The Disciple's Road

Is God Good All the Time? (post 3 of 3)

Posted on July 12, 2024 by russellmckinney

“The Lord is good to all…” Psalm 145:9

“…No one is good but One, that is, God…” Matthew 19:17

With this post I’ll finish up my series “Is God Good All the Time?” In the first post, I explained why the title question is a reasonable one. In the second, I listed five facts that lay the foundation for a Biblical answer to the question. Now, with this third post I’ll use post #2 to interpret post #1. I’ll do this by taking those instances of “bad” I named in post #1 and filtering them through those five facts from post #2.

As I wade into this, I quickly find that the combination of fact #3 and #4 provide the explanation for the majority of the examples of “bad.” By way of reminder, fact #3 was God shouldn’t be blamed for “bad” caused by man and fact #4 was God shouldn’t be blamed for “bad” caused by Satan. Obviously, between the sinful deeds of people and the destructive work of Satan and his fellow fallen angels, there is a whole lot of “bad” being churned out that has nothing to do with God.

So, from my list of things in post #1, we shouldn’t blame God for:

the Holocaust
the deaths caused by wars He didn’t sanction
terrorist acts
murders
rapes
acts of sexual molestation
acts of adultery
abortions
divorces
any instances of injustice large or small
world hunger (there is enough food to feed everybody if mankind managed it properly)
undiscerning judges and juries
any struggles I might have had in the ministry
the tight finances Tonya and I have sometimes faced

Just because God doesn’t overrule the moral freewill of nations or individuals, even when that freewill is being used wrongly, that doesn’t make Him responsible for those sins or the consequences produced by them. And, for the record, the same thing applies to attempts to blame Him for the actions of Satan and the other fallen angels. How would you like to get blamed for something you didn’t do?

Okay, so fact #3 and fact #4 working together explain most of the examples of “bad” from post #1. Got it. But what about those examples in which God either commanded the nation of Israel to kill people or did the killing Himself? Well, those deaths all fall under the heading of fact #5, which was God can’t truly be “good” if He doesn’t deal with “bad.” To see this, let’s retrace that list:

The millions of people whom God killed by way of the great flood were exceedingly sinful. Genesis 6:5 says that mankind’s wickedness was great in the earth, so great that, “…every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (N.K.J.V., emphasis mine). You talk about strong language! Come on now, who could expect a holy God to sit up in heaven and take all that without eventually dealing with it? To God’s credit, He gave the human race 120 years to repent (Genesis 6:3) while Noah worked on the ark as a public object lesson and preached the coming judgment (2 Peter 2:4-5). Someone asks, “But what about all the babies, infants, and small children who drowned in the flood?” The answer is: The Bible teaches that the souls of children who die before reaching what we call “the age of accountability” go to the same place as the “saved” in the afterlife (2 Samuel 12:22-23). This includes miscarried babies, aborted babies, and all other children who die before reaching an age where they can mentally understand their sinful condition and their need for salvation. It also includes children who die in worldwide floods.
The citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah were a wicked, sexually perverse people. God described Sodom’s sin as “grave” and said the outcry against its citizens was “great” (Genesis 18:20). The situation was so bad that He couldn’t even find ten righteous people there (Genesis 18:23-33). Sodom was marked by pride, gluttony, laziness, and a lack of concern for the poor and needy (Ezekiel 16:49), not to mention the city’s trademark sin of homosexuality (Genesis 19:1-11). The Bible describes Sodom’s homosexuality as “abomination” (Ezekiel 16:50), “sexual immorality” (Jude v.7), and going after “strange flesh” (Jude v.7). Furthermore, homosexuality also ran rampant in Gomorrah and the other cities that surrounded Sodom (Jude v.7). So, again, how could a holy God who loves “good” do nothing as all that sin and perversion played itself out each and every day? He couldn’t, and He didn’t. Just as in the great flood, though, the souls of the children under the age of accountability went into a blissful afterlife.
The Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizittes, Hivites, Jebusites, and Girgashites were sinful, idolatrous races who flaunted their idolatry and their evil ways before God for many centuries. Actually, by the time God gave Israel the command to wipe out these races, their sins had reached a full measure of completeness (Genesis 15:16). These races were all built around false religions that featured bizarre worship practices such as ritual prostitution (Deuteronomy 23:17-18) and infant sacrifices to the false god Molech (Leviticus 18:21; 20:1-5). To God’s credit, He gave these people an extra 400 years — the 400 years in which the Israelites were slaves in Egypt — to repent of their sins and serve Him (Genesis 15:16). But they never repented. Instead, they continued to teach their children how to perpetuate their ungodliness. Therefore, at some point, God in His holiness just had to deal with all the ‘bad” that was going on in Canaan. He even made it clear to Israel that those races’ prolific sinfulness was the reason for Him using Israel’s army to pour out His judgment upon them (Deuteronomy 9:4; 18:9-12; Leviticus 18:24-28). And, one more time, the good news is that the souls of all the children under the age of accountability ended up with the Lord.
All those laws that God expected Israel to live by in Old Testament days were commands, not mere suggestions. And, yes, those laws did include many death-penalty offenses. God’s recurring theme of justification for the death penalty was, “So you shall put away the evil from Israel” (Deuteronomy 13:5; 17:7; 17:12; 19:19; 21:21; 22:21; 22:24; 24:7). If Israel had kept that body of law rightly and dutifully carried out the varying punishments prescribed by it, including the ones involving capital punishment, the nation as a whole would have been well served. For example, if a proven murderer had been legally and publicly executed, who could have predicted how many other lives that one death might actually have saved? Obviously, it would have saved the lives of any other victims that murderer would have killed in the future, but it also might have saved even more lives by throwing a scare into other budding murderers (Deuteronomy 19:20). You see, when you understand how the Old Testament law was designed to function, you realize what a tremendous template for “good” it was. You also realize that God shouldn’t be blamed for any deaths produced by it being broken.
The citizens of Jericho can be lumped into the same group as all those other “ites” who called Canaan home, and God’s judgment upon those citizens of Jericho was justified for the same reasons. Why are we always so surprised when holy God comes down hard on unholiness? Also, here again the age of accountability applies to Jericho’s children.
The Amalekites were an immoral, murderous people who were a special thorn in Israel’s side. As Israel was making its way toward Canaan under the leadership of Moses, the Amalekites launched an unprovoked attack upon them. At the time of the attack, Israel didn’t even have an organized army. Not surprisingly, God didn’t take kindly to that sneak attack and swore to wage war against the Amalekites “from generation to generation” (Exodus 17:16). Later on, His command for Saul to kill all the Amalekites, including the infants and nursing children, was a part of that war. So, putting it simply, God didn’t pick a fight with the Amalekites until they picked a fight with Him. And as for the infants and nursing children, see my previous comments.

Alright, at this point my list of examples from post #1 is getting seriously whittled down in terms of assessing blame for them. But now let’s tackle another one from the list. Isn’t it “bad” on God’s part that lost unbelievers will first be sentenced to the “hell” that is Hades and will ultimately spend eternity in the “hell” that is Gehenna (Luke 17:19-31; Matthew 10:28; Mark 9:47-48)? Well, here again the explanation stems from fact #5: God can’t truly be “good” if He doesn’t deal with “bad.”

Throughout all history God has granted individual salvation on the basis of individual belief (faith) in Him. In the Old Testament era, believers such as Abraham and David were saved by placing their belief in the one true God (Romans 4:1-8), even though they had a somewhat limited understanding of Him in comparison to the one we have today. Later on, in the New Testament era, God revealed Himself more fully in the person of Jesus Christ, which meant that salvation then came by way of individuals placing their belief (faith) in Jesus (John 3:16-18; Acts 4:8-12).

The point is that in either era God had a way of salvation in play, and that way was always centered in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Just as Christians now look back to Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, Old Testament believers looked forward to it in confident expectation of the Messiah who was prophesied to come (Genesis 3:15). So, from God’s viewpoint He has provided the human race with everything necessary for salvation and He wants everybody to get saved (2 Peter 3:9).

Sadly, though, the majority of people do not take advantage of God’s way of salvation. (Matthew 7:13-14). This leaves God no choice but to punish these unforgiven sinners. Someone asks, “But what about God’s love?” Unfortunately, that isn’t the relevant question because God’s love isn’t the issue. The issue is His holiness, and even His great love cannot override His holiness. Think of it this way: People go to hell unsaved, not unloved.

“But,” someone else asks, “what about all the people who die without ever having a chance to hear about Jesus?” The answer to that is found in Romans 1:20, which teaches that creation itself conveys the existence of an intelligent, all-powerful Creator God. Individuals living in every corner of the world can choose to either embrace what creation is conveying and seek out the truth concerning this Creator God or ignore the lesson and ignore the God. If a person responds rightly to what revelation he or she gleans about God from creation, God will somehow orchestrate circumstances to make it possible for that person to hear the story of Jesus (Acts 17:26-27). Biblical examples of God sending sincere “seekers” the evangelistic help they need are found in Acts 8:26-40 and Acts 10:1-48.

You say, “Alright, but what about the deaths of all those soldiers Jesus is going to kill at the Battle of Armageddon (Revelation 19:11-21)? How can they be explained in light of God being good all the time?” Perhaps you’ve guessed by now that those deaths also fit under the category of fact #5: God can’t truly be “good” if He doesn’t deal with “bad.”

Trust me, Jesus returning to walk this earth again and reign over it for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:1-6) is a good thing. This return will take place to close out the seven-year tribulation period that is prophesied to come upon this world. But when Jesus returns will He receive a King’s welcome? No.

Instead, His first order of business will be to make the short walk to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives (which according to Acts 1:9-12 is the site to which He will return). At that time, Jerusalem will be inundated by enemy soldiers who are waging war against the citizens of the city. But Jesus will inflict a fatal plague upon all of those soldiers and in so doing save the people of Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:1-15).

Next, He will make His way to Megiddo (Revelation 16:16). There the soldiers of the armies of the world will be gathered for what has come to be known as the Battle of Armageddon. These armies will think they are there to fight either Israel, each other, or both, but in reality, Satan will have them there to try to accomplish a far loftier goal.

That goal will be to prevent Jesus from establishing His reign upon the earth (Revelation 16:12-16; 19:19). As for the soldiers themselves as individuals, despite the fact that the gospel will be preached throughout the whole world during the tribulation period (Matthew 24:14; Revelation 7:1-8; Revelation 14:6) each of them will have rejected Jesus and chosen instead to take the Antichrist’s “mark of the beast” (Revelation 13:16-18). This means that when these soldiers see Jesus interjecting Himself into the Battle of Armageddon, rather than fall down before Him and worship Him, they will wage war against Him in their attempt to stop Him from establishing His earthly reign. Their attempt will be futile, however, as Jesus will merely speak the word and slay them all (Revelation 19:21). Nevertheless, the attempt itself will serve as evidence that Jesus will be perfectly within His rights to do this killing. After all, He’s trying to do something good (reign upon the earth) and they are trying to prevent it.

But now, at last, all this brings us to the final grouping of examples from post #1, and these are the ones that can’t be so easily explained by any of the five facts from post #2. From my own personal list of examples, these would include our two miscarriages, the unexpected death of Tonya’s dad (Charles), and the medical issues that Tonya and I have been inflicted with from time to time. Likewise, from post #1’s list of examples from around the world, I would group the millions of deaths caused by the Black Plague in Europe into this same category.

While it’s true that Satan does have a limited ability to affect the medical realm (Job 2:7; Luke 13:16), I’m not prepared to lay all the blame on him for all these hard-to-understand happenings. To paraphrase pastor E.V. Hill as he was preaching the funeral of his wife, “If we give Satan the power to decide who lives and who dies all of us will be gone before nightfall.” Admittedly, that statement is probably an exaggeration, but you get the point. So, I don’t blame Satan for the two miscarriages, Charles’ death, all our ailments, or the millions of deaths from the Black Plague. Furthermore, I can’t explain away these things as God somehow dealing with “bad” either.

Consequently, I’m left with the question, “In light of God’s goodness, what do I make of these happenings?” What I make of them is that even though my finite mind can’t see God’s goodness in these things, I know enough about His nature, character, promises, mercy, grace, and LOVE to know that the goodness is in there somewhere. This is not me “spinning” God (as I talked about in post #1). Instead, it’s me giving someone I know very well the benefit of the doubt even when I don’t have a clue what He’s doing. I love Abraham’s question to God in Genesis 18:25. He asks, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” I also like Deuteronomy 32:4 where Moses says of God:

“He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.” (N.K.J.V.)

Coming at the issue another way, I’m not so arrogant as to think that I, someone who can’t even do higher math and has trouble working a smart phone, can figure out God’s ways. In Romans 11:33, Paul says that God’s judgments are “unsearchable” and His ways are “past finding out.” Along the same lines, in Isaiah 55:8-9, we read:

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.” (N.K.J.V.)

These passages let me know that God isn’t sitting up in heaven quaking in His boots, saying, “Oh no, I’ve done something that Russell can’t understand. I’d better explain it to Him.” Frankly, if I could match God mentally and beat Him at chess, He wouldn’t be much of a God, would He?

And so, in the end, I’m left with two very important conclusions. Conclusion #1: I know that I can take the Bible and offer logical explanations for the majority of “bad” that goes on in this world. (That’s what I’ve done with this post.) And then Conclusion #2: I know enough about God to give His goodness the benefit of the doubt in the remaining minority percentage of occurrences that on the surface appear to be void of that goodness.

You see, folks, sometimes we just have to let God be God and trust that He will always do the truest, purest, most impacting, and long-reaching version of “good” even if His actions don’t appear that way to us. Is such a mindset particularly satisfying to our human egos? No, it isn’t. But is it a mindset that will allow us to forge ahead with God in exceedingly difficult and confusing times when we don’t know what just hit us? Yes, it is.

Somewhere in my files I have a quote from an old preacher who once said of God, “Even when I can’t track Him, I can trust Him.” I’ve got that quote on my mind as I write the close to this series because I think that simple line encapsulates the one lesson I want you to claim from everything I’ve said in these posts: Even when you can’t track God, you can trust Him. You take this simple lesson and cling tightly to it anytime something “bad” happens that you can’t explain. Just put your trust in God and know that somehow, someway, somewhere, in His timing, in His plan, and in His will, the Judge of all the earth will do right and His goodness will be displayed in the doing of it.

Posted in Abortion, Adultery, Adversity, Belief, Capital Punishment, Christ's Second Coming, Christ's Return, Coming Judgment, Death, Depravity, Faith, God's Chastening, God's Holiness, God's Love, God's Omnipotence, God's Timing, God's Wrath, God's Judgment, God's Sovereignty, God's Will, Hell, Homosexuality, Justice, Prophecy, Rebellion, Salvation, Satan, Series: "Is God Good All the Time?", Sin, Spiritual Warfare, Suffering, The Death Penalty, The Devil, Trusting In God, War | Tagged even when I can't track Him I can trust Him, God works in mysterious ways, Is God good all the time?, shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? | Leave a comment

Is God Good All the Time? (post 2 of 3)

Posted on July 10, 2024 by russellmckinney

“Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good…” Genesis 1:31 (N.K.J.V.)

“Every good gift, and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father…” James 1:17 (N.K.J.V.)

In 1 Peter 3:15, the Christian is commanded to, “…always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you…” It has been my experience that we Christians are pretty good at this as long as the questions don’t get too tough or come from the wrong people. Please note, though, that the verse says we should be ready to give a defense to everyone.

This means we should have a solid, Biblical answer for any question that comes from anybody. This includes questions that take us out of our comfort zone, hard questions asked by: the atheist, the agnostic, the angry unbeliever, the cynical skeptic, the grieving mother, the bitter father, the disillusioned teenager, the scared, the disappointed, the hurt, the used, the abused, the follower of another religion, the devil worshiper, and anybody else we can think to put on the list.

In my previous post, I explained why I get it when someone asks, “Is God good all the time?” As I noted, scores of events from daily life around the globe, in addition to multiple passages from the Bible itself, are more than enough to validate the question. I also mentioned that we Christians are typically ill-equipped to answer the question. More than being ill-equipped, we can be even downright offended that somebody had the gall to ask such a thing. So, what I want to do with this post is take the Bible and lay the foundation for a reasonable answer to what I believe is a reasonable question. To do this I need to give you five basic facts. Ready? Here we go:

Fact #1: Mankind is sinful.

It is human nature to be quick to cast aspersions about God, but the truth is that the human race is a race of sinners from whom “bad” flows as naturally as breathing. When Adam sinned in Eden, he took all of his descendants down to a low level in terms of conduct, and there isn’t one corner of earthly life that mankind’s sinful conduct doesn’t mar and scar. If you want to know what humans are like apart from God’s influence, read Romans 3:10-18. These verses, which are really just a compilation of quotes lifted from the Old Testament, offer the Bible’s most vivid description of the depravity of our race. They say:

Fact #2: God is holy.

As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.” “Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit”; “The poison of asps is under their lips”; “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; And the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (N.K.J.V.)

Imagine a brand-new sheet fresh out of the package. The sheet is blindingly white, spotless, and without blemish. Think of that sheet as God. Now imagine another white sheet that is ruined by large swaths of black tar and various other kinds of stains. Think of that sheet as the human race. Now, in your mind’s eye, place the two sheets alongside each other and see the contrast. This mental object lesson can help you understand the incalculable difference between sinful mankind and holy God. There are dozens of Bible verses that speak of God’s holiness, but Revelation 4:8 is a good one. In describing a heavenly worship scene, the verse says:

The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” (N.K.J.V.)

Fact #3: God shouldn’t be blamed for “bad” caused by humans.

If mankind is sinful and God is holy, where does the real problem lie? You guessed it. The problem lies with mankind.

A terrorist detonates a bomb that kills ten people. Did God detonate that bomb and kill those people? Nope. A drunk driver runs over a girl riding her bicycle and kills her. Did God drink that booze and kill that girl? Nope. A spouse ends a marriage by having an affair. Did God recommend that affair and cause that divorce? Nope. Two rival nations engage in a war in which thousands of soldiers and civilians are killed on both sides. Did God cause that war and all those deaths? Nope.

You see, even though God is all-powerful, He won’t overrule actions we take as free moral agents. If He was going to be in that business He would have charged in and stopped Eve from eating the forbidden fruit. When He didn’t do that He put the human race on notice that He wasn’t going to play the role of “safety switch” or “emergency shutdown” for us.

Putting it another way, God allows a myriad of “bad” things to happen that He doesn’t cause. The old line is, “God doesn’t want robots who have to serve Him.” Another one is, “God wants volunteers not draftees.” The fact that God gives individuals the choice to serve Him and thereby reap blessings or disobey Him and thereby suffer consequences (even when those consequences adversely affect other people) is wonderfully exhibited in Deuteronomy 30:19-20. There Moses lays out two options for the people of Israel concerning keeping God’s Old Testament law. He says:

“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.” (N.K.J.V.)

Fact #4: God shouldn’t be blamed for “bad” caused by Satan.

Satan is a fallen angel, and the Bible teaches that he has incredible power and influence in our world. He can prevent God’s word from having its intended effect (Mark 4:15). He can tempt (Genesis 3:1). He can put evil plans, intentions, and desires into peoples’ hearts (John 13:2). He can disguise himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). He can lay snares (1 Timothy 3:7). He can blind peoples’ minds (2 Corinthians 4:4). He can hinder plans (1 Thessalonians 2:18). In certain instances, he can even create physical infirmities (Luke 13:16, Job 2:7) and affect the weather (Job 1:12,19).

How powerful and influential is Satan? He’s powerful enough to deceive the whole world (Revelation 12:9) and for Jesus and the apostle Paul to describe him as “the ruler of this world” (John 14:30) and “the god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Satan has led the other fallen angels as they’ve cut a path of destruction across planet earth from pretty much the dawn of history, and that path grows wider each day. So, if you want an explanation for why “bad” things happen don’t forget to check out Satan’s resume. As 1 Peter 5:8 warns us:

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (N.K.J.V.)

Fact #5: God can’t be truly “good” if He doesn’t deal with “bad.”

Do you know someone who has a complex personality? I’m talking about a person who can’t be easily classified, labeled, or described because he doesn’t fit neatly into a pre-fab box. Well, the Bible teaches that God is such a being.

For example, He is loving, merciful, compassionate, patient, longsuffering, and forgiving. We like to hear about that God, don’t we? At the same time, though, He is jealous, just, vengeful, wrath-filled, and judgmental. That kind of God went out of vogue sometime back, right?

My point here is that for God to truly be both all-powerful and “good,” He must by necessity deal with “bad.” Think about it, how can a judge be called “good” if he always lets the criminals get off unscathed? You see, if “bad” is allowed to roll on unchecked “good” doesn’t stand a chance. This is why God can’t merely be a God of mush and gush who is rendered powerless when sinners run amuck and fallen angels hold sway. Instead, He has to be a God who at some point in His timing deals with “bad.” Hebrews 10:26-31 is just one passage of many that could be cited here. Those verses say:

For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (N.K.J.V.)

Okay, now that we have these five facts in place, we can start to filter the “bad” things of our world through them. And that’s the ground I’ll attempt to cover with the final post from this series. Do you remember all those instances of “bad” I named in the first post? Next time I’ll take these five facts and try to fit each of those instances into them. So, until then………

Posted in Adversity, Angels, Backsliding, Choices, Demons, Depravity, Disobedience, God's Chastening, God's Holiness, God's Love, God's Omnipotence, God's Wrath, God's Judgment, God's Sovereignty, Justice, Problems, Rebellion, Satan, Series: "Is God Good All the Time?", Sin, Spiritual Warfare, Temptation, The Devil, War | Tagged 1 Peter 3:15, 1 Peter 5:8, Deuteronomy 30:19-20, Hebrews 10:26-31, Is God good all the time?, Revelation 4:8, Romans 3:10-18 | Leave a comment

Is God Good All the Time? (post 1 of 3)

Posted on July 8, 2024 by russellmckinney

“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good…” Psalm 34:8 (N.K.J.V.)

“You are good, and do good…” Psalm 119:68 (N.K.J.V.)

“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!…” Psalm 107:1 (N.K.J.V.)

Tonya and I had been married approximately one year when she informed me that she was pregnant. To say that I, as a first-time father, was ecstatic would be an understatement. I couldn’t wait to hold our little bundle of joy in my arms. I was serving as the pastor of my first church, Mckinney Cove Baptist, at the time and life was going well. It wasn’t perfect, but it was going well. And the birth of our child was going to take everything to an even better level.

Naturally, we did what young couples do in that situation: We told everybody. As the word got around our area, people were lining up to be happy for us. Our parents, in particular, couldn’t stop beaming. It was all such wonderful stuff.

But then, approximately two months into the pregnancy, Tonya started having some physical problems. Again, we did what young couples do in that situation: We asked people to pray that God would make everything alright with the baby. And, no doubt, scores of prayers were offered up on our behalf.

Even when Tonya’s problems worsened and it became obvious that a miscarriage was likely, one well-meaning Christian lady assured me, “God isn’t going to let anything happen to your baby.” It was only a few hours later, however, that our doctor gave us the official verdict that Tonya had miscarried. That news was then followed by weeks of us having to explain to our uniformed friends and acquaintances that we had lost the baby. Talk about adding insult to injury!

Now fast-forward about a year-and-a-half to June 17th, 1997. There we are, enjoying our newborn son Ryan, who is as healthy as a baby can be, almost twelve pounds worth of health to be exact. The following Monday morning I attend the local pastor’s conference, where during the prayer-request time I thank God that both mother and child are doing fine. I end my words by saying, “God is good,” to which an elderly preacher tacks on the words, “All the time.” Then all the other preachers give either an approving nod or a little chuckle and we move on to the next item of discussion. For me, though, things aren’t quite so simple. I’m sitting there thinking, “If God is good all the time, what happened with our first child?”

Wow, here you were reading a nice safe blog post when all of a sudden things took an unsettling turn, right? I mean, for heaven’s sake, we shouldn’t question whether or not God is good all the time! No, we’re supposed to just forget the miscarried child and focus on the living one. Thinking about that lost one gets too complicated, too tricky, too messy. It hurls us out of our spiritual comfort zone and causes us to question God in ways that bother us. It’s during such times that Christians start to play the “spin” game.

You know how to play the “spin” game, don’t you? Sure you do, you’ve played it multiple times. We play this game anytime we survey what has happened in real life and then “spin” it to where God gets nothing but praise. Has there been a deadly car wreck in which two of the four passengers were killed? “Thank you, God, for protecting the two that lived.” Has a loved one died peacefully in his sleep after a long battle with cancer? “Thank you, God, that You didn’t let him suffer in the end.” Did that loved one suffer terribly in the end? “Thank you, God, that you mercifully ended his life and didn’t let him suffer any longer.” Did a machinist lose a finger in an industrial accident? “Thank you, God, that You saved the other four fingers.” You see, the “spin” game keeps God’s reputation in tact when the simplest, most obvious interpretation of events flies right in the face of that reputation.

Now, I wish I could say that losing our first baby was the only time that Tonya and I have had reason to question God’s goodness. Unfortunately, however, that would be a lie. Among other times, we had reason to question it when:

Tonya suffered a second miscarriage between Ryan’s birth and the birth of Royce (our second-born)
Tonya’s dad died unexpectedly
my ministry wasn’t going well
our finances got tight
either Tonya or myself was stricken with some fairly serious medical ailment
some type of injustice was doled out on our family.

Of course, these are just some instances from our little corner of life. If I wanted to offer a list of historical instances from around the world, that list could pretty much be endless. Among other things, it would include:

the millions of deaths during Europe’s Black Plague era
the millions of Jewish deaths during Hitler’s Holocaust
untold numbers of deaths via untold numbers of wars
the enslavement of millions of people from various races over the course of history
the deaths caused by the 9/11 attacks and other terrorist acts
every wicked politician who ever won an election
every guilty person who ever got away with a crime
every prisoner who ever went to prison because or a judge or a jury got it wrong
every person who was ever murdered by any means
every child who was ever sexually molested
every person who was ever raped
every child who was ever aborted
every poverty-stricken child who ever went to bed hungry
every faithful spouse who ever got cheated on
every person who ever lost their memory due to Alzheimer’s disease or dementia
etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc.

You get the idea. Where was God’s goodness during all of these times? Furthermore, I might add that there are even several Biblical examples of God appearing to act, shall we say, not good:

In Genesis chapter 7, we find the inconvenient little matter of God killing off the entire population of the earth except for Noah and his family.
In Genesis 19:12-29, God has two of His angels kill off the inhabitants of the twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by raining fire and brimstone down upon those cities. That death toll included the children of those cities.
In Deuteronomy 20:16-18, God commands the Israelites to annihilate the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites as a part of Israel claiming the land of Canaan as its own. Likewise, in Deuteronomy 7:1 God includes the Girgashites on that list. Again, the command to wipe out those races included the children as well.
In God’s Old Testament law for Israel, He commands the death penalty for an amazingly lengthy list of specific sins. There are so many of these sins that it’s hard to offer an exhaustive list, but some of them are: idolatry (Deuteronomy 17:2-7), false prophecy (Deuteronomy 13:1-5), blasphemy (Leviticus 20:13-16), breaking the Sabbath (Exodus 31:14), premeditated murder (Exodus 21:12-14), infant sacrifice (Leviticus 20:1-5), occultism (Leviticus 20:6,27), sorcery (Exodus 22:18), adultery (Leviticus 20:10), incest (Leviticus 20:11-12,14,17,19-21), male homosexuality (Leviticus 20:13), bestiality (Leviticus 20:15-16), striking one’s parents (Exodus 21:15), cursing one’s parents (Leviticus 20:9), and rebelling against one’s parents (Deuteronomy 21:18-21).
In Joshua 6:17, God orders the deaths of all the citizens of Jericho except for Rahab and her household.
In 1st Samuel 15:3, God instructs King Saul to attack the Amalekites and kill them all right down to every last man, woman, infant, and nursing child. He even tells Saul to kill Amalek’s oxen, sheep, camels, and donkeys.
In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus warns about a hellish place called Hades in the Greek. It is an afterlife abode where lost souls are tormented by not only physical flame but also mental regret.
In Matthew 10:28 and Mark 9:47-48, Jesus warns about another hellish place called Gehenna in the Greek. Gehenna is nothing less than a lake of fire where one day all of the lost souls that abide in Hades will be transferred (Revelation 20:11-15) to spend eternity in flame and torment.
In Revelation 19:11-21, Jesus returns to walk the earth again and promptly lays waste to all the armies of the world that are gathered at Megiddo for the battle of Armageddon. The birds of the air will feast upon the corpses of all those soldiers.

You see, we Christians have become so accustomed to such passages that they no longer register with us. Truth be told, we’ve built up an immunity to the God of the Bible and all His harsh, brutal, sometimes downright vicious commands and deeds. God kills millions of people in a worldwide flood, but we’ve trained ourselves to focus on the eight He spared. He sentences billions of lost unbelievers, many of whom never even got a chance to hear the name “Jesus,” to a place of fire, torment, and suffering, but all we do is sing His praises for the relative “few” (Matthew 7:13-14) who will spend eternity in perfect bliss with Him. Do you see what I’m saying?

So, Christian, I’m going to ask you to do something for me: Try to deprogram yourself and see the God of the Bible the way unbelievers see Him. If you can do that, you’ll find that the question, “How can God be described as being good all the time?” is a perfectly reasonable one to ask. It’s also one that we Christians aren’t readily prepared to answer. But that’s exactly what I’ll begin to do in my next post. Until then, I encourage you to do some thinking for yourself and see what answer you can formulate. Then check back in with me next time and we’ll compare notes. Until then………………..

Posted in Abortion, Adultery, Adversity, Aging, Bestiality, Capital Punishment, Children, Christ's Second Coming, Christ's Return, Coming Judgment, Death, Disappointment, Elderly, God's Love, God's Judgment, Hell, Homosexuality, Motherhood, Parenting, Persecution, Personal, Problems, Racism, Rebellion, Series: "Is God Good All the Time?", Sex, Sickness, Sin, Slavery, Suffering, Trials, Trusting In God, War | Tagged "spinning" God, God commanding the deaths of people, Is God good all the time?, Why does God allow evil?, Why does God let bad things happen to good people? | 2 Comments

The One Advantage of Getting Saved Later in Life

Posted on July 5, 2024 by russellmckinney

In my opinion, it’s difficult for a child who places his or her faith in Christ to properly understand God’s grace. Mind you that I’m not saying a child can’t experience salvation and thus access that grace. I myself was saved by grace through faith when I was a young boy. Certainly, kids can believe in the existence of God. Certainly, they can be taught what sin is and how it separates us from God. Certainly, they can agree with the fact that Jesus is God and can accept Him as Savior. Certainly, they can understand a good bit about heaven and hell. And, certainly, they can become born-again Christians. But what I’m saying is, the typical child can’t properly appreciate God’s saving grace because, let’s face it, that child hasn’t exactly lived a hardcore life of sin prior to salvation.

When kids get saved from sin, what sins do they have in mind? Lying to mommy? Stealing the change off daddy’s dresser? Thinking bad thoughts toward a brother? Pulling a sister’s hair? Getting into trouble at school? No doubt these are legitimate sins that require the forgiveness offered in Christ, but when you talk with the average child about becoming a new creation in Christ, can that child truly grasp the major difference between his or her old life and the new one?

On the other hand, let me offer the hypothetical case of a 50-year-old drug addict who gets saved. This guy has been through two marriages. He’s cheated on both wives. His kids won’t talk to him anymore. He can’t hold down a job. He’s lost everything. He’s ruined his physical health as well as his mental health. He lives on the streets. He steals to get the money for his next high. He cusses. He’s crude. He doesn’t own a Bible. He doesn’t pray. And he’s never once darkened the doors of a church. Then a street-ministry worker shows him kindness, presents the gospel to him, and the guy places his belief in Christ. You see, that man can truly understand what he got saved from!

As we study the New Testament’s salvation experiences, it isn’t hard to see that virtually all of them are the stories of adults. Yes, Acts 16:15 mentions Lydia’s “household” getting baptized, a household that possibly included some small children. Similarly, the Philippian jailor’s household all get baptized later in the same chapter (Acts 16:33-34). But such stories are the exceptions to the rule. Far and away, the New Testament’s salvation accounts are the stories of adults, not children. Take the apostle Paul for example. Before he came to faith in Christ, he was a devout Pharisee and a persecutor/executer of Christians. It’s no wonder that someone like that could write so passionately about salvation by grace. Not only did he know full well that his “works” merited eternal damnation, he also knew what a 180-degree change Jesus had brought to his life.

Typically, however, who gets saved in our churches today? Statistics show that most of our baptisms are kids. Getting even more specific, usually these are kids who got saved during Sunday School, Bible school, or summer camp. So, am I complaining about this? No, I thank God for every child who gets saved anytime, anywhere. As I said earlier, I was one of those kids. My point is simply that a child who gets saved is incapable of understanding saving grace the way a Saul of Tarsus can understand it.

It wasn’t a 4th grader who wrote Amazing Grace. It was John Newton, an infidel hardcase who worked on a slave-trading ship before he alienated his fellow crewmen to the point where they gave him over to become the property of a slave trader in West Africa. You see, it takes a man like that to truly understand what a lost, spiritually blind “wretch” he once was. I’ve baptized a lot of kids in my time, but I doubt that even one of them thought of himself or herself as being a “wretch” without Jesus.

Please understand that I’m not advocating that we make children wait until they are older to accept Jesus as Savior. And I definitely don’t want to see them fall headlong into lives of sin and immorality just so God will be able to showcase even more grace in saving them. It’s just that a kid can’t appreciate saving grace as much as a man or a woman who has some mileage, much of it over unholy roads, on them can. To be sure, there aren’t many advantages to getting saved later in life as opposed to earlier, but this one advantage is indeed a very real one.

Posted in Children, Evangelism, Grace, Salvation, Sin, Sunday School, Witnessing, Youth | Tagged Amazing Grace, childhood conversions, children getting saved, John Newton, salvation by grace through faith, salvation experiences, saving grace, seeing the need for salvation | 3 Comments

Storytelling

Posted on July 3, 2024 by russellmckinney

We preachers are constantly encouraged to use effective illustrations and make our sermons more like “storytelling.” It’s advice that I really do try to implement. After all, Jesus was the greatest communicator who ever lived and He often taught by using parables, which are stories. I guess He understood that not everybody enjoys hearing a three-point outline featuring alliteration but everybody does love a good story.

Unfortunately, the New Testament epistles make for difficult storytelling. Preach from the four gospels? No problem. They are nothing but stories from Christ’s life. Preach from the book of Acts? No problem. Acts is simply a continuation of the storyline begun in the gospels. But preach from Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, 1 Peter, 1 John, etc.? Ah, that’s tougher. If you are going to do any storytelling from them, you are going to have to get creative. Can you say, “Hand me my book of sermon illustrations”?

This explains why many preachers find it easier to preach from the Old Testament than the New Testament. You won’t find any epistles in the Old Testament. It also helps that the majority of the Old Testament is the storyline of ancient Israel and many of Israel’s stories have happy endings. For example, God promises Abraham and the barren Sarah a son and eventually makes good on that promise. Joseph becomes the second-in-command of all Egypt. Moses leads the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage. Joshua leads them into the promised land of Canaan. The shepherd boy, David, slays a giant and later becomes king. Solomon builds God’s temple. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego come out of Babylon’s fiery furnace unscathed. Daniel comes out of the lions’ den the same way. Esther saves the Jews from being exterminated in Persia. On and on the list goes.

This doesn’t mean that every Old Testament story ends well for God’s people. Far from it. Generally speaking, though, whenever a story doesn’t end well for the Old Testament Jews, it’s because God is whipping them because of their sin. Admittedly, I’m painting with broad strokes here, but you get the gist of what I’m saying. The Old Testament features a ton of stories that make for easy preaching because the nation of Israel enjoyed favored status with God in regards to worldly matters.

But what about the stories of the New Testament? Well, while there are certainly several that fit this same bill, it’s undeniable that a significant change takes place in the New Testament. The stage for this change gets set with stories such as John the Baptist getting beheaded, Jesus getting crucified, Stephen getting stoned to death, and James getting killed by a sword. And once that stage is set, then comes the full-throttle persecution of God’s people (the church). At that point, serving God usually means trouble instead of favor, problems instead of prosperity, and rejection instead of acceptance. As evidence of this, consider Paul’s words from 1 Corinthians 4:11-13 concerning the lives of the apostles:

To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now. (N.K.J.V.)

Sometimes I think about how some of those famous stories from the Old Testament would probably have different endings if they took place in the New Testament. Sodom and Gomorrah would be allowed to stand because God would want their citizens to be afforded every possible opportunity to repent and turn to Him. Can’t we make that argument based upon 2 Peter 3:9? The Red Sea wouldn’t part for Moses and the Israelites because God would want them to remain as slaves in Egypt and eventually, through Christian teaching and influence, abolish the practice of slavery in Egypt. Isn’t that how the Christians of the Roman empire eventually brought down slavery in the empire? Goliath would kill David, but David’s courage and zeal for God would cause Goliath to seek David’s God and become a Christian. Isn’t that what happened with Saul of Tarsus after he had not only been present for Stephen’s stoning but ordered the deaths of many Christians himself?

Do you see now why I say that a significant change takes place over the pages of the New Testament? And do you also see why I say that preaching from the Old Testament is easier than preaching from the New Testament? You tell me, which is more appealing to our ears, the story of how Joshua and the Israelites defeated Jericho when Jericho’s walls came crashing down (Joshua 6:1-27) or Christ’s teaching about turning the other cheek in regards to your enemies (Luke 6:29)? You know the answer. Would you rather preach a sermon on the Angel of the Lord passing through the camp of the wicked Assyrians one night and slaying 185,00 of them (2 Kings 19:35-37) or one on loving your enemies and praying for those who spitefully persecute you (Matthew 5:43-44)? Again, you know the answer.

At the bottom line, the real question is this: Living in this era in which we live, does God want our lives to look more like an Old Testament story or a New Testament one? I think we know the answer to that, too. In light of this, perhaps we need to change our usual way of operating. Rather than always running to the pages of the Old Testament to seek pleasing answers for the troublesome situations in our lives, maybe we’d be better advised to major on what the New Testament has to say concerning those situations. Admittedly, this might not make for popular sermons that feature storytelling that is pleasant to the ears. What it will do, though, is make for deeper preaching, preaching that is more Christ-centered. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is preaching that definitely needs to be heard.

Posted in Adversity, Bible Study, Discipleship, Extending Forgiveness, God's Word, God's Work, Persecution, Preaching, Problems, Scripture, Suffering, The Bible, Trials | Tagged preaching from the epistles, preaching from the New Testament, preaching from the Old Testament, the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament, using illustrations in preaching | 4 Comments

Diving Deep Into the Subject of God’s Will

Posted on July 1, 2024 by russellmckinney

I placed my belief in Jesus as my Savior when I was a young boy. That belief was sincere and legitimate, which meant that God the Holy Spirit took up permanent residence inside my body and I was thus “born again.” A few weeks afterward, as a way of publicly evidencing the fact that I had experienced salvation, I was baptized by immersion.

The next few years saw me living the way the average Christian lives. I went to church, prayed, read my Bible, and for the most part lived a moral kind of life. But then came my teenage years. That’s when the wheels fell off my walk with Christ. I stopped going to church, stopped praying, stopped reading my Bible, and replaced it all with other things that I shouldn’t have been doing.

It took a while, but by my early twenties my sinful ways had led me to rock bottom. That’s when I rededicated my life to Christ. Did I get saved again? No. I had never lost my salvation. What I did do was confess my sins and genuinely repent of them. I also did something I’d never done before: I surrendered myself 100% to Christ’s lordship over my life.

As a result of my rededication, I began to seek God’s will concerning every area of my life. That included the so-called “little” decisions as well as the “big” ones. And truth be told, since then I haven’t really had all that much trouble discerning what God did or didn’t want me to do. Oh, sure, some decisions take a fair amount of time and a lot of prayer to figure out, and oftentimes I’ve even had to work through the slow process of proving God’s will regarding a situation. In the end, though, I’ve always gotten the answers I needed. I don’t say that to brag. I offer it simply as proof that the Lord does have a will for the saved believer and does guide that believer into it.

Ah, but there is one particular knot in the wood that has oftentimes plagued me in regards to doing God’s will in my life. It’s the problem of other people preventing me from doing that will. You ask, “But how could someone prevent someone else from doing God’s will?” Oh, it’s not that hard. Consider the following hypothetical examples:

It is God’s will for Linda to marry Frank, but Frank refuses to submit to God’s plan and rebelliously marries Jennifer instead. Where does that leave Linda?

It is God’s will for Phillip to get a certain job, but Jeff, who is in charge of the hiring of personnel, isn’t a submitted Christian, has his own agenda for who he hires, and subsequently gives the job to Ray instead. Where does that leave Phillip?

It is God’s will for little Joey to attend church, but his parents, Steven and Monica, have no interest whatsoever in attending church themselves or taking him. Where does that leave little Joey?

On and on we could go with the hypothetical examples. How could that not be the case when the vast majority people living on planet earth DON’T attempt to discern and do God’s will concerning the countless circumstances and decisions life presents? Consequently, we all at various times get caught in the backwash of other people rebelling against God’s will. Call it unfortunate. Call it frustrating. Call it complex. But whatever you call it, call it life.

So, where does this leave us, as Christians? Well, this is where God’s foreknowledge comes into play. Because He has perfect foreknowledge concerning every act of rebellion against His will (and has had that foreknowledge since before Genesis 1:1), no act of rebellion ever catches Him off guard or unprepared. Much to the contrary, as soon as the act is committed, God immediately sets His alternative plan into motion.

The perfect illustration of this is Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. They went against God’s will by eating the fruit from the knowledge of good and evil, and in so doing fell into sin. But did God panic? No. Instead, He instituted the concept of a substitutionary sacrifice as He killed either one animal or two animals and used animal skin to make clothing for Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21; Hebrews 9:22). This shedding of blood was an early foreshadowing of all the animal sacrifices that would be offered up during the Old Testament period under the law. Taking things even further, all of those Old Testament offerings eventually found their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus offering Himself up on a Roman cross as the sacrifice for the sins of the world.

Now let’s think about something fascinating: From eternity past, God’s ultimate plan was NOT that Adam and Eve and all their descendants would live in sinless perfection in the garden of Eden; it was instead that Jesus would die as the substitutionary sacrifice for the sins committed by Adam and Eve and all their descendants. How do we know this was God’s ultimate plan? Consider the following passages and make special note of the words I’ve highlighted in each:

…knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you… (1 Peter 1:18-20, N.K.J.V.)

All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Revelation 13:8, N.K.J.V.)

You see, this is how God works. In some strange way that you and I can’t fully fathom or grasp, His original plan doesn’t necessarily have to be His ultimate plan. Even more than that, His original plan doesn’t have to be as good as His ultimate plan. Have you ever thought about what would have happened if Adam and Eve hadn’t sinned? I’ll tell you. Since bodily death is the result of sin (Romans 5:12), they would have lived forever on earth in the garden of Eden. That means that a sinless Adam and Eve would have been immortal there in the garden of Eden. You say, “Great! What could have been lacking about that?” What would have been lacking about it is this: They would never have seen the inside of heaven or been able to spend eternity in direct fellowship with God on His throne.

Do you see now how what seemed to be God’s secondary plan of Jesus dying on a cross to eternally pay their sin debt was actually God’s ultimate plan? Furthermore, do you see how it was the better plan for Adam and Eve? This explains why the Genesis story makes a special point of saying that God drove them out of the garden after their sin and posted cherub angels and a flaming sword to prevent them from continuing to have access to the garden’s tree of life (Genesis 4:22-24). Evidently, it was the fruit from that tree that gave them their bodily immortality. If they had continued to eat that fruit after they had sinned, they would have been forced to live endlessly on the earth in their pitiful, sinful state.

So, in closing, I ask you, “Can you think of a situation in your life when someone else prevented you from getting in on God’s will?” If you can, then take some time right now and meditate on how things played out for you in the wake of that debacle. When you do this, you might just find that God’s backup plan for you concerning that situation actually turned out better for you than His original plan would have. Even more than that, because of His foreknowledge, in many situations His backup plan winds up being what He was ideally up to the whole time. Is this a deep subject? You bet. But is it a Bible one? Absolutely. And I hope this post has helped you understand it at least a little better.

Posted in Adversity, Choices, Christ's Death, Decisions, Disappointment, Disobedience, Dying To Self, God's Love, God's Omnipotence, God's Omniscience, God's Provision, God's Will, Human Life, Perseverance, Personal, Problems, Rebellion, Reward, Sin, Submission, Trials, Trusting In God | Tagged Adam and Eve's sin, discerning God's will for your life, God's backup plan, God's Will, Jesus slain from the foundation of the world, Jesus was foreordained from the foundation of the world, when someone else causes you to miss God's will | 2 Comments

Who Is Bombing Our Nest?

Posted on June 28, 2024 by russellmckinney

When I was young, let’s say ten years old or so, I spent a lot of summer days with my cousins, the Bennetts. Since both my parents worked, I didn’t have anyone to chaperone me when there was no school, and the solution was to let me spend those summer days with the Bennetts. Their mother, Betty Jean Bennett, was my dad’s older sister. She was a stay-at-home mom who had a P.H.D. in babysitting. Of course, the problem with that whole arrangement was the fact that my cousins and I never stayed in the house where she could adequately keep an eye on us. Instead, most of our time was spent out and about exploring the local woods.

A dilapidated old car sat in the woods just above the Bennett house. The car belonged to the patriarch of the Bennett clan, Bill, who had parked it there years earlier when the motor had gone bad. Trust me, he had no plans to fix that car. Its windows were all busted out, the interior was little more than a shell, and the whole thing was well on its way to rusting down completely.

One day, as our crew was patrolling the area, we noticed that bees had built a huge nest inside that car. As best I can recollect, it was a nest of yellow jackets. Then again, it could have been hornets. I do vividly recall that the basketball-sized nest was located just above the driver’s side door. Naturally, kids being kids, we took it as a personal challenge to bring down that nest. It was just the kind of project for which lazy summer days are made.

After studying the nest for a while, we noticed that its one entrance was in the front at the bottom. The bees were constantly flying in and out of that entrance, a setup that made a frontal attack unadvisable. So, we made our way around to the car’s passenger’s side. I can’t remember if we opened the passenger door or if it was already off the hinges, but we somehow snuck our way inside that car and got behind that massive nest. Now there was only one question to be answered: When we started pelting the nest with rocks, would those bees fly out the front or the back to attack? We gambled on the front, gathered our rocks, and cautiously, one kid at a time, one rock at a time, began bombing the nest.

We grew more and more bold with each thrown rock because no matter where the rocks struck the nest, the bees flew out that one hole in the front. They just kept roaring out, stingers locked and loaded, seeking to deal with their attackers. But they couldn’t find us. The air was dark with them just outside that driver’s side window, while all remained clear on the other side of the car where we were. That allowed us to take turns easing inside the car and throwing our rocks. I can just picture us there, laughing like crazed madmen, as one by one we stoned that poor nest into oblivion without even one of us ever getting stung. If only we had channeled such genius toward purposes that were less mischievous and more productive for society. Oh well.

As I think back upon that day from my childhood, I’m reminded that we Christians oftentimes have our own trouble figuring out the source of the attacks that are coming against us. We fly around, all stirred up and righteously indignant, but our holy zeal is misdirected and our efforts ultimately fail. Why? It’s because we have trouble locating our true attacker.

And just who is our true attacker? Satan. The abortionists are carrying out his agenda. The gambling industry is doing his bidding. He convinces the homosexuals that what they are doing is morally acceptable. He energizes the pornographers. He inspires the producers and directors of filthy television shows and Hollywood movies. He is the power behind the thrones of evil politicians and murderous dictators. Yes, he’s the one who is constantly bombing us and thus creating the mess we call this world.

Notice carefully what the Bible teaches in the following passages (all from the N.K.J.V., emphasis mine):

Then Saul, who is also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him (Elymas the sorcerer) and said, “O full of all deceit all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?” (Acts 13:9-10)

In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. (1 John 3:10)

“You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do…” (John 8:44)

But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)

So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world… (Revelation 12:9)

You see, Christian, the one who is bombing our nest from behind is Satan and the people he uses to accomplish his work are merely the rocks thrown from his hand. In saying this, I don’t mean to imply that God doesn’t hold these people accountable for their sins. Undoubtedly, He does hold them accountable. I’m simply pointing out that, in a very real sense, these folks don’t even do their own bidding. They think they are free and liberated to do as they please, but in truth they aren’t independent at all. Satan has them deceived because he has their minds blinded. They want to do the desires of his heart rather than the desires of their own hearts.

Please remember this, Christian, whenever you find yourself out there on the front lines of the cultural war. It’s so easy to despise or hate the people who think and act in ungodly ways. But don’t let yourself fall into the trap of failing to see them for who they really are. They are pawns in the hands of an evil lord. They are puppets dancing on the strings of a wicked puppeteer. They are children whose minds have become warped under the tutelage and training of their twisted father. They are the victims of a sinister brainwashing carried out by one who is a master in the art. Again, I’m not alleviating them from their own guilt and accountability. There’s no question that each of them currently stands under the foreboding shadow of God’s impending eternal judgment. I just want you to understand that the true mastermind who is doing all the worldwide nest-bombing we see is Satan.

Posted in Abortion, Current Events, Desires, Gambling, Homosexuality, Personal, Satan, Sin, Spiritual Warfare, The Devil | Tagged a bees nest, Christians and the cultural war, Satan the power behind the throne, the cultural war, throwing rocks at a bees nest | Leave a comment

Some Bizarre News from Modern Times

Posted on June 26, 2024 by russellmckinney

I am constantly amazed at how the Bible, a book that is thousands of years old, continues to be so relevant in our modern world. One case in point of that relevancy involves the grotesque act of bestiality. Yes, I’m talking about a human being having sex with an animal. If you think this kind of behavior died out thousands of years ago, please keep reading.

Believe it or not, in recent years Germany has been embroiled in a controversy over bestiality, which Germans call “zoophilia.” Zoophilia is defined as being the sexual attraction of a human toward a non-human animal, which may involve the experience of sexual fantasies about the animal or the pursuit of real sexual contact with it. No, I’m not making this up. I wish I was.

The controversy in Germany all started in 1969 when zoophilia ceased being a crime in that country. At that time, there were only a couple of restrictions placed upon the practice by the German government. First, the human sexual activity with an animal could not be used to create pornographic material. Second, the sexual activity could not do “significant harm” to the animal.

Well, you would think that the German people would have been outraged enough by the legalizing of zoophilia to raise a fuss, but it was actually animal rights groups who took on that assignment. They began pushing to make zoophilia a crime in Germany, and finally, in 2012, the Bundestag (the lower house of the German parliament) passed a law that did just that. The ruling made zoophilia a misdemeanor crime and attached a maximum fine of 25,000 euros ($32,400 U.S. dollars) to it.

And do you know why Germany’s government was finally compelled to officially outlaw zoophilia? It was because of “animal pimping.” That was the term given to the practice of animals being born and raised for the purpose of being sold into zoophilia. There were even reports of “exotic zoos” in Germany where tourists from countries that had made zoophilia (bestiality) illegal could come to Germany and engage in sexual relations with animals.

While the Bundestag making zoophilia illegal seemed perfectly logical and acceptable to most Germans, it immediately threw all of the Germans who were involved in the practice into an uproar. You say, “Oh, c’mon, how many such Germans could there have been? Five? Twenty? Fifty?” One estimate from 2012 put the number at over 100,000!

In response to the Bundestag ruling, some of those 100,000+ formed a group to take up the charge to make zoophilia legal again. The group’s chairman, Michael Kiok, who was at the time living with his Alsatian dog named Cessie — and I do mean LIVING with the dog in every sense of the word — said he’d had special feelings for animals since he was four or five and those feelings took on erotic elements in his teens. In regards to his group, he was quoted as saying, “We see animals as partners and not as a means of gratification. We don’t force them to do anything.” (I guess the fact that the animals couldn’t speak helped with that.)

Finally, in 2016, the German courts had to revisit the 2012 Bundestag law when a man and a woman — identified in the court case as “Mr. F” and “Mrs. S” — put forth a legal bid to have that law overturned. The basis for their proposed overturning was the couple’s contention that the law violated their right to “sexual self-determination.” Fortunately, the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany opted to throw out that legal challenge and zoophilia remains illegal in Germany.

This brings us back to the Bible. Here in this modern age, we don’t have to wonder about God’s opinion of zoophilia (bestiality) because it’s right there in the book. You see, such sexual perversion was common practice among the inhabitants of Canaan, the land that God gave to Israel, and that left God with a perfect opening to address the sin in that body of law He imparted to Israel. In Leviticus 18:23, we read:

Nor shall you mate with any animal, to defile yourself with it. Nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it. It is perversion. (N.K.J.V.)

Under Israelite law, the deviant act was even a capital punishment offense. As Exodus 22:19 says:

Whoever lies with an animal shall surely be put to death. (N.K.J.V.)

Furthermore, according to Leviticus 20:15-16, the animal itself was also supposed to be put to death:

If a man mates with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal. If a woman approaches any animal and mates with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood is upon them. (N.K.J.V.)

And then there is Deuteronomy 27:21, which says:

Cursed is the one who lies with any kind of animal. And all the people shall say, “Amen!” (N.K.J.V.)

Now, admittedly, the Old Testament law was given to a specific people (the Jews) who lived in a specific dispensation of centuries (after the Exodus from Egypt and before the coming of Jesus). So, please don’t accuse me of advocating the killing of those who engage in bestiality (zoophilia) today. I’m simply pointing out that by studying God’s law we can get His verdict on certain topics. One of those topics is bestiality (zoophilia), and He is clearly opposed to it.

But isn’t it sad how, even after all these years of human history have passed, mankind still loves to commit history’s same old sins? It reminds me of another Bible passage, Ecclesiastes 1:9-10, and that’s the passage I’ll use for the closing of this bit of bizarre news from modern times. Those verses say:

That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us. (N.K.J.V.)

Posted in Bestiality, Bible Study, Current Events, Depravity, God's Word, Sex, The Bible | Tagged ban on zoophilia, Bestiality, passages on bestiality, what does the bible teach about bestiality?, zoophilia | 1 Comment

The Mayonnaise Jar

Posted on June 24, 2024 by russellmckinney

A philosophy professor stood before his class and began an object lesson. First, he sat an empty mayonnaise jar on the table in front of him. Next, he brought out a box of rocks that were each about two inches in diameter and filled the jar to the brim with them. Then he asked his students, “Is the jar full?” All the students who would dare venture a guess answered, “Yes.”

Next the professor brought out a box of very small pebbles and began pouring them into the jar. As he poured, he paused periodically and gingerly shook the jar to allow the pebbles to filter down between the larger rocks. When he was done, he asked his students again, “Is the jar full?” Having been burned before by their premature answers, even the students who had dared to answer the first time remained silent this time.

Then the professor brought out a box of sand and began pouring the sand into the jar. Again, he paused every now and then and lightly shook the jar, which allowed the sand to filter its way down through all the rocks. When he was done, he asked his students one more time, “Is the jar full?” This time they all confidently answered, “Yes.”

At that point the professor said to them, “I want each of you to think of this jar as your life. The big rocks are the most important things: your family, your friends, your health, etc. The pebbles are the things that matter but to a lesser degree: your job, your house, your car, etc. As for the sand, that is everything else.”

Then he continued. “If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. And the same is true for your life. If you spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are the most important to you. So, take care of your rocks first, the things that matter above everything else.”

Now, truth be told, that illustration is an old one and what I’ll call a worldly one. I use that word “worldly” because the illustration makes no allowance for Jesus Christ. So, how can you get Him into your jar of life along with everything else? Here’s how: think of Him as water. You see, that philosophy professor could have taken his object lesson one step further if he had brought out a large glass of water and begun pouring the water into the jar, pausing every now and then to shake the jar and allow the water to weave its way down through the rocks and sand.

What am I saying? I’m saying that establishing priorities in your life is a wonderful thing, but even those priorities must be touched by the “water” of Christ. The way to make your life count the most for eternity is to surrender it completely to Him. Let Him permeate everything you think, say, and do. Let Him lead you into His perfect will and plan for your time here on earth. Let Him guide you into all truth. Let Him mold and shape you into the absolute best version of you there can be. To sum up, let Him take everything about your life (all the rocks, all the pebbles, and all the sand) and use it all to bring glory to God the Father in heaven.

Posted in Discipleship, Dying To Self, Family, Friendship, God's Will, Human Life, Needs, Priorities, Salvation, Sanctification, Service | Tagged an object lesson about Jesus, an object lesson about life, Jesus permeating every area of your life, priorities in your life, rocks pebbles and sand in a jar | 1 Comment

Jesus & Nazareth

Posted on June 21, 2024 by russellmckinney

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” (Mark 6:4, N.K.J.V.)

With the exception of the times when I was attending Appalachian State University and Fruitland Baptist Bible Institute, I’ve lived my entire life in Mitchell County. It’s a small, rural county located in the mountains of northwestern North Carolina. We have a population of approximately 15,000 people.

Despite our small size, we have our fair share of churches. I haven’t seen any exact figures lately, but the number is probably somewhere a touch under 100. The primary denomination is Southern Baptist Convention, but that’s not to say that other denominations aren’t represented. Basically, in Mitchell County you can find whatever kind of church you are looking for as long as you aren’t looking for a megachurch.

I have served as a pastor here for over thirty years. Therefore, I speak with quite a bit of experience when I say that Jesus knew what He was talking about when He said, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house” (Mark 6:4). It’s hard to describe in precise words, but there really is some dynamic at work that hinders a God-called preacher from carrying the spiritual weight he should with those who have known him all his life.

No doubt some of the problem stems from mistakes the preacher made before he went into the ministry. For example, someone might say, “How can that guy be a true preacher? I remember that time back in high school when he…..” The reputation of the preacher’s own family is another factor. If that reputation isn’t sterling, the man will typically be looked upon with distrust because he “came from a bad bunch.” Yet another factor is some peoples’ strange jealousy over a friend, neighbor, or acquaintance bettering himself. Trust me, “getting above your raising” is a cardinal offense with some people.

Would you believe that even Jesus Himself was hindered by this problem? The gospels give us the record of two separate visits He paid to His hometown of Nazareth after He began His public ministry. The first visit took place in the early days of His ministry, shortly after He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness. Mark 1:14 and Luke 4:14-15 tell us that in the days following that temptation Jesus made His way up to Galilee, the northern part of the land. There He ministered in the synagogues that dotted the region. That circuit inevitably took Him to Nazareth, where He continued with His custom of going into the local synagogue on the Sabbath and preaching. That synagogue in Nazareth was the one He had attended His whole life.

Jesus’ text that day was a portion of Isaiah 61:1-2, which was a Messianic passage foretelling that the Messiah would preach the gospel to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, give sight to the blind, free those who were oppressed, and proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord (Luke 4:18-19). The gist of Christ’s sermon was, “Today you are looking at the fulfillment of these words because I am the Messiah of which they speak” (Luke 4:21). The attendees marveled at this assertion and asked the obvious question, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” (They might as well have added in, “Aren’t you that kid who used to play out there in the streets? How can you be the Messiah?”) It was at that point that Jesus launched into a lecture on how a prophet’s ministry is greatly hindered among his fellow countrymen (Luke 4:24). He did this as a way of explaining to them why He couldn’t perform the healing miracles there He had performed in nearby Capernaum (Luke 4:23).

By way of illustrating His point, Jesus referenced a couple of Old Testament examples. The first one involved Elijah’s ministry. Even though there were many hurting widows in Israel during the three-and-a-half years of drought and famine in Elijah’s day, God didn’t send Elijah to help any of them. Instead, He sent him outside Israel to a Gentile widow in Zarephath, a Phoenician town in the region of Sidon (Luke 4:25-26). The second example involved the ministry of Elijah’s successor, Elisha. Even though there were many lepers in Israel during the days of Elisha’s ministry, he didn’t cure any of them. The only leper he cured was Naaman, a Gentile from Syria (Luke 4:27).

Well, you can imagine how those people in Nazareth’s synagogue responded to their local boy not only claiming to be the Messiah but also saying that He couldn’t heal any of their citizens because they wouldn’t give Him the honor due a prophet. Luke tells us they were filled with wrath and led Jesus out of the city, up to the brow of the hill upon which the city was built. Their intent was to kill Him by throwing Him off that cliff (Luke 4:28-30). It takes quite a preacher and quite a sermon to evoke that kind of response from a crowd of church goers! Maybe Jesus should have preached on the Old Testament law’s 6th commandment: “You shall not murder.” At any rate, He didn’t allow Himself to be killed that day because that wasn’t the right time or place for His death. In some way that Luke doesn’t fully explain, Jesus passed through the midst of that bloodthirsty mob and went on His way (Luke 4:30).

But I told you the gospels give us the record of two visits that Jesus paid to Nazareth. So, what about the other one? It came much later in Christ’s ministry and we find the account in Matthew 13:53-58 and Mark 6:1-6. For that visit, the same pattern was set into motion. Jesus went into the synagogue on the Sabbath and taught (Matthew 13:53-54; Mark 6:1), and the people were astonished at His words and immediately started asking, “Where did this man get this wisdom? How does He do the mighty works that are attributed to Him? Isn’t He the son of Joseph the carpenter? Isn’t Mary His mother? Don’t we know His brothers and sisters?” (Matthew 13:54-56; Luke 6:2-3)

Matthew’s account and Luke’s account both say the people were offended at Him (Matthew 13:57; Luke 6:3). You see, it was always Jesus’ background that tripped them up. They had watched this kid grow into manhood. They knew Him well. He was the illegitimate son of Mary and Joseph, conceived before they were married, right? How could such a person be God’s Messiah?

That’s why Jesus again gave them the applicable line: “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house” (Matthew 13:57; Mark 6:4). Obviously, nothing had changed in the months that had passed since His first attempt to minister there. Matthew says that He did not do many mighty works there (Matthew 13:58), which implies that He did do a few, and Mark reports that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them (Mark 6:5). Overall, though, He couldn’t do work there that He would have classified as “mighty” (Matthew 13:58; Mark 6:5). Even Jesus “marveled because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58; Mark 6:6). At least they didn’t try to kill Him this time!

You say, “Okay, Russell, I understand what you are saying, but I’m not a preacher. And so how does all this affect me?” It affects you by way of the spiritual influence you can have on not only the residents of your hometown but also your own family members. If you find that your influence is somewhat limited, you’ll understand now that there is a biblical explanation for it. You’re up against a dynamic that even Jesus, Elijah, and Elisha couldn’t overcome. This doesn’t mean that Jesus doesn’t want you to minister to those who know you best, but it does mean that it will never be the easiest soil to cultivate.

Posted in Christ's Miracles, Doing Good, Evangelism, Family, Friendship, God's Work, Individuality, Influence, Leadership, Ministry, Pastors, Personal, Preaching, Service, Witnessing | Tagged a prophet is not without honor, Elijah and the widow of Zarephath, Elisha curing Naaman's leprosy, Jesus preaching in Nazareth, ministering to your family, ministering to your friends, ministering to your neighbors | 1 Comment

	russellmckinney on A Story About the Value of Wai…
	Mirna on A Story About the Value of Wai…
	russellmckinney on Breaking Away from Family…
	Myron on Breaking Away from Family…
	Myron on Road Signs

The Disciple's Road

Is God Good All the Time? (post 3 of 3)

Is God Good All the Time? (post 2 of 3)

Is God Good All the Time? (post 1 of 3)

The One Advantage of Getting Saved Later in Life

Storytelling

Diving Deep Into the Subject of God’s Will

Who Is Bombing Our Nest?

Some Bizarre News from Modern Times

The Mayonnaise Jar

Jesus & Nazareth

Follow Blog via Email

Top Posts & Pages

Categories

Tags

Recent Comments

Disciple’s Road

Blog Stats