Poem for Turning from Idols to the Living God

I repent

I repent of

Other gods before my God

Our God is a jealous God

He will not share His glory with another

As a youth I marveled in comic book heroes

Even Thor, a Greek god, was one of my heroes

Why did I marvel in them

I wanted powers like theirs

To be the center of attention

Not so much to be spent

Rescuing people

Oh, the heart is exceedingly deceitful

Who can know it?

There is no one like Jesus

He IS the Son of God

He IS the Savior of the world

By Him all things exist

He holds all things together

By Him all things exist

Though being in very essence God

He did not count Godhood

Something to be grasped

He became a servant

A servant to the point of death

And His death happened on a cross

He had no earthly bride

A soldier pierced His side

After a three day sleep

There was new creation

As God put the first Adam to sleep

And made from his rib a bride

After the second Adam’s side

Was pierced

After He rested

A bride came forth

She is the Church

His new creation

The true hero

Found a damsel

Not through self-exaltation

But through humiliation

He gave His life for her

He bled and died

But rose from the dead

So that she too

His bride

Could live forever

God has His own script

A story for humankind

It is not a script for one

One of the human race

To be super or above

All others

But that through God’s Son

Jesus Christ

All could experience new life

All could be transformed

All could live forever

All could overcome evil

This is why

I

This is why

No one

Should give

God’s glory

To another

Jesus Christ alone

Is Lord

He is the King of kings

He is the Lord of lords

Every knee shall bow

Every tongue confess

HIS Name

Don’t give to humankind

What belongs to God

To God be the glory

To Him be the honor

Praise His Name

Serve the Lord with gladness

Make His ways known

In all the earth

Go preach the Gospel

To every creature

Let them know

That Jesus Christ

Is Lord of all

I repent

I repent of

Wanting anything else

But to be with Christ

To be one member

Of His body

The Church

And with her

And in her

Bring Jesus Christ

Honor all my days

Lord, please forgive me

Of my sin

Please cleanse me

Purify me within

Make me worthy Lord

To proclaim YOUR name

May I decrease

May YOU increase

May I be Your vessel

Through whom others

Receive YOU

I bow my knee

I confess with my tongue

That YOU alone are Lord

Forever and ever

World without end

Amen

Jesus Christ is Lord

The Prophetic Mantle

King Ahab and Queen Jezebel’s verdict on messengers of God was “Wanted dead not alive.” They issued death warrants for the servants of God’s Word. [1]

Ahab began to rule northern Israel 852 years before Christ was born. He married a pagan princess from Sidon named Jezebel. After their wedding, He built a beautiful temple to her pagan gods. Their goal was to turn God’s people into pagans. They legislated on behalf of those who rejected God, and persecuted God’s loyal people.

Did Ahab and Jezebel succeed in canceling faith in God? Did they cut out the tongue of God as Mao Zedong, the father of communism in China, once vowed to do? No, they failed. And so will every government that takes up arms against God.

God sat in heaven and laughed at Ahab and Jezebel’s scheme to dethrone Him. God was not going to abdicate His throne to such a filthy and vulgar couple. It is just that for God a thousand years is as a day. In due season, they would perish. [2]

Proud people do not intimidate God. God told the empire of Edom that though they made their nest in the stars He would bring them down from there. No nation’s wealth, weapons or technological advances can cancel God. “Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the scales; look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing.” [3]

Elijah and seven thousand others refused to bow their knees to the pagan gods of Ahab and Jezebel. By God’s Spirit and Word they defied the dark overlords of their day. They got used to being labeled as outlaws. As being politically incorrect! “An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous, and he who is upright in the way is an abomination to the wicked.” [4]

Elijah and his fellow prophets continued to honor God. They obeyed God amid mockers. They did not compromise with compromisers. They kept serving God when the majority of the people in their nation focused on serving themselves.

Ahab and Jezebel wanted God’s servants dead. So, God’s people gathered in obscure places to avoid being arrested. Obadiah told Elijah that he hid one hundred prophets in caves to spare them from being killed by Ahab and Jezebel. Can you imagine incurring that kind of stress to talk about God? [5]

While in China, we met with believers at night. We often changed our meeting venue to avoid being arrested. We never advertised in print the time or address of our services. That information was shared by word of mouth sometimes just hours prior to the meeting’s start time. Each meeting had the potential to be our last. Some of us might not be seen again. Our phones were bugged. Agents followed us. Officials visited us for the purpose of information gathering. We had to learn how to tell the truth, but not the whole truth to protect one another. Our primary objective was to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The ministry of Elijah and his fellow prophets still exists. Not in the sense of writing new books of the Bible. Jesus said, “For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” [6] The prophetic ministry exists as a gift of the Holy Spirit to bring forth messages of God that are relevant to people’s navigational needs to hear from God.

Peter told a crowd of thousands from all over the world: “It shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maid servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy.” [7]

The gift of prophecy is mentioned in multiple places in the New Testament. God says to us, “Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.” God says to us, “He who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.” The word “edify” here means to build up. I enjoy being around people who move in the gift of prophecy. I know they make God happy because He says, “Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy.” [8]

When Jesus spoke to the seven churches of Asia Minor, He said to them, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Prophecy is hearing what the Spirit is saying to the churches. [9]

Don’t be afraid to receive the gift of prophecy. Moses and Jeremiah expressed their concerns about it to God, but God told them that He would be with them. Prophecy is an unmerited gift of God’s grace that operates in people via the indwelling Holy Spirit. Moses murdered a man and yet is considered one of the greatest prophets that ever existed. David murdered an innocent man and committed adultery, yet Peter declared David to be a prophet of God. David even prophesied of Jesus when he wrote that the Messiah’s hands and feet would be pierced. Isaiah said that he was a man of unclean lips, but God touched his lips and helped him to prophesy of the coming Messiah with incredible accuracy. James wrote of Elijah saying: “Elijah was a man of like passion with us...” If God had to wait until someone was perfect before He could use him, His work would never get done. [10]

Don’t fear what people will say. Once, God took of the Spirit that was on Moses and laid it on seventy others and they began to prophesy. Two of the seventy were elsewhere when the Spirit fell, but they still prophesied. When Joshua saw these two men prophesying, he reported them to Moses. Joshua got on Moses’ case, and said, “’Moses my lord, forbid them!’ But Moses said to him, ‘Are you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!’” [11]

The New Testament speaks of prophets in multiple passages. Philip the Evangelist had four daughters who prophesied. The harlot Babylon persecutes God’s prophets until Christ returns. The Lord wants people to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Prophets are a tremendous band of Word warriors. During the end times, the beast kills two prophets and leaves their dead bodies in the streets for the world to see, but God raises them back to life while everyone is watching. [12]

Now, is the time to pursue the prophetic mantle just as Elisha pursued it. [13]

Before the Holy Spirit filled them, the followers of Christ remained in an upper room steadfastly praying for the promise of the Father. Are we waiting for the promise of the Father? If not, why not? The devil is leading so many people astray from God. Are we going to let him win without a fight?

The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down of strongholds. With them we defeat arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. And with them we bring every thought into captivity to obey Christ. The battle for the minds of people must be won. [14]

The prophetic mantle empowers God’s people to overcome the lies of the enemy. To be focused on the author and finisher of our faith Jesus Christ. The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy. [15] God is able to accomplish by His Word and Spirit what we cannot.

So are you ready for a fresh anointing of God’s Holy Spirit? Lift up your hands! Open your mouth! Be an empty cup before Him. Be filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesy!

[1] 1 Kings 18:4
[2] Psalm 2:4; 2 Peter 3:8
[3] Obadiah 1:4; Isaiah 40:15
[4] 1 Kings 19:18; Proverbs 29:27
[5] 1 Kings 18:4
[6] Revelation 22:18-19
[7] Acts 2:17:18
[8] Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians 12:10; 13:1; 14:1–4, 39
[9] Revelation 2-3
[10] Exodus 4:10; Jeremiah 1:6; Acts 2:39-40; Psalm 22:16; Isaiah 6:5; James 5:17
[11] Numbers 11:25, 28-29
[12] Acts 11:27; 13:1; 15:32; 21:10; Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:3, 13, 22; 11:7-12; 18:20
[13] 2 Kings 2:1-12
[14] 2 Corinthians 10:4-5
[15] Revelation 19:10

To Obey is Better than Sacrifice

The prophet told the king

Heed the voice of the Lord

Punish Amalek for what he did to Israel

Destroy them all

Saul gathered soldiers 210,000 strong

He destroyed the Amalekites but…

Spared King Agag AND…

The best of sheep, oxen and their young

Everything despised and worthless

He destroyed

The Lord told the prophet

“I greatly regret that I made Saul king

He has turned back from following Me

He has not obeyed my commandments

Samuel the prophet prayed all night

King Saul set up a monument to himself

Saul blessed the Lord when he saw Samuel

“I have obeyed the commandment of the Lord”

Saul declared

“Why do I hear the voices of sheep and oxen?”

Asked Samuel

“The people spared the best for the Lord.”

Answered Saul

“The Lord sent you on a mission.”

Said Samuel

“Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord?

Why did you swoop down on the spoil?

Why did you do evil in the sight of the Lord?”

Samuel demanded

“I have obeyed the voice of the Lord

I accomplished the mission

That the Lord sent me to do

The people took the sheep and oxen

The people took the best of things

To sacrifice to the Lord your God”

Saul explained

So Samuel said:

“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices

As in obeying the voice of the Lord?

Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice

And to heed than the fat of rams

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft

And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry

Because you have rejected the word of the Lord

He also has rejected you from being king.”

Then Saul said to Samuel

“I have sinned,

I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord

I feared the people and obeyed their voice

Please pardon my sin

Return with me, that I may worship the Lord.”

But Samuel said to Saul,

“I will not return with you

You have rejected the word of the Lord

And the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.”

Samuel turned around to go away

Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore.

Samuel said to him,

“The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today

He has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.”

Samuel mourned for Saul

The Lord regretted that He had made Saul king

With great authority

Comes great responsibility

To obey is better than sacrifice

First Samuel 15

Prophetic Perseverance

How do they do it? How do they prophesy?

Jacob H. Kaplan wrote, “The prophets are conscious of a divine call. They do not speak of a resolution or purpose, framed by themselves, to devote themselves to their vocation; but they describe a moment in which they received a call.” [1]

Their unique ministries were not born of self-motivation or self-will. The Lord called them. The callings of Moses, Samuel, Amos, and Jeremiah are described in the Bible. [2]  God’s presence in their lives moved them to do what otherwise they would not have chosen to do. At one particularly low point in his ministry, Jeremiah wrote...

“O Lord, You induced me, and I was persuaded; You are stronger than I and have prevailed. I am in derision daily; everyone mocks me. For when I spoke, I cried out; I shouted, ‘Violence and plunder!’ Because the Word of the Lord was made to me a reproach and a derision daily. Then I said, ‘I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name.’ But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not.” [3]

After being mocked, Jeremiah did not want to speak for God. But the Lord compelled Him. The Lord was stronger than him. The Lord prevailed upon him. God’s Word was like fire in his bones. He was too weak to hold it back. He could not but speak for God.

God works in His servants both to will and to do His good pleasure. Otherwise, they would fail. James advises us: “My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.” [4]

The Lord has compassion and mercy on us when we experience persecution due to speaking for Him. “Yes, Heavenly Father, please continue to strengthen our resolve to speak for you. In Jesus’ Name, I pray. Amen.”

[1] Jacob H. Kaplan PhD, Psychology of Prophecy, Philadelphia, Julius H. Green, © 1908, p.83

[2] Exodus3:4; 1 Samuel 3:1-ff; Amos 3:8, 7:14-15; Jeremiah 1:4-10
[3] Jeremiah 20:7-9
[4]  Philippians 2:13; James 5:10-11

Lift High the Name of Jesus

On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit empowered the disciples of Jesus to speak a language that was understandable to a multitude of diverse people who normally could not understand them. The Holy Spirit anointed the disciples to speak of Jesus with bold convictions. Later, when the disciples were commanded by religious authorities not to speak of Jesus, they replied, “We are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.” [1]

 The Holy Spirit empowered Paul to glorify Jesus Christ:
“He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God,
The firstborn over all creation.
By Him, all things were created that are...

In heaven and that are on earth,
Visible and invisible,
Whether thrones or dominions,
Or principalities or powers.
All things were created through Him and for Him.
He is before all things,
In Him all things consist.
He is the head of the body, the Church,
He is the beginning,

The firstborn from the dead,
That in all things He may have the preeminence.” [2]

The Holy Spirit empowers tongues to speak the Name of Jesus with joy and adoration. His Name is the sound of heaven because in heaven angels and saints sing His praises. His Name is wonderful! His Name is above all others. Faith in His Name saves us. Miracles happen in the Name of Jesus. So, let us lift high the Name of Jesus!

[1] Acts 5:32
[2] Colossians 1:15-18

A Fireproof Marriage

“Be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” [1]

In Scripture, God uses the concept of marriage to help us understand to help us understand how He wants to be with us, and us to be with Him. [2] So, in this blog I am using the marriage between Catherine and Caleb in the movie, “Fireproof” to write about a fireproof marriage with God and His people, the Church.

In the movie Fireproof, Caleb exploded at Catherine when she disagreed with him. When we don’t get our way, what is our natural response? Does anger honor God, spouse, or those around us? No, it tends to dishonor everyone including ourselves. So, we need Christ to change our anger into understanding and patience. Catherine hated Caleb’s angry outbursts. She wanted to love Caleb, but Caleb was being unlovable. Intimacy was broken.

Caleb and Catherine tended to speak poorly of each other. Does speaking poorly of people behind their back lead to good relations? NO. The Lord calls us to bless not curse one another. What kind of things do we say about people behind their backs? Are they positive or negative? God can change this about us. But we must confess our short-comings and ask God to change us.

Caleb’s friend Michael helped him to understand the importance of oneness in marriage using salt and pepper shakers. Two people may be as opposite as can be and yet complement each other perfectly. We need to see how people, unlike ourselves, may be just what we need to be a better person. For example, some people are contemplative, and others are outgoing. Some are frugal and others are extravagant. Some are risk-takers and others are cautious. The Bible says that there is a time and season for EVERYTHING under the sun. [3] If we have to be right all the time, we’re wrong. It’s okay to be wrong as long as we accept corrections.

After Caleb struggled to stop looking at pornography on the internet, he finally destroyed his computer. Jesus said if your eye causes you to stumble cut it out. What radical steps should you take to remove destructive behavior from your life? For sure, ask Jesus to change your appetite by the power of the Holy Spirit so that you no longer crave that which is destructive.

Even though Catherine was “done” with him, Caleb kept trying to win her back. How often do we let others make the first move towards reconciliation? Christ demonstrated His love for us by dying for us while we were still His enemies. [4] That is true love.

How can we change? The answer is the grace of God. God can make us by His grace what He is by nature. Be humble! God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. [5]

Love needs to be demonstrated. Caleb sent Catherine flowers with a note attached. God demonstrated His love for us. What are practical things we can do to let others know we love them?

While caring for Catherine while she was sick, Caleb apologized to her for the poor husband he had been towards her. Have we done anything to someone? Do we need to ask them to forgive us? What keeps us from asking for forgiveness? What is the most important thing you believe God wants you to do—right now—to improve your relationship with God and those around you?

Jesus forgave those who crucified and mocked Him! He prayed for those who tortured, insulted, and hated Him. He said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Even after Jesus prayed this prayer, those around Him kept on doing what they were doing. Nothing changed. The soldiers who Jesus forgave parted His raiment and cast lots for them. The rulers who were there continued to insult Jesus, saying, “He saved others; let Him save himself if He be Christ, the chosen of God.” [6]

Mother Teresa said, “People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway. If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway. What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today will often be forgotten. Do good anyway. Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway. In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”

God calls us treat one another as He treated us. Love requires the grace of God. Love requires the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the very essence of God. His essence is love. To love as Jesus loves, we have to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

It is hard to add something in a cup that is full. John the Baptist said, “I must decrease but He must increase.” [7] We can’t be filled with Jesus as long as we are still filled with self. To have a fireproof marriage with God, spouse, and people, we must have Jesus Christ fill us. Jesus went to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday not to be celebrated. It was so God could forgive us and fill us with His Holy Spirit.

Are you ready for fireproof marriage with God and others? If so, remember Romans 12:2, “Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” As you ask Jesus to transform you. He will take you to new heights, widths, depths, and breadths of the love of God.

[1] Romans 12:2
[2] Ephesians 5:25-30
[3] Ecclesiastes 3:1
[4] Romans 5:6-8
[5] Ephesians 2:8; 1 Peter 5:5
[6] Luke 23:33-35
[7] John 3:30

Evangelizing

By faith and prayer... “Building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.” [1]

By exhortation... “Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” [2]

By commitment... “Be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” [3]

By endurance... Endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. [4]

By focus... Don’t be entangled with worldly interests or affairs that don’t concern you. Attend to the work God has given you to do. [5]

By collaboration... God gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. [6]

By cultivation... Stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of hands [prayer]. [7]

By cheerfulness... “God loves a cheerful giver.” [8]

By remembering your calling... God called you not according to your works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to you in Christ Jesus before time began. [9]

By using the right weapon… “the sword of the Spirit which is God’s Word.” [10]

By guarding your heart... “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” [11]

By goodwill... “Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill.” [12]

By increasing in Christ and decreasing in self. [13]

By joy... Let pointing people to Christ be your highest joy. [14]

[1] Jude 1:20
[2] Joshua 1:9
[3] 1 Corinthians 15:58
[4] 2 Timothy 2:3
[5] 2 Timothy 2:4
[6] Ephesians 4:11-12
[7] 2 Timothy 1:6
[8] 2 Corinthians 9:7
[9] 2 Timothy 1:9
[10] Ephesians 6:17
[11] Matthew 6:21
[12] Philippians 1:15
[13] John 3:29
[14] John 3:30

Old Testament Prophets

The Old Testament prophets were men of the times.
Their message was meant for their times.
Their message was of timeless value because...
They were moved by the Holy Spirit.

Via the secret resources of exhaustless power...
Wisdom and grace given to them by God!
Endued with Holy Spirit power,
He moved them, they spoke.

Light of generations yet to be born.
Light for my generation.

Revealing God, His character, His holiness!
His nature, His mind, His heart!
His will and His ways!
Inspired by God!
Teachers!
Reproving, correcting, instructing!
Perfecting God’s holy people!
Fashioning them for good works. [2]

Amidst opposition,
The prophet sings:
“I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will joy in the God of my Salvation.
The Lord God is my strength.” [3]

When people feel abandoned...
The prophet declares...
“Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love:
Therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” [4]

They lived in a day when light was dim.
They had unfinished Bibles.
Jesus had not yet come.
The seal of the tomb had not yet been broken!
The resurrection light had not yet shined!
Pentecost had not yet come.
Yet, they believed in “Mighty God.”
“The Everlasting Father!”
“The Prince of Peace!”
“Upon His shoulders rests the government!”
His peace knows no end!
No matter how high sin ascends...
It shall come down!
Injustice, arrogance and pride...
Shall cease to exist.

They wept for sinners!
Breathed out promises!
God, the Holy One working...
In these devoted, yielded men.
Thank You God for them!

With Bible open...
I walk with Old Testament prophets...
I enjoy communion with the One...
They enjoyed!
The Lord of glory!

[1] Poetical version of Samuel Brengle’s Ancient Prophets
[2] 2 Timothy 3:15-17
[3] Habakkuk 3:18-19
[4] Jeremiah 31:3

Fatherly Hearts Toward Children

Abram was ninety-nine when the Lord changed his name from Abram (father of people) to Abraham (father of many people). “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.” [1]

The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre. Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. Abraham and Sarah made a meal for them. The Lord told Abraham that Sarah would have a son. He was to be called Isaac. [2]

The three men got up to leave. They looked down towards Sodom. Abraham walked with them. Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what He has promised him.” [3]

These three men, perhaps angels, spoke of the future of Sodom and the future of Abraham. The men of Sodom were about to be destroyed. The Sodomites failed their fatherhood roles.

The Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.” [4]

The three men left and went towards Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord. Abraham interceded for Sodom. His nephew Lot, Lot’s wife and two daughters were living there. Abraham asked God to spare Sodom if only ten righteous people lived there. God agreed. [5]

God’s demeanor towards Abraham who trusted and obeyed Him was different than His demeanor towards the Sodomites who disregarded God and faithful fathering.

In 2012, the Cherokee County Health Department released a statistic that 61% of its unmarried teenage girls had become pregnant. Many men were in prison for not paying child support. They were guilty of impregnating girls, forsaking them, and moving onto other girls. They abandoned their children. One boy told me that each of his four siblings was from a different father. When I asked who his father was, the boy replied, “My father was in jail before I was ever born. I have never met him.”

Children need to be noticed. Imagine a child swinging for the first time! Imagine a child riding a bike without training wheels for the first time! Perhaps, many boys taking attention deficit pills would not need them if their fathers were giving them attention and guidance.

Fathers, take time with your children. Go places with them. Tell them Bible stories. Pray with them. Teach them good manners. Teach them how to fix things. Build memories! When they are grown and you are older, you will realize the favor they did for you by wanting to be with you.

How important is fatherhood to God? He says, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord, and he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” [6]

[1] Genesis 17:1, 5
[2] Genesis 18:1-14
[3] Genesis 18:17-19
[4] Genesis 18:20-21
[5] Genesis 18:22-33
[6] Malachi 4:5-6

The Fruit of Messiah’s Ministry

When the Jewish people were carried off by their enemies into exile, it looked as though God’s plan of salvation had failed. All that was left of Israel was a stump, but out of the stump came a Branch. And this Branch, our Messiah, Jesus Christ, has done wonderfully.

The Messiah comes with justice and righteousness for the poor. His Spirit yields wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and the fear of the Lord. He brings peace and good times between former enemies. Children need not fear what they formerly feared when the knowledge of the Lord fills the earth as the waters cover the sea. The Messiah gathers His scattered Jewish people back to Israel. [1]

In that day, God’s people will praise Him for turning away His anger and comforting them. They will say, “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my defense; He has become my salvation.” With joy they will draw water from the wells of salvation. They will say, “Praise the Lord, call on His Name; make known among the nations what He has done, and proclaim and exalt His Name.” [2]

“Sing to the Lord, for His glorious deeds; let the whole world hear. Shout aloud and sing for joy for great is the Holy One of Israel among you.” [3]

[1] Isaiah 11:1-9
[2] Isaiah 12:1-4
[3] Isaiah 12:5-6

Unto Us A Child is Born

Amazing! God used pagans to purge His people of ungodliness. He compared Assyria to an ax, a saw, and a club in workman’s hand. Only a remnant of His people were saved in the day of His wrath against ungodliness. The remnant consists of those who trust in and obey the Lord. Many in Israel had betrayed and abandoned God. They were the weak links that caused the nation to fall.

The ungodly rejected God’s efforts to reform them. When God took down the brick walls of Samaria and Ephraim, they said we will rebuild them with dressed stone. When He took down their fig trees, they said we will replant them with cedar trees. They refused to acknowledge God and give Him glory. [1]

God used Assyria to destroy Samaria and Ephraim. God warned Judah’s political and religious leaders that the same was about to happen to them unless they repented and returned to Him. But Judah’s leaders persisted in abandoning God and leading those under their authority to do the same. They made unjust laws. They preyed on widows and robbed fatherless children. Eventually, they turned on one another and devoured one another. God used the cruel nation of Assyria to judge them, but later when Assyria became proud of its achievement, He turned His wrath against Assyria. [2]

Against the backdrop of impending judgment, the Lord proclaimed good news of salvation, and that from God. After years of darkness and distress, a great light would appear. A child would be born. A Son would be given. The government will be on His shoulders. His name is Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end. He shall reign on David’s throne over the kingdom. He shall establish and uphold His throne with justice and righteousness forever. God’s zeal will accomplish this.

Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords. The kingdoms of this world shall become His kingdoms. After centuries of disappointment in our leaders and in ourselves, Christ will come again. Those who believe shall be saved and inherit His kingdom that is full of righteousness, justice, and peace! [4]

[1] Isaiah 9:8-12
[2] Isaiah 9:13-21
[3] Isaiah 9:1-7
[4] Revelation 19:11-16

Christ is the Hope of Sin City

Jeremiah was conflicted with God’s people because God was conflicted with them. God wanted them to relinquish sinful ways. The four sins that God called them out for were idolatry, lying, thieving and sexual sin. Jeremiah opposed these sins because God opposed them. The hope of sinners to be saved from sin is the Savior Jesus Christ. Jeremiah avoided cynicism in regards to the circumstances of his city by trusting in the Lord’s promises to bring about changes that he could not bring.

Basically, Jeremiah urged the people of his city not to live autonomously from God. Not to resist promptings to draw near to God! He warned them that life never ends well for those who reject God’s help. God was confronting sin in their lives to save them from harm and bring them to a better life. He loved them. He wanted to save them, but they needed to cooperate with God.

Grief over being separated from God is good, but it is not complete unless it leads one to repentance… to say, “Okay, God, I am ready to forsake and renounce sinful ways, and to embrace Your ways. Please forgive me for my sins. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit so I can live life Your way.” God’s grace is about letting Him do for you what you could never do for yourself, namely transform into His image.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” [1]

“The battle in this world is not to succumb to denial, cynicism, or assimilation. Like Jeremiah, the only hope we have to cling to is that God will be with us.” [2]

Christ is the hope of sin-city. And how does the Heavenly Father reveal Jesus Messiah to us? He reveals Him to us via His Word and Holy Spirit. We draw strength and wisdom from Him as we Sabbath in Him. We are blessed to know and walk with God. God sings over us with gladness and loud rejoicing. We rest in His love. Sin-city is about despair, loneliness, and degradation. New life in Christ is about love, joy, and peace in the Holy Spirit. [3] 

[1] 2 Corinthians 5:17
[2] The words about Jeremiah stem from my reading of Walter Brueggemann’s book, “Hopeful Imagination - Prophetic Voices in Exile,” copyright ©1986 by Fortress Press
[3] Zephaniah 3:17-19; Romans 14:17

Rejoicing While Waiting ~ Habakkuk’s Story

Habakkuk cried out to the Lord, “Violence!” Strife and conflict was abounding! He said to the Lord, “The law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.” [1]

The Lord’s response was. “I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwellings not their own. They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves and promote their own honor.” [2]

Facing trouble from within and without, Habakkuk resolves, “The righteous person will live by faith.” [3] Faith in God!

God indicated to Habakkuk that woes were coming to...
“...Him who makes himself wealthy by extortion!”
“...Him who builds his house by unjust gain.”
“... Him who builds a city with bloodshed and injustice!”
“...Him who makes neighbors drunk to gaze on their naked bodies!”
“...Him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’ [worships idols] [4]

Habakkuk finds hope in the Lord. “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” “The Lord is in His holy temple; let all the earth be silent before Him.” [5]

The tables will soon be turned. “Lord, I have heard of Your fame; I stand in awe of Your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known...” [6]

Habakkuk ends his book with a song of faith unto God: “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails, and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” [7]

Habakkuk rejoiced while waiting. He metaphorically kept the umbrella close by while praying for rain. He handed his prayer of faith over to the director of music to make it into a song. [8]

So, let us bring out the musical instruments and write songs of faith in God. Let us praise God in the face of adversity. Praise Him joyfully. Celebrate the coming victory in advance!

[1] Habakkuk 1:2-4
[2] Habakkuk 1:1:6-7
[3] Habakkuk 2:4
[4] Habakkuk 2:6, 9, 12, 15, 19
[5] Habakkuk 2:14, 20
[6] Habakkuk 3:2
[7] Habakkuk 3:17-18
[8] Habakkuk 3:19

The Burden of the Lord

“The burden against Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.” [1]

A prophetic burden is a message of weighty importance producing sorrow or grief. [2]

The burden that God shared with Nahum was to tell the Ninevites to repent lest they perish. The metaphor God uses to describe the Ninevites is of a pride of lions. They teamed up as lions to hunt, capture, and consume prey. They literally ate good people for lunch.

“Where now is the lions’ den, the place where they fed their young, where the lion and lioness went, and the cubs, with nothing to fear? The lion killed enough for his cubs and strangled the prey for his mate, filling his lairs with the kill and his dens with the prey.” [3]

“Behold, I am against you... the voice of your messengers shall be heard no more.” “Nineveh enjoyed its status as a power-center of the world and gloried in the fact that the voice of her messengers commanded attention in palaces all over the world. That day would come to an end under the judgment of God.” [4]

I once heard Dr. James Waller speak on the topic of genocide. A common factor to all genocide events is the dehumanization of one group of people by another group of people.

Consolee Nishimwe survived the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. She is the author of the book ‘Tested to the Limit’ in which she narrates her personal story. “Life in Rwanda before the genocide was beautiful. I was fortunate to have good parents and a great family. I had a happy childhood.” The turning point in her country came when the Hutus started using social media to characterize Tutsis as “cockroaches.” Then, the genocide occurred. In one hundred days, about 800,000 people were slaughtered by Hutu extremists. They targeted Tutsis, as well as their political opponents. [5]

Currently, the following people groups are on genocide alert: The Kurds, Christians, Druze, Shi’a Muslims, the Yazidi in Iraq. The Uyghurs in Xinjiang, China. The people of Nagorno-Karabakh in the Armenian Republic. Christians in Nigeria by Boko Haram an Islamist terrorist group. [6]

The Lord shared His burden with Nahum. To walk with Jesus is to participate in caring for people via praying, preaching, and providing for them. They need both spiritual and physical attention.

​The Apostle Paul’s burden was for Christian churches. He wrote, “Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.” [7]

Our Lord Jesus has shared His ministry to widows, orphans, and to foreigners with me. Such ministries are both challenging and fulfilling. “Thank You Lord Jesus for sharing Your burdens with me and others and allowing us to be Your hands and feet to them. Blessed be Your Name!”

[1] Nahum 1:1
[2] Enduring Word Commentary
[3] Nahum 2:11-12
[4] Nahum 2:13 & Enduring Word Commentary
[5] bbc.com/news/world-africa-54877202 & 26875506
[6] genocidewatch.com/countries-at-risk
[7] 2 Corinthians 11:28

Giving Ill-Gotten Gains to the Lord

“Many nations are gathered against you. They say, ‘Let her be defiled, let our eyes gloat over Zion!’ But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord; they do not understand His plan. He who gathers them like sheaves to the threshing floor. ‘Rise and thresh, Daughter Zion, for I will give you horns of iron; I will give you hooves of bronze, and you will break to pieces many nations. You will devote their ill-gotten gains to the Lord, their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.’” [1]

“God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty.” [2]

When many nations gathered against God’s people to defile them and gloat over them, the Lord intervened. He gave His people horns of iron and hooves of bronze to break them in pieces. They gave the ill-gotten gain of their enemies to the Lord.

Praise the Lord!

[1] Micah 4:11-13
[2] 1 Corinthians 1:27

Love Your Enemies

There once a man who sat between his hatred for his enemies and the Lord’s love for them. He hated being God’s messenger of love for them.

God called a gourd plant to grow up and provide shade for the man. He was relieved. Then, God called a worm to destroy the shade plant. Then, God called a hot east wind to scorch the man. He was so angry. Why was he more angry about a dying plant than he was about a dying people?

God wanted him to know that loving whom the Lord loves is a good investment. His enemies lacked discernment. God wanted to save them. His enemies repented and turned to the Lord. [1]

“’Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?’ says the Lord God, ‘and not that he should turn from his ways and live?’” [2]

[1] Jonah 4
[2] Ezekiel 18:23



Happy Father’s Day to the Greatest Father of All

Our Heavenly Father is the greatest father of all. He created us. Knit us together in our mother’s womb. He helps us when we are helpless.

Stories by Hosea and Luke in the Bible capture our God’s fatherly heart: “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.” [1]

Our Heavenly Father’s rescue of the Israelites from the labor camps of Pharaoh is a metaphor for His rescue of any sinner from the dominion of darkness. He brings captives out of darkness into His marvelous light.

But in Hosea’s story, this liberty did not last long. Why? The very next verse... “They sacrificed to the Baals and burned incense to carved images.” [2]

After God rescued His people, they submitted themselves to other gods... sex gods... material gods... gods that were not gods, but demons disguised as gods.

“I taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by their arms; but they did not know that I healed them. I drew them with gentle cords, with bands of love, and I was to them as those who take the yoke from their neck. I stooped and fed them.” [3]

The picture above is of a loving father helping his child to walk for the first time. Embracing his child afterwards. Tending and caring for the child when he/she was ill. Being gentle, loving, and responsible to meet the child’s needs.

Later, the loved child made bad choices... “He shall not return to the land of Egypt; but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to repent. And the sword shall slash in his cities, devour his districts, and consume them, because of their own counsels.” [4]

A reckless bent to sin... a total disregard of warnings led to the child’s demise and devastation.

But wait! Who is that in the distance? It is the child. He is returning. The father has compassion. He runs to his child. Overwhelmed with emotion, he hugs and kisses the child. The child is terribly sorry for hurting his father. The father says to his servants... “’Bring out the best robe and put it on him and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.” [5]

Happy Father’s Day to the Greatest Father of all!

[1] Hosea 6:1
[2] Hosea 6:2
[3] Hosea 6:3-4
[4] Hosea 6:5-6
[5] Luke 15:20-24



The Plumb Line & Ripe Fruit

“The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in His hand. And the Lord asked me, ‘What do you see, Amos?’ ‘A plumb line,’ I replied. Then the Lord said, ‘Look, I am setting a plumb line among My people Israel; I will spare them no longer.’” [1]

A plumb line measures if a wall is built straight. God holds His plumb line against Israel, to see if they are ‘straight’ according to His Word.

Often, we people have the audacity to put a plumb line up to God and tell Him that He does not measure up to our expectations, and that is bad, but it is even worse when God puts a plumb line to us. Why? Because we, not He, are the ones who all fall short of His glory.

“This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: a basket of ripe fruit. ‘What do you see, Amos?’ He asked. ‘A basket of ripe fruit,’ I answered. Then the Lord said to me, ‘The time is ripe for My people Israel; I will spare them no longer.’” [2]

It is bad when a nation feels the time is ripe to throw God and the Bible away. But it is even worse when God says the time is ripe to no longer spare a nation because it refuses correction.

From the Bible we learn that godly judgment always trumps the judgment of the ungodly.

A song made famous by Frank Sinatra boasts, “It did it my way.” How foolish! God created and sustains the whole universe. He is our Creator. He sent His Son to die for our sins so that we could be forgiven and receive His favor, and yet, we choose to do things our way without Him.

Wise King Solomon wrote, “Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.” And “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise.” [3]

Paul told the Corinthian Christians, “I will not boast, except in my infirmities.” “Most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” [4] Paul was at his best for the Lord when he was able to boast in his weaknesses because God gave Him power in those moments.

Furthermore, God gave Paul the right motive. He wrote, “We do all things, beloved, for your edification.” [5] His service was about God and others not himself. May the Lord help us to go and do likewise.

[1] Amos 7:7-8
[2] Amos 8:1-2
[3] Proverbs 12:1, 15
[4] 2 Corinthians 12:6, 9-10

Alive from the Dead

Can you imagine inheriting lake front property, but with one caveat? The lake is dead. There is not an ounce of life in it. What’s more, the lake is so dense with salt and mud that your body can float on top of it. Something is seriously wrong with this lake. Fresh water flows into it, but it is dead. Can you guess where this lake front property is?

It is in Israel! It’s the Dead Sea or Yam Hamelakh (The Salt Sea). The Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth, roughly 1,300 feet below sea level. It is thirty-four miles long and varies from two and eleven miles wide. The water is 1,400 feet deep. It is fed by the Jordan River but has no outlet. You cannot catch a fish in it. It has no plant life.

God told Ezekiel that the Dead Sea will live. God uses the metaphor of a resurrected sea to assure His displaced people that one day Israel will become a nation again and they will return to their land, and they will be a people that are ALIVE TO HIM.

God showed Ezekiel water flowing from under the south side of the temple; south of the altar. Ezekiel exited the north gate and saw water trickling out. A man led Ezekiel eastward. He measured the length of the river. During the first 1500 feet of their walk, the water was ankle deep. 1,500 feet later, the water was knee deep. 1,500 feet later, the water was waist deep. 1,500 feet later, over a mile out now, the water was too deep to walk in. Ezekiel had to swim. The man asked Ezekiel, “Son of man, do you see this?” Then, he led Ezekiel to the riverbank where he saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. The water was flowing eastward towards the desert, where it entered the Dead Sea. This river that flowed out from the temple, turned the Dead Sea into the Living Sea. It gives life wherever it goes. It is a river of life. It produces swarms of living creatures and multitudes of fish. People will fish the Dead Sea from En Gedi to En Eglaim or from one end to the other. There will be many kinds of fish. Swamps and marshes will become fresh. Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on its banks. Every month they will bear fruit and their leaves will bring healing, thanks to the Lord. [1]

God told Ezekiel how the land would be divided among the tribes. He uses names of places to identify the boundary lines. God revealed this while the tribes were still in exile. He described where the north, east, south, and west boundary lines would fall. A portion of the land will be for foreigners living among them. In the center of the land will be the sanctuary of the Lord. The sanctuary is consecrated for the Zadokites who were faithful to serve the Lord and did not go astray as the Levites did when the Israelites went astray. It is a gift to them. [2]

The gates of the city will be named after the tribes of Israel. Three gates on each side of the city! And the name of the city from that time on will be: “The Lord is there.” [3]

The vision that God gave Prophet Ezekiel is similar to one He gave to Apostle John’s in Revelation 21-22. These prophecies shall be fulfilled. The Lord keeps His promises.

The river that proceeds from God’s temple heals people. They are made alive to God. They want to be where His glory dwells. They want to keep the Sabbath. They want to honor God not self! This is the revival we need! A revival of people glorifying God!

Prophecies of restoration are relevant for us because in some ways WE HAVE BEEN displaced. Christianity no longer enjoys the place it once did in the western world. The Bible, USED to be highly respected. God is saying to us through His prophets not to give up. Do not think the battle is lost. It’s not. If God can make a Dead Sea LIVE, He can raise a dead nation to life as well.

[1] Ezekiel 47:1-12
[2] Ezekiel 47:13-48:12
[3] Ezekiel 48:30-34

Restoring Our Losses

Lay on your left side for 390 days to represent the 390 years that the northern tribes of Israel sinned against God. After that, lay on your right side for 40 days to represent the 40 years the southern tribes of Judah sinned against God. This is what God told Ezekiel to do. He was to embody how sin cripples a nation. [1]

The northerners and southerners of Israel gambled against God and lost. Assyria led the northern tribes into captivity. The Babylonians did the same to the southern tribes.

Can you imagine having to learn to read, write, speak, and understand a foreign language? Eat strange cuisine? Hear that your homeland is under the rule of a foreign power?

How depressing! But thankfully the story doesn’t end there. God is faithful! There is hope!

“I will show the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.” [2]

Praise God for a restoration that He initiates! His own people had profaned His Name among the nations, but that was about to change. He was going to prove His holiness through them.

“I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.” [3]

Homecomings are special events. My stepfather told us how when he received his release papers from the Korean War, he was so happy. He packed his bag and walked away from his barracks. Suddenly, a bomb hit the barracks and blew it up. God was so gracious to my stepfather to bring him home. No enemy blow up God’s plan for us.

God is bringing His people home: “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” [4] Praise God for forgiveness, cleansing and for transforming grace!

“I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws.” Praise God for an appetite to obey! Jesus commanded us to: “Baptize disciples!” “Teach them to obey everything I commanded you.” [5]

“...You will be My people, and I will be your God.” [6] Praise God for restored identification with Him!

“I will call for the grain and make it plentiful. I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace.” [7] Praise God for replacing poor production with plentiful production; and for replacing disgrace with grace.

“On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt. This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified, and inhabited.” “Seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” [8]

“Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the Lord have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate.” [9] God glories in replanting the uprooted. He enjoys restoring what was lost.

Whether on a national or an individual level, God is able to restore our losses! As Jesus said, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” [10]

[1] Ezekiel 4:4-6
[2] Ezekiel 36:23
[3] Ezekiel 36:24
[4] Ezekiel 36:25-26
[5] Ezekiel 36:27 & Matthew 28:20
[6] Ezekiel 36:28
[7] Ezekiel 36:29-30
[8] Ezekiel 36:33-34 & Matthew 6:33
[9] Ezekiel 36:36
[10] Luke 19:10

Prophetic Preaching: A Pastoral Approach

“Phillip Wogaman in his book ‘Speaking the Truth in Love’ [1] gives a broad definition of prophetic preaching. He writes. ‘To be prophetic is not necessarily to be adversarial, or even controversial. The word in its Greek form refers to the one who speaks for God.’ He goes on to ask, ‘What does it mean to speak for God?’ Wogaman says, ‘To speak for another is to grasp, first, the mind of the other… genuinely prophetic preaching draws people into the reality of God in such a way that they cannot any longer be content with conventional wisdom and superficial existence.’” [2]

Dawn Ottoni-Wilhelm’s definition of prophetic preaching is, “In accordance with the prophetic tradition of Israel and the ministry of Jesus Christ as recorded in Scripture, prophetic preaching may be understood as divinely inspired speech enlivened by the Holy Spirit in the gathered community of faith. Prophetic preaching proclaims God’s Word from within the Christian tradition against all that threatens God’s reconciling intention for humanity and for all that creates and sustains a vital and necessary ministry of compassion to neighbors near and far. Because it is not exclusively either moral exhortation or predictions regarding future events, prophetic preaching envisions past, present, and future concerns within the context of the reign of God realized in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit.”

“Ottoni-Wilhem names three essential elements of prophetic preaching that can be discerned from considering Jesus’ own prophetic words and deeds. First, prophetic preaching voices God’s passion for others. It incarnates and gives voice to God’s love for the world revealed in Christ Jesus and using the language of lament, voices God’s deep sorrow over evil and injustice. Second, prophetic preaching proclaims the promises of God. The prophet announces the coming reign of God, which has already broken into our midst in Jesus of Nazareth and gives assurance that God’s promise of a new day of justice and peace and equality will surely come to pass. And third, prophetic preaching points the way to new possibilities. Using the language of imagination, it invites us to envision the new day God intends and to discern how God would creatively use us to help bring that day to completion.” [3]

Walter Brueggemann offers his own definition of prophetic ministry in his now-classic book “The Prophetic Imagination.” “The task of prophetic ministry is to nurture, nourish, and evoke a consciousness and perception alternative to the conscious and perception of the dominant culture around us.” [4]

“Prophetic witness consists of human acts of justice and kindness that attend to the unjust sources of human hurt and misery. Prophetic witness calls attention to the causes of unjustified suffering and unnecessary social misery. It highlights personal and institutional evil, including the evil of being indifferent to personal and institutional evil.”

“The especial aim of prophetic utterance is to shatter deliberate ignorance and willful blindness to the suffering of others and to expose the clever forms of evaluation and escape we devise in order to hide and conceal injustice. The prophetic goal is to stir up in us the courage to care and empower us to change our lives and our historical circumstances.” [5]

“Prophetic preaching is countercultural and challenges the status quo.”

“Prophetic preaching is concerned with the evils and shortcomings of the present social order and is often more focused on corporate and public issues than on individual and personal concerns.”

“Prophetic preaching requires the preacher to name both what is not of God in the world (criticizing) and the new reality God will bring to pass in the future (energizing).”

“Prophetic preaching offers hope of a new day to come and the promise of liberation to God’s oppressed people.”

“Prophetic preaching incites courage in its hearers and empowers them to work to change the social order.”

“Prophetic proclamation requires of the preacher a heart that breaks with the things that break God’s heart; a passion for justice in the world; the imagination, conviction, and courage to speak words from God; humility and honesty in the preaching moment; and a strong reliance on the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.” [6]

“In her book ‘Transforming the Stone’ Barbara Lundblad contends that fear is often at the root of resistances to prophetic preaching. People fear change and the things it might require of them. But Lundblad reminds us that fears do not go away if we sweep them under the rug and refuse to talk about them. It is only as we begin to name them – honestly and forthrightly – and acknowledge the hold they have over our lives that we are able to take the first step toward moving beyond fear to faith and to embracing the whole Gospel God has entrusted to us.”

“Theologian Scott Bader-Saye reminds us that courage is not the absence of fear. Rather courage is the capacity to do what is right and good in the face of fear. We become courageous when we learn to live for something that is more important than our own safety.” Bader-Saye continues: “The courageous person feels fear but is not overcome by it. The courageous person recognizes danger but refuses to let fear get in the way of doing what is right, good, and necessary.”

“By honestly naming our own fears before God and others, we also open ourselves to the Holy Spirit, who alone can give us the courage we need to confront and act in the midst of our fears.” [7]

May the Lord grant us the courage to preach prophetically! God’s heart and passion is for social reform that includes repentance of sin, transformation of character, and love for one another.

[1] Ephesians 4:15
[2] Leonora Tubbs Tisdale Prophetic Preaching: A Pastoral Approach, Westminster John Know Press, 100 Witherspoon, Louisville, KY, 40202-1396 © 2010, p. 4
[3] Ibid, p. 5
[4] Ibid, p. 6
[5] Ibid, p. 9
[6] Ibid, p. 10
[7] Ibid, pp. 17-18

From Lewdness to Faithfulness

God’s Word verifies what modern research says happens to those who become addicted to sexual perversion. Delving into disordered “love” releases a chemical in the brain (endorphins) that can be addictive. As a person does it more and more, they have to go to more hardcore material and activities to get the same chemical response as when they first began. Finally, they lose control of themselves, and become enslaved to destructive behavior.

The Word of God exposes similarities between Jerusalem’s behavior before it was destroyed and America’s behavior now. Surely, we were nothing when God found us, but He made us into a great nation. Why have we turned from God’s noble purpose for us to that which is ruining us?

God compared Jerusalem to the children of pagans because of her detestable practices. After birth, no one cut her umbilical cord, and no one washed the blood from her. No one clothed her. No one pitied her or had compassion on her. She was cast into an open field. She was despised the day she was born. [1]

God saved and nurtured her. She entered puberty. Her breasts and hair grew, but she was still naked. When God saw that she was old enough for love, He spread the corner of His garment over her and covered her nakedness. God made a solemn oath and covenant with her. So that she became His. He bathed her in water to wash the blood off of her and put ointments on her skin. He clothed her in a beautifully embroidered dress and put fine sandals on her feet. He adorned her with jewelry, put bracelets on her arms and a necklace around her neck. He put a ring on her nose, earrings on her ears and a beautiful crown on her head. So she was clothed with gold, silver, fine and costly fabric that was embroidered. He gave her honey, olive oil and the finest flour for her food. She became very beautiful and enjoyed the status of a queen. Her fame spread among the nations because of her beauty. The splendor God gave her made her beauty perfect. [2]

Jerusalem replaced trust in God with trust in her beauty. She prostituted herself in exchange for popularity. She gave her beauty to any passersby. She traded her beautiful garments for idols. The idols enslaved her. She sacrificed to demons. She formed her fine jewelry into idols. She had intimate relations with them. She gave her beautiful garments from God to her idols. She gave her fine food from God to idols. She presented her slaughtered children to idols. She gave her blessings from God to the devil. She forgot what God did for her. [3]

The Lord lamented with woes over her. She built shrines in public squares to her idols. She gave herself to Egypt because of their large genitals. The culture of Egypt focused on oversized sex parts just as pornographers and Hollywood filmmakers do today. She aroused God’s anger so that He stretched His hand against her and reduced her property. He handed her over to the Philistines. They were shocked by her behavior. She gave herself to the Assyrians. She had an insatiable desire for sex. Nothing could satisfy her. She went to the Babylonians for sex. Like an addict, she needed ever increasing amounts of fixes. She enraged God. She was sacrificed to increase not purge sin. [4]

God rightly called her an adulterous wife who preferred strangers to her own husband. Prostitutes receive gifts, but she gave gifts to anyone who would have sex with her. She defiled people. [5]

God promised to compel her lovers to strip her naked and execute her for being an adulteress. His jealous anger will judge her because she poured out her lust and exposed her nakedness to detestable idols. She slaughtered her children for them. God promised to compel people to destroy her idolatrous ways. To remove her fine clothing and jewelry! A mob will attack, stone, and hack her to pieces. They will burn down her houses and inflict punishment on her in the sight of many women. God will stop her prostitution. She will no longer pay people to use her. Then God’s anger will subside, and His jealousy will end. God is going to judge her for forgetting from where He brought her and because she enraged Him with her behavior. He will cause her to reap what she sowed. She was so lewd. [6]

God quotes a proverb, “Like mother, like daughter.” God says her mother was a pagan who despised her husband and children. Her sisters and father were all pagans. Her older sister was Samaria, and younger sister was Sodom. She followed their ways, copied their practices, and became more depraved than they were. Sodom never became as detestable to God as she did. [7]

Sodom’s sins were arrogance, gluttony, and apathy. She refused to help the poor and needy. She was haughty and detestable before the Lord. So, He put her away. Samaria did not commit half the sins Jerusalem did. Jerusalem made Samaria and Sodom seem righteous. Jerusalem’s sins were more vile than those who were previously the most famous cities for promiscuity. [8]

Jerusalem’s deeds deserved to be shamed. Previously, Jerusalem would not even mention Sodom because of her pride, but after her sin was exposed, the daughters of Edom and Philistia looked down on her for her lewdness. Everyone despised her. She was now experiencing the consequences of her detestable practices. [9]

God dealt with her as she deserved because she despised His promises to her by breaking covenant with Him. Yet, God promised to keep His covenant with her. The covenant He made with her before she became lewd. He made an everlasting covenant with her. His faithfulness will bring her to repentance. She will know that HE is the Lord. God will make atonement for her sin. She will know the Lord and never again open her mouth against Him because of her humiliation. [10]

May the Lord graciously bring America back from lewdness to faithfulness.

Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” [11]

The truth is we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We all need the sacrifice that Christ made for our sins. He alone lived a sinless life in this world. His blood was not tainted by sin and therefore He is God’s perfect sacrifice for our sins. That is why He is called the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The Father gives those who serve His Son Jesus the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit helps us discern sin as a fiend not a friend. He gives us the power to live to glorify God. Only He can do that. True freedom comes from knowing Christ. [12]

[1] Ezekiel 16:1-5
[2] Ezekiel 16:6-14
[3] Ezekiel 16:15-22; 1 Corinthians 10:20
[4] Ezekiel 16:23-31
[5] Ezekiel 16:32-34
[6] Ezekiel 16:35-43
[7] Ezekiel 16:44-48
[8] Ezekiel 16:49-52
[9] Ezekiel 16:54-58
[10] Ezekiel 16:59-63
[11] John 8:32
[12] Romans 3:22-23; John 1:29; 1 Peter 1:18-20; John 17:3

The Moabites

The Lord lamented for Moab. “He [Moab] is very proud in his loftiness, his pride, his arrogance, and the arrogance of his heart.” The Lord describes Moab’s demise as sudden. One moment, a healthy creature and the next the prey of an eagle. “Behold, he will fly as an eagle, and will spread out his wings against Moab.” [1]

The Moabites worshipped Chemosh. In the days of Balaam, Moabite women seduced the Israelites to worship their god. Later, King Solomon married Moabite women and set up an altar to Chemosh. Chemosh worship yielded bad results. [2]

Moab was arrogant. “We have heard of the pride of Moab. He is very proud in his loftiness, his pride, his arrogance, and the arrogance of his heart.” The Lord grieved over them. “My heart sounds for Moab like pipes…” “The abundance that he has gotten has perished.” “Moab will be destroyed from being a people, because he has magnified himself against the Lord.” Moab’s pride preceded their downward plunge. [3]

The Lord forewarned them that their cities would be destroyed. Even so, they continued to trust in their works and treasures. The Lord predicted, “The destroyer will come on every city, and no city will escape; the valley also will perish, and the plain will be destroyed.” [4]

Casual living ruined Moab. “Moab has been at ease from his youth, and he has settled on his lees, and has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither has he gone into captivity: Therefore, his taste remains in him, and his scent is not changed.” [5]

The nature of God is to pour out Himself for others. God the Father poured out Himself for us by giving us His Son. The Son poured out Himself for us on the cross to give us eternal life. The Spirit poured out Himself into human flesh that we might have God’s abiding presence in us. If we want to remain fresh for God, we too must be poured out for God and others.

The Lord warned the Moabites that their judgment day was near. Their strong staff and beautiful rod would be broken! He named eleven of their cities that would be plundered. [6]

The Lord said, “Make him [Moab] drunken; for he magnified himself against the Lord. Moab will wallow in his vomit, and he also will be in derision. For was not Israel a derision to you? Was he found among thieves? For as often as you speak of him, you shake your head.” Moab would reap contempt because contempt was what he had sown against Israel and others. The Lord declared, “I know his wrath… that it is nothing; his boastings have done nothing.” [7]

God wept for the Moabites because their summer fruits were about to be pillaged. Their joy and gladness were about to cease. Their winepresses would be dry. They would have no grapes to celebrate with joyous shouts. [8]

The Lord was going to remove those who offered incense to false gods. Their abundance would perish. Every head would be bald. Every beard clipped. God was breaking Moab up like a potter breaks up a vessel in which no one delights. Moab’s strongholds would be seized. The hearts of her mighty men would become like the hearts of women experiencing birth pangs. They would be destroyed as a people. The Moabites erred when they magnified themselves against God. [9]

The Moabite who fled in fear would fall into a pit. He who escaped from the pit would be trapped in a snare. A fire was ready to consume them. They were destined for captivity. [10]

Despite Moab’s sin, the Lord ended His prophecy to them with a promise. “Yet I will reverse the captivity of Moab in the latter days.” [11] The Lord is gracious. Although the Moabites deserved ruin, He promised to them restoration.

[1] Jeremiah 48:29, 40
[2] Numbers 25:1-2; 1 Kings 11:1, 7
[3] Jeremiah 48:29, 36, 42; Proverbs 16:18
[4] Jeremiah 48:8
[5] Jeremiah 48:11
[6] Jeremiah 48:18-24
[7] Jeremiah 48:26-27, 30
[8] Jeremiah 48:31-33
[9] Jeremiah 48:35-42
[10] Jeremiah 48:43-44
[11] Jeremiah 48:47