Category Archives: Basic Christianity

Steadfast

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It was said of Jesus, “He set His face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:51) I got that verse for myself this morning in prayer. “Steadfast.” That’s not a word you read in the New York Times or hear on Fox News very much. But that’s how the gospel of Luke described Jesus of Nazareth as He moved towards Jerusalem, after 3 years of ministry, where He knew He would experience the death of the cross.

I’ve been feeling a little tired today. I’m very thankful for my life but I’ve come to a place where I feel compelled every day to really make the very most of the time and energy I have in order to plow it into the work of the Lord that He’s made possible for me. The Lord said “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Mat. 11:30) But He also said to His disciples, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luk. 9:23) And I’m exceedingly thankful that the Lord has led me into the present ministry I have of producing videos in foreign languages about the prophecies of Daniel. And in this ministry, it often becomes like what Paul said of himself, “I die daily.” (I Cor. 15:31)

There’s joy in our labors but they can be real labors. So many of us have spent years working in some slavish, mundane 9-to-5 job, under sometimes rather cruel taskmasters, mostly serving Mammon in order that we can feed our families and pay bills. So, how much more should we put our whole heart into our service for God in the ministry He opens for us?

And it can come down to what can be called steadfastness. It may not be part of our character but it can be a grace given us by the Lord Himself to just not cave in to fatigue, weariness, distraction and all the things that can deter us from the heavenly vision set before us.

I guess if you don’t have the heavenly vision, it’s so much more difficult to have steadfastness. Solomon said, “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Prov. 29:18) and of course for so many Christians, their personal vision of God’s will in their lives is not really full or complete.

Jesus doubtless had the heavenly vision, even if in His case that vision was His crucifixion at Jerusalem for the sins of mankind. Paul said of himself, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision” (Acts 26:19) and certainly Christ was the greatest example of that. He was steadfast. He “poured out His soul unto death.” (Isaiah 53:12)

But for most of us, it’s not the death of the cross or that of a martyr that’s before us. It’s the many little deaths each day , of taking up our cross each day and living out our lives in obedience to the will of God. Most churches will teach you the part about being comforted by God but fewer emphasize the Scriptures teaching us to comfort others.

Many know the most famous verse in the Bible, John 3:16. But fewer have embraced I John 3:16 which says, “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” Jesus set His face steadfastly to lay down His life for us. We should take it as our calling and commission, each and every one of us, to lay down our lives for our brethren and for the lost and bedarkened souls of this world.

As has often happened, I came back from my prayer walk this morning to write up this lesson the Lord spoke to me about and laid on my heart. It’s a little like another verse that says, “As the outward man perishes, the inward man is renewed day by day.” (II Cor. 4:6) And “As your day, so shall your strength be.” (Deut. 33:25) Or as some say in a more secular sense nowadays, “it’s better to wear out that to rust out.”

But I do think, if more Christians went further in the heavenly vision of truly laying down their lives for the brethren, for feeding the sheep, for witnessing and wining souls or whatever step the Lord is leading in their lives that they have not followed, then the Lord would greatly strengthen them for the task.

God can and will give us all the steadfastness that can come when we’ve embraced the vision and have committed ourselves to a life of greater sacrifice in order to bring His life and love to this present world. May the Lord truly help every one of us who believe in Him to not only believe but also to obey Him in steadfastly going the extra mile for the sake of others and in service to our Lord and God.

“The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen”

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What a dream I just had! I was racing up the stairs of a large apartment complex, right behind a friend of mine who was basically running for his life. Because also running up the stairs was another man who was out to probably kill the first man. Both men were professional athletes, on the brink of being very rich and successful men.

But in the dream, the younger man, maybe he was 19, had been messing around with the girlfriend of the man chasing him up the stairs. This enraged man, he was like maybe 28, was utterly beside himself with anger, chased the young man to the top landing of the apartment building and found the young man hiding.

In my dream, there was an extremely tense confrontation between these two men and it seemed like at any moment it would explode into what would probably be a fight to the death. The older man’s eyes were really bulging out with an almost insane look of fury and I tried to reason with him that he shouldn’t throw his life and career away by killing the young man for what he’d done.

But then suddenly one of their friends, a woman who had also raced up the stairs, was on her knees in front of the enraged older man, begging him with all her heart to let it go and to not let this incident be the end of both of the men in some fight to the death.

It was a very intense scene for me and, as dreams can sometimes be, it seemed utterly real at the time. The young woman was between the two men, begging with all her heart for the man to not avenge himself and attack the young man he’d chased up the stairs.

Then, almost strangely, the older athlete relented and backed off a little. I was really, really surprised that the woman’s pleas had been listened to by the angry man because he had just been hell-bent for violence in his fury. He backed off some feet away, still full of emotion.

And at that point I went up to him, also full of emotion because I knew these two guys and really didn’t want to see them throw their life away. And I said to the aggrieved man, “That’s the most beautiful thing I have ever seen” and I gave him a hug.

And it was; it was extremely beautiful because I was so thankful that the man had listen to the woman on her knees who’d begged him with all her heart to not kill the younger athlete. He made the right decision; he listened to her wisdom and reasoning. He was right at the brink of throwing his life away in wreaking vengeance on the man who’d messed around with his girlfriend.

It was a very intense dream and a very beautiful outcome. Though he still was extremely upset, he’d made the right decision. Even if it wasn’t a matter of forgiving the young man, who evidently was apologetic, the older man had listened to the restraint and reasoning of the girl rather than his passion. He had avoided killing the young man when they both were right at the cusp of professional athletic stardom.

The Bible says that, “Jealousy is the rage of a man and he will not be appeased though you give many gifts.” (Proverbs 6:34 & 35) How many lives are ruined in some moment of rage and passion; promising, beautiful, even blessed young lives are ruined forever  over what seems to be an unforgivable wrong.

How difficult and rare it is to listen to the voice of reason in times like that or even to have the voice of reason there to still speak to you at that moment. But this young woman friend of theirs was on her knees, matching her passion with his, begging him not to throw his life away in killing his friend over his foolishness.

It was beautiful, it was rare, it was someone making the right decision when it really didn’t seem like he would. Solomon said “The discretion of a man defers his anger and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.” (Proverbs 19:11) I was so happy that one moment of foolishness on the part of the young athlete didn’t lead to another greater moment of greater foolishness which would have ended up destroying the lives of both of them, either by death or by prosecution.

Well, it was only a dream but it woke me up, long before I normal get up and I knew I should write it all down. Some dreams are just strong, meaningful and have a point to them. I’m not going through anything right now like those two young men but I’m sure it’s happening to many people. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen, which I told to the man who’d deferred his anger. He didn’t yield to his rage, as “reasonable” as it had seemed at the time. He in a sense saved his own life by not taking the other man’s life.  “Every man shall kiss his lips that gives a right answer” (Proverbs 24:26)  and I just had to tell my friend how beautiful it was that he’d not thrown his life away in a moment of rage. And I gave him a hug.

Maybe there’s someone, somewhere who’s going through the same thing because it happens all the time, all over the world. Maybe you’re like the woman on her knees, begging your friend to not yield to rage. Maybe you’re like the young man who was running up the stairs, knowing you’d done a foolish thing by messing with another man’s girlfriend. Or maybe you’re like the older athlete, full of seemingly righteous fury and about to kill someone. But wisdom won the day. One sin didn’t lead on to a greater one. It was beautiful, surprising and unexpected.

Please don’t avenge yourself, no matter what has happened and how you’ve been wronged. Listen to reason; listen to the restrainer which is often the very voice of God, begging you to turn from your foolishness. “Brethren, avenge not yourselves but rather give place unto wrath for it is written, vengeance is mine saith the Lord, I will replay.” (Romans 12:19)

Judge not?

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Many people have heard what Jesus said in one place, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” (Matthew 7:1) And then they’ll say, “Who are we to judge?” Personally I believe that these thoughts have been overused and misapplied to where believers have become emasculated and led to think that passive acquiescence to evil is what they’re called to do.

So let me share some less well known verses which may bring some balance on this subject. In I Corinthians chapter 5, Paul had just effectively excommunicated someone from the Corinthian body of believers for what was a vile wrongdoing. But then, in the next chapter, he went on to reprove and admonish the Corinthian Christians, saying this, “Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more things that pertain to this life?” (I Corinthians 6:2 & 3)

It seems clear from this passage that the well known admonition of “Judge not” that Jesus taught was not to be taken so broadly and universally that it was to hinder believers from “judging righteous judgment”, another of the Lord’s teachings.

In fact, in that verse in John 7:24, He tells us that we actually should judge. The verse in full says, “Judge not according to appearance but judge righteous judgment.” As is so often the case, one passage in Scripture has been seized upon and used out of context to sadly make an imbalanced view of some admonition from God so that it ends up conveying the almost totally wrong idea.

“But Mark, Jesus did say “Judge not”. Are you contradicting Christ, Mark?”

No, of course I am not. Jesus went on to say in that passage, “with what judgment you judge you shall be judged”. And James the Lord’s brother also spoke on this saying, “He shall have judgment without mercy that has showed no mercy. And mercy rejoices against judgment.” (James 2:13) Harsh, hypocritical, myopic judgment was what Jesus was speaking against in Matthew 7.

Jesus was not teaching that we should just all utterly wimp out to where we end up being spineless neutrals, “who-am-I-to-judge”, string-for-a-backbone milquetoasts. But millions of Christians are convinced that this is the proper understanding of Jesus’ words and that “pardon-me-for-living” convictions are some kind of testimony of the love of God.

What a device of the devil! How Satan has disarmed and imprisoned so many children of the Most High to where they are rendered almost utterly useless in the battle that rages about us for the souls of men, for the morals of our nations, for the very lives and hearts of our children. I believe with all within me that the body of Christ around the world should be awake, galvanized and properly trained to be, not spectators but active participants at the forefront of the battle for right or wrong, light or darkness and God or Satan that is raging and intensifying every day.

But if your mantra is, “Who am I to judge?”, you’re already almost eliminated from being the player for God that He so desperately needs you to be.

“But Mark, who am I? I don’t have a seminary degree, Mark! I don’t know what to say, Mark! I tried it one time and someone said something that I didn’t know the answer to!  Mark, that’s what our pastor is for! He’s the one that is supposed to lead souls to Christ, not me! Mark, if people want to know about God, let them go to church!”

That’s why I sadly believe that the Lord will ultimately allow great suffering and tribulation to come upon the nominally Christian nations of the world. They may be saved but the vast majority of Christians are already defeated and disarmed. I believe many millions have saving faith; but for the most part, they’ve gone only a little further.

They may be believers, but very few can be called disciples. Of course there are exceptions to this and there are many who are more broken now, more desperate now that the powers of darkness have taken the high ground so clearly throughout much of the once Christian nations. Some are waking up. Some are fighting back and standing up for the Lord. But it’s a very small minority.

Elijah thought that he was the only one left of the Lord’s true people and he told the Lord that. But the Lord said at that time to him that “there are 7000 in Israel who’ve not bowed the knee to Baal” (I Kings 19:18). And then the Lord in effect told Elijah to get busy. God had someone of the next generation that He wanted Elijah to train, the upcoming prophet Elisha, who actually went on to do twice as many miracles as Elijah.

We just have to stand on the Rock, hold on to our crowns and continue to do all that we can, every single day for the Lord to not just be weak, passive “believers” but active, alive discipleship Christians, truly serving the Lord daily. That’s one thing we can do, we can do what we can to be faithful in our generation. God has to do the miracle; He has to bring the awakening. Or the judgment.

“And they continued steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine and in fellowship and in breaking of bread and in prayers. And daily in the temple and in every house they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.” (Acts 2:42 & 5:42)

Christmas and prophecy

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No other event from 2000 years ago holds the attention of the world like Christmas and the birth of Jesus does. On the other hand, some might say of Christmas, “Not again!”. Or their words might be, “Some unwed teenager has a baby in some shed and we all go crazy!”

But I can tell you one element that’s almost always left out about the story of Christmas which originally was virtually paramount to those who first heard it in the time of ancient Israel. “What’s that?” you ask? Here’s what: Christmas. Was. Prophesied! It’s that important and now virtually unknown. I’ll attempt to explain.

As much as some castigate Christmas, it’s helped make it so that the events of Jesus’ birth are known far and wide and are celebrated yearly, as they have been for 2000 years. People all over the world, Christian or otherwise, often know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. You may be a kid in Baluchistan or in a yeshiva in Brooklyn. But if you ask your teacher, “What’s this thing about Christmas?”, they’ll probably be able to tell you what Christmas is.

But almost no one knows why it matters that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, much less the circumstances of His mother, Mary. And that’s because fulfilled Biblical prophecy has become one of the unknown phenomenon of our enlightened times. Has there been a conspiracy or intentional cover-up to remove Bible prophecy from our knowledge? I don’t think it’s actually that. Nevertheless the plain fulfillment of prophecy is one of the greatest proofs of a supernatural God who has a plan for mankind and is steering events toward an ultimate showdown between Light and Darkness.

“Great, Mark; so what was prophesied about Christmas?”

First, Bethlehem itself was predicted specifically by God through the mouth of the prophet Micah to be the birthplace of the coming King of the Jews, over 700 years before Jesus’ birth. It says in Micah 5:2, (God speaking to the town of Bethlehem), “But you Bethlehem, though you be small among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth the one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose going forth is from old, from everlasting.”

The Jews of Jesus’ time knew exactly what this meant and even used it to try to prove Jesus was not the Messiah. Jesus was born in Bethlehem but grew up in Nazareth. So the unbelieving Jews knew Jesus was from Nazareth and said, “Has not Scripture said that Christ shall come from the seed of David and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?” (John 7:42) But Christ did come from the town of Bethlehem; He was born there although he grew up in Nazareth. I guess those folks who were trying to use this against Him hadn’t done their research.

What does that mean about “the seed of David and the town of Bethlehem, where David was”? Again, it was majorly significant to people 2000 years ago, but virtually not at all to us now. The Messiah to come for the Jews  was to be a direct descendant of King David, Israel’s greatest king. And, like we’ve read, the Messiah was to be from Bethlehem. Now, 2000 years later, folks still know Jesus was born in Bethlehem. But the significance of this has been erased from the story.

It was prophesied, foretold and every Israeli at that time knew it! They also knew the Messiah was to be a descendant of King David. Was Jesus a physical descendant of David? Absolutely. The opening 16 verses of the book of Matthew traces the linage of “the Virgin Mary” directly back to King David. “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” (Matthew 1:1)

And what about that “Virgin Mary” thing? Please, humor me here but… It. Was. Prophesied! It was prophesied of the Messiah to come that He would be born of a virgin. Isaiah 7:14 says, “The Lord himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel.” And Emmanuel means “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23)

The Messiah that every Jew back then looked for would be born in Bethlehem, born of the linage of David and born of a virgin. That’s why Christmas is so important, because Jesus was not some ordinary little baby born to an unmarried teen. He was and is the Messiah promised to Israel.

There’s more. The Roman world of that day knew already that a King was about to be born to the Jews because the knowledge of the prophecies of Daniel was known to some degree throughout the world of that day. In ancient Roman writings can be found places where they knew that Rome was “the fourth kingdom” (Daniel 2:40 & 7:23) and that at that time God would “set up a kingdom that would never be destroyed”. (Daniel 2:44)

If your Christmas has been whittled down to some quick meal like at a fast food joint, if the ingredient of fulfilled prophecy has been eliminated from your spiritual meal, then you surely aren’t getting what was originally there. I just get incensed at how spiritually weak, depleted and malnourished the people of this world have become because they’ve lost the knowledge of God’s mighty power and willingness to foretell the key events of our existence and future here in this world. Christmas was not only a historical event; it was one of the most prophesied events in the history of mankind. But that’s been virtually lost to us.

I hope you have a merry Christmas. But I also hope you “grow in grace and knowledge” (II Peter 3:18)  and are “strengthened in the inner man” (Ephesians 3:16) by the power of the truth and Word of God, so much of which is so distant and foreign to the vast majority of those of us in these times. God help us all! Merry Christmas.

Green leaves hanging on

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It’s December, way past Fall, right? But some green leaves are still hanging on. They’re still green, not even turning yellow yet. How’s that happening? I guess they must have a real good grip on the branch. And also they probably were having a good connection with the sap all Spring, Summer and even Fall. Admittedly, there are not many of them. And you can be sure that sooner or later they’ll begin to turn yellow and eventually fall from the tree, like the vast number of other leaves.

Still, it gives one pause for thought. Why do some last longer than others? Why are some still alive and green when all their friends have turned yellow and been blown away? Maybe it’s genetics. Maybe those leaves just got “the luck of the draw” and were “blessed by nature”, as some say, to last longer than others. That might have something to do with it. Even the Bible talks about chance and says “time and chance happen to them all”. (Ecclesiastes 9:11)

I’m no arborist so I don’t totally know why this happens. But just the knowledge I do have, simple things that we can all relate to like “holding on”. The Lord told us to “Hold fast that which you have, that no man take your crown” (Revelation 3:11). Well, those leaves have still got the look of summer to them against the cold blue skies of winter because they are holding on.

Jesus said, “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can you except you abide in Me.” (John 15:4) I think those green leaves still holding on have probably been doing a good job of really abiding in that tree. They still have life in them. The flow is still there, they are even still producing photosynthesis as they cling to the branch, sending food back to the tree and nourishing it, even in December.

King David said of a person of God, “He shall be like a tree, planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither and whatsoever he shall do shall prosper.”(Psalm 1:3)  So those green leaves, still hanging on in December are a visible example of how God wants us to be.

This little lesson for me happened in basically the same spot in our far backyard this morning as did a similar one around a year ago when I saw a bright red cardinal in the same area, bringing color and cheer against the background of the death of winter. That lesson was called “Cardinals in the winter”.

Of course, as I’ve written elsewhere before, in fact almost many times, “Everything means something“. This is what Paul said in Romans 1:20, “The invisible things from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and godhead.” King David understood this also and said in Psalm 19, “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows his handiwork. Day unto day utters speech and night unto night shows knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.” (Psalm 19:1-3)

There is so much information all around us, so many lessons that speak to our hearts through the day if we’re going slow enough to hear them. Paul said, “There are so many voices in the world and none of them is without signification.” (I Corinthians 14:10) Like those leaves. They are holding on. They are still green and full of sap. They haven’t even turned yellow yet.

Maybe it’s even something that could apply to the vision of the future that Bible prophecy points to. One of the signs of the future times is a great “falling away” (II Thessalonians 2:3) and of course many believe we’ve already crossed that bridge a good while back. Formerly strong Christian nations have fallen so far away that true Christianity is in retreat and almost gone in many nations. The “leaves”, the people of faith (what few remain), have mostly turned a pale green or fully yellow, ready to fall away.

And yet, the Word and plan of God says there will still be green leaves on the tree, even in the darkest winter to come, the final days before the return of the Lord. The Bible says there’ll still be green leaves on the seemingly dead tree of Christian faith. “The people who do know there God shall be strong and do exploits. And they who understand amoung the people shall instruct many. ” (Daniel 11:32 & 33), even during the worst onslaughts against Christian faith that ever will happen.

And, strangely, taking the analogy further, the Bible says that some of those last green leaves on the tree will remain until the Spring of all Springs, the glorious return of Jesus “in the clouds with power and great glory” (Matthew 24:30).

How do I know? Because the Bible says so. It says that at His coming, in that spring of all springs, not only will “the dead in Christ rise first”, but also “we which are alive and remain shall be caught up with Him in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air” (I Thessalonians 4:16 & 17). Green leaves holding on till the spring, holding on through the winter, the worst winter ever for the people of faith.

Some will hold on, abiding in the vine to welcome the great King into the glorious Millennial Kingdom of God to come. Lord help us all still holding on to the Branch and abiding in the vine to continue to stay alive and flourishing for Him. Praise God. “They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing.” (Psalm 92:14)

Suicide

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To me, suicide is a terrible, horrible thing. I’ve had times in my life where that thought came to me but there were just too many reasons not to do it. But it does seem to claim many lives in our times. Despair and hopelessness come upon us in mighty waves and to end our life seems to be the only way out. But what stopped me was to consider the effect it would have on others, particularly my children.

The Bible says, “None of us lives to himself and no man dies to himself.” (Romans 14:7) We all have influence. We are all in one way or the other tied to each other. “If one member suffers, the whole body suffers.” (I Corinthians 12:26) I’ve known people who’ve committed suicide. Some of them were good friends, others were people I knew or heard about. I have friends who had a parent who committed suicide when they were a kid. They didn’t talk about it much but I could tell it had a deep and severe effect on them.

Suicidal thoughts make you feel utterly separated from everyone else. In my view, it’s similar to those who commit murder, only in this case the person you kill is yourself, rather than someone else. But it comes back to utter hopelessness, utter despair and an outlook that life has turned out so bad that there’s no reason left to live at all. But like I said, when I got to that point a few times, it was thinking about my children and the legacy it would leave them that turned me away from doing it.

Also, for those of us who believe in God and in Jesus, we just know better about the realities of life than to be taken over by such horrendously hopeless thoughts. If you know God and if you know His Word, you just know that however bad things look right now, it’s not really the end. No matter how much you blew it, no matter how much people mistreat you or abuse you or hate you, there’s Someone much greater than our present circumstances, no matter how bad they are.

The psalms of David, which are mostly prayers, are some of the most comforting and strengthening passages in the Bible. David certainly knew the utter depths of despair, hopelessness and even dread. He was very human, he said things he shouldn’t have said and did things that he shouldn’t have done. But still through it all the Lord never gave up on David and ended up mightily blessing his life. David said this one time,

My sore ran in the night and did not stop; my soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God and was troubled; I complained and my spirit was overwhelmed. You, God, keep my eyes awake. I am so troubled that I cannot speak. I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times. I called to remembrance my song in the night. I commune with my own heart and my spirit made diligent search.  Will the Lord cast off forever? Will he be favorable no more? Is His mercy completely gone forever? Do His promises fail for evermore? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies? And I said, “This is my infirmity. But I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High. I will remember the works of the Lord, surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will meditate also of all Your work and talk of Your doings.” (Psalm 77:2-12)

King David knew the depths of despair and hopelessness. But what did he do in this prayer? He turned. He turned from a stream of hopelessness and began to say, “But I will remember…”, he actually says that three times in a row. David started to get his mind and train of thought on the faithfulness of God and God’s plan for his life, rather than the incredibly difficult circumstances he was in.

Let me change this around for a moment. I want to talk to you, from me to you. Are you being spoken to by thoughts of suicide? Maybe off and on for a long time? My friend, fight it. Or if you think you’re too weak to fight it, call out to God to deliver you. It’s not too big for Him.

If someone evil broke into your house and tried to carry off your children or even your dog, you’d fight them. Well, it’s worse than that. Someone has broken into the house of your mind and is trying to carry you off to your death.

And maybe you don’t even love yourself anymore but I venture to say others do. Others will miss you terribly. Others will be soul-struck that you are no longer here, that you are no longer part of their lives.

And even if you think you don’t have any friends or family, God Himself has got better ideas and plans for you than that you take your life. Why not give your life to help others? God specializes in using weak things, little things, nothings that He can make something out of. God usually has to make absolutely nothing out of someone before He can use them. Maybe that’s where you are now.

But the devil comes along (and, yes, that’s who it is, the devil) and tries to tell you that it’s too late, you’re washed up and there’s nothing left to do but kill yourself. Jesus said of the devil that he was a murderer from the beginning and he’s trying to get you to commit murder, your own.

DON’T DO IT. Get help. Are you on some medication? A lot of those have side effects that bring on suicidal thoughts. You might need to check that out. Pour out your heart to God. Read the Bible, maybe the Psalms of David and let God’s Word speak to your heart. Fill your mind and heart with positive, encouraging, faith-building thoughts from the Word of God.

If your willpower doesn’t seem to work, try your “won’t power”. If you can’t find a way forward, at least you don’t have to start going backwards. Just slam on the breaks and sit tight in prayer and reading the Word until the storm passes. It will. It did for me. I’ve been through this and I’m mighty glad I didn’t take my life in times of some of my darkest despair.

You are valuable to others and to God. You are loved and needed and you mater. Hold on. It can and will get better and you can go on to the light of a brighter day that will make the present darkness be something you eventually no longer remember. Hold on. You are loved and needed.

Intimacy in Cyberspace ?

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Intimacy. Let’s admit it: we all want that. Physically, yes; but even as much or more that union of heart with heart with another kindred soul. Jesus prayed to His Father, “That they all may be one, as You, Father are in me and I in you.” (John 17:21) Some have it in their families, mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, the special feeling you have with your grandparents.

Intimacy is one of the most desired, sought and even most needed things we have in our lives. And now in our times we have the internet and cyberspace which has made it possible to be in contact basically with nearly anyone anywhere in the world. It’s certainly been a huge thing in my life to where much of my time is based around the material I post on line and communications I have all over the world with people I work with or with ones who’ve viewed or read my material

But am I enjoying intimacy in these settings? Is cyberspace satisfying the deepest desires of my soul and heart? In one sense I can definitely say no. On the other hand, equally I also have to say that some of my interactions with this vast assembly of friends and acquaintances have definitely been very satisfying and encouraging.

Maybe it comes down to what it takes to really satisfy each individual. Some know what real intimacy is like. It can be pinnacle experiences you’ve had in your relationship with God and Christ. It can be those incredible moments of bonding and unity with your mate, where you know you are truly loving that person and are being loved. Even times with your best friend, sharing your heart, being listened to and understood, even that can be a form of intimacy. And of course the interactions we have with our families, when things are going really well, is also a degree of intimacy that can sometimes be sustained over many years.

So how does cyberspace work as being an avenue of intimacy? While it’s been truly fantastic for me personally in being able to reach out across continents to where I’m getting to know folks in places like Rwanda, Dagestan, Nagaland and even remote towns where there are no roads to those places, it still doesn’t beat the real thing.

Real time. Face time. Human to human, right-in-front-of-you where you can see their face, hold their hand, hear their voice. That still is the benchmark of intimacy. We’re not cyborgs. We’re flesh and blood human beings who know the true and full reality when we see it. Cyberspace has been an incredible blessing. But for me it’s not been able to replace the need for traditional reality that humanity has known for millennia.

So, like for probably millions of people, “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.” In the Lord I certainly have. “You are complete in Him.” (Colossians 2:10) But it’s also true that, “It is not good for man to be alone.” (Genesis 2:18) Even when Adam had God with him in the Garden in a closeness most of us can’t even imagine, God still knew that Adam needed someone like himself beside him. And it’s still the same today.

While I’m thankful for the mass of friends and acquaintances I’ve come to have through the internet, I have to be honest and say that this other aspect of my life, real-time, face-time traditional reality intimacy with others is still pretty lacking in some respects and I feel it a lot.

I can imagine that very many people have turned to cyberspace to try to satisfy the aching void so many feel of the need for real closeness, even true intimacy. I don’t know if you could compare it to those who turn to alcohol or drugs to relieve their heartache but maybe there’s a comparison. But on the internet, you’re mostly interacting with someone real, an actual individual at the other end of a Facebook chat or your email message. So it’s not like alcohol really in that sense. But it can only go so far.

Does intimacy imply ecstasy? No. Solomon said, “Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart, so does the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty council.” (Proverbs 27:9) It’s like what I wrote about in “Jonathan, son of Saul”. Evidently King David and Saul’s son Jonathan had a very deep and strong friendship. But there never was any hint of anything physical about it.

Every person needs real, deep intimacy. That’s what we have with God through Jesus. “There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (I Timothy 2:5) We are restored, we are reconciled to God in Christ. And those things can bring joys and emotions that words sometimes can’t really reach.

And yet…, and yet we who are still here in this world most of the time still need others. We also need human love. Unity, contact, oneness. It says in the Bible, “Now we know in part, but then shall we know, even as we are known.” (I Corinthians 13:12)

It sounds like, in heaven, intimacy will be the coinage of the realm, intimacy with Christ and God but also with an incredible oneness with each other. But here…? Well, thank God for the internet and the good that has come of it. Still, for me at least I yet yearn and long for intimacy in this world and I know that is not really going to come through cyberspace.

It’s going to have to happen in real time, traditional reality. “The greatest of these is love.” (I Corinthians 13:13) God help us to continue in Him and His love. And, if it be His will, love with another human being, even real time intimacy.

Have you ever been “ghosted”?

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Have you ever been “ghosted”? I hope not. And I hope you haven’t “ghosted” anyone either. Jesus said of the time before His return that, “The love of many shall grow cold”. (Matthew 24:12) So it’s almost a sign of the times that, in human relationships, “ghosting” has become the new vogue. Here’s a current definition of what “ghosting”:

Ghosting is breaking off a relationship (often an intimate relationship) by ceasing all communication and contact with the former partner without any apparent warning or justification, as well as ignoring the former partner’s attempts to reach out or communicate.

Does that ring a bell? Maybe your best friend suggested, laughingly, that you just “ghost” your current boyfriend or girlfriend because you were going through a rough patch. Life is tough enough, times are tough enough and the outlook for many is bleak enough that this is just another punch in the ribs to our humanity, our standard of behavior and our love for our friends. This is now the cool thing, “Just ghost ‘em.”

I’ve written before about hardening your heart and keeping your heart. This maybe is another aspect of it all, that, (God help us!) we don’t have to revert to the satanic cruelty of this modern form of breaking up so that the person you once loved or were at least close to you now treat with a cruelty you wouldn’t show to a stranger.

Love is under attack at every turn. Decency, altruism and truth itself are rained down upon with new methods of debaucher and disdain so that we’re persuaded that the loftier things we once held dear just are no longer a part of our makeup. We don’t need the Russians, ISIS, immigrant caravans or anything else to attack us from outside. It’s the inside attacks, the insidious “gas seeping under the door” that actually slays far more than those we think are our enemies.

How many die today, they commit suicide because someone they loved “ghosted” them? Sometimes those we love the most can become our greatest enemies. Jesus said so. But it shouldn’t be. It. Should. Not. Be.

The Bible says “Owe no man anything but to love him for he that loves another has fulfilled the law.” (Romans 13:8) You’re not getting along, don’t have those feelings anymore, want to drop ‘em and move on to someone else? Well, even if you do that, you can still be kind. And you should be.

Do you want to have that person’s suicide haunt you the rest of your life? Or want to have that cruel thing you said and did eat away at your conscious the rest of your life? I have things I said when I was 12 years old to a friend of mine who was not as cool as the others and I, going along with the crowd, said some cruel thing to him. He looked me right in the eyes, with tears, and said, “You too, Mark?” He knew that I knew better. He expected me to not be like the other cruel kids in our class. It’s a horrible feeling to know I did that and I regret it to this day.

But how about just “ghosting” your girlfriend or boyfriend? Or your fiancé or even husband or wife? Aren’t we better than that? Even if you’re not a believer, doesn’t love itself call upon us to be kinder to our fellow human being?

I went through a horrific divorce many years ago, one of the worst things I’ve ever experienced. Somehow, through it all, my former wife and I were able to maintain some semblance of communication and measure of respect for the 10 years we spent together and for our 4 children. I tried to never speak against my former wife to my kids. I tried to find slivers and strands of what was left of the relationship and to hold on to those until things could very gradually get better. I’d seen as I grew up, that 30 years before my birth a huge divorce and animosity had had such devastating effects on my relatives that for generations afterwards wounds never healed, over lifetimes.

Don’t be cruel to the ones you love or even to the ones that love you. “Charity suffers long and is kind.” (I Corinthians 13:4) “Love works no ill to his neighbor.” (Romans 13:10) I believe it is just absolutely satanic to turn into the cruelest hatred what was once a love you had for someone. Maybe love has grown cold. Maybe “you’ve lost that loving feeling”. Maybe “you’ve seen them for what they are.” But we still owe everyone love to the degree that we can try to make it easy for the one we are breaking up with.

Hardness of heart can be a form of insanity, one of the worst. It can drive the ones we love to despair and death itself. Don’t do it, any more than you’d do drugs or shoot someone with a gun.

If you are going to break up with someone, try to be kind. Try to not cut them off and stop communicating with them. You’ll be a better person for it, you’ll help the other person to survive the loss of the love that was there and God Himself will bless you for your doing the loving thing.

Commit

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Commit, committed, commitment; lots of really important words from the same root. It’s an often familiar concept, not only to Christians but to everyone. Commitment is usually needed at every level of life, not only for success but even for some measure of contentment.

But this morning that root word, “commit” stood out to me as I went to the Lord in prayer. The Bible says so much about “Commit your way unto the Lord, trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass.” (Psalm 37:5) For the people of faith, this is one of the most essential steps in our spiritual life, one of the most important components of our inner character. The Lord said, “Without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5) and so we are charged throughout the Bible, through one admonition or the other, to “Come boldly to the throne of grace, that you may obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

I’ve heard that Martin Luther had so much to do one day that his helper, Philip Melanchthon, suggested that they cut their normal lengthy prayer time down so they would have time to do all that was before them. To this Luther replied that actually they would need to double their prayer time so that everything could be accomplished.

I expect that Luther fully understood the necessity of committing things to the Lord in prayer. One of the biggest changes in Luther’s life came in the middle of a lightning storm when he vowed to commit himself to the Lord if God would protect him through the storm.

For Christians there just isn’t any other way. Solomon even said, “Commit your works to the Lord and your thoughts shall be established.” (Proverbs 16:3) God can even clear up your mind from plaguing “vain thoughts” if you take it all to the Lord.

There’s just a ton of Scripture to highlight the importance of committing everything to the Lord. Paul wrote to Timothy about the persecution he was receiving as well as his impending martyrdom, “I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.” (II Timothy 1:12)

Paul had committed it all to the Lord. He spoke of this to the Philippians, admonishing them to “Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God that passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6 & 7)

That’s certainly one of the benefits of committing things to the Lord in prayer. You’ve laid your burden before the Lord, you’ve “cast all your cares on Him” (I Peter 5:7)  and you can have the peace of God through His Word that He’s going to take care of things. That’s just how it works for the people of faith. That’s the procedure, the contract, the method that God has laid out for us so that we’ll be in His will, we will have committed out way unto Him. And of course it should go without saying that we also continue to be open to His leading and guiding on the mater we’re praying about.

This is what I wrote about in “God will reveal”. The idea of course isn’t or shouldn’t be, “God, here’s what I want to happen! And now, God, make my plans all work out!” Hopefully we know better than that. Even Jesus said to His Father, “Not my will but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)

It should go without saying that what you’re praying about, what you’re asking God for should already be within His will and what He’s been leading you to do. This is what’s meant in I John 5:14 when it says, “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

But there has to be, not only commitment but also committing. We have to take it all, every worry, every need, every moment and task of the day to the Lord, asking Him to do it all. “Faithful is He that calls you, who also will do it.” (I Thesselonians 5:24) That’s the kind of results that come from committing our ever concern and action to the Lord.

Paul told the Philippians, “It is God that works in you, both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” (Philipians 2:13) And that happens after you’ve committed it all to the Lord, you are emptied of yourself as you pour out your heart to the Lord in prayer for Him to take over and work in you, through you and with you.

Maybe this isn’t normally a first grade lesson in the school of Christian faith and experience. But whenever it comes up in your life, I believe it’s a grace and quality that’s virtually indispensible in the fullness of the character the Lord wants us to have. I hope you’ve learned to daily commit your life, your thoughts, your heart, your desires, your will and your actions to the Lord. If you do that, He won’t fail to bless you beyond measure for your committing your life to Him.

Harden not your heart

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King David tells us, “Today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.”  (Psalm 95:7 & 8) Many people in our times may not even know what that means, to “harden your heart”. Or, if they do, they may think of it as something they should do, instead of not do.

Growing up in Texas (and perhaps it’s the same in any place and any age) it was really not cool to cry. Men don’t cry. It was a sign of weakness, a lack of manhood. But for me, as much as I would try not to, it would still happen from time to time. I won’t go into the details; sometimes it would involve the cruelty of some people. Or sometimes it was personal disappointment with myself. But it disgusted me that I’d still cry from time to time. I wasn’t a Christian and I didn’t believe in God. I was just a normal, worldly young guy and the image you look up to is utter coolness, and actual coldness and hardness.

I saw a movie starring Paul Newman when I was about 20 and it nearly drove me crazy. At the end of the movie the star had hurt and crushed virtually everyone in his family and in his life. The closing scene was of him knocking back the last of a beer with a cold, cruel, emotionless grin on his face. I just couldn’t accept that there was such hardness and lack of emotion and empathy in a person and it had a strong impact on me.

But when I came to the Lord and the light of Christianity, I had a whole new way of looking at things. I found that my weakness ofhaving a somewhat tender heart was not a weakness or a lack of masculinity. In the eyes of God it was a good thing. I found that King David said, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart Thou wilt not despise.” (Psalm 51:17) Brokenness, humility, malleableness, these are things that are of value and are esteemed in the kingdom of God. An obscure but amazing verse in Isaiah says, “Thus says the high and lofty one who inhabits eternity. I dwell in the high and lofty place with him that is of a humble and contrite spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” (Isaiah 57:15)

How utterly, utterly different that is from the values of the world around us. There the goal is to harden your heart to where nothing and no one matters to you at all. Utter hardness, utter coldness. But in God’s eyes, this is just the fruit and work of a stubborn willful soul, unwilling to be broken in order to have the love and healing balm of His truth and power to flood into us and make of us warm, compassionate people that we should be. It’s also called “resisting the Holy Ghost”. (Acts 7:51) God doesn’t force Himself on us. He entreats, He implores, He asks and He presents. But we have to accept. On the other hand, we don’t have to accept. In fact so many people don’t. They harden their hearts. They resist the Holy Ghost. People do that and have done that all their lives and they are proud of it.

Jesus said, “Whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken. But on whomsoever it fall, it will ground him to powder.” (Matthew 21:44) He was speaking of Himself. We are to fall on Him, to allow ourselves to be broken, to come to the end of ourselves, to even weep in prayer and in crying out to Him to work in our hearts. It really doesn’t sound very modern or cool or manly, does it?

But what happens if we don’t. He says, “On whomsoever it [the Stone] shall fall, it will grind him to powder.” It’s actually the same image as what Daniel saw in interpreting Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel chapter 2, verses 34 and 35. It’s a picture of a Stone “cut out without hands” crushing all the kingdoms of man and the kingdoms of this world and grinding them to powder.

Its your problem-flattenedThe proud, the haughty, the hardened of heart, the resisters of the Holy Spirit, resisters of love and of truth, resisters of mercy and compassion, will ultimately suffer an awful fate of seeing their hardened hearts be nothing but ashes. Then the verse will be fulfilled, “The meek shall inherit the earth and delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” (Psalm 37:14)

Do you have a tender heart? Does hardened, hateful cruelty and coldness sicken you? That’s a good sign, no matter who or what tells you otherwise.