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WHAT DOES YOUR PLACE IN HEAVEN LOOK LIKE?
DARTMOUTH, Nova Scotia, June 6, 2021 – My house in Heaven sits on hundreds of thousands of acres. Yes, that’s right – hundreds of thousands (it’s not a typo). We all get lots of space in Heaven, if that’s what we want.
It’s a small house (a cottage, really), just big enough for my furry little loved ones and I to eat and sleep and hang out, but with enough room for friends to visit, too. And you always get visitors in Heaven. Friends drop by every day, including (on occasion) The Big Guy and His Side-Kick.
I mean God and Jesus (lol).
They have a special room that’s just for them.
Inside the house are all my funny little keepsakes that I’ve loved and cherished over my lifetime. Most of them are no longer on Earth, or if they are, they’re no longer in my possession, but I remember them fondly and I used to mourn them. But now I know that all those things I lost or sold or broke or left behind are in Heaven waiting for me. All of them, and just as I remembered them. This makes me happy, thinking about that. I no longer mourn them, and it’s also easier to let other things go, knowing I’ll have them again someday, and that I’ll always have them from that point onward.
There are no good-byes in Heaven, and no breaking or losing anything. Everything is perfected and remains so for eternity.
Outside on my hundreds of thousands of acres are all the animals I’ve loved and wept over and eaten during my lifetime on Earth. They all get to spend their forever doing whatever makes them happy, and they all get along. No growling in Heaven. The ones I’ve eaten don’t know I’ve eaten them, and neither do I. They only remember the happy times they had on Earth, just like I only remember the happy times. No unhappy memories get into Heaven.
On my hundreds of thousands of acres are also some animals I’ve never actually seen during my time on Earth because they went extinct before I was born. And there are other animals I’ve never even heard of because they don’t exist in the fossil record. Lots of happy surprises in Heaven, for those who want them.
My land in Heaven is made up of all my favourite places and scenery on Earth, along with all my favorite flowers and trees and other plants. My favorite insects are waiting there for me, too. All of my favorite creatures are waiting for me.
Jesus says to store up your treasures in Heaven, and that’s what I’m doing. Storing up happy memories and beautiful scenes. My little slice of Heaven includes parts of the Grand Canyon, the Rockies and the Alps, a bit of the prairies, some forests and ocean cliffs, a stretch of rocky shore, and some coves and beaches. There are even a few islands dotting a handful of lakes. It’s all there waiting for me, all my beloved animals and plants and natural scenery, all in their own places but forming a seamless expanse as far as the eye can see.
In case you’re wondering, yes, I have neighbours in Heaven. We keep a neighbourly distance from each other. Travel options in Heaven are different than on Earth, so vast spaces can be crossed in an instant.
I’m telling you all this because there are so many lies being told on Earth about Heaven and what it looks like. It’s the devil’s job to downplay the wonders of Paradise (don’t get on his case about that; as I said, it’s his job), so we need to go to God directly and ask him ourselves.
Have you asked God yet what your place in Heaven looks like? Have you asked him to show you what’s waiting for you if you make it all the way home? If you haven’t asked God yet, you need to do it. God wants to show you. He’s waiting for you to ask him to show you, so ask him.
That’s how I know about my hundreds of thousands of acres. I asked God, and he showed me, and every day he shows me a little bit more. He’s not going to show me everything (that would ruin the surprise!), but just enough to boost my spirits and remind me what all the trials and tribulations on Earth are for, just enough to remind me what I’m fighting for.
People forget that; they forget that Heaven is the reward we’re striving for. We’re not fighting the good fight just for the sake of fighting; we’re fighting the good fight so we can go home again. I say “again”, because we were all created in Heaven. Our souls were formed in Heaven and we were reborn in the heavenly realms. Our yearning and love for God is in part a yearning and love for Home.
I hope you ask God today to show you what’s stored up in Heaven waiting for you. God wants to show you. He gets really excited when you ask him (the way people on Earth get excited when they’re planning a big surprise for someone they love), so go ahead – ask him. What you see will amaze you and give you the boost you need to keep going. Ask him every day, if you want. God is more than happy to show you. He loves you and he’s storing up everything on Earth that you love, just for you. It’s all waiting for you, if and when you make it Home.
TEN SIGNS OF A FALSE PROPHET
DARTMOUTH, Nova Scotia, June 6, 2021 – I wrote a while back about YouTube preachers, calling what they do “spiritual porn”, and so it is. They want to titillate in order to gain clicks and subscribers rather than to genuinely inform God’s people. As a follow-up, I’ve made a short list of the main signs to watch for when you’re discerning whether or not a preacher or teacher who claims to be sent by God (that is, inspired by God’s Holy Spirit) is in fact a false prophet. These are by no means the only signs, but they are the key ones.
Here they are, in no particular order of importance (because they are ALL important):
1. A false prophet conflates God and Jesus. This is huge. The claim that Jesus is God rather than the son of God is one of the main signs that you’re dealing with a false prophet. Jesus never referred to himself as God, saying only that God was in him through God’s Holy Spirit. If you’re genuinely born-again and you know God as your Heavenly Father and Jesus as your Messiah, then you know they are two very separate beings. I’ve written before about why this push to conflate God and Jesus is growing stronger. It has to do with the false prophet who will sit on a throne in the third temple in Jerusalem, claiming to be Jesus and demanding to be worshiped as God. This is scriptural prophecy. Jesus sits at the right hand of God, having lordship over creation, but he is not God.
2. A false prophet asks for financial donations. Like Judas, false prophets love money and are driven by it. All professional preachers (that is, preachers who get paid a salary to preach) are false prophets. For unsalaried independent false prophets, I guarantee you that somewhere on their website or YouTube account is a “Donations” button. I have yet to see a false prophet who hasn’t asked for money in exchange for preaching. And yes, I realize I include every professional minister, pastor, priest and dime-store preacher in this sweeping condemnation, but I stand by it.
If you genuinely love God, genuinely follow Jesus, and are genuinely born-again, you will NEVER ask for money to preach and teach the Word. Nor will you ask for money or suggest a donation for praying for people or ministering to their spiritual needs. “Render unto Caesar those things that are Caesar’s, and unto God those things that are God’s.” Jesus accepted donations, but he never solicited them. If someone wants to give you money with no strings attached, take it. It’s a gift from God meant for your use, and you will bless the giver by taking it. But soliciting money or charging for your services as an alleged minister of God is a big red flag that you’re not what you say you are.
3. A false prophet preaches that Jesus is coming back soon to set up a worldly kingdom. I’ve written on several occasions about this. God’s Kingdom was set up by Jesus 2000 years ago and is a spiritual kingdom, not a worldly one. When Jesus comes back in glory (oh, what a sight that will be!), he will not be hanging around to set up a worldly kingdom. Scripture says he’ll be sending his angels to the four corners of the earth to gather together the last of the faithful. There is no word about Jesus touching down on Earth, let along settling in for an extended stay.
Remember that Jesus has a glorified body now. He lives entirely in the heavenly realms. He told us he will appear in glory, which means he will appear in his second coming as he appears in Heaven. He will be in his heavenly glorified body. These bodies are not the same as flesh and blood bodies. They are not made for Earth. Are we to expect that Jesus gives up his glorified body for an earthly one? Scripture says nothing about Jesus doing that.
4. A false prophet over-quotes and misapplies scripture. Just before beginning his ministry work, Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by the devil. One of the main tricks the devil and false prophets like to do is throw reams of scripture at you, usually citing chapter and verse to dazzle you with their knowledge. The truth is, however, that most of their quotes are misapplied and sometimes even shortened or cobbled together with other shortened quotes to change the context, giving them the opposite meaning to what God intended. Jesus easily dealt with the devil’s misapplied quotes because Jesus knew scripture. Most Christians these days don’t know scripture, which makes them easy to deceive. The better you know scripture, the less likely you’ll be able to be deceived by those who misapply it.
5. A false prophet has the whiff of BS. Like a slick snake-oil salesman, there’s something vaguely off about false prophets. You can’t quite put your finger on it, but they’re trying too hard to sell you something they can see you’re hesitant to buy. Something just doesn’t add up, regardless of how many Bible quotes they throw at you to convince you of their sincerity or legitimacy. As a woman, when I hear a false prophet, I’m reminded of some men I used to date before I was born again. After they’d dropped me off at my door at the end of the evening, they would use every line in the book to get me to invite them in. False prophets have the same slimy aggression, saying whatever it is they think you want to hear in order to get what they want. A prophet from God gives you the sense that Truth is being spoken, not lies. It may be uncomfortable at times to hear the Truth (because it convicts you and forces you to re-examine and re-evaluate your choices), but you still have the sense that it is Truth. This sense of Truth does not come from false prophets.
6. A false prophet will guarantee you’re going to Heaven just for “having faith” or “believing”. There is no greater reward than Heaven. Imagine saying to an athlete competing in trials to qualify for the Olympics that he’d won a gold medal simply for showing up at the trials. You’d be laughed to scorn if you claimed this, and yet false prophets have no problem handing out spiritual gold medals to anyone who shows up to listen to them. For a false prophet, the reward of Heaven is so cheap and easily achieved, all you have to do is “believe” and “have faith” and you’re in.
When Paul argued the primacy of faith and belief, he was using it in two ways: 1) in contradistinction to the Law (meaning that, since Jesus’ sacrifice, simply fulfilling the 600+ dictates of the Law was not enough; you had to be washed by the blood of the Lamb Jesus, that is, be born again and receive Jesus as your Messiah), and 2) in showing that gentiles, not just the children of Abraham, could enter the Kingdom. Gentiles entered God’s Kingdom by faith (that is, rebirth through God’s Holy Spirit) rather than genetics (that is, as children of Abraham).
Yes, having faith in God and believing that Jesus is the Messiah are necessary mindsets for admission to Heaven, but they’re not all we need. Jesus tells us that we’ll be held accountable for our every word and every thought, and that he will “give every man according to his work”. False prophets deny this, claiming that belief and faith are all we need to get into Heaven. Genuine belief and genuine faith do not come solely from doing God’s will. In other words, you don’t gain belief and faith simply by doing God’s will. That is the realm of the Law, and we are no longer in that realm as born-again believers. We are in the kingdom, with admission by spiritual rebirth only. If faith and belief came solely from doing God’s will, demons would be in the kingdom and on their way to Heaven, because they do God’s will. They have no choice. But clearly, demons are not going to Heaven.
The truth is that you do God’s will because you believe and have faith, not the other way around. Your belief and your faith come from God, not from your works. Even so, if you genuinely believe and have faith, you will be obedient to God and do his will because you love him and cannot conceive of doing anything except what pleases him, like Jesus did. So if you say you have faith and believe but at the same time do things that are contrary to God’s will, you’re lying about your faith and belief: You’re lying to yourself and you’re lying to others. Your acts (that is, your words, thoughts and deeds) show your faith and belief, and you can’t fool God. He knows exactly who genuinely believes and who doesn’t.
But you can fool people, and that’s what a false prophet does in claiming that all you need to do is believe in Jesus and off you go to Heaven. Don’t be deceived.
7. A false prophet preaches the importance of family. Jesus was not a family man. In fact, he said that those who are worthy of the Kingdom neither marry nor are given in marriage, that they become “eunuchs” for the Kingdom of Heaven’s sake. Eunuchs don’t have a wife/husband and kids. They give up having those relations. Jesus also said that his family were not blood relatives but those who did God’s will. These statements were as clear as Jesus could make them, and yet false prophets surround themselves with family members working in their ministry, especially their spouse, and pride themselves in their children and grandchildren.
Consider also that none of Jesus’ disciples and pre-resurrection followers were his family members. He was rejected by his family as resoundingly as he was rejected by everyone else in Nazareth. He said that a prophet was not honored in his own family or country. Even John the Baptist was not a follower of Jesus, and Jesus did not choose him as a disciple. And he said that those who do not hate mother, father, sister, brother and children and spouse are not worthy of the Kingdom. I’m not sure how he could have made this any clearer.
8. A false prophet is surrounded by worldly wealth. This goes hand-in-hand with asking for donations, but a false prophet is easily spied by how much wealth he or she is surrounded by and how much store he or she puts on that wealth (including preps – I’m talking to someone here). Followers of Jesus are to live as Jesus lived, which is being constantly on the move, beholden to no-one, owning no property, and having no worldly ties. Followers of Jesus should live “with loins girded” and always ready to leave at a moment’s notice with nothing but the clothes on their back. God will provide for all needs. Prepping, unless directly instructed to you by God, shows a lack of faith in God’s ability to provide for you. Surrounding yourself with worldly wealth does not reflect the gospel message to live like Jesus and his disciples.
9. A false prophet has a YouTube channel. I wrote here before about people who host YouTube channels being false prophets, every last one. I stand by that assertion. I don’t include videos that have been posted by a third party without the knowledge or permission of a preacher or teacher; I mean videos posted by people or organizations claiming to be inspired by God, whereas their real inspiration is clicks, subscribers, getting attention, and making money from their videos and ministries. These types of false prophets either make videos that are mostly just Bible quotes strung together out of context, or videos of themselves “hearing from God” or prophesying apocalyptic future events. None of these Bible-quoting or doom-and-gloom videos offer practical guidance for everyday life as a born-again believer, but instead catch your attention with apocalyptic and end-time warnings. In other words, their message is fear-based rather than instructional, which is a big red flag that you’re dealing with a false prophet.
False prophets like those on YouTube are not a new phenomenon. Both the old and new testaments make reference to them, with God stating that many claim to be from him though he didn’t send them, and Paul reminding us to test the spirits. Unfortunately, too many Christians believe that anyone claiming to be from God and quoting scripture is actually from God, despite Jesus’ direct warnings about false prophets, and despite evidence in the Bible that even Satan himself quotes (and purposely misapplies) scripture. We need to discern real from false, right from wrong, genuine from fake. We need to test the spirits and compare with scripture what people tell us, not just swallow whole whatever message is served up on the latest YouTube platter.
10. A false prophet is not born-again. Jesus says you must be born-again to enter the Kingdom. If false prophets were born-again, they wouldn’t be conflating God and Jesus, asking for donations, claiming that Jesus is coming back soon to set up a worldly kingdom, misapplying scripture, giving off a scent of BS, insisting you’re going to Heaven just for “believing”, preaching the importance of family, surrounding themselves with worldly wealth, and/or hosting a YouTube channel. If you ask a false prophet if they’re born again, most will say something like: “Yes, I’ve accepted Jesus as my personal savior”, but none will have a compelling rebirth story.
Spiritual rebirth is an even bigger event than physical birth. All mothers remember in intimate and gory detail the circumstances surrounding the birth of their children, just as all those who are genuinely born again remember in intimate and glorious detail the circumstances surrounding their rebirth.
Being reborn is the most defining moment in your life, and every detail is permanently etched in your mind as if it just took place today. It is by far the most extraordinary thing that ever happened to you and is inexplicable in human terms because it is a miracle – that is, the immortal realm acting directly on the mortal realm, the spiritual on the earthly. False prophets have no such story and can provide no evidence that their lives changed drastically in an instant. Instead, most of them have a history either of attending Bible college or seminary, or a background they’d rather not talk about.
Sadly, not all false prophets know they’re false prophets. Some are demon-driven and think their “spiritual gifts” are from God, while others are just looking for attention and find that spiritually hungry people are easiest to attract and fool.
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This is by no means an exhaustive list of how to discern a false prophet, but it covers the main points. Paul warned us that wolves would be coming for the sheep, and the wolves are everywhere these days, masquerading as believers. Don’t be fooled by them. It’s important to know whether or not the people you’re taking spiritual guidance from are false prophets, because they will lead you down the proverbial garden path, whether purposely or not. Their habit is to mix scriptural Truth with lies, leading you to err on the side of believing them solely for the small measure of Truth they do speak. This is how they get their hooks in you and this is also how they will lead you astray.
Not every body of water can be drunk from, just as not everyone claiming to be born-again or from God is actually born-again or from God. Discernment is key. The ten signs of a false prophet mentioned here should be applied to anyone you’re taking spiritual guidance from, even on a casual basis.
The wolves will soon outnumber the sheep. Best to cling tighter and tighter to the Good Shepherd. Best to rely on the source itself (the Bible) than on interpreters of it. Best to spend time with God and Jesus in prayer and reading the Bible than on ear-tickling worldly entertainment provided by false prophets on YouTube or TV or elsewhere.
But the choice is yours. I have stated here what is in your best interest if Heaven is your goal. What you choose to do with this information is up to you. I hope you choose what will lead you to eternal life, because that is the good and right choice. Everything else leads to eternal death.
MAKING GOOD USE OF THE WORLD’S BOUNTY
DARTMOUTH, Nova Scotia, June 5, 2021 – God made the world for us.
More specifically, he made it for us to use as a resource.
He didn’t make it for us to exploit, but he also didn’t make it for us to turn into a nature museum or an object of worship.
He made the world for us to use, and he put the world and all its creatures under our stewardship.
He wants us to use the world and its resources wisely.
He doesn’t want us to harm and exploit the world, but he also doesn’t want us to worship it and prevent other people from using it.
I have a big problem with those who exploit nature, but I have just as big a problem with those who worship it and turn land that otherwise would be viable for housing and farming into protected parks.
As Christians, we need to use God’s earthly resources wisely. We should never exploit nature for money or power, but we should also not try to prevent other people from using natural resources to their benefit.
There are more than enough resources for everyone on this planet. The problem is that some people exploit those resources, while others try to prevent the resources from being used. Both approaches are wrong.
God wants us to use the world. He made it for us to use. This includes the resource of human societies. Some Christians are fanatical about rejecting the world, meaning the elements that are manmade, but God also inspired some of those elements to serve as our resources. Like nature, human society is our resource and, like nature, it should be used wisely. But it should be used.
Think of how Jesus lived and moved through the world during his ministry years. He rented rooms and houses, chartered boats, taught at local synagogues, and even preached in the temple in Jerusalem on occasion. He rejected the sin of the world, but he didn’t reject the world’s resources, whether natural or manmade. He knew God had put them there for his use, just as surely as God put the gold coin in the fish’s mouth for him to pay the custom tax.
We are to be in the world, but not of the world. Being in the world means using its resources for our purposes. God wants us to use them and is very generous in providing for us. We do God a great disservice when we, in rejecting the ways of the world, also reject the resources of the world that God has put there for us. We throw out the baby with the bathwater. We shouldn’t do that.
God is beyond generous, even to those who hate him. Don’t reject the gifts he wants to give you through the natural and manmade resources of the world. This includes the gift of meat. Did you know that all the animals you eat have a place Heaven? Don’t feel bad or guilty about eating them. God put certain animals on Earth solely for that purpose. Just do what you can to make sure that they have a good life here (that’s what good stewardship is about) before it’s time for them to go home. To the best of your ability and knowledge, only support farmers who treat their livestock humanely.
Since Adam’s fall, the world has become a breeding ground for sin and is heading for sure destruction. But the world is also a near limitless bounty for those who do God’s will. Jesus showed us how to use the world’s resources, both natural and manmade. He ate well by accepting dinner invitations from the rich, he lived well by letting his female followers minister to his needs, and he dressed well by accepting gifts from his supporters. He didn’t solicit these gifts; he graciously accepted them and made use of them. These are all resources that God put in Jesus’ path to help him in his ministry work.
God knows what we need, and he’s more than willing to provide, as long as we do our part. So do your part in the Kingdom (don’t be spiritually or physically lazy!) and graciously accept God’s gifts that he so wants to give you. Use all of the resources God has put on Earth for your benefit, whether natural or manmade, because anything that benefits you as a born-again believer ultimately benefits God’s Kingdom.
JUST A REMINDER: JESUS HEALS
DARTMOUTH, Nova Scotia, June 4, 2021 – I have stepped back from advising people what to do in certain matters that shall remain nameless here (lest the blog be banned), but other Christians have been quite vocal and even bullying.
I don’t agree with their pushing their point of view on others in this matter.
For Christians, some decisions MUST be made under the advisement of God, not of people, not even of so-called spiritual leaders, and certainly not under the advisement of worldly so-called experts.
Jesus was a healer. Healing was the focus of his ministry work, whether physical healing or spiritual healing. Usually when the spiritual healing was accomplished, the physical healing happened at the same time.
That’s not to say that all physical ills and chronic conditions are a manifestation of sin on a soul, but most are. That being said, I don’t believe in applying factory-made chemicals to heal an illness. I do believe in applying pain relief, though, for some circumstances, knowing that the pain relief is a temporary fix, not a healing. But true healing comes from getting to the root of the problem and dealing with that, not with merely treating symptoms, whether current or anticipated.
There is no instance in scripture where Jesus applied healing to someone who wasn’t sick. He just didn’t do it. Jesus healed only those who presented as sick and were in need of healing, and he trained his disciples to do the same. He never performed preventative healing.
These are my thoughts on the topic that shall remain nameless here. We are to follow Jesus in everything we do. If Jesus didn’t do something that we’re being goaded into doing, then we shouldn’t do it, either.
Again, these are just my thoughts on the matter. In all instances involving life-changing decisions with far-reaching consequences that affect both your life in the world and your life in the Kingdom, you need to take it up with God. But keep in mind that Jesus is your example, if you’re a born-again believer. And Jesus was a healer.
He still is.
HOW DO CHRISTIANS PROTEST? THROUGH PRAYER
DARTMOUTH, Nova Scotia, June 3, 2021 – God has given Christians their very own special way to protest – it’s called “prayer”.
I mention this because some Christians don’t seem to have gotten that memo.
If you don’t like the way things are, you take it to God. You pray about it.
Christians protest through prayer.
I’ll say that again, a little louder for those who still haven’t heard:
CHRISTIANS PROTEST THROUGH PRAYER.
We don’t carry signs and make demands of the world: We pray. We ask God to change what we don’t like (through divine intervention), or we ask him to help us to accept what we don’t like or to help us find a workaround for it.
Either way, we go to God, just like Jesus did (and just like Jesus taught us to do). We don’t stand in public making a big show of it; we go into the privacy of our room (or our head) and we talk to God. We air our grievances in quiet petition to God, not in noisy protest to the world.
I know I’m starting to sound like a broken record (and I apologize for that), but this needs to be said one more time. There are some Christians reading this who still don’t get it.
Christians are to protest through private or group prayer, and preferably not in public. The only time Jesus prayed aloud in public was when he was making a point (namely, that he was the Messiah), in which case he’d preface his prayers by saying something like “Father, I know you always hear me, but I’m saying this so that the people here will know you sent me.” And then God would work a miracle through him. But otherwise, when he wanted to pray, Jesus went off by himself. He told us to go into our room to pray. He didn’t say anything about taking it to the street. Jesus at no time participated in mass public protests. So if Jesus didn’t do it, neither should we.
The only petitions you should be supporting are those sent to God in prayer.
Please consider this the next time you’re tempted to “do something” in response to a grievance.
As a Christian, prayer should be your first and last and one-and-only form of protest.
Take it to God, not to the street.
PUT DOWN THE PROTEST SIGN AND FOLLOW JESUS!
DARTMOUTH, Nova Scotia, May 30, 2021 – As born-again believers, we are to follow Jesus in everything we do.
This is non-negotiable.
It also means we don’t fight against worldly authorities. Paul says that these authorities are ordained by God, so if we fight against them, we are ultimately fighting against God.
That is not a wise thing to do, especially as born-again believers.
Jesus never fought against worldly authorities. His conflicts were only and exclusively with those who claimed to know God and to be doing God’s will, but were falsely representing both God and his will. These were the religious authorities of the time and also occasionally his own followers. Most of the former rejected his corrections and plotted to kill him, while most of the latter accepted his instruction and learned from it.
Clearly, we are to accept Jesus’ corrective instruction and learn from it.
I mention this issue because many Christian organizations today are taking up worldly arms to fight worldly authorities. If nothing else, this shows them to be the worldly organizations that they are, more concerned with their perceived rights in the world than in their responsibilities to God’s Kingdom. Protests are not gospel teaching and should never be part of a born-again believer’s life. Neither should we sign petitions or in any way try to interfere with the administration of worldly justice. Let the world be. Jesus did. He said that his kingdom is not of this world, and his sole focus and concern was his kingdom.
We are to be in the world, not of the world.
However, if God sends the hungry to you and tells you to feed them, feed them.
If God sends the naked to you and tells you to clothe them, clothe them.
If God sends the homeless to you and tells you to house them, house them.
If God sends the sick to you and tells you to heal them, heal them.
But don’t go looking for people to feed and clothe and house and heal. That is not your job. Deal with the needs of the kingdom, providing help only to those God specifically puts in your path and asks you to help. He won’t bless your shoot-wide, one-size-fits-all “charitable” efforts.
One of the worst features of worldly Christianity is do-gooders forcing their help on people who don’t want their help, including spiritual help. More damage has been done to the gospel message by Christian do-gooders than by the whole host of Hell’s demons combined. Worldly Christians truly are their own worst enemies.
They’re also ours.
Even so, if a worldly authority commands you to do something against the gospel teachings, you don’t have to comply. But you also shouldn’t organize a protest or splash your grievance across social media with a gofundme page. You just don’t comply. You find a work-around. Your non-compliance should be a secret between you and God, not a grandstanding position between you and the world.
God will always find a way out for you. Exemptions will be made. A door may close, but a window will open.
What the devil intends for your harm, God will turn around for your benefit, if you go to God for justice, not to the world.
When the decree went out from Herod to kill all children aged 2 and under in Bethlehem and surrounding regions, God had Joseph take Mary and Jesus and flee to Egypt.
God will always find a way out for you.
When Jesus was under threat of death in certain areas where he was preaching, God had him move to other areas where he could safely continue his ministry work.
God will always find a way out for you.
When the early church was under severe persecution, God had his believers flee to safe havens or go underground.
God will always find a way out for you.
But don’t protest. Don’t sign petitions. Don’t march in the streets. Don’t go onto social media to air your grievance. And don’t hire a lawyer. Take whatever is oppressing you to God, and GOD WILL FIND A WAY OUT FOR YOU.
It’s his promise to his people, and especially to his born-again children.
Let the world be, and follow Jesus in everything you do.
FINDING YOUR SPIRITUAL BALLS
DARTMOUTH, Nova Scotia, May 28, 2021 – Volcanoes don’t start out as mountains. They begin as holes punched through the earth’s surface by steam and lava rising from deep within. Over time, the space around the hole grows higher and higher until a majestic mountain forms, like Mount Sinai.
Volcanoes are built by this process. It’s how they exist.
I mention this because volcanoes and humans have more in common than you may think. Like volcanoes, we’re built emotionally to let off steam, boil over, and occasionally erupt. Even born-again followers of Jesus have this inbuilt nature, with Jesus himself demonstrating it on occasion. Sometimes he steamed, sometimes he boiled over, and sometimes he ferociously erupted.
He expects us to do the same.
The traditional notion of “being Christian”, however, does not condone intense emotional displays. We’re taught to take it all with a smile, turn the other cheek, never get offended, and love our enemies. All of this can and should be done by the power of God’s Holy Spirit and needs to be our everyday playbook, almost without exception. But every now and then even God’s Spirit reaches his limit, and a simmering boil turns into a full-blown holy rage.
These blow-outs are not failures on our part. On the contrary, they’re what build, strengthen, and define us as Christians. God’s righteous anger forms the backbone of the Old Testament, and Jesus himself famously demonstrated righteous anger when he overturned the money-changers’ tables and whipped the offenders out of the temple. That spectacular emotional eruption still rumbles through the ages.
Humans have been made to let off steam and sometimes rise to a boil. As born-again Christians, we can call on God’s guidance to show us the appropriate level of response at any given time. But every once in a while the whole process gets thrown overboard, and before we know it, we’re in the midst of a major and unstoppable eruption.
God tells me he calls this “finding your spiritual balls”.
I’m thinking that most of you reading this know what I’m talking about. It’s like you’ve jumped onto train going full speed down the track, with no brakes in sight. Something takes over you, and you let ‘er rip.
It’s a wonder to behold!
I don’t believe you can be truly Christian until you’ve found your spiritual balls. The more “meek and mild” you are in dealing with the world and its atrocities, the more you need to occasionally erupt in a spectacular display. God didn’t make his children to be bent over in submission. He made us to stand tall. In fact, one of the first directives God gave me the day I was born-again was to stand up and look up.
I’ve been standing up and looking up ever since.
When we find our spiritual balls – that is, when we let God work through us in righteous anger – we become a formidable spiritual force of nature. Like a grizzly bear rearing up on its hind legs and roaring a warning to its adversary, we are our enemies’ worst nightmare. Volcanic eruptions are meant to invoke fear so that anyone in the area will flee; emotional eruptions by the power of God’s Holy Spirit are meant to invoke holy fear and bring spiritual correction.
Like Jesus, we need to allow God to work through us in righteous anger. It’s part of what it means to be Christian. In so doing, we become participants in God’s corrective justice, partnering with God through his Holy Spirit to bring restoration and healing.
We also get the chance to find our spiritual balls.
And when you’ve found them, you’d better hang onto them, because you’re going to need them for what’s coming.
Oh, that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence,
As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!
Isaiah 64:1-2
FALSE PROPHETS: A TIMELY REMINDER
DARTMOUTH, Nova Scotia, May 26, 2021 – You’ll know who the false prophets are because they’ll try to entice you to do things that Jesus warned you not to do.
Like, for instance, protest.
Jesus never protested. He never raised his voice in the streets.
He never pushed back against Roman (worldly) law enforcement.
And he never hired a lawyer. In fact, he told us not to organize our legal defense in advance but to let the Holy Spirit give us the words when our time in court comes.
You can always tell false prophets by how they do things opposite to what Jesus told us to do. And then they try to get us to do the same wrong things by claiming it’s somehow right or virtuous.
The pastors getting fined and incarcerated for protesting and then hiring lawyers for their legal counsel need to brush up on scripture.
Paul warned us that the false prophets would come dressed in sheep’s clothing.
Just a reminder.
WHAT IS THE PATIENCE OF THE SAINTS, AND DO YOU HAVE IT?
DARTMOUTH, Nova Scotia, May 12, 2021 – Most of us remember, as children, being told to be patient. That was the signal that we had to reign in our excitement and “settle down”. We had to sit still and wait, and then wait some more. We had to put our excitement on hold.
Told this enough times, we came to see patience as something that got between us and what we wanted. We started to see patience as our enemy. We didn’t want to be patient; we wanted what we wanted, and we wanted it right now.
Fast forward to today, to our born-again adult selves. Yet again we are being told to be patient, but this time by scripture. As followers of Jesus, we are to be patient in suffering and to have the patience of the saints, because in our patience (we’re told) we possess our souls.
Patience is the unsexy eldest daughter of the virtue family. She’s the plain one who sits in the corner by herself at parties, hair tied back, no make-up, and no skin showing below the chin. Patience is not the one you automatically gravitate toward. She’s easy to overlook and in fact prefers it that way. She just sits there quietly and waits.
When Jesus first appeared on the scene 2000 years ago, he was likewise unassuming. Instead of a wealthy charismatic military leader of noble birth, Jesus was a humble and (mostly) quietly-spoken carpenter, the son of a carpenter. In fact, he was so unlike what people expected the Messiah to be that nearly everyone rejected him for that very reason. But Jesus, as we now know, was very much the Messiah and had the power, under his unassuming exterior, to change all things for all time.
Patience is similarly underestimated.
There’s a part of us (our inner five-year-old) that squirms when we’re told to have patience, even when it’s God and Jesus telling us. But what exactly do they mean when they talk about patience? Is it the same dreaded patience our parents told us to have when we were children, or do God and Jesus mean something else?
I believe the patience spoken about in scripture is something quite different. Yes, it does include the element of waiting, but more importantly it signifies our unwavering and unconditional commitment to God. The patience that God and Jesus want us to practice as their saints is this: standing firm in God’s Commandments as a follower of Jesus, and refusing to budge, no matter what.
If we practice this kind of patience, we will endure to the end, and Jesus said we need to endure to the end to be saved. We’re not saved just by being born-again; we’re saved by being born-again AND enduring to the end. But we’re not going to be able to endure unless we practice the patience of the saints by refusing to compromise our loyalty to God. If we practice this kind of patience, we’ll keep our soul.
So Patience, far from being the wallflower of the party, is actually the guest of honor. Patience is the one holding it all together, even if her understated appearance and murky reputation are misleading. Jesus was the same during his time on Earth – understated and misinterpreted, but still the very Lion of the tribe of Judah and God’s one and only Messiah.
My grandmother used to say: “Appearances are deceiving”. The patience we need to practice as born-again believers is not the same patience we hated as children. If we are to be saved, we must stand firm and we must stand strong, knowing that Jesus is standing with us.
And we must never exchange our souls for anything.
That, my friends, is the patience of the saints.
Do you have it?
THE SCAM OF FAUX PERSECUTION
DARTMOUTH, Nova Scotia, May 10, 2021 – Another day in Lockdownland (formerly known as Canada), and yet another slew of pastors arrested for defying attendance restrictions at their churches.
Note that these pastors aren’t being arrested for preaching the Word. If they were being arrested for preaching the Word, I’d be supporting them. But they’re allowed to preach the Word. No-one’s stopping them. Christianity is not outlawed in Canada. The Bible isn’t banned.
No, these pastors are being arrested for the very unsexy and worldly crime of violating attendance restrictions. There is absolutely no persecution involved whatsoever. They’re being arrested as anyone else would be arrested for doing the same thing at any other kind of building within the restriction zone.
There is no persecution involved. Zero persecution. If a daycare were to open under the same attendance restrictions and the daycare workers arrested, could they claim persecution? Of course not. And neither should any of these arrested pastors.
Frankly, these guys (and they’re all guys, from what I’ve seen) are just being drama queens. They’re not fighting for freedom of assembly or freedom of religion, and they’re not achieving anything other than this: bringing donations to their organizations.
Scratch an arrested pastor and I guarantee you’ll find, just under the surface, a fund soliciting donations.
Faux persecution is big bucks these days. It’s bringing lots of money into the coffers of the affected churches.
I’m past disgusted with this and all the gullible so-called Christians who are supporting it.
This is not about freedom of religion. This is not about persecution. It’s about purposely and flagrantly violating an attendance restriction that everyone in the community has to abide by and could be worked around if the pastors were operating in good faith.
But clearly they’re not.
Jesus NEVER did what these pastors are doing. When Jesus was threatened with arrest for preaching the Word (that is, when he was actually being persecuted), he went somewhere else. He also advised his followers to go somewhere else, if the Word was not welcome. There is nothing in the gospel showing followers of Jesus defying worldly powers and allowing themselves to be arrested for violating a restriction that has nothing to do with preaching the Word.
Christians are supposed to follow Jesus in everything they do. He never protested and he never purposely opposed worldly powers. The pastors getting themselves arrested are not following Jesus and are leading their flocks astray. They’re also sowing enmity between Christians and the greater community, as the greater community sees the violation of restrictions as endangering their health and safety. This is not something Jesus did or would condone. This is anti-Christ behavior.
The pastors need to stop their shenanigans and get back to the job of following Jesus and preaching the Word, in whatever way they can, working either within or around the restrictions (not opposing them). And every penny that they’ve collected during their faux persecution campaigns they need to return with an apology.
I am past disgusted with the worldly church. There is precious little of Jesus in anything they do. They are giving God and Jesus a bad name, and in the process paving the way for real persecution of real Christians in the near future.
These are the modern-day Scribes and Pharisees and Sadducees.
These are the modern-day Judases.
Their organizations are rotten to the core.
If you’re attending one of these worldly churches, get out while you still can. There is nothing to be gained and everything to be lost by staying in them.
“Come out of her, my people!”
A BORN-AGAIN BELIEVER 