I recently saw a Facebook post by Brian Simmons, the author of The Passion Translation, regarding recent and ongoing exposure of Sexual and or Spiritual abuse in the church. On the surface, the post appears rooted in love and compassion. More than a few members of the ministry in which I currently find myself are praising it.
Simmons cites Paul’s approach to rampant sin in the Church of Corinth along with the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3. That approach is
Affirm -Reveal – Invite.
His premise regarding the approach is not inherently false, but it is a false equivalence.
Paul and John are addressing the entire fellowship. Not every participant within these fellowships was guilty or equally guilty of the sins being addressed.
Conversely, the sins being addressed today are exclusively on the part of leadership, which is held to a higher standard than regular congregants. 1 Timothy 3:1-7, James 3:1,1 Thessalonians 5:21-22, and
As for those (Leaders) who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality. Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.
The sins of the leaders being exposed by discernment ministries like Mike Winger are as follows. Lying, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, adultery, indecent exposure, fraud, false prophecy resulting in physical harm, false signs and wonders, false testimony leading to medical harm, turning a blind eye when sin by co-leaders is exposed while frequently ostracizing, maligning, and or silencing whistleblowers with NDAs.
Leaders among whom Brian Simmons is just one are appealing to the emotions of their followers. They petition hearts for grace and mercy upon the predators while at best ignoring their victims.
Deny
Rationalization, Justification, Minimization, and Generalization otherwise known as “criminal thinking errors” are primary tools in denial.
I listened to Kris Vallotton‘s first response to Mike Winger regarding Shawn Boltz. Throughout the video, he employs criminal thinking errors. Among these Generalization and Minimization seem to be his favorites. He never uses Mike Winger’s or Shawn Boltz’s name. However, the timing and issue at hand are clear. Vallotton rationalizes and minimizes Bethel’s failure to address Boltz’s abuse on the basis that their flock is in 72 countries and therefore hard to Shepard. That so many followers are online makes it harder. He generalized that we donโt always know the background of leaders who fall and implied that Boltz and maybe others were operating out of past trauma. This was a rationalization and justification to build a strawman.
Attack
Vallotton continues to build a strawman as he attacks. He accuses people like Mike Winger, of exposing sin for revenue-generating “clicks”. For the record, Mike Winger has de-monitized all of his videos exposing sin in leadership. These videos are five or six hours long. Having produced videos myself, the sheer volume of labour involved in this is beyond comprehension. That said, Mike Winger’s motivation is not the issue. Niether are the tone and approach mentioned by Brian Simmons. The issue is the indictment of the named leaders in the context of those they have harmed. The allegations are true or they are not. In the meantime, any other question or supposition is a deflection and diversion from the real issue.
The attack is furthered with gaslighting. The victims are accused of being offended and reminded that forgiveness is a mandate. This is true but in this context, it is another strawman. That we must have mercy and forgive does not negate “doing justly” when a perpetrator is not held accountable and does not repent. Mathew 18:6
Finally, victims are accused of being divisive if they share their experiences with people in their communities and the public at large.
Reverse Victim / Offender
Once the victim is in fear of being in the sins of offense and divisiveness they become the offender. It’s a bit like telling a rape victim that she wouldn’t have been raped if her skirt weren’t so short.
In both cases, Simmons and Vallotton have people responding with compassion for the predators while all but ignoring the fact that the sins of men like Mike Bickle, and Shawn Boltz were known to leadership for decades and were swept under the rug. Bill Johnson knew about Shawn Boltz’s fraudulent prophecies as early as 2016 and yet he praised Boltz’s character while promoting his book in 2023. Vallotton knew Boltz would masturbate in front of interns and send pictures of his penis and full nudes via text. Yes, he apparently confronted him. But Vallotton placed gifting over character and used Solomon and Judas as examples of good ministry done by bad characters. Mike Bickle cited David in his defense. Yes God causes all things to work together for good…Romans 8:28. That said, the moral failings of biblical leaders are there as an example of what not to do. They are not an excuse for the same moral failings on our part.
Things might be different if just one or two people were the problem. However, the issue is systemic. At the end of the day, all of this is about image management to preserve a brand instead of obedience to God through His word. That brand may be framed as a “movement” or a ministry. But it is a brand nonetheless upon which the inflow of millions and millions of dollars and lavish lifestyles depend.
If this is confusing consider the following especially if you have children.
What would you have me do if I walked in on a trusted person in ministry who was masturbating in front of your child? Should, I bless him and affirm all the good he has done, gently explain why God does not approve of his behavior, pray with him, and ask him to stop?
For the record, I would give extreme mercy. In this case, mercy would look like me rendering him unconscious and calling the police instead of hanging a millstone around his neck and casting him into the sea as Jesus recommended.
What would you say if you later learned that the others in church leadership knew about the perpetrator and his recurring behavior for years and did nothing?
Where are the men in the church? Or have all of you been so emasculated that you cannot or will not stand boldly and protect the flock especially women and children?!
While we counsel people who have deconstructed or are on the verge of deconstructing, many are lamenting the exposure of sin by prominent leaders and ministries. Exposure is an affront to the honor culture in which so many Christians have been discipled. Honor is not a bad thing. It is rooted in Paul’s approach to the Great Commission in 1 Corinthians 9:22. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Unfortunately, honor is frequently perverted into a cover-up culture where narcissistic self-proclaimed leaders, teachers, and prophets misappropriate Psalm 105:15.
I think we need to frame any discussion regarding the ongoing exposure in the context of scripture, especially Matthew 7:13-14 lest our own biases and sentiments take us off course.
Leaders must abide by 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and be above reproach.
Above reproach is – Anepรญlฤptos
โข inculpable:–blameless, unrebukeable. not apprehended, that cannot be laid hold of โข that cannot be reprehended, not open to censure, irreproachable.
-Strongs Concordance-
This includes, that “he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.”
James 3:1 tells us that teachers will be judged more strictly.
Conversely, 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 and 1 Timothy 5:20-22 are the opposing guardrails. Test everything. Persistently bad leaders are to be rebuked in the presence of all so others may fear.
The Mathew 18:6 millstone should not be dismissed.
We should keep 1 Peter 4:17 in mind when we consider leaders and ministries that are being exposed as exposure is an aspect of God’s judgment. Judgement should not be confused with mere wrath. God’s judgments are intended to be redemptive. See Jeremiah 29:1-11
The problem as I see it is that these exposed leaders have no fear of God. Not one that I have heard mentions that they have sinned against God. Rather they are concerned with their “movements”.
Ministry has become a contemporary golden calf especially within Charismatic streams.
Too often the victims of these men and their movements are swept under the proverbial rug seemingly as acceptable losses because “God moved.” They minimize, generalize, rationalize, and justify, the actions of those they cover, gaslighting followers who naively and exclusively cling to Philippians 4:8 apart from the rest of scripture.
If we listened to the victims we would note the recurring motif of Mathew 23:13. We donโt because too many have mistaken dopamine for the manifest presence of God. Confronting sin in pursuit of holiness disrupts dopamine like Narcan blocks an opiate. Thousands of young people have deconstructed and now reject the gospel entirely because these leaders ignored Galatians 1:8-9.
That said,
“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faithโmore precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fireโmay be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
God is preparing His Bride. He is burning off the dross. Gold itself does not burn. Like any good goldsmith, God is with us while we are in the fire. He will know the impurities are gone when He sees his own reflection. At that point He will have a bride without spot or wrinkle. Ephesians 5:25-27.
Now is the time more than ever to search the scriptures to see if what we hear and believe is truth or just someone’s elbow. Acts 17:11
One of our goals in studying Acts is to understand and compare the very first church to the church today. Are we the church in Philadelphia, or Laodicea? Rev 3:7-13, Rev 3:14-22 Philadelphia is the true church. Laodicea is the worldly church. False equivalency is one path into worldliness that produces a Laodicean church.
โโI know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, โI am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing,โ not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
A False Equivalency is a logical fallacy where two things are inaccurately framed as being the same based on shared characteristics while ignoring major differences. The easiest example is saying apples and oranges are the same because they are both fruit. False equivalency is a popular tool that politicians and the media employ to manipulate public opinion.
As Acts 6 opens, we see the newly formed New Testament church growing rapidly. The Apostles realized they could not meet all the material needs of the people and also be devoted to prayer and preaching the gospel. So they appointed Stephen and six other men to fulfill the role of what would later be called deacons in 1 Timothy 3:8-13.
Deacon – diรกkonosOne who executes the commands of another, esp. of a master, a servant, attendant, minister. The servant of a king. One who, by virtue of the office assigned to him by the church, cares for the poor and has charge of and distributes the money collected for their use. A waiter, one who serves food and drink.
– Strongs Concordance-
Stephen was full of grace and power, doing great wonders and signs among the people. He was both anointed and brilliant. Surely anyone with the same ability to articulate truth so accurately and concisely today would have a celebrity platform and a large following.
Yet Stephen was chosen to wait tables.
“The Freedmen” (Libertines KJV) who contended with Stephen were former slaves from various regions of North Africa, Egypt, and Asia. They could not coherently rebut Stephen’s exegetical declarations. So they lied and devised a plan to turn public opinion against him. They accused him of blasphemy against Moses and God.
But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. Then they secretly instigated men who said, โWe have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.โ And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, and they set up false witnesses who said, โThis man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.โ
Falsehood can never refute truth. It can only seek to silence the vessel through which it comes. Most recently, we’ve seen this in character assassination, cancel culture, riots, and, literal assassination. Are the human vessels through whom truth comes ever perfect themselves? Certainly not! That doesn’t make the truth they proclaim any less true. Paul clarified this in Romans. It remains true for all of us today.
What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar…
Simply put, if I proclaim Jesus is Lord of all creation one day and murder my neighbor the next, Jesus is still Lord. A common false equivalency embraced by unbelievers today would be to reject Jesus because one who had proclaimed Jesus then committed murder. Christians are prone to the same error, e.g., a transsexual committed a mass shooting in Tennessee, therefore all transsexuals are mass murderers. In both cases, the implied, albeit unconscious, false equivalency is that eliminating Christians and transsexuals will eliminate murder.
Many outside conservative Christian circles are critical of Charlie Kirk’s politics and economic philosophy. The false equivalency begins with their equating his political views with his character. I never met the man. And while I may disagree with his unbiblical view of history, he was, as far as I know, a man of integrity. I can hear the patriot rebuttal as I write. Whoa Brian! What do you mean by “unbiblical view of history”?!
Thanks for asking.
Like many politically conservative Christians, Charlie Kirk believed that America is a Christian nation because its founders were Christian and founded on Biblical principles. This is in itself a false equivalency. For example, Thomas Jefferson, who stated that our form of government is only fit for a moral and religious people, also used a razor blade to cut out every reference to the supernatural from his Bible. Benjamin Franklin was a Deist. The entire architecture and landscape of Washington DC is rooted in Freemasonry. While the Biblical principles injected into our Constitution and Juris Prudence remain true, it does not make the USA righteous or Christian any more than the Freemason architecture in Washington DC makes America Freemason.
The history of every nation is always a story of conflict between so-called good and evil according to human standards gleaned from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Genesis 3 When the gunfire ceases and the smoke of battle clears, the winner is declared righteous. History is subsequently written and taught to a respective nation’s populace from the perspective of the winner.
Paul addresses the biblical example of this false equivalency in his dissertation regarding the moral state of mankind. He addresses the Jews who believed they were righteous by birth. Romans 1-3 lays the foundation for the case that apart from Jesus, both Jews and Gentiles are exactly the same.
What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks (Gentiles) are under sin, as it is written: โNone is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.โ โTheir throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.โ โThe venom of asps is under their lips.โ โTheir mouth is full of curses and bitterness.โ โTheir feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.โ โThere is no fear of God before their eyes.โ
Charlie Kirk used scripture to support his political activism. The scripture he shared remains true as ever. But scripture can not sanctify politics any more than it can sanctify sin. Scripture counters sin by replacing the lie with truth.
Choose your preferred media narratives surrounding the death of Charlie Kirk. At the end of the day, we can not, and probably will never be certain why and who killed him. What we do know is that, like the Jews who killed Stephen, Kirk’s killers could not refute his assertions and concluded the only right choice was to kill him. Whether they were transgender leftists or Israeli Mossad or representatives of an unnamed agenda matters little. They were and are of their father.
You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, โLord Jesus, receive my spirit.โ And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, โLord, do not hold this sin against them.โ And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
The underlying dynamic of the fear of truth remains the same. Truth is truth. Truth is only affirmed and supported by questioning.
Jesus contrasted how truth and those of the truth manifest themselves with those of the father of lies. There is no deviation. It doesn’t matter what church you attend or don’t attend. It doesn’t matter what side of the political aisle you prefer. If murder and mayhem are your solution, then you are of the devil.
So Jesus again said to them, โTruly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.โ
As Christians, we are to proclaim and seek to live according to the gospel and the example Jesus set. That example may include our death. It does not include taking the lives of others. We can only do this by abiding in Jesus.
Stephen is a model of that abiding.
No one seems to know anything about Stephen before Acts 6. That doesn’t matter much because the grace and power with which he was filled came from the same Holy Spirit that filled Peter and all those in the upper room in Acts 2. The same applies to us today. Our scarlet sins are now white as snow. All that matters now is Christ in me, the hope of glory. Col 1:24-29 There is a fine, but very important line between the message of Stephen and that of Charlie Kirk.
Once again, Charlie Kirk debated moral and political issues based on a Christian worldview as defined and supported by scripture. This apologetic approach is only valid in the context of an audience that shares the same worldview underpinned by the same presuppositions regarding moral truth. Kirk argued with those who shared a different worldview and definition of right and wrong. It is pointless to argue against issues like abortion or gay marriage with those who dispute the existence of objective moral law. Apart from God, right and wrong are completely subjective. The definition and value of life are subjective. The definition of a man and a woman is subjective. We must understand that all worldviews are rooted in one or more empirically unprovable presuppositions otherwise known as faith, the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Heb 11:1 Believers understand that faith in the cross of Jesus is the source of our understanding and power. Meanwhile, unbelievers regard this as foolishness. 1 Cor 1:18
If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet.
In Acts chapter 7 Stephen is brought before the High Priest to answer the charge of blasphemy.
And the high priest said, โAre these things so?โ
Stephen replies with the most concise presentation of Israel’s history with God found in scripture. Note that he begins by addressing them with the utmost love and respect.
“Brothers and fathers, hear me.”
Like the rest of the disciples, Stephen’s purpose is not to change political policy but to bring them to repentance and salvation in Jesus Christ. Most of his sermon is a summarization of history. He concludes with quotes from Isaiah 66:1-2, and Exodus 32:9.
โYou stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.โ
Stephen presented the truth to Jewish leaders in the context of their shared history and worldview. It was in this context that he presented the error that they had murdered their long-awaited Messiah. They could have repented. Instead,
Stephen was laser-focused on defending the truth of Jesus and His kingdom that is not of this world. He did not venture into politics, social issues, or economics.
Shouldn’t we do the same?
You’d think the church would get it by now. The same Kingdom versus world dynamic keeps repeating. Jesus was tortured and slain by the Romans. The Jewish leaders and many of their followers consented to the crucifixion of Jesus, as evidenced by the consensus that Barabbas should be spared instead of Jesus. Mat 27:15-26 They lied and framed Jesus as the Zealot revolutionary and threat to Caesar. The error and danger here is to create a false equivalency between the group of lying Jews who chose Barabbas and all Jews then and thereafter.
It is important to always keep in mind that we do not war against flesh and blood. Ephesians 6 Wherever we see human beings operating in accordance with a false equivalency be sure you are witnessing the enemy at work. The devil rallies people into groups like football teams then sits back and watches while they persecute and kill one another. Meanwhile, the path to salvation begins with understanding that no one is right. No person or group, no political party or country is right. Only God is right. We are made right by His grace and the love with which He loves us. Ephesians 2:1-10
It occurs to me as I write that in addition to questioning leftist ideology, Charlie Kirk also began to question the narratives following the October 7th Al Asqa massacre and subsequent decimation of Gaza. He did so based on the same objective moral truth defined in the Bible and the presupposition that Truth is never threatened by questions. Rather it is confirmed. After all, Israel has had evil leaders. Ahab and Jezebel are two well-known examples. I am not saying that Bibi Netanyahu and his government are evil. What I am saying is that Charlie Kirk posed several worthwhile questions that have yet to be answered. The false equivalency drawn by many conservative Christians is that anything and everything Israel does today is inherently good and right in God’s eyes simply because it is Israel. The implication that those currently living in the Holy Land, and its current secular government called Israel, define Biblical Israel in its entirety is another false equivalency. Israel is composed of 12 Tribes – thirteen if you count Joseph, the majority of whom remain dispersed around the globe. This matters because many have asserted that Israel killed Charlie Kirk. Can you imagine the firestorm that would result if a world driven by media narratives rooted in false equivalencies discovered that some Jewish people were behind the death of Charlie Kirk? The world would turn against Jewish people even more and their persecution would escalate. Be careful of false equivalencies, especially those that support unforgiveness in any form.
Lest Satan should get an advantage over us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
We put ourselves at risk anytime we step out of the pure word of God and preach anything other than the gospel of the Kingdom that is not of this world. Another false equivalency is the assumption that Charlie Kirk is a Christian martyr because he was a Christian who shared scripture in support of the Turning Point USA mission. Many are claiming that preaching the gospel was the primary mission of Turning Point. It was not.
Turning Point USA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2012 by Charlie Kirk. The organizationโs mission is to identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government.
The danger here is the further conflation of the gospel of Jesus Christ with Conservative politics. The implied false equivalency is that Jesus is a capitalist and a Republican. Jesus wasn’t a capitalist or a socialist. He is niether Democrat or Republican. He was neither for nor against any earthly “ist” or “ism”.
His only desire was that all men be saved.
Stephen was the first Christian martyr. He set the standard. Countless men and women have been martyred for the same reason, that is preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Christians in places like Nigeria are being martyred as you read. As we will see in the remainder of Acts, the followers of Christ followed Christ. There were no attempts at influencing, let alone changing the political and socio-economic landscape of society.
We are witnessing a gradual progression in the intensity of persecution in Acts. I believe we are witnessing a similar progression in our society today. Now might be the time to ask ourselves,
What hill am I willing to die on?
Stephen was absolutely certain of the Truth he spoke and died for it. Charlie Kirk did the same. Stephen died preaching the gospel. Charlie Kirk died answering a question related to the 2nd Amendment. Like Jesus, Stephen never debated those who would kill him. He simply declared the truth. He loved them like Jesus. Charlie Kirk’s last words were in reference to a false equivalency, namely that most mass shootings are committed by white people. His last statement was, “are you inculding gang violence?” Stephen’s last words mirrored those of Jesus toward the least of His brethren,
Many are calling the recent events surrounding Charlie Kirk a revival. Maybe. Still, I see the risk of our falling into heresy and calling it revival. Once again, I find myself echoing Jeremiah’s words to Hananiah in Jeremiah 28.
โAmen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord make the words that you have prophesied come true…
I suspect the Lord’s answer to those prophets and their followers believing in the greatness of America apart from national repentance and the rejection of the leaven of Herod, the Pharisees, and Sadducees will receive the same response as Hananiah and the false prophets in Jeremiah 13 and Jeremiah 23. Jeremiah lamented in the end, even if he was preserved amidst what came upon Israel.
One thing seems certain. False equivalency is a primary tool of battle in Satan’s kit. That people today tend to feel more than think concerns me. The future looks like tribulation to me. May the Laodicean church in America repent and become Philadelphia. Lord help me to follow the example set by Jesus and Stephen.
Maranatha
The featured photo is one I took of Cathy sitting in the exact spot just outside of Jerusalem where Stephen was stoned.
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 meโฆ
I realize there is a narrative stating that FEMA isnโt 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.ย 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 18:36ย 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.
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: โTruly 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.
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.ย Thatโs 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 weโve seen are compassionate, hard-working people representing exactly what America is supposed to be.
Banner Elk
โIt takes a villageโ
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 weโd already been making runs to NC and they asked us to make the trip for them. Of course we said,
“Yes!”
Leon and Paula
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 Godโs 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.
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 ourย Uhaul load.
โI doubt they will fill our truck. Weโll have roomfor what you can get.โย 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. Weโd 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.
โI can take a load in my truck.โ He said.
Bill had no agenda of his own that day. In fact heโd 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 Godโs 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.
Bruce and Jeff
Pastor Scott was tied up when we arrived in Banner Elk. So he sent two fire chiefs from Fort Worth, Texas. Bruceย (left), is retired. Jeff is still active. Bruce told me Jeff is one of the top disaster response experts in the country. Theyโd 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 โministriesโ of serving. She said that when she first looked out upon the resulting devastation caused by Helene, she distinctly heard,
โYou serve here.โ
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. โIf we have the money and resources, people with time to spare can get it done,โ 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!โ โMaybe,” I replied. “A man makes his plans, but the Lord directs his steps.โ Sherry immediately looked up to the sky and proclaimed,
โI need them to come back next week!โ
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.ย 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.
Anyway, now that you know the backstory, hereโs 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.
As the reality of loss from Hurricane Helene begins to settle in and among those directly affected, we are still learning from our own similar experience in Honduras.
Those who know us are aware that Cathy and I survived a landslide caused by Cat 5 Hurricane Iota on November 20th, 2020. It came just ten days after Cat 4 Eta.
Cathy barely dodged this.
The photo above was the first landslide that happened at 3:30 pm. Cathy had just opened the gate and narrowly escaped being buried alive. The effects on the Honduran survivors were beyond what most people can imagine. Landslides were the number one cause of death during both storms.
I wrote about the revelations gleaned from wrestling with God’s isolation during COVID-19, the loss of everything but our lives, followed by suddenly becoming homeless in a third-world country. The first was that God had miraculously preserved both our lives.
The large stone is were my head would have been in our bed. The smaller one represents Cathy’s.
The second revelation is that preservation is often attended by a stripping.
The story of Jacob wrestling with God in Genesis 32 has always been one of my favorites. It was during our morning devotions the other day that the word โpreservedโ emerged again in verse 30. Iโd never really noticed it before. We looked it up and found the original Hebrew word is โNatsalโ – to โdeliver, rescue and save.โNatsalโ also means to “plunder” and “strip”.
We had been stripped of all our worldly possessions and memorabilia.
And yet a strange supernatural peace enveloped us as well as an even stronger bond between us as husband and wife. That bond and peace remainwith us now.
We felt instantly closer and more intimate with the Lord than at any other point in our walk with the Him. Meanwhile, the people in our village descended on the ruins, digging out whatever they could find.
A group of women washed the mud out of Cathy’s clothes. It was a genuine act of love from the people whom we had come to love and serve and live among. We were so very grateful.
“How do I tell them?” Cathy asked?
“Tell them what?” I inquired.
“I don’t want any of it.” She replied.
Something had happened within us individually and as a couple. Granted, we’d surrendered a lot when we left for the mission field. Only now did we truly recognize the proverbial ball, and chain of materialism that drags so many of us down, and the freedom of having it removed. That included twenty thousand dollars worth of photography and video equipment that supported my path and passion for the mission field. In a moment God whispered,
“You’re done!”
Long story short, Cathy gave all her clothes to the village women.
Cathy’s birthday came two days after the landslide. I had nothing to give her so I wrote The Most Incredible Woman and reflected on what a gift from God she was and is to me. This amazing woman never batted an eyelash as we continued our mission.
The featured image in the title of this post is from the before and after video God is Good Testimony. It is a reminder of how precious she is to me and how precarious and short-lived is our existence on earth. At least one hundred people died that day in a country about the size of Tennessee. Only the Lord knows how many just lost their lives in similar circumstances here in Tennessee and North Carolina.
Many more have lost property and generations’ worth of history and family heirlooms. Lots of people have come to dig and rescue homes and possessions from mud and mold. Still, I think God, who is sovereign, omnipotent, and omniscient, is doing something different than many realize. I think He is asking questions that expose the true condition of our hearts. What really matters? Where is our treasure truly laid up? Are we dependent upon Him or the contemporary Golden Calf known as materialism?
To whom do we assign the most power in our minds? Do we believe that “if God is with us, then who can be against us”? Rom 8:31-39 Or do we believe the devil is so powerful that he can override the will of God? Do we believe the word of God? Or do we think that God thinks, feels, and acts like us? Isaiah 55:8-9
We are doing what the Lord calls us to do amid the current earthly crisis. Hopefully, those reading this are doing the same. Those called to dig in the mud should dig in the mud. Those called to clean mud from memorabilia should clean. Those called sit with victims and listen should listen. Those managing and transporting donations should continue until the Lord says otherwise. Just don’t assume that you know why He has called you to do it. Consider the possibility that He might be highlighting our proverbial golden calves – the fragility, vanity, and utter futility of all that is carnal.
It’s been ten years since we produced the video above. As time went on we found ways to get people out of the dump. We had opportunities for jobs, housing and school for thier children. Not one ever accepted the offer. They were too attached to thier recyclable bottles and metal and whatever else they thought they had and could not part with. That’s when the Lord said,
“that’s you son!”
At some point in eternity even the wealthiest believer among us will see thier money, mansions and jewelry and cars for what they were.
It’s just my opinion and maybe my interpretation of scripture, but I think there are going to be a lot more opportunities to reflect on what I have written here. A lot of circumstances will require a paradigm shift, especially in areas where we have taken things for granted. I think a lot of us are going to realize that much of what we once considered indispensable amounted to junk in the dump. Sometimes the greatest blessings are only found in brokenness.
That being said, this is an Ezekiel 33:1-6 alarm. This storm is but a trailer of what is to come. Roll your eyes if you will. Ten years ago we would have rolled our eyes as well. Our perspective has changed with experience. We have found so many of the things that we once prayed against were in fact, the testing of our faith that we finally learned to count as joy. James 1:2-4 Consider this as a seed – a call to prepare our hearts and minds. As for these tents of flesh in which we currently reside, understand the difference between wants and needs. The stripping must come with our eternal preservation. Be sure you know that through it all Jesus is still on the throne. He has already won.
The word of the Lord came to me: โSon of man, speak to your people and say to them…Ezekiel 33:1-6
As it turns out, September is National Preparedness Month. I thought now might be a good time to post a Watchman on the Wall blog. I hope that it sparks a discussion, not a freakout.
Suffering’s Source
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirsโheirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.Rom 8:16-17
I posted the video above about a year ago in another blog. It’s a conglomeration of clips from our time on the mission field. Far more people in the world live like this than in the material comfort and prosperity that we enjoy in the West. These people were more open to genuine surrender to Jesus. One reason is that they have no hope for a material or political remedy to their situation.
The people whom we served overseas needed to be rescued from suffering imposed upon them by external circumstances. The people we serve today need to be rescued from the suffering they insist on imposing upon themselves. Does God view these two groups differently?
For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure?
So many of the prayers I hear today are pleas for God to heal, fix, or change crises according to individual desires. “My will be done in Jesusโs name.” I have observed that people tend to become wiser or more prophetic in their own eyes in defiance of Prov 3:5-8 anytime a crisis is averted or delayed. We ignore or rationalize negative outcomes to prayer.ย We Glorify postive outcomes always assumingย that our continued comfort testifies that God is pleased with us. We ignore that the first act of worship wasn’t David on his harp but Abraham prepared to slay Issac on Mount Moriah. Gen 22 We proclaim ourselves to be friends of God and heirs with Christ all the while ignoring His recurring mandate.
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
How easy it is to cherry-pick feel-good verses and ignore the hard ones in their midst.ย The Spirit does help us in our weaknesses.ย God does cause all things to work together for good... But the idolatry of prosperity leads us to redact verses that declare God’s use of suffering, affliction, and tribulation (pressure) to conform us to the image of His son. We allow platforms to define maturity, anointing, and Holiness, all the while forgetting Jesus’s definition of greatness. Mat 18:4ย It seems that we have become so idolatrous, so narcissistic over the generations that we have nothing to compare it to. God tested Abraham. He also tests us.ย Count it all joy when you face various trials because the testing of our faith produces endurance… When was the last time you heard anyone pray for the wisdom, courage, and strength to endure testing? Even more, when was the last time you saw anyone rejoice in the testing of their faith? James1:2-4 Most people equate discomfort with an attack from the enemy – never of the fruit of disobedience. Gal 6:7-8
It seems like almost every day, another character-deficient golden calf, pop star prophet, preacher, or worship leader is exposed and their celebrity pulpits implode. The church cries out for their restoration before they have even confessed, let alone shown any fruit of repentance.
Are we now so narcissistic that we can not fathom God’s judgment? 1 Peter 4:17, Heb 12:28-29 I challenge anyone to refute that as a nation, we have far more in common with the Biblical Mystery Babylon than a repentant Israel reaping God’s Jeremiah 29:11 promises. I am baffled when I hear prophetic declarations that God is about to bestow healing,ย comfort, and prosperity upon the United States as ifDeuteronomy 28,ย upon which our pilgrim ancestors made a covenant with God, no longer applies. It all sounds like cognitive dissonance perpetrated by
“Cognitive Dissidents”.
Where exactly did we get the idea that the God who does not change Mal 3:6, the God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever Heb 13:8 no longer judges nations that refuse to repent? We are not appointed to wrath. 1 Thess 5:9ย Yet I suspect that many have confused God’s Judgment- Krisis (Greek) from which the English word Crisis is derived with His wrath. Like Him, God’s judgment and discipline are always good. Hebrews 12ย We don’t see it that way because we abhor and redactย any hint of “Deny Self.” Mat 16:24.ย Even our service to God is full of self. One thing seems certain. God disciplines and shakes us until we surrender and let go.ย Shaking causes what is errant and fake to fall off. Meanwhile, everything that is true will remain. Those who pursue truth will find blessing amid the brokenness. The fake and false will fall away into a consuming fire.
I know…
Talk to the wall Brian
I usually listen politely to prophetic Seven Mountain Mandate-type declarations / rants. Other times I echo a paraphrased version of Jeremiah’s response to Hananiah.
โAmen! May theย Lordย do so; may theย Lordย make the words that you have prophesied come true… Jer 28:6-9
After all, I would prefer healing, comfort, and prosperity as much as anyone else. Sometimes I stand amazed at the tension between my own normalcy bias that wants to drive my head into the sand in conformity to the crowd and the still small voice crying,
Typologically speaking, Hananiah proclaimed that Israel would be made great again in two years. Meanwhile, Habakkuk cried out,
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. Hab 1:3-4
Both Hananiah and Habakkuk were amazed at God’s reply.
Israel was judged by God.
Given that so many people love to cite and claim Jeremiah 29:11 as their own, especially with tattoos, I invite you read Jeremiah 28-29 and Habakkuk 1 in context. Consider why Jeremiah was known as the weeping prophet. Then decide which period in Israel’s history is most reflective of Western Society today.
I am also baffled by the loyal followings of contemporary soothsayers and self-labeled prophets despite their being so blatantly wrong and all too frequently morally corrupt. Entire movements founded upon extra-biblical prophetic words are imploding. One hundred-fifty prophets proclaimed Donald Trump the winner in the last Presidential election. Only a handful refused to gaslight their followers and repented. Several opened online schools of the prophets. Believers everywhere are rejoicing.ย I want to shave my head andย clothe myself with sackcloth and ashes. Meanwhile, messages from men like Dumitru Duduman and Henry Gruver remain unknown or dismissed out of hand by modern renditions of Jeremiah 14:13-22 and 23:9-40. Yes, you should read those too. “But the church is creating on earth as it is in heaven,” you say.ย
โAmen! May theย Lordย do so; may theย Lordย make the words that you have prophesied come true…
The World Economic Forumโsย Global Risks Report 2023ย uses the term, (polycrisis) to explain how, โpresent and future risks can also interact with each other to form a โpolycrisisโ โ a cluster of related global risks with compounding effects, such that the overall impact exceeds the sum of each partโ.
For the record, I am not sanctioning the decidedly Marxist WEF. Crisis is the soil in which their agenda thrives most. Still, before I list reasons why we might want to prepare for the coming crises,
I’d like to preface it with reasons for hope.
Very few people alive today have endured polycrisis as did my grandparents’ generation. Two world wars, a great depression, natural disasters, famines, and a Holocaust followed by the Korean and Vietnam wars remain unmatched today. Many of those addicted to comfort and prosperity committed suicide when the unthinkable happened, in 1929. Others, like my grandparents, remained relatively untouched.
While the comfort-addicted Phil 3:19 jumped off buildings as the stock market crashed, my grandmother graduated from college and went off to be a missionary in China. My grandfather courted her by letter from home. She wasn’t interested. But he knew she was going to be his wife before she did and built her a house in faith while she was away.ย He sledgehammered the foundation out of Berkshire granite ledge. Then cut and hewed timbers for the house and barn by hand. Even in their 80s, my grandparents produced and preserved everything they needed to live. They only went to the store for incidentals like sugar and salt or medicine for their livestock. As my 90+-year-old uncle Lester said, “We never knew we were poor because we had everything we needed.” “Everyone in the community lived the same way.” That is what dependence on God looked like. COVID is the closest comparison available to most of us today.
It was marked by panic buying of toilet paper.
A Few Reasons For Sobriety
calm, dispassionate, and circumspect.
Currently, we are adding one trillion dollars to the US Debt every quarter. To give you some perspective, one trillion seconds is just over thirty-six thousand years.
Meanwhile, there is an ongoing global repudiation of the US Dollar in favor of BRICS. Most recently Turkey applied to join BRICS. Perhaps you also noticed that our current debt-to-GDP ratio is nearly 125%. Hence every US dollar you hold is effectively worth less than nothing and the entire Western economy amounts to a gigantic Ponzi scheme. Historically speaking this is the root cause of World War.
Prophetically speaking, Gaza is looking a whole lot like Zephaniah 2. Countries surrounding Israel are steadily aligning with the picture presented in Ezekiel 38. If we aren’t facing God’s simple discipline and shaking, we might be facing the approaching wrath of the dragon. Mat 24:21
Ukraine recently attacked inside Russia just 200 Miles outside Moscow using NATO weapons. The USA is currently at DEFCON 2 not seen since before the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Russian resolve and eschatology that I wrote about in Always Faithful remains unchanged.ย The Russians are sayingย WWIII is guaranteed if Donald Trump isn’t elected. At no point in my lifetime have we been at such risk for global nuclear war. Meanwhile, the utterly insane rhetoric regarding civil war in the USA is not diminishing.
MPox
The World Health Organization is trying hard to pump out a new global pandemic narrative. It’s not working- yet. Earlier this year they attempted a treaty that would suspend our national sovereigntyย in the event of another pandemic. So far, regular Mpox is a giant nothing burger. Still, COVID gave them alot of power. They like power.
There have been multiple FBI warnings in 2024 regarding severe risks to the electrical grid. The WEF is also warning of cyber threats. Meanwhile, these same global players who war-gamed a pandemic in Event 201 just before COVID hit are doing the same regarding a cyber pandemic in Cyber Polygon 2024,ย due to begin within five days of this writing. The main player is the WEF.
I’m sure it’s a coincidence…
Former Green Beret turned Combat Correspondent Michael Yon has spent a lot of time in the Darrien Gap investigating USA, Open Society Foundation, andย UN-sponsored illegal immigration to the US. He claims that a large majority are military-age men with a military gait. While the normalcy bias of many will produce an automatic eye-roll, Yon claims the USA has already been invaded and that these men are prepositioned for future action, e.g. the destruction of infrastructure like the electrical grid. Given recent events in Aurora, CO., and Chicago, it is not unreasonable to consider the possibility of groups like Tren de Aragua being the face of pre or maybe post-election neo-Marxist violence worse than Antifa and BLM riots of 2020.ย This seems especially likely if Donald Trump is re-elected and makes good on his vow to deport illegals. Am I saying that these groups will be at your door? No. But consider what could happen to supply lines.
We just had the most absurd assassination attempt on Donald Trump. Like Habakkuk, many are screaming. Destructionย 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. I canโt help but wonder if Michael Yon has discovered God’s contemporary reply. Again, please read Habakkuk 1 if this sounds confusing.
You won’t hear it in the legacy media, but Dr. Jerome Corsi, of God’sFiveStones.com recently exposed what seems to be irrefutable evidence of what many already suspected. Namely, ongoing election rigging. Meanwhile, AG Merrick Garland just claimed they have evidence that Russia is planning to interfere in US Elections.
Here we go again.
I don’t know about you, but the evidence seems to show that we should, at the very least, be considering how we might respond if one or all of the above scenarios emerge.
Some call it fear-mongering.
I call it wisdom.
Having lived in Hawaii, where the threats of Hurricanes, Tsunamis, and floods are a simple fact of life, circumstances rarely produce anxiety in Cathy and me. Here in the continental United States, disaster preparedness almost seems to be a taboo subject. Maybe they are prepping and are afraid of being labeled a “tin foil hat-wearing conspiracy theorist”.ย I suppose it makes sense if we consider how many are so fearful that they cannot even bear to watch the evening news. Having survived hurricanes, typhoons, tsunamis, fires, landslides, car crashes, Amazonian headhunters, being held at gunpoint, and the threat of civil war, it is never a question of โif?โ but โwhen?โ a crisis will emerge. This is how the majority of the world lives.
Why shouldn’t we think and live accordingly?
Of course, some will undoubtedly equate my thinking with some clinical buzzword like “trauma response” or “trauma lens”. Fair enough. A healthy response to trauma should cause one to review their errors and weaknesses in the context of potential future risks. Trauma should also cause one to differentiate between faith and magical thinking.ย The patent refusal to use one’s miraculously created, God-given brain and apply the God-authored laws of truth and logic isn’t faith.
Having lived on the foreign mission field, we always knew that safety and survival could never be taken for granted. On any given day, we could be driving down the road, happily discussing the dayโs events. Then, the next minute, we could be staring down the barrel of a rifle, wondering if the guy in the baklava was going to pull the trigger. Preparing for potential crises was always a consideration. Not merely for the sake of selfishly saving our own skins. But rather for the sake of sustaining the mission to which we were called. Again, Iโm not talking about operating in a frantic spirit of anxiety and fear. But a rather a 1 Peter 5:8 sobriety –
calm, dispassionate, and circumspect.
How the Lord Provides
To paraphrase Mat 6:25-33, Where God guides, He provides. Seek firstย the kingdom of God and his righteousness,ย and all these things will be added to you.Take no thought, for tomorrow, is not an invitation for entitled cognitive dissidents to depend on fast food like manna from heaven. Obedience to God is what activates Mat 6:25-33. The question that follows is, what does God expect of us in the course of His provision?
Provision and Testing
During our missionary school, God put it on my heart to follow the example of the founders. They never fundraised for themselves. So neither did we. That is how we lived for nearly six years. Suffice it to say, trusting the Lord became easier as time went on. Still, there is always a test before the next lesson ensues.
It was during COVID and we were locked down in our village in the mountains of Honduras. People who followed us closely and supported us became consumed with their own crises at home. At one point, we were down to two handfuls of beans.ย I experienced a nearly overwhelming temptation to step out of trusting God. I was perfectly capable of raising money for ourselves. After all, I’d helped to raise money for other ministries. Just a few months prior we raised five thousand dollars in four hours for a Honduran friend whose legs had been run over by a tractor-trailer truck.ย “Lord, can’t I do it for us just this one time?” Man did I ever want to. But I didn’t.
At midnight we received a five thousand dollar donation.
I have come to believe that irony is God’s favorite form of humor.
On the mission field, we became well acquainted with the Lord’s miraculous provision amidst regularly occurring crises like frequent total public utility shutdowns. We embraced Jesusโs command to take no thought for tomorrow. Yet it was always in the context of first gathering our proverbial five loaves and two fish. John 6:1-14 Having food and water stored for inevitable interruptions is just wise when you live in the third world. Still, I remember the anxiety of young short-term missionaries when they lost cell service. I just listened to a conversation between boys at the children’s home where I work. They were discussing how crazy people would get if all the phones stopped working.
Our preparation on the mission field helped us to remain focused on the mission instead of our own provision when a crisis hit. That, we think, is worthy of your consideration. At the end of the day, there is a profound difference between depending on God for miracles amid your radical obedience to God versus depending on miracles from a place of complacency and entitlement.
Prepping for the unprepped
While Mat 6:25-33, and John 6:1-14 were our daily norm, there have been times when the Lord led us in the example of Joseph. Gen 41 and in the context of Acts Chapter 2.
And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.Acts 2:44-45
When the landslide hit in Honduras, Cathy had time to grab her Bible and a few other things while the neighbors helped carry out the remaining four hundred pounds of beans and rice that we’d stored to feed victims of the first Hurricane. We’d already distributed 7000 pounds in the previous ten days. That last four hundred pounds helped a fair number of families in our little village when the second storm hit.
The blessing is in the brokenness.
Our being able to remain focused on our mission and not on ourselves caused us to count it all joy amid the loss of everything but our lives. The recognition that we had endured the test of our faith only amplified it. As we’ve said, that particular time brought us closer to the Lord and afforded us more intimacy with God, both individually and as a couple, than any other event since or before.
Sometimes the abundant life is only apprehended in the context of suffering and loss.
The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving.
Again, we are almost certain that hard days are ahead, maybe very hard days. Who wins the election will only determine the flavor of the crisis. At the very least I think we should begin a conversation. What is the Lord saying to you about the days ahead? Are you reticent to speak up amidst contemporary Hananiah voices and competing agendas? Should we continue in the spirit of spiritual entitlement and a twisted understanding of Mat 6:26-34? Or is He calling us to be ready like Joseph in Gen 41?ย
What would you do if supply lines shut down for months or years? Experts from multiple government agencies have stated that 90% of the US population could die in a year if there were a catastrophic failure of the electrical grid alone. Lack of preparedness would be the primary cause.
Is God so pleased with us that He is going to further facilitate our prosperity and comfort ad infinitum? Or do we indeed meet the criteria for His judgment? Are the current risks I highlighted the product of my trauma lens such that I have become pessimistic, hypervigilant, and fear-mongering? Or should we be gathering our proverbial loaves and fish in preparation to feed the multitudes if and when the lights go out? Perhaps we should ask ourselves where we see ourselves in the context of John 6:1-14. Are we numbered among the thousands of hungry desperate hordes who barely know Jesus? Or are we numbered among His disciples who have all they need when they are summoned by Him to bring fish and bread for Him to multiply?
In the words of Oswald Chambers, We have to go the โsecond mileโ with God. Some of us get played out in the first ten yards, because God compels us to go where we cannot see the way, and we say โ โI will wait till I get nearer the big crisis.โ If we do not do the running steadily in the little ways, we shall do nothing in the crisis...To talk in this way is like trying to produce the munitions of war in the trenches โ you will be killed while you are doing it.
Maybe you are unconvinced that God’s shaking, discipline, and judgment are good and, therefore not of Him. Perhaps you haven’t grasped the purpose of tribulation (pressure), including the coming great tribulation. Rom 5:3-5,ย Dan 12:10, 1 Pet 1:3-8, Eph 5:27 Consider the conditions that always precede revival and the words Martin Luther King Jr. spoke in Memphis, TN, in 1968.
“Only when it’s dark enough can you see the stars.”
These are the kinds of things that I ponder when I consider the deeper meaning and application of verses like Romans 8:16-17.
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,ย and if children, thenย heirsโheirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,ย provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
When we first arrived in Greeneville a person much older than myself complained in a rather exasperated tone,
“they don’t want to listen to elders!”
He was speaking about our community. I didn’t reply, but I remember thinking,
“Well…Neither did we.”
Recently, a millennial friend explained an argument he’d heard used to refute Job 12:12. Job was younger than Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. In the end, it was Job who brought correction to his four older friends. Hence, wisdom is with the youth, and understanding is with the smartest.
Another argument is Paul told Timothy
Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.1 Tim 4:12
The argument from Job violates the Law of Noncontradiction. Scripture does not contradict Scripture. Job also had a relationship with the Lord. His friends did not. The second argument from Timothy is a false dichotomy. The context of 1 Timothy 4 is a quintessential model of discipleship modeled between Paul the Elder and Timothy his disciple. Paul exhorts Timothy to be a faithful servant and not to depart from what he taught him. He exhorts Timothy to lead by example.
…Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
The false dichotomy is the belief that because Timothy was young he was wiser than his elders. Timothy had the ability and authority to transmit knowledge he had received from Paul. Still, wisdom and knowledge are not the same. Knowledge can be taught. Wisdom can be heeded, but understanding only comes through experience.
I was about ten when I took my grandfather’s steel fly rod to go trout fishing in the stream that ran through the cow pasture. “I wouldn’t go running around with that steel rod out in front of you,” he commented as I passed. “Don’t worry, Grandpa!” I’d been fishing alone for at least two years. I knew what I was doing. Later at lunch, my grandmother commented that she’d been worried when she heard my blood-curdling scream from half a mile away. “What happened?” She asked. I sheepishly explained my encounter with an electric fence.
My grandfather quietly chuckled.
For years I wondered why my grandfather said so little. It is one of the inspirations for starting this blog. The older I get, the more I equate my grandfather’s silence with the Hawaiian Pidgeon English adage,
“Bum bye you learn…”
So often – maybe too often, we watch and listen and ask ourselves, “Should we tell them it’s not going to end well?” My generation heard, “I told you so”. Today we are usually limited to saying, “I could have told you so”.
The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving.
Occasionally someone heeds our unsolicited “been there, done that” recommendations. Most listen politely or scroll on their phone then ignore everything we’ve said. Sometimes I’m tempted to take offense.
Then I remember the electric fence.
That Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days is because wisdom is, in part, an aspect of character. Character is a fruit of experience. Sometimes that experience necessarily involves a proverbial electric fence.
Character is dokimแธtrustiness:–experience, proof, trial, approved, tried character, a proof, a specimen of tried worth.
Marriage
So why the long introduction Brian? And what does wisdom have to do with marriage?
Alas, For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.Ecc 1:8
Honestly, I began this post in the context of wisdom amidst emerging crises. Then the Lord reiterated what he showed us when we first arrived in East Tennessee. Marriage is the foundation of the church and as well as any community. Marriages have been under attack for years. If the enemy can destroy marriages he can destroy families. Destroy families, and he can destroy communities and, eventually nations. The church has tried to reignite family values for decades. We think we need to start with Godly marriage values.
Some know that Cathy and I function as marriage counselors at our church. We are not licensed so maybe “marriage mentors” is a better term. Some of the couples with whom we work are just a few years older than our grandchildren. Most of what we have to offer is wisdom and understanding gleaned from the length of our days on earth and our electric fence encounters. Part of our understanding is rooted in having failed miserably at marriage before Christ. We know how to fail. Just short of twenty years in a very healthy and thriving marriage in Christ, affords us some wisdom and understanding regarding how to succeed. Please donโt misunderstand. We are not super Christians who have achieved some illusory spiritual level to which so many seem to aspire. Our marriage is rock solid because we follow some very basic and foundational biblical principles. Couples who are willing to do the same experience the same benefits. Most of the time, we feel like we are just along for the ride and are blessed just to see God’s miraculous response to obedience. It doesn’t matter how grievous the offense committed by one or both spouses. God heals, reconciles, and transforms marriages according to a couple’s obedience. Unfortunately, not everyone is willing to obey God. This eventually results in divorce. It takes three to create a marriage, Mat 19:5-6 two to destroy one, and three to heal one. Unfortunately, when one or both parties refuse to accept personal responsibility and continue to blame the other, the situation only gets worse. Sometimes they blame the marriage counselors for failing to fix it. Let me be clear. We don’t fix anything.
God alone is the fixer.
Another potential misunderstanding is that if the marriage begins to heal, everything is healed by extension. There may be individual issues like trauma, chemical and porn addiction, etc., that need to be addressed first.
That being said, here are seven nonnegotiable must-dos for a healthy, happy, thriving marriage.
1. Your marriage is ultimately not about you. Deny self. Mat 16:24 This is the first requirement if we are to be Jesusโs disciples. This is also required to be a spouse. Both must deny themselves. If only one spouse obeys this command, it results in some form of abuse. “Deny yourself” in marriage means your spouse is your priority after God. Many people have other priorities like careers, hobbies, ministry, and even children. Some simply endure marriage in a sort of white-knuckle obedience to God. When marriage is the priority for both spouses it is a joy. Everything pleasing to God, from parenting to ministry, flows from it.
2. The proper alignment in marriage is God, Husband, Wife, Children, Job, and Ministry. Sometimes, a job and Ministry are the same. If the alignment is off, the marriage will be off and everything else will follow.
3. Your marriage is about Christ and His Church. Eph 5:22-33 Wives submit to their husbands. Husbands give themselves up for their wives. Viewed from the outside, it can be likened to a waltz so artfully performed that it is impossible to know who is leading who. What God imparts in the process of growing together as one flesh is a mystery that must be experienced, not taught. Only then will understanding come. Hence, wisdom is with age and understanding in the length of days.
4. The woman is the weaker vessel. 1 Pet 3:7 Weaker does not mean inferior. Think of the husband as a cast iron frying pan and the wife as fine China. Hence, Paul instructs husbands to honor their wives as the weaker vessels. As I tell all the husbands, “As a husband, you take the hits.” The principle applies if a prowler comes through the door trying to attack your wife. Or your wife angrily confronts you about problems in your marriage. In either case, if saving your skin, your pride, and self-esteem or just the need to be right is your first priority, you will eventually forfeit your marriage. Giving yourself up includes but is not limited to trading your significance, pride, self-esteem, and your right to be right for your wife. If you lead this way, a Godly wife will gladly submit and the Waltz will ensue. Given that wives must choose to submit, it begs the question of who submits the most.
5. The temptation to be offended will come. See that you are not offended. Luke 17 Offenceis skรกndalon a trap. We can only be offended if we have first given ourselves permission to be offended. Remove all permission to be offended.
6. Forgiveness is never an option. It is a command. Forgive or you won’t be forgiven by God. Mat 6:15 Do it before the sun goes down, Eph 4:26-27 or you may awaken offended. Unresolved offenses will always grow and eventually end in divorce. Unless, of course, you white knuckle it.
We finished Romans 4 this week. Anyone who reads the first four chapters of Romans should have a clear understanding of Justification by faith and that faith is demonstrated by works. As we learned Pรญstis โ faith, is a noun. Pisteรบล โ belief is a verb.
Belief is faith in action!
Now we move on to Romans 5 where Paul gets into the meat of what faith looks like in practice.
Therefore,ย having been justified by faith,ย we haveย peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,ย through whom also we have access by faith into this graceย in which we stand, andย rejoice in hope of the glory of God.ย And not onlyย that,ย butย we also glory in tribulations,ย knowing that tribulation producesย perseverance;ย and perseverance,ย character; and character, hope.ย Now hope does not disappoint,ย because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.Rom 5:1-8 NKJV
Peace is eirแธnฤthe tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is.
Glory is kauchรกomai to rejoice.
Tribulation is thlรฎpsisanguish, burdened, persecution, trouble, pressing together, pressure.
Do you have faith? What about peace? If so, in what do you place your faith? One thing is certain, what we elevate, we serve. Are you consumed by world events and the cares of this life such that you are prone to forgetting God? Or are you so terrified that you refuse to even look at the world? Being consumed can take the form of obsession with circumstances or the fear that drives one’s head into the sand.
The Bible tells us that people perish for two reasons; lack of knowledge and lack of vision. The correct approach is to view the signs of the times while remaining unmoved by circumstances. Mat 16:1-3 True faith is to stare reality dead in the face and remain at peace knowing that God’s purpose and plan will be fulfilled. Faith is partly produced by our history with God. Hope elpรญs is faith projected into the future. True hope says “I know God will complete what He started because I’ve seen Him complete it thus far.” False hope succumbs to absurd pipe dreams concocted by a misinformed, human imagination.
I wrote Truth or Trump in 2019 discussing how public opinion and markets are manipulated by media via our confirmation biases. I stood amazed as I watched otherwise sane friends and family or what I call the “lobotomized left” defer to a long-standing Marxist agenda whereby Jesus was reframed as a refugee oppressed by the white male patriarchy that he came to overthrow. Meanwhile, the wackified right proclaimed Donald Trump a Biblical Cyrus sent by God to Make America Great Again. Cyrus sent Nehemiah to rebuild Jerusalem after Israel repented in captivity. I was mocked and blocked on social media when I disputed the absurd exegesis and typology. For the record, God is not a man and can not be oppressed. The moral state of the USA has far more in common with Mystery Babylon than a repentant Israel emerging from captivity.
That said, today the wackified right and lobotomized left seem like muzzled dogs waiting for a coming fight.
Given the current global geopolitical environment and the level of insane online chatter regarding the potential for another civil war on American soil, it might be wise to have some extra beans and rice on hand.
For the record, Cathy and I are political atheists. We pick politicians like plumbers. We want the best job done for the least amount of money. At this point, we view all politics as leaven. Mark 8:15, Mat 16:1-12 The leaven of Herod is the world with its pride and lusts. The leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees represents a religious spirit / political spirit.
There is no political solution to a spiritual problem.
Enter the Russians
Philosopher and Geopolitical analyst Alexander Dugin, a.k.a. “Putin’s Brain” is a former geopolitical advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin. I wrote more about him in Did You Say Prepping? As an Eastern Orthodox Christian, Dugin sees the ongoing conflict between Russia and NATO as the parable of the sheep and goats being played out in real time. Mat 25:31-46 While admittedly unwinnable for either side, Dugin, says a war between Russia and NATO remains inevitable. He says it will be a sovereign act of God and a final separation between the sheep and goats in which case,
Russians will go to heaven as martyrs. NATO members will go to hell.
At the time of this writing, Dimitri Medvedev has made concrete threats regarding nuclear war. The Biden administration has authorized the use of US weapons by Ukraine inside Russia. Putin has responded by positioning Russian Naval ships 70 miles off the coast of Florida. As many as eleven Russian Submarines are positioned along the East Coast of the US. He also signed a mutual defense agreement with North Korea. North Korean troops are expected to be fighting alongside Russians in Ukraine within a month. Biden just made selective service registration automatic for men between the ages of 18 and 26. While it hasn’t been implemented, the mechanism to do the same for women is being created. If all that wasn’t crazy enough, a terrorist attack using US-made, internationally banned cluster munitions just took place on a beach in Crimea. Russian news sources (see below) are claiming that the targeting could not have been completed without US intelligence support.
โOn June 23, during the great Orthodox holiday of the Holy Trinity, the US-backed Kiev regime carried out a horrific attack on civilians in the Russian city of Sevastopol in Crimea. 151 people were injured, including 27 children. 4 people died, including 2 children. All those responsible for this latest terrorist attack will be brought to justice. There is no doubt that the United States is directly involved in this crime…”
“…The US and its satellites, committed yet another heinous terrorist crime against civilians in Russia by firing missiles at Sevastopol. For their terrorist attack, they specially chose a day โ Holy Trinity Sunday โ one of the most important holidays celebrated by the Russian Orthodox Church. Four people were killed, including a two-year-old boy, who was playing on the municipal beach, and a nine-year-old girl. 151 people applied for medical assistance; 82 โ 55 adults and 27 children โ were hospitalised, many of them in a grave condition. All patients are receiving skilled medical aid. – According to the Defence Ministry of Russia, the attackers used US ATACMS operational missiles with cluster warheads for greater kill ability. All flight data was entered by US military crews based on US reconnaissance satellite inputs. A Global Hawk US reconnaissance drone was on duty off Crimea.
The Investigative Committee of Russia has promptly started an investigation into this crime. All those implicated in this and other terrorist attacks in the territory of the Russian Federation will incur inevitable punishment.”
– Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Nebenzya, and Russian Foreign Ministry statement on the terrorist attack at Sevastopol –
The Russians do not make idol threats.
The sheer insanity of repeatedly poking the Russian bear in the eye and daring her to respond is beyond my comprehension and probably yours. Hence your confirmation biases might be telling you to dismiss all of this and return to Sports, Netflix, and video games. Do not be deceived.
The Russians are saying they are ready to fight WWIII.
Donald Trump looked like a perfectly composed genius compared to Biden in the recent debate. While I view Trump as gasoline on a match rather than a savior, his final statement guaranteeing WWIII, if Biden is reelected resonates with what Russia has promised. Just this past week Alexander Dugin wrote the following regarding the upcoming election.
Most likely, the globalists behind the weak Biden will try to remove the strong Trump from the election and prevent him from becoming president at any cost. Any methods may be employed here: assassination, imprisonment, organizing riots and protests, up to and including a coup or civil war. Or by the end of his term, Biden may start a third world war. This is also quite likely.
To be clear, the Russian goal is a decentralized multipolar world where individual nations respectfully compete with one another to find the best solutions for all. In their minds, the primary obstacle is the current unipolar world controlled by the hegemonic USA and its European globalist partners.
First and foremost, a second term for a US president with such an ideology will show that the first term was not an accident (for the globalists), but a regular occurrence. A unipolar world and the globalist project will be rejected not only by supporters of a multipolar world โ Russia, China, and Islamic countries โ but by Americans themselves. This will deal a powerful blow to the entire network of the liberal-globalist elite. And most likely, they will not recover from such a blow.
Meanwhile, Israel is prepping for war with Hezbollah as it continues to fight Hamas in Gaza. Iran says it will intervene directly if that happens. If the US and NATO intervene, Iran says it will attack NATO. Biden says he will pull all support if Israel attacks Iran. That might be because Russia says it will attack anyone who attacks Iran. The common denominator in all of this is gradual, continued escalation toward Ezekiel 38-39. That’s another conversation. Now let me ask you a question.
What is your reaction to the above?
And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.Mat 24:6
Can you look soberly and realistically at the threats we currently face and remain at peace?
There are just a few reactions anytime I discuss these things with or around Christian brothers and sisters. The most common is dismissal. “God loves us. These things have always been,” 2 Pet 3:3-7 they say. “Social media just makes everything seem worse.” Others see a clear and present danger but react in the flesh. Some place their hope in Trump. Others are stocking up on guns and ammunition as if righteousness will be gained by shooting. Others remain willfully oblivious. “I don’t know what’s going on,” they say. “I don’t want to know. I canโt handle it.” Finally, there are a few who view the signs of the times and the emerging threats with 1 Peter 5:8 sobriety.
Calm, Dispassionate, and Circumspect
As Cathy and I preach, counsel, and teach it has become clear that people, including those in the body of Christ, are splitting into two groups. Those who are losing their minds or will lose their minds as their hearts fail for fear of what is coming. Luke 21:26 And those soberly preparing their hearts and minds to bring the gospel of peace into the chaos. One thing is certain. The world is not becoming saner, more moral, or stable. Could revival come? Certainly! Still, anyone who has studied the history of revival knows revivals are preceded by crisis and a renewed fear of God that compels people to repent.
The root of the matter for believers is in the question: In what is your faith? What does it look like in practice?
Semper Fi
Semper Fi short for Semper Fidelis is Latin for Always Faithful. It is the Marine Corps Motto. Given that I was a Marine itโs got me thinking about belief (faithfulness) and what it means for us in the context of the Christian walk.
The practice of Semper Fidelis is reflected in the Marine Corps Code of Conduct. HONOR, COURAGE, and COMMITMENT. The expression of Semper Fidelis in the life of an individual Marine is rooted in personal character. Every Marine understands that character is produced under pressure. It is defined by oneโs actions under pressure. Marines hope for the best by preparing for the worst.
And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Rom 5:3-8
Honor, courage, and commitment in the life of a Christian do not mean we charge off to kill the people we are called to disciple. In fact, Semper Fi for believers today might mean resisting the pressure to kill those we are called to evangelize. The faithfulness of an individual Christian is produced in the transformation of one’s character. Christian character is defined by faithfulness under pressure. So often people are in search of a specific outcome that produces or extends comfort instead of endurance 2 Tim 2:3 and the ability to stand. Eph 6:10-14
If you are young you may be inclined to validate faith and belief according to the intensity of the histrionics displayed. The greater the passion, the greater the faith. Mat 7:15-20 In my experience faith in action is correlated with sobriety, not theatrics. I find that the most histrionic people are often the first to fall when the pressure comes.
I promise you, that a deeper, more sober faith will be required in the coming days. Sobriety produces a calm, dispassionate, wise, and circumspect approach to circumstances. Sober faith understands that God causes or allows circumstances for the refinement of our character. Hence, Jason Upton quotes theologian Walter Brueggemann in his song In the Silence,
โSometimes praise can be a manifestation of our doubt. God wants to silence us to get to the root of whatโs really going on.โ
Am I saying the worst-case scenario is guaranteed? Absolutely not. I am a watchman, not a prophet. I am saying that Biblically we are on a trajectory that includes enduring tribulation at some point. We are called to peace, rejoicing, and hope in the midst of it. The purpose of this post and others like it is to pose the question,
Are you spiritually prepared?
Will Romans 5 peace with God be enough if we are called into a time of crushing and breaking? Will we lose our minds and fall away 2 Thess 2:1-3 if our expectations never come to pass? Or will we embrace the transformation of our character and the hope that it brings knowing that in the pressing (tribulation) that we endure for a season, God is making new wine? We may not be faithful, but God is
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge… Hosea 4:6
Sunday, May 19, 2024, will be Pentecost. Pente is 50. Pentecost occurs 50 days after The Feast of First Fruits, the last Feast in the season of Passover that Jesus fulfilled when He resurrected. Pentecost comes at the end of The Feast of Weeks. Moses received the law on Pentecost. Pentecost was fulfilled when Holy Spirit was given in Acts 2.
“FULFILLED” means to give the “CORRECT INTERPRETATION”.
If you are watching mainstream and social media,ย then you have probably heard myriad attempts at separating Zionism from Judaism. The idea is that Zionism is a political force divorced from true Judaism. Theย overarching theme is that Zionists are not true Jews.ย Yet, Zion is mentioned 163 times in the Old and New Testament, beginning with
Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion, that is, the city of David.2 Sam 5:7
Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel, in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion.2 Chron 5:2
A Zionist is a person who supports Israel’s spiritual heritage and right to the land. PERIOD! That said, the Bible promises a blessing or a curse, according to one’s stance on this issue. Num 24:9 Recent attempts to divorce Zionism from Judaism are just more of the same marginalization of Jews as has been done in the past with things like Kazarian conspiracy theories and The Protocols of the Elders of Zion published in 1903 by โAuthor Unknownโ. These inspired Adolf Hitlerโs Mein Kampf and the philosophical. justification for the Jewish Holocaust, 1933-45. Attempts have also been made to associate the star of David on the Israeli flag with the above conspiracy theories and others to include those associating contemporary Israel with Freemasonry and even Moloch worship.
Thid Nonsense!
I’m writing about this now because Pomegranates are traditionally eaten during the Feast of Pentecost. Pomegranates are first mentioned in Exodus 28 regarding the construction of the priestly robe.
On its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, around its hem, with bells of gold between them, a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, around the hem of the robe. And it shall be on Aaron when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the Holy Place before the Lord, and when he comes out, so that he does not die.Exodus 28:33-35
Pomegranates are one of the seven blessings of the land resulting from obedience. Deut 8:6-10
The Star of David represents the top of Pomegranate.
Also when it is cut.
“Pomegranates, unlike the Menorah, were visible to the non-priestly Israelites and were therefore associated with the glory of Godโs Temple far more than the Menorah, which they were never able to look at. Nowadays, that imagery is stylistically represented in the Star of David, the Magen David, the symbol of Israel, by a people fervently hoping for the Messiah to return โ it is also a symbol of faith that one day the pomegranate would again be seen by all Israelites, once more adorning a Temple upon Mt Moriah, on the Temple Mount.”The Ancient Bridge
The Pomegranate as represented on the Israeli flag symbolizes the hope of Zion which is the Nation of Israel.
Then I looked, and behold, onย Mount Zionย stood the Lamb, and with himย 144,000 whoย had his name and his Father’s name writtenย on their foreheads.ย And I heard a voice from heavenย like the roar of many waters andย like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound ofย harpists playing on their harps,ย ย and they were singingย a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders.ย No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.ย It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, forย they are virgins. It is theseย who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind asย firstfruits for God and the Lamb,ย andย in their mouth no lie was found, for they areย blameless. Rev 14:1-5
And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, โNowย the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothersย has been thrown down,ย who accuses them day and night before our God.Rev 12:10
Once again, accuse katฤgorรฉล the Greek word from which the English word category is derived.ย The enemy would like to recategorize a Zionist as an evil political entity that is separate from Judaism.
Don’t Be Duped by the Enemy’s Narrative.
So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!Rom 11:11-12
We will continue to bless Israel this Pentecost as we await Jesusโs future fulfillment of The Feasts of Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles the day and hour of which no one knows.
Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.John 2:23-25
As the world becomes more divided in increasingly dangerous ways we are asking the Lord to reveal the roots of conflict. If there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven.Ecc 3:1, then it seems clear that we are entering a time for war.Ecc 3:8 Now more than ever believers must remain 1 Pet 4:8sober – watchful, calm, dispassionate, and circumspect. We must be wise as serpents and gentle as doves. Mat 10:16 We must have the capacity to pay attention to our internal spiritual state, as people and situations unravel around us without succumbing to offense which leads to fear and fear to hate. Having done all to stand we must standEph 6:14 as we watch members of the body of Christ shine more brightly than ever, Mat 25:7-9 or fall away 2 Thess 2:3.
The Leaven of Offense
If you are unfamiliar with the English Reformation then I would refer you to a previous post-Enantiodromia in Jesus’ Name You don’t need to read the whole article, just the section about the English Reformation that resulted in the denominationalism of today. That said, we may look at our own denomination and determine we are different or better than those โdead legalistic churchesโ on one end of the proverbial pendulum swing or those โunholy, heretical wackosโ at the other extreme. In truth, all our denominations are historically rooted in offense. It just so happens that we arenโt killing each other today. Not yet anyway. Like it or not every aspect of our culture is rooted in offense. If you disagree just watch Netflix or Main Stream News for a week. So offended are we that we donโt even know we are offended. We donโt know we are offended because we think our position be it moral, intellectual, political, or theological is the right position.
We are by definition, self-righteous.
We were on our way to Arkansas to minister and teach on the subject of offense as we entered into the Passover season that included the Feast of Unleavened Bread. We searched our hearts for any remaining leaven of offense as we drove the fourteen hours to Bella Vista. Having overcome the more scathing, lascivious sins that once beset us, Heb 12:1 We looked deeper within like a Jewish father in search of the last traces of leaven in his home.
Traditional celebration of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Recently I listened to an Antiochian Orthodox podcast titled Hold Fast to the Faith. In it, Fr. John Bethencourt depicts sin as the right and left side of a boat. The left side represents the more lascivious sins e.g. lust, drunkenness, etc. The right side represents the more subtle and therefore more dangerous Pharisaical sins of self-righteousness. Self-righteousness has a way of producing Mat 7:1 judgment which is krรญnล– to condemn or damn.
The sin that is the root of allcondemnationis offense.
Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offenses will come: but WOE unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. Luke 17:1-4
The reader may note that some translations say SIN instead of OFFENSE. This is incorrect. Paul uses the Greek word skรกndalon.
SIN is hamartรญa and means to miss the mark
Offense is skรกndalon – a trap.
Bear Trap. Why would anyone put their foot there?
As I search my mind and heart for any remaining leaven of offense, I find I am more frequently tempted to take offense than I am actually offended. Trust me. That’s progress. I can usually measure the intensity of the temptation by the frequency of my sarcasm and snark. For example, just today a child called out to me. “Hey, Mr. Brian! I hope you stub your toe! Hahaha…” “Haha,” I replied. “If I had a heart I’d be hurt. HAhaha” Suffice it to say, that some days are better than others. If I do take the bait and step into full-blown offense, I am usually quick to own it, confess, and repent. The primary reason for this is that Cathy and I made a covenant with God in Honduras regarding offense. An uber-offended Western society aside, we knew we were returning to a divided America and an American bride ridden with offense. We both agreed that while we would be against sin, we would be “FOR” everyoneand AGAINST no one. Suffice it to say that we continue to hold each other accountable before God. Please forgive us if at any time one of us failed to do so as we remain God’s works in progress. Rom 8:27-30
“FOREVERYONE” means we are for God’s will. We are for the murderer, the rapist, the terrorist, the Palestinian, the Jew, etc. as much as we are for their victims. That does not mean that we support their words or actions by default. Rather correction and discipline flow from love – punishment, and retribution from offense. Taking a side and becoming offended at one party versus another is always an invitation to hate. Carried to an extreme hate results in murder as is clearly seen in places like Israel and Gaza today. That is why Jesus equated anger with murder. Mat 5:221-23
Even worse than being offended is the fearful statement by Jesus, WOE to the one through whom offenses come! This is not a call to walk on eggshells and be politically correct as many might think. We are not called to “people please”. Rather being offended is the sin. If that is confusing, consider this. Offended people usually want to collaborate about their offenses. Quite often the desire for collaboration is presented under the guise of prayer. In truth, we feel isolated because we are grieving Holy Spirit any time we choose to remain offended. While an initial willingness to be held accountable and stand corrected might be there, the human need for sympathy, confirmation, and consensus is often all the enemy needs to turn empathy into bias and bias into offense in those with whom we commiserate.
Like one who grabs a stray dog by the ears is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own. Prov 26:17
In contemporary terms, commiseration is defined as “showing sympathy or compassion”. Yet the prefix Com means with. Miserate – is to rate or estimate incorrectly. Hence, to commiserate is to partner in the incorrect estimation of another. Furthermore, commiseration is the antithesis of compassion – to suffer with. Commiseration is perhaps most clearly defined in the saying,
“misery loves company.”
Even more, commiseration seeks alliances. Alliances result in feuds, divorces, church splits, and wars as people choose sides and square off for self-righteousness’ sake.
Commiseration is a violation of scripture.
If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that โevery matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.โ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.Mat 18:15-17
“Greasy Grace” is the opposite extreme. Some people are so afraid of offending, so concerned with political correctness and avoiding conflict that they ignore sin entirely under the guise of being loving. Instead of warning a brother or sister that they are risking eternity in hell, they turn a blind eye because, well…
However, this verse speaks of love that produces forgiveness for sin. It looks like the crucifixion of Jesus that resulted in our justification, not our justifications that demand tolerance for sin. Unfortunately, this verse is often used as a license to sin and then cover it up. True Love in this context means exposing sin Eph 5 then pointing people to the one who gives the gift of repentance which leads to the eternal best for ALL involved parties.
The challenge is to hate what God hates without hating the person or groupthat is in error.
Prepare to be the object of offense.
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 2 Tim 3:12
Prepare to not be offended.
Genuine foundational doctrinal heresies aside, when relationships including Christian relationships end, people leave churches and communities split it is usually because someone took offense and passed it on to others. Quite often the offense is rooted in the fact that sin was or wasn’t addressed, and or if biblically-based church discipline was or wasn’t applied. Before you know it team “was” is squaring off against team “wasnโt“. They argue and fight or maybe ghost one another over who is right all the while ignoring that God, (who is sovereign) causes all things to work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. That purpose is to conform us to the image of His son.Rom 8:28-29 That image is first and foremost Jesus on the cross praying Father forgive themfor they know not what they do. How soon do we forget that WE are called as individuals to obey
as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,Phil 2:12-15
As Cathy likes to say,
“Let go or be god.”
Jesus did NOTentrust Himself to (believe) them in John 2:23-25because He knew all people. Neither their flattery nor their most fiery resentment represented anything genuine
The Solution
Like a gossiper being offended by gossip or an adulterous woman offended by her husband’s adultery, we all need to see the absurdity in our being offended. Once seen, the solution begins with our removing the permission we’ve given ourselves to be offended. We must be willing to look deeply within ourselves and behold our own brokenness. When we see our own reflection in another we will have the capacity to speak into the brokenness of others.
This is the essence of loving our neighbor as ourselves.
Sometimes we need to agree to disagree. So often we mistake a person’s perceptions and ideas for their identity. They are not. Our perceptions and understanding change with our stage of life.
Finally, pray for the one that offends you. Understand that emotion is not a synonym for truth. Quite often we need to obey God despite our feelings. Mat 5:43-48 Obey God and your emotions will eventually align with His will. 2 Cor 5:7.
Now that you have read this, rest assured there will be more opportunities to become offended in the coming months and years. Hence we invite you to ask yourself the question we have been asking ourselves. Are more offensive things, people, and situations coming our way? Or is God simply exposing the offense that already exists in us?
Like one who grabs a stray dog by the ears is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own. Like a maniac shooting flaming arrows of death is one who deceives their neighbor and says, โI was only joking!โ Without wood a fire goes out; without a gossip a quarrel dies down. As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome person for kindling strife. The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts. Like a coating of silver dross on earthenware are fervent lips with an evil heart. Enemies disguise themselves with their lips, but in their hearts they harbor deceit.Though their speech is charming, do not believe them, for seven abominations fill their hearts.Their malice may be concealed by deception, but their wickedness will be exposed in the assembly. Whoever digs a pit will fall into it; if someone rolls a stone, it will roll back on them. A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin.
