Empty Fields

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In early September I was alone, far off in a vast field of grain on my birthday, in eastern Norway. Suddenly, all that I saw around me took on a deeper meaning and spoke to me.  A large harvester combine stood alone in a half harvested field. Someone had started harvesting but then stopped. I looked at the ripe golden grain waving in the field, with storm clouds on the horizon. But no one was there. I was struck with sadness and I think this must be how the Lord often sees things in this world.

Jesus told His disciples, “Lift up your eyes and look on the fields for they are white already to harvest.” (John 4:35) And He was not talking about wheat, barley and rye. He was talking about the harvest of souls, the multitudes who were ready to come to Him and the kingdom of heaven. But they needed someone to gather them in, to lead them to salvation in Jesus and nurture them in the new life prepared for them.

I didn’t start crying that morning but I easily could have. Where were the laborers? Someone had walked off and left the crop in the field. And sadly this is exactly how it is right now in the lives of many laborers, as well as many fields all over this world.

I felt so very thankful, on my birthday, how that the Lord has presevered me over many years, not just physically but also He’s somehow kept my faith from being snuffed out and I’m still involved in sowing, reaping, harvesting and feeding His sheep, now (thank you, Jesus) in many countries and many languages by means of web sites, videos and cyber space.

It’s all by His grace. But also I could have given up many times. I could have shrugged my shoulders, figured I’d done enough, and turned to enjoy the rest of my life in my home country, eating barbeque, drinking beer and watching the games.

OK, sometimes I do those things. But my vision, goal and passion are still what they have been over many decades: to be of service to the Lord in winning souls and feeding His sheep. But I know of many fields like I saw on my birthday, standing in the sun but with no laborers. There was even a huge machine nearby that could be used. But no one was there. Jeremiah said one time, “The summer is past, the harvest is ended and we are not saved.” (Jeremiah 8:20) What a sad verse.

I believe “the gifts and calling of God are without repentance”. I think we are called to not only believe in Jesus but to serve Him. And that doesn’t mean voting for the correct political party. That means to feed His sheep, to nourish His little ones, to do all we can to witness, win souls and take care of the results. Not to leave fields of grain waving unto the horizon until they turn rotten in the encroaching winters.

I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable here but maybe I should say more since that is what I feel I was hearing from the Lord that morning. Are you a harvester who has left the field? Do you know how to share the gospel with others, to lead people to Christ, to feed His sheep? Are you still doing that?

“Well, Mark, I’m old. I did that for years but I got tired. People were not nice to me, they didn’t appreciate me, my family mocked me for doing that and even some of the ones I worked with on the field were mean and false brethren. So, no. I’m not interested in that anymore.”

Sadly I believe there are a lot of folks who think that in their hearts, even if they don’t say it out loud. Or maybe you are saying, “But Mark, I’m not a missionary like you have been. I just go to church on Sunday, listen to the sermon and then try to be a nice person. Isn’t that enough, Mark? It’s not my responsibility to witness to others, is it Mark? That’s our pastor’s job.”

All this would seem to be logical, reasonable and acceptable until we look at the words of Jesus. It says of Him, “When He saw the multitude, He was moved with compassion upon them, because they fainted and were scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36) He was just as human as any of us. But Jesus’ heart stayed fixed on the love He had and the vision He had of the lost, despairing humanity He saw before Him. And most of you reading this have that same Jesus in your hearts right now.

Yes, you may have labored faithfully years ago in some fields, witnessed and won souls to Christ and fed His sheep. But the need is still very much there.

Even the methods have gotten easier in some ways. I’m finding that some of these extremely difficult fields that would be almost impossible for me to visit safely are now actually open through the internet. And I’m finding young people of those nations and languages who are longing to know more about the things of God, if only someone will explain it to them.

Maybe this is a sad article, you say. Not really uplifting and encouraging, as you were hoping it would be. Well, God does encourage us and uplift us. But also He can at times plead with us and implore us to not leave our plows in the field, as Jesus talked about in Luke 9:62. “No man having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

And I should certainly add that “the field” doesn’t have to mean some distant foreign country. For most of us, the field is right where we live, the lives we interact with each day or those we can come in contact with in our personal witnessing. These are the ones we should see as our field that we are called to labor in.

Every single one of us is so very needed by the Lord in His service, to lay down our lives and take up our cross and follow Him. “Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plenteous but the laborers are few. Pray you therefore the Lord of the harvest that He will send forth laborers into His harvest.’” (Matthew 9:37 & 38)

It was a sad birthday picture that the Lord brought meaning to on my walk that morning. So few are laboring to bring in the harvest of souls who wait for the message of salvation in these, their times. Abandoned fields, abandoned harvester combines and evidently lost harvests. Please pray that He will quicken the hearts of the harvesters (maybe you?) to return to their callings and jobs. “The gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” (Romans 11:29)

Heart Attack Blessings?

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Two days ago I had a heart attack. Last night I got back from the hospital I was rushed to where I had a stent placed in a vein. It’s been a very  (…)  time; I don’t even know what word to use to describe it. But I’m left here realizing what an amazing and loving God we have and how I’ve just survived, utterly by the His grace, an event that kills millions every year. And, strangely, there’s an emerging element of supernatural blessing and divine purpose in what’s happened to me over the last 36 hours.

I was fixing my lunch just after finishing a rather vigorous workout that I do at home. And I began to realize I was having a strange pain in the middle of my chest, unlike any I’d ever had before. I went to look up the symptoms of a heart attack and many of them I didn’t have: pain in my left arm or jaw, excessive sweating, shortness of breath, and others. But there was definitely a discomfort in my chest that didn’t go away.

After some hesitation, I talked to a dear friend who rents me the room in the place where I stay. He was busy but I told him it was an emergency. With difficulty I told him that I thought I was having a heart attack and needed to go to an emergency room. God bless him, he immediately dropped everything and we were off in the car right away.

At the emergency room things really swung into quick action. They did an EKG and the doctor said that I’d had, or was having, a heart attack. All during this time I wasn’t really feeling super bad. They ask me what my pain was on the scale of 1 to 10 and I said about 2 or 3 but that it was more discomfort than really pain. But it certainly was discomfort.

The emergency room people immediately took me in an ambulance to one of the main cardiac hospitals in our small Texas city. I actually was in fairly good spirits and was conversant with people in the ambulance and once I got to the hospital. Admittedly the thought did cross my mind, “Well, am I going to die now? I don’t feel really bad.”

It all was moving very fast. And I knew the reason for this as I’d read in the past how it does really come down to a matter of time in these situations. During this time one super busy nurse told me “Minutes are muscle” and the goal is to try to intervene before the damaged heart muscle really gets worse or the overall problem escalates.

What they did was to insert a stint through a hole in my wrist, up into my heart. I learned later that an EKG is able to identify the quadrant of the heart where the problem is. But then they insert some kind of dye in that area and by seeing how it interacts, they can identify exactly what the place is that needs the stint.

And I learned that this is not all actually about big arteries but about the smaller veins that run along the outside of the heart and supply blood to the heart itself. One of those veins had become blocked and needed the stint.

But here’s where it gets interesting. The big arteries that carry blood in and out of the heart could be seen like very big highways. But the veins are like smaller city streets, some bigger and some smaller. The place where my vein was blocked was what could be like a somewhat smaller street. They were able to identify it and put the stint in so blood could flow again. Within less than an hour after the operation, I was beginning to feel ok again and not having those symptoms.

And here’s the eerie thing, what they told me today. While I was on the operating table, when the doctors used that dye to find where the blockage had happened, they found another “bigger street” vein that was still functioning but was 90% blocked.

My cardiologist had not been able to know that without doing the stint work that was done yesterday during the operation. So they said very definitely that I need to come in and discuss another similar operation to get a stint into the vein that is 90% blocked. But if this incident yesterday hadn’t happened, we would not have known how badly that one is blocked and that vein is larger and more strategically placed than the one that went bad yesterday. This heart attack was used by God to bring to light a more serious condition I’ve had which no one was aware of until now.

I’m still personally coming to grips with all this. In Texas you can be bitten by a rattle snake. It may not kill you but it certainly can. Or your house can be hit by a tornado. It may not kill you but it certainly can. And 36 hours ago I had a heart attack. It may not kill you but it certainly can.

But here I am, back at my desk, in my room and not really at a place yet where I’ve fully fathomed what has happened to me. And it seems like it was, so strangely, almost an act of Providence that this till-now unknown blockage of a vein on my heart could be made known, so that it can be operated on.

What kind of comment can be made to this? What an experience of underserved mercy and prescient providence to allow something like this to happen. I think of the many people who have been praying for me. I think of the open doors of ministry that the Lord has given me over the last few months and years. I think of how my life on this earth could have come to its end over the last 2 days. But God has turned it all into something good. “Oh the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out.” (Romans 11:33)

 

Did the ancient prophets actually exist?

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Are the writings of the ancient prophets just all Jewish myths? Some people have written to tell me that the prophecies of Daniel are mere myths, with no historical foundation. I’m sure millions of people have heard and accepted that idea. But is it true? Are the prophecies of Daniel—or those of Isaiah, David, and other ancient prophets—just elaborate fabrications? Were they invented by clever men to deceive and control others?

To some of you, that may sound extreme. But, believe me, there are hundreds of millions of people who look at things this way and I hear from them nearly every day. And to be fair, it’s a valid question: how can we really know? These writings date back hundreds of years before the time of Jesus—ancient history, distant and remote for most people. It’s easy to assume that they’re unverifiable and irrelevant, perhaps even the cultural baggage of another race, religion, or nationality. Some go as far as to conclude that the entire thing is rubbish.

But is it? Can we get to the root of this question—can we find empirical, historical evidence—without slipping into mysticism or religious rhetoric? Thankfully, the answer is a resounding yes.

You may not share my nationality, faith, or background. You might not agree with my worldview, or even like “my people.” But some things stand beyond personal belief or identity.  For example, if I said “Two plus two makes four”, the majority of you would not find fault with that. (Don’t laugh; there are those who will definitely argue with that assertion.)

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

The best answer I can give to as broad a range of people, beliefs and views of all kinds is this: research the Dead Sea Scrolls. This isn’t a matter of your faith verses mine, your nation verses mine. This is about one of the most concrete, well-documented archaeological discoveries of the modern era.

Here’s what happened. In 1947, a shepherd boy searching for a stray sheep threw a rock into a cave near the Dead Sea and heard something shatter. Curious, he climbed inside and discovered ancient urns, some containing scrolls with writing on them. This was the beginning of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls—a collection of manuscripts stored in caves around the time of Jesus, over 2,000 years ago. These scrolls have since been recognized as one of the most important archaeological finds of the last century.

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

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

So, if someone claims that the writings of the ancient prophets are just myths—like fairy tales rewritten over and over again until they’ve lost all original meaning, I suggest you do some research yourself on the Dead Sea scrolls. If English is not your first language, I’m sure there are reputable sources of scientific information in your language which explain in much more detail than I have here about these things.

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

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.

Bringing children to Jesus

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Black Horse in the north country

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

More Stumps

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Roots, seeds and weeds

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The most controversial chapter in the Bible

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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