The Power of Encouragement

1 Comment / May 11, 2021

Yesterday I attended the Memorial Service of a man I used to attend church with many years ago. He was a godly man who loved the Lord and he and I had had some really wonderful and thought-provoking conversations in those years. A few months ago I found out that he had been diagnosed with cancer and that his wife was also suffering from ill health. On a whim, I stopped in to see them for the first time in many years and the Christian fellowship we experienced for the next hour during that visit is something I will always remember. A few months later, my husband and I stopped in for another visit. And then a few weeks later he was gone.

As I listened to two men talk of their memories of this man during the service, my mind wandered for just a few moments to my own memories of him. There is one very special memory that I want to share with you. It is truly a reminder of how powerful words are. I wish I would have shared my appreciation of this memory with him before he left this earth.

Before I share this memory, you need a little background. When I started attending that church so many years ago, I had some real obvious flaws. Unfortunately, I still have them, but they were much more pronounced at that time. I’d talk before I’d think. I’d sometimes sound harsh in my passion to communicate the truth of God’s Word. I’d use the wrong tone or say the wrong thing. I didn’t mean to do these things. I didn’t want to do these things. And after I’d say something the wrong way or said something I just shouldn’t have said, I would often pray afterwards for forgiveness and to ask the Lord to somehow give the person (or group) I had shared with no memory of my gaffe or at least an understanding of my heart as I said whatever it was I had said.

I still struggle with this, but not to the same extent as back then. How I thank the Lord for growing and changing me in this particular area.

Anyway, a few years after we had been there, I can still remember talking with this man in the hallway after church one day. I am not sure what we were talking about but at some point in that conversation he stopped and looked at me and expressed how he had misunderstood me. In other words, despite my blunders and missteps, he understood now that I truly loved the Lord and His Word and that, in my heart, I really wanted to do what is right.

I respected this man and for him to say that meant the world. To have him say that he understood my heart to do what is right was such a tremendous encouragement to me.

This memory reminded me so vividly of the power of our edifying and encouraging words. Those words we speak that build up. No doubt you, too, can think back over your life and remember moments where you were given some unexpected encouragement and the impact that it had on you.

It was a great reminder of the importance of encouraging one another in the Lord. These things can mightily impact us. God uses them to comfort, strengthen, and cheer us along life’s way.

Too often, we use our mouths to criticize and tear down. We don’t seem to have any trouble saying all of the negative things to or about people. (I am not referring here to the times it is necessary to speak the truth in love but to the petty criticism and lack of grace we afford one another as believers.)

Or we just speak nothing. Perhaps we pride ourselves on not speaking negative, critical words to others but we also don’t speak uplifting, edifying words either.

Why is it so hard to speak positive words to others?

It can go against the grain. Especially if you were raised by distant or critical parents. And, yet, by intentionally encouraging with our words, we have the opportunity to make a real difference in someone’s life. Those words I mentioned above were spoken to me probably close to thirty years ago and I still remember them. God used this dear man to encourage me at a time when I really needed encouraged.

May we, too, be used by God to encourage other fellow believers along the way. May we help strengthen and intentionally encourage them in the Lord. It’s a tough world out there. Let’s edify and build up. Let’s extend grace and loving-kindness. Let’s break the bad habit of not speaking of and, oftentimes, not even noticing the good things around us.

 

Proverbs 16:24 Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.

Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

Colossians 4:6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.

I Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.

 

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!

 

 

God’s Promises Have No Exception Clauses

3 Comments / April 30, 2021

I believe we are in the last days, as prophesied in Revelation. I would, of course, never make any predictions for dates or even how many years we have left. But I do think it’s safe to say that we who take the Word literally from front to back can see things shaping up for what we are told is coming in God’s Word.

Of course, many of you don’t agree. You say people have always thought Jesus was coming throughout the ages. And, yes, they sure have! That is because the doctrine of the rapture is imminent. It could happen at any moment. But we all do realize that one of these days it will be the generation that will be carried away from God’s wrath to come. Meanwhile, the earth will be subjected to God’s wrath in a way never before seen. It is going to happen. God is true to His entire Word and we can count on it.

You may not believe this and that’s your personal decision to make (I suggest you do your own thorough personal study of the Bible before making this decision). But this post is specifically for those of you who, like me, see how all that’s going on fits into the end and brings it that much closer than we ever perceived it was. It is for those of you who, like me, are filled with uncertainty and a deeply unsettled feeling as you contemplate the days ahead and what they mean for you and your family. It is for those of you who, like me, feel a lot of grief and even some fear as much of what you counted on as solid and stable has begun to sway and buckle beneath you.

I don’t think I am alone in realistically looking at what’s going on and yearning for the Lord to take us to that place He is preparing for us (John 14:1-3). But, in the back of our minds, there is always that question: What if He doesn’t?

God, in His ultimate wisdom, has chosen to keep the specific timing of the rapture a secret from us. So we must live like it could happen any day, while, at the same time, living our lives to please the Lord and doing what needs to be done.

As we contemplate living our lives on the earth during these last days, I was thinking about something that I wanted to share. I don’t know who needs to hear this but I found this extremely encouraging as I have had wayyyyy too much time to think as I am recovering from my illness.

God’s promises have NO exception clauses.

Have you ever considered this? I think we know it, but let’s think about how verses would sound if God had added in exception clauses for these last days–

(Psalm 46:1) God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble–except in the last days. Then you are on your own.

(John 14:27) Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid–except when those last days come, then you will need to be both troubled and afraid.

(Philippians 4:6-7) do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.–except during that short window of time when the earth is preparing for the tribulation years. No peace available during that time.

You get the idea. God’s promises have no exception clauses. Ever. His promises to be our help, our peace, our sanctuary, our safe place, our shield are continual throughout the end of time. His promises to guard and establish and protect and supply our needs and to never leave us are real promises that have no conditions.

So how do we keep our hearts and minds focused in and remembering these awesome and comforting promises?

We find the answer in God’s Word–

First, we keep our minds on God and refuse to waver in our trust.

(Isaiah 26:3) You keep him in perfect peace
    whose mind is stayed on you,
    because he trusts in you.
4 Trust in the Lord forever,
    for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.

Second, we submit our wills to God, draw near to Him, and purify our lives.

(James 4:7-8) Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Third, we end our love affair with this world and set our minds on things above.

(Colossians 3:1-2)  If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

 

As I think about those three things, I can see how they cause me to stumble. I grow weak in faith as I turn my eyes on what’s happening in this world and away from God;  When I want what I want in this life and fear what God may have planned for me I weaken and crack; and, sometimes, I love my life in this world more than the hope of the life to come.

If we can do these three things above, it will take us a long way towards experiencing peace and even joy during these unprecedented days where life is rumbling and roiling and changing constantly for all of us.

God’s promises have NO exception clauses and He will be with us until He calls us home. The God of the universe has promised to never leave us or forsake us if we are one of His children (Hebrews 13:5). Isn’t that an amazing thought?

Let’s take comfort in God’s Word and His abundant promises as we face the days ahead.

 

 

A Personal Update

10 Comments / April 26, 2021

A little over two weeks ago, I started with a fever. The next five days were filled with fever and a lot of aches and pains. At that point, I expected to start feeling better. I was so dismayed when I started getting worse instead. Much worse. It wasn’t until a few days ago that I actually started being able to hold conversations and focus at all.

I have never been so sick in my life. Covid hit and it hit me hard. And, yet, there were many others around me who were even sicker than I was. Many ended up in the hospital. It’s been a really tough time for our church family. In fact, may I ask you to pray for two families specifically in our church who lost loved ones during this time? Thank you for praying.

I wanted to let you know that I am still here. And I thought I’d reflect for just a few moments on some of the impressions and lessons I learned these past few weeks.

First, I have an awesome husband. It is spring. It is overwhelming, under the best of circumstances for a landscaper. But my landscaper was also hit with the virus. Not near as bad as I was, but he still wasn’t feeling well. And, yet, he saw to all my needs. He’d check on me multiple times each day. He never made me feel bad for not being able to do anything. He just patiently took care of me. I am so thankful for him and his tender care for me. It was such an incredible blessing.

Second, I want to thank those of you who reached out. Some of you will read this and some won’t. But there were so many who reached out to check on me. Many went above and beyond, dropping off supper or immune support. Some sent flowers. And some of you sent thoughtful cards or notes. Many of you texted me faithfully. These things so brightened this difficult time. Even in the midst of the really dark days, it was wonderful to feel loved and cared for. Thank you.

Third, I realized that life goes on without me. That was kind of weird. I had actually never had this happen before where I was literally out of commission for two weeks. And guess what? Everyone continued on in their lives. Of course they did. They had to. But it was humbling. Yes, I was missed but life had to continue on. Somehow, God used this to remind me that my life is wholly and completely in Jesus Christ. Anything good I have to give to this world is through Him and due to Him. I am nothing without Christ.

Fourth, taking a complete break from this world and then coming back to earth with little energy to do much has given a lot of time for reflection on all that’s going on in this world. And, I have to admit, I was really struggling for a few days. The grief hit all over again for some reason and I questioned why I am hanging on so tightly to this world. But, God in His faithfulness, reminded me that He knows exactly what is going on and He will take care of me and those I love so much. He will take care of you, too, if you are His child. He has promised. As God gently pries our fingers from this world, He is preparing our hearts for the wonder and beauty of what is ahead. We, of all people, have much to look forward to!

Fifth, somewhere in the midst of my illness my husband asked me if this changes my opinion about the v__________ (fill in the blank). I mumbled out a NO. (He knew what I would say and it was more of a joke that he even asked.) As sick as I was, wouldn’t I be thankful for a v___________ that could keep anyone from getting that sick, as well? Yes, of course. However, this isn’t actually a v_________. It’s untested gene therapy. Oh, if you haven’t gotten it yet, please do your homework. Go beyond the mainstream media and your favorite “Christian doctors” who haven’t taken the time to research. Think about why they are not allowing free speech regarding this. Isn’t that so suspicious? There’s something so deadly wrong with all that’s going on, it’s crazy. I know some of you have chosen to get it already and that should also be your freedom to choose. I just want to counsel anyone considering this to do their homework first. If you’d like more information, please email me at leslie {at} growing4life {dot} net.

Sixth, I want to thank those of you readers who have prayed and continue to pray for me. Last week, someone mentioned in the 2021 G4L Bible Reading Challenge FB group that I was missing and I finally wrote something. From that point on, I know many of you have been praying and I just want to thank you so much for those prayers. They meant (and continue to mean) so much.

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I still feel a bit foggy and not quite with it, but I am so much better than I was. The sun is shining and I need to get back to the stuff of life. There are bills to be paid, office work to be done, and my house is a mess. But I’ll just do a little at a time. I guess it won’t go anywhere.

Thanks again, my dear readers and friends, for encouraging me during this time. And don’t feel bad if you didn’t know. I didn’t want to say much because I know so many have it far worse than I did. But now you know where I disappeared to for a couple of weeks.

Take care and have a great week.

 

It Starts With Us

2 Comments / April 7, 2021

It seems like we live in a world where everyone is offended by something. They are offended by things you did in the past. Things you are doing now. And even who you innately are. They are offended by your words, by your actions, and by your choices.

And, just like a snowball that grows in force and speed as it rolls down a hill, so, too, this world where everyone is offended is growing quickly in epic proportions. (The snowball actually started a long time ago. We are simply watching it hurl towards the bottom of the hill now.)

But, as the church, are we really any different? It seems like we find the same dynamic there. People are offended because they weren’t asked to be on a committee or invited to a get-together. They are offended because the pastor doesn’t talk to them or didn’t say what they thought he should say. They are offended because something they donated years ago has been replaced. They are offended because the lady in the hat sings too loud.

It’s in families, where offended parties avoid each other. Where criticism reigns freely but grace is in short supply. Where differences of opinions about politics and religion and money cause chasms that can’t seem to be crossed.

It seems like anywhere we turn, people are just offended these days.

So how can we change this? Obviously there is little we can do. But there is a little we can do.

We can start with ourselves.

We can intentionally choose to not be offended. To let things roll. To give people grace. To stop being worried about ourselves and how we feel.

That’s the bottom line, isn’t it? Offended people are often consumed by themselves and how they feel.

Speaking from my own experience, when I feel offended, this is why. My pride or my feelings have been hurt and I am purely focused on myself.

But Christianity calls for the exact opposite of this.

God calls us to cast self aside and to esteem others better than ourselves.

Philippians 2:2-4 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

God asks us to treat others like we would want to be treated.

Luke 6:31 And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.

God tells us to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute and use us.

Matthew 5:44-47 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your[p]brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the[q]tax collectors do so?

God loved us so much that He sent His son to die for our sins. We are to respond to this gift with love–both for God and for others.

Mark 12:30-31 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ [l]This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

We get a good description of this love in I Corinthians 13, where we read that it is long-suffering, doesn’t seek its own, and is not provoked (ESV version uses the word “resentful”).

I Corinthians 13:4-7 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not [b]puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, [c]thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

In fact, loving our Christian brothers is so important that we are told that we are a liar if we say we love God but hate a brother. Think about the ramifications of that for a moment.

I John 14:20-21 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, [d]how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

We also find in Matthew that if we don’t forgive those who trespass against us, God won’t forgive us our sins. That is a very indicting statement! This is how critical it is that we forgive others instead of our natural “old man” tendency to hold a grudge. This is an extremely big deal.

Matthew 6:14-15 For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

As we learn to respond to offenses in a manner worthy of being called a Christian, the wonderful effects of this will ripple out to our children and extended family. It will ripple out to our co-workers and church family. As we choose very intentionally not to be offended about every little thing or even about big things, we set an example that hopefully inspires others to do the same. As we choose to forgive instead of holding grudges, we help to create the warm and loving atmosphere that should be in every Christian home and biblical church.

We get to help instead of hinder.

We help to build our families and churches rather than tear them down.

This isn’t easy. And many are the times that I (personally) have to catch myself. I have to ask myself: Why am I so offended by this or that? When I take a moment to examine, it is always because of selfishness and pride. Oh, how ugly these things are. How much division and dissension they cause in Christian homes and churches.

As we face a world that is so offended all the time, may we true Christians stand out like beacons of light in the darkness as we choose to forgive and extend grace. And may this difference draw people to us and give us abundant opportunities to plant seeds for God’s Kingdom.

 

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Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it[i] to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:17-21

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Our Response to Christ’s Sacrifice

2 Comments / April 2, 2021

It is Good Friday. When I was younger, this was an official holiday. Banks and stores were closed and the mail wasn’t delivered as the population at large stopped and contemplated what Christ had done on the cross. At least that was the idea. I think that the actual contemplating had stopped long before I was born but tradition remained for a long time. Until one day, the holiday was just no longer.

But this is still the day, in fact the entire weekend, that we Christians focus on all that Christ has done for us. And, oh, what He has done! I believe I realize more and more each year the wickedness of my own heart and the significance of the gift that was given to me when Christ died on the cross.

As we continue to live in “limbo land” and wait for all the changes that will result from the upheaval to our “normal” lives in 2020, this gift has become even more precious, hasn’t it? And I think any of us who are genuinely born again has thought about this in a different light, as we wonder what it will cost us to continue to follow Jesus in the coming days.

But Christianity has never been costless. Or at least not for the majority of people in the world. We are simply moving into what has been the normal experience for Christians throughout history.

It is difficult for many of us to pay even the price of a scowl or an unkind word when we speak up for Jesus and so we remain silent. This is because we have been deceived by the wave of self-centered Christianity that has taken the world by storm. A Christianity where it’s all about God’s love and His “genie powers” to make our lives on this earth amazing.

But, while God’s love is certainly an integral part of the Gospel, we must continue to read God’s Word to find out what salvation means. What all it entails. You see, we aren’t saved so that God can fulfill our dreams and give us a great life on this earth. His Word makes this abundantly clear. And, while it is true that we experience peace and joy that the unsaved cannot experience, it is supernaturally experienced through the trials–not in the lack of them.

So what does God expect from us after we are saved? What does He have for us to do?

Let’s look to the Word for this answer–

Philippians 3:8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.

Matthew 6:20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

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.

These verses clearly show us that after we are saved, our love for the world should start waning. Oh, for most of us this isn’t instant but, gradually, as we mature in Christ, the gleam of the world shows itself for what it is: Fool’s gold that has no value. The fame, the glory, the riches, the popularity of the world dim as we grow closer to Christ.

James doesn’t mince words as he also echoes this change in affections–

James 4:4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

Not only are our affections changed, they MUST be changed if we are truly born again. For them not to be changed gives evidence that we aren’t saved at all since it is impossible to be friends with God and with the world at the same time.

As we stand for the truth of God’s Word in a world that hates Him, we will face difficulties and persecution. This is made clear throughout scripture–

Matthew 5:11-12  Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

I Peter 4:12-14 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. 14 If you are [e]reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. [f]On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.

Christ died on the cross to give us life. What an awesome, incredible gift! But that life is to be lived for Him, doing the good works He has set out for us–

Ephesians 2:8-10 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

In response to God’s amazing gift of grace and mercy, we are to take up our cross, deny ourselves, and follow Christ–

Luke 9:23-26 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross [b]daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. 25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? 26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.

We are to deny ourselves. Lose our lives (all earthly advance and glory) to live for Christ. If we are ashamed of Christ, He will be ashamed of us. In a Christian culture that promotes the complete opposite of these verses, these are sobering thoughts, are they not?

Biblical Christianity isn’t popular these days and it’s growing less popular by the minute. People think we are strange and odd and even dangerous (which makes no sense at all until you read John 8:44 and I Peter 5:8 and recognize Satan’s pure hatred for believers).

As we contemplate Christ’s sacrifice this weekend, may we also prepare ourselves to pay the price to follow Him to the end. No matter the cost.

And let’s remember that we aren’t relying on our own strength as we face the days ahead. (I can’t think of a more comforting thought than that, as my heart can tend to quiver at the road that lies ahead.) We know the ending to this old earth’s history. We know the King who will be victorious and we are on His side. He will give us the fortitude and courage to stand strong. May we proclaim Him to the end, no matter the cost!

 

 

How Studying the Bible Changes You

6 Comments / March 30, 2021

I was so perplexed and started to grow angry. Was she kidding? No, there was an unpleasant glint in her eye that gave credence to her words.

My daughter had been given permission from the guy at the top of the bridge to have her baby’s car seat in the plane. When we arrived in the plane, the stewardess informed us in no uncertain terms that this would not be possible. She condescendingly told us it was a full flight and she highly doubted there would be room for his seat. But the plane was far from full. So not only was she rude but she lied. We did question why permission was given at the top, which seemed to set her against us. She continued her churlishness with us throughout the flight. This same stewardess was quite rude to the rest of family behind us as they made legitimate requests. It’s hard to believe that someone like that has a job working with people.

A few moments before the flight started, a man came and very kindly explained that, due to Covid, car seats were no longer allowed on the smaller planes. While this didn’t make any sense to us at all, his calm and kind manner as he explained was comforting after the stinging meanness of the stewardess. (They all seemed to be rather confused as to protocol regarding car seats and the rules about them. It was very disorganized. It does seem like we now live in a world where anything and everything can be blamed on Covid. It’s actually very strange.)

As we taxied on the runway and then took off, I could feel myself growing angrier and angrier at this woman. I wanted nothing more than to be rude back to her. But about fifteen or twenty minutes in, as I started to settle down, it dawned on me that she was very likely unsaved and that I had a Christian testimony to keep. While I (to my shame) did not go out of my way to “kill her with kindness”, I did manage to hold my tongue and to mumble a “thank you” a time or two as she brought things by.

I do long for the day that I can overcome my flesh in these situations and actually be extra kind when someone is so incredibly rude to me (or my child.) But Sunday was not that day.

The next morning, I was reading in Matthew and I came across these verses in chapter six–

For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

I thought about this lady from the day before and remembered the danger of holding grudges. I thought of how anger and bitterness shatter all relationships–whether it be with a stranger, a customer, a person at church, a friend, or a family member.

Unforgiveness and bitterness destroy everything in their path. It can never be allowed to set up residence in our soul. Even over the small matter of an extra-ordinarily rude stewardess. At that moment, I chose to forgive her. I wished I had been able to do that on the plane so that I could have been a better testimony. I will probably never see her again and that chance is gone.

So, honestly, I am not a big one for flying. Flying with masks is far worse. But the thing that had me the most worried was that all of the women, save one, in our family were on the same plane for four different flights. About two weeks before we had left this hit me and I grew incredibly worried about something happening to all of us at the same time. Enter Matthew, chapter six again. It was from the end of that chapter that I drew much comfort and chose to trust the Lord.

You see, in the Growing4Life Bible Reading Challenge we have been reading Matthew 5-8, which contains the Sermon on the Mount. There have been so many times that what I have been reading and studying over this past month have been practically applied to my daily life. I gave just two examples above but there are so many more. The scriptures have exhorted, reminded, encouraged, and rebuked me. They truly are life-changing.

Any good in me, any right response, is the Holy Spirit working through the Word to transform me and make me look more like Christ. It has nothing whatsoever to do with me or my efforts to be a “better person”.

I wish I could get every single person who claims to love Jesus to actually study the Word. It would change the world because it changes the individual.

If you’d like to study the Bible but aren’t sure where to begin, I’d like to invite you to join this year’s Bible Reading Challenge. It’s a great time to join because we will begin the book of Ruth on April 1st. You can find the details here. I would love to have you join me in studying God’s Word.

But any study of God’s Word is life-changing. The key is to get started. Paul tells us in I Timothy 3:16-17–

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

If we want to be transformed by the Word, it will require study and meditation. Cursorily reading it isn’t a bad thing but it could be compared to a lollipop in its sustenance regarding our spiritual health.

Life happens. Every day we face various trials and challenges. Big ones and small ones. We face rude stewardesses, customer service reps, and clerks. We find out a company scammed us or cheated us or didn’t receive our payment. We learn that our child or spouse or family member did something very disappointing. We find out that someone passed away, is getting divorced, or has been diagnosed with illness.

God has told us how to respond to these things and so much more in His Word. But if we don’t know it, we are missing out on the greatest strength and guidance God has offered us. Let us not ignore this wonderful gift God has given us for this life.

 

 

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.

 

Bill Johnson and Bethel: A Biblical Evaluation

7 Comments / April 3, 2024

The following is written by my oldest daughter, Jess, who is currently taking the time to do some in-depth research of popular false teachers. She compares what they teach to what the Bible says. This not only helps us understand just why they are considered a false teacher but also gives us a bit of knowledge when we are asked by fellow Christians about some of these teachers.

Today’s focus is on Bill Johnson, whom you may better know by the name of his ministry: Bethel. Jesus Culture Music and many other things stem from Bethel. Many of the worship songs sung in your churches are from Bethel. Let’s find out just what Bill and his ministry teach about God–

PART 1: Bill Johnson could be called the modern day father of the NAR (New Apostolic Reformation) movement. He is the lead pastor of Bethel Church and founder of the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry. Bethel has also created their own music label, mission organization, and an “apostolic network” that includes hundreds of churches and schools all around the world. Jesus Culture is another popular movement that has emerged from Bethel.

I think most of the people reading this would agree that Bethel is, at the very least, a little weird. Their “manifestations of the power of the Spirit” include things like grave sucking, prophetic cards, prophetic dancing, waking angels, wearing “destiny pants”, fire tunnels, and holy laughter. Since we can’t find even one of those “manifestations” in the Bible, that list alone should be a clear enough warning to stay far away. But my goal today isn’t to dive into that aspect of Bethel. Videos and articles abound online if you want to research that on your own.

My goal is to give you a succinct overview of the heresies that are taught by Bill Johnson. It isn’t enough to simply say “they do weird things”. Their movement is a big one. Bill Johnson has said the main goal of Bethel is to “export their teaching” in music, conferences, books, sermons, schools, churches, livestreams, social media, and missions. They want to transform the church and the culture. We need to know why and how the teachings at Bethel contradict Scripture so we can warn others to avoid anything associated with them.

Today we will look at the 3 main tenants of Bill Johnson’s theology that should concern us. In Part 2 (see below), we’ll see just how these theologies manifest themselves so dangerously in application and practice at Bethel’s churches and schools.

First, he teaches the theology of dominionism. He believes they are ushering in the kingdom of God or “heaven on earth.” They teach about a “7 mountain mandate” where each mountain represents a kingdom they need to take dominion over such as government, education, and media. How do they do that? By bringing revival. No, not by sharing the gospel but by bringing healing, eradicating poverty, reforming society, and undoing the works of the devil. He fails to see the only source of true revival: the truth of the gospel piercing and transforming the hearts of individuals. He ignores all passages about the last days being evil, the great falling away, judgement, and the way of Christ being narrow and unpopular.

Second, he teaches that we live in a second apostolic age. There are apostles on earth now that are equal to the apostles in Scripture that began the church and witnessed the life of Jesus. Bill Johnson claims to be one of them. They cannot be questioned and receive direct revelation, therefore he elevates his teachings to that of the apostle’s teaching in the Bible. He completely and totally denies the sufficiency of Scripture.

And finally, he teaches false theology about the person of Jesus Christ:

“He performed miracles, wonders, and signs as a man in a right relationship to God…not as God. If he performed miracles because He was God, then they would be unattainable for us. But if he performed them as a man, I am responsible to purse His lifestyle.” This is just one example of many of him teaching that Jesus emptied Himself of divinity when He came to earth. This is a massive heresy. Colossians 2:9 says “For in Him, the whole fullness of of deity dwells bodily” and if He was not God then His sacrifice on the cross would not have been a sufficient payment for our sins.

“Jesus bore stripes in His body through brutal beating as an atoning work to deal with the power of sickness and disease. Lord we give You thanks that You were willing to suffer the way you did to dis-empower disease, infirmity, and afflicting spirits” Bill teaches that Jesus Christ’s death on the cross gives us power over all sickness and disease. See 1 Peter 2:24, 1 John 3:5, and 1 Corinthians 15:3 to see why this is also heresy.

“God is in charge but not in control. He has left us in control.” Proverbs 19:1 and 21:1 are just two among many verses that refute that statement. He is absolutely in control of the entire universe including our lives.

He says that his “standard is Jesus” and that any interpretation of Scripture that doesn’t meet that standard is “theologically immoral”. There are “superior truths and inferior truths” such as ‘the judgement of God is true, the mercy of God is more true” and “anything you know about the nature of God that isn’t seen in the person of Jesus is an inferior truth”. 2 Timothy 3:16, John 17:17, and Psalm 119:160 are just a few among many verses that remind us that ALL Scripture is equally true. There are no inferior truths in Scripture.

We’ve only scratched the tip of the iceberg, friends. Let’s remember that the three main problematic theologies of the Bethel movement are Dominionism, belief in a second apostolic age, and a warped idea of who Jesus is and why He came to earth. There are more but these are enough for now. It’s time to turn our attention to how these unbiblical ideas manifest themselves in practical belief and practice.

First, they believe in healing. They do not simply believe that God can still perform miracles of healing today. Of course He does, if it’s in accordance with His will. And there are, as most of us know, denominations that believe that people still have gifts like speaking in tongues and healing today. (I personally do not, but that’s a topic for another day!) But this isn’t what Bethel believes either. They take it much further than that. They believe that healing is central to the gospel. That Jesus died to heal everyone of their physical pain, sickness, and poverty here on earth.

Bill Johnson preached a sermon on Galatians 2 where Paul tells the church that anyone who preaches a different gospel is accursed. Bill goes on to say that anyone who preaches a gospel that doesn’t include physical healing is preaching a different gospel and is therefore accursed. “I refuse to create a theology that allows for sickness” he tells the audience. He believes if something exists in heaven, it should exist on earth. So because there’s no sickness, pain, or poverty in heaven, that is what we can expect on earth. “We’re coming into a day where the presence of the Lord is so pronounced that everyone walking into the building will be healed…[it will be] a sustained reality in the church” he said recently in an interview.

Let’s just quickly go over a few of the many errors with this type of belief. First, there’s no death in heaven, right? So if we could truly bring heaven to earth, then we also should be able to eliminate death. Something Bethel has yet to accomplish or even mention. Secondly, he totally ignores passage after passage in the Bible that talks about death, suffering, and trials. About eternity being our only hope for freedom from sickness, death, and sin. The verse in Matthew 26:11 where Jesus says “the poor will always be with you.” Someone asked him about the book of Job and he simply replied “Scripture can’t correct my understanding of Jesus.” Excuse me? What he’s really saying is “Scripture can’t correct my understanding of the idol I have created and call Jesus.”

Finally, this belief says that if you aren’t healed, then you don’t have enough faith. I have read testimony after testimony of men and women that have left this movement after they had very real physical pain or sickness that wasn’t being healed. They were only told over and over that they lacked faith. Even Bethel has classes entitled “keeping your healing” since apparently often people think they were “healed” during a meeting only to see their physical problem return. Scripture is clear: faith is never measured by whether we are healthy or sick, poor or rich. True faith, according to Hebrews 11, is trusting and obeying the Word of God even when we can’t see.

Second, they believe in a very heretical type of prophesy. Bethel’s students are encouraged to “say anything” and soon they will be prophesying. Bill asked a group to tell him something they thought Jesus would say if He was sitting in the room with them. After each student answered, he applauded them for their prophesies. Their only qualification for prophesy is that it must be edifying and encouraging. They can’t say anything negative. (nevermind that there are plenty of negative prophesies in the pages of Scripture) Their head prophet, Kris Vallatton, boasts that about 80% of their prophesy is wrong and 20% is right. They conveniently ignore the passages where God says that no true prophet is ever wrong. Their version of prophesy sounds very similar to Jeremiah 23:16: “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.”

Third and finally, they blaspheme the Holy Spirit. Their websites states that the “The Holy Spirit gives every believer the supernatural power to witness and release miracles, signs, and wonders.” These signs and wonders include things like holy laughter, grave sucking, communicating with angels, convulsing, and seeing the presence of God at their services in gold dust, holy clouds, and falling feathers. No scripture exists that tells us the Holy Spirit gives us supernatural power to “witness and release” signs and wonders or anything even slightly similar.

I could go on and on about how Bill thinks people can’t believe the gospel without signs and wonders. About fake, manipulated healing and “supernatural” events. About the way they treat people who aren’t healed and question their theology. About the demonic influence in their strange practices. About how Bill tells people to claim the promise of financial blessing. About how students left someone injured lie at the bottom of a cliff for hours while they tried to pray for his healing instead of call for help. We’ve only scratched the surface.

But the bottom line is this: Bill Johnson has created a counterfeit faith that is based on feelings and self instead of Scripture. This faith is all about what God can do for them. They tell God what they think is best instead of the other way around. This faith says that signs and wonders are how God manifests His love towards us instead of the cross. It creates an idol out of the Jesus they want instead of the Jesus that is revealed in Scripture. Bill Johnson purposefully manipulates and tricks and destroys. He picks and chooses which passages of the Bible he likes and twists them to say what he wants. He blasphemes the Holy Spirit. This faith he preaches, without a doubt, denies the truth of the gospel. And so, in conclusion, I recommend we all stay far away from him and his “faith.”

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PART 2: In Part 1, I went over the 3 main problematic theologies of the Bethel movement – dominionism, belief in a second apostolic age, and a warped idea of who Jesus is and why He came to earth. Today we will look at how these ideas manifest themselves in practical belief and practice.

First, they believe in healing. They do not simply believe that God can still perform miracles of healing today. Of course He does, if it’s in accordance with His will. And there are, as most of us know, denominations that believe that people still have gifts like speaking in tongues and healing today. (I personally do not, but that’s a topic for another day!) But this isn’t what Bethel believes either. They take it much further than that. They believe that healing is central to the gospel. That Jesus died to heal everyone of their physical pain, sickness, and poverty here on earth.

Bill Johnson preached a sermon on Galatians 2 where Paul tells the church that anyone who preaches a different gospel is accursed. Bill goes on to say that anyone who preaches a gospel that doesn’t include physical healing is preaching a different gospel and is therefore accursed. “I refuse to create a theology that allows for sickness” he tells the audience. He believes if something exists in heaven, it should exist on earth. So because there’s no sickness, pain, or poverty in heaven, that is what we can expect on earth. “We’re coming into a day where the presence of the Lord is so pronounced that everyone walking into the building will be healed…[it will be] a sustained reality in the church” he said recently in an interview.

Let’s just quickly go over a few of the many errors with this type of belief. First, there’s no death in heaven, right? So if we could truly bring heaven to earth, then we also should be able to eliminate death. Something Bethel has yet to accomplish or even mention. Secondly, he totally ignores passage after passage in the Bible that talks about death, suffering, and trials. About eternity being our only hope for freedom from sickness, death, and sin. The verse in Matthew 26:11 where Jesus says “the poor will always be with you.” Someone asked him about the book of Job and he simply replied “Scripture can’t correct my understanding of Jesus.” Excuse me? What he’s really saying is “Scripture can’t correct my understanding of the idol I have created and call Jesus.”

Finally, this belief says that if you aren’t healed, then you don’t have enough faith. I have read testimony after testimony of men and women that have left this movement after they had very real physical pain or sickness that wasn’t being healed. They were only told over and over that they lacked faith. Even Bethel has classes entitled “keeping your healing” since apparently often people think they were “healed” during a meeting only to see their physical problem return. Scripture is clear: faith is never measured by whether we are healthy or sick, poor or rich. True faith, according to Hebrews 11, is trusting and obeying the Word of God even when we can’t see.

Second, they believe in a very heretical type of prophesy. Bethel’s students are encouraged to “say anything” and soon they will be prophesying. Bill asked a group to tell him something they thought Jesus would say if He was sitting in the room with them. After each student answered, he applauded them for their prophesies. Their only qualification for prophesy is that it must be edifying and encouraging. They can’t say anything negative. (never mind that there are plenty of negative prophesies in the pages of Scripture) Their head prophet, Kris Vallatton, boasts that about 80% of their prophesy is wrong and 20% is right. They conveniently ignore the passages where God says that no true prophet is ever wrong. Their version of prophesy sounds very similar to Jeremiah 23:16: “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.”

Third and finally, they blaspheme the Holy Spirit. Their websites states that the “The Holy Spirit gives every believer the supernatural power to witness and release miracles, signs, and wonders.” These signs and wonders include things like holy laughter, grave sucking, communicating with angels, convulsing, and seeing the presence of God at their services in gold dust, holy clouds, and falling feathers. No scripture exists that tells us the Holy Spirit gives us supernatural power to “witness and release” signs and wonders or anything even slightly similar.

I could go on and on about how Bill thinks people can’t believe the gospel without signs and wonders. About fake, manipulated healing and “supernatural” events. About the way they treat people who aren’t healed and question their theology. About the demonic influence in their strange practices. About how Bill tells people to claim the promise of financial blessing. About how students left someone injured lie at the bottom of a cliff for hours while they tried to pray for his healing instead of call for help. We’ve only scratched the surface.

But the bottom line is this: Bill Johnson has created a counterfeit faith that is based on feelings and self instead of Scripture. This faith is all about what God can do for them. They tell God what they think is best instead of the other way around. This faith says that signs and wonders are how God manifests His love towards us instead of the cross. It creates an idol out of the Jesus they want instead of the Jesus that is revealed in Scripture. Bill Johnson purposefully manipulates and tricks and destroys. He picks and chooses which passages of the Bible he likes and twists them to say what he wants. He blasphemes the Holy Spirit. This faith he preaches, without a doubt, denies the truth of the gospel. And so, in conclusion, I recommend we all stay far away from him and his “faith.”

Please note: You can follow Jess on Instagram at anchor.for.the.soul and on Facebook at An Anchor for the Soul

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.

 

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