Tag: truth

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I Never Expected To See “the Snap” With My Own Eyes!

(Another entry not meant for my regular readers, but for those left behind after witnessing something extraordinary and terrifying…the sudden, inexplicable disappearance of a sizable percentage of Earth’s population.)

So it actually happened. Millions of people across the world just disappeared without a trace. What happened? What does it mean?

It means the Bible is true.

It means that over the next…probably 7 years or so, humanity will witness a level of destruction not seen since the days of Noah and the ark. I can’t put an exact timeframe on it because I don’t know for sure where the Rapture (the sudden disappearance of Christians) falls in relation to the seven years known as the Great Tribulation.

(One of the many confusing things about this era is going to be the fact that there are still people who thought they were Christians who are still left behind. The inconvenient truth they’ll have to face up to is the fact that even if they attend church regularly and do lots of “religious things,” they have not trusted Jesus Christ as their savior.)

I’ve written about this before, but it’s a pretty heavy duty topic, and I’d love to be able to help provide some direction for the people that are still here. If the Rapture actually happened, I’m not here anymore, so I can only help you through stuff I’ve already written or stuff I can point you to. Here’s the part that sounds crazy, but since you’re probably pretty desperate for answers, I’ll just come out and say it. When I say that you’ve been “left behind,” here’s what I mean. God created the world. Humanity sinned and sort of broke the deal that God had with us. For awhile we got by with presenting sacrifices to Him (the days of the Old Testament), but it wasn’t until Jesus Christ came to become a permanent sacrifice on our behalf that it changed our relationship with God. After He rose from the dead and ascended back to Heaven, He left the Church here to do His work until He comes back to take the rest of His followers away so they don’t have to endure the Great Tribulation, which is where God cleans house and lets loose on whoever’s left for thousands of years’ worth of stubborn disobedience.

Don’t worry, there’s still hope for you! The Great Tribulation will see unprecedented levels of both Christian revival and persecution of Christians. Keep an eye out for the Evangelists. There are going to be street preachers, people that hold meetings in big tents, in warehouses, in schools, in sports arenas, people that spread the news about Jesus. They’ll use whatever are the most popular tools of the day to spread the news. Go to them. As long as what they’re saying agrees with the Bible (and no other religious books), they’re steering you toward the truth. (But be careful, 2 Timothy 4 says that many people will be deceived by false teaching during this time.) In the meantime, track down a Bible and start reading it. Start with the New Testament…read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These are four books that cover the same material, so don’t be confused when Jesus dies four times. Those four books are collectively called “the Gospels.”

To read a little more about what you’re living in (the End Times, the Great Tribulation, the Apocalypse, Armageddon), check out the last book in the Bible; it’s called Revelation. You’ll probably need to read it a few times, and you’ll learn a lot more if you have some kind of study Bible with notes or some kind of Bible commentary. A few other books in the Bible cover the End Times and provide more info…check out the books of Ezekiel, Daniel, Zechariah, and First and Second Thessalonians (again, study Bibles, Bible commentaries, and online resources will be tremendously helpful). Here are a few of the things that are coming, but not necessarily in this order:

  • Mass death. Not only are the four horsemen of the apocalypse real, but one of them is given the power to kill a quarter of humanity (Revelation 6:7-8). Later, four imprisoned fallen angels (demons) are released to kill a third of humanity (Revelation 9:13-15). If we have 8 billion people on the planet right now and this happened, the horseman takes out 2 billion people, and then the fallen angels take out a third of the remaining six, cutting the population in half from 8 to 4 billion.
  • You think the idea of climate change is scary? Earth’s ecology gets absolutely demolished in Revelation chapter 8. The wind even stops in chapter 7.
  • God pours out so much wrath on the planet and its occupants that people abandon large portions of it and move somewhere else (picture Detroit as its population fell, but on a much larger scale). Of all places, Babylon, code for the famous city of Rome, becomes very important; I’m not sure if it actually becomes the global capital or if it sort of becomes symbolic of global debauchery and sin, sort of like how Vegas is for the U.S., and people consolidate there (Revelation chapters 16ish to 18).
  • At least one off-the-scale earthquake takes place (Revelation 16:18).
  • Slavery makes a comeback (Revelation 18:11-13).
  • There will be two missionaries that are invincible for a time, who speak truth to power so effectively that people can’t stand hearing their testimony and try unsuccessfully to kill them. They defend themselves like something you’d see in an X-Men movie, but watch out for the guy that eventually does kill them…he’s super bad news and will seem like he’s awesome, but believe me, he’s not somebody you should follow. Those two witnesses/missionaries also won’t let death keep them down. There will be some worldwide celebration for a few days after they’re killed, but the world will get a shock when the two of them get up again three and a half days after their death (Revelation 11:1-12).

Look, I don’t envy you. I’m writing this in August of 2022, and the past couple years have been pretty nuts from my perspective, but they pale in comparison to what you’re living through. Dig into the Bible, spread the word, and find other believers to encourage and be encouraged by. Dark days are ahead, and you’ll be hunted. If you turn to God, repent, and give your life to Him, He’ll give you what you need to make it to the end.

Don’t give up. It’s going to be worth it.

Want to learn more about specific Biblical references on the End Times? See http://peoplegetready.org/end-times/150-chapters-bible-times/

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The Dangerous, But Predictable, Erosion of Truth

Last week I talked about the shifting ground underneath our feet and the importance of having solid footing. “That’s all well and good,” you may say, “but what’s that look like in the course of living daily life?” Today I’d like to talk about an application. Today let’s examine the erosion of truth.

We’ve got an “Emperor’s new clothes” situation here. Our culture as a whole is afraid to define what a man is and what a woman is. Today’s topic has gained so much traction that even our most recent Supreme Court Justice during her confirmation hearing wriggled out of answering the question of defining what a woman is. While I certainly understand wanting to avoid being caught in an obvious trap during a confirmation hearing, the fact that anyone at this level of government was able to avoid answering such a simple question by saying “I’m not a biologist” testifies to the sad state of truth in our world today.

This post contains nothing hateful, but I imagine some will imply otherwise because of its “close minded, binary thinking.” America’s experience with COVID gave rise to the phrase “follow the science,” so I don’t see it as unreasonable for that phrase to apply in other areas of life.

Back before science got politicized to the degree it is today, this was an easy topic to address. Politics shouldn’t affect science. Biologically speaking, a human female has two X chromosomes, and a human male has an X and a Y chromosome. There is no fluidity in moving back and forth from one to the other, it’s established and set before birth. If you were born with an X and a Y chromosome, you are, and always will be, a dude. If you don’t like living as a dude, you might try to hide it, but you won’t ever change the fact that you’re a male. Dudes are able to undergo medical procedures and take hormones to make changes to their body, but they can’t change their chromosome makeup. If you’ve decided to undergo such things, medically speaking, you’ll always be a dude with an X and a Y chromosome that’s modified your body. (To be clear, this is a post about truth. It’s a completely separate discussion from your right to live according to your desired lifestyle.) Your appearance may fool me in some cases, but you can’t convince me that you were born a male and are now a female.

“That’s hateful!” Bullfeathers. Facts aren’t hateful, but they’re inconvenient if you embrace a worldview that’s based on things that aren’t true. Follow the science.

One of the clearest examples of this right now is the collegiate swimmer Lia Thomas. Lia Thomas was born with an X and a Y chromosome and got into competitive swimming. He then decided he wanted to compete in women’s swimming. Is it a sexist thing to say that Lia Thomas, born a male and possessing the musculature of a man, has an unfair competitive advantage over swimmers that were born females? I don’t know if “sexist” is the right word for it, but people definitely don’t want this thought expressed. Cranking up the fear to generate hesitation in speaking out against things like this is not an accident. If anyone is controlling your thoughts, they’re effectively controlling you, now aren’t they?

(As a brief aside here, if everyone’s concerned about fairness, the obvious solution is to move from a two-division class of sports (male and female) to an eight-division paradigm. One for males, one for females, one for those born male but now living as something they describe as other than male, one for those born female but now living as something they describe as other than female, and my favorites: the same four classes, but with all manner of performance-enhancing drugs being fair game. [I say that jokingly, but c’mon, out of those eight classes, which would YOU rather watch? Just don’t grow too attached to any of the competitors; I can’t imagine any of them will have a terribly long lifespan…])

“A person’s gender isn’t based only on science. It’s based partly on them knowing, and having a connection with who they really are.” Hmmm. Okay. How do you validate that knowledge? If you suspect you are something other than what your chromosomal makeup dictates, how do you confirm your suspicions? What test can you perform on a newborn that provides empirical results for this type of thing? If you want to use that line of thinking, what do you think about anorexics or bulimics that “know” they need to lose more weight? If they don’t even have the strength to get out of bed because they’re so underweight and undernourished, yet feel very strongly that they weigh too much, you must also believe they’re correct based on their strong feelings, is that true?

Regardless of gender or sex, every single person alive right now needs the love and forgiveness that comes from a relationship with Jesus Christ. I’m not saying the people discussed in this post can’t be geniuses, amazing friends, or really good people…I’m highlighting the degree to which the truth of something so basic has eroded in our society.

This is a single example of blurring the line between truth and lies. What is the ultimate goal of creating this uncertainty? As a religious fellow, I believe it’s ultimately Satan’s goal to taint every aspect of what God stands for and of how a person gets to Heaven. Lots of people believe in God or in Heaven and Hell, but they think that the way you get to Heaven is by being a good person or by living a good life. They have no idea that being a good person has nothing to do with it. According to the Bible, the single most important truth anyone can hear is that acceptance of Jesus Christ, who was both fully God and fully man, as their personal savior is the only way to enter Heaven and spend eternity in fellowship with God. You can never be good enough on your own.

If you’re Satan and you viciously hate everything about God, yet are powerless to harm Him, you will do everything within your power, working over the course of thousands of years, to distract from, water down, or erode that central truth. If the process of doing that requires you to employ a scorched-earth policy that causes confusion by eroding all basic truths, then so much the better.

I’ll say it again. According to the Bible, the single most important truth anyone can hear is that acceptance of Jesus Christ, who was both fully God and fully man, as their personal savior is the only way to enter Heaven and spend eternity in fellowship with God. You can never be good enough on your own. Let that truth ring out loud and clear, be repeated constantly, and define how you live your life.

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History in Progress

Let’s talk Ukraine for a little bit.

Things have gotten out of hand there lately. Although there’s been plenty of turmoil in the world lately, it feels like it’s been awhile since there were outright military engagements between nations.

This is only the most recent example of a world whose occupants have fought with each other since Adam and Eve were forced out of the garden. Ever since the two of them, our enemy has been working to pull humans away from fellowship with God.

Awhile back I wrote about why Satan benefits from the deaths of both those that don’t follow Christ and those that do. When unbelievers die, it cements their status as someone who has not received Christ; they have no additional opportunities to accept His gift of salvation, and Satan revels in the twisted joy of having prevented God from spending eternity with someone He loves. Conversely, Satan rejoices at the death of Christians because those that belong to Christ are more likely to play a part in snatching souls from his fold. Christians are equipped with the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts, tools which can cut deep into our adversary’s kingdom. Can you blame him for celebrating when mighty warriors of the faith pass from this life, even if it means they graduate into God’s presence?

In light of this “death is good” mentality, it would make sense for Satan to do everything in his power to foment war, famine, and disease. Individual deaths are okay in his eyes, but death on the scale of thousands is something for him to aspire to. A shooting war is a good start for him, but it’s made better by the disease and famine that accompany combat conditions in an area under siege.

It’s hard not to wish ill will on Vladimir Putin. If it’s God’s will, Putin could choke to death on a pretzel today and have this whole invasion fall apart quickly. Maybe that’s the plan, but in the meantime, it’s important to remember that Putin would not have risen to be Russia’s president without the Lord allowing it.

Even though us mortals can’t see right now how God’s plan will play out in this situation, we are getting a better picture of what’s been happening. I saw a news report where a captured Russian soldier claimed to have been told by his superiors that Ukraine had been overrun by Nazis. If that claim is true and that’s what the whole invasion force has been told, we’ve got a whole bunch of misled, but well-intentioned, troops getting in firefights with people trying to defend their homeland. It’s easy to see how patriotic Ukrainians would then put together raids to hit Russians manning the stalled miles-long Russian convoy.

The whole time, in the background where we can’t see…there’s our supernatural adversary, snickering and rubbing his hands together gleefully each time there’s a death on either side or among noncombatants.

Hopefully this post serves as a reminder…there’s a lot on the line here…not just in Ukraine, but in the world today. Don’t forget about the urgency with which we should view this fleeting life. Eternity hangs in the balance, and you might be the only way the Gospel can reach some people.

Lord, the lies and injustices in this world make us long for Heaven. Some day You’ll return or call us home, but until that day comes, please help us to have the right focus, to use our spiritual gifts and talents, and to help raise God-fearing generations that will likely live in darker times than we do. Please end the violence in Ukraine and prevent things from getting any worse than they already are. It’s easy to become overwhelmed with the things we see in our world, so we thank You for allowing us to cast our burdens at Your feet. We ask these things in Your name, Amen.

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Quick Hit: What Does the World Think of the Church?

Christ commanded us to go out and share the Gospel with people. That’s one of the jobs of the people that make up the Church.

Lots of folks, wanting to get more people into church on Sunday mornings, naturally ask the question “how can we get the world to like us more?” Sadly, there’s only one answer: be more like the world.

Sorry, that’s not why the Church is here. We’re here to point the way to everlasting life and fellowship with our creator. If the world likes the Church, we probably need to take a closer look at what’s actually happening. Conforming to the world waters down the message and pulls us off that mission. When we spend time worrying about what the world thinks of the Church, we’re likely not focusing on getting out there and being the Church.

Christ wasn’t afraid to offend people. He came to bring truth, which is what we’re to do, too. We point the way and let others make up their own mind. Many will ignore us, or even laugh at us. That’s their right, but it’s not an excuse for us to stop spreading the message.

Be the Church.

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A Whole Bunch of People Straight up Vanished – What Just Happened?!

This week’s post isn’t geared so much toward my regular readers as it is the people that have just witnessed an astonishing event, and who are absolutely freaking out right now. If a sizable portion of the human race has just flat out disappeared without a trace, and you’re still here, this post is meant for you.

Right off the bat, I can offer you hope, but it’s going to come with a hard dose of reality. I’m breaking this into two sections: what happened, and what you need to do now. You’re going to think what I’m saying is crazy, but crazy just became your new norm, friend, and the things I touch on can help you start to understand this new reality.

So what happened? I can’t put a number on it, but a ton of people around the whole world just up and disappeared, right in the middle of everyday life. Cars driving down the road suddenly had no drivers, and airplanes lost their pilots, which caused additional chaos, I’m sure. Despite what’s being reported, it wasn’t aliens and it wasn’t some weird new disease. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say the people that disappeared are Christians. That is, they believed and trusted in Jesus Christ. Sure, there are still some church-goers and religious people that didn’t disappear. Ask them why others are gone but they’re still here. If they can’t seem to articulate their thoughts, ask them about their relationship with Jesus Christ. Not their head knowledge, as in their knowledge of or about God, or the money they give or the things they do for the church; ask them about their relational/experiential knowledge…the relationship they have with God. Odds are that they didn’t have a meaningful one.

Here’s the quick and dirty: after Jesus left, the Church (capital “C”) started. Throughout the Bible’s New Testament, the Church is described as the thing preserving the world (the “salt and light”). The Church is what perpetuates society’s collective morality. Yeah, things progressively get less and less like the way God wanted humanity to act. Churches give in, get “woke,” and endorse things that God himself would not endorse. Morality becomes less black and white and becomes increasingly gray. There are some churches and some folks that stand up and try to point the way back to Biblical morality, but over time those voices get drowned out, silenced, or labeled “hateful.”

Eventually (this is the part you’ve witnessed), God says “That’s enough; the evil is too much. I don’t want it to corrupt my people any further, so I’m pulling them out of there.” I don’t know when He’s going to do it, but I know that none of the people who disappeared are perfect; they just chose to love Jesus and trust Him as their savior and are now with Him in Heaven.

So where does that leave you? Well, you’re heading for some very rough waters. As it turns out, the Church was the speed bump that slowed down the moral degeneration of the human race. Now that it’s gone, there’s nothing holding back society’s decay. It’s like defunding the police and trusting that everyone will just get along and live happily together without problems. Things are about to get more insane and deadly than you imagined could ever happen.

If it hasn’t already happened, there’s a guy about to come on the scene that’s the most articulate politician/leader you’ve ever seen. He’s going to seem like he’s got all the answers and people will thrust him to global leadership. It’s a meteoric rise. The Bible calls this man the Antichrist. Circumstances will be such that you are encouraged (and maybe in some cases forced) to worship him. He’s empowered by satanic forces and will be able to do amazing supernatural things, and will perform counterfeit versions of the actual miracles Jesus performed.

Very quickly, here are some other things that will happen: Crazy, unexplainable signs in the sky…sun, moon, sky, and stars will all act strangely (Revelation chapter 6, verses 12-14, along with Rev 8:12). Imagine peace in the Middle East. This guy will orchestrate a 7-year treaty with Israel that brings peace to the region. Halfway through, though, he’s going to break it for his own benefit, desecrating Jewish holy sites in the process (Daniel 9:27, although there’s a lot more reading to do in order to grasp this meaning). Also, you’ll be unable to buy or sell or otherwise conduct normal business without receiving a mark on your hand or forehead. I don’t know if it’s going to look like a bar code, a QR code, or something else, but odds are it will somehow have the number “666” associated with it. (Rev. 13:16-18) Additionally, even aside from the disappearances, there’s going to be widespread death on a massive scale (Rev 6:7-8). Interestingly, there are going to be two guys that show up in Jerusalem that, for three and a half years speak out against the way folks are living and the way the world is conducting itself, pointing the way to Jesus Christ. People are going to hate hearing the truths these two guys are spreading, and will even try to kill them in order to silence them. During this time, these two will be invincible, but at the end the Antichrist himself will kill them both and their bodies will be left in the street as people celebrate their death by giving gifts to one another. Three and a half days later, however, both men will come back to life in full view of everyone. God then calls them to Heaven, and the two men will leave after that. (Rev. 11:3-12)

Look there’s a whole lot that happens, and I just don’t have the space to go into it all. Here’s what you need to do:

  • Accept Christ as your Lord and Savior. You’re not perfect, but you don’t have to be. I realize that “accepting Christ as your Savior” sounds kind of wonky for someone who’s not accustomed to “churchy” language, so I’ll say it differently. Talk to God; pray this prayer: “Dear God, I need you. I’m humbly calling out to you. I’m tired of doing things my way; help me to start doing things your way. I invite you into my life to be my Lord and Savior; fill the emptiness in me with your Holy Spirit and make me whole. Lord help me to trust you, help me to love you, help me to live for you. Help me to understand your grace, your mercy, and your peace. Help me have the strength for what lies ahead. Thank you Lord, Amen.”
  • If it hasn’t already, it’s probably about to become illegal to possess a Bible. You’re going to need one, though, along with a place to stash it. The Bible is a very complex book, with lots of stuff that you’re probably not going to care about (so many lineages!), and you’ll need help understanding it. There are lots of different translations of the Bible, but the most important thing for you is to get one that you can follow and that is an actual translation (not paraphrased). If it says that Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man, you’re probably on the right track. If you’ve never read the Bible before, start out in the New Testament. If you’re new to this, start with Matthew. (The books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are in the same group of books, and they cover a lot of the same material. Don’t read all four and wonder why they killed Jesus four times!) Some of the books of the Bible that will pertain the most to you (Revelation, Daniel, Ezekiel) are also some of the most difficult to understand, so it’s best to get either a study bible (with notes) or separate commentaries that can help provide explanations of what the text is saying. At this point you’re living in a time that’s past civility, so I’ll say this and you take it however you’d like: the homes and bookshelves of the people who disappeared are your best shot at obtaining the biblical resources that can help you the most, and those folks sure don’t need those resources anymore.
  • The Bible is your single best source for learning what you need to learn, but it can be very hard to understand. For a lot of people, sermons from pastors/priests or additional Bible study materials will help increase understanding of biblical scripture’s application. If you can obtain those resources, do it.
  • Find others like you. God empowers His followers with special talents called “spiritual gifts.” They could be things like teaching, faith, leadership, administration, or the gift of helps (this isn’t an exhaustive list). If you accept Christ, you’ll gain something that you can use to help other Christ-followers, and others will likewise be able to help you. The Bible says that wherever two or more are gathered in His name, He’s there (Matthew 18:20). Take comfort in that, help each other learn about Christ, and help each other survive. You would not believe what God can do when He wants to get something done, and you may very well see it up close.

There are very hard times ahead. You will personally understand desperation in a way I can only vaguely imagine in April of 2021. My hope is that this post will float around online long enough to reach the people that need it, starting to orient you in a time of unprecedented chaos.

I’m not out to con you. I can guarantee that I have nothing to gain by passing this information along. In fact, if I’m right about all this, I’m already gone. You, on the other hand, have everything to gain!

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. – 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

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Fighting the Battle of the Bulge

As I get older, the bathroom scale seems to become less and less forgiving.

I used to be able to polish off a ton of food and suffer no repercussions. Junk food didn’t pose much of an issue, eating late at night wasn’t a problem, and eating like I was on vacation was a beautiful thing.

Those days are long gone.

“Weight creep” is a real thing. Not a lot all at once, just a little bit at a time…and the numbers only seem to go up, they hardly ever go down.

Now, feel free to do what you want to do, but I’ve decided that I’d like to avoid putting on excess weight. Not only did Paul say in 1 Corinthians that our bodies are temples for the Holy Spirit, but staying at a healthy weight helps reduce the chances of developing a litany of other medical problems. (And my wife exercises regularly, so come on, I can’t let myself go!)

As I age and my metabolism slows down though, it takes a larger amount of conscious thought to prevent the love handles from getting bigger. I can use a few tricks, like drinking a glass or two of water before a meal, skipping snacks after dinner, and using smaller plates, but the main weapon in that fight involves regularly confronting the uncomfortable truth: I get on the scale almost every day.

Yes, Monday mornings are usually bad. The day after a vacation or trip to see family is often worse. I need to know the truth, though. It’s uncomfortable, and it’s sometimes ugly. Without having that metric, I only have a vague sense of where I am, and I just don’t know how diligent I need to be in getting back to that target weight.

Think of the Bible as your scale. It’s probably not going to help you with your weight, but consulting it regularly is going to be the way you know if you’re heading in the right direction. It’s going to help you know if your habits are healthy or if you need to make some changes in your life. Sometimes we, as Christians, begin to accept things we should not accept. In the same way that the scale can be used to combat weight creep, use the Bible to fight against “compromise creep.”

You’re not going to stay the same person your whole life, and your judgment, tolerance of the things of this world, and ability to recognize pitfalls and half-truths is going to fluctuate over time, just like your weight. Reading the Bible consistently will help you keep your focus where it needs to be, and without it you’ll only have a vague sense of where you are. If it’s not already a part of your daily routine, I challenge you to move toward that goal.

Lord, thank you for giving us the Bible and for the ability to study it at our own pace. Please lead each one of us to the passages You’d have us read and help us be consistent in reading it. Amen.

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Do You Know How To Spot the Fake?

When I was a kid there were a group of us in the neighborhood that were fans of WWF wrestling (now WWE wrestling).

It was great, man. Every Saturday morning we’d watch as a cast of colorful characters, with clear good guys and bad guys, all had a chance to beat each other up. There was “the Macho Man” Randy Savage, Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Bret “The Hitman” Hart, and tons of other wrestlers.

We’d watch as the good guys took on the bad guys, and made the bad guys pay for whatever line they happened to cross that week. With jaws on the floor, we felt the shock and betrayal as a good guy went bad, or cheer when a bad guy turned good. We’d even try doing the moves on each other in somebody’s backyard while adding goofy commentary in the style of what we heard on TV. Thankfully the wrestlers back then weren’t as high-flying as today, otherwise we probably all would’ve gotten hurt a lot more.

As I got older, more people around me started talking about how fake it was. “Fake?” I thought. Hmmm. I didn’t buy it right away, but I started seeing things a bit differently as I watched. While there was still plenty of potential for all the characters to get hurt (and they often did), I started noticing how they acted in ways that didn’t seem like consistent behavior. “How come that guy can usually get hit with a chair and it doesn’t stop him, but he picks right now to take forever getting up after getting kicked in the stomach?” Or maybe “it sure is convenient how that referee got knocked out, then woke up right after the bad guy cheated.”

While I prefer the term “scripted,” the bottom line is that yeah, this isn’t totally real. Wrestlers are performers and athletes, certainly, but it’s somehow not quite the same when everyone in the ring knows what will happen before the match even starts. In that sense, it’s fake. In order for me to accept that, though, I had to compare what I was seeing and hearing to what I already knew.

Did you know that even now people are active targets of spiritual deception…by supernatural enemies? It’s true. Normally we think of flesh and blood enemies, but consider this scenario. If a fallen angel took the form of a “righteous” person, and tried to impart some special “wisdom” to an average Jane/Joe and gave some sort of accompanying supernatural sign, I might not be able to blame Jane/Joe for putting some stock in what they just witnessed. Here’s the kicker though: we’ve been warned that this will happen.

In 2 Corinthians chapter 11, Paul discusses not only false apostles, but fallen angels posing as messengers from God:

            13 For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.

This is a real thing, and many people have been led away from the simple truth of the gospel because of it.

Study your Bible, both Old Testament and New. Think on it, and don’t ever let it be far from your thoughts. The more you know about it, the easier it will be for you to spot a counterfeit when it crosses your path. When someone “masquerades as a servant of righteousness,” question what you’re seeing and hearing. It may take a bit to accept that you may have been duped, but the important thing is not to delay once you’ve discovered the deception. Sound the alarm for students of that school of thought. You’re not responsible for what those people think, but maybe you can help them understand they have a choice to make; don’t be afraid to point out the inconsistencies with scriptures to them. Hopefully they’ll thank you for it later.

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It’s All About Who Controls the Script

A belated “thank you” to all our veterans and their families! Many thanks for your various sacrifices, large and small, throughout your service to our nation!

I’m going to try using a present-day example to illustrate an important principle. I understand it may be a bit controversial, but hang with me, I’m doing it to illustrate a larger point.

If I were to ask you the current status of the 2020 Presidential election, what would you say?

Most people would probably say that Joe Biden won and currently enjoys the status of “President-Elect.”

In reality, however, the election isn’t over yet. As of Wednesday, 11/11, there are three states representing 47 electoral votes where Biden’s lead is less than a percentage point (two of those races are within half a percentage point). There are another 15 electoral votes in a state where Trump is currently leading. Various news organizations have called the races and declared Joe Biden the winner, and if you go strictly by the number of votes received/counted, that may very well be the case. (It remains to be seen how many of those votes will be ordered by various legal authorities to be considered invalid.)

What you hear very little of, however, is the fact that news organizations are not the authority for declaring the winner of an election. Even though Mr. Biden has signs saying “Office of the President-Elect,” signs don’t make election results official. If you listen to most news organizations, you’d think that the election was decided more than a week ago and that Donald Trump is just a sore loser throwing a temper tantrum by refusing to concede, filing lawsuits and spreading claims of widespread cheating without producing evidence. “Officially” declaring the winner of the presidential election is consistently a months-long process, but we usually know pretty soon after election day because one of the two candidates concedes to their opponent within a day or two.

Why such a stark contrast in this case between what’s official and what we hear? Why would anyone spend so much time presenting anything other than the truth, which is that right now Joe Biden looks like he’s got a strong advantage, but we need to take a closer look at some things?

It happens this way because controlling the narrative can alter the course of future reality.

If you’re fed up with politics, stick with me for just a little longer, I’m going somewhere with this. Let’s take a “what-if” approach. What if Trump’s right, and there was a lot of tom-foolery in the election at his expense, adding states to Biden’s column that should’ve been his? If it can be proven, then he should rightfully be sworn in at the next inauguration. If not, then Trump voters will be disappointed, but will have a little more faith in the process by having people look into it. That doesn’t explain the purpose of the narrative though…

Now let’s say you want to see Trump thrown out of office. You can’t wait for the day he leaves the White House, and the sooner the better. That’s a perfectly fine opinion, and you got to have your say in the election. What’s inappropriate, however, is leading citizens/public opinion down a road that sets the stage for civil unrest. When things are this tight, if organizations are declaring one of the candidates the winner without getting a concession from the loser, what do you think will happen if “winner” status is ultimately granted to the other candidate?

It’s not a stretch to say that some of the issues raised in this election will end up in the Supreme Court. If the court decides something in Trump’s favor, the existing narrative will not allow the decision to be seen as an objective and fair decision, but rather as the courts taking away something that’s rightfully Joe Biden’s. That happens even if it’s completely fair. If even one of the states currently called for Biden flips to Trump, there will be more riots and more cities will burn. Can you imagine if a few states end up getting flipped? We’re looking at a civil war! I tend to think of this eventuality as at least partially the result of irresponsible journalism, but those reporting it this way probably think of it more like a nuclear deterrent: you want people to believe the consequences will be so bad that nobody would dare attempt it. In my mind, that’s not the role of the press.

If you’re still with me, this brings me to my main point: if you are a Christian, you need to fully expect and anticipate that the narrative will one day be flipped firmly against you. Forces have certainly dabbled in this effort here and there, and they’ve taken a lot of neutral ground, but it hasn’t gotten truly bad yet for Christians in America. If you haven’t heard it from anyone else yet, I’ll be the one to break the news to you: it’s going to get tough to openly be a Christ-follower in the United States of America, and I fully expect it to happen in my lifetime.

Many times Christians are described as intolerant hypocrites that condemn anyone who doesn’t fall in line with their beliefs. There are probably cases of that. What Christians are charged to do, I believe, is spread the Gospel to people (yes, even people that don’t look or think like us), and let God do the rest. That doesn’t always mean knocking on doors and handing out Bibles. If you don’t follow Christ, it means much more to you personally (and you’re much more willing to listen) when someone comes alongside you to help during a time of trouble than when someone leaves a pamphlet in your front door.

Unbelievers ought to be encouraged to hear that Christians are coming around. Jesus said in John 13:34-35 that people will know we’re His disciples by the way we show love for one another. We see plenty of other instances of Jesus meeting peoples’ practical needs and, well, just showing love for them in general. Regardless of who’s sworn in this January, Christ provides a model for the kind of love we are to demonstrate. It’s the roll-up-your-sleeves, get-up-to-your-elbows in filth, help-till-it-hurts (and then some) kind of love.

My friends, these days, opportunities to come alongside hurting people are everywhere. And you know what? They don’t all vote the way you vote, but those people still need help. Please help flip the narrative; when people hear “the Christians are coming,” they shouldn’t say “oh, great!” We want them to say “that’s great!” I’ll guarantee that those people shown genuine love are much more receptive to the good news of what Christ’s done for them than the folks that have political discussions with Christians only to have the Christians throw insults at them.

Keep in mind these words from the New Testament:

In everything, show yourself to be an example by doing good works. In your teaching show integrity, dignity, and wholesome speech that is above reproach, so that anyone who opposes us will be ashamed to have nothing bad to say about us. –Titus 2:7-8

God is ultimately in control of the narrative, but it’s up to us to live it out. Don’t be surprised when things get rough! Keep praying for our nation, for other Christians, and for the people that are against us; this is the only life we get to convince others of God’s love for them.

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Red Teaming Humanity: The Christian Strikes Back (Part 4 of 4)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Today we wrap up the discussion on Red Teaming humanity…looking through the adversary’s eyes at how to fight against God’s plan for individual people.

In the way of review, let’s take a look back at what we’ve covered so far.

Part 1 of the series set the stage and described the likely mentality of the enemy we’re dealing with.

After that, to help as a memory aid, everything is arranged in groups of three that all start with the same letter. In Part 2 we looked at the basic steps God uses to lead someone to faith, along with the tools Satan uses to counter any or all of them. Whereas God addresses a Wanderer, then Wakens them by revealing Himself to them, after which they begin their Walk with Him, Satan takes a different approach. He’ll try to Fulfill the longings of the wanderer through other means, Fight the wakening by inciting chaos in the person’s life, and try to Flatten their walk if it turns out they’re serious about following Christ.

Last time, in Part 3, we started looking at how our adversary attacks Christians. If the goal is to prevent Christians from using their God-given gifts, talents, and resources to grow the Kingdom of God, many of the techniques he uses boil down to Dividing them so they cannot function as a cohesive team, Distracting them from what they should be focused on, and Delaying them from taking action.

Today we look at how Christians can combat the effectiveness of the tactics in Part 3. It’s very simple. Christians maximize their effectiveness in working for the Lord when they follow the three Gs:

Gather, Grow, and Go.

It’s so simple that it’s easy to overlook. Right now, though, it’s so important to understand these three Gs and follow through with them.

The Bible instructs us to Gather. Alone we are vulnerable to fear, quicker to question whether living a life of service to the Lord is worth pursuing, and prone to give up more easily. Together we can spur each other on to overcome those obstacles and encourage one another. Iron sharpens iron.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. – Hebrews 10:24-25

For where two or three gather together in My name, there am I with them. –Matthew 18:20

And though one may be overpowered, two can resist. Moreover, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken. –Ecclesiastes 4:12

Today’s world looks very different than most people would have imagined a year ago. We’ve all essentially been thrown into pioneer roles; we’re figuring out what “gather” looks like as we go right now. There may be a few places that are largely unaffected, but for the most part, if you’re physically going to church these days, you’re probably wearing a mask at least part of the time and you’re not sitting as close to others as you normally would. If you’re not going in person you might still get to hear the worship and sermon through online church, but it’s very hard to actually connect with people that way. As restrictions ease and we’re allowed more social freedoms, I encourage you to make an effort to get back to church, even if you have to sing with a mask on. There simply is no substitute for physically being in the same room with other believers.

It’s essential to find other means of meeting with fellow believers, especially if you consider yourself part of an at-risk demographic or if your church will undergo an extended period of time without being able to physically meet. Online meetings can work, conference calls can work, but I’d encourage you to be physically present with other believers SOMEhow. Outside-the-box thinking may help here; if it’s with just one or two other people, you can meet for coffee or in a park and maintain a decent distance between yourselves and still be close enough for great conversation that builds, encourages, and lifts up one another. If it’s a larger group, you can do the same thing or get more creative. It’s probably going to be awhile before we can have widespread potlucks again, but in the meantime, we can have get-togethers in church parking lots for example. If you have a big group of folks at your church that are just longing for time together, have everyone bring a camp chair and a bottle of water and sit, one person per parking space, and rearrange the group every 10 minutes or so. It’s important to have opportunities both for unstructured fellowship as well as those that are meant to build one another up.

Gather and Grow often go hand in hand. While you can watch videos and study the Bible on your own, living life as part of a community of Christian believers will help you really learn and embrace the Bible’s teachings. Other people see things in scripture that you don’t; you have experiences and interests that are different from other peoples’. Together you collectively bring more than what you have on your own. Much of the growing occurs as you read the Bible and supporting material on your own, but another big chunk of it also happens as you interact with other Christians. You can grow by learning from other believers, and on the flip side you can grow by mentoring other believers. Growth happens when you’re together.

When it comes to Go, the distinguishing characteristic of Christians is supposed to be the way they show love for one another. John 13:34-35 says A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

Unbelievers are supposed to see Christians in action and know who we are by the way we love and care for people. You don’t have to go far to Go. There are limitless ways to show love to your neighbor, and your neighbor is…anyone and everyone. It’s not just people you know and have a good relationship with. Everyone has physical needs. Everyone needs human contact. Everyone needs a little shot of optimism, especially these days. If you can provide any of those things in a way that would make God smile, that might be exactly what He’s looking at you to do. It could be digging wells in a far-off land, going on a missions trip elsewhere in your own country, or taking a meal to a lonely shut-in in your neighborhood. There is literally no limit to the number of ways you can show love and compassion to someone that needs it, and your acts of love make people more willing to listen to what you have to say about Christ.

Congratulations! You’ve made it to the end of this series. I’ve said it a number of times before on this blog, but it bears repeating in light of what we’ve been covering. Christians are empowered to do much more than what they think they are capable of doing, and it’s because the power of the Holy Spirit resides in them. If you consider yourself a Christ-follower, I urge you to take up the challenge you find before you; seek direction through prayer and move out with confidence. Not confidence in your abilities and prowess, mind you, confidence in the one that holds your life in His hands. Sometimes God prepares you for years to perform a given task, but other times you witness a need that anyone can fulfill, and you just happen to be the only “anyone” around. Please…be willing to let God work through you. You have no idea what events your obedience will set in motion.

In closing, I’ll say that as a Christian you should expect opposition. I recently heard it described as “if you’re holding the football, you’re going to get tackled.” Don’t be surprised when it happens, because it’s going to happen. It’s not the end of the game though. You can head to the sidelines for a break and for talking some strategy with teammates, but if you sit down and don’t plan to get up off the bench again, the other team has nothing to fear from you. In this game, the Coach is going to walk down the sidelines, point His finger at you, and tell you to get out there. It’s going to be scary, you’re not going to know how it’s all going to turn out, and you may end up having to be carried off the field. Just remember that you’re on the winning team and you’re not alone out there. Rely on your teammates and let them know they can rely on you. The Coach wouldn’t have pointed at you if He didn’t think you could do it.

Gather, Grow, and Go.

You hold more worth and value to God’s Kingdom than you can possibly imagine. There’s no ceiling as far as what God can do through His truly dedicated followers, but only He knows His plans for your life. Subscribe or check back every week for encouragement in reaching your God-given potential!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

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Red Teaming Humanity: Keep the Christians on the Couch (Part 3 of 4)

Part 1 | Part 2

Last time we covered how Satan tries to keep unbelievers from believing. This time we’ll take a look at how he tries to keep Christians on the couch.

From Satan’s perspective the real danger of losing a soul to Christianity is not that his kingdom shrinks, it’s that he has absolutely no idea how Christ will use this new asset to build His kingdom. For the people that become Christians, Satan wants to stifle their growth as much as possible so their relationship with God suffers and they don’t become effective at bringing others to a saving faith. He wants to prevent walkers from maturing to the point that they can enable other unsaved souls to become walkers.

If Satan wants to limit the impact of his losses, he’ll do what he can to prevent Christians from using their spiritual gifts or submitting themselves to Christ’s plan. He ultimately wants Christians to die with untapped potential. What kind of Christian do you think Satan likes better, a passionate Billy Graham, or an apathetic average Joe that got saved as a kid, but whose only present-day indication of faith is going to church on Christmas Eve? Clearly, he’d rather have a world full of couch-potato Christians; they don’t even have an impact that he needs to counter!

Well, let’s get to it. How do you keep Christians on the couch instead of in the trenches?

It turns out there are a variety of ways. God made people with different personalities and vulnerabilities. Everyone is susceptible to something. There’s a group of well-used tactics in Satan’s bag of tricks; if one doesn’t work, he’ll try another, then another, until he finds something that shows promise. (You may recognize a particular weakness in your own life that prevents you from being used by God to do greater things than you’ve done up to this point.)

None of the tactics are overly complicated, but there are many different ways to employ them. Think of it in terms of Satan having a dossier on you. He knows what works on you and what doesn’t. For some it’s ego. For others it’s jealousy or fear. Some people have major problems with anger, while others are crippled by depression or doubts that God could forgive the things they’ve done. You don’t think Satan’s figured you out and takes advantage of your personality quirks and triggers? Although one person may not have a problem with lust or pornography, it can absolutely shatter the ministry effectiveness of another. The same holds true with drug addiction, insecurity, arrogance, self-pity, apathy, or any number of other ways to take you off mission…Satan has a tailored attack plan for you that will give him the best chance of minimizing your effectiveness as a Christian in ministering to others.

In the last post I named three general steps God takes to bring a person to faith, and three methods Satan takes to combat those steps. For the Christian, I’m going to reverse it by giving you Satan’s tactics first. When it comes to marginalizing a Christian’s effectiveness, he uses the three Ds.

The many tools Satan uses to keep Christians from doing God’s work can largely be categorized into three groups: Divide them to make unity impossible, Distract them from what’s really important, and Delay them from actually doing anything in God’s plan.

Let’s talk “Divide” first. Ever see a schism in a church? It’s ugly. What happens to the people in that church? They may have been focused on going out into the world to preach Christ at one point, but if the right issue comes to the forefront, a surprising number of parishioners give in to things that Christians should not fall prey to. Back biting, gossip, pettiness, bitterness and grudges are some of the big ones. Is that church an effective light to the world at that point? While it’s true that church splits sometimes happen for good reason, the fallout can hobble many Christ followers’ effectiveness and cause long-lasting divisions. Anything that divides Christians compromises their ability to serve God as a unit.

This is just an example of a single church in a single community. We’re living in the most divided period our country has been at any point in recent memory. Try to get churches across the nation to agree on and endorse a political party. Some pick the party that helps the poor. Others pick the party that believes life begins at conception. Are these not both Christian values? Why do we have to choose to embrace one and ignore the other? Division is built in. How can one side be pro-life, yet be pro-death penalty? On the other hand, how will you help the poor by de-funding the police?

Talking politics tends to get people going. If that paragraph made your blood pressure start to rise, it’s a perfect illustration of how effective division can be. Do you get as heated or willing to give a response when someone puts down Christian values? In the grand scheme of things, Christians around the world should probably have the same views and be the most willing to reach out to other cultures because we all have Jesus as our model. It’s not that Jesus is so different to various countries and cultures around the world, it’s that we view Him and His teachings through many different prisms. We have the same model, but we’re quite divided about our opinions of what’s important and what’s not.

This concept overlaps with “Distract,” too. At the most basic level, a distraction is something that siphons time, focus, and effort from a primary objective. If you’re a Christian, your two main objectives in this life are to draw closer to Him and share Him with others. Anything that takes away from your ability to do that is a distraction.

We don’t always have large events that distract us, but we instead fall victim to general busy-ness. Our schedules are so full that we don’t have much time to proactively pursue God’s calling for our lives. Being busy doesn’t make us bad people, but we need to be clear-headed and understand that busy-ness doesn’t directly translate into good use of time, nor is it an excuse to duck the plans God has for you. In order to get a handle on our lives we have to be intentional; we have to manage our calendars rather than allow our calendars to manage us. It falls to us individually to make God’s calling for our lives a priority.

Finally, Satan uses “Delay” as a class of tactics. Think back to when you were a kid. What were your dreams for when you got older? What did you want to be when you grew up? Are you that today? If not, why not; did something unforeseen come up? Maybe a little more recently for some, what big vacation plans did you and your significant other envision early in your relationship? If you haven’t done it yet, and the years have started to get away from you, it may now be too late to do it. Rarely does a single, large event derail the intentions, but more commonly a variety of things get in the way to ensure “someday” never arrives.

This is the same principle Satan hopes for with “delay.” If the adversary can postpone your big plans for doing God’s will even by a short amount of time, a new day can bring a whole new set of circumstances. Your enthusiasm to take on new responsibility in an organization died a slow death after your accident. You’re still willing to go on that missions trip, but the opportunity died when Coronavirus emerged. You’re not promised tomorrow. You’re not even promised the rest of today. All you have is right now, and if you don’t make use of it, your future will be imposed on you, rather than be influenced by you. You can serve God in a way that only you can, but it takes conscious, devoted, and persistent effort.

Boy, I run out of room quickly when I take on complex topics. Time for a quick review. Many of the enemy’s tools can be boiled down into the three Ds: Divide, Distract, and Delay. It’s important for individual Christians to learn what they’re vulnerable to, and to learn to recognize when it’s happening to them. The goal is to have no more unrealized potential left when you pass from this life into eternity. To borrow from author Erwin McManus’ book, how many unused arrows will still be in your quiver when you die?

We are under constant attack, it’s true, but take heart! In the final installment of this series, I’ll touch on the three items Christ followers can use to fight against the enemy’s three Ds. If it feels like you’re alone in this fight, it’s by design. I can assure you that you are not alone, but you may have to do some reaching out.

Subscribe or check back next Thursday for the final installment in the series “Red Teaming Humanity!”

Part 1 | Part 2