April 24, 2026

 

“When lies whisper, truth must shout.”

The political season is upon us. When is it not? And so, we get to play the game” Who is lying to me …. the most? I know that sounds cynical, so perhaps we should say - who is bending the truth the most? It seems that during each political season we need to be able to not only decide if we like the political position but also discern if the inevitable use of the Bible is accurate. Topics such as Social Justice, Pacifism, and my favorite - - “all love is love so rejoice with the homosexual and lesbian expression… God does,” are just a few examples. Of course, there are different perspectives on each of these topics. However, biblical gymnastics are performed to validate a politically safe ground for these issues, as well as transgender issues, at the expense of biblical and biological truth or abortion based on self-autonomy, freedom, and a happy life for the mother at the expense of death for the baby.  It seems to me that political expediency and biblical creativity have trumped biblical precision and accuracy. This week, we are witnessing “America Reads the Bible” from Washington DC. (I’m sure we shall see a Muslim expression of this soon.) Reading the Bible is always a good activity. However, the use and misuse of the Bible is an established bipartisan fact. Let me encourage you, if you have questions or doubts about how to interpret the Bible, to ask your pastor. Let me remind you of what Merrill Tenney said: “This Book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this Book.” Serving Him with you Until He comes for us, Fred

April 17, 2026

Artemis 2

What an incredible achievement. However, when a society knows how to do almost everything but no longer knows why it should do anything, it is in trouble. This condition is what John Seel describes as algorithmic nihilism—a society increasingly organized by powerful systems that cannot answer the most basic human question. When I was in university, I studied Peter Berger and what he called the “sacred canopy,” the shared framework of moral meaning that made life feel coherent and intelligible. And meaningful! But today AI is reshaping knowledge and reality itself. Social media has reshaped our identity. The result of all this is social and personal anxiety. “Anxiety” comes from the term angina, and we use it to speak of a constriction of the heart. Anxiety is a constriction of the soul or a constriction of the spirit. The Apostle Paul reminds us to be anxious for nothing but by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Well, the good news is He already knows them. This is not algorithmic nihilism. This is the providential, sovereign, transcendent God who not only knows but cares…for me. In fact, He loves me. This is not simply literary rhetoric but life’s reality. The Bible not only identifies and reveals the fault lines hidden beneath the comfortable but counterfeit surface of the worlds we create and invent for ourselves through AI and social media, it also provides, dare we say, in today's post-truth age, true truth, absolute truth of reality. “Be anxious for nothing”?  You bet! Serving Him with you Until He comes for us, Fred

April 10, 2026

Memento mori, “remember that you must die.”

I had many encouraging responses to Friday with Fred last week. But some were concerned for me that I was in dire straits and might actually be dying. Be assured I am in good health…as far as I know. However, it is good to focus on death. Solomon observes that the house of mourning offers something valuable that the house of feasting cannot (Ecclesiastes 7:2). There is also that famous Psalm of Moses, 90:12 “Teach us to number our days that we might present to you a heart of wisdom.” This is wisdom and good advice. We live in a culture that is terrified of death. And of course, we celebrated Good Friday last Friday, reminding us of a most gruesome death. But we Christians know that that is not the end of the story, for there is Easter Sunday and the victory of life that should encourage our hearts. The vulgarity of the cross and the victory of the resurrection, that is the message of hope. Resurrection hope is not the denial of death. It is the defeat of death. That is why Jesus said from the cross, “It is finished,” and then He willingly gave up His life.   What Was Finished? -The crushing of the head of the serpent. Genesis 3 -The fulfillment of the Law. Leviticus 16; John 1:19 -The payment for sin. Isaiah. 53:5,11-12 -The redemption and reconciliation of man. 2 Corinthians 5:19   Easter has nothing to do with Easter bunnies, chocolate Easter eggs or nice new dresses and hats you wear at the EASTER PARADE walking down Fifth Ave in New York. Easter solves the existential and eternal problem of mankind. And that is why Easter weekend must be seen in its entirety, as Roger Lundin opines:  “The Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday stretches between the certainty of sorrow and the hope of deliverance, between the full exposure of human cruelty and the full disclosure of God’s glory. And so, in the end, we live not in the darkened shadow of Good Friday but on ground that has been illuminated by the dawn of Easter Sunday.” This is not a post Easter message. Every morning is Easter morning from now on!                       “Jesus planted the only durable rumor of hope amid widespread despair and doubt in a hopeless world.” ~John Walvoord~ Serving Him with you Until He comes for us, Fred

April 3, 2026

 

Face it so you can Fix it.

I am afraid of dying. There, I said it. I am not supposed to be, but I am. The sense of an ending is normal for someone my age. And I know you cannot cheat the end from arriving. Death is not the issue for me. Ben Sasse, 54 year old former senator from Nebraska, the man with a death sentence of cancer, opined, “Death and dying aren’t the same — the process of dying is still something to be lived.” And that is the point. It is not death that I fear, but the process of dying. The prognosis is clear. What is the prescription?  Biblical clarity in my head, personal courage in my heart, and persistent resilience in my soul. As Tim Keller reminds us: “God promises to overrule and weave even the worst circumstances into a plan for ultimate good because He knows better than we do what should happen. Very seldom do we glimpse even a millionth of the ways that God is working all things together for good for those who love God. But He is. And therefore you can be assured He will not abandon you. Through pain and tears, love and trust God and watch Him unfold the rest of the story. Choose to stick with God and walk by faith.” So, I will face the music, but I will also focus on the goal. And remember----dying?  I have already started. Serving Him with you Until He comes for us, Fred