Discernment

How Do I Know Who’s Telling Me the Truth?

8 Comments / May 5, 2021

There has been a lot of conversations about lies as compared to the truth over this past year. It is so difficult to work our way through all of the chaos and confusion. But do you know this has been going on for years? We just didn’t realize it.

It has been especially prevalent in the church over the past 50 or more years, where we have seen lies bound into the church (often splitting churches and causing genuine Christians to leave and start another church) or slither in so subtly they go completely unnoticed by almost all.

So two people asked me the same question last night: How do I know if the sermon or commentary or book I am reading is telling me the truth?

I answered off the top of my head then but have been giving it more thought since that time. It is a great question and some of you may have wondered this, as well. I thought maybe I’d try to tackle that question here this morning.

So you are reading a Study Bible or a commentary on a passage and you wonder: Is this guy interpreting this passage correctly? Or perhaps you are listening to a sermon and you think: Is this what the Bible is actually teaching here?

What are some steps you can take to make sure you aren’t deceived? There are a few important things you can do. Let’s take a look at them–

1. Pray for discernment. It is important that we are diligent in asking for the Holy Spirit to guide us as we study the Bible. Many have been the times I have heard something and it just didn’t “sit right” with me. This caused me to start digging deeper and finding out if that person was right or not. I’ve head many people share that they’ve had the same thing happen to them. One of the Holy Spirit’s jobs in our lives is to help us understand and interpret the Word rightly (John 14:26) and He does faithfully do this.

2. Recognize that we can understand a lot of the Bible without help. God has designed His Word to be understood by the average lay person. Think about how many things are clear in the Bible when you just sit down to study it without helps. Sure, there are some things that are a bit confusing or hard to understand, but the majority of the Bible is pretty understandable overall. As we become more familiar with its theme, its context, and its content, dedicating ourselves to reading and studying the actual Bible, we will be able to spot things that are off much more quickly.

3. Value the truth of God’s Word and be willing to pay whatever it costs to follow it. If I have seen one thing that has caused people to stumble or even turn away from genuine Christianity, it is this. The loyalty to men runs deep and when someone is confronted with a favorite teacher who is teaching a false doctrine, they will often choose the teacher over the Bible. Or perhaps they are confronted with the truth that genuine Christianity requires sacrifice and self-denial. They don’t like that truth and so they go towards the false Christianity that promises health and wealth. The bottom line is that if we are not willing to follow the truth of God’s Word–no matter the cost–we will open ourselves up to being deceived. We must value the truth of God’s Word above all else as we grow as believers.

4. As you start studying the Word, you will start to become familiar with those you can trust. Many men who have died aren’t changing their messages, so I often start there. While I may not agree with everything, I do know I can trust them regarding the main doctrines of the faith. Men like Matthew Henry, Charles Spurgeon, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, J.C. Ryle, and many of the Puritans have so much to offer when it comes to the topics of salvation and sanctification. (I want to note here that many of these men followed the wrong eschatology of reformed theology. Augustine developed the idea of Replacement Theology out of his own hatred for the Jews and their doctrines and this wrong doctrine has been followed by so many since. But since many of these men have been alive, things have progressed and been made so much clearer in regards to a literal Revelation that I do wonder if some of them would be changing their minds about now…)

5. Ask someone you trust if you have a question about something you have read or heard. Now before you ask, do make sure this person is committed 100% to the truth of God’s Word over pleasing men. Make sure they will tell you the truth in answer to your question. There are many people out there who aren’t willing to do this because they don’t want to lose you as a friend or offend you. You want to find someone who is willing to tell you the truth, no matter the cost. If you have someone like this in your life, you are beyond blessed. Ask them your questions and be willing to hear their answers.

6. Research the person in question. Oftentimes when I have a question about something I have heard or read, it will be answered if I dig a little deeper into the person who said/wrote it. If people are seriously in error in one area, they are probably seriously wrong in others.

7. Look at the speaker/author’s friends. Psalm 1 says that a righteous man will not hang out with the ungodly. Romans 16:17 tells us we are to avoid those who teach things contrary to pure doctrine. If the person you are listening to or reading spends his time, unapologetically, with false teachers or proudly declares his connections with the unsaved (for instance, in his/her efforts to better this world), beware. This is a HUGE red flag. Mark and avoid any teacher that does this. The Bible makes it clear that this means the teacher is compromised.

8. Have much grace and a humble spirit when there are minor differences. We will never agree whole-heartedly with anyone on everything. This is just life. We can’t be so over-zealous that we turn away from someone simply because of a minor disagreement about a passage. And we must humbly recognize that we aren’t right about everything, either. No one is. So, in the little things, we have grace and humility, striving for unity among true believers. Oh, how many churches have been destroyed over minor disagreements.

9. Recognize that Satan wants to deceive you. We are told that he is like a roaring lion, who seeks to devour (I Peter 5:8) and that he often presents himself as an angel of light, as do his workers (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). Unless we are aware of Satan’s dedication to putting us off-course, we will be vulnerable in our naivete and ignorance. We must be aware of the spiritual battle that is raging for our souls. Satan would like nothing more than for us to be rendered ineffective for Christ and His Kingdom through deception and distraction.

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I hope this has been helpful. It is certainly not exhaustive and I’m sure I will think of other things as soon as I post this (that is usually what happens!) If you have other suggestions that have helped you, I would love to read them in the comments section.

Life continues to get crazier and truth is costing more and more. Both biblically, as well as in the real, everyday world. Many are not willing to pay the price.

But if we are to keep ourselves walking in the truth, we must dedicate ourselves to it. No matter the cost. We must submit ourselves to God and His Word (even if we don’t like what it says), and, when we do, God will honor this desire. He will keep us and guard us from the evil one (2 Thessalonians 3:3; James 4:7).

So stay strong and value truth, my friends. In this time of great deception, ask the Lord to protect you. He is so faithful and He will!

 

 

Time to Wake Up

6 Comments / March 23, 2021

Last night at 12:22am, our phone rang. It jarred me out of a very deep sleep and my heart started pounding. It’s not usually a good thing when the phone rings at night and my thoughts went immediately to our parents. It ended up being an automated call about our company’s security system (at 12:22am!) and I started to breathe easily again. But it took a long time for my heart to stop pounding and my brain to slow down.

A few hours later, we woke up to a short beep. We looked around, couldn’t figure it out, and closed our eyes. We were just about back to sleep when we heard it again. It seemed to be coming from my nightstand. I decided it must be some kind of low battery signal from my alarm clock. I unplugged the clock and we settled down for a couple of more hours of sleep. But, no. There it was again! At this third beep, I flew out of bed, turned on the light, and examined my table. Finally, my husband said he thinks it’s the phone. The cordless phone (which I had answered at 12:22am) had lost its charge and was begging to be put back in its cradle. How it lost its charge in just a few short hours is a mystery. That particular phone rarely leaves its cradle and was sitting on it when I answered during the night.

Those rude awakenings made for a rough night of sleep. No wonder I feel so tired this morning.

Those sleep interruptions remind me of the life we are living now. We so badly want to go back to our normal ordinary living but we keep getting jarred awake by discouraging and often nonsensical happenings. We will live for a few days–perhaps even a week or two–and we can forget how much the world has changed. But then something vividly reminds us.

I wrote parts of what you will read below on Facebook the other day, but decided to expand here as many of you are not on Facebook and, also, because I did not include or expand on certain things due to space. I want to warn you that this first part is going to be somewhat discouraging but just keep reading. It gets better.

As we catch bits and pieces of news these past days, we see many disturbing things. In America, It seems like almost every day we hear of laws that will strip us of our rights. We hear of terrible things happening at the borders. We hear of people dying from Covid and from the vaccine. And we hear about supply shortages and higher expenses. Meanwhile the government is throwing money it doesn’t have at its citizens to pacify them. This can’t end well.

There are perhaps even more disturbing happenings from across the world, where we hear of extreme lockdown measures that continue to keep people from traveling even within their own countries. There are massive protests across Europe about these lockdowns, which we never hear about in the mainstream news. A pastor in Canada was recently released from a five week stay in jail for his church’s in-person meetings against his province’s health guidelines. And then there are the reports coming from Israel that there is “medical apartheid” going on. If you aren’t vaccinated, you are viewed as Enemy #1 and with their newly instated “green pass”, only the vaccinated are allowed to eat at restaurants indoors, go to events, and even shop in some stores. Many of their citizens have been forced to be vaccinated or lose their jobs. Now keep in mind–this is over a virus that has a death rate that is actually less than 4% (and that death rate has been falsified in so many ways and with the falsifications being proven by so many different studies and reports that it is hard for any thinking person to deny it.) There’s much more going on in this world. But that’s enough.

Not only is the world in chaos but the church at large is also in major chaos. Here in America, we read of a famous “Christian” singer who was recorded shouting obscenities at his son. We see an ugly debate over a recent Christian book and the promotion of Bethel by a much trusted Christian. The promotion of wokism and social justice in Baptist and other once-solid churches is now the norm. The church has been on a bad trajectory for quite awhile but it has taken on warp speed. Why does it matter what is happening to the American church? I believe it is because she has been a beacon of the Christian faith in this world for many years. It has been she who has sent thousands of missionaries across the world and it is she who has been one of Israel’s greatest supporters. As this American church weakens and is overtaken by apostasy, so the darkness won’t only increase in America, but across the world. (Did you know that many mission organizations aren’t even sharing the Gospel anymore? Or if they do it is as an “add-on” to the person’s current religion? There is much going on in the world of missions. Be careful whom you support.)

What is especially interesting to see is the efforts to draw all people into a one world religion (which we have been told is coming in Revelation 13), with many once-trusted figures joining with false teachers or promoting false doctrine. I recently saw a “Christian” company who is re-making their company with an emphasis on Buddhism, while still claiming to be Christian. I’ve heard of “Christian” pastors and teachers joining with Islam. In fact, it is so common that it’s been given a name: “Chrislam”. There is just so much wrong with the modern day mainstream church across the world. What I have written is just a glimpse into all that’s going on.

But let me encourage you! As the American church has weakened, the true church in other countries is growing. Oftentimes, this is happening in countries where there is much persecution and cost for being a believer. The true church is still so wonderfully alive and well and will always remain so until the Lord returns for her. Yes, she will be small but perhaps we are simply gaining a new understanding of Matthew 7:13-14? Our Lord told us the gate is narrow and few there will be that find it.

Then there are weather events. Did you know that last year in America there were 16 ‘one-billion dollar’ weather events? This means that insurance companies had to pay out at least one billion dollars in coverage. There are usually under ten per year. And this year the Texas freeze has already been a three billion dollar event. So not only is the world going crazy, so is the weather. And that’s just in America. This pattern continues across the world, with an increase in hurricanes, volcanic activity, and earthquakes. The official data shows this increase in activity. I think we can all agree that the weather has seemed to sense the mood of the earth. We hear that it’s global warming causing all this havoc. I tend to believe it is the beginning of the birth pangs as predicted in Matthew 24. Of course, I could be wrong. It’s just an observation.

Meanwhile, technology is exponentially increasing, making possible the mark of the beast as predicted in Revelation 13. One can easily see how the green pass in Israel and the mandatory chipping of employees in Sweden are stepping stones to the mark of the Beast. (Let me be clear: The vaccine is NOT the mark of the beast.) Yes, how they will make the mark of the beast possible is becoming just a little clearer with each passing day. Technology is also now available to see the two witnesses in live time from anywhere in the world through satellites. Anything that we thought was impossible forty or fifty years ago when we read Revelation is now possible. It’s mind-blowing when you really stop to think about it.

And then, finally, the last thing I want to touch on is globalism. I have thought for many years now that it would be quite impossible to have a one world government with a strong America. I believe that we are watching the intentional take-down of this country. I do not say this lightly. The evidence is clearly there. This, along with the failing economies of other countries around the world, will pave the way for a global government. They are already discussing it. Just look up the World Economic Forum and read some of their chilling plans.

I haven’t even mentioned the activity in the middle east that is lining up with scripture in a way that could only be supernatural.

It’s funny because I never really thought before 2020 of the many details and changes that would need to be put in place for the Revelation 13 scenario to come to the world. But now as we are living them, it makes so much sense. It’s not like you can just suddenly have a one world government, a one world religion, and a mark of the beast that is needed to buy and sell. These things can’t just happen instantly. There must be much happening in the years before that.

Now you may be saying to yourself right now “I don’t agree with you“. And I want you to know, first of all, that I am not trying to change your mind. I don’t think it will really matter what we believe about world happenings when the Lord returns. Second of all, I am so gladly willing to hear evidence to the contrary. I would gladly admit it if I am wrong. I simply ask you to do some research on your own before commenting with negative words to this post. Spend some time finding out about the vaccine from doctors who are losing their licenses and reputations to sound the alarm. Read a few news sources that are not carefully controlled. Dig into history to find out the background of current events.

To me–and I know to many of you, as well–it is so clear that the end is near. Everything the Bible predicted is either happening or being set up to happen.

How does one live in a world that is getting ready to end?

It can be tempting to fear and to be anxious. It is tempting to just withdraw and ignore.

And, honestly, I don’t pay much attention to the news anymore. I am not going to change what is happening by knowing about every detail. And we aren’t really getting real news anyway. At least not in America. We are getting a very scripted narrative.

Does anyone else find themselves hunkering down in the midst of all of this and just living a more simple life? One where family, work, and church are the main priorities?

That’s what I find myself doing. And, honestly, if it wasn’t for the wonderings and uncertainty of the future, I’d be happier for it. There is much to be said for the simpler life.

Actually, “hunkering down” is probably not the best term to use. I don’t mean that we shelter in our houses and don’t go out. I am referring more to a life where we invest in our families, treasure fellowship with like-minded believers, and have conversations that actually matter with both the unsaved and the saved. A life where we focus on what’s important.

Our families need us. They need us to be engaged and communicating and laughing with them. They need us to turn away from our phones and our TVs and our activities to love them and teach them about God and His Word.

Our church families need us. I have heard from several different people now how difficult it is to find people to serve in various ministries at local churches. This is so discouraging. We need to be actively serving as we wait for the Lord to come. This is not the time to back out of all of our church ministries.

Our communities need us. I spoke with a woman yesterday whose family is deeply hurting from this past year. Their extended families have been deeply affected economically by Covid and they are trying to help them. But they, themselves, had to take a 10% pay cut. It’s been a rough road to travel for them. I am sure her story could be told a million times over across the world. In fact, many are facing much worse things. Some are struggling to even eat. We need to support those who are hurting however we can. We need to boldly share the Gospel when we are given opportunity. We need to show God’s love in this harsh, harsh world.

It’s time for the alarms around us to wake us up to what’s important. It’s time to wake up to the fact that we are probably never going back to our old “normal”.

This reminds me of the verses from I Thessalonians 5:5-11—

You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be [a]sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

11 Therefore [b]comfort each other and [c]edify one another, just as you also are doing.

We mustn’t sleep as others do but watch and be sober. We are children of the day. Children of the light. And we must keep our eyes open and our armor on.

And don’t forget that one of these days we will be raptured! The Lord has promised that we will escape the wrath to come. We are not going to be here while the earth experiences the worst seven years in its history. Oh, praise the Lord for keeping His own from this terrible time.

Meanwhile, as we traverse the land of “limbo”, waiting for whatever is next, we need to make the best of it and appreciate what we have now. We need to be actively serving our Lord and sharing the Gospel. And we need to be sure we are growing deep roots of faith so that we can stand firm and face whatever may be ahead.

This is not the time to be resting and waiting. We need to be in the Word, learning who God is, learning to trust Him. Another thing that has been tremendously helpful to me is reading stories of missionaries and other Christians who have gone on before us. These are incredibly faith-building and are a wonderful reminder of God’s care and provision in the worst of times.

So hang on tight. It looks like we may be in for quite a ride. But let’s be sure to hang on to the right thing. Stuff will decay. People will let you down. Glory will fade. Only God and His Word are a sure anchor in the turmoil around us.

And so let us cling to Him alone. He will never fail us for He cannot fail.

 

The Challenges of Being a “People-Pleaser”

8 Comments / March 16, 2021

The other day, my dad shared something he remembered about me as a child that surprised me. But then, as I thought about it further, I realized that it is absolutely true and it is what has caused me so much misery through these past years of blogging. God has been helping me understand this about myself recently and has also given me greater insight in how to deal with it. I am sharing here because I thought this might also be of benefit to other “people-pleasers”.

We were talking about the grandkids (my dad’s great grandkids) and their personalities when he suddenly mentioned how different my brother and I were. I was so sensitive and wanted to please people as opposed to my brother, who never really cared what people thought about him.

I am not sure why but a light bulb went on in my head. Finally.

You see, since I have been blogging and I guess for my whole life, I have had a great desire to adhere to God’s truth and to share it with others. Because the truth is so important to me, I can see often see when there is false doctrine afoot or when someone is twisting scripture. (I don’t do this perfectly, of course.)

However, this desire to share truth is in direct conflict with my innate desire to make people happy. Since people often don’t want to hear the truth, I find myself not always pleasing them. I’ve never thought about myself as a people-pleaser but as I have reflected on my dad’s words, I can see that this is what has caused me so much heartache throughout my life. Especially since I’ve been publicly blogging.

You see, I have often noticed people that I’ve counted as friends and even acquaintances take a step back from me. They start avoiding me. They won’t make eye contact. Or they just act like I’m no longer on the planet. Or blog readers just disappear. A fellow blogger became a friend (I thought) and then poof! Just like that she disappeared. I still have no idea why.

There’s been no conversation or discussion so I often surmise that it must have been something I wrote (or said). Since I am never given the opportunity to actually find out what it exactly is that I’ve said or wrote that offended them, I am at a loss to fix it.

This has caused me incredible turmoil through the years and I will tell you why. It is because I have absolutely no way of knowing if someone is upset with me because of some truth they read (or heard me say) OR if I have done something sinful.

The questions that I repeat over and over again to myself when this happens are: Did I do something wrong? Did I write something that wasn’t biblical? Did I say it in a way that was unloving? Did I make a big deal out of something that shouldn’t have been a big deal? Father, have I sinned against Thee?

These go round and round and round in my head whenever someone so obviously backs away from me. And, contrary to what many people think about me, I don’t enjoy this. I HATE conflict. I HATE making people unhappy. I HATE when people don’t like me.

So why do I keep doing what I do? It’s because I care about pleasing God more than I hate people not liking me. I care more about God’s Word than I do about offending people. And it’s because so many of you have reached out and told me how the Growing4Life posts have encouraged and helped you. It’s because, for whatever reason, God has given me this platform and I want to faithfully accomplish what He has given me to accomplish.

But there is this dreadful uncertainty in the midst of all of this. Do people disappear because I have sinned or do they disappear because they didn’t like a particular truth I mentioned? I have spent hours in agony over this question. I am not exaggerating.

If people don’t like me for speaking truth then so be it. Scripture makes it clear that this is the price we should expect to pay. But if they don’t like me because of something sinful I did, then I must fix something. But what is it? Because it’s just easier to disappear than to have a conversation, I am rarely given the opportunity to know just what is going on.

Sometimes God will reveal something to me and I will apologize to someone. Or I will go back and change a sentence or two in a blog post. But that question still haunts me. Because if I had my choice, everyone would like me.

As I thought about this yet again a few weeks ago and spent a morning in turmoil, I finally, by the grace of God, found peace. For the first time since I started writing publicly, I found peace regarding the disappearing readers and friends.

And this is what I wanted to share with you. I hope it is an encouragement to those of you who have people-pleasing personalities like mine.

A week or two ago, as I once again sat agonizing over this, wondering if I have sinned against someone, it suddenly hit me. I can do nothing if people aren’t willing to share with me why they are offended.

My responsibility is to humbly surrender and change as God reveals things to me. But if someone is offended and they won’t share that with me, then there is really nothing I can do. I am helpless to make them happy or to be at peace with them, because they have found it easier just to walk away.

At that point I am not responsible. As long as I am living out Romans 12:18 (As much as it depends on you, live peaceably with all men), there is nothing further I can do. The fact that Paul even wrote that verse shows that it is not always possible to be at peace with all men.

This is all compounded by the fact that, over the past few years, a rather strange new thing has entered our culture: We only like those with whom we agree. This change is extremely sad and causes so much division and heartache.

So I’d like to just go on record to say that I still like you even if we don’t agree about everything. I count you as a friend even if you and I differ on eschatology or how we view a specific Christian teacher. And if you can show me, from scripture, why I should change my view, I’ll change it. I am always open to discussion. I never want to be hard-headed or the kind that needs to prove I’m right. If scripture is clear that I am wrong, I am not too proud to admit it.

And, quite frankly, it is those of you that have kindly shared your disagreements with me who have led me to really dig deeper into the Word to clarify and confirm what I have said I believe. I am thankful for those of you with whom I can have candid and kind discussions. This is how we sharpen one another. This is how the family of God is supposed to work.

And, so, that is just a brief look into the window of my heart. I have made myself rather vulnerable with this post but I do so because I believe we are going to face this dilemma more and more as we stand for the truth of the Bible. It’s growing increasingly unpopular and I believe we are going to please people less and less as we cling tenaciously to God and His Word. We people-pleasers will have to come to grips with this.

So may we stand firm. May we unapologetically proclaim the truth of God’s Word–all of it! The pleasant parts and the not-so-pleasant parts. And may we humbly acknowledge when we have sinned, repent, brush ourselves off, and begin again.

 

When It’s Time to Turn Off a Sermon

2 Comments / March 10, 2021

Do you know we get “preached at” every day? Articles, news, songs, shows, movies, blog posts, and commercials are all telling us what we should believe and how we should live. Some are more subtle than others. Then there are the ones that are really obvious.

A few weeks ago, I decided to try a new fitness program. I was excited about it because it looked to be an excellent workout in only thirty minutes. That’s my kind of workout! ;)

I put on my workout clothing, got my weights, and turned on the TV.

“Our word for today is limitless. You are limitless.”

I think I laughed out loud. Anyone with even half a brain recognizes that all humans have limits. Right? Uh, wrong…

Through the course of the next thirty minutes I was told that I have no limits. That I can do anything. And all kinds of other things that were not only false, but totally nonsensical. I was listening to a sermon of the New Age religion, where we can all be divine and become gods.

I listened that first day but I liked the workout and so I made a choice to just ignore what the instructor was saying. But by about the fourth day, two things were really bothering me.

First, something the instructor had said came to my mind as I was doing something later that day. I actually had to consciously tell myself: No, that’s wrong. So I realized that, without a doubt, I was hearing and remembering what she was saying each morning, even in my efforts to ignore her.

And, second, I felt a check in my spirit. Something wasn’t right. I was convicted that these New Age “sermons” did not belong in the home of a believer. Staying true to God and His Word was far more important than being “fit”. There are ways to be fit that don’t compromise me spiritually.

Please don’t hear me saying any “thou shalt nots” here. We all have to make our choices before God about what we are going to listen to and watch every day. I am not your judge. But this experience reminded me that we are being preached at every day. The majority of what we hear is not neutral. It is either for God and goes along with His Word or it is against God and what His Word says (and, if we are honest, we recognize that it is mostly against Him).

The thing that makes this all rather confusing is that much that is being taught in the New Age religion is labeled “Christian”. The fitness instructor wasn’t pretending to be a Christian. She was right out there with her false religion and she wasn’t using Christian lingo. But there are many preaching the false religion of “self glory” and they are using Christianese to do it. And so we have to pay attention.

There are times to turn off sermons, radios, and tvs. There are times to walk away from churches and movies theaters. Here are some things to look for–

• Self takes center stage and God is relegated to either the background or rather, oftentimes, takes the role of “genie” who will make your dreams come true.

• Self gets the glory.

• Self is defined in glowing terms, rather than as an undeserving sinner in need of God’s grace.

• How self feels and what self experiences is more important than what the Bible teaches.

The thing that makes this extra tricky and tempting is that what the New Age religion is teaching us is extremely appealing to our flesh. It is a very pleasant message to hear. It tells us our dreams and self-fulfillment matter. It tells us that we can accomplish anything. It tells us that we are limitless creatures that are able to create our own destinies. It tells us that we are divine within. It tells us that denying ourselves and picking up our cross daily is an archaic command of an old-fashioned religion.

Who doesn’t want that kind of religion?

Only a true believer who is spending time in the Word can see past how good that sounds to the destruction and havoc it actually wreaks both eternally and here on earth.

How important that we Christians pay attention to the sermons we hear every day. What are we being taught that goes against what God teaches in His Word? It is time we got intentional about what we are ingesting into our minds each and every day. Satan has some very powerful tools and he is using them to reach into the hearts and minds of both Christians and non-Christians to sway and move them towards that one world religion that is coming.

We have a responsibility to keep ourselves pure from false religion. And we should have a desire to keep ourselves pure and wholly devoted to God alone. We can only do this by being very consciously aware of the battle that is going on for our hearts and minds and then actually doing something about it to stand firm, hold fast, and prove our undying loyalty to the true King alone.

 

 

 

PLEASE NOTE:

• Facebook is not my friend. I have a suspicion that the crackdown on biblical content may be affecting me. I have no way to prove this, of course, but I have noticed that, over the past few weeks, the number “reached” has been radically reduced (which can only mean it’s not being put on the news feed by Facebook). This is confirmed by the dearth of responses that most posts are receiving as compared to just a few weeks ago. If you are on Facebook and appreciate any post I share then your liking, commenting, and sharing it will help get the posts on the news feed. I appreciate any help you give. However, with that being said, I want to assure you that I am at peace with all of this. I am not ever going to market myself. This is all in God’s hands and I am completely content to let it there. Or at least my desire is to be content, however this turns out. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit it is a bit discouraging…

• As social media cracks down on things, I do wonder how long biblical content will be allowed on any platform. Even the service I use to send out posts to Growing4Life subscribers has changed their policy to open the door for censorship. I mentioned this a few weeks ago, but thought perhaps I should just mention it again, in case anyone missed it: If you appreciate the Growing4Life posts and want to stay in touch with me, should I be censored, please reply to this email (or message me if you are reading this on social media) with your name and email address. I will add your name to a list of contacts, should I need to find a new way to reach you.  If you’ve already contacted me, there is no need to do so again. I thank you and your name and email address are already in a file I am keeping should such a day come.

 

We are on a balance beam and there is grave danger on both sides

3 Comments / February 9, 2021

This is important. Extremely important. I have been watching a rather interesting thing take place. I am not sure where it will lead but I felt I just wanted to offer my readers a warning about what I am seeing.

This past year we have watched our world become extremely divided. While we must acknowledge that there are a few exceptions, we have seen a fairly clear line drawn down the center of mask wearers who believe the vaccine will take the world back to normal and those who believe masks are useless and the vaccine is dangerous. We have seen a fairly clear line drawn between those who agree with a leftist, “woke”, socialist agenda and those who do not. No matter which side you place yourself on, you are probably pretty sure the other side is dead-wrong.

If you are reading this blog on a regular basis, I am doubting you are on the socialist side of things, since this side clearly goes against the Word of God in so many ways. From the horrifying sanction of abortion to the breakdown of the family unit God has designed to the stealing from someone who works hard to give to someone who won’t work (yes, that is stealing, no matter what words they use to describe it), it has an anti-God agenda.

But let’s not be too quick to think that the other side (and I am talking about the side that gathered at the capital earlier this year) is without its major flaws. The main one I see being the new age influence.

A few days ago, I watched a really helpful video by an educated doctor talking about the vaccine and why it is so very dangerous. Her documentation and data were impressive and I can’t see any reason for her to lie, given that she is putting both her reputation and her life on the line to even speak up. But about three-quarters through the video, she started talking about Jesus. Only this was not the Jesus from the Bible.

Her “Jesus” tells her that He is not greater than we are but that He came to show us how to be greater than He is. We just need to search inside ourselves to be great. This is classic new age talk. She also kept referring to energy (always a red flag when you hear it.)

Of course, this was all couched in Christian terminology that made it sound almost biblical.

Why do I bring this up? It is because I have often seen this from the side that many Christians are running to for information. I spotted it in one of the first viral videos, where a doctor gave her testimony. There was nothing in her testimony at all about repentance and needing to be saved from sin. It was all experience and feeling and “light”. This type of new age testimony sounds pretty good, until we start recognizing what they haven’t said.

While there is nothing necessarily wrong with getting data and doing research, please listen very carefully when they start talking about God, Jesus, prayer, the Holy Spirit, and their personal testimonies. Pay close attention when they start talking about spiritual things. Does what they say line up with what the scripture says? Nine times out of ten, it does not. Maybe ninety-nine times out of a hundred. Terms to be aware of are The Great Awakening, energy, light, and Revival (their revival never includes repentance from sin). If they are really giving themselves away, they will refer to the god within or how we are divine as humans. Most of this side is not Christian, although they will sound like they are on the surface. We must not be deceived.

So where does this leave us as Christians? I am afraid it is not anywhere great–at least by human standards. We are literally on the balance beam of the Bible, trying to avoid the danger that lies on both sides. At least we should be there. We are watching the growth of two specific movements and we do not belong to either one. One looks black. The other looks white. But they are both evil.

I make no predictions about how this all ends. I have ideas that I have gleaned, according to the Word. But, let’s be honest, none of us knows how this is all going to go down. We are clueless. And so I am simply presenting what I have been observing. Be careful who you side with. Don’t be too quick to believe someone is saved simply because they mention Jesus. As I remember one of my teachers saying, “it is time to put on your thinking caps.” Think through what someone says and compare it to scripture. This can be done fairly clearly with new age testimonies, as well as with social justice and racism and every other “hot button” subject. God has given us His Word so we can know the truth!

As we start this process of thinking and realizing just how wicked the world is, we can start to feel pretty alone. And, yes, we are but a small group of people who want to follow the Lord whole-heartedly. But let us not forget– we serve the Living God!

Think about this: We are on the side of the God of the Universe. He can move mountains and make the rocks cry out. He can walk on water and He can raise the dead.

The remnant may be oh, so very small (and shrinking daily) but this matters not with God on our side.

I am reminded of Israel when they were surrounded by Arab nations intent on annihilating them. Renald Showers puts it like this, “Azzam Pasha, secretary-general of the Arab League boasted, ‘This will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and Crusades.’  Because the Arabs had many more soldiers and superior weapons, they were confident the would eliminate Israel from the Middle East.” *

Israel should have lost that war. There is no possible reason why they should have–or even could have–won. The odds are so astounding as to be impossible.

But God was on their side. And so they came out victorious, gaining control of the western half of Jerusalem in the process.

Let’s also remember how God rescued Israel from the Egyptians, even parting the sea so they could escape. And the boy, David, as he slew the giant, Goliath. Let’s remember Gideon as he took his small band of three hundred men to battle victoriously against Midian. We remember Peter and the angel that released him from prison. And God didn’t stop showing up after the Bible was written. Many are the accounts of believers through the ages who have witnessed miraculous events. Our God can do anything.

Of course, we realize that this does not mean we will be saved from really hard times and great persecution. We know from the chapters 15 and 16 of the book of John, that we will be hated by the world if we are truly following the real Jesus. But the God who saved Daniel from the Lion’s Den and three Hebrew boys from the fiery furnace is the same God we serve today. We can rest assured that absolutely nothing can thwart the plan of Almighty God!

Our job is to stay on that Balance Beam that is the Bible, running every speaker, author, movement, song, movie, conversation, and every single thing through its grid so as to guard ourselves against deception.

And then God will take care of the rest. He will provide. He will supply sufficient grace.

So let’s be careful not to get caught up in any movements. Chances are they are not of God. No matter how good they may sound.

 

 

*p. 80 The Coming Apocalypse, A Study of Replacement Theology vs. God’s Faithfulness in the End Times by Renald Showers

 

 

The Chosen: Is It Biblical?

26 Comments / February 1, 2024

FEBRUARY 1, 2024 UPDATE: If you’d like to read more, you will find an updated post about The Chosen series at this link.

A few years ago a series about the Bible came on the scene called “The Chosen” and quickly became extremely popular. They even had a Christmas special this past year that many Christians enjoyed. My oldest daughter, Jess, watched it but became more than a little concerned when she noticed the ecumenism (a coming together of faiths) during the special.

She decided to do some research on the show. I believe you will be thankful that she did. What she found is important information for anyone who is truly dedicated to God and His Word. How important that we value truth and biblical accuracy over being entertained.

So today we will have a guest post by Jess, explaining what she found and why she has decided this show is definitely not biblical and should be eliminated from our list of entertainment options. I might add that I whole-heartedly agree with her conclusion. (You can find out more about Jess at the end of this post.) So here is why both she and I will not be watching The Chosen—

The Chosen TV series has recently taken the Christian world by storm. Do a quick google search and you’ll be hard pressed to find any criticism of the show. Instead, raving reviews come from those both inside and outside of the church. So I am aware that my own critique of this show will not be a very popular one. I believe, however, that it is a necessary one and I’m going to propose to you three reasons why I think it’s best that we avoid watching and endorsing The Chosen. 

My first concern is the subtle (or not-so-subtle) Scriptural inconsistencies. The most blatant one is the way the show pushes a feminist agenda. We first glimpse this when Jesus asks Mary Magdalene to lead in prayer and Scripture reading before a sabbath dinner. This is a historically impossible scenario and totally inconsistent with first century Jewish culture. Mary Magdalene is also seen throughout the show as “the 13th disciple” and travels around with Jesus and His disciples. It would have been both culturally and morally inappropriate for a single woman to travel around with a bunch of men. And if she had, her virtue and the intentions of Jesus and the disciples would have been called into question. And finally, in episode 6, we see Tamar and Mary Magdalene carry the paralytic man through the crowd. This is in direct contradiction to the story in Luke 5 where it clearly states “some men” carried the paralytic man (see verse 18). The writers are clearly trying to appease the feminist American culture even at the expense of changing the words of Scripture.

Another error is found when Jesus is conversing with Nicodemus and asks him, “what does your heart say?” I can tell you– beyond a shadow of a doubt–Jesus never would have said that (Jeremiah 17:9). They also portray Matthew as having Asperger’s Syndrome. You can’t find any proof for this scripturally and, again, it feels as though they’re simply pandering to the current American culture.

My second concern is that this show will affect the way people approach Scripture. The writers obviously take a lot of liberties with the story of Jesus, the disciples, and other biblical characters to create a multi-season series. You might think it’s not a big deal; that it’s just entertainment. But this show adds details, attributes, and circumstances that aren’t in the Bible to Bible characters and Bible stories. Don’t you think that those things might paint an inaccurate picture that will affect the way you read God’s Word?

Quotes like “I came to know Jesus better through this show” and “I feel like I’ve been reading my Bible in black and white all these years and now it’s in color” have been circulating on social media by both the creators and fans of the show. The creator says he’s “trying to tell God’s stories in a fresh way” and “enhancing Scripture”. Those are all incredibly dangerous statements. Do you need something other than God’s Word to know Jesus? No. In fact, God’s Word is the only way we can know Jesus. Do we need anything to enhance God’s stories or tell them in a fresh way? Absolutely not. Only the Bible is the inspired Word of God and it needs no enhancing or modern re-telling by fallible men.

My final concern is with the creator of the show himself, Dallas Jenkins. Before I share my own thoughts, I think it might be best to allow his own statement, in an interview on a LDS (Church of the Latter Day Saints or Mormon) radio show, to speak for itself:

“So I can honestly say, it’s been one of the top three most fascinating and beautiful things about this project – it’s been my growing brother and sisterhood with people of the LDS community that I never would’ve known otherwise and I learned so much about your faith tradition and realizing, gosh, for all the stuff that maybe we don’t see eye to eye on…that all happened, that’s all based on stuff that happened after Jesus was here. The stories of Jesus we do agree on, and we love the same Jesus. That’s not something you often hear…sometimes it’s like, oh they believe in a different Jesus than we do. No, it’s the same, I mean I’ll sink or swim on that statement. I know that’s controversial and I don’t mind getting criticized at all for the show, and I don’t mind being called a blasphemer, I don’t like it when my friends are. I made it very clear that if I go down, I’m going down protecting my friends and my brothers and sisters and so I don’t deny we have a lot of theological differences but we love the same Jesus.” 

This is one of many examples of him stating that Mormonism, Catholicism, and Christianity simply have minor theological differences. He calls them “different perspectives” that are “exciting to explore, not dangerous”. He consults a Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi, and an evangelical christian after writing each episode to make sure they are “biblically accurate”. You can find him saying many times that we all believe in or that we all love the same Jesus.

But do we? Both the church of LDS and Catholics believe in a combination of works and faith. Mormons believe that God attained His supreme status by righteous works and that Jesus is a created being and not equal to God. I could go into more details behind the errors of the Mormon and Catholic faiths and what makes them false religions, but I’ll save that for another day. However, the differences between the true Christian faith and the Mormon and Catholic faiths are essential, gospel issues and not simply theological differences we can brush over. And the bottom line is this: If Dallas Jenkins believes what he’s saying then he doesn’t understand the true Gospel. The Gospel that says there’s only one way. The Gospel that says we are forgiven on the merit of Christ alone and not of anything we can do. The one and only Gospel that is founded on the belief that Jesus is God incarnate.

And do we really want to watch a show about Jesus and the Gospel that is created by a man who doesn’t even understand the Gospel? I’ll let you make that decision, but I, for one, cannot.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jess is a wife to one of my favorite son-in-laws and mom to three boys. She loves the Lord and values truth. When she’s not busy being a mom, she enjoys researching things as she compares them to God’s Word. She has recently decided to start a Facebook page and Instagram account dedicated to running popular philosophies, movements, entertainment, authors, and teachers through the grid of the Bible. You can find her Facebook page here. Her Instagram is @anchor.for.the.soul.

A REMINDER: If you’d like to continue hearing from me, should I be censored, I am asking you to give me your name and email address if you haven’t already done so. You can do this by simply replying to this email. I am trying to find a censorship-free platform to use for my subscribers and will only add those that actually value the content posted here and want to be added.

Why I Believe the Book of Revelation Will Be Fulfilled Literally

12 Comments / January 19, 2021

If you are over the age of 50, you can remember a time when the church was very focused on the rapture and the tribulation and what that would look like. Movies like Thief in the Night and A Distant Thunder brought fear and trembling as we considered our standing before God and what the world might look like after the rapture. The interest died down in the 80’s a bit and then was renewed a few years later with the Left Behind book series put out by Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye.

And then something drastically changed. Suddenly, most churches became silent on the topic. I remember talking to someone who told me that they didn’t even know what their church teaches on eschatology. They never talk about it.

But many in the intellectual circles started teaching an eschatology that was different than what I had always believed in. Replacement Theology, Amillennialism, Post-millennialism, and Dominionism (or Kingdom Now theology) all grew in the wake of the church’s silence as people searched for answers. Many landed with the intellectuals who were declaring that their eschatology was coming from the early church fathers, such as Augustine (I’d like to add here that it is better to get our eschatology from the Bible as one only has to look back before Augustine to recognize that the early church actually taught pre-millennialism.)

I am not sure if you are aware of this, but probably over half (or more) of believers would not believe in a literal Revelation. To believe in this is to subject yourself to much scorn, particularly in the intellectual circles of Christendom.

And, so, today I want to explain to you my own personal journey and how I landed quite solidly in believing that Revelation will be fulfilled literally. While this was what I was taught as a child, I did not automatically assume this as an adult. God has, step by step, been showing me this truth through a variety of avenues. I have much more to learn and God keeps teaching me, for which I am extremely grateful.

Before I go on, I want to make sure you understand that I firmly believe that those who don’t agree with me on eschatology are still my brothers and sisters in Christ if they believe in faith alone through Christ alone for salvation.

So, on to my own journey of how I ended up where I did.

1. The Miracle of Israel  I believe the first step in this journey was a book I just “happened” upon. It was a secular work of fiction called Exodus by an author named Leon Uri. To be honest, I have no idea how I came across it or what made me pick it up but this book changed forever how I viewed the nation of Israel. As the author told a fictional story that was filled with many facts of the birth of modern day Israel I was astounded and even shocked at the miraculous and supernatural nature of it. It gave me much pause for thought that even a secular author could see this. More research into the actual event confirmed what the author had written.

The modern-day nation of Israel should not exist. But God. His supernatural protection of her has continued to this day. To me, this eliminated Replacement Theology. There was no way God didn’t have a future for Israel. Why, we were seeing it come to fruition right in front of our eyes!

I could expound a bit more but I don’t want this to get too long. So may I encourage you to do your own research to confirm what I am saying here? I truly believe, you, too, will be surprised at what you find.

2. My Personal Study of Romans 9-11 As I was reading through the Bible for the first time ever, I had finally reached the book of Romans. To my shame, I had never read the whole thing through. When I read Romans 9-11, I was shocked at the clarity with which Paul himself talks so clearly about God and His Love for Israel. Here we find that, clearly, God has a future planned for Israel. To come away with any different interpretation is to do interpretive somersaults and back flips. Oh, it may sound intellectual but I wasn’t looking for what sounded intellectual. I was looking for what is right.

3. A Consistent Approach to Hermeneutics (which is: the study of the general principles of biblical interpretation)  I remember having a conversation with a pastor many years ago now and his comment to me was that he just can’t understand how [the Reformed crowd] simply change their hermeneutics when they reach Revelation. This led me to find out exactly what he meant. What exactly were Hermeneutics and why do they matter? I read a whole book on interpreting the Bible correctly and then took an online course on Hermeneutics, in my efforts to understand why it matters how we interpret scripture. What I came away with was exactly what the pastor said. If we apply a literal-grammatical-historical approach consistently to scripture, we always end up with a literal Revelation.

I remember hearing Abner Chou once say something like this: “If the plain sense makes sense, there is no need to look for any other sense.”

There is no need to look for allegories unless what we read makes no sense. And Revelation makes perfect sense. Especially in light of what we are seeing today, which leads me to my next point.

(There is so much more to say here but, again, I encourage you to dig on your own. A great place to start is this essay written by Abner Chou. It is long and hard to read but it is helpful for someone who is truly searching.)

4. Current Events What is happening around us has always been a pretty convincing argument that Revelation was going to be fulfilled literally. It just made sense. But, as I have watched the events of 2020 and now 2021 unfold, I have stood back and watched with awe. If anyone has had any doubts about a literal Revelation, I can’t see how they continue to do so after the past eleven months! We are watching the world get set up for a Revelation 13 scenario in ways we never dreamed we’d see in our lifetimes. It’s honestly incredible. And, yet, still so many just can’t see. I have found the past year to be incredibly confirming of scripture. What was prophesied 2000 years ago is getting set up to take place right before our eyes!

I was going to write a whole post on how the signs of the times are converging so perfectly with what we are told will happen in the book of Revelation but if you can see it, you can see it. If you can’t (or you say you can’t even though you can), then you may be holding too tightly to a wrong eschatology or you might be gripping on to life here on earth and unwilling to see reality.

5. Understanding How Incorrect Eschatology Plays Into Satan’s Plan. If we are willing to take a step back and look back over history, we can see the role that replacement theology (the Church has replaced Israel) has played in anti-semitism. To be sure, I am not implying that most who hold this theology are anti-semitic but many of those who have believed in it have been anti-semitic, including Martin Luther.

As we turn our view to what is happening in our world currently, we can see how wrong eschatology changes how we view what’s happening. Let’s take a look specifically at Kingdom Now Theology (also called Dominionism). To put it very simply, this is the view that Christians will work to make the world better and better, as we prepare it for the Lord Jesus at His return. From the Bible, we see that the antichrist is going to bring a false sense of peace to this world. Think how vulnerable those who believe in Kingdom Now Theology will be to a man who claims to be working for God? Think for a moment, if you will, how they will actually help bring in this false system of light because they have been deceived. They are, in essence, working against God instead of for Him.

___________________________________

So these are a few ways that God has used to bring me to an understanding of the future as prophesied in the book of Revelation. As I’ve mentioned many times before, I am no Bible Scholar. I am not even asking you to believe as I do. I am more interested that you are willing to actually study the Bible to come to your own conclusion. You see, so often we rely on men to tell us what we should believe instead of studying the topic for ourselves.

Yesterday, I was having a conversation with someone and I pointed out the compromise of a certain (very popular) teacher, using scripture to back up what I was saying. The response was from a heart unwilling to see. When I asked her to back up what she was saying with scripture, she replied that it wasn’t necessary. Basically, she was going to believe what she wanted to believe.

What that person didn’t realize was that she had made herself the authority on what to believe, rather than holding the Bible as her authority.

While this is probably worth a post all on its own, my point is that the starting place to find out what we believe about the end times is a humble heart with an open Bible. No matter what you believe about eschatology, it’s important that we know why we believe it from the Bible.

There is much more depth to the defenses for and debates surrounding these different eschatologies than I am able to delve into here. I know that those who believe a different way have a multitude of reasons that they could proffer for their beliefs.

But I am here to encourage you to think for yourself.

Don’t let an intellectual sway your thinking. Don’t be moved by peer pressure or the scorn of a certain group of people. Be willing to ask God to give you insight and then study His Word. And then bravely stand on what you believe.

No one can make you believe a certain way. You get to choose. Do so wisely. Cast your own preconceived notions and favorite teachers aside. And then search out the truth in God’s Word with a willing heart, no matter what the cost.

 

What Is Ahead?

6 Comments / January 7, 2021

This post is specifically for those of you who are watching what is happening in America and are filled with unease, anxiety, dread, and even fear, as you consider her future.

I am writing this unscheduled post for you because I am thinking there may be a few of you out there who feel like me. And maybe we just need to know right now that we are not all alone.

I  am being eerily reminded of a scene from the “Left Behind” movie. It is during a meeting and there are 10-15 people sitting around a large round table. Nicolai picks up a g** and does away with the two men who helped him rise in power. After he is finished, he calmly explains that it was a double suicide and gives a detailed explanation of “what happened”. The people leave the meeting believing what they are told, instead of what they have seen with their own eyes.

I am stunned as I watched something very similar happen yesterday. The media is telling us what happened. It belies what we saw with our own eyes. They have removed dissenting voices from media platforms so that there is no other side. The masses just lap it all up as truth without any critical thinking or research at all. (Might I add that with just a little bit of research one can find serious oddities and inconsistencies with the story they are giving about yesterday.)

The academic world has been preparing for this for a long time. This is their crowning moment. They have literally taught two whole generations not to think for themselves. And then to top it off, they have demonized anyone who is willing to speak up or ask questions. I believe we are watching the fruition of something very dark and scary.

We are eroding into a “1984” society right in front of our eyes and most are just going right along and even believing the narrative!

As we have endured the last ten months of lies, deception, censoring, and fear-mongering, it all seemed to come to a head with the election. Do I believe there was that “f” word involved? You bet I do. It doesn’t take too much research to see the inconsistencies and lies and carefully planned destruction of complicit businesses that prove it abounded. But, again, if you only listen to mainstream news, you will be told a completely different story. And, most likely, you will believe it.

I don’t write about politics. And I’m not going to start now. I want to draw our attention to how confusing, chaotic, and overwhelming the world as become. I want to point at how deception can be played out before our very eyes (and we’ve seen that on so many, many levels) and people believe it.

If you are like me, then you will agree that this is probably one of the most frustrating aspects of all of this.

I believe that life as we know it is over. We’ve suspected it was over. We thought it probably was. But today we have to face the fact that it really is. It’s over.

And we wonder what the future will look like? Perhaps it won’t be so bad? Maybe it will be just awful? The new world order and its plan for humanity look tyrannical, controlling, and extremely unpleasant. It’s pretty scary if you think too much on it.

And, of course, will all of this lead to civil war? Will America have another war on its soil? This is the question on so many of our minds.

Unfortunately, we have to face the fact that all of this is outside of our control.

All of it is completely and utterly outside of our control.

As we watch our nation literally implode from the inside, we are helpless. There is nothing we can do. As we see socialism rear its ugly head on the horizon, we are impotent. We have no power to change the outcome that we see coming. As we see a tyrannical globalism stretch its fingers across the entire world, we are powerless. The “Great Reset” will be put into motion with or without our approval.

I think most of us are still reeling in shock. We have already been weakened by the divisive lock-downs and orders to social distance. We feel disconnected from our church families. Many of us feel alone and lost without human companionship. Some of you are losing businesses, others of you find yourselves unable to watch over your loved one’s healthcare in nursing homes or hospitals, or still others aren’t allowed to see your kids and grandkids. We are already discouraged, depressed, and weak.

I’ve gotta tell you, the enemy is BRILLIANT. Just brilliant. His plan, which was carefully prepared for years in advance, is being played out and we are but pawns in his deadly game.

Yesterday, I shared something I learned from a book I’ve recently re-read call Green Leaf in Drought. One thing I failed to mention in that post was regarding what is ahead for us.

The missionary family, forced to stay in northwest China for several years after the new communist government came into power, always had the hope of going home. America was full of comforts and conveniences and, maybe most important of all, freedom and security.

As my mom said a few weeks ago, there is going to be no free and safe America to go to anymore. As I read that book, my heart was filled with sorrow. America, that historic symbol of freedom, is changing. Her shores will no longer offer a harbor of freedom and safety.

And then it hit me.

I, too, have the hope of going home!

My home isn’t here. It. Is. Not. Here.

Whatever is ahead, whatever we will all need to face in the days ahead, if we are saved**, we have reason to hope!

Oh, how I keep ending up in that temporal mindset of mourning the country I have loved. Sorrowing over a world that is not my home.

But I am simply a pilgrim traveling through. My future home is still waiting for me. It’s perfect. There will be no crying, no trouble, no sorrow, no heartache there.

Oh, heaven is sounding sweeter and sweeter every day.

So what is ahead?

This temporal life is probably going to get much harder. But what is waiting for us after this world? Well, that’s going to get a whole lot sweeter if we are one of Christ’s own. We have so much to look forward to. We have an eternal Hope that no system of government, no man, no war, no persecution can take from us. And we are going to be okay.

 

 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

(Philippians 1:21)

 

 

**If you are not relying on Christ alone, through faith alone, for your salvation from sins, then what is waiting for you after death is eternal punishment. May I implore you to turn to Christ right now, today, so that you, too, can have eternal life spent with God in heaven? You can find out more here. And, as always, please feel free to email me at leslie {at} growing4life {dot} net if you have any questions. :)

 

 

How the Church Was Fooled

4 Comments / December 15, 2020

Ah, what a ride we have been on. It didn’t start in 2020, you know. It started way back when most of us were completely unaware. While we were busy and distracted and being entertained, things were being orchestrated behind the scenes to bring us to where we are today.

While that was all going on, things were also happening in the church, where priorities were shifted and changed. The church lost its spiritual impact and became a watered down, social institution. How did this happen?

I think there are many changes and deceptions that have led the church to where she finds herself today. Shall we take a brief look at them?

Superficial Youth Groups  — Sometime shortly before my own youth, the young people were separated out from the adults and fed a diet of entertainment and fun. While there was some shallow teaching of the Bible, the main gist of youth groups became fun. The young minds that used to be built up in the faith by the older generations were now left to be filled with the fodder of this world. Many grew up to walk away from church, as what they received there was fairly useless.

The Numbers Game — A big thank you to Rick Warren for turning church into a popularity contest. Somehow the church bought his lie and, over the course of just a few years, the health of a church started being based on the amount of people that attended it. In order to gain those all-important numbers, pastors started to move away from biblical sermons and, in their place, offered short, self-help talks that made people feel good. No more talk about sin and repentance, for that was offensive. It became all about the numbers.

The Change in Music — The worship service became centered on worldly music, which usurped the place of the sermon as the center. Serious, doctrinally-sound music was pushed out of the way and in its place came shallow, mystical tunes. This has taken a huge toll on the churches, both in dividing the masses and in causing many to base their worship of God on their feelings and experiences, rather than on daily obedience and holiness.

Dominion/Kingdom Now Theology — Many who claim to be Christians are currently working feverishly to build God’s Kingdom now, right here on this earth. Despite the biblical evidence to the contrary (that we are not to be building God’s Kingdom on earth), many have bought this lie and this will fold them right into that one world religion that we know is coming, according to Revelation. Anyone who believes that humans will build God’s Kingdom is quite susceptible to the cries for peace and a better world.

Social Gospel — The social gospel has moved the hearts of Christians from pleasing God to pleasing man. It has moved the heart of Christianity from the true Gospel (Salvation through faith in Christ alone) to helping our fellow man. Our spiritual health is determined by how much we help our fellow man and how nice we are to everyone. Everything else the Bible teaches is pretty much ignored.

Judge Not — The church bought the lie that we are never to judge our fellow man. This left man to do as he pleases without any accountability. It effectively crippled the churches so that they could not confront or deal with blatant sin in their church fellowships. But the Bible teaches in multiple places that we are to confront sin and judge the fruit of someone who claims to know Christ.

Christianity Became About Me— Once again, I believe we have Rick Warren to thank for this. His Purpose-Driven Life became the textbook for many a Sunday School Class in the 90s. Piggy-backing off the self-esteem movement, it moved the focus of the Christian life off of God and onto the individual. Obedience, separation from the world, holiness, and purity were discarded and in their place came following dreams and finding purpose. This was going on long before that book was published, but I do believe this was what finally landed the church solidly in self-based religion.

God Only Cares About My Heart — Christians starting using this to justify their worldly choices. And the world came like a flood into the church. Of course, anyone saying this does not know their Bible very well, since God makes it abundantly clear that a pure heart will yield a fruitful life.

We Have to Be Like the World to Win the World — Oh, what an insidious lie! Why would anyone want what we have if we look just like them? Again, Christians wanted to fulfill their own worldly lusts and this was a way they could have their cake and eat it, too. But this was not without ramifications and their minds became darkened and sensual. And more of the world poured into the church.

Positive Words are Godly, Negative Words are Sinful — This is NOT in the Bible, but thanks to the likes of Schuller and Peale and many others, being “positive” has become the defining trait of someone who is a “Christian”. And if someone dares to speak negative words about a false teacher or the state of affairs, well, then they are sinning. Many believe this. Maybe even you believe this. But is this what we read in scripture? It surely is not. I encourage you to do your own study and find out what the Bible says about this.

Love and Unity Are Always More Important Than Truth — And, finally, somewhere along the line, love and unity started taking priority over truth. As truth became unappreciated and unnecessary, lies crept in and took root in the hearts of so many. Without discernment and a love for the truth, Christians were left susceptible to all the lies mentioned above and so, so many more. Love is important. But it is not more important than the truth. And, yet, whether we are talking in intellectual terms or practical application, most Christians have come to believe that love and unity are more important than truth.

 

As I think on what the Bible says about the last days, all that is going on fits in quite well. What we are actually seeing is the false church parting ways with the remnant. So what can we do?

I think of Jude when asked this question. It is here we receive counsel and wisdom about what we should do and how we should respond–

Jude 17-23– But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They[f] said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” 19 It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment[g] stained by the flesh.

As division and strife in the churches are caused by worldly people who are devoid of the Holy Spirit, Jude encourages us to build ourselves up in the faith and to pray in the Holy Spirit. In other words, keep growing and keep praying! He then goes on to say that we are to keep ourselves in the love of God, which is our shelter in any storm, and then quietly wait for His mercy.

As for the deceived and lost around us, we are to have mercy, and, as God gives opportunities, help to save them.

This and only this is our calling. We are not called to fix the state of the church (or the world, for that matter.) We are not told to berate and argue with the scoffers.

It is my opinion that, due to the many lies and deceptions that now define today’s worldly church, she is beyond repair. It has not been an instant change but one that has been deviously carried out by Satan over the course of many years. These lies and deceptions have reached their tentacles into every denomination and almost every Christian home. What we are seeing now is simply the fruit of all the labor that has been put into preparing the “church” to be folded into the coming one world religion. Isn’t it becoming so clear now?

So be aware and continue to build yourselves up in the faith through prayer and through the Bible, our only anchor in all of this craziness, until the end. And, someday, maybe soon now, we will all meet together in glory to praise and glorify our great God!

 

Please NOTE: I have purposely not included verses or references today. If you have read this blog with any frequency, you will know that this is quite unusual as I almost always try to back up what I am saying with scripture references. But today I am asking you to search the scriptures for yourself. If something I said in this post doesn’t seem biblical to you, please look into the Word to find out. Please feel free to email me (see contact info in menu above) if I can answer any questions that you have regarding what I said above. I love hearing from my readers! :)

Fighting Germs

4 Comments / December 1, 2020

The other week we flew down south to see our new granddaughter. On the way home, we had a stop in Atlanta and then we were finally on the last leg of our journey. On that final flight home, my husband and I looked around and noticed that we were surrounded by people that took virus protection very seriously. Three women scattered around us wore both face masks and face shields.

As we made our way off the plane an hour or two later, we stopped at the restroom. As I waited beside our luggage for my husband, I was quite amused (and a little concerned) to watch one of those women pull out disinfectant spray and spray it all over her husband, front and back. He then proceeded to do the same for her. Ummm…I don’t think that is what the spray is intended for.

It was funny but it was also sad. While protecting ourselves sensibly is smart, some people are so scared to die that they will go to great lengths to fight off and keep away from GERMS.

But while you have those extremes, you also have the rest of us. From those who wear face masks inside and outside of their homes 24/7 to those who are just using hand sanitizer a bit more, almost everyone is just a little more aware and concerned about germs.

I believe there is a spiritual parallel here that we shouldn’t ignore.

A few months ago a friend sent me an idea for a post. I had it at the back of my mind all summer as I’ve watched people obsess over their health. But the couple at the airport brought his idea front and center. He said this and I quote:

I was considering all that we have done to mitigate our exposure to a germ that is deemed dangerous to us. This germ is not unlike other germs that have been out there yet we have never gone to such lengths in our society. Even in the church we have gone to great lengths to limit our exposure to this germ. So while the church has went to such great lengths to mitigate its exposure to this germ that can harm our bodies, we constantly expose ourselves to “germs” of false teaching that can harm our faith. Even little issues (small germ) can cause great harm. Yet much of the church does little to warn people or even limit its own exposure.

Amen and amen!

Oh, how churches are spiritual germ-infested places. There is little concern for these spiritual germs that are infecting and killing off their sheep. One by one, many become sick as they read the books and listen to the sermons of false teachers and follow after false doctrines. And not a word is spoken. If someone dares to speak up to protect the sheep, they are viewed as divisive and unkind.

It is especially sad and concerning, given the lengths churches are going to protect the physical lives of their congregations. Don’t they realize that the spiritual health of the sheep is even more important than physical health?

But it isn’t only churches. It is true for us on an individual level, as well.

Are we as concerned about our spiritual health as we are our physical health? It is quite understandable to see those who have no idea what is happening to them after they die to be overly concerned about dying. That makes sense. But to see believers be more concerned about their physical health than they are about their spiritual health makes no sense at all.

Paul reminds us of what our priorities should be in I Timothy 4:7-8–

But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. 8 For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.

While there is certainly nothing wrong with giving effort to keeping our bodies healthy and protected from germs, our concern should be far greater for our spiritual health.

Is this what you are seeing in the lives of believers around you? Is this what you are demonstrating in your own life to those who are watching you?

These are questions worthy of reflection.

Satan is eating Christians alive because they are literally unconcerned about spiritual germs. He even has Christians believing that to point out those germs and to say anything negative about a false teacher is sinful. So now we have demonized watchmen in a crowd of earthly-minded believers.

Oh, dear readers, may we not be part of that “crowd”. May we pay attention to the watchmen and heed their warnings. May we be far more concerned about heavenly things and our spiritual health than we are about this life and our temporary, physical body.

For this is what scripture teaches us to do.

Colossians 3:1-3  If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 

Romans 16:17-20  Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. 18 For those who are such do not serve our Lord [d]Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple. 19 For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and [e]simple concerning evil. 20 And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

 

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