It is not often that we can report on some good news, so will begin there with this blog. I have been following the General Conference of the United Methodist Church which closed their meeting last night in St. Louis. Of particular interest to me was the decision on whether to continue the policy regarding same-sex marriage and the ordination of homosexuals that had been adopted in 1972. This policy became known as the Traditional Plan. Last night, by a vote of 438-384, the Conference affirmed that 1972 decision, stating that "the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching." Now the question will focus upon those United Methodist churches that have affirmed same-sex marriage and the ordination of homosexuals. Tom Berlin, who pastors a church in the Washington suburb of Herndon, Virginia, told Reuters that "with the new plan in place, some church members would risk losing their credentials to practice their belief in LGBT rights."
Personally, I applaud the delegates who affirmed that same-sex marriage and the ordination of homosexuals violates scriptural principles. One wonders if this will cause a fracturing within the United Methodist Church. As we witnessed a few years ago when the Anglican Church was debating a similar position, the strength of the African Church and their holding to traditional orthodoxy became evident. It is not often that we witness "good news" in the debate between the Church and contemporary culture. So, thank you delegates to the General Conference of the United Methodist Church for standing strongly upon biblical truth.
This past Monday I read an article posted by the Jerusalem Post, one of the leading papers within Israel. The article was written by Herb Keinon and can be found at: www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Sis-if-Jews-return-to-Egypt. The article begins, "If Jews are interested in establishing a Jewish community in Egypt, the government will build synagogues and other communal institutions, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi told a US delegation during a two-hour meeting last week."
"President Sisi spoke fondly not only of Egypt's past vibrant Jewish community, but also said that should there be a resurgence of the Jewish community in Egypt, the government will provide every religious necessity required..." The article continues "that Sisi also promised to clean up the ancient Bassatine Cemetery in Cairo, a cemetery dating back to the ninth century and believed to be the second-oldest Jewish cemetery in the world. In December, Sisi also announced a multimillion dollar project to restore Jewish heritage sites in Egypt."
As I was reading this article, my mind was drawn to those prophetic words from Isaiah as recorded for us in Isaiah 19:19-22, which reads, "In that day (a reference to the end times) there will be an altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the LORD at its border. It will be a sign and witness to the LORD Almighty in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the LORD because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and he will rescue them. So the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the LORD. They will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the LORD and keep them. The LORD will strike Egypt with a plague; he will strike them and heal them. They will turn to the LORD and he will respond to their pleas and heal them." Could this invitation by President Sisi to the Jews be a prelude to an even greater work that God is going to do in Egypt? Could this invitation to the Jews be another sign that we are nearing the sounding of the trumpet? I do not believe in coincidences. I believe God is at work.
On February 4, a meeting was held in Abu Dhabi that really "traveled under the radar screen" for many of us. Yet this meeting held great prophetic significance. At that meeting Pope Francis signed an historic interfaith covenant with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, one of the most important Imams within Sunni Islamic world. The document includes this statement: "In the name of God and of everything stated thus far, Al-Azhar al-Sharif and the Muslims of the East and West, together with the Catholic Church and the Catholics of the East and West, declare the adoption of a culture of dialogue as the path, mutual cooperation as the code of conduct, reciprocal understanding as the method and standard. We, who believe in God and in the final meeting with Him and His judgment, on the basis of our religious and moral responsibility, and through this document, call upon ourselves, upon the leaders of the world as well as the architects of international policy and world economy, to work strenuously to spread the culture of tolerance and of living together in peace; to intervene at the earliest opportunity to stop the shedding of innocent blood and bring an end to wars, conflicts, environmental decay and the moral and cultural decline that the world is presently experiencing."
Friends, this is not new thinking. Pope John Paul II was committed to the creation of a "big tent" in which all the religions of the world could be gathered. This would create some type of panacea for the world. This one-world religion will happen. A careful reading of Revelation 13 will reveal that truth. It will be a religion that has bent backing and strong support of the Antichrist. This is just another sign that the sounding of the trumpet is near. One can only begin to ask this question: Is the false prophet alive today, and just who might he be?
One final news item, and this one grieves my heart to report. On Monday evening, within the sacred halls of the United States Senate, a vote was taken that stunned many of us. A bill, sponsored by Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse, had been introduced. Senator Sasse's bill would protect with full constitutional rights any child who survived an abortion. In other words, this bill would protect a baby, a little boy or little girl. Under Senate rules, it would take 60 votes to bring this bill forward for a vote. You would have thought that 100 Senators would vote in favor of this bill. But, 44 Senators actually voted against allowing this bill to be brought for a vote. As Tony Perkins writes, "Last night on the Senate floor, we saw with gut-wrenching clarity what we really are: a nation where 44 of our most powerful men and women would order America to back away from a table where struggling newborns cry out for help. It was the birth of a new extreme: Democrats for infanticide." (www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=WA19B55&f=WU19B18). Senator Sasse urged his colleagues to vote in favor of the bill: "We've heard speech after speech after speech that have nothing to do with what's actually in this bill. I urge my colleagues to picture a baby that's already been born, that's outside the womb gasping for air. That's the only thing that today's vote is actually about. We're talking about babies that have already been born... We're not talking about Roe v. Wade."
President Trump responded to the vote: "Senate Democrats just voted against legislation to prevent the killing of newborn infant children. The Democrat position on abortion is now so extreme that they don't mind executing babies AFTER birth. This will be remembered as one of the most shocking votes in the history of Congress. If there is one thing we should all agree on, it's protecting the lives of innocent babies."
Tony Perkins continues, "These are not 'choices' writhing on a metal table. They're not 'medical options' being thrown away in a heap of dirty towels. These are innocent human beings, as real as any son or daughter smiling from the picture frames in Senate offices. But in a party beholden to a powerful abortion lobby, only three Democrats - Senators Joe Manchin (W.Va), Doug Jones (Ala), and Bob Casey (Pa) - had the moral courage to say that infanticide is wrong. The others, including all five Democratic 2020 hopefuls, are so committed to killing that they'll allow it after birth."
What a sad day for America! Abortion is one thing, infanticide is another. Both are morally reprehensible. If Congress so quickly turns its back upon innocent children, one can only wonder what they will do when it comes time to turn its back upon the growing population of seniors. It is just a small step from infanticide to euthanasia - a very small step.
But all of these are signs that we are nearing the great staging of the rapture of the Church. What a glorious day that will be. Friends, keep looking up; yet also keep pressing forward with the business of the King.
Wednesday, February 27, 2019
Thursday, February 21, 2019
Dangers of Our Times
One of my favorite lines from "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" is this: "It is always winter and never Christmas" in the land of Narnia. Looks like that now here in Minnesota. Yesterday we set the record for most snowfall in the month of February - over 31 inches; it just doesn't want to quit snowing. And we still have March to go. The snow is piling up with mountains of snow gracing parking lots all over the metro area. Yes, everything looks beautiful with its deep, white winter mantel. The snow is a reminder to us of how cleansed we are when forgiven by God. Praise God for that forgiveness. But so many of us are ready for some green grass and blooming flowers.
Well, the 2020 presidential campaign is beginning to heat-up. The Democratic field increases almost weekly. As one surveys that field of candidates, one is hard-pressed to name one declared candidate who would be considered to be "mainstream." The preponderance of candidates are leaning very much to the left, in fact, some of them dangerously so. I was just reading this morning about Senator Bernie Sanders who recently announced his candidacy for 2020. He will be running on a campaign theme of racial, social, and economic equality for all. Yet, according to the news source, Senator Sanders and his wife own three homes, two in Vermont and a townhome in Washington DC. So, I would like to ask Senator Sanders if he becomes the nominee, will he be selling his three homes and living in something more modest like the majority of Americans? Then I read that Senator Elizabeth Warren has a net worth of $7.8 million. Now I am not criticizing her net worth, yet she has consistently attacked those in the 1% who do not pay their "fair share" of taxes. I would like to ask her if she is paying her "fair share" or if she employs the "loop holes" to benefit herself? Oh the hypocrisy today, and sadly, it is not even disguised any longer. It is blatant and open. We are in for months of candidates advocating everything from free health care for all, to free college tuition, to a guaranteed job at a livable wage. Those may sound very nice, but they are also excessively expensive. Someone will have to pay the bill. Now I wonder who that someone might be? I look at one of those "someones" every morning in the mirror. Yes, you and I will be paying the bill; more correctly stated - our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be paying the bill. It will create a debt that will never be repaid - ever!
Also of concern to me is the continued assault upon the State of Israel and of Judaism itself. In an article published by the group United with Israel (www.unitedwithisrael.org/ny-times-says-israel-inspired-9-11-terror-attacks), Ira Stoll writes: "The New York Times is suddenly and retroactively blaming Israel for motivating the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, without much evidence to support the claim. ...The Times reports, 'The suffering of the Palestinians has long been an animating cause for Al Qaeda, a stand-in for the victimization of Muslims at the hands of Western powers. Biographies of Osama bin laden say that as an adolescent, he cried watching news coverage of displaced Palestinians who had been forced off their land." Just as Hitler blamed the Jews for all the problems within 1930's Germany, so the New York Times is now saying that it was the Israelis who caused the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Around the world we are seeing the rise of anti-Semitism. We have watched the assaults upon the Jewish communities in Europe. We have witnessed the increase hostilities toward Israel and the Jewish communities within the United Nations. No other nation on the face of the globe has had as many negative resolutions hurled at it by the General Assembly and the Security Council as has Israel. And now we have a strong anti-Semitic presence within our United States House of Representatives. Sadly Ilhan Omar is from the State of Minnesota. She is the first Somali representative ever elected to Congress. I remember that fall during the campaign, many were concerned about her strong pro-Palestinian positions and her equally strong anti-Israel positions. Once she was elected she did not waste any time in letting the world know that she was opposed to Israel. She even tweeted that she believed that AIPAC had bought off many of those within Congress. She quickly removed that tweet, but her bias was once again exposed.
Friends, over the past few years I have read a lot about those days before World War II. The parallels between our time and those days is shocking. I strongly encourage you to read Erwin Lutzer's book titled, "When A Nation Forgets God: 7 Lessons We Must Learn from Nazi Germany." This is an excellent book for a group discussion. With blame already being cast at the Jews, all it took was for the rise of a man to ignite that firestorm of anti-Semitism that resulted in the "final solution." In many ways we are awaiting the rise of another "Hitler" who will do the same. And, furthermore, we know that such a person will arise. We know him via his biblical title, "The Antichrist."
These are indeed very interesting and exciting days in which we are living. But, for me, the excitement is predicated upon the foundation of knowing that Jesus Christ is going to return. That God has a plan that He is overseeing through the affairs of this world. That the King will soon come to claim His rightful throne in Jerusalem, ruling with a rod of truth and justice. But, I have to admit that if I did not have that lens through which to view our world, I would be filled with utmost despair. Oh the difference Jesus Christ brings!
Well, the 2020 presidential campaign is beginning to heat-up. The Democratic field increases almost weekly. As one surveys that field of candidates, one is hard-pressed to name one declared candidate who would be considered to be "mainstream." The preponderance of candidates are leaning very much to the left, in fact, some of them dangerously so. I was just reading this morning about Senator Bernie Sanders who recently announced his candidacy for 2020. He will be running on a campaign theme of racial, social, and economic equality for all. Yet, according to the news source, Senator Sanders and his wife own three homes, two in Vermont and a townhome in Washington DC. So, I would like to ask Senator Sanders if he becomes the nominee, will he be selling his three homes and living in something more modest like the majority of Americans? Then I read that Senator Elizabeth Warren has a net worth of $7.8 million. Now I am not criticizing her net worth, yet she has consistently attacked those in the 1% who do not pay their "fair share" of taxes. I would like to ask her if she is paying her "fair share" or if she employs the "loop holes" to benefit herself? Oh the hypocrisy today, and sadly, it is not even disguised any longer. It is blatant and open. We are in for months of candidates advocating everything from free health care for all, to free college tuition, to a guaranteed job at a livable wage. Those may sound very nice, but they are also excessively expensive. Someone will have to pay the bill. Now I wonder who that someone might be? I look at one of those "someones" every morning in the mirror. Yes, you and I will be paying the bill; more correctly stated - our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be paying the bill. It will create a debt that will never be repaid - ever!
Also of concern to me is the continued assault upon the State of Israel and of Judaism itself. In an article published by the group United with Israel (www.unitedwithisrael.org/ny-times-says-israel-inspired-9-11-terror-attacks), Ira Stoll writes: "The New York Times is suddenly and retroactively blaming Israel for motivating the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, without much evidence to support the claim. ...The Times reports, 'The suffering of the Palestinians has long been an animating cause for Al Qaeda, a stand-in for the victimization of Muslims at the hands of Western powers. Biographies of Osama bin laden say that as an adolescent, he cried watching news coverage of displaced Palestinians who had been forced off their land." Just as Hitler blamed the Jews for all the problems within 1930's Germany, so the New York Times is now saying that it was the Israelis who caused the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Around the world we are seeing the rise of anti-Semitism. We have watched the assaults upon the Jewish communities in Europe. We have witnessed the increase hostilities toward Israel and the Jewish communities within the United Nations. No other nation on the face of the globe has had as many negative resolutions hurled at it by the General Assembly and the Security Council as has Israel. And now we have a strong anti-Semitic presence within our United States House of Representatives. Sadly Ilhan Omar is from the State of Minnesota. She is the first Somali representative ever elected to Congress. I remember that fall during the campaign, many were concerned about her strong pro-Palestinian positions and her equally strong anti-Israel positions. Once she was elected she did not waste any time in letting the world know that she was opposed to Israel. She even tweeted that she believed that AIPAC had bought off many of those within Congress. She quickly removed that tweet, but her bias was once again exposed.
Friends, over the past few years I have read a lot about those days before World War II. The parallels between our time and those days is shocking. I strongly encourage you to read Erwin Lutzer's book titled, "When A Nation Forgets God: 7 Lessons We Must Learn from Nazi Germany." This is an excellent book for a group discussion. With blame already being cast at the Jews, all it took was for the rise of a man to ignite that firestorm of anti-Semitism that resulted in the "final solution." In many ways we are awaiting the rise of another "Hitler" who will do the same. And, furthermore, we know that such a person will arise. We know him via his biblical title, "The Antichrist."
These are indeed very interesting and exciting days in which we are living. But, for me, the excitement is predicated upon the foundation of knowing that Jesus Christ is going to return. That God has a plan that He is overseeing through the affairs of this world. That the King will soon come to claim His rightful throne in Jerusalem, ruling with a rod of truth and justice. But, I have to admit that if I did not have that lens through which to view our world, I would be filled with utmost despair. Oh the difference Jesus Christ brings!
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
So Where Ae We Headed?
Last week Marlys and I were down in sunny Dallas sharing some time with our grandkids there. What fun to sit beside their pool soaking in the sun! Around us were the evidences that spring will soon be in Texas. What an awakening as we flew back into Minneapolis to more snow and more cold. I am beginning to understand the mindset of "snow birds." So, in the midst of time in Texas, I did not get a blog written last week. But I want to share some important news with you .
When the Roe v Wade decision of the United States Supreme Court was enacted back on January 22, 1973, the lines were drawn concerning abortion. How late into the pregnancy could an abortion be performed? When would the developing baby reach the point of viability? But the ultimate question was when does life truly begin? For many life only begins when the baby is delivered and is outside of the womb. For others, life begins when a fetal heartbeat can be heard. For those of us who are followers of Christ, life begins the moment of conception. Over the succeeding years, tens of millions of babies have been aborted - many of them for the reason of convenience.
But a new "low" was made public in the state of Virginia. Gary Bauer, in a posting at The Patriot Post website, shared portions of an interview between Virginia Delegate Todd Gilbert and Delegate Kathy Tran, the author of a bill that would permit abortion up to the point of birth: "Under questioning from Del. Todd Gilbert (R), Tran acknowledged, 'I don't think we have a limit in the bill.' Gilbert pressed further, asking Tran if a woman who was 'dilating' and about to give birth could still request an abortion. Tran answered, 'My bill would allow that, yes.'" (www.patriotpost.us/opinion-60873-promoting-infanticide).
When Virginia Governor Ralph Northam was asked about the bill - which was defeated, by the way - he argued, "If a mother is in labor ... the infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that's what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physician and mother." (www.patriotpost.us/articles/60893-the-macabre-leftist-culture-of-death).
Friends, we have now reached the point in the abortion debate where we are sliding down the slippery slope toward infanticide - the willful murder of children outside of the womb. This is what the ancient Romans did. A child would be born. He or she would then be brought to the father who would determine whether the child would be accepted or rejected. If the father rejected the child, it would be left to die. Perhaps there were any number of reasons why a baby would be rejected: the hair color was wrong, the ears were too big, it was a girl and not a boy.
In his article, Gary Bauer asks this question: "Why stop at birth? On what moral basis can the left say that if a mother gets depressed 24 hours later, she can't change her mind and be allowed to kill her baby then? ... If an abortion is okay after 20 weeks, why not when the mother is dilating and the baby is beginning to crown? And there isn't much of a difference 24 hours later."
I had the privilege to share with a group of men this morning that I believed that our culture was descending rapidly into the quagmire of paganism. If you read the descriptions of those Canaanite cultures that God instructed the people of Israel to completely destroy, and if one reads the account of Paul about the Roman culture in which he lived, there is great similarities with our culture today. I believe we have advanced past the "post-Christian" culture to the "anti-Christian" culture.
Yet, my friends, we should not despair. It was in the midst of that depraved, pagan Roman culture that the Church grew so phenomenally. And why was that? I believe it was because Christians truly were set apart from that culture. This has always been God's plan - to use a separated people to minister His truth into a pagan culture. That was God's original design for Israel as they crossed the Jordan River into the land of the Canaanites. That was God's original design for the Church. But what happened to the people of Israel? They compromised with the culture. They adapted to the culture around them. They absorbed that culture into their own. As a consequence, their testimony became distorted and ineffective. What has happened to the Church? They have followed in the pattern of ancient Israel. As a consequence, the Church has lost its distinctive edge.
Is there still time for the Church to have another awakening? Perhaps, but I believe that time is running out at a more rapid pace than we even imagine. It is time for each one of us to shake off the apathy and spiritual drowsiness that have infected us. It is time to go to war. It is time to do what Jude declares: "snatch others from the fire and save them" (Jude 23).
Another sign of the times is the increased focus upon the worship of planet earth. This became evident these past few days with the increased publicity of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's "new green deal." Within ten years, no more airline travel. (I wonder how I will get tour groups to Israel then, pretty long bridge!) Within ten years, no more meat. (I had lunch this past week with a farmer and he said that I should enjoy that steak because cows will soon be no more). Within ten years, no more gas-fired furnaces, no more backyard bar-b-ques, no more gas-powered cars. Friends, it will take lots and lots of money to pay for all this. And where will the money come from? Yep, you guessed it: from your pockets and from mine, along with a rapidly escalating debt that my grandchildren and great-grandchildren will inherit.
Yes, this is an amazing planet that God has given to us. But His instructions were NOT to worship it, but to superintend over it. Can we and should we do a better job of superintending our planet? Absolutely. But when we worship our planet, then we have descended, once again, into paganism. Friends, "green" is beautiful, and about this time of year here in Minnesota, "green" becomes something we long for. "White" is good, but "green" is better!
Friends, let's wake up because our Redemption is soon to arrive. Are you ready for when that trumpet blows?
When the Roe v Wade decision of the United States Supreme Court was enacted back on January 22, 1973, the lines were drawn concerning abortion. How late into the pregnancy could an abortion be performed? When would the developing baby reach the point of viability? But the ultimate question was when does life truly begin? For many life only begins when the baby is delivered and is outside of the womb. For others, life begins when a fetal heartbeat can be heard. For those of us who are followers of Christ, life begins the moment of conception. Over the succeeding years, tens of millions of babies have been aborted - many of them for the reason of convenience.
But a new "low" was made public in the state of Virginia. Gary Bauer, in a posting at The Patriot Post website, shared portions of an interview between Virginia Delegate Todd Gilbert and Delegate Kathy Tran, the author of a bill that would permit abortion up to the point of birth: "Under questioning from Del. Todd Gilbert (R), Tran acknowledged, 'I don't think we have a limit in the bill.' Gilbert pressed further, asking Tran if a woman who was 'dilating' and about to give birth could still request an abortion. Tran answered, 'My bill would allow that, yes.'" (www.patriotpost.us/opinion-60873-promoting-infanticide).
When Virginia Governor Ralph Northam was asked about the bill - which was defeated, by the way - he argued, "If a mother is in labor ... the infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that's what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physician and mother." (www.patriotpost.us/articles/60893-the-macabre-leftist-culture-of-death).
Friends, we have now reached the point in the abortion debate where we are sliding down the slippery slope toward infanticide - the willful murder of children outside of the womb. This is what the ancient Romans did. A child would be born. He or she would then be brought to the father who would determine whether the child would be accepted or rejected. If the father rejected the child, it would be left to die. Perhaps there were any number of reasons why a baby would be rejected: the hair color was wrong, the ears were too big, it was a girl and not a boy.
In his article, Gary Bauer asks this question: "Why stop at birth? On what moral basis can the left say that if a mother gets depressed 24 hours later, she can't change her mind and be allowed to kill her baby then? ... If an abortion is okay after 20 weeks, why not when the mother is dilating and the baby is beginning to crown? And there isn't much of a difference 24 hours later."
I had the privilege to share with a group of men this morning that I believed that our culture was descending rapidly into the quagmire of paganism. If you read the descriptions of those Canaanite cultures that God instructed the people of Israel to completely destroy, and if one reads the account of Paul about the Roman culture in which he lived, there is great similarities with our culture today. I believe we have advanced past the "post-Christian" culture to the "anti-Christian" culture.
Yet, my friends, we should not despair. It was in the midst of that depraved, pagan Roman culture that the Church grew so phenomenally. And why was that? I believe it was because Christians truly were set apart from that culture. This has always been God's plan - to use a separated people to minister His truth into a pagan culture. That was God's original design for Israel as they crossed the Jordan River into the land of the Canaanites. That was God's original design for the Church. But what happened to the people of Israel? They compromised with the culture. They adapted to the culture around them. They absorbed that culture into their own. As a consequence, their testimony became distorted and ineffective. What has happened to the Church? They have followed in the pattern of ancient Israel. As a consequence, the Church has lost its distinctive edge.
Is there still time for the Church to have another awakening? Perhaps, but I believe that time is running out at a more rapid pace than we even imagine. It is time for each one of us to shake off the apathy and spiritual drowsiness that have infected us. It is time to go to war. It is time to do what Jude declares: "snatch others from the fire and save them" (Jude 23).
Another sign of the times is the increased focus upon the worship of planet earth. This became evident these past few days with the increased publicity of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's "new green deal." Within ten years, no more airline travel. (I wonder how I will get tour groups to Israel then, pretty long bridge!) Within ten years, no more meat. (I had lunch this past week with a farmer and he said that I should enjoy that steak because cows will soon be no more). Within ten years, no more gas-fired furnaces, no more backyard bar-b-ques, no more gas-powered cars. Friends, it will take lots and lots of money to pay for all this. And where will the money come from? Yep, you guessed it: from your pockets and from mine, along with a rapidly escalating debt that my grandchildren and great-grandchildren will inherit.
Yes, this is an amazing planet that God has given to us. But His instructions were NOT to worship it, but to superintend over it. Can we and should we do a better job of superintending our planet? Absolutely. But when we worship our planet, then we have descended, once again, into paganism. Friends, "green" is beautiful, and about this time of year here in Minnesota, "green" becomes something we long for. "White" is good, but "green" is better!
Friends, let's wake up because our Redemption is soon to arrive. Are you ready for when that trumpet blows?
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