Optimism or Pessimism

Shalom,

Please begin by reading Prov 17:22.

Optimism and pessimism are all about a battle of attitudes. Is the glass half empty or half full? Is half gone or half left? Do you see the donut or the hole? There are many comparisons we make to determine if someone is an optimist or pessimist, and it seems as if more and more people are leaning toward pessimism these days. The general attitude appears to be more about doubt and skepticism. Are we that jaded or has our society and world become so filled with humanistic rhetoric that we have trouble trusting?

Are you a fault finder? Do you give more criticism than praise? Are you more inclined to expect the worst? Then you're a pessimist. When you think the bad outweighs the good in our world, your attitude needs adjusting. If life is always unfair, you're not a hopeful person. A solid sign of joy-filled Christianity is having hope for the future no matter what all the humans are doing. I'm not suggesting a "don't worry, be happy" attitude, but Christians should be able to see some good in our world.

Do you look for the positive in everyone and in each situation? Do you have a daily presence of joy? Do you anticipate the best possible outcome? Then you're an optimist. Even when things seem bad, you can look with hope to the future. The major difference here is the presence of hope in the heart. Biblical hope is more than a wish, it has substance. It can and will sustain us through the worst of the world's evils. It doesn't mean we've got our heads stuck in the clouds, but we don't despair because we have hope in our Lord.

According to the proverb we read, we each have a choice in how we look at things. Both sides of the issue point toward how our attitude affects our health. The bad side, the pessimistic one, is that " a crushed spirit dries up the bones." To be crushed is to be broken because of being whipped and beaten. If our spirit has been crushed, we're really hurting. Anyone who's lost hope is in great pain, most of the time lacking the resolve to push through and overcome.

Being dry here refers to being withered away or shriveled up. All the moisture, all the living water has evaporated and left nothing to nourish our parched souls. The major problem here is that this condition is more the result of our personal attitude than the effects of being mistreated or worn down. It's often built up on the accumulated slights and hurts others have caused us which we've chosen to hold onto instead of forgiving and finding relief and release.

Optimism and pessimism are choices. Christians aren't supposed to be casual and apathetic about what goes on around them. We have real hope, in a real Savior. It's not wishful thinking when we have the eternal and all-powerful God to rely on. The optimist knows we'll have good and bad days, and looks to our heavenly Father for love and understanding to sustain him or her. Optimism is filled with faith and trust that keeps us from the depression that so many unbelievers get caught up in.

Pessimism is filled with doubts, even doubts about Yahweh. Pessimism doubts that even the Creator can overcome the evil in our world. Continue to criticize and find fault all the time and all you do is dig a deep pit to get yourself stuck in. Alter your moods with chemicals and illegal drugs and eventually you're addicted to them. Try to let alcohol soothe your hurts and you end with other drunks as your only friends. None of these ways leads to a good end.

A pessimist will never have a truly good time. Even if they're having fun for a time, they're actually waiting for something bad to happen to ruin the day. I'm not a name it and claim it kind of guy, but if you continue to speak evil, eventually it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. When we continue to speak evil and doubt and fear, we'll end up reaping those very things in our lives. The regular things we speak have a way of coming to pass because we'll move ourselves in the direction of what we've been speaking. Also we'll only be looking for the bad things to come to pass.

On the other hand, "a cheerful heart is good medicine." To be cheerful is to be filled with gladness and delight. It's the Hebrew word for being a merrymaker. It's a person who chooses to enjoy life, who looks for the best outcomes, who works to try to cheer up even the sourpuss pessimists. I believe Yahweh would much prefer for us to have this kind of attitude. An optimist takes the evil and pain and suffering of this world seriously, but doesn't let it consume them. They live in the real world dealing with real situations. They just have a vision of the future that keeps them from being depressed and gloomy.

When we look at the Hebrew word for medicine we find some good words. It means either the cure, or that which promotes healing. Its root is the word for healing. So having a cheerful outlook doesn't just have us looking through rose-colored glasses and denying reality, it promotes and brings healing. Choosing to be a joyful person will heal a broken heart, mend fractured emotions, and promote healthy living. A true optimist can be in pain and because of their vision for the future they still have Yahweh's joy.

Optimism is filled with hope, especially hope in our heavenly Father. When the world we're living in is dark and dangerous, we look to the Light of the World to illuminate our path. Look on the bright side and expect good things, and Yahweh will fill you with his peace. Continue to praise and build up other people, and eventually they may even believe you. Jesus told the disciples to be optimists in John 16:33. " I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Optimists have a lot of good times. Even if bad things happen they know Yahweh is at work to bring blessing. I think the main difference is that optimists look to Yahweh and pessimists look to other humans for answers. Given the sinful nature of mankind, that primarily means a pessimist will always be let down eventually, while the optimist will always be lifted up and blessed in the end.

The best way to become an optimist is to fill your head with the powerful words of Scripture. 2 Cor 10:5 is one we should all become better acquainted with. "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ." When we hear something that begins to make us doubt our Lord and Master, we need to fight by not allowing that to happen. We can control what we think about. We don't have to dwell on all the bad news. We don't have to be overly concerned with the troubles and pain. We can radically hold onto the peace Jesus has provided for us.

The wisdom of men and the lies of the devil aren't more powerful than the real knowledge of our Creator and his Truth. Your mind doesn't have to get stuck on the fearful things you hear may happen. These are our thoughts, our attitudes, our perceptions. Instead of justifying and defending them, we need to reject the ugly and bad ones, seeking the hope and peace found in Jesus. We don't have to allow the darkness to scare us. We don't have to let pessimism fill us with fretting and worry. We can choose to think about the beautiful and wonderful things our Lord and Savior has in store for us.

We need to check and discern whether or not our thoughts and attitudes conform to the image portrayed in the Bible. The ones that don't conform must be captured and crucified. We have the Holy Spirit living in us, working to transform us and use us for eternal purposes. It's up to us to maintain clear thinking about the future, that Yahweh is in full control and will watch over and protect those who fear him and follow Jesus. Keep cleaning your house and getting rid of the junk the world wants you to store. One cleaning is never enough because we continue to live in this world and continue to encounter worry and doubt and confusion.

Optimists know there's a tomorrow coming where we can make up for any mistakes or oversights. Yahweh always gives us a second and third and more chances to do what's right. As far as we know, tomorrow's coming and we can say "I love you" or "I'm sorry" or whatever needs to be said. But optimists also are trying to make sure that today doesn't pass by without being filled with good words and kind actions. Remember, having a cheerful heart, an optimistic outlook, is the cure for much of what ails us.

It's true that becoming truly happy with yourself can be difficult. Knowing you need your Lord to help you is extremely important. However, the main thing is to get as close to your Lord and Savior as you can. If this is your first priority, many other things will fall into place where they should. Without a solidly intimate relationship with the Father, Son, and Spirit; you're stuck with your own abilities. We need to seek Yahweh and trust him, as strongly as we can. We need to build up a regular contact so that his voice is easily recognizable even amid the noise and confusion this world can cause.

Don't wait until you get to Heaven to enjoy the presence of your Lord. Let his joy minister health and strength to your bones right now. Let his hope color the way you look to the future. What's waiting for us over the horizon is absolutely stunning. Be a bright light drawing attention to your source. Keep yourself solidly attached to Yahweh's Word and receive the benefits found in Prov 4:22. "They are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body."

Blessings & Peace, Mike

Coping With Disaster (8/20/12)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading Psalm 71.

Many disasters have struck our nation in the recent past. How involved is Yahweh in these things, or is he involved? If we truly believe Yahweh to be the sovereign Lord of all things, it shouldn't be too hard for us to grasp that he's most definitely aware and certainly part of everything that happens. According to his sovereignty, Yahweh does most certainly have a hand in the storms and earthquakes and hurricanes and oil spills and terrorist activities. He doesn't do evil , but as Sovereign Lord he knows of every act and ultimately gave permission for it to happen. Just check out the first two chapters of Job.

If we have any grasp of things to look for in the end times, natural disasters are definitely on the list. Reading Psalm 71 should let us know that persecution is also part of the package. Verse 20 is something we all need to know and deal with. "You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me." Allowed means selected to experience or be exposed to. We're not talking about random acts of evil or accidents, but about tests and trials used to see how we're doing in walking out our faith.

The Bible says we're heading for the greatest time of trouble the world has ever seen or known. However, the good news is that those who've built their lives on Kingdom principles will be doing great exploits during this time according to Dan 11:32. Dan 11:35 is a reminder of how ready and prepared we should be to face anything and everything. "Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified, and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will come at the appointed time."

This is the time for the Church of Jesus Christ to arise and fulfill its calling of harvesting the world. This isn't time to play the ostrich and stick our heads in a hole to hide. Our redemption is closer now than its ever been. Yes, we're headed for some very difficult times. But those who are strong in their faith and serving our Lord will be powerful and will strongly resist the great evil. Our Lord and Master has given us a job to do, and we're stronger than the devil and his followers. The true Church isn't supposed to turn into a wimpy and weak body, it's to be a strong and powerful one.

We must prepare ourselves for the disasters that are coming. We'll need to cope with death all around us and still keep functioning. Just as no good general can be successful if he's overly concerned about casualties, we too will have to move on without intense amounts of grieving or mourning. During the march through the Pacific Islands during World War II by our army, many died. The soldiers and marines advancing on the beaches were told to keep moving and not try to help someone who gets shot. They were told the injured would be cared for by those coming behind, but only if there was an advance by our troops. We'll need this same kind of focus to keep moving forward for our Lord. That's the only way we'll continue to walk in power and authority, able to participate in miracles and reach the lost with the Gospel.

We must understand that problems are coming, and not avoid this awareness because it makes us feel uncomfortable or fearful. We can deceive ourselves into thinking that all the trouble will somehow pass us by, but we need to avoid deception. Those who are walking in the Kingdom have nothing to fear. Those who've built their lives in the world system have much to fear. We need to see with clear spiritual eyes so we may be prepared for whatever comes. This isn't just about surviving, it's about being able to help others and to continue to proclaim our Risen Lord and his salvation.

Israel's inheritance was the Promised Land. Ours is the people of this world, those who will be saved and brought into Yahweh's Kingdom. 2 Cor 5:15 tells us how to overcome the world system. "Those who receive Christ's new life will no longer live to please themselves. Instead, they will live to please Jesus." Any other teaching is a false Gospel, it denies the Cross and keeps us from inheriting our spiritual reward. We must avoid, at all costs, the lure of securing our safety and peace in the world system, We must put our trust completely in our Lord Jesus.

A dead man fears nothing. If we die to this world then nothing in this life should cause us to fear. Death ultimately separates the natural from the spiritual. What we have, what we think is ours in this world, is only temporary. When we die we can't take any of this stuff with us. All that we accumulate can do nothing for us after we die. The only things that will last are the eternal things we've done, the way we've chosen to live for our Lord and Master.

We must keep in mind that death is the greatest liberation that we can ever know. If we consider that dying and going to Heaven will end our physical and emotional pains, we should be able to see this amazing freedom we're being given as a reward for our faith. The devil uses fear to bind us to worldly things just as our Lord uses faith in his truth to set people free. If we're dead to this world, there's nothing this world can do to harm us. It's impossible for a dead person to have fear of failure or fear of rejection or fear of the dark or fear of anything else. Whatever degree we've allowed fear to hinder us is the degree we've failed as Christians.

A dead person doesn't covet or lust or get angry or want revenge or feel lonely. There's no greater freedom that a human can experience than dying to this world and becoming alive in Jesus our Messiah. The Cross doesn't just mean death, but it also points to the Resurrection. When we die in this present world, we begin to live a resurrection life, looking forward to the eternity to come. When our focus turns from money and stuff to the fullness of joy found in Jesus a great burden is lifted off our shoulders. When we trust our Lord and seek to do his will, we don't have to be worried about the stuff of this world.

The Church has wandered in the wilderness much like the nation of Israel did. The time hasn't been totally wasted though. Yahweh has continued to work at transforming his people to prepare them for Kingdom work. As we've wandered in the wilderness failing to complete the task given to us by our Lord, he's been busy working in the hearts and minds of his faithful servants. They've been being prepared for a glorious Kingdom work, the end times harvest of souls. Those who've put effort into trusting and obeying their Master will find that the time in the wilderness has strengthened them and prepared them for great exploits.

It's one thing to free people from slavery. It's another thing to get the mindset of slavery out of the people. Yahweh has been preparing many different people from many different backgrounds for the challenges that are coming our way. He's been working in the hearts and minds of all true seekers for many generations to prepare the way for his Kingdom. And we can't remain slaves to the churchy view that only the seminary educated are sufficient to lead us. Yahweh doesn't require academic degrees for his leaders. He seeks willing hearts, ones surrendered to his plan and purpose. He can spiritually elevate the most simple-minded person and make them all they need to be for his Kingdom business.

One of the major changes we need is to overcome the idea of being chased and harassed by the devil, to being mighty conquerors in the hands of a mighty God. The devil should be more worried about us than we are about him. Our mindsets about the devil's power and ability must be changed. We're stronger than him when we walk in truth and spiritual authority. Instead of battling the enemies within, the issues we've allowed to keep us in bondage, we need to begin battling outside ourselves to help others be released from bondage. Our focus has got to move from our personal issues to the needs of the hurting and lost all around us.

We must never forget that our conquest isn't a greedy pursuit of personal gain or advancement. Our treasure is the liberation of souls from bondage to the devil and his world system. We're called to be freedom fighters, setting captives free. The more people we help find peace and freedom in Christ, the more joy there is in Heaven. We should be excited when someone gives their heart and life to Jesus. We should be praising his name for setting another person free from their sin. And this should drive us to bring the Gospel to more and more people.

When Israel crossed the Jordan River, the first thing they faced was possibly the most powerful, most fortified stronghold in the land. Jericho seemed impregnable to the entire world of its time. How would this band of nomads ever conquer Jericho? In every human way it looked impossible. They knew they needed a miracle. We need miracles, too. What's coming is far beyond human strength or ingenuity to handle. We'll need to be mighty spiritual warriors standing in faith and trust. Only then will we see the Holy Spirit moving in and through us to do great exploits.

What we're facing is bigger and stronger and more entrenched than what we can overcome through sheer numbers or human wisdom. We're facing spiritual strongholds that have had millenniums to sink in their roots and get fully established. The hearts of many people are fully enshrouded in these bitter roots. We need unity and obedience to our Lord to overcome this level of evil. But never forget that as long as we stand in our Lord Jesus and his power and authority, we can do anything he asks of us. The devil's best stuff is still not strong enough to overcome the weakest thing Yahweh has to offer.

There are some exciting things coming our way in the future. Some of these things could be very terrifying if we're not sure of our position in Christ. I hope I'm ready for this great adventure. I want to be one of these supernaturally equipped warriors. How about you?

Blessings & Peace, Mike

Spread the Light (8/13/12)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading 1 Pet 2:9-10.

A church board chairman stated the following during a meeting. "We need a new chandelier for the sanctuary." The secretary jumped right in and replied, "I don't think so. First of all, I can't spell it. Second, there's no one here who can play it properly. And third, what we really need is more light in the sanctuary." This may be funny, but it's also a bit sad because of the miscommunication displayed. Many boards and councils function without the guidance of the Holy Spirit because of a lack of hunger for the truly spiritual. We're called to live in the light of the Gospel and to spread it.

Born-again, Bible- believing, Holy Spirit-seeking Christians have no need to fear the darkness. Our problem is that it's very easy to trip over something worldly when we dwell in darkness. Yahweh's light brings insight, understanding, and knowledge. Eph 5:9 says, "the fruit of Yahweh's light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth." If we'll dwell in our Lord's light, we can make better decisions and trust that they'll be approved by him. If we're truly operating as the Body of Christ, Holy Spirit illumination will guide us through troubles and direct us onto good paths.

Some people are persuaded by the deep truth found in the story of Jesus on earth, the Light of the World who came to us to save us from our sins. Yet others hate that same truth because it interferes with their selfish ambition and willful sin. Some even go so far as to oppose the Light, being foolish enough to think they can manage without it. Some see the impurity of sin exposed by the Light and respond by crying out for cleansing. Some see it and complain that God is trying to spoil all their fun. We need to be a people who stay in the light and allow it to do it's work.

There are lots of things Yahweh hasn't revealed to us yet. Really, he hasn't told us but a very small portion of all he could reveal to us. It's actually amazing how little he's truly shared with us. But when we get to Heaven we can anticipate learning all of Yahweh's wisdom. For right now we must strive to understand what he's revealed. We too often waste a lot of time trying to figure out things he hasn't opened up to us. Look where his light is shining and stay there. Don't go wandering off in the dark exploring or getting yourself lost.

The spreading of Yahweh's Light is why we're "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to Yahweh." We should have a hunger and strong desire to make Yahweh's Light as plain to our world as we possibly can. We use candles and flashlights and lanterns to light our way in dark places. And Yahweh, through the activity of the Holy Spirit, works to illuminate the minds of men to his Truth. People need our help to find the Light of the Gospel. We have that Light if we're true believers and followers of Jesus.

For example, the Gospel is the Light shining in the darkness of men's hearts. There are references to churches being candlesticks and ministers being stars in our Bibles. Both jobs are to dispense light. The light given by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel is spiritual knowledge and understanding. So then, to illuminate is to teach, attempting to shine Yahweh's Light into the darkness of mankind's corrupt hearts and minds. The true Light will expose sin and help people see their need for Jesus the Savior. No matter how painful that can be to some people, it's our job to shine this piercing light.

But we can't stop at shining the Light. Once people respond to the Gospel we must then disciple them. Having knowledge of salvation isn't enough without the obedient actions of Christian discipleship being lived out. We can't ever stop shining the Light, but we must be certain that we help each one who responds to mature and grow in their faith. Always go on to teaching the elements of Christian maturity.

To be Yahweh's chosen people means being the ones responsible for spreading his Light around the world. Chosen actually breaks out as "OF THE CALLED." In Matt 22:14 Jesus said, "Many are called, but few are chosen." He's asking us to do what's necessary to be a chosen one. Being chosen isn't a passive thing. It requires active faith and seeking on the part of a disciple. We must choose to do the things that place us in the category of called. Yahweh wants every human being to be part of his called ones. Everyone who chooses to follow Jesus has volunteered to spread his light. Don't try to tell him you didn't sign up for that part of the task because it's a strong stipulation of being called.

Some translations have chosen generation because this word refers more to a family group than a nation. But isn't that what we're supposed to be, sons and daughters of the Most High God? Things that once exclusively applied to Israel have now become the responsibility of each and every Christian. We didn't replace them, we were grafted into Yahweh's family to be directly connected to their calling and heritage. In Isa 49:6 Yahweh tells Israel, "I will make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth." In Matt 5:14 Jesus told his disciples (that means us, too), "You are the light of the world." We've been given the exact same work to do that Israel was called to do.

We're Yahweh's royal priesthood because Jesus is both a King and a priest. This also connects us to Israel because in Ex 19:6 Yahweh told Moses to tell the people, "You will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." Rev 1:6 and 5:10 both tell us we've been made into "a kingdom and priests to serve our God and Father." Priests do the regular work of interceding on behalf of others. They put themselves between Yahweh and man and try to help us all draw closer to our loving Father.

The priests of the first covenant were the regularly appointed religious teachers for their nation. They all came to their positions by heredity, just like we do when we're born again as brothers and sisters of our Lord Jesus. It's this same heredity that makes us royal and kingly. If Jesus is the King of kings and we're his brothers and sisters, we're of royal blood. We should carry this nobility in a solemn and purposeful way. It's a huge responsibility to live up to, but we've been given the resources to serve in this capacity.

To be Yahweh's holy nation is an act of grace. Gentiles were strictly kept on the outside looking in before Jesus came. There was a process where one could become Jewish, but prejudice often short-circuited it. After Israel returned from its Babylonian exile, the priests worked to purify the nation and went overboard. They became highly zealous in proving family lines and began to exclude those without a good pedigree. Remember the heartache and trouble caused by Paul when he brought Gentiles to the Temple.

By an act of grace Yahweh brings us into his family and anoints us to "declare his praises." A holy group of people should stand out from the world. We should act and talk and live differently enough to be easily noticed. This is where lifestyle evangelism comes in. Accept Yahweh's holiness and obediently serve him. Our habits should be different from unbelievers. Our activities should be different, too. People should know we stand for something other than getting ahead in this world or surviving. We work for the High Priest in Heaven, and our holy actions should prove that.

The last descriptor gives people some trouble. We're called "a people belonging to Yahweh." The Amplified Bible puts it: "God's own purchased, special people." We're special to our heavenly Father because he bought us at a great price. A museum actually contains many quite ordinary items: hats, canes, furniture, and toys. But they're significant because they once belonged to someone from our past. Yahweh takes ordinary people and makes them special in much the same way. Since Yahweh has bought us, we truly belong to him. If he owns us, how is it that we believe we can do whatever we want and ignore his righteous standards? Don't ignore this fact and become a spectator instead of an active participant in spreading the Light.

Yahweh has used wonderful symbolism with us since the beginning. Light is actually many-colored. We often think of light as being white or slightly yellow. But when we look through a prism we see all its components. Yahweh gave us the rainbow after the Flood. This many-colored light shining through droplets of water is a marvelous sign of his covenant. There will be no more world-wide floods. Our Creator used light to give us a sign of his love. We need to use the light to help people find his love.

The God who created the universe has to be a God of wisdom. And a God of wisdom certainly has a purpose for his Creation. History proves that man is unable to come up with a proper explanation of human origins without considering the Creator. Wise men may build ladders of thought trying to reach Heaven, but our tallest ladders fall far short of the dwelling place of our Creator. To find him we need a revelation, a light. And Yahweh has provided exactly what we need, then he's placed the responsibility of sharing upon the people who have found the Light.

The Light has been made known to us. Yahweh has ordained us as his messengers to carry the message of his Light to the whole world. Yahweh has assigned us to the work of the priest, to call all people to that Light and to teach them his ways. Everyone who's said yes to Jesus has been "called out of darkness into his wonderful light." Make sure you're shining that light wherever your Lord and Master sends you.

Blessings & Peace, Mike

Darkness & Light (8/6/12)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading 1 Thes 5:1-11.

Have you ever felt like everyone else in the world was absolutely crazy except for you and I, and you have serious doubts about me? With issues like gay marriage, bailouts, deficits, excessive debt, and anti-Christian bias - sometimes we just scratch our heads and wonder how we got here. The answer is that some of our incompatibility with the world and the resultant tensions we face in our daily lives are directly traced to the conflict between the kingdoms of darkness and light. Our decidedly different Christian worldview clearly puts us at odds with much of our society and culture's worldview. We don't think the same as the majority of people in our world, but that's OK.

The scripture we read contrasts the children of darkness and light. As believers we no longer live as those who walk in spiritual darkness. We've been awakened to the light of life found through the salvation bought for us by the precious blood of Jesus. Even though we don't know the day Jesus will return and end our struggle, we do know that he wants us to live in his light here and now. We're not supposed to get too deeply entangled in this world, but we are to work to affect the lives of others with the light of the Gospel.

Making decisions in the dark can lead to poor choices, or we can make wrong turns. Back in the days before electricity, a tight-fisted farmer griped at his hired hand for wasting oil by carrying a lantern. When asked why he needed it, the hand said, "I don't want to fall and get dirty. I'm going to visit my fiance." The farmer exclaimed, "Why, when I went courting I never carried one of them things. I wasn't scared of the dark, and I still found my wife." The hired hand smirked and said, "Yea, and that's why I carry a lantern."

Although Christians are no longer children of darkness, we need to remember the futility of our lives without Jesus and determine not to live that way anymore. It should also compel us to work harder helping the lost find the Light of the World. Many who live in the darkness can't see the danger of their condition. They rush ahead toward certain destruction, claiming how peaceful and safe they feel. They need a Christian to help them find the path to eternal life. That's our job, to show them where they can meet Jesus and have him change their lives.

According to verse 7 we humans think our indiscretions are covered by darkness. But Yahweh sees clearly in our spiritual darkness. There's nothing hidden from his sight. The sons of darkness prefer the night to the day so their deeds may be hidden from as many eyes as possible. They work hard to keep their true character a secret. But their Creator knows everything about them, and that's what really counts. The all-knowing (omniscient) Lord God Almighty can't be caught by surprise and never misses anything. So the idea of hiding from him as we live against his righteous standards of life is foolish.

Some use the ostrich method to try to hide. They bury their heads in the sand, declaring that all's well even when their lives and the lives of others are disintegrating all around them. Some use the lemming method. They join the masses racing toward destruction, assuming that the majority can't be wrong. They lose their lives trusting in the false safety and peace of never bucking the crowd or swimming against the flow. Instead of making a real search on their own, they accept someone else's philosophy based on their own bias for faulty human reasoning.

Those who persist in darkness will eventually suffer eternal punishment. It will come upon them "suddenly," and they'll have no chance of escape. The unexpected event will catch them unawares because they've refused to hear the many warnings Yahweh's been giving. Every single human on earth has sufficient information, leaving them no excuse for missing out on Heaven (Rom 1:2). It 's not about bias or exclusivity on behalf of the Father, Son, and Spirit. It's about the fact that the Creator and Designer of our world made the parameters for how things work. It's not God's fault that many refuse to read or abide by the operating manual.

Walking as children of light, what should we do with the knowledge that Jesus is coming again and wants us to be ready for his return? Verse 6 tells us to be alert and self-controlled. In our natural state, we can't be alert because we're spiritually asleep. We're spiritually dead and can't be awakened regardless of the method used. We have to be awakened by the Holy Spirit. We need to be raised from the dead by the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. Christians should be alert to what's happening around them. We should be aware of situations and the opportunities they bring us to shine our Gospel lights into the darkness. Otherwise we can get caught up in sin and be distracted.

Sin is like a drug within our systems, holding us in its deadly grasp. Our sinful nature holds us in a way that can only be broken by the power of Yahweh Almighty. Only our Creator can make us aware of his work of grace in and through Jesus the Christ. He does this by his mercy, as he quickens us with his life-giving flow. Seeing the light isn't enough, we must enter into the light. Only then have we surrendered our darkness to him for true change have we overcome the darkness. We must immerse ourselves in the light and let it cleanse us completely of our sins.

Once we're awake, our Father tells us to live as those who are alert and self-controlled. We're to be "on watch," expecting his return. And while we wait we should be living for his glory, shining his light into the world's darkness. The darkness around us is strong enough that if we're not diligent, we can be lulled into a drowsiness that will cloud our minds and hearts. This will limit our effectiveness in serving him as well as blur our perspective in discerning all the good and evil spiritual things we encounter. We must be valiant soldiers in the army of our Lord. We must be diligent workers for his Kingdom. We must be alert watchmen ready to sound the alarm.

Not only are we assured of our loving Father's presence, but also that his plan for us includes a provision for us to share this presence with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We're called to be responsible for one another. We're accountable for offering encouragement and edification to one another. It's part of the contract we signed with our Lord and Master when we agreed to accept his eternal life and light into our lives. We didn't join a sect or a denomination which does more to separate us than to bring unity. We joined the family of the Most High God and all true believers are our brothers and sisters.

Building each other up isn't an optional part of our walk with Jesus. If we're not involved in this body ministry we're in disobedience to our Master. If it's in our best interests to be strengthening one another, it's dumb to avoid this practice. If we all had a vision of the Body of Christ filled with active participants, not passive spectators, we could greatly turn up our spiritual wattage and see the world filled with holy light. The power of the Holy Spirit shining through the true believers can do amazing things. A big problem is that many don't try to accomplish this task for their Lord. We need more individual believers to become active in Kingdom business.

On Feb 4, 1993 Russian cosmonauts successfully deployed a giant space reflector. This aluminum-covered disc was used on the Mir space station to reflect sunlight to the dark side of the earth. With a 25-foot disc they were able to produce a two-mile circle of light on the ground. If the light of the universal Church has dimmed, it's most likely due to our feeble efforts to produce light rather than reflect light. We're not light producers. We can only reflect the light of our heavenly Lord. And the amount of light we can reflect grows exponentially as we join together in performing this task.

We need to stand alongside other believers and encourage them, doing our best to build them up and holding them accountable for their walk with Jesus. We need each other in order to keep our perspective and remain focused on what really matters. Jesus is what really matters, not all the social and governmental problems we face. Jesus is what really matters, not who can prove their doctrinal positions. Jesus is what really matters, not the form or fashion we use in worshiping and adoring him.

If you're saved, be ready for the return of Jesus. Stay ready by walking as close to him as you can. Shine a bright and bold light into the darkness around you. Focused lives require a focal point. That focal point is Jesus and his salvation.

Blessings & Peace, Mike

Free As A Slave (7/30/12)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading Rom 6:15-23.

"Don't you realize that whatever you choose to obey becomes your master?" Even after accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior it's possible to give ourselves over to a life of sin and evil. The word choose is very important here. We don't lose our free will after we get saved. We still have the ability to choose, and we must choose wisely. The price for choosing wrongly is spiritual death, slavery to sin, picking up the chains we laid down. The best thing we can do is fully surrender to our Lord and Master as slaves of righteousness. This is what frees us to be holy servants of the Most High God.

Most of us are uncomfortable with the terms "slaves" and "slavery." We normally see slavery in highly negative terms. Or we see it rather light-heartedly when we talk about our slavery to chocolate, cigarettes, weight-loss, and many other indulgences. Yahweh wants us to seriously consider who we choose to become a slave to. He doesn't want us to fall under the influence of our human weakness or the strength of other humans. He doesn't want us to surrender to the pull of our sin nature. He wants us to choose serving him.

Now freedom doesn't mean the absence of rules. Americans live in what's called a free country, but we're not free to steal from one another. There are laws set in place to help us live in harmony with one another. If we're to have an orderly society, the majority of people must agree to abide by ongoing rules of conduct. If everyone can make their own rules or decide what's right and wrong for themselves, we'd end up in chaos and anarchy. If we're going to enjoy peace and have a civilized society, there must be rules that everyone must abide by. It's how our Creator designed things to work for us.

We need to understand that our "bondage" as Christians isn't imposed on us, but it comes from our obedient service to our Lord and Master. We must submit ourselves to his Lordship and become voluntary slaves for Jesus. Ex 21:5-6 explains the process of voluntary slavery within the Hebrew nation. If a slave wanted to continue working for his master after his time of service expired, the two would go before the town judges and declare this intent. This isn't imposed slavery, but indentured slavery. The person has contracted himself to a master for a specified period of time. To become a permanent worker at this household the master and slave would return to the master's home where the servant's ear would be pierced by an awl into the doorpost. This attached the servant to his master for life.

The marking of a slave sounds kind of rough or gruesome to us, but we need to remember we receive a spiritual mark when we're saved. Col 2:11 tells us how Jesus circumcises our sinful nature from us. We bear the scar, the mark of obedience, which displays to the world our allegiance to Jesus. Think of the scars Abraham and Isaac bore after their "test of faith." All of us are tested in many different ways. Like Abraham, we also have to put our full trust in Yahweh. To be obedient servants of the Lord Most High is serious business. We must avoid being half-hearted in our devotion and service to our Lord.

According to verse 19, before we were saved we were "slaves of impurity and lawlessness." Impurity refers to moral filthiness, especially sexual sin. If you look around our world today there's a constant barrage of sexual imagery in our advertising and entertainment. What used to be done in private is now much more open. Lawlessness refers to an ever-increasing movement toward wickedness. As we come ever nearer to the end of time, lawlessness is increasing. People are throwing off all restraint in their pursuit of pleasure and self-satisfaction. Before we became Christians we used to be bound up in these things that were harmful to us and to the people we interacted with.

But now as Christians we're told to "choose to be slaves of righteousness." Choosing here refers to making an offering, to put at the disposal of someone else. We can't be righteous without the direct help of our Savior Jesus. So put yourself at his disposal and allow him to work righteousness through you. All that we have and are must be laid at his feet. We must allow him to control what we use and how we use it. Instead of allowing our sin nature to rule our lives, we choose to allow the righteousness of our Lord Jesus to be our primary reason for living.

The idea is that we're all slaves to something. We're either slaves to sin or Yahweh. It's best to choose the slavery that's beneficial to us. It all comes down the the question of which master we'll bow down to. There's no such thing as running in neutral. And we all know the limits of the personal reforms we often attempt in the pursuit of improving our lives. Good intentions and hard resolutions aren't often lived up to. Our inborn stubbornness too easily weighs us down and causes us to quit pursuing anything that takes hard work. Our pig-headed ways don't very often allow true goodness to affect any real change in our character.

That's why we need to submit to our Lord and Master as his slaves. Our passion needs to be for obedience to our Creator, not to our personal lusts. In the beginning of our faith walk we need to start small, and then as we mature in our faith we still need to remember the small things, the basics. Professional sports teams all have some form of training camp where these athletes must spend time working on the basics of their sport. Normally the teams who do the basics best are the ones who are the most successful. If we become solid at doing the basics of our faith, we'll also become more successful in fulfilling our Lord's call. It's great when we get it right because when we rightly submit ourselves to Yahweh and follow his instructions we become instruments of his righteousness.

One of our big problems is our bad definition of freedom. For many humans freedom means serving our personal needs first. It mostly comes down to each individual doing as they please. Here are some definitions from Webster's Dictionary that we often twist to our benefit. 1) The state of being free of restraints. 4) Exemption from unpleasant or burdensome conditions. 8) Unrestricted access or use. These are used to allow for self-determination. Instead of knowing that freedom comes with boundaries, many humans want no boundaries. They want no restraints, nothing to hold back their lust. They want to be exempt from anything they consider unpleasant or that which they believe is tough on them. They want no restrictions, nothing to stop them from "enjoying" themselves.

Many people believe that surrendering to and serving Jesus amounts to a loss of freedom. They feel restrained and burdened by his rules of living. It feels unpleasant and limiting to fight temptation. You know the lies we tell to ourselves. But being free to do anything we want is called bondage by our Lord. Our only true freedom is found in trusting his boundaries. These boundaries keep us from dangerous things and protect us. The freedom we enjoy within these boundaries is amazing and fulfilling, but somehow we believe in our human minds that we're missing out on something.

Let's dig into some words used in this passage. Verse 21 points out that slavery to sin brings shame. Shame is brought on by doing things that are disgraceful, dishonest, and outside Yahweh's laws. These things should make us feel humiliated, absolutely humbled for our wickedness when compared to Yahweh's holiness. What we did as slaves to sin wasn't beneficial to us. What we did as slaves to sin caused us emotional pain. All the worst of our human nature causes nothing but torture and agony to our spirit.

Verse 23 speaks very strongly, "the wages of sin is death." The word for wages here was used for a soldier's pay. As you do your duty as a slave to wickedness and evil you're earning your pay, eternal death. Slavery to sin leads to eternal punishment. Verse 20 clearly says we "weren't concerned with doing what was right." People will say they haven't chosen to go to Hell. They'll insist that they're good people at heart, but they continue to deny and reject the righteous rules for living our heavenly Father set up for us. The fruit of our lives will clearly show where our heart is focused and who we serve.

But there's fantastic news abut the reality of slavery for Christ. In verse 22 we see that slavery to Yahweh leads to holiness and eternal life. Holiness is something we get from abiding in the presence of our Lord and Master. It sanctifies and cleanses us from worldly pollution so we can be effective ministers of his Gospel. It means we're living a more Jesus-centered life and consequently we're renouncing more and more of this world's influence over us. We don't have to indulge our flesh. We don't have to give in to the lusts of our eyes. We don't have to live separate from our loving Father. We can draw ever-closer to him by submitting to his Lordship and working at spending time in his presence.

The other good news is that slavery to Yahweh leads to everlasting life in Heaven. Doing holy things, obeying our Master, being faithful in choosing right; will all lead to the "free gift of God." The outcome will always be this great gift because our God is faithful to fulfill his promises. Our heavenly Master is kind and generous to all his servants. He expects us to be faithful and obedient to him while we're serving him on this earth. His standards are high. He really expects us to be diligent and persistent in attempting to do all he asks of us. But his retirement benefits are out of this world.

Look at the difference: eternal death is a wage earned and eternal life is a gift received. You can work for yourself and go to Hell, or you can submit to Jesus and go to Heaven. Doesn't seem like a hard choice, does it? But too many people in our world are choosing to go their own way. They're denying the Lordship of Jesus and their need for his saving grace. Left to ourselves we'll find separation from our loving heavenly Father. Surrendering ourselves to him will give us great blessings in his presence. Why is this difficult for so many of us to accept?

Use your freedom rightly. Webster's Dictionary also had this definition of freedom: The right of enjoying all the privileges of membership or citizenship. Notice that it doesn't say the "privilege of enjoying the rights." We gain the privileges after we've surrendered to Yahweh's Lordship. Freedom is a great gift from our Creator. We can't demand it from him. We can only receive it after accepting the fact that we can't be righteous without his help. To become a member of our heavenly Father's family requires submission and surrender on our part. Accept his freedom and use it rightly. Let the Holy Spirit guide you into deeper and deeper levels of the beautiful freedom we can have in Jesus.

Blessings & Peace, Mike

Burdens & Freedom (7/23/12)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading 1 John 5:1-5.

The fundamental conflict in our world today is between those committed to an external moral authority based in Yahweh's Word and those who define moral authority by the spirit of the modern age, a spirit of humanistic rationalism and relativism. To put it in simpler terms, the liberal voices of our day take their direction from what is most current, trendy, or politically correct. For many of them, personal experience and preference is always a primary source of authority. There is no God and man is on his own to come up with solutions to the myriad problems that face our world. The greatest problem is that people have rejected their Creator and his directions for right living.

Truly biblically-based Christians believe in moral and ethical absolutes grounded in the Bible. They affirm the truth of a divine revelation as their authority. They trust that our Creator has given us his Word which includes instructions for right living, and that all human beings can live well by following these basic rules. A problem within the Body of Christ is that we've tried to blend other philosophies and religions into Yahweh's Word. Whenever we do that we weaken our hold on his absolute truth, and make it more difficult for others to follow him, too.

When Christians talk about how hard it is to live the Christian life, they're being humanistic. The Christian life isn't hard to live, at least not when we truly trust and obey our Designer's plan. It's immature and childish for us to complain that our Father's way is too hard for us. He offers all the help we'll need, actually giving us a piece of himself to help us. With the Holy Spirit residing within us, we always have access to everything we need. We can't let our doubts and insecurities keep us from a constantly improving walk of faith.

Our heavenly Father says, "His commands are not burdensome." This means they aren't too heavy and weighty for us to manage. It also means they aren't oppressive and bothersome, keeping us from having any fun in life. If we really love our Lord and obediently follow him, we'll find it's not too hard to do what he expects of us. The burden we bear is any sin we carry in spite of his plea for us to confess all sin and allow him to remove the weight. By our faith in Jesus we've gained victory over our sin. A true believer has already conquered the world system of deception and selfishness. Any burden we carry is one we refuse to let go of.

Sometimes we carry burdens we have no business carrying. Think of a man driving his pickup truck down the road when he sees a hitchhiker carrying an extremely large backpack. He pulls over and offers a ride, which the hitchhiker gladly accepts. A little way down the road the driver looks in the rear view mirror and notices that the hitchhiker is hunched over in the bed of the truck, still wearing his backpack. So he stops and asks, "Why don't you put down your pack and rest?" The hitchhiker responds, "That's okay, I don't want to bother you. I can handle the load."

Isn't that ridiculous? But this is the attitude of far too many Christians. They happily jump on Yahweh's "salvation wagon," but they continue to shoulder their burden instead of laying it down. 1 Pet 5:7 advises us to "Cast all your anxiety on Yahweh because he cares for you." We're not supposed to carry our own burdens. We're not sparing our Father from unnecessary pain by carrying our own burdens. When the Father, Son, and Spirit accept our confession and sin and willingness to follow them, they really mean that we don't have to carry our own burdens anymore. It's immature and foolish to think we can do a better job at anything and hold on to something so we don't burden them.

We're not talking about the times the Spirit burdens our hearts with concerns to pray for or individuals to minister to. The burdens we don't need to carry are attached to sin. We don't need to selfishly carry a burden for our children or our past or our future or anything. We need to be trusting our Lord to help us overcome difficulties and help us deal with adversity. We won't disappoint him by telling him of our deep and dark secret sins. He'll be excited that we trusted him enough to let go of them.

A problem we have as humans is that we're free to do these foolish things like holding on to the guilt and pain of our sin. Yahweh will try to get us to let go of these unnecessary burdens, but he won't force us to let go of them. Sometimes our free will keeps us from doing what is most healthy and beneficial to our souls. Sometimes we don't allow our new life in Christ to help us be overcomers and mighty warriors. It's very arrogant of the creation to tell the Creator that we can do a better job with anything. It's very foolish to listen to the devil's claims that our loving Father would refuse to set us free from our sin.

One of our greatest weaknesses is the burden of unforgiveness. This can be baggage we carry into our Christian life, or more recent and current issues. It just seems too easy for us to resist forgiving someone, then hanging on to it until it turns into bitterness. We have no right to carry this burden and allow it to begin to affect more and more areas of our lives. Please don't forget that unforgiveness is a major subject in the Lord's Prayer and many are condemning themselves each time they pray it. "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." We can't be forgiven if we refuse to forgive others. Jesus spoke this several times so we should pay attention to his words.

Most Americans, even churchgoers, have a bad understanding of what freedom truly is. In Yahweh's Kingdom freedom includes his protection. By following his rules, his commands for right living, we gain divine protection. Too many people believe that freedom is loose and unrestrained personal liberty. Most humans believe that freedom is about lack of restraint. We're actually most free when we obediently remain within the boundaries set by Yahweh's standards of right living. To step outside those boundaries is to make ourselves vulnerable to the dangers our Father's boundaries protect us from.

The problem with our misguided understanding of freedom is that it causes us to place ourselves in many dangerous positions. Speeding in our cars can lead to a fatal accident, as can alcohol and drug-induced intoxication. This kind of freedom isn't about being safe and secure. It's about being sold out to the devil and his way of self-determination. Living outside our heavenly Father's boundaries will place us in constant danger. We may feel free, but we're actually offering ourselves up to many forms of bondage.

Yahweh has a blessing for his people, victory over sin and the world. This comes when we possess faith, not just when we claim to have faith. The Bible says the one with faith can chase a thousand. We see it in the lives of the early disciples. The religious and civil authorities were unable to stop them from spreading the Good News of Jesus throughout their society. We see it in strong Christian men and women throughout history. Many have been more than a match for misguided church leaders and civil authorities. Many have stood in the face of howling mobs who were trying to stop their message from being proclaimed. They weren't silenced. They kept speaking up for real truth and righteousness.

Similar victories are being won today. All around the world individuals filled with the Holy Spirit's fire are facing up to bothersome demons and humans who allow these evil spirits to work in and through them. We can rely on Yahweh's help when we do his will. The tasks he gives to us are never too much for us to handle. The tasks he gives to each of us are perfectly matched to our abilities. We can trust that he'll work in and through us to accomplish his will. If we're rightly aligned with our Lord and Master, if we're filled with the Spirit's insight and power, nothing will stand in our way.

So our choice is to be set free "in Christ," or to be burdened with our own personal liberty. Would you rather have the Omnipotent Creator responsible for your safety, or to be on your own? Isn't it a much better idea to allow the Great God Almighty to be in charge of our security? What is it that you can do better than him? If you know he's the only real source of eternal safety and security, remain in that absolutely protected place.

In Gal 5:1 we find our Lord's purpose and plan for our freedom. "It is for freedom that our Messiah has set us free." Jesus set us free, he liberated us from bondage, he opened the doors of our prison and removed us from our captivity. So any freedom we have outside of his isn't really freedom, but it's bondage. We can remain in captivity, being held back from experiencing true freedom in Christ, by thinking or believing that we can somehow do it on our own. But our Father's plan is that we trust him completely to hold our souls in his hands for the eventual day of our death. Then we can be certain that no burden will keep us from living forever at his side.

The word freedom in Gal 5:1 means "not enslaved." It's specifically speaking about no longer being a slave to our sin. Most people believe becoming a Christian places us under bondage to commands and rules. The opposite is true. We only have freedom when we offer ourselves as indentured servants to our heavenly Father. Placing ourselves within the embrace of Yahweh's rules for right living is what removes us from bondage, bondage to our sinful nature and the lust for all that's wrong.

If another Bible were being written today, it would read the same as our current Bibles. Yahweh would be seen as busy pulling down strongholds, setting up his Kingdom, overthrowing the lofty ideals of men, and destroying demons. You're free to be a part of this liberation, working with your Lord and Master to help set others free. Otherwise you're one in need of liberation. 1 John 1:5, "Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." Be an overcomer and live in the freedom your Father has given to his redeemed children.

Blessings & Peace, Mike

Culture Wars (7/16/12)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading 2 Tim 3:1-9.

Culture wars have been going on for a very long time, and if we know our scriptures we can expect they'll continue until the return of Jesus. Webster's Dictionary defines culture as: The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought typical of a population or community at a given time. Notice "at a given time." This is very important, because culture depends greatly on current attitudes and beliefs. What Yahweh desires is for his people to substitute Kingdom for the word human in this definition.

Imagine a culture where Kingdom behavior patterns dominate. Imagine beliefs born out of a Kingdom mentality, institutions formed on Kingdom principles, work and thought governed by our relationship with a loving Father in Heaven. But isn't that part of the Lord's Prayer which many of us lift up so often? "Your Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven." This type of thinking is scary to many people on our planet. They don't want the Creator God to be in power, because then they have to acknowledge him and accept his rules.

We live in a culture that doesn't honor Kingdom principles. We live in a culture that's hostile to Yahweh and his Kingdom ways. There is a general preference for being left alone to do as we please. People will throw around the word freedom to try to get their own way. Instead of being free in Christ, many demand to be free from his influence. Yet our Lord God Almighty expects his people to work at changing the culture.

The majority of religious people in America would tell you that our culture and society are 100% corrupt and evil. I can't agree with that position. We have marvelous technologies continuing to be created for the good of mankind. Our religious freedom continues in spite of ongoing challenges in our court system. Yes, our culture is sliding more and more into lawlessness. Lawless and godless people are working hard to dominate and to remove Christian influence. And they're having their way in many places because Christians have backed out of society and denied the world their influence for good.

We're dominated by what Peter shared with us in 2 Pet 3:3. "In the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own desires." The word for scoffers comes from the root of amusing oneself or indulging in pagan revelry. We have a society dominated by people wanting to be able to indulge themselves in totally lawless and selfish pursuits. It's necessary that Christians avoid those pagan ways to have any effectiveness in sharing the Gospel.

The first issue we face is misplaced love. "Not lovers of the good" is only one of the points made in the nine verse we read. Our culture scorns the love of our heavenly Father, preferring cheap and base substitutes. What Yahweh considers love to be, and what our current society uses the word love for are very different. We've greatly cheapened the word by our usage of it for degrading and common things. Love should be lifted high in respect and honor, because it's true source is our Creator.

At one point Yahweh used a prophet named Hosea to illustrate how lawless Israel had become. He showed them how they'd become a prostitute to him, turning to other gods and abandoning his deep love for them. Yahweh told them that just like Gomer, who gave her love to other men instead of her husband, their godless culture loved themselves, their money, and pleasure more than their Redeemer and Savior.

The people in a godless culture often attempt to place themselves in the position of God. Godless culture is defined most strongly by love of self. The Church isn't immune to this problem. Many a Christian or congregation has fallen prey to misplaced love, and become lovers of their own traditions, their own personal likes and dislikes, their own pet doctrines and programs. When we don't seek the Holy Spirit's guidance in our decision making, but only ask him to bless our plans, we've become too important in our own eyes.

Yahweh loves us dearly and unconditionally. What he wants for us is to love him back. He doesn't force his love on us, and he doesn't force us to love him. We have to voluntarily give ourselves to him to receive the greatest love ever offered to mankind. It's not ours automatically, we must acknowledge that we need him and that he's the only answer to our sin problem. The sacrifice of Jesus isn't a universal release from every sin. We have to admit we're sinners and seek his cleansing for it to be valid. Make sure the Father, Son, and Spirit are the ones at the top of your chain of command.

The second issue is that too many of us have a deformed faith. Verse 5 says, "having a form of godliness but denying its power." This is extremely dangerous. Something that's deformed has the same ingredients of something that's perfect. The problem is that the deformed object has imperfections. If you're shopping for jeans and find two pair you like, but one has an "irregular" tag on it, you wonder what's wrong with them. Many stores have a place for seconds or irregulars or things that aren't up to a higher quality standard.

The "irregular" tag means there's imperfections in those jeans. In some way they weren't made correctly. They have flaws. They're still jeans, but not quite up to standard. They're just like a deformed faith. It causes some people to believe in God but not Jesus. Others see no need for being "born again." Some say all religions worship the same god. All of these positions are flawed and deformed. When held up against the standard of Scripture, they quickly show they aren't up to Yahweh's standard of belief.

Form means outward appearance. In other words, it looks good on the outside, but lacks real depth and character. There's a bit of biblical truth in their beliefs, but the rest is deformed and flawed. Denying means disowning or rejecting. It's a purposeful turning away from truth, a personal rejection of Yahweh's Word. People are trying to make a godly pattern without using Yahweh's plan and guide. They don't believe they need to do things his way, that they have the right to determine for themselves how they'll apply any of his commands or if they'll apply certain ones. This is a very selfish position and one that will alienate you from Jesus.

The third issue is that too many reject absolute truth. Polling has shown that over 50% of Americans don't believe in absolute truth. They say they believe that there is no absolute right and wrong, that everything is situational. The description we're given in verse 7 points directly to the problem in our culture, "always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth." People are unwilling to acknowledge the Truth about our Creator because then they would have to live according to his rules. Many believe they won't have to answer to him if they refuse to accept his absolute truth.

We live in a time when education is stressed in over-the-top ways. It's good that we get a useful education, but too many today are invested in knowing information instead of learning skills. We have too many scribes and not enough prophets. Scribes study and recite what others have written. They may not understand it, acknowledge the truth of it, or allow it to transform their lives. They're experts in knowing information without being able to do much good with that knowledge. With a rejection of absolute truth they don't have to know how to do something, but only have to be aware it its existence. It's actually a very non-intellectual way to avoid things that we don't like.

Prophets come from a very different direction. They tell others of their first-hand encounters with the Living God. They speak of spending time in his presence. Their life-changing experiences can lead others to strive for the same kind of experience. They're either speaking direct words from Yahweh or are reporting what they saw and heard when in his presence. They're intimately attached to the information. It's not trivia to them. Scribes deal in opinion. Prophet's deal in Yahweh's truth.

We live in a time when experiencing the presence of God is sought after, but too many only want the experience on their own terms. No one can reject the truth because of their own bias or belief system and then encounter the God of the Bible in a real way. Yet, Yahweh wants us to influence people in his direction no matter what their philosophy or belief system is. Our Father in Heaven isn't scared off by our attachment to a religion or philosophy that denies him. He's willing to confront any belief system and dogma with his truth. Are you willing to face him this way?

Don't let the lawless and godless culture cause you to deny your Lord. We need to live in the greater reality of the Kingdom. Can you see and hear and taste and smell and touch the Kingdom that surrounds you? Do you live a life of pursuing the Kingdom every day? Let the Kingdom culture flow through you to influence the world around you. Be a godly culture warrior, standing strong in Yahweh's truth and defending your faith. Listen to Paul's advice to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:20-21. "Guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith."

Blessings & Peace, Mike

Hell Is Real (7/9/12)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading Jude 1:3-7.

Jude's short letter points out one of the harshest realities in the Bible:. There is a place of eternal punishment where people and angels will be banished to because of disobedience. Yes, Hell is a real place. Jesus spoke about it, explaining what it's like and who'll go there. Jonathan Edwards famous sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God started a revival. There was a time when many preachers talked about the destination of the wicked, hell-fire and brimstone preaching wasn't frowned upon in the past. The reality of eternal torment for those who deny and reject Yahweh's plan of salvation through Jesus is something that must be made known again.

Somewhere along the line people stopped being concerned about Hell. There's been a tremendous emphasis on the goodness and grace of our heavenly Father, which isn't all bad or wrong, but the reality of Hell is almost never spoken from the modern pulpit. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit Jude wrote of "godless men" slipping into the Church and proclaiming false teachings. They undermined the grace of our loving God, teaching that grace allowed us to sin without penalty. They taught that there are others way to Heaven. As you can see, much of what is taught today has been around for a very long time.

We've all heard the jokes about shoveling coal in Hell, or the traveling salesman so good he can sell air conditioners to the evil. But these are ridiculous and all they do is is cause people to ridicule the concept of Hell. At WIllie Nelson's birthday bash Aerosmith's lead singer, Steven Tyler, said, "Happy birthday Willie. Here's hoping that we'll have as much fun in Hell as we did here on earth trying to get there." There are many people like him because they have no concept of the reality of Hell. There are far too many people who would rather listen to a joke about Hell than anything about its reality.

Look at the word godless. It means people living without regard for religious belief or practice. They are self-centered, caught up in lustful indulgence. They live for the moment and are guided by whatever they lust after. They justify what they do because of the sensual satisfaction it brings them. If we refuse to believe what Yahweh has written we fall into the category of godless. This isn't just about pagans and sinners, this also means the people in our churches who ignore what they don't like about the Bible. Being a Christian in name only is a very dangerous thing.

Jude says they "deny Jesus Christ." Deny means that they're acting contrary to what Jesus demands of our character and life. They're untrue their Maker and acting the opposite of what he designed them to do. Many believe that their denial isn't an outright rejection of Yahweh, but that some time in the future they can accept him. They want to have their "fun" now, like the rock star said, and someday they'll make things right with the Lord. How can you live your life contrary to what your Lord desires, and just turn it around whenever you decide?

One of the reasons Hell isn't thought about much is because of the reluctance of theologians and preachers to admit its existence. This comes from the Los Angeles Times (June 19,2002). "The tendency to downplay damnation has grown in recent years as churches focus on everyday issues. Bill Farris, pastor of Crown Valley Vineyard Christian Fellowship said, 'It isn't sexy enough anymore." Can you imagine that, the subject of Hell isn't popular.

Karl Barth said, "Bible verses on Hell are only threats from God to keep us from arriving at such a destiny." Nels Ferre said, "In the end, love must dissolve all evil." Emil Brunner said, "Men will be annihilated, the punishment is only temporary." These highly educated men just couldn't stomach the reality of eternal punishment, which is clearly taught in the scriptures. And because these men are "educated," many people will cling to their words to deny the words of scripture.

Billy Graham said, "I believe that Hell is essentially separation from God. I cannot describe Hell in vivid terms like I did 30 or 40 years ago. I don't know if there is actually fire in Hell or not." We've got to be careful how we speak. This could cause someone to deny the reality of torment in Hell. We're supposed to be truth-speakers, letting people know everything we can about what our Lord God Almighty has revealed to us.

But no matter what you think about the subject of Hell, it's still there because Yahweh included it in his Word. The testimony of the Bible is strong on eternal punishment. There are three Greek words we translate as Hell: Hades, Tartarus, and Gehenna. They all describe something that any truly sane person would want to avoid.

Hades is the present abiding place of the wicked and ungodly who've died. All the spirits of the people who died without having Jesus as their Savior inhabit this place. It's a place of incarceration, where the wicked will abide until called forth for final judgment. It's the place Jesus spoke of in the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man (Luke 16:19-31). The rich man was in torment, asking for a drop of water to be placed on his tongue. He also didn't want any of his brothers to end up in the same place. That doesn't sound like short term punishment and annihilation to me.

Tartarus is found only one time. 2 Pet 2:4 says this is the place where the fallen angels have been cast and are kept in "chains of darkness." Some translate this as gloomy dungeons. It appears that some of the fallen angels were never let loose on the earth, but are being held in this place awaiting their final judgment. The comparison between these fallen angels and false teachers points out Yahweh's justice in condemning those who harm others with lies.

Gehenna is the place of future punishment. This is the eternal home of all those who die in rebellion to Yahweh and his grace. It will be the place where all the wicked angels, those who reject Jesus, and the ones living a religious lie will spend eternity. It's what Jesus said can't prevail against his Church in Matt 16:18. The word is derived from the Hebrew gehinnom, which was a pit where garbage was dumped. It has a long history of being a place of filth, and of almost constant burning Jesus establishes the reality of Hell by describing it.

I believe that what we need to know most is that there won't be any fun in Hell. No one is going to enjoy themselves. It's a place of torment and separation from their Creator. Jesus spoke of Hell specifically 15 times. He didn't just speak of it to threaten us, but to warn us away from it. He explained that it's a place of torment. He said it's a place of darkness. In fact, the word used means the opposite of light, or a place where Yahweh isn't present. There will be no light, physical or spiritual.

The people who refuse to bow down to Jesus now will eventually have to bow down to him. The problem is at that point it won't help them. They'll already have established their place in Hell, banished from his presence for their denial and rebellion. They'll have already chosen to go to Hell. Many have the idea that Yahweh sends people to Hell, but the truth is that they send themselves by their own choices. It says "every" knee will bow and "every" tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. Even those who have denied and rejected him will have to recognize that Jesus is truly Lord of Lords.

Let me tell you how bad Hell will be, at least a bit of a perspective from our earthly understanding. People often say they'd rather die instantly instead of enduring a lingering and painful death. But as near as modern science can estimate, instant death still takes 7/10 of a second. That sounds pretty quick until we look at what transpires in those 7/10 of a second.

A person falling into a volcano would experience this: In the first tenth of a second your clothing catches fire and all your hair is burned from your body. In the second tenth of a second the top two layers of your skin is gone and all the surface liquid in your eyes begins to boil and evaporate. In the third tenth of a second a mad rush of adrenaline causes massive constriction of all your muscles. In the fourth tenth of a second your lungs begin to collapse from breathing in super-heated air and lava. In the fifth tenth of a second your tendons and ligaments constrict and start snapping bones. In the sixth tenth of a second the marrow in your bones expands and breaks all the rest of your bones. In the seventh tenth of a second your skull explodes.

Since Hell is a lake of fire where you can't be destroyed, think of the ongoing agony. The second death, eternal separation from Yahweh, will be more horrible than you can ever imagine. Hell is real. Jesus said so, and said it more than once. We need to be in prayer, seeking to help people avoid this astoundingly terrible place. We should be doing our best to let people know Yahweh's truth. Don't be a false teacher, worthy of a place with the fallen angels. Speak the truth in love, trying to help people get to Heaven.

Blessings & Peace, Mike

Yahweh's Existence (7/2/12)

Shalom,

Please begin by reading Psalm 19:1-4.

We've all had questions in our minds about the existence of God. Most of us have had someone ask us, "How do you know he exists?" Without the Bible and what it relates to us we'd all have a difficult time sorting out his existence. People have argued over this idea for most of human history. A recent skeptic, Carl Sagan said, "The cosmos is all that there is or ever was or ever will be." But the Bible clearly states, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

There's a huge difference between these two statements. How do we answer the question of the existence of God? How do we influence our society with his reality? There are enormous effects depending on which side of the issue you place yourself. If Yahweh created, then he's the sole authority for the entire universe. If evolution is true, that puts man in authority. What society believes about its origins directly affects its worldview. All the decisions we make will be affected by what we believe about where we came from. It's either humanistic and fatalistic, or it's theistic and hopeful.

The battle for minds is one we can be effective in. We don't have a "lesser" position, no matter how the intellectuals treat us. We have much to help us defend our faith, and there are ways to prove the existence of God. No, you can't prove him in a way anyone's physical senses will detect, but our Lord said mankind is "without excuse" because "his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen" (Rom 1:20).

Christians need to know what they believe and why they believe it. If we can't explain ourselves, Christianity isn't much good to us or others. We don't have to have a doctorate, but we do need to be able to say something more than "that's just what I believe." 1 Pet 3:15 tells us to "always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have." For nearly 1900 the major worldview was biblical creation. It's only been in the last 160 years that secular society has raised its vigorous attack against it. Yes, there were other beliefs before then, but the major attack is fairly new.

Men like Nietzsche (God is dead), Spinoza, Freud, and Hume have made serious wreck of the faith of millions of people. The major cause of this wreck has been the raising of doubt in God's existence, the reliability of the Bible, and the denial of its miracles. This is weird because the people who believe in evolution must have faith because so much of it is not empirically provable. If it's true, it's a great and marvelous miracle. Evolution can't explain itself. There are too many holes in the evolutionary chain. It takes a kind of faith to believe in evolution.

David Hume said, "A miracle is a violation of the laws of nature." That's not exactly true. A miracle goes beyond the laws of nature. Healing cancer cells or making lame legs walk or making blind eyes see doesn't violate nature, it corrects problems. A God above and beyond the universe, the one who actually created it, can also interfere with its controls. The One who put the laws in place isn't bound by them.

A secular biology teacher says, "as long as DNA eventually lines up together and in the right order, that's what matters." A Christian biology teacher says, "what are the odds of DNA eventually lining up together to create life and then how did that DNA come into existence in the first place?" It's been estimated that DNA coming together by itself and forming life is 10 to the 243,000. That's a 1 followed by 243,000 zeros. There is intelligence in the DNA code, where did it come from?

If you could take one of your cells and extract the information from it, that data would fill 500,000 pages. The evolutionist says, "You don't need God, just as long as the molecules line up in the right order, then you have life." But the astronomical odds of that happening aren't even really something we can calculate. Random chance isn't a good guide for creating intelligence.

A former evolutionist, Michael Behe, says in his book Darwin's Black Box, "The simplicity that was once expected to be the foundation of life has proven to be a phantom. Actually, systems of horrendous, irreducible complexity inhabit the cell. The resulting realization that life was designed by an intelligence is a shock to us in the 20th century who have gotten used to thinking of life as the result of simple natural laws." Mr. Behe is saying that the problem in the scientific realm has nothing to do with evidence, but everything to do with the preconceived thinking and reasoning scientists insist on using.

The problem of the information found in DNA is spoken by Werner Gitt, "There is no known law through which matter can give rise to information, neither is any physical process or material phenomena known that can do this." Information must come from intelligence. Logic has to say that creation is a much more rational explanation for life than evolution. To believe that matter somehow created complex information is to believe something science can't prove. People have to deny scientific theory and truth to accept the theory of evolution as fact.

But the Bible speaks to that kind of thinking in 2 Pet 3:5. "They deliberately forget that long ago by God's Word the heavens existed and the earth was formed." The Amplified Bible says, "they willfully overlook and forget this fact." People willingly deny the existence of God because he doesn't fit in their world. That's an amazing amount of arrogance.

For example, Dr. Richard Lewontin, a Harvard geneticist said, "Materialism is absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine foot in the door." Basically, he's admitting that he doesn't care what the evidence says. He's willing to deny God, even denying anyone the opportunity of proving his existence. He refuses to even accept the possibility of there being a God.

Charles Darwin said in his autobiography, "A man who has no assured and ever-present belief in the existence of a personal God or a fixed existence with retribution and rewards can have for his rule of life, as far as I can see it, only to follow his impulses and instincts." The man who most claim came up with the Theory of Evolution says we choose between a biblical worldview and a man-made system. He also said, "False facts are highly injurious to the process of science, for they often endure long."

The hardcore evolutionists always have to ignore the evidence which is right before their eyes. There's no way for them to scientifically deny that the complex forms of life found on our earth are there because of intelligent design. Most of them refuse to consider intelligent design because they say it's creation in disguise. The problem most of them have is to them evolution isn't just a theory about matter and molecules, but a life philosophy and a strong worldview. We could say they've sold their souls to it.

The following comes from a letter Kent Hovind wrote to his local newspaper: One of the things that has amazed me in my 22-year study of the creation-evolution controversy is the motivation of the people who support evolution. What would motivate an otherwise intelligent person to support the illogical idea that this extremely complex, orderly universe made itself out of nothing for no apparent reason? Here are four motives I have seen.

1. Some believe or support this "fairy tale for adults" because they have been taught it all their lives. These people have never seriously studied all sides of the controversy. They have been successfully brainwashed by the intense evolutionary propaganda of the last 100 years. As Hitler said, "If you tell a lie long enough, and loud enough, and often enough, the people will believe it."

2. Sadly, some people support evolution for social-political reasons. These people (like Karl Marx, Stalin, Hitler, and a host of others) understand that the teaching of evolutionism is foundational to their socialist cause. They know it plays a vital role in the great struggle for the elite to enslave the masses under a new world order.

3. Then there are those who give lip service to evolution for financial reasons. Obtaining or maintaining a teaching position in a public school or university is very difficult if you are openly critical of the "sacred cow" of evolution or if you refuse to help "spread the faith" that is masquerading as legitimate science in textbooks.

4. Many of the proponents of evolution have a spiritual reason. They would readily accept any theory that would exclude God, moral absolutes, sin, and judgment. To many, this is the most appealing aspect of evolution.

We could all ignore evolution as something stupid if it didn't have such dangerous effects on our society.

Yahweh, the Lord God Almighty, exists. There is evidence of that. Look at your own life and how he's touched and blessed you. We just need to reject the teachings of those who reject God and "deliberately forget" that he created our world.

Blessings & Peace, Mike