July 31, 2020

A Crisis of Conscience

It is easy to get some words confused. Conscious is the state of being awake, alert or aware. Conscience is more ephemeral in its meaning. In both Latin and Greek it is a combination of two words placed together which mean “come together.” We usually use the term in a moral capacity, for our moral capacity is how we negotiate and navigate life, and make moral decisions using moral reasoning. Our conscience is our moral compass. Sometimes we wonder if some people even have a conscience!   I am sure many Christians are confused and confounded when they observe people in the media and many governmental offices engaged in what is obviously and clearly bold face lies. This is more than distortion through deceit. This is total corruption and perversion of truth. Some of you might simply consider that this is simply a matter of demon possession of a non-Christian or demon oppression upon a Christian. In either case the result is willful lying and deceiving. I am sure you are making a mental list right now of some people you would put in these categories. If you are like me, you probably wonder why certain people do not spontaneously combust because of such wickedness. However, if not demonic delusion, then perhaps what we are witnessing is people who have what the Bible calls a “Seared Conscience.” The conscience, which is meant to direct our moral thinking, can be branded or seared as with a hot rod and rendered scarred and insensitive to feelings. It simply fails to operate as it was intended. Paul reminds us that some people have a faulty moral compass - a defiled conscience. To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. (Titus 1:15) As a result, they have seared their conscience and simply lie and distort truth. “By means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron.” (I Timothy 4:2) Some people are no longer sensitive to truth and so they lie with immunity and impunity of conscience.  We are living in the land of the liar. We are seeing this exemplified through "The Cancel Culture." Some, unfortunately have canceled their conscience. Serving Him with you Until He comes for us, Fred Chay

July 24, 2020

Our Infernal Foe

Christian theology and biblical thought changed the ancient and modern world for the better like no other philosophy or religion.  The Christian church laid the foundation and was fundamental to the university system of education, the modern mathematical and scientific methods and movement, the mindset toward economic freedom that has created abundant human prosperity and security. It provided an ethical basis for true modern democratic thinking that led to the greatest experiment, now seen in American democracy, which has been the beacon of light for religious, political, and economic freedom for the world. Recent events in the streets and the halls of government have revealed the fragility of such a system of democratic laws and freedoms. The fervor and ferociousness of hate for religion, especially Christianity with its value of virtue, along with its history, can only be explained as you look to the source of such vicious and violent actions and attitudes. It is Satanic to the core. Why are people so blind? And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Cor. 4:3-4) Why is there so much dishonesty and disinformation? You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies. (Jn. 8:44) Why is there so much violence? Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Pet. 5:8) Why is the whole world buying into such evil? We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. (1 Jn. 5:19)   Why is the battle so difficult? For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Eph. 6:12   How should we then live? Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. (Eph. 6:13) Do you know what the armor of God is? Read and reflect on Ephesians 6:14-18. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ "It seems as though politics is the Church's worst problem. It is her constant temptation, the occasion of her greatest disasters, the trap continually set for her by the Prince of this World." ~ Jacques Ellul ~ Serving Him with you Until He comes for us, Fred Chay

July 17, 2020

For Such A Time As This

I’ve been reading the book of Jeremiah. It is not very encouraging, but extremely realistic…           Israel for many years has been engaged in materialistic idolatry and marital infidelity. She’s been engaged in a willful rebellion against the Lord and His law. The Lord sends Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, a bearer of words of both destruction and delight. The destruction comes in the form of foreign captivity, if they will not remember the goodness of the Lord and repent of the wickedness of their deeds. Unfortunately, Israel rejects God’s prophet and His word and in so doing has opened itself up for judgment that will come in the form of the wicked Babylonians under the leadership of Nebuchadnezzar. Egypt will also play a role, and the result will be destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the devastation of its people. When God’s people fail to obey God’s word the results are ruinous. Today in America, Christendom is made up of a variety of sectors. The liberal church in America basically follows Deistic Therapeutic Moralism. These are people who have a great concern for “humanity” but little understanding of God. They are nice and often times moral, but not extremely biblical in issues such as salvation, homosexuality, transgender, and abortion. The Liberal Evangelical sector of Christendom (yes, you heard me - Liberal Evangelical) is more conservative and desires to obey the Bible. Unfortunately, many of the younger Evangelicals have bought into the idea of socialist social justice with a slight blend of Liberation Theology. The results are devastating. The Conservative Evangelical sector desires to obey the word of God, but at times does not know how that is to be accomplished in a realistic and effective way in a pluralistic society. If one were to evaluate “the effectiveness of the church” on American society and culture they would find it checkered and convoluted at best. Coming off of decades of the ‘Jesus Movement’ in the 70’s and 80’s, and the ‘Year of the Evangelical’ with such noted heroes as Billy Graham, James Dobson, Jerry Falwell and Phyllis Schlafly; our culture has made homosexuality, not to mention transgender issues (as if that is even a real biblical category), normalized. Sanctity of life issues on either end of the spectrum have only marginally been curtailed. The impact of the church in our political life is laughable. Even “The Supremes”- a political body if ever there was one - never fail to cause one to wonder what is going on inside of some of those great minds. Today, we do not have real biblical prophets and certainly none like Jeremiah. However, we do have the inspired, infallible, and inerrant word of God, both Old and New Testaments. The New Testament reminds us of our vision, our mission, our Lord, and where our loyalty is to be placed. Today, we have the likes of Putin and Xi or Maduro of Venezuela and Castro of Cuba and of course, the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - all of which desire nothing more than the utter economic & political destruction of our country. Will these leaders be used by the hand of God to bring judgment upon America? As I have said before, I am not a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I do know that at such a time as this the Lord desires us to seek His word and seek His face in prayer. Serving Him with you Until He comes for us, Fred Chay

July 10, 2020

The Men of Issachar Understood the Times and Knew What to Do

We are living in the land of the liar. We can call it fake news, false narratives, fictitious stories, fabricated statistics, forged testimony, and phony journalism, but at the end of the day it is deception. At the moment, we the people are being deceived and distracted by distortion and we are being extorted. Our history and way of life is being extracted from us by thugs and thieves. Some live in the streets some live in the halls of government. But mark it well, their intent is to destroy America the idea and America as a way of life. I understand that America is not perfect now and never has been and never will be. But to those who do not like it here; stop breaking our laws and move to another country!  The real danger for America is with the Church, the pillar of truth and the moral foundation of our country. The civil and social lockdown has meant a spiritual and corporate lockout for the church to gather.  I am not a prophet or the son of a prophet, but I do know that many ideologies, including both Fascism and Communism, have the same demonic leader and play off the same playbook. I also know that a one-world global government or despotic leader will lead to “the graveyard of freedom.” It has been said; knowing tomorrow’s strategy requires knowing tomorrow’s battlefield. The battle is for the mind both today and tomorrow and the tactics are four-fold: First, Demoralize the people. We see much of this through the riots and the rhetoric. Second, Destabilize the culture. Think Antifa here.  Third, Normalize with a false narrative. Think of that which was unthinkable and make it the new way of thinking. Fourth and finally, Institutionalize a new normal and a new order. One cannot help but think of CHOPS and CHAZ. Thankfully they are gone, but the movement that spawned them is not. They are very creative. These 4 tactics have been engaged in by university educators and communist dictators to form communist countries in order to create culture and regime change, “To Fundamentally Transform a Nation.” These tactics were also endorsed and employed by Saul Alinsky to train and make community organizers famous and to take over high ranking governmental leadership posts. (“Hillary Clinton, while at Wellesley, completed her senior thesis about Alinsky and his organizational model. Michelle Obama and Barack Obama were introduced to Alinsky by Valerie Jarrett, who was involved with Alinsky and his ideas and methods. Obama was intimately familiar with Alinsky and his model of Community Organizers.” Dr. Hal Morris) So what does all of this social-political commentary have to do with the church? WE the church must not become demoralized or discouraged. Our focus is on the Lord, both His person and His plan.  WE must not become destabilized but keep first things first. Pay attention to your spiritual life. Your walk with the Lord must not become a casualty in this difficult time of unrest. WE must not allow the new norm of immorality, indecency, and idolatry to dull us to the moral truth of the word of God. WE must not allow the church to become an institution or an organization, for it is a living organism --- the Body of Christ. As Dick Halverson, former Chaplin to the United Sates Senate, reminds us;       "In the beginning the church was a fellowship of men and women centered on living for Christ. Then the church moved to Greece, where it became a philosophy. Then it moved to Rome and became an institution. Next it moved to Europe where it became a culture. And finally, it moved to America where it became an enterprise."   The church is not dependent on environment but on relationship. Of utmost importance is our relationship with Jesus, and then our relationship with one another. I hope we are maintaining both. Serving Him with you Until He comes for us, Fred Chay

July 3, 2020

The American Experiment: Part 2?

America is a political experiment based on independence, but it is also built upon interdependence. Today we are witnessing both a political and social fracturing and a realignment through divisive division. The vision that once united is now dividing. This is due to another realignment that is evolving which at first was elusive to the eye but now is all too clear to see. The “invisible hand” that held America together was not simply a political concept it was a theological commitment. The Founding Fathers knew this and so did the people of our nation until now. John Adams declared: "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." Both of those descriptors seem to be in short supply today in both our government leaders and those who are governed. You cannot extract our Christian foundation from our nation without experiencing collapse. And that is what we are seeing: moral collapse and governmental cowardice. As C. S. Lewis reminds us, “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the end.” The Apostle Paul lived in an age such as ours including corrupt leaders, a collapsing immoral society, and a civilization committed to worshiping the creature instead of the Creator. Paul’s advice for Timothy, his protege then, and for us today is clear. “But you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance  persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord delivered me! And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them; and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." 2 Tim. 3:10-17 Sound words for us today in our wayward world. Serving Him with you Until He comes for us, Fred Chay