Posted in Daily Living • Gospel • Healing • Hypocrisy • Relevance • Righteousness

Salvation

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A biblical definition of salvation starts with the simple idea of rescue from God’s judgment. He will judge the world and every person in it for sin, but He also made a way out by providing the sacrifice of His only begotten son. And according to many church teachings, all you have to do is believe, say it once, and you’re saved. These teachings are derived from sections of the Word such as what Paul writes in Romans (using Deuteronomy 30:14).

Romans 10:8–13 ESV. But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

I say “derived” because most of the teachings just use Scripture as a touchstone and then soar off into the atmosphere in a gaseous cloud. What would ground the teachings better is if they used more of the Bible instead of the gas of dreamy opinions.

There’s biblically much more to belief than just saying “I believe” or raising the hand and going forward. A person who believes in the heart is not just thinking it sounds good; his belief transforms his entire life with an acceptance of all that God imparts to us. It reorients goals of living and connects the soul to our eternal God with all of His glory, especially as to how truly magnificent and powerful is the sacrifice of our Messiah. In return, it seems a small thing to bring the light of all of God’s instructions for us into every corner of our formerly dark lives.

Matthew 7:21–23 ESV. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Those who wear the wool coverings of a sheep yet do not follow God’s Law (actually His instructions), what Jesus calls “workers of lawlessness,” will have to depart from Him. If they do such “mighty works” as casting out demons or prophesying, they will be told “I never knew you.” This applies to all those so-called “evangelists” that put on shows of healing and raising from the dead (whether actual or not) yet teach that all you need to do is raise your hand and go forward. Sorry, but that is not salvation.

Truly saved people give over their lives and everything they do and own to God, because it is the least we can do (and He owns it all anyway). We sell everything we have, inside and out, to gain the Kingdom of Heaven.

Matthew 13:44–46 ESV. “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

In salvation, we discover a kingdom that is worth more than anything this world can offer. It is so valuable that whatever we can sell is worth it. Our lives are reoriented towards bringing as much of the kingdom as we can buy. We gain fellowship with our God and our Messiah Jesus the Christ. Together they are the source of life, light, love and blessings that cannot be measured.  Our purchase of the kingdom includes an initial return in the form of God’s Word lived out wholly and completely day to day. This is much more than raising a hand and going forward. That might be the start, but it is certainly not the end.

Hebrews 6:1–3 ESV. Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits.

A real salvation moves from the elementary doctrines listed here to maturity. The mature person constantly practices, learns and grows in the faith. We “work out our salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). As James says, faiths without works is dead, and even the demons believe, but their works are not of God. In other words, they do not obey God though they “believe.”

James 2:18–19 ESV. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

Obedience to all of God’s Word is the difference between someone who merely believes, and one who has been saved. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Knowledge of God comes from His Word. All of His Words. Any word that He chooses to speak, including His life-giving Laws.

Romans 10:16–17 ESV. But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Isaiah 1:16–17 ESV. Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. Shalom

Posted in Daily Living • Law • Love • Paul Teachings • Repentance

Perfection

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Matthew 5:43–48 ESV. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

People who don’t read the Word and just rely on a leader’s teachings do not really understand the message of Jesus here. When confronted with this text, one reaction is to say that Jesus paid for all my sins, so that means I’m perfect in the eyes of God. Another is to defend oneself by saying everyone is sinful so there’s no way anyone can be perfect. A third option is to simply ignore the words of Jesus. Another one of those “Don’t confuse me with facts my mind is made up” moments.

The truth from Jesus is we must be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. This is a big pair of pants to fill and seems completely out of our reach at first. That is, until you come to understand the meaning of the word “perfect.”

To be perfect is to need nothing in the spiritual realm or maybe even the physical. It does not mean a person never makes a mistake or sins. It means that we are fully equipped as well as forgiven. Our heavenly Father lacks nothing; nothing can be added to Him that He needs, and nothing He has can be taken away. We have forgiveness in Christ, the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, so we have everything we need to behave as Jesus does and accomplish whatever tasks the Father assigns to us. If we falter, we confess and repent, pick ourselves up and keep going.

John 14:30–31 ESV. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.

Jesus tells us that the deceiver has no claim on Him. The deceiver couldn’t find even the tiniest sin so he could accuse Him before the Father. There was no lever he could grab to make Jesus obey him. The King James Version says it a little differently in that the deceiver “hath nothing in me.” No part of Jesus belongs to the deceiver, and he couldn’t use any weakness against Him. Jesus lacked nothing.

We do actually lack something though. We are still in these bodies of flesh, and we are prone to drifting away from the Word on occasion. We can lose sight of the goal and falter in our walk, which is why the text includes the thought of “be perfect.” In my understanding, this includes the idea of a process. We have the tools; we just need to learn how to use them and keep using them.

Paul reinforces the thought of progression, when he tells us that he isn’t perfect (though blameless according to the Law), but will “press on to make it my own.”

Philippians 3:12–15 ESV. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.

David in Psalm 143 says that “no one living is righteous before you,” which gives us another consideration to throw in the mix. Here he acknowledges that we cannot claim anything from God on the basis of our own perfection or righteousness, but we need God’s mercy and faithfulness. That mercy is provided in the sacrifice of His only begotten Son. The specter of death no longer weighs on us, so we are free (in Christ) to “be perfect” or to take our perfect gifts and pursue perfection.

God’s Law is the perfect guide for us to follow to perfection. Like the banks of a river, His loving and compassionate Word keeps us on track to our goal. If you’ll accept the illustration, we are also on the river of His living water, and at the same time, we are both at the goal and on our way to the goal. We are perfect but also on the way to perfection, that is, our new bodies and eternal life with God.

Deuteronomy 11:26–28 ESV. “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known.

James puts it another way. He equates trials with a testing of faith producing steadfastness, which if allowed to have its full effect will result in being perfect, lacking in nothing.

James 1:2–4 ESV. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Another type of perfect is described by Paul, though he doesn’t use the specific word, is in loving one another, living quietly minding your own affairs and working with your hands. This is so you will be “dependent on no one” (1 Thessalonians 4:9-12). Perhaps this only applies to making a living, but it gives us another thought to include with perfection. God desires that we strive to be complete or perfect, lacking in nothing spiritual or even physical, while we follow His Words in every area of our lives. Shalom.

Posted in Atonement • Daily Living • Faith • Repentance • Righteousness • Salvation

Irredeemable

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A dictionary says that irredeemable is “being beyond remedy, hopeless.” In a biblical sense, it means that someone has refused God’s offer of salvation because the heart is so hard it won’t listen. It can happen even to people who claim to be following Jesus. The writer of Hebrews puts it this way:

Hebrews 6:4–6 ESV. For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

If it can happen to people who have seemingly converted, it can also happen to the unconverted. Israel is an example of a mixture of hard hearts and soft hearts. Those who believed (and believe) in Jesus and do what He says are soft hearted, while those who don’t are mostly irredeemable. Hearts get so hard they are just unreachable.

Irredeemable can also be applied to unforgiving people. Those withholding forgiveness are told specifically by Jesus that they are irredeemable in places like Matthew 6:14.

Matthew 6:14–15 ESV. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

 Lack of forgiveness freezes the unforgiven in time, because in the view of the offended there is now no remedy for the offense or sin. The supposed offender is locked in place. Jesus paid the blood price for sin, but the unforgiving person is mocking that sacrifice. They have deemed someone “irredeemable.” But according to Jesus, by declaring thusly, they place themselves in the actual irredeemable boat. Those who don’t forgive will not be forgiven.

No one is irredeemable according to God. All are eligible for redemption if he or she wants it. Jesus paid the price for our redemption, redeeming us from slavery to sin and death with His painful and bloody death on the cross. However, people can make themselves irredeemable by the refusal of this momentous action on their behalf. There is no other payment for our debt of sin, so refusing the sacrifice of Jesus leaves one with no option but to pay for sin with his or her own death (meaning the lake of fire).

Revelation 21:8 ESV. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

The choices are either eternal life or eternal death. Believers press on to eternal life with confession, repentance and the Holy Spirit. The writer of Hebrews quotes Psalm 95 (in Hebrews 3:7-11) which is a plea to avoid being irredeemable by the hardening of the heart.

Psalm 95:7–9 ESV. For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. There are many chances in life to confess Jesus and repent of doing what is right in our own eyes. The more they are refused, the harder the heart becomes. If you hear his voice, respond and do what He says. Your heart of stone can be turned to flesh and eternal life will be yours as long as your heart stays soft and you persevere.

Shalom

Bruce

Posted in Daily Living • Grace • Holy Spirit • Law • Love • Marriage • Paul Teachings • Women

Submitting

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The foundation for submitting is built on submitting to God first. Believers submit to every applicable word that is written for each of us. Some of God’s words are for men, and some are for women. Some are for husbands and others are for wives, and some apply to all of us equally.

It’s a blessing and an honor to submit to all of our Father’s instructions. But sometimes we get out of balance and emphasize instructions for other people while forgetting to check ourselves first. Such is the case in marriages where we husbands frequently have more expectations for our spouses than we expect of our own walk.

There are men who demand that a wife submit to him without considering God’s instructions first for husbands. Submitting to God’s instructions will determine how wives submit to husbands. Men demand an unbalanced submission without regard to their own complete submission to our Father. In a marriage context, there are more instructions for a husband than there are for a wife. For instance, a husband is tasked with washing his wife with the Word.

Ephesians 5:25–32 ESV. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.

Submission to God depends on our view of Him and is directly related to how well we know Him. If He seems to us to be a remote, arbitrary tyrant who makes rules that we can’t possibly obey, then we will resist submitting to Him. If, however, He is a loving, forgiving, merciful and compassionate God who encourages us to follow His ways because they are life-giving and easy to obey, then submission for both husband and wife is a piece of cake.

In fact, God loves us so much that He sacrificed His only begotten Son to restore us as sons and daughters. All we have to do is accept what He did and follow His ways, just like we do with an earthly, loving father. If we expect a wife to submit, then we must first be like an earthly, loving copy of our Father. Yeshua/Jesus is a beautiful example for us to follow.

1 Corinthians 11:2–3 ESV. Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you. But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.

Husbands have the responsibility to void a wife’s vow if he hears of it and does not agree, as we are instructed in Numbers 30. If a husband divorces his wife and she marries another then is divorced from that man, the previous husband may not remarry her. The husband has authority over his wife’s body (and she over his), which applies to care and concern for her well-being as well as for intimate relations according to Paul in 1 Corinthians 7. Husbands are not to divorce their wives even in the event of unbelief, so long as she wants to stay married.

Women have a tendency to go their own way (and husbands aren’t guiltless in this either), which has been the trend since the Garden. Just because our Father said “he will rule over you” (Genesis 3:16) does not give license to be a tyrannical despot. A wife can’t be forced to change, but they can generally be led to change. Men are the leaders (or rulers if you will) which means we are to lead our families to the Father as we follow His example.

1 Corinthians 14:33–35 ESV. For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.

We like to use this Scripture from Paul to keep women from speaking in our assemblies (which is another subject) but the flip side is that husbands are to answer our wives’ questions and teach them. This implies that the husband is taking time to study and learn, and reinforces unity. If a wife is being “washed” well, she will probably have fewer questions anyway. Husbands are also admonished to avoid harshness (which includes being a tyrant) with their wives.

Colossians 3:19 ESV. Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.

Husbands have many godly responsibilities, and we should take care to apply ourselves to those first and many of the other issues will solve themselves. If a husband is pointing his finger at a wife’s failings, it is probable that his own lack of submission to his responsibilities is lacking. A wife will generally follow and submit to a husband if he is following God’s instructions for him because it’s in her nature to respond to love. Peter amplifies our focus.

1 Peter 3:7 ESV. Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

A woman thinks and feels in ways that her husband finds puzzling at the least. It can be frustrating because men and women are – news flash – different. Men tend to think objectively, and women subjectively, or more according to her feelings. Wives and husbands can both be wrong, and both act according to pride, the flesh or sin nature. Understanding and forgiveness go a long way in encouraging submission in both parties.

Galatians 5:25 ESV. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

Shalom

Posted in Comfort • Daily Living • Fear • God • Natural Man

Artificial Intelligence is Stupid

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People are getting over-intense about artificial intelligence or AI. There is a lot of fear-mongering over lost jobs (which might happen), robot armies (which probably won’t happen), and taking over the world (which most assuredly won’t happen). The big reason? Artificial intelligence isn’t really all that intelligent. In fact, it’s dumber than the rocks it operates in (computers) and however infallible it seems to some it is made by men (and let’s make sure to include women) and men (or women) are imperfect and very, very fallible.

Consider the computer itself. A nice tool, and we can hardly do without them in some instances. But as nice as they are, they still wig out on a regular basis. The “blue screen of death” is common despite improvements in the operating system. Applications won’t run properly sometimes, and we have to keep paying all kinds of money for the next big (hopefully working better) thing. Imperfect men (and women) simply cannot create or make anything that doesn’t have flaws and drawbacks. We are not all-knowing (only one Person has that character trait) and since wisdom (or even smarts) is lacking so are the things we make.

This includes AI. Artificial intelligence is a product of the same fallible men (and women) that build cars that break down, planes that fall apart in the sky, and governments that make mistakes on a regular basis. At best it is another tool to do some work. They do a lot of repetitious work, but the results are only as good as the person operating. The old axiom, “Garbage in, garbage out” was aptly applied when beginning to get work out of computers. I’ve been working with computers since high school (back when dinosaurs were still running around in places other than a movie screen). When I started learning about them and using them it was only about three decades after the room-sized computer ENIAC was invented. At that time they had not even been using transistors very long. ENIAC used thousands of vacuum tubes and the term “bug” was literal bugs getting into the workings and causing parts to fail.

The “bugs” in artificial intelligence are not actual insects maybe, but it is still loaded with them. It is inevitable when considering the works of man. So I don’t fret about AI at all. God is still the only one without bugs, and all of His works are also bug-free. He allows some of man’s works and puts limits on their working, so that all nations will know that He is the Intelligence without artifice that works perfectly all the time.

Shalom, Bruce

Posted in Blessing • Children • Church • Comfort • Daily Living • Fear • Identity • Prophecy • Resurrection • Righteousness • Salvation • Second death • Worship

Shining Wise

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Daniel 12:1–3 ESV. “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.”

Imagine you are walking through a dark forest. There are creatures of the darkness all around you, slavering in anticipation of the meal you represent. But none attacks. Instead, they retreat as you move forward. They wrinkle their noses in disgust at the smell of you, though you just took a shower and have on some nice deodorant. The creatures wince and hide their eyes from some unseen pain as you pass by, as if they are looking at the sun, though you see only darkness.

Children of God actually shine in a way that is painful to the hateful eyes of the deceiver’s creatures. We can’t see this light with our own eyes; we still need flashlights to light the way in our houses at night. This light manifests itself to those in darkness and they hate us because of it. There’s a smell around us too, sharply repugnant to the noses of the creatures, because it is the aroma of Christ and life. It reminds them they are destined to die a second death in the lake of fire.

2 Corinthians 2:14–16 ESV. “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?

We wonder sometimes why we suffer. In our jobs we might be unfairly attacked and pressured to quit, and it seems to us as if there’s no rationale. At school there are few (too few) that are friendly and many who avoid us and spread gossip about us behind our backs. In the line at the grocery store we experience hostile stares. Even at church we might be marginalized or outright asked to leave. We can’t see the reasons. But they are offended by our mere presence because our internal light hurts their eyes and the smell of life around us is worse to them than an open cesspool or Limburger cheese on a hot muffler.

As we head into the trials and turmoil prophesied in the Bible, we are marked by God more obviously and surely than a tattoo on the head or hand. Our Messiah is with us, and no creature of darkness can stand against us. They might get us fired from a job or kicked out of church; they might even kill the body in which we are temporarily resident. However, to those who are being saved we are a fragrance of life and light in the darkness of the world. Remember that you are a child of God and a friend to Yeshua, and the salvation you have will be shared with many who turn to righteousness because of His light and aroma.

Shalom, Bruce

Posted in Daily Living

Dear Fox News: You Aren’t Worth It

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Every once in a while, on a website other than Fox News, I’ll click on a link not knowing it will take me to Fox. Once I get there, I get a blocking pop up asking me to disable my ad blocker. I can’t see or read anything, but I don’t care. I just close the window. They’re not worth disabling my ad blocker for any reason.

If a website, especially a news website, wants to force me to watch their ads for Viagra I refuse. Any site that blocks me for whatever reason or is behind a paywall doesn’t deserve my attention. I just move on. News worth reading or viewing is going to be on many other websites where I can determine if they’re worth subscribing to or not. Usually these people don’t have reporters on the scene anyway, and just end up talking a lot about their opinions. I don’t need opinions, I need facts. I want to be educated, not inundated with ads for useless stuff I don’t even think about buying.

Fox News has descended into a People Magazine wannabe, and I certainly don’t get any news from that kind of stuff. I don’t know most of the newer celebrities because I haven’t watched cable TV in several decades. And I haven’t missed a thing, judging from the little that leaks out about them around the corners of my ad blocker. Celebrity opinions are the furthest thing from interesting or informative that I can think of. Just shut up and make movies, will you? And not the kind of schlock you’ve been putting out in recent years, either.

I know websites have to support themselves, and ads help them do it. But I’m not going to help them do it if they have content that stinks. If they have honest, factual content that educates and informs, I’ll send them a few bucks. I just hope that Fox puts up a paywall, because then they’ll lose most of their remaining viewers and no one will notice they’re gone.

Shalom, Bruce

Posted in Balance • Daily Living • Demons • Division • Fear

Bad Conspiracy Logic

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There’s a lot of nuts out there with conspiracy theories about the recent attacks on Israel by Hamas and other terror groups. Many of them claim to be using logic, but after reviewing some of what they are saying the best of the theories have huge logic problems.

For instance, Peggy Hall with the handle of The Healthy American in an article online titled Hamas “Attack” On Israel (implying that it was no attack) just outdoes herself with so many logical fallacies I’m tempted to say maybe it’s because she’s female and has a lot of trouble with logic in the first place. That might be labeled sexist but it fits right in with her irrational assumptions. Just because something is labeled sexist doesn’t mean it isn’t true. I’ll list here the major fallacies and illustrate what I’m talking about.

She does a lot of groundwork to bias the reader in the direction she wants to go (we can’t trust anything). The title first, then a series of statements leading to a conclusion that we can’t trust the media. They might be lying and probably are, she says. The logical fallacy here is that because many people in the media lie, then all of what we see or read are lies. She wants you to believe that the lies from some organizations means that all are lies. This is what we call a “false equivalency.” If one presentation is a lie, she says, then all are lies. Not necessarily. We have to look at the source and the motivations. There are news sources that do a great job of checking and confirming information. We can also cross-check between organizations, because some facts may be missing in one presentation that are present in another trusted source. So her analysis is skewed from the start.

Another logical fallacy is when she questions the Israeli intelligence agencies. She says they are very, very good, so how could they have missed the preparations for this attack? Not a very bright question, actually. It’s not the gathering of information that’s the problem. It’s the interpreting. Just before the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese in World War 2, the U. S. intelligence apparatus at the time also got some hints of something. But what? In our present case, just because some Egyptian intelligence people said there was “something big” happening in Gaza, so what? What the hell does that mean anyway? With 20/20 hindsight of the armchair quarterback of course we know now what it is. NOW. But how in the world do we interpret “something big” when we cannot define “big?”

One big reason that the surprise of this attack was so prevalent is that Israel had become complacent. A majority were really thinking that all their enemies were eschewing hatred and the desire to wipe them out. In fact, they were in the process of becoming very liberal which is to say very stupid. There are a lot of people in Israel they did not grow up during World War 2, did not see the Yom Kippur war, and probably listened to people like the Healthy American who said, “Don’t trust the accounts of yesteryear coming from the old people; those events were just staged to get a reaction out of you so they could get some money from the U. S.” Stupidity is a very good reason for being taken by surprise and failing to interpret a military buildup properly.

She spends a lot of time on numbers, as if the repetition of numbers she chooses as “odd” or indicative of some ulterior motive is proof of evil intent. Never mind that many other numbers than the ones she chooses are used too. Never mind that her choice of numbers seems rather arbitrary. Never mind that people have a tendency to round numbers because the situation is very fluid. Just pick some numbers and then find a “coincidental” occurrence of the numbers.

When we get right down to it, she has nothing but supposition and bias to “prove” her theory. There are other explanations than what she chooses to see through her somewhat blurry lenses. As she wraps up her article she posits a few more suppositions for why this happened. She is obviously reasoning “after the fact” from her armchair. For instance, is it reasonable to think that the politicians would allow this kind of bloodshed that could easily blow back on them (like blaming Netanyahu for intelligence failures, as is already happening)? Logically, is it possible to falsify an attack like this in such a way that hundreds of people agree and not one (including reporters on the ground there) says that broken legs and raped women with blood in the crotches of their clothes was staged? Is it reasonable or logical to believe that terrorist organizations would never do anything like this?

So then we are left with a big question raised by her about her account of the event. Can we trust her?

Shalom, Bruce

Posted in Daily Living

Biblical Worldview?

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I hear all the time on podcasts or read a bunch of articles from authors claiming to have a “biblical” worldview. The speakers and authors generally do a good job of listing the problems of our progressive culture, and have a few good opinions on how to fight back. For instance, Alisa Childers writing on Harbingers Daily website in an article titled The Spiritual Battle Over Our Children: Training Our Sons and Daughters to Stand Strong in a Chaotic Culture says we should “speak truth to lies” and “equip yourself.” Not bad concepts, as far as they go. Many other teachers say similar things. The problem is, while there may be some good ideas here and there, they are most assuredly NOT from a biblical worldview, and therefore not nearly as effective as the Bible itself. They are from a “Church” worldview. There’s a big difference. “Church,” of course, is a general name for all organizations claiming to follow the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

For one thing, a Church worldview uses a lot of philosophy in their suggestions and very little Scripture. Sure, churchgoers throw in a verse here and there to add validity to their philosophies, but that’s not really a biblical worldview. Using a little of the Bible doesn’t show a real worldview. You have to use a lot. All of it, actually. The philosophies have to give way to real biblical help. The Bible isn’t a source for fortune cookies. It’s not helpful to throw out a little slip of a verse and expect it to do more than tickle the ear. All of the Bible is a lifestyle and discipleship method, in particular The Law. That’s where Church philosophy falls down. Teachers shy away from the Law because they’ve been taught that it’s “legalism” or “for the Jews” or “not a salvation issue;” concepts that the Bible itself doesn’t endorse.

Deuteronomy 6:5–6 ESV. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.

A biblical worldview regards all of God’s Word as something to be held in the heart with love and lived as literally true. A Church worldview regards the Law as something to be avoided, giving lip service to some of it while holding most of it at arm’s length as if it was a skunk waiting to spray them. The Church contends that The Church was the goal of God all along and a “new thing,” grabbing authority and giving itself permission to redefine the Word at will. After redefining the Word, churches condone the destructive immorality of homosexuality and abortion because they are “tolerant.”

George Barna, as he has many times over the past decades, has again revealed more results of his studies in a new book titled, “Raising Spiritual Champions: Nurturing Your Child’s Heart, Mind and Soul.” He is sounding the alarm about only about 2% of Christians have a biblical worldview, which he defines as “living like Christ.” As much as I like his work, he still misses a huge point because of his Church worldview. If we are to live like Christ, we follow the Law as He showed us how to walk in it.

1 John 2:4–6 ESV. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

In his book, Mr. Barna is “Carefully blending scripture and sociological insights,” which is an obvious sign of a Church worldview. The Word of God does not need blending, it needs to be lived. If churches are not teaching it, and parents are not living it, the kids are not going to pick it up either. If the main “cultural influencers” in a kid”s life are playing fast and loose with the Word, why would the kids turn out any different? Those who claim to be following the Bible would have more success influencing with a direct, literal understanding of the Word if they believed and lived it themselves.

A person with a Church worldview tries to make the world obey God’s Law without obeying it themselves. They will point fingers at those who practice sexual immorality, yet at the same time practice immorality themselves such as divorce (or agree with those who think it’s okay in the Church). A Church worldview is lacking in answers, because it is missing large portions of the complete nutrition of the Word.

A biblical worldview has the answers for all of our problems. The root of the problems is sin, and God’s Laws are the answer to sin. Teach and follow all of God’s Laws, all the time, and the problems go away. Yeshua died to pay for all of the sins, so now we just have to live like it. Make mistakes still? Sure. If we say we have no sin we lie and the truth isn’t in us. Fall down or backslide occasionally? Probably. The Law contains the answers for that too. We have an advocate with the Father in our Messiah, so confess, repent, and try again.

Shalom, Bruce

Posted in Daily Living

Finding A Place

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“This is the way we do things here. If you aren’t being ministered to, there are other places where you can be” said Jeff. In other words, If you don’t like it, leave. Buzz off. Take a hike. I heard this with sadness a couple decades ago because I knew it meant that the Scriptural truth I was seeing in the Word and had tried to convey was being refused. This is a mantra at Calvary Chapels, but it really is a mantra for the whole Church. So why would he say this, and why would every other Church say it?

Well, the root of it, in my studied opinion, is fear. The Church (in general), and most churches, are houses built of cards, mostly representing the philosophies of men. They don’t want the wind of the Spirit of Truth blowing through and knocking down what they’ve built.

What was I proposing that was so bad? Was I a heretic, trying to change or ignore Scripture on the virgin birth or deity of Jesus? What could have elicited such a cold and dismissive statement? In a word, discipleship. Calvary Chapel, and many other churches, have a nice way of attracting visitors but offer very little to keep them growing in grace and truth. They have heart-thumping concerts, speak nifty things from the pulpit, and even read Scripture now and then. They lay out a nice banquet of platitude Twinkies and selected Ding Dong verses providing a sugar rush and making one feel good for the moment, but is sadly lacking in the meat of the Word. If you don’t expect much of a church except as a safe-space social club that doesn’t dish up too many of the uncomfortable parts of the Bible, has a nice music team and some special programs on holidays, then you won’t be told to hit the road. A person can survive for a while on Twinkies and Ding Dongs, right up until the nutritional needs of the body demand something more substantial. Then our starving spirits have to go somewhere that offers solid teaching and examples of living the entirety of the Word.

The problems is, does any place like that exist? After making more than 15 churches in 10 different denominations our home before I was 40, I have to say, no. Every single church is a house of teaching cards built on the sand of personalities and men’s opinions. If a person dares to ask questions after comparing the card teachings to Scripture and discovering gaping holes, that’s when all of them will tell you in one fashion or another to find another ministering place. They can’t change because they’d have to admit they were wrong and pride won’t let them do that.

My family, and now my kid’s families, haven’t been to church in a long time, except the kids for some youth group activities once in a while. And yet it is amazing how much we’ve grown in Scripture understanding and practice. We have God’s holidays, His Sabbath and the whole and balanced Word that ties us together in a true ekklesia with our Messiah Yeshua as the head, nourishing us with His body and blood. Now that we have some distance, we see The Church, and most churches, as the dry wells and fruitless fig trees that they insist on staying. They did us a favor by forcing a trip to another place. We went into The Land, figuratively, while they’re still wandering around the same mountain, unwilling to drop their pride and salve their eyes with all the truth of the Word so they can see the way themselves.