The Second Amendment

The Second Amendment to the United States of America’s constitution states: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” This was adopted into the Bill of Rights on 15^th December 1791. I have been listening to a podcast series about the twenty-seven amendments to the United States of America’s constitution and I find it interesting that this amendment is the one that garnered the most attention and is the most misunderstood. This causes me to wonder if the lack of understanding, and the perpetuation of confusion, while explaining the amendment is intentional. While listening to the umpteenth reading of the verbiage of this right a clarity hit me. The amendment is simply saying that in order to maintain a free state a well regulated militia should be able to be formed. What is a militia? According to OED a militia is “a military force that is raised from the civil population to supplement a regular army in an emergency” or “a military force that engages in rebel or terrorist activities in opposition to a regular army”. I find this second definition interesting, but I’ll return to that shortly. The definitions plainly state that a militia is composed of civilians not career military personnel. Therefore, in order to form a well regulated militia, in the event that the state drifts away from being free, the civilian population needs to be armed and capable of using their arms. The second definition that the OED offered I found interesting, because resisting a less than free state is viewed as rebel or terrorist activity (eg. American Revolution).

Now, before anyone leaps to any conclusions, I am by no means a gun toting second amendment fanatic. However, I do have an appreciation for words, and when I find people misapplying, misunderstanding and misrepresenting clear verbiage I am driven to address it especially when there is a spiritual connection. The Word of God is compared to a weapon, an extremely sharp two-edged sword, which can cut in both directions (Hebrews 4:12). As Bible believing Christians, dwelling in the middle of a spiritual war we can apply the verbiage of the 2^nd Amendment to our Christian walk. In accordance with Scriptural teaching we all belong to a church. We are baptized (born) into a faith group (nation). These faith groups have leaders who are to, with the guidance of Biblical Scripture (national laws), lead the faith group. However, some lose their way and set aside the clear teachings of the Bible and form man-made teachings that result in sin (bondage). Now this is where the 2^nd Amendment kicks in. The church members (civilians) should be so versed in Biblical teachings (armed) that they can rein in the now rogue church leadership (maintain a free state).

The Bible admonishes us – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15) As Christians, it is incumbent on us to search the Scripture daily, for ourselves, and plant it in our hearts that we do not return to the bondage of sin (Psalm 119:11). The leaders of the church have a responsibility to disseminate truth to the people. However, the people also have a responsibility for their own personal growth. God will hold church leadership accountable for not teaching the Bible accurately (Ezekiel 9; Matthew 23). Each individual will also be held to account for not obeying what is clearly written in Scripture (Galatians 5:7; Revelation 20:13). Therefore, it behoves us to take personal responsibility for our own soul’s salvation (Philippians 2:12). We cannot rely on fellow sinful human beings to sustain obedience to God (Luke 11:52). The battle for salvation is not for the faint of heart. We all need to take up arms (the Word of God) and be prepared to wield it deftly as Jesus did in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13). The devil hurls fiery darts at us seeking to destroy us, our only means of defence, as demonstrated by Jesus is “It is written…”. Know the Word of God, meditate on it day and night, reject sin in all its forms, and your freedom in Christ will be maintained (Joshua 1:8; Psalms 1:2; John 8:34-36).

In Peace

For Every Truth: I Told You Before

Haemorrhage

I heard a statistic recently, that 70% of the youth population of my church is leaving, and that the majority of this number are those who grew up in the church. This is very disconcerting to know. A large part of the leadership of the church are spreading the idea that this mass exodus is occurring because the church is not being relevant to the youth. So, they have made changes to make the church feel more attractive: modifying the music, the dress code, and the complete message of the church to make the youth feel comfortable. As a young person I can safely say this will do nothing to help anyone. I am deeply offended at the notion that the youth of today are so shallow that something as petty as not having drums in the church or being expected to dress appropriately in the presence of The King of the Universe, would drive them from the place where their Saviour should be found. The real reason young people are leaving the church is simply this, the hypocrisy of church leadership.

The first thing to consider is this: numbers mean nothing to God. He can, and has, and will continue to, work by few or by many (1 Samuel 14:6; Judges 7:1-7). Therefore, the numbers leaving, staying, or joining do not matter. God is first and foremost interested the quality of persons claiming His name, not the quantity. In church we hear the accounts, from the Bible, of great men and women of faith, honour and integrity, like Job, Abraham, Deborah, Jonathan, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. We also hear modern mission reports of the faithful like George Müller and his orphans, or the missionaries surrounded by lions that were saved. But this belief in God is not demonstrated in our leadership. The purpose of the church is to provide a means by which individuals can meet God, not to provide for the self-centred desires of sinful human beings. Services and messages are to be designed with praise to, and magnification of God, as the primary goal, not for the congregation’s enjoyment.

All our lives growing up in the church we’ve been taught about an Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent God Who owns the cattle on a thousand hills yet as soon as the church needs to be repainted out comes the well-crafted, guilt-tripping tithe and offering sermons, and the appeals dictating how much money is needed from each church member. Where is the faith in God? When Moses was constructing the Sanctuary, he had to send people away with their gifts (Exodus 35:21-35; 36:1-7). Why? Because God moved on their hearts. The leadership was obedient to His will and taught the people to live in obedience. His name was being honoured, reverenced and uplifted by the Israelites. During the time of the youngest king of Judah, Joash, the temple was in disrepair because of prior ungodly leadership. When Joash restored proper worship to God the people brought their offerings willingly and abundantly and the temple was repaired (2 Kings 12:1-14). During the time of the early church all the believers were so committed to the purpose of the church, they gave all that they possessed to the further spreading of truth, and God blessed them for it (Acts 6:31-37). Where is the faith?

When individuals in the church commit blatant wrongs against God and against each other we placate and make excuses claiming not to have the right to judge instead of calling sin by its right name. As a result, false witnesses remain in the church repeatedly offending and giving the church a bad name with their vile, thieving, self-centred, faithless behaviour against church membership and others in the wider society. Had the presence of God been working in our churches we could and would with boldness uphold the standards of God in our membership allowing the faithful and the wider community to be safe in what is to be the house of God. Consider God’s instructions for dealing with those who broke His Sabbath day (Numbers 15:32-35) or God’s instructions through Paul for the vile offenders in Corinth (1 Corinthians 5:1-8). Some of us leave because we are berated for seemingly tiny sins while members of church leadership continue with their vices and get protection (Matthew 23:24). All sin in the church should be dealt with appropriately. None should be covered none should be ignored all should be dealt with fairly and in proportion, because all will lead to death if left to fester. Where is the justice?

We learn in scripture that in order to receive eternal life we must keep the commandments (Luke 10:25-28). Most of the elders in the church hammer this into our heads but never discuss why and how this should be done. The youth of the church have questions and these questions need to be answered and the Bible has the answers if we would just read it. But most of the church’s leadership (possibly because it would be self-condemning) do not provide adequate guidance and study help. We need to hold the Bible as our primary text book and any book that supports it, we need to put away these books containing the musings and imaginings of non-scriptural, god-less, uninspired, inferior minds. God will hold church leadership to account for every youth that is lost because of their selfish withholding of truth (Matthew 18:6; 23:13). God’s justice and mercy must be taught in equal measure so that individuals may receive the full picture of God’s love. God calls us to reason with Him so that we may come to a clear understanding of how our salvation will come about (Isaiah 1:16-20). Jesus took the ultimate punishment so that we could have a second chance at making the right choice in every temptation that is allowed to pass our way. When this is explained, and practical tools are given to support the youth in holding fast to God’s strength to obey they will have a reason to stay in church. Where is the truth?

These were just three of the many hypocritical inconsistencies the youth find in the church, not to mention the perpetuation of baseless racial, and cultural divisions. Those of us from over-privileged societies need to be extra cautious about our hypocritical ways. Because we are not face to face with the tangible challenges others face daily, we tend to forget that this life was meant to be a struggle (1 Peter 4:12). Our struggle is against sin amidst a barrage of discouraging attacks from outside and inside, through which God said we must endure in order to be saved (Matthew 10:22; 24:13). Our pastors - self admittedly - are more interested in their own pleasure and entertainment than leading out prayer meeting. We need to pray for vision to see beyond this life. This is not the best there is. Until there is a genuine revival and reformation in the church, where we return to obedience of the truth of Scripture the church will continue to haemorrhage its youth.

By Faith

No Excuses - The Rebellion

No Excuses - You Knew

Being Kingdom Conscious

The Pure In Heart

The Things that Divide

There are many things in this life that cause division among human beings, racism, sexism, classism, ageism, etc. to name a few. These are all dross and they only hurt our true purpose on this earth. Our one and only purpose on Earth is to learn to fear God and keep His commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14). When we loose sight of this purpose all these differences become magnified and cause us to do harm to others and in so doing damage ourselves.

Racism is a huge issue worldwide. One group claims superiority over another group then victimize individuals of that group. Then the inevitable pendulum swing occurs, and the formerly victimized group becomes self-focused and highlights himself above the original victimizing group, perpetuating certain stereotypes that may have been theirs or may have been thrusted upon them. And the vicious cycle of hate and self-importance continues. The same is seen among societally manufactured classes, those with different education levels and career types are deemed inferior to another group and are thereby disenfranchised.

Scripture tells us that we are all of one blood, therefore, racism and ethnic strife has no real tangible basis (Acts 17:26). The Jews of Jesus’ time thought themselves superior to the Samaritans and any non- Jew. Today we have racial discordance based on skin colour or ethnic origins. All this means nothing. We are all Adam’s children and until we get past the petty small-mindedness of this thought process we will keep missing our true purpose. Heaven, unlike our churches, is not segregated (or separate but equal). We serve one God, Who has one expectation – keep His commandments. Scripture also reminds us that we are not to think of ourselves as more than we are (Romans 12:3). Everything we are or have was given to us we didn’t make ourselves or bless ourselves with anything we have or can do (1 Corinthians 4:7). We are all formed from dust and we are all returning to dust (Genesis 3:19; Psalms 103:14). Those that have been victimized need to forgive and focus on God’s truth. Those that have victimized need to wake up and see reality and focus on God’s truth.

Ageism and sexism are two more delicate issues. There are certain things, by nature, that different age ranges and sexes cannot interchange. However, the contributions that each brings to society should not be diminished because of preconceived notions. The aged of society bring a wealth of knowledge, based on experience, from which younger generations should be taught – to prevent unnecessary errors (Leviticus 19:32). For example, if young people planning on marriage would have a frank discussion, on what a successful marriage is like, with couples who have put in the effort and carry 20, 30, 40+ years of marriage, divorce would not be as big an issue as it is now. These long-married people can share the fact that sustaining that many years is not for the selfish at heart, that everything will not go your way all the time, that you need to communicate and forge a united way of doing things together. But this is lost when the young see the aged as out of touch and unable to relate to life today. The wise king said, there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). With all our seeming variations human nature has not changed and therefore advise from those who have lived successfully should be taken and heeded.

Each of the different sexes have their roles to play in society and should be respected for it. A woman who chooses the path to stay home and care for her husband and children should not be treated as less than in society. After all, ‘the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world’. Having dedicated wives and mothers to ensure the smooth, efficient running of homes and families is the most valuable gift men and, by effect, all of society can have, and her work demands and should be respected (Proverbs 31:10-31). Because of the unthankful treatment of homemakers, many women of today’s society choose to compete with their husbands in the corporate world resulting in emasculated men, neglected homes, and all but abandoned children who perpetuate this pattern (Proverbs 14:1). Women should be industrious, financially savvy contributors in society but not to the detriment of their own homes and families. The family is the building block of society and when it collapses society will crumble.

The reality is, there is one criterion that should, and scripture tells us will, divide human beings, only one. This source of division is truth. In scripture Jesus states that He came to bring a sword; and the Bible also tells us that God’s word is sharper than any two-edged sword (Matthew 10:34; Hebrews 4:12). God’s Word is referred to as the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17). This is the only line along which humanity should be divided – belief in God’s truth and disbelief in God’s truth, obedience to God’s Word and disobedience to God’s word. All other divisions are a distraction of the enemy skillfully designed to cloud perspective and deceive humanity. However, true to his form the enemy has placed in the hearts and minds of believers that division based on God’s truth is equivalent to all other sources of division – in essence, all division is bad. This is not the case. Consider the division of the children of Seth (those who served God) from the children of Cain (those who served self). For centuries God had a people with a pure worship to Him, but as soon as that line of demarcation was blurred, and the two groups began to mingle, evil reigned on Earth (Genesis 6:1-7). If we will serve God aright separation must be made to ensure pure God approved worship.

Division based on truth will lead to the persecution of those who choose to obey God’s Word, never the reverse (Matthew 5:12). Followers of God only seek what God seeks, obedience to His commands and the salvation of souls. Scripture tells us repeatedly that at the time of Jesus’ return to Earth there will be a clean unambiguous line dividing those that keep God’s commandments and those that do not (Matthew 13:30; 25:32; Revelation 12:17; 14:1-12; 22:11). That separation begins at the time a person decides to follow the will of God, the whole sinful world turns against him. The sinful things of this world and anyone who chooses that life are at enmity with God and anyone who follows Him because God placed the enmity between them (Genesis 3:15; James 4:4). As believers we need to examine the companions we choose in all aspects of life (Amos 3:3; 1 Corinthians 6:14). Absolute allegiance to God, no matter the cost, is the only way to be saved (Mark 10:17-21; Luke 18:18-22). God gave all in defense of His truth and to give us a second chance at adherence (John 3:16). Let us not waste this invaluable opportunity.

In Love

The Power of Value

How to be a Godly Man

Just Do It

Red Herrings

A red herring is defined as a clue or piece of information, which is or is intended to be misleading or distracting (OED). This life is full of such deceptions meant to keep us distracted from our one true mission. The reason these red herrings are so good is because they are actually a part of our mandate; but we invert the order of things confounding and injuring ourselves. In scripture we learn that the whole duty of man is to fear God and keep His commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14; Micah 6:6-8). We know God to be all-powerful and all-knowing, therefore demanding respect. We also recently reviewed God’s immutable law, which He spoke with His own mouth and wrote with His own hands, emphasizing its importance. When we get our focus right then all the good things that hinder us will fall into place. I would like to review some of these good things that we often place above obeying God. Some of them are very sensitive topics that cause a lot of anger among people. I pray that God’s Spirit guides your reading.

Environmentalism

The way we treat the environment and animals has caused a great rift in society resulting in climate change promoters and deniers, tree-huggers and loggers, and hunters and vegans to be at deep odds with each other. I’m not picking any side here. What I know is that the obsession with these arguments has distracted many from our true purpose in life. Scripture expects that we are to care for the earth and the creatures in it. This earth and the animals were created for man and man was given dominion over them to care for them (Genesis 1:26; 2:15; Hebrews 2:6-8). However, we have lost the primary focus. We care for this world for it’s own sake not because of Who made it and His mandate. The reality is we are caretakers; God entrusted us with a responsibility and when we care for His creation, because it is His creation, we will do it adhering to all His commands and with His help (Psalms 24:1; 1 Corinthians 10:26). God is a great defender of His creation (Revelation 11:18). Christian stewardship demands that we do not pollute our environment and that we care for the animals entrusted to us. However, these things should not take the place of God. They were created for our use and with proper management we will not be overrun with waste and animals would not go extinct.

Social Justice

There are many social justice issues being advocated in our society: “equal rights”, “black lives matter”, “me too”, to name a few. People support or refute these in varying degrees. The church has been accused, throughout different generations, of inaction or even indifference toward these many issues. I dare say I can agree with these accusations. However, I would never advocate for the church or a Christian joining these movements/causes. As previously, stated our purpose here on earth is to fear God and keep His commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13,14). These movements focus on the individuals being wronged and not the God who created us free moral agents with rights to all the resources on this planet. As a result they plot and scheme and resort to subterfuge and even violence in order to accomplish their goals, some of which, is in complete opposition to the will of God. This is selfishness and the clear work of the enemy of souls; this is the means by which he took one-third of the angels from Heaven (John 8:44; Revelation 12:3, 4, 7-10). As Christians it is our duty to act justly and treat everyone with their God given dignity (Micah 6:8). In this I dare say that we have failed. Church services are said to be the most segregated hour in the week. This is appalling and raises the question: who is being worshipped in these services? How can we claim to love God who we cannot see while we hate our fellow man who we can see? (1 John 4:20) True love is keeping God’s commandments and His commandments describe true love to our fellow man (1 John 5:3; 2 John 1:6; Exodus 20:12-17; Deuteronomy 5:16-21). God has designed an order to society and when we subvert that order we end up in chaos and individuals become disenfranchised (Exodus 22:22-24; Leviticus 25:17). He has made provision for all members of society no matter the status, and He will provide justice for all in due season (Exodus 22; Numbers 36:1-10; Deuteronomy 22:23-29, Ecclesiastes 12:14). It behoves us to honestly study God’s plainly spoken word and accept it. We must stop trying to wrestle the Scripture to fit into our skewed world-view (2 Peter 3:16). We need to choose to wrestle ourselves to fit into God’s perfect design.

Career

“…If any would not work, neither should he eat.” (2 Thessalonians 3:10) This is a very straightforward statement from scripture. Therefore, if we would like to sustain our lives, which require us to eat, it then becomes necessary that we work. Most people get this very simple yet profound fact. However, some of us go overboard. We find our definition in our careers even to the point that we forgo this basic reason for working. But even more detrimental to our lives we place our careers above the law of God, disregarding His Sabbath, lying, stealing, or even killing to achieve worldly success. This is a dangerous way of living. Imagine (God forbid) that one should develop a degenerative disease, or meet in an accident that takes away the physical means necessary to carry out their chosen profession, or just simply just get old, what would life be like? If our career defined us, this narrow world-view would make it very difficult (nearly impossible) to find another useful occupation. Some people, who live this way, end up becoming invalids and even suicidal because they can’t see beyond their selfish desires.

However, as Christians we are defined by Someone greater than the work we do (Matthew 6:25-34; Luke 12:23-34; Acts 17:28). We are defined by the God we serve not the skills He gave us to serve this world (Romans 6:16; 12:3, 1 Corinthians 4:7). Therefore, in order to be truly successful we need to get our priorities straight, His commandments always come first (Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14). It is hard for the hyper-planning, overachieving, type-A professionals of this world to yield control of their lives to Another. But to be truly successful it is necessary. We cannot judge our achievements by the standards of this world (1 Corinthians 1:25). Moses was at the height of his career – next in line to rule the greatest kingdom of his age – he would have had all the power at his disposal to free his people. But God saw fit to accomplish this task another way. Moses was made humble in order to become the greatest leader this world has ever known (Exodus 2, 3; Hebrews 11:24-29). Yielding to the will of God is vital. Making ourselves malleable to His will is essential. All the career goals that we align may not be His will for our lives (1 Corinthians 3:19). If we will sincerely serve Him we must die fully to our selfish ambitions for perceived success (1 Corinthians 2:5; Philippians 2:13).

Church Work

Church work is a major stumbling block for many! Why? Because it is work masquerading as the will of God. There are many important tasks necessary to be done in and for the church to ensure the successful fulfillment of its purpose. However, many of us get lost in the work of the church forgetting the God of the church. The analogy preachers like to use is the story of Martha and Mary. Martha was busy preparing food for the people in her home and Mary was consumed listening to Jesus’ words. Martha was upset that Mary was not helping her and Jesus responded that Mary had made the better choice (Luke 10:38-42). This is an excellent typology for us today. Before we sit and listen to the Master that we may learn His will we run ahead claiming to do His work with very little regard to the way in which He would have it done. We put in all this effort with planning committees, focus groups, studying the best practices of other organizations and performing SWOT analyses, but very few seek to know how God would have us carry out His work. We do what makes us happy and what makes us feel good and claim that God is being praised. We place culture and tradition before God’s truth. Throughout scripture whenever God issued a command for a task He gave explicit instructions on how it was to be done and who was to carry it out – The ark for the flood (Genesis 6:13-16), The sanctuary and it’s services (Exodus 25-40; etc.), The disciples evangelistic work (Luke 10:1-20; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; etc).

Preachers often emphasize the great commission, in part, stressing the baptism side of the decree and lightly touching the preaching and teaching aspect of it (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-18). People are to be taught to observe God’s commandments before they are baptized. Simply being baptized will save no one. Faith in God and His grace to help us adhere to His will is the foundation of salvation. The example of the thief on the cross is a perfect view of this. He genuinely believed in and respected Jesus he confessed Him before all, and rejected his sins but did not have an opportunity to be baptized, however, he will still be saved. Many of us church folk run around scheming and plotting how to get more people baptized to increase church membership, by any means necessary, with very little consideration to the conversion of hearts, thereby flooding the church with erroneous ideas and theories that are contrary to the word of God (Matthew 15:9; Mark 7:7; Revelation 12:15). As church members we need to consider deeply the warning in scripture that in the last day many will claim to have done God’s work but He will respond that He never knew them and declare them to be workers of iniquity (Matthew 7:21-23). I was talking to my mother about this recently and I used the example of her garden beds. She requested that the workman make the beds fifteen inches wide leaving more space between the beds for cleaning and movement. He made the beds twenty-four inches leaving hardly a one-foot space between the beds. Did she get the garden beds made? Yes. Are they in a form she can use properly? No. Likewise when we do God’s work in a manner He did not prescribe the outcome, though seemingly prosperous, is not acceptable or capable of producing His desired fruit; to Him it is the work of iniquity (Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:8; 23:15; Mark 7:6). The bottom line is God requires obedience not numbers (Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14; Micah 6:8).

End Time Events

The final book of the Bible reveals Jesus Christ and the events leading up the to the end of the world as we know it. In the first chapter there is a blessing pronounced on those who read and obey what is in this book (Revelation 1:1-3). With a blessing placed on it, how could it possibly be a distraction? This is the ingenuity of human effort combined with that of the enemy of souls. Prophecy is given to us to warn, guide and encourage us (2 Peter 1:16-21). However, some have taken the ability to explain prophetic truths as a point of superiority and pride. This is not the will of God for His truth. Scripture plainly tells us if we have these skills and lack love we’ve lost our purpose (1 Corinthians 13:1, 2). We know that love is keeping God’s commandments. There are many that can give a clear breakdown of the fearful things to come in this world but they lack the empathy, compassion and basic decency toward their fellow man. Simply knowing the truth will not save anyone, the Devil knows what is coming and he is already lost (Revelation 12:12). There are many in this world, who will never have an opportunity to study and know the prophecies, but we will all come face to face with God’s laws before He returns (Matthew 24:14). Obedience to these lay at the foundation of salvation (Matthew 19:16-21; Luke 10:25-28). God requires us to fear him and keep His commandments, to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God (Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14; Micah 6:6-8). The prophetic books of the Bible were not designed to create classes of Christians they were given to build faith in God. We have a duty to our fellow man to sound a warning not treat him as a pariah (Isaiah 21:11, 12; Jeremiah 6:17; Ezekiel 9:4; 1 Corinthians 14:8).

Family

The first of the commandments associated with our interpersonal relationships, which also is the first with a promise, requires us to honour our parents (Exodus 20:12; Ephesians 6:1-3). Those of us with children know that they are fully our responsibility to care for and nurture (Ephesians 6:4). With those instructions, is it possible to place parents and children before God? Yes. When we are children we are expected to obey our parents every instruction, however, when these instructions contradict the word of God it is required that we obey God (Ephesians 6:1) Parents are to raise their children to know and love God but these children are not to detract from the work God gives us to do. Abraham’s allegiance was tested by God to determine if his promised earthly posterity was more important to him than serving God (Genesis 22:1-19). When Nadab and Abihu sinned against God (making an offering to God with strange fire) and were killed, Aaron was instructed not to mourn for his sons because he was the High Priest, a representative of God (Leviticus 10:1-7). When children grow up it is their duty to care for their parents. Jesus chastised the Jews about the practice of Corban, which allowed them to forgo providing for their parents (Mark 7:9-13). However, by giving up His life Jesus was no longer able to care for His mother. He made adequate provision for her and fulfilled the will of God for His life (John 19:26). The parent-child bond is very strong but this relationship should never supersede our obedience to God. What of the marriage bond? In this bond two become one, hurting one’s spouse is hurting one’s self (Ephesians 5:22-31). This is the strongest interpersonal bond created by God, however, this too cannot supersede our allegiance to God if we are to be saved (Job 2:9, 10). This was the error Adam made. He placed the bond with his wife ahead of the bond with his God (Genesis 3:6, 1 Timothy 2:14). The familial relationships are a difficult one to navigate, but we must navigate it. All earthly ties must be placed in subjection to the will of God. When Jesus was on earth He called many to be disciples. One such person asked to go bury his father and Jesus’ response was to let the dead bury their dead (Matthew 8:21, 22; Luke 9:59, 60). When God calls us to act there should be no debating and no hesitation; like Elisha, we are to sever all earthly ties and proceed in the will of God (1 Kings 19:19-21; Luke 9:61, 62).

Truth

How are we then to positively impact the world in which we live? Temperance, one of the fruit of the Spirit, is a key guiding factor (Galatians 5:22, 23). Because of sin we carry everything to extremes. This is because sin separates us from God and without God we loose perspective. He is our guidepost, plumb line, measuring rod, cornerstone, without His guidance and direction we will destroy the earth, each other and ourselves (Ephesians 2:20). We are to be good stewards of the environment returning to the earth as much or more than we take from it so that it can keep giving (Leviticus 25:1-4). We are to deal kindly, justly and mercifully with our fellow man (Luke 6:31). It is the duty of the church to provide a place of solace and peace for those that have been injured and downtrodden. It is to be a safe place of respite where a person can find hope in God’s mercy, comfort in His justice and peace of mind in learning how to truly forgive. Scripture teaches that vengeance belongs to God and He will repay and He is not slack concerning His promises (Romans 12:19; 2 Peter 3:9-14). We need to share this well needed truth with others saving them a lifetime of hurt, shame, regret and bitterness. We are to work and rest as God describes and when He sends us in a different direction we should be amenable to the change (Exodus 20:8-11; Ecclesiastes 9:10; 1 Corinthians 10:31). The work of God through the church is to be done in the way He describes, diligently and with reverence (Leviticus 19:30; 26:2; 1 Corinthians 14:40; 1 Timothy 6:20; 2 Timothy 2:16). His present truth is to be the focus of our message to the world the three angels messages or Revelation 14 pointing the world back to His commandments and highlighting the work of Jesus as our living Example, Mediator and Saviour. We are to ensure that the full picture of sin and its consequences are understood in conjunction with obedience and its rewards. Family relationships must be subjected to the will of God. We are responsible for caring for our children and teaching them the will of God (Deuteronomy 6:6, 7; Colossians 3:21), respecting our parents (Exodus 21:15, 17; Colossians 3:20), and loving and respecting our spouses (Ephesians 5:22-28; Colossians 3:18, 19) We are to care for our families but the work of God comes first always (Matthew 10:37). Let us not get distracted by the good works that we are to do, losing sight of the Reason why we do these good works.

By God’s Grace

From the Heart

For Every Truth

In Love and Lost

Behold The Man

The Other Side of God

Time

I was talking to a friend a few months ago about the various beliefs going a round the church relating to us living in the end of time. Some look at the wars and threats of wars, the deadly and previously unheard-of diseases, and natural disasters increasing in frequency and intensity, among other things, and see these as signs of a soon ending world (Matthew 24:4-8; Mark 13:5-8). Those of us who grew up in the church have been hearing that Jesus is coming soon since the day we were born and now we are becoming parents and He still hasn’t arrived as yet. Now some of us have decided to disregard the belief in His soon return, placing it somewhere in the distant future outside of our lifetime, and have decided that we’ll live for the here and now (Matthew 24:48-51; Luke 12:45-48; Luke 17:26-30). This is a dangerous undertaking.

My friend intimated that all these sign-watchers in church are basically alarmists; healthcare, peace accords and general longevity among human beings is better than it was in ancient times and the Middle Ages. While some of his statement is true medical care and knowledge has improved the lives of some in certain respects, the lives of many others are far worse – living in war zones and areas of famine and epidemics. Those of us privileged few who live in seemingly free civilizations have other problems claiming our mental and spiritual lives (Luke 21:26).  Because God has been disregarded in our highly privileged communities the hope and peace that only He can give is lost and many are dying from hedonism and depression. Apathy is at an extreme high in those of us who think the world is in a better condition (Matthew 24:12). The promotion of this idea that Christ’s return is in the distant future is also another occurrence mentioned as a signal that the near the end (Matthew 24:48; 1Thessalonians 5:1-3).

The reality is none of us yet know when (day or hour) Jesus is to return, however, it is soon (Matthew 25:13).  It was as soon for those who proclaimed it 150+ years ago as it is for us today. I say soon because whether it is tomorrow, 10 years or 100 years from now it remains to be soon for each of us. We as human beings get approximately 70 years in this life, some are blessed with more others get less (Psalms 90:10). By the time we get a handle on what is required of us, by our Maker half that time (or more) is gone (1 Samuel 15:22, 23; Ecclesiastes 12:13,14; Micah 6:6-8). We have another 35 years to break hard-set traits, habits and addictions, formed in our early years, in order to work out our salvation (Philippians 2:12), and be fit for His kingdom (Ephesians 5:27). This is not a lot of time. And remember, no matter how much time life continues after we die we will not benefit from this time, to become right with God (Psalms 115:17; Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6). When we understand this we quickly realize that this is no time to be relaxed imagining that we have many decades in which to get ready (Luke 12:16-21). To day if you hear His voice don’t harden your hearts (Psalms 95:8; Hebrews 3:8, 15).

Jesus is coming soon, whether you live to see Him coming in the clouds or you are put to sleep and are resurrected at His coming. We get 70 years. Please use them wisely (Psalms 90:12).

Blessings

“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”

I was listening to a podcast recently about a preacher who was labelled a heretic because he declared a disbelief in hell. The podcast presented his reasons for his new belief and described how he was ostracized by his fellow believers. They also described how some of his former church members would try to counsel him that hell is real with the argument that ‘it is not for us to question God’s reasons for hell’. I beg to disagree. A subject so extensively described in the word of God, and so pertinent to the summation of our lives as hell, needs to be fully understood by everyone, especially those claiming to be Bible believers.

To understand hell we need to go back to the beginning and first understand where we come from. As Bible believers we know that Genesis teaches that God formed human beings from the dust of the earth, He then breathed the breath of life into the form “and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7). From this we learn that there is no separate entity called a soul or spirit. The life giving breath of God makes us a conscious, living being. His breath brings us to life and sustains us, without it we would be well-formed particles of dust (Acts 17:28; Psalms 103:14). In science we see that the same elements found in the soil can be found in the human body. We breathe oxygen from the air but the source of actual life has never been identified in a laboratory – that is the prerogative of God alone.

How did man live originally following his creation? As we continue reading in Genesis we learn that God planted a garden for man to live in and for which he should care (we thrive better living closer to nature). God gave man dominion over every thing He created (Genesis 1:26-28). He was to care for and make positive use of everything God had made. While in the garden man had direct interactions with God (Genesis 2:19). God planted many trees in the garden for man’s food and sustenance (we thrive better on a plant based diet) and among those trees God planted two trees the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 2:8-9). The Tree of Life as the name suggests conveys life to those who eat from it. From this we learn that our lives are not self-sustaining we need to eat the fruit this life giving plant to gain sustained life. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good an Evil was placed in the garden as a test of loyalty.

Now we know where we come from – dust – we know how life was expected to be – peaceful and active – so how is it that we are in our current state? God gave man instructions to care for the garden and to eat freely of all the fruits in the garden except the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, because in the day that they ate they would die (Genesis 2:15-17). Unfortunately, our first parents did eat of this tree. The test was simple – don’t eat – but the enemy is cunning. The adversary of our souls questioned God’s instructions – “Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” and modified the explicit word of God saying: “ye shall not surely die” (Genesis 3:4); subsequently, the man and woman God placed in the garden disobeyed and ate. Following their disobedience God came looking for them, and hearing their explanations passed out sentences for their sin but also gave them hope of redemption (Genesis 3:8-19). Because of their disobedience they were barred from the garden, because if they in their sinful state ate of the Tree of Life sin would become immortalized (Genesis 3:22, 23). By sinning man forfeited his God-given dominion over the earth. Now the enemy is in control of the earth (Romans 6:16). The once pleasant work, man had to do became tedious, and the peace of the past was gone because they were now subject to a tyrant. They were also unable to engage in direct contact with God in His full glory (Exodus 33:18-23). On this earth we are in quarantine because we are infected with sin (1 Corinthians 4:9). Only Heavenly beings have interacted directly with us, and those that do interact with us regularly are specially ‘clothed’ for our protection (Exodus 3:2-6; 33:20; Joshua 5:13-15; Daniel 3:19-25; Luke 2:8-14; Philippians 2:7).

Very early in life we come to understand what it means ‘to die’, whether through the loss of a grandparent, a pet or even the death of a plant. The dictionary defines it simply as “to stop living”. We learned earlier that man became living when God breathe the breath of life into him. Therefore, we can logically reason that death would be the removal of this life giving breath and a return to dust (Ecclesiastes 12:7). This was the declaration of God to the man after they sinned (Genesis 3:19). Again scientifically we see this, when a person dies they stop breathing, their body decomposes and they become one with the soil.

So what does this have to do with hell? There are many people in this life that believe this is the end of us. We’re born, we live, and we go back to the soil. This is a sad outlook on life, given the state of life as we know it. But in scripture we learn that there is hope for redemption from sin and its ultimate consequence. Meaning, we will have a second chance to choose whether to live forever with our Creator or to die forever in hell. God promised to defeat the enemy, who lied and tricked the woman into sin (Genesis 3:15), giving us an opportunity to choose lives of obedience to God and live (Deuteronomy 30:19; Joshua 24:15; Ezekiel 18:32). The promise of a Saviour was reiterated for 4,000 years to every generation of the man’s descendants, until the Saviour was born in the form of the man Christ Jesus (Genesis 22:18; Psalms 77:13; Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Daniel 9:26; Luke 2:11). He lived a life of perfect obedience to the will of God and therefore was able to offer His life as payment for the ultimate penalty of sin in behalf of all the descendants of the original man (John 15:10; Romans 5:12-19).

Does this mean the job is done and there is nothing left to do since Jesus already paid the price? NO! One of the most popular verses of the bible is John 3:16 which states “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” This is a loaded passage of scripture. Because God is Love (1 John 4:8) He manifests love to all His creation. Love as we learned in previous posts is an equal mix of Justice and Mercy. God’s principle of justice must be satisfied; the debt of sin must be paid. His principle of mercy must also be satisfied he had to give us hope. Therefore, He sent His Son, Jesus to live the life that man is expected to live and then pay the debt man owed. Does this mean there is nothing for us to do? The text says: “whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” So what does it mean to believe?

The dictionary defines ‘to believe’ simply as “to accept or regard (something) as true”. Therefore, if we accept God’s love and His sacrifice as true this should have some effect on the way we live – after all we believe the law of gravity to be true so we avoid walking off roofs. Consequently, if we genuinely believe in Jesus’ sacrifice, what in our lives should change? There reasonably should be a sense of gratitude for the gift given (1 John 4:19). This gratitude is expressed in reciprocating the love God has for us and, as we previously learnt, we love when we keep God’s law (John 14: 23; 2 John 1:6). This means if man wants to be saved we need to keep the commandments of God as a demonstration of our belief and acceptance of Jesus’ sacrifice. But how do we keep these commandments when our very form is pervaded with sin inherited from our first parents (Psalms 51:5)? This is the purpose of God’s grace. The grace of God grants us the strength to resist temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13); therefore, our sole task is to yield our will to His.

When the man and the woman sinned they hid from God, because that’s what sin does; it causes us to separate ourselves from God because of our sense of unworthiness (Genesis 3:8). Hiding from God can be manifested by choosing to not have anything to do with Him and His word, because of our sense of guilt, or trying to work in our own strength to obey God’s laws, to make ourselves good enough to come to Him. Neither of these will work for us; in the first scenario, the guilt will only go away when we have completely seared our consciences (Matthew 12:31) in the second, in our own strength we can do nothing good (Isaiah 64:6; John 15:5). However, there is hope to cure the guilt, when we read John 3:17 we see that Jesus did not come into this world to condemn us but to give us an opportunity to be saved (Romans 8:1). Thus, we can come boldly to God’s throne to find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16). Many of us miss this and get bogged down in the mire of our actions. We need to fall to our knees and fight this natural instinct to flee from God’s presence because He is our only source of help and hope to fight sin in this life (Matthew 19:26).

Knowing all this, how does hell fit into the picture? The bible tells us that hell is prepared for the Devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). However if we reject God’s grace and mercy by living in wilful disobedience to Him we will join that fire as well. The death experienced in hell is called in scripture “the second death” (Revelation 20:14). Many people read the previous verse in Matthew 25 and hold on to the idea that hell is a place that will be burning forever. This is a vicious falsehood! Why would a loving God who offered mercy at such a price burn someone for all eternity who sinned for ~70 years? When we study scripture we are admonished to place line upon line, precept upon precept (Isaiah 28:10-13). This verse refers to hell as an “everlasting fire”; in Jude the scripture refers to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as an “eternal fire” (Jude 7). We have an idea where, in the Middle East, those sister cities were. There is active sulphur there but the burning has ended, because the fuel is burnt up. In Malachi 4:3 we learn that the wicked will be ashes. We know that “to die” means “to stop living”, so why is it that the vast majority of mankind holds the belief that sinners will live forever in a burning flame? The answer – the original lie, “ye shall not surely die”. The devil is nothing if not consistent. He has the vast majority of the world convinced that when we die we don’t really die.

When we die the first death we go back to the soil (Genesis 3:19). But God has promised to return and those that are in the grave will live again, to gain the reward of the lives they lived (1 Thessalonians 4:16, Daniel 12:2, Revelation 20:6). Some will be raised to everlasting life, and some to everlasting death – never more to live again. This too is a mercy, because those of us who choose the sinful, selfish life will always be subject to the consequences of our sinful actions and could never be happy in God’s kingdom of peace and benevolence. Hell is real, but as I heard a pastor say it recently, “it is an event not a place”. It will come down from heaven consume the devil, his angels, sin, sinners, death and itself forever (Matthew 25:41; 1 Corinthians 15:54, 55; Revelation 20:7-15).

Let us take the Scripture as it reads, it is consistent and God is Love, all His actions are governed by pure love. He is not arbitrary and takes no “pleasure in the death of the wicked” but sin and its perpetuators cannot continue to exist; they cause too much hurt and pain (Ezekiel 33:11; Nahum 1:9).

Take Heart

A Reason to Believe: What happens at death

A Reason to Believe: Hell

Hand In Hand

Come Search With Me: Theism & Atheism, Reason & Faith

“Woke”

Being “woke” is an interesting new expression used in current popular culture to denote a state of “sudden understanding of what’s really going on and finding out you were wrong about much of what you understood to be truth” (urbandictionary.com). I’ve heard the term used in a few different contexts and decided that I needed to explore it a bit. The first time I heard it was in reference to the idea of “gender fluidity”. The second time my cousin was quite irate about a relative of hers adopting the mantra of a racial group who’s experience she didn’t fully share. The next tangible experience I had with this term was in a church’s youth program poster. I believe this is the one that sent me over the edge I had to address this. As always let’s go to Scripture.

Firstly there are two forces in this world: good and evil (Genesis 2:17; 3:5). Good encompasses all that is righteousness, truth, light, holiness and Godly. In contrast evil is composed of all that is unrighteousness, lies, darkness, impure, and Godless (Matthew 6:22, 23). Because there are only two forces in this world we must be following one or the other (Matthew 6:24). The definition of the term ‘woke’ “is a sudden understanding of what is really going on and finding out you were wrong about much of what you understood to be truth”; to me this is suspicious and insulting. As someone who has spent a bit of time in school and done some teaching I know that knowledge tends not to be gained suddenly. Insulting, because how is it possible that a person could achieve 30 plus years of life and experiences, and be wrong about most of it. The best teacher is experience, cause and effect – that’s scientific inquiry at its most basic. That said, what is this new outlook that is being gained? How much of the foundation of lives is being dismantled? What is the foundation being replaced with? And in light of the controlling forces being good or evil which direction is this state of being “woke” taking us?

Most of societal rules, as we know it, are based on Judeo-Christian scripture: Honour your parents, don’t commit murder, don’t cheat on your spouse, don’t steal, and don’t lie (Exodus 20:12-16). These are solid tenets on which society is formed and functions, however, as time marches on certain members of society become enamoured with the idea that within ourselves we are able to perpetuate a smooth society without the use of these guidelines, therefore, we see these principles slowly being eroded. Now, the state and children have more rights than parents, murderers have more rights than their victims, there is now an utter disregard for the sanctity of marriage, laws exist that promote theft, and politicians and lawyers have made lying an art-form. We did not just appear on this earth. There is One being responsible for our existence and He set out basic principles by which to live and prosper when we disregard them it is to our own demise. Our actions have real consequences. It behoves us to investigate the final outcome of this utter disregard for the obvious, logical facts on which we once based our lives.

This movement of being “woke” did not just happen suddenly. It has been building for decades in modern history. This generation is now the fruit of plans laid decades ago in the education, legal, media and entertainment systems of this world. However, any student of history will know what the outcome of this erosion of principle will be, as it has occurred many times before. Every society that has disregarded these basic principles of life has fallen, beginning with the antediluvians (Genesis 6:1-7; 7:7-24), then the community at the tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9), again with the twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:1-26), and various other subsequent civilizations (Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome). When the principles on which we build our existence are made to be fluid (spectral, uncertain) there ceases to be any reliable support and that will inevitably lead to destruction.

Now, as it regards the church, we have an added layer of responsibility because we claim to believe the whole of scripture. When the youth of our church are turning up the volume to their music and seeking for new ways of distracting themselves from reality and calling themselves “woke” I become extremely concerned. As proclaimed believers we are responsible to a known God for the remaining five commands (have no other gods, don’t worship the work of your hands, respect His name, keep His Sabbath day holy, don’t harbour envious thoughts). He has clear instructions in His word for how to keep these, but the youth of our church are now of the opinion that God doesn’t care about those “little things”, and that they can treat their minds and bodies as they wish, as long as they claim to be Christ’s (please consider these texts: Matthew 7:21-23; 1Corinthians 10:31; 6:19-20; 3:16, 17). There is no more vicious lie than this that has infested Christendom. As a result we seek to do the bare minimum to be considered a Christian by societal standards, with limited consideration to God’s actual standards.

Some claim that God doesn’t care much about our obedience, that He wants a relationship with us. A true relationship requires give and take but all we do is take. We want God’s blessings, not His guidance, we want His mercy, not His justice, we want His name and for Him to ignore our wilful disregard of His precepts, we want a Saviour not a Lord (Isaiah 4:1). He should give all and we give nothing. This concept of a relationship explains fully the divorce rate within the church. Scripture informs us that God does not change and what He required in Old Testament times, He required in New Testament times and still requires today; obedience (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8). This is a most comforting thought, we serve a God who is firm, and does not change; we can rely on Him to stand by His word, always. His word is powerful and active and will fulfil what it set out to do (Isaiah 55:11). He is the sure foundation on which we may build a life (Matthew 7:24).

I was listening to a sermon recently that referenced this state of intoxication in the church. The preacher spoke about Noah’s experience and Lot’s experience when they were drunk (Genesis 9:20-24; 19:30-36). During their drunken state they were abused and taken advantage of. However, when they woke up they became aware of what was done to them and could react. The preacher then compared these events with the description in Revelation of the “whore” who made all nations drink of the “wine of her fornication” (Revelation 17:1-6). These are symbols of a system that has infested Christendom, and caused us to believe lies with no foundation is God’s sure word. The apostle Peter admonishes us to be sober and vigilant because we have an enemy that wants to destroy us (1Peter 5:8). Until we truly wake up and realize how far we have drifted from scripture we will never truly know the extent of the abuse we have suffered.

Young people of the church, I implore you, Wake Up! Stop following fads and popular culture, pick up a Bible, sincerely pray to God for help, and read. Read as if your life depended on it, because it does.

--> God’s Mercy
Time to Wake Up
The Missing Piece
Lord, I Want to Be a Chirstian