Author Archives: Mark McMillion

“He gave good heed”

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I heard someone say, “You have to see God!” Equally, you’ve got to hear God. That’s what that verse means, “He gave good heed” (Ecc. 12:9), he was conscientious at hearing God’s voice. Sometimes it’s not even a voice; it’s a nudge or almost a breeze. But your life, your future and your destiny can totally depend on whether you “give good heed”.

Often things are really simple. This world may seem complicated but the most important stuff is simple. Solomon knew this when he advised, “Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23) Such a vital, important nugget from God’s Word, I wrote a blog article about keeping your heart which can be found here.

But it may not seem simple. You can wonder how you can get on board with all this. Where do I start? How can you “hear from God”? How can you “see God”? It does come back to your heart, your desires, your values. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.” (Mat. 5:6) Do you have a heart that hungers for truth, for righteousness, for love, for the things of God? Well, God Himself is not unaware of your desires.

A verse that’s always encouraged me in this is, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are perfect…” (II Chronicles 16:9) God sees your heart and innermost thoughts, even when you don’t even believe in God or know He’s there. And, like what certainly happened in my life, He is doing what He can to bring you to Him and to give you the desires of your heart, even while you may be inadvertently resisting the drawing of His Spirit working to win and help you.

The whole amazing subject of Salvation is so enormous in itself, how God’s brings us to call out to Him and His Son for the first time, often when we’ve been dwelling in such extreme spiritual darkness and rebellion for so long. That’s what happened to me, like the verse says, He “delivers from the lowest hell.” (Psalm 86:13)

But that’s not at all the end. It’s a magnificent beginning and perhaps the greatest beginning but it’s not supposed to be the end. Like Jesus said to one crippled man, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” (John 5:8). Sadly for some, if not many, they never really get to that “walk” part. They never really get going with following God. They don’t “take heed” first and then obey after that. So they miss so very much, even in this present life, of all that God could do for them and with them and through them.

But like I said, it all boils down to really simple stuff. This morning I was reviewing some of the Bible verses I’ve memorized over the years and I came to the ones where this verse about “giving good heed” comes from. They are very meaningful to me and I wrote a blog article on these which was very personal, called “Still”.

It’s personal to me because I think it was personal to Solomon when he wrote it. I feel it may be a personal word from Solomon himself about his life and how it had gone. Solomon says, speaking of himself that the Preacher “still taught the people wisdom. He set in order many proverbs.” (Ecc. 12:9) Solomon, in his great wisdom, probably knew that things had really taken a turn for the worse in the kingdom of Israel. But he says that “he still taught the people wisdom”, even though times were not as they had been before.

But Solomon also says in these same passages, “Yea, he gave good heed” which is a way of saying that he himself still made a real effort to hear from God and then to write it down and pass it on. He heard from God. He tried to keep his heart, even in spite of some grievous sins in his life. And God was still speaking to Him. Solomon hadn’t given up on God and God hadn’t given up on him.

And that right there may be some of the most basic, fundamental lessons of life that we can find. We have to hear from God. We have to, in a sense, see God. Jesus even said, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8) And of course it follows, we have to obey God. Peter the apostle famously stood up to the Pharisees of his day and said that God “gives the Holy Spirit to them that obey Him.” (Acts 5:32)

So, actually, it is all pretty simple. Life isn’t based on your technology, your university degree, your bank account or your nationality. It’s based on your heart. May God in His infinite mercy help each of us to “give good heed” to Him.

 

Impressions of Uganda

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I’m in my last couple of days in Uganda before moving on to the next place on my current trip. I’m leaving with a lot to think about and a lot to “digest”. I didn’t know the Ugandans were as spiritually hungry as they are. Actually, a number of my preconceived ideas turned out to be inaccurate.

Maybe it’s like the story of the poor man on the road to Jericho that Jesus talked about and how the Good Samaritan stopped to help him. For those of us who’ve dedicated our lives to the Lord, we of all people are compelled to help those in need. But in this case, rather surprisingly, the biggest need I’ve seen is for those who can labor to fill the immense spiritual vacuum that exists here.

My first week in Uganda I spoke to a Sunday fellowship held by my friends, to show one of the videos I’ve done on chapters in the book of Daniel and then to answer questions afterwards. It was the questions afterwards from ones here that surprised me the most. They were deep, knowledgeable, sincere and with a tinge of desperation and searching in the way they were asked. I really don’t find that so very often in my travels.

Here is a picture of me and Hassan. He was at the fellowship in Kampala where I shared my video on the book of Daniel, chapter 7 and then answered questions about the future according to the Bible’s view.

Hassan comes from an Islamic background but received Jesus about 2 years ago. He came up to me after the class with some very deep questions about salvation, is it eternal, can we lose it and what about people who’ve never heard about the Lord. His dad is Ugandan, his mother from the Congo and he came here, fleeing violent civil unrest in the Congo, a very large country to the west of Uganda. We had quite a talk which is not unusual here as so many have deep and sincere questions concerning Bible truths.

And from what I have heard from friends, this really is how it is in this country: a pervading hunger for spiritual training, particularly in the ways of the Lord and in the Word of the Lord. But you might wonder, “Yes, Mark, but how was the country? Did you see a lot of starvation, people dying of AIDS, child soldiers and overall depravation? Did you see lions, elephants and gorillas?” The answer would be no to all of those.

Well I did see monkeys when my friends and I one day visited the source of the Nile River near Jinja, to the east of Kampala. I’ll share a picture from that, right at the point where Lake Victoria pours in to the beginning of the Nile which then flows 4,250 miles to the Mediterranean Sea. I’m standing on a tiny island where that sign is. To the right is Lake Victoria and to the left is the beginning of the Nile River.

Uganda may have a reputation left over from over 30 years ago of a nation racked by AIDS. That’s now the distant past. It’s actually doing pretty good within the context of central and east Africa and I did notice the stability and economic growth that is going on. But also I noticed the tranquility of the people. In being here two weeks, I can’t remember one moment when I saw anyone anywhere fighting or even arguing with each other. I certainly cannot say that of a number of countries I’ve been in in the past but I won’t mention names here.

A little like how it was when I was in Northern Ireland last year, there is a very strong element of Christianity in Uganda that has soaked into the fiber of the country and knowing and loving the Lord is close to the norm. I don’t know if it would be right to say it’s a missionary’s paradise. But I’ve been thinking how, if there is anyone reading this post who’s looking to the Lord about a place of Christian service on the mission field, I can certainly “send back a good report” from Uganda. If you’re into really getting deep and real with people through the Spirit of God, this may be what you’re looking for.

And I met an exceptionally inspired group of young people here who not only come from my hometown, Austin, Texas, but one of them goes to the church I go to. And her mom is in the Sunday school class I go to. Funny things do happen when you are serving the Lord, no? The group of 6, all in their late teens to early 20’s, have been going all over Uganda, speaking to rallys and large groups of Christian youth, calling out their generation to take up the call of discipleship and greater Christian commitment.

I‘m leaving Uganda with a couple of major projects started in the way of books and DVDs and I look forward to keeping in contact with my friends here and the work they are doing.

 

When He saw the multitude, He was moved with compassion

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It’s 6 AM at the Dubai airport and I’m among several thousand people, waiting to board their flights to the Middle East and Africa. Almost no one “looks like me”. That can be disturbing if I let it but I pretty much got over those kinds of emotions long ago. Instead, I’m struck by the vast range of humanity before me, Yemenis, Tajiks, Somalis and so much more. I wish I could get into a deep conversation with every one of them, get to know them, their lives, their hopes, their fears, their needs and their faith.

And the thought came to me of how it may have been for Jesus when He was before a vast multitude. Such a moving, significant verse from Matthew says this. “When He saw the multitude, He was moved with compassion upon them, because they fainted and were scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36) Jesus didn’t feel intimidated by, or alien to, the multitude, even those of distant nations and cultures. So true to His nature, He loved them; He was moved with compassion.

I’m so thankful that somehow the Lord has put in my heart a love for people, even people who are “different” from me. The heart of man is the same the world over and what everbody needs is love. On this present trip I’ve been two weeks in China and now two weeks in Lebanon and it’s been a wonderful time. It’s been taxing physically, especially with some of these overnight flights. But it’s been tremendously rewarding and encouraging to see how much the Lord has been answering prayer and doing basically miracles to bless my activities in these times.

Twice on this trip I’ve seen the Lord raise up out of nowhere exactly the right person to work with me on these recordings I’m doing in foreign languages of the Prophecies of Daniel videos. First in China and then in Lebanon the Lord brought me in contact with men I never met before who were so perfectly what was needed to be the Chinese and Arabic voices for the videos. Men who not only spoke their native language but also were equally proficient in English and who had a real heart to go the extra mile and do all they could to work with me on the recordings. I don’t take this kind of thing for granted at all. It was the hand of God bringing me in contact with these ones. And again it goes back to the love of God, His love and desire to have us “feed His sheep”.

So often it’s true what the Word says, “My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge”. (Hosea 4:6) They just don’t know. “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not heard and how they shall hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14) I’ve had times where I have been in a crowd like this and I had a stack of gospel tracts. So I’d go about passing out those, at times by the thousand. I wrote about one experience like that that happened a few years ago on the Macedonian/Serbian border. Or when I was in a refugee camp in Berlin not so long ago.

In more recent times, the Lord has made a way for me to reach multitudes by posting my videos on YouTube and Facebook and I’ve had some extremely encouraging responses from some obscure places from people who’ve been able to view the classes on the book of Daniel.

But it’s easy to think, “What can any of us possibly do when the world is so big, there are billions of people and we’re just tiny little insignificant individuals?” It is a daunting thought and it can be discouraging if we let it get a hold of us. But it’s just not a thought from the Lord. We are called to do what we can. And actually we can do a lot if we let the Lord lead us and guide us.

Like the verse says, “the love of Christ constrains us” (II Corinthians 5:14) , that’s how it should be. We should be moved with compassion like Jesus was and is. Sadly, when confronted by the peoples of the world, many Christians are not moved with compassion. They are moved with nationalism or racism which results in various forms of hatred. It so greaves me when I hear words of hatred from fellow Christians when foreign nations and peoples are mentioned. It’s so contrary to the love of God that Jesus showed and that lived so strongly in the early Church.

Well, my flight is leaving soon. I’m off to a country I’ve never been to before, with people who don’t look like me. But there’s a tremendous spiritual vacuum there, a spiritual hunger for the things of the Lord and the Lord wants me to go there and to be an instrument of His peace.

It’s a wonderful life. It’s a little tough on the flesh at times but it’s extremely rewarding in the things of the heart.

Seeing China

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I’ve been in China, my first time in this part of the world. Of course there’s a lot to see but then also I didn’t really come here to see the tourist sites. For people of faith, there’s just an extra dimension or two when traveling and often I end up getting so much more out of deep interaction with the people of a country I’ve never been in, rather than looking at the buildings.

That’s how it’s been here. I’ve met some really interesting people, ones who share my faith and that’s made it easier to talk about more than politics, money or the things that so often clutter our conversations.

But of course this is a very interesting place, there’s no denying that. I don’t know if China is taking over the world but certainly they’ve done some incredible things in the last decades in places like Africa, doing huge, monumental infrastructure projects in African countries to build roads and railroad lines where, in some places, there was very little before. China is a nation of nearly 1.4 billion people and this city of Beijing is about 22 million.

Like I was writing to some friends back in the States, the heart of man is pretty much the same the world over. People have hopes, fears, dreams, ambitions and, yes, sins that are often the same from one part of the world to the other. The food may be different, here at least the language is really different from what I’ve known before and the historic background of the nation is certainly different. But I’ve met people here who I’ve talked with for hours, people who’ve helped me in the things I came here to do, folks who share the same vision and goals as me and with whom I could talk deeply about the things of the Lord.

Maybe I’m just different but to me that’s more satisfying than seeing some famous site or going shopping. It’s like the Bible verses that say, “While we look not at the things which are seen, but the things that are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal but the things that are not seen are eternal”. (II Corinthians 4:18) For me, to have that connection with someone who’s background is so different from mine but still there’s that meaningful bond that’s possible between the people of faith around the world is just a priceless blessing. And I’ve certainly experienced that here.

But also I could tell you a little of what I’ve seen while I’ve been in China. Although it’s totally different, it’s also a little like parts of eastern Europe. It’s still easy to see structures that were built during the many decades that a strong Communist system was in full control here. There’s an architecture associated with this and I’ve seen it here the same way I’ve seen it in Russia, Poland, Bulgaria and other places. And in contrast, there are really plush shopping malls now everywhere here, again the same as can be seen across the former Communist countries of Europe.

There’s evidently very little crime in the part of Beijing where I am. My friends tell me there just isn’t much in the way of break-ins or robbery. I first used Uber about a month ago in the States and that’s very prevalent here, but a different company. There are very large building projects going up everywhere, very wide streets and boulevards, a new airport, lots of electric vehicles, and huge projects to build high rise apartments which are what most folks live in, like in Moscow. One impression I’ve come away with: they really like to do things big here and they are pretty good at it too.

And, all in all, the atmosphere is far less tense than I thought it might be. Also, although there is a strong police side to things, there’s also a lot of freedom. Which reminds me of something I wanted to tell you about when I thought of writing this.

When I was 24 years old, living in London, I had a very strong dream about China which woke me up and has stuck with me over the years.

In the dream I was in some kind of tropical place, working through the undergrowth. But then I came out to a clearing and before me was China; Canton, China in fact. It seemed like it was spring and there were these happy, lighthearted Chinese young people coming down this hill towards me. They seemed to be people of faith and there was a palatable spirit of joy and freedom that they carried.

It all shocked me so much that I woke up. At that time it was still very much the strictest of Communist times here and the spirit in this part of the world was not at all like I’d been seeing in my dream. So I wondered, “Does this mean I will be going to China?” “Where is Canton?” I found out it’s just across from Hong Kong and I was in Hong Kong for a week on this trip, just before coming to Beijing.

But most of all I wondered, “Could it really be like that in the future in China, that there would be an airy freedom with young people of faith enjoying their liberty in the Lord?” Back when I had that dream, it really seemed an impossibility. But, strangely but truly, I’m in China, I flew over Canton and “Today is the tomorrow you dreamed of yesterday”.

Certainly in the spirit there is more freedom here than there was in the past and there is a rapidly growing number of believers in God in this part of the world who have a strong desire for the deep things of the Lord. I’m most richly blessed to be here and my time here has gone well.

 

His banished be not expelled from Him

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Sometimes the ways of the Lord are strange to us, but they’re not past finding out. And His power and incredibly undeserved mercy is one of the amazing things about Him. King David said, “Whether shall I go from Your Spirit or whether shall I flee from Your presence?” (Psalm 139:7 & 8) But, you ask, what about the rebellious? What about those who’ve turned away from Him in heart and mind? Is there hope for them?

My personal experience is that there is hope for ones like that. Because that was how I was. But then the Lord reached down and “delivered me from the lowest hell.” (Pslam 86:13) There’s the story told of Napoleon who had sentenced a young deserter to be shot for deserting a second time. His mother pled for mercy for her son from the Emperor of France. “He doesn’t deserve mercy,” Napoleon told her. “Sir, if he deserved it, it wouldn’t be mercy,” the distraught mother said.

And what truth there is in that. Mercy is not something we deserve, it is unmerited grace and forgiveness from a greater power. In our lives we find it from God and from Jesus. And that’s almost certainly what so many of us hope for when we think of the lives of our loved ones, some of whom are so very far away from the path of life and truth that they perhaps once walked on. How can it be possible that they can ever come back to the love of God and the life of God some of them once had?

Many of us know of the story Jesus told of the “prodigal son”, the classic story of a “backslidden” son who finally “came to himself”, repented of his foolish ways and returned to his father. It’s all such a timeless story of contrition, “godly sorrow that works repentance to salvation.” (II Corinthians 7:10)

But how does that happen? How does someone “come to himself” (Luke 15:17), as Jesus described what happened to the prodigal son? One thing we know from elsewhere in Jesus’ words is what He said about how anyone comes to Him, “No man can come to me except the Father which has sent me draw him.” (John 6:44) Jesus also said, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” So there’s this abiding event that is going on in our lives today: God’s Spirit drawing men to the truth, to the light and reality of the salvation that is in Jesus.

And yet we know that many, in fact probably all of us at one time or the other, have resisted the drawing of the Holy Spirit, some much more than others. “Today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts,” (Psalm 95:7 & 8) King David said. But so many do harden their hearts and resist the loving appeal of the Spirit of God. And basically God gives us the majesty of choice and will not overrule our will. So how do any of us ever get rescued from our own evil hearts and darkened understanding? Like Paul once said, “Oh wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:24)

In thinking about these things today, I was reminded of an obscure story in the Old Testament that touches on this subject. One of King David’s sons had been banished by the king but David’s heart yearned to be restored to him. It’s a long story but the highlight of it all came when a wise woman in Israel was sent by David’s general, Joab, to appeal to the king about the matter. She said this to him in trying to find a way for David’s son to find grace in the eyes of his father. “For we must all die, and are as water spilt on the ground  … nevertheless the Lord devises ways that His banished be not expelled from Him.” (II Samuel 14:14)

That’s the essence of it all. God in His mighty, infinite love and mercy “devises ways that His banished [all of us] be not expelled from Him.” Don’t ever discount the mighty miracle working power of God. He is somehow able to reach into the heart of the most hardened prodigal son or daughter, to bring them to contrition and repentance, to grant in their hearts the miracle of remorse and the realization of their often mighty wrongdoings.

He devises ways that His banished be not expelled from Him. That verse brought hope again to my heart this morning as I thought about some dear loved ones who’ve continued for years to “walk in the council of the ungodly and sit in the seat of the scornful.” (Psalm 1:1) But “if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and knows all things.” (I John 3:20) Even when we were dead in sins, Christ died for us. And some are dead in their sins right now but still the Lord is working “behind the scenes” as the author and finisher of our faith to draw hardened prodigal sons and daughters back to Himself and the paths of life.

It was said of Jesus, “a bruised reed He shall not break and smoking flax He shall not quench.” (Matthew 12:20) Some folks hardly even seem to be that. But in the infinitely merciful eyes of God, He sees an ember still there and has hope for the lost and rebellious when they seem past hope to us. These thoughts comforted my heart this morning when the outlook has continued to be bleak for some folks I love. It all really has to just be the Lord. “With man it is impossible. But not with God. For with God, all things are possible.” (Matthew 10:27)

 

To Build and to Plant

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It’s easier to be a prophet of doom than a healer of wounds and a feeder of sheep. Sometimes it’s easy to see what’s wrong. But it’s often not easy to find a true solution, to champion genuine improvement and righteous progress. But without solutions, all our exposing of the darkness is mostly in vain.

At the beginning of the Jeremiah’s ministry, God spoke such mighty and eternal words to him, to define his future ministry. God said to Jeremiah, “See, I have set you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, to pull down, to destroy, to throw down; to build and to plant.” (Jeremiah 1:10) What deep truth, what supernatural balance. God didn’t tell Jeremiah to just expose the evil, He also told him to “build and to plant”. To show and manifest what was good, right and Godly, not just expose the darkness.

My gosh, how that part is so often missed by most everyone in our times. It can be a weariness to hear all the shrill voices, pointing out (often rightly) what’s wrong and unjust in this present world. There are multitudes who are keen to “root out, pull down and destroy” but very few who are building and planting , few who have genuine, viable, functional solutions to the problems they see.

It’s almost “just not done” to be positive, creative proponents of righteous solutions to the ills that have beset so much of the world we’re in. But if you’ve abandoned the fact that there can be solutions, if you’ve abandoned hope in real truth, genuine betterment of yourself and mankind, then your general tune will be pretty forlorn, as so many are.

“Deconstruction” is the order of the day for most of those of an intellectual bent. Well, pardon me but to hell with that. When does the construction start? Let’s hear about those who are out there fixing things, making a better world, fighting for equal justice for all and trumpeting truth, starting with God’s truth.

All my life I’ve felt there was something wrong with just being negative about something if you don’t have an answer or solution. So instead of joining in the cacophony of voices which point out all the wrong in this world, I’d much rather hear about something that’s the answer. Who’s found a solution? Who’s pointing society to truly higher ground?

I’m so very thankful for the life I’ve had of Christian service and discipleship. So often, love itself is the answer to so many problems in this world, big or small. And living a life of, not just believing in Jesus, but endeavoring to serve the Lord and be His instrument of peace to people everywhere has been a rich reward in itself for me.

How well Jesus summed up the whole subject when he spoke of those “building their house on the sand” as opposed to those who “build their house on the rock.” Jesus said, “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that hears these sayings of mine, and does them not, shall be like unto a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:24-27)

We’re to not only expose and throw down the evil of this world; we are to do like God commanded Jeremiah, “to build and to plant”. Jesus didn’t just say, “Woe unto you scribbles, Pharisees, hypocrites!” (Matthew 23:14) He also said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matthew 4:19) He said, “I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.” (John 13:15) So it is possible to build and to plant. There are solutions, even practical ones to the intricate, multifaceted complexities we face today.

And you might think I’m talking about doing what I have done, being a Christian missionary and at times doing social service work. I’m not. I have great respect for some I know who are putting their life on the line, often at the ends of the earth, to minister to the sick or help build infrastructure in underdeveloped areas. One time at about the utmost distance I’ve gone in my travels for the Lord, I met some dear people from “Doctors without Borders.” I was incredibly impressed by their bravery, dedication and selflessness to go where very few dared and to have genuine pragmatic concern for folks caught up in the Asian tsunami crisis of 2004.

So there are some who are building and planting, some who are laying down their lives for their fellow man. But I just wish there were more, perhaps especially among those in governments of the world at this time which seem so adrift and clueless. Are you building and planting? Or just pointing out all that’s wrong? May God help us all, and especially any in leadership of our nations, to effectively, vehemently build and plant.

The gospel of John

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If you’re new to believing in Jesus, there can be a lot that’s hard to understand. Maybe you’ve come to know that there really is something to it all and that Jesus was not just a great teacher. But probably there’s just a lot that you don’t understand. If that’s you, don’t worry about it. That’s how it is for basically anyone who’s come out of unbelief and is entering into faith in God and in Jesus.

Maybe the whole thing about the Bible is kind of strange to you too. Perhaps you’ve read a lot of books and are fairly intelligent. So you might find it disturbing how much emphasis is put on just that one book and also it was finished nearly 2000 years ago. On the other hand, possibly you’ve already experienced that what’s written in the Bible effects you very differently from philosophy books or science lectures.

For me at least, the words in the Bible so incredibly boiled complicated things down to very simple but profoundly deep truths. Also, sometimes it can seem like some things in the Bible can almost jump off the page and speak to the deepest parts of your brain and emotions.

That’s how it was for me and I’d just never experienced anything like that. After I came to faith in God and later in Jesus, I found that the truths I was finding in the Bible were more life-giving and truth-giving than anything I’d ever known before. But also I made a big mistake that probably a lot of people make. I figured the Bible is pretty much a normal book and so I figured that, like every other book, the only place to start is at the beginning. Well, that’s better than nothing but actually it’s probably not really the best.

Here’s why. The Bible is actually not just one book like it seems to be but it’s 66 books, written over a period of around 1600 years. I won’t go into all the details here, that’s a fascinating class in itself. But if you’re new in the Lord, new to faith and to the things of Jesus, I can tell you the best place to start in the Bible. Go to the gospel of John and read it.

And of course you’re going to ask why I say that. The reason is that, of all that’s in the Bible, the simple words of Jesus are the easiest to understand. He was talking to all kinds of people and He often really broke things down to the simplest language, many times using little stories and parables to help people understand deep truths. While it’s perhaps more satisfying to our ego to feel we’re intellectual giants because we’ve immersed ourselves in Plato or Voltaire, those guys can never really have the full ring of truth that Jesus did when He was here on earth.

And, of the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the gospel of John has more of the words of Jesus than any of the others. In fact, it has what’s considered the most famous and important verse in the entire bible, John 3:16. Here’s what that says. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” It’s been said that John 3:16 more completely encapsulates the essence of the Bible than any other verse.

So if you’re looking for where to start in the Bible, or you know someone who’s in that situation, I suggest you share this thought with them. Don’t let them bogged down in the “begats”. That’s what happened to me. I started at Genesis (which actually I found interesting) but before long I was trudging through things like “And Arphaxad begat Shelah, and Shelah begat Eber.  And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah, Hadoram also, and Uzal, and Diklah, and Ebal, and Abimael, and Sheba … (etc.) All this is from I Chronicles chapter 1 and it’s just not what you need at the beginning of your life of faith.

But the book of John is just fascinating. So much of it really talks about the realities of the eternal life Jesus said He came to give us. Here’s just one little example of the words of Jesus in the book of John, from the many I could choose from. “Truly, I say unto you, he that hears my word, and believes on him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation but is passed from death unto life. Truly, truly, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and they that hear shall live.The-truth For as the Father has life in himself, so has he given to the Son to have life in himself.” (John 5:24-26)

We all need this. But perhaps especially those who are new to the things of God and Jesus need to have almost like a daily diet of healthy, wholesome feeding truth from the Bible to strengthen their faith and to build it up to be what we need to live with the mind and vision we need in this present evil world. God bless you as you feed and study the basics of God’s Word!

 

 

“The LORD said to my Lord…”

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Perhaps the biggest surprise of my life was finding out who Jesus is/was. Maybe it’s second only to finding out earlier that God actually is for real. I’d been told that Jesus was a great man, a wonderful teacher. But that’s about it. “God? Well, yeah, He’s up there somewhere but we don’t hear much from him. Be good, do good and, yes, love people. That’s about all that it really amounts to.” So I’d thought.

But it took basically the edge of death and hell to bring me to realize that the spiritual world is real. And through some indescribable rough times, I did come to experience the reality of the God of Abraham, the God of the Bible. But then what?

Well I then had this question on my heart for months, “Who is Jesus?” And it was some activist young Christians who finally showed me from the Bible about receiving Jesus into my heart. I’d already been so whittled down by the Lord, my self confidence shaken and my heart engaged by the Holy Spirit that I did take that step and prayed for Jesus to come into my heart and life.

But I still didn’t feel like I knew who Jesus is or was. So a few days later I was asking my friends again, “But, who is Jesus?” So then one of my friends showed me verses that just exploded inside my mind and heart virtually like a bomb.

They showed me where it says, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made.” (John 1:1) Then they showed me John 1:14, that was the one that really did it. “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Spontaneously, almost immediately I got on my knees and face and prayed for I don’t know how long, for the first time in my life, to Jesus. “There are two of them!”, I thought. “Jesus was with God in the beginning and even before the beginning! He was like us but also He was not!” John 1:14 exploded in my heart and mind to show me for the first time who Jesus is and was, the question that had been on my heart for months.

Maybe it’s like the Bible says, “We are to be married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead.” (Romans 7:4) But even in a worldly marriage, it goes through stages. The first time you saw each other. The first time you touched or kissed. Your marriage ceremony. The first time you were intimate. Your honeymoon and thereafter. There are so many stages in love and I think it’s the same in our relationship with the Lord.

But like a good marriage, it continues to grow and get better as the years go on. And it was the inflowing of truth into my heart of the Word of God through the Scriptures that began then and has continued since then. One of the most amazing things is the depths of it and particularly of prophecy. In fact the reality of Jesus as being one with God and also with God from the beginning was shown repeatedly to the Old Testament prophets. And maybe it’s like someone you are married to, you just never get over how amazing they are. I guess that’s how I am with Scripture and the truth revealed there.

To me perhaps the most amazing revelations of Jesus being with God and co-equal with God can be found in Psalm 110 and Daniel chapter 7. King David wrote “The LORD said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.’” (Psalm 110:1) But perhaps what some people notice, after the first reading, is that the word “Lord” is used twice but is written differently. Why?

Like a good mystery, the plot thickens with the telling. And we find that Jesus Himself, when He was on earth, specifically used Psalm 110:1 to try to elucidate His religious detractors. Here’s what the Bible says happened.  “While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,  ‘What do you think of Christ? Whose son is he?’ They say to him, ‘The Son of David.’ He said to them, ‘How then does David in spirit call him Lord, saying,  ‘The LORD said unto my Lord, ‘Sit on my right hand, till I make your enemies thy footstool?’ If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?” (Matthew 22:41-45)

The Jewish leaders expected a Messiah to come who would be a descendent of King David (which Jesus actually was) and they expected the Messiah to be an earthly leader, a military man. But Jesus was bringing out through Psalm 110:1 that David in the Spirit of God, had seen “my Lord”, the Messiah to come, sitting at the right hand of God and being told that God was preparing for his future kingdom. David saw the Messiah and called him “my Lord”. This was a very different view indeed of the Messiah to come from what the Pharisees had, a Messiah sitting next to God the Father who David would call “Lord.”

Even in Old Testament times, God was revealing that the Messiah to come would be more than just a man. And this is something I brought out when I did the video on Daniel chapter 7. Because that’s another place where there’s an almost indescribable vision of Jesus Himself, seen over 500 years before He was on earth.

Abruptly, in the middle of his vision Daniel saw this, “I beheld till the thrones were cast down and the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garments were white as snow… Thousand thousands ministered unto Him and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The judgment was set and the books were open.”  (Daniel 7: 9 & 10) This is one of the clearest visions of God the Father, the “Ancient of Days” in the Old Testament. And it has a strong resemblance to what King David spoke of at the beginning of Psalm 110, calling God the Father “The LORD…”.

And like we saw in Psalm 110:1, we see Jesus again in Daniel 7: 13 and 14. “And I beheld in the night vision and one like the Son of Man came unto the Ancient of Days and they brought Him near before Him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” Jesus Himself on earth almost never used the term, “the Son of God”. But He did use over 70 times in the 4 Gospels the term used to describe Him here in Daniel 7, “the son of man”.

What an abundance of grace and truth has been revealed to us! And for those who’d like to make this just some concoction of the followers of Jesus after He was crucified, we have it all here from centuries before Jesus’ birth on earth that the Son of David, the one David saw in the spirit seated next to God, and the one Daniel saw in spirit being brought before God, was already seen, spoken of and foretold to come. And then Jesus did.

It’s been decades ago since I was led into this truth and life. And like a good marriage, it just gets better, deeper and stronger through the years. I hope this look into the Scriptures to see our dear Lord in His glory and in His Word, even before He was ever even here on earth, has been a blessing to you. God bless you!

 

Ignorance and Prejudice or Truth and Integrity

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Ignorance and prejudice or truth and integrity? These things know no boundaries or borders. Are “They” ignorant and prejudice while “We” are innocent of those things? Nope. No one group anywhere has a monopoly on any of these, regardless of what you hear almost everywhere nowadays.

I’ve had some fascinating experiences recently on Facebook. I “boost” (as Facebook calls it) my blog posts and videos via Facebook to many countries and I receive some pretty interesting responses. I’ve lived in Islamic countries off and on for years and I guess I have a special interest in people in that part of the world. So when I’ve been able to boost the videos to Islamic countries, in languages spoken in those places, I’ve been interested to know what the response will be.

Recently one situation in particular has been special for me. A local language video I’ve done was going out to an Islamic country and I was getting feedback through Facebook. Yes, some of it could be called negative but I could tell that most of those responding had just never heard of the prophet Daniel. Some commented that this was just a Jewish myth. Others were taking an accepted Islamic response that there were only 25 prophets recognized in Islam and that Daniel was not listed as one of them.

But then Facebook responses started coming from a man from that country, trying to edify and correct what he could see were uneducated and often prejudiced comments that were being made. He is Islamic, not a Christian. But he was reproving his countrymen to not so quickly dismiss things they knew very little about.

The prophet Daniel’s tomb in Tarsus, Turkey

He told them that the prophet Daniel is not mentioned in the Koran but that he’s definitely mentioned in Islamic writings as being an ancient, genuine prophet of the Jews. He went on to tell them that the tomb of Daniel is said to be in Tarsus, Turkey.  He also found and shared in the chat discussion an Islamic website that has extensive information on Daniel chapter 2 from the Bible, the subject of the video I’d posted on line in their language.

And I was like, “Wow, God bless that guy. He’s not Christian but he’s standing up to the ignorance and some prejudice he’s seeing and is trying to rectify it, going against the wind and the trend in order to try to help his countrymen have a more educated, nuanced view of these things, even if he doesn’t actually fully agree with what I’ve shared in the video.”

I don’t know about you but I’m pained and grieved every single day by the prejudice and ignorance I see… everywhere. It seems to be one of the greatest banes of our times and it increases by the day. They say, “It’s not who’s right but what’s right.” So it should be, doubtless. But is that working where you are? Or does it seem that society is in some kind of centrifugal spin, separating into tribes, factions, movements and divisions with nothing but yawning gaps of hatred, ignorance and prejudice between them?

As they say, “Truth is the first causality of any war.” And finding those who’ll stand up for truth, particularly if it goes against their clan or interest group, is very rare indeed, at least as far as I know. So it was fascinating to see this Islamic man going against the wind where he lives, setting straight the uninformed and even prejudiced majority of commentators on my video postings. And actually this has happened with posts of mine to other Islamic countries in other parts of the world and in other languages, where local Islamic ones there also spoke up to set the record straight and inform those commenting that Daniel was in fact recognized in Islamic writings.

How about that? As far as I’m concerned, anyone in these times who stands up for truth and integrity, against prejudice and ignorance, deserves recognition and acclaim. Jesus said, “Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.” (John 18:37) So you may be part of my clan, living in my state here in America, look like me, talk like me and seemingly we’re really on the same page and in the same category. But if you’re prejudiced and ignorant, if you’re pulsing with hate and spewing out animosity, falsehood and slander against those you oppose, then I’m obliged as a Christian to stand up to your ignorance and prejudice, even if we’re the same in so many other ways.

And if I find “foreigners”, folks of a different religion, race and background from me who are opposing falsehood, ignorance and prejudice, then I strangely will end up feeling affinity with those folks, whoever they may be, who are fighting the same fight I am, for truth, love and righteousness. Jesus said “I am… the truth.” (John 14:6) And some people, even though they may not have all the truth that others of us have, if they’re doing the best they can to live and stand up for the truth they do have, I feel they deserve acclamation and encouragement.

Actually of course, all Christians should abhor and resist ignorance and prejudice. All of us should stand and fight for integrity and the holiness of truth. But, as most of you know, that’s really not what’s going on in our times, or certainly not nearly as much as there should be.

God help us all to oppose ignorance, prejudge and hatred and to do what we can to bring truth and genuine veracity to our friends and neighbors, even as this dear Islamic man recently did in response to the comments he saw about the videos I’ve done.

Jonathan, son of Saul

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Real heroes don’t often get the credit for their heroism in this world. But God has a great big book and He’s writing it all down, the good as well as the wrong. Jonathan, son of King Saul has always seemed to me one of the greatest heroes in the Bible. But you seldom hear much about him and few Christians know what a part he played as Israel rose to its glorious years under King David.

Jonathan was “the crown prince”, next in line to the throne of Israel, after his father, Saul. But King Saul’s life turned out to be one of the very saddest in the Bible. I have every reason to believe that King Saul was saved and that we’ll see him in heaven. He started out really great, anointed by Samuel the high priest, specifically chosen by God and he even had the gift of prophecy.

But through disobedience, self-will, arrogance and hellish pride, King Saul lost the anointing he had as king. Samuel ultimately told Saul, “When you were little in your own sight, the Lord highly exalted you. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought Him a man after his own heart. And the Lord has commanded him to be captain over His people, because you have not kept that which the Lord commanded you.” (I Samuel 13:13 & 14, 15:17) And that “man after God’s heart” turned out to be Israel’s best loved and most remembered monarch, King David, even though at the time Samuel spoke this message to Saul, David was still an obscure young shepherd boy.

And did King Saul humbly and meekly step aside at Samuel’s words and turn over the reins of government and power over the nation to young David? No, not at all. In fact, evidently Saul even got violent to some degree with the prophet and priest Samuel, for having spoken the word of the Lord to the king.

But then, like an excellent book or movie, “enter stage left” comes Saul’s son, Jonathan. “Samuel! What’s this about my dad loosing the kingdom!?” This would be what you could expect from 99% of men in Jonathan’s position. “Lose my crown, my throne, my future power!?” That’s what virtually every man of the world and of power would say. But Jonathan didn’t ever do that, even though he had been brought up by such a power-hungry, fallen failure of a man like his father, Saul. Wouldn’t Jonathan be just like Saul? Would his DNA pre-ordain him to follow the same Godless path?

This is where the miracle and godliness of Jonathan shows so brightly, so much so that it’s almost strange. Rather than working with his father, Saul, to resist the hand of God which was moving to make David the future king of Israel, Jonathan evidently saw from the beginning that God’s anointing was on David. When Saul, Jonathan and the whole army of Israel were pinned down by Goliath and the Philistines, it was the young teenage shepherd boy, David, who stepped out of the crowd to miraculously defeat the champion of the Philistines in single combat.

Sometimes, as some say, “You’ve got to see God.” And evidently Jonathan from the beginning saw the hand of God on David’s life, that he was God’s chosen and blessed to lead Israel. “Sure, easy enough,” you might say. But I’m sure it wasn’t. Never was it so clearly summed up when his own father, Saul, in an absolute rage, yelled at Jonathan, “Don’t you know you’ll never be king as long as David, the son of Jesse, is alive?!” (I Samuel 20:31) In other words, “David is going to take your crown! You are going to lose the kingdom to David!”

And this is where it’s almost a mystery what really went on in Jonathan’s heart. Because, as difficult as it must have been, he remained loyal to David and to what he knew was God’s will, rather than to his own career, power and supposedly inheritance. He even worked as an insider within the inner circle of Saul’s court to keep David informed of what his father’s plans were against him during the years when David was growing to full adulthood and was often on the run as a fugitive from Saul’s deteriorating regime and unhinged life.

It’s all just an incredible story that I don’t have room to go into here if this is to not become too long. But if you want drama, intrigue, heroism and the mighty hand of God working to have His will against the very worst of human nature and sin, you should read I Samuel 12 to 28 where this is all found.

Jonathan stayed true to David throughout his life, to his own loss in this world, as well as the loss of his dad’s kingdom and the kingdom of Israel shifting to David and his descendants. But there’s no sign Jonathan ever wavered in this. He played the role that God had for him to the utmost, against the course of this world, against his father’s raging and against what would seem to be all his own self-interest, as far as the world looks at things.

And David was fully aware of the sacrifice Jonathan was making for him during this time and the amazing loyalty, friendship and love in the Lord that Jonathan had in his heart for David. The last time they saw each other, as far as we know, Jonathan had just brought David word of Saul’s continued rage and vengeful attitude towards David. The Bible says:  “David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times [towards Jonathan]: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded.”  (I Samuel 20:41)

It’s perhaps one of the greatest “love stories” in the Bible, but of Godly, selfless love and camaraderie between two men who were brought together in a drama of God’s making and who played their roles to the hilt. And it should go without saying that there was nothing of the remotest sort that was physical in their love for each other. But in our depraved and sunken world that we live in at this time, I’m probably compelled to just mention that here.

Jonathan must have been able to say what Paul said 1000 years later, “I have not been disobedient to the heavenly vision.” (Acts 26:19) The Bible doesn’t specifically tell us how Jonathan came to such an understanding and the stand of faith he took to go God’s way but to what was his own personal determent in this world. And he isn’t really remembered very much in the annals of the greats of the Bible.

Nevertheless, he was one of the most integral players and factors in the rise of David to the throne of Israel, someone who laid down his life in this world so that God’s will could prevail, even as he himself seemed to be one of the greatest losers in God’s plan. But I expect that we’ll see a mighty crown on Jonathan in heaven and be able to learn a lot more about his almost other-worldly vision, understanding and stand of faith that helped God’s will to be done on earth in his lifetime. “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) God help us all to have the selflessness and vision of Jonathan, even when it comes with our own personal loss in this world.