Picking Daisies, Chasing Butterflies

I have been a youth soccer coach. One of my most interesting times was helping with a group of five-year-old girls. The trick when it came to teaching these little girls the game of soccer, as I learned, was to slip in some soccer tips between the flower picking, butterfly chasing and girl-chats.

If you are the type of coach who must have the player’s attention and demand they follow your instructions, this is not the team for you. These are little girls, first, and they are out there for a good time.

Don’t get me wrong. They like to kick the ball and run up and down the field, but they are easily distracted by the wonders around them. If you keep these things in mind, and enjoy the experience with these kids, you will go away with some great memories.

Things change as kids get older, though – or one might think. It is especially true when it comes to achievement and competition. The successful ones can be both competitive and achievement oriented, and somehow hang on to the gift of wonder.

Not everyone will agree with my previous statement, but later in life, when our bones, bodies and minds grow a little more brittle, and we are forced to slow things down, you will see what I mean.

There will come a time when you either lose interest or ability, and then all you have left is your memories. It is then that you will either have the ability to enjoy the remaining wonders of life, or you will just wonder – you will wonder what just happened!

I see it every day. The ‘great divide’ between those who have lived a long life and are still able to enjoy their remaining years, enjoying the remaining wonders of life; and those who have become old, resentful and cranky about, well, about just about everything. They are especially cranky about their loss. They will have lost the only thing they ever had – the ability to achieve and compete.

If you are a young adult or middle-aged, you still have time to adjust your course if needed. I won’t go through some serendipitous, feel-good list of things you can do, like ‘stop and smell the flowers’ or ‘watch a beautiful sunset with someone you love’. I will leave that to you.

But what I will suggest is just one of the principles which will lead you to a new world of wonder and reward.

 

Give that which you want to receive. The secret here is to give freely. In other words, you cannot get the benefits of giving if you are expecting something in return.

Give unconditional kindness.

Give unconditional goodness.

Give unconditional respect.

Give honor without conditions.

Give your love without conditions.

Give your time.

There is an ancient and proven saying that advises, “Give, and it will be given to you. Give and others will pour into your lap a good measure; it will be pressed down, shaken together, and running over, until there is no space left for more. It is by the standard of measurement you use when you do good to others, that it will be measured to you in return.”  (See Luke 6:38)

This is not a magic formula. It is more like a seed. A seed you are patiently and carefully planting. Sometimes the ground will be hard and rocky and dry. But you plant anyway. Carefully, deliberately and patiently. You turn the soil. Water and fertilize the planting. Then one day you will stand in wonder and amazement as your giving begins to yield its fruit. Some a hundred times what you have sown; some sixty time and some thirty. (See Matthew 13:8).

There may be times that you want to doubt. But stay with it. It will bear fruit in its season. Believe me. (Or believe the thousands upon thousands who have discovered this secret of secrets to be true and have lived their lives out in the satisfaction of wonder and true success.)

 

And, believe me, the benefits will far outweigh your efforts.

 

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young.

(who is still in the process of trying to get this right).

 

THE THING ABOUT CROWDS – AND JESUS

It is interesting and telling that the Bible mentions the word CROWD or CROWDS, in relation to Jesus, 143 times in the New Testament (NASB version).

THE CROWDS GREW and followed Jesus everywhere. Here are just a few examples from the 143 mentions of crowds following Jesus:

“Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.” Matthew 4:25.

“When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.” Matthew 5:1.

“When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching;” Matthew 7:28.

“When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him.” Matthew 8:1.

“But when the crowds saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.” Matthew 9:8.

“After the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” Matthew 9:33.

“And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.” Matthew 13:2.

THE DYNAMICS OF THE CROWDS

The second thing interesting and telling about the crowds that followed Jesus is the dynamics.

There are 16,435 sermons on the subject of CROWDS at sermon central.  One message struck a chord with me.  The speaker described crowds, to include gangs.  He spoke of why and how crowds form, the intentions of crowds, the makeup of crowds, the psychology of crowds, the effect of crowds and the different types of crowds.

Toward the end of the message, the speaker remarked, “And Christianity is one of the largest CROWDS in the world.  In fact, it is almost like a “GANG”.

You see, “GANG members” have their own titles, their own logos and symbols they wear.  They have their own music style, their way of dressing and acting.  And, sometimes, GANG members can be intimidating, just like Christians.

“But, Christians have even more.  They have their own buildings, artwork, radio and televisions and broadcast stations and satellite networks.  They have their own banking systems, clothing lines, banks and religious centers.”

INTERESTING AND TELLING

After I read these passages, I wondered.  “HAVE I BECOME A GANG MEMBER?  Or part of the CROWD?”

After you read this letter, I’ll ask you, also, “Have you become a gang member?  Or part of a crowd?

Watch carefully as the Crowds in the Bible, who followed Jesus around, go from

• Inquisitive to
• Amazement and
• Adoration, and then become
• Angry – every time.  Every time.

THE THING ABOUT CROWDS

I am giving just a few examples here, how crowds acted and reacted to Jesus following the pattern of Inquisitive to Amazement & Adoration, to and then Angry:

INQUISITIVE

Matthew 4:23, “Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.  (v24)  The news about Him spread throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them.  Verse 25.  Large CROWDS followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

AMAZED.

Matthew 7:28, “When Jesus had finished these words, the CROWDS were amazed at His teaching;

Matthew 8:1, “When Jesus came down from the mountain, large CROWDS followed Him.

Matthew 9:8, “But when the CROWDS saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

Matthew 14:19, “Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the CROWDS, verse 20, and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets.

Verse 21. “There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.

ADORED.

Matthew 21:9, “The CROWDS going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the highest!”

ANGRY.

John 6:24 So when the CROWD saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus.

Verse 51. “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”

Verse 53. “So, Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.

Verse 54. “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

Verse 55. “For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.

Verse 66. ” As a result of this, many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.

Matthew 26:55, “At that time Jesus said to the CROWDS, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as you would against a robber? Every day I used to sit in the temple teaching and you did not seize Me.

Matthew 27:20, “But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death.

What has been your pattern while following Jesus, so far?

• Were you, initially, INQUISITIVE?
• Have you come to be AMAZED by Him?
• Do you ADORE Him?

BEWARE:  The next step in this pattern is ANGER.  It doesn’t flare up all-at-once.  It is gradual and progressive.  As long as you think you are getting what you expected, you are full of wonder and amazement, showing adoration for God.

But then, perhaps the music at church, has become less than what you expect, and you become annoyed.  Maybe the sermons aren’t ‘feeding you’ just right, so you have become dissatisfied.  Maybe the sermons are too ‘hard’ or about Bible subjects you don’t like, such as sin or hell, and they bother you so you miss a Sunday here and there.  And maybe, on one of those missed Sundays, nobody from the church called to see about you, and you feel neglected or ignored, so you get angry.  Yep.  ANGER sets in and the patter is complete.

Now, you should ask yourself, are you following Jesus as His disciple?  Or, are you just following Him around – as part of the CROWD?

This is what can happen when you become part of the CHURCH CROWD.

Jesus did not call us to be THE CROWD.  He called us to BE THE CHURCH and to BE HIS DISCIPLES who go and make other disciples.

We are NOT to be part of the church gang, following after the conferences, the church programs and becoming just a weekly attendee of the religious services (aka, worship services).

Finally, regarding the dynamics of these crowds of people who were following Jesus is that when Jesus began to make clear that there is a difference between just following Him around and actually FOLLOWING HIM – the crowds began to thin.

And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of people.” Matthew 4:19.

“And another of the disciples said to Him, “Lord, allow me first to go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” Matthew 8:21-22.

“And the one who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” Matthew 10:38.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.” Matthew 16:24.

Jesus said to him, “If you want to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” Matthew 19:21.

And He summoned the crowd together with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me”. Mark 1:17.

“Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say goodbye to those at my home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:61-62.

It was becoming clear, to many, that there is a cost associated with following Jesus as a disciple – the crowds began to thin.

Matthew 14:15 – crowds

Matthew 14:19 – crowds

Matthew 14:22 – crowds

Matthew 14:23 – crowds

Matthew 15:30 – crowds

Matthew 15:39 – crowds

Matthew 19:2 – crowds

Matthew 21:9 – crowds

And in the end, when the pressure to follow Jesus in any circumstance, it came down to one:

Matthew 14:22, “Immediately afterward He compelled the (twelve) disciples to get into the boat and to go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. Verse 23. After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. Verse 24. But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves; for the wind was contrary. Verse 25. And in the fourth watch of the night, He came to them, walking on the sea. Verse 26. When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. Verse 27. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”

Verse 28. “Peter responded and said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” Verse 29. And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water, and came toward Jesus.

Matthew 14:29 “And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.”

After all the crowds of people saw Jesus and saw the miracles, only ONE believed enough to take the risk and get out of the boat!

I ask one last time: “What has been your pattern while following Jesus, so far?”

Were you, initially, INQUISITIVE?

Have you come to be AMAZED by Him?

Do you ADORE Him?

Do you believe Him?

Will you actually follow Him?

BE the ONE and answer His call.  Turn this world BACK upside down in Jesus Name!  BE THE ONE – Now, go and rescue just ONE.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

MORE?  Go here:   ONLY ONE.

 

THE EMBRYONIC CHURCH – AND NOW IT BEGINS

Luke Chapter Nine – Ministry of the Twelve Disciples of Jesus.

Luke 9:1, Now He called the twelve (disciples) together and gave them power and authority over all the demons, and the power to heal diseases. Verse 2. And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing. Verse 3. And He said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, neither a staff, nor a bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have two tunics. Verse 4. And whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that city. Verse 5. And as for all who do not receive you, when you leave that city, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” Verse 6. And as they were leaving, they began going throughout the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

Luke Chapter 10 – The Seventy (two) Sent Out by Jesus.

Luke 10:1, Now after this the Lord appointed seventy-two others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. Verse 2. And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Verse 3. Go; behold, I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves. Verse 4. Carry no money belt, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one along the way. Verse 5. And whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ Verse 6. And if a man of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, it will return to you. Verse 7. Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they provide; for the laborer is deserving of his wages. Do not move from house to house. Verse 8. Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is served to you; Verse 9, and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ Verse 10. But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, Verse 11, ‘Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ Verse 12. I say to you, it will be more tolerable on that day for Sodom than for that city.

The Joyful Results

Luke 10:17, Now the seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name!” Verse 18. And He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like lightning. 19Behold, I have given you authority to walk on snakes and scorpions, and authority over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. Verse 20. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”

Matthew Chapter 10 – The Twelve Disciples; Instructions for Service

Matthew 10:1, Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness.

Verse 2. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew; and James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Verse 3, Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Verse 4. Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who also betrayed Him.

Verse 5. These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, “Do not go on a road to Gentiles, and do not enter a city of Samaritans; Verse 6, but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Verse 7. And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Verse 8. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. Verse 9. Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, Verse 10, or a bag for your journey, or even two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is deserving of his support. Verse 11. And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay at his house until you leave that city.

There have been and there are influential and powerful people in the Church who have said and will say that what Jesus did as it is recorded in Matthew chapters ten and eleven and in Luke chapters nine and ten was NOT a model for future missionary evangelism. They say it was just a record of Jesus sending His disciples and followers to the Jew only; or they say it was simply Jesus laying the groundwork for future missionary and evangelistic efforts, which, by necessity, would change and evolve with the changes in technology, social norms and advances in education.

To these ideas I say, nonsense!

WHY, OH WHY?

Why would God record ‘temporary and unimportant information or events’ in His Word (The Bible) – which is meant to be eternal? Are we just being entertained?

No. He would not, He did not and He does not.

Every word in the Bible, all scripture is God-breathed, given by divine inspiration, and is profitable for instruction, for conviction of sin, for correction of error and restoration to obedience, for training in righteousness, that is for learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage; so that the man (or woman) of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work. (see 2 Timothy 3:16-17).

I am a simple thinker; possibly hampered, being a linear thinker, for the most part. But I also consider myself  a critical thinker. I like to try, when reading credible sources which suggest they offer insight to truth into our ever devolving world, first, to take what I read at face value wherever and whenever possible. I then try analyze available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments in order to form a judgement by the application of rational, skeptical, analyses and evaluation.

Please note, I am telling you these things about me because I am not alone. Everyone has a standard – a believability plumbline – by which they measure and observe the things they see, hear and read for its veracity. So, everyone will be biased in some fashion to some degree. It is unavoidable if one is to form and draw their own conclusions. Therefore, some might say that I am biased because I filter all that I read and consider through the lenses of the Bible – on of the oldest and most carefully studied, critiqued and guarded documents in existence. The Bible is a record of history and of faith, which has shaped our world. I, by no means, discount secular world history, but it has been written, debated and disputed by brilliant minds who regularly disagree on many issues and points, depending on the points of view taken. Mine is the Bible.

Therefore, I refuse to stray too far from the obvious when it is framed within the context of the whole. And the obvious face value reading of Matthew chapters ten and eleven and Luke chapters nine and ten, say that Jesus called the twelve (disciples) together and gave them power and authority over all the demons, and the power to heal diseases. and to proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healing. He told them to take nothing for their journey, (neither a staff, nor a bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have two tunics), and whatever house they would enter, they were to stay there until they left that city.

THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH

“The early Christians believed that Jesus is the very presence of God. They believed that the body of Christ, the church, constitutes a temple. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He made some radically negative statements about the Jewish Temple.’

“The one that angered many Jews most was His announcement that if the Temple was destroyed, He would build a new one in three days! (See John 2:19-21.)

“Though Jesus was referring to the Temple that existed in the architectural sense, He was really speaking of His body. Jesus said that after this temple was destroyed, He would raise it up in three days.

“He was referring to the real temple—the Ekklesia—which He raised up in Himself on the third day (Ephesians 2:6).

“Since Christ has risen, we Christians have become the temple of God.

“At His resurrection, Christ became a “life-giving spirit” (1 Corinthians 15:45). Therefore, He could take up residence in the believers, thus making them His Temple, His house. It is for this reason that the New Testament always reserves the word church (ekklesia) for the people of God. It never uses this word to refer to a building of any sort.” (Excerpts within quotation marks are from Frank Viola & George Barna’s book, “Pagan Christianity”, Tyndale Publishing, 2002, 2008)

“When Christianity was born, it was the only religion on the planet that had no sacred objects, no sacred persons, and no sacred spaces.

“Although surrounded by Jewish synagogues and pagan temples, the early Christians were the only religious people on earth who did not erect sacred buildings for their worship. The Christian faith was born in homes, out in courtyards, and along roadsides. For the first three centuries, the Christians did not have any special buildings!

“As one scholar put it, “The Christianity that conquered the Roman Empire was essentially a home-centered movement.”

“Meeting in homes was a conscious choice of the early Christians.” It was a coming together in a more intimate setting, a ones’ home. Very little could be hidden in such an environment.

THE DRIFT BEGINS – 391 A.D.

The Church was barely out of its infancy when the religious spirit of innovation appeared, in the late second and third centuries, and a shift occurred.

“Christians not only adopted sacred spaces, they also had created sacred objects. (They would soon develop a sacred priesthood.) It might seem they had forgotten Moses and the golden calf.

“In all of this, the second and third century Christians began to assimilate the magical mind-set that characterized existent pagan thinking.

“These factors made the Christian terrain ready for the man who would be responsible for creating church buildings. In AD 327, Constantine began erecting the first church buildings throughout the Roman Empire, some at public expense.’ In so doing, he followed the path of the pagans in constructing temples to honor God. Augustine of Hippo (later, sainted by the Catholic church), began his work of making the Christian Movement ‘legitimate’ by government and Catholic standards.

“Interestingly, he named his church buildings after saints — just as the pagans named their temples after gods. Constantine built his first church buildings upon the cemeteries where the Christians held meals for the dead saints. (I ask, WHAT WOULD YOU CALL AN ACT LIKE THAT?)

“Constantine brought peace for all Christians.'” Under his reign, the Christian faith had become legitimate. In fact, it had risen to a status greater than Judaism and paganism.

“For these reasons, the Christians saw Constantine’s rise to emperor as an act of God. Here was God’s instrument who had come to their rescue.

“Christianity and Roman culture were now melded together.” (Again I ask, WHAT WOULD YOU CALL THAT?)

“The Christian building demonstrates that the church, whether she wanted it or not, had entered into a close alliance with pagan culture.’ As Will Durant, author of The Story of Civilization (a sweeping, eleven-volume work on world history that earned him a Pulitzer Prize), put it, “Pagan isles remained in the spreading Christian sea.”

“This was a tragic shift from the primitive simplicity that the church of Jesus Christ first knew. The first-century Christians were opposed to the world’s systems and avoided any contact with paganism. This all changed during the fourth century, when the church emerged as a public institution in the world and began to “absorb and Christianize pagan religious ideas and practices.

“As one historian put it, “Church buildings took the place of temples; church endowments replaced temple lands and funds.”

“Under Constantine, tax-exempt status was granted for all church property.

“Consequently, the story of the church building is the sad saga of Christianity borrowing from heathen culture and radically transforming the face of our faith.

“To put it bluntly, the church buildings of the Constantinian and post-Constantinian era essentially became holy shrines. The Christians embraced the concept of the physical temple. They imbibed the pagan idea that there exists a special place where God dwells in a special way. And that place is made “with hands.”‘ (Once again, I ask, WHAT WOULD YOU CALL AN ACT LIKE THAT?)

“As with other pagan customs that were absorbed into the Christian faith (such as the liturgy, the sermon, clerical vestments, and hierarchical leadership structure), third- and fourth-century Christians incorrectly attributed the origin of the church building to the Old Testament. But this was misguided thinking.”

“Most Americans are struggling to clarify their identity. They tend to see themselves as unique individuals, Americans, members of their family, occupational professionals, consumers, and then as followers of Christ — in that order of priority.

“In the minds and hearts of most Americans — even those whose beliefs classify them as “born-again Christians”— their identity as a follower of Christ pales in importance in comparison to the other roles they embrace. (WHAT WOULD YOU CALL THAT MINDSET?)

“Oddly, most of the born again Christians consider themselves to be servants of God and to have been transformed by their faith in Christ.

“Clearly, there are some missing connections in this self-evaluation. Perhaps the confusion is due to the enormous number of inter-actions and responsibilities that people take on each day.

“Maybe it has to do with the disjointed, topical teaching that most of us receive from our churches. It may even be attributable to the lure of competing perspectives and images bombarding us from the ever-present media.

“The bottom line is really quite simple: You are a priest of God, a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ, and a member of His glorious body. Through your declaration of allegiance to Jesus and your stated desire to live with Him forever, you have a responsibility to be a functioning priest, minister, and member of the Body .

“The organized church has moved down a winding path over the past two thousand years. The only way to get it back on track is for each of us to begin prayerfully exploring the original plan that God had for His people, and then to be willing to respond faithfully to that plan. (Excerpts from Frank Viola & George Barna’s book, “Pagan Christianity”, Tyndale Publishing, 2002, 2008).

I say, “enough of this dangerous game of creative re-imaginative religious realignment.

I would like to suggest that we break the current man-made rigid religious molds. That we break these chains of manmade traditions that are binding us. I suggest that we go back to the beginning. The beginning of what Jesus taught and modeled and re-learn something old, making it new.

It is time we stopped ‘going to church’ to be served (i.e., to get what we want), and start assembling as the Church in order to serve God by finding OUR PURPOSE AS THE CHURCH by doing the works of Jesus!

Click the following link, and begin to pray for God’s Wisdom and discernment.  An invitation.

I humbly offer this after fifteen years of prayer, study, seeking God, asking for His Wisdom to know and follow His Call. I sincerely and prayerfully urge you to do the same.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

“I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless you repent, that is, change your inner self–your old way of thinking, live changed lives and become like children trusting, humble, and forgiving, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives and welcomes one child like this in My name receives Me.”

Matthew 18:3-5

SEARCHING FOR LIFE and PEACE?

We may be ‘in this world’ but we should not be a part of this world and it’s cares.

The Bible says that the mind that is set on the Spirit is life and peace. It’s not just a philosophy or a feel good teaching. This is the Truth, but it takes work and discipline.

Here’s the guarantee:  If you will separate yourself (your mind, will and emotions) from the cares, worries and attractions of this world, and set your mind on the Spirit of God, you will not only have LIFE and PEACE, you will find success and will prosper even as your soul will prosper!

Here is how: Take one of these verses each few days, memorize it, visualize it, speak it, and do it. This, the Word of God, will literally change your life.

Verse 2.

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:8)

Recap:

1. Whatever is true,
2. Whatever is honorable,
3. Whatever is pure,
4. Whatever is lovely,
5. Whatever is commendable,
6. If there is any excellence,
7. If there is anything worthy of praise,
8. THINK on these things.

There is another verse in the Bible that says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7). If you train your mind, soul and spirit (heart), so you will be, also.

The fruit of the Spirit, the result of His presence within us, is love, unselfish concern for others, joy, inner peace, patience – not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Positive, happy, healthy, encouraging and respectful people are like honey to bees. If you want friends, peace and life and would like to be respected, practice these things.

I will be posting a verse every few days. Let’s do this together – in His Name!

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

PREVIOUS: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.)

SEARCHING FOR LIFE and PEACE?

We may be ‘in this world’ but we should not be a part of this world and it’s cares.

The Bible says that the mind that is set on the Spirit is life and peace. It’s not just a philosophy or a feel good teaching. This is the Truth, but it takes work and discipline.

Here’s the guarantee:  If you will separate yourself (your mind, will and emotions) from the cares, worries and attractions of this world, and set your mind on the Spirit of God, you will not only have LIFE and PEACE, you will find success and will prosper even as your soul will prosper!

Here is how: Take one of these verses each few days, memorize it, visualize it, speak it, and do it. This, the Word of God, will literally change your life.

Verse 1.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, (The English Standard Version).

Recap:

1. Rejoice always
2. Pray without ceasing.
3. Give thanks in all circumstances.

There is another verse in the Bible that says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7). If you train your mind, soul and spirit (heart), so you will be, also.

The fruit of the Spirit, the result of His presence within us, is love, unselfish concern for others, joy, inner peace, patience – not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Positive, happy, healthy, encouraging and respectful people are like honey to bees. If you want friends, peace and life and would like to be respected, practice these things.

I will be posting a verse every few days. Let’s do this together – in His Name!

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

(Next: Verse 2)

NOT OF THIS WORLD

The title sounds like it belongs on a science fiction novel. It might bring to mind strange looking creatures in other-worldly surroundings. But a similar caption can be found in the New Testament book of John 8:23, “And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.” (the words of Jesus).

And again, in John 18:36, “Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”

Is Jesus speaking in metaphors, or is this to be taken literally? Is He really ‘not of this world’?

Then in John 17:13–19, “But now I am coming to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. I have given those you have given Me, Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world (kósmos; literally, “something ordered“; an “ordered system”, the world. ), just as I am not of the world. I am not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them away from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. Just as You sent Me into the world, I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, so that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.”

Are those who profess to become Christians really not of the world? (I mean, they were born into the world of natural parents.)

Then, in Romans 12:2, we are told that the believer is not to be “conformed to this world, but (to) be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Again, are these verses to be taken literally, or is it metaphorical?

It is a peculiarity of becoming a Christian that a transformation takes place. I suspect, unfortunately, that most people consider this transformation to be a natural cognitive process. Is it a natural process being described by metaphor or hyperbole, or is it something that literally happens with a believer?

Again, 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us that, “If anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creature; the old has passed away; behold, new things have come.” (Some Bible versions have altered that word to read, “If anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation.” After all, becoming a new creature or a different creature is a bit out of this world.)

The Bible talks about being born again, of being made new, being transformed, being filled with the Spirit of God. Are these just exaggerations, metaphors, hyperboles or similes, used to get a point across? If so, it is odd then, that on the one hand, the Bible talks about unexplainable events, out of this world events, as miracles, then on the other hand would reduce the transformation of a human being into a child of God and a child of light, to a metaphor? Or is it both?

Is it possible that it is we – those of us who read the Bible and profess to believe in God – who are ascribing the miraculous to events which happen to others or miracles in nature, as being possible and literal? But are reducing those things that happen to us – individually – as metaphorical?

Or, are you and I just unwilling to believe such out of this world things can literally happen to us?

Or, perhaps, we are unwilling to do the literal, that is to die to our old lives and our old selves in order to literally become Christlike and to literally follow Jesus? (Before you answer, consider the Apostles and read Hebrews chapter 11.)

Please consider these events and decide if they literally happened or if they were just metaphors and hyperbole:

• Jesus, having been crucified, killed and buried, literally coming back to life.
• About all believers, at some point, being raised from the dead when Jesus miraculously appears in the clouds of the sky and His angels will gather His elect to be raptured into heaven.
• About the lame being healed; the blind given sight; the dead raised back to life; axe handles that float; a donkey speaks;
• Then there is the parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14).
• Jonah and the big fish (Jonah 1:17).
• The virgin birth of Jesus (Matthew 1:18–25).
• Daniel’s survival in the den of lions (Daniel 6:21–22).
• Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s preservation in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:25).
• Jesus’ walking on water (Matthew 14:25–27).
• Jesus’ calming of the storm (Matthew 8:23–27).

Miracles of healing

• Jesus’ healing of the nobleman’s son (John 4:46–47), a leper (Mark 1:40–45), a paralytic (Matthew 9:1–8), and a woman with an issue of blood (Luke 8:43–48)

Miracles over demonic forces

• Jesus’ casting out of many unclean spirits (Mark 1:23–28; Matthew 8:28–34)

Miracles of provision

• God’s provision of manna (Exodus 16:4).
• Jesus’ turning of water into wine (John 2:7–9).
• Jesus’ feeding of the multitudes (Matthew 14:19–20; 15:36–37).

Miracles of resurrection

• Elijah’s raising of the son of the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:17–24).
• Elisha’s raising the Shunamite woman’s son (2 Kings 4:18–37).
• Jesus’ raising of the widow of Nain’s son (Luke 7:11–18), Jairus’s daughter (Luke 8:52–56), and Lazarus (John 11).
• Peter’s raising of Tabitha (Acts 9:36–43).
• Paul’s raising of Eutychus (Acts 20:7–12).
• Jesus’ resurrection (Luke 24:1–7)

Could it be that becoming a Christian is more than just adopting a religion, and a new world view? Is it possible that something ‘supernatural’ actually takes place in your own mind, body, soul, spirit and life? Something OUT OF THIS WORLD?

It is interesting that the Greek word used for ‘transformed’ or ‘transformation’ is metamorphóō; it translates to “metamorphosis” and “metamorphize. (Metá, “change after being with” and /morphóō, and means “changing form in keeping with inner reality”; transformed after being with; transfigured.

A creature that has gone through a metamorphosis is radically and permanently changed from one thing into another. It is a process, when taken literally, that cannot be undone.

2 Corinthians 3:16-18 says, “Whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. But we all, with unveiled faces, looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”

So, why all this talk about miracles, metaphors, and hyperboles? I use it to help us focus on the idea that the Bible is not a religious book, nor is it a book about religion. I am wanting to ask and ponder the question “what if the Bible is indeed a book breathed and written by God, describing Himself, His plans, purposes, methods and His Kingdom – and about us as His creation, who came from another world to inhabit earth? SOMETHING TRULY OUT OF THIS WORLD!

The Bible is a book that not only answers all the questions of life but directs us to ‘rise up out of the dust of this earth’, to be born again and to be transformed into a new creature to inherit the coming new heaven and the new earth. God intends us to take our place as His children, as joint heirs with Jesus over all that God has created. It is entirely plausible and practical that our experience of a natural birth and our life on this earth is nothing more than God’s incubator for our maturing into the image and likeness of Christ Jesus in preparation of our eternity with Him.

I hope this gives a new urgency and meaning that “The gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life and there are few who find it”, because there are literally very few who call themselves Christian, willing or able to see the Bible as a literal call from God to come out of this world and its ways. They fail or refuse to see that if they are truly born again and transformed, they are NO LONGER OF THIS WORLD and should not simply be adding the benefits of being a Christians (such as going to heaven receiving answered prayers, etc.) to living like they are of this world! They must stop entangling themselves with the concerns and matters of this world and follow Jesus in His inexorable march to the consummation of this age!

I hope this gives incentive to re-read the Bible with new eyes that can see.

Furthermore, I pray that the eyes of our hearts may be enlightened, so that we will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the boundless greatness of His power toward us who believe. (see Ephesians 1:18-19).

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

(Next:  The Prophetic Words of Jesus)

(Scroll down the page as the audio file plays).

(Christian): Come! Follow Jesus!

OK. How do I do that?

(Christian): Read this little booklet. Pray this little prayer. Find a good bible-believing Church. Read your Bible.

10 years later.

                           

What now? I’ve done all you have said and there’s been nothing but trouble inside and outside the church. It seems that I’ve changed, but little else has changed.

(Christian): What are you doing different?

Nothing.

 

(Christian): Oh, I see. That’s probably the problem. You actually have to follow Jesus. Do what He says and do what He does. You know?

 

Huh? Do you mean, really follow Him around? So, if I am to actually follow Him, please tell me, where we are going?

(Christian): I don’t know. I mean, we are going to heaven! In the meantime, just read your Bible, be nice, and to the best of your ability, do what it says. Or, listen to your preacher. He will tell you what to do! Right?

I have been asking around, and so many people and preachers are saying so many different things. Who should I listen to? Whose advice should I follow?

 

Jesus answered, “Be careful that no one misleads you, deceiving you and leading you into error. For many will come in My name, misusing it, and appropriating the strength of the name which belongs to Me, or representing me in the Church, saying, ‘I am the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One,’ or saying, ‘I represent Jesus as His anointed one, His spokesman or spokeswoman’ and they will mislead many.” Do not listen to them and do not follow them. Follow only Me.

 

I feel like I am lost in a forest of religions. How can I find my way home to God? How can I know which way to go?

 

 

The world seems to be in an irreversible spiral of chaos, careening out of control. But that is only the appearance. There is order behind the apparent chaos. Satan creates chaos, disease, poverty and death to discourage and distract you from God’s Great Design and Plan. Satan will try to convince you that he has a plan for your salvation. It is a lie.

Everything, past, present and future is going according to God’s Plan. Knowing and following God’s Will from beginning to end will help you see and know what God is doing in these Last Days and why He is doing it this way.

Let me take you on a journey. A journey through the Bible, following Jesus and important signposts from the beginning to the end.

My prayer is that you would read the Bible (from the beginning to the end in the proper context), and that everything you may have wondered regarding the reasoning behind God’s plan for the world and for your life – all your successes, all your failures, all the good times and the hard times – will begin to make sense and fall into place. That God will give you an increased and a renewed enthusiasm for His Word so that you may be able to perform His Word and His Works in these Last Days.

Please, be aware that this will not be an easy journey. Jesus has already told us that we will have tribulation in this world. In fact, it is through these trials that we are made ready – perfected into the image and likeness of Christ Jesus – in order to inherit this world and the next as joint heirs with Jesus. (see Matthew 5).

I promise you that this is an amazing journey. A journey from the beginning of time through recorded world and Biblical histories. We will identify important past Bible prophecies and correlate them to the actual past world events; then we will compare both prophecies and histories to one specific prophecy known as ‘Daniel’s Seventy Weeks’, which will bring us to current events and the final epoch of time known by various names, such as, “The Last Days”, “The End The Age” the “Latter Days” and “The Tribulation”, which are now unfolding with frightening accuracy.

I will not stop there, however. I will conclude by laying out a successful response to these events, a plan of action by which you can both survive and thrive in these final days.

Finally, there is an event coming which is so fantastic as to be unbelievable. But I will show the evidence leading to this event, known as the ‘Rapture’ and I will even help you calculate the odds of its occurrence.  You will then be faced with the most monumental decision you have ever faced. You don’t want to miss this.

NEXT:   PERFECTION

(Please note: Links on this page are used in lieu of citations, footnotes and references, and they are important in order to gain a full understanding of this teaching. Please use them as you go.)

THROUGH JESUS EYES

The phrase ‘seeing through another person’s eyes’ is a figure of speech – an idiom. When someone sees or considers something through another person’s eyes, they consider it in the way that another person does; they see it from their perspective or their point of view.

Which leads me to ask, ‘why was Jesus so mysterious to so many people’? Why can’t we understand who He is and why He behaved the way he did? I believe the problem was that most people either have no concept of where Jesus’ comes from and have little idea of His mission – or choose not to believe it.

However, I believe that if a person would ‘see through Jesus’ eyes’, so to speak, they might better understand what He was saying and teaching. I believe we could better understand His intentions and His purpose. Then the question would be, or could we believe? (And this is especially true for professing Christians).

Jesus’ purpose, (His plan, ministry, methods and mission) was often misunderstood, even by those closest to Him. Perhaps it was because He would explain Himself through figures of speech, such as idioms, metaphors and similes, or perhaps it was because the miracles He performed were too fantastic to believe. Other times Jesus was very clear and exacting in His teachings and in His proclamations, but He was still misunderstood, or worse, He was rejected as a liar, a lunatic or a fraud by many.

Nonetheless, Jesus clearly stated that He was sent by God the Father. His home and domain is the Kingdom of Heaven and His mission is to defeat sin and its consequences and to seek and save those who are spiritually lost – this was and is Jesus total reason. This is how Jesus sees our world. Everything He said and did was in response to this one mission.

John 5:37-38, “And the Father who sent Me, He has testified about Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form. Also, you do not have His word remaining in you, because you do not believe Him whom He sent.”

John 6:38-40, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of everything that He has given Me I will lose nothing, but will raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

John 5:30, “I can do nothing on My own. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of Him who sent Me.”

John 16:25-31, “These things I have spoken to you in figures of speech; an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech, but will tell you plainly about the Father.  On that day you will ask in My name, and I am not saying to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf;  for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father. I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”

His disciples said, “See, now You are speaking plainly and are not using any figure of speech. Now we know that You know all things, and that You have no need for anyone to question You; this is why we believe that You came forth from God.”  Jesus replied to them, “Do you now believe?”

If you or I do not see this world (and the world which is to come), as Jesus sees it – if we do not have the mind and attitude of Christ – we do not understand even the first thing about Jesus, His mission, His methods, His promises, His claims or His Word.

I know this is a bold statement. I can hear the Bible student’s mind whirring right now! “That can’t possibly be true”, they might say. But I stand in this statement, as narrow as it sounds.

Listen to the words of James as he says, “You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives, so that you may spend what you request on your pleasures.” (see James 4:2b-3). James is adamant that using the promises and power of God for things other than the Mission of Christ Jesus leads to ungodly behavior, greed, selfishness, vanity and division. It is a sad misunderstanding of the teachings and calling of Jesus at best, and a mockery of the Gospel at worst. (You should read the entire chapter to get the full context of what James is teaching.)

Furthermore, no matter how well-intentioned we may be, Jesus has warned, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.  Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

On the flip side, if you are willing, there is nothing that compares to following Jesus. You will never regret the results! Then you may ask what you will and it will be done for you!

 

Seeing through Jesus’ Eyes should radically alter most Christian’s view of everything they think they know, especially in matters of one’s own salvation and what should follow.

What we Christians should now be facing, I pray, is making the second most monumental decision following our decision to follow Jesus, and that is to actually follow Him, which requires that we “see through the Eyes of Jesus”.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

(If you think this sounds harsh or too narrow, please know that I have felt the same way. But, please believe me, salvation by God’s grace through faith in Jesus is neither cheap nor easy – no matter how it is being sold. Please consider this short series: “It Ain’t Easy”.)

 

 

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the boundless greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working…

(these words, ‘the working’, from Strong’s Greek concordance #1753, enérgeia = working, action, productive work, activity; in the NT, confined to superhuman activity; “divine energy”; typically refers to God’s energy which transitions the believer from point to point in His plan (accomplishing His definition of progress),

…of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.  (Ephesians 1:18-21, NASB.)

In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek word, enérgeia = ‘activity’) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a physical body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat and light. Energy is a conserved quantity—the law of conservation of energy states that energy can be converted in form, but not created or destroyed.

Mass is an intrinsic property of a body.

In physics, mass–energy equivalence is the relationship between mass and energy in a system’s rest frame. Mass–energy equivalence states that all objects having mass, or massive objects, have a corresponding intrinsic energy, even when they are stationary.

I do not believe that it is simply a coincidence that science and the Bible use the Greek word energeia when describing natural physical or metaphysical energy and mass and  the working of God’s strength. I am certain that physicists use this word as they unwittingly confirm what the Bible had already said about energy and its observable results.

For example:  Elements gather in space. Gas drifts through the universe and is drawn together by the force of gravity.

A star is ‘born; It burns brightly and releases energy and heat; too much mass gathers for the star to counteract the gravitational pull through the exclusion principle. The mass continues to collapse under gravitational forces, expelling and returning its mass out into the universe until it ‘burns out’ and a black hole is formed. Its purpose is accomplished, and the star returns its remains back to the universe and is recycled in an unknown and altered form. That is what is called ‘the death of a star’.

Is this not anagolos to the creation and birth and death of a person? Is this not a shadow of the boundless greatness of God’s power toward us who believe, in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come?

Is the scientific description of ‘the birth and death’ of a star also a fitting analogy to our birth, life and death? We are born and we ‘burn brightly’, releasing energy and heat; at some point our ‘mass’ begins to collapse, expelling and returning our mass from whence it came. Our purpose accomplished, our remains go back to the earth and the universe. But in this case our spirit lives on either as a glorified body joined with the Spirit of God or it goes to eternal death and destruction – an unknown and altered form.

Scientists observe the universe in terms of energy and mass. They theorize what they see using prior knowledge, some empirical evidence, their trained and educated imagination, complex mathematical equations, and assumptions to tell each other and the world what they think is going on in our natural physical world. They anthropomorphize their nature finding to make them more lifelike, relatable and easier for the non-scientific world to accept.

But take the same theories and assumptions and frame them in the language of the Bible and the scientific elite frown and shake their heads in disparaging disagreement.

Nonetheless, these highly educated and supremely intelligent people are also among the most biased, narrow-minded and myopic people on the planet. They expand their minds and understanding through a very narrow lens and down an ever narrower path. (And they have been wrong in their theories more than they have been right, hence the endless litany of ‘new or corrected findings’ on age old matters, once thought settled.)

The scientific community says it is normal that they are evolving and refining their studies and findings. They say this is how science works.

Physicists have done and are doing amazing things. Their findings and the application of those inventions continue to make life much better for people. But any moral and ethical standards guiding scientific research and discovery have been lowered or are frighteningly absent. We thank you scientists for your dedication and hard work and for all of your accomplishments. Now we  pray you don’t find ways to annihilate us all.

The Bible states its findings of science in an alternative language which is constrained and guided by moral and ethical absolutes. And that, in my opinion, is the rub for most scientists. They, like most people resent being told what to do and how the should live.

BREAKING: The Physics Nobel Prize Winner of 2022 just Proved that the “Universe is actually not real”.

“The fact that the universe is not locally real is one of the more disquieting discoveries of the last half-century.”

Scientists, and physicists in particular. could be described as ‘odd fellows’ and as ‘weird’ or ‘strange’, not people who think like the ‘normal person’ thinks. Many of them describe themselves as much. Watch them and listen to them and you will probably agree (unless you too are a ‘brainiac’).

Physicists, astrophysicists, quantum physicists, theoretical physicist, etc., think. They think about the physical world around us. A physicist specializes in the study of the fundamental principles governing the behavior of matter and energy in the universe. Physicists explore the laws of nature, seeking to understand phenomena ranging from the behavior of subatomic particles to the large-scale structure of the cosmos. They employ mathematical models, experiments, and advanced technologies to formulate theories and contribute to our understanding of the physical world.

I could have said that physicists dream, if I wanted to super-simplify my point, and that would have been mostly correct. They dream up things from their odd way of looking at the world and universe and wonder how they work or why they work the way the work. They even dream about unseen things that seem possible or interesting and then go about trying to prove them correct or false.

The latest crazy idea is that the universe is not real. (First, let’s define ‘real’ according to the referenced article). “Real,” indicates that objects have defined attributes independent of observation—for example, an apple can be red even when no one is looking; “local,” which means that objects can only be impacted by their surroundings, and that any effect cannot travel faster than light. Quantum physics researchers have discovered that these concepts cannot both be true. Instead, the evidence suggests that objects are not only influenced by their surroundings, and that they may lack distinct properties prior to measurement.

‘Three physicists: John Clauser, Alain Aspect, and Anton Zeilinger were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2022 in equal parts “for experiments with entangled photons, establishing the violation of Bell inequalities, and pioneering quantum information science.” (“Bell inequalities” alludes to the early 1960s pioneering work of Northern Irish physicist John Stewart Bell, who established the groundwork for this year’s Physics Nobel.)

Now if you think that is weird (and unintelligible), try this one:

Scientists (physicists), say that the universe is made up of approximately 68% dark energy and 27% dark energy and 5% of visible matter. Scientists surmise that these types of matter exist by the effect they have on the universe. They go on to explain that you cannot see dark energy or dark matter and you cannot measure them. In fact, they cannot prove either exist and will admit they aren’t even certain they do exist. They just THINK they do. And with their record of accuracy, they are probably right, to some degree. It sounds rude perhaps, but they dream this stuff up from observation and imagination based on established science.

SO IF SCIENCE CAN ACCEPT THAT, WHY WON’T SCIENCE ACCEPT THIS?

Strangely similar to the study of quantum mechanics, the existence of God is can be observabed by the effects He has on the universe. Romans 1:20 says, “For ever since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through His workmanship [all His creation, the wonderful things that He has made], so that they [who fail to believe and trust in Him] are without excuse and without defense.”

Additionally, read Genesis 1:1-5, “In the beginning God (Elohim) created [by forming from nothing] the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void or a waste and emptiness, and darkness was upon the face of the deep [primeval ocean that covered the unformed earth]. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good (pleasing, useful) and He affirmed and sustained it; and God separated the light [distinguishing it] from the darkness. And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.”

The study in Genesis is supported by scholastic research. Scholars attribute the authorship of Genesis – and the other first four books of the Old Testament known as the Pentateuch – to Moses. But how do we know this? How do we know that Moses, and not a series of authors as proposed in the JEDP theory linked above, wrote this book?

First, as this Answers in Genesis article explains, we have documentary witnesses. This means we have verses in the Bible that attribute the authorship to him such as Numbers 33:1-2.

Second, as mentioned in the Answers in Genesis article, not only does the Pentateuch confirm Moses’ authorship, but the rest of the Bible, including the New Testament does as well. This means thousands of years of Jewish tradition would have upheld this position.

But this does bring forth the question: how would Moses know all of these things? How would he know about the events of Genesis and other events that happened hundreds (even thousands) of years before his time?

First, we cannot discount supernatural revelation. Scripture is divinely inspired.

Second, we also have evidence throughout Scripture of tradition being passed down – from specific prayers of Abraham to the bones of Joseph. Their culture worked quite differently than ours. They remembered details better, had a stronger oral tradition, had longer attention spans. Not to mention the events of Genesis ended about 300 years before Moses came into existence. Because of the strong oral tradition and duty of the Jewish people to preserve their roots, not much could have changed in the accounts throughout that time.

God spoke to Moses and Moses had those thoughts. That’s right. Moses thought these things and then wrote them. Does that sound pretty astounding? It is much less incredible than unprovable dark matter, dark energy, the existence of parallel universes and the idea that ‘the universe is actually not real’.

So, is science unwittingly proving the Bible has been right all along? If so, can science and the Bible become compatible once again?

In the end, it’s up to each person to decide. Here is a link to the movie and sequel to IS GENESIS HISTORY? I am pretty sure it will help you along your way.

 

 

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

PS: I realize this article may seem esoteric to some – or unnecessary to others. But I love science. I like to read about what humankind is learning and doing with science. When this is framed within the parameters of THE GOD WHO CREATED IT ALL, and science points irrevocably toward God, I love it even more. I hope you can, too.

 

Is it all just about Heaven or Hell?

Is it all just about

Right vs wrong?

Light vs darkness?

Do vs don’t?

Truth vs lies?

Blessings vs punishment?

or is it

Life vs Death?

If I were to ask you, as a Christian or as someone who believes in God, “what is the destination of a person at the end of their life”, what would you say?

Then, if I were to ask you “how you are to arrive at your desired result and what does the Bible teach about how to reach that conclusion”, what would you say?

A most popular answer about a person’s ultimate destination is Heaven or Hell, and many would suggest that you get there by what you believe or how you live your life.

Many Christians will tell you that they cannot ‘earn’ their way to heaven, but it is by God’s grace through faith in Christ Jesus that they are forgiven their sins and will spend eternity in heaven with God.

Some will say it is based on how you live your life and what you do that gets you into heaven or sent to hell.

There are some professing Christians who believe that it is a combination of faith and works that will get them to heaven.

Either way, I believe that a vast majority of believers, either consciously or subconsciously, hold to the idea that it is the rights and wrongs, the dos and don’ts, the truths and lies that they commit in their lives that reveal a person’s true beliefs and those beliefs will determine their ultimate destination – no matter what they say publicly.

The Bible says the primary destination, the primary end is not heaven or hell or right or wrong, light versus darkness, dos versus don’ts, truth versus lies or blessings versus punishments. What the Bible speaks to is the matter of Life versus Death. All the rest, the rights or wrongs, light versus darkness, dos versus don’ts, truth versus lies or blessings versus punishments, are guideposts, (instructions), along the way to either LIFE or DEATH.

Like in the case of Job, who was blameless, upright, fearing God and turned away from evil, the entire debacle was about LIFE and DEATH. Even his wife snarled that Job should “curse God and die“!  But God instructed Satan “Behold, he, (Job), is in your power, only spare his life.”

In the end, Job repented and chose life, and God restored Job. “After this, Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons and his grandsons, four generations.“

A believer should be keenly aware of and focused on how to live their life, because how you live your life does, in fact, reveal what you believe, and what you believe (whether Jesus is the only way to the Father and into the kingdom of God) will determine your ultimate end.

Before we go further, let me ask you, have you ever tried or are you now trying to break a habit, whether it was, (or is), a habit of thought or a physical dependency? Do you remember how hard it was, or still is? It seems like the more you try the more difficult it becomes. The more you have tried the more you have repeated the habit?

It was, (or is), because you were unwittingly giving power to the thing you hate by dwelling on it. So, what can you do?

That said, I am compelled also to say that if you are keeping a list of things you should or should not do in order to be set free and to get into heaven, you are left in an impossible situation. You just cannot keep up with the escalating intersections of the things on your list, and focusing on the problem just won’t cure it. (Just ask any Jewish person who has tried keeping all 613 laws or commandments of the Torah which include “positive commandments”, to perform an act, and “negative commandments”, to abstain from an act. It will drive a person insane. People haven’t even successfully kept just 10 commandments!)

Even though the Apostle Paul had been set free from the weight of the law through faith in Christ, he labored with the maddening conflict that exists between the ‘doing and the not doing’ of certain things!

Listen to his words as recorded in Romans 7:14, “For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold into bondage to sin. For I do not understand what I am doing; for I am not practicing what I want to do, but I do the very thing I hate. However, if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, that the Law is good. But now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I do the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me.

I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully agree with the law of God in the inner person, but I see a different law in the parts of my body waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin, the law which is in my body’s parts. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:14-24).

Even the Apostle Paul confessed that the struggle is just not in ‘doing or not doing, but the struggle is between life and death. Paul joyfully proclaims, however, that “Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” (Romans 8:1).

(It is easy enough to imagine that this is just about semantics. But it is much greater than just the meaning of words.)

So, what is the point here? The point is about our attitude and motivation to live.

Paul said that trying to keep up with doing the numerous laws you have set for yourself will imprison you. It is the practice of setting your mind on the laws of the flesh, which lead to death!

“For those who are in accord with the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are in accord with the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.” (see Romans 8:5–6).

It is when your motivation is to live, that your focus shifts from keeping up appearances or keeping a list of dos and don’ts, to living to please God and caring more about others than just being right or wrong, or nicer and better according to your religious traditions.

(Think about it this way: If for some reason you had to make an unavoidable emergency crossing of an eight lane, busy interstate – on foot. You should not concentrate on a stylish stride or how good you look dodging in and out of traffic or how many video hits you might get. You should be focused on staying alive by avoiding oncoming cars and not getting yourself killed and not causing others to be injured by your attempt to cross a busy interstate. You should focus on staying alive. Your focus is on living and it is almost as if you know instinctively what to do. It’s all about attitude, motive and inspiration.)

Please read these following verses and see what God says on this matter of Life and Death.

Deuteronomy 30:15, “See, I have placed before you today life and goodness, and death and evil, in that I am commanding you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, so that you may live and become numerous, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but allow yourself to be led astray and you worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you will certainly perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and take possession of it. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have placed before you, life and death, the blessing and the curse. So, choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding close to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, so that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

Then, after the coming of Jesus and the New Covenant:

Matthew 7:13–14, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.

Matthew 25: 41–46, “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you accursed people, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or as a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for Me, either.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

John 3:36, “The one who believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”

John 5:24, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

John 6: 52, “Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” So, Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, the one who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. This is the bread that came down out of heaven, not as the fathers ate and died; the one who eats this bread will live forever.”

John 10:7, “So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All those who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.”

YOU SEE – IT’S ALL ABOUT LIFE or DEATH.

Jesus never said, “I have come that you may have rules and rules more abundant”. Nor did He say, “The one who believes in the Son has eternal rules to live by”. He said you will have LIFE and ETERNAL LIFE!

If repetition indicates importance, then focusing on LIFE in Christ must be pretty important because there are around 135 references to LIFE in the New Testament using the word zóé, life, (physical and spiritual). All life (2222 /zōḗ), throughout the universe, is derived, i.e., it always only comes from and is sustained by God’s self-existent life. The Lord intimately shares His gift of life with people, creating each in His image which gives all the capacity to know His eternal life.

(Please forgive this aside, but this is so difficult for me to explain and even more difficult to understand. Probably because I have been so lousy doing it, myself. It can be even harder to accept if, like most Christians, you have unwittingly spent your Christian life learning to just ‘follow the rules of do and don’t’.)

On one hand we say we have been set free from our worldly and fleshly desires. But on the other hand, we continue to bow and serve at the altars of performance, competition, ego, pride and self, as we accumulate the admiration and respect of others and justify hoarding these treasures under the guise of keeping of God’s laws. But, we secretly find our thrill in life accumulating and serving ourselves, first.

Then, when rust and moths and decay erode these treasures or thieves break in and steal them, as they surely will, we will discover that no amount of performance has been adequate. In the end, we discover that where our treasure has been is where our heart was, also – and we die!

The key is to set your mind on the things that bring life, and you will begin to avoid those things that bring death. Bring every thought into subjection and obedience to the Word of God. Serve God and find the thrills of life through serving Him and others.

Then we can rejoice with Paul as he thankfully proclaimed that there is therefore now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

The mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. Focus on the SPIRIT and LIFE!

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

PS: And what do we do with those lists? The dos and don’ts? Use them as your guideposts along your way. They can be useful and they are helpful, but they are not the answer. Jesus and His Life is the answer. Don’t make excuses in the hard times – Just do what Jesus would do!

 

DENY THE LIE

EMBRACE THE TRUTH

God says that the Bible is His Word, breathed out. Furthermore, “the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.“ (see 2 Timothy 3:16-17, John 1:1-2, Hebrews 4:12).

We are being told, and it would do us good to understand that the Bible is the revealing of the psyche of each and every human being. It might appear to be a list of ‘rights and wrongs’, of ‘dos and don’ts’.  But the Bible not only discerns and reveals the core thoughts and intentions of each man, woman, boy or girl, it foretells the results of your thoughts, when held long enough to be acted upon.

With this in mind, reading these verses and writing this made me uneasy. It is convicting. I find myself asking, “How often do I lie – even ‘a little bit’? What am I doing to myself, my friends and my family if I lie?”

Conversely, I want to know the benefits and the blessings of telling and living the truth?

(In my defense, let me ask, when was the last time you heard a sermon that was singularly against lying and promoting telling and living the truth? It’s been a while for me. I believe God gave me this for the day in which we live. We, as Christians, are to be identified with God as bearers of the light of the Truth.)

LYING PUTS YOU IN LEAGUE WITH THE DEVIL.

John 8:44, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Phonetic Spelling: (psyoos-tace’)
Definition: liar
Usage: a liar, deceiver.

HELPS Word-studies

Cognate: 5583 pseústēs (from 5574 /pseúdomai, “to falsify, lie”) – properly, a lair; a person who falsifies, misrepresents (distorts, misleads).

LYING CREATES DEATH!

Acts 5:3, “But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the proceeds of the land?”

Transliteration: pseudomai
Phonetic Spelling: (psyoo’-dom-ahee)
Definition: to lie
Usage: I deceive, lie, speak falsely.

HELPS Word-studies

5574 pseúdomai (from pseudō, “to falsify, lie”) – properly, lie (falsify), willfully misrepresent (mislead).

Acts 5:1-11, “But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and kept back some of the proceeds for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God.” And as he heard these words, Ananias collapsed and died; and great fear came over all who heard about it. The young men got up and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.

“Now an interval of about three hours elapsed, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter responded to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for this price?” And she said, “Yes, for that price.” Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well.” And immediately she collapsed at his feet and died; and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard about these things.

LYING CREATES A DEPRAVED MIND AND MAKE YOU INTO A FOOL.

Romans 1:25, “For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”

Transliteration: pseudos
Phonetic Spelling: (psyoo’-dos)
Definition: a falsehood, untruth, lie
Usage: a lie, falsehood, untruth; false religion.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from pseudomai
Definition
a falsehood, untruth, lie
NASB Translation
false (1), falsehood (1), lie (5), lying (2), what is false (1).

Romans 1:18-32, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible mankind, of birds, four-footed animals, and crawling creatures.

“Therefore God gave them up to vile impurity in the lusts of their hearts, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for falsehood, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged natural relations for that which is contrary to nature, and likewise the men, too, abandoned natural relations with women and burned in their desire toward one another, males with males committing shameful acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

“And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a depraved mind, to do those things that are not proper, people having been filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, and evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unfeeling, and unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them.”

LYING BRINGS THE WRATH OF GOD.

Colossians 3:9, “Do not lie to one another, since you stripped off the old self with its evil practices,”

Transliteration: pseudomai
Phonetic Spelling: (psyoo’-dom-ahee)
Definition: to lie
Usage: I deceive, lie, speak falsely.

HELPS Word-studies

5574 pseúdomai (from pseudō, “to falsify, lie”) – properly, lie (falsify), willfully misrepresent (mislead).

Colossians 3:5-10, “Therefore, treat the parts of your earthly body as dead to sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. But now you also, rid yourselves of all of them: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you stripped off the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self, which is being  renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created it—a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, and free, but Christ is all, and in all.”

THE TRUTH MAKES YOU ONE WITH GOD THE FATHER.

John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Transliteration: alétheia
Phonetic Spelling: (al-ay’-thi-a)
Definition: truth
Usage: truth, but not merely truth as spoken; truth of idea, reality, sincerity, truth in the moral sphere, divine truth revealed to man, straightforwardness.

HELPS Word-studies

225 alḗtheia (from 227 /alēthḗs, “true to fact”) – properly, truth (true to fact), reality.

[In ancient Greek culture, 225 (alḗtheia) was synonymous for “reality” as the opposite of illusion, i.e. fact.]

John 14:6-15, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.

“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”

“Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? The one who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you, I do not speak on My own, but the Father, as He remains in Me, does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise, believe because of the works themselves. Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

THE TRUTH IS A PERSON – HIS NAME IS JESUS!

Please. Let’s pray for one another and hold to the Truth as That Day draws ever so near.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

I have heard it said that “After you have done all you can do, it is then that God will do what only He can do.”

But is that true? Do we actually play a part in God’s work and activity?

It could seem to be true, just based on all the struggles and battles God’s people have had to engage and endure over the centuries; God has always delivered on His promises to those who have endured to the end!

There have been apparent wins and losses in the battles of our lives, but the battles continue to reemerge and rage on. But this is only how it seems to be from an earthly perspective. We can only see as far as our humanity allows. Our natural eyes cannot see beyond the horizon of this natural world.

God, however, sees from a heavenly perspective – from (before) the beginning, to (after) the end. To say that ‘God knows all things’ is a gross understatement, and He knows all things because He planned all things, including the struggle that we must endure. It is a struggle, a time of tribulation, so that some of those who have insight will fall, to refine, purge, and cleanse them until the end time; because it is still to come at the appointed time. (see Daniel 11:35) and, “many will be purged, cleansed, and refined, and those who have insight will understand.” (see Daniel 12:10).

The battle lines were drawn at the beginning of creation. And we are included as participants in God’s Grand Plan for His creation. We are included in the struggles of this spiritual war whether we understand it or not and whether we like it or not. We are either with Him or against Him in this struggle.

It is all designed with a purpose. It has been God’s Plan and Purpose from the beginning “to seek and save the lost” and to transform and conform us, to perfect us into the very image and likeness of Christ Jesus. This is God’s Plan and our Journey toward Perfection.

And, “Because by a single offering He has made perfect for all time those who are being sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:14).

The Apostle Peter reminds us that, “Our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

“In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which perishes though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

There are no innocent bystanders. You cannot choose to forego. Neither ignorance nor refusal will excuse you. You are among the combatants, and you will either emerge victorious with Christ or as a victim of evil, and beware, for evil brings death.

“MY RIGHTEOUS ONE WILL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF THEY SHRINK BACK, MY SOUL HAS NO PLEASURE IN THEM.

“But we are not among those who shrink back to destruction, but we are of those who have faith for the safekeeping of the soul.” (see Hebrews 10:38-39).

Know that Jesus has said, “You are my friend”. Also know that the devil has come to kill, steal and destroy. Understand the rules of engagement. Now it is time to choose your side.

Please, dear friends, let’s pray for one another and not criticize. Let’s join ourselves together as we join our Lord in this battle. Let’s arm and equip ourselves with the full armor of God and stand together. The outcome is near. We have been declared victorious.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

“You have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.” (Hebrews 10:36).

 

JUST WHAT IS “GOOD”?

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

(Romans 8:28)

And, just what is meant by ‘good’ and according to whom?

Good = (agathós) describes what originates from God and is empowered by Him in their life, through faith. Inherently, intrinsically good; as to the believer. Good in nature, good whether it be seen to be so or not.

Genesis chapter one describes Creation. God uses the word “good” seven times when describing completed steps in His Creation. God’s first recorded act was creating the heavens and the earth – and it was good. God’s purpose and act was to create good.

Secondly, what is God’s purpose as referred to in Romans 8:28? Most commentaries and studies on the subject of God’s purpose is proposed in the plural: PURPOSES. This says that God has many purposes. But I am asking what was and is God’s first and primary purpose?

God’s corresponding primary act was the creation of mankind. “Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.” So, God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:26-27)

We know that God is Good and His act and purpose, once again, is to create good – this time, man and woman.

“And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.” (Genesis 1:31)

God’s primary recorded act was to create the heaven, the earth and humankind – man and woman who were made in His image and in likeness.

A careful study will tell us that God deliberately created man and woman in His image, but with a caveat – a deliberate flaw.

Read Genesis 1, Verse 27, with me, and let’s translate the words. “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

In His own image = tselem = an image; a mere, empty, image, semblance; image, vain show, from an unused root meaning to shade; a phantom, i.e., an illusion, a resemblance; hence, a representative figure, especially an idol, an image, a vain shew, of dubious character.

God created mankind ‘in His Own image’ but, as a mere image of Himself; a vain show, just a shadow of the Original; an image, in icon, a phantom pattern, an illusion, a mere resemblance; a being of dubious nature – but with the potential of being like God!

We are routinely told that we cannot be like God. It is true that there is none like Him. But read what God says in Genesis 3:22-24, “Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out with his hand, and take fruit also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— therefore the LORD God sent him out of the Garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. So He drove the man out; and at the east of the Garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword, which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.”

It is also true that we cannot be like God, but it is God’s intention, plan and purpose to make us all into the image and likeness of Jesus – to be perfected into and by His image.

God has made it clear: You are to “be (come) perfect, (teleio), even as He is perfect, (teleios)”. (Matthew 5:48).

Although God deliberately created mankind with a ‘dubious nature’, a flaw in their character with a propensity to sin, His plan and purpose for us is being perfected into the image and likeness of Jesus.

God provided a way and a method to save us from our sins and to perfect us by way of His perfect example, a savior Who is Jesus Christ.

And, “Because by a single offering He has made perfect for all time those who are being sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:14).

It is in our human nature to define ‘good’ by our own perspective from our earthbound vantage point. We tend to see ‘good’ as those things that are beneficial to us, the things that please us, things that suit our human passions or satisfy our fleshly desires. But it is God alone Who defines ‘good’. His nature, character and existence is the very definition of Good.

You cannot imagine or begin to know what is truly ‘Good’ unless you know the One who is Good. God is Good. He is perfect – and He calls us to be perfect, even as He is perfect!

His plan and purpose is first and foremost His Perfection!

Everything you hope to know about God, about His plan and His Purpose, will fall into place once you look through the lens of His Perfection.

It is only then that we can come to know, believe and truly accept, “that God causes all things to work together for your good, and for the good of all those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

It is only then that we can rest in perfect assurance that whether our life events or circumstances seem to be beneficial or not, it is always God’s plan and purpose to cause all things to work together for good to those of us who love Him, and who are called according to His purpose.”

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

“The Journey To Perfection”

WAS IT A MIRACLE, A COINCIDENCE or just GOOD LUCK?

I am a Christian and I hold to more of a reformed view of scriptures, leaving plenty of room for the Sovereignty of God to be and to do beyond what my puny mind can imagine or think. Which brings me to a question about prayer and miracles.

I have read, studied and prayed at length about prayer. I believe every word the Bible presents about prayer and praying – and perhaps ‘a little bit more’, if that is permissible.

The reason I say ‘a little bit more’ is that I have a nagging feeling that I am missing something. A big something, at that. This feeling comes from that fact that I have seen and experienced some absolutely amazing results from prayer. I should call them miracles because these are things of which the occurrence should have been absolutely impossible, at least in this natural world. These are things that have neither a scientific, natural or coincidental explanation (i.e., luck). They have been 100% inexplicable.

I would like to give a few examples of the things that I have personally experienced over the years. And, even though they happened to me or near me, I still wonder. After these examples, I will pose my nagging question and I ask if you would help me, please?

#1.  I FELL FROM A TREE.

I was about nine years old and like many nine year old boys, I liked climbing trees. I was living with my grandparents in a rural part of Oklahoma, near Oklahoma City. One particular day, I decided to climbed to the top of a very tall cottonwood tree.

The view from over fifty feet in the air was great. The breezes were causing the top of this tree to sway so it was better than a ride at the state fair. Then suddenly, the branches which were supporting me broke and I began to fall, snapping branch after branch until a thick, stronger branch caught me and flipped me over. Now I was falling head first toward the ground.

This happened so fast that my young mind was not able to process the idea that I was about to hit the ground on my head, from fifty feet in the air. Then, suddenly, I was jerked violently to a complete stop.

I was dazed and confused. Hanging upside down, I looked up to see that my foot was caught in a forked branch of the tree. And, not just any branch, but THE VERY LAST BRANCH of the tree. I slowly realized that I had, at least, been spared serious injury.

Now came the problem of how to get out of this predicament. I hung there for a while to ponder. I let my arms dangled below my head. My hands touched something, so I strained to bend my neck enough to look toward the ground. I was stunned.

Just within my reach was a fence post. The fence post was positioned directly in line with my fall. My head would have struck the top of the post had I not been caught by the branches.

Additionally, the fence post had a large steel spike in the top for draping chicken wire around a chicken enclosure. I now realized that had I continued to fall I would hit the post and driven that spike into my skull – an ugly but certain death.

The good news was that I was able to grasp the top of the post, push downward and free my foot from the forked branch and sort of vault down to the ground, with a thud.

I was shaken but not seriously injured. I just sat there, dazed and wondering.

I finally got myself together and went home. I never told my grandparents what had happened. I figured it was just another day in the life of a nine year old boy.

“Lucky me”, huh?

I had heard stories in Sunday school and church how God worked miracles and I wondered if that is what had happened for me?

#2.  HE EVEN CONTROLS THE ELEMENTS

Our family was travelling from a vacation in Orlando, Florida. My sons were about five and eight years old. We stopped at a ‘pull off area’, sort-of-a rest stop, on highway A-1-A somewhere near Saint Augustine, Florida.

The weather was cloudy and blustery. The waves were splashing onto the sidewalk along the shore line, which was lined with large stones to stop erosion, I guessed.

My youngest son, I and walked to the end of a sidewalk cul-de-sac to look at the splashing water. I felt safe enough, then suddenly a huge wave crashed over the rock abutment and onto the two of us. When the water receded, my son was gone! The wave had sucked him into the turbulent water and I could see no trace of him. Prayers began to race in my mind and out of my mouth.

Psalm 116:8-9

For you have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling;
I will walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.

Panic seized me and my first thought was, “GO GET HIM!”. So, I kicked off my tennis shoes and turned to dive into the water, which was probably a very bad idea, when another huge wave crashed onshore and as suddenly there was my son Jody, standing upright on the sidewalk, soaking wet, sputtering water and crying! I grabbed him and ran back toward the car, thinking, “WHAT JUST HAPPENED? Nobody is going to believe this.”

#3.

GOD IS OMNIPRESENT

I had started a mailing business that depended on a mail program to work properly each week. Even a one day delay of getting the mail prepared and sent would be financially disastrous for my business and for our family’s financial needs.

One particular week, this computer program stopped working. The data input from, what was then called ‘floppy disks’, would not work. I feverously tried again and again. I even reformatted the entire hard drive, reinstalled the operating system on the computer, reinstalled the mailing programs and when I tried to download the homeowner’s data FROM THE 26 FLOPPY DISKS, the program would fail at disk number 18, and disks 18 through 26 were the critical disks. I prayed continuously. I prayed fervently. I prayed desperately.

I worked on this for TWELVE hours (through the entire night and into the next morning), reformatting the hard drive and repeating the process, knowing that if this failed, we would become bankrupt and could not even buy groceries the next month.

I stopped in exhaustion, cried out to God, “I give up. I quit! I have prayed and prayed to you! Now, I give up.”

I started putting things away in resignation. I was defeated. My mind darted back and forth between what to do next and resentment. It was then I decided to do this ONE MORE TIME.

I restarted the computer and put disk number one into the computer. The computer whirred and gave me a screen message that confused me, “INSERT DISK #18”. I was completely confounded. It made absolutely no sense that the computer would skip disks 1 through 17 and ask for disk 18.

I followed the instruction and inserted disk #18. The program accepted disk #18 and another message came on the screen asking for disk #19. This continued until disk #26, the final disk, and after installing the data from disk #26, the machine turned itself off! It did it own its own!

My heart was beating what seemed like a hundred beats a minute. I restarted the computer and told it to start printing the mailing list, AND IT WORKED!

God had answered in a humanly impossible situation, in a physically impossible way. As far as I could tell, every logical law of math and programming had been violated and transcended. Yet, here we were. Saved again. Safe and sound. BUT IT WAS NOT EASY.

#4.

THEY FOUND HER!

Dale, a lady from our church in Virginia, came to me after services. She looked frantic. “Would you pray for my daughter?”, she asked.

“Sure”, I replied, “what do you want to pray about?” I was both uncertain and surprised. I wasn’t sure what the daughter or the Mom needed and I was surprised because Dale did not like me all that much.

We were members of a small Baptist Church and this church avoided “expressive worship” and were mostly quiet about miracles. I, on the other hand, was “slightly expressive” and was familiar with miracles.

Dale explained to me that her daughter had stolen their car and had run away and had not been heard from for several days. Dale and her husband had alerted the local police but there had been no word on her.

“Dale”, I began, “I know you don’t like me that much, so I have to ask why you are asking me to pray with you?”

“It’s not that I don’t like you, Mike”, Dale said, “It’s just that you are so, I don’t know, OUT THERE. But, I also know that God answers your prayers. So, please, pray for us.”

“OK, Dale, let’s pray right now.”

“Here”, Dale asked, looking surprised. “Right here in the church parking lot?”

“Why not?”, I responded. “You need help and I say let’s get to it”.

I grabbed Dale’s hands in my hands and began to pray and AS WE WERE PRAYING her cell phone rang. I opened my eyes and saw Dale peeking at the cell phone.

“Hold on a minute”, Dale said, “This could be important.” I watched as Dale’s expression change and she began to cry and shouted THANK YOU, several times into the phone. I heard Dale say, “Yes, yes yes. Oh, I love you too honey. Just come home.”

She listened further, agreed to whatever the caller instructed. She disconnected the call and, her face wet with tears and half laughing, half crying she exclaimed, “They found her!”

The call was from the South Carolina State Police. It seems a State Trooper had seen a car stopped on the side of the road on Interstate 95. He stopped to see if there was a problem and found Dale’s daughter. She had just then, run out of gas.

Dale look at me and said, “SEE! I knew God would hear your prayers!”

“That’s nice, Dale, I protested, “But, God already knew what was going to happen. And it wasn’t my prayers. It was you crying out to Him. It was God at work for you and your daughter. I just happened to be in the way. Please, no credit here. Give all the credit to God.”

What was that? I mean, it happened just like I have explained. What was that?

#5.

ARE YOU A PRAYING MAN?

It was the first Thursday of December, 2012. My eye sight clouded over. I called my ophthalmologist’s office for an emergency appointment.

The doctor examined my eyes and told me to immediately call my family physician. There was blood in my eye and he could not identify the source, but, he said it was from a source outside the eye and it looked bad.

I called my family doctor’s office and explained what the ophthalmologist said. The nurse spoke to the doctor and he told me to come in on Monday.

The “curtain” lingered over my eye sight, but got no worse.

On Saturday, my wife and I went to breakfast with friends. At the end of breakfast, I told my wife I need to get home. I was not feeling ‘right’. When she asked me what was wrong, I could only tell her that something wasn’t right, but I couldn’t pinpoint the problem.

We got home and I sat down and closed my eyes to rest. After a few minutes, my wife asked me how I was feeling.

I opened my eyes to talk to her and I was shocked that half of her face was gone! I practically shrieked, “What happened to your face?”

My outburst frightened her and with a confused look she said, “What do you mean?”

“Your face! What has happened to your face?” I yelled.

She ran to a mirror then came back to the room I was in and said, “Get up. I’m taking you to the hospital emergency room”.

By this time I had regained my vision and I said, “No. It’s OK now. I just need a walk and something to eat. I’m OK”.

I went for a walk. By the time I got home my vision was distorted again. My wife made me get into our car and she drove to the emergency room.

I went to the receiving window to check in. The lady behind the window asked what I needed. I couldn’t talk.

The next thing I knew is she had sounded an alarm and several people emerged with a gurney, put me on the gurney and away I went to an examination room.

My wife showed up and was asking about me. I had regained my ability to talk so I asked the nurse, “Why do you have a sign on the wall that says “U-R-S-E-S     S-T-A-T-I”?

The nurse turned toward me and said, “That’s called vision cut! This man’s having a stroke.”

The nurse leaned over me and asked, “Are you a praying man?”

“Yes”, I replied.

“Well, now would be a good time to start”, she said.

The rest is a partial blur. A neurologist barking orders. And M.R.I. Something called a “clot buster”. Then, a bed in intensive care.

After 2 days in intensive care, one of the two neurologists working on me, came by to say he didn’t think I had a stroke. I was relieved. I was thinking, perhaps I could go home.

Later that day, the neurologist came back to inform me he had read the M.R.I. and I had not had one, but two strokes. There were two “dead spots” on my brain.

The fourth day I had progressed enough that I was moved to the general hospital area. My speech was coming back and my vision had come back. I was a bit ‘wobbly’ but improved.

My wife, my family and I were praying this entire time. And now, after 4 days, I was wanting to go home. I felt it was time. So, I got out of my bed and started walking the hospital halls.

My nurse saw me and demanded I get back into bed. I told her and doctor that I was feeling good enough and that I was ready to go home. They said I needed to lay down and rest.

I got out of the bed and started dressing. They said they couldn’t make me stay there, but that I would have to ride to my car in a wheelchair. I refused and walked to my car (still wobbly, but walking).

Two weeks later, I preached the Sunday evening service at my Church. Many responded.

About six month later, as I like to say it, “The lights came back on in my head, fully”.

About a year later a checkup and another M.R.I., showed I had indeed had two strokes and there were two separate dead areas on my brain.

As I write this, over 11 years have passed.

#6.

YEP. THAT’S GOING TO SCAR.

I returned to my ophthalmologist for a check-up several months after having a stroke. I was still bothered by some kind of obstruction in my eye. The doctor informed me that a blood clot had passed through my eye and had scarred the lens.

I asked if it could be corrected? The doctor told me that there was nothing that could be done, but over time I would become accustomed to the scarring and it would be less annoying.

Several months later, while at church, I was relating the trouble with the scarring in my eye to a friend, and she said she had a similar problem that had resolved itself. She asked if she could ‘lay hands over my eye’ and pray. I agreed. Sadly, nothing happened.

Then several months later I became aware that the obstruction of my vision had cleared up.

At the conclusion my next ophthalmologist checkup, the doctor said my eyes were looking very good.

I asked him about the scarring. He said, “there is no scarring in your eyes”.

I asked him to review his chart notes. He studied the notes and muttered, “Well, that’s odd.”

I asked him what he meant and he replied, “The scarring is gone. Well, good for you.”

“But I thought you said it was a permanent scar. What do you think happened?”, I pressed.

“I don’t know”, he answered. “I just don’t know.”

I related how a friend had prayed for my eye to heal and asked if now it is healed?

“Well, I don’t know about that!”, he retorted.

“Okay”, I said. “I do know. I have had great medical care, but I have a greater God who has shown me mercy and has healed my eye!”

“Whatever”, the doctor smugly replied.

As I was paying my bill, the young medical assistant told me that she had heard my exchange with the doctor, and she knew what had happened – “It was a miracle”, she said.

What has happened? Well, there are just so many of these stories in my life. What do you think? Was it God. Was it miracles? I believe it was and is!

I could go on and tell you about how God saved us and our marriage 43 years ago.

I could tell you how we couldn’t have children until we were 37 years old, then we had two, and the first one was born on my birthday! (really, God?)

Or, I could tell you about…

Well, there are just too many.

Too me it’s pretty obvious. What do you think?

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

(I fall short, so often. And, many times, feel like I am not worthy of God’s abounding Grace or the favors He has shown and continues to show me. But I am always deeply grateful. The older I have gotten, the more humbled I feel by His Goodness and His endless Mercies.)