.  By concentrating on what He has to say, and searching for the meaning of His Word through the men He trusted to reveal it, I have received more knowledge of Him than from any human.
     There is so much to learn about YHWH through my personal study of His Word; why would I depend on mere men to give me their interpretations?  For example, I could spend the rest of my life studying the meanings of names and places in the Bible, because they mean something to God and they spoke to the Hebrews and Greeks of the day.  That holiest of Books was not written to us, but it has great meaning for us when we come to understand what God was saying to His Chosen People.  The Bible alone, reveals the true nature of God.  That is why He inspired men to write it, and His Word declares that "It is written" in order to affirm that it is the only pure Word of God.  So, here is what I have determined for myself .... What is at stake in these times of opposing theology and controversial movements is nothing less than God's incorruptible Truth.  And for me, the Holy Bible is my primary and authoritative source.  It is sufficient for me and my spirit.

Psalm 119:160     "The entirety of Your word is truth [the full meaning of all Your precepts], And every one of Your righteous ordinances endures forever."