Humility Month: Part 3–Our Own Understanding

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own understanding;
in all your ways know him,
and he will make your paths straight.

(Proverbs 3:5-6 CSB)

So how was Humility Month for you? Humbling? Well, that was kind of the point. Here are some observations that I have made in the past 30 days from my own life.

Wisdom

I have mentioned before that the verse above is my favorite verse in the Bible. Some people call that a “life verse.”

The reason that it is my favorite is because it reminds me of my place before God. Living out this verse is a blueprint for a life of humility. Also, it is a command that comes with a promise. Do this, and God will do this.

I have found that it is much easier to do something than to try to stop doing something else. Therefore, the best way to rid yourself of pride is to focus on living out humility. And that begins by trusting God.

As we mentioned in part 2 of this series, God is God, and you are not. This should be a no-brainer, but that is why pride is so insidious. It grabs us before we engage our brains.

Our nature, then, is to try to figure things out by ourselves, and take control of the situation. If we would stop and consider God´s wisdom, however, we might realize that the situation isn´t even ours to control.

So, pride and arrogance reject wisdom, but humility surrenders to God, trusts Him to manage the problem Himself or else present a solution that´s better than what we would have concluded by our own understanding.

Patience

However, even if we have chosen to trust God with the problem, trusting His TIMING is a whole other issue. And a more difficult one.

Patience is one of the Fruits of the Spirit that are the mark of every believer. But it´s one matter to have the divine enablement to be patient in all things, and another to REMEMBER that you have this power to call upon.

Impatience is a symptom of pride. When we start saying, “C´mon, C´MON already!” what we are unconsciously doing is placing our plans above God´s plans. Which is just another way of placing our own understanding above His. As Solomon wrote:

The end of a matter is better than its beginning,
and patience is better than pride.
Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit,
for anger resides in the lap of fools. (Ecclesiastes 7:8-9 NIV)

So, we see that impatience goes hand in hand with anger. And from anger, it is a short drive to entitlement.

Whatever I Want, All the Time

Entitlement starts when we want one thing RIGHT NOW. We know the one thing we need to fix our situation, and we have prayed for it, so WHY ISN´T GOD ANSWERING MY PRAYER? COME ON, MAN! GET ON IT!

Yes, it looks stupid when you write it out like that, but have you ever said those words? (Be honest; I won´t tell.)

How prideful to think that our limited understanding of ANY situation would trump God´s omniscience. Our lives are like a puzzle piece. All we can see from here is that the piece next to us is missing. We need that piece in its proper place to feel complete. As long as that hasn´t happened yet, we can´t rest and be content.

But we can´t see the picture. God is putting together a seven-billion-piece puzzle that is more intricate and elaborate than we can comprehend. Maybe He´s working on the edges first.

When we trust in the Lord with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding, then we understand that He will get to us when He gets to us. When He does, it will be at exactly the right time with exactly the right solution.

However, if we haven´t reached this level of trust, our impatience may cause us to “make something happen” under our own power. If you´ve done this, don´t beat yourself up over it. There is Biblical precedence after all.

Remember when God promised offspring to Abraham? Isaac wasn´t getting here fast enough for Sarah, so she relied on her own understanding and told Abraham to get with her maidservant, Hagar, and make a baby that way. It worked, but because it was not in line with God´s plan, there were consequences.

There is something worse than not getting whatever you want, all the time. And that is actually getting it but getting it the wrong way. Consider the story of King Uzziah. He reigned for 52 years and accomplished remarkable things with the Lord´s help. But then, pride went to his head:

But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in.They confronted King Uzziah and said, “It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the Lord God.” Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord’s temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead. When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him. King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house—leprous, and banned from the temple of the Lord. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land. (2 Chr 26:16-21 NIV)

Pride always makes us believe that our own understanding is superior to God´s. So how do we break this cycle?

The R Word

Eleven years and three kings after Uzziah came King Hezekiah. He was renowned for saving Judah from Sennacherib, the king of the Assyrians. Toward the end of his life, however, he had a Uzziah moment. But watch how he managed his consequences differently:

In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to the Lord, who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign. But Hezekiah’s heart was proud, and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the Lord’s wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem. Then Hezekiah repented of the pride of his heart, as did the people of Jerusalem; therefore the Lord’s wrath did not come on them during the days of Hezekiah. (2 Chr 32:24-26 NIV)

Hezekiah had developed a sense of entitlement regarding God´s blessings. The people of Jerusalem were taking their cues from that attitude as well. But when they repented of this attitude, God´s blessings returned.

Repentance is the ultimate expression of humility. Repentance is when you abandon your own understanding and make a deliberate effort to go God´s way. It is an act of complete surrender, and it ALWAYS leads to a good result. Maybe not the one you were expecting, or at the time you expected it, but it´s as sure a thing as you will ever find.

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Humility Wins!

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble. (Daniel 4:37 NIV)

The best part about repentance is that it works for anyone, anywhere, anytime. Nebuchadnezzar was another king that was full of himself, acknowledged God, and had a better result. But he wasn´t a king of Israel or Judah. He was the King of Babylon, who had attacked Jerusalem and carried the Jews into exile. He then tried to force the Jewish exiles into idolatry. It went a little like this:

Something like that anyway. Nebby K. Was so far into his own understanding that God had to completely strip him of it. He ended up out of his mind, living like an animal in the wilderness. Seven years later, he lifted his eyes to heaven, repented, and God restored him to a glory former than what he had before (sound familiar?).

So how about you, dear reader? Have you been living under the limited scope of your own understanding? Has your pride barricaded you into a substandard life? If so, it is never too late to repent and trust in the Lord with all your heart.

Humility Month: Part 2–God is God, and You are Not

Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre: Thus says the Lord God:

Your heart has grown proud,
and thus you say, “I am a god;
I sit on a godly throne
in the heart of the seas.”
But in reality you are a man, and not a god,
even though you compare your mind
with that of a god.
Are you as wise as Daniel?
Is no secret hidden from you?
By your wisdom and your intelligence,
you have amassed great wealth for yourself.
You have deposited gold and silver
into your treasuries.
Because of your skill in trading,
your wealth has greatly increased;
and as a result of your riches,
your heart is filled with arrogant pride.

Therefore, thus says the Lord God:

Because you consider your wisdom
to be equal to that of God,
I will bring foreigners against you,
the most barbarous of all the nations.
They will draw their swords
against the beauty of your wisdom
and defile your splendor.
They will hurl you down to the pit,
and you will die a violent death
in the heart of the seas.
Will you then still say, “I am a god,”
when your murderers confront you?
No, you are a man, not a god,
in the hands of those about to slay you.
You will die the death of the uncircumcised
at the hands of foreigners.

I have spoken, declares the Lord God.
(Ezekiel 28:2-10 NCB)

As our guest author Karen Pennington noted in part 1 of this series, “Simply put, pride involves the idolatry of placing ourselves in front of God, in any way, or for any reason.”

In front of God is bad enough. However, in the passage above, the prince of Tyre was making himself EQUAL to God. Definitely a career-limiting move on his part.

The word “pride” in verse five above is accompanied by the word “arrogant. ” These two words frequently hang out together. It is never a good thing when they do.

Arrogance is a rejection of wisdom. It results from a person elevating incomplete knowledge to a level it does not warrant.

Everyone knows a lot about a few things and a little about many things. A person blinded by arrogance does not make the distinction between knowing a lot and knowing a little.

Pride, then, is arrogance in action. This is when a person professes that their incomplete knowledge is equal or superior to Wisdom and Truth. When left unchecked, this pride can proliferate into a god complex, whereby a person esteems his own intelligence to be unlimited.

This is asking for trouble.

Only God is God

Now it´s not likely that you or I will ever find ourselves ruling a city-state in the Middle East, but pride can creep into the life of anyone in any situation. It rears its head not just when you´re on top, but even when you are at rock bottom. Consider the story of Job.

In a single day, Job lost all his children, all his property, and all of his servants. Everything but his wife and his life. Then, to make matters worse, his entire body was covered with painful sores. Yet, he never sacrificed his faith or integrity.

Even so, there´s only so much a man can take, even a righteous man like Job. He goes off on a six-chapter rant, justifying himself and complaining why he doesn’t deserve his circumstances. Then God answers, with seventy-two verses of sarcastic questions, ending with this:

“Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? Or will you yield? Do you—God’s critic—have the answers?” (Job 40:2 TLB)

After a bit more chastening, Job responds:

“You said, ‘Listen and I will speak! Let me put the questions to you! See if you can answer them!’

“But now I say, ‘I had heard about you before, but now I have seen you, and I loathe myself and repent in dust and ashes.’” (Job 42:4-6 TLB)

Job exchanged his unintentional pride for intentional humility. As a result, God restored to him double what he had lost, and he lived to a ripe old age to enjoy it.

Strength in Surrender

So as we can see, pride makes us enemies of God, but humility sets things right again. By surrendering our pride, we open up Blessing Blvd. to traffic. God hears our prayers and answers them according to His will.

This is what we need to remember when our circumstances go south. Because they will. In fact, if you take a look at the world around us, they already are.

It is so difficult to look at the chaos of our society and believe that God is in control. But He is. It is WE who aren’t. Because it´s not our job.

For only God is God.

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Humility Month: Part 1–Pride vs. Humility



In June, a certain percentage of the United States celebrates Pride Month.  Not all Americans are on board with this, which inevitably leads to accusations of homophobia from the participants.

Many would be surprised to learn, however, that the offense of Pride Month does not stem primaily from the celebration of deviant sexual practices, or even from the appropriation of the symbol of God's promise for their flag.  The most egregious transgression of Pride Month is the elevation of pride itself.

No fewer than 18 times here at Truth Mission we have identified pride as the mother of all sin. Since humility is the polar opposite of pride, we have decided to designate September as Humility Month.  Instead of railing against Pride Month and the people who celebrate it, we would humbly (see what I did there?) like to offer an alternative that might just yield a better result.

So to kick off Humility Month, we are going to do something we have never done before here at Truth Mission.  We are highlighting a guest author!

Today's very special guest is Karen Pennington, author of An Anointed Mess: Discovering the Daily Adventure of Grace as well as the new devotional 10 Healing Truths from God's Word. The following appeared on her blog, Daily Adventures in Grace, on June 12, 2022.

Pride vs. Humility–Finding the Best Package

“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but wisdom is with the humble.” (Proverbs 11:2 NRSV)

I usually like package deals. It can often mean that I get a greater value, more bang for my buck. However, some packages deals just aren’t worth it.

There have been times when I thought I really wanted something but ended up giving up on it, because of all of the unneeded extra baggage and expenses that comes along with it. I’ve lost count of the memberships, activities, and even some relationships I have had to cut out of my life, because they either cost too much or came with an extra generous dose of pain or heartache. Those are the package deals I would choose to opt out of.

One of the worst possible combinations I can think of is pride and shame. It almost seems counter-intuitive that the two would come together, especially since those of us who have struggled with pride in some form (which is all of us) have sought to be lifted to higher ground, not brought low. But according to the words of Proverbs 11:2, those who exhibit pride as a means to honor get the exact opposite of what they are bargaining for.

That phrase “then comes” from this verse is not really implying that disgrace comes after pride- no delayed reaction there. It actually means that dishonor comes WITH pride. In other words, pride and shame are a package deal. So the moment we try to set ourselves on a self-made pedestal, we set a magnifying glass on our own inadequacy without Christ.

This very closely resembles the words of Christ that have come to be known as “The Great Reversal”:

“All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Matthew 23:12 NRSV)

So what exactly is pride? Simply put, pride involves the idolatry of placing ourselves in front of God, in any way, or for any reason. It appears in many forms: workaholism, unforgiveness, gossip, criticism, or any number of thoughts, words, or actions that reflect the inner lie that somehow our way is more important than God’s. Pride can often masquerade as good things, like good deeds, felt convictions or (false) humility (because that buys into the lie that somehow our understanding of ourselves is more true than what God says about us).

The thing is, we ARE good, and valuable, and priceless. So there’s no need to falsely build ourselves up. Why not just lean into God?

True humility means we surrender our attempts to self-justify and self-promote, which in reality have only ever brought misunderstanding and pain. In return, we receive the eyes of grace, which allow us to define ourselves and the world around us through the lens of God’s infinite love.

Trust me, this is a much better package deal.

(We will continue celebrating Humility Month with Part 2: God is God and You are Not)

God Bless America? (Part 2–Fight the Real Enemy)

The most popular post in the history of this blog was Part 8 of the Overcoming the World series, entitled, “The Struggle.” I think the reason that so many people related to this post was simply because we all have the same struggle, that is, remembering that the real enemy is Satan, not the people under his control.

The media has been trying to turn us against each other for years. Social media has driven this divide far deeper.

And the government has only made things worse. The people that side with the political party in power demonize the other side, and vice versa. And the people in power just stoke the anger and hatred instead of trying to put out the fire.

Nevertheless, even the government is not our real enemy, because the government is made of individual people. Peter explained it like this:

Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it. Don’t indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. Live an exemplary life in your neighborhood so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they’ll be won over to God’s side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives.

Make the Master proud of you by being good citizens. Respect the authorities, whatever their level; they are God’s emissaries for keeping order. It is God’s will that by doing good, you might cure the ignorance of the fools who think you’re a danger to society. Exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules. Treat everyone you meet with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government. (1 Peter 2:11-17 MSG)

So, the message here for Truthseekers is that our mission is not to take America back from the radical left. It’s to start taking the individual members of said radical left back from Satan. Remember the second tenet of the Truthseeker Manifesto:

A Truthseeker makes the most of every opportunity to learn and grow, striving to understand other points of view, with the purpose of establishing common ground.

The problem with our discourse in America now is that nobody seeks the common ground. Nobody even seems to believe that there can be such a thing. “How can I possibly reason with someone so stupid as to think that a fetus is not the same thing as a baby?” “Why do I even have to breathe the same air as these domestic terrorists who are a threat to our democracy?”

But if we all just take a breath and look at the situation as it really is, we will see that no matter how polarized our political points of view, we do have common ground. Our common enemy.

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The Real Enemy

Looking back over the years that I have been posting here, it seems I keep coming back to this theme—Fight the real enemy. This is the rule I cling to when the world gets stupid, and I want to break out my beatin’ stick and go to town.

In Reasonable, our study of Romans 12, we observed that people who persecute us are not our real enemies. The biggest reason that Satan doesn’t want us seeking common ground with our earthly adversaries is because if we find it, then we might start doing crazy things like listening to each other, encouraging each other in our common struggles, even (gasp!) praying for each other!

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So, while our real enemy is trying to divide us all into Us and Them, God is trying to create an Us of every tribe, tongue, and nation. Anyone who responds to the Holy Spirit’s message, and is faithful to obey it, can be one of Us.

This point is absolutely critical, for everyone everywhere, but especially here in America in such a time as this.

Every “Them” is a potential Us. Even though “them” may deny that God even exists, the reality is that “them” were created in His image, the same as Us. This is why God calls us to love our “enemies.” Because “them” are not the real enemy.

At least, until…

The Mark

Then a third angel followed them, shouting, “Anyone who worships the beast and his statue or who accepts his mark on the forehead or on the hand must drink the wine of God’s anger. It has been poured full strength into God’s cup of wrath. And they will be tormented with fire and burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb. The smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever, and they will have no relief day or night, for they have worshiped the beast and his statue and have accepted the mark of his name.” (Revelation 14:9-11 NLT)

There is going to come a day when a great many people will make an irrevocable decision to follow the Antichrist. They will signify this decision by having the real enemy’s mark (the 666 thing) stamped on their foreheads or their right hand.

Before this day comes, any “them” is a potential Us. But after this day…
Then, and ONLY then, will these people become a permanent Them. Not until that day will these people become our true enemies. And many Christians believe that we won’t even be around to see that morning.

We have to always remember that the only unforgivable sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (see Matthew 12:31). Taking the mark of the beast would qualify.

Voting Democrat? Not so much. Marching in a Pride parade? Nope. How about getting an abortion? Believe it or not, even this is forgivable (not without consequences, but still forgivable) in the eyes of God.

So I will say the same thing I say in every election year. It’s not our job to save America from Them. It may not even be in the stars for God to save America at all. But it is always God’s plan to build His kingdom.

As such, it should be our primary goal as well.

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God Bless America? Part 1: This Land Isn’t Your Land

Your land must not be sold on a permanent basis, because you do not own it; it belongs to God, and you are like foreigners who are allowed to make use of it. (Leviticus 25:23 GNT)

Anybody else as enthusiastic as I am to have the smoldering ruin of 2021 in our rearview mirror?

I’m sure that many of you reading this are kindling a new sense of optimism that 2022 will be the year we clean house and undo the damage that America has sustained. I feel that as well, to a certain extent. Nevertheless, I have a couple of questions scratching at the back door of my brain.

CAN America truly be saved at this point?

SHOULD America (as we have known it) be saved at all?

Now put down your pitchforks and your Boom Bottles; this is all hypothetical. All I am trying to do here is to keep a Truthseeker’s perspective on some very volatile situations.

None of you need to be reimnded, I expect, of how easy it is to get caught up in the emotion of partisan bickering. I have to remind myself daily to be wise about when to engage and when not to in matters political. I frequently make the wrong choice, so no judging or finger-pointing here.

My point is that we like to say, “God bless America,” but why would we really ever think He would do that? After all…

To him, all the nations don’t amount to anything.
He considers them to be worthless.
In fact, they are less than nothing in his sight. (Isaiah 40:17 NIRV)

So why would we think it was ever God’s plan to save America?

Hail Murica.

People > Places

Jesus’ final command to us before He left Earth was (emphasis mine):

Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world. (Matthew 28:19-20 CEV)

We see from this that God’s plan is personal, not national. Yes, His original plan was for Israel to be His chosen nation, but the entire Bible is a testimony to how well that worked out.

Jesus commanded us to go to all nations, not to save all nations. Indeed in John’s vision of heaven in Revelation 7, the great multitude was from every nation, tribe, people, and language.

The reality we don’t want to admit is that the United States of America is not a Christian nation. Rather, it is a nation that has Christians in it. God doesn’t bless America; He blesses faith. There is no promise in scripture that any nation will be saved, but that those who are saved will become a nation:

But you are God’s “chosen generation,” his “royal priesthood,” his “holy nation,” his “peculiar people”—all the old titles of God’s people now belong to you. It is for you now to demonstrate the goodness of him who has called you out of darkness into his amazing light. (1 Peter 2:9 PHILLIPS)

So, to reiterate, the goal of an American Truthseeker is not to try to save America, but to save Americans by showing them what the true and better nation is—the Kingdom of God.

We don’t do this through political campaigning or social media bullying or even street-corner preaching.

We do this by simply living out our holy calling. Even if we only do this much, we will stand out in this culture in a way that will attract attention. Not all of this attention will be positive though.

So, when we find ourselves surrounded by detractors, and we will, we must all remember one thing.

(And to find out what that one thing is, come back for Part 2—Fight the Real Enemy.)

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The End of the Age: Part 5–The Trouble with Tribulation

For those will be days of tribulation, the kind that hasn’t been from the beginning of the world, which God created, until now and never will be again! (Mark 13:19 HCSB)

Time to step on some more toes. A common theology in the modern Church is a pre-tribulation “Rapture,” the concept being that Christians don’t have to worry about any of this scary stuff, because before it all begins, we’re all going to get whooshed up to heaven and sit out the Tribulation.

Sounds great to me! Just one problem. The word “rapture” does not appear anywhere in the Bible. Neither is there any prophecy that specifically describes such an event. There are a few bits and pieces that have been strung together out of context, along with the odd mistranslation, upon which many people have constructed this wishful thinking. However, if the Rapture were something that we could be certain of, the Bible would have said so plainly.

And it doesn’t. Not anywhere.

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For the sake of the elect

Remember the very first thing that Jesus said when he started this speech to His inner circle? “Watch out that no one deceives you.”

(Now, “no one” includes me, so I’m not asking you to take my word for any of this. Anyone reading these words has access to a Bible. Look it up yourself and ask God to explain it to you. He may give you a different answer. I could be totally wrong about this. I hope I am, actually, because the Rapture is a much better deal than the one it appears we have coming.)

In Mark 13:20, Jesus speaks of the Tribulation:

If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. (NIV)

Now, if the elect (i.e., followers of Christ) have already been tractor beamed up to heaven before the Tribulation starts, then why would it matter to us if the days were shortened or not? If we’re already with Jesus enjoying our eternal life, we wouldn’t need to worry about surviving.

Yet, that’s the word Jesus uses, echoing Daniel 12:12, “Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.” (NIV) Patience, perseverance and endurance are fruits of the Holy Spirit that all true Christians display. Scripture is clearly stating that we will need these qualities all the way to the end of the Tribulation.

Jesus goes on in verses 21-23 to warn his disciples that there will be false messiahs and false prophets in the end times who will do fake miracles that will appear convincing enough even to deceive the elect. Again, how can we be potentially deceived if we are not still on earth?

Next, Jesus goes full-on apocalyptic, quoting Isaiah regarding signs and wonders in the sky:

As Isaiah said in the days after that great suffering,
The sun will refuse to shine,
and the moon will hold back its light.
The stars in heaven will fall,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. (Mark 13:24-25 VOICE)

This is the verse that causes false prophets in our current age to blow a nut every time there’s a solar eclipse. But Judgment Day is a whole lot more than a natural astronomical phenomenon. ALL light will be blocked out—no sun, no moon, and no stars. This is the part where God lays the final smack down on His enemies.

This prophecy is reiterated later in Revelation 6:

I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. (Rev 6:12-14 NIV)

Heck of a day. I’m not looking forward to that. I get that the elect will have their victory and live and reign with Jesus forever and ever, but THAT day. . .I really don’t want to be around for that one. Can you blame people for coming up with the concept of a Rapture? Sure beats unprecedented natural disaster any day of the week!

At that time…

Back to Mark now. As Jesus quotes these prophecies, He then says (emphasis mine):

At that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens. (Mark 13:26-27 NIV)

At. That. Time. Not before. The elect will not be gathered until Judgment Day itself, which happens at the END of the Tribulation, not the beginning.

So, how do we balance our awareness of The End of the Age with our mission and calling in the present? Well fortunately, Jesus gave us instructions for that too, in verses 34-37:

It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. Therefore, keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: “Watch!” (NIV)

We are not to be lazy or complacent about Christ’s return. Yes, it has been 2000 years, but what of that? God is eternal. He doesn’t mark time like we do. Maybe He’s waiting for us to reach the whole world, or maybe He has a day marked on His celestial calendar that we haven’t arrived at yet. It’s enough to know that He is coming back, and He expects to find us ready to meet Him when He does.

Even so, Jesus’ illustration also mentions that the servants were left in charge, each with an assigned task. We are charged with taking care of this world and everyone in it until Christ returns. We can no more be slack about that duty than we can about watching for His return.

The End of the Age: Part 4–Stand Firm

“Everyone will hate you because of my name. But whoever stands firm until the end will be saved.” (Mark 13:13 CEB)

The world can be a depressing place. It can seem to us that God isn’t actively involved in our situation. We might even begin to wonder if He’s even real, or if He is, does He even care about us? Jesus saw this coming, of course. This is why He admonishes us, “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

The notion of “standing firm” reminds me of a statue or rock that can not be moved, no matter what happens around it. It should be noted, however, that in this case, “standing firm” does not mean “standing still.”

Rather, this is more a picture of perseverance. It is more about being undeterred than being unmoved. It is about steadily plodding toward a goal in the face of opposition. Doing this requires laser focus on that goal. Again, as we said before, the goal is to spread the Gospel to the whole world, not to monitor the signs of the times so that we can set our Apple watches for the apocalypse.

Jesus also mentions that the reward for standing firm to the end is salvation. Now theologically speaking, we are “saved” when we first put our trust in Christ. However, we “work out our salvation” by obediently doing the work that Jesus planned for us in the building of His kingdom. Standing firm to the end is the evidence that our faith is, and always has been, genuine. This is what ensures our salvation. Those who fall away because of shallow faith have always had shallow faith, although they may have denied it.

The Abomination of Desolation

Jesus gets more specific about the end when He starts quoting Daniel in verse 14:

“But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be” (let the reader understand), “then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. (Mark 13:14 NET)

Mark even cuts in on Jesus with a “let the reader understand.” Both Jesus and Mark wanted us to be very sure to understand that he was referring to the “abomination of desolation” Daniel wrote of in 538 BC:

He will make a firm covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and offering. And the abomination of desolation will be on a wing of the temple until the decreed destruction is poured out on the desolator.” (Daniel 9:27 HCSB)

So, what is that exactly?

Well, simply put, we don’t know. This may have been a specific warning to Jews 2000 years ago, but its meaning has been lost to history. Also, the trouble with mystical prophecies like this is that they don’t make sense until they’re fulfilled. Then you can look back on the events and say, “Oh, yeah. I see it now.”

Even so, Mark was careful to interject “let the reader understand,” so I’m going to do my best here. The Hebrew can be broken down several different ways. My best paraphrase would be, “An idolatry will spread that will be so abominable that it will leave us horrified and speechless.” One theory that seems reasonable is that this abomination is an idol of some sort raised in, or on top of, the temple. It is unclear if the word “wing” is literal or figurative in this verse. However, in Daniel 11:31, it appears that this abomination is going to be literally set up in the temple as a sign of desecration.

One thing is a bit perplexing regarding the timing, though. Daniel repeatedly states that the abomination will be set up at the same time the daily sacrifice is abolished at the temple. There hasn’t been a daily sacrifice going on since 70AD when Rome destroyed Jerusalem and the temple. So, is this really a prophecy of the end times, or is this something that has already happened?

Or could it be both?

The Antichrist

And the beast was given a mouth (the power of speech), uttering great things and arrogant and blasphemous words, and he was given freedom and authority to act and to do as he pleased for forty-two months (three and a half years). And he opened his mouth to speak blasphemies (abusive speech, slander) against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, and those who live in heaven. (Revelation 13:5-6 AMP)

Both Daniel 9:27 and this passage in Revelation clearly reference the Antichrist, that is, the one who will come in the last days to oppose God and His people. Daniel speaks of “weeks,” which we commonly understand to be a period of seven years. The final “week” Daniel references is often referred to as “the Tribulation.” This is the seven-year period in which the Antichrist will reign on earth. The “abomination of desolation” is to be established in the temple when the sacrifices are abolished, halfway through the seven years. Then, according to Daniel 12:11, the tribulation will last 1,290 more days. These are the 42 months that Revelation 13 references.

So, when were these days supposed to start?

Prophecies or cycles?

If you apply Daniel’s prophecy to his own time, then the events of this prophecy line up with the rise of Antiochus IV. Antiochus persecuted the Jews and desecrated the temple by sacrificing a pig on the altar. He was put down in the revolt of Judas Maccabaeus in 164 BC. This account makes the prophecy more literal. And yet. . .

Those events happened nearly two centuries before Jesus spoke this prophecy to Peter, John, James, and Andrew. And Jesus was speaking about the future. So, it appears that with prophecy everything old becomes new again.

But is this so weird? All throughout scripture, God shows his people on earth copies of things in heaven to give them a taste. The tabernacle was a copy of the tabernacle in heaven. Jerusalem was a forerunner of the Holy City in Revelation. Jesus’ resurrection foreshadowed our own.

The purpose of prophecy, then, seems to be not so much to tell us exactly what is going to happen and when. It’s more to give us enough faith to realize that more is going on in the world than we can even comprehend, much less control. When it does come to pass, it will all end well.

Daniel himself did not understand what the prophecies meant when he wrote them down. He was over 90 years old when he received this final prophecy. Even then, he still didn’t understand exactly what it meant or when it would be fulfilled. God simply gave him the vision to pass on, then said to him:

“As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance.” (Daniel 12:13 NIV)

In other words, God gave Daniel the message and told him to pass it on. It’s not for him to worry about what it all means or when the deal will finally go down. He has just the one mission—record the prophecy. Or to be more general, to obey in faith.

God’s instructions to us are the same. He gives us each work to do in and for His kingdom. He also equips us with the spiritual gifts we need to complete that work. We have access to Daniel’s prophecies along with all the others. Rather than worrying over which of these prophecies might occur in our lifetimes, we should instead focus on what we are supposed to do with our lives. Whatever our individual calling may be, interpreting scripture to try to calculate the end of days is not it.

Even Jesus didn’t know when these events would take place. In Mark 13:18, he says, “Pray that this will not take place in winter,” which implies that even Jesus isn’t sure. He actually confirms this later in verse 32, saying, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

Bottom line—if Jesus didn’t know, you and I aren’t going to be the ones to figure it out.

(To be concluded in Part 5: The Trouble with Tribulation)

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The End of the Age: Part 3–On Your Guard

Be on your guard! For they will repeatedly hand you over to the ruling councils, and you will be beaten in public gatherings. And you will stand trial before kings and high-ranking governmental leaders as an opportunity to testify to them on my behalf. But prior to the end of the age, the hope of the gospel must first be preached to all nations. (Mark 13:9-10 TPT)

In verse 9, Jesus gives another warning, this one more personal. “Be on your guard!” He then tells His inner circle of the personal persecutions they will face in His name, and the purposes thereof.

But He is not warning them to be on guard against their persecutors. He is warning them against looking for big-picture signs of The End. This practice would take their focus from their individual missions. They need to be ready to witness to the authorities before whom they will be brought. They will need to remember the Great Commission that Jesus will give them to preach the Gospel to all nations. Most of all, they need to prepare their spirits to receive wisdom and comfort from the Holy Spirit amid their persecution. It is their faith that will see them through what is coming, not their ability to read the signs of the times.

This warning is for us as well. Most of us Americans have not faced the danger of arrest or public beatings for professing our faith, but this does happen daily in many areas of the world. I doubt that many of the people who are persecuted find themselves in that situation for interpreting the signs of the times. They are jailed, tortured, and martyred for the Name of Jesus.

But since, as Americans we have not previously faced these troubles, we tend to get spiritually lazy. We lose our sense of urgency about preaching the gospel and instead turn our attentions to the news, fake or otherwise, about the state of our nation. We look at the spreading degeneracy of our culture, in our media, our schools, our government, etc., and say something religious-sounding like, “Come Lord Jesus.” But what are we doing to prepare for that coming?

More importantly, what are we saying or doing to get the world ready?

Until the Whole World Hears

In verse 10, Jesus says that the Gospel must first be preached to all nations before The End comes. I have often wondered if that’s why it has been 2000 years and we’re still waiting? I can’t know this for certain, but it seems to make sense for this reason. (I’m going to lose some of the Calvinists on this one.)

God offers salvation from Sin and Death as a free gift. The way to receive this gift is to believe that Jesus is who the Bible says He is, did what the Bible says He did, and to trust and rely completely on that Truth, following Christ in obedience. In other words, a person must exercise a conscious and deliberate act of the will.

But a choice can not be made where there is no awareness of the choice that needs to be made. This is what the preaching is for:

For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How are they to call on one they have not believed in? And how are they to believe in one they have not heard of? And how are they to hear without someone preaching to them? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How timely is the arrival of those who proclaim the good news.” But not all have obeyed the good news, for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” Consequently, faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the preached word of Christ. (Romans 10:13-17 NET)

For this reason, I do not believe that anyone who has never heard of Jesus could be condemned for not choosing Him. Some theologians would disagree with me on that, but it’s the story I’m going with, because if God would send some lost African tribe to hell because they didn’t make a decision for Christ, then all those who die in infancy would go along with them. Therefore, I call shenanigans on that theology.

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Every tribe, tongue and nation…

So, about those lost African tribes (or wherever they may be). I believe that Jesus hasn’t come back yet because we haven’t reached everyone with the Gospel yet. Whether it’s because the Church has been lazy about missions, or the world’s population is simply growing at a rate that the Church can’t keep up with, they haven’t all had a chance to make their choice yet.

Therefore, the point is to stop looking at the sky and to start looking for opportunities to share the Good News, both near and far, until the whole world hears. Because until we reach the whole world with the Gospel, it doesn’t matter what ELSE is going on in the world.

(To be continued in Part 4—Stand Firm)

The End of the Age: Part 2–What Sign?

As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple area, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will this happen, and what sign will there be when all these things are about to come to an end?” (Mark 13:3-4 NABRE)

This scene immediately follows Jesus’ public prediction that the temple would be destroyed. Jesus’ inner circle is trying to get the inside scoop on what’s coming next.

We’re all kind of like that, aren’t we? We like to be the first ones to know. Sometimes it’s just for the knowledge itself. Sometimes it’s for the attention we get in the short term. Or it might be about having the reputation for being a source of reliable information.

But there is a warning that comes along with this thirst for knowledge. The sense of pride that comes from being first to know can overwhelm the significance of the actual knowledge that you are conveying. To avoid succumbing to that, check your motivation for obtaining the knowledge in the first place. Is it to help others, to help yourself, or just to be first?

Fake News

I don’t need to remind anybody in this age of disinformation how much garbage there is on the interwebs masquerading as knowledge. Any post or clickbait that triggers somebody’s offense mechanism has the potential to go viral before a single fact has been checked. And now, social media itself, under the guise of “fact checking,” is censoring voices that dissent with its political agenda, making even the real news look like fake news.

But our urge to be able to say, “You heard it here first” is so strong that people have gone so far as to create new social media networks, just so they can have an outlet to forward the latest “breaking news” without fear of recrimination by the “tech lords.” So, under the guise of free speech, all we have done is relocated and refined our echo chamber.

Another thing to be wary of with a thirst for knowledge is that sometimes when you ask questions, you might get more than you bargained for with the answer. Consider how Jesus responded in Mark 13:5-31 to the question posed by His inner circle at the top of this post.

He begins with a warning. “Watch out that no one deceives you.” Fake news was a thing even 2000 years ago. Jesus knows the hearts of His disciples, so He knows their motivation for asking. Although we can’t really tell from the context, Jesus’ warning is useful regardless. He wants them to have correct information from the Source, both for their own knowledge and to share with others who might ask.

Getting the Scoop

There is also a sort of secondhand knowledge that people thirst for. If you aren’t in the “you heard it here first” club, then maybe at least you can be the first to report a sign predicted by those who were. Jesus knows that even though He is telling his inner circle directly about the signs of the end, since these signs will be unprecedented, they could easily be misinterpreted.

What I mean is that our individual perceptions color our worldview. When we see a war, a certain political alliance or a natural or humanitarian disaster, we might be tempted to point and say, “See? The end is near!” But Jesus specifically said this 2000 years ago:

When you hear of wars and reports of wars, don’t be alarmed. These things must happen, but this isn’t the end yet. Nations and kingdoms will fight against each other, and there will be earthquakes and famines in all sorts of places. These things are just the beginning of the sufferings associated with the end. (Mark 13:7-8 CEB)

To a woman going through childbirth for the first time, labor pains are an unprecedented calamity. There is no pain quite like it (so I have been told). But the labor pains themselves are not the main event. They are the prelude to a birth.

Likewise, these signs of worldwide calamities, which have been going on throughout the ages, are not the main event themselves. It might be accurate to call them “the beginning of The End,” but since we don’t know when The End will be, we also have no idea how long the Beginning of The End will be. It seems kind of pointless to even try to measure such a thing as it is happening. Perhaps this is also a symptom of our wanting either to know more or to at least make sense of the knowledge we have.

(To be continued in Part 3: On Your Guard)

Whose Money is it Anyway? (Part 4–Enough)


“I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.

I wish you enough rain to make you appreciate the day even more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest joys of life may appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final goodbye.”

Bob Perks—Chicken Soup for the Grieving Soul 2003

I made the decision long ago to live within my means. After my bankruptcy in 1996, I decided I was never going down that road again.

I didn’t know anything about tithing at that point, but I did know a thing or two about budgeting. When you are living on public assistance, and only have about $20 a week to feed a family of four, you know exactly how many cans of tomato soup that will buy.

Somewhere along the line, I learned the 10-10-80 principle. How this works is that you tithe the first 10% of your paycheck (or give it to charity, if you don’t have a home church). Then, you save the next 10% and live off of the remaining 80%.

This is scary when you’re poor. If 100% of your paycheck isn’t enough to get by, how are you going to do it on 80%?

What I have learned, as I elaborated in Part 3 of this series, is that when you keep your priorities in the proper order, you’ll always have enough. We never ate fancy, but we never went hungry. We could always keep at least one car running and one utility connected. In short, we learned how much “enough” really was.

However, it’s one thing to have black numbers at the end of your monthly budget. It’s quite another to be OK with the black number, no matter how small it is. As Paul said to the Philippians:

I am telling you this, but not because I need something. I have learned to be satisfied with what I have and with whatever happens. I know how to live when I am poor and when I have plenty. I have learned the secret of how to live through any kind of situation—when I have enough to eat or when I am hungry, when I have everything I need or when I have nothing. Christ is the one who gives me the strength I need to do whatever I must do. Php 4:11-13 (ERV)

Content, whatever the circumstances

Our circumstances change, and they are almost always beyond our control. Contentedness, however, is an attitude that we can cultivate and apply to any situation. It is the attitude that whatever we have, it is always enough.

If we can develop this attitude when we don’t have much, then God begins to trust us with more. For this reason, He requires contentedness as a condition of stewardship. When we are content with what we have, we are not tempted to gain more by dishonest means. As Jesus cautioned us:

The one who manages the little he has been given with faithfulness and integrity will be promoted and trusted with greater responsibilities. But those who cheat with the little they have been given will not be considered trustworthy to receive more. If you have not handled the riches of this world with integrity, why should you be trusted with the eternal treasures of the spiritual world? Luke 16:10-11 (TPT)

Have you ever wondered why so many TV evangelists and prosperity gospel hucksters end up disgraced? It’s this principle at work. They are not content with what they have. So, they take the Lord’s name in vain by using it to cheat people, building up their own treasures on earth. Their messages end up as corrupted as their hearts, and NO ONE gets blessed.

Faithfulness and Integrity

So, what does it look like to manage your money with faithfulness and integrity? There are many examples, but here are seven that I am currently trying or have already had success with:

Avoid get rich quick schemes. I went into detail about this in Part 2. This is what led to the bankruptcy I mentioned in the opening paragraph.
Save gradually. Have a goal amount ($1,000 is a good place to start), but don’t obsess about the date. Getting there is more important than WHEN you get there.
Employ the debt snowball method. Although logic suggests paying down accounts with the highest interest rate first, those drowning in debt have a psychological need to see progress. The debt snowball method involves paying off your smallest debt first, while making minimum payments on other accounts. Once the smallest account is paid off, take the amount you paid toward that and add it to the minimum payment on your next largest account. As you continue this process, you will gain momentum, and your accounts will STAY paid off.
Use a cashback credit card like a debit card. (NOTE: IF YOU HAVE GOTTEN INTO TROUBLE WITH CREDIT CARD DEBT DUE TO LACK OF DISCIPLINE IN THE PAST, PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR LIMITS AND SKIP THIS STEP.) We chose the Quicksilver card from Capital One, but there are other cards that might be more beneficial based on your individual spending patterns. We pay for EVERYTHING on this card, then pay the balance in full each month, so that we do not ever pay interest on it. With every purchase, we get 1.5% cash back. This doesn’t sound like much, but we let that bonus cash accumulate and have Capital One send us a check on the first of November, which then becomes our Christmas Fund. This year, the check was for $687.62.
Pay cash for everything. Once you have completed step 3, paying down all your debts, don’t make new ones. Pay cash for everything you get (or use the cashback credit card from step 4, but ONLY if you are paying the balance in full EVERY month). If you don’t have enough cash right then for a large purchase, a car for instance, wait until you do, or find another way to leverage your income (or add to it). If contentedness is your priority, this will prove easier than you might think. We made our last car payment on September 5, 2013—over seven years ago. We have paid cash for a newer car since then.
Save more than you need to. This is my most recent method. As retirement has now become a visible light at the end of a tunnel that is getting shorter by the day, I am realizing that my 3-months’ expense savings milestone may not be adequate as a nest egg. For this reason, we have paused our debt snowball and are only making the regular mortgage payments on our home, which is our only remaining debt. Our reasoning behind this is that we will likely be selling the house before we pay it off completely, even at the accelerated rate. So we are doing a “reverse snowball” of sorts and taking the amount that we had set aside for paying down the mortgage quickly and putting that into an interest-bearing savings account, which we will not touch until after we have ridden off into the sunset.
Set an example for your children. The first six steps are of little use unless you pass on the wisdom to your children. They understand more than you might think. Don’t insult them by withholding the concept of money management until they are “old enough to handle it.” The danger you are courting there is that your children will develop an attitude of entitlement, rather than contentment, which can become hard-wired into their personalities long before they ever learn what a spreadsheet is.

Blessed to be a blessing

I have learned what it is to have enough, and to recognize when I have been blessed with more than enough, which is pretty much all the time.

And we are blessed to be a blessing, so that everyone has enough. This goes much deeper than wealth distribution, which the government can handle. This is about an attitude in the heart of every individual by which we can find the joy in our circumstances, whatever they may be.

Therefore, dear readers, in this season of Thanksgiving, I wish you enough.

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