Category Archives: Basic Christianity

Did the ancient prophets actually exist?

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Are the writings of the ancient prophets just all Jewish myths? A number of people have written me to say that the prophecies of Daniel are all myth, without any historical fact. I’m sure that millions of people have been told that and probably believe it. But is it true? Are the prophecies of Daniel (or Isaiah or David for that matter) just total fabrications? Inventions, fictions of cunning men to delude and enslave mankind?

Some of you may find this outlandish. But, believe me, there are hundreds of millions of people who look at things this way and I hear from them nearly every day. And after all, how can we really know? These writings are from hundreds of years before Jesus, very ancient history for many people. Therefore it’s easy to assume that there’s no real way to know. And so the assumption follows that it’s probably something some other race, creed or nationality foisted on my race or creed. And some conclude that it’s just all totally, utterly rubbish!

But is it? Can we possibly get to the root and empirical facts of the mater without getting all religious and mystical? Thankfully the answer is emphatically yes. You may not be of my race, nationality or faith. But some things are understood by all to stand outside these boundaries or classifications. You may not share my views or even like “my people”. But if I said “Two plus two makes four”, the majority of you would not find fault with that. (Don’t laugh; there are those who will definitely argue with that assertion.)

“So how can we factually know that the ancient prophets truly and fully existed in real time?”

The best answer I can give to as broad a range of people, beliefs and views of all kinds is this: research the Dead Sea Scrolls. This isn’t a matter of your faith verses mine, your nation verses mine. This is about as certain and sure a thing as you can ascertain when it comes to fact in our modern times.

Here’s what happened. In 1947 a shepherd boy, looking for his sheep, threw a rock into a cave in the Jordan Valley near the Dead Sea. And he heard something break. Creeping inside the cave, he found a group of ancient urns, some of which contained scrolls with writing on them. This is how the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. These scrolls had been placed in these urns in these caves around the time of Jesus, 2000 years ago. They are considered to be probably the most significant and astounding archeological discovery of the last 100 years.

And let me just add here that this is not about, or contingent on Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Communism, Hinduism, Buddhism or any other faith. This is about something as definite and concrete as anything can be known to be real in our times. The reason these scrolls are so significant is that they contain at least parts of every book in the Old Testament except Ester. Some whole and complete books are in the Dead Sea Scrolls collection, like the book of Isaiah and the book of Deuteronomy.

These are the actual physical writings from 2000 years ago, visible, touchable, utterly verifiable and known to be real by scientists around the world, uncontested when it comes to the facts of their existence. Furthermore, when these ancient texts were compared to what are now found in the Old Testament scriptures in the Bibles of our times, they corresponded almost completely exactly to the way we have received the Scriptures that we have today.

So if someone maintains that the ancient prophets are just myths, passed down like fairy tales, translated hundreds of times and completely unworthy of any respect, I suggest you do some research yourself on the Dead Sea scrolls. If English is not your first language, I’m sure there are reputable sources of scientific information in your language which explain in much more detail than I have here about these things.

You may not like what the ancient prophets told. Perhaps because of the crisis in the Middle East for the last 70 years, you may even be someone who has a strong prejudice against anything remotely Jewish. But I hope, if you are a seeker and lover of truth, pure and real truth from the God of truth, the God of Abraham, I suggest you research these things to find out if the ancient prophets of God were a reality. God bless you in your search. Jesus said, “Seek and you shall find.” (Matthew 7:7)

Bringing children to Jesus

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Should we teach children about God and Jesus? Many vehemently say no. But what did Jesus say? “And they brought unto Him also infants, that he would touch them. But when His disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them unto Him, and said, ‘Allow the little children to come unto me and forbid them not. For of such is the kingdom of God.’” (Luke 18:15 & 16)

Jesus’ words directly contradict what’s regarded in our times as ethical regarding the spiritual training of children. “But, Mark,” some say, “you take away their choice! You’re forcing them! Innocent little children, Mark!” No, this is where Christians need to stand with Christ. It’s clear throughout the Old and New Testament that the people of God should be teaching their children about Him.

It reminds me of the verse in Revelation, “The dragon stood before the woman to devour the child as soon as it was brought forth.” (Revelation 12:4b) If ever there was a war waged for the souls of men, it’s when they are young. Satan tries to talk us out of our faith and constantly contradicts with direct Satanic boldness the instructions of God.

And certainly this is as true as ever in these present times with the raising of children. Is God against “free choice”? Of course not. He created us and this world with the element of choice in it. “Choose this day whom you will serve”, as He said through Joshua. (Joshua 24:15)

But Satan in our day has worked overtime to convince the world that “children must choose” when actually the meaning that’s behind this is that children are to be like plants in a garden that is totally unkept. We are not to hoe the weeds, we are not to fight the bugs, we are to do nothing but “let the children choose”. How can children choose if they’ve never been taught right from wrong? If they’ve never heard the truths of God and the Words of Jesus?

If you know anything about the ways of the Jews of ancient Israel, you’ll know how strictly they were instructed when it came to how they were to raise their children. Every male child was to be circumcised on the eighth day. Here’s what God said to Israel through Moses about His words and their children. “And these words which I command you this day shall be in your heart. And you shall teach them diligently unto your children. (Deuteronomy 6:6 & 7)

“Brainwashing, Mark! That’s brainwashing!” If a friend of yours, or Satan himself tries to condemn you with that line of modern thought, just plainly call them out for gross hypocrisy of the first order. If we train up our children in the way in which they should go, we are “taking away their choice” and “brainwashing them”.

But those that accuse us of that are almost uniformly enthusiastic when little children are saturated with stories about the occult, casting spells and witchcraft. Or if they are indoctrinated in elementary school by guest visitors espousing “transgender” ethics and morals.

Adolf Hitler was quoted as saying something like, “If you are going to tell a lie, tell a big one.” And that seems to fit today with the depths of insane hypocrisy that is foisted on parents and society when it comes to the raising of children.

Satan and his knowing or unknowing followers have concocted this huge reversal of guilt. Instead of feeling guilt or remorse at how so many children are brought up in our times without the knowledge of God and His ways, Satan and his horde have reversed the polarity and now lay this immense guilt trip on Christians and the people of faith, trying to make us feel guilty for allowing little children to come unto Him, exactly what Jesus said we should be doing.

But the Godless, Christless forces of modern atheism howl out that this is immoral of us and in some cases they’re even able to have laws passed in some countries making it illegal to teach our children the fundamental truths of God. That’s just how bad it has gotten, remarkably.

Sometimes the most effective attacks of Satan are the ones that are like poisonous gas, seeping in under the door. If the forces of ISIS or some foreign power were amassed against us, most are prepared for that kind of attack and would do all to repel it.

But meantime Christians and the people of faith are being successfully disarmed worldwide by nothing more than words aimed at dissuaded us from obeying the commandments of God regarding the raising of our children in the faith of their fathers. Millions of children are being cut off from the nourishment God would provide for them through their parents who should be daily “feeding His sheep”, in this case their own little children, in the ways of the Lord. It’s just pitiful. I can’t do the subject justice.

Well, I started out talking about bringing children to Jesus and I’ve ended up talking about the seemingly successful attacks against people of faith in our times who try to bring up their children “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4) I guess the only Christianity I have known has been the discipleship, “soldier of Jesus Christ” kind of Christianity. (II Timothy 2:3) I believe that’s what I need to be and we need to be, especially in these rapidly darkening times.

Jude, the Lord’s brother, said that “you should earnestly contend for the faith that was once delivered unto the saints. (Jude 3) But that doesn’t mean getting into heated political arguments with people or just going around acting like you have the call of Jeremiah. I’ll end this with a few verses about how we are supposed to “contend for the faith” in these times.

The fundamental method of standing up for our faith and protecting our sheep and children is that this should be done with wisdom, love and by the Spirit of God. Paul said, “The servant of the Lord must not strive but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves if God will give them repentance unto the acknowledging of the truth.” (II Timothy 2:24 & 25) We are “not to strive” but we are to “contend for the faith”. It can seem to be a thin line between those two at times.

May the Lord help us all to stand up for our convictions and to continue bring those we witness to and our children to Jesus, as He so clearly commanded us.

“And all your children shall be taught of the Lord. And great shall be the peace of your children.” (Isaiah 54:13)

The Black Horse in the north country

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Did God speak and foretell the condition of modern northern Europe to an ancient prophet over 2400 years ago? “Impossible!”, you say? But Zachariah was told by God that “the black horses …go forth to the north country” and that “These that go toward the north country have quieted My Spirit in the north country”. (Zachariah 6:6 & 8)

Admittedly this is pretty advanced, esoteric Scripture. But it doesn’t stand alone and some will recognize “the black horse” which is not seen again until Revelation 6. It says there, “And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, ‘Come and see’. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, ‘A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see you hurt not the oil and the wine.’” (Revelation 6:5 & 6)

Still with me? If so, hang on; it’ll be worth it. And you’re wondering “What in the world is he talking about?! What in the world is the Bible talking about?!” Some of the more debated, mysterious figures in the whole Bible are these “4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse” , seen first in Zachariah chapter 6 about 400 BC and seen again in Revelation chapter 6 around 90 AD.

I’ll add one more verse that may shed some light on this Black Horse. The only other place in the Bible which references someone with “a pair of balances in his hand” is Hosea 12:7 which says, “He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand, he loves to oppress.”

I and many others believe this glimpse into heaven in the Old and New Testament pictures four of the most vast, fundamental forces which work in our world, shown as four horses and horsemen. And this black horse encompasses the whole materialist, mercantile enterprise that has dominated such an immense portion of the lives of mankind for millennia.

Jesus said that “You cannot serve God and Mammon” (Matthew 6:24), Mammon being an ancient word for money and material wealth. Thus the Black Horse and rider symbolize the pursuit of wealth and material gain that dominates the heart of the substantial majority of people and has since the beginning.

What does this have to do with northern Europe? Those obscure, almost cryptic verses in Zachariah 6 have held my interest for many years. Because much of my adult life has been spent in Europe, mostly northern and eastern Europe as a missionary, or at least trying to be one. And I can say from firsthand experience that I’m even now seeing in my recent few weeks in northern Europe how “the Black horse” has “stilled” the Spirit of God in these northern countries.

It is said of Jesus, “He could do no mighty works there because of their unbelief.” (Matthew 13:58) And from my many travels almost all over the world in the last few years, I know of no place on earth comparable to modern northern, western Europe for the level and extent of unbelief.

And yet in many human ways it’s seen by so many as almost Utopian here. In Scandinavia, where I am now, unemployment is almost eliminated. Crime by international standards is very low. Inequality of most kinds, by international standards is very low. Lawns are impeccably kept, everything runs on time, economies are humming and the whole Scandinavian neo-socialist model of society seems to continue to work as it has mostly since back in the 60’s and 70’s.

Of course some will vehemently debate me on this but that’s not what I’m focusing on here. It is that despite such material success in these countries, such tranquility and even a large degree of individual and national benevolence, the “Black Horse” has successfully stilled (for the most part) the Spirit of the Lord in these countries.

There are still some Christians around, there always will be. But they are few, far between and usually not bold about their faith, if they say anything at all. It’s extremely out of vogue. And if there’s anywhere in the world that the so-called “Progressive”, “identity politics” have fully taken the high ground and rule almost unopposed culturally as well as politically, it’s in places like here in Sweden.

If there was no God, no Jesus, no death and afterlife, if we didn’t have a soul and our whole existence was just in the affairs and pleasures of this earthly existence, then this would be one heck of a place. Sweden hasn’t gone to war in 200 years so they’ve had time to get their act together. And they have. But in the process the great majority has essentially abandoned their faith in God and any respect for the spirituality given us through the Word of God. It reminds me very much of what it says in Psalm 10:4, “God is not in all their thoughts.” I know and recognize it because this was totally the way I was from around 12 to nearly 21.

So as much as this is like a heaven on earth from one view, from another there’s an ominous sadness here for me as well. It’s like Jesus said about the man who’d gained much wealth and built bigger barns, “You fool. This night your soul will be required of you. Then whose shall those things be that you have stored up?” (Luke 12:20)

I think unbelief is one of the most difficult of all sins to overcome. Especially if you are also pretty much “a good person” as well. But conversely, “With God, nothing is impossible.” (Luke 1:37) The mindset so prevalent here is very similar to how I was and how so many people in the general northern and western part of the world are now.

Is there any way to end this on a happy note? I guess the thing is that, if the Lord can do it for me, He can do it for others. Zachariah 6:6 even amazingly says, after it says that the black horses go into the north countries, that “the white go forth after them”. And in history this part of the world has had centuries in the past where faith in God and Jesus was paramount. But it may take the fiercest rigors of the final days before the return of Jesus to shake some people here out of their atheist stupor. All we can do is pray, hope and continue to be a witness, as best we can.

More Stumps

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In the article before this I wrote about stumps in the garden. But, sometimes, you’re the stump. You’ve been utterly cut off, as far as you can tell. Deserted by friends or family, afflicted in health, ruined in reputation and with seemingly no real reason to even keep on living. You’ve been cut off at the ground, like a tree that’s been chopped down.

Sound familiar? Going through that now? Or know someone who is? Truth be known, I’ve been through that a few times in my life. It didn’t just seem like the end, it was the end. Yeah, I still was alive but all I held dear had come crashing down or was taken from me. I was cut off and my life was a disaster and ruined.

Thankfully, by the mercy of God, I somehow held on. I think one of the reasons is that my original first experience in coming to the Lord was so horrific and extreme that actually nothing since that time has been like that. So even though I’ve been through some real cuttings off, endings and final scenes, it wasn’t like what the Lord brought me through before I came to Him and His love and truth.

Maybe you say that I use this analogy a lot, like in posts such as “Broken branches” or “Green leaves holding on.” But God can sometimes really speak to us through the creation we see around us and He often will if we listen.

We all go through endings, in this life. Winters, fiascos, ignominy, complete failures, utter rejections and personal debacles. We are cut off, like a tree, and seemingly nothing is left. And, oh, how the devil likes to take center stage at that moment and claim us, telling us that it really is the end, that our goose is cooked and there’s no other alternative but to take our life. I won’t go into this since I wrote about it recently in “Suicide”.

But there’s another ending to the story. There is a happy ending and actually we can claim it. God is “the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2) and He is the God of happy endings. Our job is just to hold on. If we hold on through these Gethsemanes, followed by what seem like crucifixions, He is able to raise us up again, as He did His only Son , to heights of victory and deliverance that are truly beyond our wildest dreams.

JobI’m not just talking here, I’ve been through it. A few times. And plenty of people in the Bible did as well. Job’s wife told him, in his miserable affliction to “curse God and die!” (Job 2:9) But he didn’t. Job held on through that incredible humbling and breaking so that God was able to deliver him from his sins of self righteousness and he ended up being doubly blessed.

Twenty years ago I thought my life was over. I felt I’d been a failure as a missionary and rejected by my friends and co-workers. I went back to my “Egypt”, got a secular job and just gave up on myself. But God hadn’t given up on me. If you want an amazing story from that time, you can read my testimony of “Strange, very strange. But true”. That was one of the incredible experiences I had back then where the Lord showed me that He wasn’t through with me, even if I’d been thrown on the scrapheap by others.

It’s possible that’s where you are now. Even fruitful trees go through seasons and we all go through our “winters” when it looks like we are dead stumps. But if you hold on and keep on believing, the Lord can and will bring a spring to you, perhaps one greater than you’ve ever experienced.

Like the stumps we’ve all seen which have new branches growing out of them, that’s a message to each of us of what God can and will do in our lives. It’s a test of faith. It’s a test of “walking by faith and not by sight.” But it’s all part of the making of a man or woman of God.

Are you a stump, cut off, abandoned by your family, mocked by ones who should love you, without hope except for the Word of God and the truths of the Bible? Hold on. Hold on to the truth of God’s Word and His promises. “Having done all, to stand” (Ephesians 6:13). Like I wrote about in “The Stand”.

When I came to the Lord, a long time ago now, a verse that stood out to me so much as being a truth I experienced when I’d been in the very fires of hell at times in months before, was this. “There has no temptation taken you but such as is common to man. But God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above that which you are able to bear. But will with the temptation, also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it.” (I Corinthians 10:13)

If your “will power” won’t work, try your “won’t power”. Just say to yourself and to the devil and God, “I can’t seem to go forward now. But I’m not going to go backwards.” Hold on. It’s a winter. It’s a test. It will pass. And you’ll be like that little sprig coming out of the dead stump of a life that’s now past into the light of a new day, more glorious that you’ve ever experienced. Hold on. God won’t fail to answer, bless, explain things and bring you into a new day.

Roots, seeds and weeds

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I cut that down, how is it springing back up?! Well, the roots are still there, alive below the surface although I cut it to the ground. Hmm. The Lord spoke to me this morning through this. Some things in our lives keep springing back up, even though we cut them down. The roots are still there.

Personally, I have sins and weaknesses in my life that I still have to fight daily that have been there for decades. “Why don’t you just root them out?” you may ask.

My experience is that there are different kinds of things like this, just like there are different kinds of plants and weeds in the yard behind the house here. Some things can be gotten rid of easily. Maybe they’re just weeds that don’t have deep roots. Others are like big trees that were cut down years ago. But the roots are deep and they still try to send forth branches every so often.

I suppose if I really took the time and the gardening equipment, I’d be able to root out some of these things that keep popping up from time to time. But there is another way which I’ve found that works against “the sins that so easily beset us” (Hebrews 12:1), although it may take more time. It goes like this. “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)

If you keep up your resistance, the enemy just has to flee, whatever form or shape he comes in. If I keep chopping the sprigs off these stumps that keep returning in the back yard, sooner or later the roots die out from lack of the nourishment they need from leaves. Same with sins. For the most part, I’m not fighting the same sins I did in my 20’s. I either rooted them out by the grace of God or I kept saying no to the devil, every time I was tempted by him. And in time it just stopped happening, the same as the roots in the ground which finally die when you keep chopping off the sprigs.

Keep-your-heartThen other things are just like weeds. The seeds fly through the air and end up sprouting in the back yard. If you don’t make an effort to chop them down, soon your whole yard will be utterly filled with thorny weeds and choking thistles. Just like our hearts and lives. That’s why one of my favorite Bible verses is “Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23) I wrote a seperate blog article on that verse. You have to keep working on that garden, whether it’s the one in the back yard or the garden of your heart.

But not all roots are bad. Jesus is even called “the root and offspring of David” (Rev. 22:16). In that most significant prophetic chapter, Isaiah 53, speaking of Jesus to come, it says, “For he [Jesus] shall grow up before him [God] as a tender plant and as a root out of a dry ground.” (Isaiah 53:2) What a picture of the Lord, springing up out of the dry ground of His generation in Israel to ultimately be a tree of Life for all nations.

And what about us? We are to be “rooted and built up in Him and stablished in the faith” (Colossians 2:7). I’m so thankful that when I received the Lord, those who led me to Christ didn’t just cast seed into the ground and walk off. They nourished and cherished it, giving me daily Bible classes to really get me rooted in the Word, on the right track to a life of Christian service.

But, oh, how that “old man” (Ephesians 4:22) still likes to spring up in the garden of my heart if I let it. temptations-and-doubtsIt’s like the analogy about birds which says, “You can’t keep the birds from flying over your head but you can keep them from nesting in your hair.” Same with the weeds and sprouting from stumps you’ve cut down. You just have to keep going after them.

Some people think that once they are saved, it’ll just be clear sailing the rest of their lives. Well, you are saved and you do have that eternal power of Christ in you that you didn’t have before. But, believe me, you’ll still have self and sin and the devil to fight every day, especially if you’ve decided to take up your cross and follow the Lord. You are going to have to keep the garden of your heart, never let the evil start. It will; but you have to keep a watch and just cut it off as soon as it shows up, like the weeds and sprouting stumps.

The most controversial chapter in the Bible

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The most controversial chapter in the Bible is I Corinthians 7. Or at least it’s around the top of the list. For those who’ve really studied the Word, they’ll know what I mean. Basically Paul is tackling the subject of marriage, sex, abstinence and the whole gambit of human male/female relationships. And on top of that he was addressing the Corinthian body of believers, the group that’s become known as the most immature, broadly unspiritual group that Paul encountered.

I won’t even quote here what Paul confronted just two chapters before. You can read I Corinthians 5:1-5 to get an idea of how bad things were for the Christians in Corinth. As they post on some videos, pretty much the same can be said for those verses there: “Viewer discretion is advised”. Some would definitely give it an “R”.

But Peter Brown, considered the foremost writer on the Late Antiquities said that I Corinthians 7 did more to shape and form Christian viewpoints on marriage, sex and male/female relationships than any other passage in the Bible. Repeatedly this was the chapter quoted, claimed and exalted by ones like Augustine of Hippo and Jerome, who translated the Bible into Latin, the Vulgate Bible.

Quoting from I Corinthians 7, the early church fathers, especially by 250 AD and onwards, felt that it was clear from I Corinthians 7 that marriage was not really God’s highest and best. After all, hadn’t Paul said that it was better to remain as he was? (I Corinthians 7:7) And everyone assumes he was single, as far as we know.

But then I’ve read some Christians writers, such as F. B. Meyer, who were convinced that at one time Paul must have been married, otherwise he never could have been part of the Sanhedrin. In I Corinthians 7, Paul wrote, “Are you loosed from a wife? Seek not a wife.” (I Corinthians 7:27) Are Paul’s writings here to be taking in the same league as the Ten Commandments of Sinai? Certainly and without question that’s how it became as the Early Church morphed over into the early Catholic Church.

By the 400’s AD it was taken for granted that Christians knew that celibacy was God’s highest will. If you just had to get married, well you still might be able to go to heaven. But you just better not have a nice time with your wife or husband! All that stuff is just only in order to have children! That’s all! Shame! Shame on you if you even think about anything pleasurable! That’s sin!

Well, I jest. But of course it wasn’t really funny. The Jewish idea of a husband and wife (“rejoice with the wife of thy youth” -Proverbs 5:18) was utterly replaced by what became the supposed Christian viewpoint of marriage: that is was this horrible, filthy thing that God will just barely tolerate and won’t necessarily send you to hell for. But you sure better be in complete fear and trembling and be as holy as you possibly can be since all that stuff is absolutely of Satan!

Or so it was taught by around 400 AD. And it was still taught that way when I was a child and teen growing up in the 1960’s. And, very sadly, most of that those people way back then and up to now got it from how they read I Corinthians 7.

Of course Paul repeatedly in that chapter gave rejoinders and caveats to make it clear he was not pronouncing “laws from Sinai” on the subject. He said in I Corinthians 7:12, “This say I, not the Lord.” What does that mean? Did he say that kind of thing in other place in his epistles? Really not much.

He says, “I have received no commandment from the Lord but I speak as one who has obtained mercy…”. (I Corinthians 7:25) That’s how you say that he was giving his personal opinion and experience on the subject, a second place in I Corinthians 7 where he puts a sense of personalization and hesitancy into the passage. And there are other place where he seems to really make it clear that this is his personal opinion as a brother in Christ, one who has obtained grace and is sharing his thoughts and experiences.

Sadly, I Corinthians 7 has passed into history as the most fundamental, dogmatically taught passage on human relationships in the New Testament. Some question if Paul wrote the book of Hebrews but it says there, “Marriage is honorable in all things and the bed undefiled…” (Hebrews 13:4) But it was too late for those who believed that an abstinent, ascetic lifestyle was a fundamental tenet of Christianity.

You may not believe this but much modern scholarship tries to say that Paul didn’t write all the epistles that are attributed to him. If you don’t believe me, Google it. One of the things put forward is that Ephesians 5 and his views on human relationships, marriage and sex in that chapter seem to some to be so opposed to I Corinthians 7. So modern Christian erudition says Paul wrote I Corinthians 7 but not Ephesians. Pitiful. Sad. Infuriating.

Folks, what can I say? If you’ve been taught that I Corinthians 7 is one of the highpoints of the New Testament and that verses cherry picked out of there by ones like Jerome, Augustine and many others prove that the wonderful creation of man and woman and the joy of married love is just something that God will barely tolerate and actually goes against His chosen plan and will, then you’re being fed something that is not the fundamental truth of the New Testament.

Go back and read that chapter again. Notice Paul’s repeated hesitancy to get overly dogmatic. Read Ephesians 5, as well as many passages in the Old Testament which are still completely relevant and show that God has “given us richly all things to enjoy” (I Timothy 6:17). That includes the joy of married love in all its forms, a reflection of our relationship with God.

OK, I’m glad I got that off my chest. I virtually swore (although I didn’t actually) that I’d never write about this subject or about a certain modern country in the Middle East which also is so very controversial. But I suppose these things do need to be addressed and the light of Scripture brought upon them. God bless you, I hope this was some help and that no one was offended or shocked by my expressing my thoughts on this (what is for some) sinister subject.

Christians doing their homework

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A lot of Christians haven’t done their homework. And, sadly, that often results in their being made fools of in public discussions. If anyone should have and treasure the truth, it should be Christians. And facts and truth run hand in hand. If you think you are going to make it by just your emotions, how much you love Jesus and therefore are so vehemently right, I’m afraid you may often end up being made a fool of. And that shouldn’t happen.

My early years of being a Christian were often spent on the street, personally witnessing to people in places like Hollywood Boulevard in California or later Trafalgar Square in London and Dam Square in Amsterdam. And I can tell you, it took more than just loving the Lord to be able to do that. I had to do my homework. I had to know what the facts were or I’d be made a fool of by people who would ask me tricky questions that I didn’t know how to answer. Or sometimes sincere questions by “lost sheep” and I didn’t know what the answer was. It was similar to combat or working in an emergency room and I had to learn what to say and what to do or I’d really be failing the Lord, others and even endanger my faith.

But it seems nowadays that if we Christians just have a snappy rejoinder or popular comeback, we think that’s all we need. It’s not. And the enemy of God can again and again make us look like ignoramuses when that really isn’t necessary. I personally don’t feel like I need to retreat into my warm, fuzzy Christian shell and let the atheists take the day and the high ground. But if we don’t do our homework and even be willing to break out of some of our pet doctrines that some Christian leaders expect us to hold, then I think we can really see a continuing defeat for Christian truth in the realm of public discourse. Because so many think that babbling zingers back at people is what God wants us to do, rather than really speaking the truth in Christ.

We’re supposed to “be always ready to give an answer to them that ask of us” (I Peter 3:15). Sometimes those answers can be simple since often God’s truth is simple. But also there are times to “know your stuff” and not be browbeaten and made to look like fools so that we default to simplistic, cream-puff answers. It’s like the Lord said for us to be, “Wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” (Matthew 10:16) Jesus Himself and also the early Christians in the book of Acts were relevant and had the high ground in the battles of dialogue they had in their day. They said of Jesus, “no man ever spoke like this man” (John 7:46). And later it was said of Stephen, “They were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spoke.” (Acts 6:10)

Today someone sent me from Scandinavia a very timely and troubling news article about more and more people having a biometric chip implanted under their skin on their hand. Of course for most Christians, this immediately brings to mind the verses in Revelation 13, having to do with the final days before the return of Jesus, how that “no man might buy or sell save he that had the mark or the number of the beast in his hand or forehead.” (Revelation 13:16)

I found it very interesting that this procedure in Scandinavia is continuing to gain ground where it’s been going on a few years. It’s another sign that things are getting closer and closer to the final days spoken of in the Bible. But then also I felt a sense of sadness. Because I just almost expect that a lot of Christians will immediate pipe up and say that what those folks in Scandinavia and other places in Europe are doing is the literal fulfillment of Revelation 13 and that those individuals who have done this already are now doomed by the Word of God itself to the Lake of Fire.

It’s like watching a chess match or a sport event and you see someone making a move and you just know they are going to suffer for it and be made fools of. Because, as far as I know,

what those people are doing in having that chip implanted in their hand at this time is not specifically, utterly and completely a fulfillment of what is spoken of in Revelation 13.

Is it a major step along the way? Certainly. Is that technology most likely to be what is used for the final Mark of the Beast in the final world government of the endtime? Almost certainly. But the Lord is not going to send people to hell because of some economic step they’ve taken to link them to the commercial system. The Mark of the Beast is certainly going to be that but also much more. Exactly what, we don’t know at this time.

But if Christians now go crazy and start getting irrational about these chip implants that are going on, this is playing exactly into the hand of the enemies of God. They can effortlessly make us look like religious kooks and extremist and the undecided people will be wondering about it since it looks rather innocuous at this time to them.

So, folks, do your homework. This reminds me of another article I wrote a few years back called “Don’t shoot till you see the whites of their eyes”. Or the video I did called “Famous Failures of Prophetic Interpretation.” Don’t go off half cocked. Try a little of that “wise as serpents” thing the Lord spoke of. He also said “The children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light”. (Luke 16:8)

Maybe we ought to remember that in the endtime, “the people who do know thier God shall be strong and do exploits. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many”. (Daniel 11:32 & 33) But we will be made fools of, as has happened many times, when we just run our mouths in emotions without really getting the mind of the Lord and the wisdom of the Lord so as to know what we really ought to be saying in these situations. “If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God…” (James 1:5) “Wisdom is the principle thing”. (Proverbs 4:7

Daily habits

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Daily habits at times can seem to be a pointless routine, a of rut of drudgery that we fall into. But this morning I was struck by how thankful I am that I have some daily spiritual habits that have become a part of my life and that they have been for my good.

Some of us just like spontaneity. We’re skeptical of almost any established thing and we just want to kick over the traditions and have a really good cleansing revolution! But then many find that it’s a whole lot easier to be opposed to something and to find fault than it is to really find something truly better. And then, next, to steadfastly go that better way, building up a better life, a better structure and better system than the one we so vehemently originally opposed.

And often it can start with person daily habits. When we were kids, if we had good parents, they taught us such simple things as brushing our teeth, taking a bath, looking both ways before crossing the street, tiny little seemingly insignificant things. But often it’s those habits that make up our lives for the most part and the importance of little things done daily is so often a theme in the Bible.

For me, having daily devotions is a fundamental part of my life. Spending decades on the mission field, working closely with other Christian disciples, you just find that it’s essential to start the day off with prayer, devotion and some time in God’s Word. And now, although I’m not working as closely as I did with others years ago, I still just don’t have a day go by without a time of morning devotions.

I have music that I listen to, songs of faith, that help me start the day. Then, after breakfast, I have several devotional books that have readings for each day of the year that I go through. I have two of the books from “Streams in the Desert” by Mrs. Cowman which have been such a blessing. I read daily from A. B. Simpson’s “Days of Heaven on Earth”. I listen to Spurgen’s “Morning and Evening” thoughts. And a highpoint for me has been to listen to readings of J. C. Ryle’s thoughts on the gospel of Luke.

After this devotion time is finished, I go out to the extended back yard we have on this property on the countryside and take some time in prayer and getting quiet and pouring out my heart before the Lord. Several of the blog articles I’ve written came from thoughts that came to me during this time out in the back. “Green Leaves Hanging On” and “Cardinals in the Winter” are two like that.

And actually, when you read the Bible, you find that this experience of daily habits that the Lord wants us to have has been a constant for thousands of years. Daniel was accustomed to praying 3 times a day and this is what his adversaries used to accuse him to the king of Persia that he was worshiping contrary to the King’s decrees. Of course the whole Law of Moses was full of edicts and guidelines on how the Jews should worship God, in the temple as well as in almost every aspect of their lives.

Can it all turn into tradition and meaningless formalism? It certainly can and sadly often does. The Bible and history is full of that happening. But what’s probably even worse is that, repulsed by empty traditions, many people commit an even greater sin. They “throw the baby out with the bathwater.”

They root out the wheat with the tares, to use the analogy that Jesus shared. Yes, of course: empty, meaningless tradition and formalism is nothing but husks in our teeth. But often there originally were sustaining, invigorating eternal truths that were the basis of the traditions and habits that once had such significance.

So we’ve to come full circle to the beginning again. For me, I have a daily routine that has been good for me. I have daily devotions. I have time in God’s Word. I even review around 40 Bible verses every day of the large number of ones I memorized in my first few years as a Christian. I sing songs of dedication and love for the Lord. I go out in nature and take time with the Lord, probably not very differently from what Isaac did nearly 4000 years ago when he “went out into the field to meditate at eventide.” (Genesis 24:63)

And I hope you have some healthy, sustaining daily habits. We have to not just take care of ourselves physically but we have to cultivate healthy, Godly daily habits as the Lord has been leading His people to do since the beginning. God help us all to not through the baby out with the bathwater. May He help us to maintain Godly “traditions” and routines which keep us on the straight and narrow path of life and His will.

The problem with addictions

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Folks, I was an addict. Yes, it was decades ago but it very nearly killed me and sent me to the indescribable torments of hell. I’ve written about this in places but I’m coming up to the anniversary of my very nearly dying and being carried by Satan out of my body and into the nether worlds. It was probably the most intense, searing, indescribable event I’ve ever experienced and I remember it extremely well.

But it came through addiction. In this case, it wasn’t a physical addiction like alcohol or some opiad-based addictions can be. It was psychedelics, and it was a psychological addiction rather than a physical one. This was long ago and I’ve had a wonderful, sustained deliverance from those things. As Jesus said to one man, “Go and sin no more lest a worse thing come unto thee.” (John 5:14)

In my case “Godly sorrow worked repentance to salvation, not to be repented of…” (II Corinthians 7:10). I learned my lesson and never wanted to have that session repeated again. And probably it never would have been because I’m sure that was my very last chance as I hung by less than a thread over the indescribable consuming fires of eternal hell.

I get a kick out of the folks who say there is no hell. I usually don’t reply to those things but I just say in my heart, “Buddy, I’ve been there, I’ve experience it in eternity and I can tell you, the words we use don’t really do the subject justice of just how bad it is.”

But for me, it came through addiction. And sadly, as my adult life has gone on, I’ve lost several good friends through addiction, dear and close friends, even missionaries who “bore the burden and the heat of the day” (Matthew 20:12) and yet their lives were ended, most of the time through alcohol. I can think of three good friends, I mean good friends, close friends who at one time had been missionaries on the foreign mission field with me who ended up dying through the curse of alcohol.

How can that happen? How can addiction so claim and destroy a life like that? A Godly life, a saved life, a Christian life? Well, addiction can somehow bring a false peace, a false contentment and a calmness that is nice at times but it just isn’t really the real thing. Maybe you’ve had a glass of wine sometimes. Then maybe on rare occasion you’ve had two? You know that feeling? Feeling kind of relaxed? Not thinking about those things you were before? Not worried anymore? In a good place? Want to keep getting back to that place?

This is really personal for me. Those dear friends spring to mind, and I know there are more, who ended up taking their own lives or dying of alcohol poisoning. In my personal case, this was long ago and I wasn’t saved. But somehow the drugs took me into levels of consciousness that I’d never known. But Jesus said, “He that enters not by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.” (John 10:1)

That’s what I was doing, “climbing up some other way.” Trying to gain insight and spirituality through drugs, rather than by “The door”. Jesus said of Himself, “I am the door, by Me if any man enter in he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture.” (John 10:9) But drugs and alcohol are “climbing up some other way.”

I don’t care how much insight and clarity you think the drugs give you, how much they boost your confidence, or how much the alcohol chills you out and makes you mellow and easier to be around, there’s a real and strongly present danger in it. When it comes to drugs, psychedelics, or opium-based drugs, friends… it’s just too much and I’m thankful I haven’t touched that stuff since I was 20 years old.

Just don’t do it. Don’t try it. Don’t experiment with it. No, you are not strong enough. No, just once will indeed hurt. Take it from me. It’s only by the absolute miracle working power of God that I was delivered from those things, utterly miraculous. But for every one like me, there are hundreds and even thousands whose lives were forever ruined by drug addiction.

Alcohol? It’s not exactly the same thing. I drink wine from time to time. Psalm 104 says “And wine that makes glad the heart of man…” As most know, even Jesus made wine (John 2). But like I said, I can immediately name close, dear friends whose lives were destroyed by alcohol and they ultimately died from it.

We just have to be aware of how bad things can get, how strong sin is in the lives of even those who have committed their lives to Him. It is falsehood. It’s a false peace, a false revelation, as the fruits of sin always are. The Bible talks about “the pleasures of sin for a season.” (Hebrews 11:25) Addiction is one of the worst killers there is and it’s as rampant as ever.

Turn to the Lord with all your heart; pour out your heart before the Lord in vehement prayer for strength to fight addiction. Also, Solomon said, “He that walks with wise men shall be wise, but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” (Proverbs 13:20) After I nearly died on drugs but was saved at the last moment, I knew immediately and instinctively that I needed to get away from my old friends that I’d done drugs with, even though I grew up with them, and to find some new and Godly friends. In my case the Lord did just that as I went out to search for Him. I was led to some truly Godly young Christians and my life began anew from there.

I hope this is some help to someone. Addiction, drug addiction or old fashion alcoholism, is as rampant and consuming as it has ever been. And as trite as it may sound, the only solution I found was to come to the Lord and to the power and name of Jesus.

Is it a sin?

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Lord forgive me, sometimes it gets to me a bit when I hear some folks constantly asking, “Is it a sin to…?” Is it a sin to wear make-up? Is it a sin to watch TV? Is it a sin to eat pig? It honestly seems like this is almost the overriding thought on the minds of some people.

Well, thank God. I guess I could also look at it like at least they’re trying to please God by not sinning or doing something wrong. There are far, far more people in the world who are like what it says in Proverbs, “Fools make a mock at sin.” (Proverbs 14:9) For the unbelieving, the whole concept of sin is utterly foreign and abhorrent to them and they reject the whole idea. That’s what I wrote about in the article “What is sin?”.

But there are some Christians who evidently have come to a place where their overriding thought process is to be so fearful of sin and its power in their lives that questions of what is a sin in every affair of everyday life makes this their continual conversation. I find that sad and a misplaced understanding of things.

Is it good to have a tender conscience? Of course, absolutely. Is it good to want to “not be ignorant of the enemy’s devices”? (II Cor. 2:11) Certainly so. We definitely should be on guard in our conscience against sin and not have a light attitude towards the evils in the world or even the sins that rather easily spring up in our own hearts and minds.

But it seems to me that some Christians have not gotten very far in a Scriptural understanding of what sin is. A few verses come to mind among the many on the subject and I’ll share them here. For one, Jesus said, “Not that which enters into the mouth defiles a man, but that which comes out of the mouth defiles a man.” (Mat. 15:11) Or it’s like the verse, “The kingdom of God is not in meat and drink but righteous, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.” (Rom. 14:17) Fundamentally it has rather little to do with what you eat or don’t eat and what you wear or don’t wear.

One of the greatest chapters on the whole subject, which I often think about when I see again the outflow of questions about “Is it a sin…?” is Romans 14. Paul says, “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” (Rom. 14:23) Think about that!

Is it a sin for a woman to wear make-up? Is it a sin to drink beer? The principles in Romans 14 can and should be applied to so many things. Some things can be done in one situation and among some people which would not be appropriate or fitting in another and could be a sin. Paul said, “It is good neither to eat meat or anything whereby your brother is stumbled or is offended.” (Romans 14:21)

Of course, sadly, some people are offended pretty easily and they should be taught to grow up some and to have a more full understanding of the ways of the Lord. Paul said some eat meat and others being weak, only eat herbs. I can’t quote the whole chapter here but I suggest, if you feel you may have questions along this line, to do a real study on Romans 14.

The clinching verses at the end of the chapter say, “Have you faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is the man who condemns not himself in that thing which he allows. And he that eats [or wears make-up or anything else like this] is dammed if he eats if he eats not of faith. For whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” (Rom. 14:22 & 23)

But this whole thing can get to be a downward spiral of fear, confusion and particularly condemnation and it ends up being disastrous to your spiritual life. I went through some things like this in my early Christian life and they were really some battles. I wrote about these things in “Conviction or Condemnation”, you might find some things in that article that are pertinent to this subject.

The Bible says we should “Walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4), not walk in a foreboding gloom and cloud of fear that at any second we’re going to be defeated by sin.

That’s not the perspective taught in the New Testament. Again, let me just say, it definitely is good to be aware of “the enemy who goes about as a roaring lion, seeking who he may devour.” (I Pet. 5:8) And it’s certainly true that we need to remain aware of “the sins which do so easily beset us.” (Heb. 12:1)

But even more we need to be mindful of “the blood of Christ which cleanses us from all sin.” (I John 1:7) Instead of constantly voicing our fears and worries about our sins, it would be more fruitful and Godly to praise God for the victories He’s given us over all sin and then to get busy following the prompting of the Holy Spirit as He leads us into all truth and shows us those around us who need our love and friendship.

Maybe some folks need to memorize the verse about “He that is begotten of God keeps himself and that wicked one touches him not.” (I John 5:18) God said in one place, “I also kept you from sinning against me.” (Genesis 20:6) Overemphasizing and accentuating sin is just not what the Lord really wants from us. It’s not “looking unto Jesus”; it’s looking unto our own “old man”, our sinful self instead of the Lord.

So I have gotten that off my heart. I hope it is a help to someone and will help you to have more peace, joy, freedom and power to get going with God instead of dwelling in the valley of your own sinful self. We’re all sinful; we all have battles, that’s why we have so many victories, because we have to keep bringing it all to the Lord. “Cast your burden upon the Lord and he will sustain you, He will never suffer the righteous to be moved.” (Psalm 55:22) “Looking unto Jesus…!” (Hebrews 12:2) Not your sinful self.