Category Archives: Current events

Defeated… by Increments

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Mark Twain once said, “The news of my death has been greatly exaggerated.” It was a joke about his advancing age but it’s also sort of a deep thought. By increments is the way things often come, both good and bad. I’ve been thinking about how sin can end up actually defeating us. So often it is by increments.

It’s a sad fact that we are much more likely to be defeated by the devil when he takes the slow, methodical approach rather than some sudden shocking attack. They say, “The storm that keeps us awake is safer than the calm that puts us to sleep.”

When God was leading Gideon in preparation to battle the huge army of the Midianites, He told Gideon to take his men down to the river to drink. As Gideon watched them, God brought to his attention a tiny minority of the men who drank from the river while also being watchful of their surroundings, looking to be aware of any encroaching enemy. And God told Gideon that with that tiny band of 300 soldiers he would defeat the vast army of their enemies. And they did.

Gideon’s tiny band of 300 was seen to be watchful while the rest of the army of Israel was not. How fitting for our times. How much the forces of darkness are roaming and rampant in our lands. But so many of God’s people are indolent, somnolent and almost acquiescent as the forces of darkness claim more souls daily in our countries.

And I’m not making this up. I could cite examples in my own home town in the last month that are things that are almost like out of a sci-fi horror movie. But it seems only the tiniest handful of Christians are aware of what has transpired or are taking any action to protect their own children in my home town from the gross darkness that public institutions are now mandated to instruct them in.

It’s like what they say about the frog. I’m told that if you throw a frog in a pot of boiling water, he’ll jump out. But if instead you just slowly turn up the heat on the frog in the pot, he’ll get boiled. By increments. That’s so often how the devil and sin will defeat us: just slowly wear us down and get us accustomed to what will finally kill us in the end.

As I’ve written before, I believe we’re not called to only “believe in Jesus” but also to serve the Lord. This is clear both in the Old and New Testament. We are not just supposed to be sluggish grazing sheep of the Lord. Instead, it’s God plan and will for us to grow to be shepherds of the flock ourselves who care for the people of God and even stand up to fight in the spirit the battles of the Lord against the forces of darkness who come against His people.

Jude, the Lord’s brother, said in his short book that “we must earnestly contend for the faith.” (Jude 3) I so much pray and hope that the Spirit of God can find among the many millions of nominal Christians at least some Gideon’s band who are watching and prepared to go into spiritual battle in the real world in these times. Not politically in a worldly sense but still in devout, ardent Christian activism as the Lord leads.

Solomon said, “The prudent man foresees the evil and hides himself but the simple pass on and are punished.” (Proverbs 27:12) I like the part about “foreseeing the evil” but maybe sometimes the way to take is not to “hide yourself” but to confront and expose the evil before it takes your children and claims the land that is supposed to be our inheritance in the Lord.

But when the devil comes along as the sly, persuasive snake, talking us out of our faith, reasoning with us out of our convictions, it’s pitiful how well this seems to be working in so many places. Christians are being seen to be backed into a corner, divided, confused, surrendered and fainting in the face of the march of darkness. It’s like the article I wrote about where Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Well, there is room for encouragement. I’ve always been encouraged by some obscure verses found in Daniel 11, a chapter Jesus Himself very specifically referred to, about the last days before His return. It says there of those final times, “The people who do know their God shall be strong and do exploits. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many.” (Daniel 11:32 & 33)

So from those verses I’m led to believe that there will be at least a Gideon’s band in the final days who recognize the steady incremental advance of the forces of Satan in my country as well as throughout the earth. God has said in His Word that there will be some, perhaps very few, who will not bow the knee before the “strange gods” (Daniel 11:39) of our times but will hold fast to their faith and the Word of God, “in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation among whom they shine as lights to the world, holding forth the Word of Life.” (Philippians 2:15 & 16)

Frankly, right now I’m not seeing very many like that who have that holy vision and fearless boldness. But according to God’s Word, there will be some. Please pray with me that the Lord will find those few and raise them up.

Is God green?

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Is God green? Is there any way to find the mind of God on the environment, climate change and our relationship to this earth we live on? These subjects are some of the most controversial and perhaps the most pivotal in our times. Not surprisingly, powerful forces fight for control of the dialogue and even the facts on this issue. This is seen in the media worldwide every day.

For me, long ago I escaped the “left-right” dichotomy. This has helped me to more easily recognize the agenda-driven narrative that dominates the present debate on the environment. But what saith God? The vast majority would gladly say that we should just leave God out of it, if they even gave a thought of Him in the first place. Big mistake.

But… there is a God, there is a spiritual world, God’s got a whole lot going on this issue, as well as knowledge of how it all should and will turn out. We can see this plainly if we turn briefly to His Word, the truth He’s given His prophets and messengers for thousands of years. One of the most poignant and (to me) relevant things God has spoken concerning the present boiling debate on the environment is found in the last book in the Bible, called in many languages “The Apocalypse”.

In the book of Revelation we find the angels speaking to God in the very last days of this age, saying that He should “destroy them that destroy the earth.”  (Revelation 11:18) Someone is going to be destroying the earth in the final days of this age? And God doesn’t like that?

“Mark, surely you won’t use that verse to support an idea that God is green!”

Well, there are more like that. God spoke to His disobedient people through the mouth of the prophet Jeremiah, “I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof. But when you entered you defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination.” (Jeremiah 2:7) And in the laws of Moses they were commanded to not cut down all the trees in a land “for the tree of the field is a man’s life.” (Deuteronomy 20:19)

Again in the Apocalypse, we find strong references to our physical earth in the final days of this age, for example where it says of those times, “a third part of trees was burned up, and all green grass.” (Revelation 8:7) So I believe it does matter to God what we do with this earth. His original commandment from the beginning in the garden was that we were to “dress and keep it.” (Genesis 2:15)

But don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t mean that I think God is green the way the present Green movement often turns out to be. Those on the political “right” worldwide, often called Conservatives (and where many Christians feel they should align themselves) will say that God gave us the earth and it is ours to profit from, to use for our necessities and to further the progress and wealth of mankind. There’s some truth to that and plenty in God’s Word to indicate that this is His Will, within reason.

In the Green movement, there are “techno-optimists” who believe that mankind can find solutions through technology and ingenuity to make it through the changes that are upon us, if enough effort is made. But many other Greens are not optimistic. They’re already in a thoroughly apocalyptic view that it is too late, that the Rubicon has been crossed and the die is cast. They often end up having a similar view to the millions of “Preppers” here in the States who feel it’s only a matter of time before social collapse and the end of this world as we know it happens. But the Green apocalypse people see this coming through ecological devastation.

And it’s a little ominous to note what those on the edge of the spectrum in the Green movement see as our only hope. They say that some of their fellow Greens mistakenly are “trying to save Capitalism.” Chew on that a little. You mean the only way to save the earth from ecological extinction is to overthrow Capitalism? And replace it with…? Some form of neo-Marxism or State-controlled totalitarianism?

Wonderfully, I’ve found that there is a God who is above all this, more powerful than we are, infinitely smarter and more able as well. As bad as some things are getting, as uber-polarized as things get day by day, our Father in heaven is neither asleep or even sick. I don’t doubt at all that part of the curse on this earth and its inhabitants for their sins in these last days is because of the exploitation and destruction of this earth that’s come to pass through the greed in man’s heart for centuries, which is now coming back to bite us throughout the earth in the ecological changes going on.

Most Christians will tell you that we are not to “defile the temple of God” which we now consider our own bodies. “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” (I Corinthians 3:17) Equally, God is not going to let us get away with defiling this earth we live on through greed, lust and lack of concern for His creation.

So I expect that in the coming final days of man’s rule on the earth, before the return of Jesus to set up God’s Millennial reign through Him, we will see the increasing collapse of our beloved earth itself as it groans under our sins of greed and thoughtless exploitation of the environment.

I think God is green, at least as far as it comes to caring for this earth He created for our benefit. Sin is at the root of the environmental crisis, and yes there is one. Is there time enough left to pull the cookies out of the fire? Like so many things, I believe it will ultimately take the coming of the Lord to save us from ourselves.

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.

Back in Brazil

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When people ask me, “What’s your favorite country that you’ve been in?” I’ve often said “Brazil”. I was here 20 years ago and now I’m back to do recordings for the video series I do. It’s a funny feeling, almost like meeting a girlfriend from your past that you actually really liked and hit it off with but somehow it just didn’t work out. Still, you parted as good friends.

Twenty years ago Brazil virtually amazed me as one of the happiest, friendliest, most sincerely Christian places I’d ever been in. It was almost like, “What can I do here? I think almost everyone is saved, filled with the Holy Ghost and rejoicing in the Lord.” Of course I knew it wasn’t really, totally like that. But it was striking how many people in Brazil had a real peace and joy in the Lord.

So, like meeting that girlfriend after 20 years, you wonder how it will be and how she will be. And of course, Brazil, like the hypothetical girlfriend, has changed. The country had years of what can be called Leftist leadership which ended up not turning out very well. Recently they’ve followed the pattern in countries around the world in electing a Conservative, pro-business president.

Still, I definitely can feel that tingle and aura I felt here before. Meeting old friends from earlier times, seeing how they’re doing, how they’re keeping the faith and dealing with the vicissitudes of life, it impresses me how their spiritual roots remain deep in the Lord. There’s like a depth and stability about the people here that I don’t often find other places.

But there are still big problems. One of the main ones is simply armed crime. “Stick-ups”. There’s a large class of very poor people and often crime seems to them to be the only solution. So you pull up to the stop light with your window down and the guy comes up to you with a gun. He’s say something like, “Sir, I’m sorry. Give me your money or I will shoot you.” Some folks even have $50 or so they keep in their car for these emergencies. You give it to the guy, he thanks you, apologies again and you drive off. And then sometimes it doesn’t work out as nicely and simply as that.

This is not a panegyric for Brazil. The heart of man is the same the world over and people have sin in their lives and heart, everywhere. And yet, as the Bible says, some peoples and nations stay closer to the Lord. There is “an evil and adulterous generation” (Matthew 12:39) as Jesus said of those who were in His times. But then David said “God is in the generation of the righteous” (Psalm 14:5).

My impression is that Brazilians in many ways are still holding on to the faith and truth that they have in the Lord perhaps better and more faithfully than some of the other modern nations of the world. And so the Lord can and does bless them for this.

There’s just something about genuine faith in God, or the lack of it. It even says in the Bible, amazingly, about Jesus, “He could do no might works there because of their unbelief.” (Matthew 13:58) The Son of God Himself was hindered by the unbelief He encountered. But equally and conversely, He often eliminated all but only His most believing disciples from some place before He raised the dead or did other miracles. And this works on a larger scale. “Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people.” (Proverbs 14:34)

Here in Brazil there’s just a lot of faith in God and love for the Lord. Yes, there is stark poverty, crime, and violence as well as endemic illiteracy. And yet…, and yet there are these other more ethereal intangibles in the way of faith, joy and warmth that are so often noticed and appreciated by people like me who come from afar and who sense that these rather heavenly essences are strong here.

Well, the recording I came to do has been going well and I’ll soon be on my way again. I don’t really have any great lesson or teaching to share in this post. I just try to keep friends aware of what’s going on with me from time to time and that’s what this post is.

I guess we all know things about ourselves to some degree, our strengths as well as weaknesses. And I think the thing is, the people of Brazil are perhaps strong in areas that I don’t feel are my strong points. So often things come down to the heart and soul, not the mind. I find people here to have a pretty good mix of those three, heart, soul and mind. They seem to be relaxed but at the same time not really lazy.

Therefore it’s almost a little like going to a kind of school of life here for me , while also being idyllic in climate and geography. Forgive me if I’m just being too positive. There definitely are problems here but also it’s got a touch and taste of heaven that I don’t often find in other places.

Are you in your war room?

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I saw a really good movie last night, “War Room”. Often Christian movies can be a little corny and contrived but this one hit the mark for me. Of course the cynic in me and the cynic among us will say that things aren’t always just like we see in this movie. The other side of the coin is that I personally have experienced what’s in this movie and it changed my life.

It’s not exactly a low budget film but it’s no Hollywood extravagance either. A young wealthy African-American man and his wife are having marriage difficulties when the wife meets a woman a generation older than her, Miss Clara, also African-American. Over coffee Miss Clara learns of Elizabeth’s despair about her marriage and she suggests that a Christian and Godly approach to the trouble would be to fight the problem in prayer and with spiritual weapons to get at the root of the difficulties: sin, forgiveness and the huge need of them all for God’s grace.

In one sense it’s a very modern movie, dealing with modern problems. But in another sense it’s a throwback to the storylines of 60 or 70 years ago. Once upon a time, it was common to have happy endings to movies. Like the famous movie with Jimmy Steward, “It’s a Wonderful Life”, things all work out in the end. That type of movie fell out of vogue long ago and so often in more recent times there’ll be some horrific ending, some depressing tale ending in death and defeat for everyone. But the thing is, for those who are in the Lord and are holding on to Him and His will, there really are happy endings, just like in this movie.

Elizabeth, the wife, after some early stumbles, finally gets down to real and desperate prayer in her “War Room”, a cleaned out closet in her house, after seeing the example of how Miss Clara had done the same at her house. I hate to say it but somehow I feel it does work better to have the lead characters in the movie be African-American. I know white folks who are just as messed up as this young wealthy couple. And also I know white folks who are just as adept at storming the gates of heaven through desperate prayer to get answers as is Miss Clara. But for this movie and for the purpose of the producers, it seems to work better with things the way they’ve done it.

So after Elizabeth getting her own repentance and personal house in order, she continues to pray desperately as she literally fulfills the words of Jesus to “enter into your closet and shut the door and pray to your father in secret.” (Matthew 6:6) And, as the Lord said, the “Father which sees in secret shall reward you openly.” Elizabeth’s husband, a very successful man by wordly standards, comes to his senses of the heart that he’s been a failure to his wife and daughter to love them and a failure to God in his hard heartedness.

Well, there’s more to it but this is the gist of it. Not a bad story line at all and certainly one that’s as needed to be seen in our times, as ever. But the original twist in some ways is that the “war” has to be won in personal, fervent prayer, repentance, confession and then going on the attack against the devil to be able to regain the ground lost to “the prince of this world”. (John 12:31)

The movie of course was panned by critics but, not surprisingly, it’s become a pretty successful movie at the box office. I personally really liked it and agree with everything that they portrayed there. If I had any qualms, it would maybe be from the perspective of someone who’s lived outside the USA for over 30 years of my adult life. The movie was evidently made and directed towards an American audience. Some scenes were reminiscent of somewhat frothy American television productions and at times I did  wonder how those in Berlin or Budapest would view and react to what they were seeing. But for those who can rise above the chummy, feel-good Americana portions of the film, the actually message and spiritual reality that’s being portrayed there is five star.

I was glad to see that there wasn’t a whisper of politics in the film and the actors all evidently really knew personally what they were trying to portray. Miss Clara in particular, the elderly African-American prayer warrior (played by Karen Abercrombie) was excellent. Again, a quibble, I’m from the southern USA and I could understand her accent without a problem. But possibly those outside the USA might have difficulty understanding Miss Clara’s southern, African-American drawl.

Overall I’d say this is a great movie and one I’d recommend. Of course if you are a smug, staunch unbeliever and scoff at prayer, you’ll probably not watch it. Or maybe you’re somewhere in between faith in God and unbelief? In that case, I’d say you should check it out.

What’s in this movie isn’t exactly what happened to me but some of it is mighty close. I had to go through some forceful breakings of my stubborn will and hardened heart by the hand of God. And it was only the undeserved grace of God I ever pulled through into the wonderful life I’ve had for many years. This movie well portrays the spiritual realities of desperate prayer, repentance, fighting spiritual warfare through prayer and the intervention of God in our lives. It’s a good movie; I hope you’ll check it out.

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.

Elections in Sweden

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There will be elections here in Sweden in a few days. Much of the nation is caught up with it as seemingly fundamental changes are in motion here, as they are across Europe and in the USA as well. Answers and explanations that were taken as givens for generations in Sweden, and in other countries in Europe, are now being seen to no longer be sufficient for these times. Political parties that dominated the landscape for decades are crumbling or in disarray and new movements and forces seem to have better answers and explanations for the challenges that have arisen in recent times.

And of course, if you’re reading this in the States, this can all sound familiar. For the last 100 years in America, the only two political choices have been “Democrats” and “Republicans”. But what do those words mean now? And the same kinds of questions without answers are on the minds of people here in Sweden and in Europe. “Left”? “Right”? “Neo-Nazi”? “Feminist”? “Social Democrat”? “Conservative”? “Liberal”? For very many, those words are much more fudged and hazy than they’ve almost ever been before.

Bob Dylan once sang, “You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.” But I think that, in these times, many folks would be more than glad to find a competent and prescient “weatherman”, someone to make sense of these times, to rise above the petty and false in order to bring order out of chaos and wise explanations that ring true and break things down to simple clarity.

I’m personally trying to find clarity, through prayer and God’s Word, but also from competent, objective commentators in media sources worldwide. But it does look strongly like a storm is upon many nations , “the sea and the waves roaring and men’s hearts failing them for fear of those things which shall come to pass.” (Luke 21:25 & 26)

Confusion mixed with fear is a horrible thing. Of course those here in Sweden, as well as those in most of the rest of Europe and in North America, know virtually nothing of fear and confusion compared to the ones I met on the Turkish-Syrian border now almost 4 years ago, in Reyhanli. Friends I spoke to there had had barrel bombs dropped on their house and so had fled their country, as have millions of Syrians in these last years. We, the blessed in the West, have known no war in our lands since before I was born after World War II.

But still, there is much confusion in these times, and fear. The United States is now said to be more divided politically than at any time since the Civil War that took place between 1860 and 1865. I’ve sat in adult Sunday school classes in Texas where the discussion was on ways to openly, militarily defy and oppose in armed combat the United States government. There’s an underlying tension that has become the order of the day in America now. No one really knows where things will go and how things will develop between the increasingly strident extremes of Left and Right, Progressive and Conservative.

For me, the greatest call of allegiance in my heart is to Jesus Christ and His coming Kingdom on earth. That’s my sheet anchor of truth, morals, ethics and priorities. And some would say then that of course that means that you must fully put yourself down on the side of Right wing American political forces. You must be at the forefront of the cultural battle that rages and even be willing to “take up arms to take back our nation.”

But I’m not. Right wing American politics is just as laden with sin as is the Left. Different sins, certainly; but the quantity is about equal. So I don’t believe political activity is what Jesus Christ is leading me to do. Sometimes the very best any of us can do is just to “be still and know that I am God”, as the Lord told David in Psalm 46:10. If we do enter into unprecedented times, if some kind of social upheaval takes place in American or even other countries in the next months or years, my personal opinion is that the best thing I can do is to “dwell in the secret place of the most high” and “abide under the shadow of the almighty”. (Psalm 91:1) If a state of siege or martial law sweeps these lands, more than ever people will need friends to show them that there’s a greater stability and verifiable truth in the eternal God of Abraham and in His risen Son, Jesus of Nazareth. “Where sin abounds, grace does much more abound.” (Romans 5:20)  “God is not the author of confusion but of peace.” (I Corinthians 14:33)

These are confusing, troubling, changing times and so much that seemed to be foundational is now found to be shaking or already destroyed. All the more then should each person cling to the greater truths of the Bible that says, “When my spirit is overwhelmed, lead me to the Rock that is greater than I.” (Psalm 61:2) “God is our refugee and strength, a very present help in the time of trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed and the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.” (Psalm 46:1 & 2)

To Build and to Plant

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ignorance and Prejudice or Truth and Integrity

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

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

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

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

The prophet Daniel’s tomb in Tarsus, Turkey

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Addictions

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I was a drug addict. It was a long time ago and I got delivered but still, it was a major part of my life. And in these times it seems to be more and more a scourge on society worldwide. I just got word now of a friend whose son died last night of an overdose. He’d been in rehab, been incarcerated and had been revived many times. But last night he passed on, after another overdose.

It’s a sad time for his family and loved ones. But also it can be a time of reflection and even for some of us it can underline the militancy and determination we need to have to do what we can to help our fellow human beings.

I don’t know all the details of what happened but I know this young man had a Godly father who loved him and did all he could to try to help him. But this has caused me to reflect on what happened to me because I very easily could have died on drugs and in fact very nearly did. It was near death experiences before I came to Christ which so fundamentally shook me up that ultimately lead me out of atheism and towards the God of Abraham.

What can any of us do? How can we help someone in the grip of addiction, no matter what its form? In some states in America now the morgues are so full of the overdosed dead that they evidently can’t bury them fast enough or find a place to store bodies until they can be buried.

But if there’s anything I can add that can help in any way, it’s to say again that for me personally there was an escape from addiction. Because, at its root is the explanation the Bible gives for the nature of human beings, that we are fallen creatures who are in thrall to sin, in whatever way it has manifested itself in our lives.

(Did you roll your eyes when you read what I said there?) “Sin”, you said, with perhaps a smirk? You have my sympathies because that’s exactly the way I used to feel but actually the joke is on any of us who “make a mock at sin”. (Proverbs 14:9) Here’s a blog post I wrote specifically on “Sin”.

I never got deliverance from my addiction until I finally accepted what the Spirit of truth was hammering into me, that the explanation from the Bible is the most fundamental, elemental account of human existence that there is. So I’m going to take a few thoughts from the Bible that were absolute revelations to me and share them with you. Actually these truths were what reached into the darkest dungeon of my life and brought me out, even before I knew the actually textual verbalization of these truths that existed in God’s Word.

Here’s what Paul said and perhaps you can think of addiction in relation to this. “The good that I would, I do not. But the evil that I would not, that I do.” (Romans 7:19) That’s a short explanation of how sin works in addiction, whatever the form of addiction it may be.

In another place Paul said to Christians, “Sin shall not have dominion over you…”. (Romans 6:14) But, folks, let me tell you from my excruciating experiences and the bottom of my heart: if you don’t have Jesus Christ, sin will definitely have dominion over you. And drug addiction is just one of the clearest manifestations of that. Sin has dominion over you and as James, the Lord’s brother said, “Sin, when it is finished, brings forth death”. (James 1:15)

I’m convinced I was only hours, days or weeks away from death, insanity or prison when I finally was rescued by God. But how? John the beloved disciple said, “If our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart and knows all things.” (I John 3:20) I certainly deserved death, insanity or prison. The police were literally at my door to arrest me as a teenager and I would have been two years in prison. Here’s the story of how the Lord rescued me out of that. But, ultimately, God in His love gave me an opportunity to see things as they were and to choose Him and His ways. As Joshua told Israel of old, “Chose this day whom you will serve”. (Joshua 24:15)

I just didn’t personally have the power to stop using psychedelic drugs. I’d make a resolution to stop, I had all the intentions but then a few weeks or months later I’d go back to drugs. Sin had dominion over me. But here’s the Bible verse that best sums up the miraculous deliverance I experienced. Perhaps it’s my favorite verse.

From the first chapter of John, verse 12, it says, “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” That’s what happened to me. I received Jesus. I asked Jesus to come into my heart and save me from my sins. And He did. And He gave me that “power” spoken of there, power over sin that had so wrecked my life.

That still is the final solution against sin and addiction, in whatever form it may take. Yes, you may not be able to quit. But God is greater than you and your heart and even your flesh and your addictions. You can’t, but He can. It’s a simple as that. That’s what happened to me as an addict.