Category Archives: Blog

“When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. ‘Sovereign Lord’, they said, ‘you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.'”

Acts 4:24

We live in a world that is full of violence, conflict, horrendous atrocities, and unending evil. All people have been created in God’s image, and throughout history, some people have done some terrible things to other people. Just recently we saw Russia invade another independent nation, Ukraine, without just cause and resulting in the deaths of many innocent civilians. There are conflicts in many nations over covid restrictions, government policies, and political ideologies, with some of them resulting in violence and injuries to others. We also read about the murders, kidnappings, rapes, thefts, and other crimes committed against one another in our news every day. And finally, there exists the bullying, verbal attacks and silencing of people just for having a different viewpoint.

And the one question many non-Christians usually ask is, “If God is so good, why does he let these bad things happen?” It is a legitimate question with a simple answer. It’s because although God is good, He gave people a free will. And people use that freedom for evil instead of the good that God intended.

When God created the world, Genesis 1:31 says that “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” So, what went wrong? Again, Genesis provides the answer in chapter 3 that sin entered the world so that humans were corrupted and banished from the garden of Eden and God’s perfection. It resulted from Adam and Eve’s decision to listen to Satan instead of God. It was willful disobedience. They wanted to “be like God” rather than just enjoy His presence. God could have created us to be totally obedient to Him. But then He would not have enjoyed our presence with Him as much as if we freely love being with Him. That’s the same love every parent wants from their children.

In our world today, many people look to find someone to blame for all this conflict and evil. Some blame God instead of Satan, some blame society instead of the individual, and often some blame others instead of themselves. Yet, God is still sovereign over all. What, then, does that really mean?

Sovereignty is not an issue of control. Since God gave us free will, He therefore cannot control what we do. So, being sovereign is not about control but instead it’s about who’s really in charge and who sets the rules. In other words, it’s about authority. A king has authority over his subjects. A board of directors has authority over a corporation. A government has authority over its citizens. A parent has authority over their children. In each of these cases, the people with authority do not control their constituents. They simply have authority over them and can set the rules and guidelines for what they determine to be of benefit to them. But they also establish the consequences for breaking those rules.

The same is true for God because He is the author of creation. He has all authority because He created all humans, the world, and everything we see and know (Genesis 1). In fact, He sent Jesus into the world to save us from our sin and evil behavior that we willfully engage in. Ultimately, God gave Jesus authority over heaven and earth (Matthew 28:18) because of His obedience to the Father and His authority. God (and Jesus) do not control us, but they do have authority over us and what happens when we “break the rules” that He has set for us. If God truly controlled us, we would never disobey Him and therefore never do evil, endure suffering, or need punishment.

So, God is not controlling, but He is still “in control”, or sovereign, and has authority over us!

Because God is good (Luke 18:19), every evil act in the world results from our disobedience to God’s Word, His will, and His commands. Since He is also a just God, we will suffer the consequences of our actions (Deuteronomy 32:4). And ultimately, we will be held accountable for them at the day of judgement. As Romans 14:12 says, “So, then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.”  So, while people can certainly ignore God, or worship other gods, God is still sovereign over the earth and the affairs of man!

Fortunately, however, God is also a loving and merciful God. His desire is always for our good (Romans 8:28). That’s why He sent His own Son Jesus into the world. It was to save us from ourselves because we were helpless and unable to obey His Word, His will, and His commands. He used His authority and sovereignty to restore us into a right relationship with Him through the atoning sacrifice of His Son Jesus on the cross. Jesus paid the penalty for our sin, our evil and our wrongdoing. And all God asks of us is to just put our faith in Jesus and submit to His authority in our lives! Only a loving God would do that. Only a merciful God would do that. And only a sovereign God could do that!

If all people would simply submit to God and His sovereignty, there would be no more war, violence, conflict, or evil in the world. That sounds heavenly, doesn’t it?

Let us continue to pray for that!

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”

Psalm 95:7-8

I’ve often wondered why so many people are hesitant to accept Jesus when it seems to be a simple choice to me. Many won’t accept Jesus because they do not believe there is a God at all, let alone His Son. But people who believe in Jesus do so because they believe in God, desire to know Him in this life, and want to go to heaven at the end of their earthly lives. Others believe because the alternative that there is no God is less appealing. It’s often said that if you believe in Jesus and are wrong, it costs you nothing. But if you don’t believe in Jesus and are wrong, it costs you everything! It would seem to be an easy decision to me on that basis alone.

But one’s decision to believe in God, and Jesus as His Son, is not always that simple. I was brought up in the church, so I have known Jesus all my life. But it wasn’t until my first mission trip to Kazakhstan in 1996 that I finally vowed to fully commit my life to Him. In that process, however, I discovered that it is much easier to believe in Jesus than to live for Him. Perhaps that is why some people reject Jesus – they really don’t want to change the way they live!

But let’s go back to the decision to accept Jesus, receive forgiveness and salvation, and put our faith and trust in Him. We are currently witnessing a cultural shift in our nation towards secularism and away from God. What are the reasons that more and more people reject God (and Jesus)? Is it the attraction of atheism? Is it the perception of Christians as evil and hateful people? Is it the belief in science and the rejection of religion in any format? Or is it just about Jesus?

I believe that it is just about Jesus. I think there are 3 major barriers that keep people from accepting Christ – submission, accountability, and money. I would like to share my thoughts with you on each of them in some detail.  My hope is that it may help us all to witness the Christian faith more effectively to others by understanding these barriers.

Submission

We live in a culture here in the USA where children are taught, and raised, to make their own decisions and manage their own lives. Consequently, the decision to submit one’s life to another person is a difficult one for many people to make. Our human nature is to be selfish and to try and control our lives. But James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Jesus Himself said in John 14:23, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.” So, accepting Jesus means that we must submit our lives to Him, and then obey His commands. And that is something many people find very hard to do because it means giving up control of their lives.

Submission also implies living for God’s purpose rather than one’s own goals. Followers of Jesus are called to share the gospel with others (Matthew 28:19), witness their faith to others (Acts 1:8), and to live holy lives (1 Peter 1:15). Additionally, submission to Christ means living as he did and being examples to others. Consequently, Christians are commanded to be humble (Ephesians 4:2), to serve others (Galatians 5:13), and to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44). These requirements are often very difficult for people to agree to. And that’s understandable, because by ourselves, we can’t meet them! We are all sinners and incapable of doing them without the Holy Spirit. So, we must allow the Holy Spirit to lead us, and that means submitting to His will instead of ours.

Accountability

We live in a time when many people won’t take responsibility for their actions. Instead, they believe someone, or something else, is to blame for their circumstances, which are usually caused by their own actions or bad decisions. It has become common to see people try to justify their actions and deflect their responsibility onto someone else. We live in a culture of blame that tries to deny individual culpability and project responsibility onto society itself! They believe it’s not the individual who is bad, but it’s society as a whole! This completely goes against what the Bible clearly teaches about sin being an individual action (1 John 1:8). As a result, people who don’t see themselves as sinners who are accountable for their actions do not see a need for Jesus’ offer of forgiveness and grace!

Furthermore, people who are atheists, or who just do not believe in God, are essentially giving themselves the right to determine what is right or wrong. They have no moral standard except their own and are unwilling to be held accountable by others for what they do. However, when someone accepts Christ, they are also agreeing to accept responsibility for their sins according to God’s standards as set forth in Exodus 20:1-17. They understand that God will hold them accountable for what they themselves do (Romans 14:12). And that makes them very uncomfortable. As a result, they are unwilling to be held accountable and will not accept Christ for that reason.

Money

The final barrier to accepting Jesus is money. Money is the world’s measure of success and is highly valued in virtually every nation and culture in the world. As humans, we work to make money to provide for ourselves and our families. Without money it would be very difficult to survive. The responsibility for making money belongs to each individual since we have the freedom to work and earn income. Therefore, people learn a skill, get a degree, or start their own business to make a living for themselves. In most nations it is not society’s responsibility, or the government’s responsibility, to provide a living for people. It is each individual’s responsibility to do that. As a result, people are brought up to work and make money to support themselves. The problem is, the pursuit of money to live a better life can become entrenched in our behavior.

Money becomes a barrier to accepting Jesus when people put it above trusting in God for their needs. Jesus said in Matthew 6:24 that we “cannot serve both God and money.” He was indicating that we can’t serve both at the same time. When people put their trust in money, they are basically putting trust in themselves and not God. Consequently, they prefer to not to give up control of their income to Jesus. It then becomes a major reason for not accepting Christ, so they won’t have to put their trust in Him for their living. But that’s precisely what Jesus tells us all to do! It goes against our nature and our upbringing.

But note that Jesus doesn’t say to quit working or to stop earning money. He simply says not to make money our goal or idol, or to put our trust in it. The apostle Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:17 that we should “not put our hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put our hope in God, who richly provides for us with everything for our enjoyment.” Consequently, money easily becomes a barrier to accepting Christ and having to trust in Him rather than ourselves!

When we consider these 3 barriers of submission, accountability, and money, we can see a common thread in all of them. And that is the reliance on ourselves instead of putting our trust in God. This is the essence of the 1^st commandment from Exodus 20:3, “You shall have no other Gods before me.”  People do not want to submit to someone else, do not want to be accountable to someone else, and do not want to rely on someone else. It comes back to “me versus God” as the main issue.

So, as we share the gospel with others, we should be aware of these barriers and their common link – people’s desire to do what they want rather than what God wants. And it is what God wants that is truly beneficial for all human lives (Proverbs 3:5-6). The failure of humans to grasp this key principle is what causes pain, conflict, suffering, war, disease, hatred, and every evil in our world.

But we must not give up. Instead, we should continue to share the gospel with non-believers while understanding these three barriers. We must allow God’s Holy Spirit to break them down so that they might accept, and follow, His Son!

“The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.”

John 1:9

We live in a darkened world today. It seems that wherever we go darkness is invading our nation and our world. Whether it is violence, hatred, verbal abuse, greed, lying or stealing, evil is all too obvious and pervasive nowadays. Furthermore, what once was called evil is now called good. What once was considered sinful is now being paraded around as virtue. And all the while Biblical truth and Christianity are being blamed for many of our societal problems. Satan certainly appears to be having his way in the world today!

However, we must first recognize that the world began in darkness (Genesis 1:2) and there was no light until God created it (Genesis 1:3). Our world was created by God from nothing and all that exists was created by Him. The physical light in our world comes from the sun, and as the world revolves around the sun we have alternate periods of light and darkness. In reality, though, darkness is the absence of light. And anyone who has been to a remote area understands how dark it gets when there are no lights around. We stumble around at night in our homes until we can turn a light on. Many people fear the dark because we can’t see what’s around us that might harm us.

But there is also spiritual darkness. Before Christ came to earth, a spiritual darkness existed in the world. Since Adam and Eve disobeyed God and sinned, the world had become a place of darkness and evil. There was murder, human sacrifices, sexual sin, violence, robbery and a host of other evil behaviors. Even God’s people rebelled against Him over and over again. When the Roman empire began oppressing the Hebrew people, the only hope left was the coming Messiah who had been prophesied in the Old Testament (“For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the governments will be on his shoulders.” – Isaiah 9:6).

And when Jesus was born in the little town of Bethlehem just outside Jerusalem, the promised Messiah (Savior) had come! It was not a glorious beginning with lots of fanfare and celebration, but a humble birth in a cattle stall. And the first people to proclaim his arrival were not prominent or famous people of the day, but actually lowly shepherds. But it was certainly a world changing event! God had become a man and entered our world to save us from darkness and sin. Jesus was born to bring spiritual light to the earth! The Light has come!

1 John 1:5 says that “God is light, in him there is no darkness at all.” So, in order to combat our spiritual darkness, it was necessary for God to send His own Son Jesus into the world to bring that light to us. And that is true for all humanity, not just those who believe in Jesus. Sadly, however, there are still so many people who have rejected that light and have chosen darkness and evil instead. And most of them aren’t even aware they have done so! The Apostle John wrote in John 3:19-20, that “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.”  Throughout the past 2,000 years, people who reject Jesus and His message of salvation for everyone continue to live in darkness instead of the light and therefore prefer evil over good.

Paul wrote to the church in Rome and told them to “be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil” (Romans 16:19) We must be discerning as well today about what is evil and what is good in our nation and in our world. Paul also said in Romans 12:9 that we should “hate evil and cling to what is good.” In other words, turn away from the evil that you see around you and instead run to what is good. We should heed Paul’s advice in Romans 12:21 that says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

So, with Christmas fast approaching, how should we as Christians respond to this growing darkness in our world today? How can Christmas help us to bring light into our darkened world?

Well, first of all, we should not despair or lose hope because the Light has already come and is still here! Jesus lives and reigns in our world whether or not other people think so. We know it and should live as people of hope. As Peter wrote in 1 Peter 2:9, we are a “chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that (we) may declare the praises of Him who called (us) out of darkness into His wonderful light.” Christmas is the perfect time to remind people that the Light has already come!

Secondly, if we have the light of Christ, we should be able see the evil and darkness around us. That will help us to discern what is truly evil (not of God) and what is truly good. We need to be able to see things as they really are in order to be able to discern whether or not they are good and of God. In our world today there are very clever people who make virtuous sounding arguments that are in fact harmful to us if we pursue or follow them. The best weapon we have to stand against this evil is God’s Word. The Bible must become our armor to withstand Satan’s attacks (Ephesians 6:10-17)! Knowing God’s Word will help us recognize evil and avoid it. Reminding others of the true meaning behind Christmas can draw them to God’s Word as well.

Finally, we must accept God’s call to share this Light with others so they too can come out of the darkness and into the Light! Christmas is a wonderful time to do that as we celebrate the child who is the Light! We cannot just sit back and wait for pastors, ministry workers or others to share the gospel. Every Christian is a minister (1 Peter 2:9) and every Christian is a missionary (Matthew 28:19-20)! We must all continue to proclaim the gospel and the truth of God’s Word to a world in darkness! Christmas is a time where we can share God’s Word through the Christmas carols that we sing and the reading of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem from the Bible.

As we celebrate Christmas and the birth of Jesus this year, “let us not become weary of doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9) Let us overcome the evil in our world with God’s goodness that is found in a little baby named Jesus!

Merry Christmas, everyone!!

“Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding.”

Proverbs 3:13

Several years ago, Ameriquest Mortgage came out with a series of commercials entitled, “Don’t Judge Too Quickly.” Here is one of them (click the video to watch the 30 second commercial):

As the commercial portrays, too often we jump to conclusions before we have a full understanding of the situation we are seeing, hearing or reading about. This is so commonplace in our world today with social media posts, mass media news reports, and paid political ads that try to persuade us to a particular belief or influence our opinions and attitudes without giving us the full story. Without a full understanding, we end up making rash judgements that are later proved to be false or at the very least, misleading.

In order to gain a full understanding of anything, there are 2 things that are needed – context and perspective. Without these two additional pieces of information, any situation or report can be twisted or manipulated to state or show a distorted view of it. In many cases it provides a completely false narrative intended to cause outrage or a quick reaction. If we are to make reasonable judgments or opinions about something, we must make sure we know the context and the perspective before coming to any conclusions or sharing our opinions.

The context of a situation is the background or events leading up to, or following, what you are reading or seeing. For example, many videos posted on FaceBook only show one part of an event, such as an arrest, and not the events that led up to the arrest. That often results in either the police or the criminal being shown to be at fault without knowing what took place before or after what we are seeing. As the above video shows, not knowing what took place before the woman walked into the apartment would lead to a completely false understanding of the situation.

Perspective, on the other hand, is information about the individual in the situation, or our own pre-judgments about them, which causes us to believe or not believe what we are seeing or reading. This is most common in politics where we accept as truth what seems to agree with our beliefs and reject as truth if it disagrees with our beliefs. So, for example, in the video, if the woman thought the man did not like cats she might believe he is trying to kill it. But if she believed he would never hurt the cat then she would question what she sees. Consequently, if we are to evaluate and judge a situation correctly, we must shed our pre-conceived notions and try to take an unbiased perspective.

Without both context and perspective to any given post, video or writing, we are very likely to make an incorrect judgment or opinion about them. That is what so often causes conflict, sin, and harm to others. When we take the time to dig further and discover the context of a situation and look at it from a different perspective, we often find that we will have a better and fuller understanding of it. As Proverbs 3:13 above says, “blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding.”

The same can also be said about the Bible. Context and perspective are crucial to fully understanding God’s Word as well. We can’t just quote a verse without understanding its context and God’s perspective.

For example, the most often quoted Scripture verse is John 3:16. It says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” But do you know the context of this verse? Do you know who said these words? Do you know when it was said and why? These additional details are important to understanding the meaning and intent of these words for us, and for non-believers as well. Jesus spoke these words to Nicodemus, a Pharisee who came to see Jesus in the middle of the night and in secret. Nicodemus wanted to know more about Jesus and his miracles, but he did not want to be seen with Jesus due to his position in the Sanhedrin. Jesus was declaring to Nicodemus who He was (the Son of God) and why He came to earth (to save the world from sin). The context not only gives us Jesus’ reason for saying those words, but also reveals His ultimate purpose!

But a correct perspective is also needed. Do we read this verse from our own perspective and what we want or think, or do we read it from God’s perspective and what He does and wants for us? If we only read this verse from our own perspective, we might think we can simply just “that’s great!” and continue on with our lives as if nothing has changed. That is what many people do when they hear those words. The verse comforts them, but they do not fully understand what it truly means. However, when we see it from God’s perspective, we develop an understanding of God’s deep love for us and his willing sacrifice of His own Son, Jesus (at our own hands by the way), to reconcile Himself to each of us. Knowing that causes us to be even more grateful and to “grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:18)!!

If we don’t take the time to find the context and perspective of any given situation, or a Bible verse or passage, we will never fully understand it. And without a full understanding we run the risk of believing a lie, distorting the truth, or propagating a falsehood. In each case, that does harm to others and does not demonstrate the love of God (Romans 13:10).

So, let us strive to gain understanding and to trust in God’s Holy Spirit to give it to us!

“Live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”

Galatians 5:16

America is very sick. Unfortunately, many citizens don’t realize it or even recognize what’s really wrong with us. To many Americans, we are headed towards a more fair and just society. However, they are actually unaware of the precipice we are on and the dangers that lie ahead for us if we continue on this course. We all know that in many ways things just aren’t right in our country. But the cure we seek for it must be based on an accurate diagnosis of the problem. As every doctor knows, they must first accurately diagnose the problem to properly decide on the treatment for it. If they make the wrong diagnosis, the treatment that they prescribe to fix it may end up causing even greater harm. The same is true for our society.

The Problem

So, what are we sick with? What’s our problem?

To many Americans, they see our sickness as racial division, hatred towards other members of our country, unequal distribution of wealth, misinformation, homophobia, hate speech, police brutality, and religious zealotry. They often proclaim these as our illness when in reality they are only our symptoms. Underlying all of these symptoms is the illness of sin. When we look more closely, we see that these symptoms are caused by greed, anger, envy, laziness, lust, gluttony and pride. In other words, the seven deadly sins! This is the real problem in our nation and we must find solutions that will effectively deal with them.

Sin is also an individual problem. It is a problem built into every human being from birth. It cannot be eradicated by well-meaning social programs that target groups of people rather than individuals. Instead, it can only be treated individually. Just like a medical illness, no two people are exactly the same and so each individual must receive the proper treatment targeting their specific illness and circumstances. Consequently, each citizen must fight this illness of sin every day and seek treatment for it to keep it from harming themselves and others. There is also no immunity from it.

Another issue is that many Americans do not even recognize their sin, or the sins of others, as the underlying illness to our societal problems. On the contrary, they don’t see it as sin at all. Why? Because they have either rejected God entirely or have fallen away from Him and no longer read or trust in His Word. Consequently, they don’t know or recognize what sin is. So, if our leaders misdiagnose the problem as something other than sin, we end up with a treatment that is not effective. That appears to be what is happening today in America because the problems in our society are not going away despite our government’s attempt to treat them. Instead, the treatment they are applying often ends up encouraging more sin rather than reducing it.

Throughout history, governments have failed to effectively treat the problem of sin because it is an individual illness and not a societal illness. Governments can have effective economic, political and social policies that govern the lives of people in general, but those policies cannot remove the individual sins of its citizens. While governments can punish individuals for bad behavior (sin), that is not a treatment but rather a deterrent. The bad behavior (sin) persists because it has not been treated.

So, in reality, our problem in the United States is that our leaders have misdiagnosed the problems we face and have been applying policies that try to treat the symptoms rather than the real illness of sin.

The Cure

So, what is the treatment for sin? Is there a vaccine for it?

In Romans 8:23, Paul writes that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” He is declaring God’s truth that we are born sinful. In 1 John 1:8, John writes that “if we claim to have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” So it is clear that we all are infected with sin. And if we are honest, sin is at the heart of all of our problems. We also cannot get rid of sin in our earthly lives.  Sin will always be in us. Our only hope is to treat it and keep it from killing us (“For the wages of sin is death.” – Romans 6:23).

The only treatment that exists for sin is God’s Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 5:16 that we should “live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” When we live by His Holy Spirit, it acts like a vaccine that does not allow the sin in us to destroy us. Like a medical vaccine, it gives us some level of protection and lessens the harmful effects. But it does not remove our sin nor cure it.

Is there a cure for sin? Fortunately, yes there is! It is faith in Jesus Christ! Only Jesus’ death on the cross can remove our sin. Jesus declared that he came to save the world from sin (John 10:9) by offering himself as the sacrifice for sin. Through His sacrifice on the cross, we are freed from the consequences of our sin when we put our faith and trust in Jesus alone! However, the cure cannot be experienced in this life, only in the life to come. In our earthly life, we have the treatment and the promise of the cure, but only if we put our faith and trust in Jesus!

When governments try to treat the illness of sin with social program and policies, the end result is that very little changes and the situation often gets worse. It is because they fail to even consider that our problem is spiritual and not physical. As a result, they ignore God and the spiritual solution He offers and thus fail to pursue the needed course of treatment for our problems. They are blind to the truth of both the cause and the cure!

So, when it comes to treating or curing the sin in our culture, it is necessary that each individual get the treatment for sin and accept the cure for it. The government cannot do that for them, nor can anyone else. It also cannot be mandated like a vaccine, but must be chosen voluntarily by each individual.

We as Christians need to speak this truth into our culture and lead people to Christ, the only treatment and cure for sin that exists!

“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.”

Ephesians 3:17-18

In our world there are three physical dimensions – length, width and depth. However, most often we only think of only two dimensions. For every top there is a bottom. For every left there is a right. For every front there is a back. There is nothing in our world that doesn’t have an opposite side. There are also opposite sides in non-physical things such as politics (liberal versus conservative), economics (capitalism versus communism), and law (legal versus illegal). But perhaps most importantly, it seems to also be true in people’s beliefs about reality (absolute truth versus relative truth).

When it comes to truth, there is only truth and falsehood. Many people try to rationalize the truth and come up with their own opinion or interpretation of what may be the truth. But in the end, there is truth and there is falsehood. They are opposites. Something cannot be simultaneously true and false. The question then ultimately becomes the source of that truth. Is it from God, or is it from our self or someone else? And this is where the spiritual dimension comes in.

God is spirit and sovereign over both our physical and spiritual world. And as our Creator, He sets the standard for truth in our world because He is the Truth. Isaiah 45:19 says, “I, the Lord, speak the truth; I declare what is right.” If humans get to determine what truth is, then it will ultimately depend on what every individual person thinks it is, or what the majority of people think it is, and therefore it cannot be a standard for all people. It is plainly obvious that humans cannot set the standard for truth. It must come from our Creator! He is the only One capable of determining what truth is for everyone.

But there are other opposites in our world where without God and the spiritual dimension there also is no standard. For example, let’s take light and darkness. In our world there is light and there is darkness. Darkness is defined as the absence of light. There is no in between. A little light is still light. From God’s Word we know that “God is Light; in Him is no darkness.” (1 John 1:5). God’s desire for mankind is to live and walk in His Light (1 John 1:7). But our world loves darkness (John 3:19). Without God, men will dwell in darkness!

Similarly, there is good and there is evil. Something cannot be both good and evil at the same time. God’s nature is goodness. Psalm 34:8 says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good!”  God’s standard is good, not evil. The world is sinful, corrupt, and filled with evil. So without God there is only evil. If evil becomes our standard then we are in deep trouble! We need God to prevent that. As Romans 12:21 says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

God also sent his Son Jesus into the world to be His standard for salvation (John 14:6). Jesus was sinless and took our sin upon Himself to enable us to receive God’s gift of eternal life. It is His grace alone that saves us. Ephesians 2:8 says that “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith.”  In our world many believe the opposite, that they can earn salvation by doing good works. Every religion other than Christianity holds to that belief. But in that belief salvation is not from God, it is from man. Therefore, it varies and is not a standard we can depend upon!

When it comes to beliefs, however, many people choose to believe something in the middle. Although there are opposite sides to every issue, we often forget about the space between each side. A coin has two sides, but there is a space in between the two sides, however small. And that leads to the 3^rd dimension of depth.

In our world of beliefs, the depth between opposites is usually a measure of one’s conviction, either weak or strong, about that belief. For example, you might not know for sure if something is true or accurate and so you have a certain level of belief that it is. People also have different experiences and perspectives which result in varying levels of attitudes towards an issue. Unfortunately, that does not result in clear choices between two opposites. Instead, people end up choosing the option that more closely fits their beliefs. That is often most clearly represented in surveys that we take, choosing along a scale as to whether we agree, disagree or are in the middle somewhere with what we think about a particular statement.

Similarly, there is also a spiritual depth to our faith and beliefs, even though God’s standards for truth, light and good are absolute and don’t change. He wants us to adhere to His standard and live according to it. But we can’t. It is because as people we are sinful and our nature is to do what we desire, which is evil and the opposite of good. So, in order to meet God’s standard of good, He sent His own Son Jesus into the world to die on a cross and become the standard for us. Consequently, we are only able to meet God’s standard when we place our faith in Jesus.

Furthermore, God sent His Holy Spirit to enable us to not only believe in Jesus, but to also trust in God’s Truth and live in God’s Light. The Bible says we must “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5) and “Live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” (Galatians 5:16) But when we don’t live up to His standard, because of Jesus, He forgives us, and we are cleansed so that we can once again meet His standard (1 John 1:9).

Finally, it is worth mentioning the 4^th dimension of time. Many scientists often add time to the other 3 dimensions in our world. We can be in the same place but at a different time, and that could also have relevance to our lives and change our thinking. For example, you could go back to a place that you once lived a long time ago, and while it might look the same, it would not be the same. It is because of changes in the people who live there, changes in the culture, physical changes in the neighborhood, or other changes over time. People’s attitudes and beliefs also change over time. So, time impacts our world – the way people see it and what they believe.

But God is timeless, and His standards of truth, light and good never change (Malachi 3:6). Truth will still be truth. Light will still be light. Good will still be good. And His grace will still be available, as long as Jesus has yet to return as promised in Scripture. We are warned to be ready for that day, lest we find ourselves without His standard for salvation due to our unbelief (Matthew 25:13).

Without the spiritual dimension of God in our lives we are destined for destruction. So, let us have faith in Jesus (John 3:16), accept God’s Truth (John 8:32), walk in God’s Light (Isaiah 2:5), and cling to what is good (Romans 12:9). And not only right now, but also in the time we have left!!

“Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.”

Matthew 12:25

There currently exists a crisis in the American Church. Do you know what it is? Are you aware that it is not just recent but has been around for many years? It is a crisis that has plagued the Church throughout history, but seems to be manifesting itself with tremendous strength in America today. It is the crisis of division caused by apostasy.

You probably don’t know what this word means as it is not commonly used today. Apostasy means “the abandonment or renunciation of a religious or political belief.” For the American Church, it means the abandonment of the Bible as the authoritative truth of the Christian faith. According to a recent study by George Barna, over 50 % of American evangelical Christians do not believe the Bible is inerrant or trustworthy. A stunning 74% of them believe that people are basically good instead of sinful, 43% believe that Jesus sinned during His lifetime, and 58% believe that the Holy Spirit is not a person but rather a symbol (American Worldview Inventory 2020: Final Release #12, Arizona Christian University, January, 2020).

In other words, secularization has crept into the beliefs of the American Church. Previous commonly held core beliefs with regard to sin and salvation (law and gospel) are now being replaced by secular views. As a result, some churches and denominations now more closely conform to a pagan, secular culture. And their numbers are not small. Most every mainline Protestant Church has a denomination within it that rejects some Biblical teachings. They include the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the Presbyterian Church in the United States (PC-USA), and the post separation United Methodist Church (psUMC). And there are many others that are following the same apostasy. They are rejecting Biblical Truth for secular views, most of them having to do with sexual freedom, identity and behavior.

It appears that Christians who have secular or “progressive” views think that abortion is acceptable, a person can choose their gender, and that homosexuality is a lifestyle choice. All of these do not conform to Biblical teaching. God’s Word says that “He knit us together in our mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13) and that we “should not murder” (Exodus 20:13). Abortion is the murder of a human being, someone God alone created. Abortion also results most often from the sin of adultery (sex outside of marriage). God’s Word also says the “He created us, male and female” (Genesis 1:27). God chose our gender. We have nothing to do with it and we cannot change it. God’s Word also says that “a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24). It’s called marriage, and it’s clearly only between a man and a woman. The Bible also condemns sexual contact in any other context (Exodus 18:1-30). The Bible is very clear on these sexual matters, yet there are some Christians who reject these Biblical teachings in favor of their own secular beliefs. This is apostasy.

So how did this division and crisis in the Church come about? To begin with, sadly, it has always been in the Church. We only need to go and read the New Testament to confirm it was happening back in the early Church. Paul warned the Churches in Rome and Corinth to “watch out for those who cause divisions” (Romans 16:17) and that “there be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought” (1 Corinthians 1:10). The New Testament also condemns the practice of sexual immorality that was common at the time (Acts 15:20, Galatians 5:19, Ephesians 5:3, Colossians 3:5, 1 Thessalonians 4:3, 1 Timothy 1:10, Hebrews 13:4, and Jude 1:7). Even Jesus Himself spoke out against sexual immorality in Matthew 15:19. Since the Bible also declares that Jesus is the Word (John 1:1 and 1:14), He was obviously referring to all forms of impure sexual relations. Since its beginning, the Christian Church has had to fight off pagan practices and influences that have attempted to corrupt the Church and defy its teachings. It is no different today, although perhaps a bit more pervasive now.

So, why has this crisis re-emerged so strongly? I believe that it has been brewing since the 1960’s with the development of the pill and the emergence of the sexual revolution (sex between consenting adults). These two developments have led to an explosion of sex outside of God’s boundaries of marriage and have resulted in millions of abortions, escalating divorce rates, and the wider acceptance of homosexual behavior for the past 50 years. But it seemed to have gained an extra boost in 2008 with the election of Barack Obama and the subsequent change in public attitude and government policy towards gay marriage and gender identity. Unfortunately, this acceptance by our society has also crept into the Church in the form of cultural and secular beliefs that are contrary to Scripture.

So, what can the Church do to counter this secular influence? Perhaps the first and most important question the Church must ask itself is this – “Is this the result of our own lack of discipleship?” Have we not taught Biblical values (or in some cases avoided it) because the topic was “too sensitive”?  Have we allowed the culture to have more influence than God’s Word amongst our church members? Have we created a generation of church attenders and not disciples of Jesus Christ and His Word? I think the Church needs to take a good hard look at itself in this regard. It’s not too late for the Church to refocus on discipleship and teaching Biblical truth. It must take the culture head-on and not allow its secular beliefs to be tolerated or accepted in the Church! If it doesn’t, then the Church will continue to be divided in America and lose its ability to impact our nation for Christ.

Jesus told his disciples that while we are to be in the world, we are not to be of the world (John 15:19). Peter wrote that we are “aliens and strangers in the world” (1 Peter 2:11). Jesus also called us to be “salt & light in our world” (Matthew 5:13-16). Consequently, we are called to be separate from the world and not like the world. If the Church is like the world then it cannot influence the world to be different than what it is. And if the American church wants to influence our nation for Christ, then it must be unified in both Biblical belief and practice. As Jesus said in Matthew 12:25, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.”

But we must also be aware that God is sovereign and will bring about His purpose through this crisis by His Holy Spirit. Could He be preparing the Church to make more disciples by reinforcing the teaching and acknowledgement of Biblical Truth? Could He be calling the Church to revival and restoration of God’s authority in our nation?  Could He be sending His Spirit to reveal the apostasy to those who engage in it and bring them to repentance? Only time will tell.

For those Christians who acknowledge Biblical authority, who “hate evil and cling to what is good” (Romans 12:29), and who witness for Christ and His Word, God will use them to bring the Church in America back to its Biblical foundation. This apostasy must be confronted and removed from the Church in America if it is to come together in unity in order to effectively proclaim the gospel and the truth in our nation.

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 8:12

It is Christmas season around the world. Although Christmas is just one day, December 25^th, people in many nations around the world love to celebrate the season beginning a month in advance. They love the colored lights, Christmas trees, celebrations, the exchange of gifts, and the general mood of kindness that seems to lift everyone’s spirits. This is true even as many of those nations no longer celebrate the birth of Christ, the reason for the season.

We live in a world where almost one third of its population is Christian. It has the most followers of any religion in the world. And yet Christians are the most persecuted religion on the earth as well according to a Pew Research Center survey in 2019. And according to a report released by Open Doors USA in 2019, 215 million Christians are persecuted for their faith, about 1 in 12 Christians in the world! And the levels of persecution continue to grow, even in the United States of America!

If the world loves Christmas, why is there such hatred for Christians in the world? Is it because we are the largest religion and need to be curtailed? Is it because we speak the truth of God’s Word that so often goes against the prevailing culture? Is it because Christians are a threat to governments and those in power? Or is it something more personal…?

The world’s calendar is divided between the time before Christ (BC) and the time after Christ (AD). Jesus’ birth was the most important day in history because it ushered in God’s physical presence in the world. And that single event has changed everything! Jesus’ life, death and resurrection revealed God’s love, grace and mercy for all mankind. It gave the world a hope it did not have before Jesus. It is no longer a question of wondering what God thinks or wants, it has become known to us through Jesus words, actions and obedience to God the Father. Jesus said, “If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:7).

And how did the world respond when Jesus was born? Those who recognized Him told others about Him and worshipped him (Luke 2:17-20). But those who feared Him tried to kill him (Matthew 2:16). And later, after Jesus began his ministry, the people who recognized Him praised him and followed Him (Matthew 21:9). But those who feared Him arrested him, beat him, and crucified Him like a criminal, though He had done no wrong (John 19:1 & 16).

It’s interesting to note that the same is true today. Nothing has changed. Those who recognize Him worship him, tell others about Him, and seek to follow His commands. But those who fear Him ridicule His followers, imprison them, beat them, and persecute them.

While governments persecute Christians because they are a threat to government control and power, people persecute them for a more personal reason. While Christians submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, others have no desire to submit to anyone other than themselves. They want to be rulers of their own lives. Jesus tells us to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-44). But the world tells us to hate them and destroy them. Jesus says to turn the other cheek (Matthew 5:39). The world says to retaliate and hit back harder. Jesus says to give and it will be given to us (Luke 6:38). The world says only a fool gives away what he has earned for himself. Those who do not want Christ in their lives also do not want Christ in other’s lives either!

So, let us take a moment and imagine a world without Christ. What would it be like?

Well, we could look back before Christ was born and see what the world was like back then. It was a violent world where the strong dominated the weak. It was a world where there were no human rights. It was a world where most people died young. It was a world where one had to submit to the rulers and conquerors of the day. It was brutal, it was dangerous, it was dark, and it was hopeless.

We could look back 100 years and see the rise of communism and fascism that outlawed Christianity and forced belief in atheism and worship of the state and its leader (Stalin, Hitler, Mao). It resulted in the killing of millions of people who dissented (Jews, Christians & others) and enslaved millions more under state-run, oppressive governments (Soviet Union, China). It caused a massive global war that also resulted in the horrific and torturous deaths of many soldiers. For those who lived and suffered during those times, they were dark days indeed with little hope!

But we can also look around us and see what is happening today. Christian persecution is growing globally, dissenting voices are being silenced, the murder of unborn children through abortion is being lauded, communism is being revived, and government power is being used to restrict freedoms and control our lives.

Christ is needed today just as He was needed 2,000 years ago. Without Christ, the world becomes a dark and dangerous place. More importantly, without Christ, the human heart remains a dark and dangerous place as well! (Romans 1:21)

I, for one, do not want to see a world without Christ. Fortunately, that cannot happen. Jesus said, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:18). What Jesus has built cannot be destroyed. Wherever Christian persecution exists, the Church grows stronger. That’s what happened in the Soviet Union and China after World War II, and is now happening in Iran. So we should not lose heart. The Light of Christ cannot be extinguished!

So this Christmas, let us pray once again for the Light of Christ to lighten a darkening world. Let us pray for the Love of Christ to reign in people’s hearts. And let us pray for God’s Holy Spirit to lead the world to Christ and Him alone. For without Christ, our world would also be without hope! Let us bow down and worship Him this Christmas as the Magi from the East did 2,000 years ago  (Matthew 2:11), and let us praise Him for the grace and mercy that He alone gave to us at the cross (Ephesians 2:8)!

“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua 24:15

The United States of America has been on an increasingly secular path for over 50 years. I wrote about the decline in morals and biblical values in my book, About Face: A Call to Turn America Back to God, which was published in 2015. During this past year we have seen tremendous division in our nation covering many different issues including the economy, the pandemic, healthcare, immigration, race, justice, climate change and abortion, just to name the most obvious. Having grown up in America, I have witnessed this growing division and the abandonment of biblical principles and values in our nation. I have also experienced its impact on our society. And it is not good.

The United States of America has been a “shining city on a hill” that people from other nations long to visit and live in because of our freedoms, especially speech, religion and economic opportunity. I know this from my own experience visiting many other nations. The United States is a nation like no other in the world. It was founded on Judeo-Christian values and principles and our Constitution guarantees these freedoms for all of its citizens. It was also established as a nation that would govern itself. But as John Quincy Adams clearly pointed out in 1789, “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” In other words, without a biblical foundation, self-government will ultimately fail.

As I survey the landscape of America today, I can’t help but notice this departure from biblical and moral values that President Adams spoke of at the founding of our nation. The division we are experiencing in our nation today is caused by the different attitudes and worldviews of our own people. It is the age old conflict of God’s way versus Man’s way. Today, fewer Americans believe in God’s Word and the principles and values for life that it contains. Instead, many Americans are putting their trust in science and man’s intelligence.

Those Americans who favor Man’s way have a secular worldview that focuses on man’s intellect and ability to reason out all things. To them God is irrelevant. They view people as basically good and that everyone can have their own morals. There is no standard of behavior and little belief in personal responsibility. They say people aren’t the problem, society is! The Bible clearly contradicts this view and says in 1 John 1:9 that “If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” Believing that we are basically good is a false premise. Proverbs 3:5 also tells us that we should “Trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding.” According to God’s Word, trusting in our own knowledge and wisdom will only lead us to disaster.

On the other hand, those Americans who favor God’s Word and have a biblical worldview know that God’s ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9) and that we are sinful by nature (Romans 3:23). They recognize that the problem is not society, it is us! If society is failing, it is because we as individual citizens are failing. Believers in God know that He is good and His moral standards are best for society because man will sin and eventually mess things up if they do things their own way. If nothing else, history proves this to be true. Man without God is inherently evil and will do very evil things to their own people under the guise of making a better society. Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot are just a few examples.

So, America is at a fork in the road. There are two paths it can follow. It can continue to choose to follow its own intellect and Man’s way with its historically tragic consequences, such as communism, genocide and slavery. Or it can turn back to God and follow biblical standards and His way, which produces prosperity, generosity and compassion.

In the Old Testament, the Hebrews were given a similar choice when they came to a fork in their road. Deuteronomy 11:26-28 records the choice that God gave them. He said, “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse – the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.” Sadly, the Hebrews only followed God for a short time before reverting back to their worship of other gods and their own desires, which eventually brought destruction upon themselves (the curse).

America has the same choice today. Before it lies a blessing or a curse. However, the path America chooses will also have an impact on the rest of the world. If America chooses a path of relying on man’s intellect it will surely decline morally, economically and militarily. It will no longer be able to provide for the needs of its own people or other nations, defend itself or its allies, or remain a stabilizing force for good in the world (the curse). If America chooses to follow God’s way, it will prosper economically, socially, and spiritually. And that will enable it to continue to fight evil in the world, produce food for the world, and provide security for the world (the blessing). As the leading nation in the world, what it chooses will impact other nations either positively or negatively.

Although the impact from this choice may takes many years to materialize, it is critical for the United States to make the right choice today so it can stop its slide down the path towards its own destruction. This will ensure a prosperous future for the United States and the world!

It is also a choice that we as individuals must also make every day to avoid our own spiritual death. Proverbs 14:12 says that “There is a way that seems right to man, but it only leads to death.” If we follow our own ways it will surely lead to our destruction. So, we must put our trust in God to receive the blessing in our own lives. Proverbs 28:25 says that “He who trusts in the Lord will prosper.”

There is no other way to create a better future for ourselves, or our own nation, than to follow God’s way!

“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.”

Romans 6:22

For most of us, we are living in unprecedented times. There are only a few people old enough who still remember the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918. Today, we face the global COVID-19 virus pandemic with its restrictions, closures, lockdowns, and requirements. Millions of people have lost their jobs, some businesses have permanently closed, freedom of travel has been severely restricted, and churches have been unable to meet together. At this point in time, there appears to be no relief in the immediate future from the impact of the corona virus.

Consequently, there are many who feel as though their lives are being held captive by the virus. Some go so far as to claim we are losing our constitutional right to freedom. But are we really in captivity during this pandemic?

To answer that question, let’s first look as what it means to be a captive. The dictionary says that the word captive means “one who has been captured: one taken and held usually in confinement.” We can generally be considered captive, therefore, if we are confined against our will somewhere, such as in a prison cell, as a prisoner of war, or if we have been kidnapped and held for ransom. 

That hardly describes our situation today with the virus. There are certainly restrictions being placed upon all of us, but we still have some level of independence and movement. In some US States and in other countries, the restrictions can either be more or less severe depending upon local circumstances. But in reality, no one is completely confined or held captive to the virus (with the exception of those who have been hospitalized with severe life threatening symptoms).

The Bible describes many times that people were held captive. In the Old Testament, Joseph was put in prison by the Pharaoh in Egypt (Genesis), the Jews were in held captive as slaves in Egypt (Exodus), and the Israelites were taken into captivity to Babylon (2 Kings). In the New Testament, the early Christians were put in prison by Paul and even Paul himself was in prison for Christ (Acts). These are clear examples of confinement against one’s will.

Today, we are not confined against our will because of the virus, but simply restricted for a time in what we are allowed to do until the virus passes.

However, we are still being held captive to another, far more dangerous virus. It’s called sin. Since the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3), every human being is born with this virus. And no matter what we do, we cannot rid this virus from our lives. There is no medicine for it. There is no treatment for it. And no doctor can remove it. The Apostle Paul wrote that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). In our church’s corporate confession we say that “we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves.” Another way to state that is that we are “captive” to our sin. Our sin holds us, confines us, and keeps us bound in it chains!

Yet, there is an antidote to counter this virus. An antidote is defined as something that relieves, prevents or counters. That antidote is faith in Jesus Christ, who went to the cross and sacrificed His life in our place to release us from the captivity of sin! His mercy and grace gives us freedom from the virus of sin. We no longer need to be slaves to it or in bondage to it. Jesus did not have this virus of sin, and His perfect life is the only antidote to the virus of sin that exists. There is no way to counter this virus in our lives other than through faith in Jesus Christ!

How do we get this antidote for the virus of sin in our lives? We receive the antidote in the form of the Holy Spirit when we are born again through faith in Christ. Paul said that “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:24) The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to relieve, prevent and counter the harmful aspects of this virus of sin.

Now, it is important to note that this antidote does not remove the virus from our lives. We are still sinful by nature. But this antidote gives us the power to counter the evil effects of sin and to live lives free of its deathly grip. The virus of sin no longer has the power to take our life! When we place our faith and trust in Christ, the Holy Spirit works in our lives to counter our sinful nature and relieve us from its consequences. And that enables us to live lives that are holy, righteous and pleasing to God.

Our failure to take this antidote, which is provided free to us through Christ’s sacrifice, leaves us vulnerable to the ravages of sin that only leads to death (Romans 6:23). How sad it is that so many people in our world do not even know that there is an antidote for our sin. And worse yet, there are some people who don’t want the antidote and instead prefer to live with sin and its deathly consequences.

As Christians, we have the obligation to let others know that they don’t have to be held captive by the virus of sin and its damage to their lives. They can receive the antidote to sin by simply putting their faith and trust in Christ. It’s free and carries with it a lifetime guarantee!      

While we all wait for an antidote to the corona virus, let us not hesitate to remove our captivity to sin by putting our faith in Jesus. Let us also share the antidote to sin that Christ gives freely to everyone who calls upon His name!