This is in answer to an e-mail my brother Lance sent me about the death penalty. This link will take you to the article he was referencing.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/09/07/090907fa_fact_grann?currentPage=all

Here is my response.

I think that the first exposure that I received to the argument that the Bible mandates the death penalty was when I went to Prairie and took my first tour through the Old Testament. Since then, my views have (I hate to say it) evolved. Although I would like to point out that the evolution of my thinking has absolutely nothing to do with random mutations.

This is what I think.

It is a horrible injustice to execute an innocent man, but it is probably equally horrible to condemn an innocent man to prison for life.

It is an imperfect world. Innocent people get convicted from time to time. Some of them have almost definitely been executed.

We can't eliminate the criminal justice system because it is imperfect. There are predators among us and they must be dealt with.

My reaction to the news that led Illinois Gov. George Ryan to commute those death sentences was not that the death penalty was wrong, but that the system probably needs some sort of a balancing mechanism. If that many people on death row have been set free, how many innocent people are rotting in prison while serving life sentences? I am just as concerned about them as I am about those facing the death penalty. After all, as Bill Clinton's brilliant Surgeon General once remarked, "I suppose we all got to die of something."

I think that we could probably set up a process whereby any sentence longer than 20 years could be re-investigated from the ground up by a state police unit that would be, in some way, the equivalent of an internal affairs department.

I think that prosecutorial misconduct is a very, very scary thing, and that it is probably more common than we are aware of.

I think we should be impeaching federal judges on a fairly regular basis. We are not stuck with these peopel for life, or at least we don't have to be.

I think that they really didn't have any option other than execution during Old Testament times. They simply didn't have, and couldn't afford a prison system like the one we have today. If you took something from someone, you didn't go to prison. You paid it back plus 20%. If you couldn't afford to pay it back, you were sold into slavery for a period of time necessary to repay the debt.

If you injured someone, an economic value was attached to the injury and you had to pay that person for their injury plus 20%. This is the famous "eye for and eye and tooth for a tooth" passage. The idea is that you don't fine someone as much for a knocked out tooth as you would for a gouged out eye.

You'll notice that there was no mention of prison in the previous two examples. As I said, the system didn't exist, nor could they have afforded to construct such a system.

I just had Christmas with my family, and I was thinking about depression days and pioneer days when kid might have received an orange for Christmas. Our standard of living is amazing and it makes many things possible now that were not possible then.

The only institution that could have served as an equivalent to prison was slavery, but the slave system was not like the one set up in the South and it wouldn't have worked for capital crimes. Let's say that I had the resources to pay someone's fine and accept that person as a indentured servant until their labor paid me back the cost of the fine plus a small profit. Assuming that I could come up with enough money to pay for a human life, there is no way I'm gong to let a murderer loose in my farm or in my shop. I wouldn't have a system in place that would enable me to do that safely.

In the light of all these facts, I don't think we would be dishonoring God if we were to do away with the death penalty or at least modify it in some way.

Last, but not least, I am more and more impressed with the reality that no one gets away with anything in the end, apart from the forgiveness of God through Christ. Even in that case, the crimes forgiven have been paid for by the sufferings of the Savior.

The deeds are being written down and the books are going to be opened. How much time will all this take and in what detail will our lives be reviewed? I am beginning to think that they will be reviewed in great detail. If I will not loose my reward for a cup of cold water given out of compassion, then it makes sense to me that my good deed, which seems like a very small thing to me, is actually a very big deal in the sight of God. I suspect that every random act of kindness will be reviewed in detail.

There will be no shortage of time. God could spend 25 or 30 years reviewing my life with me in great detail.

This same process will apply to sins not covered by the blood of Christ. We must believe this, preach it, and be a witness to it.

Our problem, I think, is that we don't remember very much very clearly. All of our past, good and bad, get's lost in the mist of our memories. But that thing you did ten years ago, whether good or bad, will be reviewed in detail. And if it was a bad thing, and you protest to God about it, He can reach inside of you and press a neuron that will cause you to instantly recall, in vivid detail, every aspect of the incident under discussion. In deep hypnosis it is possible for a person to remember their whole life in vivid detail, even including sounds and odors.

We are like foolish criminals who commit crimes in front of ATM's or in other places where security cameras record everything in vivid detail. In our case, the recording is not just in the mind of God, it's permanently recorded somewhere in the recesses of our own brains.

I used to love Paul Harvey's stupid criminal stories. The guy hands the teller a note saying, "I have a gun. Give me the money!" The teller turns the note over after the criminal flees. He wrote the note on the back of an envelope. On the other side the teller sees his name and address. This type of thing actually happens.

Imagine an even stupider criminal. He plans his crime in great detail. Then he writes a letter to a judge. "You need to be at such and such a place at such and such a time. Bring some cops and a jury. This is what I'm going to do. We can have the trial in five minutes after the crime. This will save time and money."

Every sin is just that stupid. You visited the no-tell motel with sweet Susie from the office and nobody saw you? You think you got away with it? In a worst case scenario, the biggest worry you have is that your wife will find out?

The entire crime was caught on film. The Judge was holding the camera. And you will be called into account.

So, Merry Christmas to one and all. Thank God for the gift of His Son which has resulted in a whole lot of video tape being erased. All praise and glory to the King of Heaven, who is perfect in love, in justice, and in power.

Overwhelmed

As I have been meditating on this whole business of heavenly rewards, this is what the Holy Spirit has whispered in my heart. When it’s all said and done, when the judgments have been rendered and the rewards have been given, we will all be overwhelmed by the sheer kindness of God.

Overwhelmed by the sheer kindness of God. I’d like to get me some of that too.

Waht kind of reward?

So when we get to heaven, we’ll have everything we could want or need; streets of gold and all that. That being the case, what is this reward thing all about? What will it be like?

I’m not sure. The Revelation of John talks about crowns which may be symbolic of public recognition, but again, I’m not really sure what the exact nature of the rewards will be like. But while I do not have much information on the nature of the gift, I do have a great deal of information on the nature of the Giver. His genius is both perfect and infinite. So whatever it actually is, if He wants to give it to me, I want it. Badly.

And if I am reading the gospels correctly, Jesus wants me to be motivated in my everyday life by the coming reward. I guess it’s going to be kind of like Christmas. There will be presents, but no one knows for sure what they’ll get. Sometimes we get stuff that we don’t really want or need, but the rewards will never be like that. Perfect wisdom and infinite love. He has something for us. I gotta get me some of that.

Where to Invest

I thought I had it all figured out. Put everything in a mutual fund that mirrors the Standard and Poor’s 500. And just leave it there. Historically that will outperform the interest you can get from CD’s or bonds. And it will probably outperform any portfolio of stocks that you pick for yourself or have a broker pick for you.

This may still be good investment advice for a younger person. For someone my age, well, let’s just say I wish that I had moved it all into an interest bearing account right before the market tanked. It might also have been a good move to use all of my retirement money to buy gold if I had done it before the market tanked. The problem with gold, of course, is where are you going to store it? Somebody could steal it.

That being said, my other account is doing great! All it does is get bigger and bigger, no matter what the economy does. And nobody can steal it. Bernie Madoff can’t con me out of it. That is because I have set aside “treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal.” (Matt. 6:20 NASB)

Every single penny that has gone into the offering plate is growing at interest. God remembers every dime. And He has promised to reward me.

All for four easy payments . . . but wait!

I can tell you how to double your income without increasing the number of hours you work each week. Using my proven system you can actually get paid twice for the hours you work. Not only that, 100% of your “second salary” will to into a unique financial instrument, 100% tax free! Not only that, it will be 100% tax free when you eventually draw on the account! And believe it or not, God doesn’t expect you to tithe on the second income! Imagine where you will be ten years from today if you literally double your income and save half of it tax free? And you can have my proven system for only four easy payments of $49.95! But wait! If you call in the next six minutes, we will make one of the payments for you! That’s right! You can have my proven system for only three easy payments of $49.95! That’s a savings of $49.95 off the regular price. And we’ll even include free shipping! Simply call the toll free number below!

But … what if I really had such a system? And what if I was willing to give it to your for free? Right here. Right now. Would you be interested in that deal?

My system is very simple. Pray this prayer at the beginning of your work day.

“Father, I have to go to work now. Please help me to be mindful of You throughout the day. Please help me to rely on You and to receive from You strength and wisdom to do my work. Please help me to do my work unto You, as an act of worship. Please help me to be consciously motivated by the reward I will receive in the life to come. Please make me an instrument through whom You can love and bless others this day. May the light of my testimony be used in bringing my co-workers to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Amen.“

“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.” (Col. 3:23, 24 NASB)

My system even works for work you do for which you receive no actual pay, like cleaning the bathroom. But you’ll probably need to copy the prayer and actually pray it at the beginning of each work day until it the whole thing becomes real to you.

Of course, if anyone would like to go ahead and send in those three easy payments of $49.95, I will go ahead and make the fourth payment for you. Honest!

Rewarded for Reading

Every time you read this blog you are earning a reward. A record is made of the time you spent reading. An account is being kept. In some sort of account a balance is growing. The day is coming when you will receive your rewards.

All of this became clear to me when I was reading the Sermon on the Mount recently. The Holy Spirit pointed something out to me that I had never noticed before. I had always gotten the part about praying in private and not making a big public display of it. But I don’t think the fact that God will reward us from praying ever really registered with me. (Matt. 6:6)

Every time you read the Bible, pray, go to church, or read Christian teachings (such as this blog) you are doing something that has eternal consequences. God will remember each and every time you do that which is right. And God will reward you.

More Than Enough Time

God is not overwhelmed by the details of your life. If the very hairs on your head are numbered, God certainly has the capacity to remember ever single good deed that you have ever done. We must not make the mistake of thinking that God’s memory of our life is anything like our own memory of what we have done.

How many minutes of my life have been spent in prayer? The first answer that comes to mind is “not enough.” The second answer is “I have no idea.” But the real answer is a specific figure, the exact number of minutes that I have spent in prayer. If I were to ask God for that number right now He could give it to me – instantly. He wouldn’t have to pause for a moment and do some math in His head. He knows the answer that the question down to the exact number of seconds.

So the question that comes to mind is this: is God going to specifically review with me each time I prayer or is He going to base it on the total minutes spent? How will this work exactly? While I obviously can’t give any kind of a definitive answer, I do know that Jesus assures us that something as simple as giving a disciple of cup of water will be rewarded. (Mark 9:41) That seems awfully specific to me. One thing I do know, there will be more than enough time to review my life in whatever detail God desires to us. There is no reason, from a time standpoint, why God couldn’t spend more time reviewing my life with me than it actually took me to live my earthly life.

The other thing I am sure of is this: our lives are much more important than most of us realize. Why? What’s the big deal? Maybe it’s something as simple as this:

In this life

For a creature born in sin

Living for God and

Resisting

The world

The flesh an

The devil

Requires heroic determination

And results in eternal glory

A History Making Recording

He knew that what he was doing was important. He realized that he was making history. And so he made a fateful decision: he would record his working life. So Richard Nixon had tape recorders installed in his office. In time, he would come to bitterly regret that decision.

In Jack Chick’s classic comic book tract, “This Was Your Life,” a sinner stands before God in judgment. Every time he tries to defend himself or to deny an accusation he is shown actual recordings of his life on a huge movie screen. Ultimately there is nothing he can say. The evidence is right there for all to see. It had been recorded.

You are an important historical figure. This must be so, because a recording is being made of your life. This may or may not be some sort of audio or visual recording, but the bottom line is that a very accurate record is being kept. God has a detailed record of every small act of kindness that you have ever done. He plans to reward you for the good that you do.

Please take a few moments and think back over the past few days. What have you done? What did you do that was pleasing to God. You may not even be able to remember, but God does and will remember. And He will reward you in the life to come for what you have done.

Low down, no good liars.

More from my reactions to a video supporting evolution. You'll need some background here. An man named Michael Behe wrote a book called "Darwin's Black Box." It is a great book. In my opinion it totally destroys the theory of macro evolution. In the first few minutes of his speech, this is what the science guy had to say about Behe:

The guy is saying that says Michael Behe believes that Astrology is a scientific theory. The implication is clear. Behe doesn't believe in evolution, so if we can just get him to be honest with us, he will reveal all kinds of crackpot ideas. Well, I've read Behe's book. There is simply no way this man believes in Astrology.

So I go to do some research. This lie is all over the web. It's simply not true.

Michael Behe was asked about astrology when he was acting as a witness at a trial. He admitted that astrology used to be considered a scientific theory but that it had been discredited. The lawyer for the plaintive came back with one of those lawyerly questions: "So the idea of astrology fits the criterion for being considered a scientific theory?" Behe admitted this was so, but stressed that it was discredited by the evidence. His whole point was that just as Astrology has been discredited, he belives that evolution will be discredited by

And they are ALL LYING or unknowingly repeating a lie.

Here's the address of the trial transcript.

Why is this man praying?

I was watching an on-line video defending evolution. This was part of my e-mail discussion of evolution. I think you might be interested in my reaction to the first part of the video. A professor of religion gets up and begins the whole thing with a prayer. Then the scientist gets up. His position is that God exists, but that He hasn't done anything since the Big Bang. This is what I wrote back to the person who suggested that I watch the video:

Well, if just made it to the prayer. I realize this has nothing to do with the meat of the argument, but why is he bothering to pray to a god, who, if he does in fact exist, apparently doesn't do anything (with the possible exception of setting off the big bang). If evolution is true, our very existence is a meaningless, cosmic accident. If that's true, why should we even kid ourselves about someone being out there who is paying attention to us? Given sin and human nature (or the way we behave), it is just as likely that a creator, should he bother to getting around to noticing us, would be appalled and disgusted and deeply offended that we would even dream of calling him "father."

If the Bible is true, then God was directly involved with every step of the creation process. And Adam and Eve are literal, historical figures. If you are going to disassociate the Christian religion from the contents of 99.99% of the Bible because it's not true, then empty the freaking buildings, turn off the lights, and walk away.

Jesus said that it would be better for a man to have a millstone tied around his neck and to be cast into the sea than to lead other people astray. He meant that literally. It's literally true. When I look at some of these "ministers" and think about what Jesus said, it makes me tremble.

More from my e-mail discussion of evolution. For those of you who aren't into science, if you can hang in there for a paragraph or two I think you'll understand the illustration. It's a tremendous example of pure common sense applied to the existing data:

There is a (I don't remember the exact numbers here, but I'm close) 27 molecule chain reaction that takes place in the human eye in the amount of time it takes light to travel the width of a human hair. This chain reaction produces an electrical impulse that travels down the optic nerve to the brain. The result is the illusion that we call "sight." My understanding is that if you take any one of the molecules out of the chain reaction, you end up with a blind human. And that doesn't begin to answer the question of how the eye got there, the presence of the optic nerve, or the ability of the brain to process the information.

To me, these kinds of questions should provide great support for evolutionary theory. If evolution happened, it happened on a molecular level. We can now see things at the level and examine them. This should take us well beyond comic book science. If evolution is the result of very tiny, random changes, they we ought to be able to trace the chains backwards at a molecular level.

Please take a human eye and simplify it, using only existing structures and parts already present, and do evolution in reverse. Take me back to a very simple, working organ that could, say, detect motion. And then move forward, molecule molecule, small random change by small random change, and show how every one of the small changes is a very small step that leaves the organism with some kind of adaptive advantage that would explain the spread of the minute change from the one individual in which the random change took place to the rest of the species.

Okay, maybe it's not fair to ask you to take us that far back. Can you go back 25 steps? If not, why not? How exactly did this marvel of complexity arise from random events? If you go back one step, removing one of the molecules from the chain reaction, you end up with a blind human. We have to conclude that the entire chain reaction was put in place all at once. There is no reason for "natural selection" to add piece by piece to a structure that isn't doing anything.

It's comic book science, and I'm not buying it.

Thoughts on evolution #2

More from an e-mail discussing evolution:

I have yet to hear of any explanation of this that doesn't rise above the level of what I call "comic book science." And believe me, I know all about comic book science. Chemicals + energy = superpowers. A teenager is attending a science exhibit. Radiation is suddenly released just as a spider bites the young man. Energy (radiation) + chemicals (spider venom) = Spider Man!

Compare that to a "scientific" explanation of how billions of pieces of computer code (DNA) were added to existing creatures during the Cambrian explosion.

"Tectonic events made mountains as well as earthquakes which affected many species (Nash). These could have forced tidal waves which would add to the circulation of the water in the oceans and alter the chemistry over a large range. This may have been a key point in accelerated evolution, possibly creating scenarios that added oxygen to the water. When there was little oxygen in the atmosphere multicellular life could not expand but as algae started to produce more oxygen through photosynthesis, bacteria then used the oxygen and produced greenhouse gasses which warmed the earth encouraging the growth of life (Nash). As the algae built up on the floors of the oceans due to erosion it was proposed that water could not circulate as well, possibly promoting life to evolve rapidly during the Cambrian period (Nash)."

Blah, blah, blah. That would have been perfectly acceptable in Darwin's day because we didn't know any better. I would go so far as to say that in the light of our current level of understanding in the life sciences, that the preceding quote hardly qualifies as science.

Millions and billions of biological computer code would have had to be added to existing organisms over a relatively short period of time. How did this happen?

Thoughts on evolution #1

For the record, I believe the earth is billions of years old and that the creation days in Genesis one are therefore very long days. I believe in a literal Adam and Eve from whom we are all descended. I believe in a literal garden of Eden. I believe the appearance of new creatures over time in the geological record is a result of the creative work of God. But I can't believe in macro evolution as it is currently taught, and here's why:

The simplest organism we can conceive of (which is less complicated that the simplest organism we have actually seen in nature) has about 100,000 "steps" in it's little DNA stair case. You can bombard the little cells all day long with radiation of one kind or another and you can make minor changes in the staircase, but how in the world are you going to add 3.19 billion steps? Human beings have 3.2 billion steps in their spiral stair case of DNA. How are you going to add all that information? Mutations (radiation hitting the staircase and changing its structure) take place, but they don't add information. They just change the existing information.

So if you believe God started life and left it to evolve, you have to explain, not how the DNA structure might have been changed by mutation, but how 3.19 billion pieces of information was added to it.

Everyone has probably seen the picture of Darwin's tree of evolution. It's like a bush. Right at the base you see all the different life forms branching off. That's not what the geological record shows.

If you want to draw the tree to scale you can illustrate it using a football field. You start out with single celled organisms. These are the trunk, or the beginning of the tree. These stretch from one end zone to (I forget the exact placement) the 13 yard line at the other end of the field. All of a sudden you get some branches. Some sponges and whatnot. But long before you get to the 12 yard line you see a branching of the evolutionary tree into an inexplicable complexity of life forms. Billions of pieces of information were added in an astonishingly short period of time.

I've never seen a sensible naturalistic explanation for that. I've never seen one that could come close to being reasonable.

What about people who never get a chance to hear?

More excerpts from my e-mail. What happens to souls who never get a chance to hear the gospel? My reply:

Souls who lived before Jesus came? If they had access to the old covenant, they could be saved under that covenant. Which leads us to the great masses of people who never got a chance to hear under either dispensation.

We get a possible answer from something that Peter wrote. After Jesus was dead, but before the resurrection, He went and preached the gospel to the worst generation that ever lived, the people from the time of Noah's Ark. Think of how the earth would be if the Nazi's had won WWII and their culture had spread across the face of the earth and you might have some sense of just how corrupt things had become at the time of Noah.

Why would Jesus go and preach to them? Did He say, "Neener, neener, continue to burn in hell because you didn't listen to Noah? The redeemer Noah believed in has finally come and I am He. Don't you wish you had made different decisions in your lifetime?" Somehow, I don't think that would be gospel (good news) to them. He couldn't even have told them that it was good news because some of their descendants would be able to be saved. They didn't have any descendants. The only way it would be good news would be if they had a chance to believe it and act on it.

Which would lead you to believe that they all probably are in heaven right now and there must be some sort of second chance for everybody, so everyone will probably be saved in he end. Right?

I don't think so. I've spend a whole lot of time thinking about this, and this is what I am thinking.

Most people think of heaven as a place with beautiful homes, no crime or disease, and great golf courses. We will have to go to some sort of "church" once a week, maybe even once a day, but this would be a small price to pay for being able to escape for 40+ hours of work every week. Shoot, you could trade three hours of church a day for eight hours of work and most people would take you up on that one. That's the common picture of heaven, and it's deeply flawed.

God is a triune being. He is the ultimate relational being. And in saving us, He is calling us into union with Himself. We will become part of Him. He will always be God and we will always be man, but we will live in beautiful harmony with the conscious awareness of His presence throughout all the ages to come. Jesus described the relationship as the relationship between a vine and a branch. Shared life.

Nobody wants to go to hell, but not everyone will want to go to heaven. CS Lewis told a story about a man in hell. He was living all alone, miles and miles away from everyone else. One day he decided to catch a bus and go visit heaven. He wandered around for awhile. Nobody threw him out. Nobody made him leave, but eventually he took the bus back down to hell again. He didn't belong in heaven and he didn't want to be there. I think he just about nailed it, except for the part about nobody throwing him out.

The question isn't ultimately based on access to information. It's based on a willingness to repent, to acknowledge the goodness of God, and to willingly live in harmony with Him.

There will be those who see Him who will fall in love with Him, joyfully abandoning themselves to a life of totally intimacy and harmony with Him. Others will be unwilling to surrender their autonomy, no matter what the cost. To someone outside the kingdom, I would of course recommend reading the New Testament with an open heart. But I would also recommend reading with an open heart that is specifically seeking an inward revelation of the beautiful God. I've read to the end of the book, and understand this much about the story. It's a love story. All the pain and suffering, but in the end it's a love story. The greatest love story of all.

(But what about missions? If there is a chance people can hear or make a decision after they die, why should we support missions? Because Jesus said so. Because I could be wrong. Because to God, a person is saved from a whole lot more than hell when they get saved. People are slaves of Satan. They are delivered from the kingdom of darkness so they can walk in God's marvelous light. Even if a person could be saved later, Jesus doesn't want them to have to wait. I have always supported missions and I always shall.)

He'll be along soon

More excerpts from my e-mail. If Christianity is true, and all of God's people are praying for Him to come back, where is He? My reply:

As to why He isn't back yet, it was pretty well established that the time for that is set. I sincerely doubt that we can move it up by our prayers.

As for signs of the coming of the Kingdom, yes, we all tend to get a little carried away over optimistic. Here are the facts as I see them. There is no way that the end times scenario could take place without a Jewish state in Palestine. The emergence of that state after 2,000 years of dispersion, is a modern miracle.

I'm told that they don't study most of Israel's battles at West Point because there is nothing to be learned from them. Case in point. The guy holding the Golan Heights in 1973 was down to seven tanks by the beginning of day three. They knew they were going out to die that morning, but they were willing to die to buy time. So their seven tanks rumble out and stretched out before them are over a hundred Syrian tanks. And just as they begin to get in range, the Syrians begin to run away. Some abandon their tanks and run on foot. Others turned the tanks around and left the battlefield.

What is so amazing about these stories is that the people who tell them will frequently tell you that they are not religious. They are secular Jews. They don't pray. They don't really believe in the supernatural. But they are compelled to believe in something or someone as a result of their experiences in battle.

Incidently, humanly speaking, the trickster saved them. Nixon took a 3:00 AM call from Golda Meier. His advisers did not want to help. Nixon asked her what she wanted. She had a list ready. He got a copy of it. And he sent every single thing she asked for by air.

The existence of Israel quickens the pulse and excites the mind, but apart from the Jewish state, I personally don't see one piece of fulfilled prophecy in my lifetime. Not one. This whole thing could go on for another century or two and it wouldn't affect my faith. The Jews could get slaughtered and the state could be destroyed, but that wouldn't affect my faith either. The emperor who followed Constantine didn't like Christianity, and he gave the Jews a state in Palestine. That probably got the prophecy buff's excited back in the day. But later emperors took that authority away from them.

And since you insist on asking such cosmic questions (I'm thinking that these e-mails mike make an interesting book), I have to say a word about time. I had a God encounter a couple of years ago as I was riding my bike past the bus station. And I suddenly had this amazing thought. What if one of these buses smashed into me? What if I died?

And this is what I came up with.

http://mac61107.blogspot.com/search/label/Dealing%20With%20The%20Death%20Of%20A%20Christian

The point is one of the perception of time. If you want to walk with God, you will have to move from your time perspective to His. The month between Thanksgiving and Christmas used to seem like it was a year long. Now I blink and it's gone. And standing there beside my dead body, faced with the reality of a separation from Nancy and the kids, the time perspective once again shifts. They'll be along at the appointed time. And it won't seem like much time at all.

Jesus is coming back quickly. Very, very quickly. And if this whole trains of history wobbles it's way down the tracks for another 1,000 years before He comes back, He is still coming back very quickly. Someday we will look back on this from the perspective of billions of years of existence. He is coming back very quickly. It won't seem like any time at all.

Was Jesus a socialist?

Continuing excepts from a recent thread of e-mails. One of my correspondents opined that Jesus was a socialist. Jesus quote about the rich man and the eye of the needle was brought up. My reply:

One of the things that really struck me when I was reading through the Old Testament for the first time was the earthy nature of God's promises to the faithful. If Israel was faithful, then they would be wealthy and virtually disease free. Pretty cool covenant.

The disciples had been raised on this stuff. To them a rich person wasn't a bad guy, he was a good guy! If he was rich (and he was a Jew) he must be an exceptionally diligent in following the commandments. The associated personal wealth with living an exceptionally good life. It was this context in which Jesus made his comment about the needle.

"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." If the disciples had been schooled in socialism they would have replied something like this. "Right on! Power to the people! Stick it to the man!"

But that's not what they said. "When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, 'Then who can be saved?'" Note that they were astonished. This was contrary to everything they had been taught as children. What they were saying was, "if a rich guy, who has been blessed with wealth because of his exceptional devotion to keeping God's commandments can't be saved, then what chance to us poor people have." The implication was that if the holy rich man couldn't make it, nobody could. Jesus agreed with this point of view.

"And looking at them Jesus said to them, 'With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'" In other words, it is impossible for any human, rich or poor to live a good enough life to be saved. What was impossible for man would only be possible for God, who had become a man and was about to die to pay the penalty for our sins.

This is not a socialist teaching, but it has been co-opted by leftists who want to portray Jesus as being on the side of the revolution. The point of the story is not that people need to give up their wealth, it was that people couldn't be saved by their own good works.

This would be my very brief, not well planned out in advance, summary of Jesus attitude toward money.

Don't worship it. Don't over emphasize it. Don't expect too much from it. You can't serve God and mammon.

Don't worry about it. Make the spiritual life your first priority and God will see to it that your basic needs are met.

Be generous with those in need.

And let it call come from the heart. That was hugely important to Jesus.

He was in the temple with the disciples when a rich man came in and made a very ostentatious show of giving a large sum on money. He was followed by a poor woman who dropped in the equivalent of a quarter. His take on this was that the poor woman had given the larger gift. Her motivation was pure. The rich man had been showing off.

I don't think Jesus would be impressed with a system that made giving a matter of law instead of a matter of the heart. The heart was of primary importance to him.

One other point.

The Obama's earned a million in 2006. That's pretty good money. In 2007 it jumped to 4.2 million with book royalties. In 2008 it dropped to 2.4 million. A great American success story. They were able to buy a house worth 1.6 million.

I'm reminded of a pastor I once heard preach. He was doing the "it's sinful for Americans to have all this money" routine. I would say to him the same thing I would say to the Obama's. Nothing is stopping you from giving it away. Figure out what the average income is in American and live on that. Give the rest away.

Practice what you preach. Don't buy a 1.6 million dollar house.

Thoughts on the founding fathers

I got into an e-mail discussion of racism and history recently that I thought you might enjoy. It ended up going all over the place, including evolution and what happens to people who never get a chance to hear the gospel. I'm going to be posting some excerpts over the next couple of weeks. All of this started with a discussion of whether or not politically conservative people are racists:

Just for the record here, if I knew someone who was a racist, I would not be his friend. I would go ballistic if my daughter tried to date him.

I stood at the Jefferson monument earlier this month with my son. I hate going to the Jefferson monument. I hate it because I want to love this man and I want to admire him. I do it because the whole world is indebted to him for the words that he wrote. But I can't forgive him for what he did. Maybe you haven't heard this story?

Jefferson was a spendaholic. The longer he lived, the deeper into debt he sunk. With every bottle of French wine that he drank he was dooming his slaves to what, for most of them, was probably a fate worse than death. People were willing to continue to loan him money because they knew he was good for it -- after his death. The sale of his property would cover his debts.

So I was standing at his monument looking up at him, and all I could think about was that awful moment when his slaves were sold. Husbands and wives, parents and children, in many cases separated from one another, never to see each other again for as long as they lived. I'd vote him off Mt. Rushmore if I could.

Later in the exchange I shared this perspective on the life of Washington:

Washington did much better. Maybe not as well as we would have liked, but much better. He arranged it so that every slave he had the authority to free would be free at his death. No one else in his family supported him in this. There is evidence that he was deeply concerned that his wishes would not be carried out after his death (they were). His wife owned some property separate from George, and did not free any of those slaves before or after she died.

Washington was one of the most famous people in the world when he died, and beyond a doubt the most influential American. It was one heck of a gesture and I suspect that it had a huge impact on the way people thought about slavery.

One other interesting thing on Washington. He was aware of the potential for a conflict over slavery, and could even see that conflict ignited during his lifetime. He told some of his friends that if such a conflict began he would move to the North and fight for the abolition of slavery.

God Doesn't Remember

God doesn’t remember. Our minds are limited, so we have to consciously push what we are thinking about away so that we can access other information. When we do this we remember. God knows everything simultaneously. He never has to push something out of His consciousness in order to think about something else. He has an infinite mind. He can and does think about everything at the same time.

It would be impossible to overestimate the stupidity of disagreeing with God or of failing to follow His directions. This may be the one area where human beings can actually have an infinite attribute. If it is possible for a human being to have anything about themselves that is infinite, then it is infinitely stupid to disagree with God or to fail to seek His direction in all things.

6) Cosmic joy

Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.” (John 15:9 NASB) So what is the nature of the love of the Father for the Son? It’s simply this. With the except of the time when Jesus was separated from the Father while He was bearing our sin, they have never, ever been separated from each other. Not for one moment.

Not only that, they can feel the love they have for each other. Consciously. Continuously. Endlessly. And of course the Holy Spirit is right there with them. What is that like? What is it like to be that close? What is it like to live in the flow of that infinite love? It is absolute, endless, ecstasy. God exists in an ecstatic state where the tidal waves of love and joy never cease; yet at the same time He remains in a condition of perfect, omniscient rationality.

And He wants us to come in and join Him. “Abide in my love.”

In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Ps. 16:11 NASB

5) It's a hotel California that you won't want to leave

The presence of God is heaven. There may be golf courses and bike paths, but you won’t leave the golf course and head for the temple so that you can enter into the presence of God. You’ll always be in the presence of God.

Awhile back I share with you what I find to be the most amazing verse in the Bible. “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.” (John 15:9 NASB) How can this verse be more amazing than John 3:16? Well, there are people out there I might be willing to rescue. I might even be willing to die to save them. But I wonder if I would be willing to have them move into my house and stay there for the rest of eternity? I want Nancy to be in my condo with me when we get to heaven. And I want her to stay there for the rest of eternity. My kids are also welcome, but they might be more comfortable living next door with their own mates (once God brings them together). I know what you’re thinking: in heaven we won’t be male or female or married to each other. Okay, fine! But I still want Nancy in my condo. Or maybe it will be her condo.

As for the rest of you? I want you close by. I want to visit. But I’m not sure, in my present configuration, that I want you to stay in my condo for the rest of eternity. (For the record, when we get to heaven, we will be made so perfect in love that we will all want to live in the same condo, but that’s not exactly the point I am trying to make just now.)

God wants me to live in His condo. For the rest of eternity. He doesn’t love me with a love that says, “I love you enough to save you, and I want you to come and visit me in heaven, but would you please not overstay your welcome when you come to visit?” God loves us so much that He wants us to come and visit. And then He never, ever wants us to leave. Not even for one moment. Not even for one moment in all the endless ages to come.

4) If heaven has an internet, will it connect to a heavenly amazon.com?

I think for the most part we have failed to understand God’s ultimate intentions for us. We can best illustrate this by examining what I would refer to as the common view of heaven.

In heaven, I’ll have this great condo. Better than anything on earth. I’ll be able to plant flowers and mow the yard if I’m into that kind of thing, and if I’m not, I’m sure that will be some kind of a service that will take care of it for me. Once I arrive and settle into my condo, I’ll want to scope out the neighborhood. I imagine that the place will look like one big park with lost of green and open spaces. But there should also be some structures that will allow me to do the things I like to do. A lot of you guys will be thinking about golf courses and lakes filled with very large and very hungry fish. As for me, I will want to know where the bike paths and the libraries are located. (When I walk into a Barnes and Nobles I always think that there is no way we won’t have these in heaven.)

The common view of heave will be something like an endless vacation at the best resort in the universe. We’ll spend all of our time joyfully, and of course, a couple of times a week, we’ll go visit God. We’ll probably worship Him in some kind of temple.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. The presence of God is heaven. Take a tablet and write “the presence of God is heaven” at the top. Then repeat the phrase 100 times. Make little hash marks on the tablet to track your progress. The presence of God is heaven. The presence of God is heaven. The presence of God is heaven.

In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Ps. 16:11 NASB

3) Why don’t we associate God with pleasure? (part two)

In the last post I talked about how the commandments of God were given in love to keep us from destroying ourselves. I absolutely believe that is true. I believe that the tone of God’s voice and the feelings in His heart are very much like my tone of voice and the feeling in my heart as I pleaded with my babies to be careful to look both ways before crossing the street.

But I can’t stop there. I dare not go all mushy mush and present a picture of God that is distorted. God’s tone of voice is tender and pleading when giving commands to His children, but not everyone on this planet is a child of God. Scripture makes it perfectly clear that the wrath of God abides on those who reject His Son (John 3:36). The wrath of God is utterly, absolutely terrifying. How can my poor heart dare to open it’s doors to such a wrathful, majestic being?

I think we know God best when we realize that He relates to people from either end of the emotional spectrum, but not from the middle. We usually operate from the middle. We don’t absolutely hate or absolutely love anyone. The people we love sometimes get on our nerves, and if we are fair and honest, the people we don’t care for have some redeeming qualities. That’s being human, and frankly, I don’t see a problem with that. We should be growing into a deeper and purer love for our neighbor, but for the most part we operate in the middle of the emotional spectrum.

One of the reasons we find it so hard to really, really open ourselves to God is that we don’t want anyone to get that close to us. We have to hold some part of ourselves in reserve where it can be protected because every human being we have ever met, no matter how much they might love us, may at any moment get angry with us. Because of this most of us have a part of our hearts that we hold back, that we shield, even from the person we love most in this life. We may not consciously be aware of it, but this is what we are doing to each other and this is what we must stop doing to God.

If you believe in the Son of God, then you are in a position that is the exact opposite of the rebellious sinner. Instead of the wrath of God abiding on you, the love of God abides on you. Theologians might cringe at what I’m about to say, but I think it will communicate well to the average layman. If you reject Christ, there is almost nothing that God is not willing to do to you. If you receive Christ, there is almost nothing that God is not willing to do for you.

Let us close with what I find to be the most amazing words in the Bible, even more amazing than John 3:16. “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.” (John 15:9 NASB)

2) Why don’t we associate God with pleasure?

We are born spiritually, morally, and psychologically handicapped. We are born in sin. It infects every part of our being. If we surrender to sin and begin to live for and in it’s lusts, we will utterly destroy ourselves. Because of this it is necessary for God to warn us. “Thou shalt not!”

This is why it is hard for you to open your heart to God. Over and over again God has stood between you and some sinful pleasure that you have desired and He has said, “Thou shalt not!” How can He be the God of joy when there is so much that He forbids?

Once upon a time I was a pastor in a very small town. I heard that a small boy had been hit by a car and taken to the local hospital. When I visited that family in the hospital, I discovered a heart breaking scene. The little boy was in intensive care and he was screaming with pain. I was sure that the doctors would soon show up with powerful drugs that would ease the pain, but I was wrong. There was a possible head injury. No pain relief could be given for at least 24 hours. The boy looked to be about four years old. He just kept crying and wailing and screaming. There was nothing anyone could do.

My own children were quite young at the time. First grade and preschool if I recall correctly. Darting around the neighborhood on their bikes. In and out of the road at times. When I got home I pulled them up into my lap and told them about the horrible thing I had just witnessed. And I reminded them, I pled with them, not to enter or cross the street without looking both ways. And as I held them there I realized I was giving them a commandment. “Thou shalt not run into the street without looking both ways!” And I had a sudden insight into the heart of God.

He is not a hard hearted God, He is a broken hearted God. And when He says, “Thou shalt not!” He is taking you up in His lap and pleading with you not to destroy yourself.

1) Is God pro-pleasure?

God is the God of pleasure, the God of joy. It is vitally important for us to come to believe this, not as an idea in our minds, but as the settled conviction of our hearts. The ultimate goal of human existence is to live consciously, continuously in the presence of God. When God makes Himself real to us we enter into a state where we can actually feel the warmth of His love. This experience of the love of God fills all the emptiness inside of us and brings the soul into a blissful state that is in fact a foretaste of heaven.

We can not experience God’s love and presence in this way until we open all of the doors of our heart to Him. The mind may be fully satisfied and eager to experience more of God, but the mind does not hold the key to the doors of the heart. The mind can not order the heart to open it’s doors to God’s outpoured love.

The heart is afraid to open up to God. Too much bad information has filtered through the mind and made it’s way into the heart. The heart is not convinced that God is love. The heart does not believe that it is safe for to let Him in.

While the mind cannot act directly on the heart and cause those doors to open, it can, by mediating on the goodness of God, slowly but surely reprogram the heart. As this happens, the doors of the heart slowly begin to open and God begins to flood the soul with His love. The purpose of this series of posts is to help you to renew your mind and reassure your heart. The goal of these writings is to bring you to the place where you can actually taste and see that the Lord is good (Ps. 34:8). If you can only get a small taste, just a drop of God’s goodness and love experienced in your heart, you will be on the path to discovering heaven on earth.

So then let us begin to know more and more of our God, and to experience more and more of His presence and His love.

You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Ps. 16:11 NASB

Thoughts for meditation and prayer

Few things can be as important as grasping the nature of Satan's rebellion and how that relates to sin and temptation. Satan represents himself as the Ring Master in the circus of sin. His whole sales pitch is based on pleasure. "Come on in here, this is where the fun is."

This is one great big lie. Satan has no pleasure to offer you. Zip. Zero. Nada. None. This is because God is the God of pleasure, the God of joy. God had all the fun/joy/pleasure staked out before Satan rebelled. Satan can't create anything new, so all he can do is pervert a pleasure God has already created and offer it to gullible humans.

Thoughts for meditation and prayer

The darkness is the exact opposite of the light. The light is reason, sanity, love, and joy. The darkness is irrationality, insanity, hatred, and despair. Everything about the darkness is a lie. Dishonesty is at the very heart of the darkness. The heart of God is truth and love. The heart of the darkness is lies and murder. If this information seems abstract and unimportant to you, that is a sign of how far you have yet to journey on the road to moral sanity. You must not only learn to hate the sin toy, you must learn to hate the very essence of sin.

Thoughts for meditation and prayer

A sin toy is not just a toy -- it is a tool of the enemy. The more I play with it, the more power he has in my life. I am not willing to surrender myself to morally crippled, fiendishly twisted fallen angels who hate me with a hatred that is just as pure as the love with which my heavenly Father loves me. I will not be a slave to sin; I am a servant of the Lord.

Thoughts for meditation and prayer

If living with an internal civil war between the spirit and the flesh wasn't enough, their are two powers that exist apart from me. With every decision I make I strengthen my connection either to God or the evil one. My decisions give one more authority and access to operate within me, and the other less.

Thoughts for meditation and prayer

We all live with an ongoing, internal civil war. The desires of the spirit and the flesh are in opposition to one another. With every decision you make you feed and energize the one, and starve and weaken the other.

Thoughts for meditation and prayer

We don't have to wait until we die to begin the journey toward moral sanity. Through hours and hours dedicated to meditation and prayer we can begin to change now. We can be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

Thoughts for meditation and prayer

The day will come when you will see clearly. When you escape from the effects of inborn sin when you die, you will experience a mental revolution that will utterly transform you. You will look at that sin toy that you now love, and you will utterly abhor it. You would be no more inclined to do that sin than you would be inclined to take a nice, refreshing swim in a pool of fresh vomit.

Thoughts for meditation and prayer

If you love a sin, to that extent you are morally insane. The only reason you have survived without being institutionalized is because the whole world is a mad house. They would not suffer a person such as yourself to wander the streets of heaven unsupervised. You need your meds. You must take your meds.

Thoughts for meditation and prayer

Some of the homeless people wandering our streets are homeless for one reason, and one reason alone: they will not accept the fact that they have to take their meds. We have a disease that in this life knows no final cure: inborn sin. Meditation on the word and prayer are our meds. We have to come to the point where we realize that something is very, very wrong with us. We have to take our meds every day or suffer the effects of moral insanity. We should be too afraid not to take our meds.

Thoughts for meditation and prayer

I had my first serious bout with seasonal depression in 1976. I didn't know what it was. There were no medications for it. So I did the only thing I knew how to do. I could feel the flow of the God life that came to me through meditation on the written word and prayer, so for the next two years I never missed a single quiet time. I was afraid of what was happening to me, and I was worried that if it got worse, I might have to be institutionalized. Fear became my friend, motivating me to do what was right.

Thoughts for meditation and prayer

Earlier in this thread I said that we are still spiritual infants until we have come to the place where we have looked inside ourselves and seen something absolutely horrifying. Let's ad to that. We must come to the place where we look at Rev. 3:17 and we say to ourselves, "I am that man! I don't feel it! I wasn't aware of it! But the Holy Spirit is showing me that this is so."

Thoughts for meditation and prayer

When we neglect meditation and prayer we become the spiritual equivalent of schizophrenic man who refuses to accept his condition and take his meds. We become the spiritual equivalent of ragged, delusional, and homeless. The disease of sin affects our minds to such and extent that we do not even realize our true condition.

"You say, 'I am rich. I have everything I want. I don't need a thing.!'"

"And you don't realize that you are miserable and poor and blind and naked."

Rev. 3:17 NLT

Thoughts for meditation and prayer

You must take every opportunity to empower the light within you. You must feed your spirit by meditating on truth while you breath deeply with the breath of prayer. Every moment spent in this way strengthens the light and weakens the beast.

Thoughts for meditation and prayer

When you do what the sin nature wants you to do you feed and energize the beast. You can only find peace as you starve it. Cut if off from every source of nourishment. Reduce it to a pitiful, weak thing. But never take your eyes off of it. Never let it revive, for if you will, it will dominate your life once again.

Thoughts for meditation and prayer

It will not compromise; it will not rest until it poisons and infects every part of your being. It can not be reformed or redeemed. It will be with you until the day you die. You must remain vigilant and armed for battle at all times. You must be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. You can only find peace as you starve the beast. Cut if off from every source of nourishment. Reduce it to a pitiful, weak thing. But never take your eyes off of it. Never let it revive, for if you will, it will dominate your life once again.

Thoughts for meditation and prayer

This thing hates God. It does not love, or even care about your wife and children. It is completely unmoved by the post death screams of those being dragged down into hell. It loves filth. It sees excrement and coos with delight, gathering it up in it’s arms as one would some beautiful treasure.

Thoughts for meditation and prayer

It is absolutely essential that we allow God to heal our minds so that we can finally see the sin nature for what it is. We are still spiritual infants until we have come to the place where we have looked inside ourselves and seen something absolutely horrifying.

Thoughts for meditation and prayer

A civil war is raging within me. Part of me wants to submit to and flow in harmony with the light. Part of me wants to believe the lie of independence that always results in submission to and harmony with the darkness.

Thoughts for meditation and prayer

The only real freedom I have is to choose who will be my master.

Thoughts for meditation and prayer

It is simply impossible for me to set up an independent kingdom. I must serve either the darkness or the light.

Thoughts for meditation and prayer

Human beings are designed to surrender and live in harmony with a higher power.

The News #10

My son just returned from a military deployment in the Middle East. He was not impressed by his exposure to the military forces of the host country. Discipline was lax. In one case a loaded weapon was left unattended. A gate at a base had a posted guard, but only on work days.

So why do we have such a powerful and effective military? The answer is not to be found in our potent economy; the host country could afford the very best in military technology. Once again one is tempted to assume a position of unconscious arrogance. We know how; they don’t. We’re smarter; we’re better; we rock.

In terms of military muscle the good old USA does indeed rock right now, but why and for how long? How many of you are loosing sleep worrying about the Italian military? Probably no one. But once upon a time one single city in Italy conquered the know world and established the longest lasting empire in world history.

How about those Mongolians! Are you worried about Mongolia? A lot of people would have a hard time finding Mongolia on a map. But once upon a time, for a period of about 100 years, the Mongolians conquered the largest land empire in human history. They were an unstoppable force. No one could stand against them.

I’m going to tell a story here that illustrates the point I am trying to make. The Mongols had conquered there way west to Russia with ridiculous ease. Then they turned their eyes on Europe. Europe knew they were coming, and a large coalition force prepared to meet then in Poland. When the Mongols struck, the European forces easily defeated them. The Mongols were badly outnumbered and they fled in terror. For three days the Europeans pursed them. The only problem was the retreat was a trick. At the end of three days the pursuing European armies were completely disorganized. They were spread out in a long line with the fastest troops in the front.

The Mongols tore into that line like a Weedwacker tearing apart a patch of dandelions. At the point of contact, where the actual fighting was taking place, the Mongols enjoyed a huge numerical advantage. The European army was decimated. All of Europe was open and largely defenseless. The Mongols prepared to move in. Most military historians agree that they would have conquered all of continental Europe by the end of the summer.

But before the Mongol armies could advance, word reached them that the great Kahn (emperor) had died back in Asia. The invasion was put off until the election of the new Kahn. And somehow, the invasion never got underway again. Other priorities intervened. Western Europe was never conquered. If the great Kahn had lived another couple of months Western Europe would have been conquered and all of the fledgling institutions from which democracy was to emerge probably would have been destroyed.

Paul taught us that “From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him” (Acts 17:26, 27 NLT). God determined the history of the world in advance, arranging things so that the largest number of people would have the best chance to be saved.

We’re not smarter. If we rock militarily, it’s because it is the will of God for us to have a dominant military position at this time. We aren’t smart enough to run our own economy. We aren’t masterful enough to successfully defend ourselves. Dear brothers and sisters, let us pray. Let us pray constantly. Let us pray for wisdom for our leaders. And let us pray most of all for a great awakening. Nothing less than a great revival can reverse the death spiral that is pulling our culture into a hellish abyss.

The News #18

Nobody knew whether or not the government should intervene in the economy last fall except for God. God knew exactly what to do. He always does. And this is what He told us about the economy a long, long time ago. “In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end. Otherwise, you may say in your heart, 'My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.' But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day” (Deut. 8:16-18 NASB).

Would anyone else care to join me in a slice of humble pie? Yes, our ancestors figured certain things out. Those things are important. They do help to create and spread wealth. But ultimately it all depends on the blessing of God. No human has a complete understanding of what to do and when to do it. We used to sing a little song every Sunday in church when I grew up that hit the bull’s eye every time. “Praise God from whom all blessings flow.” Where in the world did that song come from? From the same ancestors who figured out some of what we need to know to have a good economy. It seems like they also knew how much they didn’t know.

So let’s be humble and let us each and every one engage in the most vital economic stimulus of all. Let us do something Allan Greenspan may not know anything about. Let us do something that Tim Geithner may not be factoring into his plans at the treasury department. Let us pray to God for wisdom for all of our leaders at all times.

(If you haven’t started the habit of praying for members of our government you see on the news who consistently irritate you then you need to do three things. Go back and read the first few postings under “The News” topic. Repent for not “doing the word” the first time you read it. And then start praying every time you are exposed to the news.)

The News #17

Everybody like to win; everybody like to associate with a winner. It makes you feel good. I’m a Boston Celtics fan. Last year “we” won it all. This year “we” didn’t. Somehow it’s “we,” even though I don’t remember making a single free throw in any of the games. “We” win championships. “We” have a great economy (even when it’s bad it’s still great by world standards). So “we” get to feeling pretty good about ourselves.

In terms of the economy, “we” think we are part of the group of people who are smarter, the group of people who know how a country and an economy should be set up. “We” feel sorry for those less fortunate than ourselves, and without even being aware of it “we” have an unconscious pride in or dominant position at the top of the world’s economic hill. That’s pretty much what was going on inside of me. Until this whole TARP bill business.

Huge economic institutions were facing bankruptcy. The question was, if they went down would they take the entire financial system with them? Would it cause a great depression? Or if we let them go bankrupt would that ultimately be a good thing for the economy? What would you do if you were in charge? A trillion or so dollars and the fate of the economy are on the line. How would you make the call?

I’m here to tell you I have it all figured out. I honestly believe I know as much as can be known about the situation. Here is my conclusion. There isn’t one single human being on the planet who can tell you what the right thing to do was. Nobody knew. It was too complicated. Too much of it depended on those millions of free will decisions. Nobody knew what to do. And now that we have taken certain actions there isn’t one single person alive in the world who is smart enough to know weather or not we did the right thing.

The News #16

Usually, when we speak of revival, we are thinking about the impact it will have on the world around us. Millions of people will be saved. Certain kinds of movies and TV shows will no longer be made because there will no longer be an audience for them. Standards of right and wrong will again be established and recognized by a majority of the population. These are wonderful things to pray for.

But please be aware of the way this usually starts. It usually starts in the house of God. It usually starts when God pours out His Spirit on His people. I am praying that very, very soon God will become more real to us than we have ever imagined He could be. That we will have more of His power, His love, and His peace than we ever expected to have in this life.

God is all we really need or want, whether we know it or not. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a great awakening so that we all became so happy in God that we weren’t really paying any attention to the economy or material things? Wouldn’t it be great to become so happy in God that we are just as serene with or without a job or a good salary? Let us pray for the blessing of God on our nation, and yes, pray for the health of the economy because Christian giving fuels the doing of many, many good deeds in the world. But all of that is secondary to the spiritual condition of the people in our society. Pray for a great awakening. Pray for God to be glorified. Pray for millions of souls to be saved.

The News #15

I love comics. All kinds of comics. The little three panel jobs in the newspaper, graphic novels, and comic books. Several decades ago I came across a little, mini comic book designed to share the gospel with the unsaved. It carries a clear message of both the mercy and wrath of God. I recently ordered a stack of “This Was Your Life.” I’m going to be sharing one of them with an unsaved friend when they arrive. If you want to view the comic, the link is provided below. (Click the corner of each page to turn the page.)

The News #14

If a great awakening will include a new revelation of the reality of divine judgment, what must I do if I sense the Spirit of God beginning to give us such a revelation? First and foremost, you must use this revelation as a new motivation to pray for a great awakening. There are two master motivators to prayer for revival. One is a deep sense of distress because men are not glorifying God. A concern for the glory that is due His name can, and should move us to pray.

“Lord, it is inconsistent with Your power and Your glory for the English speaking world to descend from a Christian Civilization into post Christian barbarism. Men are saying that You are not real and that You do not matter and that Your gospel is actually a bad thing. Dear God, for the sake of the glory due Your name, pour out Your Spirit in great power over all the churches in the English speaking world and revive us again I pray!”

(Please don’t be offended by my emphasis on the English speaking world. I can, and do pray for people groups from all over the world. But I have sensed that the Holy Spirit has given me a special prayer responsibility for the English speaking part of the world. Probably because I’m not smart enough to learn a foreign language?)

A burning passion for the glory of God is one reason to pray. May God give us all such a burden, such a revelation. But a burning concern for the dying souls of men going into the darkness of an eternity away from the presence of God is another great motivator. If God begins to make this real to you, understand that it is your call to pray. And understand that for some of you, it may be the beginning of a call to speak to some of the people in your life as the Spirit leads.

The News #13

What would it mean for us to receive a revelation of hell, where the Holy Spirit made it ever so real to us? Why would God do such a thing? Dear friends, please listen very carefully to what I am about to say.

I do not believe that God really blesses and uses any form of ministry that is not Spirit led and directed. That is to say that I do not believe that Christian activity that is not empowered by the Spirit bears any real fruit. So if you take a mental understanding of what I have been writing about hell and then go out and start to warn everyone you know, I don’t think it will do much good. It might even do some harm because any exposure to the truth apart from the gracious working of the Holy Spirit tends to harden the heart of man. So don’t rush out and go up to total strangers and yell, “Turn or burn!” in their faces. It won’t do any good.

But if God begins to revive His church He is going to take most all of us into a deeper, richer relationship with the Father than any we have ever known. And part of that deepening relationship will mean that we will have more power, and a clearer sense of direction in our Christian service than we ever had before.

A great many of us will be used to either directly lead people to Christ or to invite them to church where they will hear the gospel and be everlastingly saved. And it won’t be really hard to talk to people and it won’t seem all that awkward, the way it does now, because it will all be done under the direction and in the power of the Spirit of God.

Now you don’t have to wait for a great outpouring of the Spirit of God to witness. I’m not saying that. But whether in revival or not I believe that such work is fruitful only when God directs us and empowers us. If God is so directing you at this time, well and good. Follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit. For the record, I will be speaking to someone I know in the near future about her soul. I believe it is God’s time and place to do that. So you don’t have to wait for revival, but you do need to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit and if you are not sensing His leading in this area, that may not be your ministry and this time and you shouldn’t trouble yourself greatly about it.

The News #12

Michael Jackson died last week. I was profoundly moved. If you know me very well, you probably can’t believe I wrote that last sentence. I certainly wouldn’t have expected the death of “The King of Pop” to have much of an impact on me one way or another. So the reaction was most unexpected. This is why I was so moved.

My first thought was, “How terrible it would be a child molester and die in an unsaved condition. It would be unspeakably horrible for anyone to go to hell, but how much worse must be in store for a child molester.” And right in that moment it was almost as if I could hear him scream. That first scream, the scream that you scream when you realize you are dead and hands take hold of you and begin to drag you down into the earth. That first scream that you scream when you realize that it is all true, that you are descending into hell, and that there is no possible way of escape.

Dear friends, I do not know if Michael Jackson is in hell right now; he might have gotten saved in some private moment. I don’t know if he molested those children. A jury sat for months listening to evidence and returned a not guilty verdict on all counts. In any event, he has now faced the judgment of a Judge who sees all, knows all, and who cannot be deceived. Not matter what he was guilty off, the blood of Jesus had the power to cleanse, the power to save.

I’ve been writing about the power of God and the possibility of a transformation of our society through an outpouring of God’s Spirit. When this has happened in the past, God made hell very real to unsaved people and used it to bring them to salvation. And if there is going to be another great awakening I expect that God will make a revelation of the lake of fire to be a very important part of it.

But I am not writing today about the impact of hell on the unsaved. I am writing about the impact of a revelation of hell on the born again, on those of us who are safe from this horror through the wonderful grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. Before God ever makes the danger of damnation real to the world, I expect that He will begin to make it very, very real in the hearts and minds of His people.

The News #11

The impact of this sermon (see the last post) was extraordinary. Mature, intelligent adults found themselves crying out in terror. Some literally stood up and ran to pillars in the church interior and held on with all their might from fear that the ground beneath them would open and they would drop into the flames. None of this was due to emotional manipulation or great oratory. Jonathan Edwards was not a great orator, and at this point in his ministry he would read his sermons word for word from the pulpit. What happened was that the Spirit of God came down on that place with great power. He made it all very real and very vivid to them. A spiritual renewal began in that place and many, many people were born again in the next several months.

I’ve know about this sermon for a long time, but recently I learned something I didn’t know. This was very typical of preaching from American and English pulpits during past Great Awakenings. I’m not suggesting that each and every evangelistic sermon should reek of burning sulfur and be so vivid that people can hear the screams of the damned sounding in the background, but I am suggesting that some of them should.

Do you know where you find the most vivid and disturbing descriptions of hell in the Christian Bible? You find them in the gospels. They are words printed in red in some of your Bibles. They are words spoken by the Savior of the world.

The News #10

I have been doing a lot of reading lately on the subject of Great Awakenings, times of spiritual renewal that transformed society in a very short period of time. Maybe some of you have heard of a very famous sermon that was preached during one of these awakenings. You may have even read this sermon in a literature class in college. It’s called “Sinner in the Hands of an Angry God,” and it was written and preached by one of the most brilliant men in American history, Jonathan Edwards.

Let me share an excerpt (which I paraphrased). Unsaved people “are not the object of that very same anger and wrath of God this is expressed in the torments of hell. There are people in hell right now who are experiencing God the flames of God’s wrath. If you are unsaved, the wrath of God abides on you. As long as you refuse to believe He has the exact same feeling toward you and your sin that He does for those in hell at this very moment. In fact, because of the nature of your sins, God is angrier at some of the people in the room than He is toward some of the people already in hell. The wrath of God burns against you. Your damnation does not slumber – just the opposite! The pit is prepared, the fire is made ready, the furnace is prepared for you and the flames rage and glow.”

“You may think that you are safe right now. You may be in good health and free from danger. But the reality is that you are not safe. Your next breath, your next step could be your last. There is not one single minute that goes buy that some fool who thought that he was safe dies unexpectedly and is dragged screaming down into the flames.”

The News #8

I want to talk to you about the legal system. We have a new president and he has made his first supreme court nomination. The political conservatives are distraught. “We’ll have to live with this person for the rest of their life. Progress is be made in the wrong direction and we will never get it undone.”

I don’t think so. Brothers and sisters, this thing I’m about to tell you is so real to me that I can almost see it the way I can see a physical thing. The president only has a little power and authority; we have a lot. We should have millions of Christians praying daily by name for every federal judge in the country. I wish I had enough people reading this blog to organize something of that magnitude, but if a few of you will join me in prayer we can still do a mighty work by the grace of God.

Before I tell you what I want you to pray for, I want you to imagine what it would be like to be standing in front of a judge awaiting your sentence. You were a criminal. You’ve spent your whole life lying and scheming and gotten away with a whole lot. But now it has come to an end. You couldn’t weasel your way out of this one. You’ve been found guilty. You’re going to jail for a long time. Your mind is racing. Isn’t there some lie you can tell, some trick you can play? You look around and realize that if you try anything the guards will grab you. Seething with anger you realize that your goose is finally cooked. You are going to have to pay for your crime. You are in someone else’s power and there is absolutely nothing you can do to get out of it.

People in the legal system are used to that scenario because they have witnessed it many times; but most of them have no real idea what it would feel like to be in that situation. I want you to pray that the Holy Spirit will cause every judge and lawyer in this country to know exactly what that feels like. Only instead of having them know what it feels like to be in front of a human judge, I want you to pray that they will be given a vision of what it will be like to stand before God in judgment as He prepares to cast them into hell.

The News #7

I feel like I have a special responsibility to pray for the English speaking world. As I have prayed, I have felt led to pray for a great awakening that will last seven years. Seven years. I’m asking for more, but my heart has the faith to believe for seven years right now. I want you to join me in praying for the seven year outpouring of the Spirit of God.

As I’ve prayed and meditated on this the Lord has impressed upon my spirit that He can take back in one year everything Satan took from us in a decade. In a seven year revival God can undo the progress that wickedness has made in the last 70 years. I intend to pray for revival until it comes or until my life is over. I am very confident about this. If revival doesn’t come before I die, it will come after I die. If we pray and believe we can see a mighty transformation of our society and millions of souls swept into the Kingdom of God.