January 26, 2024

We are Living in an Age of Delirium

Many are experiencing cultural disorientation which has led to distrust. Our dis-ease is the result of the loss of belief in something beyond ourselves, someone who is utterly transcendent and not restricted and regulated in the temporal.  “God is Dead” and our culture has killed Him. No wonder people are confused and puzzled. As G.K. Chesterton said, “We all dread a maze without a center,” and make no mistake, we are living in a world without a center that grounds goodness in nothing more than just, ‘what I like and what I want.’ Life demands a center and Christ is the Center. He alone is the one who can give meaning and ultimate purpose to life in both this temporal and the coming eternal world. The apostle Paul explains this perfectly in Colossians 1:15-20. And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church, and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through blood of this cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.  The logical response for us is what is said next in 1:28. And we proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, that we may present every man complete in Christ Jesus is coming, but what will happen until He comes? William Butler Yeats, in his prophetic poem, The Second Coming, predicted, “Things fall apart, the center cannot hold” the reason is, “…the best lack all conviction while the worst are filled with passionate intensity.”   For such a time as this we are to “be ready to make a defense for the hope that is in us.” The game is on, it will not be postponed. The King is coming. The closing phrase of Yeats is that we are “slouching toward Bethlehem,” describing our waiting for the slow coming of an apocalyptic revelation. That revelation has come. (John 1:1-14) He has come, and because He has come, we bow to Him, Jesus. Serving Him with you Until He comes for us. Fred

January 19, 2024

When a government earnestly undertakes to root out terrorism, public opinion immediately accuses it of violating the terrorist's civil rights."  ~Plato~

Today we find ourselves needing to make difficult decisions because of complicated situations and conflicting circumstances. When principles conflict decisions are difficult. However, the “Square One Principle” is true: He who goes back to the beginning will finish in the end.   Evangelical Christians are committed to the authority of the inspired word of God. (2 Tim. 3:16, 2 Peter 2:20) As Merrill Tenny reminds us, referring to the Bible, “This book will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from this book.” How true. This is why Bible study is essential.   However, we need to take the next step and develop a Biblical Theology from our Bible study. Theology is simply collecting, connecting, coordinating, and correlating the biblical instruction in an organized way around themes and topics. Finally, we must also be able to make decisions on moral issues. That means we must also be engaged in Ethical Decision Making. Ethics is the process and procedure utilizing principles that produce a product - a biblically accurate and culturally relevant response to a moral question.   As many have observed, when a culture or a society fails to follow Biblical Truth, it declines. Oxford anthropologist J.D. Unwin, in his 1934 book Sex and Culture, confirmed after studying 80 civilizations over 5,000 years that sexual promiscuity always precedes civilizational decline. British historian, Arnold Toynbee, examined 22 major world civilizations and found that they started to decline when their moral fiber decayed. Aristotle stated: "Tolerance is the last virtue of a dying society."   If America continues in its moral decline, history declares that its fate is certain if not briefly delayed or temporarily deferred. We can run but we cannot hide.   Might we be people of the Book, who study to show ourselves approved, to live life well, and hear Jesus say - “Well done.”    “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Thy word. With all my heart I have sought Thee; Do not let me wander from Thy commandments.” Psalm 119:9-10   Serving Him with you Until He comes for us. Fred

January 12, 2024

The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. ~ William James ~

This week I have had the privilege and honor to teach pastors and educators in a doctoral course on Current Issues in Theology. The men literally come from around the world. Nepal, Philippines, West Africa, and the USA. These leaders who come from a variety of countries and continents will go back and make an impact on their schools, churches, and their people. I believe the influence and impact I have is of great importance because the information is the timeless truth of theology based on the authority of the Bible. I also believe that this is what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he instructed Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2. And the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.  Who will you invest your life in in 2024? What will you teach them? How will you do this amid a busy life with the competing “tyranny of the urgent” syndrome? When will you start? We call this - Making disciples of all the nations.  And remember... It is never too late to start doing what is right. Serving Him with you Until He comes for us. Fred

Januaary 5, 2024

Wrong does not cease to be wrong even if the majority believe it. - Tolstoy -

America is like a cut flower. It is cut off from the nourishment it needs. It is withering and is in the process of dying - and it does not seem to be aware of this tragic truth. The simple reason is that we have been dismantled and detached from that which made America great: The Christian faith. I am aware that not all of the founders were Christians, and that America is not a theocratic kingdom. But there is no denying the unique creation of this Republic was based upon a Christian ethics system that provided for law and order and even goodness that led to its greatness. The wave of antisemitism, the upsurge of sexual perversion, the rise of gender confusion, the escalation of abortion on demand, and the outright lying and deception by our “leaders” causes one to wonder in disbelief. As Jacob Burckhardt said about ancient Rome: “We can never cut ourselves off from antiquity unless we intend to revert to barbarism.” The culture, and in some quadrants of the church today, is trying to cut itself off from its Christian roots and it is reverting to a new barbarism. As we enter 2024 and seek to invest our lives for the glory of God, we must realize that all of the present cultural corruptions have continuously confronted the church in the past and will likely continue in the future. However, as Howard Hendricks said, "The greatest threat to Christianity is not Communism or Marxism or even Atheism, it is Christians trying to sneak into heaven incognito.” Serving Him with you Until He comes for us. Fred