Author: Ken

Why the Christian Worldview Isn’t Working

Ken

Church membership is quite noticeably declining because the Christian worldview isn’t working. The faith of the Scriptures doesn’t seem to explain what’s going on in the lives of church members to make the weekly pilgrimage to church worth it. Not enough Christian service? Too little outreach? Some churches preach and teach Bible prophecy, while others simply acknowledge the Second Coming of Jesus Christ with allusions to the New Heavens and New Earth. For instance, Hebrews 10:25 is often quoted as why disciples should assemble as a church. “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25 KJV). Notice the compelling nature of church attendance was “as ye see the day approaching” (10:25). What day? The soon or imminent return of the One who said, “I come quickly” (Revelation 3:11; 22:7, 12, 20 KJV). Who has a good explanation for why Jesus hasn’t yet returned? This is only one example of a Christian worldview that doesn’t seem to be working. And, I do not think this was simply anticipating the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple worship in 70 AD by the Romans. If we were to introduce the concept of delay in spiritual warfare, as seen in the Book of Daniel (10:13), we could see how Christ’s Return would be just as imminent today, at any moment, as for the original recipients of the Book of Hebrews. But, we would have to reorganize our worldview. A little drastic change, now and then, is a healthy thing, don’t you think?

 

How the Jews Missed the Messiah

Ken

How did the Jews miss the Messiah? What began as a lack of carefulness to listen to Yahweh further escalated to despising Him and His commandments (Leviticus 26:15), which resulted in breaking their covenant with Him by the idolatry of worshipping other gods (Deuteronomy 29:25-26). Jehovah responded with the Babylonian captivity (29:28), but restored them to their land, when they returned to obedience of His law. After their renewed devotion to the law, somehow they became more impressed with their righteousness in the obedience, and forgot “their righteousness is of Me, saith the LORD” (Isaiah 54:17 KJV). This initially was an imperceptible lacking in devotion to the person of Yahweh, which was falling out of love with God. Yet with a tender heart of love for Ishi (Hosea 2:16), they could have noticed the more cryptic prophecies concerning the Messiah. “Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14 KJV). “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6 KJV). “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2 KJV). In our NT retrospect, we can see the same heart attachment to Mashiach is just as necessary for us not to miss Messiah’s Second Coming. “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (Hebrews 9:28 KJV). Maranatha!

Elon Musk on Mars

Ken

Elon Musk would like to go to Mars and make us a multi-planetary species. Not just digital payments through PayPal, electric cars through Tesla, solar panels through SolarCity, internet communications through StarLink, or payloads to the International Space Station, but eventually, he is targeting the moon and Mars through SpaceX. Can he do it? The greater question is, Will God let him? If it serves God’s purpose, of course Elon Musk could do it. When the Almighty quelled the last great earthly rebellion against Himself at the Tower of Babel, He said, “Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech” (Genesis 11:6-7 KJV). Yahweh’s Divine Council chose to thwart the Tower of Babel because He was laying out the future of the supernatural spiritual warfare between Himself and His adversary. What would the world be like, if we only had one language? Either it would be like Heaven, or more likely Hell. A promise for the godly: “Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee: the remainder of wrath shalt Thou restrain” (Psalm 76:10 KJV). LORD, may Thy Kingdom come and Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Amen and amen.

Children of the Righteous

Ken

The children of the righteous are those children which God has given to a Christian parent or parents. “For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of Him” (1Samuel 1:27 KJV). Faith will die out on the planet in one generation, if we fail to raise our children in the “nurture and admonition of the LORD” (Ephesians 6:4 KJV). God gave children to the parents, not the state or church. Just ask the parents of Moses. The awesome duty of Christian parenting is more than providing food, clothing, shelter, education, and socialization. “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel” (1Timothy 5:8 KJV). Our children’s impression of who God is comes from how they see us act, not just our talk. I am still amazed at what I hear my children say all these years later. They were listening more than I thought! Would you do things differently? Of course you would! But, our Heavenly Father has especially given us His promise that our children will meet us in Heaven. “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6 KJV). Do we believe it? Remember, Christian parent, you are not responsible to God for how He keeps His part of this promise. Do all you know how to do on your part, and leave the fulfilling to the God of the Impossible!

All Prophecy Has Already Been Fulfilled?

Ken

If I said, ‘All prophecy has already been fulfilled, as of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70,’ then you would probably correct me. ‘No, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the New Heavens and New Earth are still yet to be fulfilled.’ Then, the Book of Revelation is not just figurative and allegorical — teaching only principles and not predictive prophecy. You can see the difficulty of attempting to take away the stated purpose of the Book of Revelation. “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to shew unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass; and He sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John” (Revelation 1:1 KJV). When the Children of God become embarrassed about how long it has been taking the LORD for it to “shortly come to pass,” then we attempt to allegorize the Book of Revelation to ‘protect’ His image. But, if the any moment, imminent, “shortly come to pass” return of the Lord Jesus Christ can be accounted for by the delaying aspects of Spiritual Warfare, as seen in the Book of Daniel (10:13), then we can begin to appreciate why Jesus cautioned us, “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father” (Mark 13:32 KJV). May the LORD give us wisdom concerning His Return.

Taking God At His Word

Ken

To take God at His word is to accept His word on anything without further verification. If He said it, He meant it. “God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19 KJV). Treat God’s words with the same respect you would want God to treat your words. If you say what you do not mean, then treat God in the same fashion. If that sounds horrifying, then give God’s Word the respect it deserves! When interpreting or arriving at a conclusion on the meaning of anything in Scripture — including Bible prophecies — the interpretation that justifies God the most in making it understandable is the goal. If the plain or literal sense is most understandable, then God’s Spirit has communicated His message to you. If it only makes sense figuratively, poetically, or allegorically, then so be it. Our goal is to best justify God for whatever He said — literal or figurative. If the biblical translation of the original text makes the meaning obscure, then the modern reader is disadvantaged in arriving at a proper interpretation. If the biblical settings of the OT or NT recipients of the original texts are not understood, again, the modern reader is disadvantaged. Philip was used in the salvation of the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8), because he understood the context and meaning of Isaiah 53, which was being read. Whether God uses a Bible translation, a Bible scholar, Philip the Evangelist, or a humble cross reference, such as the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, it is the Holy Spirit illuminating and teaching the text. “But the anointing [Holy Spirit] which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him” (1John 2:27 KJV). Glory to God!

Blessing of the LORD Makes a Person Rich

Ken

“The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it” (Proverbs 10:22 KJV). Is God promising to make all His children financially rich? Certainly any disciple who is enriched must account for it from our Father’s blessing. Are we to limit this promise to financial blessings only? No, for we would be preventing God from granting us spiritual blessings, which far exceed the luster of money. If Yahweh has given you the faith to claim this promise to meet a financial need in your life, then “according to your faith be it unto you” (Matthew 9:29 KJV). Be sure to claim all the promise: “and He addeth no sorrow with it” (10:22). I take that to mean it is a blessing that brings joy with it. What a blessing to receive spiritual or financial blessing with the joy of the LORD!

Walking With God

Ken

Man has a history of walking with God. Adam and Eve “heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day” (Genesis 3:8 KJV). The Voice was the Pre-Incarnate Christ, the Son of God, the Eternal Logos who was made flesh, walking in the garden with our parents. God seems to enjoy walking with man, too, for Enoch “walked with God” (5:22), until he apparently walked Home, “for God took him” (5:24). Some describe the Rapture as an Enoch Walk. Noah “walked with God” (6:9) and was chosen to rescue the world from the plague of the Nephilim. Abraham walked with the LORD, whom he trusted. “Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness” (Romans 4:3 KJV). Moses walked with I AM and gave us understanding of how to live, “for the law was given by Moses” (John 1:17 KJV). The apostles walked with the Lord Jesus Christ. “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1John 1:1-3 KJV). May we be counted among those who walk with God!

God Is, Therefore I Am

Ken

God is, therefore I am. “God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them” (Genesis 1:27 KJV). With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), we are now discussing sentience (consciousness) and awareness like ancient philosophers defining reality. To be clear, the creature is not greater than the Creator; otherwise, Yahweh would cease to be all powerful. In no actual universe does less power trump all power. Our adversary specializes in frightening us with power that pales alongside the omnipotence of the LORD God. Just ask Elijah after the defeat of the prophets of Baal. The Almighty does not wake up in a cold sweat frightened of any adversary. “But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear Him, which after He hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear Him” (Luke 12:5 KJV). By the way, Yahweh wins! “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever” (Revelation 20:10 KJV). Hallelujah!

What Is Your Greatest Satisfaction?

Ken

What is your greatest satisfaction in life? “But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD” (Jeremiah 9:24 KJV). The LORD had just said that we are not to glory in our wisdom, power, or riches (9:23), because that betrays us as lovers simply of ourselves and not God. Understanding and knowing Yahweh is our highest honor. “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death” (Philippians 3:8-10 KJV). May Paul’s words ring in the understanding of our heart, especially as we face our Jōb moment of why me? It is not just a privilege to serve Him; but, just to know and understand Him is our highest honor! Thank you, LORD!