Armageddon? or Armageddon!

Dear Friends,

Last week at a private fundraiser, President Biden warned a gathering of elite democrats about the very real possibility of a nuclear “Armageddon” as a result of the war between Russia and the Ukraine. Both his staff and the liberal media were caught off guard by his statement and other world leaders were immediately critical of his “imprudent” and “provocative remarks.” 

Our own Nation’s defense officials were quick to disagree with the president. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stated that, “We do not presently see indications about the imminent use of nuclear weapons.” And as it so often does after the president speaks his mind, his administration rushed to tamp down any fears resulting from what appeared to be Biden’s fund-raising hyperbole. The White House said that there is “no reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture” and that there was “no new intelligence that nuclear use by Russia is imminent.”

Russia has long-range “strategic” nuclear weapons that could  annihilate New York city and has much smaller “tactical” nuclear weapons that could take out, for example, a Ukrainian army training camp. Biden said at the fundraiser, “I don’t think there’s any such thing as an ability to easily use a tactical nuclear weapon and not end up with Armageddon.” The implication was that if Putin targets the Ukraine with a small tactical weapon, the U.S., or another country would respond with a larger nuclear weapon which could lead to the nuclear holocaust that ends the world. People have told me that they are now fearful that a nuclear war will break out, and I remember all too well that fear.

This coming Sunday is the sixty year anniversary of the first day of the Cuban Missile Crisis. I was 13 years old and terrified of the near-certainty that my family would be killed. For years, a nuclear war with Russia had been on everyone's mind. The wealthy families built bomb shelters in their backyard during the fifties. Other families like mine were sure to die. We had weekly "Duck and Cover" drills in our schools and monthly Air-Raid Siren testing that were constant reminders that a nuclear warhead could be dropped on us at any moment. 

I remember my father talking at church with the other men about those being our "end times." But what I remember most of all was the fear that I was going to die soon. That's why I have such a negative reaction to those creating that same fear in our Nation today and within families and among children. And yet, for me personally, I have no "Armageddon" fears. This is why... 

Yes, we do have two unpredictable, aging world leaders threatening each other with nuclear annihilation but I’m not worried and I sleep well at night. Only a certifiably insane (Russian or American) president with a death-wish for the entire world would generate a nuclear holocaust that brings civilization to an end. (Remember, this is real life, not James Bond vs. Ernst Stavro Blofeld, head of SPECTRE, scheming for world domination) Both Biden and Putin have the typical narcissistic egos of a politician but they are not clinically “insane.” 

And, it’s been said by some in Putin’s inner-circle that if Putin ordered a nuclear strike that could lead to World War III and the end of the world as we know it, his generals would refuse to do so and most likely assassinate him instead. If Biden were to overreact and recklessly order the world-ending nuclear holocaust, we trust that American generals would also refuse to do so. There is no “button” the president pushes to launch a nuclear weapon, he gives an order that travels down through a chain of command. 

While I’m not worried about nuclear warheads striking L.A., I really don’t like when politicians use Biblical words out of context for political purposes – especially to create fear among the American people for fund-raising purposes. Now let's look at our Bible:

“And the demonic spirits gathered

all the rulers and their armies

to a place with the Hebrew

name Armageddon.”

Revelation 16:16 NLT

Actually, no person knows exactly what “Armageddon” is, least of all the president. Bible scholars have two views of  “Armageddon.” 

1) It does not refer to a military conflict but to a spiritually decisive conflict between good and evil and uses apocalyptic language to describe the final overthrow of Satan by the power of God. 

2) Demonic spirits under the control of Satan work deceptive miracles and manipulate the rulers of the world, causing them to gather in a great show of military strength against Israel for “the war of the great day of God, the Almighty.” This battle will take place at a location called Armageddon which is possibly a biblical city called Megiddo. 

No matter how we interpret this mighty war, it is a battle of good over evil. But the world does end in the battle at Armageddon. Right? Who knows..

The book of Revelation, with its apocalyptic visions and metaphors, results in eight formal viewpoints of the End Times. How about this one? During the mighty battle over Israel, Jesus appears and slays all the evil people and takes the good Christians to heaven. Or all evil people are killed and only good Christians populate the earth. Or the earth is wiped clean of every living creature and God creates a new world filled only with good Christian people. Or Judgment Day takes place during Armageddon and Jesus will save the true believers, while non-believers left behind on the earth will face enormous suffering. 

Take your pick of what Biblical Armageddon means but it’s not as our president portrayed it – our world leaders launching nuclear warheads at each other! Whatever happens at the "end of the world" (as we know it) is spiritual and will be centered around the return of Jesus Christ. We’ve learned that Armageddon is a Hebrew word, meaning either a literal place or a metaphor. We can only guess at which one. 

But we know well the meaning of the Hebrew word, “Shalom.” Shalom is translated as “peace,” and the Hebrew word signifies not simply an absence of turmoil, but conveys complete wholeness, well-being and contentment. 

My prayer is that we replace any fears of Armageddon with God’s assurance of our own eternal life, and with the peace of Shalom, and then just trust and rest in the Lord.

“The Lord is in His holy temple.

Let all the earth keep silence before Him.”

Habakkuk 2:20

Is Prophecy Real?

Dear Friends,

I was once asked by a Lutheran pastor friend why our church believes that spiritual gifts are still active today. That was a good question! The short answer is that the original apostles established a church that was fully “charismatic.” Nothing’s changed. For those not familiar with the spiritual gifts, the following may be helpful in understanding the gift of prophecy. 

Spiritual Gifts: The ancient church had been taught by Paul and the other apostles that each sincere Christian believer received one or more of the spiritual gifts that were to be used in ministry to help and serve each other. 1 Cor 12:1-11 For the first few hundred years, the church taught that believers should fully expect to receive spiritual gifts that were imparted and empowered by the Holy Spirit. In the 4th century, when Christianity became formalized under the Roman Pope, the church began to elevate the clergy above the “laity” and taught that only the ordained and “holy” men of God were meant to receive spiritual gifts. The Church believed that Christians no longer needed the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts to guide them because the believers were now under the control and guidance of a priest.

The reformation was split down the middle on the issue. Like most monastics, the Catholic priest and father of Protestantism, Martin Luther spoke in tongues according to German church historian R. Kuntze (1859) and in Luther’s own words, “How often has it happened and still does, that devils have been driven out in the name of Christ, also by calling on His name and prayer that the sick have been healed.” But spiritual gifts can be messy and that’s why some reformed churches decided they didn’t want anything to do with the gifts. They developed a doctrine that the spiritual gifts ended in the first century with the deaths of the original apostles. But that cessation doctrine requires that one must ignore the ancient church historians such as Justin Martyr, Eusebius, Tertullian, Augustine and others who witnessed the presence of spiritual gifts and miracles in the early church many centuries after the apostles died. 

Prophetic Word: This refers not to a single word but to a prophetic statement. A prophetic word can be for the church or it can be a “personal prophecy” for a person. There are two types of prophetic words: Forthtelling and Foretelling.

Prophecy Can Be FORTHtelling. Forthtelling is when God uses you to speak forth His word. It’s being the empty conduit for the voice of the Holy Spirit to speak to others. It’s when the Holy Spirit uses us to speak God’s Word into particular circumstances at the right moment. Last week I used an example of a personal prophesy to a co-worker. Here’s another example of “forthtelling.” My first experience with prophesy was many decades ago when my (then) wife was struggling with something that involved her father. I didn’t know anything about their family history. She never talked about it. One night I woke up and heard her weeping. Before I was fully awake, words immediately began to come out of my mouth that were from the Spirit of God speaking directly to her. The presence and grace of God was overwhelming. There was a spiritual cleansing that took place as the Holy Spirit brought her to a place of forgiveness and her relationship with her father was subsequently restored. The next morning I remembered very little of what God had said through me to her. She told me what I said and we both marveled at it because there was no way I could have known or even guessed the content of this prophetic word from God. These were family secrets known only to her, her parents and to God. That was the first time I’d experienced what it was like to give a prophetic word and like any encounter with the Spirit of God, it left me humbled and shaken.

Prophecy Can Be FOREtelling: Foretelling is when God gives a prophetic word containing a warning about the future. Here’s an example: It was shortly after I’d returned to church following a long absence. I woke up one Sunday morning having just had a very vivid and detailed dream about the church I was going to. I dreamed there was a windstorm that blew down a large oak tree that fell onto the walkway from the parking lot to the church. A creek separated the parking lot from the church and a footbridge was the only way to get across. In my dream, the tree was blocking the access to the footbridge and the associate pastor and the groundskeeper were cutting up the tree with a chain saw. I woke up and as I was wondering what the dream meant, God gave me a prophetic word for the church that had to do with cutting out dead and decaying roots that were in the foundation of the church. God showed me in that dream that, once the “decay and rot” was cleared away, the “pathway” would once again be opened for people to come to the church.

Two hours later as I drove into the parking lot, I saw there had been a windstorm that had blown down an old oak tree on the walkway and it was blocking access to the church. I was stunned. It was exactly like I had just dreamed it. The associate pastor and groundskeeper were cutting it up with chain saws just like in the dream. I asked the pastor why the tree had fallen. He told me that the roots had just rotted out. 

Why did God orchestrate it like that? Because the dream and the actual event, confirmed the prophetic word about the church needing to clear out some things that were rotted in the foundation of the church. When I stood up that morning and told the congregation about the dream and the prophetic word from God, it electrified the church because each person had just walked past the rotten stump of the fallen tree. God created a spectacular drama to confirm a prophetic word of warning because He wanted to wake up that church. He did.

Like all Christian believers, I do have some of the spiritual and ministry gifts 1 Corinthians 12:7-11; Ephesians 4:11-12 but I don’t have the “gift of prophecy.” That’s why I use these examples from my own life to show how God uses ordinary people like me to speak His word into a person or situation. And, when you develop a prophetic voice (see last week’s AMEN Corner), He can use you!

Prophesy - Real and Fake

Dear Friends,

The Apostle Paul said to “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.” 1 Cor 14:1 The word prophesy means to “declare forth” and speak to people on behalf of God using the words that God puts in his/her mouth. Of all the gifts, this is the one most often counterfeited because this is the money maker! Not all prophetic ministry is false of course, but this is the one most misused for personal gain. 

The Holy Spirit gives the gift of prophesy 1 Cor 12:4-11 and there are some authentic, gifted prophets today. But we must always use our sense of discernment to determine if what we are hearing is true or false. Paul says “Do not scoff at prophecies but test everything that is said.” 1 Thess 5:19-21 NLT 

One red flag is when prophecies are being sold. There is a huge prophecy business on-line and on television. Please someone just show me one internet prophecy site where I’m not asked to buy something or click on the “ministry partner” button to give them my credit card. Every internet prophetic ministry site markets prophetic books, DVDs and/or personal prophesies and the bottom line is that money is being exchanged for the alleged manifestation of a gift given by the Holy Spirit. It’s a red flag anytime money becomes involved because the Holy Spirit gives us the spiritual gifts to minister to others, not to sell to others. 

Many years ago, a co-worker, who knew I was a pastor, came to see me. His father was in his eighties with some severely deteriorating health conditions. The employee told me about an issue he was having with his father and asked me to pray for him. I knew nothing about the father, but I immediately began to speak a prophetic word about something in the father’s past that related to the present issue. This was a word from God and its effect was immediate. The man had been sitting forward and he was thrown back in the chair as if he’d been punched in the chest. God showed him something about his father that he’d never seen before and the man was now weeping and thanking me. I told him to thank God, not me. 

How appropriate would it have been for me to pass him a shiny gold plate at that moment to take up a love offering or ask if he’d like to support my ministry with automatic donations from his credit card? That’s of course ridiculous and laughable, yet it’s what takes place in some churches today. We are given Holy Spirit gifts for the purpose of glorifying God, not as an enterprise opportunity. 1 Peter 4:10-11 

I don’t consider myself a “prophet,” but many times I’ve been given prophetic dreams and words for people that have been detailed and accurate. These have been unexpectedly given to me from the Lord for that person at that moment. But don’t ask me for a prophecy because I cannot conjure up a “word” for someone at will. No one can. 

I’ve seen itinerant “prophets” invited to a church to give personal prophecies, sound like a psychic giving “readings” and then take up a “love offering.” Prophecy does not work like a vending machine. You can’t put in a dollar and out comes a prophetic word. Every authentic prophetic word is given by the Holy Spirit and there is no way that anyone can invoke a word from God at will. If we try, we join the ranks of fortunetellers and “sooth-sayers.” Deut 18:10-12 

Prophecy is a Spirit-given gift that you may not have been given, but when we sincerely desire to speak forth God’s word to others, the Holy Spirit will, at times, enable us to do so. We may never have a prophetic ministry, but we can develop a prophetic voice. 

I’ve known older couples who have been married for so long that they look, act, speak and even smell like each other. They’ve been walking hand in hand through life for so long that they are not just married to each other, they are joined to each other. They’ve crested the heights in life together and survived the greatest pains and suffering together. They have the same dreams, desires and dislikes. They finish each other’s thoughts and speak each other’s words. They have been living in the presence of their spouse for so many decades that they don’t know where the voice of one leaves off and the voice of the other begins.

Do you want to have a prophetic voice that God can use to speak words of edification, encouragement and comfort to others? 1 Cor 14:3 You need to immerse yourself in the presence of God. You need to start walking hand in hand through life with Him. Like the old married couple intrinsically joined together, you need to live so closely in God’s presence that you don’t know where one leaves off and the other begins. And that’s when God’s thoughts become your thoughts and God’s words become your words. And you are declaring forth God’s words of edification, encouragement and comfort to others. That’s prophecy. Amen?

to be continued...

Are You A Hot Christian?

Burger Wrapper – Rev 3:20

Beverage Cups – John 3:16

Milkshake Cups – Proverbs 3:5

Double-Double Wrapper – Nahum 1:7

Water Cups – John 14:6

French Fry Tray – Proverbs 24:16

Dear Friends,

She and I had just polished off a gourmet meal catered by IN-N-OUT. (Yes.. I know their hamburgers have enough fat and cholesterol to drop a horse, but we really only go there a few times a year.) And so now I’m picking through the wrappings trying to spot the Bible verses. Did you know that IN-N-OUT was established by a Christian family and still today, every paper container has a Bible reference printed on it in tiny letters and numbers? There it was on the hamburger wrapper: Revelation 3:20. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”

Do we really know what is being said here? Well-meaning pastors, including this one, have slyly lifted this verse out of context as we use it to encourage non-believers to open the door to Jesus and invite Him into their lives. But while we have applied this verse to non-believers, the truth is that Jesus was not talking to them. Go get your Bible and read Revelation 3:14-22 for yourself. Go ahead. I’ll wait right here for you...

In these scriptures, Jesus is rebuking the “lukewarm church.” We’d love to translate that word “church” to mean the institutional church so that we can pretend it doesn’t apply to us, but the word used is “ekklesia” meaning the assembly of Christian believers. The body of Christ. Us good, church-goin’, lukewarm Christians. The hard truth Bubba, is that Jesus may be talking to you and me. 

Jesus is saying “Your faded faith has closed a door between you and Me,” and He’s talking to Christians who were once on fire for the Lord. Believers whose passion for God once burned hotly in their spirit. The scriptures came alive for them and they were excited when God’s Word spoke to a specific circumstance or a situation with which they were struggling. They were not just spectators at a Sunday service, they were participants in their church’s ministry. They enthusiastically supported their brothers and sisters in the body of Christ with their time and energy and finances. And then the fire cooled and the passion faded. Their Bible was no longer on the table by their chair, but lived in the back seat of the car where it could be easily found on a Sunday morning in the rush to church. And then the Biblical plague-like pandemic closed our church. We missed church but most definitely liked sleeping in on a Sunday and watching a church service while still in our pajamas. But that got old and everything we liked about church, especially seeing our church friends, was no more. And then... we just found something else to do on Sundays. 

A recent survey found that 30% of church-going Catholics will not return now that churches are reopening. It’s estimated that 15-20% of Evangelical Protestants and 35-40% of Mainline Protestants will not return. We’ve been reading about the long-term physical effects related to Covid-19, but what may be even more devastating are lockdown-related, long-term effects of spiritual apathy. And to apathetic Christians who have become comfortable in their complacency, the words of Jesus are disturbing and direct. “..because you are lukewarm..I’m going to vomit you out of My mouth.” Revelation 3:16.

But wait a minute! I thought Jesus loves me? Yes He does! And it’s because of His love for you that He wants you to passionately embrace your faith. That’s why He says, “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent and I’m going to stand right here until you do.” Revelation 3:19-20 (my translation)

Where are you on the “Zealous Scale”? Are you filled with a burning passion for your Lord with a constant desire to be in His presence? Are you immersed in the Word of God daily? Is your prayer life vibrant and alive? Are good works flowing out of your faith? Are you other-centered? Matthew 25:31-46 Do you do all you can to help the poor and needy? Luke 3:11 Or do you roll over and go back to sleep whenever you hear the knock of Jesus trying to wake you out of your spiritual slumber? Thank God that Jesus patiently waits for us. There were times in my life many decades ago when I deserved to be spit out of His mouth, and through His grace, He patiently waited for me. But there’s a limit to God’s patience, even for us believers. Matthew 7:21-23 

God allows us to keep the door to our own heart closed with the deadbolt snapped in place if that’s our choice. But if there is any part of what you just read about being a complacent Christian that resonates in your spirit, then it’s not too late for you. To you, Jesus says, “Therefore be zealous and repent” Revelation 3:19 and then He will persistently knock on that door to remind you that He’s still there and He’s waiting for you to reach out and turn the knob. 

The mystery of God is why He has not already spit us out. The mystery of us is the most puzzling of all. How are we able to remain so complacent in the face of God’s over-whelming love and His goodness to us? But when we do overcome our lethargy and run back to Jesus, He tells us, “To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne." And then He says to us.. "He who has an ear let him hear...” Revelation 3:21-22

A Sign Of Hope

Dear Friends,

For many, this past year has felt like: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..” If you have not had the coronavirus, you undoubtedly know someone who has, and sadly, many of us have known someone who has died. And we’ve also all experienced what has felt like the “passing away” of our church, our close relationships with family and friends, our jobs, favorite stores and restaurants and life as we knew it. For nearly a full year it’s felt like we’re living in the valley of the shadow of death, and yet the entire verse is “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4 

According to the Bible app “YouVersion,” the most downloaded verse since the start of the pandemic is “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 When we are afraid and facing life’s hardships, we turn to the Lord for strength, peace and hope. Our politicians have recently been calling for “unity” but we have already been a Nation on our knees and united in prayer. And after a year of this plague, some have found that we are struggling spiritually and our prayers are losing strength. As Christmas approaches, many of us are weary, burned out and, even if we have stayed healthy, we are suffering from pandemic fatigue that has robbed us of the joy and hope that we have always had during our celebration of Christmas. Many of us have been praying for a sign from God that will restore and energize our hope, and that prayer has been answered. And no..I don’t mean the vaccine.

Astronomers and theologians are talking about the Christmas Star and its glorious appearance on December 21st (next Monday). Some are calling it a “miracle” from God and some are calling its appearance at the end of this year a coincidence. Maybe, but the older I get, and the more I’ve seen and experienced, the harder it is for me to believe in a Sovereign God to the extent that I do and at the same time believe in “coincidences.” The beloved Christian story in our Bible tells us that, “Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the newborn King of the Jews? We saw His star as it rose, and we have come to worship Him.’” Matthew 2:1-2 NLT Some astronomers and theologians have long believed that the Star of Bethlehem was a conjunction – a close meeting – possibly Jupiter, Saturn and Mars that lined up in the sky to be a sign from God that Jesus – the hope of our future had been born. All we know for sure is at the time of this heavenly sign from God that, “...suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!’” Luke 2:13-14

As this year ends, God is once again sending this sign of hope to His people. The two largest planets in our solar system, Jupiter and Saturn, will line up so closely that they will look like the largest and possibly the brightest star in the universe. No one is exactly sure what it will look like because no one alive has ever seen it. This celestial phenomenon was last seen 800 years ago in the early morning hours of March 4, 1226 and only the very young will still be alive when these two planets line up again this close in 2080. The best time to view it will be right after the sunset on Monday, December 21st. That’s when the planets will be the lowest in the western sky and if the weather is clear, you’ll be able to see it for about an hour. While it is the lowest on December 21st it will be visible higher up in the skies from December 16th to December 25th.

December 21st is the first day of Winter and the shortest day of the year. The sunset will be at 4:48 pm in the Los Angeles area. When you’re outside, look West (towards the ocean). When you see the lined up planets, pray a prayer of gratitude for His sign of hope. Imagine what it was like for the Magi to see a “Star” like this, know that their Lord and Savior had been born and that they needed to go and worship Him. As you gaze at our Christmas Star, spend some time in your own worship of Him.

God’s sign of hope is to the entire world! This celestial blessing from Heaven will be observable in every place on Earth. God sent the Star of Bethlehem to lead the Gentiles to Jesus, and today our own Christmas Star is lighting the way to Him and a wave of excitement has swept through the Christian world in anticipation. We will all see a very real and tangible God-ordained re-creation of the Star of Bethlehem that is His perfect timing. For this is the exact moment that we all needed the sign from Him that the hardships of this year will soon be over and all is right with the world! Jesus is coming!

“Glory to God in the highest, 

And on earth peace, 

goodwill toward men!” 

God the Magic Genie?

Dear Friends,

When I was a kid, I loved to skate. I managed to fall down a lot on my own, but the photographic evidence establishes that sometimes I was pushed by my little sister. The shadow in the photo on the left is my father documenting the misdeed with his Kodak "Brownie" camera and the long shadow at the upper-right is my mother interrogating the little sidewalk terrorist. Fortunately, I always had a lucky rabbit’s foot in my pocket to protect me from harm! Then there was the day I’m flying down the sidewalk on my skates and the metal clamp that attached the skate to my shoe became loose. I fell face first and left about three feet of my skin on the sidewalk. Apparently I’d been given a defective lucky rabbit’s foot because its magical protection didn’t work. And God doesn’t work that way either. God is not a charm to dangle from your rearview mirror or a talisman to wear around your neck for good luck. You can’t stuff God in your pocket like a “lucky rabbit’s foot” to guarantee protection from life’s misfortunes or from pesky little sisters.

Many Christians today have fallen into the trap of what I call “Entitlement Christianity.” We go to church. Tithe. Pray. Worship. Then tragedy strikes and now we’re furious with God for letting it happen. “I’m a good Christian! I don’t deserve this!” And I’ve known too many former Christians who rejected God and became atheists after a personal tragedy because the God they’d been taught to believe in didn’t exist. They had listened to well-meaning family members and preachers and had ascribed to God the characteristics of a magic genie or talisman. As long as we have Him in our pocket, wherever we go and whatever we do, we will be safe and no harm will come to us. We are good people of faith and God owes us! But that’s bad theology and shame on our churches for teaching that.

At one time, I was a pastor in a Pentecostal denomination that taught “positive confession theology.” Taking authority. Claiming victory over health and financial problems. Preaching that God guarantees that what we “claim in the name of Jesus” will be ours. But the trouble with “positive confession theology” is that life happens and misfortune strikes. We claim God’s protection and then the earthquake occurs. The drunk driver crosses over the center divider. Prayers go unanswered and a wife dies in surgery. A son or daughter is lost to mental illness and homelessness. The tests come back positive for cancer. We named it and claimed it and stepped out in full expectation of victory and God did not meet our expectations. We are absolutely devastated. But any teaching that obligates God (based upon our diligent exercise of faith) to do our bidding and provide us with good health, wealth and protection, is the unbiblical religion of Entitlement Christianity.

Out of our love for others, we can inadvertently foster that Entitlement Christianity with our prayers and encouragements. I remember a pastor’s wife who had been given “prophecies” by those in her church assuring her that God loved her so much He was going to heal her breast cancer. As she later lay dying in a hospital bed, she told me through her tears that God didn’t love her enough to heal her cancer. Well-meaning “prophets” had made promises for God, commanded healing in the name of Jesus and nearly destroyed this woman’s faith when her cancer continued to spread. She thought that if God loved her, He'd heal her, but God loved her so much that He gathered her up in His arms and took her to heaven.

God may heal in response to prayer. Or maybe not. Yes of course we do pray for healing and believe that if it is God’s will do so, He will. But it is spiritual arrogance to “take authority” over illness and command God to heal. God’s grace, mercy and favor are His free gifts and not something that we deserve or can ever earn. The Word of God never promises great wealth, perfect health and a trouble-free life. (Actually Jesus promised the opposite John 16:33 NLT) But God does promise that no matter what happens, He will never leave or abandon us. Hebrews 13:5 

A mature theology sounds like this: God does love us. He does protect us. He does heal in response to our prayers. He does have a plan for your life. And sometimes our life is wonderful and sometimes it stinks. We can be flying down the sidewalk of life exalting in the pure excitement of it all and in the next moment we’re sliding on our face. That’s why a self-centered attitude of entitlement must be replaced with a biblical understanding that God treats us all equally. Those first century apostles experienced hardship and suffering. None were wealthy. Paul was tortured multiple times for his faith 2 Corinthians 11:22-28 and had a physical disability that God refused to heal. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 All the apostles were persecuted for their faith. Why are we shocked when God also allows us to experience tribulation in our life? When misfortune strikes, the mature Christian doesn’t push God away, but draws Him closer. God alone is our refuge. He is our God. We trust in Him. Amen?

Eclipse: A Warning or a Wonder?

Dear Friends,

The skies are clear blue and yet the sunlight dims as if unable to penetrate a dark cloud cover. Inside my house it’s becoming dark. I go outside and notice that it’s cooler than it was. Shadows sharpened by the low morning sun now become defused and distorted. I sit in a chair by my rose garden. I’d planned to go into the garage and get my welding helmet to look at the partial eclipse but I’m inexplicably resistant to do so. I’m captivated by the sudden quiet – a silence that is not at all normal for this time of the morning. Some Indian tribes believe that an eclipse is a sacred sign from God and is too holy to be viewed. That is how I’m feeling right now and decide to leave the welding helmet in the garage. I feel the need to pray. I just sit outside and pray and see and feel and sense and listen. I rest in God’s presence and see in my mind not the moon blocking the sun but see the hand of God stretched out over our Nation and casting a shadow on our land.

Those who are religious seem to fall into two camps when it comes to a spiritual interpretation of this eclipse. Some see it as a warning sign of God’s judgement on America and an apocalyptic warning of fire and brimstone raining down on our Nation. The daughter of Billy Graham, Anne Graham Lotz, warns that the eclipse viewing parties are likened to the Old Testament account of the drunken feast hosted by King Belshazzar as the fall of Babylon neared. She believes that God’s judgement should be expected in our Nation because of its “grievous national sins.” Others share that belief. But there are also those who saw the eclipse not as a harbinger of doom but as a powerful manifestation of God’s greatness and of His sovereignty over the heavens and the earth. So, what was it that we did see Monday morning? A divine sign of God’s warning to America? A surreal and sacred moment that allowed us a glimpse of the glory of God in all Creation? Or perhaps both?

“Teshuvah” is a forty day Jewish season of repentance and return to God that leads up to the Day of Atonement. This week’s solar eclipse in America occurred on the first day of Teshuvah (Monday, August 21st) and that is a sign from God. “Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years’” Genesis 1:14 Our Nation today needs healing that can only take place if we are willing to enter into this journey of repentance and revival. That’s why our Jewish friends are reaching across the theological divide  and inviting Christians to join them in this forty day season of prayer for our Nation. As God promised the people of Israel, “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 

Scripture tells of eclipses connected to revivals. When the Holy Spirit fell upon the followers of Jesus in the upper room, Peter quoted the prophet Joel as saying, “The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” Acts 2:20-21 And in America, we would be hard-pressed to chalk it up to mere “coincidence” that our Nation’s greatest Christian revivals have occurred during the years when a full eclipse has coincided with Teshuvah: the First and Second Great Awakenings in America, the Azusa Street Pentecostal Revival and the Charismatic Revival.

Up until Monday morning, the eclipse was only of passing interest to me until I read the significance of Teshuvah! I then looked on-line and saw the map. I saw the path of the eclipse cutting the Nation in half from the West Coast to the East Coast. Like a divine finger tracing out a line being etched in the soul of our Nation. A line in America between the North and the South. Symbolically separating Northern states from Southern states. I saw that as the alignment of the planets was causing a shadow to be cast across America, our politics and ideologies are causing a shadow of division to be cast across our Nation. We’ve been feeling physically sickened by reading the recent news reports and seeing photos of this demonic revival of racist hate in our Nation. With extreme ideologies threatening to divide our Nation and engage in a new Civil War, Monday’s eclipse brings to mind a passage from Luke: “And there will be strange signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And here on earth the nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides.” Luke 21:25 NLT We cannot deny that our Nation is in great turmoil. 

The eclipse on Monday may have been nothing more than an interesting astronomical event or it may be indeed a sign from Heaven that American people need to stop dividing our Nation with hate. The eclipse may well have been a warning from God that, unless we want to see a line of hate permanently etched in the soul of our Nation, we need to fall upon our knees in repentance. It may have been an invitation for all of God’s people to unite in prayer for these next forty days. This is an opportunity for the church to come together united in prayer because a divided Nation can only be healed by a united church. Let’s pray that this eclipse will be a harbinger of the church’s coming finest hour. Let’s pray for revival. Amen?

Be a Blessor!

Dear Friends,

Not much in the news surprises me anymore but a news report last week, gobsmacked me. First some background. You might remember that 500 years ago in Wittenberg, Germany, a rebel Catholic Priest, Martin Luther, fed up with his Roman Church nailed a proclamation to the church door and thus was born what we know today as Protestant Christianity. The news report I read, told of a progressive Evangelical Lutheran church* who, in an effort to reach outside of their church doors and bless the people of Wittenberg, had installed a “Priest Robot” in the public square. The robot senses a person in front of it and wishes them a “warm welcome.” The “priest” asks the person if they want to be blessed by a male or female voice and when it receives an answer, the robot smiles. It then raises both arms to the heavens and a bright light radiates out of the robot’s hands and shines on the person being blessed. The “priest” then says, “God bless and protect you” and recites a Bible verse. The church reports that some people are returning every day for the automated priest blessing. Now I apologize for my narrow-minded, orthodox understanding of the Bible, but I don’t read anywhere in the Gospels that Jesus appointed and ordained the 12 robots to do His work and build the church. And if Martin Luther was alive today, he’d be smashing the Wittenberg Priest Robot with an axe and running that Evangelical Lutheran church out of town! What’s next? The Wittenberg Kommunion Kiosk dispensing plastic cups of grape juice and a stale bread wafer?

As a Christian believer, there is no greater gift you can give someone than to bless them in the name of Jesus. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia defines a blessing as a spoken invocation of God’s favor on another. God is the source of all blessings. James 1:17 You and I have nothing to give on our own; we are simply the intermediary between God and the person receiving the blessing. That means we must have a relationship with God through Jesus before we can invoke God’s favor on another. Neither an atheist nor a robotic “priest” machine can invoke God’s blessings on someone. But as an adopted son or daughter of God, you do have the authority to do that. You can invoke the blessing of God on another. Do you?

There are two kinds of blessings we see in our Bible. To bless God doesn’t mean that we presumptuously bestow our favor on Him. Blessing God means expressing our gratitude towards Him. The second type of blessing is the invocation of God’s favor that we’re talking about here. The Bible is filled with examples of priests bestowing God’s blessing on the people, Leviticus 9:23  Numbers 6:23-26 and many examples of Godly people invoking His blessings on another person. Ruth 2:4  Ruth 2:20  2 Samuel 6:18 We bless our loved ones, Genesis 24:60 and Jesus tells us to even bless our enemies. Matthew 5:44 When we bless someone, we may find ourselves interceding for them. We stand in the gap for them – between them and God – and in our blessing, we ask that God give to them what they may have difficulty asking for themselves. 

We can simply say, “May God bless you” but than so can the Wittenberg Priest Robot. Once you’ve discerned what the person needs to hear from God and you seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit, our blessings sound more like these: May the Lord God bless you and keep you from all fear and anxiety...  May God bless you and keep you safe...  May the Lord God bless you and give you His peace in your heart today...  May God bless you and cause His face to shine upon you...  May God bless you and give you the wisdom to make your decision...  May God bless you and keep you strong during this season of testing... May God bless you and restore you today... May God bless you and keep you in His hands...

When we invoke God's favor on another, we bring the reality of God's presence into their lives. When we say,“May God bless you today” and then give them a specific blessing, we are speaking a prophetic word from God into their lives.That’s why, before we can truly bless others, we first need our own time with God. We can find ourselves uttering only meaningless platitudes when we speak out of our spiritual emptiness. We can only invoke those specific blessings from God when we are living in His presence and moving through our own life, hand-in-hand with Him. 

You are all blessed indeed. But I believe that God wants more for you. He wants you to be a blessor of others. He wants you to bless your family and your friends. He wants you to be a blessor of the person who cuts your hair. God wants you to be the one who intersects the life of the checker at Vons with the reality of His Son. When you’re in the doctor’s office waiting room, God wants you to be the one sitting next to the person who needs to be blessed by God at that very moment. God wants you to speak life-transforming blessings to others. No “priest robot” can do that. Only you can. That’s why God wants you to be more than just blessed. He wants you to be a blessor! Amen?

* NOTE: This Wittenberg church is not the ELCA Lutheran Church in America

Your Prophetic Voice ~ Pt 2

click photo to enlarge

Dear Friends,

After writing about the spiritual gift of prophecy in last week’s AMEN Corner, I was asked by a Lutheran friend why our church believes that spiritual gifts are still active today. That’s a good question! The short answer is that the original apostles established a church that was fully “charismatic.” Nothing’s changed. For those not familiar with the spiritual gifts, the following may be helpful in understanding the gift of prophecy. 

Spiritual Gifts: The ancient church had been taught by Paul and the other apostles that each sincere Christian believer received one or more of the spiritual gifts that were to be used in ministry to help and serve each other. 1 Cor 12:1-11 For the first few hundred years, the church taught that believers should fully expect to receive spiritual gifts that were imparted and empowered by the Holy Spirit. In the 4th century, when Christianity became formalized under the Roman Pope, the church began to elevate the clergy above the “laity” and taught that only the ordained and “holy” men of God were meant to receive spiritual gifts. The Church believed that Christians no longer needed the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts to guide them because the believers were now under the control and guidance of a priest.

  

The reformation was split down the middle on the issue. Like most monastics, the Catholic priest and father of Protestantism, Martin Luther spoke in tongues according to German church historian R. Kuntze (1859) and in Luther’s own words, “How often has it happened and still does, that devils have been driven out in the name of Christ, also by calling on His name and prayer that the sick have been healed.” But spiritual gifts can be messy and that’s why some reformed churches decided they didn’t want anything to do with the gifts. They developed a doctrine that the spiritual gifts ended in the first century with the deaths of the original apostles. But that cessation doctrine requires that one must ignore the ancient church historians such as Justin Martyr, Eusebius, Tertullian, Augustine and others who witnessed the presence of spiritual gifts and miracles in the early church many centuries after the apostles died. It also requires that one must ignore that the founder of Protestantism, Martin Luther, spoke in tongues and had an active deliverance and healing ministry. 

Prophetic Word:

This refers not to a single word but to a prophetic statement. A prophetic word can be for the church or it can be a “personal prophecy” for a person. There are two types of prophetic words: Forthtelling and Foretelling.

Prophecy Can Be FORTHtelling. 

Forthtelling is when God uses you to speak forth His word. It’s being the empty conduit for the voice of the Holy Spirit to speak to others. It’s when the Holy Spirit uses us to speak God’s Word into particular circumstances at the right moment. Last week I used an example of a personal prophesy to a co-worker. Here’s another example of “forthtelling.” My first experience with prophesy was many decades ago when my (then) wife was struggling with some-thing that involved her father. I didn’t know anything about their family history. She never talked about it. One night I woke up and heard her weeping. Before I was fully awake, words immediately began to come out of my mouth that were from the Spirit of God speaking directly to her. The presence and grace of God was overwhelming. There was a spiritual cleansing that took place as the Holy Spirit brought her to a place of forgiveness and restored her relationship with her father. The next morning I remembered very little of what God had said through me to her. She told me what I said and we both  marveled at it because there was no way I could have known or even guessed the content of this prophetic word from God.  These were family secrets that only she, her parents and God could have known. That was the first time I’d experienced what it was like to give a prophetic word and like any encounter with the Spirit of God, it left me humbled and shaken.

Prophecy Can Be FOREtelling:

Foretelling is when God gives a prophetic word containing a warning about the future. Here’s an example: It was in the time in my life that I’d gone back to church when I woke up one Sunday morning having just had a very vivid and detailed dream about the church I was going to. I dreamed there was a windstorm that blew down a large oak tree that fell onto the walkway from the parking lot to the church. A creek separated the parking lot from the church and a footbridge was the only way to get across. In my dream, the tree was blocking the access to the footbridge and the associate pastor and the groundskeeper were cutting up the tree with a chain saw. I woke up and as I was wondering what the dream meant, God gave me a prophetic word for the church that had to do with cutting out dead and decaying roots that were in the foundation of the church. God showed me in that dream that, once the “decay and rot” was cleared away, the “pathway” would once again be opened for people to come to the church.

Two hours later as I drove into the parking lot, I saw there had been a windstorm that had blown down an old oak tree on the walkway and it was blocking access to the church. I was stunned. It was exactly like I had just dreamed it. The associate pastor and groundskeeper were cutting it up with chain saws just like in the dream. I asked the pastor why the tree had fallen. He told me that the roots had just rotted out.  

Why did God orchestrate it like that? Because the dream and the actual event, confirmed the prophetic word about the church needing to clear out some things that were rotted in the foundation of the church. When I stood up that morning and told the congregation about the dream and the prophetic word from God, it electrified the church because each person had just walked past the rotten stump of the fallen tree. God created a spectacular drama to confirm a prophetic word of warning because He wanted to wake up that church. He did!

I’m not a prophet. I don’t claim to have the “gift of prophecy” but I use examples from my own life to show how God uses ordinary people like me to speak His word into a person or situation. And, when you develop a prophetic voice (see last week’s AMEN Corner), He can use you. Amen?

Your Prophetic Voice

Dear Friends,

The Apostle Paul said to “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.” 1 Cor 14:1 The word prophesy means to “declare forth” and speak to people on behalf of God using the words that God puts in his/her mouth. Of all the gifts, this is the one most often counterfeited because this is the money maker. Not all prophetic ministry is false of course, but this is the one most misused for personal gain. The Holy Spirit gives the gift of prophesy 1 Cor 12:4-11 and there are some authentic, gifted prophets today. But we must always use our sense of discernment to determine if what we are hearing is true or false. Paul says “Do not scoff at prophecies but test everything that is said.” 1 Thess 5:19-21 NLT 

One red flag is when prophecies are being sold. There is a huge prophecy business on-line and on television. Please someone just show me one internet prophecy site where I’m not asked to buy something or click on the “ministry partner” button to give them my credit card. Every internet prophetic ministry site markets prophetic books, DVDs and/or personal prophesies and the bottom line is that money is being exchanged for the manifestation of a gift given by the Holy Spirit. Any time money becomes involved, this is a red flag because the Holy Spirit gives us the spiritual gifts to minister to others - meaning to serve others - not to sell to others. 

A few years ago, one of my employees, who knew I was a pastor, came to see me. His father was in his eighties with some severe deteriorating health conditions. The employee told me about an issue he was having with his father and asked me to pray for him. I knew nothing about the father but I immediately began to speak a prophetic word about something in the father’s past that related to the present issue. This was a word from God and its effect was immediate. The man had been sitting forward and he was thrown back in the chair as if he’d been punched in the chest. God showed him something about his father that he’d never seen before and the man was weeping and thanking me. I told him to thank God, not me. How appropriate would it have been for me to pass him a shiny gold plate at that moment to take up a love offering? What if I’d asked if he’d like to support my ministry with automatic donations from his credit card? Maybe this is just me, but I don’t believe the Holy Spirit gives us spiritual gifts to be used as an enterprise opportunity. I don’t consider myself a “prophet,” but many times I’ve been given prophetic dreams and words for people that have been detailed and accurate. Those have been unexpectedly given to me as the Lord pleases for that person for that moment. But don’t ever ask me for a prophetic word because I cannot conjure up a “word” at will. No one can. 

I cringe when I’ve seen “prophets” give personal prophecy in church and then take up a “love offering.” Prophecy does not work like a vending machine. You can’t put in a dollar and out comes a prophetic word. Every authentic prophetic word is given by the Holy Spirit and there is no way that anyone can conjure up a word from God at will. In fact if we try, we join the ranks of fortunetellers and what the Bible calls soothsayers. Deu 18:10-12 

But I believe in personal prophecy and believe that when we sincerely desire to speak forth God’s word to others, the Holy Spirit will enable us to do so. We may not have the gift of a prophetic ministry, but we can develop a prophetic voice. 

I’ve known older couples who have been married for so long that they look, act, speak and even smell like each other. They’ve been walking hand in hand for so long through life, that they are not just married to each other, they are joined to each other. They’ve crested the heights in life together and survived the greatest pains and suffering together. They have the same dreams, desires and dislikes. They finish each other’s thoughts and speak each other’s words. They have been living in the presence of their spouse for so many decades that they don’t know where the voice of one leaves off and the voice of the other begins.

Do you want to have a prophetic voice that God can use to speak words of edification, encouragement and comfort to others? 1 Cor 14:3 You need to immerse yourself in the presence of God. You need to start walking hand in hand through life with Him. Like the old married couple intrinsically joined together, you need to live so closely in God’s presence that you don’t know where one leaves off and the other begins. And that’s when God’s thoughts become your thoughts and God’s words become your words. And you are declaring forth God’s words of edification, encouragement and comfort to others. That’s prophecy. Amen?