Physician, Heal Thyself

“Before the people of God can overcome the gods, the idols, and the altars of their world, they must first overcome them in their lives.” The Josiah Manifesto: The Ancient Mystery & Guide for the End Times by Jonathan Cahn. If God is the God of the Possible, then Jesus would not tell us to do something impossible to cure our hypocrisy. We need to trust God to overcome what only looks impossible. “Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:5 KJV).

Break the Spell

“The gods, the sacred cows, and falsehoods of any age only remain standing as long as they stand unchallenged, as long as their commandments remain unquestioned and their taboos unbroken. The righteous must challenge the unchallengeable. Question the unquestionable. Think the unthinkable. Speak the unspeakable. And break the unbreakable. They must be willing to do what no one before has dared to do. They must be willing to be the first, the breaker of the spell.” The Josiah Manifesto: The Ancient Mystery & Guide for the End Times by Jonathan Cahn. “And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Take thy father’s young bullock, even the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the grove that is by it: And build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this rock, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the grove which thou shalt cut down” (Judges 6:25-26 KJV).

Victory Over the Enemy

“And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God” (Revelation 15:2 KJV). Victory over the enemy may mean pain, suffering, and death, which is depicted here in the saints who overcame the Antichrist through their martyrdom. Though we must be determined to live for Christ, we should be unhesitant to die for Christ. If not, we are merely sunshine soldiers hoping to get to Heaven the easiest way possible. Christ never said all would be martyred for Him, but all would be witnesses for Him.

Faith Is The Victory

“For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1John 5:4 KJV). Winning a war first requires defining victory. If Jesus already defeated Satan at the Cross, why must we fight a Spiritual War? Because “we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12 KJV). The Enemy covets the glory belonging only to Almighty God, so he must enlist the sympathy of the world and neutralize support for and dependence upon Yahweh. In reality, Satan can only delay God’s final judgment against himself, but cannot eliminate that inevitable conclusion. By contrast, the Father must draw humanity to Himself through His Son by His Spirit. Since faith is that relationship of trust in God which functions by love, I AM will be worshipped by His chosen ones for He is worthy. The Most High alone determines when everything is finished. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6 KJV). 

What Is An Evangelical?

The evangelist, Billy Graham, was asked to define the term evangelical. He answered, “Actually, that’s a question I’d like to ask somebody, too.” Evangelical comes from the Greek word euangelion, which is translated “good news” or “gospel.” So, a better question would be, What is the “good news” or “gospel”? The Good News is humankind has a second chance of redemption from the sin that has pulled us away from our Creator, who now offers Himself as our Savior. “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1Corinthians 15:1-4 KJV).

Choose Life

Choose life — because ‘God is your life.’ Not simply an anti-abortion slogan or suicide prevention strategy, ‘God is your life’ is the essence of existence. If ‘God is your life’ is only a metaphor, then He is not your reason for existing, and all of this is nonsense. We complicate life’s decisions, when we remove God from the discussion. Without the focus upon God, humanity must substitute vast amounts of studies and resources to suggest an alternative. Life must be unselfish and God-centered. God’s way is life. “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey His voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto Him: for He is thy life, and the length of thy days” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20 KJV).

Kindness: A Measure of God’s Presence

Margaret Mead, the famous cultural anthropologist, not necessarily known as an apologist for God, is said to have made the observation to a student that she considered the first sign of civilization in an ancient culture to be a femur (thighbone) that had been broken and then healed. In the animal kingdom, if you break your leg, you die. No animal survives long enough for the bone to heal without the assistance of someone to bind the wound, provide safety, and promote recovery. “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32 KJV).

Voice of God: Not in the Thoughts of the Wicked

“The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts” (Psalm 10:4 KJV). Surely the Psalmist speaks only metaphorically, or is he? If God must be in all our thoughts, then everyone must be ungodly. No. We must be underestimating how God inhabits the thoughts of the godly. “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2Corinthians 10:5 KJV). Let us treat every thought as if we were listening to God, then we would not be as the wicked. Amen? 

Voice of God: In Our Thoughts

We need to quit treating our thoughts as if they were our own creation and comprehend they come from God. “The thoughts of the righteous are right” (Proverbs 12:5 KJV). It may startle us to think this since often in the past we have stifled good thoughts and replaced them with idle thoughts, which serve only as the springboard for temptation then sin. But, the “thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness [Hebrew, môthâr, profit, abundance]” (21:5), because they flow from the mind of God. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end [Hebrew, literally, ‘a future and a hope,’ the future you hoped for, ‘future filled with hope’ (NET)]” (Jeremiah 29:11 KJV). If we want to keep the conversation going with God, we must acknowledge and honor God in all our thoughts. Amen? 

How God Talks to Ordinary People

In 2006, Bruce Van Natta was saved by two angels (23:21) from being cut in half by a logging truck, which fell off its temporary supporting jack. Surviving surgery and the loss of the majority of his intestines — only to be restored by prayer — Bruce believes in miracles (Kindle book). More significantly, Bruce believes God talks to ordinary people like you and me, but we don’t realize it because we are not listening. His book particularly discusses how God talks to us — and, not just through Scripture. “God, who at sundry times and in divers [many] manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds” (Hebrews 1:1-2 KJV).