We’ll Know More Monday – Part 2
“Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted to you.” (Mark 11:24-25, NASB)
The first gift came in the initial report – while I still faced surgery, the benign biopsy elevated my hope. Second, the shortened wait relieved the part of me still vulnerable to stress and worry. Third, I am in complete awe that a “chance” encounter with my brother on a weekend led to a personal call two days prior to my follow-up appointment. The details of that chance encounter – incredible as they are – reduce to this: I received a personal call – not from my primary physician, but a specialist – on a Saturday from my brother’s phone. How does that happen except by the love of God through a caring doctor?
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We’ll Know More Monday – Part 1
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Be Careful Studying the Bible, You Could Be Deceived
Ok, ok, I admit I’m about to contradict myself and I say that to head-off the negative comments, the subject elicits enough of its own. In my last post, I argued that the reason end-time prophecy has been made complicated is because almost everyone comes to the biblical text with an end-time view before they have actually read the end-time prophecies themselves. Therefore, rather than our end-time view coming from Scripture, we read a view into Scripture. These ideas we bring to the Sacred Text are called presuppositions. And I spent close to a thousand words (which was way more than you wanted to read) in that post urging you to put yourself in theological neutral when you come to the Bible, throwing off all your preconceived views and read the Bible and let it shape your view.
But now in the first post of my follow-up series, The Endtime Views Series, I’m going to argue that there is a presupposition we all MUST take to the text. I realize the contradiction—throw off presuppositions last week and a presupposition is necessary this week.
But this presupposition that you must have guards against other presuppositions that are dangerous.
And what is this must have presupposition?
The presupposition of deception.
When we come to read, interpret, and understand the Bible we MUST know that the Bible warns that we haven an enemy whose number one tool is deception and that we are susceptive to that deception (1 Peter 5:8, John 10:10, John 8:44, Eph. 6:11-12, 2 Cor. 2:11). Not only are we warned that our enemy deceives, but we are warned that we will gravitate to teachings that allows us to carry out our own evil desires (2 Tim. 4:3-4). We’re also warned that our hearts can be fickle (Jer. 17:9), and that we struggle to give ourselves trustworthy self-assessments (James 1:23). And on top of all that every New Testament book, but Philemon warns of false teachers (1 Tim 4:1-4).
So, let’s think through this.
The last book in the New Testament was finished no more than sixty years after Jesus ascended into Heaven. The majority of the Epistles which tell the recipients that they have already been bewitched or led astray were only thirty years removed from Jesus’ return to the Father. Those first Christians only thirty to forty years away from the start of this Movement were warned they had been and could be deceived, they would gravitate to false teaching, and there would be false teachers.
Therefore, now nearly two-thousand years later, we’re in a mess. Satan and demonic
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vermin have had six-hundred times the amount of time they had to bewitch the believers of Galatia and Thyatira. We’ve had two-thousand years to bend and mold Scripture to fit our own desires. And in two-thousand years the false teaching profession has masterfully grown. We’re drowning in deception and each day new schemes are created. And if I make it sound bleak—it’s because it is. And it’s with the weight of this bleakness in which we should come to the Text. We should know that we’re a boat on the sea that can be easily tossed by the waves and pulled by the undertows. We need to know that EVERY pastor, scholar, teacher, professor, commentary writer, author, and advice-giving friend is also susceptible of being deceived.
When we see our enemy is scheming, doctrinal booby traps have been set, and we need Holy Spirit-provided armor then we are set to more accurately read and interpret the Bible. It is in the sweating that we may understand the Bible wrong that we can begin to accurately divide the Word. It is at this point that we have developed the presupposition of deception and we know to be careful studying the Bible—you could be deceived.
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Bonus: Helpful Hints to Utilize the Presupposition of Deception
So…now what? For one, don’t be too afraid to read and study the Bible, but we must respect that we are at war in finding the truth. But we can know the truth. We have been given the Holy Spirit to illuminate and guide us. We’ve also been given solid hermeneutical practices. I want to share a few things that I utilize to try to work through the deception.
- Read the Bible – Yes, it’s that simple, read what the Bible says. Meditate on what it says. Go beyond just isolated verses and read the context and the whole council. Don’t just take someone’s word for it, read it for yourself and again read in context.
- Seek God Holistically and Balanced – I know this sounds crazy but believe it or not many try to read and study the Bible without seeking any other spiritual growth or by the same token they do spiritual practices without reading the Word. In Ephesians 6, the Apostle Paul tells us to fight Satan’s attacks by putting on the full armor of God. He doesn’t just tell us to read the Bible or just share the Gospel. We’re to equally cover our life in all aspects of following Christ.
- Walk in the Spirit – This goes with the previous point, but make sure you have a regular time with God. A quiet time, devotional, or whatever you wanna call it. Regularly seek Him.
- Interpret Scripture with Scripture – This is a hermeneutical principle and there are other like principles I could list, but I don’t share this as a principle but as a reminder that you have to not just read the parts of the Bible you want to read. If we’re to interpret Scripture with Scripture then we have to read the whole council of God’s Word. For example, it was not until I immersed myself in the Old Testament that end-time prophecy came alive. And the whole council of Scripture also points us to understanding the reasoning and purpose of certain aspects like Samuel Whitefield has written about in his new book, It Must Be Finished.
- Keep Assessing Yourself – No matter how spiritual we may think we are, we still will always gravitate to teachings that allow us to live out our desires or take the path of least resistance. We must constantly be peering into our own hearts and asking if our interpretation is self-serving or the truth. And self-serving can also extend to preserving our status in our own churches and denominations.
- Go Back to the Beginning and the Restarts – Yes, we need to read and work through Scripture ourselves, but we will have to turn for help. We must “check” our work with trusted sources. There are tons of sources to turn to—commentaries, books, sermons, and preachers both past and present. I always check my work with the beginning of Christianity by returning to the Church Fathers especially the earliest ones. Does this mean they are right on everything—NO! But I believe they have the greatest opportunity to have a less tarnished interpretation. Next, I go to the various restarts, reforms, and revivals in Christian history to see what was sought to be corrected. Of course, the largest volume of these would be the Reformers. Again, they weren’t right on everything. But not just the reformers, there have been many times throughout history when there has been an attempt to hit reset on a doctrine or practice. A recent example is over the last ten to fifteen years, as Joel Richardson has brought to the forefront the understanding that the final empire of Daniel 2 could be the Islamic Caliphate rather than the Roman Empire. Richardson’s view is new, but it calls us back to reexamine the text. When a practice or doctrine is reviewed by returning us to the Bible that is a restart we should consider.
Also join our newsletter. Twice a month get a load of tools to help you prepare for challenges now and in the future. Register here.
Jake McCandless is an award-winning author and the executive director for Stand Firm Ministries and Prophecy Simplified . A long-time pastor who is now co-pastor of the innovatve “above-ground underground,” online church, Endtime.Church., Jake has a B.A. in Bible and Pastoral Studies from Central Baptist College, and an Advanced Masters of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. His latest book Spiritual Prepper released through WND Books, He also is a regular contributor to WND News with voices such as Joseph Farrah, Pat Buchanan, Ann Coulter, Ben Carson, Chuck Norris, Joel Richardson, Carl Gallups. He also writes for the The Baptist Press along with other publications. He is also a regular guest on national radio and streaming web shows, along with hosting his daily radio program Prophecy Simplified Radio and weekly podcast Hold On. Jake is married to Amanda and they have two daughters Andrea and Addison. You can follow all Jake’s work at www.jakemccandless.com. Read more...
Declaration Series IV: Bible Prophecy Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated, Read It
I advertise I want to be the boring prophecy guy. I know I need some marketing tips—you know anyone? And I learned really quick, prophecy-intrigued audiences don’t want the boring prophecy guy, they want the great-code-breaker or the wild conspiracist. But I have kept the tagline because there is not an end-time code to break (even if there are thirty books in Amazon’s prophecy Top 100 with that in the title). Now there are some mysteries, but not as many as we make it out to be. I’m convinced Bible prophecy doesn’t have to be as complicated as we make it.
I want to be the boring prophecy guy because the Bible is clear on many aspects of the end-times, and those things are what we should focus on and they’re enough to understand what we need to understand. Bible prophecy is not complicated rather we are the ones who have muddied the prophecy interpretation waters, God’s Word has not failed. Bible scholars before us have created systems or views of prophecy interpretation and we now adopt one of those views before we read. We then read with those presuppositions which often creates great complications. That is why we’re so confused.
It wasn’t until I placed my heart and mind in theological-neutral and actually read the words of the prophets and Revelation that the chaos vanished, and truth rose to the surface. It was a painstaking journey through the Old Testament that brought the end of the age to focus. And this journey was after college and seminary. So, I acknowledge, such study is work, but, frankly, I found I hadn’t read and truly worked through the texts myself. And this arrival at actually just reading the texts and trying to push my presupposition aside was only a few years ago. I want to share my journey of end-time understanding to draw attention to the fact that we are setting our minds on an end-time view before even reading Scripture.
Long before I even read the “main” end-time verses, my mind was set on how they should be interpreted. Long before I read about the end-times, I had read and watched the Left Behind series. I had watched A Thief in the Night. I listened to DC Talk. The only sense of the end-time scenario I had was a pending, quick as lightning, neatly-folded-clothes rapture.
I went into Bible College with this view while the only verse in Revelation I had really read was Revelation 3:15-16 (which again was prompted by DC Talk). In the summer, after my freshman year, before I had any teaching on the end of the age, I picked up a book on Revelation from my local Christian book store. I actually knew nothing of the author nor his view, but as a passionate youth pastor, I spent the summer teaching through that book. A book , that I now know, only contained proof texts.
Finally, in my sophomore year I had Eschatology and was taught premillennial dispensationalism was the one and only way in which The Book of Revelation could be interpreted. Therefore, I chose my stance I was a Clarence-Larkin-chart-memorizing Dispensational Premillennialist, hard and firm, that the rapture would be before the tribulation. I read nothing from opposing views, rather swore them off as evil.
Fast forward to seminary, my first semester Systematic Theology class further persuaded me to be a staunch dispensationalist. But as I progressed in my studies and began to take on the air of a scholar—I came to believe that premillies were hoaky and uneducated, and for one to truly be a scholar than he or she must be an amillennialist. Reluctant, to take the amillennial title, I just quit teaching and talking about end-times stuff—rather I became just focused on the Gospel. I took on a more-worthy cause because (I hope you read this with the sarcastic tone I’m typing in) the end-times is only peripheral to the Gospel, Missions, and Church planting.
Then came fourth-year summer term course on The Book of Revelation. That professor was a real scholar (again that tone), he taught that The Book of Revelation was just a spiritual metaphor to the completion of suffering. I now had my ammo to take on the banner of an amillie. And to sound even cooler, I was an amillennialist who viewed The Book of Revelation through an eclectic interpretation. Some literal. Most spiritual and metaphorical. It depended on which commentator sounded the best.
Let’s fast forward a few more years, I was pastoring and had realized (following my Hebrew grades) I was not a scholar. And my tree-stand readings had been from David Jeremiah, so again I came over to the premill camp, but I wasn’t sure about dispensationalism. As you can see I’ve had quite the end-time view journey, but this latest chapter of the journey has brought me to a point of stability.
If you agree with Jake that Bible prophecy should lead to action. Then get his latest book, Spiritual Prepper.
Three years ago, I taught an Old Testament Survey course at a lay seminary. And it was through that painstaking study through the Old Testament focused on the covenants, that I finally dug in and read Scripture. Now I had read the Bible cover to cover, but never dug in and really focused on books like the Minor Prophets. That grind through the Bible with presuppositions thrown to the side woke me up. It woke me up to the importance of end-times prophecy and how that it was not as complicated as we make it.
A month ago, I celebrated my twentieth year in ministry. And I now realize I spent the first seventeen years treating end-time views like a pizza buffet. I would look at the options—premillennialism, postmillennialism, or amillennialism and then pick the one that sounded best. Pretribulation, mid-tribulation, pre-wrath, or post-tribulation—again which ever looked best. Futurism, preterism, or symbolism—again whatever flavor I felt like picking.
We can’t do this! End-time views or theological views of any kind aren’t slices of pizza on a buffet. Rather, they need to be birthed from the text. Scripture itself is to lend us the view we should take. And a straight forward reading of the Bible makes the selecting of views quite easy.
So, how have you come to your end-time view? Was it selected off a buffet or birthed from the text? Was it concluded from reading the Bible or through recommendation of a friend? Have you put in the hard work and actually read the Bible?
The issue is too important to just pick a view especially if you are teaching and leading others.
Also join our newsletter. Twice a month get a load of tools to help you prepare for challenges now and in the future. Register here.
Jake McCandless is an award-winning author and the executive director for Stand Firm Ministries and Prophecy Simplified . A long-time pastor who is now co-pastor of the innovatve “above-ground underground,” online church, Endtime.Church., Jake has a B.A. in Bible and Pastoral Studies from Central Baptist College, and an Advanced Masters of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. His latest book Spiritual Prepper released through WND Books, He also is a regular contributor to WND News with voices such as Joseph Farrah, Pat Buchanan, Ann Coulter, Ben Carson, Chuck Norris, Joel Richardson, Carl Gallups. He also writes for the The Baptist Press along with other publications. He is also a regular guest on national radio and streaming web shows, along with hosting his daily radio program Prophecy Simplified Radio and weekly podcast Hold On. Jake is married to Amanda and they have two daughters Andrea and Addison. You can follow all Jake’s work at www.jakemccandless.com. Read more...
Declaration of War II: Churches Are Not Prepared, I Want to Help
I know it’s a strong picture and title for a pastor to use. Especially, when he’s not talking about physically picking up arms, but rather fighting a war of ideals. I believe the strong language of this blog series and the force of the war imagery is necessary because this battle carries weighty resonating consequences. As I wrote, in the first article of this declaration of war series, many American Christians have left the church and the faith. The number one reason being the result a difficult trial arising in their lives. When this happens, we’ll rarely step up and hold on, more often than not we’re going to split.
Statistics and experience show we’re not anywhere close to standing firm now in this present time in history, so how will we ever stand if there’s even greater tribulation—and there will be. And by greater tribulation, I’m not even talking about the coming time when the Antichrist and his ghoulish army march through the world chopping heads off those who don’t bow to his image or take his mark. But that too will happen as foretold in Scripture—and we’re not showing much promise that we’ll stand in that scenario.
Rather, I’m talking about national trials that could occur at anytime such as an economic downturn like the Great Depression, heck, just another 2008-like recession. I’m talking about the continual growth in access to immorality that web designers are busy preparing for us right now. I’m talking about restrictions on religious liberty as seen across the world. It doesn’t appear we’re ready for the coming challenges to our faith. Again, we probably weren’t ready for what we faced this morning or last night. We’re not ready for the loss of a loved one, a loss of a job, going broke, a friend stabbing us in the back, a disagreement at church, the seductive glance in the office, and the list goes on. We’ve been lulled asleep with the ideas that Christianity brings financial prosperity and its just all about making a positive difference.
We’re not prepared.
Believers across this nation are not prepared.
I have this strange life where I get to pastor a church and attend a church. I’ve got this dual membership thing going (if that really is a thing). I love the church I attend. It’s a magnificent church. Truth is proclaimed, people are baptized every week, we’re making a huge impact in our city, and a huge impact around the globe. Seriously, its one of the greatest churches in the nation. My pastor even preaches on end-time stuff and about the reality of the world around us. He has his finger on the pulse of the times and the culture.
Even being such a strong church, I sat in the morning worship service a few weeks back and peered around at the three thousand gathered. They were hearing the Word proclaimed, but as I looked a phrase came across my heart Those words were, “They are sheep headed to slaughter.” Although many around me are faithfully attending church, hearing the Word taught accurately and boldly, and going through one of the best discipleship programs in the nation—they’re still not prepared. They’re not ready to have their faith survive coming challenges. Heck, I don’t even know if I’m prepared—and I wrote a book about being prepared for such challenges.
In my book, Spiritual Prepper, I begin with a story of a father facing ISIS soldiers who were asking if he really was a Christian, a follower of the Nazarene. This father knew that if he said yes, then not only would he probably be killed, but his family—his wife and children–could be harmed even killed. And in that opening chapter, I boldly stated the Biblical truth that even if his daughters were sold to be child-sex slaves and his sons were beheaded, the Father would make the right choice by not denying Christ and holding on to his faith. Yes, I said that. And yes, it’s the absolute truth given in Scripture. Our confidence should be in God not in our own clever ways.
So, I wrote that and just the other day, I was stingingly reminded of what I had written. I was throwing myself a pity-party over not being able to provide certain things for my kiddos because at sixteen I made this crazy commitment to vocational ministry. And then I even veered off the less-than-lucrative path of pastoring to launch my own non-profit. This made even worse in that I might just be the world’s worst fundraiser. (Here’s a DONATE BUTTON by-the-way).
Yeah, so, I was whinning before the Lord, and then came that cut-you-to-the-bone chastisement from Him. “Jake, you wrote and encouraged people to remain faithful even to the point of their own child being beheaded, and now here you are wavering in your faith because your kids may never go to Disney Land.” Ouch. Hashtag ‘Murica by-the-way.
I really doubt I’m prepared. It’s highly likely you are not prepared. It’s more than likely your church is not prepared.
And I know the objections. First, I do know there are those of believers who would rise and remain faithful when things hit the fan, but I believe they could be even better prepared—I know I could be. Second, I imagine you’re thinking that every week we’re preparing our people or getting prepared by the preaching of the Word and from Bible studies, but with statistics what they are of people leaving the church and faith, we have to admit that might not be doing the trick–we’re not prepared for the wimpy challenges Monday mornings pose.
I admit as a pastor I failed in preparing my congregation, even now I’m wrestling with what to do and how to better ready my people, but I do know this–we have to be intentional. We have to talk about it. We have to have the hard discussions.
Pastor, do it! Sunday School teacher share it! And I’d also love to come and share it as well.
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Jake McCandless is an award-winning author and the executive director for Stand Firm Ministries and Prophecy Simplified . A long-time pastor who is now co-pastor of the innovatve “above-ground underground,” online church, Endtime.Church., Jake has a B.A. in Bible and Pastoral Studies from Central Baptist College, and an Advanced Masters of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. His latest book Spiritual Prepper released through WND Books, He also is a regular contributor to WND News with voices such as Joseph Farrah, Pat Buchanan, Ann Coulter, Ben Carson, Chuck Norris, Joel Richardson, Carl Gallups. He also writes for the The Baptist Press along with other publications. He is also a regular guest on national radio and streaming web shows, along with hosting his daily radio program Prophecy Simplified Radio and weekly podcast Hold On. Jake is married to Amanda and they have two daughters Andrea and Addison. You can follow all Jake’s work at www.jakemccandless.com. Read more...
Declaration of War: People are Leaving the Faith, I Want to Help
I’m declaring war against an epidemic in America. No more timidity. No more holding back. There is too much on the line. What is at stake is too important.
If you follow Stand Firm Ministries or anything I’ve been up to the past couple of years, then you have heard my story. And I know, it’s yada, yada, but again–here I go. If you’re familiar with the story, you have my permission to skip the next paragraph, but not permission to exit the screen!
I was serving as pastor at a church I loved, with people I love. Life and ministry was great. We’d been there for 11 years. The church and the community were our life, and life was good! Then I began to follow a long-time prompting of the Holy Spirit to write. In doing so, somehow, I began to write about prophecies in the Bible that we often overlook, prophecies that not only tell about the political and doomsday-type stuff at the end of the age, but rather tell how we will be in terms of our faith and morality. The image Scripture gives us is not good. Matthew 24:10 warns, many of us will turn away. That prophecy opened my eyes to the reality all around us—many had already left the faith in America. An astounding forty-two million by 2015. When faced with challenges in life, many professed Christians are splitting from the church and often the faith. This was alarming, especially since other prophecies tell us those challenges will only grow more difficult.
In response to the leading of the Spirit and the findings mentioned above, I left that pastorate and began Stand Firm Ministries and Prophecy Simplified. Stand Firm Ministries was established to encourage believers to hold-on to their faith, and Prophecy Simplified to share Scripturally and simplistically the challenges that will come our way in the future.
My number one hope is to encourage local churches across the nation with the message to hold on to their faith and identify the coming challenges to the faith. Due to the stigmatism that accompanies prophecy, I have carefully guarded what I say, not wanting to hinder future opportunities. Let’s be honest, we tend to think prophecy teachers are tin-foil hat wearing crazies. At least I did. So, I have walked on eggshells constantly laying out the prayer-fleece, so I’d not cross the line into crazy-town. But I can’t walk that tight rope anymore. I can’t suppress the truth. Too much is at stake.
Millions across the nation are departing the church and faith. Europe already has. This very morning, the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting held a meeting on the possibility that the denomination was dying. Yes, part of all this turning away is just the “wheat and tares harvest”, but the causalities do not have to be so high. Church members need to be encouraged to hold the line now, and we need to begin ministries to welcome back those who have walked away.
We need to know what the Bible is clear about in terms of the end. We need to recognize what has been and is being fulfilled before our very eyes. We need to be prepared to remain faithful now and in the future.
There I’ve said it.
I put my foot in my mouth.
I committed myself.
I exposed a calling, I’ve carried out sheepishly.
I hope you hold me to it. The stakes are high. Therefore, I declare war. My gauntlet is thrown down. On this hill I die. I declare war on silence. I declare war on not shouting down warnings from the wall. I declare war on the challenges that are blindsiding Christians and causing them to abandon their faith. I declare war on not being chicken-little announcing the sky is falling because it is.
The stakes are high—Stand Firm.
Also join our newsletter. Twice a month get a load of tools to help you hold on and fight this war, too. Register here.
Jake McCandless is an award-winning author and the executive director for Stand Firm Ministries and Prophecy Simplified . A long-time pastor who is now co-pastor of the innovatve “above-ground underground,” online church, Endtime.Church., Jake has a B.A. in Bible and Pastoral Studies from Central Baptist College, and an Advanced Masters of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. His latest book Spiritual Prepper released through WND Books, He also is a regular contributor to WND News with voices such as Joseph Farrah, Pat Buchanan, Ann Coulter, Ben Carson, Chuck Norris, Joel Richardson, Carl Gallups. He also writes for the The Baptist Press along with other publications. He is also a regular guest on national radio and streaming web shows, along with hosting his daily radio program Prophecy Simplified Radio and weekly podcast Hold On. Jake is married to Amanda and they have two daughters Andrea and Addison. You can follow all Jake’s work at www.jakemccandless.com. Read more...
Uncertain About What’s Next
Mixed emotions flooded my soul. Pride, awe, relief, joy, fear, confidence, peace, and uncertainty for what comes next.
Pride, because from the beginning of her college search, she targeted one place for one reason. She chose a specific private Christian college to equip her to serve the Lord in ministry. To be sure of her convictions and her calling, my husband and I offered options. She held firm to her decision and received the necessary scholarships to resolve any financial obstacles. What Christian parent wouldn’t be pleased with that?
Marinna felt God directed her, and she held on believing He would provide.
He did.
I stand in awe of her spiritual growth, focus, and her Christian convictions. While far from perfect, as a deacon’s kid and a pastor’s kid all her life, Marinna’s consistent exposure to the Word of God set a firm foundation for her. However, a strong-willed, openly opinionated child combined with our parenting faults and failings, created a real opportunity for quite the opposite. More so, I stand in awe of all God placed before her despite our parenting mistakes. I praise Him for giving her the wisdom to make good choices. As her parents, we hold on trusting God to finish the good works He started in her. (Phil 1:6)
As our graduate paused next to the college president, turned, and smiled at the camera, I released a long, slow sigh of relief as if letting go of the spiritual breath I held since her adolescence. The challenging seasons of preteen, teen, and college passed without irrational decisions, irresponsible behavior, or irreparable damage. The chick in the nest remained safe and ready to fly.
With college finished, for now at least, joy fills us for many reasons: her ministry focus; academic accomplishments; finishing college without debt. But what fills me most with joy is witnessing her growth in the Lord – both scholastic and spiritual.
Is she still strong willed, opinionated and stubborn? Yes! Imagine those traits, coupled with quick wit and a fearless nature all focused on the Lord and not the desires of this world. I fear for the opposition she will face, for her sake and theirs. Strong-willed individuals are famous for their relentlessness – a doubled edge sword for sure. Oh, the stories I could tell, but I won’t – not yet, anyway.
Marinna exudes confidence and self-assurance. However, my confidence in her arises not from her own, but from God. I hold on knowing God clasps my daughter in the palm of His hand. Wherever He takes her, whatever He calls her to do, whomever He calls her to be, He will equip her, supply her needs, and finish His great work in her. As long as she remains in the center of His will, peace settles in my heart.
Then, uncertainty disrupts the peace when my mind speaks louder than my heart. The mental conversation seems more like a ping pong match between the two. So many unsettled questions served up in one part of my mind end up answered by another. “What’s next? Will she be close, or far away? Will she immediately find vocational ministry, or remain in a secular job?” Then, “God knows. God’s got this. God’s got her.” Letting go proves difficult, especially for the parents of an only child.
Maybe you feel the same. Whether your child is graduating kindergarten, high school, or college, maybe you also wrestle with the uncertainty of the future even as you know, “God’s got this.” Or maybe a heavy heart weighs on you as our cunning enemy lures your child away from God. Are you burdened with guilt, questioning every parenting decision you ever made, wishing things for your child would turn out differently? Maybe even as a model parent, your child chose a path contrary to the Will of God leaving you standing by, stunned, and unsure of anything.
Maybe you are the graduate and you are fighting the fear of an uncertain future.
Read these words.
Hold on.
Do. Not. Give. Up.
Trust God no matter what. Hang on in faith and pray.
Please understand, I know those words are easier said than lived. God never promised our walk with Him would be easy. Our strength for the required endurance comes from Him.
While we are proud of our daughter, God is the hero of this story – not Marinna, and certainly not our parenting skills. [If only you knew!] Even just one wrong choice opens the door for a very different outcome. Sometimes someone else’s wrong choice impacts us and changes everything.
As parents, we desire the best for our children. We want to protect them.
We know the dangers of this world, potential pitfalls, and the active work of an enemy who wishes to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10). We see evidence of his destruction and evil every day. We pray – and we should, without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
God holds the answers to all things, is everywhere, and can protect my daughter no matter what. Knowing this gives me peace and provides comfort when I am uncertain about what comes next.
I pray you find peace and comfort in that as well.
“For I know the plans I have for you – this is the Lord’s declaration – plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11 HCSB)
(Editor’s Note: Thank you, President Terry Kimbrow, and the faculty and staff of Central Baptist College of Conway, AR, for our daughter’s quality Bible education.)
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Roots to Stand Upon
“Oh, yay! I will finally have roots,” our eight-year-old daughter squealed.
I remember well that day in 2004. My husband and I felt God calling us back to Arkansas from the Midwest, so once our direction became clear, we shared our plans. Marinna’s response to our announcement struck a chord in my heart.
Roots. That word settled deep in my soul.
Why I never thought about her absence of roots, or her need for it, I really don’t know. Preoccupied? Oblivious? Who knows? But in her excitement I realized she spent more time without extended family surrounding her than with them. When we left our home state five and a half years prior, Marinna was only two years old. Her young mind remembered very little of the years we lived near family.
Living 750 miles away, trips home were limited to once or twice per year.
She wanted roots.
Without family in the area when we moved to Nebraska, we depended upon new relationships to fill the void. (God intervened, and that’s great story for another day.) With a fourteen-hour drive one way, weekend visits were not an option. We also moved four times in five and a half years for my job.
No family ties. No roots.
Not in Nebraska.
Not in South Dakota.
Marinna attended schools with children whose families lived in the same area for generations. The towns were small so many of her friends’ classmates attended school with their cousins. She desired that familial connection. She wanted that link to her history and her heritage.
She needed roots.
No wonder the news of our return to Arkansas resulted in her spontaneous squeal of excitement.
But not just anywhere in Arkansas.
Central Arkansas.
Home.
Finally, Marinna connected with her roots. Family – not friends who became family – a blood link.
My friends, as Christians, we have a blood link through Jesus Christ. We are family, adopted heirs of the throne through our faith in Jesus, by the blood He shed for us as an atonement for our sins. When we accept Him as our Lord and Savior, we are rooted in the family of God.
When we accept Him, we have roots like no other roots.
When we accept Him, we have a home like no other home.
When we accept Him, we have family like no other family.
There is no distance too great for Him to cross every single moment of every single day.
There is no place beyond His reach; no hurt He cannot heal; no family He cannot repair; no home He cannot rebuild; no promise He will ever break.
Are we dysfunctional at times? Without a doubt. But while we are flawed human beings, we are His children. He is our Father.
Christian, trust Him with everything.
Stand firm on your Heavenly roots.
Hold tight to your Holy family tree.
Fourteen years ago, our young daughter erupted with excitement about finally being home with family, firmly planted in her roots.
God rooted deep within us a desire in our hearts for Him; the want to be near Him; to need Him.
As Christians, when we make our heavenly move home, we will no longer feel unsettled, restless, or sometimes distant from the one and only God who loves us so much, He gave us the life of His son, Jesus.
That’s some kind of deep root.
That’s some kind of blood link.
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A Faith that Stands Firm Through Generations
While compiling historical information for a recent family reunion, I discovered countless fascinating stories of adventure, fear, tragedy, joy, loss and sorrow, faith and hope. Many of these stories reflect a firm faith in God – a hold weakened in present day America.
For a moment, let’s journey back to the year 1815.
A looming threat of famine compels many to leave their homeland for the chance at a better life in another country. A man and his family board a ship in Switzerland, bound for America. That man I know only as Mr. Little.
During the six-week journey, the ship begins to take on water. In desperate effort to empty the hull faster than it fills, every man aboard sets to work at the pumps. All unnecessary cargo is thrown overboard. The situation is dire, so the captain prepares his passengers and crew for death.
Imagine the desperate prayers of those aboard that ship, praying for God to save them.
After two days and nights of constant effort leaves everyone exhausted, a hole in the hull is discovered. A ham of beef stuffed into the breach slows the flow of water. I imagine the trickling and seeping water is a welcomed sight compared to the pouring threat of impending death. While not free of danger, hope survives.
And hope lands them in Baltimore, MD. Imagine their appearance, dirty, ragged and worn, as they depart the ship. Perhaps that is why a “benevolent country man” feels compelled to provide a free meal to every passenger on that ship. What a welcomed gesture since many aboard would be indentured for years to pay the balance of their passage, including Little who is $60 short.
Sometime after his indenture is complete, Little presses westward with his family to Washington County, PA. Loading all their meager belongings onto a single covered wagon drawn by one horse – a borrowed horse – they set out to cross mountains and rugged forest terrain. In this primarily uninhabited country, the horse dies and leaves the family stranded.
With no way to rescue themselves, they cry out to God for mercy.
God answered their pleas. Once again, they are spared.
In the middle of nowhere arrives a traveler who informs them of a settler living just six miles ahead. He offers to carry the baby, probably on horseback, as the Little family follows behind on the trail. Eventually the family arrives safely to a warm welcome from strangers.
Making a life in a new country – starting over from nothing – was hard, and trials appeared regularly and were often life-threatening in those days.
Often a little perspective gives us the courage to hold on to our own faith during trying times. Sometimes that same perspective leaves us feeling a bit ashamed of what we consider a “trying time” in present day. I am spoiled to modern day life, in comparison. Without conscious effort, self-sufficiency can result in less dependence upon God, unlike our ancestors who had only God to depend upon.
God desires for us to be fully dependent on Him, not ourselves. We are not to worry, but to cast our cares upon Him. He desires for us to depend upon Him for everything, including the direction of our lives. We must trust Him for provisions, for the food we eat and the clothes we wear. (See Matthew 6:19-34) When we trust God in the “little” things, we are better prepared to hold firm when we are rattled and our faith is shaken to the core.
Before placing his family aboard a ship, and crossing the ocean to America, I imagine Mr. Little seeking God’s face in fervent prayer. There is no way to be certain – I don’t even know his first name – but at some point, my fourth great-grandfather passed his faith along to his children – one of whom is my third great-grandmother, Barbary Little Waggoner.
From a newspaper article published in 1899 following her death, it is reported that, “Mrs. Waggoner well remembered her father was not cast down by misfortune but exhorted his children to ‘thank God’ and ‘to be glad we have come to America where people are so good and kind.’”
Whether or not He came to America under God’s direction is hard to say, but it is easy to imagine Mr. Little as a man who held firm to his faith through so much hardship – enough for his daughter to affirm it and pass it to her own children.
“We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done.” (Psalm 78:4, NIV)
“…he commanded our ancestors to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deed but would keep his commands.” (Psalm 78:5-6, NIV)
May we be good and kind people – the kind of people who thank and praise God, hold firm to our faith, and pass that faith to our children.
The kind of faith that stands firm through generations.
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How to Keep Your Life on Track
One week, an evil, hate-filled act claimed the lives of 17 people in a Florida school shooting. The next week, the great evangelist Rev. Billy Graham died at age 99.
One heart filled with deeds of evil.
One heart filled with goodness and love.
Such contrast prompted me to consider the hearts of those of us living somewhere between the hardened heart of someone like the school shooter and the heart of a man like Rev. Graham.
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23, NIV)
Everything flows from the heart.
Words.
Attitude.
Action.
Reaction.
Ponder this. What emotion did you feel when you first learned of the Parkland, Florida shooting? Shock? Anger? Sadness? Nothing? Maybe you just shook your head and thought, “Again?”
I am not asking this of those directly impacted, or in the peripheral of such tragedies, but those of us well removed watching or reading from the safety of our homes and businesses. What did you first feel? Was it different the first time you learned of a school shooting?
I am ashamed of my answer, and disturbed that I’m not alone.
I just shook my head, and thought, “Again?”
Have I allowed my heart to become somewhat calloused from the commonplace of these events? I wasn’t glued to the television eager for the latest reports like the first time. Have I allowed myself to become desensitized and disconnected? What about you?
The thought alarms me.
Guard the heart, above all else.
“The greatest need in the world is the transformation of human nature. We need a new heart that will not have lust and greed and hate in it. We need a heart filled with love and peace and joy, and that is why Jesus came into the world.” – Rev. Billy Graham, 1918-2018
Did you know the word “heart” appears 830 times in 762 verses in the KJV Bible? God repeatedly addresses the condition of the heart.
The hatred of all that is good destroys life – physically, emotionally, and/or spiritually.
Love gives life, joy, peace, hope and so much more.
Evil takes. Goodness gives. This is not a new revelation.
The issues of life, everything regarding the issues of life, flow from the heart.
Simplified problem: Anything less than a pure heart needs healing.
Simplified answer: Jesus.
Yes, the problems and answers are more complex, but draw a straight line through it all and the attitude of the heart rests at the core. The heart drives our words, actions, and reactions. From sensitive and pliable, to hard and calloused, the heart influences our decisions. Since the only heart we can truly know is our own, it is our responsibility to guard it with all the power of Heaven.
We should not guard against feeling heartache. We must guard against losing the ability of the heart to ache. To do that, we must remember this:
“Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22:37-39, NIV)
When we love God in this way, the condition of our heart in all other areas of our lives falls into place. When we focus on our relationship with Jesus, we protect our heart’s capacity to love others the way God loves us, even when others may not be so lovable. After all, aren’t we unlovable at times, and yet God still loves us?
I think back to the contrast between those two news stories—the Parkland shooting and Rev. Graham’s death, and I believe we all should want to finish the race of life as Rev. Graham did. I know I do. One of the striking aspects of his life is how he diligently guarded his heart. Christianity Today recently wrote about “The Billy Graham Rules.” There is no coincidence that a thoroughly protected soul produced a remarkable godly life.
Maybe you’re a preacher or teacher of the gospel, but the daily tasks of ministering to those lukewarm in their faith is eroding the joy in your heart. Maybe a painful situation has left you bitter and defensive. Maybe you’ve never noticed the numbness creeping in and stealing the compassion you once felt, until now. Whatever your situation, surrender everything in your heart to the Lord. He alone heals the hurt, removes walls of bitterness, enables forgiveness, and instills the capacity to love the way He loves – even as we face the evils of this world.
They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up to your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear – hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy – to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” (Jude 1:18-25, NIV)
Possessing knowledge, behaving honorably, living well, and being charitable is nothing if we do not love God first, and others second.
“If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” (1Cor. 13:2-3, NIV)
Living in the world is painful, but without pain, we cannot know love. Without love, we are nothing and we have nothing.
Guard your heart above all else, to do so will keep your life on track, for a pure heart is everything to Christ Jesus.
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