Weapons to Pakistan

Posted on September 29, 2014 by Mark McMillion

(Even before I tell what happened, let me say that this is in no way a negative article about anyone in the Subcontinent at all. I spent 18 happy months there in the 1980’s. It’s full of wonderful people and what I’m going to tell here could have happened in Burma, Bulgaria or Bolivia. The heart of man is the same the world over.)

In the late 1980’s I was in Delhi, the capital of India, for a few weeks. As my custom was, I decided to go personal witnessing one afternoon in an area where there were some high rise apartments. At one door I rang the bell to, the woman opened the door and I began my greeting and explanation, as I usually did.

She looked at me silently, long and hard, and then the first thing she said was, blurting it out,

I paused, shot up a quick prayer to the Lord and then told her with peace in my heart,

There was a brief silence as we looked at each other. Finally she smiled slightly and explained what she meant. And I answered that I understood what she had meant.

She recognized from my looks and accent that I was an American. At that time it was a very topical subject in the society as to how America seemed to be supporting Pakistan in its disputes with India and that it evidently was sending weapons to Pakistan. It was a very big subject in India and in Delhi at the time.

So when this woman saw me at her door, all she could think about was how, at an international level, my country seemed to be arming her country’s opponents. But of course the reality was that I personally had nothing to do with it at all. We ended up having a good talk there that afternoon.There was a little touch of humor to the experience and it somewhat brought us together as we talked.

And you might say, “So what?” For me, that experience was a perfect illustration of what so often goes on in human contact around the world which is damaging and wrong: stereotypes, prejudges, nationalism, racism, and the multitude of divisions and hatreds that plague and divide our world, wherever we go.

I’ve actually very seldom ever, in my 36 years outside the US, experienced anything approaching hatred toward me as an American or a white or a Christian. [And just to mention it, that woman in Delhi didn’t hate me; it was just a brief misunderstanding that cleared up right away.] I think it’s helped that I learned very early on to not bring with me the outward show of Americanisms and the mannerisms that some folks bring with them if they travel outside the USA. I went aboard, not to represent America but as a representative, God helping me, of Jesus Christ.

But to me, that woman’s initial judgment of me strictly along the lines of nationalism and secularism was a perfect example of human nature, worldwide: the sad, imperfect, divisive side of human nature.

“Chauvinism” is not a word in the Bible. But it means “an excessive or prejudiced loyalty or support for one’s own cause, group, or gender”. It’s a temptation for everyone, everywhere. But it’s opposed to the spirit of Christianity and the spirit of love.

Love doesn’t look at the outward appearance. That’s why God told Samuel, “Look not on his appearance, for God sees not as man sees. For man looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart.” (I Samuel 16:7) And doubtless He would have us to do the same.

It says in the New Testament that God has “broken down the middle wall of partition between us” (Ephesians 2:14), in this case speaking of the division between the Jews and the Greeks of those days, through the love of Christ. But God has been in the business of breaking down prejudices, hatreds and divisions for many centuries.

It says of Jesus, He “…will gather together in one the children of God that are scattered abroad.” (John 11:52) And to do this, He wants us to not look on the outward appearance, the nationality, the race, the age, the sex, the social status of ones we meet. He wants us to look at others they way He does, to look at the heart with love.

Hateful prejudices, chauvinism, nationalism, these are things that must grieve the heart of God. It says of Jesus, “He looked about with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their heart” (Mark 3:5). Jesus of Nazareth was not often recorded as being angry. But one time there it says He was angry at the hardness of hearts.

And just think how many people today, often people who consider themselves to be very Godly, are full of fear and hatred through the hardness of their hearts, encouraged by false shepherds to hate and fear others, to nourish division and hatred of those not of their faith, nation or culture. The Gospel of Jesus Christ was exactly the very opposite of that.

Happily that afternoon, the woman I met at the door and I were able to laugh at the thought that I’d sold weapons to Pakistan. May God help His people to realize their foolish labels and prejudices against so many are anathema to His loving Spirit and ways. And that they grieve and hinder His work in His people, unless they repent of them.

Chastening and Judgment

Posted on July 20, 2014 by Mark McMillion

Chastening and judgment? Who wants to read about that?! Most of us would rather go eat a cookie. But… but that’s where quite a lot of things suddenly come into play. It turns out that, in life, most of us find that we end up more enhanced and matured through the experiences we learn, often from chastening and judgments, than we do from the fleeting pleasures of eating cookies.

This morning I was sitting on that park bench again. And I was thinking about a slightly complex couple of Bible verses that say, “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.” (I Corinthians 11:31 & 32)

What does it mean, “If we would judge ourselves…”? The idea is, I think, that if we listened to the voice of our conscience (and for those of us who are Christians, the voice of God through the Holy Spirit), quite often those still, small voices will lead and guide us to make the right decisions. Now, we may not always like the way they are leading and it’s often a real battle inside of us to obey what we know is right.

But, like the verse says, “If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.” We can escape quite a lot of suffering in this world if we take heed to those voices of our conscience, voices of the Holy Spirit and Bible verses that come to mind which tell us something we should or shouldn’t do. This isn’t rocket science; basically everybody knows this, even if they don’t always like it or sometimes make light of it.

OK, sometimes you don’t listen to those voices and you seem to get away with it, don’t you? Ha! But then, like Moses of old said, “Be sure your sin will find you out.” (Numbers 32:23) Some people don’t like Moses and the word “sin” so they opt to “karma”. I read somewhere the other day,

“Karma is only a bitch if you are.”

And that verse I was thinking about this morning also gave the alternative to the times when we properly “judge ourselves”. When we don’t, sooner or later, through one means or the other, it says “but when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.” (I Corinthians 11:32)

Oh, how some people hate this concept! They love to make God out as some giant cruel monster Who’s always ready to crush us poor little righteous people. I wrote about folks how believe that recently in “God is a Monster!” he said. But we often don’t even obey our consciences, what we already know in our heart is right, much less any admonition from the Holy Spirit which tries to punch through and provide direction in our lives.

So through one means or the other, sooner or later there’s some form of suffering for our “sins”. Here are another set of very famous verses on the subject from Hebrews 12:5-11

“And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaks unto you as unto children, ‘My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, or faint when you art rebuked by Him. For whom the Lord loves, He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.’ If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father doesn’t chasten? But if you be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are you bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they truly for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but He for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to them which are exercised thereby.”

Some folks just utterly hate this passage and the concepts within it. But the reality is that for almost every person in their life, even if they hate the whole idea of what’s being talked about here, usually sooner or later they have to admit, if only to themselves and under their breath, that they did do something wrong or stupid or even evil and that they suffered because of it. And for some, they very reluctantly learned a major lesson of life through the “chastening” of their experiences. Or if you don’t like “chastening”, try “karma”

But how much better it is if we could just be like that verse says that we talked about and the many verses in the Bible which teach us to look at things so differently from the way the world does? That’s what that verse in Hebrews 12 is saying, “No chastening for the present seems to be joyous but grievous.”

Who likes chastening? Nobody! But the rest of the verse shows us how we can more wisely look at the thing, “Nevertheless afterwards it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”

Chastening isn’t the same as being beat up and injured in some abusive circumstances. But in whatever way some form of chastening comes, the wise in heart will ask the Lord, “What can I learn from this?” “Did this happen for some reason?”

There’s so much more to all this and I don’t like to make these long. There’s the whole thing about “justifying ourselves”. (Job 9:20, Luke 10:29) That’s usually our first reaction, even to strike back at the circumstances or the one who’s being used to correct us or even chasten us. But for some wise souls, like King David when he was being exposed by the prophet Nathan, (II Samuel 12) they seem to have the honesty and humility to admit their sins and to not justify themselves. For some of us, we sometimes eventually do that. But first we have to justify ourselves for a while, Lord help us.

What’s the conclusion? “If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.” It’s like the verse in Proverbs, “A prudent man foresees the evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished.” (Proverbs 22:3) Sometimes that “evil” a prudent man foresees is some impulse in his heart to do what he knows is wrong. But he sees it, recognizes it and turns from it. On the other hand, “the simple” (meaning in this case the unwise and hardened of heart) “pass on and are punished.” Because they didn’t listen to the voice of their conscience and the voice of the Lord. Or their friends.

Like it even says in Psalm 23, “Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me”. (Psalm 23:4) It happens to all of us. We all experience this. But if you learn from it, you can grow through the mistakes you make and you can learn to have a wiser, chastened heart which can be led by Him into “green pastures” and the “still waters” of life.(Psalm 23:2) God bless you!

“Happy Is That People”

Posted on July 16, 2014 by Mark McMillion

Jesus said, “Your joy no man takes from you.” (John 16:22) But we sure don’t feel that way all the time, do we? Happiness and joy can often seem pretty elusive. Is it confession time here? Maybe. I often have to pray against sadness. It just seems to spring up in me like some besetting sin, some old weed that keeps coming back. But I have learned by years of experiences that I can’t give place to it in the same way that the verse says, “Neither give place to the Devil.” (Ephesians 4:27)

Many would say, “But Mark, it’s not a sin to be sad! Sadness is just part of life, we’re all sad sometimes.”

little foxes Maybe so. The problem is, for someone who is trying to maintain a relationship with the Lord and to sort of keep himself in proper spiritual shape, these little things cannot be allowed to come into my mind and consciousness. There’s an obscure verse that says, “The little foxes spoil the vines”. (Song of Solomon 2:15) And the funny thing is that actually and truly, we’ve had a family of foxes in our neighborhood off and on for the last weeks. Yesterday there were three “teenager” foxes in our backyard and I told my mom about that verse, “the little foxes spoil the vines” but she didn’t understand it.

So I told her it was applied as meaning those “little sins”, things that may not seem like such a big deal. Like tolerating a little sadness to come, sit down beside you in your heart and strike up a conversation. It doesn’t seem so bad at first. There seem to be a few things to be sad about. This happened and that happened and this didn’t work out and someone said something I didn’t like.

But maybe it’s from years of experience, I’ve just come to know that this kind of thing has to be recognized and resisted just as much as if someone offered me drugs. The little foxes spoil the vines. And the rest of the verse says, “For our vines have tender grapes”. (Song of Solomon 2:15) The vines of our lives in this sense are tender. Our relationship with the Lord in some ways is tender, if it is fine tuned and is the way He wants it. And that can make it so that we can have a close relationship with Him. We can hear His voice, we are in line for His blessings, we are seeking to do His will, we are looking to experience Him each day, loving Him, loving others and pretty much abandoned to the freedom and joy of our life in Him.

But maybe it’s like the picture of the Holy Spirit being like a dove; it can be easily shooed away. And one way that can happen is by allowing ourselves to bend to moods and emotions that are not the ones He wants us to have.

There are just oodles of places in the Bible that admonish us about the benefits of cultivating a happy spirit along with warnings against falling prey to sadness and depression. “A merry heart does good like a medicine…” (Proverbs 17:22) “The joy of the Lord is your strength.”(Nehemiah 8:10b) “If you know these things, happy are you if you do them.” (John 13:17)

So the same way a person with a problem with alcohol or cigarettes can’t allow themselves to have even one smoke, some of us need to treat sadness with the same intolerance. It’s like the verse, “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard against him.” (Isiah 59:19b) That’s the kind of militant spirit and attitude we need to have if we want to “abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1), or as Jesus said, to “abide in the Vine”. (John 15:4)

We just have to fight it. We have to pray, we have to quote Scriptures, claiming the promises of God that He will give us joy and peace and happiness. We have to recognize that it’s not some little innocent thing that we deserve and isn’t so bad. We don’t deserve it because we are forgiven and are aiming to walk in the light. And it is bad because it’s one of those little things that seem so innocent. But the next thing you know, you are totally and utterly defeated, bummed out, ready to give up as you are flooded with more and bigger negative thoughts about yourself, others, God or whatever.

“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life“. (I Timothy 6:10) “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sins that so easily beset us.” (Hebrews 12:2) “I will set no wicked thing before my eyes (like “innocent” sadness), I hate the work of them that turn aside (people or spirits who would cause you to come down from the wall of His will and joy) it shall not cleave unto me.” (Psalm 101:3) Wow. What a statement. It’s a picture of these things almost being like some kind of evil, sticky chewing gum that wants to “cleave unto me”, wants to stick to you. Don’t let it happen. Claim His happiness and joy and walk and live in it today and every day. “Happy is that people that is in such a case, yea happy is that people, whose God is the Lord.” (Psalms 144:15)

Born This Way

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Mark McMillion

It’s incredible how human beings can come up with excuses for sin. It says in the Bible, “There are many devices in a man’s heart, nevertheless the council of God stands assured”. (Proverbs 19:21) A popular phrase nowadays is “I was born this way.”

If that excuse would stand, then it should be the literal “get out of jail free” card for ever court case in the world. It reminds me of a popular phrase from a generation ago, “The devil made me do it.” Now folks don’t blame the devil; they say they are born with traits that the Bible has condemned from cover to cover.

Who knows? Maybe they are “born that way”? A lot of us are born with traits that perhaps have been handed down from generation to generation in our families, whether that’s done genetically or is something that has been the nature and atmosphere that has been in that family a long time.

But does that make it right? And does that make it inevitable that you’re preprogrammed, destined to be that way? Of course not. Here in America it’s popular to talk about “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” But when it comes to sins enslaving individuals, then it quickly becomes “the land of the chained and the home of the fearful.” But the power of God is just as real today as it has always been. God’s strength and deliverance is just as real and close as ever for anyone who was “born that way.”

What prompted this post was when I was working on one before this, about pride and humility, “All You Meek Of The Earth”. Some people say the same thing about pride, “I’m just naturally that way, I was born like this.”

Maybe so. But that doesn’t make it right. People nowadays are so “alienated from the life of God” (Ephesians 4:18), so distant from basic “Judeo- Christian” teaching that they don’t even know the difference between right and wrong.

There are oodles of things we may have been born with. I’ve known people who were just compulsive liars and it ruined their lives. Some are obsessed with gambling and it ruined their lives and their families as well. Some truly enjoy inflicting pain on others. I’ve sat and listened to a friend give a glowing panegyric of sadism, how natural it is, how human it is, how necessary it is and what a thrill it is.

That’s why Jesus said, “You must be born again” (John 3:3). Yes, maybe you were “born that way.” But you must be born again. Sadism, homosexuality, lying, gambling, gluttony, pride, fear, despair, violence and I could list 50 more are not the ways and the will of God.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith meekness, temperance, against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22 & 23) If you love God and your neighbor as yourself, most of the time you won’t be having run-ins with the law, or the police in this case. “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” (Proverbs 14:34)

So, “you’re born this way.” Everyone is. That’s why Jesus came, to give us “repentance to life“. (Acts 11:18) Maybe your sin is different from mine or someone else’s; but it’s still sin. I very nearly died in my sins. It was no joke, no time for some glib one-liners that thrill talk show hosts. I do sincerely hope that whatever it is that you were born with, that you will avail yourself of the power of God which can overcome any sin, any.

Of course the sad reality is that it’s not really that many folks were “born that way”, “They love to have it so” (Jeremiah 5:21). They reject the urgings and the admonitions of the Spirit of God that “the way they were born” is not of God and that they should repent. Jesus said, “Everyone that does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” (John 3:20) It’s just the sinful nature of man and we all have that tendency. Some people have resisted the truth and the admonitions of friends and loved ones their entire lives. They go to the grave in their sins because they have loved them and claimed them as who they are.

But others say like the Apostle Paul, “Oh wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?!” (Romans 7:24) For those folks, there’s a deliverance, a miraculous change, a metenoia that God has been granting to the vilest sinners for thousands of years.

You may be born that way. But you don’t have to stay that way. “Sin shall not have dominion over you”. (Romans 6:14) “As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” (John 1:12) That verse is one of the most personal to me in the entire Bible. When I received Him, He gave me power against the sins that had overcome me and defeated me til then.

It’s free, it’s for everybody. You may be born that way. We all are. But you don’t have to stay that way. Unless you really like it and chose to. “Except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God”. (John 3:3)

Just Did It

Posted on June 22, 2014 by Mark McMillion

Don’t tell me God doesn’t have a sense of humor. As I’ve written about before, I usually go on at least one walk a day. It’s more of a prayer time than really exercise but I guess it’s that too. It’s just refreshing and invigorating to get out in nature and to see God’s creation. But also it somehow helps my prayer life to be out like that.

This morning I was a little bit burdened. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it but there were just a number of little things nagging at the edge of my mind and conscience. Things I need to do, things that didn’t turn out the way I’d hoped, responsibilities I have, folks who need my help, etc, etc.

So I was sitting on a park bench quietly pouring out my heart to the Lord about many of these things, not really feeling peace in my heart, not really feeling close to the Lord and somewhat unsure of where I stood with Him this morning.

Maybe it’s like the verse “In the multitude of my thoughts within me, thy comforts delight my soul.” (Psalm 94:19) Somewhat suddenly, “in the multitude of my thoughts within me” I got a strong verse that punched through it all, “Faithful is He that calls you, Who also will do it.” (I Thessalonians 5:24)

That really helped. It was like a theme or an overall message from the Lord and I know other promises along the same lines. So I quoted to myself, “He that has begun a good work in you will perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6) “It is God that works in you, both to will and to do of His God pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13) And others like that.

The feeling I was getting was that the Lord has done it this far. So many wonderful things in my life that have happened in the last few years have been things He orchestrated and did, not me. He’s “the author and finisher of my faith” (Hebrews 12:2) , “not of works lest any man should boast”. (Ephesians 2:9)

So the Lord was saying with that verse, “Relax, lean on Me, cease from your own works. I’ve been calling you and leading you in what’s been happening so I will be the One doing it, as I have been.” Makes sense, doesn’t it? So it was a relief to get that verse from Him. But there’s more.

If God was going to give you a cake, do you think there would be icing on it? Of course there would.

So I was sitting there on the park bench, mulling over the verse I’d just gotten from the Lord and also the other ones I knew from memory that said something similar.

Then, almost immediately, along came someone walking along the path near the bench. As they walked past me, on the back of their T-shirt was the words, “JUST DID IT”. Hmmm. So less than a minute earlier the Lord had spoken to me with the verse, “Faithful is He that calls you, Who also will do it.” Then almost the next thing that happens is that someone walks by me with a message on their T-Shirt, “JUST DID IT”.

Hmmm. Probably just a coincidence, no? Or was that a case of “confirming His Word with signs following”? (Mark 16:20) I’ll go for the later. To me, it was like the Lord adding some icing on the cake. It was like, “I will do it” (future tense) but also He was saying, “I am doing it now and I have done it in the past.” Whew, the Lord is spreading it on.

It’s like that verse, “Who has delivered, Who does deliver and Who will yet delver us.” (II Corinthians 1:10) Past, present and future, He did it. He is doing it; and He will do it. Eternal.

Well, I’ll tell you, I needed that. I guess we all do. For me though, I really need to have the Lord’s leading and presence and a fresh experience with Him pretty often. Doing these videos, writing these blog posts, I really feel a need to not just be doing my own thing, tooting my own horn and inadvertently getting tripped off into something that’s not of Him.

So I was really glad to have this little experience this morning. It is similar in some ways to other things I’ve had happen to me on my walks that I’ve written to you about before, things like “Hawks and Doves”, “Red Lights and the Sabbath” and “Everything Means Something”. These all happened on my walks to the park.

We all have so much to do, so many responsibilities, folks who are depending on us or who need us. The world is in such a mess and it seems to be getting worse fast. There’s so much confusion and rancor, even among devout Christians. There are so many pointing out vehemently which way we should go or we’re doomed. Maybe for all of us it helps to get away to a garden, to pour out our hearts to the Lord and to get some personal message of comfort and direction from Him. It helped me this morning; I hope you’ll experience the same thing soon in whatever way He may lead.

New Wine and Old Bottles

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Mark McMillion

A common phrase or term on the mission field was “old bottles and new bottles” and “old wine and new wine” (Luke 5:37-39). But it seems that most Christians I meet here are unfamiliar with these terms. They come directly from Jesus and really contain some amazing, important truths. The goal for each believer is to be a “new bottle” who can take the “new wine”. I’ll bet you’ve never heard that taught in church. But it’s in three of the four Gospels.

Jesus was responding to a jibe from the Pharisees. They said to Jesus “Why do John the Baptist’s disciples often fast but yours don’t?” (Luke 5:33) This was another of their less-than-veiled criticism. But the Lord answered them “Can the children of the bride chamber fast while the bridegroom is with them? But the days come when the bridegroom shall be taken away. Then shall they fast in those days.” (Luke 5:34 & 35) While Jesus was with them, His disciples didn’t need to fast because the Lord was right there. But Jesus was saying that when He was gone to be with the Father, His disciples would fast in those days.

Then He went on to say a very interesting, deep analogy or parable which might have been a lot easier for them to understand back then than it is for us now. He said, “No man puts new wine into old bottles or the new wine will break the bottles and be spilled and the bottles will perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles and both are preserved.” (Luke 5:37-39) What in the world is that talking about? I can tell you, it’s pretty important and I’ll bet your church is not telling you about it.

Kahlenberg grape fields; Vienna, Austria

I lived in Vienna, Austria for 6 years as a missionary to eastern Europe when it was still under Communism. And wine making in Vienna is like beer in Germany: it’s just happening everywhere and it’s part of life. Here’s something I learned. Wine, when it’s first put into kegs, expands. And some of the wine with the most “kick” to it is wine that’s only around 3 months old. But the word used there is “bottles” so that throws us modern people. When we hear “bottles”, we think of glass. But the actually meaning of “bottles” is wine skins, the leather vessels into which wine was put in the times of Jesus.

An old wine skin. An “old bottle”.

Here’s what happens. When they press the grapes and put the results into wine skins, as the weeks go by the wine begins to expand inside the wineskins. If the “bottle”, the wine skin is relatively new, then the leather is still supple and it can expand with the wine and not break. But if the “bottle” (the wine skin) is “old”, then the leather is dry and cracks easily. Then the “new wine” will break the “old bottles”. So Jesus taught that new wine must be put into new bottles and both will be preserved. If you still don’t get it, no problem. Very many people don’t.

What Jesus taught was “new wine”. He didn’t spend much time going back to the traditions and shibboleths of the Pharisees and traditionalist. He taught the pure and true Word of God, which even included some “new” things, like when He healed on the Sabbath or forgave men their sins or His many parables. His disciples were, for the most part “new bottles”. They were strong believers but they weren’t polluted by the “old wine” that had so perverted the religious teachings of those days.

But the Pharisees and most of the religious leaders were “old bottles” and Jesus’ “new wine” almost continually “broke their bottles”. He didn’t show respect to the many traditions of the day, He fellowshipped with publicans, sinners and harlots, His whole manner and way was completely different from the religious leaders of the time. “But the common people heard him gladly” (Mark 12:37). Because many of them were dissatisfied with the “old wine” that was coming from the oppressive, rigid religious establishment back then.

Peter, Acts chapter 10

But none of this could still happen today, could it? There couldn’t be anything like “new wine” today, could there? God stopped speaking over 2000 years ago, didn’t He? Could there be any “old bottles” today? Jesus told His disciples, on the night before He was arrested and crucified, “I have many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now. But when the Spirit of Truth is come, he will guide you into all truth.” (John 16:12 & 13)

Peter, Acts chapter 10

More truth after Jesus? “No way!” you say. Then check out Acts chapter 10. The truth revealed to the Apostle Peter was so radical and so very nearly “broke his bottle” that he just barely was able to take it. But he did and he went on to obey what God showed him. That’s why Christianity has included non-Jews for the last 2000 years. The truth revealed in Acts 10 was so radical and potent that it very nearly broke the bottles of even the early Christians at that time. In Acts 11, the whole chapter is about Peter trying to explain it all to the brethren back in Jerusalem. The thing about the Gentiles being filled with the Holy Ghost, like what had happened in Acts 10, seriously broke their bottles.

God said one time, “My ways are not your ways and My thoughts are not your thoughts” (Isiah 58:10 & 11). Often, if God really shows you something personally, it can sometimes at least be pretty much “new wine” and even hard to take. But if you’re a new bottle, you can take the new wine and you receive and obey what the Lord has given, like Peter did. Then, like a real wine skin, you’ll keep expanding and contracting and you’ll stay supple and fresh as you continue to receive and pour out, expand and contract.

But more often what happens is that folks become “old bottles”. They stop receiving and they don’t pour out; they just keep their wine which gets old and they become like old, brittle leather wine skins. Jesus even said, “No man, having drunk old wine, immediately desires the new, for he says, ‘the old is better’’” (Luke 5:39). If anyone tries to put new wine into them, it just “breaks their bottle”. Have you ever tried to put new wine into old bottles? Often they say “the old is better”, just like Jesus said would happen 2000 years ago.

But if you can take the new wine, God can continue to lead and guide you with really fresh new inspirations and leadings straight from Him. It can be tough at times because new wine is often pretty strong. But it’s worth it. I hope you’re a new bottle and can take the new wine. It’s the only way to go with Him and His will, the progress and path up the mountain of His will that He wants each of us to take.

“Therefore every scribe who is instructed unto the Kingdom of God is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things both old and new.” (Matthew 13:52)

“God’s a monster!” he said.

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Mark McMillion

Recently a dear Asian friend who was a missionary for years in Vietnam sent me a letter she’d received from a friend of hers there. Her friend had been sent a blistering letter from someone she knew, disparaging God. The antagonist letter against God was like this:

“First things first: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Are we talking about the same “loving” God who tormented Job just to show off to some guy named Satan which He actually created Himself? The same God that demanded all first born babies to be killed in one country because He didn’t approve what one guy was thinking? That doesn’t sound like a loving dude to me, more like a blithering a##hole. What’s your take on this?”

So my Asian friend was hoping I’d have some kind of answer to the letter. And when you’ve lived a life of Christian service, you end up hearing a lot of things, whether they are difficult questions or just things like this. So I wrote back to her:

It’s a big subject and not a very original one since this kind of thing has been talked about and debated for centuries. As far as Job goes, it was very much an “All things work together for good to them that love the Lord” situation. (Romans 8:28) God certainly wasn’t “tormenting” Job to show off to the Devil! That’s a really dirty way to see God’s dealings with Job there.

The truth is that Job had some deep-rooted problems. He was “good” in many ways but also he was very aware of his goodness and boasted about it a lot. So God, in His love, was taking away nearly everything from Job. This (for one) ended up showing Job’s true, deep faith in God.

But at the last Job got to where he changed his views on what a great person he was. So it worked out to be something good in his life, making him a wiser, humbler man who loved the Lord even more and his story has been a witness to humanity for nearly 4000 years. “No chastening for the present seems joyous but grievous. Nevertheless afterwards it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to them which are exercised thereby”. (Hebrews 12:11)

Actually Hebrews chapter 12 is the classic chapter about God’s dealings with humanity and how that at times He chastens us. Jesus said something similar, “Every branch that bears fruit he purges it that it may bring forth more fruit.” (John 15:2) Anybody who has children usually knows that you can’t just let a child totally do their own thing without guidance and that usually means there has to be repercussions when a child does something they shouldn’t. This is just life and humanity and the world we live in. Even animals sometimes chasten their children in order to teach them and to protect them from danger.

It sounds like whoever wrote that note believes in God. They just don’t like Him. But if you’re going to blame God for those things he writes there, by the same token you have to also give Him credit for all the good and the beauty in this world.

Every sunset, every delicious fruit, every beautiful woman or handsome man, all the incredible beauty of this world that we experience every day was made by the same One that the person there is accusing of being bad.

God is love but also He is a God of righteousness. This has to include not only reward for doing the wise, loving thing but also recompense for doing the cruel, hurtful thing. Some folks blame God for allowing Hitler. And then they accuse God for things like this person has said or written to your friend. For some people, when a cat catches a mouse or a sparrow eats a bug, they say, “Oh how cruel!”

But this is the world we live in, full of beauty but also at this time there are things like cruelty and even one species living off of another. But then, that’s what Jesus’ sample was to all of us. He said, “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) And then that’s what he did, He laid down His life for us all. But He was perfect, sinless and God raised Him from the dead. That’s why Jesus is so special and unique.

Yes, there is cruelty in this world and at times God has had to use some drastic measures. For those who want to focus on the cats catching the mouse or some of the more drastic scenes in the Old Testament, then they can compose a patchwork of pieces that would seem to make God to look bad. But then they have to leave so very many pieces of the puzzle out in order to force those few pieces into the picture they have come up with.

God is love. God gave His only Son. It’s a beautiful world and we have a wonderful life. And it comes from Him. People who chose to look at God as a cruel tyrant are really missing the big picture. All we can do is to witness to them, try to share the love of God with them and by our samples show them God’s love through our lives.

Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it takes many years. Sometimes people change overnight. But their negativity and accusations against God really shouldn’t have much effect on our knowledge of God since we know so much through the Word and also in His daily dealings with us.

God bless you, I hope this helps and perhaps helps your friend also. Great hearing from you, lots of love from Mark

And maybe this will be a help to you or someone you know. This type of accusation and/or question has been around a long time. It’s part of our battle of faith to know how to “be always ready to give an answer to every one a reason of the hope that is within us.” (I Peter 3:15)

The movie “Noah”

Posted on April 5, 2014 by Mark McMillion

I just saw the movie “Noah”. I’m glad I went, it was good.

“Oh, Mark, how can you say that!?”

Well, there are a lot of reasons. When I want the pure truth of God’s Word, I of course read my Bible and believe the account of Genesis. But I part company with all the strident folk who think that a movie has to be 110% Bible-based before it can have some strong redeeming features. Tell me a movie that’s been 100% perfect in the eyes of the guardians of the faith and I’ll probably tell you of one that is cheesy, slick and possibly trying so hard to be true to the Scriptures that it ends up being shallow, poorly acted and possibly with some denomination’s baggage included in it.

Methuselah with his great grandson, Seth

Some Christians remind me of the princess and the pea. She was so refined she felt a pea under the 100 mattresses she slept on. But the Bible says, “To the hungry soul, ever bitter thing is sweet.” (Proverbs 27:7b) Instead of being critical, maybe we should think of the multitudes worldwide who’ve basically never heard anything of the story of Noah. Most of us would have to admit that there’s quite a lot of truth portrayed in this movie which may turn out to be pretty “sweet” to all those “hungry souls”. That’s who we should be thinking about anyway, not some pea under the mattresses that offends us.

Tubalcain, leader of the forces of the earth against Noah

Yes, some parts of the Noah movie use a large amount of “artistic license”. Like others have mentioned, it includes things from the book of Enoch, an apocryphal book that delves into fallen angels and quite a lot of deeply spiritual stuff that in several places falls outside the way the Bible presents our world, God and the spiritual world.

But on the other hand, it was just a thrill to see a modern movie try to do justice to the time before the Flood. The very first time I ever read a Bible, a few days after I had nearly died and been carried to hell by the devil, I read the first pages of Genesis and it was the story of Noah that touch my heart.

“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth. And that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that He had made man on earth. And it grieved him at His heart.” (Genesis 6: 5 & 6)

When I first read that, I remember how my reaction was that I just felt sorry for God. It certainly wasn’t a surprise to me to read what was written there. I knew in myself what a depraved person I’d become and I knew how our world is today, not too far different from the days of Noah.

So it was great to see professional movie makers try to do justice to this incredible subject. To see that time depicted as it must have been, to see Noah and his family trying to make their way in that world and to have God, in His special way, to communicate to Noah His intentions, was a very fascinating and fulfilling thing.

There’s so much that could be written about. Yes, the plot has some major parts that are not found in the Bible. But the abiding message of the movie is summed up in a wonderful verse from the New Testament. “He will have judgment without mercy who has showed no mercy. And mercy rejoices against judgment.” (James 2:13) That’s the message. Love and mercy when it seems there’s every reason for judgment.

Like I’ve read of the story of Napoleon, when one of his young soldiers had run away from the battle for the second time. He was to be shot but his mother pled with Napoleon for mercy. “He doesn’t deserve mercy”, Napoleon told her. “Sir,” she cried, “If he deserved it, it wouldn’t be mercy.” So true. In the end, even Noah in the movie had to learn of mercy and love.

So this movie, for all the points that the literalists can quibble about, really has a lot of solid meat from the truths of God in it. Some complain, “Oh it doesn’t say God! It says ‘the Creator’!”

So what! I’ve been a disciple of Jesus for over 40 years but I still remember well what it’s like to be a stone cold atheist. This movie can do a real work on the unbelievers. Isn’t that a good thing? I don’t think it’s going to stumble any Christians. Or Jews or Muslims for that matter. But it might really make an impression on multitudes of those who are in the darkness of unbelief. Isn’t that what we should be thinking about?

Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze in “Ghost”

Can’t we use it as a springboard for witnessing to people? Like I wrote about in the blog post about the movie “Ghost”, I was witnessing to a young man 20 years ago in Budapest and at one point, in agreement with something I had said to him, he said, “I know, I know. I saw “Ghost”. That movie had witnessed to him and opened his eyes to the spiritual world. I think this movie also can get a lot of people thinking or wondering or just considering the whole thing that they maybe never even heard of before.

In I Corinthians 7:31, Paul said, “And they that use this world as not abusing it…” We need to learn how to use the world but not let it use us. We can use this movie, and the large measure of good and positive truth that is in it, as a springboard to our witness.

LIke someone has said, “Some Christians are so afraid of everything, they don’t have nothing!” Some Christians were famous 100 years ago for saying, “We can’t use the radio because the Devil uses the radio!” “We can’t use the piano because the Devil uses the piano!” And they often ended up spiritual barren and forgotten as fearful, narrow-minded religious extremists.

God forbid that that should happen to any of us. Go to the movie, enjoy it. “Chose the good and eschew the evil.” (I Peter 3:11) And then use it to enhance your witness and tell people about the awesome, just, but also loving and merciful, God of Noah.

Crimean Crisis = “This Is The End”?

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Mark McMillion

I lived in eastern Ukraine for 18 wonderful months in 2008 and 2009, in Dnepropetrovsk. So the Ukrainian crisis has been personal for me and I’ve kept in close contact with friends there. But many who follow “the signs of the times” (Mark 16:3) are really wondering if this is the beginning of the battle of “Gog and Magog” (Ezekiel 38:2). Gog and Magog are considered by many to be the ancient land area of modern Russia, spoken of in Ezekiel 38 and 39, considered an integral part of the endtime picture leading up the final events foretold in the book of Revelation.

Others of a more secular viewpoint simply wonder if this could be the leading edge of a new “Cold War” as Russia seems to be stretching its muscles in what some would say is a time of American weariness with foreign adventures and “wars of choice”.

I’ve received no dream or revelation about this and I’m not really seeking for one. But simply from a geopolitical and strategic view, I don’t personally see this going much further than it has already. If a referendum had been held in Crimea a year ago or 5 years ago, all those folks would have voted about the same way they did recently. On March 16, over 90% of the Crimean people voted for unity with Russia. It’s always been a strongly Russian enclave, more than anywhere else in Ukraine.

But Mark, what about all those Russian speaking folks in the eastern half of Ukraine?

That’s who I lived and worked with, who I had Bible classes with and who became my good friends. I didn’t meet a single one in 18 months who said anything about wanting to break away from Ukraine and be joined with modern Russia.

I was talking to my best Ukrainian friend there, a man in his 30’s with a wife and 2 kids. I asked him one time, “So how do you see yourself?”, expecting him to say either say that he was Ukrainian or Russian. He paused thoughtfully and said, “I’m Slavic.”

There’s no way to explain what that means to English speakers that I know of. People from Montenegro on the Adriatic to Vladivostok on the Pacific coast of Russia are all ethnically Slavic. My friend meant that he didn’t have a really strongly rooted national identity, like almost everyone else in the world does, which they just take for granted. Ukraine is like that; it would be strange to say it’s a “bi-polar” nation but maybe that’s an easy way to express a difficult condition and history.

But Mark, is this it? Will Russia keep biting off huge chunks of Ukrainian territory and other places in that part of the world?

Putin has said publicly that they have no intention of doing that. On the other hand, he’s said he will defend Russian nationals in other countries. If for any reason, Russia moves against Donetsk or Kharkov, that’ll be a bad sign. Those are the two large industrial centers in the far northeast and southeast of Ukraine. I don’t expect that. But if that happens, it’ll be bad. The same can be said for any Russian move towards the ethnic Russian area of Trans-Dniestr, in eastern Moldova, on the southwest border of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen what the new government in Kiev will do. Will they initiate a battle with Russian troops? Certainty all the leaders of Nato will strongly discourage them from doing that, whether or not that will have any influence.

What’s going to happen? It’s going to blow over is my guess. There’ll be anger, there’ll be sanctions, and there’ll be recriminations. But that most likely will be it.

Will this bring on World War III and/or God and Magog?

“Wolf, Wolf!” he cried.

I don’t think so. On the other hand, for those who study prophecy and feel that we’re living in a time prior to the final events spoken of in Revelation, most of us feel that something (we don’t know what) is going to be the little match that lights the inferno of the future. Yes, this could be it.

But, let’s face it, so many people of faith have been somewhat jerked around by “Wolf, Wolf!” cries from alarmists and Cassandras for many years now and often we naively fall into another round of fear and confusion.

That’s one of the reasons I’ve been working on this series of videos on the book of Daniel. In that book, and others in the Bible, there are some very certain signs that will precede the final events in the book of Revelation.

So would you like to really know what to watch out for? The Third Temple. Maybe you’ve heard of that but there are plans made and movements afoot to rebuild the third temple in the history of the Jewish people. Right now that’s hindered by the Mosque of Omar on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

The Mosque of Omar, Jerusalem

But if you hear about things changing so that the building of that Jewish temple is going forward, you’d do well to really pay attention to that. And if that one slips you by but you hear about animal sacrifices being started again in Israel, that’s another very powerful signpost of the Last Days.

Meanwhile, I’m certainly not speaking prophetically here but I feel that the Crimea thing will blow over. If it doesn’t and Russia keeps up its appropriation of the territory of other nations, then we’ll definitely want to see if that develops into things that Bible prophecy has foretold.

Where’s That Plane?

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Mark McMillion

I don’t usually write about current events. But the story of the missing Malaysian Airlines flight 370 which vanished 4 days ago has a number of things to it that I really wonder about. First, this is not going to be about alien abductions and the New World Order. Well, maybe a little about the New World Order but not the way it’s regularly presented.

Malaysian Airlines flight 370 took off from Kuala Lumpur airport on March 8, 12:40 AM local time and was due in Peking 6 hours later. With 227 on board and a crew of 12, it was just another of the 10’s of thousands of planes in the sky each day around the world. But an hour into the flight it disappeared off of commercial radar. A search was started and all available avenues of inquiry have been made since then. There really are a lot of questions, including the ones that are not being mentioned on mainstream media but which can be asked in a post like this.

First, just to illuminate a few things, Malaysia is no slouch of a country. I’ve been there a few times and flown in and out of that airport. It’s a very modern state-of-the-art place. And if you’ve ever heard of Mahathir Mohamed, you may know that his almost autocratic rule in Malaysia for years brought very robust gains virtually across the board in Malaysian economic growth and material advancement. This has been known and respected in Asia for years.

Another point to make: they are not just being nice people by trying to find that plane. Ever heard of Pan Am flight 103? That’s the one that was blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988. And if you’re younger than me, you may have never even heard of Pan Am airlines. That’s because the airline was sued out of existence in the aftermath of the disaster by relatives of the ones on that flight. Airlines don’t want to have unsolved airline disasters, not because they love you but because the lawsuits can literally cause them to go bankrupt, like with Pan Am.

A similar disaster happened in 2009 when an Air France flight 447 crashed in the ocean between Rio and Paris. The authorities moved heaven and earth for many months to find the wreckage of that flight at a depth of 13,000 feet in the Atlantic in order to establish exactly what happened so the information could be used in court and that changes could be made to planes so it won’t happen again.

But what about Malaysian Airlines flight 370? Why am I writing something about a recent disaster that may all be figured out and forgotten about a week from now by most of the world? It’s a tragic loss of life and the anguish of the families and loved ones is something that all of us who travel always pray won’t happen to us.

But here’s an angle in that’s surprised me. In 1948, George Orwell wrote a book called “1984”. It was a futuristic look at a time when surveillance would be so complete that cameras would be everywhere, even in every room of your house. Society would be ruled by “Big Brother”, presented as a benevolent father figure who’s basically all-present and all-knowing through the means of technology.

We didn’t quite make the timetable of “1984”. But now, in 2014, just about anyone in the Western World or the economically advanced world, east, west, north or south just takes it for granted that “every move you make, every breath you take, I’ll be watching you”, as the song by The Police said.

There may be no central figure of “Big Brother” (at least not yet). But don’t all of you reading this more or less take it for granted that every email and text message you send and every call you make is most likely accessible to someone, somewhere, if they want to pick up on it? You have a cell phone, right? And you know that even if it’s turned off, you can be tracked by others through your phone. And, so I’m told, even if your phone is off, your conversations can be picked up by some if they need to.

There are satellites in the sky that can read your license plate as you drive down the street. Your computer can be accessed with ease. And for many of us, we see this as an obvious harbinger of the time the Bible predicts when “No man might buy or sell unless he has the mark of the beast in his hand or in his forehead” (Revelation 13:17). Predicted nearly 2000 years ago, the final world economic system is now technologically ready and could go into effect in many places if the societies themselves are brought around to willing acceptance.

So, How. In. The. World. With all this incredible technology, can they lose an aircraft and still not find it after 5 days? Perhaps they’re not as clever as we think they are? Are there cracks in the smothering, all-knowing technological envelope that’s engulfed our earth? If some of us enter into the very last days predicted in Daniel and Revelation, will ineptitude and technical failures at times make it so that, even if the future world government seems so utterly on top of everything so that they can see and know all of us everywhere, perhaps they’ll be unable to find the people of faith?

If these guys can’t even find a huge airplane with every bit of technology that can be mustered worldwide, then perhaps if “The women fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there (for 3½ years) from the face of the Serpent” (Revelation 12:6 & 14) , science and technology may not be quite as able to hunt us down as we may now fear? Perhaps we won’t be found by all the ultra high tech gadgetry that we can be afraid of now as we think of how it will be for some in the last days before the coming of the Lord. I personally, honestly have been surprised. I really didn’t think that, in this day and time, the advanced governments of the world would not be able to get this all figured out and cleared up pretty quick.

The book of Revelations talks about a final “Big Brother”, called the Antichrist in the Bible. In the last 3½ years before the return of Jesus, this Antichrist “Will make war with the saints and overcome them, and power will be given him over all kindred’s, tongues and nations.” (Revelation 13:7) But both Satan himself and the final Antichrist are not, and will not be, omnipotent and omniscient. The Bible says that the Antichrist will fight a number of wars during his final reign. And perhaps, if they can’t even find a giant airliner with all their technology, some of us may also be able to hide out, stay underground and keep our candles of faith burning to the very end and the coming of the Lord.

This isn’t the view and conclusions you’ll be hearing on most mainstream sites or media outlets. And again, the tragedy and anguish of those who’ve lost loved ones is something that we all should grieve for, as well as pray it never happens to any of us. But for me, it’s been a genuine surprise to find that “almighty technology”, infinite in wisdom, evidently has some serious flaws. For those of us who see a future as renegades against the atheist anti-Christian government prophesied to be here in the final days, it raises a glimmer of hope that they’re not as omnipotent as we have thought. “To the woman were given two great wings of an eagle, that she might fly into her place, where she is nourished for 1260 days from the face of the Serpent.” (Revelation 12:6 & 14)

Mark McMillion

Creeds and Deeds, Facts and Acts

Category Archives: Insights and personal views