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It has been a while since I sat down to put together my thoughts.

Several weeks ago, I posted that I was going off Facebook at least until after Easter. And so, here it is, after Easter.

I trust that you had a blessed Easter.

For those who may be new to this BLOG site, I would like to encourage you to search out its inception to catch a glimpse of who I am and what I have been sharing.

What I am attempting to do is to get back into the flow of sharing what I believe is important for the Body of Christ to hear at this time. I know that sounds somewhat presumptuous; but I trust that you will read my words, comtemplate their significance and ask the Lord to make them relevant to your life and walk with Him.

I am not out to sound my own horn or to pontificate on the issues of the hour; but I do desire to communicate what I believe we need to hear as Lord’s Ekklesia.

Having reknewed myelf to this BLOG site, let us go forth Building Lives On Grace.

A few weeks ago, the Christian community of believers and many non-beleivers celebrated or recognized the day of Easter. I have a new acronym. It’s for EASTER: Eternal Assurance Secured Through Emmanuel’s Resurrection.

In preparation for Easter, Christine and I read Tim Chester’s book, An Ocean of Grace, a journey to Easter with Great Voices from the Past. It was a daily devotional.

Beginning with Ash Wednesday, and on each subsequent day until Easter, we read a verse of scripture, a short paragraph referencing the author and the content of his/her written words of prayer that we were about to read. Their words were deeply moving, very profound, and penetrated our souls.

Some additional personal reflection: since the beginning of 2021, I have been keeping a daily journal (as best I could). It is interesting to go back and read what I wrote, especially, during the time prior to Easter, and more significantly during Passion Week.

For example, during Passion Week, on Thursday, April 1, April Fools Day, which corresponded to the day Jesus ate the Passover meal in the upper room with his disciples the night he was betrayed: which lead to His arrest, trial, scrouging, crucifixion, death and burial, I wrote, “the Atonement is no April Fools joke”. I also found written in my journal on that day these words, “It’s time to draw the line”.

If I recall correctly, this was penned out of concern and frustration concerning what had been going on in our nation and was continuing to go on, on a daily basis. I was reacting to the social, cultural, and continued political unrest, just like many of you are feeling, because of this nation’s unsettledness. I was particularly concerned about HR 1, HR 5, and listening to people who were continuing to blame our current ills upon our former President.

Parallel to all of this, (and this is fuzzy in it’s timing), Christine and I were reading a book entitled, God’s Battle Plan for the Mind. It is written by David Saxton and is a study of The Puritan Practice of Biblical Meditation. The bottom line is that my mind was being turned to meditating upon God’s Word. Thinking about God’s Word is not new to me; but I (we) are learning alot from the Puritan writers, pastors, and theologians.

The following day, April 2, was Good Friday. I wrote in my journaal, “Thank you Father, it’s Good Friday, (and) the reason I can say thank you Father is because it took place”. Yes, Good Friday, is a somber rememberance of Christ’s death on the cross. Isaiah 58:14(NKJV) graphically says, “As many were astonished at thee; his visage was so marred, more than any man, and his form more than the sons of man” [in essence as horrific as you can envision how mauled He looked, it was worse than that] The Tree of Life Version (Hebraic translation) says, “…Just as many were appalled at You–His appearance was disfigured more than any man.”

The day after Good Friday is the Sabbath, Saturday, the second day that Jesus has been entombed. In my journal are recored two passages of scripture. These passages were not written there to meditate upon Christ’s burial ( I see now they could); but they were written there because I was upset about what was going on in our nation.

The first passage is Psalms 27:13-14, (Tree of Life Version): “Surely, I trust that I will see the goodness of Adonai in the land of the living, wait for Adonai, Be strong, let your heart take courage, and wait for Adonai”.

The second is the entirity of Psalms 37. Psalms 37 begins (Tree of Life Version), “Do not fret because of evil doers, nor be envious of them who do wrong, For like the grass they soon wither.” As you move on in Psalms 37, the verses encourage you to trust, dwell, delight, commit, trust, do not fret, put away, do not fret, wait–wait for who/what? Adonai, because those who wait “will inherit the land.”

And so, in my journal, it’s day two of Christ’s death, the nation in which I am living is in turmoil and chaos, and as I read, reflect, and meditate on God’s Word, I find that I have written the following: “Father, you are my hope, my strength, my life, my health, my rest, my salvation. Bless You, Holy Trinity.”

Then I find these words that are part of a chorus I used to sing, “my life is in You, Lord…”.

The irony of these journal entries is that Christine and I had been spending a well deseved rest up near Mendocino, CA. It was gorgeous, peaceful, and restful; yet now as I look back and reflect, my devotional time was not totally peaceful; but God…

Bringing this to a conclusion, there is a very large stone that has been rolled across the entrance of the tomb; but in the words of Rev. E.V.Hill, “Sundays Comin”.

TBC

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This is a continuation of my previous blog in which I reflected upon the words of the mayor of Washington D.C., Muriel Bowser, who set up an advisory group to evaluate the “monuments, memorials, and facilities” in D.C. that had ‘disqualifying histories’.

I confessed to you that upon my initial reading of the commentary that I was reading by Joseph Loconte, I had not read his article completely. Since completing my previous blog I have read his article in its entirity.

And so, I proceed to finish my thought.

In the previous blog, it was shared that God flooded the earth because mankind had a disqualifying history; but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because its inhabitants had a disqualifying history; however, Lot was saved because of the intercession of his uncle Abraham; and at the end of this age, God will destroy the heavens and the earth because humanity has a disqualifying history; but those in Christ will be saved from the wrath of God.

All of this is ‘bad news’. All humanity has a disqualifying history. It is because of our sin nature.

Psalms 14:1-3 says, “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, They have done abominable works,There is no one who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God. They have all turned aside, They have all together become corrupt; There is none who does good, no not one.” (NKJV

If one would like to define the term ‘disqualifying histories’, I would suggest that Psalm 14:1-3 contributes to that definition.

To what do we ascribe the origin of humanity”s ‘disqualifying history’?

The answer to that question is found in the pages of God’s Holy Word, the Bible.

Simply said, when God created Adam and Eve neither one possessed a ‘disqualifing humanity’ because they were created in the image and likeness of God. Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command. God had said to Adam, “…Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16b-17, NKJV); but they ate of the fruit of the tree.

Because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God’s command, the ‘image and likeness of God’, in which they were created, where there was no ‘disqualifying history’ was tragically affected. Because of their sin, they took upon themselves the consequences of their sin-“you shall surely die”. They now possessed a sin nature. In short, their sin, is the beginning of mankind having a ‘disqualifying humanity’ in the sight of God. They are the fiat parents of all humanity born with a nature to sin.

The Apostle Paul brilliantly addresses this situation in his letter to the Romans. In Romans 5:12, he writes, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” (This is Paul’s statement saying that all mankind has a disqualifying history.)

[So one might think that God was ‘ticked off’, highly insensed, and put out of sorts; but that is far from the truth. What took place in the garden did not take God by surprise. I recommend that you read carefully Ephesians 1,2,and 3. It is a revelation of God’s heart toward His creation which is completely centered in Christ which began before the creation of the world.]

John 3:16 is the most succinct verse in the Bible that summarizes God’s heart for humanity in its sinful condition and the means by which that humanity can have its ‘disqualifying history’ forgiven, forgotten, and replaced by a ‘qualifying history’.

John 3:16, says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son that whosover believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For He (God) made him (Jesus) who knew no sin (He possessed a qualifying history) to be sin (to bear our disqualifying history at the cross) that we might become the righteousness of God” (in Christ with no disqualifying history).

Returning to Romans 5, Paul writes, vss. 17-21, “For if by the one man’s offense (Adam) death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One Jesus Christ. Therefore, as through one man’s offense (Adam’s) judgment came to all men (all humanity), resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s (Jesus) righteous act (His death on the cross) the free gift came to all men (humanity) resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience (Adam’s) many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience (Jesus) many will be made righteous. Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, GRACE ABOUNDED MUCH MORE [emphasis mine], so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (NKJV)

How did God, the Father, provide for His creation of mankind to be reconciled to Himself? Paul writes in Romans 5:6-11, “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners (humanity with a disqualifying history), Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were recconciled to God through the death of His son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be save by His life. And not only that but we also rejoice in God through our Lrod Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” (NKJV)

In Acts 4, the Apostle Peter boldly declares in vs 10-12 “…let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead…This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the cornerstone. Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given aboung men by which we must be saved.”

The essence of Mayor’s Bowser’s purpose for setting up a task force to look for ‘disqualifying histories’ in D.C. was for the identification of those memorials, monuments, street names, etc should be torn down, dismantled, and/or renamed to blot out their rememberance because of their ‘inappropriate’ lifestyle, beliefs, behavior and/or words deemed offensive. This change was to be part of our ‘cultural cleansing’. Can you visualize with me that the death of Christ is tantamont to tearing down a statue that is deemed inappropriate because of its ‘disqualifying history’? The truth is that Jesus allowed his life to be ‘torn down’ because He identifed with mankind’s ‘disqualifying history’. The good news of the Gospel is that God raised Him from the dead conquering death. In doing so, Jesus died for our sin, our disqualifying history,, and God raised Him from the dead so that having put death to death, we can now receive eternal life through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ and be given the gift of salvation which is based upon Christ’s ‘qualifying history’ of having no sin. That’s a mouthful, but it is the truth of the Gospel.

All of humanity is disaqulified before God because of sin; however, God, because of His love for His creation, has provided His only Beggoten son, to be our qualifier for eternal life through His death, burial and resurrection just as the Gospel declares.

Are you qualified in Christ for your eternal salvation or are you still in your original state with your disqualifying history of sin? Without Christ our qualification separates from an eternity spent with God to an eternal existence apart from God, that the Bible calls Hell.

Romans 10:9-11, 13 says, “…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture says, whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame…for whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you know the Lord, rejoice in His goodness, mercy, and love for you.

If you do not know the Lord, then I encourage you to re-read what has been shared and consider the good news of the gospel. God loves you, He sent His Son to die for you, that you might have eternal life.

Eternal Life is a free gift that one receives when they confess the Lord Jesus Christ to be their Savior and Lord, asking Him to forgive them of their sins, and to come into their life personally to cause them to be born again by the Holy Spirit.

Blessings to all, a brother in Christ, deo

The text: The Daily Signal, a publication of the Heritage Foundation, September 3, 2020.

A commentary written by Joseph Laconate entitled, “The Mayor, the Monuments, and the Mayhem”

I read the opening tease and it perked my attention. I decided to read the article. However, I didn’t get very far. For purposes of establishing the context of my thoughts, I will quote the opening paragrpah of the commentary.

“When D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser earlier this year created an advisory group to scrutinize the city’s monuments, memorials, and facilities for their “disqualifying histories,” the outcome of its feverish deliberations was utterly predictable. It would launch an assault on the most cherished and unifying symbols of American deomocracy.”

I realized as I was typing this paragraph that I did not even read the entire paragraph. I pulled up short when I read the words, “disqualifying histories”.

The purpose of my blog is to share a fourth ‘M’, retitling it “The Mayor, The Monuments, the Mayhem, and A Message”

I confess that on my initial reading of this article, I did not finish the entire opening paragrpah; in fact, I have not, as yet, read the entire article, as of this composing.

I was abruptly halted by the words ‘disqualifying histories’. My first reaction to the reading of these words was that all of humanity has a disqualifying history because “…all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23, NKJV)

Who among us does not have a disqualifying history? How can we dismantle history, remove a name, call into question something someone has said, or overturn what we perceive to be wrong, or even tear down a statue or monument because we render what was said or done as being disqualifying? But, for the grace of God, I have things in my history that disqualify me from writing this blog; but thanks be to God, they are forgiven and forgotten because of the blood of Christ.

The Bible is a record of ‘disqualifying histories’ of humanity; but it is also a history of God’s salvivic plan to undo our disqualifying histories.

Question: Why did God flood the earth? because humanity had a disqualifying history.

Genesis 6:5,6 (NKJV), “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intent of the of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry He had made man on the earth and He was grieved in His heart.”

Genesis 6:7,8 (NKJV), “So the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” In 2 Peter 2:5, Peter writes that God “…saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungoldly.”

We, too, can find grace in the eyes of the Lord.

Ephesians 2:4-9 (NKJV), “But God who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that now of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

Question: Why did God destroy Sodom and Gororrah? because the inhabitants of the cities had a disqualifying history.

Genesis 18:20-21 says, “And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gormorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come up to Me, and if not I will know it.”

The prophet Ezekiel compares Jerusalem to Sodom’s and Samaria’s sinful lifestyle. Ezekiel 16:48-50 says, “As I live, “says the Lord God, “neither your sister Sodom nor her daughters have done as you and your daughters have done. Look, this was the inquity of your sister Sodom. She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness, neither did they strenthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abominations before Me, therefore, I took them away as I saw fit.”

In the New Testament, Jude writes in verses 5-7, “But I want you to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode (Genesis 6:1-4), He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day, as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similiar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengence of eternal fire.”

The Apostle Peter, who I quoted earlier regarding the saving of Noah, continues with this thought regarding the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. 2 Peter 2:6-9, says, “…and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot (those words have always amazed me when you read about Lot’s life. Lot was the nephew of Abraham. It was the grace of God who initiated a conversation with Abraham because of their relationship, that prompted Abrahman to intercede for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, asking God to not destroy the cities so that Lot might be saved. God did save Lot and his two daughters; but He destroyed the cities.), who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man dwelling among them, tormented his soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds) [I have a thought-is this happening to us, as we see and hear the lawlessness in our midst?], then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under purishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries.”

I would like to consider one more question. Why is God going to destroy the heaven and the earth? because humanity has a disqualifying history. The Apostle Peter speaks to this event in his second epistle outlining God’s coming judgment upon humanity.

In 2 Peter 3:1-9, he writes, “Beloved, I now write to you this second epistic (in which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), that may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, where is the promise of HIs coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation., For this they willfully forget that by the word of God the heaven were of old, and earth, standing our of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But tthe heaven and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly (one’s with disqualifying histories) men.” B.U.T., Believers Understand This) “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” [I submit that is love and grace.]

The following commentary is written for 2 Peter3:9 in my Study Bible.

“A positive explanation of the temporary lack of fulfillment…is found in the chaarcter of a merciful God. Although the wickness of humankind calls for immediate action, God withholds His rightous wrath and delays judgment. (New Spirit Filled Life Study Bible, NKJV, Nelson, 2002, pg. 1778)

Peter assures the believers that there will be a new heaven and a new earth after the destruction of this present heaven and earth.

2 Peter 3:10-13, “but the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heaven will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”

All of humanity has a disqualifying history because of our sin nature. But God has a redemptive plan to deal with the disqualifying history. I have eluded to it in this blog. I will continue my thoughts in Part 2, TBC

“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” (NKJV)

Study Bible makes this comment, “The Book of Judges concludes with a restatement of the apostate condition of Israel when they had not king (17:6, 18:1, 19:1). [New Spirit Filled Study Bible, Nelson, 2002]

In these three passages of scripture, we find the words, “In those days there was no king in Isreal, everyone did what was right in his own eyes”; “In those days there was no king in Israel”; and “And it came to pass in those days when there was no king in Israel…”.

This begs the question, what went wrong? How did God’s people who were miraculously delivered from Egypt under the leadership of Moses and the Hand of God; who had received the Law of God at Mt. Sinai; who were watched over, protected, and provided for in the wilderness; who were promised and received their own land of promise, despite their disobedience in the wilderness, end up a few generations later in a state of complete lawlessness, ignoring the Lord God that had delivered them from Egypt.

The answer to that question is more than adequately answered detailing Isreal’s history in the Books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, selected Psalms recounting the history of Israel, and the Apostle Paul’s use of Israel’s behavior in I Corinthians 10:1-13 to remind the Church at Corinth what happened to their ancestors who sinned in the wilderness.

As you read the prophets, they constantly remind Israel of their covenant relationship to God and the necessity of not forsaking the Lord and ignoring His commandments.

A year ago, on July 1 ,2019, I read a devotional reflecting upon Judges 21:23 in a Billy Graham devotional entitled, “Wisdom for each Day”.

The devotional began asking the question. “Is our society today any different from the ancient society reflected in this verse?” Continuing, it said, “Sadly not different enough. Too many people today feel that the old moral standards are useless and out of date and they ought to be free to make up their own minds about what is right and what is wrong”.

My question to you is, do you agree or disagree with the assessment of the devotional? [Selah]

using the next sentence in the devotional, I am going to reword in the form of a question. Have we honestly faced the logical results of “everyone doing what is right in his own eyes” ? What will the results of this lifestyle look like, if in actuality “there is no such thing as right or wrong” ? And should we be “free to decide how we want to behave?”

What do you think? How would you respond? What do you envision?

The irony of all of this for me is that I composed these thoughts originally on July 1, 2019. As you and I reflect on what has taken place in our nation over the past year, and especially in the past several weeks of June 2020, we have seen, heard, and witnessed answers to these questions. But, then, this awareness is not really new, it has been coming to fruition in the United States in the past 100 years.

As our curent turmoil and unrest escalated, I decided to revisit a book (this month, June 2020) that I read a number of years ago. Christine and I are rereading it together. I want to quote from that book:

“The problem always was, and is, What is an adequate base for law? What is adequate so that the human aspiration for freedom can exist without anarchy, and yet provides a form that will not become arbitrary tyranny? In contrast to the materialistic concept, Man in reality is made in the image of God and has real humanness. This humanness has produced varying degrees of success in government, bringing forth governments that we more than only the dominance of brute force.”

The author quotes John Bracton, De Legibus et Consuetudinibus (c.1250): “And that he [the King] ought to be under the law appears clearly in the analogy of Jesus Christ, whose vice-regent on earth he is, for though many ways were open to Him for His ineffable rdemption of the human race, the true mercy of God chose this most powerful way to destroy the devil’s work, he would not use the power of force but the reason of justice.”

The author continues, “In other words, God in His sheer power could have crushed Satan in his revolt by the use of that sufficient power. But because of God’s character, justice came before the use of power alone. Therefore Christ died that justice, rooted in what God is, would be the solution. Bracton codified this: Christ’s example, because of who He is, is our standard, our rule, our measure. Therefor power is not first, but justice is first in society and law. The prince may have the power to control and to rule, but he does not have the right to do so without justice. This was the basis of English Common Law.”

These thoughts are a sampling of our foundation for government. 300 years later the Reformation “refined and cleared…the encrustations that had been added to the Jedeo-Christian world view and clarified the point of authority–with authority resting in the Scripture rather than church and Scripture, or state and Scrpture. This not only had meaning in regard to docrine but clarified the base for law. That base was God’s written Law , back through the New Testament to Moses’ written Law; and the content and authority of that written Law is rooted back to Him who is the final reality.”

The problem is that we, as a nation, have departed from this foundation. Many in our nation do not believe that God is the final Reality. As such, we have no absolutes; we have no standards; we have no reality except that which is resident within our self. Therefore, we too, are becoming, or should I say, have become a nation in which everyone (that is probably a bit strong), many are doing what is right in their own eyes.

The book that I have quoted from is, ‘A Christian Manifesto”, Copyright 1981, by Francis A. Schaeffer, Crossway, pages 27,28,29.

Schaeffer’s book, written 40 years ago, accurately described what was taking place in our nation at the time of its writing in early 1980, identifying the seeds of humanism that had been planted years before, that were now showing signs of being very healthy in our system. Since then, the world view of humanism has grown and permeated our nation, choking out the Biblical world view. As pessimistic as that may sound there is a remnant of God’s people who are praying and interceding for this nation and for the Church to rise up and be the strong influence that it needs to be in our nation. Let us cry out to the Living God who Alone is Reality. Our God reigns.

The reason I chose to revisit Schaeffer’s book is because it outlines and discusses the topic of Christian civil disobedience. Many in our nation today are wrestling with that topic. Are you?

Thoughts for the time in which we are living, a brother in Christ, deo

When we wrestle with the question of evil, we must remember that God did not create evil The origin of evil is attributed to Satan. An explanation of the process of evil operative in one’s heart is outlined in Isaiah 14: 3-11 describing the fall of the King of Babylon. Continuing in Isaiah 14:12-21, Isaiah records the fall of Lucifer, who is Satan. A commentary regarding these verses is as follows: “These verses also have a double application. They are still part of the proverb against the king of Babylon. The language , however, shows that he is a type of Satan. Lucifer means ‘light Bearer.” The basic sin was that of unchecked personal ambition, desiring to be equal to or above God. With reference to Satan, it is best not to press every detail but grasp the symbolic intent.” (NKJV Study Bible, page 981).

In Isaiah 14:13-15, “I will occurs five times. Satan’s fall was occasioned by two things: pride that presumed to supplant god’s rule with his own, and self-will that asserted independence from the Most High.” (NKJV). While not directly said, this was the motivation behind Satan’s temptation of Adam and Eve in the garden. Their compliance with Satan’s rhetoric plummeted mankind into the total corruption that it has struggled throughout history. The motivation behind Satan’s temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, at the outset of His ministry, was to have Jesus lay aside the purpose for which Jesus came and to give His allegiance to Satan completely corrupting the redemptive plan of God. Satan’s game plan has not changed; however, he has been incapacitated and dethroned, and will face his final and complete judgement when God brings His Redemptive purpose to completion.

After Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus said to His disciples, just prior to His ascension, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” (Matthew 28:18a, NKJV). That leaves no authority for anyone or anything else, period.

And so we find ourselves in a situation where Jesus is Lord and all authority have been given to Him; yet, in the Sovereignty of God, Satan, who has been defeated because of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, is permitted to exercise an authority over the people and nations of the earth. Maybe, the word authority is to strong a word; maybe I should say that God allows him to exercise an influence on the nations of this world that do not seek the true and living God. The heart of mankind, apart from Christ, is totally depraved, sinful, lawless, wicked, and as such are children of darkness whose father is the Devil. (see John 8:31-47)

Romans 13:1 says, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. for there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God” Regarding our own struggle as a nation about the Presidency, I have had to resign myself to this statement. The candidate who won the election for the Presidency in 2016 was ‘appointed by God’; and the candidate who wins the election in 2020 is also ‘appointed by God’. That reality can be a very tough ‘pill’ to swallow.

I want to quote a lengthy explanation of Romans 13:1

“The authorities that exist are appointed by God: Se also Dan. 4:32; Ps 75:6,7. Paul does not suggest that God approves a corrupt government, ungodly officials or unjust legislation. Sometimes, however, in punishment for the sins of a people or for other reason known to Him, God allows evil rulers to have authority for a time, as the OT prophets frequently testify. God grants authority to serve good ends (vv. 3,4). How that authority is exercised will be the accounting of each to whom it has been given.” (Spirit Filled Life Bible, NKJV, page 1709)

What is our responsibility? Romans 13:2; the Study Bible offer this commentary:

“Although obedience to earthly authority is the general rule, a clear biblical principle is that we my need to disobey government if commanded to sin, for loyalty to God always takes priority over all human authority (see Esther 4:16; Dan. 3:12-18, 6:10; Matt. 2:12; Acts 5:29; Heb. 11:23).”

“God holds those, whom He appoints to rule over nations, responsible for their actions; and He holds us responsible to obey those in authority over us, unless they ask us to sin against Him.”

Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:11-17, “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the of visitation. Therefore, submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evil doers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men–as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bond servants of God. Honor the people, Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.”

It is interesting that in my Study Bible, it says, that the king in verse 13 and in verse 17 refer “to Nero, the Roman emperor, who reigned from A.D. 54 to 68.” At the risk of being sarcastic, we think we have it rough.

My first alligence is to the Lord Jesus Christ as a citizen of the Kingdom of God. I submit to His governing authority. As a citizen of the Kingdom of God, I am to live my life honoring the Lord and being in submission to the governing authorities of the nation in which I reside. My lifestyle is to be such that it brings honor to the Lord and does not conflict with the nation unless the nation asks me to do that which is forbidden by the Word of God.Today, in our current climate of being ‘shut in’, many believers are struggling with what the authority of our nation is requesting us to do. At this time, my resolve is to pray for those in authority over us, and to speak in prayer against the principalities, powers and rulers of darkness that are waging a verbal warfare in our nation.

In closing this series, I want to share from a devotional by Jack Hayford’s, ‘Words of Life’. He is sharing on Psalm 19:14, which says, Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.” The devotional says, “This oft-quoted verse attests to the importance and desirability of our words and thoughts being consistent with God’s Word and will. The text literally says, “Let what I speak and what my heart murmurs to itself be a delight to You, God.” As followers of Jesus Christ, may we speak words that minister to others; and may the inward thoughts of our hearts be delight our Father.

Satan’s S.C.A.M. in the garden was to challenge the meaning of God’s spoken Word to Adam and Eve Since then his tactic has not changed. But God had his own ‘anti-SCAM’ before the foundation of the world. Ephesians 1:3-14 tells us of the Father’s “…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. 1:9,10 , NKJV)

Satan was successful in corrupting God ‘s created order; however, God before the foundation of the world prepared His own plan to counteract Satan’s SCAM, that I would like to call God’s anti-SCAM.

God’s anti- S.C.A.M. – Sacrificing Christ Atones Mankind. Ephesians 1: 7 says, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace…” (NKJV)

God sent His Son as THE sacrifice to take away the sin of the world. Hebrews 9:28, “so Christ was offered ONCE to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him, He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.” (NKJV) (emphasis mine)

Sin Caused A Mess; but Salvation Created A Message – the Gospel

As we enter the public domain, freed from our ‘shut in’, what will be the ‘words of your heart’ spoken to a hurting world; and what will be ‘meditation of your heart’ before the Father? (We need to make sure that the meditation of our heart is upright before the Father before we open up our mouth.)

May the Lord richly bless you, a brother in Christ, by the Grace of God, deo

May the Lord give you wisdom as you seek Him during this time of turmoil. I am so thankful that God is in control. Jesus is Lord.

Let’s face reality. Sin makes things hard, and complicates life. Satan corrupted God’s creation by offering Adam and Eve a better deal than what God had provided for them. Adam and Eve bought (or should I say, ‘bit’) into the plan and here we are, dealing with the ravages of sin that manifests itself in pure corruption. As the scripture says, “the wages of sin is death” (Roman 6:23), but the verse does not stop there; it continues, saying, “but the gift of god is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Sin produces bad news with a horrific result, called Hell; God has given His Son, and brought good news, with a hopeful result, called Heaven. What makes the difference for an individual? It is the message of the Gospel. If you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord, then I encourage you to search out the truth of the Gospel. You can reach me through this blog site at livingwordsofencouragement.com and I will share with you the Gospel of Christ. Or, if you have a Bible, I recommend that you read I Corinthians 15:1-11, and then the Gospel of John.

.As a believer, I am torn, wrestling over my civic responsibility to this nation. Are you?

The Pharisees were seeking to trap Jesus verbally so that they could accuse Him of not being ‘politically correct’ (Matthew 22:15-22). They sent their representatives to pose the following question to Him. “Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” (Matthew 22:17, NKJV). Verse 18 tells us that Jesus “perceived their wickedness”. Asking for a coin, (I assume He took the coin) , and posed this question to those who had asked Him their question. Jesus said, verse 20, “Whose image and inscription is this?” His inquirers responded correctly by saying to Him, “Caesar’s”. (verse 21); and so Jesus simply says to them (verse 21), “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s , and to God the things that are God’s” (NKJV)

That was Jesus’ response to a verbal entrapment set up by the Pharisees to ensnare Him in a politically incorrect answer so that they could accuse Him of not being loyal to the Roman nation. Jesus’ response gave to us the guideline that we should follow as citizens of the nation in which we reside. Consider the following commentary taken from my Study Bible, page 1448, Matthew 22:21, “An earthly state provides for the welfare of its citizens, who are thus obligated to support the government. But citizens of God’s kingdom also owe allegiance to Him. Ideally, there should be no conflict between the two (see Romans 13:1-7), but where there is disharmony allegiance to God takes precedence ( see Acts 4:18-20).” Simply stated, Jesus told us to pay what is required to whatever political government we live under; unless as previously stated, that government requires us to something that is directly unscriptural according to the Word of God.

As a citizen of the Kingdom of God, we are instructed by the Word of God to pray for those in authority over us. I Timothy 2:1, says, “I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all me, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may live a quiet and peaceable life in godliness and reverence” (NKJV). May I say, Paul did not stipulate that some kinds of governments or certain leaders were more or less appropriate than other governments or leaders. That does not mean that we do not use wisdom; what it means is that we ask for wisdom regarding praying for nations and their leaders.

Why? In the letter to the Romans, Paul tells us in Romans 13:1-10, the true relationship between those in authority over us and God, Himself. Verse 13:1 says, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” (NKJV). Those words can be very troublesome to individuals who have personally suffered; or have had family members persecuted; or lived under regimes that have been horrendously evil, wicked, vicious, etc. How does one reconcile the despicable, detestable, hateful regimes throughout the history of mankind that have destroyed untold numbers of individuals for their own personal gain, pleasure, or cause. The logical consequence of these thoughts would be for someone to ask the question that many others have asked over the millenia. “How can I believe in the goodness of God when there is so much evil in the world?” There is an answer to that question; however, it requires more thought and study than I have personally done. We must remember that evil in our world did not come from God. However, God in His Grace, Mercy, and Love, has dealt with sin, and consequently with its evil and death. Jesus the Lamb of God has come to take away the sin of the world. That was accomplished at the cross. Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection has defeated death, hell and the grave. The Love of God has conquered Evil. The Day is coming when it will be totally eradicated; out of existence. There will be a new heaven and a new earth. O, glorious Day.

TBC

I would like to continue my C.O.A.C.H. – the Confession Of A Concerned Habitant.

In 2016, in order to vote for the well being of our nation and its Constitutional foundation, I had to lay aside my concerns for both presidential candidates lifestyles and their personal history. I could have voted for a candidate of another party rather than choosing between the Republican candidate and the Democratic candidate. As I have mentioned in an earlier blog, I find myself in the same predicament as I consider the 2020 presidential election. What is interesting is that intensity of the choice has been elevated. How so, you ask?

If you have read my previous thought about the coming election, you will understand that my voting choice would be predicated upon which ‘economic engine’ will be driving this nation, i.e. , capitalism or socialism, [I wrote that comment over a month ago.] Since then a lot has changed in the makeup of the presidential election. Who will be the candidate for the Democratic Party? What will be the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the presidential election; but more importantly, what will be the impact of Covid 19 on the economy? And what will be the long term impact of the passage of three stimulus packages, with a fourth one under consideration as I compose this blog? That’s a lot to consider when making a decision regarding what candidate to vote for? Especially, with the potential of $10 Trillion dollars worth of stimulus packages needing to be absorbed, somehow, by our economy. I am not confident that either party is capable of putting together an economic plan that will completely bring about a recovery to our economy.

Well, let’s regroup. We have all witnessed the clash of the mantras of socialism verses capitalism as we proceeded through the primaries; and because of the pandemic, there was the dropping out of the candidates espousing socialism; and it appeared that the socialistic engine to drive our economy stalled. However, we are aware that the philosophy of socialism still exists in the minds of many politicians and in the hearts of many voters in our nation.

And what we have witnessed, in a very short period of time, were the economies of the nations of the world shutting down overnight. Not just the United States, but the entire world. Economically, in our nation, we have watched all the past gains and growth wiped out. The economy of our nation is limping along, and that may be to optimistic of an observation at this time.

In 2008, we suffered through an economic downturn; the government stepped in and helped, and things turned around. At that time, I was wondering then if we were witnessing what is written in Revelation 18 that describes the fall of Babylon that represents the collapse of the economic system of the world. 2008 is minor to what is occurring now; and again I turned to Revelation 18 and wondered if these scriptures were being fulfilled at this time? Please read Revelation 18.

The measures taken by our government to assist the nation financially has been astronomical; some may even say it has been too excessive; others claim that it has not been enough. There are many progressive politicians, I believe, who are salivating at what they are witnessing. Because of our dire need, the nation is receiving levels of income assistance that politicians have been pushing for through government subsidies for years. Unfortunately, there seems to be issues with where the subsidies are ending up. Be that as it may! The question is:

Can our economic engine ‘fire-up’ and handle it? Will the economy recover? I am not trying to be pessimistic; I am asking myself, like many of you are, how far can we financially overextend ourselves and not do severe damage to our nation?

What impact will all of this have on the 2020 election? Opponents of our current POTUS are exuberant at what is taking place. I believe that many of them visualize this current economic situation caused by the coronavirus as the ‘cherry on top’ of all their anti-presidential rhetoric since 2016. Ultimately the voters will decide. (at this point when I was originally composing this blog, I had inserted the following aside: in the midst of all of this: there is a drive to change the voting process in our November general election; no stone is being left unturned to deconstruct our system of government,– on May 15, 2020, the House passed another stimulus package, the largest ever, and it included a change in the voting process.)

With all of this looming and coming to the forefront, even to a ‘boiling point’, what am I to do as a believer in Jesus Christ regarding the upcoming Presidential election? Our President has had many accomplishments and many non-accomplishments depending on your source. One source would be Marc Thiessen, who writes opinions, that are printed in the Washington Post. He has listed items on both sides of the issue in 2018 and 2019.

I have heard the President say many things that make me cringe. I have observed behavior that, in my estimation, was inappropriate. I am not here to gossip.. I am saying that I wrestle with what I have heard and observed; I do not believe that I am any different than you; I assume that you struggle, too. Therefore, just as I had to wrestle with the characteristics and lifestyles of the 2016 presidential candidates, I am faced with many of the issues in the 2020 election. I know that for many people there is no issue; it is cut and dried. I will vote for ____________(fill in the blank)

Now What?

TBC

Many years ago, while reading the Book of Revelation, I found myself contemplating that the media was a false prophet, not THE false prophet. Mind you, this was prior to what we have been subjected too, and observing the past several years. I am not a theologian, or a student of prophecy, and I am certainly not trying to be a prophet; but I would like to share my observation.

I understand that the false prophet in the Book of Revelation is an individual. I have no issue with that; and I am most certainly not trying to identify the false prophet or the anti-Christ. What I am interested in, is drawing your attention to the ‘spirit of the anti-Christ’, and the ‘voice of the false prophet. One of things that can be presumptive in drawing attention to a specific thought is while connecting the dots to make a personal conjecture you run the risk of creating your own dogma. That is what I run the risk of doing at this time.

In Matthew 24:3, Jesus’ disciples approach Him privately and ask Him, “Tell us, when will these things be, And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” Jesus had just told His disciples that the temple in Jerusalem was going to be totally razed in the future.

In Matthew 24:4, Jesus’ answer is startling, He says to them, “Take heed that no one deceives you…” He continues by outlining other events that will occur (see Matthew 24: 5-10). In Matthew 5:11-14, He says, “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many, and because lawlessness will abound, the love (agape) of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (NKJV) [words in bold print are my emphasis]

For me personally, I can easily visualize Matthew 24:11-14 as the backdrop for what the Church is being prepared to embrace in this hour. I am not saying that this same backdrop has not been faced by the Church before; what I am saying is that the Lord is shaking everything that can be shaken to awaken His Church out of its lethargy and step forward to be bold with a Renewed Confidence. I encourage you to read and reflect on Matthew 24:4-14. Now, ask yourself, what is the Lord asking of me in this hour?

Paul, the Apostle, writing to the church in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2, “Now brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering unto Him, we ask you, not to be shaken in mind or troubled either by spirit or by word or by , as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.” This church thought they had missed Christ’s coming. Paul is assuring them that they had not missed His coming.

Paul continues, “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless, the falling , away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God…For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work…The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, will all powers, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish because they did not receive the love (agape) of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion , that they should believe the lie, they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2Thessalonians 2: 3-4, 7a, 9-11, NKJV)

My point for using these verses is to dramatically highlight the words that are associated with and characterize Satan, and demonic activity. I submit to you that the ‘spirit of the anti-christ, and the false prophet have been unleashed against this nation.

I make no apology for my belief that the verbal rhetoric’ that this nation is being subject too, are lies, accusations, and deceptions from “below’. (James 3:14-16) ” But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist , confusion and every evil thing are there.” (NKJV)

This is the atmosphere in which we are living. What is the overall effect of this constant negativism? despair, unrest, hopelessness, despondency, fear, uncertainty, anxiety, lawlessness, what else can you add to the list? This is the bad news of sin; the scam of corruption that Satan has assailed against mankind. This is why, I assert, that our warfare is not against mankind, flesh and blood; but it is against the principalities, rulers of the darkness of this age. We are in a spiritual war against demonic spiritual powers.

We need to awake to reality in which we live. The spirit of the anti-Christ, and the voice of the false prophet spew forth through every media venue lies, deceit, and accusations propagating falsehoods, and confusion meant to kill, steal, and destroy humanity, relationships, and bring an upheaval to governments throughout the world.

Yes, what I am sharing is all bad news.

BUT, the good news is that in Christ, we overcome the bad news; that is why He came.

“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)

“John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first born from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (Revelation 1:4-6, NKJV)

Rejoice, Jesus is Lord.

TBC

Is there room in our nation to express one’s concern over the condition of our nation and not be viciously attacked by those who disagree? Instead of Political Correctness can we have Peaceful Civility?

I am a C.O.A.C.H.. Actually, I have done a lot of coaching in my lifetime. As a player and coach, I span over 5 decades playing and coaching different levels of softball. I enjoy baseball very much. My father took me to the first preseason game at Seals Stadium in San Francisco, in 1958, to see the game between the new San Francisco Giants and the Cleveland Indians. Prior to the Giants coming to the west coast, I used to follow the PCL. I watched the televised baseball games Saturday afternoon. It was great. Trivia question, can you name the teams in the PCL of the 1950’s?

My acronym for COACH is a ‘Confession of a Concerned Habitant’.

This blog resembles my ‘Elephant in the Room’ blog. I want to express my observations.

This coming November 2020, the nation will be electing another President of the United States. Never in the history of this nation has a four year Presidency, beginning in 2016, been so volatile. Our elected President has been maligned, challenged, hated, criticized, and harassed ruthlessly and purposefully. He has been the brunt of verbal attack. There have been lies, deceits, and accusations constantly hurled at him. For a more detailed explanation of what I am referring too, please see my blog series about the United States being a ‘Nation of P.O.W.’s’.

It has been several weeks since I first composed these thoughts. I wrote this out on April 15, 2020, Income Tax Day. I found myself faced with the same predictiment that I faced prior to the 2016 election. I was asking myself, why am I voting? In the state of California where I live, voting as a Republican is inconsequential.

Therefore, I want to share with you why I voted Republican in the 2016 election. First of all it has been my political party of choice. For most of my life, voting Republican was purely assumed. My stance supporting the Republican Party was formed primarily from the predisposition of my parents, and following in their footsteps. It is noteworthy that my father did vote for Harry Truman. The intersection of my parent’s beliefs, my education, and my environment were the contributing influences that shaped my political bent growing up.

There was no Biblical thought factored into my political equation. That began to change after Christine and I were married. I was at San Francisco State prior to the ‘free speech’ movement and the ‘hippie’ era. However, during my last year at State, I witnessed the mild beginnings of ‘public dissent’ on campus. After my graduation, there were the ‘free speech’ demonstrations at Cal Berkeley, and at State. These were demonstrations that did not bode well with me, with my parents, and with Christine’s parents.

Christine and I were married in 1964. We were living in her Uncle’s studio apartment near the San Francisco /Daly City border. Our search for a church to attend took us one Sunday morning to a Baptist church near Stonestown shopping center located in Daly City. It was there, that we heard a ‘social gospel’ sermon that did not set well with us. This was not church as we had been raised. We did not return to that church.

Going to church Sunday morning and listening to a social agenda did not mix, especially when politics were included. Well, that defines my mindset in the mid-sixties. From that moment on, for the next couple of years, we quietly lived out the beginning of our new married life.

For the past 56 years, as of June 13, 2020, there has been an evolution of political awareness taking place in me. It didn’t come with political involvement; it came through the ‘back door’ with the Lord’s discipline in my life. The process of political awareness that began in the 60’s now has taken center stage in my walk with the Lord. How? Because my center of government has been changed. I want to be governed by Christ, His Word, and guided by the Holy Spirit. In Christ, Jesus is Lord; that is what got the first century Christians in trouble. As a believer in Christ, I am first a citizen of the Kingdom of God. As such, I give unto the government what is the government’s; and I give unto God what is God’s.

In the 2016 election, I was not reluctant to vote because I believed it was the correct thing to do as a citizen of the United States; however, I was hesitant. My choice of party to cast my vote for was determined primarily to preserve the nation. How’s that for an utopian idealism?

My major concern for the nation was the Judicial System, specifically the Supreme Court. For me, the philosophifical constituency of the SCOTUS was the bedrock of our republic. In my opinion, the make-up of the Court was tenuous at best. I have watched the Court(s) become a political arena for individuals and groups to advance and/or deny agendas for personal gain. In short, I believe we are witnessing a system that leans more toward injustice than justice. ( I know that comment lights up both sides of the political atmosphere for debate. )

I am a Constitutionalist. My observation is that there has been a concerted effort to deconstruct our Constitution. The court system which is supposed to uphold the rule of law has become a place where the rule of established law has been questioned, diagnosed, reinterpreted, and subjected to a political agenda that undermines the foundational bedrock of our society by means of progressive thinking and conducting a political warfare with words of deceit, lies, and accusations.

Therefore, I voted for the party that in my estimation would uphold the principles of government as established by the Constitution of the United States. My choice was to vote Republican.

Since 2016, there has been a vicious war of words regarding appointments to the Supreme Court and a constant battle over wording in the Constitution with regards to impeachable offenses regarding the POTUS, and the governing authority of each branch of the government, their interaction, and responsibility to each. Let me repeat, it’s a ‘war of words’; and it is full of chaos, confusion, and corruption. There is a S.C.A.M..

Who is the source of chaos, confusion, and corruption?

TBC

Revelation 12:11 says, “And they (followers of Christ) overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love (agapeo) their lives to the death.”

I am so thankful for commentary that is concise and to the point. Quoting from my Study Bible regarding the aforementioned verse it says, ” They overcame him by appropriating the victory of the finished word of Christ, by the public confession of their faith and their patient endurance (Rev. 1:9) , even in the face of martyrdom (Rev. 13:10). The church’s constant posture under the authority of the Cross’s victory by the blood of the Lamb and steadfastness to the promises and authority of God’s Word – the word of their testimony – is their key to overcoming. (Spirit Filled Life Bible, NKJV, page 1977).

Follows of Christ, faithful in their witness, living a self-sacrificing life. Why do I say, ‘self-sacrificing’? Because they love not their life to the death. The word for ‘love’ is agapeo. That is self-sacrificing love. “For God so loved (agapeo) the world that He gave…” This is the self-sacrificing love of the cross. Followers of Christ take up their cross daily. Jesus said in Matthew 10:38-39, “And he who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worth of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake shall find it.” [Please read Matthew 10:32-39 for the context of these words.]

The New Testament teaches much about embracing the cross. Learning to live by the principle of the cross is the essence of being conformed to the image of Christ.

Hebrew 12:2 states the standard: “…looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

When Jesus was being crucified on the cross, what words were hurled at Him by those who passed by Him? They cried out, (Matthew 27:39-40), “And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” The scripture continues, verses 41-44, “Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let him come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ “

Right up to the end, Satan was tempting Jesus to avoid His death on the cross for the purpose of saving His own life and not fulfilling the eternal work that He came to do.

I am so glad, and I am sure, you are too, that He ‘hung in there’ to take away the sin of the world.

Jesus gave up His life, of His own volition; He wasn’t coerced, threatened, or bribed. The giving up of His life was a self-sacrifice. It was the agape of God.

This is the gospel that Paul preached. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:2, “For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” I submit to you those words declare Paul to be a follower of Christ. One who overcomes by the blood of the Lamb. In Galatians 6:14, Paul writes, “but God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” Paul is one who overcomes by the word of his testimony. And in Philippians 3:10, Paul declares, “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” Paul, in essence, is one who does not love his life to death. As he stated else where in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

I think it is easy to see that the Apostle Paul was an overcomer. He overcame, as a follower of Jesus Christ, by the blood of the Lamb, the word of his testimony, and he did not love his life to death. It would be simple to substantiate this claim studying the life of Paul. These same characteristics are the bedrock of our walk with the Lord.

Many followers of Christ, I believe, are wondering what is happening in the world? One thing I know, God is allowing this world-wide pandemic for His purpose in the earth. I also believe the Lord is desiring to speak to His Church to prepare them for change. What is the Spirit of the Lord saying to you? What adjustments is the Lord making in your life?

We need to heed Hebrews 13:7-19 (Please read and reflect); Let me especially encourage you to embrace Hebrews 13:12-14, “Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach, For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.”

A number of years ago, I heard a Bible teacher make this remark: “You and God are incompatible and He doesn’t change.”

I believe we need to hear that and embrace it.

God is changing things. You may need to go ‘outside the camp, bearing His reproach”.

May the Lord richly bless you, strengthen you, and give you peace, a brother in Christ, deo