Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study, Red Pill Diaries

The Prophet or the Cross

Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves with the same resolve, because anyone who has suffered in his body is done with sin. Consequently, he does not live out his remaining time on earth for human passions, but for the will of God. 1 Peter 4:1-2 -Berean Study Bible-

What most informs your Christian walk? Is it a moment-to-moment guidance from the Lord? Do you acknowledge Him in all your ways and He directs your steps? Prov 3:5-8 How do you discern His leading, His voice from your own voice, that of the world, and finally the enemy who presents himself as an angel of light? 2 Cor 11:14 Is your spiritual guidance system primarily informed by the voice of contemporary teachers and prophets? Do you emphasize dreams, visions and seers, and books written by contemporary authors? Are you wooed by anointing such that you exalt a man?

The Bible is clear that there is a gift of prophecy. 1 Cor 12:1-11. The office of the prophet in the New Testament is more ambiguous. We see Pastors, evangelists, teachers, and even apostles operating as part of the fivefold ministry. Eph 4:11 I have yet to see a genuine contemporary prophet who operates as part of a fivefold ministry. I’ve seen patently false prophets and I have seen individuals with a prophetic gift. Others mislabel words of knowledge, and words of wisdom as prophecy. I could be totally wrong and if so then please correct me, but every self-proclaimed prophet I have personally encountered is operating on his own with little to no accountability to anyone. Anyone claiming to hold the office of a prophet and utters the words “Thus Saith The Lord!” apart from the Word of God must realize that the standards for doing so have not changed.

But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’ when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him. Deut 18:18-22

Still, there is something known as prophetic preaching. Prophetic preaching is first and foremost FIRMLY rooted in God’s WORD, which is the testimony of Jesus. Rev 19:10 It is not “a new thing” or an extra-biblical thing proclaimed on YouTube or sold on Amazon. It tends to be countercultural in that it calls out that which is and is not of God within the House of God. It may expound on Biblical prophecy but it is not limited to the prophetic. The foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone; Eph 2:20 is its inspiration and source. True Prophetic preaching does not depart from God’s Word because the Bible is a blueprint and map of God’s plan from before the foundations of the world Eph 1:4-10 until the establishment of a new heavens and new earth. Rev 21 It is only through His word as taught by Holy Spirit John 16:13 that we can come to know the mystery of His will.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. Eph 1:7-12

The word is a mirror that shows us who we are in light of Him 1 Cor 13:12 and the image of His son into which He is conforming us. Rom 8:29 The word is the prophetic lens through which we should view and interpret all prophecy, history, and current events while we are still sojourners on Earth. Phil 3:20 Surely the Lord God does nothing Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. Amos 3:7 Still, this mainly refers to the fact that God has revealed the bulk of His plans to five major prophets and twelve minor ones. Again I could be wrong but I suspect that any genuine contemporary prophecy is rooted in the promise Gabriel gave to Daniel regarding the increase in knowledge and understanding of what was written and sealed up. Dan 12:4 and Dan 12:10. There is some horrific heretical stuff labeled as prophetic coming out on the internet today.

If you are one whose faith walk is primarily steered by dreams, visions, prophecies, and books from celebrity prophet pulpits then I would exhort you to carefully study and meditate on Jeremiah 14, 23, and 28. I am not a cessationist. I’m not discounting all prophecy dreams and visions. I’ve just seen too many proclamations of God’s will apart from His Word. Hence I would plead with you to use the above scriptures as a lens through which you view and consider what you hear.

For they are a rebellious people, lying children unwilling to hear the instruction of the Lord; who say to the seers, “Do not see,” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions, leave the way, turn aside from the path, let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.” Isaiah 30:9-11

Is their message rooted in scripture exegeted in context? Is it about Jesus, and the testimony of Jesus? Is Jesus even mentioned? Or are people simply in awe of a man?

Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Rev 19:10

Why am I coming so hard against the prophetic?

Let’s just say that if my destination is due north and I am off course by 22 degrees east, I don’t steer harder east to get back on course.

Again, I am not going to go to the opposite extreme and quench the spirit and limit God. Off course by 22 degrees to the west is no better than the same error to the east. The Bible says the gift of prophecy is real.

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

The operative question is “How do we filter the good from the evil, the genuine from the fake?”

Jesus’ first admonition when the disciples inquired about His return was, “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” Deceive is planáō – roam (from safety, truth, or virtue):–go astray, deceive, err, seduce, wander, be out of the way. Christ is Christos – anointed. To be anointed means to have authority. That authority is first and foremost to proclaim

“Thus Saith The Lord!”

Pay close attention to your own emotional responses when listening to another human being speak about God.  Are you compelled to exalt the man? Or is the man increasingly diminished such that you forget him entirely because you are so awed by God? John 3:30

If pastor Billy Bob claims to be a Prophet and proclaims “Thus saith the Lord” then he better not miss it. If he does then the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him. Deut 18:18-22. On the other hand, if Bobby Sue in Billy Bob’s congregation has a prophetic gift and says “I feel like the Lord is saying…” or “I think I heard the Lord tell me…” and she is wrong then Bobby Sue is not a liar. She just missed it like we all miss it. The words “I feel like…” or “I think…? invite confirmation or correction. The difference between the two is in the assignment of an office and the assumption of authority. Pastor Billy Bob exalts himself by putting himself on equal footing with the Word that God exalts above all His name. Psalms 138:2 Bobby Sue is simply trying to make sense of what God is speaking amidst at least three other voices. It’s unlikely that anyone will put Bobby Sue on a pedestal and forgo searching the scriptures to see if what she said is true. Acts 17:11

People put Billy Bob Prophets on pedestals every day.

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 1 Cor 2:2

The cross marks our proverbial true north as we sojourn the earth. The cross is the hinge upon which everything in the Christian walk hangs. Hence Paul resolved to know nothing apart from it. And Peter exhorted us to arm ourselves with the same resolve by which Jesus suffered and endured the cross.

“We understand the value of suffering in the Christian life. Learning to love requires willingness to suffer for the sake of righteousness. Discipline and testing make saints out of us, and produce in us holiness, without which we will not see God’s face and share His glory. With Paul we rejoice in our weaknesses, for when we are weak we are strong.” Value #4 of 5 CORE VALUES OF IRIS GLOBAL

Interestingly, Suffering in some form is mentioned sixty-eight times in the New Testament, and Blessing just twenty-one. If we are going to arm ourselves with the same resolve as Jesus then we need to study and meditate on what He endured.

And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” Luke 22:40-42

How often do we encounter suffering and tragedy and pray like Jesus in Gethsemene? Jesus did not tell His disciples to pray for deliverance from suffering but that they would not fall into temptation. Temptation to what? I think it was the temptation to quit. When Jesus sent Cornilieus to heal Saul / Paul’s blindness it wasn’t to pour out blessings but to tell Paul all that he must suffer. Acts 9:16 If they persecuted Jesus then why would we assume the same won’t happen to us? John 15:20 If the same might happen to us then why don’t we ever talk about it as a church? Arm ourselves with the same resolve does not mean arming ourselves with prophetic feel-good fluff. Arming myself means asking how I can finish well. Arm yourself means asking the Lord to show me how I could be tempted such that I might fail to endure and overcome. Mat 24:13, Rev 21:7-9

For you have spent enough time in the past carrying out the same desires as the Gentiles: living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and detestable idolatry. Because of this, they consider it strange of you not to plunge with them into the same flood of reckless indiscretion, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 1 Peter 4:3-5 -Berean Study Bible-

MARANATHA!

Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study, Red Pill Diaries

Character Reloaded

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. 1 Peter 4:1-2

We were locked down in Honduras when I wrote the original version of this blog. COVID cases had begun to double daily. The borders and airports were closed. No one could leave the country.  There was a 6-month to 2-year jail sentence awaiting anyone who violated the lockdown. Ironically it had been just two months since I’d presented a teaching based on the book The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy-What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America’s Next Rendezvous with Destiny. By William Straus and Neil Howe. I had no idea at the time how prophetic it was. My audience was comprised of Millennials and Gen Z-ers who were learning how to be missionaries.  My message was not well received. You can read the book or better yet, its sequel The Fourth Turning is Here,. You can also view my original post for a quick synopsis. Suffice it to say that we are in what Straus and Howe called The Fourth Turning otherwise known as

“The Crisis”

Today we find the globe moving deeper into the Fourth Turning that is scheduled to peak sometime between 2025 and 2030. If the cycle simply repeats it will usher in another First Turn “High”. Just to give you some context, the previous High was 1945 -1965 and gave birth to “The Boomer Generation” and the proverbial “American  Dream”. That the cycles of history repeat is as unavoidable as it is undeniable. The key to surviving and thriving is rooted in recognizing the season and responding correctly. One of the most common errors people make during Fourth Turns is to mistake them for a First.

For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time when it suddenly falls upon them.
Ecc 9:12

The Root of Crisis

Judge and judgment are among the most contentious words these days. This is especially true in the context of Christianity where “judgment” has become a pejorative. The WOKE especially like to cite Jesus in Mat 7:1-3 “judge not lest ye be judged” usually in response to any mention of sin. Today love is increasingly defined as tolerance of sin. Conviction is hate. The Greek word for judge in Mat 7 is krínō, meaning to “condemn or pronounce sentence upon”. The absurdity of one person judging another for judging them aside, we agree that no man should krínō another.

There is more than one word for judgment in the Bible.

“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.” 1 Cor 2:14-15 “judge” is Anakrínō – to discern.

I Anakrínō right from wrong – truth from lies etc. In practice Anakrínō looks like intuition or “gut instinct”. Yet it is a knowing in one’s spirit that can be later verified with God’s word.

And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment… Philippians 1:9

Judgment here is Aísthēsis – perception by the intellect as well as the senses, discernment, Cognition, moral discernment in ethical matters.

Among other things, Aísthēsis is the bedrock of a 1 Peter 3:15 Apologia, a defense for the hope that is in us.

Still, there is one other word for judgement.

That word is Krísis, the word from which the English word “crisis” is derived.

Krísis is God’s judgment.

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 1 Peter 4:17

Discussions of God’s judgment may trigger charismatic believers. We may encounter a similar emotional response is when discussing spiritual gifts with reformed cessationists. Theological paradigms get rattled and arguments are formed as we debate whether or not God really is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Yet almost no one would dispute that God can not be mocked. We reap what we sow. There is a point on the path of sin where God turns his head and gives those who remain in it over to do that which ought not to be done. Rom 1:18-32 This turning over is for the destruction of their flesh in the hope that their soul might be saved. At the end of the day, the wages of sin is death. God does not cause us to sin. He allows us to sin. It is not God’s desire that crisis falls upon us. He desires that we wake up and rise from the dead. Yet all are without excuse. Rom 1: 18-32. Therefore God does not change the consequences of our chosen rebellion. Does the devil play a role? Certainly! In fact he thinks he is winning. Little does he know that he is God’s stool pigeon. The pressure (Thlipsis- tribulation) that Satan is allowed to impose on us is used by God to conform us to the image of His son Rom 8:29 and remove the spots and wrinkles from His bride. Eph 5:27 Imagine what might happen if we took responsibility for our collective sin and resulting Krísis like Daniel did in Dan 9 instead of assigning power to the devil and deferring blame upon Him.

Consider how that might shape our prayers.

While the scandal at IHOP at least partially inspires this post, the allegations against Mike remain as yet unconfirmed. Please don’t get lost in speculation regarding his innocence or guilt. Rather I hope that you will consider the Krísis that has been brought to light within the body of Christ.

Having attended Ravi Zacharias’ School of Apologetics, I was devastated when his lifelong sexual sin was exposed immediately following his death in 2021. No man has impacted my theology and faith more than he. If I have ever placed a man on a pedestal Ravi was it. I cried when his ministry, life’s work, and legacy collapsed. Yet Ravi’s sin was not the root cause of his ministry’s implosion. It was the leadership team who knew about Ravi’s sin and covered it up to protect the ministry that detonated its demise. Despite the title, the video below is not about Mike Bickle per se. It is Lew Engle’s public confession of his porn addiction at a One Thing Conference in 2018. I think we were in Ecuador on the Amazon at the time and had no idea this had happened. The current scandal at IHOP is the only reason I – and maybe you – have become aware of it now.

Clearly, there is a crisis in the body of Christ.

How did we get here? As Ray Comfort says, “God comes to us with a subpoena in one hand and a pardon in the other.”  Today we love to tell people about the loving pardon. The subpoena…not so much. We emphasize grace and joy and downplay God’s justice. We thank Him for His goodness and redact His severity and Holiness. In a word, there is no fear of God. Instead, we fear man and man’s rejection. We redact the truth in the hope that we will be accepted.

All who live Godly will be persecuted.

Praise God for Lew’s courage and transparency even if it took him fifty years to get there. I’m not being snarky. It’s just a fact. He has ministered to at least two generations of new believers all the while being double-minded and therefore unstable in all his ways. Sexual sin’s portal is a man’s eyes. It is the number one sin that threatens to beset all men. No man is immune. If you think you are then take heed lest you fall. One reason I don’t have a porn problem today is because I know that I could. The other reason is that I understand how real the battle is and how it is fought.

Lew mentioned years of futile prayer and fasting against his compulsion. That makes perfect sense. The Bible tells us to flee youthful lusts. Prayer and fasting is for unbelief. Those who fail to heed the warning to flee soon find themselves caught in the snare of addiction. Now they must expose it Eph 5:11 before they can hope to flee it. Exposure is what many people fear most because the required vulnerability produces suffering. This suffering may be the result of shame, the loss of the esteem of men, position, and or material consequences like the loss of a career or even one’s freedom. Fear of exposure keeps us stuck in our sin. As the 12 Step adage goes,

“We are as sick as our secrets.”

But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. 

What I found most perplexing about the video is that Mike Bickle seemed embarrassed by Lew’s transparency. The words he chose were anything but supportive of accountability. Mike seemed quite familiar with Lew’s struggle as he attempted to minimize and rationalize the sin. Thankfully Lew Engle wasn’t having any of it. The fear of God was on him and he quaked in his boots as he publicly repented.

But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 1 Cor 11:31

The reason for God’s judgment on the house of God and global society is that we have avoided addressing the subject of sin for so long that today we increasingly call good evil and evil good.

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this, they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does. 1 Pet 4:1-6

Arm yourself with the same way of thinking… is similar to gird up the loins of your mind and having done all to stand, stand therefore… Could any true believer engage in a besetting sin if they were present at Jesus’ crucifixion? Peter is calling us to Jesus’ battle. It is a call to be ready to suffer like Jesus amid a reprobate society. It is the act of resolving to lose one’s life to save it, …to overcome by the blood of the lamb, the word of our testimony and to NOT love our lives onto death. Mind you it is not a call to pursue suffering or martyrdom but a willingness to embrace it if necessary. Still, the question remains;

Suffer for what?

Paul calls it persevering. Once again, tribulation is Thlipsis (pressure) and specifically refers to a form of Roman execution where a large bolder was placed on the victim’s chest and slowly crushed the life out of him. In this context, pressure could be iniquity which includes the pressure to sin. We refer to this pressure as temptation. Yet iniquity left unaddressed becomes generational. The longer we remain isolated in secret sin the greater the iniquity and the more fragmented we become. Fragmentation is the opposite of integrity. Both fragmentation and integrity are opposing expressions of character. Our character is what God seeks to transform and conform to the image of His son. Persevering under pressure is God’s formula for transformation that produces hope.

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Rom 5:3-5

One thing seems certain Krísis reveals character. While it is often misconstrued as wrath to which believers are not appointed, it is in fact, the discipline of a loving Father and a catalyst for transformation. The pressure increases according to our resistance until we surrender and repent or ends in death. The choice is ours. The final outcome is determined by our response. How silly we must look to the principalities to whom we are called to make the manifest wisdom of God known any time we pray against God’s Krísis in Jesus’ name. This is one way many have and will be caught in the aforementioned snare. Everything will be shaken. Only what can’t be shaken will remain…our God is a consuming fire.  Who we are and what we do “will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.”  Only that which is of God will survive. Therefore arm yourself with the mind and character of Jesus. If we suffer with Him we will be glorified with Him.

One thing seems certain. Hard times and big challenges lie ahead. More and more we will see true character exposed both in and out of the church. I understand the importance of the honor that so characterizes my own faith stream. It’s true context applies to missions and becoming all things to all men in order to save a few. We honored Muslims in Africa to earn credibility and the right to be heard by them. Honor was never intended to be a perversion of do not touch God’s anointed – a proverbial bunker in which leaders avoid accountability. God is not having it. My prayer is for wisdom and courage for all of us to judge ourselves and that we allow the transformation of our character wherever needed so that we can faithfully fulfill what God has called us to in these last days.

Every outcome will ultimately be determined by our character.

Maranatha

Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study, Red Pill Diaries

Why Israel?

The only way to understand the ongoing conflict in Israel is through a Biblical understanding of Israel’s history.

OTHERWISE, IT IS JUST ANOTHER POWER STRUGGLE AND ATROCITY THAT HAS NO LIMITS.

Here is a very brief albeit condensed outline.

God gave Abraham the land that would become Israel. Genesis 12. Abraham had two sons Issac and Ismael. Genesis 16:1–16, Gen 17:18–26, Gen 21:1–21 Issac is the child of the promise because Sara gave birth as God promised despite the natural impossibility of giving birth at such an old age. Issac was the father of Jacob who became Israel. Genesis 32:22-32 Ishmael is the child of the flesh due to the impatience of Abraham’s wife Sara who convinced Abraham to step out of faith and sleep with her servant Hagar. Thirteen years later Ishmael and his mother Hagar are banished to the desert. Ishmael becomes the father of the Arab nations. Islam believes Ishmael is the child of the promise and lists him as a prophet and one who, according to Muslims helped Abraham build the Kabba in Mecca.

The biblical history of Israel is the story of an estranged family.

They are estranged from their father and from each other.

Jesus brought and assigned believers the ministry of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:17-19

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

The Israelite’s history has been an ongoing and repeated cycle of receiving a blessing from God, followed by disobedience and entitlement, God’s discipline, Israel’s  repentance, restoration and blessing again. The ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise to the Jewish people is not based upon their being better than the rest of the world. Isaiah 64:6, Romans 3:1-20 It is based on the choice and unbreakable covenant God made that will culminate with their eventual acceptance of Jesus as their King. Romans 11

Fast forward…

Jesus was born, and rejected by a majority of His people the Jews. He was crucified, resurrected therbye conquering sin and death. The Gospel of Salvation was fulfilled. This is the foundation of God’s redemptive plan. (See all four Gospels).  Jesus ascends to the Father, the Holy Spirit is given and the Christian church is born. Acts 1-2.

In 70 AD the 2nd Jewish Temple was destroyed by the Romans. Israel ceased to be a nation and most of the Jewish population was dispersed to the nations of the world as Jesus prophesied in Mathew 24:2.

In 130 AD a Jewish Zealot named Simon Barcoba led a rebellion against the Roman Empire. They were crushed by the Romans.

In the year 135 AD, the Roman Emperor Hadrian renamed Judea (Southern Israel) “Palestinia” in an attempt to stamp out any remaining trace of the Jewish people. Israel did not exist as a nation again until “The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel” by the UN on May 14, 1948. This was prophetically alluded to by Jesus in Mathew 24:32-33. The people displaced in 1948 are known as Palestinians today.

At some future point, Jesus will return and descend upon the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem to set up His millennial Kingdom. Zechariah 14, Revelation 20.

Certain prophetic benchmarks must be met before that happens.

Damascus, the oldest and most consistently populated city in the world will be destroyed. Isaiah 17:1. People from the geographic areas currently known as Russia, Kajikistan Iraq, Syria, Turkey Iran, Morroco, Algeria, Libya, and Sudan will attack Israel. Ezekiel 38-39. The man of Perdition a.k.a. the anti-Christ will emerge. The Jewish daily sacrifice will be restored on the temple mount in Jerusalem. Then it will be abruptly taken away. The abomination that causes desolation (whatever that is) will take place. Mat 24:15. The three-and-a-half-year tribulation will then commence. Daniel 12, Revelation 13, Mathew 24:21 Then Jesus will return, Daniel 7:13-14, Acts 1, Mathew 24:29-31. This will be the fulfillment of the three remaining  Feasts of Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles. As bad as things are, and will be, it is important to remember that Jesus framed what is coming in the context of “birth pains” Mathew 24. Consider this; if a woman went into labor and didn’t know she was pregnant she would think she was dying. The hardest time on earth is likened to a woman in labor. Labor is hard and painful. The pain ends as abruptly as it started as soon as the baby is born. A woman endures labor for the coming joy that is her child. Hence Jesus exhorts us to endure Mathew 24:13 and when these things happen we are to, look up as our redemption draws near. Luke 21:28 This is the second part of God’s redemptive plan.

It will be the fulfillment of the Gospel of The Kingdom.

“But the Bible is just a fairy tale”, you say.

Fine. You can’t prove that. In all fairness neither can believers prove you are wrong. Both arguments, both sides, are rooted in a presupposition otherwise known as a statement of faith. Arguing presupposition against presupposition, worldview versus worldview is futile.

Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Mathew 7:13

On the other hand, if I am wrong and the Bible is a fairytale,

then like you I will live out the remainder of my days as a dirtbag in meaningless futility until my dirtbag returns to dust. Apart from the subjective opinions of man, there is no right or wrong. Self-preservation is the supreme spiritual law. I live for me. You live for you. Your life is only valid to the extent that it helps or at least does not interfere with mine.  As in the case of the existentialist philosopher Albert Camus, everyone will eventually be faced with the question,

“Why not suicide?”

Apart from Jesus, there is no good answer especially when life seems unbearable.

On the other hand, if I am right and every word in the Bible is God-breathed, 2 Timothy 3 then those who believe will spend eternity with Jesus. Those who reject God’s redemptive plan will die in their sin and spend eternity in hell. This is offensive to secular humanists. However, as Blaise Pascal realized, the risk versus reward alone behooves us all to examine the resentment, narcissism, pride, and rebellion that allows us to be blinded. 2 Corinthians 4:1-4

“But what kind of God allows so much suffering?” you ask.

Why doesn’t He just end it all now? 

God is not a covenant breaker like humankind. He meant what He said and He can not lie.

“Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9

In the end, God will accomplish all that He started. Isaiah 55:11. Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord. Philippians 2:10-11 Israel and the Gentile Church will be saved. Romans 11. So will the radical descendant tribes of Ishmael. Isaiah 19:16-25. Only those who refuse to believe and be baptized

will not. Mark 16:16 

Consider that the persistent anxiety, rage and depression with which so many struggle might not be their flesh crying out for the right feel-good medication. Rather their spirit man, the part of them that will live for eternity somewhere is crying out for salvation. Deny it all you want. Deep down everyone knows that they are among the walking dead, trapped in their sin. All of us are by nature children appointed to the wrath that we deserve known as hell. Ephesians 2:1-3

Do we fail at times? Of course. Just get up and try again. Proverbs 24:16, 1 John 1:9 At the end of the day we are clothed in His righteousness not our own. Isaiah 61:10

But God!

God in His grace made a way for all to be saved. There is nothing we can do to earn or be worthy of it. It is a gift that we accept or reject Ephesians 2:4-10 God wants to save us because of who He is.

Not because of who we are or anything we do. Titus 3:5

What a relief!

All that is required is that we believe and be baptized. Just know that believing is more than merely agreeing.  Believing means learning about Jesus and His ways – trusting and obeying Him to the best of our ability.  Baptism is an outward expression of an internal commitment and change. It is the death of the old man and the birth of the new. We are submerged as a representation of death. We are raised as new creations. 2 Corinthians 5:16-20, Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 2:10, Ephesians 4:22-24, 1 Peter 3:18-22, Romans 6:3-4, Romans 8:1.

Jesus is knocking at your door. It’s up to you to let Him in. Revelation 3:20

God appointed and or foreknew everything you see playing out in Israel and the world today. Evil is not the fault of God. It is the inevitable expression of man’s total depravity amidst God’s plan to save us despite us.

Who acts for the one who waits for Him?
You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness. Who remembers You in Your ways? You are indeed angry, for we have sinned—In these ways we continue, And we need to be saved. But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;
We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. And no one calls on Your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of You; for You have hidden Your face from us, and have consumed us because of our iniquities. But now, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hand.
Isaiah 64:5-8

At the end of the day violence and suffering continue because people won’t surrender and repent until they reach the end of themselves.

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 2 Timothy 3:1-5 

There is a lot of self today.

Maranatha

Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study, Red Pill Diaries

Hackable Animals

Training for War

Spiritual warfare begins with knowing the wiles of the devil in order to stand. Eph 6:11 In this context Stand is hístēmi to be of a steadfast mind. Ephesians 6 goes on to describe the full armor of God begining with the belt of Truth.

Every warrior knows the very first truth that must be acquired is a clear understanding of one’s own weaknesses. Emotion is always first. Any human being lacking a firm understanding of their own emotions, and the subsequent ability to self-regulate them is what Yuval Noah Harari calls a Hackable Animal. If you have never heard of Harari, he is a Jewish atheist homosexual historian and spokesperson for The World Economic Forum WEF. The WEF wants to put everyone in modern-day ghettos called fifteen-minute smart cities where “you’ll own nothing and be happy”. Among other things, Harari looks forward to the day when AI will rewrite the bible so that we will have a religion that is “more correct.”

But I digress…

Those who primarily rely on emotion to navigate the circumstances of their lives are easily manipulated by how they feel. Any stimulus that produces fear, lust anger, grief, or greed makes them supremely hackable. If you pay close attention you will quickly recognize that nearly all media, especially visual media is designed to hack you. The only way to ensure you aren’t hacked is to turn off what my dad called the idiot box.

This is especially true if you are Christian and a consumer of MainStream (I call it sewer stream) Media. If you think there is a lick of truth on FOX, CNN, NBC, MSNBC, ABC, or CBS, I have bad news for you.

You’ve been hacked!

In the West, we are often more concerned about offending the sensibilities of others than we are with establishing the truth. This is not the case outside the first world where horrors are a daily experience. Being a spiritual warrior requires we meet the reality of tragedy head-on without being consumed by emotion but also without losing compassion for our fellow image-bearers. Jesus repeatedly modeled this Eg. Mat 12:22-37. Jesus was not moved by the fickleness of human emotion because He knew all men and He knew what was in man. John 2:23-25 In our case walking this way requires an understanding that both sides of a conflict will do anything they can to spark emotion and glean support from the oh-so-hackable public.

This is a photo circulated by Israel allegedly of a burned Israeli baby.
This is alleged to be the original photo. The baby is said to be produced by AI.

All we know for sure is that one of them is fake.


Both Israel and Palestine claim these are their people.

The point here is that everything we know or think we know about this conflict is rooted in confirmation bias that is itself rooted in our own empirically unprovable presuppositions. “God exists.” “God does not exist.” “God’s name is YHVH.” “God’s name is Allah” are examples of presuppositions. Our confirmation bias is supported by what we read, hear, or see in the media. Unless you were there, you have no way of knowing the truth about the images above.

Yet how many will choose a side to hate based on media images?

What took place in Israel and is currently taking place in Gaza is horrific. The pressure to take sides is strong. This is exactly what the devil wants. Israel is so enraged by the unspeakable atrocities committed by Hamas that they are at risk of becoming Hamas themselves.

Many people know that Hamas in Arabic means zeal, strength, or bravery. We call them terrorists because, well…what they do is they do is terrifying. Still, they are fiercely loyal to each other and faithful to their families. Most are very young men with no knowledge of the outside world. They aren’t geopolitical analysts. All they know is that the people on the other side of the wall have been abusing and killing them since the day they were born. Had I been born into a Muslim family in Gaza I almost certainly would have joined them. On the other hand, had I been born an Israeli Jew. I’d have been in the IDF killing Hamas.

Today I follow Jesus. John 18:36

Do you suppose it is a coincidence that the word Violence in Hebrew is Chamac pronounced Hamas? Chamac is violence, wrong, cruelty, injustice, oppressor, and unrighteousness. That the earth was filled with Hamas is one of the reasons that God flooded it. Gen 6:11

For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Mat 24:37

No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. 2 Tim 2:4

All warriors train according to a specific battle plan. They drill and drill and drill again until every movement becomes a part of who they are. If you are going to be a spiritual warrior you must do the same. You must first know God’s plan by studying it. His Word is His plan. Those familiar with the truth are less likely to be deceived by a counterfeit. Still, studying God’s word is not enough.

You must become it.

As Christians, we should know that God is a God of His word. He hasn’t broken His covenant with Israel even though they and we break ours all the time. The Jews may have been Appointed to disobey. But it wasn’t so they would be rejected and condemned. It was part of God’s plan to save all who would be saved including Israel before the foundations of the earth.

Let’s face it. Many of the things coming our way are pretty terrifying. Hamas has called for global Jihad. As I see it, it’s not so much a question of if it happens but when. God makes the inevitability of suffering as the Gospel of the Kingdom is fulfilled clear throughout His word. Hence soldiers always prepare to endure. 2 Tim 2:3

Once again, we have a choice. Will our hearts fail us from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth. Luke 21:26 Or will we look up and lift up our heads, because our redemption draws near.” Luke 21:28 Our reaction will be largely determined by how well we have mastered the aforementioned disciplines so that we have enough oil. Mat 25:1-13

Finally, I know that many were encouraged by the grandeur and mystery of God’s perfect plan that we discussed in Appointed. But did you know that

it gets even grander?

While the Jews and the Nation of Israel are the offspring of Jacob, the remaining Arabic people are descendants of Ishmael. Ishmael means God will hear. Many have read Genesis 21 and assumed that Ishmael was rejected and scorned. Yet God promised to also make Him a great nation. Gen 21:18 Ishmael is believed to have settled in Mecca and Muhammad is regarded as his descendant. At the end of the day Jews and Christians are contending with their estranged brother.

Just as we learned that God planned to redeem His disobedient, idolatrous, and adulterous bride Israel and the Church before the foundations of the earth, He has a similar plan for Ishmael.

On that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing amid the earth, whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.” Isaiah 19:24-25

I can’t help but wonder.

Could Ishmael be the prodigal son? Luke 15:11-32

Amidst all the insanity, chaos, and horror resulting from the total depravity of all mankind apart from the blood of Jesus, God is in the process of restoring the entire family of Abraham to which we all belong under one head.

That head is Jesus.

Stay focused. Titus 2: 11-15

Be unhackable.

MARANATHA

Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study, Red Pill Diaries

Distraction

Food for Thought.

We were headed to North West Arkansas to speak at a Feast of Tabernacles celebration last week when we encountered an annoying delay. I began writing this from a repair shop after hitting a mysterious toolbox on the highway at 75 mph and blowing out two tires. Cathy thought we were about to die when we hit. I was so laser-focused on preventing it that I didn’t have time to think or feel. Ironically only one of three repair shops in the area had two of the tires we needed. “It’s weird.” said the repair man. “We never have these tires.”

“These were delivered this morning.“

Six years overseas taught us a lot about abounding in being brought low, and the secret joy of trusting God in the face of adversity, and material lack. Phil 4:11-23 At the end of the day God always provides wherever He guides. Obedience according to His word is the ultimate protection. It might seem counterintuitive but living in abundance can be more confusing than living abased.

The illusion of security and permanence is so much thicker in the still prosperous first world. 

The stark contrast between where we live now versus where we spent the previous six years is almost surreal at times.

Like Honduras, most people scrounge just to survive in most of the world today. Meanwhile, here in the US, people vie for significance and the illusory “next level”. We buy cars and houses and fill them with stuff. We plan vacations and extended vacations called retirement as if tomorrow were promised. Prov 27:1  To question any part of it amounts to swimming upstream against rapids. It’s so much easier and more pleasant to simply go with the flow and be liked by one’s fellow floaters. Otherwise, we’d embrace the truth that most first-world goals are faith’s counterfeit. Little green papers representing debt are not our provider. Insurance policies are not our protectors.

We Americans are an idolatrous bunch.

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. James 4:14

In a word, we are distracted. We are distracted by our pursuit of material gain. We are distracted by a fear that we do not share enough of our stuff. We are distracted by the threat of losing it. We are distracted by conflict revolving around one group trying to take another group’s stuff. We are distracted by the pressure to take sides. Distraction is the enemy’s primary strategy in the West. I am convinced that part of God’s purpose in sending me overseas was to show me my own level of distraction. In Honduras, I found distraction in my desire to repair the vapor and the sense of purpose I gained from the illusion of thinking I did. We will never fix poverty this side of Jesus’s return. John 12:1-8

Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village, and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.  And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at  Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42

Distract (cumbered) is perispáō to draw away, distract to be over-occupied, too busy, about a thing

It’s no coincidence that Israel was attacked on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. Whether or not this is the beginning of the prophesied Psalm 83 war, the Ezekiel 38-39 war, or the continuation of the setting of the stage, no human being knows. I would say maybe keep your eye out for Isaiah 17:1. What we do know is that the pressure to align with a side in support of one group killing the other is strong. As believers, we must remember that Jesus died so that all might be saved. His kingdom is not of this world. We weep for Israel and Palestine, Ukraine and Russia alike. In any case, birth pain wars and rumors of wars Mat 24:6 remain a sign of the times. Jesus’ instruction regarding our response remains the same.

…see that ye be not troubled:…

for all these things MUST come to pass, but the end is not yet.

Even so, many confuse willful ignorance with faith. Mat 16:3

Now is a the time to be sober minded.

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1Pet 5:8

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.1 Pet 1:13

Sober is Nepho – discreet, to watch, to be calm, and collected in spirit to be temperate, dispassionate, circumspect.

One thing is certain. There will be unexpected obstacles in the road ahead that none of us can or will anticipate. Others are prophetically described in scripture provided we know scripture. 2 Tim 2:7-15 Therefore consider that both Grace and Joy are the same root – Cháris in Greek. Then examine where your hope lies.

Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling Phil 2:12

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

Do not be distracted or troubled.

For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Phil 2:13

MARANATHA

Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study, Red Pill Diaries

Revival in America

Believers around the world have been hoping for, praying for, and prophesying revival for decades. It seems that every couple of years someone or some group declares a revival only to have it fizzle out in a few weeks or months. “Ok, maybe it wasn’t an actual revival,” they say. “But lots of people came to the Lord.” That’s wonderful and personal revival can and does happen.

The truth is that since 2020 there has been a 13% drop in church attendance among Gen X and a 30% drop among Gen Z. Add to that the blatant heresies of denominations that support gay marriage, transgendersism, and abortion, and it makes sense that research shows only 6-9% of professing Christians in America maintain a biblical world view. This is understandable given that only 37% of all Christian pastors have a biblical worldview themselves. Gal 1:8-9 Of course this begs the question; how do the researchers define a Biblical worldview?

Seven criteria of belief were measured.

1. A Biblically orthodox understanding of God’s existence and nature.

2. Acknowledgement of being a sinner in need of a saviour.

3. Jesus is the only way to salvation.

4. Absolute moral truth exists; God is the basis of all truth.

5. The Bible is the true and reliable words of God.

6. Success is defined as consistent obedience to God.

7. Life’s purpose is to know, love, and serve God with all your heart, mind, strength, and soul.

If I were a betting man I’d say we are more in line with a 2 Thess 2:3 falling away than the ear-tickling fantasies of contemporary Jerm 14:11-18 prophets.

Still what is revival?

The closest we get to an actual biblical description of revival is found in the little book of Jonah. The mass repentance and salvations of Assyrians in Ninevah remain unmatched today. Billy Graham called it “the greatest revival the world has ever known”. Revivals like Azuza Street, Brownsville, and The Toronto Blessing were but drops in the bucket in comparison.

Unfortunately, one hundred fifty years after its collective repentance and subsequent reprieve as a result of Jonah’s obedience, Nineveh was back in the biblical judgment news.

While Nahum was clear that  “The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him.” Nah 1:7 like any true prophet he was also clear that God isn’t playing games and “reserves wrath for His enemies.” Nah 1:2

Still the question remains; who are His enemies?

Nahum is clear in his rebuke and declaration of God’s judgment.  Nineveh had become a nation of many races and was sustained by greed. Substance abuse was rampant. Nah 1:9-10 There was violence in the streets, leaders plotted against the Lord and looting abounded in all its forms. Nah 2:9

But looting was not limited to rioters in the streets. Nahum describes Nineveh’s leaders as “swarming locusts, and grasshoppers”. Nahum 3:17 Grasshoppers and locusts pillage and never produce. They disappear in the light of the sun.

As in the days of Jeremiah who rebuked the lying prophets for their ear-tickling false positivity and their claims that God said things that He never did, Jer 14:13-15, Jer 23:9-40, Jer 28 the people of Nineveh had become complacent and oppositional towards God. Perhaps like so many today, they thought they were immune to His judgments. To which Nahum replies,

“Are you better than populous (Thebes)?…” “…(who) “was carried away, into captivity”. Nah 3:8-10

While his meaning may have been euphemious and not quite as literal as my interpretation today, Nahum declares,

“Your people (men ) have become women” the gates of your land are open to your enemies.”  Nah 3:13

And finally

“Your shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria; Your nobles rest in the dust. Your people are scattered on the mountains, And no one gathers them.” Nah 3:18

While the fantasy continues to fall apart there remains a lot of ear-tickling teachers 2 Tim 4:3-4 and prophets assuring us that America shall prosper and abound. They minister to individual self-esteem at the expense of salvation and stoke the flames of personal significance instead of apprehending the fear of our God who is a consuming fire.  Heb 12:29 

Everyone loves and promotes them. Everyone speaks well of them. Luke 6:26

The Bible is the most positive and hopeful message mankind has ever seen. Yet it is a conditional one. Its time frame is eternal. It demands we abandon our ways and become set apart (Holy).  This process begins with individual and collective repentance from sin. 2 Chron 7:14 Apart from this, no message, no word, no action on our part means anything.  The idea that the God who does not change Mal 3:6, who is the same today, yesterday and forever, Heb 13:8 would not respond today as He has in the past is incoherent and does not correspond with experiential or biblical reality.

If you compare the state of the world today with the likeness of Israel back then; what do you see?  Do you see a pleased God declaring contemporary interpretations of Jeremiah 29:11 over an American society at large or do you see Isaiah 5:20 and Jeremiah 14, 23, and 28? I see a rebellious nation deserving of God’s discipline which is the true context of Jeremiah 29:11. I see that God’s mercy and truth can not be divorced from His righteousness and justice. Psalms 89:14 His judgments on earth are an aspect of His mercy in eternity.

If that idea stumps you then consider that God’s chosen, covenant people were captured 44 times, and besieged 23 times. Jerusalem was destroyed twice and its people were sent into captivity. And yet He will restore them. Rom 11:25-36 Anyone claiming that Old Testament principles do not apply to us today should understand Paul’s words in Rom 11:22 and Heb 12.

Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. 

Given that God’s character, plan, and purpose do not change and Ecc 1:9 tells us that history repeats; why would anyone believe that it won’t repeat today? “Surely God would not repeat what He did to Sodom and Gomorrah!” you say. Gen 19, Mat 10:15.

What does true love look like in the context of today?

What kind of messages do people really need?

Nineveh did not repent and was subsequently overrun and destroyed in Nahum’s day.

If revival is what we desire, then perhaps consider this. The first great American revival known as the First Great Awakening began in Enfield Connecticut in 1741 when. Johnathan Edwards preached a sermon titled Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God.

2 Chronicles 7:14, in the spirit of Jesus’ words in Luke 13:1-5 and the Psalmist in Psalms 138:2 remains the most, if not the only relevant starting point for evangelism that might help rekindle the flames of revival in America today.

If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Get off the train tracks. Isaiah 30:9-13, 2 Timothy 4:3

Maranatha!

Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study, Red Pill Diaries

Cracked Pots

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

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

“Live not by lies.” John 8:32

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

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

He’d been out less than a week.

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

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

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

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

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

Live not by lies.

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

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

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

THEY…!!!”

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

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

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

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

“put away.”

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

doing a new thing!

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

Align with a lie.

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

Aim for truth and faithfulness.

That is all.

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

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

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

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

It does not change.

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

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

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

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

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

Live not by lies

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

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

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

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

-Mark Twain-

MARANATHA

Brian and Cathy Gray Red Pill Diaries

Did You Say Prepping? 👀

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

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

Russia is the New Testament Israel.

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

is nevertheless inevitable.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

No.

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

My geopolitical view mirrors that of Peter.

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

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

Perhaps…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

“No more of this!” Luke 22:49-51

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

Later Jesus seals the deal before Pontius Pilot.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I follow Jesus,

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

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

“not yet”!

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

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

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

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

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

What hope is there if I shoot him?

I won’t.

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

Maranatha

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We can not kill our enemies and follow Jesus.

Period!

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

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

Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study, Red Pill Diaries

Tested Genuiness 👀

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Pet 1:3-7

Trial or Temptation (KJV) is peirasmós the temptation by which the devil sought to divert Jesus from his divine errand – the trial of man‘s fidelity, integrity, virtue, constancy – adversity, affliction, trouble: sent by God and serving to test or prove one‘s character, faith, holiness.

The books of First and Second Peter deal heavily with the reality of and the correct response to trials. Still, it can be hard for us to imagine let alone identify with the persecution Peter faced in a devolving Roman society under Nero who burned Rome and blamed it on Christians to justifiy impaling them on poles and burning them as candles to light the streets of Rome. Peter was eventually crucified. Perhaps a better comparison for us today would be the exiles in Asia Minor who in comparison were harassed more than persecuted at the time Peter wrote. Did they understand that Peter’s exhortation would apply more fully in twenty years when Domitian reigned?

The best way I can comprehend Peter’s word is to consider that at nearly the exact same time that we survived our landslide in Honduras, people to whom we had ministered during Harvest School in a village near Palma Mozambique were beheaded by Jihadist rebels.

Our relatively minor trial ended in a little more than a day.  Meanwhile, several pastors trained by IRIS Global continued to see their villages burned and their wives and children killed before their eyes. Yet testimonies continue to pour out from Mozambique showing that grief-stricken as they were these men remained unshakable in their faith. 

Most of us can’t imagine facing a trial like that.

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

Maybe it’s because I am a former Marine trained to think “If this, then this.” Maybe it’s because God called me to be a watchman on the wall. But I think we should be aware of the devils schemes Eph 6:11 contemplate potential faith-testing scenarios, count the cost Luke 14:28-29, and do all to stand Eph 6:13.

For Example

As I wrote in Watchman on the Wall the world’s economic elite recently coined the term “Polycrisis” to describe the overall status of our world in 2023. According to them the growing frequency and intensity of crises are proverbial red flags that should capture our attention and spur us to action. However, the psychology and theology driving the current global leadership, are in my view the true proverbial “canary in the coal mine”.

 

For example while Vladimir Putin is generally portrayed as a villain by western media, I believe he has correctly assessed the overall satanic cultural trajectory of the West.

And it is Satanic

Ironically Putin recently required Christianity to be taught in every Russian college and university. But don’t defect just yet. The Russian Orthodox Church leadership believes that Russia is the New Testament Israel. This is an age-old heresy called supersessionism.

It follows that Putin views the ongoing conflict in Ukraine as the parable of the sheep and goats Mat 25:31-46 played out in real-time. Russians are the sheep. NATO countries are the goats. Putin has stated that he would not hesitate to push the nuclear launch button and destroy all of humankind if Russian sovereignty “faced a genuine existential threat”. “There is no point in the existence of life on Earth without Russia.” Putin advisor Alexander Dugin euphemistically known as “Putin’s Brain” says a nuclear war between Russia and NATO while admittedly unwinnable for either side is nevertheless inevitable. Dugin and Putin both regard its eventuality as a sovereign act of God and a final separation between the sheep and goats where “Russians go to heaven as martyrs.”

“All NATO members will go to hell.“

If that isn’t a rock solid argument for the Acts 17:11 approach to God then I don’t know what is.

In addition to horrific exegeis, we have the shear insanity of resident Biden poking the Russian bear in the eye by sending F-16s.

Biden is also sending cluster bombs previously deemed illegal by the USA to kill Russians in Ukraine. Statistically, cluster bombs kill more civilians than soldiers. Meanwhile, Biden’s alleged neocon opponents like Senator Lindsey Graham are heralding the deaths of Russians as “the best money we’ve spent.”

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

If you look deep enough everything about the conflict in Ukraine amounts to sheer madness. The only logical conclusion is that contemporary Mathusians want billions of us dead. That said, the obliteration of planet Earth does not fit with the current Biblical prophetic timeline. A lot has to happen before Isaiah 34:4 comes into play and we get a new heaven and new earth. Rev 21:1-3 Again, I’m not trying to get you to build a bunker in your back yard. Rather, given our tendency toward complacency and apathy in the prosperous first world I think contemplating our response to one of many potential crises is a great way to identify with and understand the plight of Peter’s audience in Asia Minor. For example, I can imagine a Nero-eqsue scenario whereby the insane actions of Uniparty Neocons and supersessionist Russians posing as Christians become fuel for Satan’s minions on Earth. What a great way to justify the mass persecution of believers everywhere. Imagine blaming the followers of Jesus for a limited nuclear war instead of a mere fire. Similar to today I imagine some of Peter’s exile audience would have taken Peter’s exhortation to heart while others would have dismissed it in favor of hearing sweeter things. Isa 30:9-13 .

Speaking of Nero, Domitian, and now Biden, if we look at the history of church persecution in the context of today we find a direct correlation with the devolution of the social-moral fabric in the society in which the persecution occurred. Rom 1:18-32

Four current and former members of the Biden Admin and one comedian. Can you tell which is which?

Again, my hope is that in facing the very real potential of enduring our own trials, we will align our hearts with the current trials of a rapidly growing number of persecuted believers in the world today and learn from them.

Some know that we ran a home church in conjunction with our prison and inmate reintegration ministry in Hawaii. During that time we partnered with The True Light Church in Lahore Pakistan. We built a website for them and began raising money to print Bibles in Urudu and rescue families from Brick Kiln slavery.

Pastor Tariq Mehmood
Pastor Ammir Rafique

As our Pakistani brothers, Pastor Tariq and Ammir said from the beginning, “We don’t care if they cut our heads, we will serve the Lord.” Rev 12:11.  They’ve been true to their word through the years. A few of the True Light Church Pastors were severely beaten while preaching the gospel in Talaban-controlled areas along the Afghan border.

Perhaps you’ve heard about the recent Koran burning in Sweden.

As I write, the Pakistani body of Christ is suffering the consequences of this incredibly stupid act. It is being used as fuel to justify the persecution of Christians all over the Muslim world. Ammir told us today that Muslims are protesting and burning churches all over Pakistan.

As we would expect, The True Light church is planning a revival meeting in response.

A lot of Americans are angry about the uncontrolled illegal immigration at our border. Many are terrified of hordes of proverbial invading Huns coming to destroy our sacred and prosperous North American way of life. What many Americans fail to understand is that Latin American Society in general is deeply Christian and traditional especially when it comes to topics like gender, marriage, and family values. The people storming our border are told by the media in their respective countries that they have a free pass into the USA if they can get there. While there are always a few bad apples in every bunch the majority of these people just hope to make ten dollars an hour instead of ten dollars per day. I’m telling you this because it begs the question as we study 1 Peter; are we identifying with the contemporary exiles in our daily life? Lev 24:14

Are we numbered among the persecuted or the persecutors?

Cathy and Karen in Cerro Azul Meambar Honduras

Our friend Karen from Honduras has been slowly making her way to the US border for the last six months. It’s a hard and incredibly dangerous journey, especially for a single woman. At one point she was kidnapped by Los Zetas but somehow managed to escape. She is a God-fearing woman with no desire or intention to cross the border illegally. That would have been safer and easier albeit more expensive. Her family could conceivably have paid a coyote, (a cartel-controlled human trafficker) to escort her safely to her final destination in the US. But Karen is trusting God.

Based on our conversations, her faith is well on its way to being found more precious than gold.

Karen is very special to us. She was the person of peace, Luke 10:5 whom we met when we moved to the mountains of Honduras at the beginning of 2020. She located the house in which we lived, introduced us to the community, and showed us the mountain trails between villages. We slept in her church when the landslide hit. Her family dug a few of our possessions out of the mud and Karen hand-washed the mud out of some of Cathy’s clothes. Then her sister provided another house for us to continue our Honduras mission for over a year before God called us to Greeneville TN.

Karen’s sister Alba and their nieces presented us with some of the possessions they’d recovered.

Many believers in the first world recoil at the idea that God would allow let alone intend that His children should suffer. Yet scripture is abundantly clear that He has and does. Isa 53:10, Mat 10:24-25 Not because He hates us, but because He loves us. Rom 8:29 Granted these soulish flesh tents in which we reside for seventy or eighty years of eternity abhor the idea. Yet as we’ve said, God will have a bride “without spot or wrinkle”. Our faith will be tested. James 1:2-4 It will be proven genuine, and found to be more precious than gold tested by fire. Or it will be burned off as dross. 1 Cor 3:12-16

I find it poignant that gold does not burn. When it is purified the goldsmith subjects it to fire. Only the impurities and dross are burned. The goldsmith knows the gold is sufficiently purified when he can see his own reflection in it. Likewise, God will know we are purified when He sees His reflection in us.

While we can never be fully prepared in the natural when faced with the trials of our faith, it is worth learning about how others have endured their own. How have you, or will you respond when faced with a trial of your faith? Christian families in places like Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan are asking themselves these exact questions every day.

They are hard questions.

“If this…Then this…”

Maranatha

Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study, Red Pill Diaries

Warfare 👀

The Belt of Truth.

We are on the topic of spiritual warfare as we complete our study of Ephesians with the full armor of God. Eph 6:10-20 People have all sorts of ideas regarding the nature of spiritual warfare. Intercessory prayer, deliverance, and worship are some of the most common and popular forms within charismatic circles. Even so, Jesus clearly demonstrated that the first line of spiritual attack that believers face is rooted in “disinformation” otherwise known as twisting the truth. Many times the the devil, the father of lies injects confusion by accusing us of what he is doing. While his methods might vary, he always disguises himself and his intentions by mixing truth with lies. Mat 4:1-11

Python

And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. Acts 16:16-18

Divination is Pýthōn in Greek – the Python spirit of which you may have heard. It presents as “good”, or even Godly, and honoring of those who seek after Him but it is Satanic. Flattery and validation are its bait. Heresy is its fruit.

While not exactly divination, if you consider the obsession with things over which we have absolutely no control, you might see a connection between compulsive news-watching and the desire for foretelling future events.

One of our primary sources of deception today is media programming. Most believers willingly acknowledge the inherent dangers of uncensored and unmitigated media consumption. Yet few heed the warning enough to stem the flow of lies designed to program our minds. Jesus alluded to this principle in Mark 8:15 and Mat 16:6. Most of the media we consume amounts to high-tech, leaven, and or a subliminal repetition of the age-old question,

“Did God really say?” Gen 3:1.

Unbeknownst to most, we are entering into a more sinister synthetic realm of disinformation. One that not only threatens to distort our most basic Christian values. But also the presuppositional fabric upon which reality as we know it is based. Some might even say that the makings of a 2 Thess 2:11 strong delusion are upon us. Not only must we ask ourselves “What is true?” but also “What is real? It’s a brilliant strategy if you are a fan of the devil. Because at the end of the day,

Confused and deluded people are easy to herd.

Hence we are grateful that the Belt of Truth is the first piece of armor mentioned in Eph 6:14.

Like it or not we are living in a time of profound darkness and deception. It might be tempting to wonder if it isn’t prophetic. Isaiah 60:2 That said, there is more than one reason for darkness.

And while we know that the eschatological implications regarding the timing of final events will be debated until the day they are fulfilled, one thing is certain. History is a continuum that terminates with the wedding supper of the lamb. Rev 19:6-9 In the meantime we know the world will become darker until the permanent light shines. Rev 22:1-4 In the meantime we are called to be watchful. 1 Cor 16:13, Col 4:2 That said,

What time is it? Mat 16:1-4

Jesus was speaking of Himself, His death, and his resurrection in Matthew 16. Still, the overarching principle remains valid today. Several New Testament verses concerning the final fulfillment of the Gospel of the Kingdom include a warning about deception. 2 Thess 2:1-4 Jesus’ first response to the disciple’s eschatological question on the Mount of Olives beginning in Mat 24:3 was

Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

While some contemporary translations say “I am the Christ” the original Greek is “I am Christ“- Christós – anointed. Anointed implies the authority to speak as, or for God. Many have and will claim to be Messiah. A great many more claim to be anointed. The anointed can define and declare truth. The anointed can define what is real. Deception marked the beginning of the Fall. Deception is progressive.

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Mat 24:24.

Read the full article.

If you are in Christ Eph 2:5-6 then you are among the elect.

Our common problem is that we tend to fix our eyes on what is seen and at best give lip service to the unseen on Sunday. We do so in direct contradiction to scripture. 2 Cor 4:18, Col 3:1-4 So often we are unwittingly consumed by the cares of this world – so myopicly focused on our own desires and gratification that we open ourselves to the enemy and he blinds us. 2 Cor 4:4

Consider that most if not all of what we know about the world beyond our respective communities is derived from what we see, hear, or read in the media. Given that fewer and fewer people read these days it’s probably safe to say that the majority of that information is consumed in video format. As a former video producer, I can tell you that video is inherently deceptive even when the editor is doing his very best, to be honest.

Just playing with our phones in Honduras but you’ll get the idea.

Using cuts, and B-roll is deceptive enough. But did you know that what we define as reality is becoming “synthetic” by design?

The two following videos are AI generated deep fakes.

AI-generated version of Morgan Freeman.
AI-generated video of Joe Biden.

If like me you’ve ever wondered what Mat 24:6 might look like…

So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.

…I think we are on the right path.

So what is the belt of truth and how do we put it on? For starters may I suggest rereading the first introductory post in our Acts 17:11 Bereans Bible Study series; What Is Truth? Perhaps read and meditate on 1 Cor 2. Then join the discussion on Thursdays at 6 pm in the Rock Church sanctuary.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Eph 6:12

Maranatha