"Another Gospel?"

"You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you." C.S. Lewis 

Part 1 

I know I blog a bit about the prosperity gospel, but today I'm headed in a different direction. 

I'll return to the word of faith theology in future blogs because having been a part of that movement, I'm aware of the history and its foundation that run parallel to metaphysical thought and that needs to be explained and warned against. 

In the WOF church the Farmer and I attended in Texas, we were encouraged to read recommended books on these subjects stocked in the church's bookstore. The Farmer even applied to Rhema Bible College in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, that promises to "help equip you to live successfully." Because that's our purpose as believers, isn't it? So, yeah, we were in deep. 

I personally just wanted to deconstruct from all of the brainwashing and move on; however, I'm beginning to realize that the word of faith message is picking up momentum in certain circles packaged under different names with a younger generation of rising "stars" being trained to take over the aging founders. Even though Kenneth Copeland "prophesied" that he'll live to 120. We'll see how that turns out for him with his hearing aids and pacemaker. Remember, do as he says, not as he does.

I'm sorry, I'll try to behave for the rest of this. It's just that this false gospel has hurt and exploited so many desperate people when all we needed to do was give them the truth instead of another gospel. Then they would be truly healed enjoying a blessed relationship with Jesus with their names written in the Book of Life. What's better than that? 

As Christians we are mandated by our Lord Jesus to spread the true gospel and make disciples. In countering these false narratives, as Scripture commands us to do, we are helping people to see God's truth. ( Matthew 28:16-20 ) 

That's why I'm compelled to share my story of yet another gospel - the one I believed first in my childhood church. And mixed in between these denominational narratives were hyper-charismatic and grounded Baptist churches. Seriously, ya'll, it's been real. Some people have been in the same denomination their entire lives, but that's not my story. Maybe it gives me a unique perspective, I don't know. I hope some good comes from it. 

Several years ago I embarked on a personal research study into American Christianity that has led me all over the theological map, meandering along paths I hadn't planned to travel, but that's the way research journeys usually proceed, into unchartered, but enlightening depths. 

The whole project started innocently when I realized the Presbyterian church I had grown up in had changed dramatically, or had it? 

As way of foundation: 

Shortly before this venture, I had been listening to the Gospel in Life podcast. My man children introduced me to Dr. Tim Keller's ministry. I shared already about having my heart opened to the gospel at a Passion Conference during a John Piper sermon. God can and does use anything to reach us, doesn't he? Middle age me sitting in the midst of hip college students. 

Well after that, both boys thought separately that Dr. Keller would be a good fit for me and my theological questions. lol GIL runs his old sermon series, three messages per week. 

Dr. Keller, who passed away in 2023, was a Presbyterian pastor. And that was the thing that puzzled me. 

Not that I was even remotely a biblical student back in the day as a teeny bopper, far from it, but Dr. Keller's church, Redeemer in NYC, his sermons not so much the liturgy, weren't anything like the Presbyterian church I remembered from my childhood.  

During the summers as a young girl and then teenager, I spent several weeks with my grandmother in the New River Valley, and we would attend her Presbyterian church together. Dr. Keller's church wasn't like hers either. 

Then one day, listening to a Becket Cook podcast, Becket told how he was taking Church History classes on line from a professor named Dr Robert Godfrey and how helpful it had been. I enrolled before the podcast ended because that was something I was profoundly ignorant, but interested in. 

This was through Ligonier Ministries, so of course I was introduced to the late Dr. R.C. Sproul's teaching, then Sinclair Ferguson and eventually Derek Thomas - all Presbyterian pastors and theologians, and all unlike the church I remember. 

You might be asking, "What was so different?" I'm sure people associated with the denomination probably have a good idea of what I'm getting at, but to be as concise as I can, I would say, "meat." I was hungry, and they were feeding me something that filled my soul. Prior to this, I had been feeding on the cotton candy theology diet of the prosperity gospel and word of faith sermons, as the Farmer so eloquently puts it, "big nothing burgers," so I was quite famished. We both were. 

I began to dig. 

At this point in my life, it dawned on me that in spite of being in church my whole life, I was the vineyard worker that showed up at 5 minutes to 5; nonetheless, the owner graciously and mercifully paid me for a full day's work. ( Matthew 20:1 -16 ) 

Better late than never. Better to be a late bloomer in the Kingdom of God than to never produce good fruit at all. It's humbling. And that's always a good thing - another biblical truth I would come to learn and experience. Over and over. 

The Presbyterian church is what is known as a "mainline denomination." The Farmer wasn't even aware of the mainline because he grew up in a Pentecostal / Charismatic setting. He said his tradition was birthed early in the 20th century, and he said they weren't encouraged to associate with other denominations. I inspired him to engage in his own homework. He said that's more than his school teachers could inspire. lol   

In case you're curious, America's mainline denominations, also known as the "Seven Sisters of American Protestantism," comprise of the Congregational Church, the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Presbyterian Church, the United Methodist Church, the American Baptist Convention, and the Disciples of Christ. 

When I was in Atlanta last week visiting my oldest son and daughter-in-law, we got into this discussion as we strolled along the quaint downtown storefronts in some of the smaller, surrounding suburbs about the vintage looking churches that dotted the landscape. They told me that when they inquired into the churches, they were told from the pastors themselves that just a few white haired little old seniors still attended them. 

From my study I already knew that there has been a drastic "mainline decline" going on for decades, but I had no idea how bad it really was.  

Here's some data from an article first posted in "World" and then on a podcast entitled "Lessons from Mainline Decline" - the author centers on the Presbyterian church because that's the one he grew up in as well, but the same thing is happening in all mainline denominations.

"If you aren’t a baby boomer or a student of religious history, it can be hard to fathom the cultural influence and social cohesion that once resided in mainline Protestantism. At its height in 1965, mainline Protestant churches counted 31 million members out of a U.S. population of less than 200 million. Most Protestants were in the mainline denominations, and the country’s cultural norms were set, for better or for worse, by the old school Protestant establishment.

Almost 60 years later, all of that has changed. In its recently released demographic report, the Presbyterian Church (USA) announced it lost another 51,584 members. From a membership peak of 4.25 million in 1965, the PCUSA rolls are now down to 1.19 million. And that membership decline hardly conveys the severity of the situation. In the last reporting year, the denomination dissolved 104 congregations and dropped four presbyteries. More than 40 percent of the congregations have fewer than 50 members. Almost a third of the denomination is more than 70 years old, and another 26 percent are older than 55. Keep in mind that only 16 percent of Americans are 65 or older. The PCUSA is literally dying."

So why is Keller's Redeemer Presbyterian and the others unlike the above Presbyterian? Redeemer is a large, healthy, growing church, in a secular area, no less, with outreach ministries all over the city and world. That's because Redeemer is not PCUSA, it's PCA. 

What does that mean? 

Why is the PCUSA declining? 

The PCA is still a smaller denomination and even though it isn't necessarily growing exponentially, it is increasing yearly within all age brackets. 

I do not mean to imply that small churches can't be thriving and healthy, they absolutely can be! They are a blessing within their communities and globally as they serve the Lord and others with gladness, but within their small numbers they are more like a bubbling, fresh water stream than a stagnated pond. 

In fact, this very day at Heritage Home Lisda and the children are blessed to receive a visit from Cornerstone Presbyterian Church from Fairfax, Virginia. PCA and KPCW ( Korean Presbyterian Church of Washington. ) The Farmer has visited the church many times, and we learn much from God's Word, listening to Pastor Paul's sermons on line. 

So what is the difference in PCUSA and PCA? 

I wanted to know - PCUSA was where I was raised. It concerned and confused me. I had never heard of either - that's how unlearned I was. A quick look at my childhood church's website, and it revealed not only that it is a PCUSA church, but a beautiful, large sanctuary with only a handful of mostly white-headed seniors. 

What gives? 

I know there will be some who disagree with me, but I hope you will at least hear me out. Stay tuned for the backstory on the American Church's Mainline Decline. I'm not trying to create a cliffhanger here; I just want to keep my blogs short. I hope this has been helpful so far and possibly encourages you in your own study, creating a hunger for the Truth. 

💜

 

The Priestly Prayer

"All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word." ( Isaiah 66:2 ) 

"Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." ( Hebrews 4:16 ) 

And it's always a time of need, isn't it? 

One of the areas I had to relearn and grow in after being in a word-faith church was our most basic privilege: prayer. 

In the Scriptures we are invited to come with confidence and humbly pray to God, to ask him for anything. ( Matthew 7, Luke 11 )  

So, we see that we are encouraged to pray for everything, to ask, seek, knock. Jesus told his disciples parables that they would pray and not give up. ( Luke 18:1 ) 

In Paul's epistles we are told to pray for all manner of things concerning the saints. I recently typed out Paul's prayers throughout the New Testament to pray back to him for my family and for others.  

When Jesus was on earth he prayed. We have the pleasure of being privy to some of his prayers. In John 17, known as "The High Priestly Prayer" we are given an entire chapter of Jesus praying to the Father, humbly and faithfully. For us! He prayed for Peter after satan asked to sift "all of you" like wheat. ( Luke 22:31-34 ) 

 In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus "fell to the ground and prayed." ( Matthew 26:39 ) 

Throughout the gospels we see Jesus up early in the morning praying in a desolate place. We see him praying all night sometimes.

Jesus taught his disciples to pray when they asked him. Even people who aren't Christians know "The Lord's Prayer." 

Jesus is our Lord and Savior if we repent of our sins and trust him to save us. He tells us then to take up our cross and follow him. He asked that God not take us out of the world, but keep us from the evil one. God has that power. Of course, he does. 

Jesus is able to save us to the uttermost, since he always lives to make intercession for us. ( Hebrews 7:25 ) That has to be one of the most comforting verses in the Bible. 

Jesus taught us to pray in more ways than one. 

Listen to this verse from Hebrews 5:7; it has guided and changed my prayer life: 

"In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears to him who was able to save him from death and he was heard because of his reverence." 

My ESV commentary says that 'supplication' indicates a submissive request. 

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was heard because of his reverence. 

We never see Jesus declaring and decreeing things from God. 

And it's okay to cry; it means we're weak. It shows we are dependent on him. His strength is made perfect through our weakness. Jesus wept. 

In many churches and movements today, we see leaders teaching their congregations to "decree and declare," "command and demand," "name and claim" No where does it tells us to do this in the Scripture. It took me awhile to get this disrespectful jargon out of my head. 

We've lost our reverence for a God who is holy beyond anything we could ever imagine in our wildest dreams or nightmares. A God so clothed in holiness that anyone in Scripture who came near to his presence was on their face in the dirt. In a nano second, they found out, not only how holy, holy, holy Yahweh is, but how holy they are not. For the most part, I don't see this reverence in the American church today. 

We also see in Scripture that our motivation in prayer is important. God cares about the state of our hearts. 

"He resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." ( 1 Peter 5:5-6, James 4:6-7 ) 

Because what are we approaching when we come in prayer? 

A throne of "grace."

To receive "mercy and grace." 

"Confidently," we can come confidently only because Jesus made a way back for us and now we are God's children. Adopted. Dearly beloved. Created. Not begotten. That's important. We are not little gods. 

Daniel's humble prayer of repentance in Chapter 9 for his people is a wonderful model of what we should be praying for in regards to our nation, not just in light of wicked leaders and a volatile election year, but always. 

We hear celebrity pastors and prophets talk about God in such flippant ways displaying little respect or reverence. They say that God told them this and God told them that, but did God really tell them those things? We need to seriously examine ourselves and what we are hearing. 

Jesus was heard because of his reverence, and he is God. 

If Jesus is reverent toward God, shouldn't we be? 

Jesus commanded the waves and the wind, but he is God. He created the waves and the wind. 

Jesus commanded Lazarus to come forth, but Jesus conquered death. 

Contrary to what is being said in word-faith, prosperity gospel circles, we are not "just like Jesus." All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus. Not us. Jesus gave his disciples authority for a specific purpose - for evangelism. All authority is given by him. ( John 19:11 ) 

In Christ, we are now clothed in his righteousness. We stand accepted by God through what Christ has done for us. We are blessed in Jesus with every spiritual blessing, and are given all things that pertain to life and godliness. We have God the Holy Spirit living in us forever. We have been blessed beyond measure, beyond anything we can wrap our minds around. ( 1 Peter 1:3, Ephesians 1 & 2, John 14:16 ) 

We have a living hope that one day we will be made holy too. Can you even imagine that? The Farmer and I encourage each other with this beautiful hope as we struggle in our sin and weaknesses during the difficult times. ( Romans 8:30 ) 

This knowledge should cause us to live in a state of thanksgiving and reverence continually to our holy, gracious Father, that he would love and save sinners such as us. 

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 

Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." ( Philippians 4:4-7 ) 

Let this be our prayer today. 

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. " ( John 3:16 ) 

T.G.I.M.

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake, he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich." ( 2 Corinthians 8:9 ) 

This is the Bible verse that prosperity gospel preachers use to promote their false teaching. 

To be clear, prosperity gospel and word-faith preachers argue that the atonement of Jesus Christ promised us wealth in this life. ( and perfect health, but I'm not tackling this one today ) 

One of the first rules of Bible study is that Scripture interprets Scripture. So right off the bat, we should be asking ourselves, even though this verse is in the context of giving, what did Jesus say about riches, money, and wealth? What does his atonement actually entail? 

He talked about wealth a lot. Why? 

"And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature." ( Luke 8:14 ) 

"And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, 'You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me. Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions." ( Luke 10:21 -22 ) 

The man's wealth meant more to him than Jesus. 

"For you say, 'I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked." ( Revelation 3:17 ) 

This verse spoken by Jesus to the church in Laodicea can't help but remind me of the American prosperity gospel message. It reminds me of Jesse Duplantis bragging to his audience that he lives in the biggest mansion in the state of Louisiana, and correcting people that call him a "millionaire," because he says he is in fact a "mult-millonaire," and admonishing viewers during Kenneth Copeland's victory-thon that Jesus isn't coming back until they start giving more money. 

Dear God. How is it that atheists and unbelievers can see that this ludicrous theology isn't orthodox Christianity, but people sitting under these bogus ministries can't? 

I think of John Oliver's crass, but perhaps warranted, episode on prosperity and word-faith teachers who abuse God's good and beautiful seed-harvest principle to exploit people. I think of all of the parodies of these charlatans on line, and it reminds me of Peter's words when he warns of false teachers arising among us: 

"And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words." ( 2 Peter 2:2 ) 

We can see the way of truth blasphemed all over the internet everyday because of these false teachers. They've become a laughing stock. From Copeland blowing on the Covid virus, which went on to take the lives of thousands, to his tax-free, multimillion dollar "parsonage," to his embarrassing interviews, to slitting his wrist with what looks like a lollipop stick pretending to drip his blood in the communion cup. The Farmer said it was real; I don't know. Andrew Womack teaching that God is not sovereign. Good grief. 

However, God will not be mocked. ( Galatians 6:7 ) The seed-harvest principle will catch up with them at some point if they don't repent and turn to Christ. 

Peter goes on to say, "Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep." 

This is a warning to all of us. 

"And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, 'How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!'" ( Luke 10:23 ) 

So my question is this: Why if Jesus warned us repeatedly about the dangers of riches would his atonement attain wealth for us in this life? That makes no sense. It could be like giving us a serpent or a scorpion; he's never going to do that. He loved the rich young ruler - did you see that? 

It doesn't mean rich people can't be saved. I always think of Nicodemus - the rich, Pharisee ( that's got to be a double whammy ). And his heart received the gospel and he was in deed born again like Jesus taught him that fateful night. 

We see the evidence of his salvation in helping Joseph of Arimathea, another rich man, prepare and bury the body of his Lord Jesus. Work reserved for slaves and women, but he did it with joy and didn't care who saw him. He used his money to buy the expensive materials for burial, and Joseph donated his tomb. And yes, Job and Abraham were wealthy. 

Rich people can be saved; Jesus said it was difficult, not impossible. Impossible with man, not with God. 

"Again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." ( Matthew 19:24 )  The poor tend to know they need him. This is what it means to be poor in spirit; to know our dark and desperate situation of the human soul. 

In 2 Corinthians, Chapter 8 Paul is teaching about good stewardship of God's money, and that we are blessed to be a blessing to others, to advance the kingdom of God, caring for our families, helping the poor, the widow, and the orphan, not building bigger barns for ourselves. A farmer - my finger's tremble as I type this. 

I sat under false teaching for years, and even now, I am still working with the help of the Holy Spirit to rid myself of residue from its poison. All of us have a bit of the prosperity gospel in our theology; it appeals to our sinful nature. I understand this because of being in these churches and because of being inside of my sinful flesh; it's a battle we will all fight until glorification. 

So we must continue to share the true, life-giving gospel and pray fervently for others because God has had grace upon us. None of us are off the hook. "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation." ( Matthew 26:41 ) 

"For by grace have you been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." ( Ephesians 2:8 ) 

Faith is a gift from God - we don't conger faith up on our own. 

It's not that Jesus wants us poor in material things, but rather he doesn't want material things to have us. 

He knows the pitfalls of the riches, and he knows what's in us. The Farmer has enjoyed a prosperous work life for many years, and although he hasn't always been as frugal as he is today, he has gladly poured his earnings into the kingdom of God. As his wife, I've watched this over the years, and it's been an example to me. 

He would never tell this; that's why I am. He always acknowledges our partners, and rightfully so. He's helped widows and orphans and the needy, currently we have six new girls without parents coming to live at Heritage who Lisda is faithfully preparing for, but he wishes it were more. We can add these precious ones because older girls now educated with good jobs can live on their own and support themselves and others. To God be the glory. 

Jesus doesn't just warn of wealth - he shows us the better way. 

By his teaching that God already knows what we need before we ask him, to pray and ask for our daily bread, to understand and look at God's beautiful creation and see that he feeds his birds; he clothes his flowers. And we are of more worth to him than those, so we can rest assure as we seek his kingdom and his righteousness - not wealth and riches - all of these things ( food, drink, clothing, daily needs, but more importantly our salvation ) will be added to us. 

I know this is true because I've lived it. 

Jesus also shows us the better way by his life: 

"but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant." ( Philippians 2:8 )  

Don't miss this. Don't allow the prosperity gospel to rob you of the true gospel. 

The prosperity gospel preachers minimize the forgiveness of sins and the imputation of Christ's righteousness in the atonement to proclaim that it granted us wealth in this life. If wealth does come, as believers we have a responsibility to use it for God's kingdom. It's his money. And yes, part of that is taking care of our own families, for sure. 

In everything, we must be humble, poor and needy in our souls, this is knowing that without the atonement of Jesus Christ we could never be forgiven of our sins and adopted by God or have eternal life with him. 

God gives us the faith we need to believe. ( Hebrews 12:2 ) ( Philippians 1:29 ) 

He grants us repentance. ( 2 Timothy 2:25 ) 

Don't let the prosperity gospel rob you of a life with Jesus, a rich life of dependence upon God daily and the awesome opportunity of serving him with gladness with whatever resources he provides us with.

Something happens inside of a trust like this with our Savior that can never develop if we are focused on worldly wealth.

A truly rich life is one that is dependent on Christ. 

For everything. 

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." ( Matthew 5:3 ) 

Baby Geese are the cutest. 

Whistle Work

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." ( Ephesians 2:8-10 )

We are saved by the work of Christ, not by our good works - that's impossible the Bible says. That's why Jesus came to live the perfect life for us; we couldn't do it.  ( Romans 3 ) 

And yet as God's workmanship, God has prepared good works for us to do. 

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father." ( John 14:12 )

Notice that these verses say, "good works," not signs and wonders. In the Greek the word "work" in these verses is ergon translated just that. "Work" 

God still does signs and wonders, but the point being here is that we are called to do "good works." 

In Matthew 7:22 when the false prophets say to Jesus on the last day, "Didn't we do many mighty works in your name?" The Greek word used here for "works" is dunamis meaning strength, power ability. And Jesus tells them that he never knew them. So signs and wonders aren't a ticket to heaven. 

I think it's crucial we distinguish between the two. We are called to do "good works." Again, this doesn't mean that God no longer heals or does miracles, he does. But sometimes we get so focused on signs and wonders and finding God's individual will for our lives that we forget our true calling. We are called to good works. 

What are these "good works?" 

They are the things right in front of us in the Scriptures: believing God to forgive us when we repent of our sins because of the death of his Son, being humble and trusting him for everything, knowing we are completely dependent on him to keep us breathing, clinging to him and not letting go. Those are good works. Maybe you never realized this - I didn't either. And the truth is so life-giving, isn't it? 

It's funny because when we realize the truth it makes us forget about seeking God's will for us as individuals because it's only then that we find our real purpose and have enjoyment in it. When we lose ourselves. 

Loving our neighbor and our enemy. Treating each other better than ourselves. Being refreshed by each other's company. Honoring our parents. Obeying government authorities. Studying the Scriptures. Praying without ceasing. Thanking God in all circumstances. Investing in grandkids and the next generation. 

Trusting him with our pain. 

Until recently, I didn't realize the overlap in good works and suffering, but as we, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing." ( James 1:2-4 )  

And we see the purpose of good works drawn out, to transform us into the image of Christ. 

We tend to think a good work is filling a stadium or starting a hundred orphanages or being a faith-healer, but it's obeying right where we are planted. Even if we become bed-ridden, we can be kind to our care-givers and pray for them - that's a good work. So being cared for or being the care giver ourselves of a loved one is a work all the same. And that is what pleases our Father and makes us Christ-like - doing the good works he prepared for us in his providence. 

It's the upside-down kingdom of our Lord Jesus who came to serve, not to be served the Bible tells us. A good church is led by a pastor who models this. Not one with a security detail who is arrogant and unapproachable and more of a celebrity like we see so much today in our twisted "church" culture. 

All of Christ's Church together serving others is a better work than he could do limited to just one flesh and blood body. Now Jesus is working through many bodies. 

This is why Christians can whistle while they sweep floors and change diapers; because we are doing our good work to the glory of God where ever we find ourselves. No matter how daunting the task or circumstance, it's an opportunity to serve our Lord Christ and grow into his image. I've never been able to whistle, but I think how often I hear the Farmer whistling while engaging in his farm duties. My grandmother too, I remember her whistling when I was growing up. 

We know what matters to the heart of God. 

We are not saved by good works, but unto good works. James again speaks into this truth when he says, "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?" 

Our good works don't save us; they are the proof that we possess saving faith in Christ. 

This fruit springs out of a grateful heart that is transformed by the knowledge of the grace God has given to us. When we understand this biblical truth it changes the way we live. The Gospel is powerful like that. 

God is still working too. 

"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." ( Philippians 1:6 ) That's our glorious hope in Jesus - when we realize that God is not done with us either and everything that comes our way, including the suffering and the work we do, is there for the purpose of transforming us into the image of Christ. 

Please don't forget this today. 

We are his fellow workers in all that we do - what a privilege! What a joy! ( 1 Corinthians 3:9-16 ) 

Greetings from Atlanta!

Happy Wednesday! 

💜

all verses from ESV 

The Farmer has worked hard on our new raised beds. 

Our Wits' End

"They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight; they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits' end." ( Psalm 107:26-27 )  

The context of Psalm 107 is that the members of the community are calling one another to give thanks to the LORD for rescuing them from their distress. There are four specific accounts detailed, and my Bible commentary says, "It is gratitude for Judah's return from exile." 

Verse 27 is the retelling of sailors on an uncontrollable sea who come to "their wits' in" - the ESV footnote says in Hebrew that means "and all of their wisdom was swallowed up." 

This passage in my reading plan immediately reminded me of other "boats" in the biblical narrative on a stormy sea - Noah's ark, the little floating bassinet made by Moses's mother to protect her son from death, the Disciples' storm tossed fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee. 

Another thing I learned from several commentators is that "sea" in Scripture, especially Revelation, is symbolic for the world, evil, and damnation. 

So, in these stories, we see that each boat is a vessel of salvation displaying not man's obedience or goodness, but the mercy of God, first and foremost, "in our evil plight." 

"- but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." ( Romans 5:8 ) 

Last Friday as I was driving on a two lane back road to North Carolina, I was startled by a downpour from a thunderstorm heavier than anything I can ever remember driving in before. The water was accumulating on the road, but I couldn't stop or see to pull over, even if there was a place. My hands tightened on the steering wheel as my body tensed up, but I knew the best thing to do was to keep inching along through the sheets of rain with my eyes fastened firmly on the dim glow of the taillights in front of me. 

We are in empty, fragile vessels, and until we allow our wisdom to be swallowed up, we will never reach for God because we don't think we need him. Of the world religions including secularism, only the Christian faith answers all of the big questions in our hearts, swallows up the emptiness that the world attempts so inadequately to fill. The Gospel of Jesus Christ alone fits the human narrative. 

In the Christian faith we want everything to be "either, or," and it's just not that way - I think it's part of our human nature to desire this. 

By the way, regardless of what you hear, faith is not a force or a power that we tap into to get God to work on our behalf like a vending machine. Faith isn't a formula. 

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things unseen." ( Hebrews 11:1 ) 

Christianity is a reasonable faith, for sure, but reason is not enough. We must take it on faith, that is how God has designed it, meaning we don't always understand everything. If we think we can, then our view of God is entirely too low. 

Yes in Christ as believers, we are in a vessel of salvation, but these lifeboats are traveling through troubled waters as long as we are in this world. Until we come to finally rest on the celestial shores, our journey is above and sometimes through deep waters. ( John 16:33 ) ( Psalm 77:19 ) 

When we finally come to our wits' end, that's where our faith in Christ begins. And in our transformation process as believers, faith doesn't change our situation; it changes us. It changes how we look at the world. Faith isn't so much about how our story ends, but it's how we live in the stormy middle of those stories. 

"Well done good and faithful servant." ( Matthew 25:23 ) 

Ironically even though it feels at times like we are hydroplaning, we are, in fact, deeply rooted to Christ by our faith, a gift given to us by the power of the Holy Spirit to believe in Christ and to live out our lives in him as God's dearly beloved children. These faith roots keep us grounded, abiding in the vine, connected to Jesus as he promises to sustain us to the end. ( Psalm 1 ) ( Jude 24 ) ( 1 Corinthians 1:8 ) 

The flood waters around us become the very thing that allow us to experience the saving grace of God and grow into his likeness, like Moses, Noah, and the Disciples. 

In other words, it feels scary as hades, but in Christ, it's as safe as Heaven. And one fine day, my friends, you will see the glory that all of that suffering was preparing. That's a promise. ( 2 Corinthians 4:17 ) 

"Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven." ( Psalm 107:28-30 ) 

Be encouraged dear ones in his great and precious promises to us! 

Happy Wednesday 💜

T.G.I.M.

"And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." ( Galatians 5:24 )

Since yesterday was Mother's Day, I was thinking about my mom a lot. Several years before she died we started meeting regularly for breakfast since both of us were up with the chickens. I remember one day when we were sitting there sipping our coffee at Famous A's mom said, "I just don't understand all of this 'crucify the flesh stuff.'" 

I laughed so hard at her. I said, "Mom, what do mean 'crucify the flesh stuff'? That's a verse in the Bible!" 

"What exactly does this mean because it sounds gruesome." I think that's what she was thinking. I've found this sanctification process in the believer's life to be as mysterious as it is messy. I know it is in mine. It's another one of those "already, but not now kingdom" things. We must become what we are. Mom couldn't quite wrap her mind around the concept, and yet, I believe she was doing it. 

I believe she was crucifying her flesh every time she met God in the morning with prayer and Bible reading, every time she wrote passages on index cards, reciting them to herself until the truth was driven deep and took hold. 

Every time she worshiped with her church family and sat under biblical teaching. Every time she met with her ladies's grace group and allowed other sisters to speak into her life. Every time she listened to someone's story and stepped inside of their pain. Every time she refused to give into gossip or anger or any sin because it so easily entangles. Every time she clung to Jesus in difficulties. Every time she wrote a check for the offering and to help the poor and needy or baked gingerbread for the mission yard sale and her grandkids.  

And you know what? In Christ, you're doing it too - you just might not realize it. You're indwelled by the Holy Spirit of God, and he's helping you crucify the flesh daily by strengthen your spiritual bones through these means of grace. He's helping you become what you already are in Christ Jesus. 

Keep running the race, my friend. 

It's so worth it. You'll see one day. 

Don't give up - you're doing great! 

Happy Monday! 

🌻

A blast from the past - training little Shasta with the chickens.

                                  

"What He's Done"

When I show up for a visit with my grandkids, they come running down the stairs to greet me. My oldest granddaughter jumps up into my arms and will put her head on my shoulder and just hold onto me for several minutes. And I always think to myself, "now I can die happy." lol

I believe this is a picture of how we are to love God. In the morning come running to greet him and just lay our heads upon his strong shoulder, clinging to him, thanking him over and over for all he has done for us. I think of the words from a worship song my church recently sang:

"What he's done. What he's done. All the glory and the honor to the Son. My sins are forgiven. My future is heaven. I praise God for what he's done." 

I want to be like Meadow in the morning and just lay my head on Jesus's shoulder and love him and thank him over and over for what he has done. I want the raw reality to sink in. Loving him, not for what he can give me or do for me, my goodness, but for what he has already done, loving him just for him. 

My mom didn't always get her theology straight, no one does perfectly, but she got her relationship with Jesus straight. If you knew her you know what I mean. It was a solid faith built through years of depending on him in unanswered suffering and deep darkness. I watched God transform my mother through the years. She emerged from her pain as a shining light that lit up any room she entered as she was more than willing to hold Jesus out for others.

That's the legacy my mom left to me. As a young child, she held Jesus out to me, and even though it would be years until I came to faith in Christ, my mother planted and watered her little seeds and prayed. 

And now I praise God for what he has done! 

Thanks, Mom, I miss you terribly. 💔

💜

Happy Mother's Day 🌸

Sunflowers were her favorite. 

Better than Life

"Thy lovingkindness is better than life." ( Psalm 63:3 ) 

One way you can detect if a teaching is biblical truth or false teaching is that false teachings are "me" centered. In other words, if what the speaker is selling revolves around what "I" deserve and what "I" am entitled to as a believer, if the emphasis is on what "I receive" and not on what "Christ has done," beware. 

We are commanded in Scripture to pray for everything and to pray without ceasing; however, "Jesus promised us an easy life, perfect health, and lots of wealth by his death," says no biblical text anywhere. 

Tell that to Joni Eareckson Tada who has spent the last 55 years in a wheelchair, and yet has done more for the kingdom of God than just about anyone I know. And Joni is solid - there's nothing superficial about her faith. She's just one example.  

We don't need to go looking for suffering or even like it, I mean, seriously, who likes it? Joni joked that one day God will send her wheelchair to hell. She said that when she finally holds Jesus's nail scarred hands she'll tell him,"But the weaker I was in that thing, the harder I leaned on you. And the harder I leaned on you, the stronger I discovered you to be. It never would have happened had you not given me the bruising of the blessing of that wheelchair.”

Jesus told us that we would have trouble in our present life. In John 10:10, the abundant life Jesus says that he brings to us is not even in the context of money or health. Good grief. 

Jesus is better than this. 

And anyway many of the false teachers telling people that it's always God's will to heal and that one just needs to have enough faith are wearing glasses and getting pacemakers themselves. Please don't listen to that nonsense. 

The Bible is so much better than this. 

Friend, Jesus said that all you need to move a mountain is faith the size of a mustard seed. Even though this saying was a common colloquialism of Jesus's day, it means you have plenty of faith. If God withholds something from us, we can trust that he has a very good reason. He's already not withheld his only Son - he's trustworthy. Think about that kind of love. 

Jesus told us in Sermon on the Mount that God feeds his birds and clothes his flowers, and we are of more value to him than they are. Psalm 107:20 tells us that God has already sent his word and healed us. He sent Jesus. 

Ephesians 1:3 tells us that we have been blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. "Spiritual," not "physical," not in this life anyway, but most certainly in the next. What more could we ask for? 

Listen to these promises: 

God promises he will never leave us nor forsake us. Jesus died for us while we were sinners! The Holy Spirit is with us forever! We are God's fellow workers here on the earth. He equips us and will finish the good work he began in us. He will deliver us from every evil deed and lead us safely into his heavenly kingdom! ( Deuteronomy 31:8, Romans 5:8, John 14, 16-27, 1 Corinthians 3:9, Philippians 1:6, 2 Timothy 4:18 ) 

"Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, let him, deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?" ( Matthew 16:25 - 26 ) 

We can't come to Jesus only if he promises to give us an easy life. The Bible tells us that it's all or nothing. And he is so worth it. 

Remember the enemy embeds a bit of the truth in a false teaching. That's how I fell for it. If we know our Bibles, he can't deceive us. I didn't know my Bible. Some false teachers are pretty slick, but they are depending on the biblical illiteracy of their audience. 

An easier way to spot false teaching is the absence of sin or repentance - and these are core to salvation. In fact, without understanding our sin and our need, and then repenting, we can't come to faith in Christ. 

I remember when I was in a word-faith church they would define sin, on the rare occasion it was mentioned, as "bad choices," "mistakes,"or "not quite living the way we should."

The Bible describes sin as full-on rebellion against a Holy God. God did not send Jesus to die and drink from the cup of his holy wrath and suffer the worst suffering in the history of mankind just for our bad choices and silly mistakes. That has to be blasphemous. 

The Bible is so much better than this. 

Jesus is so much better than this. 

You've heard the claim that doctrine divides, right? It's suppose to. It divides truth from error, light from darkness, the lies of the enemy from the truth. 

And we have to be careful not to label everyone a false teacher or enlist ourselves as the theology police. And getting prideful. One thing I hear from the Farmer on a continual basis when I start to get all fired up over false teachings: "Babe, we used to believe it too." 

"And we're still susceptible," I might add. 

This is why we must know our Bibles. This is why we must obey the command to contend for the faith, but also learn to divide the Word rightly, to examine it and handle it with fear and trembling, not adding to it or taking away from it, to test the spirits, to beg God in prayer for the Spirit of discernment, because it's a jungle out there in the world and inside of my impressionable heart. 

But Jesus has overcome the world and my heart and he's better than life. 

"Thy lovingkindness is better than life." ( Psalm 63:3 ) 

Happy Weekend! 

💜

"Stranger Things"

I've had the pleasure of sharing my testimony with a family member recently and having on-going conversations about the Christian faith with him. When I asked how he was doing with his Bible reading, he confided that it wasn't going so well. He said that the Bible was too hard for him to understand so he was just reading Guideposts. 

I get it. I didn't want to embarrass or admonish him; I just want to come alongside of him, finding ways to encourage him and help explain how important God's Word is for the believer. It's our lifeblood. 

Listen to these encouraging, instruction-filled words from the Apostle Paul to young Pastor Timothy, these words are written for all of us: 

"Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and imposters will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived, But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from who you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." 

Not only does this passage support the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture, but it shows us that Scripture has the power to bring us to faith in Christ, to teach us, correct us, train us in right living, make us mature, discern false teachings, equip us for every thing we do for the kingdom of God. 

The Word has the power to transform the life of the believer. We must make every effort to get it in us. 

Here's some biblical, practical points on how to do this: 

1.) Make sure we are in a "gospel-centered" church where we can sit under sound teaching including the core doctrines of the Christian faith. How do you know if the church is gospel-centered, abiding by these doctrines?  Because a church can read from the Bible, but still deny the supernatural components of the faith, like the resurrection, Jesus coming in flesh, and miracles. 

Look at the church's website or ask them for a copy of their statement of faith - what they believe. It should be specific, unless they are hiding something to be seeker friendly. A good standard to follow is the Apostles' Creed. I love to recite this each day; it summarizes the gospel. There's also the Nicene Creed and Athanasian Creed, affirming that Christ is not a created being and the Doctrine of the Trinity respectively. 

Creeds are not extra biblical materials; they are confessions that articulate the basics of the Christian faith. Creeds were not established by our church fathers in times of refreshment, but when destructive heresies threatened to poison the church, much like today. They were put in place to protect us - sadly, throughout history, most people did not own a Bible and had to depend on the church leaders to protect them from the wolves. 

2.) Get a study Bible with a built in commentary and/or get a good lay-person commentary. I like how one pastor responded when a church member asked him what translation of the Bible they should use. The pastor said, "The translation that says, 'Love your enemies.'" 

3.)  In our gospel-centered churches, participate in a Bible study. We need to study the Bible on our own, but also with our church family. Iron sharpens iron. This is not a Bible study where we go around the circle and tell what the verse means to each of us, no, we examine the Scriptures together and see what it means to God and what he is saying to us. ( Acts 17:10-15 ) 

Tonight Pastor Atkins will begin a new Bible study at our church Harvest Ministries on Ezekiel 40-48, "Vision of the New Temple" - you are welcome to join us at 6:00 to share a meal with the study beginning at 7:00. 909 Blue Ridge Blvd., if you're in the Roanoke/Botetourt County area. 

It's funny because the first time I remember reading through the Book of Ezekiel when I finished I said to myself that has to be the strangest book in the entire Bible. I think it's mostly associated with the Valley of Dry Bones, but an ironic thing is that as strange as it was to me, one of my favorite verses now comes from this book. One I pray more than any other for my unsaved loved ones because that's another important reason to read the Bible: It's the best prayers we can pray. All of it - not just the Psalms. 

Ezekiel 36:26-27: "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statues and be careful to obey my rules." 

God's saving initiative. 

Right there in the Bible's strangest book, God gives us his most precious promise. 

I'm excited to learn more tonight. 

Because the Bible is our lifeblood. 

💜

Righteous Wardrobe

"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness..." ( 2 Peter 1:3 ) 

Today Pastor Atkins reminded us in his sermon series on faith that we are clothed in Christ's righteousness, and I have been thinking about the reality of this truth and the freedom it brings as Aslan led the way on our walk this afternoon. 

Pastor explained that in Christ, God sees us as if we obeyed all of the righteous requirements of the law, and when God's Word sinks in, it's like a light bulb switches on for us. I get that.  

I never understood the verse in 1 John 5:3: "And his commandments are not burdensome," because secretly I thought they were terribly burdensome. I couldn't obey them; no matter how hard I tried, I always fell short. 

That's why Christ came and lived the perfect life we couldn't live and now at conversion, that life is imputed to us as if we lived it. I see now that when we find the commandments of God impossible and crushing, then we are on our way to understanding the grace, mercy, and love of God in sending Jesus, and the magnitude of what he has done for us. 

Now the commandments are not burdensome to me because of the knowledge of Christ's perfect life and power in me helping me to obey, and the law becomes not a burden, but the glorious lamp from Psalm 119:105 guiding my feet in the right direction and illuminating my way on this path of faith. 

In my beautiful wardrobe of righteousness. 

Let's remember that this week.

We are clothed in Christ's righteousness. 💜

"The Silence of the Lambs"

"but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him." ( Hebrews 10:38 )

A couple of weeks ago after the morning sheep count, a year old ewe came up missing. After a short search I found her standing inside of a small thicket. As I slowly approached her, thankfully, I surmised that she was in normal labor without any extra distress.  

A couple days later when another ewe was absent from the flock, I found her in an empty field licking the remains of a mineral block off the ground. After examining her eyes, gums, and weight loss, I saw that she needed to be treated for parasites. I quarantined her for a bit, and she bounced back nicely. Fortunately, hair sheep have proven to be a resilient breed in our area. 

Still another morning, I noticed a sheep off to herself under the shade of an oasis of black walnut and sycamore trees. Before I got over to her, I quickly turned and headed for the barn to grab my work gloves because I could see that she was all caught up in an old strand of barbed wire. I carefully untangled the mess without much damage to the wool, and she happily joined the flock, leaping all the way. 

Another time when a ewe was desperately baaing for one of her lamb twins, the Farmer and I found the poor little ram with his head stuck in a portion of the woven fence line, no worse for wear. 

One of the first things I learned in sheep farming is that if a sheep is missing from the flock, there's a problem. 

Sheep stay together. Another habit I've noticed is that within the flock, sheep tend to stick with their biological family group. In other words, a ewe with her new twin lambs will usually be resting or grazing next to her older girls with her new lambs and on down the generation line. Also nearby are her castrated rams that the Farmer hasn't found time to butcher and process yet.  

Sheep possess herd mentality to a fault. When one starts running in any given direction, they all follow even if that means going over the edge of a cliff. This makes field rotation either a piece of cake or a pain in my side, depending on what direction they go. You never can tell. And Great Pyrenees aren't herd dogs, they're strictly guardians. So they ensure the sheep are protected while being stupid. No sheep left behind.  

For all of the sarcasm with my sheep, the minute I'm among them, I melt. When they look to me for help or grain or in fear because they have no idea what is going on, their sheep eyes never fail to flood my heart with compassion and humble me into milk toast. I totally get why God compares us to sheep. 

The part I didn't get was church.

The flock.

I never understood how important the church is to God and should be to us. I think it's partly because of growing up in the South in our church culture where often times attending church each week was a bit like attending a a country club. Everyone dresses up and gives God their Sunday best, but after that, you keep the rest. You move through the liturgy and finally the benediction and keep on moving, never taking God too seriously. Otherwise you might look like a Jesus freak in your frills and lace. 

On the road to Damascus in Acts 9 when Saul has his radical conversion experience, Jesus appears to him and says, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" Why did Jesus say that Saul ( Paul in Greek ) was persecuting him? Wasn't he persecuting the church? Yes, and when someone persecutes the church they are in fact persecuting Jesus because he calls us "his Body." In Christ, we are now his Bride, his very own Body. We abide in him - that's how much he loves us. 

And how much we should love each other. 

That's why when someone is missing from church, we need to find out why. It could be something as simple as maternity leave or as difficult as a terminal illness, a season of grief, or an entanglement in an egregious sin. Our pastors, the shepherds, depend on us, the sheep, since we do form into these small family groups doing life together.  

Loves takes many forms. 

Love looks for lost sheep. Love speaks the truth at the risk of offending. Love untangles the mess while preserving the wool. 

I'm one of those introverted sheep that has been silent most all of my life until recently when I began to understand the depth of the love of God for his flock. I also know how easy it is to wander off, and the predators that wait to gobble us up. 

Everyday I pray this hymn:

"Jesus sought me when a stranger wandering from the fold of God. 

He rescued me from danger interposed his precious blood.

Prone to wander, Lord I feel it 

Prone to leave the God I love

Here's my heart, Oh take and seal it 

Seal it for thy courts above."

In writing with the hope of warning others about false teachers and doctrines - wolves in sheep's clothing, I have offended anyone, that wasn't my original intention. 

But then I remember that every time I've grown in my faith, it's usually come through first being offended at the truth. I've learned the truth can indeed hurt and often does; but in the long run the truth proves to be a good and needed pain. 

If I'm wrong, no harm done, right? You have at least maybe been encouraged to listen closer to what you're hearing. But if I'm right, have I kept a lamb or sheep from wandering from the flock like I've done at times? 

What lures content sheep away? Pastures that appear greener, richer, more enticing than the one they're on? Wolves in sheep clothing leading the flock in the wrong direction? Listen carefully to Paul's words in Acts 20:

"I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable and teaching you in public and from house to house testifying both to Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ." ( 20-21 )

Paul doesn't shrink from the truth and reminds them of the gospel! That's what he taught them! That is what he said was profitable! 

Then he goes on to warn them in verse 23 that all he cares about doing is finishing his race and testifying to the gospel of the grace of God that he received from the Lord Jesus. He doesn't know what awaits him in Jerusalem - he's about to leave. He's giving them their final instructions. 

He says in verse 29 that he knows "after his departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock." 

That scares the hades out of me. 

Keep listening: "and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them." 

Who is Paul talking with? The text tells us that it is the elders! The elders of the church in Ephesus. So wolves are going to come into the leadership of the church! Drawing away the disciples - that's the sheep. 

Jesus said that there would be false prophets coming to us in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. ( Matthew 7:15 ) Peter said that there would be false teachers among us. ( 2 Peter 2 ) They look and sound like us, so we need to examine their fruit, Jesus told us. That's the test: "A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit." ( 7:18 ) 

One day, and I know this is big talk, but one day, I want to stand before my Father as a daughter who didn't shrink back, because that has always been another weakness of mine, not speaking up, staying silent. 

Love isn't always silent. 

In the church if we replace the Gospel of Jesus Christ with destructive heresies that just help "good people" become "better people" and our focus is to help them live a better life and obey rules rather than giving them the often painful truth of the Good News, of sin, repentance, and redemption, that contains the power to truly transform their lives, then we need to know we are doing this or at the least be aware of the danger in our midst. I wished someone had warned me. 

Surrounding my property and flock of sheep are hundreds of acres of woods filled with coyote and foxes. Their footprints close to my fencing, their eerie howls, I am well aware of the danger lurking all around the sheep. Sadly some predators managed to creep inside the fencing and steal some sheep. 

That's why I was compelled to place safeguards within the flock and especially for the sake of the vulnerable lambs in the form of Great Pyrenees, livestock guardians. If a sheep still goes missing, any farmer worth his salt will search until they find the lost lamb. 

Just like our Good Shepherd. 

May we go and do likewise. 

💜 

The Oil in our Lamp

"In your righteousness, deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me, and save me! Be to me a rock and refuge, to which I may continually come; you have given the command to save me, for you are my rock and fortress." ( Psalm 71:2-3 )  

We hear often that we are living in the last days, and there does seem to be an air of urgency in the atmosphere that the end is quickly approaching. I'm wondering though, since no one knows when Jesus will return, he said himself included, if the weightiness we are sensing isn't so much the end of time, but the end of us. Because the Scripture tells us over and over that our life here on earth is quickly coming to an end, like a vapor, a mist, and a fading flower. 

"So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom." ( Psalm 90:12 ) 

"Be ready," we are warned in Jesus's parable of the five virgins who had no oil in their lamps when the time came to go out and meet the Bridegroom. ( Matthew 25:1-13 ) 

How can we be ready like the five wise virgins who were prepared with oil in their lamps?

The message of Scripture is short and direct: "Repent and believe." These words are spoken by the Old Testament prophets; they are proclaimed from the wilderness by John the Baptist. Jesus taught them to those who had ears to ear and eyes to see. Paul, Peter, John, Jude, the writers of the New Testament, all proclaim the Good News of the Gospel. 

What hinders people then from salvation? 

One thing: those with ears to hear and eyes to see know their need. 

The Pharisees grumbled often that Jesus ate and associated with tax collectors and sinners. 

( Jesus ) told them, "It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners." Mark 2:17 CSB

In the "Upon Waking" devotional day 32 it asks the question, "Do you know what the difference was between the sinners sitting at the table and the sinners pointing their fingers at the table? It's that God had come to save both but only one side knew they needed him." 

Today in our church culture sadly many will not mention "buzz words" like sin, repent, resurrection, and the blood of Jesus so they can be "seeker friendly." How are we being "friendly" when we don't love others enough to tell them the truth?

Repentance shows us our need - we understand that we have not just behaved badly, but we have sinned against a holy God. People are struggling, and rightfully so, with the sin inside of themselves, seeking for help, and the Church must be "seeker friendly" in explaining that Jesus came and lived the perfect life we should have lived, but couldn't, and died the death we should of died for our sins. 

Now when we come to him - and we only come when we understand that we need him and can't save ourselves with our own good works and righteousness - we are clothed in his righteousness. His righteous life is imputed to us. Praise God. 

But we have to know we need him - that's the catch. If we think we are doing okay on our own, in our own righteousness, like the Pharisees and religious leaders of Jesus's day, then we will never come to him. 

He came to save both groups - the righteous and the unrighteous. The younger and the older brother. The Pharisee and the tax collector. The virgins with oil and the virgins without. 

But we must repent and believe.

We have to know we need him. 

💜

There was a farmer who had a dog. And Aslan was his name Oh. ( : 

Come to the Water

"Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the water; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come buy wine and milk without money and without price." Isaiah 55:1

When I began studying theology roughly five years ago now, I had this great awakening in what would probably be referred to as the basics of theology, Bible 101: The entirety of Scripture is about Jesus and not me. 

I know, simple, but oh so profound, isn't it? 

Jesus is David fighting evil and death, not me. I'm no match for giants. Jesus is the fourth man in the fiery furnace with the three Hebrew men, saving them from the flames when they faithfully and boldly refuse to worship any god but the one true God. Jesus is Esther interceding for his people, willing to perish for them. 

One of my favorite places to find Jesus is in the story of Daniel and the Lion's Den, the injustice of an innocent man, the sealed stone, the reluctant ruler not quite sure about the execution he's pressured into pronouncing, the early morning surprise after the stone was rolled away. Daniel wasn't sinless, and he wasn't Jesus. But he was a "type and shadow" of the redemption to come through Jesus. The life of Joseph has perhaps the most ties to Jesus; searching for them all is like hunting for a treasure chest, or the Pearl of great price. 

Yes, I'm in the biblical narrative, of course, because his story becomes my story. I'm the sinner who, in Christ, becomes the sinner saved by grace, the sinner saint who will one day be made perfect when Jesus returns to earth. That's me. Praise God. 

All of the Scriptures, not just the prophesies, point us to Jesus. We learn from them. They offend us and  transform us as we meditate on the Word and apply it, but Jesus is the biblical center of gravity. He's the superhero. Not us. 

"And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he ( Jesus ) interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself." Luke 24:27 

"All" the Prophets and in "all" the Scriptures, Jesus told the two travelers on the road to the village named Emmaus after his resurrection, are about him. 

"You search the Scriptures because you think in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life." John 35:39  

"They bear witness about me," the prophesies are about Jesus ( not America, Trump or Biden ), the stories, the parables, the wisdom literature, all of it, Jesus told the Pharisees the truth and those gathered around him. 

 "..so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth: it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:11 

This verse from Isaiah 55 is a favorite one of the prosperity and word-faith movement preachers. I heard it "declared and decreed" for years and twisted it myself, wringing out my own interpretation. We were taught to stand on this promise for health and wealth, to achieve our life goals, increase our income, buy our dream house, build a successful business, and find favor and blessing waiting around every corner. Our best life now. 

The Bible is so much better than this. 

Then one day I heard the verse preached in context, within the entire chapter, within the biblical narrative, in all of its power and glory, and the verse actually did change my life for the better and forever. 

Why?

Because it's about Jesus. 

This Scripture is not teaching us how to make the Bible or God "work for us." 

Friend, Jesus has already preached in his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 that God feeds his little, feathery sparrows and knows each one of them individually, that he clothes the lilies of the field more splendidly than Solomon in his royal robes. 

Jesus says that we are much more valuable to God than his birds and flowers, so why would we need to eisegesis Scripture in this way, imparting our meaning into the text? Pray by all means for every need, and if God is withholding something from us, hasn't the Gospel convinced you of the unfathomable love of God towards us already? And don't you trust his wisdom and fatherly response with that? So let the text interpret itself. 

What is Isaiah 55 actually teaching? 

Answer: The most beautiful truth is all of human history. 

Take a listen: 

"Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters..... Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?" 

This is speaking of our spiritual need, and all we must do is come to be filled. The world will never be enough. 

"Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." 

This is an offer of salvation - come to God. We must repent and believe "for he will abundantly pardon."

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD."

Our thought are usually curved in on ourselves. 

"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out of my mouth;"

God sent his word to the earth. The word came down like rain and snow and watered the earth, the word brings forth life where it is planted. 

"it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." 

God sent the word for his purpose, not ours. 

"For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the fields will clap their hands."

This is the beautiful, breath-taking language of redemption and restoration! 

"Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the LORD, and everlasting sign that shall not be cut off." 

Praise God - this is a reversal of Eden and the curse we encountered because of sin. Thorns and thistles are no more! This is a salvation chapter! 

So what is the word doing when God sends it down to the earth? Constructing our dream house? No silly, the Word is saving us!!  The Word isn't going to return to God empty - what will the Word take back to God? 

Us!! 

We already have more favor and blessing with God than we can ever wrap our minds around! 

So yes, we are in the story of God as well. We are the rescued children. 

Isn't that beautiful? Aren't you so thankful that you are in Christ's arms being carried back to our Father? 

It sheds a different light on how we should be reading and interpreting the Scriptures. And out of his grace and our gratitude, that's how we live our lives. 

Come to the water. 

"The Birthing Narrative"

"Jesus answered him, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.'" ( John 3:3 ) 

I decided while I was continuing some barn housekeeping this past week and preparing to tag and band the new lambs from this spring's fruitful birthing season that I'd listen to Jen Wilken's Bible study in Exodus. I had ordered it earlier in the month from Lifeway and hadn't made time for it yet. I felt a bit guilty and disobedient though as I had not read the Bible passage or completed the homework section in the workbook beforehand as directed. I admonished myself and made a mental note to do it that evening as I started the audio. 

The Passover and Exodus from Egypt, when God delivered Israel out of slavery and onto the Promise Land, is in many ways the central story of the Old Testament. 

In asking the basic questions about the Exodus text, we learned that authorship is attributed to Moses. Since I knew Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that was no surprise. What did surprise me; however, what I hadn't ever stopped to think about before was 'where' Moses started the story of the Exodus. 

It is God's story, but Moses, most everyone seems to know, possibly in part to all of the movies about his life, Moses is the central human figure in the Exodus narrative: The burning bush, demanding Pharaoh to let God's people go, the ten plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, the difficult wilderness years, Mount Sinai and the Ten Commandments.  

Moses is epic; he's bigger than life it seems.  

But Moses doesn't start his story at what we would consider to be the climatic or epic parts. No, he starts his story with a couple of Hebrew mid-wives. Their names are Shiphrah and Puah. 

Before God raised Moses up to deliverer Israel out of the land of Egypt, mid-wives were already delivering God's children. Literally. 

We learn that the Israelites were still living in Egypt from the time of Joseph. ( Remember him? With his amazing, technicolor dreamcoat? ) Due to extraordinary circumstances Jospeh had become second to Pharaoh in the land of Egypt; he then moved his family to Egypt to care for them when a severe famine struck Canaan. That's how the Israelites ended up in Egypt in the first place. 

Years have past now, and the new Pharaoh won't let the Hebrew people go. 

This Pharaoh doesn't know Joseph and frankly thinks the Israelites are multiplying too quickly and could become too mighty for the Egyptians to handle. He's afraid they will rise up, join with Egypt's enemies, fight against them, and escape, so Pharaoh makes their lives bitter with hard labor as slaves. 

Now there must have been more than two mid-wives within the Israelite people because we are told throughout the account that the Hebrews are multiplying and growing strong. They are a fruitful people. Jen tells us that Shiphrah and Puah were most likely head of the guild, representing all of the mid-wives. Pharaoh calls them to appear before him, commanding the mid-wives to kill the baby boys when they are born, but let the girl babies live. 

Why kill the boys? Why not the girl babies? Because Pharaoh is thinking that the boys are the strong ones, the warriors, the girls can be useful to the Egyptians in "domestic" areas and are of no threat to him, or so he thought. 

The mid-wives of course don't do it; they defy Pharaoh's order. Even when summonsed a second time to Pharaoh so he can find out why they did not obey the order and kill the boys, Shiphrah and Puah lie to his face telling him the Hebrew women are so vigorous that they give birth before the mid-wives can get to them. 

They risk their lives to save lives. 

Then there is Jochebed, Moses's mother, who hides him for the first three months of his life and then constructs a floating basinet and places him in the Nile. ( She uses the same waterproof material that Noah used when building the ark. ) His older sister, who is more than likely Miriam, watches from a distance to see what will become of her baby brother. I can't imagine the pain in either of their hearts. 

As Pharaoh's daughter comes to the Nile to bathe, she discovers the baby boy floating in the Nile. She takes pity on him as she hears him crying and decides in that moment to adopt him as her own child. The young sister watching the fate of her infant brother keeps her head and acts quickly saying that she knows of a "mom" who could nurse the child for her. Pharaoh's daughter encourages Miriam to take the baby to the nurse mom, and she will even pay for his care. 

The story tells us that Moses's own mother did in deed nurse him, and when he had grown older he was returned to Pharaoh's daughter in the palace. She named him "Moses" because she said, "I drew him out of the water."  

You have to laugh at that part of the story. It's like God is saying to Pharaoh, "You think women aren't a threat to you? How about this? I'm sending a deliverer to my people who will deliver them out of your evil hand, and I'm going to use your very own daughter to raise him up, in your very own household, right under your wicked nose."  

The Hebrew women and the mid-wives were Israel's first deliverers. In fact, God was so pleased with the mid-wives, the text tells us that he gave them families of their own. 

Jen pointed out in the study that the Bible gives us such a beautiful picture of female bravery in the lives of these women. I love that she refers to this story as the "birthing narrative." 

And the "birthing narrative" reveals that Moses knew and respected this truth. We are swept away by this knowledge as he finishes the Genesis account and opens up the story of the Exodus, not with a conquering battle scene or him braving the likes of Pharaoh, but with the heroic behavior of the Hebrew mid-wives, his mother, his sister, his Egyptian step-mother, and the daughters of Israel. 

Breathtaking, isn't it? 

I had to stop rummaging around inside of the barn to process what Jen was saying. Tears streamed down my face. This is why expository Bible study is so satisfying, and why I need to make a better effort to do my homework. 

In the digging of the fertile soil of the Word of God beneath the surface and the slow turning and turning of that richness, the Scriptures begin to uncover wounds deep within the human heart and at the same time administer healing. It's the power of the biblical narrative. It unearths and heals the hidden pains we didn't even know were underneath the polished appearance.  

The Scriptures reveal God's heart and his character, and only in finding him first, understanding who he is do I understand who I am and all he created me to be. 

My grandson Jonah, he's four and likes to do every job in the world by himself without help, and whenever he gets in this work mode, my son Josh, his daddy, will say, "Jonah, team work makes the dream work." 

And I think of this cooperative language in not just the Exodus narrative, but in the entire story of God with his creating and ordering of his people, his men and his women, in his purposes, his redemption and his deliverance to one day birth forth out of another precious womb, his Deliverer. 

"For we know that the whole of creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now." ( Romans 8:22 ) 

We all know that there is something seriously wrong with this world. We groan inwardly along with all of creation as if we are all in labor anticipating the day when everything will not only be put right, but made better than before. That desire lies deep within the human soul. 

And the life death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the answer to that longing; no other religion has a leader with an empty tomb who promises to come again, making all things new.  ( Revelation 21:5 ) 

But you have to know you need him. "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." ( James 4:6 )) And I see this also in the lives of these brave women who trusted God in the midst of such atrocities. 

You have to acknowledge the brokenness and sin and that you can't save yourself with all of your righteous deeds. It will never be enough. But God's grace is more than enough in the perfect life and death and resurrection of his Son. In salvation, all of this is imputed to us, and we become part of God's family and his fellow workers in his kingdom.  ( 1 Corinthians 3:9-16, 15:1-4 ) 

"...because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." ( Romans 10:9 ) 

You will be delivered! 

You will be born again! 

( John 3:1-21 ) 

💜

( Exodus 1-2:1-10 ESV / CSB ) 

"God of Deliverance" A Study of Exodus 1-18, Jen Wilken 

The Willing Servant

"Behold, my servant shall act wisely, he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted." ( Isaiah 52:13 )

Yesterday as I engaged in a bit of barn housekeeping, enjoying the welcoming spring weather, I found myself humming and singing the words I could remember to a perennial Easter hymn from the reformed church of my childhood. Pieces of soiled bedding and manure flung out from the dirt floor and met the open fresh morning air, gently sweeping my happy hens along in the melodious labor and breeze. 

But it's one week prior, and we must endure the cross before we can celebrate the crown. 

Pastor Tim Keller used to tell this story in his sermons to help his listeners better understand the significance of what Jesus had done in wrapping himself up in human flesh and experience. He read from an article written by an African-American woman who wrestled with the Christian faith and the existence of God while she was a journalism major in college. Her mother had been beaten to death by her boyfriend, and as one can only imagine, she had suffered greatly as she remembered seeing the bloody hand prints on the wall. 

When she actually heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the first time it moved her to tears and belief because of the power of the sacrifice. She said that she was overcome by the reality that Jesus knew what it was like to be beaten to death by someone who should have loved him. 

The reality that Jesus would leave glory and his Father to lower himself into our world, into our suffering and egregious sin boggles the brain. 

I think of a person who works on sewer systems. That's got to be the dirtiest job imaginable. The workers put on this special suit that protects their skin from coming into contact with the sludge and scum in a septic tank or city sewage drain, and then they lower themselves into the cesspool. 

Like those workman, Jesus lowered himself into our painful, filthy world, but unlike them, he didn't first put on any special gear to protect himself. No, he put on human flesh like all of us so he could feel everything we feel and then some. He allowed himself to feel rejection, suspicion, and mocking. He allowed himself to feel the impact of not only every angry insult, but every brutal fist. He allowed himself to be beat so severely that he wasn't recognizable as a human and cut to pieces by someone who should have loved him, his own creation. 

"As many were astonished at you - his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind - " ( Isaiah 52:14 ) 

Every part of Jesus's interrogation, trial, and sentencing was unjust. No justice was given to him, so we could be justified. Jesus was humiliated, shamed, and counted among the criminals, so we could be counted among the saints in light. Jesus became filthy with our sin, so we could be washed clean. God rejected and forsook his Son, so he would not have to reject and forsake us. God showed no mercy to Jesus, so he could show mercy to us. He abandoned Jesus so he could adopt us as his children. 

Unbelievable, and yet it's true. Jesus took our place on the cross. 

And not because God made him do it. 

The reason that evocative analogy of the train switch-tender and his little son playing in the gear area or on the railway tracks, it's got several versions, but the reason it doesn't work is because the son is unaware that his father is about to sacrifice his life for a train full of people. 

( There is the original 1884 tale, however; where the son obediently lies down on the track and his prompt obedience saves his life. )

The first story doesn't work because Jesus didn't die by accident, and he wasn't strong-armed into the cross by his Father. There was no so called "cosmic child abuse" involved in his death. Jesus volunteered. And this changes everything. 

In the Garden of Gethsemane, God began to give Jesus a taste of what was to come. 

"And he said to his disciples, 'Sit here while I pray.' And he took with him Peter and James and John and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, 'My soul is very sorrowful, even to death.'" ( Mark 14:32-34 ) 

"And he said, 'Abba Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me, Yet, not what I will, but what you will.'" ( verse 36 ) 

"And being in agony he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground." ( Luke 22:44 ) 

Jesus didn't sweat drops of blood because of the crucifixion, as horrific as Roman crucifixion was in that day, God began to reveal to Jesus the cup. He would drink the cup of God's wrath. He would be crucified in our place; he would make for us penal substitutionary atonement. 

This is why I can not believe that Jesus died just to make salvation possible. Not only does the Bible not teach that, but it depicts a weak atonement and a weak Jesus. 

"The Lamb of God," John the Baptist proclaimed, "Who takes away the sin of the world." ( John 1:29 ) 

Do you ever wonder why a lamb? Why was it a lamb sacrificed at the Passover in Egypt, and its blood wiped over the doorposts? Why not a pig or maybe a calf or a chicken? Why did God tell the Israelites to take a lamb and sacrifice it?  

God's children are compared to sheep in the Bible, and Jesus, the Son of God, not giving up his Godhood to become fully flesh, became one of us. All I can say it that I raise sheep and there are not many things in this world as precious and vulnerable and innocent as a soft, baby lamb.  Hurting one seems unthinkable. 

Nails did not hold Jesus to the cross, love did.  

Jesus could have called down a legion of angels to rescue him from his death, but he went knowing full well the cost he was about to pay for our lives with his own blood. After living a perfect life in our imperfect, broken world and freely subjecting himself to our filth and betrayal, Jesus willingly climbed the hill and lay down on the cross. The Lamb of God stayed on the cross for us. But Praise God, he did not stay in the tomb. 

Sunday's coming. 

Because the cross makes a way for the crown. 

💜

"....the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world." ( Revelation 13:8b CSB ) 

 Bible verses from ESV unless otherwise indicated 

A 'Reason' For Hope

"All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come. You will call and I will answer you; you will long for the creature your hands have made." ( Job 14:15 ) 

This is one of my "life verses" - it's actually my "go-to" when I'm scared or sad, when I need to fall asleep, when my heart needs a good preaching to. These words have sustaining power. Yeah, a golden promise, seriously, right there smack in the middle of Job.  

Humans are born needing a strong identity, purpose, meaning, satisfaction, morality, a way to deal with suffering, and hope. 

The human heart longs for hope. 

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end." ( Ecclesiastes 3:11 ) 

Aye yes, the divine hiddenness, but many precious truths God has nestled in our hearts, in plain view. 

Remember what I said in my last blog was the secular answer to the longing for hope? That's right. 

"Just try not to think about it too much." 

In other words: "Since we are accidents and are here arbitrarily, since there is no purpose for our existence or meaning, you need to come up with your own identity. Of course this won't be strong enough to sustain a napkin, but it's all we've got. Live with it. Morality just mysteriously appeared, love is an illusion our brains need to survive, and as for that hope you have in your heart, you know the one for love to be real and to live for all eternity with that love, well, just try not to think about it too much." 

Pretend I'm Google or whatever search engine you use.

Did you find this answer helpful? Yes or No.  

Longing means to yearn for in love. So guess what? In all of our constant yearning to live forever with someone who will love us to our "dirty" core, God satisfies that ache in the resurrection of his Son, our hope is fulfilled in him. He is saying to us, "I'm yearning for you too." 

"for the creature my hands have made." 

Please think about this today: 

Not only does the truth of God's longing for us and preparing a resurrection for our bodies, where he will call our name and we will rise to live with him for all eternity, give us hope, but it gives our lives meaning, purpose, satisfaction, a place to root the moral code inside of us, and a way to deal with the suffering we face. 

In the Old Testament in the middle of the greatest of human suffering, God reveals through that pain the beauty and hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as Job cries out that he knows his Redeemer lives and at last will stand upon the earth. Job is saying in essence, "Your love is so intense; you won't let me stay dead." "Every verse whispers his name." Even in Job. (1) ( Job 19:25 ) 

Regardless of what secularism is suggesting, they certainly aren't backing up their claims with anything of substance for the neediness that haunts the human soul. Because Christianity does, it is a reasonable faith. It is a livable faith. 

It is a faith we can live with! 

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ answers all of our needs, and the greatest hope of the human heart is fulfilled to overflowing. Longing for eternity with our Creator was God's idea. He put the hope in our hearts in the first place. He's the hunger and the feast. 

One day when he calls, we will rise, all of us in Christ, the creatures he longs for. 

We can live in light of this sustaining truth today and everyday until that glorious moment. 

"Did you find this answer helpful?" 

" A thousand times, Yes!"

💜

( 1 ) The Jesus Storybook Bible; Every Verse Whispers His Name by Sally Lloyd-Jones 

Bible verses from ESV