April 8, 2025April 8, 2025 Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study

To Judge or Not to Judge

A Paradox?

Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Romans 14:10-12

Paul begins this chapter with examples of disputes within the body of Christ. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables…One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike… The operative question here is not whether the food or the day is legally right. Rather, the issue is one of the heart. It is whether or not the person does it as unto the Lord. Col 3:18-25

The word for”judge” that Paul is using in Romans 14 is the same word Jesus used in Mathew 7.

Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.
Mat 7:1

That word is krínō – to try, condemn, punish:–avenge, to damn… In contrast, we have the seemingly contradictory “judge” in 1 Corinthians 2.

The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.
1 Cor 2:15

The word for judge here is anakrínō investigate, interrogate, determine:–ask, question, discern, examine, search…

As Paul has repeatedly pointed out in Romans 12 and 13, vengeance belongs to the Lord. We are to bless, not curse… We are to overcome evil with good. We don’t Krino people. We anakrino.

Right?

Many people ignore blatant sin and call it grace. This is incorrect. “Bless not curse”, doesn’t mean we turn a blind eye to blatant error or sin. We are to confront error and sin head-on. We do so out of love for the one who is in error knowing that each of us will give an account of himself to God.

So often I hear believers misquote and or misappropriate scripture. Some are confused. Others do it to justify or minimize sin. It can be tempting to view these people through the lens of Habakkuk amidst his cry to the Lord especially when their heresy harms others.

Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.
Habakkuk 1:3-4

If I am honest, I have been tempted to call fire down from heaven only to receive the same rebuke that Jesus gave the disciples in Luke 9.

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. And they went on to another village.
Luke 9:51-56

In Habakkuk’s case, he got the justice for which he pleaded. The Lord sent justice in the form of the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own. He sent the Chaldeans to seize the dwellings of the hypocrites and abusers. But then Habakkuk was also in their midst. Keep in mind,

If we demand justice, we must be prepared to receive justice.

For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.
Mat 7:2

If that weren’t confusing enough, In 1 Corinthians 5 Paul declares we are to Krino those within the church.

I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”
1 Cor 5:9-13

Wait a minute! I thought we were to anakrino (discern), not krino (condem) another.

“Well…Yes and No”.
Rolland Baker

In Romans 14 Paul asks Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? Krino (condemnation) judgment that results in my despising a brother is a judgment of my brother’s heart. In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul is calling believers to judge the ACTIONS of other believers. A man or woman actively engaged in sexual sin needs to be confronted and possibly ostracized from the body IF they refuse to repent. Still, the fact remains that the underlying cause of their promiscuity may be related to childhood trauma, especially sexual abuse. Hence we condemn the actions, not the soul of a person. Like the father of the prodigal son, we are to remain open to receive them back the moment they are ready to repent. That openness is not dependent on their perfection but rather their willingness to try even if they fail seven times.

for the righteous falls seven times and rises again…
Prov 24:16

Incidentally, “Seven” was a Hebrew idiom equivalent to our contemporary English use of “one hundred percent!”

💯

As in mathematics, there is an order of operations in judging. Scripture commands me to (anankrino) examine myself first to see if am still in the faith. 2 Cor 13:5-7 I begin with the prayer of David.

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!
Psalm 139:23-24

Is there a Mathew 7:1-5 log in my eye? Many, if not most times, we judge the heart and motives of our brethren because we see our own reflection in them. For example, Paul illuminates that path of sin in Romans 1:18-32. “Amen!” We say. Then comes the proverbial rug pull in Romans 2.

For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things…
Romans 2:1

On the flip side…

The opposite extreme is to avoid passing judgment on the actions of another because we are or have been guilty of the same sins. We confuse the intent of scripture if, after we remove the log from our eye, we ignore or, worse, condone the speck in the eye of another.

We saw this when Lew Engle confessed his struggle with lust at the One Thing conference in 2018. Mike Bickle attempted to shut Lew down by minimizing the sin Lew was boldly confessing. Today Mike Bickle has been exposed for decades of blatant sexual sin. Mike’s argument toward Lew in 2018 was in effect,

“STOP! All this talk about your speck is convicting me of the log I have been rationalizing and justifying.”

No! The path to holiness and the perfection to which Jesus calls is a trajectory, not a single event. A scary albeit paradoxical fact is that our refusal to judge the actions of our brother could be the event that sets our trajectory in a direction that is contrary to what Jesus taught. Scripture tells us that in minimizing or enabling the sin of others we become partakers with them.

Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.
2 John 1:9-11

Recently a woman who wreaked absolute havoc in our community through substance abuse and serial adultery posted on Facebook that she had been sober and walking with Jesus for a year. In truth, she had just been kicked out of the last in a long line of homes where people tried to help her. There were dozens of comments from those who knew the truth yet praised her and her phony achievement. I commented,

“The only people who can not recover are those who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves.”
AA Big Book

She responded by blocking me.

So often, people dilute or avoid speaking the truth in the name of being loving. “Loving” is defined as anything that makes people feel good and preserves a relationship. Yet love does not and can not exist apart from truth.

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols?
1 Corinthians 6:14-16

Still, even the most sincere followers of Christ can make errors. That is why we study scripture together. About a year ago I had a theological discussion with some men whom I deeply respect regarding the subject of adultery. The question at hand was, “is viewing pornography adultery?” I said yes and quoted Mathew 5.

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Mat 5:27-28

Apart from me, the consensus was that adultery required the physical act of intercourse between two people. Otherwise, everyone present would be guilty of adultery. I say amen! Sometimes, the truth hurts. I’m not pointing fingers at anyone but myself. The point here is that the standard for truth, the judgment of our actions and those of other believers, is solely determined by the teaching of Christ according to scripture. Jesus said, looking lustfully at a woman is adultery. Period! Every man I know has been guilty of it at some point. The question is not how close can we get to sin and remain innocent. But rather what does scripture say, and have we repented for what is in our hearts? Is there a difference between daydreaming of sex with a woman, not your wife, and having sex with a woman, not your wife? Of course. One is a thought. The other is an action. One is not better than the other. One sin precedes the other. The second sin brings us closer to death.

How close do you want to get?

But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
James 1:14-15

But Brian, Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. This is true. But bear, believe, hope, and endure all things are not synonyms for “IGNORE ALL THINGS”. They are statements of faith in possibilities and potentials. As Cathy likes to say, “There is hope as long as there is breath.” All of God’s judgments are redemptive while we are alive on earth. Love always speaks truth because truth is what sets people free. Our willingness to call a proverbial spade a spade is proof in action that we believe and hope for all things. Love speaks truth Eph 4:15 Bearing and enduring all things often pertains to the wrath and rejection we face when speaking the truth that hurts. One thing seems certain, if we don’t judge our own hearts, others will be left to judge our actions. If we refuse to judge the actions of others, we might be consigning them to God’s Krisis judgment. Suffice it to say that Krisis is the Greek word from which the English word Crisis is fittingly derived. Again, there is a linear progression of judgment for believers, Anakrino, Krino, and Krisis. It is better to face the first two head-on than face the third. It’s better to face the third in this life than the next because,

Each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Chew on that.

Maranatha

March 19, 2025March 19, 2025 Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study

Who’s Authority?

We are going to use an apologetic approach to unravel Romans 13:1-7 this week. The term Apologetics comes from 1 Peter 3.

but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense (Apologia) to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
1 Peter 3:15

I previously covered a few of the most common apologetic approaches here. This week, we will engage in Presuppositional Apologetics. A presupposition is a statement that we assume to be true. We then build an argument based on that original assumption. If the presupposition is wrong then the entire argument falls apart. Paul was a presuppositional apologist extraordinaire. One great example of a Pauline presupposition is found in 1 Corinthians 15.

But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if, in fact,, the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life, we have hope in Christ; we are of all people most to be pitied.
1 Corinthians 15:12-19

A similar Pauline presupposition is that

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17

If the entire Bible is not God-breathed, then we have no logical basis for determining that any of it is God-breathed. All truth and meaning in scripture become subject to individual interpretation. This is called Relativism. Taken to its extreme, relativism ends in Solipsism. In case you were wondering, if God is the creator of all things, then logic was also invented by God. Mankind simply discovered it.

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.
Proverbs 25:2

Mankind’s search for what God concealed was later named science.

All that being said, if all of the Bible is God-breathed then scripture can not contradict scripture and still be true. Only our faulty human understanding can contradict scripture. This is the foundational presupposition upon which we base the Acts 17:11 Bereans Bible Study.

Moving On to Romans 13

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

Romans 13:1-7 has been one of the most controversial verses in history. It was cited in defense of slavery during the Civil War. Adolf Hitler used it to justify Nazi rule in Germany along with his Final Solution in the Holocaust. People are forever twisting scripture to minimize, rationalize, and justify errant presuppositions, otherwise known as sin. The outstanding question in this passage is,

Who has the authority to govern?

One argument states that Romans 13 only applies when the authority that governs and bears the sword is good. If it is not good then we are obligated to oppose it. This presupposition has been applied in support of all manner of wars including civil war. Hence this begs the question,

What or who qualifies as good?

If we are to blindly obey every political and religious leader because they are placed in authority by God, then how do we account for Peter’s response to the Pharisees in Acts chapter 5?

And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” But Peter and the apostles answered,
“We must obey God rather than men“.
Acts 5:27-29

Are Peter and Paul contradicting one another?

He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him, all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Colossians 1:15-20

If, in fact, Satan is defeated and Jesus is Lord of all creation, then it follows that nothing can happen that God does not cause or allow. How, then, can we claim that horrors like slavery and the Holocaust happened contrary to God’s will? If that be the case then Satan has the authority and power to foil God’s plan. We are in effect saying,

“Jesus conquered Satan on the cross, but not really because Satan wins sometimes”

This violates the laws of non-contradiction and coherence. Either Jesus has ALL power and authority, Mat 28:18 or He does not.

This was the dilemma that Dietrich Bonhoeffer faced when Adolf Hitler’s SS minions perverted the gospel via Romans 13 in the German church. Bonhoeffer subsequently participated in an assassination attempt on Hitler. His reasoning:

Adolf Hitler was clearly not good.

What many historians, miss or perhaps omit is that Dietrich Bonhoeffer eventually repented for this. In his final work, “Ethics,” he postulated that man’s ultimate problem and the reason for all evil, including the Holocaust, was man’s “knowledge of good and evil” gleaned from the fruit of the forbidden tree in Eden. Bonhoeffer concluded that all of man’s ethical judgments, even his best most righteous judgments, effectively make him a god onto himself and an enemy of the one true God. That’s a hard sell in faith streams where the authority of individual believers is so emphasized. Still, it’s worth pondering, especially in the context of Romans 13:1-7.

1 Peter chapter two seems to support the assertion that we are called to submit to all authority including oppressive tyrants.

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

The emperor in the above verse was Nero. Nero is often cited as the inventor of the “false flag attack” after he burned Rome and blamed it on Christians. He then had them mounted on poles, soaked in oil, and burned as human torches to light the streets and gardens of Rome. For this is the will of God, that by doing good, you should silence the ignorance of foolish people.

Is Peter contradicting what he said in Acts 5?

The short answer is “no!”. The question is the phrase “be subject to…” synonymous with “blind obedience to…”? The Greek word is hypotássō. While it can mean obedience it is more clearly defined as “to be in submission to…” 1 Peter 2 commands us to honor the emperor. But we are to fear God.

I would venture to say that the bottom line in Romans 13, 1 Peter 2, and Acts 5 is the sovereignty of God and the requirement of our obedience to Him alone. We preach the gospel out of obedience to God. We obey human authority out of obedience to God. We are to do everything as onto the Lord. Col 3:23 Christians under Nero didn’t reject Jesus out of obedience to Nero. Rather they were faithful to God and submitted to the earthly consequences for doing so. They submitted in obedience to God. They did not fight Nero because he was evil. Rather they responded as Paul commanded in the previous chapter.

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 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.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans 12:19-21

The apostle’s obedience was displayed in their faithfulness in preaching truth, followed by their willingness to submit to being tortured and killed for doing so, knowing that “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” Nowhere in the gospels is there an exhortation to oppose the earthy government and authority on any grounds apart from speaking the truth of scripture. We are not to oppose any authority in any way apart from preaching the gospel. Like Peter, we disobey any command forbidding us to speak the word of God even if it results in our death.

For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
2 Corinthians 10:4-6

Vengence in Romans 12 and Punish in 2 Corinthians 10 are from the same Greek root ekdikéō.

to vindicate one’s right, do one justice
to protect, defend, one person from another
to avenge a thing
to punish a person for a thing
-Strongs Concordance-

I know what some are thinking. Paul says we are to be ready to punish every disobedience. Doesn’t that speak to those in Romans 13 with the authority to wield the sword? Perhaps. But you’d better be sure the Lord gave you that authority or you will be fighting against Him.

The emphasis in 2 Corinthians 10 is upon our obedience being complete. Anger is a normal and even correct response to injustice. The key to understanding anger is found in our response. We only respond correctly when we win the battle in our minds with truth. There is only one correct response.

Be angry,and do not sin;
ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent.
Selah
Psalm 4:4

Of course the idea that we only oppose injustice by speaking truth to power is another hard sell especially in Dominionist streams where the overarching theme is,

“Occupy till I come.”
Luke 19:13

Many believe that occupy implies defense and offense. We take ground for God and hold it. Period! This is one presupposition that supports patriotism and the use of the sword to preserve and extend a nation’s borders.

Throughout scripture, God uses those bearing the sword to fulfill His purpose and righteousness, then punishes the sword bearers for their own unrighteousness. See Jeremiah chapters 14 and 25 and Isaiah chapter 10. The point here is that the mere fact that one has the authority to wield the sword for God’s good purposes does not in itself imply the sword wielder’s righteousness before God. God causes all things to work together for good. Rom 8:28

Chew on that for a minute…

I believe the responses of Jesus further confirm my thesis that believers are never to oppose those in authority with anything other than the word of God.

When Peter attacked Malchus in Gethsemane with the sword Jesus told him to bring, Jesus declared that He could ask his father for twelve legions of angels.

“No more of this!”, said Jesus

Jesus submitted to the wicked authorities so that scripture might be fulfilled. Luke 22:49-51, John 18:10-15, Matthew 26:51-55

When Jesus was arrested, stood before Caiaphas, and was asked if He was the Son of God, in Mat 26:57-68, Jesus paraphrased Daniel 7:13-14.

“You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Mat 26:64

Jesus then became silent and submitted to be struck, spat upon, and condemned.

He stood silent before Pilate never defending himself except to state that His kingdom is not of this world. If it were his followers would fight. Luke 23, Matthew 27, Mark 15, John 19 Nowhere in the gospels did Jesus or His disciples oppose authority beyond speaking God’s word.

So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”
John 19:10-11

Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.
Titus 3:1-2

Are we to submit to ruling authorities out of obedience to God whether we agree with them or not? It would seem so because God is the only authority. But maybe you see differently. Do you have another biblical apologia that does not violate the laws of coherence and noncontradiction?

Let’s hear about it.

Maranatha

February 27, 2025February 27, 2025 Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study

Are You Haughty?

Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.
Romans 12:16 ESV

If we are to understand how to live in harmony with others it behooves us to drill down into the original meaning of “haughty“. The contemporary definition of haughty is arrogantly superior and disdainful both of which imply contempt. The KJV reads, “Mind not high things,” which, as we will see, just might be a more accurate contemporary expression of haughty.

High (Greek)– hypsēlós

Lofty in place or character:–highly esteemed, exalted on high, with an uplifted arm, eminent, influence, honor, to seek, high things as in honors and riches.
Strongs Concordance

While viewing others with contempt would certainly qualify as haughty, it is not the only defining factor.

There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.
Proverbs 6:16-19 ESV

Haughty (ESV) or “A proud look” (KJV) in Hebrew is

Ruwm

to be high, to rise or raise, exalt self, extol, set up on, high, hold up, be lofty, promote, proud, set up, breed worms, to be rotten or wormy.
– Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament-

While there are similarities, God’s definition of haughty is deeper than the extreme of contemptuousness or disdain.

If we go deeper we gain more clarity via the polar opposite of haughty in the command to associate ourselves with the lowly. Haughtiness seeks a platform and the esteem of man. Paul counters this in Galatians.

For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servantof Christ.
Galatians 1:10

Taken to the extreme, haughtiness seeks to be idolized and even worshiped. We counter any propensity for haughtiness by going low and slow. We strive to grow down instead of up. Jesus is our ultimate example.

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isaiah 53:3

The final step is to “Never be wise in your own sight”. This is rooted in Proverbs 3.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.
Proverbs 3:5-8

If I had to choose only one verse to live by this would be it. It is the solution to every problem a believer might face. That said, haughtiness is a root cause of many if not most, social problems. It does not only apply to those who are exalted. It applies to those who desire to be exalted. It can even apply to those who exalt others.

What do you mean?

Isn’t exalting people a way to honor them?

There are a couple of very famous evangelists whom Cathy and I knew before they became platformed and exalted within the charismatic stream. Cathy cringes when I name them, so I won’t. She cringes because, too often, my naming a famous name looks like self-exaltation in today’s world.

“Seriously Brian!? You actually know blankety – blank – blank?!”

Trust me, I am not self-promoting. Heck, I know them apart from fake celebrity versions of themselves. Rather the issue at hand is that so many people engage in vicarious self-promotion.

“I must be important if I know someone important”.

It follows that I might be viewed as worth knowing by those with a desire to be esteemed and exalted themselves. Please don’t misunderstand. There is nothing inherently wrong with honoring someone famous, provided you aren’t honoring them because they are famous and you bestow equal honor upon the one who cleans the toilet in your church. It is for this reason that Paul the Apostle described himself as

the filth of the world- the offscouring of all things unto this day.
1 Corinthians 4:13

Mind you, he was not referring to his identity in Christ. He was referring to his place in the world and perhaps the earthly-minded carnal church. This is the essence of the IRIS Global adage,

“Low and and Slow”

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 brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.
Revelation 12:10

Even deeper, consider that the word Accuse is katḗgoros the Greek word from which the English word categories is derived. It appears to highlight the root of the issue of haughtiness and perhaps the reason why it is mentioned first in the list of things God hates. Haughtiness divides us into categories based on alleged worth. Those promoted by various forms of media as celebrities are viewed as be inherently worth more than those who clean your toilet at church. That celebrity minster idolized by the masses is actually lower than the toilet cleaner.

Minister is huperetes – “under rower.” as in the slaves chained to benches and forced to row below deck on ancient warships.
– Strongs Concordance –

We may want to believe otherwise. But ask yourself this question. What would excite you more, a dinner invitation from your church janitor? Or the same invitation from Bill Johnson or Heidi Baker? Or maybe Paul Washer or Voddie Baucham if you’re not a charismaniac. In either case, this is where we find the true root of haughtiness.

Meditate on that…

Maranatha

February 11, 2025February 11, 2025 Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study

Be Still

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.
Romans 12:14

How often have I read this verse and others like it, thinking, “Yes, of course.” It’s easy to bless and not curse when we are at peace. It is an entirely different matter in the face of perceived unrighteousness and or injustice.

Just to be clear…

Bless – eulogéō (Greek) to praise, celebrate with praises, consecrate a thing with solemn prayers, to ask God’s blessing on a thing.

Curse – kataráomai (Greek) to curse, doom, imprecate evil upon.
Strongs Concordance

Amir Tsarfati is a Messianic Jew (a Jewish Christian). He describes himself as a “Believer | Husband | Father | Bible Teacher | Best Selling Author| Conference Speaker | Middle East News Commentator | Founder and President of Behold Israel…” I follow him on Telegram because he lives in Israel and is, in my opinion, the best source for Middle Eastern news involving Israel. Millions of Christians around the world follow him across multiple social media channels. While I disagree with his pretribulation of rapture eschatology, the fact remains that Israel is the proverbial canary in the coal mine regarding the events and timing of the current Aeon.

Amir is, in many ways, brilliant when it comes to Israel in Old Testament prophecy. His brotherly love for his Jewish brethren and fellow believers is apparent to all his followers. Still, I have never seen anything that even remotely resembles prayer for his enemies. Rather he celebrates the demise of the “demon-possessed” killers of his people.

I say this by way of observation, not judgment.

I am a former US Marine and my sympathetic nervous system is hard-wired to fight more than it is to flee or freeze. Hence I am well acquainted with the overwhelming desire and impetus

“to locate, close with and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver, or repel the enemy assault by fire and close combat.“
Marines.mil

I felt that same impetus when the Al Asqa Flood perpetrated against Israel by Hamas took place in October 2023. Not long after I watched some Israeli troops repeatedly running over a member of Hamas with a military Humvee. And while I was disturbed at that lack of humanity displayed by the Israelis, I wasn’t nearly as enraged as I was at Hamas. I found this to be especially interesting because individual Jews who reject Jesus are no different in God’s eyes than individual members of Hamas who reject Jesus. Mark 16:16 I bolded individual because the land of Israel and the organization called Hamas are not the same in God’s eyes. Hamas, which means “violence” in Hebrew is and will be destroyed. See Zephaniah 2 for a deep dive into this subject.

In this post, we are talking about the human propensity to rage toward self-righteous violence when we are sufficiently triggered.

Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah
Psalm 4:4

The ESV and other versions translate “awe” as “anger”. Still, it’s deeper than that.

Awe
Ragaz (Hebrew) to quiver with any violent emotion, especially anger or fear :–be afraid, disquiet, fall out, fret, move, provoke, quake, rage, shake, tremble, trouble, be wroth.
Strongs Concordance

It seems that the correct response to emotional disquiet in any form, especially anger or fear, is stillness.

I would so far as to say that all anger is rooted in fear. Think about it. Fear is not a thing. Fear is the absence of faith. Faith can only be lacking where we are unsure of the truth. We can be sure of the truth to the extent that we have been transformed by the truth. Hence, Paul highlights our unmitigated anger as one of the devil’s primary tools in warring against the kingdom of heaven.

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.
Ephesians 4:25-27

Still, I always say, “Don’t fake it till you make it. Be real till you heal.” As I ponder Amir Tsarfati’s hatred for Hamas and their Palestinian supporters, I do so with the clear understanding that not only would I have cursed Hamas, but I probably would have shot, stabbed, blown up, and killed every member of Hamas any way that I could have had I been present during the Al Asqa Flood. To be honest, there is a part of me that wants to celebrate their obliteration now. Granted, my spirit man confronts my flesh with a clear knowledge of Biblical truth. But I have yet to be fully transformed and conformed to the image of God’s Son. Given the right circumstances, I am as capable of killing my neighbor as both Israel and Hamas. The fact that so many Christians are like me in that they abide by what scripture says in most but not all circumstances doesn’t help. Hence it is amidst the most controversial, hot-button topics that we must put away falsehood and speak the truth to our neighbor, for we are members of one another. How many of us listen to errors or even blatant heresy and never say a word because the truth isn’t politically correct? After all, it might spark anger or resentment in one of our siblings in Christ. Are we afraid of offending?

Or are we afraid that we might become angry and sin in response?

Both cases, are equally wrong.

My admittedly unbiblical response to Hamas is an extreme example with which a lot of believers empathize. But what if the matter is not so extreme? What if a brother or a leader in your church is behaving unbiblically? Will you approach the person and speak the truth to them? Or will you resign yourself to commiseration (to estimate falsely) with others who will sympathize and reinforce your perspective? If we do give correction is it fully in line with the scripture? Or do we proclaim, “Vengeance is mine, saith the lord!”. Do we bless them in speech all the while relishing the thought of burning coals pouring down on their head?” Thankfully, I have learned through the years that identifying my own hypocrisy is the first step in transformation. For example, I have a pastor friend who refuses to own a gun because in his own words,

“I would not even hesitate to shoot someone!”

“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, so that you may be sons of your Father who is 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. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Mathew 5:43-48

I have grown in so many ways since the day I first said yes to Jesus and offered my body as a living sacrifice. Still, one thing is certain. When I take an experiential deep dive into verses like Romans 12:14, I am confronted with the stark contrast between my wishful thinking and reality. My lack of progress toward the holiness and perfection required by Jesus is staggering at times.

Lord help me!

I don’t know if it is historical fact or Mel Gibson’s imagination, but it seems that the correct response to persecution, violence, or any other perceived injustice that sparks fear and then anger within us must flow from a place of stillness as modeled by Jesus before Pontius Pilate and Caiaphas in the Passion of the Christ.

It may also be worth considering the role of prayer in entering that unalterable place of stillness. What was Jesus feeling, and what was he tempted to do as He sweat drops of blood while He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane just before His arrest?

This discussion will become increasingly relevant in the next chapter. This week let’s examine the areas of our lives where we continually fail to,

Be Still.

Maranatha.

February 5, 2025February 5, 2025 Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study, Commentary, Tennessee

Blink

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
Romans 12:9-13

The older I get the faster time goes. Yesterday I was a very broken 16 year old. I blinked and I’m pushing 60. The older I get the more I appreciate the depth and purpose of the lessons God teaches me through experience.

Paul is describing the character and qualities of a genuine Christian in Romans 12:9-13. I don’t think the qualities he names can be defined, let alone understood through academic study alone. Rather they must be learned in the context of being transformed and conformed to the image of God’s Son via experiences that God uses to teach us. Given that marriage is the paradigm by which we can best comprehend the relationship between Christ and His church, it’s no coincidence that the qualities Paul names in Romans are also key to a successful marriage. The only valid competition between believers and spouses is in honoring the other. Otherwise, the wife submits to her husband. The husband gives himself up for his wife. Eph 5:22-27 Each submits to the other, thereby growing closer to the other and, by extension, to God.

Blink

Cathy and I met on Kauai twenty-one years ago. February 5th marks twenty truly wonderful years of marriage.

Words cannot describe the genuineness of my love for Cathy. I would go so far as to say that she has taught me what genuine love is. If you told me twenty-two years ago that I was going to marry the most beautiful woman I could ever imagine I would have told you are full of something other than hope.

Blink

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2 Corinthians 12:9

As I like to say, God pruned me down to a stump and fittingly gave me a job planting trees. I was living in my van and emerging from my own brokenness while starting a men’s recovery ministry when I met Cathy in our church. A decade before, the Lord gave her a heart for the incarcerated and a vision for prison ministry. One day, she asked a mutual friend who provided bibles for the local jail how she could get into the jail to minister to the female inmates. He pointed across the room and said,

“Go talk to that guy.”

“That guy” was me.

Cathy and I began going to the jail as ministry partners the following week. Neither one of us was looking for a relationship at the time. Her serial adulterer ex-husband had tried to kill her by choking her at 3am two years before. My serial adultress ex-wife had left me three years earlier. She later died of an opiate overdose. In any case, we quickly became the best of friends. Cathy said I talked better than any of her girlfriends.

Cathy was tougher than any man I knew.

The first recreational activity we did together was a 16-mile round-trip hike to Hanakoa Valley and back on the Kalalau Trail. For the sake of context, the Sierra Club has assigned the Kalalau Trail a difficulty rating of 9 out of 10. Cathy was ten days into a fast when we did it. I remember thinking to myself, “Now this is a woman I can hang out with!” I’d recently Kayaked the Napali Coast on a group tour with a woman partner who refused to paddle. I paddled her dead weight the entire 17 miles. Unbeknownst to me at the time, my friend was trying to set me up with her. Suffice it to say, I was as disgusted as I was exhausted by the end of the trip. The last thing I needed in my life was some high-maintenance, wannabe princess who thought weakness made her attractive.

Cathy I were married nine months later.

But, as it is written,“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him“
1 Corinthians 2:9

Blink

As I look back over the last twenty years, it is abundantly clear that I have learned the most about Romans 12:9-13 within the context of our marriage. We have faced some hard situations through the years. We have remained unified as one flesh through it all.

We both knew we were called to missions before we were married. That mission began with a coed faith-based transition home for furloughed inmates. We lived with 5-10 inmates and sometimes their children for twelve years.

Then God released us to the foreign mission field. We were standing on opposite sides of our bed when we looked at each other and said,

It’s time.

Do not be slothful in zeal took on a whole new meaning!

We were preparing to head to Honduras when the Lord spoke to Cathy. “We are getting ahead of God.” She said. Long story short, I listened and God pointed us to Harvest School. He eventually led us to Honduras. But He had work to do in both of us first.

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.
1 Thessalonians 5:19-22

I am one to test everything, especially prophetic words. One prophecy in two parts, has been proven valid over time. It was given by a fellow student during our Harvest School in Mozambique. The first part was that our walk together would be like rock hopping across a river. We would hop from one rock to another and wait for the next one to appear. Some of that waiting would be longer than we expected. Check! The second part was a vision of the two of us scaling a cliff.

Each would take turns leading while the other would be on belay. Check! God always leads us together. Sometimes I get the vision first. Sometimes Cathy gets it. We have learned to trust that the other hears clearly. We don’t move until God confirms His word in both of us. It has been amidst the climb more than the river crossing that we have grown in our understanding of

Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Blink

Nualolo
A fluttering blaze, a strong place, a ladder, or a bridge.
Hawaiian Dictionary

The Nualolo trail is another one of our favorite hikes on Kauai. It’s just short of an eight-mile round trip, mostly through a rainforest. The first leg is marked by a 2500 ft drop in elevation over the course of 4 miles. To say the trail is muddy and slippery is an understatement. Twenty years ago, I ran it. It’s been nearly 15 years since Cathy and I last hiked it together. We thought nothing of hiking it again on this trip.

Boy were we surprised. We were as tired and sore when we arrived at the Vista as we used to be at the end of the hike.

We still had nearly 4 miles to go. Most of that was straight up. We spurred one another on Rejoicing in hope. “Let’s imagine we are on the Appalachian trail with five hundred miles to go instead of three,” Cathy said.

I was in pain. Cathy was in pain. She was so tired that she could barely manage a slow shuffle at the end. We wondered if we were fighting off a cold or a virus of some sort. At one point I thought I might have to carry her. Still, we were patient in tribulation, and constant in prayer. “Thank you Jesus for strenghting us!” “Thank you for the pain. May we identify with your suffering as you carried the cross for our salvation” It was nearing dark and I was tempted to fear. After all, people, die in the mountains of Kauai. But she pushed through it. We pushed through it. “Good job honey! I am proud of you.” I said as we finally approached the car.

“I think I need to go to the hospital.” She said.

She didn’t. Still, it occurred to me that this might have been our last hike on the Nualolo trail. There are a lot of lasts along the way – lots of transitions in this vapourous life on earth. We deny it when we are young. Alas, understanding comes with the length of days. Job 12:12 The truth is that we never know where or when those lasts will be. On the other hand there have been many times when we thought a chapter was closed, only to have God say,

“HA! Not so fast.

While I suspect that God has more to reveal, Nualolo was a ladder or a bridge – a leaving behind what is past and stepping into a new chapter with the Lord. It was a strong place in that we were forced to abandon our previous reliance on our youthful agility, toughness, and strength and instead prayerfully depend on the Lord for every step. It was a newfound depth of His strength, a fluttering blaze instead of a roaring fire, rooted in patience instead of explosive power. It was painful and confusing in real time.

It is now beautiful in retrospect.

Life is often like that.

Now that we are back in Greeneville we are prepping to do yet another thing we thought we were done doing. We are opening a transitional home on Mary’s farm previously known as The Glory Farm. This time, Cathy was in the lead, and I was on belay. Three years ago she said, “I feel like we are going to be on a farm. Someone is going to ask us to live on the land as caretakers.” “I don’t see it, but ok,” I said. Shortly after that, we met Mary. She saw Cathy and I doing something with the Recovering Hearts women on her farm. “I don’t see it, but ok,” I said. The Lord had some things to teach Mary and others. Two years later, Bradley, our CEO at Holston, called me into his office and told me that Holston had been given charge of the farm. He said he asked the Lord and saw Cathy and me running whatever it was to become. “It’s funny you should say that,” I replied. “I’ve heard this before. “I don’t see it but we will be obedient to the Lord.” “Just pray about it.” He said. I did. The Lord spoke to my heart a few months later.

“Honey I think we might have to open a house for the Recovering Hearts women,” I said.

There is lots of work to be done. But April 1st is the target opening date for a transitional home called

“The Garden”

We will be moved out of our current home on March 1st, which is the exact day we moved in three years ago.

The story of the Garden is already bracketed by more testimonies than I can fit here. Suffice it to say that Cathy and I will embark on another chapter in our marriage and journey with the Lord. While other believers will inevitably seek to honor us, and we hope that we will model what we have learned thus far, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God has us on this particular path because it is the best way to grow our understanding and obedience to His call to

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly (and spousal) affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal; be fervent in spirit, and serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Some Biblical doctrines and principles must be studied. Others can only be learned through experience and practice. Some can be modeled. We hope that we can model Romans 12:9-13 for the women at Recovering Hearts. As for The Garden itself, this is our vision thus far. Stay tuned.

Maranatha

January 27, 2025January 27, 2025 Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study, Commentary

For The Love Of Pua

A lesson in gardening

Pua
Flower, blossom, tassel and stem of sugar cane; to bloom, blossom. To issue, appear, come forth, emerge, said especially of smoke, wind, speech, and colors, hence to smoke, blow, speak, shine. Progeny, child, descendant, offspring.
Hawaiian Dictionary

Whenever you see a “For the Love of ____” blog, you can be certain I have emerged from a period of examining myself to see if I am in the faith. Am I on the right path Lord? 2 Cor 13:5 We have learned through the years that God periodically tests our faith. James 1:2-4 Everything we do that is anything is for His glory alone. While those who plant and water are not anything. God gives the increase when we are faithful to fulfill our part.

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.
1 Cor 3:5-9

Some know that Cathy and I ran a coed faith based transition home for furloughed inmates on Kauai called Live Again The Walk. Translation: we had 5-10 inmates and sometimes their children living in our home for 12 years.

Anyone who has engaged in prison ministry knows that the odds of success are stacked against you from the start. Those who fail to understand and embrace the realities of 1 Corinthians 3 usually abandon all hope and move on before the miraculous increase happens. So many inmates that came to our home failed over the years, that I used to joke that we ran a fruitless ministry. Yet the Lord had called us to it and we didn’t have His permission to quit. That’s not to say that we wanted to or that everyone failed. Our first resident loved the lord. He became a successful carpenter and independent contractor with a family before he died. Our second got her master’s degree and now teaches at a High school on Kauai. We had nearly ten years of experience under our belt when Pua arrived.

Pua (a.k.a. Kimberlynn) didn’t want to come to our house at first. As she says, “I was planning to get high.” But the KCCC Warden Neal Wagatsuma had other plans. Pua had to see the judge before she could be released. Neal told her Cathy would be there to pick her up. Pua says she didn’t believe it. Why should she? She’d been homeless for three years before she was arrested. She’d been homeless a lot growing up as a child of addicted parents in Waianae, Hawaii. Waianae is probably the roughest community in the entire state. She suffered the most unspeakable things you can imagine. But Pua is tough. In fact, she was the self-appointed “mayor” of the homeless camp before she went to jail. Apart from one or two prison Bible studies, Pua didn’t know Cathy at all. Imagine her surprise when Cathy turned out to be the first person in the courtroom when Pua arrived. Those who know Cathy will understand when I say,

Pua came home with Cathy.

Traumatized women require a lot of love, patience, listening, and gentle guidance from those who are willing to take the time to earn their trust. Yet it didn’t take all that long for Pua to allow herself to be planted. She never lied to us, never stole, never drank or did drugs, never became violent, and was never promiscuous. She got saved and filled with Holy Spirit and has been a walking, talking joy bomb ever since. No one loves Mondays like Pua. I promise you will have no greater understanding of joy than if you meet her. That said, follow her on Instagram and tell her we sent you to get joy bombed.

Like a lot of women fresh out of addiction and criminal lifestyles, Pua’s only real temptation was in the area of relationships. To love and be loved are genuine, valid human needs. And like most women from traumatic backgrounds, Pua had a broken picker when it came to men. So Pua got creative. She used stuffed animals as a coping tool. Bub was her favorite.

She’d been with us about two years when she came home and confessed that she was attracted to some guy in the community. Romantic relationships were normally forbidden for our residents, but Pua had been with us for a while and we knew it could not last forever. So I investigated. Sure enough, the guy was a stoner and toxic for Pua. I reminded her in my characteristically blunt way, that her “picker was broken.” I held the stoner’s picture in one hand and Bub in the other. “Seriously?” “He looks exactly like Bub!” I said, “Oh my God!” Pua said.

She dropped the stoner like a rock and kept Bub.

Incidentally, Pua named me Dutch.

That should make perfect sense to anyone who knows me and has seen the movie.

In return, I named Pua “Boove”, after the main character in the Pixar movie Home.

That should also make perfect sense to anyone who knows Pua and has seen the movie.

Today Pua has a boyfriend named Kali. Naturally, I investigated. It turns out he is a solid, spirit-filled, hard-working guy, and perfect for Pua. Cathy and I approve.

Now, you might be wondering what specific kinds of teaching, discipleship, counseling, interventions, etc., we employed to make Pua the person she is. What curriculum did we use? If so then you still don’t get it. Christians everywhere are grasping for false identity called self-esteem while struggling with the reality that he who plants and waters is nothing and that

God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God
1 Cor 1:27- 29

It continues to amaze me that so much false pride and boasting exists within Christian ministries. It seems that believers everywhere are either vying for a platform or idolizing one.

You can not manualize transformation. As I’ve said, Cathy and I know what it is to be utterly broken. As I wrote in the previous post, our brokenness is our resume. God comforted us in our affliction. Now we can comfort those in their affliction. 2 Cor 1:4 That’s it. That being said, the closest we have to a manualized formula is contained in Proverbs 3:5-8. We said yes to the Lord, fell in love with Pua, and had a whole lot of fun doing it. Granted she has a slightly different perspective.

Hanae, pronounced (Hana-ay), is the Hawaiian word for adoption. Not just formal legal adoption. Kids can also adopt parents. Like a lot of people with millennial kids, Cathy and I have adult children from whom we are currently estranged. Pua said we had faith? The truth is she had enough faith to trust us even though she didn’t know us “Haoles” (foreigners). Yet she came to live in our home and accepted us as her own despite our previous failures as parents. God knew we needed her to inspire us, to help us persevere and grow amidst rejection by some of those we love most.

Today the Pua to whom we provided a place to be planted and bloom has become the Lord’s increase. She took over our transitional home when Cathy and I left for the foreign mission field. Now, she works for the county of Kauai as the number two person in charge of a program that assists all the homeless on the island. She oversees transitional homes and feeding programs all over Kauai.

So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
1 Corinthians 3:7

As we always say, God calls us to help certain people because He knows it is the best place for us to receive the help that we need. That revelation, if we get it, will squash false pride and enable us to follow Jesus’s command to “Deny Self” and become His disciple.

In addition to the transition home where I lived, I also worked as an adolescent substance abuse treatment counselor in a school-based treatment program. It seems like just yesterday that I had a 13-year-old boy named Elijah. God used him to teach me a powerful lesson about mercy, grace, hearing His voice, and that, quite often, He works despite rather than because of what we think and do. It remains one of the most formative experiences in my faith walk with the Lord.

To say that Elijah was a handful is an understatement. I remember looking at him as he was causing trouble in my classroom and thinking, “There is no point! I can’t help this kid. He is destined for jail.” We were scheduled to go on a bi-yearly camping trip, and I did not want to take him. But he begged and pleaded and promised to be good until finally I gave in.”Fine!” I said. “But I’ve got to check your bags.” “Uh…uh…oh-ok…,” Elijah said. It took all of thirty seconds for me to find a bag of weed, a lighter, and a pipe.

“Elijah I trusted you!” I lied.

I didn’t trust that kid as far as I could throw him.

Everything in the code of conduct, every rule I had sworn to uphold told me to turn him into the principal so he could be suspended from school. But I felt an undeniable check in my spirit. It made no sense. But it seemed like the Lord wanted me to take him on the trip.

Seriously Lord?!

So I gave him the “justice, mercy, grace” speech. Justice – getting what you deserve, Mercy- not getting what you deserve, Grace – getting what you don’t deserve. “Which one do you think you are getting?” I asked.

“Uh…Grace?” Elijah replied.

I flushed his weed down the toilet smashed his lighter and threw his pipe in the dumpster before loading everyone up and heading off to camp.

My nickname on Kauai at that time was “The Hammer” and or “Warden 2”. Anyone who knew me then could tell you that it went against everything I stood for to let Elijah go on that trip. Boundaries are to be preserved not willfully and flippantly violated. Not only that, but I was putting my most prized commodity on the line: my integrity. Yet, God was clarifying His voice in my spirit along with my faith and obedience to it. That same paradoxical and seemingly contradictory obedience would save our lives more than once when I finally got to the mission field.

As soon as we got to camp Elijah was back to his old defiant and delinquent self. Naturally, I questioned myself,

“Did I really hear God?”

I’ll let you decide.

That was seventeen years ago.

Elijah is thirty today. He approached us after I preached a sermon about our spiritual resumes. Going to jail is a huge part of mine. “It’s the legendary Mr. Gray!” he began. “Oh were you in jail too?” Cathy asked. “No!” Elijah said. “Hina Mauka Teen CARE at Kapaa Middle School!”

“Elijah?!!!” I said.

“I think about you all the time.”

“You know”, Elijah began. “You showed me mercy once in a way that really impacted me.” “It was grace.” I thought to myself. “Was it the weed?” I smiled. “Yeah maybe.” He said. “All I remember is that you trusted me and I let you down.” “It was my lowest point,” he said.

“I’ve never forgotten it.”

“Neither have I,” I replied. “You have been part of my testimony for years.”

Elijah didn’t remember the weed or my speech. He had no knowledge of the ethical dilemma in which he had placed me, let alone what God was doing in me. But rather, the imaginary trust that he believed I had in him made him realize the inherent value of being trustworthy. For all intents and purposes,

I was a mere prop in God’s plan.

I’d seen Elijah once in passing since middle school. He was graduating from high school. “Clean and sober!” he’d exclaimed. “I’m going on a mission trip!” I never got to talk to him beyond that. Church leaders at Pukas Ministries on Kauai tell me that Elijah is humble and a genuine servant today.

One thing is certain when it comes to those whose lives I have purposed to touch. I plant, often without knowing it. Other people water. God gives the miraculous increase. In the end, Pua and Elijah bloomed like flowers in the field while I wasn’t even looking. Today, they water the seeds of my ever-growing trust and obedience in and to the Lord. Today, they are the Lord’s confirmation that I am indeed walking the path and doing the things that God prepared beforehand, and I should walk in them. Not because He needs me to. But because I get to. Our works are never for our significance but for His glory alone. Given what Cathy and I are about to undertake, all I can say is that “I really and truly needed this!”. It might be the main reason for our trip to Kauai. Pua and Elijah’s growth was never about me. But it was, at the very least, partly for me. I am so very grateful and blessed that God used them to increase my faith, awe, and appreciation of His goodness, omniscience, and power.

As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. The days of man are like grass. He grows like a flower of the field. When the wind blows over it, it is gone. Its place will remember it no more. But the loving-kindness of the Lord is forever and forever on those who fear Him. And what is right with God is given forever to their children’s children,
Psalm 103:13-17

Maranatha

January 15, 2025January 15, 2025 Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study

How for GO

The title is not a typo. It’s Hawaiian pigeon English e.g. “I no more nothing for do!” “Den Go brah!”

Recently our good friend Malia, wife of Kahu (pastor) Jason Kerr of Pukas Ministries on Kauai, asked me to preach on missions. “Pukas” means “holes” in reference to the holes in Jesus’s wrists and feet on the cross.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Mat 28:18-20

“Nations” is Ethnos – “people groups.” It refers to your own neighborhood, not just other countries.

Here’s how for do dat.

And the Lord answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.”
Hab 2:1-2

First, write your detailed sermon. Writing helps to solidify and clarify what the Lord wants to say to and through you. Now save the scripture. Throw the sermon in the trash. Unless, of course, your sermon is a blog. That said, don’t just memorize scripture. Meditate on scripture. Meditate means “to chew” as a cow chews its cud. Chew and digest scripture. Your ability to remember will be a fruit of your meditation.

Compile your Resume

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned
Rom 12:3

Your resume is not a list of your giftings and accomplishments. It is not a declaration of “why I am the best.” Your resume is compiled out of your brokenness. Today, I minister to dependent, neglected children, addicts, and inmates because I was all of these things. I am an expert in how to wreck my own life. I can tell you about how God can unwreck the most unsalvagable of people and use them for His glory.

I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2 Cor 12:9

Even Paul boasted of his weakness, not his education and gifting because,

But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God
1 Cor 1:27- 29

The purpose of any message or sermon is the glorification of God, not the speaker.

Identify Obstacles.

Before the Fall, Adam and Eve’s entire focus was on God. There was no “Thee and Thou,” only “Thou.” Self-centeredness was the first fruit of the Fall in Genesis 3. It is our primary obstacle to everything good.

And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
Genesis 3:10-11

Fast forward, Jesus gives the solution and first criteria for becoming His disciple.

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
Mat 16:24

Deny is 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.

In my opinion, selfishness, and self-centeredness are the root of almost every mental and emotional malady. Selfishness is more for me at the expense of everyone else. Self-centeredness can be everything about me for the benefit of everyone else. Your “GO” message glorifies God or it is worthless deception.

Take the pressure off.

Paul addresses the issue of comparison in 2 Corinthians 10.

But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.
2 Cor 10:12

Those who insist on praising, promoting, and thereby glorifying the messenger instead of the source are contributing to the future fall of the messenger. Hence Paul writes,

What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?
1 Cor 4:7

One plants, one waters. Those who plant and water are the same. They are nothing. Only God gives the increase 1 Cor 3:5-9

Prepare for Go.

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

I have written and spoken endlessly about the biblical path of transformation the purpose of which is that that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. We are commanded to test everything especially any message that declares “THUS SAITH THE LORD!”

Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.
1 Thessalonians 5:19-22

We test everything by the Word of God, which is our compass, our lens, and the mirror through which we view ourselves, our lives, and the world in which we so temporarily reside. We cannot hope to do so until we have surrendered our entire lives and beings to the God who created and sustains us.

The next step is to remain in a constant state of delight in the Lord.

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4

Giving you the desires of your heart does not simply mean giving you what YOU want. It means He makes His desires YOUR desires. We align our mind, will, and emotions, with His such that His desire becomes your desire. This is the next step in “deny self“.

“Deny self” is condensed and summarized in Proverbs 3.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.
Prov 3:5-8

Only when you walkout Proverbs 3:5-8 in daily life will you be ready “for Go”.

Identify your lane.

But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you.
2 Cor 10:13

Your lane or The area of influence God assigned to you correlates with your resume. I can confidently boast about being a juvenile delinquent, an addict, and a prison inmate. I can boast of my knowledge of how not to live. I can testify of the blessings that come with surrender to Jesus. My gifts, e.g., counseling, writing, and teaching, are not a product of the almighty “I”. I am the guy whose Special Ed reading teacher declared him “the stupidest boy I ever met!”. My gifts were given by God. Any scripture I recite or expound upon is a product of Holy Spirit bringing it to remembrance because I delighted myself in Him and acknowledged Him in all my ways. Everyone in Christ has a resume and corresponding gift, and can do the same.

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
Rom 12:4-8

1 Corinthians 12:8-10 mentions wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, speaking in tongues, and interpretation of tongues.

Que Rompe tu Corazon? – What Breaks Your Heart? Psalm 37:4. How often does the church sing, “break my heart for what breaks yours.” If we pay attention, the people group to which God is calling us is probably the one that breaks our hearts. It could be those in a third-world nation. It could be the family next door. It might be your child. One thing is certain. If you follow the aforementioned steps, you will know for certain. He will confirm it with His peace.

JUMP!

As my high-school soccer goalie coach, Fuji, taught me, “Pay attention. When you see your opponent coming down the field with the ball; watch. When his foot goes backward in preparation to kick the ball, then jump. It’s easier to change direction when you are already moving than it is to get moving and then change direction. Now get the ball!” The same formula applies to missions.

Now GO!

Maranatha

November 20, 2024December 12, 2024 Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study

The Depths of Romans 11

God’s Ultimate Plan

Romans 11 is one of the most important eschatological passages in all of scripture. Eschatology is the study of the end times. One’s understanding of scripture, identity, and worldview, along with any impetus toward ministry, is ultimately driven by our view of the end. For example, those holding to a pretribulation rapture view may be provoked to evangelize but they are unlikely to be driven to prepare to endure to the end. Mat 24:13 The expectation is an escape from suffering. Those with a Postmillennial view or what some call Victorious Eschatolgy work frantically to transform society according to some version of The Seven Mountains Mandate in preparation for Jesus’s return. The expectation is increasing influence and prosperity for the Body of Christ. On the other hand, those with a post-tribulation view of the Harpazo, 1 Thess 4:17 will hear the

Call for the endurance and faith of the saints.
Rev 13:10

The expectation is that we will endure persecution and suffering. Things will get harder before the perfect comes. One thing is certain. Our view of the end times will become more or less coherent as time goes on.

As Bereans, we endeavor to follow the method of the earliest church fathers like Polycarp who was discipled by John. Hence, we assume the most literal interpretation of scripture leads to truth. We allow scripture to interpret scripture instead of our imagination. We apply the laws of coherence and noncontradiction and assume that Jesus meant exactly what He said in the Olivet Discourse.

Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Mathew 24:29-31

What is the ultimate purpose of the call to endurance and faith? I contend that it is the same purpose given by Paul in Ephesians 1:3-10 and Romans 11.

Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. In as much then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them.
Romans 11:13-14

Many gentile Christians, whom Paul describes as wild olive branches, errantly view themselves as superior to the cultivated ones (The chosen Jews) because the Jews rejected their savior and demanded His crucifixion. Some believe the church has replaced the Jews. But the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable. Rom 11:29 Paul makes clear that we Gentiles would never have had the opportunity to be saved were it not for the transgression of His chosen people. Hence we are warned

do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.
Romans 11:18

Some Historical Background

The geographical nation of Israel begins In approximately 1250 BC at the end of the 40-year Jewish Exodus from Egypt when Joshua took the nation of Israel across the Jordan River into the promised land. Joshua 1-24 At that time it was occupied by Canaanites, the descendants of Cain who murdered Able. Genesis 4 Wars and turmoil continued as the Israelites gradually gained more control over the land. Ezekiel 48 explains that the total area God gave Abraham includes Lebanon, part of Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia.

The nation of Israel has yet to occupy all of it.

The Israelites’ history has been an ongoing and repeated cycle of receiving a blessing from God, followed by disobedience and entitlement, resulting in God’s discipline. God’s discipline produced repentance, which led to restoration, and renewed blessing. The ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise to the Jewish people is not based upon their being better than the rest of the world. Isaiah 64:6, Romans 3:1-20 Rather as we are learning in our study of Romans chapters nine through eleven, it is based on the irrevocable calling of God and His purpose of election.

God chose Jacob over Esau

though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls
Romans 9:11

Interestingly, Muslims today refer to Jesus as Esau. At the end of the day we must keep in mind that God does what He does, and chooses whom He chooses based on who He is, not who we are.

Fast forward…

Jesus was born and rejected by a majority of His people, the Jews. He was crucified, and resurrected, thereby conquering sin and death. The Gospel of Salvation was fulfilled. This is the foundation, not the completion of God’s redemptive plan. (See all four Gospels). Jesus ascends to the Father, the Holy Spirit is given and the Christian church is born. Acts 1-2.

The Origins of Palestine

The name Palestine is derived from Roman Emperor Hadrian changing the name of Judea to Syria-Palestinia following the 132-135 AD Bar Kokhba revolt. Simon Barcoba was a Jewish Zealot, a leader in a political movement that attempted to overthrow the Roman rule over Israel and make Israel great again. After Bar Koba was defeated, Hadrian wanted to eliminate any trace of a Jewish presence in Judah. The geographical area known as Gaza, Palestine today is the original home of the Philistines. The first mention of the Philistines is found in Genesis 20 in 1897 BC. Abimelech was king of Gerar in the plain of Philistia.

The first battle between the nation of Israel and the Philistines is mentioned in Judges 3:31 and occurred sometime between 1400 and 1000 BC. Joshua conquered Jerricho Judges 6 in 1405 BC and began taking the land that became the nation of Israel. The nation of Israel continued until 70 AD when the Roman Emperor Titus sacked Jerusalem, the 2nd Jewish Temple was destroyed and the Jewish people were dispersed around the globe as Jesus prophesied in Mathew 24:2.

Israel did not exist as a nation again until “The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel” by the UN on May 14, 1948. This was prophetically alluded to by Jesus in Mathew 24:32-33. The people displaced by the UN charter in 1948 are contemporary Palestinians. These are a melting pot of Arabic people, and Roma (gypsies).

In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea. He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. Isaiah 11:1-12

The current geographical boundaries that included Israeli control of Jerusalem were established during the Six-Day War, June 5-10, 1967.

Muslims believe Israel and especially Jerusalem belong to the descendants of Ishmael. If you are Jewish or Christian, then there is no disputing that the land of Israel is Jacob, over whom Jesus reigns. It belongs to God’s chosen people, the Jews, into whom we Christians are grafted. Of course, many Jews and some Christians, do not realize this…

yet…

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Romans 11:17-18

As for Hamas and the rest of Ishmael’s descendants, they have never validated the existence of Israel, and in their own words, they never will.

There is an ever-growing pressure in the world to align with Esau and Ishmael against Jacob and Issac. Therefore, all Christians should carefully read and understand Romans chapter 11 regarding God’s plan for Israel and Israel’s relationship with the church. Or should I say the church’s relationship with Israel? As I will show, it includes a dire warning concerning God’s judgment at the end of the age.

Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree. Romans 11:22-23

The people known as Hamas today are, in fact, Nazis and are supported by those who have sought the eradication of the Jewish people since Hamann in the book of Esther Chapter 3. Both Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood have the same roots.

What should we do?

We must destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God 2 Cor 10:5-6 We must take captive any thought that would dare turn anything in God’s word into a pejorative. Zionism is once again becoming a pejorative. Zion has everything to do with both Judaism and Christianity. Zion was first mentioned when David captured Mount Zion 2 Samuel 5:7 in the 10th century BC. Zion is the City of David from which Jews know their Messiah will rule. Christians already know that the Messiah is Jesus. Mount Zion is Mount Moriah, where Abraham offered Issac, and God provided a sacrifice in a foreshadowing of Jesus. Mount Zion is the site of the 1st-century Jewish Temple. Today it is the site of the Alasque mosque commonly known as the Dome of the Rock. It is the most contentious piece of real estate in the world over which and upon which the most significant end times events will play out.

There is a lot of left-leaning and supersessionist propaganda that has changed the definition of Zionist to mean secular and political Jews who want to dominate the world. True Zionists are those who rejoice that Jesus will eventually rule from Zion. One thing is certain. At some future point, Jesus will descend upon the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem to set up His millennial Kingdom. Zechariah 14, Revelation 20. This is also declared in Psalm 2 written in 1044 BC.

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” I will tell of the decree… Psalm 2:1-7

So where are we on the time line?

For starters, it looks like what Zephaniah prophesied in 620 BC is taking place in Gaza now.

For Gaza shall be deserted, and Ashkelon shall become a desolation; Ashdod’s people shall be driven out at noon, and Ekron shall be uprooted. Woe to you inhabitants of the seacoast, you nation of the Cherethites! The word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines; and I will destroy you until no inhabitant is left. Zeph 2:4-5

If that is the case then Islamists, Antisemites, and confused supersessionists can take a deep breath. Contemporary political Israel is not the same Israel from which Jesus will reign. Those in Israel and all other nations (people groups) who continue to reject Jesus as savior are not off the hook. If my interpretation of scripture is correct, God’s judgment falls on them next.

Or should I say, “falls on us”?

“Therefore wait for me,” declares the Lord,
“for the day when I rise up to seize the prey.
For my decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out upon them my indignation, all my burning anger;
for in the fire of my jealousy, all the earth shall be consumed.”
Zephaniah 3:8

My exegetical analysis of scripture leads me to the Ezekiel 38-39 war. Barring a rise in American antisemitism that turns the USA from Israel entirely, it seems to me that NATO must become so tied up with its own crises e.g. wars, that it is unable or unwìlling to come to Israel’s aid.

God began returning the Jews to Israel in 1948 in fulfillment of His promise declared in Ezekiel 36. Not because Israel deserved it. They did not. God did it for the sake of His Holy name.

Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came.
Ezekiel 36:22

The valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37 is none other than the restored Nation of Israel that we see today.

Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”
Ezekiel 37:11-14

Still, Israel is anything but righteous. Hence, we see the greatest chastisement of the Jewish people coming in Ezekiel 38. The map above shows the nations or elements from within nations that will descend upon Israel.

“Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and say to Gog, Thus says the Lord God: On that day when my people Israel are dwelling securely, will you not know it? You will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army. You will come up against my people Israel, like a cloud covering the land. In the latter days I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.
Ezekiel 38:14-16

Yet Israel will prevail. Not because of their army or the Iron Dome, etc., but because God will intervene on Israel’s behalf with an earthquake, torrential rains, fire and sulfur…

So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
Ezekiel 38:23

Having observed the shifting Arab geopolitical alignments since the AL Aqsa Flood on October 7th, 2023. One thing seems certain: those who believe righteousness is rooted in Esau, not Jacob and Ishmael, not Issac, will never back down. Those who hold the reverse to be true will also never back down. Neither side is correct regarding righteousness apart from Jesus. Hence these wars that were foreknown rather than caused by God must take place because they are the trajectory of original sin that will only be rectified by surrender to Christ Jesus.

I continue to watch the lead-up to Ezekiel 38 in real time as Israel continues to prepare for an all-out war with Iran. Meanwhile, the entire Arab world just united over Palestine on November 11th in a Resolution of the Extraordinary Arab and Islamic Summit, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

On November 11, an urgent Arab-Islamic summit was held in Riyadh, addressing the issue of Palestine. This was an extremely significant event. Noteworthy was the simultaneous participation of Assad and Erdogan, a convergence that would have been impossible until recently. Additionally, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke not only about Palestine but also about the need to support Iran and Hezbollah — a sensational shift, as Saudi Arabia and Iran have traditionally been considered adversaries. The same applies to Hezbollah...Muslims can only unite through a common war against a common enemy.
It is at the doorstep.
Alexander Dugin

Among other things, this conglomeration of Arab / Islamist states that includes every territory named in Ezekiel 38 and more, agreed that Jerusalem, what Islamists call East Al-Quds, is the Palestinian capital.

Recently Turkey, who is a NATO member, severed all diplomatic ties with Israel. Previous to that Russia and Iran signed a mutual defense treaty. Does this mean the prophesied conflict is imminent? Not necessarily.

We need a catalyst that kicks the whole thing off.

An oracle concerning Damascus.Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city
and will become a heap of ruins.
Isaiah 17:1

Damascus, Syria, is the oldest, most consistently populated city on earth. It has never been destroyed. For quite some time, I have felt that the fulfillment of this prophecy would be the straw that breaks the proverbial camel’s back and unleashes the fury of the Arab world against Israel. Again, this is my interpretation of scripture. I am a Watchman, not a prophet. Recently, Israel said, that they are going to deal with Syria when they finish with Hezbollah. Previously Damascus and Aleppo, Syria, were the primary venues through which Iran supplied its proxies with weapons. Now Assad’s pro-Shia government in Syria has been overthrown by Sunni Al Queda and ISIS. Some are breathing a sigh of relief. However, these Western and Turkish-backed rebels are claiming they will take Al Quds.

Stay tuned…

After God, not Israel, subdues Israel’s Ezekiel 38 assailants; I will be looking for a man or an entity of peace to come on the scene, resulting in the return of the Jewish worship on Mount Moriah, including the restoration of daily sacrifice. The contemporary Sanhedrin had a portable altar ready when we were in Israel in 2018. I am told they now have a tabernacle ready to be assembled within days. That said,

While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
1 Thess 5:3

At some point after that the daily sacrifice will be taken away and the abomination that causes desolation will be set up. Mat 24:15, Dan 12:11 This will be followed by 3.5 years or 1290 days or 42 months Revelation 13:5 of tribulation.

For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be
Mat 24:21

The great tribulation is the wrath of the dragon who knows his time is short Rev 12:12, not the wrath of God. I am noting this because pretribulation rapture proponents quote 1 Thess 5:9 God has not destined us for wrath, as proof that the Church will not be here. While I will be happy if I am wrong, I believe the church will be here and God will preserve it as he preserved Israel in the wilderness during Exodus.

And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
Revelation 12:6

Jesus (the son of man) will return the way he left Acts 1:9-11, and was prophesied in Dan 7:13-14, and finally confirmed by The Son of Man Himself in Mat 24:29-31. No one knows the day or the hour, but we do know the season. It will mark the fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets followed by the Feast of Atonement and The Feast of Tabernacles.

The true purpose of God’s plan is to reconcile all the children of Abraham. It is spelled out in verses like Zephania 3:9-20, Isaiah 19:16-24 and Romans 11. So often man makes divisions that God does not see. Can we fully comprehend God’s plan in the context of our limited human cognition? Probably not. Hence Isaiah 55:8-9, and Paul’s similar conclusion to Romans 11.

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
“For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
“Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
Romans 11:33-36

But don’t take my word for it. I’m just a guy with a Bible. Be a Berean and search the scriptures yourself to see if what I am saying is true. Even if I am wrong regarding exactly how end-time events play out God’s ultimate plan of reconciliation is the goal. 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 Passages like Romans 11 foster greater depths of reverence and awe.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Paul’s warning regarding the broken branches which are the Jewish people, is connected to a more dire warning concerning God’s judgment at the end of the age. As you may know, Mathew 24-25, the Olivet Discourse, contains an outline regarding events leading up to the end of the age and Jesus’ return. Verses 3-31 tell us in near bullet point form what we will see taking place and what may happen to us if we are alive at the time. Verses 32-52 are allegorical descriptions of what those days will be like. Mathew 25 contains instructions on how believers should respond. Mat 25:31-46 is the final judgment marked by the all-familiar parable of the sheep and the goats. Verse 40 is the most oft-quoted.

And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

While Jesus loves the poor and downtrodden, the least of His brothers is not the starving child in a third-world dump. In fact, He said these are the greatest. Mat 18:1-5. Consider that Jesus was a Jewish Messiah who came first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. The least of Jesus’ brethren when He spoke to His Jewsish disciples, were the Jews who rejected Him and were about to have him tortured and crucified. Given the legal right under a Sanhedrin their descendants would persecute and kill His followers today. Hence Paul wrote,

As regards the gospel, they (The Jews) are enemies of the gospel for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
Rom 11:28-29

Be careful. Arrogance toward the broken branches, a.k.a. “Zionists” could result in your hearing,

‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. May 25:41

Righteousness will only be found in Jesus. A righteous government and society will not exist until He returns to rule from Mount Zion.

So 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

Maranatha

October 21, 2024October 21, 2024 Brian and Cathy Gray Red Pill Diaries, Tennessee

Redemption in Appalachia

We are playing a very small role in redemptive disaster relief efforts in East Tennessee and Western NC. At this point, our focus has been on partnering with other ministries to get much-needed supplies into underserved areas.

Temperatures are dropping fast in Appalachia and the acute risk of hyperthermia for people rendered homeless by Helene is real. Yesterday, we partnered with Harvest Time Encounters and three other ministries to deliver a twenty-foot Uhaul truck full of cold weather supplies to Banner Elk, NC, a community with a large and now homeless Hispanic migrant population numbering at least one hundred men and women and children. If that last statement spikes your blood pressure,

Bear with me…

I realize there is a narrative stating that FEMA isn’t helping in Helene relief efforts because all the money has been spent on illegal migrants. If so, there are profound legal and constitutional issues at stake. However, the word on the ground here is that these people do not qualify for government assistance, including FEMA. As for us, we are Christians. God’s kingdom is not of this world. John 18:36 We are in the world but not of it. John 17:16 In the meantime, we have a mandate from God regarding the sojourner.

He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 10:18-19

Having served as missionaries in Honduras and become homeless due to a landslide, see Making Sense of Calamity, we can empathize with the sojourner. We can also assure you that the migrants that so many Americans are encouraged to despise are just as much or more victims of the current political situation as American citizens in the USA. Beginning in 2020, Latin American news, especially CNN, encouraged people to venture across the border with the assurance that they would be welcomed with an abundance of opportunities to improve their way of life. Were they used as political pawns? Perhaps. In any case, the caravans began. Too often, these people are framed as terrorists and criminals. In truth, there are terrorists and criminals in every people group. One sure way to turn regular hard-working people into so-called “terrorists” is to marginalize and persecute them. That’s what happened to Honduran and Salvadoran migrants during the late 1980’s and early 90’s the fruit of which was and is Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13.

Most of these people simply want to make ten dollars per hour instead of ten dollars per day.

In any case, human beings created in the image of God are currently at risk for freezing to death in Appalachia. Let me ask you a question.

What would Jesus have us do?

“America is God’s country!” you say. True. So is the rest of His creation.

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

Media Noise

Unfortunately, just as nature abhors a vacuum, the American mind abhors an unanswered question. Many today can not cope with the tension of not knowing. Hence any answer may be regarded as better than none. As is the case in much of the USA, rumors and conspiracies abound in Appalachia. That’s not to say that none are valid. As one senator whose name escapes me recently said, “We need new conspiracy theories because all of the old ones have already come true.” Even so, we have yet to encounter any militia, looters, or FEMA. All we’ve seen are compassionate, hard-working people representing exactly what America is supposed to be.

Banner Elk

“It takes a village”

is an understatement when it comes to disaster relief. We had all sorts of skilled and talented people who could have planned and built a city. Leon and Paula from Harvest Time Encounters initially organized the trip. Then Leon had to go to Uganda and realized he couldn’t make it back from NC in the required time frame. They knew we’d already been making runs to NC and they asked us to make the trip for them. Of course we said,

“Yes!”

We also had Musy and Laura. There are a lot of things I could say about these two. But suffice it to say that they are organizational “Git-er done” pros.

Laura is in the middle next to us, and Musy is to her left.

We had the entire warehouse staff at two distribution centers helping as well.

That being said, anyone who has been on the mission field, knows that chaos always abounds. Some people blame the devil.

I think it’s a testimony of God’s glory and sovereignty in the context of human foolishness and frailty.

It took all of the veteran missionaries and administrative experts two full days to coordinate gather, load, and transport sleeping bags, tents, heaters, propane, gasoline, generators, winter clothing, and food for people camping in freezing weather with none of the above. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Everyone one with overseas missions experience kept asking,

“why is this so hard to do in America?”

We were ready to go when Elizabeth, our contact person on the ground in Banner Elk said the guy who owned the hangar where she was receiving donations needed his hangar back. She could not receive any more donations until she found a new location. The donation distribution center refused to load us up without a verified contact person and delivery location. It looked like the trip was a bust. Then Musy remembered an old friend and learned he is now pastoring in Western North Carolina. As it turned out, he is in Boone, NC, just outside Banner Elk. She called him and he told her about a displaced Hispanic community at risk of freezing to death. He was “headed there now with peanut butter sandwiches”. Little did we know he was also meeting with a lady named Sherry in Banner Elk.

Scott and Becky Lycan Antioch Community Church

The next day we started afresh with Pastor Scott as a new contact. Only now, I guess we looked pretty flaky. Those in charge at the distribution center seemed reluctant to take us seriously. So we left and went to another center. Just as the second center was getting ready to supply us, the first center called back, apologized, and said they were “ready to load us up”. As we learned later, the request we had been trying to fill the entire time was originally from the same Sherry in Banner Elk. It had come in three days earlier and evidently had been misplaced. So, we returned to the first center while Musy and Laura stayed behind to fill their pickup truck with as many relevant supplies as they could get. The plan was to add it to our Uhaul load.

“I doubt they will fill our truck. We’ll have room for what you can get.” I told them.

Boy, was I wrong! The first center had pallets of supplies ready to pack our truck to the proverbial gills. They had some of every item requested. We’d gone from severe miscommunication and not having enough stuff to having too much stuff to fit in our truck. That’s when Pastor Bill showed up.

“I can take a load in my truck.” He said.

Bill had no agenda of his own that day. In fact he’d just finished asking the Lord what he was supposed to do when he laid eyes on us and overheard my frustration.

Sometimes we just need to abide in Prov 3:5-8 and get out of God’s way.

We did. God directed our path and did what the expert humans could not. That said, anyone can load a truck and drive it somewhere. We are not heroes.

Meet the heroes.

Pastor Scott was tied up when we arrived in Banner Elk. So he sent two fire chiefs from Fort Worth, Texas. Bruce (left), is retired. Jeff is still active. Bruce told me Jeff is one of the top disaster response experts in the country. They’d been chainsawing all day and we could tell they were exhausted when we met up at four in the afternoon. The two men attend the same church in Texas and are in Banner Elk, volunteering for another week.

They were there to help us unload.

There was lots of emotion when we arrived. Some were thanking Jesus for the volume of supplies that we brought. Others were freaking out because they didn’t know where to put it. Everyone began brainstorming. Or should I say “storming”? We unloaded in one area then reloaded and unloaded…. That’s when Jeff said,

“Stop!”

“I think there might be a warehouse we can use.”

He consulted the General in charge. For the record, she’s not really a General. But she is a veteran.

Sherry Trice

Sherry Trice is the quintessential Appalachian woman and resident of Banner Elk. Sweet as a kitten or a Pit Bull depending on who she is addressing, she comes from a long line of Appalachians with “ministries” of serving. She said that when she first looked out upon the resulting devastation caused by Helene, she distinctly heard,

“You serve here.”

I’m not sure if she knew who was talking, but she obeyed. She is coordinating much, if not most, of the relief efforts in Banner Elk. “If we have the money and resources, people with time to spare can get it done,” she said. If there is one thing that Appalachian’s embody, it is a spirit of mental toughness, endurance, and selflessness. These are the original “Git-er done!” people. Many who have lost everything are more concerned with their neighbors than they are with themselves. “Don’t worry about me. Give it to someone who needs it more.” is a common response. Sherry says she wants nothing to do with the church, she only wants the church people. We get it. I met Jesus at the barrel of a shotgun over two decades ago. I’ve been working out my theological errors ever since. As we were leaving, Sherry declared more than asked, “You’re coming back next week!” “Maybe,” I replied. “A man makes his plans, but the Lord directs his steps.” Sherry immediately looked up to the sky and proclaimed,

“I need them to come back next week!”

Cathy and I really like this lady.

Lord willing we’ll be back.

There was a fair amount of temptation to become offended along the way. We could debate who to blame, in the spiritual and the natural realms ad infinitum. I asked Jeff why things get so crazy and disorganized when Christians respond to dire needs. “It’s because everyone just jumps in and starts doing.”, he replied. This morning in our devotions Cathy and I discussed how Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing. We suspect that God is teaching us all something about that. He’s teaching us a lot of things. The impetus and urgency that drove this trip was a rumor that fifteen people had died of hyperthermia in Banner Elk. It went viral on social media. The local news debunked it. No one we met in Banner Elk said otherwise. Still, the risk of freezing to death is increasingly real. At the end of the day, God causes all things to work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. Our job is to love God. If it works out, it’s because He did it. Period! He did. Another important point is that while none of us desires the pressure that is tribulation, sometimes tribulation is required if redemption is to be found within the only hope that does not disappoint. Rom 5:3-5 Quite often redemption involves the stripping that Cathy and I so often talk about.

Finally, Cathy repeatedly heard the word “contingency” the other night and during her morning prayer time.

Continigency
provision for an unforeseen event or circumstance which is possible but cannot be predicted with certainty.
Oxford Dictionary

Maybe ponder that.

Anyway, now that you know the backstory, here’s a two-minute snippet that makes two days of abject chaos and confusion look smooth and easy. Pay special attention to the song as it describes the true spirit and disposition of everyone involved.

MARANATHA!

October 14, 2024October 14, 2024 Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study

Getting Through the Gate

As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.
Rom 9:13

Romans 9 is key to the formation of the doctrine of predestination espoused by John Calvin in 1536. Arminianism is the response to Calvin’s doctrine of predestination framed by Jacob Arminius in 1610. The primary difference between the two is in their Soteriology. Soteriology is the study of the doctrine of Salvation.

Calvin said that man has no role or power in choosing to be saved. God chooses whom He will choose and rejects whom He will reject. The chosen are the elect and can not resist salvation once they hear the gospel. Once they are saved they are always saved.

Arminius said that man has free will and the power to decide whether or not He is saved. God desires that all men be saved 1 Tim 2:4 God has foreknowledge of who will be saved. But He does not force anyone to come to Him against their will. Free will reigns supreme, therefore man can accept the gift of salvation and then later reject it.

Now, you might say, and rightly so, that Calvin and Arminius are not in the Bible. Yet every Christian denomination that does not represent outright heresy leans towards Calvinismism or Arminianism – predestination or free will.

Take a moment and consider which way you instinctively lean. How did you come to know Jesus? Did you choose Him or did He choose you? What made you believe the gospel? Did someone argue you into it? Or did something just seem to click into place and you suddenly believed? Before you answer consider this. Suppose every one of your thoughts, decisions and actions were predetermined by God.

How would you know?

What does scripture say?

Paul begins Romans 9 with a lamentation. He says he wished he were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of his brothers, to whom belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises, the patriarchs. It was from them that Jesus came. It may be worthy to note, especially here, that accursed is the same word Paul used in Galatians 1:8-9 regarding anyone preaching a different gospel than the one they have heard. Accursed means going to hell. This lends greater weight to his admonition not to go beyond what is written. 1 Cor 4:6. The word of God is not something to toy with or take lightly as so many charasmatics do.

Paul is grieving that so many of his Jewish brothers who seemingly should be saved are not saved. He might have wished he could go to hell in thier place. Yet his wishing had no effect.

Think about that.

But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac,
Romans 9:6-10

Paul continues

though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
Romans 9:11-13

God told Jeremiah,“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5 God knew Jeremiah and by extension us before we were in the womb. Some might wonder, albeit philosophically; did Jacob and Esau act in ways before they were born that predetermined their status before the womb? Did we? Paul clearly answers that it was not because of works but because of him who calls she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

It seems that Calvin might have a point.

All that being said, it occurs to me that while God knew them, the Bible does not say that Jeremiah, Jacob, and Esau knew God. Could it be that our only purpose on earth is to know God? If so then it follows that the entire work of God is to believe in the one He has sent. John 6:29 Thats it! Solomon who wrote the ultimate “been there, had that, done that” book of Ecclesiasties concluded the same.

Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment,
Including every secret thing,
Whether good or evil.
Ecclesiasties 12:14

Of course we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Eph 2:10. Arminians might imagine God needs our works to complete His plan. Calvinists would say He does not. We simply have the privilege of coming along for the ride. Speaking of Ephesians 2, exactly how much free will are dead people able to exert?

Paul continues to affirm the doctrine of predestination by quoting Exodus 33:19 and Exodus 9:16. A common argument among Arminians is that God only hardened Pharaoh’s heart after Pharoah first chose to harden it himself. Yet God told Moses beforehand that He would harden it so that Pharaoh would not let the people go. Exodus 4:21 Still, an argument previously put forth by me is that the “hardening” was more akin to a “giving up” or “giving over” to sin as described in Romans 1:24-28. If we insist on sinning, God allows us to go the way we desire. That may be true in the context of Romans 1. As it turns out I was wrong. The hardening – chazaq– of Pharaoh’s heart in Exodus 4 means exactly that. God, not Pharaoh, chose to harden Pharaoh’s heart because that is the prerogative of a Sovereign, omniscient, and omnipotent God. Argue with the Potter if you will.

But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?”
Romans 9:20

So many today presume to know and declare the plan purposes of God. Some do it propheticly. Others make philosophical assertions. Meanwhile, His word declares.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.
Ecc 3:11

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your waysand my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9

God doesn’t want us to know what He is doing and why. He wants us to know Him.

Of course, Paul is not debating Calvin versus Arminius here. He is laying a foundation for explaining the relationship between Israel and the gentile church in the context of His perfect sovereign will. Israel is not Israel because they were superior. Israel is Israel because God, in His sovereignty, chose Jacob to become Israel before he was in the womb. Gen 32 The same principle is applied to the gentile church. Paul paraphrases the prophetic declaration from Hosea 2:23

“Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’
and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’”
“And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”
Romans 9:25-26

Hosea was told to marry and remain faithful to a prostitute who remained a prostitute. The prostitute represents Israel, and as we will see, us, the church.

Paul concludes with a prophetic reference to about Jesus in Isaiah 8 and Isaiah 28:16.

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
Romans 9:33

As I said, I’ve always tended toward Arminianism. I preached the gospel to sell Jesus. I did good works in hope that people would see Jesus in me and “accept Him.” Anyone will believe if I can just make a good enough case – offer an apologetic defense that is solid enough. Aside from illustrating the futility of ideas that counter biblical claims, I don’t think that debate has ever worked. Not even once. Roland Baker who is a Calvinist, recently posted the following.

When I was coming to Christ, I thought I was doing it all myself, and though I sought the Lord earnestly, I had no idea the Lord was seeking me. I do not think the young convert is at first aware of this… One week-night, … the thought struck me, “How did you come to be a Christian?” I sought the Lord. “But how did you come to seek the Lord?” The truth flashed across my mind in a moment – I should not have sought Him unless there had been some previous influence in my mind to make me seek Him.I prayed, thought I, but then I asked myself, How came I to pray?
I was induced to pray by reading the Scriptures. How came I to read the Scriptures? I did read them, but what led me to do so? Then, in a moment, I saw that God was at the bottom of it all, and that He was the Author of my faith, and so the whole doctrine of grace opened up to me, and from that doctrine I have not departed to this day, and I desire to make this my constant confession, “I ascribe my change wholly to God”
-Spurgeon Carry The Light-

If I am honest the same truth applies to me. I didn’t come to Jesus of my own free will. Heck! I was trying my very best to reject Him and die. He saved me despite me. Not because of me. It occurs to me that the driving force behind Arminianism might be the very self that Jesus commands us to deny as a first step in becoming His disciple. Mat 16:24 Here in the charismatic I-dentity culture, we can not fathom that the imagined exaltation of the almighty “I” in His eyes might be the problem instead of the solution it is proported to be. If indeed I am in Christ Jesus, then I am a new creation. 2 Cor 5:17 I am also dead. Col 3:3. Becoming a new creation is not an invitation to shift my focus from Him to my I-dentity. Today, I am more convinced than ever that my sole purpose on earth is to know HIM and deny the little “i”. Less of me. More of HIM is key. I will be eternally grateful to be nothing here on earth if I can simply pass through the gates of heaven into His Holy presence for eternity.

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	Hey! I Wrote A Book… on Warnings About Falsehood
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	Joyce L Young on Truth or Trump II?