This may sound like the Book of the Law itself is a curse but the curse comes when one of the Laws are violated. When Moses read the Book of the Law to the people they all said, -"We will keep them" by which they entered into a Covenant with God at Sinai. Moses then sprinkled the Book and the people with animal blood to ratify the Covenant.

The people did not obey the Laws but continually broke them, -"For if that first Covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. For finding fault with them, He says, . . .’For they did not continue in My Covenant, and I did not care for them.’" (Heb.8)

The Bible says that only by the shedding of blood can sins be forgiven. The blood of animals could not remove our sins - it took the righteous blood of the Son of God.

Whether Jew or Greek, all were cursed because all violated God’s righteous Laws - the Jews in the letter and the Gentiles in their hearts. Now God had a problem. He loved us but we were separated from Him by our sins. Sin is an abomination to God so in order to draw us near to Him He had to make us righteous.

He did this by giving His only Son as an offering in our place - as a propitiation, which means Jesus absorbed the wrath due for our sins. Jesus actually became our curse that we might become His righteousness and be reconciled to God, -"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Cor.)

Personal Testimony

Some years ago we had a sister in our Russellville congregation who played guitar, wrote songs and sang. We met Domenica Gordon at the Feast of Tabernacles in Destin, Florida. After the Feast she began attending services with us in Russellville though she lived about 80 miles away. Soon she was an important part of our worship band.

When she came to services one Sabbath she seemed to be a little upset so I asked her if something was wrong. She quickly shared with me that Thursday she had written a new song that was very special to her but that she could no longer remember the melody or the lyrics. By now it was coming up on two days and since she had not rehearsed the song enough for muscle memory to kick in she believed that it was gone forever. Only I and my family knew about this and we told no one else.

The next Sabbath Domenica was glowingly happy and was excited to play her new song as a special music selection -she had remembered her song! But before she played and sang it she insisted on giving a testimony about how it came about that her new song was recovered.

Domenica is a Registered Nurse and while she was at work at Sparks Medical Center in Ft Smith sister Jean Boshear, a woman whom I had ordained a Deaconess, received a message from the Lord. This was very rare for her so she immediately knew that it must have some significance. The message was to be given to Domenica. When Jean called Domenica the voicemail answered because Domenica was at work. Sister Jean left this voicemail, "Domenica, the Lord impressed it upon me to tell you to read Psalm 77. I don’t know why."

When Domenica came home from work she was so tired that she went straight to bed without checking her messages. During the night she awoke with her arms stretched forth straight up as if she was lifting her arms in worship. Then to her surprise she noticed that her arms did not feel heavy but light as feathers. She said that she felt as though she could hold them in that position indefinitely. As she was marveling at that thought she suddenly remembered her new song. She was overjoyed and jumped out of bed to get her guitar. She played the song and sang it while being sure to record it this time. Then she went back to bed happy and contented.

In the morning she noticed that she had a voicemail from sister Jean. As she listened she heard Jean say that the Lord wanted her to read Psalm 77. As she read through the first six verses the Spirit fell heavily upon her and she began to worship God with great joy.

Verse 2 read, "In the night my hand was stretched out without weariness." Verse 6 read, "I will remember my song in the night." HALLELUJAH! It had already happened but now the Lord was confirming the Word that He gave to sister Jean. The song Domenica had written, lost and recovered, was a song for the Lord whom she loved with all of her heart. Perhaps the devil secretly snatched it away, or perhaps she just forgot it naturally as sometimes happens. But the Lord knew how much that song meant to Domenica, and how she would use it to lead others in worship-and because of His great love, He restored it to her in a very special way.

* "Those without Christ may put Jesus far from themselves but they cannot put death far from themselves. They may avoid the cross but they cannot avoid the grave. The ungodly man frowns upon death because death frowns upon him. Death is the skeleton always lurking in his closet. The only answer to death is life in Christ." Pastor Larry R. Lasiter

The Sensational Church

By Shane Morris

It’s only natural for us to operate using our own senses. We touch. We see. We hear. We smell. We taste. We use them as a gauge to perceive our physical circumstances – whether positive or negative. These senses are reactive and not proactive. They never cause the circumstance, but only respond to it. Similarly, we have emotions. By them we can share in both the sweet and the bitter in a way that is not otherwise possible. Indeed, these things are a gift from God. Emotions allow us to truly experience life itself. They can be of great benefit. But when they are allowed to reign, these same emotions can easily lead us astray. While our senses can also affect our choices and actions, emotions have a powerful influence in how we live out our lives.

The problem doesn’t come with the occurrence of the emotion itself, but it is when it’s given control. When we give our emotions control, they become our guide. When emotions become our guide, other factors such as truth, understanding, or perspective all fall along the wayside. We’re either tossed to and fro by any circumstances that oppose them, or we maintain a constant pursuit of satisfying a feeling.

Beyond this, there’s also an importance that comes from both sides of the spectrum. There is value in the good and the bad, and so there is a balance between experiencing both. In the natural, we don’t tend to fare well when we’re given whatever we want. In most cases, our discipline falters and we neglect the things that need doing. Ironically, we also lose our gratitude. Without adversity, we never seem to appreciate prosperity. When we only focus on our own happiness and comfort, we inevitably grow more selfish and complacent. This seems to be more true in modern America than ever before. "As they had their pasture, they became satisfied, and being satisfied, their heart became proud. Therefore, they forgot Me." (Hosea 13:6)

A wave of sensationalism has swept over many of the American churches. Culture now knows no borders. The sensational church flows happiness through its veins and pumps fun from its lungs. Words like truth and doctrine and religion have been struck as words of taboo, but members can still hear the scriptures to remind them where they are. Shine your light just the way you want to shine, friend. Everyone’s welcome and accepted here. Unless you don’t love everyone like they do.

If you address the need for the Church to revere God or operate with certain order, their leaders probably wouldn’t bat an eye. Many have gained their numbers and their position is secured, for they’ve given their people what they want. If you gained their attention long enough, you’d likely be the religious zealot – a person stuck in a "traditional" mindset. Although, even most of these so-called traditionalist churches have changed so much that they’ve become a modern church culture amalgam — hardly distinguishable from one another except for the design of the steeple on the roof — they just haven’t let the culture tide completely wash over them.

But aside from those who can’t be reached, we should ask ourselves. How relaxed and careless must the churches become before we take issue? Where is the line that crosses into blasphemy? Maybe some examples would help…Just think about how you would feel if your church adopted any of the following methods. Would you approve?

* Praise music is a mixture of popular songs. The set contains Christian songs, but may include a variety of secular songs from well-known artists (The Beatles, Modest Mouse, Radiohead, etc.).

* Memes, humorous images, or movie clips may be used in any given service during the sermon to keep things light and fun. For instance, to use as a comparison to Jonah with the Ninevites, a clip from a James Bond movie might be played to show Goldfinger exclaiming, "No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die!"

* The pastor conducts a series over several weeks called "The Spiritual Songs of Disney". A theme song from a Disney movie is played (Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Jungle Book, Little Mermaid, etc.) during the praise music and a sermon is centered around the movie’s theme song.

* The church skips regular services one day and instead throws a party (using hand-picked scriptures from Isaiah as a reason, which prophesy the peace that will come after Christ returns and establishes order on the earth).

* The church has a regularly scheduled "bar church" service on Thursday nights at a popular bar downtown. It’s a bar, so everyone can feel free to drink and enjoy.

*The church holds a social panel advocating that homosexuality is biblical.

* The pastor suggests that, even if a person does not bear the name of Christ, they may be a Christian if they include the excluded, welcome those who have been rejected, and speak up for those people who are treated unfairly.

Would any of this be a problem? I know this list may seem ridiculous, but these are all very specific, real examples taken from a church in my own hometown (They have grown quite popular over the last few years). At what point do the American churches recognize that an eternal, holy, and just God must be respected and obeyed? When will they see that they are taking lightly the Blood of the Lamb of God that was slain before the foundation of the world? Will it be once the supports are removed and the walls of this advantageous freedom fall down? Maybe so.

Once emotions become our guide, compromise will continue until the feeling is satisfied (which it never is). Everything is reduced to being measured according to its sensational value – even the gospel. People only find value in what’s pleasurable or stimulating. The more we indulge, the more we become creatures of habit — drawn only to that which looks good, sounds good, smells good, feels good, and tastes good. The latest mold of the average American is one of a consumer that loves to consume. A shopaholic with a no-limit credit card perusing the aisles of the store of their happiness. The state of many of the modern churches are no different. They have adapted this same mold of self-gratification. Give the people want they want.

Likewise, in regards to the Church, they are left to determine how to make it successful. But, they can now only measure the success of the gospel according to what "works" today, what brings the people in and satisfies them. What church will make people happy? It certainly won’t be the Church established by Jesus and His apostles! If we judged according to the whims of the sensational church, many of the great cloud of witness would be deemed failures!

What would they say of Job who lost all his property, his children, and was stricken with boils on his entire body as a result of his faithfulness? Job’s friends and even his wife turned on him, yet he still waited on the Lord. That doesn’t seem like a very pleasant experience. What of Joseph who told his brothers his dream and was then sold into slavery for years and years? Even when placed into temptation, he maintained his integrity and refrained from sin. As a result of his obedience, he was placed in the prison for years. Should Joseph have compromised? And what of the great apostle Paul? How many times was the man imprisoned, beaten, lashed, stoned, sleepless, exposed to the elements, in hunger and thirst, in danger of death? (2 Corinthians 11:23-29) Surely, to the sensational church, Paul must be both a failure and a fool.

Where emotions rule, there is no order. Jesus is not just Savior, but He is Lord. He must rule. A Christian who doesn’t love the truth takes His name in vain. A church without a fear of Him doesn’t possess wisdom or understanding. We will always become like that which we worship. We can see this represented in the Lord’s statement about the nation of Israel, "I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your fathers as the first ripe fruit on the fig tree in its first season, but they came to Baal-peor and consecrated themselves to shamefulness and they became as detestable and loathsome as the thing they loved." (Hosea 9:10)

Not all idols are handmade. Even for the Church today, we have all of these things recorded so that we would not make the same mistakes (1 Corinthians 10:7-11). How many warnings are we given to guard our hearts and minds? Paul instructed us, "Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things." (Colossians 3:2)

The very last words of John’s first recorded letter to the Church are "Little children, guard yourselves from idols." If we don’t worship Jesus, we won’t be like Him. If we worship anything else, we won’t be sanctified (set apart). We’ll be just like the world. John was known as the beloved disciple and he rested his head on the bosom of Jesus Himself. I pray that at this time people are emboldened by his words more than ever to emerge from this façade that falsely bears the name of the One whom he loved.

"Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lust, but the one who does the will of God lives forever." (1 John 2:15-17)

With this precedent established, we can only deduce that sound doctrine simply does not "work", just as Paul warned Timothy, -"The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and turn aside to myths. " (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

Sound doctrine will not work, because it is not what the people want. It’s what His people want.

 *"Death is a dreadful thing to those who love this present world. Perhaps if they could live forever they might find peace. But that cannot be for God has appointed every person to die once and then face the Judgment. Would God give eternal life to those who reject Him in this life?" Pastor Larry R. Lasiter

The Glory of Enduring Faith

By Larry R. Lasiter

While visiting with a brother one Sunday I heard the Lord speak. The brother was telling me that something I had said in my sermon on the Sabbath had impacted him, specifically, "We not only need to forgive others - we need to learn to forgive ourselves." He said this ministered to him. He went on to say that he becomes discouraged when he feels that he has let God down by his many failures. It was at that moment when I heard the Lord say, "Those who put their faith in Me cannot disappoint Me." The Father was plainly saying that this man had not disappointed Him - because he had persevered in faith and had not laid down his crown. I understood that God is well aware of our weaknesses.

Hebrews 11:6 immediately came to mind, -"And without faith it is impossible to please Him." I understood that just as it is impossible to please God without faith -it’s equally impossible to disappoint Him when we stand in faith. Another Scripture that came to mind was 1 John 5:4, -"For whoever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world -our faith." Our victory over the world is more about our faith in Christ than it is in our ability to produce righteous works. As Paul wrote in Galatians 2;20, -"The life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself up for me."

Paul placed his faith in Jesus, not in himself. He understood how weak he was in the flesh, but also how strong he was as a new creature in Christ. In Romans 7 he cries,- "For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. . .Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from this body of this death?" Paul hated his human condition but he trusted in his now righteous position in Christ. He opens Chapter 8 with "Therefore there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Later in the Chapter Paul goes on to say that the Spirit is given to "help our weaknesses" and when we suffer tribulation and even martyrdom "we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us." We may be led through the Valley of the Shadow of Death but nothing can separate us from the love of God when we hold our faith in Him.

I began to consider the context of Hebrews 11:6. It is the story of the faithful from Abel forward. People who faced "impossible" situations and "unbearable" hardships. Many were persecuted, many suffered, and many were killed. "All these died in faith without receiving the promises." (Verse 13) Through it all this great cloud of witnesses remained steadfast in their faith. There can be no doubt that countless fervent prayers were offered by these saints for God to deliver them from their dire circumstances, yet God allowed many to suffer and die -and still they all died holding their faith in God. Hebrews 11 is more about enduring faith regardless of how trying the circumstances. God is looking more at who we trust than what we do. What we do is important, but we can never produce a righteousness worthy of His glory -for that we must rely on and trust in the Lord.

In his distress Job cried, "Though He slay me, yet I will trust in Him." and "When He has tried me I shall come forth as gold." and "Oh that You would set a limit for me and remember me! If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my struggle I will wait until my change comes. You will call, and I will answer You; You will long for the work of Your hands." Faithful Job understood that what mattered most was the final outcome -and he knew that his Creator would not forsake him in the grave.

We are saved by grace through faith. This means holding on to the belief that we abide in our Father’s grace because He sacrificed His beloved Son, and used His blood to ratify His Covenant with us. A Covenant in which our lawless deeds are remembered no more. A Covenant in which we are released from our shame. When Adam and Eve sinned they became aware of their nakedness and covered themselves in shame. In this Covenant of Grace through Faith, the Lord Himself endured our shame and has clothed us with His righteousness. We are not only cleansed from our iniquities but released from our shame.

While in a Roman prison Paul offered prayers for his release in order to continue the work of God. But his Heavenly Father had other plans, and soon the Apostle learned that he would suffer martyrdom. In his closing letter to his "son in the Lord" Timothy, he wrote, -"For the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, will award to me on that day." (2 Timothy 4:6-8)

The Skeleton in Every Sinner’s Closet

* "Death is a dreadful thing to those who love this present world. Perhaps if they could live forever they might be at peace. But that cannot be for God has appointed every person to die once and then face the Judgment. God will not give immortality to those who spend their life disregarding Him-like all, they must taste death. Those without Christ may put Jesus far from themselves, but they cannot put death far from themselves. They may avoid the cross but they cannot avoid the grave. The ungodly man frowns upon death because death frowns upon him. Death is the skeleton in his closet. The only answer to death is life in Christ." Larry R. Lasiter

The Era of the Ungrateful American

Dr Jerry Newcombe

Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. I can’t fathom the ingratitude of American soccer star Meghan Rapinoe’s attitude toward America.

Writer Warner Todd Huston notes, "Rapinoe raised eyebrows in the 2018 season by taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem even though she is playing for the U.S. Women’s National soccer team. Her taking a knee only came to an end starting in the 2019 season because the team passed a rule requiring players to stand during the anthem. But she right away said that she would never sing the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ again, nor would she place her hand over her heart because she hates America." Sadly, she is by no means alone. There are millions of ungrateful Americans today.

I remember years ago seeing one of The Far Side cartoons by Gary Larson which showed one dog in his den showing another dog his mounted, stuffed trophies on his wall. There were a couple of stuffed cat heads and bird heads and also a human hand mounted on the wall. The host dog was saying to his guest, "And that's the hand that fed me."

What a fascinating contrast. Last week a man and his infant daughter tragically drowned trying to get to this country through illegal means. And yet the soccer star who was born here has nothing but contempt for the land of opportunity that has given her so many opportunities.

This reminds me of people who are ungrateful to the Lord, even though every beat of their heart is by His grace. When He says, "Enough," it is over and then comes the judgment.

President Lincoln reminded us of our need for thankfulness to God when he called for a day of fasting and prayer during the conflict that tore this country apart. On March 30, 1863, he wrote, "We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven ….But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own."

Our own prosperity as a nation has caused us to forget the Lord, said our 16th president: "Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!"

With another Fourth of July upon us, I think it is a good time to recall why we should be grateful as Americans. This country was born through the sacrifices of those who went before us. What is the Fourth of July? It commemorates that date in 1776 when 56 men in Philadelphia, representing three million people, agreed by voice vote to adopt the final wording of our national birth certificate, the Declaration of Independence.

They knew their lives were on the line by voting for independence from England, and a handful of them paid the ultimate price for this declaration. Several of them were specifically targeted by the British.

The document declared that the rights of man come not from the king or the state, but from the Creator. It declared that when a government interferes too much with God-given rights, the government ultimately becomes illegitimate.

This declaration came years after futile attempts to work with the king to bring about an acceptable peace. But as the "men of Boston" put it, according to the great 19th century historian, George Bancroft: "While America is still on her knees, the king aims a dagger at her heart."

We seem to forget the sacrifices of the founding fathers who bequeathed the freedoms, and subsequently, the prosperity we enjoy in this country. A key founding father John Adams declared: "It is the will of heaven that the two countries should be sundered forever…" America would become its own nation, separate from England.

Adams adds that if we have to endure hardship because of it, God will still help see us through: "It may be the will of heaven that America shall suffer calamities still more wasting and distresses yet more dreadful. If this is to be the case, the furnace of affliction produces refinement in states as well as individuals; but I submit all my hopes and fears to an overruling Providence, in which, unfashionable as the faith may be, I firmly believe." The men who birthed America and declared independence laid everything on line, as they trusted in God.

Why should Meghan Rapinhoe be grateful? Because she was born in a country which gave her opportunity to "write her own script" as some might put it. It is hard for me to comprehend ungrateful Americans.

It seems that some people who are born free believe that freedom is free

When God Met Us On Mt Nebo

One of my favorite outdoor places is only about 20 minutes from my church office. Mt Nebo State Park overlooks the beautiful Arkansas River Valley where I live. From atop the mountain you can see the Arkansas River below to the East and Lake Dardanelle below to the North. From the South and North ends of the mountain you can see a panoramic view of other mountains and hills both far and near.

A few years ago when I arrived for Friday Night Praise and Prayer there was a dear sister named Tabitha who was in the front yard of the church building. It was August when we normally experience suffocating humidity. But this night was unseasonably nice. As I was approaching the front door to enter I mentioned how nice the weather was and Tabitha said, "Well we could all just drive up Mt Nebo-it would be even cooler up there." For reasons I did not yet know that sounded appealing to me so I replied, "If everybody else wants to it’s fine with me." So we decided to carpool our congregation to Mt Nebo for open air praise, worship and prayer.

Upon arriving atop the mountain we found a pavilion overlooking the Arkansas River Valley. From there we could see the cities Russellville and Dardanelle. Two cities separated by the Arkansas River. Not long after we began to worship the Lord by singing praises God made His manifest Presence known. Some saw spiritual things and everybody felt God’s Presence. It was not until the next day during open testimony services in the afternoon did all that had happened came to light.

Two of our members testified that they had seen the Archangel Michael in a chariot in the sky. We all somehow understood that the people in the valley below were held in the bondage of deception and sin, and that there was a demonic principality who had been assigned over this region at work to keep the people in bondage. So we understood that Michael had come to create a breach in his defenses so that the captives could be set free by the Gospel of Jesus. From his chariot the witnesses could see what looked like lightning descending to the homes where people lived to somehow make evangelization possible.

Tabitha’s husband Donald who was a Deacon in our congregation testified that he saw a giant sword appear in the night sky. As he watched it was presented to us. He described the sword in detail because before it was presented it appeared to him at every conceivable angle. He believed that this was significant.

Needless to say, we were all absolutely spiritually on fire for services the next morning. Though we had not heard all the testimonies yet we had all experienced the unmistakable Presence of the Lord. One dear sister named Dominica who had to drive 80 miles each Sabbath to services, happened to miss that Friday evening. When she walked into the church building with her young son she was carrying a box containing a board game. On the side of the box was a graphic of a beautiful sword. When Donald saw the sword he immediately said, "That is exactly the sword that I saw last night!" Those of us who were in hearing distance excitedly went over to look. Dominica said, "My son Nathaniel saw this game and wouldn’t leave me alone until I bought it for him -and he insisted on bringing it to church today." We opened the box and to our amazement saw that the game board was an aerial view of a city where the inhabitants were in captivity to a wicked king. The object of the game was to set the captives free. The weapon needed was the sword, from which lightning would descend to the homes of the captives, setting them free.

It’s so glorious how God works - in how He confirms His work through many witnesses. It was not only a glorious presence filled night there on Nebo, but several cars stopped -people got out and watched and listened to all that was happening. Some stayed and gave testimony that they had felt drawn by God’s Presence-none were practicing Christians.

The Talmud Contains Some Wicked Teachings

The Talmud is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law and Jewish theology. In nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud is the centerpiece of Jewish cultural life and is foundational to all Jewish thought and aspirations, serving also as the guide for the daily life of Jews.

The Talmud is a collection of the writings and commentaries of recognized Rabbic teachers. It’s about the size of an encyclopedia set and is what orthodox Jews study and debate. If you were to move to Israel you could not become a citizen unless you denounced your religion and converted to Judaism. Currently, it’s illegal in Israel to try to convert a Jew. They rejected their Messiah 2000 years ago and except for a small remnant, still reject Him today. Jesus said that until the leaders of Jerusalem say "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" their house would be left desolate of God’s presence.

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation. Under God. Indivisible. With liberty and justice for all." That’s the American ideal, though we have never fully lived up to it.

Most people would agree with the following statements, -"People should deserve what they get", and" People should get what they deserve." In the news recently has been a story of two Hollywood celebrity moms who cheated to get their daughters accepted and enrolled at prestigious colleges. They went so far as hiring very smart people to take the SAT tests for their children. They also hired a shady character to secretly bribe school officials to get these students accepted. In the process, because these fraudulent students were accepted worthy students were denied. I think any reasonable person with any sense of justice would find this to be very wrong, because "People should deserve what they get." These fraudulent actions go against the very fabric of America where there is supposed to be liberty and equal justice for all.

Since this is a very serious crime both of these moms are being prosecuted. It’s a case where the rich, famous and powerful receive preferential treatment at the expense of common folks. It seems that one mom has been apologetic and repentant while the other appears to be in denial. I think it’s safe to say that most who have been keeping up with this case want these moms to be appropriately punished, because -"People should get what they deserve."

Harvard University is one of the most coveted schools in the world that makes the claim that only the very best and brightest are accepted. Yet it seems that the number of children of Politicians accepted are disproportionately high. Curiously, former Vice President Al Gore has had four children in a row accepted to Harvard. Statistically, the odds of that happening is equivalent to a person being struck by lightning every single day for an entire year! It doesn’t begin and end with Harvard, but is also true of Yale and other esteemed Universities.

I heard a story of a man who wanted to get his son in the very prestigious Swarthmore College. It just so happened that an old high school friend was a distinguished Professor there. So he called him one day and told him all the good things about his son, -a near straight A student, never been in trouble and had great character. The Professor told his old friend, -"Your son sounds exactly like the type of student we are looking for." The father then asked, "Do you think he will be accepted at Swarthmore?" And the Professor replied, "Oh, I very much doubt it old friend." The father then asked, "But why not if he is exactly what the school is looking for?" The Professor then said, "Yes he is. But there are thousands of students who are equally as qualified as your son who will apply, and we can only accept a limited number of them."

This is a case that seems very much unfair. But it is simply a reality that a university can only accept as many students as it has the means to accommodate. Will some who are more qualified than others get left out while lesser qualified student get in? The answer is yes. The reasons will vary from simple mistakes, to affirmative action, and even to personal favoritism. Sometimes when a wealthy family wants one of their children to be accepted at a desired college they make large donations to the school for years in advance. This causes some administrators to feel a sense of appreciation and obligation to accept a lesser qualified student.

One might say that justice is equity -when all is fair and all is equal. The Bible describes the Creator as a God of justice. And He certainly is just. Even when the decision was made to redeem man from his sins against God and man He did not simply declare "I will extend mercy and forgive" -WHY? -because people should deserve what they get, and people should get what they deserve -only then can true justice be served. So the Creator of man took it upon Himself to become a man in order to lay down His sinless life on our behalf. Justice demanded that someone had to pay the wages of sin and He paid our sin debt that we may live. And He didn’t stop there. He didn’t want us to live for eternity as "pardoned criminals" forever mindful that we didn’t deserve eternal life with it’s fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore. So He made it possible for our old self to die in Christ and for us to be born again of the Spirit that we would become a new creation with no history of sins committed, -this is called justification. To be justified is to have been thoroughly examined and found without guilt.

In the natural we understand that we have failed our Creator. We have all fallen short of His glory. And though we receive by faith that He has justified us by the sacrificial blood of the Son of God, we still remember our past, and we are still aware that we don’t even seek to please Him every minute of every day even now as born again saints. So it doesn’t seem like justice when a perfect, sinless person has to pay for our sin debt- and then we are completely set free and are justified. Jesus didn’t deserve to suffer and die for us. And it seems that we didn’t get what we deserved for living a life of sin, which is death in the lake of fire. This compels us appreciative souls to say,- "May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering."

As we meditate upon the love, mercy and grace that our Creator has lavished upon us, it should surely help to protect us from the thoughts that God is not fair-that He has not treated us fairly - or that the world is not fair, not just, and it’s God’s fault. But it is not as if God sat idly by and did not share in the sufferings Himself. He emptied Himself of divinity (Phil 2), came in the likeness and weakness of man, was tempted as we are, overcame and remained sinless, then laid down that sinless life to save us. The Creator knew well that if He made man with a free will that he could choose to do wrong. But God made man to become His sons and to love Him as He loves us. This would only be possible if God gave man the freedom to choose to love Him or not. There are those who make the claim that God is unjust in punishing those who choose their own way. That it is terribly unfair to give someone freedom of choice but if they don’t choose God’s way then they will be destroyed in the Lake of Fire. But from God’s perspective every evil in the world is caused by failure to follow His way. All wars, murders, rapes, child molestations, abortions, -all the evil things which most of us hate. One day our Creator will bring destruction upon the entire universe and create a new heavens and a new earth free from a sinful and wicked past for His children. So ask yourself the question, -"What kind of new world do you want?" If you want a just world that is free from evil, then you cannot allow evil people to live there.

Obviously, if you create anything for use you expect to have power over the thing you created. If you created a coffee cup you would expect the cup to do it’s job without leaking, etc. If you build a new house you expect the house to be solid, stable and with a roof that does not leak when it rains. The eternal Creator had made all things for specific purposes too, and when something or someone rebels against it’s own purpose the usefulness is not there. You and I simply discard things that no longer work, but our loving Creator went so far as to personally suffer and die to save us from being discarded. Then He gave us a new life in Jesus that we might live in His divine purpose which He planned and created for each individual. Perhaps, we are still awaiting justice for some wrong we’ve suffered. And perhaps the world is still awaiting justice for wrongs suffered. But let’s understand this, that our just Creator has suffered willingly without deserving that suffering. If anyone had been wronged and is still waiting for true justice it’s God.

Our Heavenly Father wants us to become as He is. This means that we will also have to suffer unjustly at times, and in so doing we share in the suffering of Jesus, -" For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God." (1 Peter 2:19-20) This is as Christ-like as we are capable of being.

The Socialist Dream

Those who expect justice in this fallen world will be disappointed. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing at this point in time. Consider that if God were to begin to bring about perfect justice that He may well begin by judging you. Since we are all sinners we cannot demand justice without the expectation that it will eventually come our turn to face it. The movie "Enemy at the Gates" tells the story of the renown Russian sniper Vasily Zaytsev during WW2 as his country was chasing the Communist-Socialist dream of utopia. Stalingrad was occupied by the Germans and the Russian soldiers were out-manned and out-gunned. The only tactic left at their disposal was the use of snipers.

Vasily Zaytsev became the most famous sniper and the Russian propaganda machine used his exploits to boost morale. One of the young men who was in charge of producing a periodical propaganda bulletin was his best friend Danilov. Danilov was a true believer in the Socialist ideals of equity and equality for all. He believed that it would usher in a utopian world. "Utopia" is an imagined place or state of thing in which everything is perfect. But he was soon devastated to learn that the girl he was in love with was in love with Vasily. At this time the Germans had deployed their best sniper to Stalingrad to hunt down and kill Vasily, so Vasily found himself in the cat and mouse game of hide and seek.

While in a hiding spot Vasily scanned the city looking for enemy targets while carefully guarding himself from the German sniper. On this particular night his best friend was with him and was despondent. He had suddenly recognized that the Socialist dream of creating a true utopia was not achievable. As he beared his heart to Vasily he said that he now realizes that the world could never truly be fair and equal, because some people will always have what others want. Some will always be more attractive, more intelligent, more talented, etc. This normally optimistic young man was now in the depth of despair. Both men knew and understood that there was an enemy sniper scanning every likely sniper spot. They both knew that they must stay away from any opening to prevent movement from being seen. But suddenly the young man removed his hat and placed his face in the opening where he could be seen and was immediately shot and killed. Because his idealistic dream was shattered he had committed suicide

It is in the nature of man to long for justice, though each individual is often blind to the gravity of his own guilt. Mankind as a whole has always felt a need for fairness. In times past this was often referred to as "The Law of Nature." C.S. Lewis observed, "Every one has heard people quarreling. Sometimes it sounds funny and sometimes it sounds merely unpleasant; but however it sounds, I believe we can learn something very important from listening to the kind of things they say. They say things like this: "How'd you like it if someone did the same to you?"—"That's my seat, I was there first"—"Leave him alone, he isn't doing you any harm"— "Why should you shove in first?"—"Give me a bit of your orange, I gave you a bit of mine"—"Come on, you promised." People say things like that every day, educated people as well as uneducated, and children as well as grown-ups.

Now what interests me about all these remarks is that the man who makes them is not merely saying that the other man's behavior does not happen to please him. He is appealing to some kind of standard of behavior which he expects the other man to know about. And the other man very seldom replies: "To hell with your standard." Nearly always he tries to make out that what he has been doing does not really go against the standard, or that if it does there is some special excuse. He pretends there is some special reason in this particular case why the person who took the seat first should not keep it, or that things were quite different when he was given something, or that something has turned up which lets him off keeping his promise." (Mere Christianity)

In this fallen world filled with people with fallen natures, we cannot expect true justice-but God promises to one day bring perfect justice. There will be no one who has suffered loss who will not be compensated -and that is a promise from Jesus. (Mark 10:29-30) Somehow God will right every wrong as only He is able to do.

This faithful man was sold into slavery by his own brothers when he was a youth. He eventually found himself in Egypt and by God’s grace found favor there. He was a loyal servant to his master Potiphar who was Captain of the Palace Guard. One day Potiphar’s wife attempted to seduce Joseph and when he refused and ran from the room she falsely accused him of sexual assault. It was a miracle that Potiphar did not have Joseph executed but instead put him in prison. Joseph suffered this fate for ten years. He knew that he had been falsely accused. He also knew that his God whom he prayed to every day could have prevented this from happening, but didn’t. Yet Joseph kept his faith and continued to place his trust in the Lord. If you know the story, then you know that after ten years God delivered Joseph from prison and raised him up to a position second only to Pharaoh in power. God later used Joseph to save much of the world from starvation, including his father Jacob, and also the very brother who sold him into slavery.

Perhaps no man other than Jesus has suffered as Job. By God’s own admission Job was the most righteous man living. Satan desperately wanted to attack Job but could not because God had placed a hedge of protection around him. But one fateful day God granted permission for Satan to attack Job with certain limitations. Job’s ten children were all killed at once, his servants were killed, his herds and flocks were stolen, and yet Job did not blame God and sin. Satan then was permitted to afflict Job with painful boils from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet. He was in agony. His wife turned against him and said, "Curse God and die!" Soon three of Job’s closest and trusted friends arrived. The sight of Job’s suffering was so extreme that all they could initially do was sit in silence. But there was an elephant in the room -something believed but not yet spoken of -and that was that Job must have some secret sin which God is punishing him for. Finally his three friends brought up that thought. Why did they think this way? Well, because God is just, and in their minds all the loss Job has and is currently suffering would be terribly unjust if he were innocent. Job found himself alone and receiving false accusations. Even God’s presence seemed very far away. But in all of this Job kept his steadfast trust in God, saying, -"Though He slay me, yet I will put my trust in Him."

At the end of Job’s trial God healed him, gave him more children, and blessed him with even more flocks and herds. But giving a father more children after he has suffered the loss of his previous children cannot replace those children lost. Yes, afterwards Job was blessed will many children but God did not return those who had already died. This would not be complete justice. Yet Job’s children were not lost forever. Like Job they are resting in the grave waiting to be resurrected to life. In Ezekiel 16 calls all children "My children - and in Ezekiel 18 He says "all souls are Mine. The Bible says that it is appointed for man to die once, then face the Judgment of God. Every person will someday die and will await the resurrection to life. As humans we tend to think of death as something final. But God thinks of death as sleep, -"Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt." (Daniel 12:2)

I don’t know how God can bring about perfect justice in the end, but I have faith that He is able and is willing. If He has the power to speak into existence that which did not previously exist -And if He has the power to remove our transgressions from us as far and East is from the West -And if He has the ability to remember our lawless deeds no more-to actually forget every sin that we have ever committed and erase it from His memory. . .and receiving by faith that in the world to come old things will no longer be remembered. . .Perhaps He has the power to remove every injustice that has ever been committed and make it as if it never happened. Jesus said, -"With God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26)

There is a "Why"

So one night I was praying, and I guess I was discussing with God some things that were going on in my life at the time that, well, just didn’t seem fair. OK, if I say it in all honesty, I was complaining. One night I was complaining to God. And I was telling Him…I just didn’t understand what he was doing, and why, and frankly, I just didn’t agree.

It was in the midst of this that I opened my Bible to read and I came across this scripture, -"It shall be said of me, Only in the Lord are righteousness and strength. To Him people will come, and all who were angry at Him will be put to shame." Isaiah 45:24 As I read this, I was reminded of a scene that I had seen on a television show several weeks earlier. At the time I was watching it, of course, I had no idea that God was going to use it as an example for me to understand Him better. Sometimes he still uses "parables" to help me. I am so thankful for his patience with me.

Anyway, in the scene, a man and woman were dating. Things were going great for a long time, and then a period of time came that the man started doing some things that made the woman suspicious. Things such as leaving the room for phone calls, suddenly being too busy to spend time with her, etc, etc, you get the idea. She didn’t know what to think, she didn’t understand why he was being so secretive. And in spite of his reassurance to her that his plans were good, she eventually came to believe that he was being unfaithful. She was so hurt by this, she decided that she would hurt him back. She would be unfaithful to him. And one night she was.

Then the very next day, her boyfriend came to see her, not knowing yet what she had done. He proposed to her! As It turned out, this is what he was doing all along. He was never cheating on her. All of the "suspicious" behavior, was only him planning a perfect marriage proposal. Only him wanting to surprise her. Only him preparing for a future, with her.

I guess we can all think of times in our lives where we misjudged someone else’s actions or intentions. When we just didn’t see the truth of what a person was doing. We didn’t have all of the information, so we filled in the blanks ourselves. And we probably experienced some remorse or regret when we realized that we were wrong, especially if there were painful consequences from it. I know I have experienced this.

So I was sitting there imagining what this "almost," soon to be "bride" would be feeling as she stood in front of the man that she now knows would have been her husband. . . as she is seeing the beauty of what she could have had, yet knowing she that she has lost it, all in the same moment. If only she would have believed him. . . now she felt the deep sense of shame.

And there’s that word again -"ashamed." "All who are angry with Him will be ashamed." And only for a brief moment, and only in part I’m sure, I believe I experienced what many will feel on the day when Jesus returns for His bride, if he returns to find her unfaithful. It wasn’t just a sense of shame, not just,- it made me want to go hide myself somewhere so He couldn’t see me. It was also the greatest and deepest feeling of regret that I could ever imagine. The unimaginable pain that will be experienced that day by those who chose not to believe and fully receive Christ. The pain will not only be from the punishment that will be endured, but in coming face to face with what could have been, but will never be.

But by this time many will feel the shame and remorse but without a repentant heart. As Esau sought repentance but was unable to find it, many through disobedience will have allowed their hearts to become too hardened to reach repentance, even in their shame and misery. There is a terrifying warning in the Bible that if a person continually chooses to reject the truth to hold and love a lie then God will actually cause them to believe that lie, -"God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth but took pleasure in wickedness." (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12)

What About You?

You see, you will come face to face with Him that day. You will look into His eyes, the God who gave up divinity, for you. The God who came only to die, so He could be with you. You will stand before Him. The one who took upon Himself all punishment that belonged to you. The one who endured the whole of God’s wrath, just to spare you. The one who defeated all of the forces of death and of hell, just to reach you. You will see him. He went only to prepare a place for you. He has been preparing a place for you. It was Him you were always looking for, but you didn’t know, always your true heart’s desire, but you didn’t see.

You will see, you will understand. It was His arms that held you when were a little child. It was Him that taught you to walk. It was Him that provided every meal. He was your good Father and faithful friend. Every good thing that you ever had, everything that you ever loved, it was from Him, it was Him. Every good and beautiful thing that you saw and admired, He had put it there, for you.

Oh, you thought you were strong, but you will see it was Him holding you. All those things that you thought you accomplished by your great might, you will see it was His strength. All the battles you thought you had won, He had gone before you.

All of the times that didn’t make sense will make sense. All the times you were hurt so badly, you will understand why it had to be. And you will agree. You would have volunteered for the pain if you could just have seen it. If you could have just seen the "why," you would have done it. Everything that you had to loose, you will see, you would have freely given. If you could have only seen. But you didn’t see, because your mind couldn’t comprehend then. He wanted to tell you. He wanted you to know the why. But He knew that at the time you just couldn’t understand.

One day you will see how He stood over you. So many times when He protected you. You will understand how long He stood with His arms outstretched calling for you. He called, and He called, and He cried for you to come to Him. You will see how deeply His loving Soul yearned for you -you, the works of His hands.

Then you will remember. You will see clearly how you put your fist up to Him in defiance. You put your fist up to the Lover of your soul. The one who planned your birth, fashioned you with His hands and breathed His life into you. You put your fist up to Him and said, "Why, why don’t You put an end to all of the evil?!"

And then you will look and you will see. You were there. You were there within the evil. It surrounded you. It entangled you. It had become a part of you. To remove the evil would mean removing you. Oh, how He wanted to remove the evil. Oh how it hurt Him to see it. But you were in the way. He was holding back His wrath for you.

And you will look closer and see Him. You will see Him suffering -still in labor for your soul. All of this time He wasn’t merely watching all the evil and all of the pain. He was never simply observing it, He was also enduring it. He wasn’t just slain as He lain down His life as a sacrifice for you -but as your High Priest intercedes for you daily -He stands at the Altar in Heaven for you with His own blood. And Jesus, our faithful promised Bridegroom is still involved, still watching. I am reminded of how the Lord opened the heavens that Stephen could see a concerned Jesus standing at the right hand of Glory as the martyr was being stoned to death. It seems that seeing the Lord watching on gave Stephen the strength and resolve to say, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit! Lord, do not hold this sin against them!" Like Stephen we too must believe that God’s reasons for allowing what He does are good. Like the great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us, we must say "yes" to the pain. And though we may not know the "why" -we can trust that there is a "why."

One day you will see that a vital part of the "why" was you. He held back the end of evil as He waited for you. But you never came. Oh, if only you could do it over. If only you could do it again. If only you had believed Him.

That great Day of Judgment is surely coming. According to the Bible it will be a Day of darkness and gloom for many and of light and rejoicing for a few. Those who have denied their Creator and had pushed away the Savior that He offered will experience great shame and deep regret. The Lord is both the Lion and the Lamb who will come in great wrath on that great Day. The Bible says that He will make war with all those who oppose Him. The saints will be looking up with great expectation in joy, while worldly sinners will tremble and hide from the Lord. To fix your gaze upon the Lion of the Tribe of Judah is terrifying enough -but to look upon the Lamb of God that laid down His life for you. . .to see the offering you had rejected. . . well, you will experience the shame and loss of what could have been.

Illustrations

A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son. The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death."But I don't ask for justice,?" the mother explained. "I plead for mercy.?" "But your son does not deserve mercy,?" Napoleon replied. "Sir,?" the woman cried, "it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for.?" "Well, then,?" the emperor said, "I will have mercy.?" And he spared the woman's son.

A socialist once came to see Andrew Carnegie and soon was railing against the injustice of Carnegie having so much money. In his view, wealth was meant to be divided equally. Carnegie asked his secretary for an assessment of everything he owned and at the same time looked up the figures on world population. He did a little arithmetic on a pad and then said to his secretary. "Give this gentleman 16 cents. That’s his share of my wealth."

Augustine lived in sexual depravity and had many mistresses. But one day he was moved to pick up the Bible and read. He was convicted of his depravity and was determined to repent of it. One day he happened to pass by one of his former mistresses on the street, but he didn’t say a word. She called out "Augustine, it is I." But Augustine replied, "Yes, but it is no longer I."

Jesus said, "The spirit (mind in this context) is willing but the flesh is weak." (Matthew 26:41) The highest point our will can reach is that of willingness.

The Demonic Kingdom

"For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the Kingdom of His beloved Son." (Colossians 1:13)

If you are in God’s Kingdom, then you are automatically at war with Satan’s kingdom of darkness. We must understand that we cannot be on friendly terms with the "god of this world" whose kingdom is at war against all things which are good and true. This great demonic army is working to bring about death to as many as possible by blinding the minds of the unsuspecting so that they cannot see the Gospel of Christ, -"And even if our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, so that they might not see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)

We live in a world where both the physically visible and the invisible are real. Sometimes, if you know what to look for, you can see something that is invisible to the natural man because the "god of this world" has blinded their minds. But praise God, He has opened the minds and eyes of His saints.

God has provided specialized armor and divinely powerful weapons for His great Army of Light. The Apostle Paul wrote that we must "Take up the full armor of God so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything to stand firm." (Ephesians 6:11-13) Paul reminds us that we do not war against flesh and blood, but against rulers and spiritual forces of darkness in heavenly places. We understand that God’s Throne is in Paradise, the third Heaven. But there are the heavens of the sky and universe which this great demonic army operates from. From Daniel 10 we learn that as soon as Daniel began his fervent prayer an angel was sent from God to comfort him but was intercepted by the demon ruler, the"Prince of Persia" and detained for 21 days. It’s likely that this occurred between Paradise and earth. It wasn’t until the great Archangel Michael came to fight that the angel was freed to descend to comfort Daniel. When the angel left Daniel to begin his ascent he said, "I shall now return to fight against the Prince of Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the Prince of Greece is about to come." (Daniel 10:20)

There are great demonic principalities influencing every nation, especially those with great power and might. God has sometimes used these nations to punish Israel for their disobedience. God raised up the Assyrians to conquer the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and raised up the Babylonians to conquer Judah. Satan has deceived the entire world and exercises control over the nations, -"The great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world." (Revelation 12:9) "And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the (end time) beast; they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast." (Revelation 13:3-4) "We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one." (1 John 5:19)

There are great and powerful spiritual forces at work in the world. They are responsible for stirring up nations to war against one another. These dark beings without physical bodies are responsible for the culture wars we are currently experiencing also. The devil gains ground by craftiness and secrecy and he destroys by lies, accusation, enticement and deception. Stealth is a weapon he uses well. There are diabolical dark forces behind what we see in the natural realm.

In an attempt to capture the Prophet Elisha, the Arameans surrounded the city where Elisha lived. The Arameans had been stirred up by demonic forces. But wherever demonic forces come against the people of God there is also God’s Army of Light. When Elisha’s servant Gehazi looked outside that morning he saw the physical army arrayed against them and was greatly alarmed and quickly informed the Prophet. Elisha stepped out to take a look and not only saw the physical army there to seize him, but also a greater and divinely powerful Army of Light arrayed to protect him. Then he prayed that God would open the spiritual eyes of Gehazi.

"Phobia." What single religion in our culture has "phobia" attached to it? Do you ever hear "Buddha-phobia" or "Hindu-phobia" or "Christian-phoba?" No, it’s "Islamophobia." Why? To protect it from criticism. There has been far more atrocities committed by terrorists in the name of Allah during the past twenty years than all other religious groups combined. Three thousand killed in the 911 act alone. In recent years we have witnessed the rise of Al Qaeda, and Isis who systematically slaughtered people by the thousands. Because Muslims number almost two billion people, Islam is the most dangerous religion in the world. You might argue that the overwhelming majority of Muslims are peaceful and would never engage in terrorism. But consider that if only 5% were jihadists they would number 90 million combatants. Yet, because of the "phobia" attached, Islam has now achieved a protected, even favored status in the West. Islam is the mortal enemy of Judaism and Christianity. Yet you dare not utter a word against it and if you do you are a "islamophobe" and there is no place for debate. This deception seems very easy to spot, and it is for those whose minds have not been blinded by the god of this world.

"There is no Absolute Truth" If there is no real truth then there is no reason to debate the differences between religions. After all, there’s no sense fighting about who’s right if there is no right. We’ve all seen the COEXIST signs, which may be clever, but ultimately contradictory. This conveys the thought that "everybody is right-you have your truth and I have mine." Yet you cannot be politically correct if you believe that the teachings of your religion are true if they happen to contradict another religion’s truth. When someone argues that there is no truth, they also seem to expect me to believe and agree with that "truth"-see the problem?

"Gender is a Social Construct" It seems so obvious that there are males and females and each was made for the other. But today this simple truth is no longer clear to many otherwise intelligent people. Why is the obvious no longer obvious? And why is there such intensity of opposition towards those who can clearly see what others are blind to? According to the Bible, in the beginning the Creator made male and female. Jesus expounded on this saying, "Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female?" Jesus went on to say that when a man and a woman come together in marriage they become "one flesh."

All of these demonic schemes are designed to attack truth and silence debate. That’s the common thread that is not so easily seen by unbelievers whose minds have been blinded. Unsuspecting minds have been deceived into believing the most outrageous lies. I saw a video of a 5' 9" white man talking to college students about gender identification. He asked, "What would you say if I told you that I was a woman?" All the students said that it was ok. Then he said, "I am an Asian woman-how do you feel about that?" Some were taken aback but agreed and said ok. Then he said, "I am a 6' 5' Asian woman -how do you feel about that?" This began to put the students in conflict because they could clearly see that he was a short white man, not a very tall Asian woman. To further illustrate his point that self-identification of something other than what is true he said, "I identify as a 7 year old girl, and I want to be accepted in second grade elementary school." This was the last straw and the students struggled greatly with accepting that "personal truth" in their politically correct thinking -which is driven by spiritual forces of darkness.

"Women Have a Right Over Their Body" This argument is used against the right to life ideal. "If I want to terminate my unwanted pregnancy it’s my right to do so!" To those of us who are Pro Life this is an argument we cannot agree with because we do not see the child in the womb as being a part of the woman’s body. In fact, it is a proven fact that the baby in the womb is indeed a completely separate person and body. With the advances in medical science it’s become more difficult for the Pro Choice crowd to justify killing a baby in the womb.

Sometimes the best place to hide is in plain sight. Millions celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25 when all scholars know that He was not born in the winter. Why December 25? This date was already celebrated throughout the pagan world because a number of their gods were believed to be born on this date. It was a time of the winter solstice when sacrifices were offered to rejuvenate the dying sun. Add to this the strange customs of bringing a tree into the home and decorating it with ornaments and lights, -hanging socks on a fireplace mantle so a jolly old elf could leave treats.

Easter is similar. The name itself is a variation of Istar a fertility goddess. It’s observance is during the Spring equinox but rather than on a fixed day is always observed on Sunday. The timing is associated with the worship of several female fertility goddesses. The Bible does not teach a resurrection commemoration, but rather the Passover to commemorate the Lord’s death. The customs of sunrise services, coloring eggs and children hunting for Easter eggs left by Easter’s bunny are pagan and are equally puzzling if you think about it.

Why do so many accept such strange things as the "phobia" attachment, the "no real truth" idea, the ridiculous "gender identity," the "pagan customs in Christmas and Easter observances?" It’s because the world has been blinded and deceived, and is in the grip of the "god of this world." Many are blind to the ruse because it’s driven by spiritual forces of darkness. If you want to see the unseen, look for something spiritually dramatic going on in the visible realm that is so obvious that everyone else should see it, but don’t.

Spiritual Warfare

Since Satan’s chief tactic is the use of deception to cover or nullify truth, the counter-tactic we must use is the proclamation of truth. This battle is not a power play where we attempt to command it or pray it away. This is a battle where our most effective weapon is the sword of God’s Word-His truth. As children of the Light, we must enter the battle against the forces of deceit and darkness with the glorious light of truth.

The main purpose in many of the epistles of the New Testament is to warn and expose false teachers and their false teachings. All truth comes from God and all lies come from Satan who Jesus called "the father of lies." As followers of Christ we have a responsibility to carry the light of truth into the darkness of deceit. "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light, for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth, trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them." (Ephesians 5:6-11)

Exposing Wickedness

"Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light." Ephesians 5:11-13

Evil works best under the cover of darkness. The righteous saints are not only commanded to not participate with the wicked, but to expose their evil deeds. Perhaps no other familiar face conjures the thought of evil more than that of Adolf Hitler. Infamous for plunging the world into war and for systematically exterminating millions, including an estimated six million Jews.

Many of the German people were ignorant of his plan to exterminate the Jews until one man cried out as a voice in the wilderness exposing the wickedness of the Furor and the Nazi administration. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran Minister repeatedly exposed the evil by broadcasting the truth on radio.

He scolded the German people saying, -"Silence in the face of evil is itself evil; God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act." This man did his part, but it simply was not enough. There was no major uprising against this evil while it was still in power. People went along to get along.

Wickedness flourishes and spreads where it is not exposed to light. In the darkness there is no accountability. The wickedness of sin is like leaven which spreads if left unchecked, -"Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?. . .I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; . . .Remove the wicked from among yourselves. . .Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor the perverted, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the Kingdom of God." (1 Cor.5-6)

Our opening text commands us to "not participate" in the deeds of darkness. As Ambassadors for Christ, we cannot go along to get along, or even give the impression that we are tolerant of wickedness, especially in the Church. Too many today are afraid of offending someone because of a hard stand against their unfruitful deeds of darkness. No one will ever truly be convicted unless they are confronted with the upright standard of holiness.

Peter wrote that we must be holy because our God is holy, and that it is with difficulty that the righteous are saved implying that it is impossible for the unrighteous. We cannot force anyone to repent from their evil deeds, but we can expose the evil by bringing the light of God’s Word of Truth in love - something we are commanded to do.

The early Church was persecuted severely, even unto death, -"For your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered." (Rom.8:36) Even today there is an estimated 200,000 Christians who suffer torture and martyrdom each year. Paul wrote, -"Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." (2 Tim.3:12) In Hebrews 11 we read of the hardships of the great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us.

No one suffers persecution for doing nothing - but suffers persecution for bringing the Light of Truth into the darkness to expose the wickedness there. Virtually all of God's Prophets were killed because the people didn't like nor receive their message. What were their messages? Consistently, they were sent to expose wickedness, deliver an appeal for repentance, and announce God's judgment.

The people rarely received God's messenger or His message because they judged themselves and their practices to be fine. They seemed always to be living in delusion - thinking that they were in God's favor when in fact they were in danger of His wrath. They didn't see themselves or their practices as being wicked, so they were usually moved to attack the messenger and his message of change rather than repent.

"Wickedness" is a seldom used word in the today's watered-down Church, and few accept as being wicked what God says is wicked. In His Word God declares many things and practices to be wicked or an abomination to Him - if we are to faithfully represent His Kingdom, we must faithful declare His judgments and heartily agree with them ourselves.

In today's deluded world the true God seems harsh, and if you announce and uphold His Ways, exposing wickedness - you will be thought of as harsh. But the saints are commissioned to judge, -"For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the Church? But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves. . .Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life?" (1 Cor.5:12-13, 6:2-3)

To subject yourself to ridicule and persecution for the cause of Christ is one of the greatest expressions of sacrificial love - let us never shrink back but do our part to enlighten and rescue the ungodly from the devil's snare - it is their only hope. Remember our faithful beloved Paul who was stoned to death for boldly preaching the truth, was revived by God, got up beaten, bruised and bloody, and walked back into that town -"in order that I might save some."

Don’t Leave My Side

She was in a hospital cot next to her actual bed at home when she said "don’t leave my side." I stayed with her, slept in her bed next to her cot at night, and would often lay my arm across the 12 inches of air space between us, letting my skin touch her skin so she knew I was there when she stopped talking and opening her eyes. But after several days of this, I got restless. I took breaks and watched episodes of LOST in the living room. I delayed my return to her bedroom. I took phone calls outside.

These moments spent away from my mother during her final days fill me with regret. What if she woke up and regained consciousness long enough to notice my absence? What if her last living memory was an empty room with no one by her side? When I start thinking like this, my mind feels like a dark, evil rabbit hole of regret that threatens to tear me apart.

I wish I had spent every last moment with my mother, and I wish I had read the eulogy I wrote to her before she died. We exchanged many "I love you’s" while she was sick, but the eulogy I wrote captures everything she was to me and will always be—and that’s a lot more than an infinite number of "I love you’s" could ever convey.

Several months after her death, I had a vivid dream. I dreamt that I was at my mother’s funeral, sitting several rows back. My mother was seated next to me in her nightgown. I looked at her and admitted my remorse about not sharing the eulogy with her when she was still alive. Her simple response was, "No, I didn’t need to hear it," and she held my hand and turned her face to the Minister up front. When I woke, it was clear as day to me that my subconscious was trying to soothe the pain of my regret. And acknowledging this made me feel better.

In a similar way, with the help of family and friends, I have learned to accept the fact that my mental health during my mother’s last days was just as important as supporting her while her physical health deteriorated. If an episode of LOST made it possible for me to return to her side, then an episode of LOST is what I needed. The rabbit hole of regret is still there, but I know how to spot it and step around it.

Whether we’re able to consciously or subconsciously reason away our regrets or not, it’s best to be prepared to experience them when we’re dealing with a loved one’s end of life. No matter what, there will be regrets. You’ll wish you had said one more I love you, or you’ll feel guilty about a recent argument. But perhaps if we think of regrets as lessons, instead of missed opportunities or poor decisions, we won’t feel overwhelmed by them.

Because of my regrets, I try to spend more time with family and make sure the people I love know that I love them. Because I didn’t read the eulogy to my mother before she died, I started a blog and share my thoughts and feelings with anyone who wants to listen. In my view, a life of no regrets is a life without lessons learned. And that’s how I’ve come to peace with mine over time.

The Bible on Regret

In considering what the Bible says about regrets, we should start with the fact that in a couple of places we are told that God "regretted" an action He took. The Hebrew root for the word "regret" actually means "to sigh." Since we know God does not make mistakes, the concept of sighing is a more descriptive term for the kind of regret God experiences. Genesis 6:7 says that, after seeing the wickedness on the earth, God regretted making man. This does not mean that the Lord felt that He made a mistake in creating human beings, but that His heart was sorrowful as He witnessed the direction they were going. Since God knows everything beforehand, He already knew that sin would bring consequences, so He was not surprised by it (1 Peter 1:20; Ephesians 1:4; Isaiah 46:9–11). Instead, this glimpse into God’s character shows us that, even though He already knows we will sin, it still grieves Him when we choose it (Ephesians 4:30).

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Wisdom Insights

"Tolerance is the last virtue of a depraved society. When you have an immoral society that has blatantly, proudly, violated all of the Commandments of God, there is one last virtue they must insist upon: tolerance for their immorality." D. James Kennedy

"The further a society drifts from truth the more it will hate those who speak it." George Orwell

"Without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom - and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech." Benjamin Franklin

"On the mountains of truth you can never climb in vain: either you will reach a point higher up today, or you will be training your powers so that you will be able to climb higher tomorrow." Friedrich Nietzsche

"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." George Washington

"The great and important duty which is incumbent on Christians, is to guard against all appearance of evil; to watch against the first risings in the heart to evil; and to have a guard upon our actions, that they may not be sinful, or so much as seem to be so." George Whitefield

"There are many of us that are willing to do great things for the Lord, but few of us are willing to do little things." Dwight L. Moody

"A Child who is allowed to be disrespectful to his parents will not have true respect for anyone." Billy Graham

"How sweet it is to learn the Savior's love when nobody else loves us! When friends flee, what a blessed thing it is to see that the Savior does not forsake us but still keeps us and holds us fast and clings to us and will not let us go!"Charles Spurgeon

"Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you react to it." Charles Swindoll

"When you are in the midst of suffering you are looking for someone to be Jesus to you. You are looking for someone to love you and help take care of you, and reach out to you."Lee Strobel

"Catch on fire and people will come for miles to see you burn." John Wesley

"No one else holds or has held the place in the heart of the world which Jesus holds. Other gods have been as devoutly worshiped; no other man has been so devoutly loved." John Knox

"The way to Heaven is ascending; we must be content to travel uphill, though it be hard and tiresome, and contrary to the natural bias of our flesh." Jonathan Edwards

"As I look back over fifty years of ministry, I recall innumerable tests, trials and times of crushing pain. But through it all, the Lord has proven faithful, loving, and totally true to all his promises." David Wilkerson

"But I think my mistakes became the chemistry for my miracles. I think that my tests became my testimonies."

T. D. Jakes

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." Martin Luther King, Jr

"In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends." Martin Luther King Jr

"When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer." Corrie Ten Boom

"You will only be remembered for two things: the problems you solve or the ones you create." Mike Murdock

"Don't compare yourself with other people; compare yourself with who you were yesterday." Jordan Peterson

"No matter how devastating our struggles, disappointments, and troubles are, they are only temporary. No matter what happens to you, no matter the depth of tragedy or pain you face, no matter how death stalks you and your loved ones, the Resurrection promises you a future of immeasurable good." Josh McDowell

"Transformation is a process, and as life happens there are tons of ups and downs. It's a journey of discovery - there are moments on mountaintops and moments in deep valleys of despair." Rick Warren

"To endure the cross is not tragedy; it is the suffering which is the fruit of an exclusive allegiance to Jesus Christ." Dietrich Bonhoeffer