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

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 Authority • Clean & Unclean • Grace

Israel is My People

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As dumb as they are sometimes, and even though many would not accept me, Israel is still my people. They are my people because God says they are His people. He wants the other sheep of His fold to pray for their peace and deliverance because He says they are the apple of His eye.

In the current environment, where Hamas has spearheaded a murderous sneak attack on the people of God, I’ve seen a lot of people trying to excuse the Arabs and blame Israel or the United States. One article calls the idea of wiping the so-called terrorists out as “genocide.” Others say that the U. S. created Hamas as a balance to Arafat. All of the articles ignore the very hateful fact that every single Muslim wants the “genocide” of Israel. No matter how much Israel has benefited the entire Middle East or created prosperity for millions of Muslims, they still hate and want to destroy the Jews.

Hate for Israel is hate for God. Muslim hate is driven by the deceiver, because they are his people and he hates God and everything about Him. But this doesn’t excuse the unreasoning attempts to wipe out Israel. All the good things of God, some of which are expressed in much of the economic success of His people, do not and will not sway the hatred. When faced with such immoral and unjustified hate, the only thing that can be done is to wipe out the haters. God did it with the Canaanites, who were so horrible they sacrificed children in fires to their gods and who practiced an immorality unseen until modern culture. He is going to do it again soon, because all of His goodness and light, including the sacrifice of His only begotten son Yeshua haMashiach or Jesus the Christ, is spat upon and scorned by the forces of the evil one.

He is the creator and source of all things of abundant life, wholeness, and purity. The earth is His and everything in it, and all who spurn His gifts and life are going to be sent to a place that is a fitting receptacle for their filth, trash and anti-life attitudes and practices.

So, genocide? You ain’t seen nothing yet.

Shalom, Bruce

Posted in Daily Living

Slow Motion Boycotts

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I have an active boycott life, meaning I’m always looking to avoid giving my money to people who hate me. I don’t drink beer very often, but I applauded those who stopped buying Bud Light. I’ve refused to buy Nike tennis shoes for several years now. I have many happy memories of Disneyland and Walt’s movies, but now they are ruining the “happiest place on earth” for my grandkids. Tickets to the parks are ridiculously expensive, way overpriced, not to mention gas and hotels, and Mr. Disney has got to be spinning like a top in his grave.

Some boycotts are not felt by the target companies, or at least they don’t admit it and blame lack of sales on other factors. The boycott of Bud Light was immense and could not be denied, so the corporate execs couldn’t hide that one, but some boycotts are more like a slow motion scene in a movie. I know because I am in the process of several myself.

It can take a while to “divest” interest in a product that one likes and has been buying for a long time. I have a drawer full of Levi’s Button Fly 501 shrink-to-fit jeans purchased over several decades for instance, and I really like the fit and the wear. Right up until they started going woke. I was determined to find another brand, so I tried some Wrangler’s. I found that I like their version of denim apparel better, and I like a zipper rather than the buttons. It took me a while to make the switch because I had to initially buy a pair of the Wrangler’s, which meant figuring out different styles and sizes. But I was determined to get away from the woke haters and kept plugging till I got comfortable with the new (to me) product.

The cardinal rule of business used to be that it takes a long time to win a customer’s loyalty, and once you lose that loyalty it is almost impossible to get it back. This axiom is still true, but it is obvious that modern business managers have forgotten. Or maybe they just presume on our loyalty, thinking that we are just stupid and unwilling to put in the work to find substitutes for their products.

So we see some quick effects from some boycotts, but just because the effects are not as dramatic and easier to hide doesn’t mean a slow-motion boycott is not working. It can take a while for the sales changes to be felt. JC Penny’s started a slide in sales when they decided that bathroom gender didn’t matter. Target is struggling with mounting losses. But Light will never recover, especially since there are many, many beers out there that are better. The woke will blame the loss of income on the economy or the weather or some other likely (to them) cause, but they won’t admit their error even when the corporate bigwigs are on the street and out of a job.

I may be taking a long time, but trust me when I say that come hell or high water I am determined to divest no matter how long it takes. I’m sure there are many who feel the same way and are pursuing similar goals. I think this is why stock prices are falling, sales figures are dropping like rocks, and businesses and banks are going the way of the dodo bird. The woke people are losing the loyalty of their customers, and they won’t get it back. Ever. Ta ta and tootle doo, you morons. I, and many others like me, are not going to look back.

The real reason for the woke stuff is the brain behind it. I’m not talking about the CEO’s and CFO’s. It’s evident that what ties all of the perversion and hate together is the Chief Hater, otherwise known as the Deceiver and Satan. He is real and he is the one directing the destruction of culture. The corporations and executives are just willing dupes. The Hater really, really hates God, and wants to usurp His authority and destroy His kingdom so he can take over. This is the reason to fight the woke culture and all that attaches to it. It’s a spiritual battle, and believers need to use every tool we have to sidetrack the “progress” and stay on track with our patient, loving God. We need to live His kingdom in every way, even if it means getting away from our favorite jeans or beer. It may not seem like a battle, but make no mistake it is a fierce conflict being waged not just with swords and shields but also with dollars and economic might.

Ezekiel 9:4–6 ESV. And the Lord said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” And to the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house.

Shalom

Bruce

Posted in Internet • Internet Security

Moving Videos to Rumble

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Rumble is now the venue of choice for good content that is immune from the censoring of Youtube. A creator doesn’t have to worry about whether content is going to pass the arbitrary standards of fascists such as those that work for Google. So we are currently in the process of downloading all of our videos from our Youtube channel in order to upload them to the much better platform at Rumble. It’s going to take a while, because it’s a slow process, but eventually we will be using only Rumble for our videos. We will probably take down the Youtube channel and say a permanent goodbye as soon as the process is completed.

We also recommend buying a VPN such as NORDVPN to keep the governmental communists from being able to track everything you say and do on the web. We use the Brave internet browser and the 4Search.com search engine to further insure that our privacy is protected.

It feels so refreshing just to write these things.

Shalom

Bruce

Posted in Clean & Unclean • Daily Living • Natural Man • Second death • Sex

Made the Big Time

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Well, I made the big time and finally got a video deleted from Youboob. It was on there for a number of years (about seven or eight I think) and just last month it got removed. The video is titled Am I A Homophobe? and the conclusion, after presenting facts from homosexual writings and CDC statistics, was that yes I am a homophobe. However, a phobia is an irrational fear, while fear of homosexuals is anything but. When you look at the whole package of what they are presenting, the fear of their agenda is not irrational at all. They have twisted the word “phobia” into meanings it doesn’t have.

Homosexuals want “homosexual marriage” when their real intention is to destroy marriage. By their own words there is no such thing as a homosexual marriage unless each party is free to have sex with whoever they want whenever they want. The average homosexual will have hundreds and even thousands of one-time sexual partners. Marriage is monogamy with the opposite gender and is designed by God to be fruitful. He wants “godly offspring” according to Malachi (2:15).

The homosexual lifestyle choice is corrupt and harmful to everyone it touches. It comes in part from hate for God and all that He is. It is said by some to “love the sinner and hate the sin.” Stupid. To love the sinner is to insist on repentance from evil and horrible behavior, not to let them wallow in deadly filth. A parent may be heartbroken that a child has strayed into such heinous behavior, but to “love” them by tolerating their behavior is not to love them. It is to wish upon them pain, suffering and death with eventual permanent death in the lake of fire.

Milo Yiannopooulos is a sort-of famous person who has repented from the lifestyle choice. He has some rather blunt words of wisdom for those who seek to normalize and biblicize the death and destruction that comes from the choice. See his video Protecting the Unborn and Help Men Struggling with same-sex attraction for more.

You can also view my video Am I A Homophobe now on Rumble. I’ll gradually be moving all my content to Rumble in the near future.

Shalom

Bruce

Posted in Blessing • Church • Daily Living • Feast and Festivals • Feast of Tabernacles • Humility • Love • Sabbath

Going To and Fro

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It’s always interesting to me when we have a Sabbath on a weekday. People all around me are going about their daily business completely oblivious to God’s rest. This is most obvious on days like today, the first Sabbath in the feast of Tabernacles because we sleep every night in a tent in our back yard. We are awakened to the rushing sounds of lots of cars driving on nearby roads, people going to work or school or wherever.

It’s like a prophetic statement about the present and future form of God’s Kingdom. Those of us who take in the whole Bible and do it as if it was food and drink enter in to His rest. We are quiet and joyously focused on the Words of our God and Savior Jesus the Messiah, while so many are focused on their own thing. Those who do not pay attention to the Word of God just keep going to and fro, as it says in Daniel.

But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” (Daniel 12:4, ESV)

This, sadly, includes many church-goers and others who wear His name but refuse to do what He says. Knowledge increases; obedience and love decrease. In their own knowledge people who ignore God run in circles, busy accomplishing nothing, exhausting themselves with what they think are good things but bottom line go nowhere. When we ignore God, there is no rest. Take in His knowledge, love and submit and just do what He says, and there is peace and joy and eternal happiness.

Shalom

Bruce

Posted in Authority • Balance • Church • Continuity & Discontinuity • Daily Living • Faith • Gospel • Humility • Hypocrisy • Law • Love • New Covenant • Repentance • Righteousness • Temple • Works

Reimagining a Church Insurgence

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Frank Viola has written quite a few books with titles like pagan Christianity, Reimagining Church, There Must Be More, Discipleship in Crisis, Rethinking the Will of God and Insurgence. He’s got a couple web sites and a blog and has worked with George Barna who founded Barna Research which is kind of like a Christian version of the Gallup Research organization. If I read his information correctly, he’s also a disciple of Watchman Nee, which is important and I’ll talk about it more in a minute or two. I read pagan Christianity, and I’ve checked out summaries of some of the other books Mr. Viola has written.

I was studying up on his works when I ran across an offer he makes on his website to do print interviews for your book, film, album, resource, other product or service. According to the site all you have to do is send them the information and if they approve you pay $200.00 for it. A nice deal. So I thought, “Hey, our book Whole Bible Christianity seems like a great fit for Reimagining Church. Maybe he’d like to help us promote it.” I figured he must be serious about the problems in the church and finding solutions, and I’d like to help by showing Frank some of the things I think the Lord has shown to me. Since I’m an “Insurgent” I got excited thinking what a great match up this would be.

I was wrong.

I requested an interview, and gave links for my book and website, and said I had read pagan Christianity and agreed with Frank’s assessment of the church but thought I had something to add to the solution. After I sent in the request, I got a reply from someone named Anaya, so maybe Frank didn’t even see it. But since his people represent him, I think I’m safe in characterizing her (his?) reply as indicative of Frank’s attitudes. So in her first reply, she said that pagan Christianity wasn’t supposed to have solutions, but Frank’s later books did and had I read them? I emailed back and said I didn’t have to read them, I had heard what he was talking about decades ago from other people. After about a month I emailed and asked if she had anymore questions. She emailed back and said she hadn’t seen an Interview Request from my email address. So I re-sent copies of our email exchange. To my surprise, she said they weren’t “accepting any interview spots right now because all spots are taken until mid-2019.”

Huh?

If this is true, why doesn’t it say so on the website? Why didn’t she tell me in the first email all the spots were taken? I think I know why, and it doesn’t have anything to do with how many spots are taken. Without question she looked at my book and website and decided they didn’t want anything to do with it. And why do you suppose this is a problem? Because I write in very passionate terms of God’s Law, with so much support from the Word that it is undeniable that it should be a central part of all believer’s lives. This of course in contrast to standard church teaching ignoring the New Covenant and promoting a mystical buddy from out of town who allows any behavior one chooses.

Can Frank do what he wants? Of course. Does he have to lie? You wouldn’t think so. He says he wants to “break the echo-chamber phenomenon that’s in the bloodstream of the blogosphere today” yet it seems plain from their dodgy response to my Interview Request that perhaps echos are all they want to hear.

Part of Frank’s problem is that he sets up a false dichotomy between a “right” and “left” in the church. I’ll let him explain his “Three Gospels.” From a Bible Gateway interview on his site.

There is the gospel of legalism, which isn’t just working for one’s salvation. The gospel of legalism says that if you want God’s favor, you have to perform to receive it. This causes many Christians to live with a headache of guilt and a constant feeling that they are never measuring up.

In reaction to that is the “gospel” of libertinism which says that because we’re under grace, our behavior doesn’t really matter much to God. So we can live the way we want, and God is okay with it because He understands that we are mere mortals.

The third gospel is the gospel of the kingdom, which brings liberty on the one hand and absolute allegiance to Christ’s lordship on the other.

You see what he does? On the one hand the “right” or “evangelical” or “conservative” view lumps together legalism with performing for God’s favor. On the “left” hand we have “libertinism” meaning behavior doesn’t matter. His “third gospel” proposes a liberty with allegiance to Christ’s lordship which includes behavior that matters but without “performing.” How in the world does one manage this, and where in the Word does this come from? The answer is, it doesn’t come from the Word at all.

It’s this kind of mystical nonsense that comes from people like Watchman Nee and others. Watchman Nee is very mystical and spiritualizes the Bible text nearly out of existence sometimes. He has influenced a lot of people, including many in Calvary Chapel and evidently Mr. Viola too. This is why I said I didn’t need to read any more of Frank Viola’s books. It’s all been said before by many people such as Watchman Nee and Chuck Smith. Many organizations have steered away from the Bible as they tried to steer away from what is wrong in the Church. Mr. Viola is repeating the same mistakes with updated language and a nice book cover. He’s just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic instead of invoking real change.

The New Covenant is the Law written on a heart of flesh. What is new is the heart that will do what God says. Jesus did what God said in all ways, including the “Word of the Lord by Moses” also called the Law. The apostles followed the “living oracles” as Stephen called them. The first three thousand (and the next 5,000) converts to following the Christ were all Law-following Jews. Acts 2:46 says they were “attending the temple together. Paul says what counts is doing what God says.

For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. (1 Corinthians 7:19, ESV)

The “right wing” and “left wing” of Judaism was not doing what God said. They did part, but they did not do what He said with a whole heart of flesh in love and the Spirit.

Another thing Frank has wrong is his definition of the gospel. The word means “good news” but what exactly is the “good news?” What is the “gospel of the kingdom” biblically? If we look in the Bible instead of making up our own definitions, we find that the “good news” is “God with us.” Hebrews 4:2 says that at Mt. Sinai the gospel was preached to them just as to us.

For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. (Hebrews 4:2, ESV)

How could this be if the gospel is according to Frank’s definition? The answer is that doing what God says will mean that “God is with us.” If Jesus is really Lord and King, we will do what He says. Since Jesus gave the Law in the first place then believers in the Lord and King Jesus the Messiah will follow His Laws too. It’s not that hard. What is hard is humbling ourselves and doing what God says all the time no matter what.

Mr. Viola is another in a long line of fancy charlatans with smooth dialogue and a pitch that would charm angels, relentlessly marketing his misleading merchandise. But he’s still on the wrong track. Unless of course he just wants to sell books. As I read his blog post titled Scratch a Christian and You’ll Find Out What’s Underneath at http://frankviola.org/2013/11/20/scratchachristian/ I couldn’t help but chuckle. Did I scratch him and find out what’s underneath?

If the cross is front and center, then His body and blood will be our food.

Shalom

Bruce

Posted in Church • Clean & Unclean • Continuity & Discontinuity • Daily Living • Faith • Law • Love • Natural Man • Rapture • Relevance • Righteousness • Salvation • Temple • Tradition • Worship

Keeping Themselves Holy

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In 2 Chronicles 31:18 we are given this interesting note.

They were enrolled with all their little children, their wives, their sons, and their daughters, the whole assembly, for they were faithful in keeping themselves holy. (2 Chronicles 31:18, ESV)

King Hezekiah of Judah is getting things organized while leading the people back to God. He and the people destroyed all the high places, cleaned up the temple, and re-instituted sacrifices, tithes and offerings. The enrollment spoken of is for the Levite families in order to receive food distribution from the tithes and offerings. Remember that the priests (sons of Aaron) and the Levites were mainly tasked with taking care of the temple and sacrifices and didn’t own much land for the production of food.

What caught my attention was the phrase “they were faithful in keeping themselves holy.” First, they were faithful, meaning to keep doing what they were supposed to be doing. Second, they were keeping themselves holy, which means to follow the Law in avoiding unclean things such as pork and shellfish in addition to bathing and washing clothes and so on. Third, the faithful keeping of these things made the families holy, meaning separate and different from the usual run-of-the-mill people of the world.

In modern times, as in ancient Israel, there are many people who wear His name yet are not faithfully keeping themselves holy. Many claim to be cleansed by the blood of the lamb Jesus, yet ignore His Laws for maintaining and refreshing that cleansing. It’s as if they think that one shower is enough for the rest of their lives. They also teach against the Law, and persecute those like me and my family who realize that the Laws are just as valid for believers now as they were when they were given and even all the way back to the beginning.

The church, sadly, is not faithful in keeping itself clean. In fact, they are proud that they preach Jesus and at the same time deny His word of life. They do what is right in their own eyes, following the ear-tickling Nicolaitans they have chosen for leaders and mixing the Word of Truth with lies, traditions, and philosophies of men.

A picture that has stayed with me for decades came from the movie The Mark of the Beast popular in the ’70’s. There was a scene at one point after the so-called Rapture of a church that was empty except for the pastor preaching. I have since come to realize that the picture is false. The churches with be full for the most part if in fact a Rapture happens as they believe, because the people are not faithfully keeping themselves holy.

Shalom

Bruce

Posted in Children • Church • Comfort • Daily Living • Faith • Fruit • Healing • Humility • Idolatry • Judgment • Law • Love • Relevance • Whole Bible Christianity

No One Saw It Coming

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I recently saw this headline in connection with Karl Rove’s mom committing suicide. I see these headlines or something like them all the time concerning all sorts of different crimes or sudden events like a suicide or a school shooting.

On the one hand it is true. No one probably saw whatever it was coming.

On the other hand, it’s not because it couldn’t have been seen.

People were just not paying attention.

In most cases if someone is suicidal (or thinking about killing others) it is very easy to tell. But you (and I mean the personal you) have to be aware of what is going on. If it is a friend or family member, there are all sorts of warning signs. Perhaps they are involved in harmful behavior or “lifestyle choices” such as drug usage (and not just illegal ones either), homosexuality or other sexual immorality like jumping in the sack before marriage. Homosexuals have about a nine times greater chance of suicide among other bad effects. There could be a sudden loss in a person’s life such as death of a spouse or child. The key is you have to spend time with them, listen, attempt to understand, and just be there. We have to try and dissuade them from bad choices, rather than “affirm” their lifestyle idiocy.

But see, that takes too much time. And we are too damn busy to slow down, take time, and be around. If we spend time and listen, we will hear the cries for help.

Karl Rove’s mom was in a failing third marriage. Third marriage? Failing? And “no one saw the suicide coming?” Give me a break. Mr. Rove didn’t see the election of Trump coming either, but it’s because he wasn’t paying attention, not because “no one could see it coming.” Blind in one eye and can’t see out of the other as my dad used to say. Or as Jesus said, having eyes they do not see and having ears they refuse to hear.

As tragic and sad as a suicide is, trying to say “no one saw it coming” is just an excuse to take ourselves off the hook for choosing our own, frequently meaningless (in the long run) activities over taking time for someone. We feel the guilt, and mostly rightly so, but we try to dodge it. So we never fix the problem which is in the heart that generally rejects God or much of what God tells us to do.

A school shooting occurs and the parents are mystified about their child killer? Give me a break. We kill babies in the womb and then act surprised when a child performs a “post natal abortion?” There’s no way that even a half-way loving parent spending time with their child wouldn’t be able to see that something was wrong and find out what it was. Were the parents following God? I mean really following, not just going to church or being a decent person. Was home schooling an option, or were they too busy pursuing money and career satisfaction? Were they feeding their own egos, or looking to feed their child on the Word?

We choose our own way in this world, and then we are surprised when tragic things blow up in our faces. Come on, it’s not that hard to figure out. Selfishness inevitably leads to bad results. God’s been telling us this for centuries and centuries. No God means no life.

At a time when people all around are talking about love in many different ways (“all you need is love” as John Lennon sang) love is actually waxing cold. As Jesus said in Matthew 24:12 “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.”

Lawlessness is increasing because people are ignoring more and more the Law of God. God’s Law is intimately connected with love, and to move away from the Law of Christ is to move away from love. Talk about it all you want, continue to be surprised by tragic events, but until we repent and return to all of His Living Oracles it’s just so much empty rhetoric. Trying to absolve yourself of guilt or blame won’t make a difference either. We have to be in the Word daily, walking with God and working at putting more of it into our own lives. Then we can “see” to help others.

Admit it. If “no one saw it coming” then we have to do something about our vision. The healing comes when we turn to His Word.

Shalom

Bruce