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Category: Christian Living

Fruit of the Holy Spirit (What Jesus Meant by “Overcome the World”: Part 2)
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)

Historically, I have been a very task-oriented person. I was all about the to-do lists. It gives me joy when I check something off. It would stress me out when I got to the end of the day, and there were still twelve more things on my list.

Because of this, I tended to turn almost every facet of my life into a mental to-do list. Everything felt like a competition or a performance to me. I would emerge either as a winner or a loser.

Most of life really isn’t supposed to be that way, though. I have learned that it’s OK to simply live life as it comes and appreciate moments as they’re happening. I have also learned that it’s more important to start each day with gratitude than finish it with a gold medal.

So why is it that we keep wanting to go back to the things that we know didn’t work before? Are we just futility addicts? Or is this just part of the natural state of being human?

“Winners” and “Losers”

The problem lies in our tendency to define ourselves by what we do or fail to do. If I win, then I am a winner, but if I lose, then I am a loser. Nobody wants to be a loser though, so we do everything we can to win at life. And if we find we cannot win, then we start doing things that are truly ridiculous.

Some people try to downplay life’s natural consequences by trying to eliminate the concept of winning and losing, a concept that I call the “participation trophy” mentality. You’re a winner just for showing up! And if you didn’t even show up, we’ll try to find an excuse for you, so that you won’t lose. After all, you deserve to win!

Then there are the “glory days” people (I was one of these). These are the people who used to be the best at something. But then they went somewhere else where there were other people that were better. Or maybe they just got old and weren’t as good as they used to be. If a person like this is focused on winning, and he isn’t winning anymore, bitterness takes over in a hurry.

A person in this kind of a rut can’t let go of the past, can’t be happy for anyone else who wins in the present, and is bleak about the future that he sees for himself filled with nothing but losing. Because if you lose, then you’re a loser. But you can’t be a loser because you used to win. But now other people are winning and keeping you from the victory that is rightfully yours. So, if you can’t beat them, then you must tear them down, so that you can be on top again.

Both of these misguided worldviews lead to the same error—trying to put everybody else on earth at the same level so that we can feel good about ourselves, either by having no distinction of greatness, or by declaring ourselves great by attrition. Both philosophies fail, because they both stand on the foundation of defining our worth by what we do, rather than who we are.

God gave us a better way to live.

In the Bible, Paul calls it “living by the Spirit.” This is a churchy way of saying “getting out of your own way and letting God do His work through you.” Living by the Spirit isn’t about checking things off a religious checklist. It is more about being aware of God’s influence in our lives and allowing ourselves to be led away from our own plans and deeper into His.

Notice in the verse at the beginning that it is the Holy Spirit that produces the fruit in our lives, not us. We don’t overcome the world by accomplishing all nine of those things on our own. Rather, when we yield to God’s leading in our lives, these fruits are the natural result of the change that He works within us.

Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Tony Cyphert/flickr)

Keeping In Step with the Spirit

Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original. Galatians 5:25-26 (MSG)

The Christian Walk is not concerned with how good we feel about ourselves for being Christians. While we don’t need to do things for God to get His attention, we do still have a part to play. Even a simple game of follow the leader needs effort.

Grace is the free gift of God, but it did not come cheaply. If we had no role to play in working out our own salvation, then what would be the point of God saving us in the first place?

The work that God does within us by the power of the Holy Spirit ought to be evident externally. We have been changed from within so that we may bring change to the world without. So, what does that look like?

More spiritual fruit, less religious nuts. . .

We began this post by listing the nine “fruits” of the Holy Spirit, which is to say, the characteristics that God produces in us, which are the evidence of His existence in our lives. Let´s zoom in on these.
1. Love. Love is an action word, not an emotion. Love involves sacrifice, or always putting the needs of others before your own.
2. Joy. Like love, joy is more substantial than just a feeling of superficial happiness. It is a powerful force that is God’s response to our praise and thanksgiving. This strength renews and refuels us, giving us the proper attitude to carry on with whatever comes our way next.
3. Peace. Peace is more than just an absence of discord. It involves trusting that God is strong enough to bring us through whatever trials await us, no matter how dire they may seem.
4. Patience. I KNOW this one’s coming from the Lord because it sure didn’t originate with me! This is the supernatural ability to stay chill and let things roll off your back. In many people, this is the first fruit of the Spirit that others notice in a new believer. Short fuses get a lot longer.
5. Kindness. Kindness is love in motion. This is the act of lifting up another who needs it. Before the Spirit’s work in your life, there were people you might not have even noticed. Afterward, though, you might find yourself helping these folks out without giving it a second thought.
6. Goodness. I’ve always wondered why this one came after “kindness,” because goodness is the attitude from which kindness flows. To be able to do good for others, we must first have the mindset of doing good for its own sake.
7. Faithfulness. A person under the influence of the Spirit will live a life of integrity. He will say what he means, mean what he says, finish what he starts, and always, ALWAYS keep his word. Lack of faithfulness is one of the quickest ways to spot a fake Christian. Someone who is timid, wishy-washy, unreliable, or plain dishonest is not living by the Spirit. It doesn’t matter how long he or she has been going to church.
8. Gentleness. Along with patience, this is another obvious sign that God is working in someone’s life. If a person has a history of anger issues (as I have), and you see that person holding his tongue, not raising his voice, being less competitive, etc., it’s a good bet that person didn’t learn those techniques from a self-help book.
9. Self-Control. Along with gentleness, people under the control of the Spirit are able to keep themselves together. They can hold themselves back and keep themselves from going to pieces in stressful situations. Again, when you see someone with a reactive nature not taking the bait and going for the throat anymore when someone tries to start an argument, you know that something’s up that didn’t start with that person.
I cannot stress enough that this is not intended to be a to-do list for you to check off.

The goal here is not to get these things done. It’s to keep in step with the Holy Spirit by letting His influence in our lives rule our conduct. If our goal is to live lives of strong moral character and integrity, then the characteristics in the list above will shine through naturally, sometimes without our even being aware of them.

Other people will notice, however, just as they notice when we claim to be filled with the Spirit but do not display these characteristics.

Again, the characteristics are not the goal. The character is.

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October 13, 2025
What Jesus Meant by “Overcome the World”: Part 1–How We Find Peace

I have told you these things, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have oppression; but cheer up! I have overcome the world. John 16:33 (WEB)

It has been just three weeks since Charlie Kirk was assassinated. Millions of Americans, including me, still feel the weight of this insane tragedy. For the first couple of days afterward, my faith was definitely not keeping up with the circumstances. A sense of hopelessness punctuated by extremes of anger and grief overwhelmed me.

In times like these, we Christians need to get a grip on ourselves (and each other) and simply remember just Who it is that’s running the show. God’s goal is never to perplex us, but to bring us peace. As Jesus told his disciples at the Last Supper:

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27 (NIV)

The Greek word rendered as “peace” in this verse is eirene. It means “rest and contentment.” We all enjoy that, right? I just got up from one of those naps with a kitty on my lap (those are the BEST!) right before I wrote this. I have feelings of contentment every morning when I am the first one up, the Bible is open, the coffee is poured, and no one, two-legged or four-legged, is bothering me.

But that isn’t what Jesus is talking about here. That is the peace that the world gives, by which I mean things in the world. It’s here one minute and gone the next. When the phone rings. Or the dog starts barking. Or your daughter sends you a text that says, “Charlie is gone.”

Jesus said, “MY peace I give you.” The peace of Jesus comes only through our relationship with God being made right by the sacrifice Jesus was about to make the very next day after He said this. And after that, He asked the Father to send us the Holy Spirit to give us the peace not only that God is bigger than whatever the world throws our way, but even that our circumstances are all actually a part of His plan.

The Purpose of Suffering

Adversity teaches us many lessons. Sometimes, God allows us to suffer as a course correction if we are going a way we should not be. Sometimes, He’s trying to show us that we are made of stronger stuff than we thought we were.

However, sometimes it’s the opposite of that. Sometimes the point of God allowing us to endure difficult seasons of life is to get us to STOP relying on our own strength and to rely on His instead.

On June 28 of this year my wife woke up with a backache. By the time we finished dinner that night, the pain was so excruciating that it took an hour for her to walk to the couch in the living room. The next morning, she couldn’t move at all. Four men carried her out of the house on a tarp to the ambulance. The emergency room did what emergency rooms do. They filled her full of enough opioids and anti-anxiety meds to get her out the door, into the car, and out of their hair. We had no idea what went wrong or what to do next.

We became keenly aware of the disastrous inadequacy of our health care system as we waited an entire MONTH for my wife to finally get scheduled for an MRI. However, it didn’t reveal the herniated disc and/or spinal stenosis that we expected. Instead, the images showed severe inflammation of the vertebra in that area due to an unknown infection. 12 hours later, she was admitted to the hospital, where she sat.

And sat.

And sat.

For four days.

Being pumped full of whatever antibiotic they could find that she wasn’t allergic to and losing what little strength and muscle tone she had left after being immobile at home for a month.

We continued IV antibiotics at home (I’m practically a freaking RN now). We blew up just about every routine and system we had built to make our lives more efficient to adjust to our new situation.

Today, two months later, she is S—L—O—W—L—Y recovering. She can walk with a walker, dress and bathe herself (Amish-style, because the shower is upstairs), fix herself a bowl of cereal, and even do the dishes if it’s a good day. We can see light at the end of the tunnel, though. Yesterday, she finally finished the antibiotics and had her PICC line removed. After some physical therapy, she should be relatively back to normal enough to resume teaching in the Spring semester.

Now I would love to be all spiritual and tell you that we held unswervingly to our faith through this trial and never doubted God for a moment. (I’ll wait a minute for Him to stop laughing.)

Yeah, it wasn’t like that at all.

There were things said for a few days under this roof that I will not repeat here. Not just because there might be children and Baptist women reading this, but because I am deeply ashamed at how much the whole situation shook me.

You see, my wife and I are alike in that we don’t wait well. When something goes wrong, we want it fixed, and we want it fixed NOW. We have things to do, places to go, people to see, food to eat. You know, PLANS! Trials and tribulations are an obstacle to those plans, so they need to be dealt with as quickly as possible.

But here’s the lesson. If we are more concerned with the disruption of our own plans than with following God’s plan for our lives, then we are not in proper submission. We know what we want, but God knows what’s best. More importantly, He knows what’s NEXT.

First-World Problems

Maybe it’s just part of being American, but I can get so bent out of shape over my first-world inconveniences. They are significant, but they are not a daily occurrence. We get so spoiled in this country that we forget troubles are a normal part of a normal life.

The world can be frustrating. The people in it can be REALLY frustrating. However, it is pointless to allow ourselves to be mastered by our frustration. There will be things in this world that we can not conquer, but Jesus has already conquered everything that ultimately matters.

Navy SEAL swim buddies are inseparable while in the water. (JO2 Ray Mooney/US National Archives)

Who´s Got Your Back?

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13 NLT)

Everyone has up days and down days. Christians are no exception. When we are in a desert faith-wise, it is so important to have people around us that can build us back up. Also, we should remember the example that these people set for us. This way, when we’re back on the mountaintop, we can lift somebody else up who needs it.

Unfortunately, the tendency in these dry seasons of the soul (especially for introverts like me) is to pull away from people. We get used to our misery, and it seems that we would rather prolong it than to have someone tell us what we need to hear.

The problem with that is that when we pull away from people, we pull even further away from God. That’s when the old unhealthy habits start rearing their ugly heads again.

Scaled and Icy

One of my biggest fears since accepting Christ is that someone is going to encounter me during one of these troubled times and associate what they see in me with Christianity in general. What if I’m standing at the throne at the End of Days giving an account of my life, and I find out that someone missed out on the Kingdom because of something I said or did that turned him or her away?

But fears like this can actually accelerate the downward spiral. We might figure, “If I avoid people entirely, then I won’t run the risk of blowing my witness and staining the name of Jesus.” So, we pull even further away, not just from society, but even from the hand that feeds us.

Scaled down and isolated. (Andrew Neel/Pexels)

Another manifestation of getting into a spiritual funk like this is that we stop reading the Bible. Everything we need to adjust our attitudes is right there. The Holy Spirit is only too willing to illuminate the verses that we need to hear, but again, we are too comfortable in our misery to put forth the effort of opening a book. I am so grateful to have a wife that will put scriptures in front of me when I am not going there myself.

Do you have someone in your life that cares enough about you to give you a lift like this? The Navy SEALS call this a “swim buddy.” If you don’t have one, then find one.

The best place that I have found for this type of community is in a small group (sometimes called “life groups” or “cell groups”) in a church. If you are not familiar with this concept, it’s a group usually of 8-15 people that meet regularly to go deeper together in their faith than they would get by only going to church on Sunday morning.

Set Apart to Come Together

What we need to remember is that God set us apart from the world to be WITH Him and His people, not to be hermits in a cabin in the mountains (not that there’s anything wrong with mountains!).

As I mentioned above, a normal life involves difficulties. For a Christian, those difficulties unfortunately include enduring people who mock the Name of Jesus, call us Nazis and racists without cause, or even shoot at us. Sometimes it seems that life would be easier if we didn’t have to put up with that, but we must remember that this life is not all there is. The next one is a lot longer.

God’s joy and peace are there for the having. You just have to want it. But sometimes, you need somebody to remind you that you want it.

So don’t ever be afraid to call for backup.

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October 1, 2025
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)

February 13, 2021
Antichrist

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.  This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. 1 John 4:1-3 (NIV)

2020 has been a rough year for everybody so far, but especially for Truthseekers. The media has degenerated from fake news to absolute lunacy. A pandemic, or at least the fear of one, has gripped the world, but the scientists can’t seem to get their stories straight. Worst of all, opportunists of the lowest caliber have used fear and racial prejudice to turn us against each other.

Why do I say that one is worst of all? Because if we create enemies for ourselves along the lines of racial differences, we will forget that we have a common enemy. Which is exactly what our real enemy wants.

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So, what does John mean when he talks about “testing the spirits?” Some people get a little froke out by this, but it’s not all that weird.

Three years ago, we covered this extensively in the Overcoming the World series. In Part 8, we discussed that when a thought “pops into your head,” it is likely a message from God if it is in line with scripture, illuminates the solution to a problem and leads to a good result for all concerned. If this out-of-the-blue thought does not meet those criteria, it did not come from God. So where did it come from?

The passage above makes clear that deceptive messages are from the spirit of the antichrist. Now this is the spirit of antichrist with a lower-case A, not the big baddie of Revelation (more on that later). John uses this term literally to mean a spirit that opposes Jesus. You can see from this passage that this is the spirit that controls false prophets.

However, the wording above appears at first to be too simplistic. Every spirit that acknowledges Jesus has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that doesn’t, isn’t. If discerning the spirits were that easy, then why would we need to test them?

Well, have you seen what’s going on in the Church lately? It mirrors what’s going on in our country. Just as America’s greatest enemy has proven to be from within, so it is with the Church. Atheists are the least of our problems, annoying though they may be. They are a mosquito bite compared to the cancer that is eating away at the Body of Christ from within.

In the Flesh

To understand what it truly means to test the spirits, it is important to know that John snuck a coded message into verse 2 above. “Every spirit that acknowledges Jesus Christ has come in the flesh.”   Pretty much every church identifying as Christian acknowledges that Jesus was an actual human born into this world. Yet sharp division remains on what the Church’s role in the world ought to be. So, there must be something more to it than that.

There is. It’s hiding in plain sight at the beginning of John’s Gospel:

In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself.

And the Word (Christ) became flesh, and lived among us; and we [actually] saw His glory, glory as belongs to the [One and] only begotten Son of the Father, [the Son who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, who is] full of grace and truth (absolutely free of deception). John 1:1, 14 (AMP)

Jesus is the Word of God in human form. He is one with God Himself, which means that the Word is one with God Himself. Jesus is absolutely free of deception, which means the Word is absolutely free of deception.

Are you seeing where I’m going with this? Remember, the first criteria to judge whether a message is from God is if it lines up with scripture, logos, THE WORD, God Himself. Therefore, anyone who claims to speak on behalf of God but says something different than what God has already said—this is the spirit of the antichrist at work.

And we let it right in the front door. Because we didn’t want to be “judgmental.”

God’s righteous judgment

Wake up Truthseekers! Put on the armor of God and report for duty. John has already told us what comes next:

Next I saw heaven opened, and there before me was a white horse. Sitting on it was the one called Faithful and True, and it is in righteousness that he passes judgment and goes to battle. His eyes were like a fiery flame, and on his head were many royal crowns. And he had a name written which no one knew but himself. He was wearing a robe that had been soaked in blood, and the name by which he is called is, “THE WORD OF GOD.” The armies of heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. And out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down nations — “He will rule them with a staff of iron.” It is he who treads the winepress from which flows the wine of the furious rage of Adonai, God of heaven’s armies.  And on his robe and on his thigh he has a name written:

KING OF KINGS

AND

LORD OF LORDS.

Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice to all the birds that fly about in mid-heaven, “Come, gather together for the great feast God is giving, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of generals, the flesh of important men, the flesh of horses and their riders and the flesh of all kinds of people, free and slave, small and great!” I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to do battle with the rider of the horse and his army.  But the beast was taken captive, and with it the false prophet who, in its presence, had done the miracles which he had used to deceive those who had received the mark of the beast and those who had worshipped his image. The beast and the false prophet were both thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. The rest were killed with the sword that goes out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh. Revelation 19:11-21 (CJB)

Can you see now why the spirit of antichrist is so intent on dividing us in terms of race? Because the devil knows well that when The Word Made Flesh returns, there will only be two kinds of people. The Army of Heaven, and Bird Food.

Now, I promised that I would get back to the Capital-A Antichrist.

What I did not promise was to reveal who I think it might be, because that is pointless speculation. Just as trying to figure out when Jesus is going to return is a distraction, trying to make news headlines line up with Biblical prophecy is also disruptive to the work we are supposed to be doing.

Trust God and His Word this much—when the Antichrist reveals himself, if you’re still here to see it, you’ll know.

June 13, 2020
The End of the Age: Part 1–In the Last Days
You may as well know this too, Timothy, that in the last days it is going to be very difficult to be a Christian. 2 Timothy 3:1 (TLB)

Christians are well acquainted with the concept of “The Last Days,” the very end of the age leading up to Christ’s triumphant return. It is no mystery to us that things are going to get a whole lot worse before they get better.

Even many non-Christians are at least aware of this concept. If you have a social media account, the concept is kind of hard to avoid.

The first five months of 2020 certainly haven’t given us any reason to doubt that the end of all things is near. Nevertheless, there are a couple of things that we need to understand about “The Last Days.”

When are the Last Days?

Most Christians, as I stated above, think of the Last Days as being the very end of this age leading up to Judgment Day. The prophetic books of Daniel and Revelation speak of a Great Tribulation lasting seven years that will mark the end of the age.

Some believe that God’s people will be “raptured,” or whisked up into heaven before the Tribulation begins, so as not to have to suffer through it. Some believe, according to Daniel 9:27, that this rapture will occur in the middle of the Tribulation when the “Man of Lawlessness” (a.k.a. the Antichrist) is revealed. And some believe that there will be no rapture at all, but rather that God will protect His people and help them to stand firm throughout the Tribulation.

However, none of these views acknowledge that the Last Days have actually been going on for quite some time.

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!  No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

“‘In the last days, God says,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
    your young men will see visions,
    your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
    and they will prophesy.
I will show wonders in the heavens above
    and signs on the earth below,
    blood and fire and billows of smoke. Acts 2:14-19 (NIV)

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. Hebrews 1:1-2 (NIV)

But, beloved, remember the words that were previously spoken by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ.  They said to you, “In the last days there will be scoffers who will walk after their own ungodly desires.” These are the men who cause divisions, sensual, devoid of the Spirit. Jude 1:17-19 (MEV)

In the above verses, I have highlighted the words that show the Last Days as being present tense, not future tense. A question I get from a lot of my Christian friends is, “Do you think we’re living in the Last Days?” Absolutely we are.

The Last Days began when the Church began, at Pentecost. We have been in the last days for nearly 2,000 years now. That’s a lot of days!

For this reason, I would submit to you that anyone who is trying to decipher scripture or read the signs of the times to figure out when the end is coming, or when (or if) the Rapture will happen, have completely missed the point. The point is that instead of looking up at the sky for signs, we should be looking inward.

What should we be doing in the Last Days?

2020 has presented us with many challenges so far. Some of them are new (COVID-19), and some of them are ongoing problems that are bubbling to the surface again, such as the current racial unrest over the George Floyd incident. These are the kinds of things that light up the social media accounts of Christians with public calls to repent, for the end is near.

A call for repentance is always good advice, but there’s an elephant in the room that we need to put the spotlight on.

With the understanding that the Last Days are present tense, not future, let’s go back to the quote at the top of this post. Paul’s warning to Timothy is also a warning to us, because we are in the same last days now as the world was when this letter was written. It was difficult to be a Christian then, and it is difficult now.

“Oh, I know,” you might say. “Just look at how we’re portrayed in the media and by the government. They destroy our economy, but glorify abortion and drug use,” etc.

True, but that’s not what I’m talking about right now. And it’s not what Paul was talking about then either. He goes on in the next eight verses to describe the people Timothy ought not to associate with, and the methods that they use. But here’s the kicker…

He was talking about people INSIDE the church!

via GIPHY

It is no news flash that Christians are opposed in today’s culture. The ignorance of outsiders has never torn down the church, and it won’t now. Our greatest enemy comes from within. And here is what they look like:
1. 1. Narcissists
    
    The greedy and stingy
    
    People who draw attention to themselves
    
    People who look down on others
    
    People who take advantage of others
    
    People who dishonor their parents
    
    People with an entitlement mentality
    
    Those who conform to the pattern of this world
    
    Those who won’t help others
    
    Those who hold grudges
    
    Those who tear down other people verbally
    
    The undisciplined
    
    The physically violent
    
    Those who glorify evil
    
    Back-stabbers
    
    The impulsive
    
    The self-centered
    
    Hedonists
    
    Religious Legalists
That’s quite a list. Except there’s a problem. I said “they.”

And as of this writing, if I am going to be completely transparent, I believe that I fit six of these categories myself. So, it’s not “them.” It’s “us.”

This is why I say that we don’t have time to waste looking up at the sky, watching for a sign of Jesus’ return. The thing is, YOU DON’T KNOW when He’s coming back. The Great Tribulation may have already started. Or not. The Rapture may be tomorrow. Or 10 years from now. Or never.

Here is what we do know:

For the Son of Man will come in his Father’s glory, with his angels; and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct. Matthew 16:27 (CJB)

God has given us all gifts and wired our personalities to do the work He had planned for us to do before we were ever born. To be able to do that work effectively and leave a legacy in the world for Jesus, our hearts must COMPLETELY belong to Him. The only way that will happen is if we take an honest look at that list above and figure out what we need to repent of in our own lives. Then take a radical step of faith and DO that repenting.

Because in these last days, ain’t nothing gonna be easy for us. Let’s not make it any harder for ourselves than it needs to be.

(Nevertheless, there will be signs. To learn more about those, please come back for Part 2–What Sign?)
May 31, 2020
Reasonable: Part 4–The Best of Your Ability
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(Originally published 5/10/2020 during the lockdown)
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If possible, to the best of your ability, live at peace with all people. (Romans 12:18 CEB)

Back in Part 3, we gave some examples of the characteristics we ought to be manifesting as we cling to what is good. Here are some more practical tips from Romans 12 on how to walk this out.

14 Bless people who harass you—bless and don’t curse them.

Most people know that Jesus commanded us to love our enemies. That notion was just as counter-intuitive 2,000 years ago as it is today. If we have the capacity for hatred, who better to bear the brunt of it but our enemies? Isn’t that what enemies are for?

Not so much, as it turns out. Even as Jesus was hanging on the cross, He forgave the people that put Him there.

Christians all around the world experience persecution at many levels. Since Truth Mission has readers all over the world, what you are going through as you read this could be quite different than my experience.

Some of you may be harassed on social media. Some of you may be feeling heat from the government. Some of you may actually have been beaten, fired from a job, or had loved ones tortured and killed for their faith.

There are two things we need to remember though. The first is that the people who persecute us are not our real enemies. We have one Enemy who seeks our destruction.

The second thing is that we have no control whatsoever over how other people respond to the promptings of the Enemy. We do, however have control over how we respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, to the best of our ability, we need to follow the example set in Proverbs 25:21-22:

If your enemies are starving, feed them some bread; if they are thirsty, give them water to drink. By doing this, you will heap burning coals on their heads, and the Lord will reward you.

The “burning coals” bit may refer to an Egyptian custom where people would carry a pan of hot coals on their heads as a sign of repentance. So the idea here is that if someone is harassing you, and you respond with a blessing instead of a curse, they may take note of that and see you, and God THROUGH you, in a different way.

Now will that happen every time? No, of course not. But if it doesn’t, that’s not your problem. To the best of your ability, you have followed Christ’s command. By your actions, you have shared the Gospel and offered a tacit invitation for your “enemies” to turn from their ways and join in the freedom that you enjoy. But it is up to them to RSVP to your invitation.

15 Be happy with those who are happy, and cry with those who are crying.

A healthy church functions as a family, so we always need to be aware of and involved with one another’s lives.

We celebrate together at weddings, graduations and baby showers. We also walk alongside each other at funerals, during illnesses, or when children go astray.

This unity has never been more important than it is right now. As I type this, we have been on COVID-19 lockdown for about eight weeks. The Enemy has used this “pandemic” as an opportunity to scatter the body of Christ by influencing our State government to keep the churches closed for far longer than necessary.

However, to the best of our ability, we must rise up inside this. We need to get over our technophobia and learn how to do Zoom meetings and participate in online church. Yes, it’s not the same as meeting in person, but a connection is a connection. We can’t afford to just float away from each other just because meeting virtually is inconvenient.

We must stay in the habit of gathering, not just for our own sakes, but for the sakes of those who do not have a church community. Think about it. If you are feeling lonely and disconnected right now, and you HAVE a church family, how do you think the people feel who have no one to do life with? These are the people we need to be reaching out to. They are more open than ever right now for conversations. So have some.

16 Consider everyone as equal, and don’t think that you’re better than anyone else. Instead, associate with people who have no status. Don’t think that you’re so smart.

And while you’re planning those conversations, which may be out of your comfort zone anyway, I would like to challenge you further to have conversations with people who aren’t like you. If God’s invitation is open to everyone, and he uses us to extend that invitation, then we should be doing this anyway.

By all means, we should talk to the people we’re around every day. However, we must also remember that someone who doesn’t live in our neighborhood or work in our office or walk in our social circle also has a gift and a passion that God gave them to build His Church. We need that person just as much as he or she needs us.

Are you educated? Think of the uneducated people you know. Do you see how hard many of them work, because they haven’t had the occupational privileges that come with a college degree? Don’t you think your church needs someone with that work ethic using spiritual gifts they may not even be aware of until you invite them in?

Are you financially well-off? Try walking your Labradoodle on the other side of the tracks today and wave to everybody you see. (Or go shake hands once we’re done with social distancing.) That act by itself won’t save many souls, but you have to start somewhere.

Are you well-versed in scripture? Instead of correcting people who misinterpret the Bible in your Facebook feed, maybe you could start an online Bible study group with them and ask them to invite friends that have questions.

Bottom line—if we are all equal in the eyes of God, then we should be all equal in one another’s eyes as well.

17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. (NLT)

This one is a challenge for all of us. Our first instinct when someone wrongs us is to get even with our harasser. Some people just repress that instinct better than others.

Nevertheless, repress it we must. To the best of our ability, we must leave room for God to deal with our accusers.

Revenge is a control issue. When we are wronged, we feel that we must take control of the situation by restoring balance to the equation. If we take an eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth, then we feel that we are restoring the equilibrium of justice.

But if that were our job, then what would be the purpose of Judgment Day?

A reasonable assumption for those who have put their trust in Jesus is that God is in control. And if God is in control, then the only control we need to be concerned with is self-control.

Therefore, to the best of our ability, we use this self-control to resist conforming to the pattern of this world. We use it to restrain ourselves from following our own understanding when discerning what is evil from what is good. Finally, we exercise our self-control to avoid being conquered by evil, but rather to conquer evil by doing good.

That sounds reasonable, right?
May 10, 2020