Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study, Red Pill Diaries

Cracked Pots

So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 1 Pet 2:1

Lots of people feel called to prison and recovery ministries today. Almost everyone has a different twist on what they think former inmates and addicts need. In truth, prison is like the Eagle’s song “Hotel California”. People check out but the majority never really leave. Statistically, approximately two percent actually become the people God created them to be. Mat 7:13-14, Mat 22:14 The only way past the revolving door of recidivism is in the words of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, to

“Live not by lies.” John 8:32

“Hey, you know – I was just thinking…”

began my three-hundred-pound Samoan prison bunkie, “I wouldn’t want to do or say anything that would make someone want to kill me when I got out.” The implication was profound. We’d just learned that another Christ-professing friend of mine in the same prison drug treatment program had been found shot in the back of the head – execution-style. They found him slumped over on his knees in the parking lot behind his church.

He’d been out less than a week.

“He was a rat!” they said. A rat is a liar who for whatever reason suddenly begins telling the truth.

To be honest, my dead friend’s speech and behavior weren’t always reflective of a surrendered life. He’d still had a lot of world in him. James 1:8 That is always dangerous. Granted all of us are works in progress. Phil 3:12-14 But, Paul was clear about,

forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,  I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 

Too many people continue to dabble in darkness after they are saved. Instead of getting as far as possible from the edge of the abyss they want to know how close they can get without falling in. If there is one thing I learned in prison, running a prison/recovery ministry, and finally living on the foreign mission field it is that safety is only found in the context of obedience to God. That obedience begins with truth that itself is found in

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! Psalms 139:23-24

Live not by lies.

The root of why addicts relapse and die is that they believe their own lies. This understanding is a prerequisite for prison/recovery ministry. Once committed to a wrong course of action those in active addiction seek affirmation from well-meaning albeit naive people. While it may not be a conscious decision, deep down they need an excuse to abandon their recovery and someone to blame for the inevitable future consequences of their choice. Personal responsibility ruins the pleasure of sin. If someone refuses to affirm their lies they simply move on until someone does. Those who support them become “the best ever!!” Those who fail to affirm them become a source of offense. Offense produces hypocrisy, envy, malice, and slander.

I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. Rom 16:17-18

Anyone truly living their lives in the context of Psalms 139:23-24 will immediately recognize that all of us are recovering criminals and addicts to some degree. Eph 2, Rom 3 Still how easy it is to lose sight of our mutual status as cracked pots that only the Potter can transform. Isa 64:8, Rom 8:29 Of course we are new creations. If you are already fully transformed and conformed to the image of His Son then none of what I am writing applies to you. How tempting and easy it is to magnify and compare one crack to another. 2 Cor 10:12-16 Hence our primary identifying sign of Rom 16:17-18 in action is when WE fail to truly own OUR OWN transgressions and failures. “Yeah, I know I’m not perfect but

THEY…!!!”

As the saying goes, “Everything before the “But”_is a lie.”

Offense is deadly to us but especially to the population we serve. “Resentment is the number one offender.” Any malice they may hold for those they perceive as having betrayed them becomes a root of bitterness that eventually turns inward. Left unchecked it always results in relapse that in turn eventually ends in death. Rom 6:23 Unforgiveness is deadly for those in recovery. Once again,

We are all in recovery. Phil 3:12-14

It’s not that we are committed to enlarging the proverbial cracks in our pots by consciously conspiring to lie. Rather, rationalizing, justifying, minimizing, and generalizing otherwise known as “criminal thinking errors” are a primary means of survival in our dysfunction. Some or all of these are present when repentance is lacking. Hence defining truth is the first order of business. Defining truth means confronting a lie. Confrontation is always a potential breeding ground for hypocrisy, envy, deceit, malice, and slander that Paul requires us to

“put away.”

Charm is also listed as a criminal-thinking error and adds to the confusion. The most astute criminal knows how to charm others into affirming their lies so they can avoid taking responsibility for their choices and actions. Lies mixed with truth is satan’s and the world’s preferred approach. Succumbing to charm looks like condoning sin in the name of love. Left unchecked this progresses to viewing authority and correction as hate. Finally disobedience becomes the supernatural hand of God who is

doing a new thing!

A common strategy of the Devil is to inflate our Phil 4:8 hope for a struggling person then beat us to death with it when they fail. You can be sure you are under spiritual attack if one day you are God’s unique gift, more helpful than anyone else. The next you are a religious-spirited, legalistic, Pharisee. A fake Christian, hypocritical, and unloving. Know this! You can be certain that you are dealing with a spirit of witchcraft anytime you feel compelled to

Align with a lie.

Those who remain faithful in ministry understand that faithfulness to God alone must be the goal. Success if it happens in our presence is incidental and only given by God. 1 Cor 3:6-8 If we take credit for the increase that only God can produce then we must also receive blame for the failures.

Aim for truth and faithfulness.

That is all.

If in your frustration you do give way to envy that itself is rooted in pride and do not repent- you will eventually fall. The fruit of envy is manipulation, intimidation, and domination which is also witchcraft. If you strive to control rather than water and sow, you will soon find the crack in your pot matching those of your fellow cracked pots that betrayed your trust.

If on the other hand, the role of Chief Enabler is your default and you are easily charmed – if supernatural manifestations fix everything in your view and everyone just needs to be healed. Know this,

“Then he (Jesus) began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done because they did not repent.” Mat 11:20

People are not transformed because they refuse to repent. They may be saved, and have seasons of popularity and success that are misconstrued as approval from God. They and others will weep in confusion when the fantasy finally unravels. 1 Cor 3:13 The truth that remains and can save us is that complete repentance in accordance with His word is God’s standard. Luke 13:1-5

It does not change.

The word of God is a lamp. Psalm 119:105 It is a fire that consumes and a hammer that shatters our illusions, especially those about ourselves. Jer 23

It is living and active, sharper than any  two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, it discerns the thoughts and intentions of
Our hearts. Heb 4:12

It is impossible for us to discern the intention of our hearts on our own.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. Jer 17:9-10

The word of God is a mirror that shows us what we really look like in God’s eyes. James 1:23-24 The word of God is a strong tower to which the righteous can flee to safety. The word of God is Truth. Apart from it and the willingness to lean not on our own understanding or be wise in our own eyes Prov 3:5-8 and surrender to Jesus, every last one of us is a lying, malicious, criminal, hypocritical addicts ridden with envy and slander. Search me O’ God that I may

Live not by lies

At the end of the day, the fruit of malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander is the same wherever they arise. They are the root of disunity the opposite of which Paul calls us to pursue. Eph 4:11-13 Every believer must actively put them away. The only real difference between one cracked pot and another in the midst of these is that one might have a plank and one might have a speck in their eye. Mat 7:3-5 That status may be reversed the very next day. What is important to understand is that the plank in one person’s eye in no way diminishes the severity and importance of the speck in the eye of another.

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me…Help me put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander… lead me in the way everlasting! Psalms 139:23-24, 1 Pet 2:1

Lord, you are the Potter. Test me. Have your way in me. Burn off the dross. Conform me to the image of your Son Jesus.

“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.“

-Mark Twain-

MARANATHA

Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study, Rants from the Fig Tree

The Glory of Man

Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because “All flesh is as grass And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers And its flower falls away, But the word of the LORD endures forever.”  Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you. 1 Pet 1:22-25

Peter is quoting from the deeply prophetic Isaiah chapter 40 which among other things contrasts the greatness of God with the apparent weakness and yes- the relative insignificance of man’s life on earth. Hence the featured image for this post is titled “The Pale Blue Dot”. It is a photo of Earth taken on February 14, 1990, by the Voyager 1 space probe from 6 billion kilometers or 3,728,227,153 miles away. Carl Sagan noted that every human being who has been born has lived and died on this “mote of dust”. 

I was in Rocheter NY in 1990. I can’t find myself anywhere. Job 38

Obviously, the God whose love power, and sovereignty are beyond our comprehension loved us enough to save us from His wrath Eph 2:1-3 or we wouldn’t be here. Those in Christ Jesus are saved and afforded the right to BECOME sons of God. Our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Rev 3:5, 1 John 5:11-14 We are new creations in an ongoing process of transformation Rom 12:1-2 for the purpose of being conformed to the image of His Son Jesus. Rom 8:29

That means I’m not done yet. Neither was Paul.

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Phil 3:13-16

We must keep in mind that not only did He redeem us from the wages of sin which is death, Rom 6:23 God is in the process of redeeming all of His creation. The Gospel of Salvation is fulfilled. The Gospel of the Kingdom is not. We miss the big picture entirely if we make the Gospel just about ourselves. That’s not snark directed at the self absorbed but an exhortation to stop selling ourselves short. We must be mindful of the fact that God’s endgame is a wedding and a return to our original state in the Garden of Eden with the added benefit of receiving the right to eat from the Tree of Life. Rev 22:14.

Still, would it surprise you to learn that most cultures, especially the middle eastern ones in which the Bible was written are not based on the individual? So consumed with ourselves, our rights and well being are we in the West that we read the Bible as if it were written about us as individuals rather than for us as His bride, the church. There’s a world of difference. In any case, your true identity is not about you being you. It’s about you being a part of His body that in turn is becoming a spotless bride in preparation for the wedding. Rev 19:6-9

This is where and when the fullness of our identity will be found.

That being said, any real understanding of our identity requires that we examine Adam and Eve’s original state of identity before the Fall. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. Gen 2:25 Sin was born when the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked…Gen 3 Immediately they sought to cover themselves with fig leaves. Suffice it to say that the door to sin was opened with the eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The first fruit of sin that is the seed of all other sin was

the birth of self-centeredness.

Self-centredness is the root of guilt, shame, and condemnation.

Before the fall from grace, Adam and Eve were so completely focused on God and His plans that guilt, shame, and condemnation did not exist. They didn’t even know that “nakedness” was a thing. Where they previously walked in perfect intimacy and union with Him, their newly gained knowledge of good and evil created a distinction and separation between themselves and God. That separation has continued to widen over time.

The world in which we live today is the exact opposite of the prefall Garden.

It’s not that we weren’t already narcissistic. But the advent of the smartphone took our inherent narcissism to new levels. Where we previously recognized narcissism as a character defect, it has become so imbedded in the collective psyche that today it’s a character strength and a cultural norm.

Narcissus from Greek Mythology fell in love with his own reflection.

Still, we may not recognize it as narcissim because the failure to fall fully in love with one’s own reflection is often labeled as low self-esteem resulting from not feeling “seen and heard”. We wonder why anxiety and depression are so far off the charts and try harder to affirm ourselves, each other and especially our children. “If only they knew who THEY are!” we say. Yet denying self – not affirming self is the first step in God’s plan for our freedom after we are saved. “Do as thou wilt” and self affirmation are Satan’s. How ironic that one’s birthday is regarded as the highest day of celebration on the Satanic calendar.

Here’s a quick reminder before I proceed. God is Good. God loves you. He desires the best for you. His plan “A” is that one day you will rule and reign with Him. Rev 20:4-6

Moving on…

Still, so many believers struggle to comprehend how an obsession with one’s identity in Christ could become narcissistic. Those who begin to grasp it often make the mistake of plumbing the depths of guilt, shame, and condemnation never realizing that this is just another form of self-obsession. If only we could grasp that narcissism and self-loathing are just opposite sides of the same coin.

If only we’d realize that Jesus’ command to deny self, Mat 16:24 (to affirm that one has no acquaintance or connection with, to forget one’s self, lose sight of one’s self and one’s interests) is the first step after salvation on the path to freedom. That Jesus loves me is not expressed in His affirmation of me. But rather in His desire that

I be free from the bondage of me.

If that seems paradoxical or confusing, then consider that Jesus who was perfect and blameless conquered Satan, sin, and death by becoming the biggest loser in the eyes of the world.  He was beaten more severely than any human being before, since, or ever will be, and still remain alive. Then He died a criminal’s death on the cross. His was the most brutal and shameful form of public humiliation. It was completely counterintuitive to everyone’s worldview both then and now including that of His disciples. After all, how could losing a fight make one a winner?

And yet it is exactly what gave Him all authority. 1 Pet 3:18-22

The Kingdom of Heaven is upside down to the world where the least is the greatest Mat 23:11, Luke 9:48 and losing is gaining. Mat 16:25 Biblically speaking success looks more like people maligning us than praising us. Luke 6:26 We should be honored to be found worthy of being called the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things 1 Cor 4:13 and a bit terrified to be placed on a pedestal and celebrated as distinguished and wise.

One of our biggest challenges as Westerners is that we don’t do well with the tension of paradox. We want a clear delineation of boundaries. Am I this or am I that? The idea that we exist as both the offscouring of all things and Abraham’s seed, – heirs according to the promise. Gal 3:29 boggles our mind, will and emotions otherwise known as our soul and our flesh. On the the other hand, if we are able to embrace the paradox we soon realize that our newfound identity in Christ is but spiritual milk which is foundational. The foundation is important but it’s not the finished work. 1 Cor 3. The context of our new identity is that he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. 2 Cor 5:14-21

Yes you are a new creation.

Just keep it in context. 

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Col 3:3-4

This is in reference to the Blessed Hope, Titus 2:13 not an over realized eschatology and misinformed interpretation of the Lord’s prayer.

…On Earth as it is in Heaven…

Once again, just as a pickle can not return to a cucumber, if you have truly given your life to Jesus and have been baptized, the old man is dead and you are a new creation. “New creation” looks like a sperm penetrateing an egg or a seedling penetrating the soil. A lot of seedings today are desperately trying to affirm themselves as giant red woods. The DNA blueprint is there. But there’s a lot of maturing to do. Hence there is a reason why Jesus framed the fulfilment of the Gospel of the Kingdom in the context of childbirth. Mat 24:3-31 The point here is that none of us are finished works. If indeed you have believed, and given your life to Jesus you are a newly formed creation. Take your last big gulp of milk believe what the word says. “God loves you!” Now pursue solid food that leads to maturity. Maturity is the the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, Eph 4:11-16 

work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Phil 2:12

Again our purpose here is not to lambast the self-obsessed. This is the default state of all as a result of the fall. If guilt shame and condemnation remain it is not an identity problem. It’s a flesh problem. We are still carnal. Either we aren‘t born again, we have unconfessed sin, or we are simply walking in the flesh.

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Rom 8:5-6

How do we do that?

Start by not listening to teachers apart from the whole counsel of God and the Berean approach to verifying the truth. Acts 17:11 Our hope is not in this world 1 John 1:15-17 but in the final revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Titus 2:13 Holy Spirit with whom we are sealed is just a down payment on our future inheritance, Eph 1:14. Our true and full identity will only be realized in our appearing with Him in glory. It will be made manifest when we are fully conformed to the image of His Son. Rom 8:29 That said, it will only be realized in the context of a unified bride, Eph 4:13 without spot or wrinkle. Eph 5:27 We will be assured that we have arrived when we cease our painful and fleshly Rom 7:13-25 struggle because we see Him face to face and know Him even as we are known. 1 Cor 13:12 In the meantime we are growing. We know in part, we prophesy in part, we see as in a glass darkly.

The dark image we see in the mirror is our identity.

Finally, the wrong emphasis always produces wrong foundations. Milk-fed flesh eventually results in jealousy and strife rooted in a culture of celebrity. Today, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos”  looks like “I follow Bill, or Todd or Justin or… We divide because we are building on different foundations never considering that the teachings of our favorite preachers might be destined for flames. 1 Cor 3:9-15…If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire...We glorify man and vicariously glorify ourselves by proclaiming and defending our tescgers teachings as if they were our own. 1 Cor 4:7 We do it because it’s easier to let others think for us. We read books about the Bible by our preferred celebrity teachers and quote them as if we are quoting scripture itself. Is it any wonder why the body of Christ continues to be blown about by every wind of doctrine? Is it any wonder that we remain so anxious and confused all the while striving to deny the vapourous nature of our lives James 4:14 and the truth that

“All flesh is as grass And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers And its flower falls away, But the word of the LORD endures forever.”

Only the word of the LORD endures forever.

That is why He has magnified His word above all His name. Psalm 138:2

Build on that.

Maranatha

Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study

Intimacy and Holy Fear

And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 1 Pet 1:17-19

In his first apology (defense) of Christianity, Justin Maryter offered theological arguments and cited the superior moral conduct of Christians to convince the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius to cease from persecuting the Church.  Of course, he and several of his students were beheaded in 166 AD. The point is that in times past the conduct of the church was regarded as proof of God’s truth. James 1:22-25

You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly, you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. 2 Cor 3:2-3

The early church lived in the reality of Rev 12:11 to which many are and will be called to walk out today.

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony,

and they did not love their lives to the death.

Our Pakistani friends Pastors Ammir and Tariq in Pakistan awaken each day with a resolve to continue preaching “even if they cut (off) our heads”. Meanwhile, a lot of us can’t even resolve to cut off the TV.

The Holiness to which we are called beginning in 1 Pet1:15 is not an emotion-based call to conform to a cultural consensus but rather to be cultural nonconformists Rom 12:1-2 conformed to the image of His son. Rom 8:29  Still, many will quote Paul in 1 Cor 9 I became all things to all men… (vs.21) as a means of justifying their conformity to culture. Becoming all things to all men does not mean we compromise. It means we empathize. We do so in the context of anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 1 Cor 10:12 Paul’s conclusion clarifies the context for his previous statements.

But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

So often we become all things to all men as a result of our fear of man. Is it because we want to avoid the responsibility of confronting sin? Eph 5:11 Are we afraid of offending others? 1 Pet 2:7-8   Are we afraid of being judged as being judgemental? 1 Cor 2:15   Are we afraid of persecution? 1 Tim 3:22 We may accomplish it “by speaking in Love”. Is all of this just code and a cover for “I need people to like me”?

The only way to pursue Holiness is to fear God more than man.

Hence Peter exhorts us to conduct (ourselves) with fear throughout the time of (our) exile… FEAR is phóbos, the Greek word from which the English word Phobia is derived. It means fear, dread, terror, that which strikes terror. It also means reverence for one’s husband. Our favorite analogy is the fear of the ocean that we learned in Hawaii. On one hand, the sea is a source of life without which there would be no life on Earth. Yet it will kill you deader than a hammer if you don’t fear its power. I’m not talking about the watered-down fear that we call awe. I’m talking about the sheer terror that comes with getting caught in a rip current in six-foot surf.

It is impossible to comprehend Holiness – hágios and qodesh apart from Heb 12:28-29 and Rev 19:12-16. Jesus is not a mushy-gushy Jesus who died for our soulish emotions to align with our contemporary definitions of love. He is the strongest toughest most long-suffering Son of God who loves us and died for us in spite of us Eph 2:1-10. He saved us from the wrath of the Father that we deserved. Eph 2:3  Not because we were wonderful and, cuddly. We were dead. Eph 2:1 God saved us because of who He is, because – He could not violate HIS own character and nature. One day He will return to wreak eternal havoc upon all who deny Him. 1 Pet:4:18-19, Isa 24, 2 Pet 3 If we fail to understand this and insist on putting the proverbial “cart before the horse” and make His salvation Psalm 51 more about us than Him we will soon find ourselves drowning in a sea of narcissism otherwise known as the contemporary culture of those striving to be seen, heard and loved. Why do we so need to be seen, heard, loved, and affirmed by others if indeed,

Jesus is enough?

That said, there are several ways we can deny Him. 1 Tim 2:12, Mark 16:16, Gal 1:8-9, Mat 7:21-23. I realize there are “fire and brimstone” denominations at which we charismatics shudder, cringe and are offended because they allegedly negate the power of Holy Spirit. At best they give lip service to the compassionate, gentle miracle-working, power of our Savior. This is not a legalistic call to obsess over hell.  Even so, many charismatic believers reject the Holy whip-making, temple-clearing, sword-wielding “consuming fire” God who demands sobriety, obedience, and holiness manifested in the transformation of our characters. God couldn’t care less about raised hands and loud exclamations during corporate worship when our daily conduct is corrupt. Isa 29, Mark 7  I am mentioning it here because personal holiness is impossible apart from beholding both the kindness and severity of God. Rom 11:22

This is the fear of God that produces Holiness. 2 Cor 7:1

There is a profound and deeply disturbing misunderstanding in the contemporary charismatic church that intimacy with God is produced by emotion – that if we are emotional with God He will know us. Mat 7:21-23  It’s not that God doesn’t care how we feel. Psalm 51:17 However, true intimacy with the Lord is only found in our abiding in Him. Abiding looks like obedience. John 15 

We learn to obey by pursuing Holiness.

1 Samuel 15 is one of the most poignant chapters in the Bible. It is a clear type and shadow of our problem with Holiness today.

God orders King Saul to destroy the Amalekites.

Now go and strike Amalek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel, and donkey…But Saul and the people spared (King) Agag and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened calves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.

Like so many today, Saul rationalized His disobedience with the excuse that he intended to offer a sacrifice to the Lord. To which Samuel replies, obedience is better than sacrifice and listening better than the fat of rams. He equates rebellion with the sin of witchcraft and presumption with idolatry.

Then God rejects Saul

At the end of the chapter, we find Saul admitting his sin. Yet his primary concern is that Samuel returns with him to honor him before people.

And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.” Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me,

that I may bow before the Lord YOUR God.” 

Can you think of a time when you sought to please man instead of God?

When was the last time that another believer made a declaration or a truth claim that is nowhere to be found in scripture, or worse, blatantly contradicts God’s Word and we said nothing? When was the last time we witnessed blatant sin in the church and said nothing? 1 Pet 4:17 When was the last time we saw a brother or a sister heading for a proverbial cliff and we failed to warn them?

How often is our “speaking in love” just a cover for the fear of man?

Fear of man always enables or produces sin.

Fear of God produces holiness, and holiness – Intimacy.

The pursuit of intimacy apart from obedience and holiness is of the flesh and mocks God. Gal 6:7-8

Therefore conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile here on earth. You are a sojourner – a stranger here. Heb 11:13  For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. James 4:14

Maranatha

Brian and Cathy Gray Red Pill Diaries

Did You Say Prepping? 👀

Alexander Dugin is a former advisor to Vladimir Putin. Sometimes known as “Putin’s Brain”, Dugin is an Eastern Orthodox Christian whose daughter Daria was recently assassinated allegedly by a Ukrainian Azov in an apparent attempt to kill him.

In the documentary The Wolf in the Moonlight, Dugin eerily pronounced that the purpose of life is death. “One person can not kill another,” says Dugin.  “Only God can kill. Either God kills a person or He allows a person to be killed according to His will.” This extreme view of God’s sovereignty seems reminiscent of hyper-Calvinism albeit with an eschatological twist. Russian Orthodox clergy have further stated they believe that

Russia is the New Testament Israel.

Dugin sees the ongoing conflict between Russia and NATO as the parable of the sheep and goats being played out in real-time. Mat 25:31-46 Hence he claims he would not hesitate to push the nuclear launch button and destroy all of mankind should Russia face a genuine existential threat. In the words of both Dugin and Putin, there is absolutely no point in the existence of life on Earth without Russia. In Dugin’s mind, a war between Russia and NATO while admittedly unwinnable for either side 

is nevertheless inevitable.

Dugin says it will be a sovereign act of God and a final separation between the sheep and goats in which case,

Russians will go to heaven as martyrs. All NATO members will go to hell. – Dugin’s guideline: The Curse of the West and the Salvation of Russia –

Meanwhile, Poland and Belarus are currently facing off with the Wagner group whom many in the West thought was going to overthrow Vladimir Putin. The Russians suspect Poland of readying itself to invade Belarus. Poland suspects Russia is going to use Wagner to invade Poland and or Western Ukraine. Tensions between Russia and the US are growing in Syria. Israel is on the verge of war with Iran by proxy via Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Palestinian territories. China has warned the US of a severe military response should they violate any of “China’s rights” in the Asia Pacific. That means Taiwan. While I am not making a prophetic declaration, you’d have to have your head in the sand not to see the potential for world war looming on the horizon.

I could go on about the absurdity of the Jewish Zionist Ukrainian President who openly supports Nazis in a fight against the very people who liberated the Jews in WWII. But then it’s hard to argue with those already programmed by television news.

Suffice it to say we are at high risk of global conflict not seen since WWII. Anyone who has served in a combat arms unit knows the importance of counting the cost and training for any possible scenario. “If this then this.” Given that becoming a Christian amounts to volunteering for war albeit a spiritual one we must similarly prepare our hearts and minds, fill our lamps with oil and trim them. Now that the current administration has begun to mobilize ready and inactive reserves and the children of friends are joining the military, I think it behooves us all to ask the question,

Is there any circumstance where the willful taking of human life is justified? 

Perhaps more important for the days ahead; is there a solid scripturally based argument that supports a Christ follower’s use of deadly force against another image bearer, let’s say a Russian soldier?  The more I search the scriptures, the more I am forced to conclude that the answer is an absolute

No.

While I can find a Phil 4:8 reason to honor almost anyone, I’m not a follower of any personality or political entity.  Why do you ask?  Because I believe geopolitics always has been and always will be the problem, never the solution.  Jesus warned us about the leaven of Herod, the Pharisees, and Sadducees in Mathew 16 and Mark 8. Both groups represented opposing denominations as well as political factions.

My geopolitical view mirrors that of Peter.

Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. Acts 10:34-35

That’s not to say I will simply lie down and allow someone to kill me or someone I love without a fight. If that’goal I’m nowhere even close to it. It just means I will not engage in the intentional, premeditated, and or preemptive taking of a life. Does that increase my chances of dying? 

Perhaps…

The LORD examines the righteous, but the wicked, those who love violence, he hates with a passion. Psalm 11:5

Allegedly biblical pro-violence arguments commonly begin with typological references to the Old Testament e.g. David and Goliath. “We can’t back down! Imagine what would have happened if David backed down?” First of all, David rejected the standard armor and tools of battle in favor of a shepherd’s sling and the Lord’s protection. The argument typically extended to contemporary ones like  “What if we hadn’t killed Sadam Hussein?”… Those who advocate violence often forget that Old Testament battles were orchestrated by the hand of God’s judgment not the pragmatism of man. See Isaiah 10 They conveniently ignore the original consequences imposed by God for man’s willful shedding of blood.

And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image. Genesis 9:5-6

I’ve had multiple discussions with brothers in Christ who justify the use of deadly force in defense of life. Perhaps you see differently but as far as I can tell all premeditated deadly force arguments collapse in light of scripture. Granted immediate self-defense with the least amount of force seems justified, but most of my conservative patriotic Christian brethren extend their definition of self-defense to the defense of “our way of life”. That includes preemptively attacking any perceived threat to it. Hence many will support attacking Russia if and when that day ever comes based upon their underlying presuppositions that will always be supported by media narratives.

Manufacturing an atrocity. Testimony that Iraqi’s were throwing babies in incubators on the floor that was used to help justify the invasion of Iraq. It was later proven false.

It’s not that I am against categorization or topological comparisons of scripture that exact a deeper meaning. However, validity is determined by coherent consistency throughout all of the scripture. An argument must not contradict the character and nature of the God who does not change Malachi 3:6 in order to align scripture with the independent emotional responses of man. Hence the “But what if David hadn’t killed  Goliath?” argument falls apart in the face of Genesis 9:5-6 which is consistently supported through to the end of the story.

Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword”. Mathew 26:52


If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints. Revelation 13:10

Another common pro-violence argument is that before they went to Gethsemene Jesus told the disciples to buy a sword. As it turned out they had two.  Jesus said “it is enough”. Luke 22:35-38 Later Peter cuts off Malchus’s ear. A common false assertion is that Jesus exclaimed “Not now!” implying that he would have us fight later when in fact He cried,

“No more of this!” Luke 22:49-51

“Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him, “for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?” Mathew 26:52-54

Later Jesus seals the deal before Pontius Pilot.

“My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” John 18:36

He went on to be beaten beyond recognition and nailed to a cross while praying

“Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” Luke 23: 34

Pro-violence arguments are already incoherent and in violation of the law of non-contradiction unless you can find at least one instance of Jesus or any Apostle advocating or resorting to violence. I can not. Rather they were whipped, beaten, and imprisoned for preaching but kept preaching anyway. Acts 14 As for the defense of one’s socioeconomic status or way of life, Jesus provided clear instructions.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, and let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” Mat 5:38-44

“When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another.” Mat 10:23

While I often use Revelations 12:10 in response to Neo-Marxism and Critical Race Theory, it applies to any group conflict rooted in a quest for or the preservation of rights or power.

“And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God”

Accuse is “Kategoro” from which the English word category is derived. Categories like black, white, male, female, good country, bad country, good guys, and enemies.

I follow Jesus,

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. Gal 3:28-29

By extension, there is neither Russian nor American, Shia, nor Jew. The only valid categories for believers are “in Christ” and

“not yet”!

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 2 Cor 5:14-16

John goes on in Revelation 12 to further illustrate the nature of our battle against the accuser.

 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” Rev 12:11-12

I am always amazed at how many people redact for they loved not their lives even unto death.

Paul goes on to articulate the primary combat function assigned to believers and the church as a whole. Namely “the ministry of reconciliation”. I want to be reconciled to my neighbor and have him be reconciled to God.

What hope is there if I shoot him?

I won’t.

As for governments and authorities Romans 13 exhorts us to submit to them. 

Maranatha

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Romans 13:1-7

Once again the argument is “but what about Adolf Hitler?” “Most Germans especially Christian Germans did not oppose him and look at what happened. What if the Jews fought him at the beginning?” The underlying pro-violence presupposition is that submission to authority only applies when that authority does what is good. Of course, this verse doesn’t say that. People claim it is implied. Then they define “good”. Yet the scripture says, For there is no authority except God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Maybe Alexander Dugin has a point when he claims “Only God can kill.”

Jesus and Paul obeyed the laws of the land when they opposed authority by wielding the sword of the spirit (not an iron one). They spoke gospel truth to power. A contemporary application is exhorting pregnant women to keep their babies outside an abortion clinic or peacefully blocking an entrance. Blowing up clinics and shooting Molech serving staff is not. Neither Jesus nor Paul ever attacked or endorsed an attack with a scabbard let alone an AR-15. Rather they lived by the sword of the spirit and were eventually killed by a sword.

Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution,  whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. 1 Peter 2:13-17

Nero began persecuting Christians in 64 CE after he blamed them for the fire that destroyed much of Rome. He fed them to lions and mounted them on lampposts, burning them alive to light Roman gardens and streets. Some believers advocated taking up arms. Paul opposed them. This is the historical context in which 1 Peter was written. 

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Pet 1:6-9

I’ve written at length about experiences on the mission field from being surrounded by spear-wielding Shuar tribesmen to staring down the barrels of M16s, times when we were certain of our imminent demise and were at peace that passes understanding. The Lord was delivered us every time.

He delivers me from my enemies;
Surely You lift me above those who rise up against me; You rescue me from the violent man. Psalm 18:48

That deliverance might look like ours. It might look like Stephen’s in Acts 7.

Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him…Acts 7:54-58

While I hope this blog ends up in the annals of irrelevancy. I sense that it will become increasingly relevant in the coming years. Alexander Dugin claims he is willing to die for his ideas. What am I willing to die for? Do I love God enough to risk dying for Him – for loving a neighbor who may very well want to kill me? Do I have the intestinal fortitude to be cut and set apart, to seek to understand those whom my government aims to destroy even if means being hated and rejected here at home? Do I have the courage to pray for those who one day may be compelled by their government to persecute and kill me? Can I bless those who despitefully use me? These are the questions that underpin spiritual prepping.

We can not kill our enemies and follow Jesus.

Period!

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world,  but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Rom 12:1-2

Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Philippians 4:5

Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study

Holy Hope

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 1 Pet 1:14-16

Thus far Peter has emphasized endurance and the testing and purification of our faith for the sake of the hope that lies ahead. Not hope in earthy things but our blessed hope. Titus 2:13.

Now Peter is emphasizing the call to holiness hágios – sacred, pure, morally blameless, consecrated…in the New Testament. The Hebrew word in the Old Testament is qodesh to be set apart. The image is to “To cut” as one might cut a vegetable to separate the good parts from the bad.

We speak a lot about the love, power, and presence of God within the charismatic stream. The idea of holiness often gets sidelined. His Holiness is often only mentioned in the context of worship.

Generally, Bible scholars refer to the number of times a word or idea occurs as a measure of thematic emphasis or importance to the author. Obviously, Love is important in the kingdom of God. “Love” in all its degrees and forms is mentioned 506 times in the Bible.

Holiness is mentioned in 595 times.

That said, I have a hypothesis. Love, power, and His presence are all associated with a deep emotional experience. Granted these individual experiences vary and I am not implying that they are purely emotional. Even so, charismatics tend to validate God’s presence according to what they feel.

That feeling is always pleasurable.

Am I wrong?

Holiness on the other hand requires that I look at myself in the reflection of His Holiness. This isn’t as pleasurable provided we are being honest.

That’s because holiness involves conviction and repentance.

Problems arise when we pervert conviction into guilt shame and condemnation. While conviction tells us a course correction is required, guilt shame and condemnation are identity statements. Conviction identifies what needs to be cut.

A mature believer can look at themselves in the mirror of God’s Holiness and say,

“I’m not all that I should be. But thank you Lord that I’m not what I used to be. I am a work in progress”

Mature believers understand that His righteousness is our righteousness because of who He is. We came to Jesus as dead people, by nature appointed to wrath. He loved us in spite of us not because of us. Eph 2:1-5

He loved us because of who He is.

Christianity is not a self-help program for those suffering from low self self-esteem. Christianity is a His help program for those suffering from sin, and an obsession with self.

If we understand holiness in the context of “be holy, for I am holy” then we know that only He can make us holy. It is Jesus that cuts and consecrates. It is Jesus who sanctifies and separates dross from the gold, false faith from genuine faith. It is Jesus who purifies us with fiery trials until all the impurities are burned off and He beholds His pure reflection in us. We offer ourselves as living sacrifices and then let Him have at us. We choose His ways instead of the world’s ways and allow Him to transform us Rom 12:1-2 by the washing of the water of the word. Eph 5:26-27

Sometimes this hurts.

As for understanding the seriousness and intensity of consecration (the process of becoming holy) we may be better served by studying Leviticus 8 and applying these principles to ourselves in the context of Rom 12:1-2 Sometimes our sermons sound like self-promotion. At the end of the day Jesus gave us one instruction regarding self;

Deny it. Mat 16:24

Deny- aparnéomai utterly, disown, abstain, to affirm that one has no acquaintance or connection with someone, to forget one’s self, lose sight of one’s self and one’s own interests.

If that disturbs you, it’s because you have a wrong perspective. I promise you that aparnéomai is the paradoxical path to genuine faith. It will reveal your true identity because it destroys the self-centered feelings of worthlessness, and condemnation that so many are struggling to avoid. In its wake, it leaves freedom, peace, and genuine biblical Hope.

Maranatha