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THE DANGER IN PRESUMED INNOCENCE: THE BOOK OF JOB
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, June 4, 2025 – If we asked him, do you think God would describe any of us as “perfect and upright”, as he described Job?
I’m guessing not.
So, if God wouldn’t describe us the same way as he described Job, why would we draw a parallel between Job’s sufferings and ours?
I’ve had discussions over the years with people who for one reason or another are particularly drawn to the book of Job. They see their sufferings mirrored in Job’s and so see the reason for their sufferings as being the same as Job’s. In other words, they believe their sufferings were not earned but instead imposed on them for reasons unknown. In other words, they see themselves as innocent.
This is a very dangerous position to adopt spiritually. As born-again believers, we can never afford to presume our innocence: the presumption of innocence is a worldly default and mechanism that has no place in the Kingdom. We need to default to repentance when we suffer adversity, though there are also occasions when we’re being tested (God will let us know the one from the other). But regardless of whether we suffer an earned punishment or a test, our response should always be the same – humble obedience to God, and patient endurance
On the other hand, had he been asked about Jesus during his time on Earth, God would likely have described him as perfect and upright. God did come pretty close to offering that description when he stated he was “well pleased” in Jesus and that we should “listen to him”. Still, God also allowed Jesus to suffer extreme adversities as tests, culminating in his crucifixion. What Jesus never suffered—what sets him apart from every other human being—is earned adversity. Jesus didn’t earn his suffering. He agreed to it, but he didn’t earn it. This contrasts with the rest of us, who either suffer because we’ve brought the suffering on ourselves or suffer from being tested.
The danger in the book of Job is that people perceive their suffering as paralleling Job’s, without taking into account that they’re not perfect and upright as Job was. By falsely equating themselves to Job, people look past their need to repent, focusing instead on their perceived innocence. The result is not only a lost opportunity to come clean with God, but a prolonging of their suffering, which is then made worse by the pride of false innocence. In denying their guilt, they deny themselves the grace of peace that can only come from genuine repentance.
Self-imposed suffering is a painful place to be. To avoid it, we need always to be ready and willing to repent.
ON SPIRITUAL CHAOS THEORY AND REPENTANCE
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, February 4, 2025 – Spiritual Chaos Theory (SCT) posits that things happen for no reason whatsoever: They just happen. The theory explains why bad things happen to good people and also why good things happen to bad people. There is no cause-and-effect function underlying SCT and no implied reward mechanism, whether for good or for bad rewards. For brevity’s sake, SCT can be summed up simply as “sh*t happens”.
But of course, SCT is entirely nonsense (I just now made it up). We born-again believers well know (or should know) that when adversity occurs in our lives, it’s either a negative reward for something we did or it’s a God-approved test. It’s not some random happening, because there’s no such thing as a random happening. If bad things happen to “good people”, those “good people” either ain’t as good as we/they think they are or they’re undergoing a test.
Satan promotes made-up theories like SCT because they remove repentance from the equation. If you’re not to blame for your problems, what’s there to repent? Even better, since you’re not to blame, you can blame others! Preventing you from repenting while at the same time getting you to point fingers is a win-win in Satan’s world.
Not just individuals but whole nations can labor under the delusion of SCT, believing that the hard time they’re suffering is either just the way it is or the fault of other people or nations. But scripture shows us that nations, too, need to repent, not just individuals, and that someone in a position of authority over a nation needs to humble him- or herself before God or the hard time will not only continue but worsen. However, it’s not enough to repent on behalf of others if those others deny their need to repent. Such repentance is in vain.
Jesus famously repented for his people during his final moments on the cross, but his repentance was not in vain. It served a dual purpose: 1) to show he held no animosity towards his enemies, leaving him a “spotless” perfect sacrifice; and 2) to “repent forward” for those who would one day themselves sincerely repent. Jesus knew that a remnant would follow him right up until his second coming, and it was those people he asked God to forgive in advance. This was the whole purpose of his sacrifice – to absolve “whosoever will” of their sins, not all people in general, but only those who would one day turn back to God. Anyone who has not since sincerely repented remains under the condemnation of Adam’s sin.
Similar to SCT in its baselessness is the assumption that everyone merely by virtue of existing has been forgiven and is back in God’s good graces. This lie is heavily promoted by Satan mainly because it removes the need for repentance. As born-again believers, we are well aware of the need to repent not only in turning back to God but in remaining close to him. Because there are no such things as random happenings, repentance and patient endurance are vital.
ON LIVING PAIN-FREE
CAMPBELLTON, New Brunswick, May 1, 2023 – In that moment outside of time just before my rebirth and just after I’d chosen to forgive someone I thought I could never forgive, God told me that the pain I’d felt was the pain I’d earned. He hadn’t done anything to me that I first hadn’t done to someone else.
And then he healed me.
I didn’t know at the time that it was God teaching me about the nature of pain because I still didn’t believe in God. I was an atheist before I was reborn. But his statement “The pain you feel is the pain you’ve earned” was so deeply seared into my consciousness that even today – nearly 24 years later – it is more a part of me than my own name.
Most Christians don’t understand the origin or purpose of the pain they feel. Contrary to scripture, they’re taught that God permits them to suffer because he’s drawing them closer to him or strengthening them in some way. Rarely are they taught that they brought the suffering on themselves through their words, thoughts, or actions. Rarely are they taught that the pain they feel is the pain they’ve earned.
Most Christians strongly reject being told they’ve brought emotional suffering on themselves. They consider it a judgement on them in some way, and most Christians hate being judged. They prefer to be told they’re victims either of someone’s carelessness or evil intent or a target of the devil himself. The devil gets a lot of credit that he hasn’t earned in that regard. I guess it’s easier to blame the devil when things go wrong than to blame yourself.
That’s not to say that the devil doesn’t on occasion look for ways to trip you up. He does; God permitted him to do it even to Jesus. But emotional (that is, spiritual) pain is not from the devil. It’s God’s way of letting you know that you immediately need to take time out to soul-search and repent, the same way as you would immediately stop walking if you twisted your ankle. Spiritual pain is as much a red flag as physical pain, and both need your immediate attention.
Repentance is not something we should do once a year or once a month or even once a week – we should do it every day, if necessary, or whenever we feel spiritual (emotional) pain. Repentance first sheds light on the source of our pain (wrongs we’ve done to others, whether in word, deed, or thought) and then brings us back into close relationship with God and Jesus. Repentance almost always requires us to choose to forgive someone.
Running to anyone (or anything) other than to God and Jesus to complain about how we feel will not take our pain away, because running to anyone (or anything) other than to God and Jesus is not repenting. Only repentance can wash us clean the way we need to be washed clean to live pain-free and in God’s presence, because God can only clean us through our self-acknowledgement of wrongdoing. Where there is no self-acknowledgment of wrongdoing, there is no repentance, and where there is no repentance, there is no forgiveness, and where there is no forgiveness, there is no healing: The pain remains. God can only forgive us if we first choose to repent and forgive. We need to forgive others before God can forgive us. There’s no way around that. And it’s God’s forgiveness that heals us and takes our pain away. So if you want your pain gone, you first need to repent and forgive.
Are you feeling any spiritual/emotional pain? If so, when did you last take time out to soul-search and repent? When we’re hungry, we need to eat, when we’re tired, we need to sleep, and when we’re hurting, we need to repent. Repentance should be as much a part of our daily life as eating and sleeping. It shouldn’t be something special we do only on occasion, as a religious ritual, but something we do as a matter of course throughout our day. Because I can guarantee you that at some point between the time you wake up in the morning and the time you go to sleep at night, you’re going to say, think, or do something that’s going to cause you emotional/spiritual pain. And when that happens, you need to repent. You should never delay repenting; you should repent right away.
If you’re not in the habit of repenting on an as-needed basis, get into that habit. It will keep you spiritually pain-free and close to God and Jesus. Had I not, all those years ago, chosen to forgive someone I thought was unforgivable, I might not have come to understand that the pain I’d felt at the time – the pain that had grown so excruciating that it killed me – was pain I’d earned by how I’d treated others for many, many years. No-one had done anything to me that I hadn’t first done to them or to someone else. This was the most important lesson I’ve ever learned, and the second most important lesson is that I’ve learned to renew the remembrance of that most important lesson every day.
Daily repenting and forgiving keeps me close to God and Jesus and keeps me pain-free.
SPIRITUAL SURVIVALISM
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, January 10, 2021 – In perilous times, the main task of believers is to survive spiritually, not physically.
That means it’s more important for us to prepare spiritually than physically.
We need to get as close as we can to God, stay close, and not let anyone or anything come between us.
The best way to prepare spiritually is to start with repentance. Is there something in your life that is preventing you from being as close to God as you can be? Is there someone keeping you from getting and staying close to God? Remember, Jesus told us that we are to love God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind and all our strength, putting no-one and nothing ahead of God. That sounds like a tall order, but it’s actually quite simple. Loving God simplifies life, because who doesn’t want to please the one they love? So if God says “Don’t do it”, don’t do it, and if he says “Do it”, do it. Very simple.
Repentance brings you back to that place where God is first and foremost in your life. You’ll know your repentance has been accepted by God when you hear a spiritually audible “click”, and everything is in alignment again. It is a place of peace and joy, even in the midst of turmoil. “There is more joy in Heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 who don’t need repentance.”
Along with repentance, we also need to prepare by reading scripture daily. God will show you which scriptures to read. Sometimes he’ll get you to read whole books, and other times he’ll stop you after only a few verses. Then he’ll get you to think about what you’ve read and to apply it to your life.
What good is God’s Word unless it can be applied to your life? Jesus said God is a God of the living, not of the dead. Scripture is not an impersonal history about dead people, but a deeply personal living testament of how God, through his Holy Spirit, works and moves in our lives, guiding us, rewarding us, and punishing us according to our abilities and works. The Bible is the ultimate “How To” instructional manual and the only one you actually need. Make sure you always have at least one hard copy of the Bible on hand for yourself, and a few others in case someone else needs one.
Together with repentance and Bible reading, prayer is essential. Paul suggests that we pray without ceasing, which doesn’t mean that you should recite “vain repetitions” all day while counting beads, but that you should get to the point where you realize that God and Jesus are always with you through God’s Spirit. They’re always with you and they’re always ready to hear you. You don’t have to make an appointment once a week to talk with them; you can do it anytime.
Jesus promised us that it would be this way for his born-again followers, and so it is. This is life in the Kingdom. God and Jesus are always with you. So take the time to talk to them, joke with them, hang out with them, and listen to them. Especially to listen to them, and then ALWAYS take their advice. That is prayer.
Finally, equally as important as repentance, Bible reading, and prayer is witnessing God’s Word. This should be done to believers and unbelievers alike. Obviously, you can preach and teach to believers openly without mincing your words, but with unbelievers you’ll have to be a bit more creative or you’ll meet with hostility and accomplish nothing.
As a former unbeliever, I know what I’m talking about. Anyone, however well-intentioned, who tried to “shove God in my face” was immediately met with a barrage of curses and foul words. Now, as a born-again believer, I’ve seen that same reaction in others. Jesus called it “throwing pearls before swine” and advised us not to do it. Take his advice. Just be kind to the unkind, bless when you are cursed, and be patient. That is witnessing to unbelievers.
Witnessing to believers is a true joy. In fact, it’s such a joy that it’s like a drug you can’t stop doing until eventually all you’re doing is mainlining witnessing. That was Jesus during his ministry years. He was never not witnessing, which simply means teaching and living God’s Way: saying a thing and actually doing it. The Pharisees, Sadducees, lawyers and scribes also preached and taught, but they didn’t witness; in other words, they said, but they didn’t do. Jesus called them “hypocrites” and warned us not to be like them. If you are to take on the mantle of teacher of God’s Word, you need to witness not just with your words but more importantly with your actions. “By their fruits shall ye know them.”
One of the most destructive forces within Christianity today is people who say they’re Christians but live as if they’re not. It’s what turned me off to Christianity before I was born again; I would look at people who called themselves Christians and say to myself: “If that’s Christianity, I want nothing to do with it.” Witnessing should be your day-to-day life, not just something you put on like Sunday clothes. Even if you think no-one sees you do something you know is wrong, God and Jesus see you, and that’s worse than being seen by everyone in the whole world. Don’t be that person whose actions turn others off from getting to know God and Jesus.
Live what you teach and preach. That’s witnessing to believers and unbelievers.
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Spiritual survivalism, like any other form of survivalism, is not something that should be put off until tomorrow. You need to prepare now for whatever could be coming down the pipeline as early as tonight. Remember that Jesus told us that only those who endure SPIRITUALLY to the end will be saved. Jesus also tells us always to be prepared with “loins girded”, to watch, and to have sufficient oil in our lamps. Repentance, reading scripture, praying and witnessing – that is oil. So fill your lamps now – fill them all the way to the top – while there’s still time.
HOPE AND CHANGE, GOD-STYLE
DARTMOUTH, Nova Scotia, October 26, 2016 – God changes his mind. He never changes, mind you (he’s the same yesterday, today, tomorrow and forever), but he does change his mind. There are numerous instances in the Bible when he was about to render his judgement and then, through a last minute appeal, stayed his hand.
BE KIND AND PRAY
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, July 23, 2016 – Jesus is very clear about how we are to treat people who hate us: We are to be kind to them and pray for them.
We are not to seek revenge in any way or to curse them. We are to be kind to them and pray for them.
Praying means to be kind in our mind, not just in our words or actions.
There is no way that you can do either of those things (be kind and pray for people who hate you) without the help of God’s spirit. (more…)
A BORN-AGAIN BELIEVER 