God Knows My Heart

At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying, “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!” Jesus’ parents were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, and many others to rise. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.” [Luke 2.25-35] 

Is there significance that resultant to Jesus' Advent the deepest thoughts of many hearts would be revealed?

Yes, in fact, there is. The prophet Jeremiah spoke about the human heart:

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? [Jeremiah 17.9]

If the human heart is the most deceitful thing there is, and Jesus revealed that deceit, what was it about Jesus that accomplished that? What did Jesus say that revealed the human hearts' deceit?

It is my belief that Jesus said many things that revealed deceit in the human heart. But first, we should understand what that deceit actually is. To do so, we need only to understand the context of Jeremiah's exposé of the human heart in Jeremiah 17.9. The undeniable context of Jeremiah's prophecies was God's dealings with His people regarding their idolatry.

Now, if we consider references to the heart found in Matthew's Gospel alone, much can be learned. Take a moment to see those references here. While every "heart" reference found in Matthew's Gospel has eternal significance, one of those references clearly identifies the idolatry problem:

For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’ [Matthew 13.15]

How does Matthew 13.15 identify idolatry? Because Matthew 13.15 is almost verbatim idolatry terminology!

Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands. They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear, and noses but cannot smell. They have hands but cannot feel, and feet but cannot walk, and throats but cannot make a sound. And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them. [Psalm 115.4-8]

The idols of the nations are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands. They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see. They have ears but cannot hear, and mouths but cannot breathe. And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them. [Psalm 135.15-18] 

Idolatry, at its basest, is a sin of the heart. It is in fact the original sin committed by Adam and Eve when they doubted God's intent in forbidding that they eat fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Instead of trusting God for what He actually said, they, at Satan's lying suggestion, put their self interests above God's Word. And, from then up to this very day, man has, from the heart, made self-centric decisions believing lies and effectively doubting God. 

In pure self interest, man has made for himself idols to do for himself what God promised He would do for those who obey Him (blessings). Man's idols offer remedies that require no repentance from man for his curse-causing disobedience to God (see Deuteronomy 28). Every financial problem, tragedy, sickness and difficulty in life is the result of sin. Every effort (way) of man to remedy these problems instead of repenting is idolatry. God's attitude about idolatry is no secret: He strictly forbids it in any way, shape, form, or fashion.

“I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. “You must not have any other god but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. “You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name. [Exodus 20.2-7]

And here is where Jesus' directive to His followers becomes even more demanding:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24]

What "way" should we suppose Jesus was talking about? Our clue is the fact that Jesus said "your own way." "Your own" way cannot be God's way. If it's not God's way, then it is self-centered - it is idolatry. For the record, Jesus did not say "dial it back a little" but instead, "give it up."

The human heart's deceit is its self-centeredness. Man's self-centeredness is what Jesus' entire life and ministry shed light on. That self-centeredness is addressed head-on in Matthew 16.24. Indeed Jesus revealed (and reveals) the deepest thoughts of many hearts.

Father in heaven, in just my 2nd day reading in the New Testament this year in the One Year Chronological Bible, there is no break in Your Bible-long focus on overcoming idolatry in man so that Your might redeem him. May this truth no longer be cloaked by powerless Word-less religion (an idol unto itself) but instead be revealed as the power of Your Holy Spirit displaces it in those who are truly students of Your Word - those who actually give up their own way, take up their cross, and follow Jesus. So be it.

The Great Disconnect - Today's Cheap Grace

In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. [John 1.1] 

Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. [Psalm 119.105]

So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. [John 1.14] 

From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us. [John 1.16-18] 

He revealed his character to Moses and his deeds to the people of Israel. [Psalm 103.7] 

If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!” [John 14.7] 

Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do. [John 14.11] 

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24] 

“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. [John 14.12] 

Jesus was identified by the Father's works done through Him.

Who are we identified by?

There is a great disconnect when, instead of giving up our way of idolatry, we hold onto it.

There is a great disconnect when instead of taking up our cross we do everything in our power to "live" ...the self-centric essence of all idolatry.

There is a great disconnect when instead of following Jesus... we don't. 

“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ [Matthew 7.21-23]

God's laws??? Can we please narrow that down just a bit?

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. [Matthew 22.37-38]

Jesus effectively narrowed down the first three Commandments in Matthew 22.37-38. It is not ironic what the first three Commandments deal with:

“I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. “You must not have any other god but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. “You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name. [Exodus 20.2-7] 

I am not so concerned with making my theology match the popular and powerless - and therefore faithless - "grace" religion of today. But what I am concerned with is making my theology match God's Word - and, in particular, Jesus Christ, Who said I must abide by the greatest commandment. I do not deny the grace of God. However, there is no grace where there is no faith no matter how much we "claim" otherwise, because faith without works is dead (James 2.17).

No one holding onto worldly idols will enter the Kingdom of God. Too harsh??? Well then, do we suppose Jesus was too harsh?

“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. [Matthew 7.13-14]

Yes, the will of the Father is found in performing all manner of miraculous works, but, the will of the Father is not complete in performing all manner of miraculous works... There is the matter of keeping God's laws that Jesus narrowed down in Matthew 22.37-38 above - which, in plain language is to trust/love only God and not a single idol. One cannot love God and trust man-made idols.

We should stop trying to make God's Word fit our theology and spend more time making our theology fit God's Word - Jesus Christ!

Today's popular (but cheap) grace is greatly disconnected from Jesus and attached instead to all manner of idols, the absolute worst of which is the idol of religion. Religion is the greatest offender because religion "allows" God's people to adulterously trust a plethora of man-made idols named under the broad categories of finance, insurance, medicine and technology.

The Bible is clear. Religion is clouded. We must trust the Bible. We must trust the Word of God. We must trust Jesus.

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. [John 14.6]

Father, I have a Bible-inspired desire to give up my own way - the way of idolatry - I have a Bible-inspired desire to take up my cross - the way of total God-centeredness - and, I have a Bible-inspired desire to follow Jesus... Help me take the first real faith-step (and every subsequent faith-step) to genuinely connect with You as I genuinely and realistically follow Jesus. So be it.

To Misinterpret Curses Is To Miss God

“I am the LORD, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed. Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned my decrees and failed to obey them. Now return to me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. “But you ask, ‘How can we return when we have never gone away?’ [Malachi 3.6-7] 

Is not the question in the passage above not what the "Church" today stands on?

As Malachi 1 reveals, God has ALWAYS made a distinction between those who are His and those who are not:

“I have always loved you,” says the LORD. But you retort, “Really? How have you loved us?” And the LORD replies, “This is how I showed my love for you: I loved your ancestor Jacob, but I rejected his brother, Esau, and devastated his hill country. I turned Esau’s inheritance into a desert for jackals.” [Malachi 1.2-3]

When there is no distinction between those who are God's and those who are not, God is not the problem.

The things Malachi points out among God's people in his day, are, in fact evident as problems in God's people today. There is no significant distinction between God's people and the world. Let's look at the main points Malachi makes:

1. A total disregard for holiness. Malachi 1.6-14 points to the giving of blind, crippled and diseased animals for sacrifice making no distinction between what is cursed and blessed.

2. A lackadaisical attitude toward idolatry. Malachi 2.10-12 points to idolatry: idols tolerated and even welcomed through marriage to foreign (idolatrous) women.

3. A disregard for marriage. Malachi 2.13-16 points to adultery and divorce.

4. A denial of evil. Malachi 2.17 points to the blurring of lines between good and evil to the extent of calling evil good.

5. A refusal to acknowledge God as Provider. Malachi 3.8-12 points out the error of not giving back to God the tithe that signifies that all comes from God.

6. A false estimation of God. Malachi 3.13-15 points out the futility that results from living the world's way.

In fact, God's people today fail to see the call to repentance found in blindness, incapacitation and disease (representative of all the curses found in Deuteronomy 28.15-68 - see Why Blind, Incapacitated, Diseased Animals Were Unacceptable). Instead, God's people, like the world, attribute all these conditions to "random occurrences." In that attribution, these curses are not seen as a call to repentance, but instead serve only to confirm the need for man-made solutions - idols...

In fact, God's people today fail to see idolatry in all our man-made solutions to remedy 'randomly occurring conditions' (the Bible calls curses).

In fact, God's people today fail to see that we, like the world, suffer all the same damage to marriage in our own ranks as does the world.

In fact, God's people today fail to see evil for what it is, just like the world, even calling it good.

In fact, God's people today fail to see that more of our people don't tithe than do, just like the world.

In fact, God's people today fail to see the numbers of "believers" among ourselves that are unsure of their standing with God.

There is an unmistakable digression obvious in Malachi's prophecy that cannot be denied: God's people, rife with worldly knowledge and ignorant of God's Word, 1) misinterpret curses, 2) remedy those curses with idols, 3) fall into all manner of domestic and sexual pitfalls promoted by those idols, 4) lose the ability to distinguish between good and evil, 5) lose connection with God as Provider, and ultimately, 6) struggle to see the point in serving God at all.

The digression above all starts with not understanding curses. If God's people don't understand curses, we have missed the most clear indicator God provided for us to understand Him and the significance of His Son, Jesus Christ. In our misinterpretation of curses, we miss God. In our misinterpretation of curses, we have no understanding of blessings - no distinction in our lives about what is "God" (good) and what is not.

The condition above should be expected of the world without God, but completely different among those who know God and His Word... but therein lies the problem:

My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me. [Hosea 4.6]

People who do not know God, even though they exist among "God's people" today, still proudly and defensively ask ‘How can we return when we have never gone away?’  just like the people of Malachi's day. And, if they do not understand that they have gone away and are cursed, they have no basis whatsoever to understand Jesus:

But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” [Galatians 3.13]

The "Church" largely avoids this topic today because it is just too overwhelming. The implications are simply too much. And so, instead of taking Jesus' words in Matthew 16.24 seriously, we console themselves with abstractness not realizing that in so doing we exhaustively disqualify ourselves as followers of Jesus:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24]

As God would have it, Malachi's prophecy is among the last prophecies written some 400 years before Jesus' Advent. Was that a coincidence?

Father, I know the implications of what is suggested here are overwhelming. But, that is as it should be if we really want to know what Your Word teaches us... Help us to see the plethora of idols we currently trust to remediate curses instead of repenting and trusting You for Your blessings. Help us to see how we have blurred the lines between what is good and evil in our embrace of idols. Help us see our need to give up our own way, take up our cross, and follow Jesus. So be it.

Why Blind, Incapacitated, Diseased Animals Were Unacceptable

When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. [Malachi 1.8] 

Why was it wrong to offer blind, crippled, or diseased animals as sacrifices to God?

It wasn't because they were blind, crippled or diseased, but because of why they were blind, crippled, or diseased...

Here is where we need to read and understand Deuteronomy 28.15-68. Blindness, incapacitation, and disease are all curses for man's disobedience - they always have been and always will be. 

As curses, the undesirable human conditions (and many others described in Deuteronomy 28.15-68) are unacceptable to God Who is, and requires, perfect holiness. If blindness, incapacitation and disease were not associated with disobedience, it might be different, but, that is not the case. Blindness, incapacitation and disease are as nasty as the idolatry and the subsequent sin against God they represent.

With this in mind, it should come as no surprise to us that Jesus, as the Great Reconciler of Man Unto God, came to earth healing the sick and raising the dead. It should furthermore be of no surprise that Jesus instructed his followers to do the same things.

“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. [John 14.12]

What's more, prophecies of Jesus long before His Advent, revealed what Jesus would do with these curses:

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. [Isaiah 53.4-5] 

Jesus undeservedly, but intentionally received and died in these our curses, took them to hell where they belong, broke free of them there, and ascended to the Father in heaven without even the smell of smoke. But Jesus did all this at a huge risk - the risk that man would not believe it and therefore not receive the benefit of His having done it.

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.” [John 3.16-21]

The "judgment" Jesus spoke of in John 3.16-21 can only be the curses described in detail in Deuteronomy 28.15-68 ultimately leading to physical and then spiritual death. Faith in Jesus transports the believer by association with Him into the realm of "no judgment" - no curses.

But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” [Galatians 3.13] 

So, the proverbial "elephant in the room" looms... "Why do 'believers' still suffer curses?" Let's ask ourselves this question in another, more revealing way: "Why do people call themselves believers when they still suffer curses that God says identify them as unbelievers?" We find the obvious answer to this question in God's Word, but we refuse to consider the implications of it:

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? [Jeremiah 17.9]

The One Who knows how bad it is, is the One Who indicates how bad it is through curses. Curses do not lie because God did not lie when He said that they are the just reward for disobedience.

Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow, So a curse without cause shall not alight. [Proverbs 26.2 NKJV]

The fact is, Jesus could not have come to earth and NOT perform miracles! Jesus could not redeem anyone from curses except that healing was the result. Jesus' followers can have no less results!

But, what about those who cried Lord, Lord...?

“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ [Matthew 7.21-23] 

Performing miracles in Jesus' name is not the same as believing in Jesus' name. According to Jesus in Matthew 7.21-23, it is entirely possible to perform miracles in His name without ever being known by Him. Notice that those who cried Lord! Lord! were not necessarily recipients of the miracles they passed on - Jesus' reply, "I never knew you," would confirm this. Everyone Jesus encountered in the New Testament was spiritually and, as needed, physically "healed" as a result.

The Bible is actually quite clear on all of this. It is religion that has made it difficult - proud religion that refuses to acknowledge the obvious implications of curses, deceptively damning would-be believers to the fate of unbelievers excusing their curses as "random" entirely usurping Jesus' demand to repent and believe. Religion denies that curses are a 'cut and dry' indicator of idolatry (violation of the first three Commandments) and the sin it propagates (violation of the last six Commandments). Consequently, religion today is idolatrous, sinful, and lacking the power of God demonstrated and commanded by Jesus (Who happens to be the 4th Commandment Sabbath Rest).

In light of all this, Jesus' demand in Matthew comes into laser-precision focus:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24]

If we can see it, grace is found in 'giving up our own way' - giving up our self-centric idolatry that includes religion and all other man-made idols. Grace is found in 'taking up our cross' - owning up to the fact that curses don't lie - that every curse we experience is deserved and indicates our need to repent and believe in Jesus. And then... grace is found as we follow Jesus mirroring Him in every word and action - effectively evangelizing the world.

If however, we fail to understand (intentionally or unintentionally) why blind, incapacitated or diseased animals were unacceptable to God, not one bit of what is said here will make sense. Perhaps this is precisely why Jesus made this harrowing prediction ...to jog our senses:

“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. [Matthew 7.13-14]

Father, help me to understand what Your Word has being saying all along. Help me to see that all my religious cheap-grace explanations and self-centric living is the broad highway to the wide gate of hell. Help me to see that if I look like everyone else then I am without question on that highway to hell. Help me to see that unless I give up my own way, take up my cross, and follow Jesus - distinctly looking and acting like Him, then I am NOT one of the few. So be it.

I Still Have To Live (Right?)

So all Israel was listed in the genealogical records in The Book of the Kings of Israel. The people of Judah were exiled to Babylon because they were unfaithful to the LORD. [1 Chronicles 9.1] 

No matter how distracted we may get with the details of the Old Testament, we cannot underestimate the significance of what is said in 1 Chronicles 9.1. God wants a faithful people and, His people who were not faithful suffered over and again for their unfaithfulness.

The first three of the Ten Commandments reveal what faithfulness looks like. Faithfulness is strictly and unmistakably God-centric:

“I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. “You must not have any other god but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. “You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name. [Exodus 20.2-7]

Unfaithfulness, on the other hand, is not strictly God-centric but is instead centered around any number of things starting with "self." The way of unfaithfulness is self-centric.

A God-centric life revolves around God and a self-centric life revolves around itself. While a self-centric life may indeed make allowance for God, in contrast, a God-centric life makes no allowance whatsoever for self.

As should be expected, Jesus told us and showed us what a God-centric life looks like:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24]

While we sincerely want to believe that "Jesus paid it all" by His being faithful on our behalf, we relieve ourselves of our responsibility to "give up our own way" in order to enjoy what He did for us. In assumed god-like authority, we selfishly defend our non-compliance declaring, "I still have to live" (as if we have higher priority than Jesus). Jesus however, was not vague about the requirement to give up your own way and refuted any notion of the statement, "I still have to live" with His demand (not suggestion) to take up your cross. 

Like His Father God in the first three of the Ten Commandments, Jesus demands all-or-nothing faithfulness to Himself: you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.

What's amazing is that in our "I still have to live" rebellion, we wonder why we experience all manner of curses for disobedience! All the while, the Bible repeats over and again that God's people suffered for their disobedience - specifically, their idolatry - their unfaithfulness to God and God ALONE. All the while, we maintain a firm grip on our man-made idols... because we "still have to live" ...and wonder why we still suffer.

Father, everything in my mind and intellect wants to find a work-around to Jesus' demand in Matthew 16.24. I know there are literally millions of books, doctrines, and theologies out there that allow a reasonable "work-around"  excusing our "I still have to live" reasoning, but I don't find any of those work-around's firmly rooted in Your Word. Your Commandments and Jesus are both very clear about my undivided faithfulness to You. May I be found giving up my own way, taking up my cross, and following Jesus. So be it.

Blasphemy - What Most Christians Don't Want To Hear

“But our ancestors were proud and stubborn, and they paid no attention to your commands. They refused to obey and did not remember the miracles you had done for them. Instead, they became stubborn and appointed a leader to take them back to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them, even when they made an idol shaped like a calf and said, ‘This is your god who brought you out of Egypt!’ They committed terrible blasphemies. [Nehemiah 9.16-18] 

In this section of Nehemiah, a backstory of God's people is given. This backstory is actually included in a prayer following three hours of God's Word being read to the people followed by three hours of confession of sins and worship of God. The text indicates the people stood this entire time.

I discovered information today contained within the text of Nehemiah 9.16-18 that provides a huge revelation in regard to understanding "blasphemy."

...even when they made an idol shaped like a calf and said, ‘This is your god who brought you out of Egypt!’ They committed terrible blasphemies. [Nehemiah 9.18]

It was blasphemy to attribute "God-accomplishments" (Israel's miraculous deliverance from Egypt) to the calf idol Israel made.

How does this relate to us today? Most Christians, including myself, don't want to hear the answer... But. let's explore the facts anyway...

Man made the industries of finance, insurance, medicine and technology just like Aaron made the gold calf. Man has increasingly grown to trust and rely on these industries for the benefits they provide - benefits God said He would provide... 

There is no irony whatsoever that while Israel was making their calf idol, Moses was on Mt Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments from God. 

THINK! There is a very good reason the 3rd commandment follows the 2nd Commandment! In His infinite wisdom, God gave the 1st Commandment to establish that He ALONE is God. From there, God knew that when man failed the 1st Commandment, he would begin to manufacture idols thus, God gave the 2nd Commandment. Then, knowing the way it would go, God gave the 3rd Commandment because He knew that man would then attempt to justify his idols by claiming they are gods, or worse, claiming that they are the works of God (in misuse of God's name), when in fact, they are purely the works of man.

“I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. “You must not have any other god but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. “You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name. [Exodus 20.2-7]

"God's people" today vehemently defend man's idol industries of finance, insurance, medicine and technology (just to name the most obvious ones) in pure blasphemy. It is stubborn and rebellious violation of the 3rd Commandment.

It is blasphemy when man claims that his man-made industries are God's way to provide him with benefits.

Here is an excellent question: when have you ever heard one of man's major idol industries declare that they are a gift from God? Or, how about this: when have you ever heard one of man's idol industries give glory to God? In fact, it is only God's people who make these silly blasphemous claims!

The reality in all of this is that, in God's people's vehement and blasphemous insistence that their idols are not idols, God's miraculous blessings are withheld (as the 2nd Commandment warns) and they perceive and therefore justify that they need their idols only that much more.

No amount of "faith teaching" can overcome the curses for idolatry because faith in God will not fight against faith in idols. Jesus revealed this universal principle:

But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. [Matthew 12.25-30]

What's more, in Matthew chapter 12, Jesus addressed blasphemy against the Spirit of God which, in context, was the religious people's claim that the power of the Holy Spirit seen in Jesus' works were instead the works of Satan. The principle Jesus taught was that faith in God cannot share space with faith in Satan and neither can faith in Satan share space with faith in God.

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. [Matthew 12.33]

And, speaking of "fruit" how can God's people even begin to attribute the benefits of man's industries of finance, insurance, medicine and technology to God and His power when, in their public advertisements, they all openly depict homosexuality, transgenderism, and the likes (that God detests) as normal behavior? 

God NEVER suggested or even hinted that man should look anywhere but to Him ALONE for provision, protection, health, or knowledge. But, in man's impatient and insatiable appetite for self-preservation, he created his own gods to provide benefits for himself and then, in the same guilt Adam and Eve revealed in the Garden of Eden, God's people blasphemously justify "covering themselves."

For the record, every mention of God's people here is a mention of me. I find myself waiting on a wave of God's people to see the truth of God's Word ridding themselves of their idols before I "jump in" myself... What I really need to be doing is reconciling with Jesus:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24]

Father, once again, I find myself at an impasse with myself as Your Word reveals my true self. Your Word could not be more clear - You detest idols - You detest Your people trusting in anything to any degree instead of or in addition to You. You detest and strictly forbid Your people claiming that our man-made idol industries have anything whatsoever to do with You. Jesus was just as clear in demanding that I give up my own way, take up my cross, and follow Him. May I be found following Jesus even if I am found alone so doing. May I be found methodically giving up every idol that I have intentionally or unintentionally become beholding to. So be it.

God's Word Changes Things

Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were interpreting for the people said to them, “Don’t mourn or weep on such a day as this! For today is a sacred day before the LORD your God.” For the people had all been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the LORD is your strength!” [Nehemiah 8.9-10] 

God's Word changes things. Two things are made clear about God's Word here: 1) it brings remorse, and 2) it brings rejoicing.

From the context however, it seems that remorse was a natural emotion to God's Law, while rejoicing was a choice.

If we back up, we see something else about in regard to the Law of God that carries great significance. 

Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform that had been made for the occasion. To his right stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah. To his left stood Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam. Ezra stood on the platform in full view of all the people. When they saw him open the book, they all rose to their feet. [Nehemiah 8.4-5]

We have no indication that the people were told to stand, but that it was a voluntary action of honor. 

And then, something else occurred resultant to the Law being read to the people:

Then Ezra praised the LORD, the great God, and all the people chanted, “Amen! Amen!” as they lifted their hands. Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground. [Nehemiah 8.6] 

After reading the Law, Ezra praised God, the people chanted, "Amen!" with raised hands and then they bowed down and worshiped God with their faces to the ground. Oh, and it was men, women, and children old enough to understand.

We would be amiss however to fail to see how it all started:

In October, when the Israelites had settled in their towns, all the people assembled with a unified purpose at the square just inside the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had given for Israel to obey. [Nehemiah 8.1]

The people asked Ezra to read the Law of God to them.

Here would be a good place to stop and read all of Psalm 119. Psalm 119 is all about God's Law - His Commandments - His Word. Psalm 119 reveals a deep desire for God's Law that is sadly all but completely absent in "God's people" today.

The thing is, without this deep desire for God's Word, everything else that took place was just protocol - lifeless liturgy. 

I am going to share my experience with God's Word here because it is relevant to this topic. 

In the year 2006, I began a practice that I had little idea would affect my life as much as it has. Although I had some experience trying to read the Bible through before that time, I had never had any measurable success at it. No matter how zealously I started, it typically fizzled. In mid-2006, I began to make myself write something in response to my daily reading.

Words fail to accurately describe what transpired from 2006 to the present 2026, but try to imagine something unexpected taking place. From the beginning of my somewhat forced "liturgical" practice of reading and writing until now, I have witnessed a change in my understanding of God and His Word; I have witnessed a growing desire for God's Word. I would say I am developing a deep desire for God's Word! My day starts with a welcome anticipation of God's Word - I honestly look forward to it.

Today marks my #6,901 writing in response to God's Word! And, since January of 2015 until today, I have not missed a single day of reading the Word of God and writing a response. I am not proudly reveling in this fact, but instead, humbly rejoicing in it because "I know me"! I know the early struggles to make myself read and force myself to write something. I know what it is like to read Psalm 119 and absolutely not "get it" and now I know what it is to read Psalm 119 and feel like I could have written it myself! SOMETHING HAS CHANGED!

My testimony here is not that I now understand all there is to know about God's Word. Far from it!! In fact, the more I learn of God's Word - His Law - the more I realize how little I actually know it - BUT I KNOW FOR SURE NOW HOW MUCH I WANT TO UNDERSTAND! I see no end to this growth in my life - I only hope to share it.

Based on what is found in Nehemiah, it would seem there is indeed at least some protocol surrounding God's Law - His Word. Do we trust God enough to embrace His Word until it changes us - until it transports us from remorse to rejoicing? The alternative is to embrace the world and its ways.

Unironically, Jesus Christ, the Living Word of God, addressed this very subject:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24] 

To embrace God's Word, Jesus, is to embrace God. He indeed changes things! To embrace the world and its ways is idolatry - but one will never recognize this fact until he or she "sees God" like the people that Ezra read the Law to...

Father, Your Word has drawn me - causing me to see Jesus as never before. Your Word has caused a hunger and thirst in me for more. May I be found giving up my own way every day, taking up my cross every day, and following Jesus every day. May my testimony here inspire others to do the same. So be it.

 

My Opinion Doesn't Matter

Then I prayed, “Hear us, our God, for we are being mocked. May their scoffing fall back on their own heads, and may they themselves become captives in a foreign land! Do not ignore their guilt. Do not blot out their sins, for they have provoked you to anger here in front of the builders.” [Nehemiah 4.4-5] 

God has enemies. It is only right that we, as God's people, would have the same enemies as Him.

Blessings belong to those who are friends of God - who do His will - obeying Him.

Curses belong to those who are enemies of God - who disobey Him.

What right does a friend of God have to bless an enemy of God?

Somehow we must reconcile all of this information with what Jesus said:

“But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. Do to others as you would like them to do to you. “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return. “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate. [Luke 6.27-36]

Why then, did Jesus drive the merchants out of the Temple in a great display of anger? 

When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace. He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.” [Mark 11.15-17]

So, back to Luke 6... How could compassionate Father God ultimately send people to hell? 

“But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” [Revelation 21.8]

If we are to be compassionate like our Father Who banishes people to hell, what does that mean in real life? What does that even look like?

Just this week, I filed charges against a construction company who, against city ordinance, began to pour concrete next to my house at 2:30 AM in the morning. Was I right in doing that, or wrong?

According to what Jesus said in Luke 6.27-36, I was wrong. But, if my compassionate Father sends people to hell, did I do wrong just to demand accountability by pressing charges?

Oh, and how do I interpret Jesus' instructions in Luke 6.27-36, when He addressed the religious leaders as follows?

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? [Matthew 3.7]

Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. [Matthew 12.34] 

Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? [Matthew 23.33] 

Is not Jesus our great example?

“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. [John 14.12]

Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” [John 20.21-23] 

It would seem we are at an impasse with this situation... The impasse however is not with God (or Jesus), but with ourselves. They both do what they do. The impasse is with myself - my own way of doing things. Do I insist on an explanation for everything, or do I follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit in every situation in life? Do I demand an explanation of Divine God to satisfy my own mind? Jesus said it like this:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24] 

It is not up to me to reconcile my compassionate Father with Jesus' calling names or violently turning over tables... It is up to me to be led by His Holy Spirit to do His will in every situation. Period. It is up to God what that will look like. The same Jesus Who called names and turned over tables, gave up His life on a cross - all at the leading of the Holy Spirit. Who am I so say it is one way or the other? It is up to me to simply follow Jesus. I have the same Holy Spirit.

Father, help me to accept that my opinion doesn't matter. Help me to accept that Your will is all that matters. Help me to understand that You are at once fierce and dreadful to Your enemies, and then at another time compassionate. Help me to see that the decision is never mine, but always Yours. May I be found having given up my own way, taking up my cross, and following Jesus... So be it.

Rogue Faith Must End In Divorce

When these things had been done, the Jewish leaders came to me and said, “Many of the people of Israel, and even some of the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the other peoples living in the land. They have taken up the detestable practices of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. For the men of Israel have married women from these people and have taken them as wives for their sons. So the holy race has become polluted by these mixed marriages. Worse yet, the leaders and officials have led the way in this outrage.” [Ezra 9.1-2] 

Then Ezra the priest stood and said to them: “You have committed a terrible sin. By marrying pagan women, you have increased Israel’s guilt. So now confess your sin to the LORD, the God of your ancestors, and do what he demands. Separate yourselves from the people of the land and from these pagan women.” [Ezra 10.10-11]

In 2017 I wrote the article We Must Divorce The World. Since that time, and having remained faithful to read and meditate on God's whole Word every day, my understanding of Ezra's 9th chapter has only become more congealed. 

The course of action Ezra led God's people to in Ezra 9-10 is indeed the course of action necessary for God's people to take today. The problem then and the problem now are one and the same: idolatry.

Ezra's reference to the detestable practices of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites is summed up in the word idolatry. These people groups were all well-known and well-documented in the Bible for their gross idolatry. Instead of trusting in and relying only on the LORD God, they were beholding to a plethora of idols. And from that base of idolatry, all manner of detestable practices was the norm. For this reason, God's people were strictly forbidden from intermingling with the idolatrous Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.

The reason God prohibited comingling with idolatry and idolatrous people is because it renders the faith of the comingling offender ineffective. It did then, and it does now. Faith in anything other than, or even in addition to, God is "rogue faith" finding its basis in the reasoning of man. This rogue faith was first identified in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve, at the behest of Satan, believed a "reasonable" assumption about God over what God had specifically said. 

Rogue faith sounds good and makes perfect human sense - however, it disregards God's Word thus removing itself from God's protective and abundant blessings (see Deuteronomy 28) thereby earning curses instead. In this condition, the idolater must rely on his own ways and means (his man-made idols) for blessings otherwise provided miraculously by God.

Rogue faith is exactly what Jesus prohibited (as should be expected from the Son of God) in His version of the first three Commandments:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24] 

Rogue faith believes that man's industries of finance, insurance, medicine and technology are allowed by God. So perverse has this idolatry become that God's own people have even come to believe that these idol industries are gifts from God! IT'S NO WONDER GOD'S MIRACULOUS POWER IS GLARINGLY ABSENT FROM THE MODERN CHURCH! 

It is also unsurprising that the abovementioned man-made idol industries all promote perverse activities strictly forbidden in the Bible that are undeniably traceable to idolatry. Hardly a commercial advertisement of these man-made industries does not depict some form of perversion. And yet, God's people sign right up for the goods and services of these industries thinking nothing of paying for interest, premiums, prescriptions, and gadgetry that unashamedly have "nasty" written all over them. 

Again, it is rogue faith that believes God uses these industries and, is in violation of the first three Commandments: #1) Only God, #2) No idols, and #3) Don't confuse the two (misusing God's name).

“I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. “You must not have any other god but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. “You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name. [Exodus 20.2-7]

I am not presenting new theology here. I am simply uncovering the truth that has always existed in the pages of the Bible but has been masked by centuries of growing unchecked idolatry. "Divorce" is in store for God's people (if they are indeed God's people) to rid themselves of the idols they have adulterously become a common-law spouse to. Jesus is returning for a spotless bride (Ephesians 5.27) - not one in bed with every idol known to man.

Father, "divorce" is a hard word. And yet, after years of living in rogue faith sin with man-made idols, it is the only solution. How will we survive without our idols? We will survive trusting only in You through Your Son, Jesus Christ giving up our own way, taking up our cross, and following Him! May we be found so doing!

Christians, Have We No Shame?

This is a re-post of Have We No Shame? (A Letter To The Church) from this date in 2024.

And there by the Ahava Canal, I gave orders for all of us to fast and humble ourselves before our God. We prayed that he would give us a safe journey and protect us, our children, and our goods as we traveled. For I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to accompany us and protect us from enemies along the way. After all, we had told the king, “Our God’s hand of protection is on all who worship him, but his fierce anger rages against those who abandon him.” So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer. [Ezra 8.21-23]

Dear Christians,

May all praise be to God Who has promised to protect and keep those who worship Him, those He cares for as a father identifies and cares for his children.

In light of Ezra 8.21-23, have we no shame in proclaiming God is our one and only provider, protector and peace while giving ourselves to the world's idols of debt, insurance, medicine and technology? Should we not fast and pray trusting in God alone for all the provisions He has so generously promised in His Word? Should we not repent and turn from these idols?

Brother and sisters, should we not see and understand that all the curses we remedy with debt, insurance, medicine and technology are identified in His Word as the expression of God's fierce anger against rebellion and disobedience? Again, should we not correctly repent instead of adding to our sin by turning to idols despising the name of our God: God Our Provider, God Our Protector, God Our Peace?

Should we not deny the world any claim to our sustenance strictly reserving ourselves for the One True God to Whom we belong and Who compels us to worship Him singularly?

Let us humbly acknowledge our adultery against God: our polytheistic trust in and reliance upon the world's idols. May we be found repentant for our idolatry, repentant for our faithlessness, repentant for our hypocrisy before all who are watching, including our Heavenly Father.

Let our prayer rise up to God in humble sincerity:

Father in heaven, forgive us for our adulterous and idolatrous ways. Forgive us for our shameful testimony claiming Your protection and provision with our mouths while fully engaging the world's idols with our actions and our money. May those who truly trust in You heretofore be set apart, sanctified, from the world and its ways. May Your glory be seen in and upon us, not in the shallowness of our words, but in the fathomless depths of Your miraculous provision for us. God help us. So be it.

God's People By Choice

In every province and city, wherever the king’s decree arrived, the Jews rejoiced and had a great celebration and declared a public festival and holiday. And many of the people of the land became Jews themselves, for they feared what the Jews might do to them. [Esther 8.17] 

Wait a minute... people who were not Jewish became Jews by choice?

What is revealed in Esther 8.17 supports the fact that "Israel" in the Bible, while certainly identifying the lineage of Jacob and his twelve sons, also identifies people who were not of Jacob's lineage but became "Jews" by choosing to serve the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - living their lives God's way.

The Apostle Paul actually cleared this up:

For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. [Ephesians 2.14]

What is revealed here is that being a Jew by lineage was not differentiated from being a Jew by choice because the whole point of being a Jew was about being God's people - not about lineage. Yes, lineage was important for the sake of prophecy in providing a clear line to Messiah, but then, Jesus came to earth. In other words, "God's people" were identified as "Jews" up until Jesus came, and then, after his Advent, "God's people" were identified as "Christ-followers."

The New Testament records this transition from Jews as God's people to Christ-followers as God's people in great detail. It was indeed a difficult transition and, for many, it still has not taken place. People, by and large, have not accepted Jesus as the only way to God... even though Jesus said:

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. [John 14.12]

In his letter to believers in Galatia, Paul confirmed this: 

Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.” [Galatians 2.16] 

Yes, the way to God - being "God's people" - for a time required strict human adherence to the rules and rituals associated with being "God's people" (whether they were Jewish by birth or Jewish by choice as seen in Esther 8.17). However, after Jesus died on the Cross, effectively completing the purpose of all those rules and rituals, strict human adherence to Him became what is required to be "God's people."

Jesus said it like this:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24] 

Strict human adherence to rules and rituals, even though demanded by God at first, and for centuries, eventually became "man's way" to God. For all who can see it, the rules and rituals were necessary in order to give contrast between man's strict adherence to rules and rituals (that he failed miserably at), or man's strict adherence to Jesus Christ, entirely giving up his own way and depending only upon Jesus' work on the Cross. 

Both before and after Jesus' Advent, man's greatest struggle has always been, idolatry: adhering to (trusting in) anything other than, or in addition to, God. God sternly warned of it in the 1st and 2nd Commandments, and Jesus, accordingly, sternly warned of it in Matthew 16.24.

It amazes me how much fuss is made today over being a Jew - almost as if it is a huge distraction - when the only and most important thing on earth is to be "God's people." We hear national leaders and people alike crying out "I stand with Israel!" not realizing that "Israel" was and is God's way, from ancient times, to identify "His people." To stand with Israel is to stand with "God's people" who are distinctly "God's people" by the Way of following Christ.

I do not deny the obvious and clear revelations and manifestations regarding the modern-day nation of Israel. I am suggesting however that "Israel" means more than just a geographic location and people group as Paul wrote in Ephesians 2.14. While, what happens in and to Israel today indeed may have Biblical significance, it very much has symbolic significance to "God's people" the world over. As the Book of Revelation reveals, every living soul who has, or ever will live, will be determined as "God's people" ONLY by Jesus Christ. 

I believe much of the confusion about God's people and end times today comes from insistence on differentiating between Israelite and non-Israelite... "God's people" are all "God's people" and there is only ONE way to be "God's people": strict adherence to (faith in) Jesus Christ. That decision to follow Christ, foretold by the decision to become Jews by those who were not in Esther 8.17, is the ONLY Way to God. Anything else man turns to is an idol.

Father, help us to process and accept what the Bible actually says in spite of popular opinion. And, while many may choose to argue about my thoughts here, may they, more importantly, give up their own way, take up their cross, and follow Jesus. He is the ONLY Way to You, Holy Father, regardless of nationality... So be it.

Those Who Cannot Speak For Themselves

If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?” [Esther 4.14] 

If it's right, and you have a voice in the matter, but you don't use your voice in the matter, God will handle the matter another way and you will not enjoy the blessings you failed to speak up for.

Esther's story establishes the precedent above regarding any and all injustice. The murder of innocent unborn children comes to mind... And, my friend, Melissa, comes to mind, who faithfully runs a pregnancy center...

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice. [Proverbs 31.8-9]

Father, may we never miss our timing on speaking up for what is right. And, may Your richest blessings be on those who fight for those who cannot speak for themselves. So be it.

Call Me Crazy?

Ask the LORD for rain in the spring, for he makes the storm clouds. And he will send showers of rain so every field becomes a lush pasture. Household gods give worthless advice, fortune-tellers predict only lies, and interpreters of dreams pronounce falsehoods that give no comfort. So my people are wandering like lost sheep; [Zechariah 10.1-2] 

Upon reading today's One Year Chronological Bible reading, I felt at first compelled to use Zechariah 9.9 again as my starting place as I have done so many times. However, as I reviewed previous years' writings on that particular passage, I decided instead to look deeper into today's reading to see if anything else would stand out to me... surely it would... and it did.

As I read Zechariah 10.1-2 the second time today, I realized how much we need rain in my particular geographic location. Zechariah 10.1 speaks directly to the need for rain. It says to ask the LORD for rain... for He makes the storm clouds.

But then, in reading further in the context of Zechariah 10.1, there is Zechariah 10.2: Household gods give worthless advice... Then, there was this sickening realization of the potential for an idol so common as to be called a "household" god.

Do I have household gods?

We must see the contrast Zechariah 10.1-2 is providing us! On one hand, we are told to ask God for rain, and, on the other hand, we are warned about the advice of household gods...

I am going to over-simplify here to make a point. Whether the reader agrees or not is strictly up to the reader!

If I look at the ground in my yard currently, I see the undeniable need for water. Most of my grass has died off and the shrubbery and tress are suffering.

Question: What do I do?

Answer: Ask the LORD for rain? Or, check my phone for a weather forecast?

What is revealed here? I am afraid it is our household gods which have amazingly all become quite unified in one manifestation: our smartphone. Instead of asking God for rain, we grab our phone and check the local forecast...

Am I really going there? Is this just the culmination of all my "idolatry" realizations over the past few years gone to seed? Is it time to consider institutionalization for me? Have I finally lost it?

The thing is, everyone who thinks me crazy at this point suffers the same curses I suffer (a comprehensive list is found in Deuteronomy 28.15-68). Christians know and persistently claim God is our Provider, Protector, Healer, and so forth, and yet, we live in an extremely abstract realization of this "truth" (as we call it), while experiencing every sickness, need, and vulnerability described in Deuteronomy 28 - all without His tangible miraculous intervention. Now, who's crazy? But, it gets worse...

Even though most of what we know as the Old Testament - the ongoing story of God's people from the creation of the world - reveals, rebukes, and demands repentance for idolatry, we remarkably make no association today between our curses and idolatry as if Jesus came and idols simply went away. If that was the case, Jesus would never have made the following demand:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24] 

Christians ARE promised deliverance from all the curses in Christ...

But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” [Galatians 3.13] 

...but nothing of Jesus' work on the cross applies to an unbeliever. In other words, they will continue to experience every curse assigned to their disobedience - their idolatry.

If this is true, "believers" today must face the reality of their present circumstances: are they, or are they not redeemed from curses? If they are not, then there are two possibilities why. One of those possibilities is that, regardless what they think, the would-be Christian who still experiences curses does not truly believe. The other possibility is that the would-be "believer" is (consciously or unconsciously) beholding to - trusting - idols (instead of, or in addition to, God) thus Biblically rendering himself an unbeliever. Based on the history of mankind, as recorded in the Bible, the latter of these two possibilities is the most likely culprit holding man under the judgment of curses.

All the "faith teaching" in the world cannot redeem would-be "believers" from the curses attached to them if they are holding onto - trusting - idols. They don't need more faith - they need instead to place their faith only in God. Peter didn't need more faith to walk on the water - he needed ONLY to look to Jesus! True believers turn away from EVERY idol and turn ONLY to God - it's called repentance. Then, and only then, is God pleased with their faith in Him ALONE through Christ as the ONLY Way to God evidenced by them giving up their own way (mankind's historically-established way of idolatry), taking up their cross (so focused on Jesus that not even death would deter singular faith in Him, Hebrews 11.32-40), and simply following Him.

The simple presence of "household gods" - those idols so common to mankind that every household has them, is the main (Biblically supported) reason "God's people" are powerless (compared to Jesus) in the earth today. 

Do we order our lives by the promise that God is Provider or by our credit score? Do we order our lives by God our Protector or by our insurance policies? Do we order our lives by God our Healer or by our medicine? Do we order our lives by the Word of God or by the weather app? In the storms of life today are we looking to man's household idols of finance, insurance, medicine and technology OR are we looking ONLY to Jesus?

Father, may these words stir us to true repentance and pure undivided faith. May we see the reason Jesus demanded that we give up our own way, take up our cross, and follow Him. May we see and hear Jesus' call to, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." May we see that idolatry has been the ongoing burden all along keeping man separated from God and His promises that must be given up. So be it.

Legitimate Question - Legitimate Answer

But Tattenai, governor of the province west of the Euphrates River, and Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues soon arrived in Jerusalem and asked, “Who gave you permission to rebuild this Temple and restore this structure?” [Ezra 5.3] 

This was a legitimate question. It was answered with a legitimate answer.

“In the first year of King Cyrus’s reign, a decree was sent out concerning the Temple of God at Jerusalem. “Let the Temple be rebuilt on the site where Jews used to offer their sacrifices, using the original foundations. Its height will be ninety feet, and its width will be ninety feet. [Ezra 6.3]

The problem today is that we are asking legitimate questions but are not getting legitimate answers. Religion is a greatest offender in this regard.

I was sent a video to watch today. In summary, the video was a preacher insisting that God's people must suffer because the Apostle Paul suffered. It was in fact an answer to the question many people have today, "Why suffering?"

Now, the preacher's explanation in that video "sounded good" - another person in the text group even responded immediately with a "heart" emoji. But, when I finished listening to it, I simply replied back as follows:

"I wonder why people who believe that to be true [the suffering message] are the same people who insist on taking medicine, and being insured to the hilt? If God intended that we suffer... shouldn't we suffer then?"

The entire message of the Bible is about God's relationship with man - not about man's relationship with God. The difference between the two is all about who is in charge. [Spoiler Alert! That would be God!]

God made man and established His rules. Man disobeyed God and suffered for it - he suffered then, and he suffers now. The Bible chronicles God's relationship with man over many centuries including great detail about man's repeated betrayal of God through idolatry. God repeatedly reminded man that his suffering was tied directly to his idolatry. Sometimes His people responded correctly but most of the time they did not. God promised and sent His Son, Jesus, to redeem man from the terrible curses assigned to him (suffering and ultimate eternal death) demanding in return that Jesus be wholly and exclusively "believed in." As would be expected, Jesus came to earth healing the sick and even raising the dead. Jesus declared Himself the only Way to God. Jesus demanded exclusivity of His would-be followers to "give up their own way, take up their cross, and follow Him" furthermore instructing them to do the exact same things He did. After His death, burial and resurrection on their behalf, Jesus said He would come again for His followers. Shortly after His ascension to heaven, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit from God (as promised) to insure that His followers were operating in the exact same power that raised Him from the dead. This was God's plan from the very beginning. 

It was and is God's plan and God's playbook - not ours - it is not to be trifled with! But then along comes religion...

Religion answers the legitimate question, "Why suffering?" with a barrage of illegitimate answers, most of which completely ignore or deny altogether the story of the Bible. These illegitimate answers all "sound good" and are delivered with great "authority," but at the end of the day, they cannot be traced to the entire story of the Bible - God's plan. Instead, they cloak pride in man that refuses to see the Bible's clear answer to the question "Why is this happening to me?"

Every curse (suffering) upon mankind is the result of idolatry and the sin it leads into. God warned of it early-on eventually "writing it in stone" as man continued to digress. Here is the gist of that warning:

“I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. “You must not have any other god but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. “You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name. [Exodus 20.2-7]

In short, religion is an idol of man's making designed to justify all his other idols making him feel good about his relationship with God when, in the first place, it's not about his relationship with God but about God's relationship with him! 

The Bible is about God's relationship with man. Religion is about man's relationship with God. See the problem?

What's more, Jesus did not do away with God's plan - He simply came to "flesh it out" and said as much:

Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. [Matthew 5.17]

Jesus then captured the full essence of all the law and the prophets when He made His exclusive demand:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24] 

To be sure, "your cross" is indeed suffering ...but it is not the suffering that religion falsely tells us is God's plan. The suffering Jesus calls all His would-be followers to is the suffering of exclusivity to God's plan and God's plan ALONE - the willingness, and yes, even the desire, to face death itself just to remain loyal to God and God ALONE avoiding even the hint of idolatry. The cross Jesus calls us to bear is the same cross Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego embraced when they told Nebuchadnezzar that they simply would not bow to his idol whether they lived or died.

"Why suffering?" then, is definitely a legitimate question. We just need to be sure we get our answer, the only legitimate answer, from the Bible and NOT from religion! In the subject verse of this article, a legitimate question was asked. It was then seen that the legitimate answer came from the actual decree written by Cyrus. So, we need to get our legitimate answers from the decrees written by God - HIS WORD!

Father, help us to understand that the relationship we are in is all about You. Help us see this fact as Jesus "fleshed it out" demanding that we give up our own way, take up our cross, and follow Him. So be it.

Is Anyone Really Saved?

Then the angel who was talking with me came forward and said, “Look up and see what’s coming.” “What is it?” I asked. He replied, “It is a basket for measuring grain, and it’s filled with the sins of everyone throughout the land.” Then the heavy lead cover was lifted off the basket, and there was a woman sitting inside it. The angel said, “The woman’s name is Wickedness,” and he pushed her back into the basket and closed the heavy lid again. Then I looked up and saw two women flying toward us, gliding on the wind. They had wings like a stork, and they picked up the basket and flew into the sky. “Where are they taking the basket?” I asked the angel. He replied, “To the land of Babylonia, where they will build a temple for the basket. And when the temple is ready, they will set the basket there on its pedestal.” [Zechariah 5.5-11] 

A basket for measuring grain is doubtless a symbol of commerce. The woman named Wickedness is obviously symbolizing the use of sex to promote commerce. The temple built for the basket symbolizes the worship of commerce. The basket is filled with the sins of everyone throughout the land - the way of commerce and its inherent sin is the way of man.

What could better identify our situation today? We don't need to "Look up and see what’s coming" because it is already here!

It sure seems like commerce has become all-important today. It seems that commerce has been given 'religious worship' status. It seems that commerce, the way of man, has sadly become central to the institutional church as much as in all the world - finance, insurance, medicine and technology.

Hmm.

Jesus said:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24]

Jesus said:

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. [Matthew 6.33] 

If commerce is the way of man to provide himself everything he needs, we don't really need better explanation of the Bible. We need to live it.

If being a follower of Jesus is what the Kingdom of God is all about, then we should understand that we are given clear direction to give up our own way, take up our cross, and everything we need will be provided as we follow Jesus. 

But no one really believes that today, do they? Is anyone really saved then? (Just asking for a friend...)

Father, may our eyes be opened to the truth of Your Word about how we don't have commerce, but commerce has us. May it enter our understanding that "commerce" represents all the idolatry (sin) of man in one word. May Your true followers be found giving up their own way, taking up their cross, and following Jesus - in Your Kingdom provision of everything we need. So be it.

Look At What's Happening To You!

But he said, “Go now, Daniel, for what I have said is kept secret and sealed until the time of the end. Many will be purified, cleansed, and refined by these trials. But the wicked will continue in their wickedness, and none of them will understand. Only those who are wise will know what it means. [Daniel 12.9-10] 

There are the wise and the wicked. 

The wicked continue in their wickedness. They will not understand end times.

The wise will understand end times. They will understand end times because they turn away from wickedness. They embrace the trials they encounter for purification, cleansing, and refinement. The wise are repentant.

So, whether we understand end times or not, we can be sure of this fact: repentance makes all the difference in the outcome.

Judging by current world events, I would say it is the 'eleventh hour' for repentance. There is only one solution for the chaos that lies ahead: repentance. In fact, any understanding of future events is withheld from all but the repentant.

Unless we have a crystal clear understanding of all Daniel and all the other prophets predicted regarding end time events, we would do well to spend our time in repentance. In repentance, the meaning of end time events will become clear.

What is repentance? Repentance is rightly understanding curses/trials as God's way to turn us back to Him. Repentance is turning back to God. Whatever it is that we must "turn away from" in order to "turn back to God" (the essence of repentance) is an idol. Idolatry is disobedience in raw form and is the repeated downfall of God's people addressed throughout the Bible. To understand this however, we must open our eyes to God's Word in contrast to the knowledge of man. 

What God's Word specifically says about "curses" is found in Deuteronomy 28.15-68. In broad terms, everything listed in Deuteronomy 28.15-68 is everything that man's industries of finance, insurance, medicine and technology remediate. What God calls curses for disobedience, man, in his advanced knowledge, calls "life," "just the way it is," or "happenstance." Finance, insurance, medicine and technology do not call us to repentance - instead they demand money in payment for "making things better."

Only those who are wise accept their trials (curses) from God recognizing them for what they are and repent.

The wicked continue in their idolatrous ways treating their trials (curses) with man's industries of finance, insurance, medicine and technology, never understanding God's call to repentance because they do not know or they choose to ignore God's Word. They look at their circumstances through carnal eyes instead of through the eyes of the Spirit based on God's Word. They continue in their wickedness - unrepentant. And, they will never understand end times until it is too late.

Similarly, in today's One Year Chronological Bible reading, Haggai said it like this:

This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you! [Haggai 1.5]

And, he repeated it:

This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: Look at what’s happening to you! [Haggai 1.7]

And, what was happening to them? They were experiencing all manner of financial failure and they were doing so without recognizing that they had turned away from God neglecting His Temple - they were only taking care of themselves. They had effectively made an idol of themselves thus turning away from God. And, God said, Look at what’s happening to you!

Every curse found in Deuteronomy 28.15-68 screams out "Look at what’s happening to you!" calling us to repentance!

But only the wise will know what it means. Only the wise (who know God's Word) will see and know that Jesus called for no less "turning away" from ourselves and our idolatrous ways in order to "turn to" and follow Him - the Incarnate Son of God.

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24]

To give up our own way is to "turn away" from any and every solution of man's design and "turn to" Jesus. The very definition of repentance is to "turn away" from any and everything and "turn to" God. Repentance is as much or more relevant today than ever before!

Father, Your Word is not unclear regarding curses. Every curse we experience today is Your call to repentance ...but instead we turn to finance, insurance, medicine and technology - continuing in our wickedness of idolatry. May we see the error of our ways before it's too late. May we be found repentant so that we might be found wise concerning end times. So be it.