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HOW’S YOUR SOUL?
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, February 1, 2015 – Just before I was born again, God did me the very great privilege of showing me my soul. Mind you, at the time, I had no idea it was my soul because I was an atheist. I won’t go into detail about what I saw, but let’s just say that it was enough to finally break me. And broken, I was shortly thereafter and very tenderly put back together again by God.
Oscar Wilde wrote a book about seeing the state of one’s soul. In it, a vain young man, exhilarated by the power and privilege that his youthful beauty conferred on him, makes a wish that he could keep his good looks for the rest of his life and that a newly painted portrait of him would instead bear the marks of aging. The young man’s wish comes true, but instead of only bearing the marks of aging, the portrait also shows the man’s sins. As the portrait starts to age and turn ugly, the young man covers it and hides it in the attic so that no-one will see his secret shame. I recommend reading the book. The 1945 film (you can see it on YouTube) is also worth watching.
We spend a lot of time worrying about our physical health, including our appearance. In fact, it becomes a source of pride for some of us. There’s nothing wrong with taking care of our body; it is, after all, the vessel of God’s Holy Spirit and we’re expected to look after it properly so that we can do the work we need to do. But when our physical health becomes more important to us than our spiritual health, then it’s a problem.
Whenever I hear the wail of an ambulance siren, I think: Imagine if a siren went off every time someone’s soul was in mortal danger? Imagine if, when someone was just about to make that final fatal choice condemning him or her to an eternity of pain, a siren went off, piercing and wailing, so that everyone within hearing range would rush in prayer to help?
Imagine, too, if well in advance of that siren going off, we were able to get people to think about their soul? Imagine, if instead of talking about the weather or physical aches and pains, we started off casual conversations with “How’s your soul?” Imagine if soul talk became as common a communication starter as weather talk or sports talk or money talk?
The health of our soul should be our clear priority, not our physical or financial health. As born-agains, we have the very great privilege of being able, at any time and any place, to know the exact state of our soul, and we should take advantage of that by making frequent spot-checks. We should be checking our soul’s health with the same diligence as the world is told to check blood pressure, blood sugar, BMI, tooth decay, bank balance, stock reports, engine oil, and so on. Some people are afraid to get check-ups for fear of what they might find. Don’t be that person.
As an atheist, I was never asked “How’s your soul?” Mind you, I didn’t believe I had a soul, so had someone actually asked me, a whole different conversation would have ensued, during which the exact health of my soul would have become glaringly and appallingly evident to anyone within viewing, hearing, and spitting range. Think “pea soup scene” in “The Exorcist”. Then you have an idea of how I would have responded to any inquiries about my soul.
Still, such an inquiry should have been made, regardless of the unpleasantness of the anticipated response. In the movie, the mother didn’t back away from her hideously afflicted child, and neither did the priests. As born-agains, we take on these fearless and caring roles, just like Jesus did. We are priests and mothers at large. We love and tend to needs, even as we’re cursed for it.
People need to hear the words “How’s your soul”. They may not want to hear those words, but they need to hear them. They need to be reminded that they have a soul and that the health of their soul should take priority over all other concerns.
So, how’s your soul?
THE BLAND LEADING THE BLIND
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, January 31, 2015 – One of the most frustrating experiences a born-again will encounter is trying to talk sense to a self-professed Christian who is not born again. Jesus felt the same way about most of Jews of his day, and referred to them as “the blind leading the blind”. His advice to his followers was just to let these people fall into the ditch, if that’s where their blindness led them.
And yet, these same self-professed “Christians” dominate online discussion boards and forums today, spreading their half-baked lies to non-Christians who have no way of knowing they’re lies.
One of their pet topics (and my pet peeves) is that you only need to “believe in Jesus” (whatever that means) and you’ll be “saved” (again, whatever that means). Furthermore, they claim that nearly everyone will get to heaven (except, say, Hitler) because Jesus did all the work for us, and all you have to do is proclaim “I’m with Jesus!” and God will let you through the pearly gates.
Nothing could be more wrong.
Jesus railed at the Jews who assumed that they had a guaranteed ticket to heaven based on having Abraham as their Father (meaning, based on being Jewish). He also told the parable about how people were shocked when they found out they hadn’t made it to heaven, because after all they’d eaten at the Lord’s table and even performed miracles. They’d figured just showing up once a week for Church services and being able to channel some ‘greater power’ was proof positive that their name was on the guest list at the post-Judgment Day wedding feast.
I’ve gone over this in previous blog entries, but it bears repeating. Over and over and over again, I see that so many people who consider themselves Christians have a profoundly lax notion of what it takes to make it to heaven. They’ve lowered the bar so far now that, according to them, you don’t even have to identify as a Christian to make it to heaven. You just have to exist.
The arguments today align with the arguments in Jesus’ time and are based on someone else having done all the work for you, so you’re off the hook and good to go. Contrast this do-nothingness (usually referred to as “having faith”) with Paul throwing himself body and soul into several grueling years of non-stop evangelizing that ended only because he was executed. Paul based his approach on Jesus’ own extreme dedication and work ethic, which Jesus summed up as “those who endure to the end will be saved”.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t see a whole lot of endurance going on in the rank and file of today’s Christians. I see a lot of assumptions, presumptions, fake faith and unquestioning embracing of what Jesus would have called doctrines of devils. The book of Revelation clearly says that we’ll be judged by our works. Jesus says we’ll be judged by every word we speak and that those who endure to the end will be saved. This makes it pretty clear (at least to me) that even though I’m born again, I’m not yet ‘saved’ (because I haven’t yet reached “the end”). Nor do I have a guaranteed ticket to heaven, if I’m to be judged by my works and my words. The judging comes AFTER the works and words are done, not during the speaking and doing of them. So where did this notion of getting to heaven just by ‘existing’ as a self-professed Christian come from?
Ignorance.
Spiritual and intellectual laziness.
Choosing to believe lies instead of consulting scripture or talking to God.
I have no politeness when it comes to people who misrepresent God’s truth because they’re too lazy to learn what the Bible actually says. It was people like these who turned me off Christianity when I was an atheist. They came across as such hypocrites. These are the people God referred to as being “lukewarm” church members, the ones he’s going to spew out of his mouth. He then warns them to repent, and hopefully they’re listening.
After dealing with these types online and in real life, I now understand why Jesus advised his followers just to ignore them. It was for the sake of his own sanity that he stopped beating his head against that particular wall. Those who truly want to know the truth will eventually come to know it, while those who are happy with being told ‘sweet little lies’ will likely never know the truth, and that’s their choice. And that’s life.
In the meantime, keep Jesus always as your example of how to live and die. There is no such thing as a retired minister of God or a retired follower of Jesus. Born-agains keep doing God’s will and God’s work until they’ve breathed their last, just like Jesus and Paul. I don’t know about you, but I can’t imagine NOT wanting to do God’s will and God’s work until the very end. What else is there to do?
HELLO…. MY NAME IS
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, January 31, 2015 – One of the great mysteries in the New Testament is why the disciples didn’t recognize Jesus after the resurrection. Being the curious type, I dug around a bit online and found that the question tends generally to be avoided, but when it does come up, the scripted responses more or less go like this:
- Mary Magdalene didn’t recognize Jesus (mistaking him for the gardener) because it was too dark to see properly, he was possibly standing some distance from her, and her vision was obscured by her tears;
- the disciples fishing on their boat didn’t recognize Jesus because he was too far away (on the shore) to see him properly;
- the disciples on the road to Emmaus didn’t recognize Jesus because they were “supernaturally” (not my term) kept from seeing his real features; and
- the disciples at home didn’t recognize him for the same reason.
I don’t buy any of these explanations. This is Jesus we’re talking about, not some casual acquaintance. Most of the disciples had spent every day of the past three years with him – eating with him, walking with him, sitting with him, listening to him. They knew his voice as well as they knew their own; they knew how he stood, how he walked, how he moved his hands and gestured with his body when he spoke. They knew his smell (we all have our own unique scent) and the special tone he used with each of them. They knew him as well as it was possible to know another human being, and on top of it all, they loved him intensely. They were consumed with grief over his death, and he was constantly on their mind.
So, with regards to the first and second points, even if it was pitch black, Mary would have recognized Jesus by his voice, if his voice were the same. And even if they were some distance from him, the disciples fishing would have recognized Jesus by his voice (if it were the same voice) or at least by his form, his height, his way of standing, moving, etc., if these characteristics were the same. Or did all of the disciples all of a sudden get myopic and hard of hearing?
When people I love pass away, I sometimes think I see them in the distance or hear their voice the next aisle over at the supermarket. Of course, it’s never them, but I rush to see if it is anyway. That’s quite a common phenomenon – to hear the voice of your lost loved one in the voice of stranger, or to see a stranger from behind and think it’s someone you used to know. I mention this, because I believe that when you’re grieving, you’re more likely to think that a stranger is your lost loved one than that your lost loved one is a stranger.
As for the third and fourth points, which are based on “supernatural” intervention, there is definitely something to that, but not in the way it is argued. Scripture says that the disciples’ eyes were “holden” so they could not see it was Jesus. Some people argue that this means that Jesus, post-crucifixion and pre-ascension, looked just like he always had, but the disciples couldn’t see him because God had blinded their physical senses. I would argue that quite the opposite is true – that Jesus did NOT look like he had looked before, and that the knowledge that this ‘stranger’ who didn’t look like Jesus was in fact Jesus was “holden” from the disciples on a spiritual level, not a physical one. Thus, their eventual recognition of Jesus was a spiritual recognition, not a physical one.
I have had personal experience with my eyes being “holden”. For three and a half years after I was born again (out of atheism), I was heavily invested in Catholicism. In fact, I was so heavily invested (as a lector, committee member, twice-daily mass attendee, etc.) and spent so much time in the church building, I was given a key to come and go as I pleased. I loved being in the building because I thought God lived there (that’s what Catholics are told to believe), and as a born-again, I always wanted to be where God was.
After three and a half years of intense involvement with Catholicism (even to the point of considering becoming a nun), I had what you might call a spiritual breakdown. Even though I was doing everything I was supposed to do as a “good Catholic”, I had lost my love and compassion for people that had been the chief characteristic of my early rebirth days. Even worse, I felt I was moving further and further away from Jesus and God. As blinded as I was by Catholic doctrines, I still knew enough to know that this was not the way things were supposed to be. So, down on my face I went, bawling my eyes out and begging God to take out of my life anything that was keeping me from doing his holy will.
I know now that God hears the cries of your heart, not the words of your mouth. Despite the stiltedness of my pre-packaged prayer, God heard my heart loud and clear that day. And a week later, he delivered.
I was sitting in church just after Sunday mass. It was about 11 in the morning, the sun streamed idyllically through the stained glass windows, and the air smelled like birthday cake from the newly extinguished candles on the altar. I loved that smell, and I loved the prettiness and coziness of being in what I thought was my Father’s house. I never wanted to leave.
Then, in the midst of my reverie, something happened that I can only describe as scales falling from my eyes. For the first time, I saw what kind of a place I was really in. It wasn’t God’s house. It was a pagan (demon) temple, and those statues that I had been told were angels and saints were actually idols that people were bowing down before and praying to (that I had bowed down before and prayed to). And the worst of it all was the crucifix – the life-size depiction of Jesus’ mangled corpse hanging like an inverted centrepiece over the altar. This was not a place where God was worshiped; this was a place where something quite the opposite was being worshiped. The coziness I felt turned to a chill. I wanted to get out of that place immediately, and did so. I never went back.
This is one of my experiences when my eyes were “holden” from the truth until I was ready, in my heart, to receive it. The candlesticks didn’t suddenly turn into writhing snakes or the statues into leering devils – no, not at all. Physically, the candlesticks and statues remained exactly the same both before and after my revelation. What had changed was how I saw them, not how they looked.
In the same way, the disciples’ eyes were “holden”. Jesus appeared as someone who didn’t look or sound or walk like Jesus, and the disciples couldn’t see that this person was Jesus because they were looking at him with the eyes of their head, not the eyes of their soul. When their hearts were open to receiving the knowledge, then they could ‘see’ that this person who looked like a stranger was, indeed, Jesus.
As with everything else in the Bible, if you want something clarified, just ask God. It’s not God’s goal to make his Word unknowable to you as some great mystery. On the contrary, he wants to reveal everything and to make it understandable even to a small child.
The truth of the matter is that Jesus wasn’t recognized by the disciples because he didn’t look like the Jesus they had known. They weren’t being prevented from seeing him as he was; they were being prevented from knowing who he was. It wasn’t the fault of darkness or distance (or even myopia): Jesus simply looked different.
In fact, Jesus states outright why he was unrecognizable – he told Mary that he had not yet ascended and for this reason she should not touch him. We know that our bodies will be ‘perfected’ when we go to heaven. Paul says they will be changed. Our Earthly bodies are flawed, while our heavenly bodies are perfect. When the disciples saw him post-crucifixion and pre-ascension, Jesus’ body was undergoing the process of being perfected. Jesus looks vastly different in heaven than he did on Earth, as will we. When Mary saw him at his empty tomb, he was still morphing into his perfect body. Keep in mind that Jesus told us that, in heaven, we would be “like the angels”, who are renowned for their physical beauty and are also genderless (neither male nor female). My guess is that the resurrected Jesus who Mary saw in the graveyard that morning was quite good-looking, whereas before his resurrection, Jesus was not, according to scripture, physically attractive.
Another key reason why Jesus didn’t look the same after his resurrection is that God works by faith, not by the witness of our senses. If Jesus had looked the same after his resurrection as he did before, people would not have to believe by faith that he was the Messiah. Remember how Jesus praised Peter for knowing by faith that he was sent by God? This is how we’re all to know that Jesus is who he said he was – by faith, through God’s spirit, not by the witness of our eyes.
Keep in mind, too, that the person we know as “Jesus” is not simply an animated body (although I did find one entry online entitled: “Was Jesus a Zombie?”). No, Jesus is not a zombie. He is first and foremost a spirit that cleaves to God’s spirit, as were all the prophets before him, and as are all true believers since his resurrection. This spiritual essence of Jesus (and of us) remains the same, regardless of what vessel it’s in. So, through the eyes of faith, we can know that Jesus is the Messiah and can recognize Jesus no matter what form he takes, just as we can recognize God’s spirit in other born-again believers.
Yet another (and a very practical) reason why Jesus did not appear in the same body is that it might have sparked a manhunt for him and put his followers at risk. If the authorities thought he hadn’t actually died on the cross, they might have tried to hunt him down so they could kill him once and for all. Everyone Jesus knew would have been suspected of harboring him as a fugitive, and it just wouldn’t have been Jesus’ style to put those he loved in harm’s way.
In contrast to his pre-ascension appearances, Jesus tells us that everyone will see him and know who he is when he returns at the end of time. There won’t be any mystery about it; no-one will need to announce who he is; God will give everyone the knowledge and everyone will see him at the same time. He won’t come wearing a tag that reads “Hello, my name is Jesus”. People will simply know he’s Jesus. It will be a spiritual recognition rather than a physical one. By the way, this is also how Jesus’ followers will not be deceived by the “man of perdition” who says he’s Jesus, but isn’t. They will rely on their spiritual senses, not their physical ones.
I would like to add here that while I am vehemently against Catholicism, I’m not against Catholics. I WAS a Catholic. I was baptized as a Roman Catholic when I was three weeks old, which is why I “returned to the fold” after I was born again. I thought I belonged there, I thought Catholics were my brothers and sisters, and God in his infinite wisdom let me believe it for a while, for his and my purposes. Allowing me to get to know Catholicism from an inside rather than an outside perspective enabled me to better understand how people could be so deceived by “doctrines of man”, since I myself had also been deceived.
Again – I’m not against Catholics; I’m against their belief system, just as I’m against the Islamic belief system (not against Muslims) and against the Judaic belief system (not against Jews). For the record, I’m against all organized religious systems of belief. So, I’m not a ‘Catholic-basher’, I’m a Catholicism-basher, or just an all-round general religion-basher. This is a very important distinction: I don’t hate people, I hate the lies they believe. When Jesus railed against the Sadducees and Pharisees, he wasn’t bashing people; he was bashing their belief system so that they might be jolted into questioning the ‘doctrines of man’ they had been taught (and in some cases forced) to believe, and, by questioning their beliefs, become open to receiving the truth. Like Jesus, we must also bash those erroneous belief systems so that those who want to know the truth may be freed.
WHERE ITH YOUR FAITH?
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, January 29, 2015 – One day, when Jesus and his disciples were on the road to Bethany to visit Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, God asked Jesus if he would do him a favor: “There’s a man in Gadarenes who’s been plagued by demons for years. It’s gotten so bad lately that the villagers had to chain him up in a cemetery, far away from the houses, so that he wouldn’t frighten the children. This man is in a lot of pain and he needs to see you now. It’s urgent, my son. He’s finally ready for you.”
Jesus nodded, agreeing to do the favor his father asked of him, and told his disciples there would be a slight change of plans.
“We have to go to Gadarenes right away,” he said. A loud collective sigh was heaved by the group. Jesus smiled understandingly. “I know. I know. You’re tired, we’ve been on the road a long time, and you’ve been looking forward to Martha’s chicken pot pie and sleeping in a warm bed tonight. But this is an emergency. A man needs our help immediately. It can’t wait.”
“But Jesus,” protested Peter, “it’s not possible. Gadarenes is a three-day’s journey from here. We’ll never make it by nightfall.”
“What is impossible for man, is possible with God,” replied Jesus. “You know that, Peter. And besides, I know a short-cut.” Then he turned to the rest of the disciples. “Look, guys – I need a break as much as you do, but this is something that needs to be done right now, so let’s just do it, OK? Or as Martha would say: Less talk, more action.”
“Less talk, more action; less talk, more action,” hissed Judas Iscariot under his breath as he trudged along beside Thomas. “Yeah, I’d like to see a little less talk and more action, moneywise. I don’t get paid enough for this stuff. A three-day’s journey in half a day? Does that mean we’ll get three times our daily wage?”
Thomas snickered and whispered: “I know what you mean, Judas. I’m starting to have my doubts about this whole travelling around thing, too. And as for us getting to Gadarenes by nightfall, it’s just not going to happen. No, let me rephrase that – it’ll happen, but only when pigs fly.”
Judas smirked. “Good one, Tommy! ‘When pigs fly’! I’ll have to remember that.”
Jesus overheard the two men whispering and pulled them aside.
“Judas,” he said, “when you agreed to be my disciple, didn’t you also agree to a daily wage of a certain amount to cover your needs?”
“Yes, I did. What of it?”
“Have you been receiving that daily wage?”
“Yes, I have.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“Well, since you asked…. Sometimes we have to work in the evenings as well as the days. And now you have us postponing our time off and doing a three-day’s journey in half a day. You say it’s possible, and maybe it is, but it’s just not fair. The least you could do is give us a little overtime pay – you know, for our additional pain and suffering.”
Jesus stared intently at Judas and then said quietly. “Oh, you’ll get your overtime pay, Judas Iscariot. That’s a promise. Before my work here is done, you’ll be getting 30 pieces of silver. Consider that your overtime pay.”
Judas smiled broadly. “Thank you, master. I knew you’d be fair about this.”
“I appreciate the sentiment, Judas, but it won’t be me you’ll be thanking for the money.” Then Jesus turned to Thomas. “As for you, my doubting Thomas, before this day is through, you’ll get to see your flying pigs. That’s a promise.”
The other disciples overheard Jesus’ conversation with Judas and Thomas, and a wave of uneasiness passed over the group. Jesus walked on ahead for a bit, and then stopped suddenly and turned to face them.
“You say we can’t make a three days’ journey in half a day, but I said to you that with God’s help we can. And yet, even with this assurance, you still grumble and doubt. I’ve asked you before and I’ll ask you again – Where is your faith?”
The disciples stared at the ground, too ashamed to speak. Then a small voice piped up from the back. It was Simple Simon, a little boy with a lisp who sometimes followed the group around, helping them with their chores.
“I know! I know!” Simon said, his voice trembling with excitement. “I know, Jethuth! I know where my faith ith!” Simon spoke slowly and deliberately, knowing that his lisp sometimes prevented people from understanding what he said.
The disciples smiled at him good-naturedly (Simon was like a son to them), but Peter tried to shush him.
“No, Peter,” said Jesus. “Let the boy speak. So tell us, Simon, where is your faith?”
Knowing that all eyes were on him, Simon stood up as straight and tall as he could, and, pointing to his head, he cried: “Here it ith, Jethuth! Here’th my faith! Here’th my eyeth, my nothe, and my mouth. See? It’th my faith!”
Jesus and the disciples roared with laughter, and the mood quickly changed to upbeat camaraderie. “Never in all of Israel have I seen such faith as this,” said Jesus. Simon beamed. “Let this serve as a reminder that children are always welcome wherever I am. The Kingdom of Heaven is made of such as these.”
True to his word, Jesus led his disciples through a shortcut to a lake, on the other side of which was Gadarenes. They found a boat for hire, and
sailed to Gadarenes, and when he stepped out on the land, there met him a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me!” For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.
Jesus asked him, saying, “What is your name?”
And he said, “Legion,” because many demons had entered him. And they begged him that he would not command them to go out into the abyss.
Now a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain. So they begged him that he would permit them to enter them. And he permitted them. Then the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, and the herd threw themselves violently over the cliff into the lake, looking for all the world as if they were flying, before they plunged into the water and drowned.
That night, while they were sitting around the campfire, Jesus turned to Thomas and said: “See? I told you you’d see pigs fly today.”
Thomas laughed and promised Jesus he’d never doubt him again.
HELP WANTED?
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, January 27, 2015 – I used to run a resume service. In general, I dealt with two types of job searchers – those who wanted a general resume that they could fire off “cold” to thousands of companies, and those who wanted a targeted resume that they could send to one employer in response to a job ad. The job searchers who sent out targeted resumes were almost always successful at getting at least an interview, whereas the job searchers who blanketed companies’ inboxes with their “To Whom It Concerns” resumes always, with very few exceptions, came up empty. Many job searchers were burnt out by the lack of response and lost interest in looking for work altogether.
Born-agains want to help people. It’s part of our spiritual DNA. We want others who don’t yet follow Jesus to experience how joyful life can be. The desire to help is so overwhelming sometimes that we feel we have to help everyone, every day, everywhere we go.
It should be no surprise to us that we end up helping no-one when we adopt the ‘shoot wide’ approach. People who don’t want to be helped cannot be helped. In job-search terms, they’re not currently hiring and they’re not open for our business.
God knows that. It’s how he operates. It’s also how Jesus operated during his ministry years, and it’s how we must operate, too, if we genuinely want to help someone.
Let’s take a look at scripture. In it, we can see examples of how Jesus and God can only help people who want their help. Certainly, God wants to help everyone all the time, but because of free will, only those who allow him to help them can be helped.
Jesus taught those who came to him, either in public places, in houses of worship, or at his home. During those teaching sessions, there were many who asked Jesus for specific help (e.g., more wine, healing physical ailments or deformities, casting out evil spirits, etc.), and, with God’s assistance, he was able to oblige. They sought him out, they wanted his help, and they believed he could help them. This is of particular importance – they believed he could help them. Many born-agains spend a lot of time trying to convince people they can help them. This is as backwards as making a decision about something you want to do, and then asking God to bless that decision and your subsequent efforts. From personal experience, I can tell you that this approach does not work very well. In fact, it doesn’t work at all.
The right approach is to wait for God to guide your decision, and then he will bless your efforts. Likewise, the right approach is to wait for people to seek out your help, and then you can help them because they’re open to what you can offer them. Metaphorically speaking, they’re open for business, they’re hiring, and you’re the favored candidate.
Jesus told us that those who make it into heaven are those how feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick, and so on. What distinguishes people in these situations from people in general is that they are in a position of need so they are open to getting help. That’s not to say that we can’t, like God, always be ready to help someone at the slightest indication that they want our help. When I was still an atheist, I chicken-sat in Australia. It was a 3-month house-sitting gig that involved looking after two pet chickens (Red and The White One) for a Christian woman named Mildred. Mildred had a Bible in her living room. Before she left, she didn’t tell me “Oh, by the way, there’s a Bible in the living room, if you want to learn about God and Jesus.” She knew that I, as an atheist, wouldn’t be open to that kind of pointed info, so she just left the Bible there, out in plain view where I could easily find it, in case I needed it.
And need it I did. Within a month and a half of being at her place, I was born again, and the first thing I did was make a bee-line for the Bible and read the New Testament from cover to cover. Thank God Mildred left the Bible out where I could easily find it, and thank God she didn’t try to bang me over the head with it.
You can waste your time and energy trying to help people who don’t want your help, or you can invest your time and energy wisely, like Jesus did, and target your help to those who ask for it. Always be ready and willing to help, but wait for the request. In the meantime, it doesn’t hurt to leave a Bible out where people who are clearly in need can easily find it.
ARE CHRISTIANS MINIONS OF SATAN?
“Resistance is already victory.” – David Crowley, assassinated truth soldier and director of Gray State
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, January 25, 2015 – Jesus tells us that the world is under Satan. We don’t have to look very far to see that Jesus is right about this, as he was in all things. If the world is under Satan, then who are Satan’s minions?
The list is very long and includes the usual suspects, such as all governments and the puppets that front them, the United Nations, the World Bank, the international banking system, the Vatican, the shadow governments (the NWO, the illuminati), alpha-numeric clubs like the CIA and MI6, freemasons, mainstream religions, run-of-the-mill Satanists, millionaires and billionaires, media moguls, Hollywood, Bollywood, international charities, televangelists, and so on. These are the big players, but any agency or organization that wields control over other people and guides them to do the opposite of God’s expressed will is doing Satan’s bidding, so that’s pretty much everyone except maybe you and me.
KIDDING!
Or maybe not.
We know from scripture that Satan’s chief characteristic is lying. Jesus calls him the “Father of Lies” and states that when he lies, he is speaking his own language. At the core of all lies is the desire to control a situation or a person. Lies misrepresent reality in order to control a person’s response to that reality. Lies are a means to tempt you to make choices that you wouldn’t otherwise make so that you’ll fall from grace and lose your place in heaven, just like Satan.
As born-agains, we know the 10 Commandments are from God. They are unquestionable and have zero exceptions. There’s no fine print stating the Commandments are to be considered null and void under certain circumstances, and yet many professed Christians live as if there were such exemptions, arguing for their right to kill someone in defense of their person or property. The right to kill in self-defense is glorified and reinforced in TV show after TV show, Hollywood movie after Hollywood movie, and in high-profile court cases. As born-agains, we know there are no exceptions to God’s directive not to kill people, but how many Christians kill in the name of self-defence, or in defence of their property, or in defence of their country, or in defence of freedom? How many Christians are in fact minions of Satan?
Christians should not kill people. Full stop. Period. Christians should also not condone the killing of people through “support our troops” or pro-abortion / pro-euthanasia / pro-right-to-die campaigns, or by supporting capital punishment. Christians should not take the directives of their country’s Constitution or laws as being of higher authority to them than God’s directives. The Constitution and laws are written by Satan’s minions with the express purpose of tempting you to choose Satan’s way instead of God’s way. Make sure your life’s choices reflect God’s will, not Satan’s.
God said: Thou shallt not kill. Jesus said: Put down your weapons; those who live by the sword, die by the sword. Satan’s lies are all around you, sugar-coated and served up on a silver star-spangled platter as unassailable civil and human rights. Learn to discern the lies from the truth, Satan’s voice from God’s voice.
Killing people, under any circumstance, is wrong.
Yes, the world is under Satan and the worldly powers-that-be are his chief minions. We born-agains, however, are not under Satan’s authority. This was Jesus’ great achievement – enabling the establishment of God’s kingdom on Earth. It’s here. It’s now. We’re living proof.
So make choices that reflect Jesus’ hard-won and glorious victory. If your country asks you to do or support something that is against God’s laws, refuse to do it, even if it means your death.
Jesus says: “Those who endure to the end will be saved.”
Resistance is victory.
God Is Not A Prepper
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, January 24, 2015 – Let me say from the outset that I am not an anti-prepper. I believe setting aside some rainy-day funds or supplies is appropriate if you have children, elderly parents or others who depend on you for their daily needs. But if you’re a born-again with no dependents, like Jesus and Paul, then there’s no need to prep, and prepping is also not advisable.
For clear guidance on prepping, as in all things in life, let’s look at what Jesus did during his ministry years. Was there any evidence that he prepped or hoarded supplies or precious metals towards a future undefined breakdown of society or natural/unnatural disaster? None whatsoever. On the contrary, Jesus always advised his followers to be ready and willing to leave town at a moment’s notice, even without the shirt on their back, if necessary. That would be hard to do if you had a bunker full of food and supplies.
As Jesus told us, we’re to store our ‘treasures’ in heaven, not underground.
The sermon on the mount gives us a good example of Jesus’ approach to prepping. After he’d finished preaching, he realized that the attendees faced a long walk home on an empty stomach. A quick inventory of the available food on hand revealed they had just a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish. How was that going to satisfy the hunger of thousands of people? Undeterred by the seeming hopelessness of the situation, and knowing the people’s genuine need, Jesus did what he always did – he turned to God for help. And God, as always, delivered.
Now I’m not saying you should adopt the attitude that you should never worry about supplying for your own needs because God will always miraculously attend to them. We ask God to provide us “our daily bread”, and so he does, but he still expects us to do our part. The lack of food at the sermon on the mount event was an exemplary situation; the attendees ran out of food not because they were too lazy to work or too careless to bring anything with them, they just simply ended up staying longer than anticipated, so enraptured were they with hearing Jesus talk about the Kingdom. Also keep in mind that they faced extreme hunger that was health endangering; this wasn’t a simple case of a skipped meal. God miraculously intervened because there was a genuine need and insufficient resources, coupled with Jesus’ profound faith that he would provide for them.
But in our everyday lives, we still need to work (if we’re able to) to earn our keep. The apostles agreed that anyone in their ranks who could work and chose not to, should not be given free food and rent. This is a good reflection of God’s way with regard to satisfying our day-to-day needs. Anyone who is willing and able to work will always have their needs met, whereas those who are able to work but choose not to will likely experience hardship.
When you supply the needs of people who are able to work but choose not to, you’re not doing God’s will.
Another example of God’s “just-in-time” approach to prepping is when Jesus is asked to pay a tribute tax (a form of custom fee) for entering a certain territory. He didn’t have any savings other than, I guess, for the money that Judas Iscariot carried with him in his infamous bag. Jesus considered the tax an unfair charge, but knowing that he had to pay it if he wanted to enter the region, he came up with the required funds at a moment’s notice: he told one of his followers to go fishing, and that the fish he caught would have a gold coin in its mouth. The gold coin was of such a high value, that Jesus was able to pay the tribute tax for himself and for all of his followers present. This is one of many instances where Jesus paid our debts with God’s miraculous help.
The story of Jesus and the gold coin gives a clear indication of what God thinks of prepping and saving – he doesn’t advise it. If we’re willing to work and choose to work, we’ll always have enough ‘daily bread’ for our needs – not more, not less, just enough. If someone makes unreasonable and unforeseen demands on us that we’re unable to meet, God will miraculously supply our shortfall.
We know this is true both by Jesus’ example and by faith. Most of us have probably also experienced this personally. I certainly have.
Prep if you want, but Jesus wouldn’t, and I doubt you’ll be able to use your bounty should a disastrous situation arise. Better to share your excess wealth now with those who are unable to earn their daily bread. God will reward you and also provide for you, should the need arise.
The Mahdi = Antichrist
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, January 23, 2015 – Everyone loves a hero. Everyone loves the rush of being caught up in the worship of someone who just seems to have it all – looks, money, talent, charm, intelligence, power, charisma – especially when that very special person swears that his entire purpose is to bring world peace and fulfill everyone’s deepest desires.
Who wouldn’t, I mean, WHO COULDN’T love such a person?
I remember feeling that heady rush of worship for David Cassidy when I was 8 years old and he was starring as “Keith” in the 1970’s sitcom “The Partridge Family”. I’m not sure if “Keith” ever specifically addressed the issue of world peace during any of the half-hour episodes, but I would nevertheless have followed him anywhere and done anything he asked of me. And I wasn’t alone in my worship of Keith. His female fans were (and still are) legion.
The Muslims have their own version of Keith Partridge in the figure of the Mahdi. The Mahdi is a political, military and spiritual leader who is prophesied to emerge in the end-times, rule over the entire world, and usher in an age of peace and plenty. He’s supposed to be charming, handsome, brave, generous, and kind.
And then there’s the Antichrist. In the New Testament, as well as in verses in Daniel, the Antichrist is described in terms similar to Keith Partridge (just kidding!) the anticipated Muslim hero. However, for born-agains, the prophesied Antichrist is no hero. In fact, he’s going to be our worst nightmare.
So what does all this have to do with the here and now?
As with all prophecies, whether real of fake, the Mahdi prophecy comes with a long-standing series of signposts and timelines indicating what to expect and when to expect it. I’m not going to get into the nitty-gritty of the prophecy, mainly because it contains elements that are highly contradictory, depending on which sect of adherents you ascribe to. Instead, I will present a brief overview of some features that are common to both the Mahdi and the Antichrist. I think you’ll agree, when you see these signposts and timelines, that something is definitely afoot in world events today, and we should remain alert.
The Mahdi is characterized as a leader who will first and foremost bring “peace” to the world. He’ll espouse a religion that all of the world’s people, regardless of their former beliefs, will accept and adhere to, and he’ll usher in an age of material wealth that extends to all people. His reign is expected to last around seven years.
Sounds kinda nice, doesn’t it?
Maybe too nice.
The Antichrist is also supposed to usher in seven years of world peace and plenty, but at the barrel of a gun. And those who don’t buy into his Keith Partridge act will be kissing their own heads good-bye.
To get a good idea of the Antichrist, think of him as being the polar opposite of Jesus. So, where Jesus was of humble birth, the Antichrist will arise from the ruling elite; where Jesus lived in subsistence-level poverty, the Antichrist will be stinking rich; where Jesus was not classically good-looking, the Antichrist will be handsome and sexy; where Jesus claimed his kingdom is “not of this world” (meaning, he’s Lord of the spiritual realm), the Antichrist will lay claim to the entire world and all the ‘stuff’ in it, including people; where Jesus predicates his teachings on truth (a.k.a. God), the Antichrist will promote lies; where Jesus invites us to worship God, leaving it up to us whether we accept his invitation, the Antichrist will force us to worship him as the supreme being; where Jesus defers to God in all things, the Antichrist will defer only to himself; and where Jesus leaves all decisions about spiritual and material life in our hands, respecting our God-given free will, the Antichrist will force us to do things, denying that we even have free will.
Seen in this context, is the Mahdi really just the Antichrist viewed through rose-colored glasses?
Absolutely. Yes. Without a doubt.
And here’s where the timeline gets particularly timely.
The Mahdi is supposed to appear soon after the Saudi King, Abdullah, dies (check), when Yemen is in political turmoil (check), and when brutally violent armies flying black flags overrun the Middle East (check, check, check).
According to Shiite hadiths (traditional prophecies), following “the death of a king named Abdullah in the Hijaz — a western region of present-day Saudi Arabia — no successor to the throne would be accepted, and disagreements would escalate and persist until the rise of Imam Mahdi…. Some believe that the rise of terrorist groups in the Levant, along with their black flags, is another sign of Mahdi’s resurrection…. Black flags can suggest the Islamic State, which is killing [tens of thousands] of innocent people in the region with brutality.”
The disturbing aspect to these prophecies is that while genuine Christians are dreading the coming of the Antichrist, Muslims are eagerly awaiting the Mahdi. In fact, they want to help him come to power.
One Muslim scholar, giddy as a school girl, recently stated: “Many [Muslim clerics] believe that the rise of Imam Mahdi is imminent. Even important figures in the seminary have expressed their hope for this event to happen and have called for our readiness to help him.”
If the Mahdi is the Antichrist, then we born-agains need to keep vigilant watch – not in eager anticipation to help him, like the Muslims, but in readiness to expose his lies and withstand his evil acts, even if he does come crooning “I Think I Love You.”
STOP TALKING ABOUT IT! Choosing to Forgive Means Not Talking About it Anymore
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, January 22, 2015 – Christians are a funny bunch. They spend a lot of time in group hugs and “sharing” sessions, all the while lamenting what a rough time they’ve had at the hands of parents, spouses or acquaintances before they became Christians. They even sometimes go into gory details about their abusers, offering up their abuse stories for sympathy (I suppose), although they mask it as a learning or a teaching moment.
These stories aren’t teaching anyone anything except how NOT to choose to forgive.
When we choose to forgive, we should do the same thing as God does when he forgives – forget about it. Forgetting about it means to CONSCIOUSLY choose to put it to the back of our minds, even if it keeps popping up. It’s a decision of the will. It’s not a feeling (you won’t feel like forgetting and you may even feel like you can’t forget; that’s why it’s a decision, not an emotion-based response). Ask God to help you with this. He’s more than happy to help you. THAT’S WHAT HE’S THERE FOR.
If you truly want to forgive, don’t talk about people who’ve hurt you and whom you’ve chosen to forgive. Don’t talk about what they’ve done to you, however horrible it was and however deeply it scarred you. As a born-again, you’ve become a completely new person. God has forgiven you because you’ve chosen to forgive everyone who’s hurt you. Whatever people did to you in the past, pre-rebirth, is dead and done; whatever people are doing to you now, post-rebirth, is likewise dead and done after you’ve chosen to forgive them (which you should do as soon as you notice someone’s hurt you).
Here’s what you do when you choose to forgive: You simply act as if it never happened, you pray for your abusers, and you keep a safe distance from them. If people prod you to talk about your experience, tell them it’s over and you don’t want to talk about it anymore. If you feel it starting to overwhelm you, take your pain to God in private. He wants to counsel and comfort you. He’s your counselor and your comforter. Chances are pretty good that he’ll tell you what I’m telling you – if you want the pain to go away, choose to forgive and TOTALLY forget.
Imagine if God says he forgives us one day, and then turns around the next day and starts railing at us about things we did two years ago! That would be very confusing for us and also very un-Godlike. Once God forgives us for something, he forgives us that thing forever. We’re supposed to do things God’s way, as Jesus did, and as Jesus taught us to do.
Remember: “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.”
Choosing to forgive also means choosing to forget.
God will help you with this. Just ask him. He loves you. He’s waiting. Ask him.
A True Fast: Giving Up Lent
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, January 22, 2015 – For practicing Catholics, Lent is the time of year when, for 40 days and 40 nights prior to Easter Sunday, you “give up” or stop doing something you enjoy doing, such as watching TV or eating sweets. In many instances, the activity you give up for Lent is a ‘bad habit’ that you want to quit anyway, like smoking cigarettes or overeating.
Why, then, do you only temporarily ‘give up’ something that you shouldn’t be doing in the first place? What is the benefit of giving it up for only five and a half weeks?
When questioned about Lent, Catholics explain that they ‘give up’ things for a certain time every year because it is traditional to do so. They also cite the importance of self-restraint and self-sacrifice in developing good character. For Catholics, Lent is essentially just a symbolic gesture of self-restraint and sacrifice as well as a sign of obedience to the pope.
But what does God think of Lent?
Not surprisingly, he’s not a fan. In Hosea, he states “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” Jesus reiterates this position in Matthew, and Isaiah (58) explains in stark detail precisely what God means by fasting, including the consequences of ‘false’ and genuine fasting.
Jesus also advised us NOT to look like we’re fasting when we fast, stating that our fasting should be between us and God, and should not be announced or even visible to the world. This is similar to his advice to pray in private and to give alms (charity) anonymously by not letting your left hand know what your right hand is doing.
Lent is basically just a public display of piety. On Ash Wednesday, which is the beginning of the 40-day “Lenten season”, observant Catholics receive a cross-mark of ashes on their foreheads from the priest. This is supposed to represent, again symbolically, their repentance of, say, eating too many Snickers bars. The ashen cross also serves as a public declaration that for at least the next 40 days and nights, they’ll do their level best to abstain from eating Snickers bars (or smoking cigarettes or whatever). That the highly visible black smudge on the forehead goes against Jesus’ clear advice not to show the world that you’re fasting, should not be a surprise to anyone.
I have a real problem with Lent, just like I have a real problem with most things Catholic. My understanding is that Lent was initially supposed to represent the 40 days and 40 nights Jesus spent fasting in the desert prior to starting his Earthly ministry. During this time, he was tempted by the devil and overcame each temptation by a rebuttal based on the true interpretation of scripture.
The Catholic organization should take a page from Jesus’ book. He wasn’t out there in the desert to kick a bad habit or give something up for the sake of giving it up – he was being tested to show that even under circumstances of extreme physical and psychological duress, he was able to do God’s will, combat the devil’s insidious attacks, and withstand temptations with God’s help. He was using fasting as a form of training and preparation for the spiritual and physical rigors of his ministry work, which he could successfully accomplish only with God’s help.
Yes, I bolded those three little words so you can see what’s important here. Yet again, Jesus was showing us that we can do the seeming impossible (i.e., withstand and outsmart the very Devil, even though we’re nearing the end of our physical and mental reserves) with God’s help.
Jesus’ time in the desert wasn’t about self-sacrifice or any other kind of sacrifice. It was about leaning on God for all our needs, both physical and spiritual. In contrast, Lent focuses on self-sacrifice and leaning on one’s personal resolve to ‘give up’ something. This, I suppose, is meant to impress God in some way or win you spiritual brownie points, but I’m not buying it and scripture doesn’t support it. And it has nothing to do with Jesus’ time in the desert.
Fasts occur throughout the Old Testament. Typically, a fast is called in order to defer God’s wrath, such as when all the residents of Nineveh (including the cattle) successfully fasted to prevent the destruction of their city that was scheduled to occur within 40 days (see Jonah). Judaism also features specific fasting days, but they are at most a 24-hour period. A fast where you just randomly ‘give up’ something for 40 days and 40 nights has no basis in scripture at all, and is yet another example of what Jesus called “doctrines of man” masquerading as religion (which itself is a cheap knock-off of faith). Catholicism is mostly doctrines of man propped up on a base of demon worship, and Lent is its big red flag.
So what about fasting?
In this, as in everything else, we are to follow Jesus’ example and do God’s will. When God wants you to fast, he’ll not only let you know, he’ll give you the strength to do it. And it will be for a genuine purpose (like Jesus in the desert), not for some contrived hogwash like Lent.
A BORN-AGAIN BELIEVER 