It’s been a great two weeks from Fire Valley State Park in Nevada to Palm Desert, CA, to Scottsdale, AZ, (more in pics to come of amazing sights of sites), but it’s left me unprepared to present the blog I wanted to on EMPs. So that will come next Saturday. Lots to read and digest to understand this threat to our nation and to the world on top of all I have already researched.
But for Christ-followers, do not be afraid. It is still Father’s world and He seems to be getting ready to tell Jesus, “Enough! Go get our people and start the final countdown to the New Heavens and New Earth.” History is not repeating itself. It is heading for a climax after 6000+ years of rebellion against the Creator, and it will be important to be ready.
In Luke 21:25-28 Jesus said, “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves,people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken…Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads,because your redemption is drawing near.”
NO! That is the short answer. After all, we who follow Jesus are supposed to live like He did, even when He went to the cross, crucified by Roman officers and mocked by Jewish leaders. At their worst moment He demonstrated His best: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Before showing Joel Rosenberg’s excellent article, allow me to note there is no such ethnicity as “Palestinian.” The so-called “Palestinians” are simply Arabs, Egyptians, Syrians, Jordanians and other nationalities that these countries refuse to accept into their populace because of the radicalism of these particular “Arabs” (for a lump ethnicity of all of these). They refuse to accept their immigration, because promoting Yasser Arafat’s creation of a “Palestinian” identity perpetuates hatred of Israel and de-legitimization of Israel’s right to exist, even though Hebrews have a much longer history associated to the land. Arab emigration occurred mainly during the Ottoman Empire. The Arabs living there are primarily a construct of Muslim extremists since the 1900s. However, that does not give Christ-followers carte blanche to dismiss those who claim Palestinian status and treat them as less than people that Jesus loves and for whom He died on the cross. ____________________________________ Do Evangelicals Hate Palestinians? by Joel Rosenberg.
The last six months have been tragic and painful for Israelis, Palestinians, and much of the Middle East. Many of us hoped Israel and Saudi Arabia would forge a historic and transformative peace and normalization treaty. Instead, the forces of Iranian-backed evil were unleashed. Today, the war with Hamas continues. The threat of Hezbollah in the north steadily increases. Protests are happening around the globe.
How, then, are Evangelical Christians who care about what’s happening in this region supposed to respond? What should our attitude be? Our practical responses? We need to stop thinking like the world thinks and study our Bibles very, very carefully.
Principle #1: Love both Israel and her neighbors. Jesus commanded His disciples to love their neighbors and love their enemies, and His call left no one out. Both Leviticus 19:18 and Matthew 5:43-48 reveal an inclusive love that transcends borders and affiliations.
Principle #2: Be peacemakers. Following the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 5:9 and Paul’s guidance in Romans 12:18, believers are to actively pursue peace. Being recognized as children of God is tied to their commitment to fostering harmony and reconciliation.
Principle #3: Oppose injustice and provide care for the suffering. Rooted in Jesus’ mission statement from Luke 4:18-19, this principle underscores the Christian duty to combat injustice and extend compassionate care to those in need. It highlights Jesus’ tangible acts of mercy, not confined to a specific geographical region.
Principle #4: Strengthen fellow believers, offering support as directed by the Lord. Reflecting the communal spirit described in Acts 2:44-45 and Romans 15:27-28, this principle encourages financial and spiritual support among Gentile Christians and Messianic Jewish brethren.
Principle #5: Share the Gospel universally. Drawing from Romans 10:11-15, this principle underscores the urgency of proclaiming the Gospel to everyone, emphasizing the equality between Jew and Gentile. It highlights the Church’s responsibility to ensure all have the opportunity to accept or reject Jesus as their Savior.
Principle #6: Persist in prayer. Anchored in Romans 12:12 and 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, this principle emphasizes the essential role of prayer in maintaining joy, patience, and faithfulness, encouraging believers to be unwavering in their commitment to constant communication with God.
Is any of this easy to do? No, not even if we are followers of Jesus and filled with the Holy Spirit of God. But God has not called us to easy lives. He has called us to love Him and thus to serve Him by loving and serving others in the name of Jesus.
May these biblical principles guide our hearts and actions — now more than ever before — as we seek to be a light in the darkness to those around us.
______________________________
Joel C. Rosenberg is an American-Israeli communications strategist, author, and non-profit executive. He has written sixteen novels about terrorism and Bible prophecy, including the Gold Medallion Book Award winner, The Ezekiel Option. He also has written three nonfiction books, Epicenter, Inside the Revolution, and Enemies and Allies.
Last Saturday I blogged on Something Wicked that was coming our way: transgenderism, antisemitism and abortion are just three of the major trends in our society that will call for God’s judgment on the USA and much of the West that follows our lead.
Briefly, YHWH judged Israel (aka Ephraim; the ten tribes initially led by Jeroboam) and Judah (Judah and Benjamin), the Northern and Southern Kingdoms, for their repeated national idolatry and violence within the land. The bloodshed of innocents cried out to God more than Abel’s blood had when he was murdered by his brother, Cain.
How much more will the worship of sexuality, the hatred of the descendants of Jacob and the abortion of millions of living humans invoke the anger of a just God? Unbelievers do not like to hear that God will judge sin… until they have been offended! Then they want God to act immediately to condemn whoever has hurt them or their cause, without considering His great mercy and love for humankind, and that His ways may have different priorities than they espouse.
How much longer can the USA proceed on its downward spiral until The God Who Is says, “ENOUGH!” (See Habakkuk 2.) Has there been enough idolatry? Though we do not make giant statues of gold to worship (?), people in our nation adore many things more than the LORD who said, “You shall love YHWH your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
There has been enough bloodshed in America to overshadow the days of the Kings of Israel and their slaughter of children sacrificed to Molech and Ashtoreth; abortion killed in the USA more than 1,026,000 babies in 2023, compared to less than 19,000 deaths by gun violence or accidents. Yet those were the headlines that grabbed attention; the confused girls who were pressured by a parent or a boyfriend or status to abort their babies did not attract the spotlight, even though they numbered in the hundreds of thousands.
Cheers erupted in the New York state legislature in 2019 as they approved a law allowing for abortion up to the time of birth, which brought to mind the drums and noise made when children were placed in Molech’s arms to burn, so that the screams of the babies could not be heard.
In 2015, religious freedom seemed compromised when a Washington high school football coach was fired for praying with his team after a game. Joe Kennedy waited roughly six years for the Supreme Court to hear the oral arguments for his case. This was a notable case in 2022, and recent events have caused the issue to resurface.
Earlier this year, Laura, an 11-year-old student of Creekside Elementary in Washington state, requested to start an interfaith prayer club at her school. Her request was denied even though an LGBT club was approved about the same time as Laura’s request causing one commenter to note, “Sadly, the promotion of LGBT identities is held sacred while religion is sidelined and marginalized.”
Toronto Police Service sent its “Progress Pride Flag-wrapped scout car” to drive around the streets of the city while crime remains at levels not seen for years.
Pelosi says Democrats will codify a “right” to abortion if they win in November. Such a devout Catholic?
The legislative body of the United Methodist Church, the second-largest Protestant Christian denomination in the US, voted to repeal a 40-year ban on the ordination of gay clergy on May 1, 2024.
This coming June, homosexual “pride masses” are scheduled to take place in hundreds of Catholic churches in the USA and Canada as a reaction to celebrations in traditional churches of The Sacred Heart of Jesus.
On the governmental front, the current administration may be waging a secretive war on Christian faith – prayer, churches, Bible studies in senior living centers, and even Christian kids in school are all under attack. Joe Biden is empowering anti-Christian forces in the FBI and DOJ to severely deplete our religious liberty. Agencies have been caught placing spies in churches, making your bank report when you purchase a Bible, targeting “radical traditionalist” Christians and banning Bible studies at senior living centers – and this is just the beginning. The ACLJ is in court to protect teachers who were banned on April 18, 2024 from praying “where students could see them.”
The Department of Justice’s investigation into the FBI’s disturbing 2023 memo suggesting that Catholicism is a breeding ground for violent domestic terrorists – especially within Traditional Latin Mass circles – found that the memo “failed to adhere to FBI standards” but showed “no evidence of malicious intent,” absolving the agency of wrongdoing.
Toronto city officials have appealed to the Trudeau government to legalize ALL quantities of crack, cocaine, heroin, meth, and other hard drugs, despite warnings that it will bring increased chaos and violence to the city, already seeing the highest crime rates ever.
Northwestern University this month cut a deal with encampment protesters to establish full-ride scholarships for “palestinian” students, even though there is no such national nor biological identity. This is to appease the angry mobs who storm buildings and threaten the safety of Jewish students and faculty.
A Bush era “presidential emergency action document” reveals sweeping and broad powers the executive branch can wield in the face of a “crisis,” real or imagined. Ponder how these powers can be abused when “Christians” are viewed as a threat to public peace for adhering to the teachings of the Bible. Consider how “hate speech” laws can be twisted to include any quotations from the Bible that condemn actions being normalized in our upside-down society.
While globally, America is still relatively safe, this can change in a heartbeat… or the lack of one from an elected official😳! We still have groups that provide legal protections and take action against persecution of Christians (as well as mistreatment of Jews, Muslims, Hindus and other religiously justifiable activities; think Falun Gong or Chinese artists such as Shun Yun). However, we may be like the proverbial frog in a slowly warming kettle.
Christ-follower, be aware that you may be required to love your enemy in ways you have not imagined: expressing concern for a jailer from a cell while you await trial; helping in a soup kitchen when you are not allowed to work; praying for people who spit at you and deride you as being “outdated,” narrow-minded, bigoted and hateful. Love them as Jesus loved His Roman crucifiers and the Sanhedrin rulers who mocked Him while He was on the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
The USA has passed a “point of no return.” I mourn, not only for the loss to the world of the “city on a hill,” but for my children and grandchildren who will live in a nation those of us over 45 will not recognize.
No matter who “wins” in our coming election, the infections of socialism, anti-Americanism, and selfish philosophy permeate our society too deeply to be cured by any one elected official. The swamp that Donald Trump arrogantly thought he could clean up in his first term drowned him out, as much because of his supercilious attitude and self-importance as illegalities perpetrated by those who despised him.
We Christ-followers in the USA must prepare for coming persecution such as the Hebrews have suffered for so long.
“I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.” Jesus, John 17:14-15
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” Jesus, John 16:33
Yet something wicked this way comes. Not the carnival nor the Ray Bradbury book or the movie of the same name, but something much more sinister and relevant to the lives of Christ-followers in the USA and other nations influenced by America’s churches.
I am not a prophet and have no “word of the LORD” on this, but it seems to me we have passed a point of no return. The world is rapidly spinning out of control of societal norms that have been standards for hundreds of years. Even Nazi Germany from the 1930s to WW2 was mostly recognized as violating basic human rights, even as the political madness ruled from the top down by way of fear and intimidation. Many people rapidly escaped and various plots to assassinate Hitler or his henchmen were unsuccessful. But there was a keen sense in the rest of the world that Germany and Japan were on the wrong side of history.
Now we see history “rhyming.” Remember, itneverrepeats just as certainly as a man cannot step in the same river twice. Antisemitism is at levels higher and more widely spread across the globe than the 1930s. Universities that once allowed vigorous discussion of divergent ideas, years ago began shouting down unpopular views that expressed traditional values. Administrators have kowtowed to leftist and elitist abusers that they trained to resist what those of us over 40 considered normal. A student leader at Columbia, Khymani James, declares, “Zionists don’t deserve to live. Be glad — be grateful — that I’m not just going out and murdering Zionists.”
Aside from the Israel/Gaza storm, men pretending to be women are now invited to change in Olympic women’s dressing rooms for the next series of games. In spite of obvious physical differences, how these guys “feel” about themselves matters more than what their biology teachers told them. When girls object, they are vilified as bigoted and narrow-minded and are sexually discriminating against these “trans-women.”
The upcoming Paris Olympics are trying to balance “wokeness” with public displeasure at men competing in women’s sports by dumping the decisions of who qualifies back onto the individual governing bodies of each sport. There’s a lack of backbone for you.
“Gender-affirming” surgeries tripled in the USA from 2016 to 2019 with 12-18 year-olds accounting for 10% of permanent mutilations of naturally-born characteristics. Boys and girls, can you say “social contagion?” The governor of Arizona vetoed a state legislature bill that would have prevented confused school boys from showering with girls stating, “I will not sign legislation that attacks Arizonans.”
In April this year the German parliament overwhelmingly passed a so-called “self-identification law,” which allows people confused about their sex, including minors, to change their legal gender once per year. The government is promoting puberty blockers and hormones on its website for gender-confused children at ages when kids should be riding bicycles and playing with dolls and trucks.
Live Action’s “Meet Baby Olivia” video shares a realistic look at the development of preborn children in the womb, validated by well-qualified OB/GYN doctors. While some states are moving to require the video for sex-ed classes, an article for USA today claimed it would mislead people and stigmatize teenage girls who have an abortion when faced with an unplanned pregnancy.
The issue here is not that society is changing, but that Christ-honoring Biblical truth is being side-lined by prophets of a new age.
>How long before wearing a kippah can result in being arrested? Try last week! >Will we who believe God created distinct males and females in His image be accused of hate speech for quoting the Bible?Try a couple years agoand still fighting for free speech and to stay out of prison! >When will someone lose a job for espousing open dialogue on divisive issues? Try last week again!
>Fortunately our government will never spy on citizens going about their daily business😳. They can leave that to Google and Apple.
>Then again, maybe they will, but they will only use such surveillance against the “bad guys.”
Now, if we can just be certain we who call on the Name of YHWH or Jesus are never on the “bad guys” list! But if we insist on allowing Hebrews to wear their identity on their heads, some may want to kill us. If we label men and women as birth-assigned genders, we could be in trouble. If we feel we should be allowed to express our faith by talking openly about being Jewish or Christian we may be discretely followed or imprisoned. If we insist a human is a human as soon as he/she has all the genetic information of a human, there are voices that will call us liars and try to drown us out.
Anything worth doing is worth doing well, and for most things, these involve training. Our spiritual performance is no different. We must train ourselves for Heaven the same way we would train for a marathon or athletic performance. It is not that we will “perform” in Heaven as we would at an Olympic competition, but how we live here on earth is preparation for our eternal life.
The transformation when we leave this world, either by Jesus’ second coming or by our “graduation” when we die, will be profound. We will be changed, but only based on what we are now; we will not be changed from animals to angels; from created to uncreated; from finite to infinite; from air-breathing to carbon-monoxide-breathing; from free-willed individuals to slaves in the new world. We will still have free will!
The idea of Heaven not having temptations because of the devil’s absence is inadequate to explain the purity we will enjoy there. The two other sources of temptation will still be with us, the world and the flesh. In fact, if the new Heaven and earth is as magnificent as Randy Alcorn teaches in his book called Heaven, I suspect there will be more temptation there than in this decrepit universe with all its ugliness and filth. Add that we will still have bodies, and though “glorified” like Jesus’ resurrection body, it will still be flesh and bone. Might we need to do some “remedial training” when we reach our Home or will we be ready to judge angels? The Scripture teaches that we must be as disciplined as any athlete or soldier.
So what will be so different that we will not yield to temptation? Actually, if we remember, temptation is NOT sin, it is likely we will still “feel” temptation. The difference will be our history here, that we have been “trained in righteousness.”
Like children learning to walk, our resistance to temptation now on this earth should be training us that NOT yielding to whatever physical whim our “ids” promote is better and more rewarding than sinning. So in the new age, on a new earth, with Jesus present with us, the main reason we will not yield to temptation will be the maturity of “walking as He walked,” as “in His steps,”in service to one another and the pleasure of knowing we are without sin.
Visiting with C.M. Ward once, he spoke of the delight of traveling all around the USA. While he missed his family, the one thing he enjoyed was the crisp clean sheets every night in his hotel rooms. This was before environmental warriors convinced us we could save the planet by foregoing this travel luxury.
He noted that there was only a little fun in getting dirty, but that the higher joy came from a hot cleansing shower and crisp clean sheets in which to sleep. In the same way, once we have matured enough to enjoy CLEAN, why would we ever go back to the mud-pit of sin⁉️ The Bible even describes habitual sin as a dog eating its own vomit‼️ YUCCCK‼️ Maturing in Christ means growing up to a stature that besetting sins no longer attract us.
Are you really satisfied from the emptiness of lust and porn? Does gluttony really satisfy the hunger of your heart for good health and spiritual food? Do you enjoy eruptive anger at others; does your bitterness feed your soul or deplete it? Will lazing around in bed when there are things that need our attention make us feel more accomplished? Do we really think pilfering that extra money will make us content? Will electing “our” candidate make us less anxious, as though he/she will bring peace to the Middle East, protect out lifestyle, ensure a prosperous America and protect the vulnerable?
Socrates said, “It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.” How much worse to grow old and not discover the beauty and power of God’s Holy Spirit in one’s life! Christ-followers, it is time for us to grow up and live like Jesus. Ghandi declared once that he loved Jesus, but Christians were another matter. First called Christians in Antioch, the term was intended to be derisive of “goody-two-shoes” people that acted like “little Christs.”
Anita reminded me of when we visited some friends in Bulgaria and they were teaching Gypsy children basic life lessons: how to read time on a clock, why seasons change, how to multiply and divide. But as they arrived at the house where the lesson was to be held, the children saw their teachers coming and started calling to others, “Jesus is coming, Jesus is here!” Maybe if we could be accused of trying so hard to be like Jesus, the world would notice that we were overcoming temptations and becoming “little Christs.”
Sometimes it is still hard to believe. A man who was beaten, scourged with a whip and crucified, pierced with a spear into His left side so that water and blood flowed from His heart, buried in a tomb and left for three days and three nights… NOW, He IS ALIVE⁉️
His own apostles, the eleven who had been with Him for three years and saw the miracles: the blind could see, the deaf could hear, the lame could walk, Lazarus and others raised from the dead… did not believe at first.
“But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.” (Mark 16:11) “These words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe [the women].” (Luke 24:11)
It wasn’t until I was a teen that I realized how absurd it was to believe someone could arise from the dead, yet Jesus DIDjust that!! So what must it have been like one week after the event described in Luke 24? “Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, ‘Peace to you!’ But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?See my hands and my feet, that it is I, myself. Touch me, and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them.
“Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,and said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.’”
Imagine Jesus coming and going among the disciples for 40 days. One wonders what He was doing when He was not with them. Can you imagine the times together when He would open the Old Testament and line by line explain how He had fulfilled over 300 prophecies?! How slow they were to believe and how dull of mind we are sometimes to understand the Truth!
The apostles and all Jesus’ disciples seemed to have a hard time believing He had risen from the dead. In Matthew 28, just before the ascension of Jesus, even still some doubted. We do not know exactly who as the text does not say, but we assume that they changed their minds by the time they saw Jesus ascend, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And it leaves us wondering why doesn’t He just appear to each of us that He knows will put our faith in Him?
Everyone gets on Thomas’ case because he would not believe the ten other apostles’ claims that they had seen Jesus until he put his finger into His wounded side and saw the nail-scarred hands himself. But ALL of the apostles were just as unbelieving when the women first reported Jesus resurrection! Even after visiting the empty tomb, Peter and John would not believe until Jesus appeared to them. Thus eight days later, Jesus told them all, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)
So that first week must have been a mind-bending one: to see their friend and mentor, having been crucified and buried, now walking and teaching them in a crash course in Old Testament theology! Yet, the disciples were still quiet and tried to avoid the High Priest and his associates, even going back to fishing in Galilee, in spite of Jesus command to wait in Jerusalem. Were they just wanting to avoid the authorities who had crucified Jesus? Were they considering going back to their old profession? Perhaps this was the meeting He had scheduled with them?
Before being too hard on the apostles, consider that such are we even after God has done amazing things for us. We have seen healings, been baptized into the Holy Spirit, watched Jesus work miracles in the lives of others. Some of us have experienced miracles… six strokes and still walking around like a “normal” person and typing blogs. And yet, at times my faith wavers. I yield to temptations. My anger flares up and moments later I have to ask forgiveness from Him, if not the person at whom I was angry. Don’t I believe He is risen!? Do you believe He is alive from the dead? Because He IS. He is risen, indeed!
The empty tomb was proof enough; the Sadducees and Pharisees could not produce a body to refute it. The Roman guards who should have been executed for failing to guard the tomb were bribed to keep the strange event quiet… if they even understood what had happened; only that they had failed to keep the tomb closed.
Now it is up to us, one week after the Resurrection to live in light of the Truth that death will not have the last word. Because He lives, any who place their faith in Him, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and confess with their lives that He is Lord, will be saved from sin’s most destructive effect: death. We who believe in and live for Jesus will also live forever.
Hallelujah, He is risen! He is risen, indeed!
Linda Holm left this world on December 30, 2023. Dallas wrote this song to say goodbye… until Forever.
I find it perennially annoying when Resurrection Sunday rolls around how Christ-folowers continue to use the pagan name, Easter (Eostre or Ashturah), for the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. But that is for a different blog, and for cultural reference, it is easier in conversations than explaining the pagan roots of Easter bunnies and eggs being related to a goddess of fertility. (Didn’t you ever wonder what rabbits and Cadburys had to do with the Resurrection!?)
Today, I want to address another perennial annoyance, and that is the misrepresentation of the “fickle crowd” who welcomed Jesus (Matthew 21:1-11) at His entrance to Jerusalem the week He was to be crucified. Too many uninformed pastors and priests seem to think this is the same “crowd” that a few days later stood before Pilate and yelled, “Crucify Him!” (Matthew 27:15-26; Mark 15:6-15)
Jesus performed most of His teaching and miracles in Galilee and in villages around Jerusalem. The only two definite Jerusalem miracles recorded in the Gospels are the healing a lame man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-9) and the healing of a servant whose ear Peter had severed in Gethsemane at Jesus’ arrest (Luke 22:47-53).
He may have done other miraculous signs in Jerusalem, but the metropolitan city was particularly jaded against ‘messiahs,’ having seen so many false ones that they had little interest. Furthermore, Jerusalem was the seat of Roman authority and the compromises of the population to accommodate Rome were significant. The Jerusalem Jews, like today’s urban-dwellers, tended to be focused on survival with little time for the religious arguments that plagued the Pharisees and Sadducees, the two major religio-political parties in Israel. Jesus did very few miracles in Nazareth because of their unbelief (Matthew 13:58). How much more so could this have applied to the Jerusalemites?
Read the Matthew 21 description of the Triumphal Entry (as it is called). Jerusalem was surrounded and infiltrated by pilgrims who had come for the Feast of Passover, one of three pilgrimage feasts in the Hebrew calendar. (Note: this is why contemporary Jews conclude the Passover meal with, “Next year in Jerusalem.”) Jerusalem, Israel’s historic capital city, would fill up and overflow with travelers from all over Israel and some from long distances.
Centrally located, Jerusalem is at most 100 miles (160 km) from the farthest points in Israel, a distance many people could traverse in a few days by foot, cart or horse. Many of these visiting crowds were people who had seen Jesus heal sick people and bless children. While Jesus had specifically discouraged many of His followers (John 6:41-66) after the incident of feeding 5000 men (not counting women and children), He still had thousands who looked to Him as a likely Messiah.
When He arrived in Jerusalem, THIS crowd was thrilled beyond measure because they expected Him to miraculously kick the Romans out and establish Jewish rulership on their historic homeland. However, most of these Jews were staying in inns or with relatives outside the crowded city.
The Jerusalem Jews, however, were the ones who were confused by Jesus arrival: “And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, ‘Who is this?’ And the crowds said, ‘This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.’” (Matthew 21:10-11) The Jerusalem Jews did not want anything to do with overthrowing the Romans for: 1) fear that a rebellion would not succeed, and 2) because it would disturb their lifestyle and “take away [their] place.” (John 11:48)
In the timeline of Jesus arrest, you find Him alone with eleven apostles in the Garden of Gethsemane. Clearly, the High Priest and Sadducees who were predominant in the Sanhedrin did not want to arrest Jesus when “His crowds” were around (Matthew 26:1-15; Luke 22:1-6).
Did you ever wonder why Jesus behaved so “mysteriously” regarding the setup of the Passover meal He would share with the apostles (Luke 22:3-13)? Consider, if He had said, “Peter and John, go to 123 Elijah Avenue and prepare the Passover for us…,” Judas could have alerted his evil benefactors, and their guards could have been there to arrest Jesus early in the evening when all His crowds were at family gatherings in and around the city! As it played out, Judas did not know where the Last Supper would be, so the betrayer had to wait for an opportunity to leave AFTER they had begun the meal. Examine the texts carefully and you will see that Jesus gave much of His discourse AFTER Judas had left to collect the “police.” (John 13:21-30) This was made possible because, from wherever the Last Supper occurred, Judas had to go to the Temple and retrieve the Temple guard under the command of the High Priest.
By the time Judas and his mob came back to where the Passover meal had been held, Jesus and the eleven disciples had gone to the Garden of Gethsemane where they prayed for three hours. An actual three sixty-minute sessions or not, it was during this time that a frustrated Judas, not to mention a menacing group of soldiers, searched from place to place in Jerusalem that would have been familiar to Jesus and His disciples. Late into the night, they finally came to the Garden and arrested Jesus.
He was taken into a bogus trial that stretched into the morning. (SeeProsecutorial Misconduct In the Trial of Christ.) Finally, taking Him to Pilate for what was probably a prearranged verdict, the priests were shocked that Pilate was no longer cooperative. They had expected a quick verdict on the previous evening, but now Pilate tried to release Jesus since He realized they were delivering Him out of jealousy, and Pilate’s wife had also warned him of her nightmares regarding Jesus (Matthew 27:18-19).
When Pilate presented Jesus to the “Jews” (John 18:33-40), this group, under the influence of the priests, chose Barabbas for release rather than Jesus. After scourging Him in an attempt to satisfy their blood-lust, he brought Jesus out again in a wimpy attempt to release Him. But stirred by the chief priests, these Jews from Jerusalem almost rioted in order to get Pilate to acquiesce to their demand (Matthew 27:24).
By the time they took Jesus to Golgotha word had begun to spread, as it was now about noon. Jewish families that had been celebrating the Passover were now moving about and discovering that the Jerusalem Jews were having Jesus crucified. Well, so much for the rebellion and kicking out the Romans. Discouraged by the “powers that be,” no one felt he or she could make a difference now that Jesus was in Roman soldiers’ hands and a verdict had been passed.
So you see, it is important to read the stories with a “sanctified imagination,” not reading anything into the texts, but like a screen-writer comparing Scripture to Scripture, come up with a complete picture of what happened the day Jesus was crucified.
The biggest news was yet to be told, of course: Three days later Jesus would shock His own disciples by rising from the dead, something none of them expected!
“I remember it exactly.” Words of unforgiveness. Words of bitterness. Words of unresolved anger.
Memories are tricky. When my brother, two years older than me, and I were reminiscing about our childhood, I ‘remember’ him asking, “Were we even raised in the same house!?” That is, if my memory serves me well?😉 But oftentimes our memories do NOT serve us well. We enhance some details; we skip major influences of the event; we miss details others will recollect; our perspective changes what we recall over the days or years. One of the problems with retrospection is we do not really remember time; we only relive moments in time.
And so the flow of memories’ seconds get set in stone as they become concreted and hard, impossible to remember any other way. How sad when those moments are of pain, problems and perturbations.
“I remember it exactly. It was ten years ago to this day! She was wearing that skimpy purple top and tight black pants that showed off every curve and carrying that obnoxious tiny red(?) handbag. She had on those tacky heels and that stupid pony tail(?) in her hair. There were only nine(?) other people in the lobby including two(?) children and she was eating a box of popcorn(?) and shesaid ‘x.y.z.‘‼️and it was exactly those words.”(?)
Jesus at times had harsh words for those who opposed Him without reason, but He seemed more interested in forgiving people who were “wrong” in one way or another: Mary Magdalene, the woman at the well, the rich young ruler, the woman taken in the act of adultery, the blind, the lame and the beggars, His crucifiers.
When we hold onto grudges and paste them into our memory, we need to read 1 Corinthians 13:5 in the NASB or NIV: “[Love] does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.“ Whenever someone wishes to tell of an offense, it is important to ask the reporter some questions:
Is this something I need to know?
Is this something that is ongoing?
Is this something about which you have spoken to the offender?
Is your intention to get help or to dishonor the offender?
Is this something you really want welded in your memory?
There are offenses which cannot be forgotten in this life: abuse, cruelty, wounds and scars left behind. For those I highly recommend a text from Lysa TerKeurst, Forgiving What You Can’t Forget. However, even for those we cannot seem to forget, we need to be bring them to the Cross and to a Christ-honoring counselor to find healing and forgiveness for both the offender and ourselves for our difficulty in forgiving. Those hurtful experiences are not for public consumption to be shared on Facebook or TikTok. Remember Jesus stern words, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6:14-15)
A counselor I once knew advised his clients to write down every offense of the person who had wronged them in order to experience catharsis of the pain and anger. However, it seems all this would do is firmly cement the misdeeds like stones in a sidewalk. Another counselor advised the same, but added, “Then burn the page and forgive.” This seemed more in line with what Jesus taught. The counselor said, “Forgiveness is an act of your will whereby you cancel the debt another person owes you, and if thereafter you remember that debt in anger, it is your sin of fraud to confess.”
Forgiveness is at the same time the hardest and easiest thing for us to do; hardest because it requires we die to ourselves and to the memory, the moment, we were offended; easiest because, as Lewis Smeades wrote, “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”
As Christ-followers, we are faced with decisions every day for which we are supposed to seek wisdom from The God Who Is. This includes everything from who we are to marry, where we are to live, what we are to eat, and how to respond to that crazy driver who tailgates you until he has opportunity to pass and then zooms in as though to force you off the road. Obviously, some decisions are greater than others and will have more impact on our lives.
When I stand before my God one day (probably sooner than most of my readers😏), do I want to have to confess to Him that I voted for a misogynistic playground bully who was blatantly selfish, viciously vindictive, thrived on personal insults and denigration of anyone who disagreed with him, and felt that he should have immunity from laws that apply to the rest of us?
Or do I want to confess that I voted for a lying Catholic who supported abortion up to the time of birth, was untruthful about whether God created man and woman as distinct genders, who lied about “freedom” while enabling the Department Of Justice to label Christians as “extremists” for quoting the Bible, and cared so little about law that he promoted illegal immigration of millions?
Decisions, decisions, decisions…
Perhaps, as a wiser friend once commented, the USA may have come to this point as the beginning of a compassionate and just God’s judgment on our nation. A liberal friend of mine remarked that it is sad that we have this choice between these two old white guys. He asked with a wistful voice, “Is this the best we can do?”
As a Christ-follower, not a “christian-nationalist,” I need to go back and read my Master’s three-chapter Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, 6and 7. I need to pray in the Holy Spirit as well as with my understanding (per 1 Corinthian 14:15) and ask Father, “What am I not applying in this sermon that I should be doing?” I remember this world is not my Home; I am an alien living here.😎
You may be thinking, “If we can just get XYZ elected, everything will be all right!”WRONG.
We will not get what God wants for us from any politician or elected official. They will not teach us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. They may even become the ones doing the persecution! They will not instruct by word or example how to overcome unjust anger, control our lusts nor keep our promises. As our political climate flourishes on fear, it is unlikely any of them will coach us how to avoid anxiety or to be content. What politician (other than maybe Jimmy Carter?) even tried to live by the Golden Rule: “Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them.”? (Matthew 7:12)
Does The God Who Is really appoint world leaders such as the USA’s or Russia’s President or China’s Chairman or the UN’s Secretary General? Who allowed Sinwar to rule Hamas and let a terrorist group take over the people living in Israel’s historic land? Who will orchestrate the last global conflict that will be part of the scenario to welcome back the King of kings and Lord of lords?
So my decision is to be doing whatever Jesus wants me to be working on when He returns; loving my neighbor, praying for my persecutors (more coming on that in April), learning to lean on Him for His Holy Spirit’s wisdom, listening to His still, small voice instead of the clamor of popular music and movies. I need to be learning to apply the lessons Jesus taught, asking for His mercy for how far short I so often fall, and trust that He will work out His plan for our lives and the world, even if it looks like Job’s trials. God is good all the time and all the time, God is good.
Idolatry is the worship of anything that is NOT the true and living God, the Creator, The God Who Is, whose “Name” is YHWH or Yahweh. Sunday last our Living Word class looked at 1 Samuel 12-13, particularly, 12:21. Samuel said to the people, “Indeed, you must not turn aside, for then you would go after useless things [idols] which cannot benefit or save, because they are useless.”
The guide for our class noted that in the West we do not worship physical idols like Chemosh, Asherah, Baal nor any statues of wood, silver or gold (?), but asked the class to identify modern Western “idols.” Some were quick to note fame, wealth, and power as “gods” to which we devote ourselves. With about 50% men in the class, I wondered if anyone, myself included, would venture to identify one of American men’s most common idols, pornography. My suspicion is that it was not mentioned for fear that whoever brought it up would be suspected of being a porn users!
Pornography is a scourge on American men and how one deals with it as an ongoing addiction affects how a man views women, interacts with others and warrants attention if one is to be free from it. There are various programs and online assistants (see list at the end of this blog) to help men become unfettered from porn’s chains. Almost all of these projects address some level of accountability; finding a friend to share the struggle. Some of us may be able to overcome sexual or pornography addiction without this, but most will find themselves repeating a cycle of lust, satisfaction, guilt, recommitment, lust… endlessly without someone to share the load.
Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, came under heavy political fire for admitting that he and his son were “accountability partners” using Covenant Eyes, a costly monitoring program that is designed to reveal to your partner any time you access “questionable content” on whatever devices you have logged with the system. Whether you agree with Speaker Johnson’s politics or not, this was an admirable step to protect his then 17-year-old son from becoming addicted to porn.
Pornography is SOOO easy to get with the advent of computers and smartphones! David Wilkerson, in his 1974 book, The Vision, prophesied accurately that R-rated movies would soon be available on television and that our nation would experience a flood of filth such as it had never seen, even in the Roaring 1920s. Much of his vision has already come to pass, but there is more to it that is still in the future. (Keep in mind, any time a “prophet” speaks, we who follow Jesus are to “weigh what is said,” (1 Corinthians 14:29) and anything Father says through a prophet will line up with what He has revealed in the Bible. (See Jeremiah 29.))
The rampant hyper-sexuality of our society mirrors the Roman culture to which Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 7 with advice to married people. The prevalence of temptation is why he commanded that married couples should satisfy each other’s sexual desires to help in overcoming temptation, but that by concession he affirms that he would rather the unmarried remain single if they are able to exercise this gift. Many of us are not so gifted as was Paul.
For those of us men who have strong sexual desires, we must confront our sexual appetite with self-control, especially in the area of pornography. Do not use excuses such as “Well, it’s not like I’m actually committing adultery.” (Matthew 5:28) “No one is being hurt by my looking.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5; 2 Timothy 2:22) “No one has to know.” (Numbers 32:23; Matthew 6:6) “I can quit anytime.” (Proverbs 26:24-28) These are probably the most common lies the devil will speak into a man to keep him bound in the sin of pornography, but there are others. “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:7-8)
Jesus is coming again soon, my brothers, and we must be ready! Do whatever it takes to get free from “stronghold” sin. “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete. Look at what is before your eyes.“ (2 Corinthian 10:4-7)
Very few of us could make the claims Job made, but it is worth considering that if God has forgiven us our sins, we need to live closer to what Job declared, and make a “covenant with our eyes.” If there is no one in your circle whom you can trust to covenant with you and you need someone, reach out to me via my Contact on my Home Page.
JOB 31
“I have made a covenant with my eyes; How then could I look at a virgin? And what is the portion of God from above, Or the inheritance of the Almighty from on high? Is it not disaster to the criminal, And misfortune to those who practice injustice? Does He not see my ways, And count all my steps?
“If I have walked with deception, And my foot has hurried after deceit, Let Him weigh me with accurate scales, And let God know my integrity. If my step has turned from the way, Or my heart followed my eyes, Or if any spot has stuck to my hands, Let me sow and another eat, And let my crops be uprooted.
“If my heart has been enticed by a woman, Or I have lurked at my neighbor’s doorway, May my wife grind grain for another, And let others kneel down over her. For that would be a lustful crime; Moreover, it would be wrongdoing punishable by judges. For it would be fire that consumes to Abaddon, And would uproot all my increase.
“If I have rejected the claim of my male or female slaves When they filed a complaint against me, What then could I do when God arises? And when He calls me to account, how am I to answer Him? Did He who made me in the womb not make him, And the same one create us in the womb?
“If I have kept the poor from their desire, Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail, Or have eaten my morsel alone, And the orphan has not shared it (But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father, And from my infancy I guided her), If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, Or that the needy had no covering, If his waist has not thanked me, And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep, If I have lifted up my hand against the orphan, Because I saw I had support in the gate, May my shoulder fall from its socket, And my arm be broken off at the elbow. For disaster from God is a terror to me, And because of His majesty I can do nothing.
“If I have put my confidence in gold, And called fine gold my trust, If I have gloated because my wealth was great, And because my hand had obtained so much; If I have looked at the sun when it shone, Or the moon going in splendor, And my heart was secretly enticed [to worship them], And my hand threw a kiss from my mouth, That too would have been a guilty deed calling for judgment, For I would have denied God above.
“Have I rejoiced at the misfortune of my enemy, Or become excited when evil found him? No, I have not allowed my mouth to sin By asking for his life in a curse. Have the people of my tent not said, ‘Who can find one who has not been satisfied with his meat’? The stranger has not spent the night outside, For I have opened my doors to the traveler. Have I covered my wrongdoings like a man, By hiding my guilt in my shirt pocket, Because I feared the great multitude And the contempt of families terrified me, And I kept silent and did not go out of doors? Oh that I had one to hear me! Here is my signature; Let the Almighty answer me! And the indictment which my adversary has written, I would certainly carry it on my shoulder, I would tie it to myself like a garland. I would declare to Him the number of my steps; Like a prince, I would approach Him.
“If my land cries out against me, And its furrows weep together; If I have eaten its fruit without money, Or have caused its owners to lose their lives, May the thorn-bush grow instead of wheat, And stinkweed instead of barley.”
It’s been a great two weeks from Fire Valley State Park in Nevada to Palm Desert, CA, to Scottsdale, AZ, (more in pics to come of amazing sights of sites), but it’s left me unprepared to present the blog I wanted to on EMPs. So that will come next Saturday. Lots to read and digest to understand this threat to our nation and to the world on top of all I have already researched.
The Spirit's Call 