Can Prayer Change God’s Mind?

Posted on April 8, 2026 by russellmckinney

A reader, Paula Jarvis Garland, wrote to me:

“Here’s my question: If everything is predestined, then how does prayer change things? Can our prayers cause God to change his mind?”

The question is actually two questions, one concerning predestination and the other concerning the impact of prayer. I’ll take the one about predestination first and then close with the one about prayer. Here goes.

The word “predestination” (or some form of it) is used four times in scripture. In Romans 8:29, the predestining is the Christian being predestined to be conformed to the image of Jesus. In Romans 8:30, it is associated with the Christian being called, justified, and glorified. In Ephesians 1:5, it is the Christian being predestined to adoption into God’s family. In Ephesians 1:11, it is the Christian being predestined to obtain a heavenly inheritance.

You’ll notice in these references that the Biblical definition of predestination has to do with the rewards of salvation. The predestining is to the eternal blessings that flow out of the salvation experience, not to the salvation experience itself. Predestination centers around promises, promises that God makes to the Christian. As J. Vernon McGee says in his commentary on Romans,  “Predestination means that, when God saves you, He is going to see you through.”

Predestination is not God handpicking some to be on the “saved” list and others to be on the “damned” list. It isn’t Him forcing anyone to do anything. Instead, it is Him saying to the person who has voluntarily placed saving belief in Jesus Christ, “Okay, now that you’ve done that, here are My promises to you.” As Harry Ironside writes in his commentary on Ephesians:

You see, predestination is not God from eternity saying, “This man goes to heaven and this man to hell.” No, but predestination teaches me that when I have believed in Christ, when I have trusted Him as my Savior, I may know on the authority of God that it is settled forever that some day I am to become exactly like my Savior. It settles the question of the security of my salvation. Whatever my present unsatisfactory experiences may be, some day I shall be altogether like the One who has redeemed me.

Similarly, Herbert Lockyer states:

What must be borne in mind is the fact that predestination is not God’s predetermining from past ages who should and who should not be saved. Scripture does not teach this view. What it does teach is that the doctrine of predestination concerns the future of believers.

The point in all this is that everything is not predestined. Yes, God always has a will in every earthly situation, but He doesn’t stack the deck to ensure that His will gets done. To the contrary, it is rare when His will does get done upon the earth.

For example, it isn’t God’s will for a gunman to walk into a movie theater and open fire. It isn’t His will for a thief to rob someone’s money. It isn’t His will for a mother to abort her baby. It isn’t His will for a pastor to have an affair with the church secretary. God certainly doesn’t predestine these acts. He allows them, and He can even use them in His plans (as He did with the Jews and the Romans working in concert to unjustly get Jesus crucified), but He doesn’t predestine them. These are the acts of sinful people, not holy God.

Acts 2:23 says that Jesus was delivered to death “…by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God…” (N.K.J.V.). Notice that it doesn’t say that Jesus was delivered to death by the predestination of God. That would imply that the Jews and the Romans had no choice in what they did. It would mean that God programmed them to carry out His plan regardless of their objections. You see, God having a foreknowledge that something is going to happen is not the same thing as Him willing or predestining that something to happen.

Now let me move on to the question about God changing His mind in response to prayer. For an answer, the best I can do is offer a list of examples straight from scripture. Here are 10:

  1. In Genesis chapter 18, three men visit Abraham. In actuality, these “men” are two angels and none other than Jesus (making a preincarnate appearance in the Old Testament). After announcing that Abraham and Sarah will have a son in nine months time (18:9-15), Jesus dispatches the two angels and tells Abraham that the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are slated for destruction (18:16-22). This is sad news for Abraham because Abraham’s nephew Lot and his family live in Sodom. And so Abraham enters into negotiations with the Lord (18:23-33), negotiations that amount to prayers because Abraham is talking directly to Jesus. “Lord, what if you find 50 righteous people in Sodom? Will you still destroy it?” “No.” “Lord, what if you find 45 righteous people? Will you still destroy it?” “No.” “What if you find 40?” “No.” “What about 30?” “No.” How about 20?” “No.” “Lord, suppose you find 10 righteous people there? Will you still destroy it?” “No.” That’s as far as Abraham went, but who can deny that his prayer had a definite impact upon the Lord’s plans? Unfortunately, the Lord didn’t find even 10 righteous people in Sodom.
  2. In Exodus chapter 32, while Moses is atop Mount Sinai communing with God, the Israelites make a golden calf to worship. The act angers God so much that He says to Moses, “I’m going to consume these stiff-necked people and use you to begin a whole new nation” (Exodus 32:7-10). In response to that, Moses pleads with God not to destroy the Israelites (Exodus 32:11-14). Since Moses is talking directly to God, it isn’t a stretch to classify those pleadings as a prayer. And does that prayer have an effect? Yes, Exodus 32:14 says: “So the Lord relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people” (N.K.J.V.).
  3. In Numbers chapter 14, the Israelites commit another great sin by refusing to enter the promised land of Canaan (14:1-10). Similar to what He had once told Moses on Mount Sinai, God tells Moses that He is going to strike the Israelites with a pestilence, disinherit them, and start a new nation with him (14:11-12). Once again, though, Moses begs God not to do it (14:13-19) and God spares the lives of the Israelites. God does, however, decree that all the Israelites 20 years old or older (except for Joshua and Caleb) will never enter Canaan (14:20-38).
  4. In 2 Kings chapter 20, Judah’s King Hezekiah is sick and near death. The prophet Isaiah goes to him and tells him to set his house in order because he will not live (20:1-2). Hezekiah turns his face toward the wall and prays, asking God to remember how he has walked before Him in truth (20:3). God hears the prayer, and even before Isaiah has gotten out of the palace God says to him, “Return to Hezekiah and tell him that I have heard his prayer. Tell him that I am going to heal him, add fifteen more years to his life, and deliver Jerusalem from the hand of the Assyrians” (20-4-6). How’s that for prayer having a positive effect? This same story is also told in Isaiah chapter 38 and referenced in Jeremiah 26:19.
  5. In Jeremiah 18:7-8, God says, “The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it” (N.K.J.V.). While it’s true that prayer isn’t specifically mentioned in this passage, the basic idea is that even when God has judgment planned for a nation, the response of that nation’s citizens can alter the plan.
  6. In Amos 7:1-6, God gives the prophet Amos two visions of two devastating judgments that He is going to inflict upon Israel. One is an invasion of locusts that will devour Israel’s crops. The other is a wildfire that will devour the land. After each vision, Amos begs God not to send the judgment. And how does God respond to Amos’ two “prayers”? In each instance, He relents and doesn’t send the judgment.
  7. In the story of Jonah, God sends the prophet to cry out against the city of Nineveh because of the wickedness of its inhabitants (1:1-2; 3:1-2). The message God gives Jonah to preach to those citizens is, “In 40 days Nineveh will be overthrown” (3:4). The message is simple, blunt, and seemingly final. However, in response to those citizens entering into a time of fasting and repentance, God relents from the judgment He has said would come upon the city (3:5-10). Here again, prayer isn’t mentioned as part of what those citizens did, but it is undeniable that God does respond positively to their actions. Jonah even gets mad at God for relenting from the judgment and says to Him, “Isn’t this what I said you would do even before I came here?” (4:1-2).
  8. Matthew 13:53-58 and Mark 6:1-6 record the story of a ministry trip that Jesus made to His hometown of Nazareth. Because of the unbelief on the part of the citizens, Jesus could do no mighty work there except for a few cases of healing. The clear implication is that more belief on the part of those citizens of Nazareth would have resulted in more miracles being down in their town. Therefore, this story proves that God responds accordingly to our actions (belief, prayers, etc.).
  9. Matthew 17:14-21 and Mark 9:14-29 record the story of a father and his demon-possessed son. Nine of Jesus’ chosen twelve disciples try to cast out the demon but fail. Jesus then comes onto the scene and gets the job done. When the disciples ask Him why they couldn’t cast out the demon, Jesus explains, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting.” The obvious teaching is that prayer and fasting are what make the difference in the outcome of certain situations.
  10. In James 5:13-18, the New Testament sings the praises of the power that prayer has to change circumstances. According to the passage, prayer (along with anointing) can lead to the sick being healed. In the case of the prophet Elijah, it can cause God to withhold rain for three-and-a-half years. While there is a sizable amount of debate about the specifics of how this passage should be applied, we can at least say with certainty that the passage teaches that prayer changes things.

So, it’s along about now that someone says, “Great. All these passages clear up the matter entirely. My prayers can get God to change His mind.” Well, you might want to slow your roll on that and not run hog wild with the idea. I say that because there are some other passages that must be taken into account concerning this subject, and they take things to a deeper level. Here are five of them (all from the N.K.J.V.):

  1. Malachi 3:6: “For I am the Lord, I do not change…”
  2. James 1:17: Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
  3. Numbers 23:19: God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man that He should repent…
  4. 1 Samuel 15:29: “…the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent.”
  5. Romans 11:29: For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

To add a little more spice to this gumbo, we must also take into account God’s perfect foreknowledge. Here are just three passages (all from the N.K.J.V.) from that sizable category:

  1.  Isaiah 46:9-10: “Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure.’”
  2. Jeremiah 1:4-5: Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
  3. 1 Peter 1:1-2: Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:

It is at this point that the question becomes: “How can we correctly blend all of these different ideas about God and all of these different passages together?” And I’ll answer that question by offering seven basic thoughts as the close to this post. Hopefully, these will help us weave all this post’s information into our walk with the Lord. Ready? Here goes:

  1. God, from before Genesis 1:1, has had a perfect foreknowledge of all human history. In a very real sense, everything that happens is a rerun to Him. Nothing takes Him by surprise. Nothing confuses Him. Nothing alters His historical timeline.
  2. Prayer can, in certain instances, cause God to change His mind about something. The scriptural cases are too many and too easily understood to be ignored.
  3. Even when God changes His mind, the change of mind has been foreseen and accounted for since before Genesis 1:1 and has been incorporated into the historical timeline.
  4. God changes His mind not only to encourage us to pray but also to “humanize” Himself to us. It is a part of Him interacting with us on a deeply personal, intimate level. He doesn’t change His mind because His original plan was a mistake or could stand some improvement; He changes it because He enjoys allowing us to play a role in helping Him shape history.
  5. Despite the fact that God is eternal, He takes great delight in interjecting Himself into time so that He can meet with us for fellowship, communion, worship, and prayer. And as a part of Him meeting with us, He dialogues with us in prayer and even allows our prayers to change His mind when the change fits His purposes.
  6. No matter what God plans to do for us, in us, and through us, He always painstakingly works through the detailed step-by-step process of bringing the thing to pass. Putting it another way, God chooses to get us involved in making something happen rather than just arbitrarily making it happen all by Himself. This is why He encourages us, even commands us, to cast our cares upon Him (1 Peter 5:6-7) and take our requests to Him (Philippians 4:6).
  7. The same Bible that talks about predestination and God’s foreknowledge also says quite clearly: “…you do not have because you do not ask” (James 4:2, N.K.J.V.). In light of this spiritual truth, we are crazy not to ask God for what we want. Like any good parent, His answer will oftentimes be, “No,” but also like any good parent, He won’t hate the child for asking.
Posted in Belief, Desires, Election, Eternal Security, Eternity, Faith, God's Omnipotence, God's Omniscience, God's Sovereignty, God's Will, God's Work, Heaven, Influence, Man's Freewill, Prayer, Prayer Requests, Reward, Salvation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Be Careful About Signs

Posted on April 6, 2026 by russellmckinney

Dr. Lehman Strauss was one of the best preachers America has ever produced. Over the course of his sixty-year ministry, he successfully served in the various roles of pastor, evangelist, teacher, and commentator. He truly was a great man of God, a man with much wisdom and discernment.

Strauss used to tell the story of a church member he once had who owned a farm in Pennsylvania. One day the farmer said to Strauss, “Lehman, I believe God is calling me to preach.” Even though Strauss and the man were good friends, and Strauss had no doubts about the man’s sincerity, he did have serious doubts about the man’s call to preach. So, Strauss asked the farmer, “What gave you the idea God is calling you to preach?” The farmer answered, “Yesterday I was in the fields plowing, and I saw in a cloud formation the two letters PC. I knew at once it was a vision from God telling me to PREACH CHRIST.” To that Strauss wryly replied, “Is is possible God was telling you to PLANT CORN?”

I use this story as an illustration to warn you about attempting to discern God’s will by way of “signs.” I’m reminded of the old joke about the woman who was attempting to diet. She loved the doughnuts from a particular doughnut shop in her hometown and stopped there for breakfast every morning on her way to work. But when she began her diet, she knew those doughnuts were off limits. So, on her way to work one morning she prayed, “Lord, if it is your will for me to stop and get a doughnut for breakfast this morning, help there to be a parking space right in front of the shop as I drive by.” And low and behold, as she drove by, she did find a perfect parking spot right in front of the shop. Of course, that spot didn’t open up until her fifth time circling the store!

How do you determine God’s will for any given situation? First, you find out what the Bible has to say about the situation because God’s will can’t contradict God’s word. Second, you pay attention to that burden you feel, that burden to either do something or stop doing something, that burden you just can’t shake, that burden that gnaws at you. When God wants you to either do something or stop doing something, He gives you a burden that aligns with His will. Third, you take circumstances into account. Is there a pathway that will allow you to act upon your burden? Is there an open door for you? If there isn’t, either that burden you feel isn’t from God or the timing isn’t right yet for you to act upon it. Lastly, once you have acted upon your burden, do you have a deep-settled inner peace about your course of action? If you do, that is a tell-tale indicator that you’ve done God’s will.

But what about “signs”? Well, the fact is, the Bible uses the word “sign” to refer to nothing less than a bona fide miracle? You see, we water down, even trivialize, the whole idea of “signs” when we attempt to put our modern-day spin on it. Here are a few examples of such spin:

  • “I’m trying to decide which college God wants me to attend, and I just happened to see a person wearing a t-shirt with the logo of one of my options. Is that God speaking to me about my choice?”
  • “I’m planning to break up with my boyfriend, but I heard our song on the radio today. Is that God’s way of telling me not to break up with him?”
  • “I had a dream last night that I quit my job. Does that mean that God wants me to turn in my resignation?”

Cloud formations? Parking spots? T-shirt messages? Songs on the radio? Dreams? Oh, dear friend, be careful about using such things to try to determine God’s will for your life. I’m not saying that God can’t use anything and everything to reveal His will to you if He so chooses, but I am saying that only a true miracle qualifies as a Biblical “sign.” As for anything less, my simple advice to you is: Don’t believe the hype.

Posted in Bible Study, Choices, Desires, Discernment, Dreams, God's Will, Inner Peace, Preaching, Scripture, The Bible | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Easter’s Surprise

Posted on April 4, 2026 by russellmckinney

New Year’s Day is January 1st. Valentine’s Day is February 14th. Independence Day is July 4th. Halloween is October 31st. Christmas is December 25th. But Easter? Uh……

Easter is that rare holiday that is unpredictable in regards to when it falls on the calendar. At least it’s unpredictable to anyone who doesn’t keep up with the moon. For the record, Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon of the spring (vernal) equinox. That setup goes all the way back to The Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325.

The thought process The Council of Nicaea used to arrive at that annual date was centered around the yearly Jewish Passover. That first full moon of the spring (vernal) equinox is also known as the Paschal (Passover) moon because that moon was the date of the Passover in the Jewish Calendar. Well, the Bible tells us that Jesus ate the Passover meal with His chosen 12 disciples the night before His crucifixion. That was the famous “last supper” in which He instituted The Lord’s Supper as part of the meal. Okay, since the Bible also tells us that He was crucified the next day, the following Sunday must have been resurrection Sunday, the Sunday we now call Easter.

Getting back to the lunar side of things, the word “equinox” means “equal night” and is a reference to the fact that the spring (vernal) equinox is the yearly date when night and day are nearly the exact same length all over the world. This means that Easter can fall anytime between March 22nd and April 25th. The last time it fell on March 22 was 1818, and the last time it fell on April 25th was 1943.

Of course, it doesn’t help that some parts of the world use the Gregorian calendar and other parts use the Julian calendar. Those calendars differ by thirteen days. This has created the concepts of a Western (Gregorian) Easter and an Eastern (Julian) Easter. Typically, Western Easter and Eastern Easter are one week apart, even though there are certain years where the holiday falls on the same Sunday.

The interesting thing about all this is that Easter basically becomes something of a surprise each year in that us common folks have to check the calendar to find out exactly when it falls. In this way, we are like the apostles and all the rest of Christ’s followers. That first Easter was certainly a surprise to them.

Despite the fact that Jesus had forewarned them that He was going to be put to death and then resurrect, they really didn’t believe any of it. Even when the part about Him being put to death occurred, they still didn’t believe that the other part would happen as well. Early on that glorious Sunday morning, however, the process of convincing them officially began. We might say that the empty tomb was Christ’s way of saying to all of them, “Surprise!”

Posted in Christ's Death, Christ's Resurrection, Easter, Easter Traditions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The 12 Hours of Good Friday

Posted on April 3, 2026 by russellmckinney

In the Jerusalem of Christ’s day, time could be reckoned according to the Jewish system or the Roman system. Both were commonly used. A 24-hour day in the Jewish system began at 6:00 p.m. sundown and ended at 6:00 p.m. sundown the following day. The four “watches” of the night lasted from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m. until 12:00 a.m., 12:00 a.m. until 3:00 a.m., and 3:00 a.m. until 6:00 a.m. At 6:00 a.m. the “day” part of the day began and lasted until 6:00 p.m. when a fresh 24-hour period began. As for the Romans, their 24-hour period began at midnight and ended the following midnight.

John 19:14 says it was “about the sixth hour” when Pontius Pilate sentenced Jesus to crucifixion. John is reckoning by Roman time, which means that Pilate sentenced Jesus around 6:00 a.m. This stands alongside Mark 15:25, which says it was the “third hour” when Christ’s crucifixion began. Mark is reckoning by Jewish time, which means that three hours elapsed between Christ’s sentencing and the moment He was actually nailed to the cross at 9:00 a.m.

From 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon everything was normal about that morning. At 12:00 noon, however, an eerie, supernatural darkness settled upon the entire land and remained there until 3:00 p.m. (Matthew 27:45; Mark 15:33). Shortly after 3:00 p.m., Jesus died. Plans for a rushed burial were then put into play because the Sabbath began at 6:00 p.m. and Jewish law stated that a body couldn’t be left hanging on a cross during the Sabbath (Deuteronomy 23:22-23).

During the six hours in which Jesus hung on the cross, He uttered seven statements. The first three were made during the three hours before noon and the last four were made in fairly rapid succession beginning at 3:00 p.m. The statements were as follows:

  1. (said of those who had a part in His crucifixion): “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23:34)
  2. (said to the penitent criminal who was one of two crucified alongside Him): “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43)
  3. (said to His mother Mary and His apostle John as He commended Mary to John’s care): “Woman, behold your son! Behold your mother!”
  4. (said to God the Father at the close of the three-hour darkness): “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34)
  5. (said of Himself): “I thirst!” (John 19:28)
  6. (said of His life’s work, ministry, and impending death for the sins of the world): “It is finished!” (John 19:30)
  7. (said to God the Father): “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” (Luke 23:46)

Since the Bible teaches that the “spirit” is the body’s spark of life (James 2:26; Ecclesiastes 12:7), we are right to say that Jesus releasing His spirit to God the Father was the actual cause of His death. Jesus is the only person who ever lived who was able to do this. This is what He meant when He said of His life, “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father” (John 10:18, N.I.V.).

With the Sabbath fast approaching at sundown that afternoon, the Jewish religious elite requested that Pilate command his Roman soldiers to employ the standard method of speeding up a death by crucifixion: breaking the legs of the victim (John 19:31-32). The Romans were experts at the art of crucifixion and knew that broken legs induced suffocation by preventing the victim from pushing himself up to draw a breath. Much to their surprise, though, when they came to break Jesus’ legs, He was already dead (John 19:33). So, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear just to make certain of the death (John 19:34).

What followed next was a hasty three-hour dash to get Christ’s body taken down from the cross, anointed with burial spices, and buried. Of all people, it was two members of the Jewish Sanhedrin ruling council — Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus — who saw to all of that. Both men had become followers of Christ by this time.

It was Joseph who immediately went to Pilate and requested that Christ’s body be given to him, a request to which Pilate agreed after receiving assurances that Jesus really was dead (Matthew 27:57-58; Mark 15:43-45; Luke 23:50-52; John 19:38). It’s likely that Nicodemus was buying the burial spices while Joseph was with Pilate, and the two men rejoined one another at the cross (John 19:39). There they took down the body, bound it in strips of linen, anointed it with burial spices, and placed it in Joseph’s recently built “cave” tomb which was very close to the site of the crucifixion (Matthew 27:59-60; Mark 15:46; Luke 23:53-54; John 19:38-42). A group of women, including Mary Magdalene, who had followed Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem joined the two men at the tomb for the burial (Matthew 27:61; Mark 15:47; Luke 23:55). Early the following Sunday morning, these women would make the trip back to the tomb for the purpose of more thoroughly anointing the body, only to find the tomb empty.

And so go the highlights of the twelve hours of Good Friday. But, of course, nothing that happened that day will be of one iota of help to you if you never place saving belief in Jesus. Rather than being “Good” Friday to you, the day will only mean more eternal judgment because even though Jesus died to pay the sin debt that you owe to holy God, you rejected Jesus. On the other hand, if you have placed saving belief in Jesus you can rest in the knowledge that on Good Friday God the Father transferred all of your sins to Jesus, and Jesus died for those sins so that you might spend eternity with God. So rejoice in that this Good Friday, and rejoice all the more in the knowledge that Sunday is coming!

Posted in Belief, Christ's Death, Christ's Resurrection, Crucifixion, Easter, Good Friday, Sacrifice, Salvation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Why Wouldn’t Jesus Let Mary Magdalene Touch Him?

Posted on April 1, 2026 by russellmckinney

Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. (John 20:17, K.J.V.)

Of all the passages that get preached and quoted at Easter, this verse is among the most debated. I’ve long hesitated to write a blog post about it simply because the issues surrounding it are so convoluted. But here now I’m finally taking on the assignment.

For starters, there is the translation issue. I quoted the King James Version of the verse as an opening text because that translation’s rendering is at the core of the issues. Whereas the vast majority of translations quote Jesus as saying something along the lines of, “Do not cling to Me,” “Stop clinging to Me,” or “Do not hold on to Me,” the translators of the K.J.V. went with the statement, “Touch me not.” Obviously, there is a difference between clinging to a man and merely touching him.

The Greek verb in question is haptou, which is the present imperative tense of the Greek verb haptomai. The K.J.V. of John 20:17 simply continues that translation’s consistent pattern of translating haptou and haptomai as “touch,” “toucheth,” or “touched.” For example, this Greek wording is used in the story of the woman with the issue of blood who said to herself concerning Jesus, “If I may but touch His garment, I shall be whole” (Matthew 9:20-21; Mark 5:27-28; Luke 8:44-47). Similarly, it’s used to describe others believing that touching Jesus or His clothing would result in healing (Matthew 14:36; Mark 3:10; Mark 6:56). For that matter, it’s used to describe Jesus Himself literally touching someone to provide healing (Matthew 8:3; 8:15; 9:29; 20:34; Mark 1:41; 7:33; 8:22; Luke 5:13).

This wording is also used to describe what Jesus did in resurrecting the widow of Nain’s deceased son (Luke 7:14) and what He did in restoring the severed ear of Malchus (Luke 22:51). Furthermore, it’s used to describe Jesus touching Peter, James, and John on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:7), Him touching infants and small children to bless them (Mark 10:13; Luke 18:15), and the sinful woman washing His feet with her tears and drying them with her hair (Luke 7:39). Again, in each of these instances, the King James Version uses the words “touch,” “touched,” or “toucheth.”

Why, then, do the majority of translations come to John 20:17 and render it something other than “touch”? Well, the fact is that haptomai and haptou can refer to more than a mere touch. As evidence of this, consider the following quote from Greek scholar Marvin R. Vincent:

The verb, primarily, means “to fasten to.” Hence it implies here (John 20:17), not a mere momentary touch, but a clinging to. Mary thought that the old relations between her Lord and herself were to be renewed; that the old intercourse, by means of sight, sound, and touch, would go on as before. Christ says, “The time for this kind of intercourse is over. Henceforth your communion with me will be by faith through the Spirit. This communion will become possible through my ascending to the Father.” (Word Studies in the New Testament, Marvin R. Vincent)

Of course, by now maybe you are asking, “Why is this translation issue so important?” It’s important because if “Touch me not” is 100% accurate, it opens up a couple of interesting possibilities about what Jesus had on His itinerary that resurrection morning. I’ll explain both of these possibilities so that you see what you think of them.

Possibility #1 has to do with the Jesus, in His resurrected/glorified body, sprinkling His shed blood in heaven’s sanctuary. The Bible teaches that the earthly tabernacle God instructed the Israelites to build was the copy (example, shadow, figure, symbol) of the heavenly things (Hebrews 8:1-5; 9:9; 9:23-24; 10:1). Evidently, this means there is a heavenly tabernacle (temple, sanctuary) that features the same basic layout as Israel’s earthly tabernacle. As a matter of fact, the apostle John was allowed to see this heavenly sanctuary as a part of his revelation that serves as the last book of the Bible (Revelation 15:5-8). John even saw heaven’s version of the Ark of the Covenant sitting in the Holy of Holies room of that heavenly sanctuary (Revelation 11:19).

Okay, so once a year, on the annual Day of Atonement, Israel’s earthly High Priest would take some of the blood of a sacrificial bull and a sacrificial goat into the Holy of Holies room of the earthly tabernacle and use his finger to sprinkle that blood onto the Mercy Seat, which was the lid of the Ark of the Covenant. As the High Priest was completing this ceremony he wasn’t to be touched by anyone lest he or the special garments he wore during the ceremony somehow become defiled. This earthly ceremony is described in detail in Leviticus 16:1-34.

Now let’s take that ceremony and make it a scene in heaven’s sanctuary. Hebrews 9:24-26 indicates that Jesus, in His role as the eternal High Priest (Hebrews 2:17; 3:1; 4:14-16), at some point after His resurrection entered into the Holy of Holies of heaven’s sanctuary and sprinkled His own shed blood on the Mercy Seat of the heavenly Ark of the Covenant. Therefore, it could have been that Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene just as He was about to ascend to heaven and perform that ceremony. If this was the case, it would explain why He wouldn’t let Mary Magdalene touch Him at that moment, only to a short time later that same morning have no objection to a certain group of women holding Him by His feet (Matthew 28:9-10) or to Thomas touching Him the following Sunday (John 20:24-29).

While this interpretation might be considered outlandish, it is bolstered by the fact that the Greek verb that is translated as “ascended” in John 20:17 is in the perfect active indicative sense, which implies that Jesus was in the active process of ascending when He appeared to Mary Magdalene. In other words, what He literally said was, “Go tell My brothers that I am ascending…” (For the record, this is how all other translations besides the K.J.V. read.) So, if Jesus truly was beginning His ascension at that very moment, it must have been a different ascension than His final one that occurred 40 days later and is described in Acts 1:1-11.

Remember, though, that I told you the translation “Touch me not” opens up not one but two interesting possibilities about Jesus’ itinerary that first Easter Sunday. What, then, is the second possibility? Like the first possibility, it requires an Easter Sunday ascension from Jesus to perform a High Priestly duty in heaven, but this second possibility has nothing to do with Him sprinkling His blood in heaven’s Holy of Holies. Instead, the duty I have in mind now is described in its earthly performance by Israel’s earthly High Priest in Leviticus 23:10-11. On the day after the Sabbath following the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread, the High Priest was required by Old Testament law to wave a sheaf of firstfruits before the Lord. This ceremony served to not only signify the beginning of the harvest season but also to dedicate the firstfruits of the harvests to the Lord.

Perhaps, then, the duty Jesus needed to perform before He could be touched that resurrection Sunday morning, which actually was the day after the Sabbath following the Feast of Unleavened Bread, was that of Him ascending to Heaven and presenting Himself to God the Father as the firstfruits from the dead. This would fit in perfectly with 1 Corinthians 15:20-23, which calls Jesus “the firstfruits” of those who have died. For that matter, is it possible that Jesus performed this heavenly ceremony that morning in addition to performing the other one involving His blood?

While all of this certainly makes for fascinating conjecture, we need to acknowledge that there are some logical objections to this entire line of interpretation. So, let’s consider a few of those before we run off too far into fanciful interpretations of scripture. I’ll name three of those objections even though I’ll admit that others could be added to the list.

Objection #1: Many experts in the Greek language contend that the original Greek of John 20:17 conveys the idea that Mary Magdalene was already touching Jesus (clinging to Him) when He spoke the words in question. This contention is based upon the fact that the present imperative tense of the verb is used. If this is a correct assessment what Jesus wanted from Mary Magdalene was a ceasing of what she was already doing. Needless to say, if Mary Magdalene was already clinging to Jesus or even touching Him at all, that doesn’t align with the idea that He needed to remain untouched and ceremonially pure because He was about to ascend into heaven to perform some type of ceremony in heaven’s sanctuary.

Objection #2: Even if Jesus did at some point perform either one or both of those ceremonies in heaven, there is nothing to mandate that it all happened that resurrection morning in the brief amount of time between His appearance to Mary Magdalene and His appearance to that group of women. The fact is, He could have performed one or both ceremonies after His Acts 1:1-11 ascension.

Objection #3: By consulting all four of the gospels to develop a chronology of the events of that resurrection morning, we find that the conversation Jesus had with Mary Magdalene didn’t take place until a lot of other things had happened that morning. By the time the conversation occurred, an angel had removed the stone from Christ’s tomb and had caused the men guarding the tomb to flee (Matthew 28:1-15), that group of women of which Mary Magdalene was originally a member had arrived at the tomb site (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1-3; Luke 24:1,10; John 20:1), Mary Magdalene had left the group to go tell Peter and John that Christ’s body wasn’t in the tomb (John 20:1-2), the group of women had been informed by two angels that Jesus had arisen (Matthew 28:5-7; Mark 16:4-7; Luke 24:3-8), Peter and John had visited the site (John 20:3-10), and Mary Magdalene herself had made it back to the site (John 20:11-18). You see, in light of this chronology a fair question to ask is, “If Jesus needed to ascend to heaven that morning to perform some type of High Priestly ceremony there, why did He wait so long to do it? Why didn’t He do it immediately as soon as He resurrected?”

Obviously, just as there are plausible arguments to be made that Jesus ascended that morning so that He could do something in heaven, there are equally plausible arguments to be made that He didn’t. As for where I find myself in all of this, as of this writing — and I could change my mind at a later date — I fall by a slim margin on the side of the interpretation that He did ascend that morning and perform either one or both of those heavenly ceremonies I’ve mentioned. My reasons for coming down on this side of the debate are varied, and I’ll cite them as the close to this post. As you read them keep in mind that I’m just one student of the Bible in a long line of them who have come to John 20:17 and tried to accurately understand it. The debate about the passage won’t be settled by any of us anytime in this life, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t try to get the interpretation right.

  • As evidenced by many of those other stories in which the Greek wording haptomai (haptou) is used, the wording genuinely can mean “touch” rather than “cling to” or “hold.” Putting it simply, “Touch me not” is a perfectly acceptable translation, not a plainly wrong one.
  • In order to make Christ’s command to Mary Magdalene mean “Stop clinging to Me” or “Don’t hold Me,” an assumption must be made that she was already in the process of clinging to Him or holding to Him. This is a leap all those who disagree with “Touch me not” are willing to make, but the reality is that the story itself makes no mention of Mary Magdalene embracing Jesus, hugging Him, throwing herself into His arms, etc. That scriptural silence leaves us to build a scenario around nothing more than an implication, and that is never an ideal way to interpret the Bible.
  • The fact that the morning in question was the morning of the day after the Sabbath following the Feast of Unleavened Bread really does fit in perfectly with the idea of Jesus wanting to perform that heavenly ceremony involving the sheaf.
  • Jesus saying, “I am ascending…” rather than, “I will ascend…” seems significant to me. While I can’t answer why He chose that very moment to ascend, the text says what it says and I favor applying it literally rather than projecting it to be a reference to the ascension 40 days later.

Posted in Christ's Resurrection, Easter, Heaven, Resurrection, The Ark of the Covenant | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

They Should Have Known

Posted on March 30, 2026 by russellmckinney

Consider the following passages (all from the N.K.J.V., emphasis mine):

  • From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. (Matthew 16:21)
  • Now as they came down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.” (Matthew 17:9)
  • Now while they were staying in Galilee. Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.” And they were all exceedingly sorrowful. (Matthew 17:22-23)
  • Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.” (Matthew 20:17-19)
  • Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee” (Matthew 26:31-32)
  • And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He spoke this word openly…. (Mark 8:31-32)
  • Then they departed from there and passed through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know it. For He taught His disciples and said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day.” (Mark 9:30-31)
  • And He strictly warned and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.” (Luke 9:21-22)
  • Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.” (Luke 18:31-33)
  • Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19)

As we read these passages, it’s hard to understand why the apostles didn’t expect Jesus to resurrect. Even if they didn’t believe His predictions when they first heard them, shouldn’t they have expected Him to rise again once they knew He had been betrayed, arrested, condemned, scourged, and crucified? I mean, once everything else He had predicted had come to pass right on schedule, the only item left on the “to do” list was to rise again on the third day.

It’s not that I can’t understand why none of the apostles were camped out at Christ’s tomb awaiting His resurrection. After all, they were living in fear of being arrested and crucified themselves and weren’t about to be where any Roman soldiers were. But how was it possible that even when they heard that Christ’s tomb was empty, they still didn’t believe He could have resurrected?

According to Luke 24:11, the words of the women “seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them.” You see, Peter and John, upon hearing the women’s report, didn’t say, “He must have arisen; let’s go find Him.” Instead, they ran out to the tomb in an attempt to figure out what had happened (John 20:1-9). Checking out the scene is not the same thing as believing.

Later that day, when the resurrected Jesus appeared to the apostles, the group was terrified and thought they were seeing a ghost. It wasn’t until Jesus showed them His hands and feet and ate with them that they believed it was actually Him (Luke 24:36-43). Unfortunately for Thomas, he wasn’t present for that appearance, but when he heard about it, he said, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe” (John 20:25). As we know, Jesus obliged him a week later (John 20:26-29), but Thomas’ attitude certainly characterized the fundamental unbelief all the apostles had concerning Christ’s promise to rise again.

What makes their unbelief all the worse is the fact that even Christ’s enemies understood that He had promised to resurrect. As a matter of fact, the chief priests and Pharisees went to Pontius Pilate and asked that guards be placed at the tomb until the third day had passed (Matthew 27:62-66). Even though these religious leaders didn’t believe that Jesus would resurrect, they remembered that He had said, “After three days I will rise” (Matthew 27:63) and were suspicious that some of His disciples would steal the body and tell everybody that He had arisen. Isn’t it interesting (and sad) that those Jewish religious leaders remembered Christ’s promise to resurrect but His disciples forgot it?

I really can’t say why the apostles had so much trouble believing that Jesus would resurrect. But their unbelief surely arrived early and stayed late. In Mark’s gospel, the first time Jesus tells them He is going to be killed and rise again three days later, Peter immediately rebukes Him for saying such a thing (Mark 8:31-32). Jesus, in turn, rebukes Peter by saying, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men” (Mark 8:33).

You would think that hearing Peter called “Satan” would have alerted the apostles that Jesus was serious when He said He was going to be put to death and rise again, but just one chapter later (Mark 9:31), when He tells them again, they still can’t buy it. Mark 9:32 tells us they didn’t understand Christ’s words but were afraid to ask Him for clarification. No doubt they didn’t want to be called “Satan” like Peter had been when he had disputed Jesus on the same subject matter.

In the end, of course, all the apostles (except Judas Iscariot) not only believed that Jesus had arisen but went out and changed the world with that truth. We are left to wonder, though, what would have become of them if they hadn’t been able to literally see the risen, glorified Jesus with their eyes. You and I have never had that privilege, have we? And yet, we are called to believe every bit as much as they were. While that can be too tall an order for some people, for those of us who have stepped out in faith and believed in not only the resurrection of Christ but, more importantly, the resurrected Christ, we know that our belief is well placed because Jesus fellowships with us each day, not just Easter Sunday.

Posted in Belief, Christ's Death, Christ's Resurrection, Doubt, Easter, Resurrection, Salvation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Are You Sure You’re a Soldier?

Posted on March 27, 2026 by russellmckinney

An elderly gentleman found himself seated next to a young man who was dressed rather sloppily. The elderly gentleman struck up a conversation to pass the time. After exchanging names and pleasant greetings, he asked the young man, “Son, what do you do?” The young man answered, “I’m a soldier in the United States army.”

That answer surprised the gentleman, and he said, “Sorry, I didn’t know because you aren’t wearing your uniform right now.” The young man said, “Oh, I don’t have a uniform.” “Come now,” said the gentleman, “every soldier has a uniform.” “Not me,” said the young man, “I just wear what I want to wear.”

The old man chuckled and said, “Well, I guess you didn’t read the training manual about how a soldier has to wear his uniform.” To that, the young man said, “No, that book never did interest me. My fellow soldiers are always talking about it, but I haven’t read any of it.”

The old man asked, “Can you at least tell me where your base is?” “I don’t have a base,” answered the young man. Then he added, “My fellow soldiers have begged me to show up at base, but I’ve always got something else to do.”

At this point the elderly gentleman only had one card left to play to try to make any sense of the conversation. So, he said to the young man, “Well, I guess if your commander tells you that it’s okay for you to dress in civilian clothes, ignore your training manual, and spend all your time off base, he must have his reasons.” But to that the young man replied, “I wouldn’t know what my commander thinks. He and I never talk.”

Now the old man was thoroughly confused. He laughed and said, “Boy, they are certainly training soldiers differently these days. I’d sure hate to have to depend on you in a fight.” Even though the old man meant that as a criticism, the assessment didn’t seem to affect the young man one way or the other. His answer, given in a very matter-of-fact tone, was, “You don’t have to worry about it because I’m not about to do any fighting anyway. If I did, I might get hurt.”

That answer was the last straw for the elderly gentleman’s tolerance as he had heard all he cared to hear. He leaned up in his seat, looked the young man squarely in the eyes, and rebuked him by saying, “You say you’re a soldier in the United States army, but you dress just like the rest of the world, never read the soldier’s manual, never show up at your base, never talk with your commander, and have no interesting in fighting for your country. Son, you might think you are a solider, but I assure you, you aren’t one.”

Perhaps by now you’ve figured out where I’m going with this illustration. The Bible tells us in 2 Timothy 2:3-4 that the Christian is a soldier in Jesus Christ’s army. And yet, many people who claim to be Christians don’t look a bit different from the world, don’t read the Bible, don’t attend church, don’t pray, and never strike a blow for Christ’s cause. How, then, can we take their supposed Christianity seriously? The best we can do is say that if these people are indeed soldiers in Christ’s army, they are poor ones who aren’t prepared for spiritual battle, and even if they were prepared, they have no interest in fighting anyway.

Posted in Backsliding, Bible Study, Disobedience, Dress and Appearance, Faithfulness, God's Will, God's Word, God's Work, Obedience, Personal Holiness, Rebellion, Sacrifice, Salvation, Sanctification, Scripture, Separation, Service, Spiritual Warfare, The Bible | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

It’s Not Enough Just to Start

Posted on March 25, 2026 by russellmckinney

A retired couple were advised by their doctor to get more exercise. So, they decided to start walking two miles a day. Since they lived at the end of a long road in a rural area, they planned to daily walk down the road one mile and then turn around and walk back home.

On the first day, they headed out of the house and made it to the one-mile mark. Now it was time to turn around for the other mile. The husband asked the wife, “Can you make it back, or are you too tired?” The wife answered, “Oh, I’m fine. I can make it back without any problem.” The husband said, “Good, I’ll wait here while you go get the car and come get me.”

Have you ever heard the saying, “He’s great out of the gate but not much for stamina”? Unfortunately, that saying can be applied to a lot of Christians. They start out to pray more, but their prayer times reduce back to average after just a few days. They commit themselves to reading the Bible in a year, but they get bogged down somewhere in Leviticus and give up on the goal. They promise God they will better their church attendance, but after a month or so their spike in attendance vanishes. They dedicate themselves to contributing more money to God’s work, but that dedication ends up being no match for the first unexpected bill. What can we say about such Christians? They are great out of the gate but not much for stamina.

In 2 Thessalonians 3:13, we are told, “But as for you brethren, do not grow weary in doing good” (N.K.J.V.). As you consider this verse, think about your own life. How many starts and stops do you have on your record with God? Also, ask yourself one major question: “Have I stopped something that God didn’t want me to stop?” And if you find yourself answering, “Yes” to that question, then get back to the starting blocks and begin again with God, this time working harder at persevering.

Posted in Adversity, Backsliding, Bible Study, Church Attendance, Commitment, Doing Good, Faithfulness, Giving, God's Work, Marriage, Perseverance, Personal Holiness, Prayer, Service | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Lies & Dishonest Scales

Posted on March 23, 2026 by russellmckinney

Two college boys foolishly spent the week before their final Physics exam drinking and partying at their off-campus apartment. They didn’t sober up until the morning of the exam, and that’s when it dawned on them how much trouble they were in for not studying. So, they cooked up a lie to tell their professor. They would miss the exam completely, show up two hours later as he was in the middle of another class, tell him they’d been delayed by a flat tire on the way to the exam, and ask if they could take the test sometime the next day.

The professor listened to their story and agreed to let them take the test the next morning at 8:00 a.m. sharp. Pleased with themselves for having gotten away with their deception, the boys raced back to their apartment and began cramming for the exam. By dawn of the next morning they were ready.

When the boys arrived at the professor’s classroom, he kept one of them in the classroom and sent the other one to the room next door. As each boy sat down in his assigned seat, he opened the test pamphlet and was surprised to find that the test consisted of only two questions. Question #1 read: “For 5 points, what are the contents of an atom?” Each boy was amused at the simplicity of the question and smugly wrote down: “proton, neutron, and electron.” Then came question #2: “For 95 points, which one of your car’s four tires went flat yesterday?”

A similar story comes from the world of a big-city butcher. A woman came into his shop and asked to buy a chicken. The butcher promptly went to the back and located the chicken he knew was the only one he had left. He brought it out to the counter, placed it onto the scales, and said to the lady, “The weight is five pounds.” The woman thought for a moment and responded, “I want a bigger one.”

The butcher, not wanting to lose a sale, removed the chicken from the scales and said to the woman, “Give me a second while I go in the back and get a bigger one.” Then he took the chicken into the back, waited a little while, and brought it back to the counter. He again placed it onto the scales but this time subtly forced his thumb down onto the scale enough to make the weight total up to seven pounds.” He looked at the woman and said, “This one is seven pounds. Is that big enough?” She said, “Yes. As a matter of fact, I’ll just take both.”

There are many Bible verses that speak to the issue of honesty. The book of Proverbs, in particular, provides numerous ones. Here are two that specifically pertain to the two stories you just read:

Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, But those who deal truthfully are His delight. (Proverbs 12:22, N.K.J.V.)

Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord, But a just weight is His delight. (Proverbs 11:1, N.K.J.V.)

Isn’t it interesting that each of these verses uses the word “abomination”? Lying is an abomination of the Lord and so are dishonest scales. Lying applies to our conduct in personal matters, and dishonest scales applies to our conduct in business matters. God keeps a close eye on us in both realms, and we should conduct ourselves accordingly.

Posted in Business, Character, Communication, Conscience, Deception, Depravity, Doing Good, Honesty, Lying, Money, Personal Holiness, Work | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Breaking Away from Family & Upbringing

Posted on March 20, 2026 by russellmckinney

If you are a Christian who was born into a “Christian” household, let me ask you a question: If you had been born into a household that was not “Christian,” would you have still believed in Jesus Christ at some point and thereby gotten saved?

Let me get even more specific. If you had been born into a Jewish household, can you say with certainty that you would have converted from Judaism to Christianity at some point? If you had been born into a Muslim household, can you say with certainty that you would have converted from Islam to Christianity at some point? If you had been born into a Hindu household, can you say with certainty that you would have converted from Hinduism to Christianity at some point? If you had been born into a Buddhist household, can you say with certainty that you would have converted from Buddhism to Christianity at some point?

Now let me ask the same sort of question about the different denominations of Christianity. If you are a Southern Baptist — and by that, I mean that your denomination is the Southern Baptist Convention, not just that you are a Baptist who lives in the south — are you a Southern Baptist by choice or by family tradition? If you are an Independent Baptist, are you that by choice or by family tradition? If you are a Freewill Baptist, are you that by choice or by family tradition? If you are a Methodist, are you that by choice or by family tradition? If you are a Presbyterian, are you that by choice or by family tradition? If you are a Pentecostal, are you that by choice or by family tradition? If you are a Charismatic, are you that by choice or by family tradition? If you are a Lutheran, are you that by choice or by family tradition? If you are Church of Christ, are you that by choice or by family tradition?

The fact is that one’s background can be a very, very hard thing from which to break clear. This is especially true in cases where the individual looks back with fondness upon his or her upbringing. I once had a fellow who had been brought up in a certain denomination, one that has some doctrines and practices with which I differ, attend the church I was pastoring. He came a few Sundays at the urging of his wife and her parents, all of whom hold to the same doctrines I do. This fellow is a great guy and we are still friends to this day, but I’ll never forget what he told me just before he and his wife stopped attending my church and went back to his family church. He said, “Russell, if I accept as the truth everything that you teach, it will mean that my parents have been wrong for years in what they have always believed.” Needless to say, since he loved his parents dearly, that was a bridge he just wasn’t willing to cross.

It took nothing less than a personal visit from Jesus to get the scandalous Samaritan woman to understand that her Samaritan religion was in error and that she needed to believe in Jesus, a Jew, as Savior (John 4:4-42). It took nothing less than a physical encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road to get Saul of Tarsus to lay aside his Jewish upbringing and believe in Jesus as Savior (Acts 9:1-19). It took nothing less than a divine vision from heaven to get Peter to step outside the walls of his Jewish upbringing and come to the knowledge that Gentiles can get in on the same salvation that God offers to Jews (Acts 10:1-48). Each of these stories can be cited as evidence that breaking clear from your religious upbringing and background doesn’t happen easily.

Reading these stories should make us appreciate Abraham (whose original name was Abram) all the more. There he was in the city of Ur in the land of Chaldea, minding his own business, married to Sarah (whose original name was Sarai), living his life, worshiping the same false idols his father Terah worshiped (Joshua 24:2). Then one day God said to him, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you” (Genesis 12:1, N.I.V.).

Did Abraham hear a voice or did He have some type of vision? The Bible doesn’t give us the details. Either way, though, can you imagine God speaking to you right now and saying, “I want you to leave behind everything that you know and everybody that you know (except for your spouse and your children), and I want you to follow My voice as I lead you to a completely new land, a completely new way of life, and a completely new religion?” I wonder, would you be willing to do it?

Actually, even Abraham’s obedience wasn’t perfect. Whereas God wanted him to leave behind his father and the rest of his family (except for Sarah), Abraham took along not only Terah (his father) but also Lot (his nephew). As a matter of fact, the way Genesis 11:31 reads Terah was actually the ramrod of the operation. That verse says:

And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. (N.K.J.V.)

Notice two things about this verse. First, notice that Terah, not Abraham, is the dominant character in the verse. Did Terah horn his way into God’s unique call upon Abraham’s life? Maybe, but it’s likely that Abraham didn’t mind having his father and his nephew along for his trip into the unknown. Second, notice that the whole operation ended up settling down in Haran, which was only about the halfway point between Ur and Canaan, the land where God ultimately wanted Abraham. Evidently, Terah liked it in Haran and decided the family had traveled far enough. They even acquired some servants there in Haran (Genesis 12:5).

It wasn’t until Terah died in Haran that Abraham, Sarah, Lot, and those servants pulled up stakes from there and pressed on for the land of Canaan (Genesis 11:32; 12:4-5; Acts 7:4). Commentators believe that Abraham spent several wasted years in Haran. You see, this is the damage that can be done by the powerful pull of family, especially the pull of parents, especially the pull of fathers. We are even left to wonder if Abraham would ever have made it to his God-given land of Canaan if Terah had lived much longer. Remember, neither Terah nor Lot were even supposed to be along on the journey!

What I’m trying to show you in all this is that family and upbringing can be powerful dams that prevent God’s river from flowing in your life. Putting it another way, Satan can use your background against you to keep you from living out God’s will for your life. Certainly, this holds true in regards to salvation itself, but it also holds true in regards to what we might call the various “stations” of your life. By “stations” I mean: where you live, where you work, which school you attend, which church you attend, which political affiliations you hold, etc.

I guess what I’m asking you is, “Are you really your own person or is your life dominated by your raising?” I’m not suggesting that God wants everybody to forsake family and friends in order to head off into the wild blue yonder with Him. But what I am suggesting is that each of us needs to be enough of a “free agent” that we can mind God completely no matter how radical His will for our life gets. Think of it this way: If God has a Canaan in mind for you, you will never know His best if you either stay in your Ur or settle for a Haran. And if you reaching that Canaan requires you to break away from your family and your upbringing, then so be it. Putting it simply, it’s a price worth paying.

Posted in Change, Children, Choices, Church, Church Attendance, Commitment, Courage, Decisions, Desires, Discernment, Dying To Self, Faith, Faithfulness, Family, Fatherhood, Fear, God's Guidance, God's Will, God's Work, Husbands, Individuality, Obedience, Parenting, Salvation, Service, Submission, Trusting In God, Wives, Work | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments