Seeing God

Posted on January 30, 2021 by russellmckinney

One day a little boy asked his older sister, “Can anybody really see God?” Slightly annoyed by what she felt was a silly question, the sister answered, “Of course not. God is so far up in heaven that nobody can see him.”

After some time had passed, the boy got the question on his mind again and asked his mother, “Mom, can anybody really see God?” The mother, who was a devout Christian who understood that God the Holy Spirit indwells Christians, replied, “No, not really. God is a Spirit, and He dwells in the hearts of those of us who know Jesus as Savior. But we can’t really see Him.”

Then one afternoon the boy went fishing with his saintly old grandfather. At the end of the day, as the sunset began to make for a breathtakingly picturesque scene across the sky, the old man put down his fishing pole in order to sit and enjoy the view. As the grandfather’s eyes danced with delight, the boy asked his familiar question, “Grandpa, can anybody really see God?” Without ever taking his eyes off the sunset, the old man said, “Son, it’s getting so I can’t see anything else.”

Maybe it’s just me, maybe it’s just that I’m getting older, or maybe it’s just that the world keeps getting weirder and more ungodly, but I have to say that life here on earth is looking increasingly worse to me. I love my wife. I love my two sons. We have a nice home. We keep our bills paid. We’re in reasonably good health. I have a good ministry in terms of pastoring, blogging, and doing a radio ministry. Honestly, any complaints I have about my life seem petty in light of all the blessings that God has bestowed upon me. But still, despite all the joy and happiness that I have, I’d be lying if I said that I don’t catch myself longing for heaven more and more with each passing year.

And like that grandfather in that story, I’m beginning to see God in everything that is going on. I’ve studied Bible prophecy for many years now, and I can confidently say that what we are seeing on the news these days all matches up nicely with what the Bible teaches about coming events. It’s not like the Bible’s storyline is running east while current events are running west. No, all those prophecies that once seemed so unbelievable and far-fetched — technology that links the world together, a cashless society, a special mark that can allow for buying and selling, etc. — now seem shockingly real, don’t they? As Adrian Rogers used to say, “It’s getting gloriously dark.” I myself can see God in all of it. Tell me, can you?

Posted in Aging, Christ's Return, Coming Judgment, Current Events, Eternity, God's Omnipresence, God's Sovereignty, Heaven, Human Life, Personal, Prophecy | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

A Few Thoughts About Blessings

Posted on January 28, 2021 by russellmckinney

The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it. (Proverbs 10:22, N.K.J.V.)

The Bible teaches that God bestows blessings (eternal blessings and earthly blessings) upon people. It also teaches that Satan, when he so chooses, can bestow earthly blessings upon people. As evidence of that, he once offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if Jesus would bow down and worship him.

The great difference between a blessing from the Lord and a blessing from Satan is that God’s blessing never comes sprinkled with sorrow. That is the clear word from Proverbs 10:22. Satan’s blessing, by contrast, always includes a certain amount of sorrow somewhere down the line of the blessing.

This Bible truth can be applied to any and all areas of life, but to pick just one example let’s think for a moment about the coach of an athletic team. If that coach is a born-again Christian…if that coach is in God’s will being a coach…if that coach’s primary goal as a coach is to bring Christian salt and light to the sordid world of athletics…and if that coach’s coaching is bathed in prayer, submission to God, and doing everything the Christian way…that coach’s coaching will enjoy the blessing of the Lord. Perhaps that blessing will show up in the win-loss record, but even if it doesn’t it will surely show up in the area of the coach’s players becoming better human beings and in the area of the relationships the coach makes with the players and even the players’ parents. And remember, because the Lord is the one who is doing the blessing, He will add no sorrow to all that blessing.

But now let’s flip the script and ask the question: What if Satan is the one who is blessing the coach’s efforts? In that case, the blessing will stand a far better chance of showing up in the coach’s win-loss record, but all that worldly success will not come without Satan adding some sorrow to it. That sorrow could include everything from damaged family relationships to public scandals to an inner emptiness that seemingly shouldn’t be there in light of the coach’s outward success. You see, Satan is a master at making his bait look appealing, but in the end he always hides a hook in it. That’s the difference between him and God. God’s blessings hold no hooks.

There is, however, one other aspect to this otherwise cut-and-dried principle, and it’s an aspect that I wish I didn’t have to mention. Let’s say that you are living your life all out for Christ, sailing along in your service to Him, and enjoying the blessing of the Lord upon what you are doing, but then you get hit with a round of sorrow in an area you thought was being blessed by the Lord. What happened? I’ll tell you. Satan got into that area that was being blessed by the Lord and messed it up. And God, for whatever reason, let him do it.

The classic illustration of this is Job. Job’s family, wealth, and health were all under the blessing of God, and Job was experiencing no sorrow from any of that blessing. Then Satan asked for God’s permission to mess with all that blessing, and God dropped the protective hedge He had around Job’s life and let Satan have his way with Job for a while. Mind you that God wasn’t the one who added the sorrow to Job’s blessings. That would contradict Proverbs 10:22. Satan was the one who unloaded the dump-truck load of sorrow upon Job.

I don’t know where this post finds you these days, but it’s always good to examine your life and get the big picture as to what is going on with you. Are you being blessed right now? If so, is that blessing taking place in a way that is with sorrow or without sorrow? If it’s taking place with sorrow, you need to figure out why that’s happening, and there are only two options. Option #1: That blessing is, in actuality, coming from Satan rather than God and you are feeling the sharp pain of its hook. Option #2: That blessing really is coming from God and as such should be without sorrow, but God has allowed Satan to spoil that blessing by adding sorrow to it.

Either way, what’s called for on your part is prayer. If option #1 describes your situation, you need to ask God to help you make the changes required to get you out from under Satan’s blessing and get you under His. And if option #2 describes it, you need to ask God to keep you under His blessing but cleanse that blessing from Satan’s damaging influence by kicking Satan out of it. To sum up, I guess what I’m saying is, don’t stop at merely being blessed or merely being sorrowful. Take the time to figure out the source of your blessing or your sorrow and then pray accordingly.

Posted in God's Will, God's Work, Sanctification, Satan, Service, Spiritual Warfare, Sports, The Devil, Work | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

God’s General Plan For Living Life

Posted on January 26, 2021 by russellmckinney

The prophet Jeremiah prophesied during the last forty years of Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel. His ministry era included Judah’s defeat at the hands of the Babylonians as well as Babylon’s deportation of the majority of the citizens to Babylon. Jeremiah himself was never deported to Babylon, but he continued to fulfill his role as God’s messenger to those captives.

Jeremiah chapter 29 is the record of a letter that Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to those captives (Jeremiah 29:1-2). He sent the letter by way of Elasah (Jeremiah 29:3), a delegate Judah’s King Jeconiah dispatched to Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar. Following the Babylonian conquering of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar had allowed Jeconiah to remain on the throne of Judah as a vassal king.

The prophetic council that Jeremiah gave those Jewish captives by way of that letter was interesting in that it did not call for revolt, uprising, or insurrection on their part. Much to the contrary, the letter advised those Jews to settle down in Babylon, build houses, plant gardens, get married, bear children, and even seek the peace of Babylon. The section in question reads as follows:

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters — that you may be increased there, and not diminished. And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace you will have peace. (Jeremiah 29:4-7, N.K.J.V.)

Needless to say, that advice wasn’t exactly what many of those Jews wanted to hear from Jeremiah. After all, they wanted to return home to Jerusalem rather than make Babylon their new home. But Jeremiah was quick to point out to them that it was God, not Nebuchadnezzar, who had caused them to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon (Jeremiah 29:4). Nebuchadnezzar had merely been the vessel through whom God had worked to bring about His plan. As for why God had caused Judah to fall and those citizens to be deported to Babylon, Jeremiah had previously explained that God was going to punish the people of Judah because of their idolatry and their refusal to heed his prophets (Jeremiah 25:1-14). This punishment would come through the Babylonians and would last for seventy years. (Additionally, 2 Chronicles 36:15-21 teaches that the seventy years was also the result of the people of Judah refusing to give their land a Sabbath rest every seventh year for a period of 490 years: Leviticus 25:1-7, 26:27-46.)

In his letter, Jeremiah reiterated to the captives that the seventy years of punishment had to be fulfilled. Once those years were completed, however, God Himself would turn on the Babylonians, judge them, and do a new work in Judah (Jeremiah 29:10-14). But in the meantime it was God’s will for those captives to make the best lives they could in Babylon. By doing so, they could multiply in number just as their ancestors had once done in captivity in Egypt (Exodus 1:8-20).

Actually, the advice that God gave those captives through Jeremiah describes the general plan He has always had for living life on earth. That plan has been on display ever since He created Adam and Eve, married them, gave Adam the work of tending the land, and gave Eve the work of motherhood. So, while it’s true that there are times when God approves of His people going to battle (Psalm 144:1), and it’s equally true that it isn’t His will for everyone to get married (Matthew 19:12; 1 Corinthians 7:32-40), it is undeniable that God’s stereotypical template for how He wants people to live life on earth involves: getting married, having a home, bearing children, working, enjoying the bounty brought about by the work, and praying for the peace of the nation in which they live.

Sadly, we are now living in an age in which this general plan is becoming increasingly out of vogue. Many men today want to become the heads of companies rather than the heads of homes. Many women want careers rather than children. Many couples chose to live together rather than get married. And as for large families, well, birth control and abortion have just about made them extinct. Oh, and let’s not forget the recent assault on the United States capital building, which was an act that stood in stark contrast to anything resembling seeking the peace of the land in which you are living. Surely these are all indicators of a nation that has lost its way, and we, like the people of Judah, stand ripe for God’s chastisement and judgment. If it’s true that the more unscriptural we become, the more unspiritual we become, we Americans must surely be an unspiritual lot. And we know what ultimately happens to unspiritual nations, don’t we? As a matter of fact, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit to learn that there are some Babylonians at our door right now.

Posted in Abortion, Children, Coming Judgment, Current Events, Family, Fatherhood, God's Will, Headship, Husbands, Marriage, Motherhood, Parenting, Priorities, Wives | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

How to Use Your Bad Experience

Posted on January 22, 2021 by russellmckinney

Tom Wallace tells the story of a time when he received a phone call in which he was told that a certain family was in need of pastoral comfort in the emergency room of the local hospital. Tragically, the family’s twelve-year-old son had accidently shot the nine-year-old brother. The brother wasn’t dead, but he was in critical condition.

Wallace drove to the emergency room and found the father, mother, and older brother gathered in the waiting area. The father and mother were expectedly distraught, but the older son was quite and somber. He seemed to be in shock. When Wallace talked with the father, the father even said that he was more worried about the older son’s condition than the younger son’s.

Wallace went over to talk to the older son and found the boy staring blankly at the wall. Try as he might, Wallace could not get the boy to respond to anything he said. After staying a while, Wallace finally gave up and went back home.

The next day Wallace returned to the hospital and found that the son who had been shot was doing much better. Additionally, the older son was now back to his usual self. When Wallace asked what had happened that had made such a difference in the demeanor of the older son, he was told that another preacher had stopped by the day before after Wallace had left. That other preacher had reached that older brother by telling him, “I know how you feel. I shot my brother when I was your age.” Once that older son had heard that preacher’s testimony and helpful words, the healing process had begun.

What did Tom Wallace do wrong in attempting to minister to that boy? Nothing. Was it his fault he wasn’t able to reach the boy? No. The problem was that Tom Wallace simply couldn’t relate to the boy’s experience, and the boy instinctively knew that. But once the boy learned that the other preacher could personally relate to what had happened, he was all ears to that man.

This story illustrates one reason why God sometimes allows us to go through bad experiences. He does it because He knows that people who live in ivory towers, completely aloof from all the pain and suffering that goes on in the world, make poor comforters. It takes a victim of cancer to truly relate to the pain felt by a victim of cancer. It takes someone who has wrecked a car to truly relate to the pain felt by a driver who has wrecked a car. It takes a parent who has lost a child to truly relate to the pain felt by a parent who has lost a child. It takes a student who has failed a test to truly relate to the pain felt by a student who has failed a test. It takes a divorcee to truly relate to the pain felt by a person who is going through a divorce. It takes someone who has been unjustly wronged to truly relate to the pain felt by a person who has been unjustly wronged. To sum up, you can’t fully relate to a patient who is recovering from surgery unless you can show that patient the scar from your own surgery.

With this in mind, let me encourage you to take all the pain you endured as part of your bad experience and use it as a foundation from which you minister to others who are having to endure a similar experience. Rather than let that bad experience act like water that douses the fire of your ministry, figure out a way to convert the experience into gasoline that enlarges that fire. Remember, there is someone out there right now who is currently going through something either identical to or very similar to what you have gone through, and you can be the voice of comfort in that person’s life if you are willing to play that role. Additionally, the good news is that if you are willing to play that role, there is an unforeseen bonus that will come as a result of your effort. And what will that bonus be? Well, it goes like this: As you minister to that person, what you’ll find is that you’ll be ministering to yourself as well.

Posted in Addiction, Adversity, Disappointment, Discipleship, Doing Good, God's Work, Individuality, Influence, Ministry, Problems, Service, Suffering, Trials, Witnessing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Major Differences

Posted on January 20, 2021 by russellmckinney

(all references are from the N.K.J.V.)

Authentic Christians often get perplexed as to how lost people can hold to certain opinions, believe certain things, promote certain lifestyles, live out certain standards, etc., etc., etc. They ask, “How can they do that?” In truth, the answer is actually quite simple: Christians and lost people are two completely different breeds.

First, the Christian and the lost person have different fathers. Passages such as John 1:12 and Galatians 3:26 say that Christians have been given the right (the authority) to become the children of God. This explains why Jesus taught His followers to address God as “our Father” when we pray (Matthew 6:9; Luke 11:2). Conversely, He flatly stated that lost people are the children of the devil (Matthew 13:38, John 8:44).

Second, the Christian and the lost person have different families. Ephesians 2:19 says that Christians are members of the household of God, and Galatians 6:10 calls us the household of faith. Lost people, on the other hand, all being children of the devil, are members of what might be called the household of Satan. Another way of describing the two families is to use Christ and Adam as the two representative heads of the families. Passages such as 1 Corinthians 15:20-28 and Romans 5:12-21 play off this idea by explaining that everyone is either “in Christ” or “in Adam.”

Third, the Christian and the lost person are members of different churches. Passages such as Matthew 16:18, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Ephesians 5:23, and 1 Timothy 3:15 teach that Christians are all part of Christ’s true church — i.e., the singular body that theologians refer to as “the universal church.” By way of contrast, Jesus used the term “the synagogue of Satan” in reference to the “church” (for lack of a better word) of which each lost person is a member (Revelation 2:9, 3:9).

Fourth, the Christian and the lost person have different desires. In Philippians 2:13, the Bible says that God works inside the Christian to give that Christian desires that are for God’s good pleasure. Similarly, Hebrews 13:21 teaches that God works inside the Christian in accordance with those things that are well pleasing in God’s sight. All of this working within the Christian is done by God the Holy Spirit, who literally indwells each Christian and in so doing creates the “born again” experience that is salvation (John 3:1-8, Romans 8:9-11). The problem with the lost person is that he/she simply does not have the indwelling Holy Spirit (Jude v.19). Consequently, without the aid of the indwelling Holy Spirit, he/she can only operate from what Galatians 5:16 describes as the desires (the lusts) of the flesh.

Fifth, the Christian and the lost person have different natures. In 2 Peter 1:1-4, we’re told that God’s divine power has given to Christians all things that pertain to life and godliness. As part of those “all things,” Christians have been made to be partakers of what Peter calls “the divine nature.” This divine nature operates in direct conflict with the Christian’s inborn (Adamic) sinful nature to create a veritable civil war inside each Christian. The apostle Paul described this war in graphic detail in Romans 7:13-25 when he talked about two “laws” that were in operation inside him. One law he called “the law of God” and the other law he called “the law of sin.” While this inner civil war is something each Christian must struggle with as long as he/she is in this earthly body, lost people don’t have any civil war raging inside them. That’s because they can only operate from their inborn, sinful, Adamic nature due to the fact that they have not been made to be partakers of the divine nature.

Sixth, the Christian and the lost person bear different fruit. Galatians 5:16-26 contrasts these two types of fruit. It says that Christians who are walking in the Spirit will bear the fruit of the Spirit. That fruit is: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And what fruit do lost people bear? Those fruits are labeled as “the works of the flesh,” and they are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like. The point of those words “and the like” is that even that sizable list should not be considered anywhere near exhaustive.

Seventh, the Christian and the lost person have different minds. The Bible doesn’t use the term “the mind” to mean “the brain” but uses it instead in reference to the thoughts of the individual. According to 1 Corinthians 2:16, Christians have been given, by means of the indwelling Holy Spirit, the mind of Christ. This is exceedingly helpful to us because God’s thoughts are infinitely higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9) and we need the mind of Christ to help bridge the gap between our thoughts and God’s thoughts. Unfortunately for lost people, they do not have the indwelling Holy Spirit and therefore do not have the mind of Christ. To the contrary, 2 Corinthians 4:4 says that Satan has blinded their minds.

Eighth, the Christian and the lost person have different perspectives. Colossians 3:2 says to the Christian, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Likewise, 1 John 2:15 tells the Christian, “Do not love the world or the things in the world.” Having this heavenly perspective makes perfect sense in light of the fact that 2 Peter 3:10-13 prophesies that this world is destined to pass away in the midst of a fiery judgment sent straight from the hand of God. Lost people, of course, have no reason to exhibit a heavenly perspective because the God of heaven is not their father. Being the children of the devil, they are left to try to make this world as pleasurable as they can. 1 John 2:16 describes this as living in line with “the lust of the flesh,” “the lust of the eyes,” and “the pride of life.”

Ninth, the Christian and the lost person have different agendas. The Christian’s agenda can be summed up with Christ’s words, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things (what you will eat, what you will drink, what you will wear, all of life’s basic needs) shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). You see, when your priority is the kingdom of God, your agenda — what you are after in life, what you are trying to get accomplished — will match that priority. As for the lost person, he/she has an agenda (sometimes knowingly but for the most part unknowingly) that is built upon Satan’s desires. As Jesus said to a certain group of lost religious leaders in His day, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.” By comparing both agendas, we can see that the Christian conducts God’s business in this world while the lost person (again, usually unknowingly) conducts Satan’s business in it.

Tenth, the Christian and the lost person have different futures. In regards to eternity, the Christian has an inheritance reserved in heaven (1 Peter 1:3-4) and will get to spend eternity in perfect bliss in that magnificent city that Revelation chapters 21 and 22 call The New Jerusalem. The lost person, however, will be sentenced to spend eternity in torment in that place Revelation 20:11-15, Matthew 25:31-46, and Mark 9:42-48 describe as being an eternal lake of fire.

In closing, Christian, the next time you catch yourself asking of a lost person, “Can’t he/she see what’s wrong with that?” just know that they can’t. They really can’t. And nothing you say or do will convince them to see the situation correctly. Only God Himself can open eyes and change hearts, and He will only do that if the person voluntarily choses to place saving belief in Jesus. Placing that belief in Jesus will cause God the Holy Spirit to come into that person’s body and take up residence inside that body, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit will in turn begin to change the person from the inside out. The Bible’s word for this is “regeneration” (Titus 2:5) and it is far better than mere “reformation.” But without the indwelling Holy Spirit, there is no regeneration, and without a saving belief in Christ, there is no indwelling Holy Spirit.

Posted in Desires, Discipleship, Heaven, Hell, Salvation, Satan, Sin | Tagged | Leave a comment

Outside the Window

Posted on January 18, 2021 by russellmckinney

A young man suffered a serious neck injury in a car crash and was hospitalized. He was assigned the bed closest to the door in a two-patient room and strapped down to keep him immobilized on his back while the doctors waited on the swelling in his neck to subside. Once the swelling subsided they would exam him further in order to decide upon a proper course of treatment. In the meantime, his only view all day long was the ceiling above him.

His fellow patient in the room, the man who had the bed closest to the window, was an elderly gentleman who had a serious ailment as well. But his condition was such that he was encouraged to sit up in bed as much as possible in order to keep fluid from collecting in his lungs. Since neither patient had any close relatives or friends, neither one ever received any visitors. That made for a very long day, and to alleviate the boredom the elderly gentlemen started describing out loud all the scenes he saw taking place outside the window.

The man described a beautiful park that featured a picturesque lake, and he went into great detail about the clear water, the way the sun rested upon the water, the blue sky above the water, the puffy clouds in the sky, the ducks that sat upon the water, the green grass that ran along the lake’s shoreline, the children who played in that grass (and sometimes in the water), and the parents who sat on benches watching those children play. Each day brought fresh new scenes and fresh new descriptions, and the young man began to live for those descriptions. He would just close his eyes and envision everything in his head.

Then one morning the nurse came in to check on the elderly gentleman and found that he had died peacefully in his sleep. She called for a doctor to confirm that the fellow was dead, and the young man overheard their conversation. After the doctor had confirmed the gentleman had expired, the young man said, “I have to say that I sure will miss him. Now he won’t be here anymore to tell me about everything that is happening outside the window.”

The nurse looked surprised and said, “I never heard him talking to you about what was happening outside that window.” The young man explained, “Oh, he would always wait until it was just the two of us in here. Then he would start describing whatever was going on out there at the time.” The nurse paused for a moment as if she was considering her next words carefully and then said, “Well, I guess it’s okay for you to know now that the only scene outside that window is the rooftop of this hospital.” Shocked, the young man said, “You mean there is no park, no lake, no grass, no ducks, no kids playing, and no parents sitting on benches?” “Sorry, there isn’t,” answered the nurse. The young man asked, “Then why did that man describe all that stuff to me and let me believe it was all out there?” With a wry smile, the nurse reasoned, “I guess he just wanted to encourage you.”

So encourage one another and build each other up, just as you are already doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:11, N.L.T.)

Posted in Encouragement, God's Work, Ministry, Service | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Molech

Posted on January 15, 2021 by russellmckinney

Worldwide in 2020, Covid-19 claimed the lives of approximately 1.8 million people. In that same time period, there were 11 million deaths from communicable diseases, 8,2 million deaths from cancer, 5.1 million deaths from smoking, 2.5 million deaths from alcohol, 1.8 million deaths from tuberculosis, 1.4 million deaths from road accidents, and 1.1 million deaths from suicide. Adding up all of these categories gives us a total of approximately 33 million deaths worldwide in 2020.

By comparison, the number of babies who were put to death by way of abortion in 2020 was 42.6 million. Yes, you read that right. The total number of deaths by abortion exceeded the total number of deaths from all those other categories combined. Approximately speaking, for every single Covid-19 death there were 41 abortion deaths. I guess the mainstream media didn’t have time to work that into their reporting, what with all the news about Covid-19, politics, the weather, sporting events, etc.

Do black lives matter? You bet they do, all of them. Well, I guess I should say that almost all of them matter. The lives of the approximately 800 black babies that get aborted in America every day don’t seem to matter much. By the way, half of those babies are females, too, if you want to talk about the rights of women. You see, the dirty little secret is that not all women have rights. Rights are exclusively reserved for women whose mothers don’t opt for abortion.

God gave the people of Israel the land of Canaan to possess and settle. The problem with that was the fact that Canaan was already home to various races of people. Those races were idolaters who worshiped their false gods by way of bizarre rites and rituals. One such race was the Ammonites, who worshiped a god named Molech by literally offering their children to him in fiery sacrifices. This specific god and this specific type of worship are frequently mentioned in the Old Testament. As a matter of fact, in that body of law that God imparted to Moses to give to the Israelites, He took the time to especially condemn this god and this type of sacrifice. Tragically, however, there were times over the course of Israel’s long history that the people of Israel broke God’s law by offering their children in sacrifice to Molech. Consider the following passages (all from the N.K.J.V.):

  • Leviticus 18:21: “And you shall not let any of your descendants pass through the fire to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.”
  • Leviticus 20:1-5: Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Again, you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘Whoever of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who gives any of his descendants to Molech, he shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. I will set My face against that man, and will cut him off from his people, because he has given some of his descendants to Molech, to defile My sanctuary and profane My holy name. And if the people of the land should in any way hide their eyes from the man, when he gives some of his descendants to Molech, and they do not kill him, then I will set My face against that man and against his family; and I will cut him off from his people, and all who prostitute themselves with him to commit harlotry with Molech.”
  • 1 Kings 11:7: Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon.
  • 2 Kings 2-3: Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord his God, as his father David had done. But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel; indeed he made his son pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out from before the children of Israel.
  • 2 Kings 23:10: And he (King Josiah) defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or daughter pass through the fire to Molech.
  • 2 Chronicles 33:5-6: He (King Manasseh) also built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem shall My name be forever.” And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. Also he caused his sons to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom; he practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger.
  • Jeremiah 7:30-33: “For the children of Judah have done evil in My sight,” says the Lord. “They have set their abominations in the house which is called by My name to pollute it. And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into My heart. Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when it will no more be called Tophet, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter; for they will bury in Tophet until there is no room. The corpses of this people will be food for the birds of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth. And no one will frighten them away.”
  • Jeremiah 19:1-4: Thus says the Lord: “Go and get a potter’s earthen flask, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the elders of the priests. And go out to the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the Potsherd Gate; and proclaim there the words that I will tell you, and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will bring such a catastrophe on this place, that whoever hears of it, his ears will tingle. Because they have forsaken Me and made this an alien place, because they have burned incense in it to other gods whom neither they, their fathers, nor the kings of Judah have known, and have filled this place with the blood of the innocents.”
  • Jeremiah 32:34-35: ‘But they set their abominations in the house which is called by My name, to defile it. And they built the high places of Baal which are in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech, which I did not command them, nor did it come into My mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.’
  • Ezekiel 16:20-21: “Moreover you took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore to Me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your acts of harlotry a small matter, that you have slain My children and offered them up to them by causing them to pass through the fire?”
  • Ezekiel 20:30-32: “Therefore says to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Are you defiling yourselves in the manner of your fathers and committing harlotry according to their abominations? For when you offer your gifts and make your sons pass through the fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols, even to this day. So shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live,” says the Lord God, “I will not be inquired of by you. What you have in your mind shall never be, when you say, ‘We will be like the Gentiles, like the families in other countries, serving wood and stone.'”
  • Ezekiel 23:36-37: The Lord also said to me: “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations. For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and even sacrificed their sons whom they bore to Me, passing them through the fire, to devour them.”

You’ll note that in these passages frequent reference is made to a certain valley, The Valley of the Son of Hinnom (the shortened version being The Valley of Hinnom). The Greek equivalent of “The Valley of Hinnom” is Gehenna. This valley is located near Jerusalem, and it was the site where the people of Israel offered up their children to the god Molech. In the later days of Israel’s history, the valley became the local garbage dump for Jerusalem. As such, the carcasses of animals, the unclaimed bodies of deceased criminals, and all kinds of trash from Jerusalem ended up there. Everything got burned to eliminate it, and the smoke from the fires seemed to be rising continually from the valley.

Jesus used the macabre scenery of this valley as an earthly illustration of the eternal lake of fire where Satan, all the other fallen angels, and all of history’s lost people will spend eternity. Just as worms were frequently seen feasting on the carcasses in the midst of the fires of Jerusalem’s Gehenna, Jesus described the eternal lake of fire (the eternal Gehenna) as being a place where the fire is never quenched and their (referring to lost people) worm does not die (Mark 9:42-48). That was His way of saying that the lost will not be obliterated or annihilated in the eternal Gehenna. Instead, they will be tormented in the fire of the eternal lake of fire endlessly with no hope of ever experiencing relief or pardon. (I realize that this is not a pleasant topic, but if you would like to read more about it, please read the post “Are Hades & Hell the Same Place? post #2.”)

But let me ask you something in closing: Do you think it’s a coincidence that the valley where the people of Israel once offered their children in fiery sacrifices to the god Molech ultimately became the New Testament’s earthly illustration of God’s site of eternal judgment? I don’t think it’s a coincidence in the least. No, I think that God absolutely despises the shedding of what He calls in Jeremiah 19:4 “the blood of the innocents,” and I think He has not forgotten the murders that occurred in that valley.

Of course, in our modern world, we don’t have a Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna) that serves as the site where children are killed, do we? Instead, our “valleys” are called “Centers for Reproductive Alternatives,” “Women’s Health Centers,” “Women’s Medical Pavilions,” or “Family Planning Centers.” Likewise, we don’t offer our children to Molech, do we? Instead, we offer them to gods called “convenience,” “self-centeredness,” “irresponsibility,” and “worldliness.” Despite all of this new terminology, though, God still considers abortion the same old song, just sung to a different tune. The song is called “The Shedding of the Blood of the Innocents” and the world continues to sing it without shame. So, this coming Sunday, which has been designated as Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, let’s remember all the innocents that abortion has claimed worldwide, and let’s consider what we are doing to help put an end to this worldwide atrocity.

Posted in Abortion, Children, Current Events, Death, Eternity, God's Wrath, God's Judgment, Hell, Human Life, Idolatry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

For Such a Time as This

Posted on January 13, 2021 by russellmckinney

“…Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14, N.K.J.V.)

The book of Esther opens up with Esther, Mordecai, and their fellow Jews living under the rule of the Persians. A century or so earlier the Jews had been conquered by the Babylonians, with the Jewish survivors being exiled to Babylon. Several decades later, however, the Persians (in an alliance with the Medes) had conquered the Babylonians. After the transfer of power, the Persians had allowed the Jews the opportunity to return home to Israel, and a remnant of the Jews had done that in order to build a new temple to replace the Solomonic one the Babylonians had destroyed. As for all the Jews who had chosen not to return to Israel, they had remained under Persia rule.

As it so happened, Esther was a real looker. How beautiful was she? She was beautiful enough to win what amounted to a national beauty contest to become the new queen for the Persian ruler Ahasuerus. That lofty position should have been enough to ensure that both Esther and Mordecai could live out their lives in safety, but it wasn’t because they were Jews and there was a man named Haman who absolutely hated all Jews. Haman, as it so happened, was Ahasuerus’ second-in-command.

Mordecai was a servant who served in close proximity to Ahasuerus — he “sat within the king’s gate” (Esther 2:19-21). But when Ahasuerus sent out word that his servants should bow and pay homage to Haman whenever Haman walked by, Mordecai refused to obey the command. While that might have had something to do with Mordecai reserving his bowing for God alone, it’s more likely that it had to do with Haman’s lineage. Haman, you see, was a descendant of Agag, an Amalekite king whom Israel’s prophet Samuel had put to death centuries earlier by hacking him to pieces (1 Samuel 15:1-9). Samuel had done that as part of God’s command that all the Amalekites were to be destroyed.

To Israel’s shame, the Jews had historically failed to carry out that command completely, and that was evidenced by the fact that Amalekites kept popping up periodically in the Old Testament storyline (1 Samuel 27:8; 1 Samuel 30:1-2; 2 Samuel 1:1-8; 1 Chronicles 4:43). Haman, as I mentioned, was yet another example, and he no doubt knew his family tree’s long history of being killed by Jews. Because of this, he would have despised Mordecai (who was well known for being Jewish) even if Mordecai had bowed to him and paid him homage. The point is that Mordecai refusing to give Haman the public show of respect everyone else did simply lit the fuse on what was already a powder-keg relationship. As for Mordecai, he too no doubt knew about the longstanding war between his people and Haman’s people.

In Haman’s rage against Mordecai, he convinced Ahasuerus that the Jews were a threat to the Persian empire because they kept their God’s laws rather than the laws of the Persians. That, of course, was a gross exaggeration, but it was enough to get Ahasuerus to agree to allow Haman to have each and every Jew, young and old alike, executed on a certain day. As part of the plan, Haman would even donate a large sum of money out of his own pocket to the royal treasury to pay the men who did the rounding up and executing. What neither Ahasuerus nor Haman knew was that Esther, Ahasuerus’ beautiful queen, was Mordecai’s cousin and a Jew herself. She and Mordecai had kept her lineage a secret for fear that it would have prevented Ahasuerus from selecting her to be his queen.

This, then, brings us to our text passage. Once word was sent out about Haman’s plan, Mordecai began to make a public spectacle of himself in the city square of Shushan where the palace of Ahasuerus was located. Mordecai tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and cried out loudly. Even though these were all traditional acts of mourning among the Jewish people, Mordecai’s behavior embarrassed Esther and she had new clothes sent to him. Mordecai, however, refused to change his attire. Then Esther sent her trusted servant Hathach to talk to Mordecai and find out why he was acting so strangely. She either hadn’t heard about Haman’s plan to execute all the Jews or she somehow didn’t understand that the plan would extend to Mordecai and could possibly extend to her as well if her nationality was discovered.

After Mordecai explained things to Hathac, he gave Hathac a copy of the execution decree and told him to tell Esther to go to Ahasuerus and plead for the Jewish people. Esther responded by sending Hathac back to Mordecai with the message that if she attempted to approach Ahasuerus without being invited to approach his throne, she might be put to death for that egregious breach of royal etiquette. To bolster her argument, she added in that Ahasuerus hadn’t asked to see her once in the past thirty days.

Esther probably thought her reasoning was sound, but Mordecai wasn’t buying it in the least. By way of Hathac, he sent word back to her that she shouldn’t think that her being the queen would keep her safe while all her fellow Jews died. He even told her that if she remained silent and refused to help her people, not only would God deliver the Jews through some other means but He would also see to it that she and all her father’s family would perish. Then came the famous words of our text: “…Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Mordecai wanted Esther to understand that she hadn’t become queen by accident. He wanted her to acknowledge that her winning that beauty contest hadn’t been a fluke. He wanted her to realize that God was the one who had raised her up to that lofty position, and He had done it because His perfect foreknowledge had shown Him what Haman would ultimately try to pull. In Mordecai’s way of looking at the situation, it was now time for Esther to play the role that God had placed her in perfect position to play.

To her credit, once Esther received this answer from Mordecai, she sent him a return reply that instructed him to get all the Jews in Shushan to fast for her for three days while she and her servants did likewise. At the end of the three days, she would attempt to approach Ahasuerus. She closed her reply by saying, “And if I perish, I perish!”

So, how did things turn out? Well, it’s a fairly complicated story and this post has already gotten longer than I wanted it to get, so let me just give you the basics. They are: Ahasuerus received Esther gladly, the Jewish people were saved, Haman was executed by way of hanging, Ahasuerus gave Esther all of Haman’s wealth and property, and Mordecai was elevated to the second-in-command status that Haman had once held. You talk about a happy ending!

As I close, though, I want you to consider this story in relation to your own life. As we live in these strange days, these days in which we are witnessing events the likes of which we have never seen, have you considered how God wants to use you in His service in the midst of it all? The truth is that He has you stationed right there in your specific corner of the world to be the vessel through whom He works. But you, like Esther, must submit yourself to the role no matter what it might cost you. Basically, the question you have to ask yourself is, “Am I willing to accept God’s assignment and play my role for such a time as this?” If you are, then get alone with God and ask Him, “Lord, how do you want me to serve You here where You have me right now?” Then listen carefully for His answer and go out and do it.

Posted in Current Events, Discipleship, Doing Good, God's Work, Influence, Ministry, Obedience, Service | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled

Posted on January 11, 2021 by russellmckinney

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.” (John 14:1, N.K.J.V.)

Some people just have to worry, even when there is nothing happening that is worrisome. They are like the patient in the mental hospital who was sitting with his ear placed right up against the wall. When the attendant came into the room to give him his dinnertime meal, the patient motioned the attendant over to him and said, “Put your ear up against this wall and tell me what you hear.” The attendant obliged and said to the patient, “I don’t hear anything.” The patient answered, “I know, it’s been like that all day. What do you think they are up to out there?”

Jesus said to His apostles, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.” The teaching is: A troubled heart and belief in Jesus should be incompatible. On another occasion, He said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:27-28, N.K.J.V.). The teaching there is: Jesus has the Christian safely and securely in His hand.

By combining the two teachings, we learn that since Jesus has the Christian safely and securely in His hand, the Christian’s heart should never be troubled. I should also mention that the Greek word translated as “know” in Jesus’ quote, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them…” is ginosko. It is the specific Greek word that describes the most complete and comprehensive knowledge possible.

This same Greek word is used in John 10:15 in reference to how Jesus and God the Father know each other, and it’s also used in Luke 16:15 in reference to how God knows the hearts of individuals. Just how deeply intimate is this word? It’s enough so to refer to sexual relations in Matthew 1:25 to describe the relationship Joseph didn’t have with Mary before she gave birth to Jesus (“…and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son.”). That, Christian, is how well Jesus knows you and all the potentially worrisome problems and situations you are facing.

With this in mind, your response to His words, “Let not your heart be troubled” should be, “Okay, Jesus, thank You. Forgive me for worrying.” Don’t be like the guy who took an egg out of the carton and swallowed the egg whole to win a bet. Once he realized the stupidity of what he had done, he started to worry. He first worried that if he moved, the egg would break inside him and cause him stomach trouble. That resulted in him sitting motionless for hours. But then he started to worry that him sitting motionless like that would cause the egg to hatch!

Look, I get it that life comes complete with events and problems that will cause concern in any right-thinking individual. I mean, let’s face it, some bullies aren’t all bluff, some dogs do bite, and sometimes the diagnosis is cancer. Jesus Himself got betrayed, arrested, tried, and crucified, and (if historical tradition can be trusted) each of the apostles (except for Judas Iscariot) died as martyrs. Still, in spite of everything that life can and does throw at us, Jesus says, “I’ve got you, so don’t worry.”

Think of it this way, Christian, the worst this world can do to you is kill you, and that will just get you promoted to your heavenly home where you will never again experience pain, sorrow, regret, and heartache. Perhaps that’s why Jesus could be so adamant in telling His followers not to worry. Again, no one is saying that life is always easy. The key is to not let your appropriate concerns cross the line into sinful worrying. You must replace your fear with faith, your turmoil with trust, and your worry with worship. Remember, the sovereign God of all creation, the Savior who died on a Roman cross in order that all your sins could be forgiven, loves you with a perfect love, knows you intimately, and has you in the palm of His hand. You never walk alone. You are never out His sight. And your eternal future is always secure. Therefore, even when certain people really are up to something out there, your belief in Jesus should keep your heart from getting troubled.

Posted in Adversity, Comfort, Courage, Depression, Doubt, Encouragement, Eternal Security, Fear, God's Love, God's Provision, God's Sovereignty, Grace, Inner Peace, Needs, Peace, Problems, Sickness, Trials, Trusting In God, Worry | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

One Man’s Opinion

Posted on January 8, 2021 by russellmckinney

Four years ago, in the immediate aftermath of the election between Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton, I wrote a post entitled The Christian & Government. As part of that post, I listed ten Bible passages — five from the Old Testament and five from the New Testament — as proof texts that the Bible teaches that the Christian should submit to the authority of his/her government. I wrote:

This applies to Christians living in an America where Republican Donald Trump leads the government just as it would have applied to an America where Hilary Clinton led it. For that matter, it would have equally applied to an American government led by Libertarian Gary Johnson or Green Party candidate Jill Stein.

While I won’t recite those ten passages here, if you want to read them for yourself, they are: Romans 13:1-7; Daniel 2:20-21; 1 Peter 2:11-14; Psalm 75:6-7; Luke 20:22-25; Daniel 4:25; John 19:10-11; Jeremiah 29:7; 1 Timothy 2:1-2; and Job 12:18. Or, you can just go back and read the entire post. It’s not that long.

Well, here we are four years later, and this time around it’s the Republicans who are fighting mad about the results of the election. All that anger served as the fuel for an armed mob of radicals to storm our nation’s Capital building this past Wednesday, overpower or push past the guards, and temporarily lay siege to the building. The political leaders inside the building were forced to take cover, hide, and ultimately flee the premises. Five people ended up dead as a result of the uprising, and one of those was a Capital police officer named Brian D. Sicknick. Reports indicate that he died from injuries sustained from being struck with a fire extinguisher.

I have no idea how many members of that mob were professing Christians, but my guess is the number would be fairly high. Obviously, such people don’t cling to the scriptural truth that God, in His providential sovereignty, raises up political leaders, brings down political leaders, and gives kingdoms to whomever He will. Then again, maybe they do cling to it as long as God sees fit that a Republican wins the Presidency.

One of the mob members might argue, “But the election was stolen from Donald Trump by rigged voting machines and thousands of bogus mail-in ballots.” Okay, I understand the argument. However, even if those assertions could be proven to be true — and I think most of us realize that if such crimes were carried out, the tracks have been covered so well that we’ll never find the evidence — what we are left with is God’s perfect foreknowledge. If the fix was in for Biden, would God have known about it ahead of time? Yes, He would have. This means that even if President Trump really did get robbed, God saw it coming and chose not to stop it.

Therefore, based upon what the Bible teaches about God and His role in government, the real question is not, “Has God either caused or at least allowed Joe Biden to become the President of the United States of America?” Clearly, He has. The real question is, “Why would God allow such a man to hold that title?”

Joe Biden, after all, represents a political party whose platform supports, legalizes, and promotes two sins that are as unbiblical as unbiblical can be: abortion and homosexuality. Speaking bluntly, those two issues are why I have never voted for a Democratic candidate for anything and will never do so. It’s not that I can’t see the flaws and failures of the Republican party and all of its political leaders, including Donald Trump. Those flaws and failures aren’t hard to spot, and I’m not stupid. No, my problem with voting for Joe Biden, Hilary Clinton, Barak Obama, Bill Clinton, etc., etc., etc. is that I can’t vote for any candidate who aligns himself or herself with those who legislate in favor of killing babies in the womb and celebrating sexual behavior that God explicitly labels as abomination and perversion in both the Old Testament and the New Testament of His written word. Because of that, no matter who the Republicans run, I have to either vote for that candidate, throw my vote away on a third-party candidate, write in Spongebob Squarepants, or sit out the election completely.

You see, if the Republicans and Democrats somehow magically swapped their party platforms, I would immediately change my party affiliation to Democrat. I’m not a died-in-the-wool Republican any more than I could ever be a died-in-the-wool Democrat. I pastor a Baptist church, but I can’t even describe myself as a died-in-the-wool Baptist. As proof of that, I served as the pastor of a non-denominational church for eight years. What I am is a died-in-the-wool, Bible-believing Christian. I’m a simpleton in that way.

You say, “But Russell, what you are saying makes you a two-issue voter.” Yes, it does. But isn’t it about time we admitted that everybody is a one-issue voter or a two-issue voter? For some voters, racism is an issue that trumps (no pun intended) all the other issues. For others, it’s homosexual rights. For others, it’s the economy. For others, it’s national defense. For others, it’s student loans. For others, it’s the environment. For others, it’s aid to farmers. For others, it’s foreign relations. For others, it’s health care. For others, it’s public education. For others, it’s Social Security. For others, it’s immigration. For others, it’s whatever party their father or grandfather supported. Seriously, the hard, cold truth of the matter is that everybody votes according to what’s in their wheelhouse. None of us, and I do mean none of us, is as broadminded as we like to think we are.

Furthermore, it’s very possible that singular facts can prevent us from voting for a candidate. For example, let’s say that a Presidential candidate checks off every one of your boxes and you are excited about casting your vote for him. Then it is discovered that he, through a legal loop hole, took millions of dollars from his company’s retirement fund. Will you still vote for the guy or will that one character flaw change your whole opinion of him? Or, let’s say that a Senatorial candidate speaks to your heart in regards to all the issues that are important to you and you can’t wait to vote for her in the upcoming election. Then a background check uncovers that her first husband died under very suspicious circumstances and she is still a prime suspect in the case. Will that change your opinion of her even though her positions on all the policies remains the same? Do you see what I’m saying? Just one issue, regardless of all the other issues, can serve as the determining factor in how you vote.

Whether we admit it or not, we all have our “don’t step across that line” issues, and these issues decide how we vote. My two are abortion and homosexuality. There, I said it. Someone asks me, “What about racism?” My answer is, “I’m against it, but since neither political party legislatively endorses racism or has it as one of its party platforms, and since not all Republicans are racists and not all Democrats are innocent of being racists, that issue doesn’t compel me to vote for either party.” Someone else asks me, “What about immigration?” Again, since neither political party is trying to make immigration illegal as one of its party platforms, and the difference between the two parties on the issue comes down to the nuts and bolts of how immigrants can become American citizens, immigration doesn’t compel me to vote for either party. Yet another person asks, “What about the economic divide between the rich and the poor?” To that, I answer, “Am I supposed to believe that a bunch of millionaire politicians, whether they be Republicans or Democrats, can even remotely relate to the plight of the middle class and the poor in America? Please, give me a break with that. The truth is they are all part of the elite and I definitely am not.”

Now let me get back to the rioting that took place a couple of days ago. My take is that what we saw is merely the latest evidence of a nation that has turned its back on God. In a zillion ways, we’ve become a bunch of rebels against Him, and the Bible teaches in case study after case study that rebellion against God will always end in chaos and judgment. That’s where we are, folks, and that’s where all indications point to us remaining. The Bible talks about sowing the wind and reaping the whirlwind (Hosea 8:7), and we as a nation have been sowing the wind for a long time now. Did we foolishly think the whirlwind would never reach us? Surely it’s upon us now, and according to Biblical prophecy, it’s just getting warmed up. The Bible also says that God is not mocked, which means that whatever seed gets sown gets reaped come harvest time (Galatians 6:7). With that universal law in full operation, even if we Americans wake up tomorrow morning and change the seed we are sowing, we’ll still have to endure the harvests of judgment that are already coming down the line from the seed we’ve been sowing for decades.

As for me personally, it strikes me that what I am is tired, bone tired. I’m tired of Donald Trump tweeting and playing golf every Sunday morning instead of attending church. I’m tired of Joe Biden grinning like a Cheshire cat and thinking he hit a triple simply because he woke up on third base after the Democratic National Party pressured Bernie Sanders and that vast field of other candidates to drop out and give him a clear path to become the party’s candidate for President. I’m tired of Mitch McConnell looking surly, mumbling, and not even attempting to play nice with anybody. I’m tired of Nancy Pelosi, her color-coordinated outfits and masks, and her attempts to retool the English language to eliminate gender-specific words. I’m tired of Supreme Court Justices making previous Court precedent the deciding factor in their decisions because they don’t want other Justices coming along in a few years and overturning their decisions. I’m tired of Lebron James telling me I was born privileged because I was born white, when I know that I was also born to be 5’7 and athletically limited while he was born to be 6’9 and athletically gifted enough to earn half a billion dollars playing a sport I played for free. I’m tired of news stations spinning the news rather than just reporting it and letting me decide the facts for myself. I’m tired of Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert arrogantly using the venues of their late-night talk shows to make fun of anyone who has a different opinion than theirs. I’m tired of…..well, you get the idea.

I’m so glad that my ultimate citizenship is in heaven rather than in the town of Spruce Pine, the county of Mitchell, the state of North Carolina, the country of America, or the world of Planet Earth. I’m just a sojourner who is only passing through this foreign land for a little while until I get promoted to my eternal home in glory. As a Christian, my future there is guaranteed because I will serve as a valued member of the royal staff for the King of Kings who will rule and reign for all eternity. Once I am at last in His presence, I won’t have to worry about who to vote for ever again, and I won’t have to write any more blog posts that deal with politics. That, in and of itself, will be enough to make heaven heaven!

Until then, though, I’m here in this mortal coil (that’s a little Shakespeare for you) right alongside everybody else. Maybe we won’t see any more scenes like we witnessed Wednesday, but as I’ve explained, all bets are off at this point. I would say the future is unknowable, but actually the Bible makes it pretty knowable. And, as better preachers than me have pointed out, America isn’t named as being one of the major players on the world stage for the prophetic events of the end times. You can make of that what you will, but what I make of it is that America’s future doesn’t look nearly so bright as its past. Admittedly, that’s just one man’s opinion, but like everybody else, I do get one.

Posted in Abortion, Coming Judgment, Current Events, God's Sovereignty, Government, Heaven, Homosexuality, Leadership, Personal, Politics, Prophecy, Racism | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment