“HORROR OF THE GOSPEL” – Dec 10

“And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.”  Revelation 21:10-11

I ran across a website the other day that uses a statistical analysis tool to analyze your word choice and writing style and compares them with those of the famous writers.  It then tells you the famous writer you write like. (I Write Like)  I was intrigued to discover what famous writer had seeped into my psyche to influence my writing.  I read my writing and am without any reasonable explanation as to the influence in the style and words I use.

I cut and pasted the text from my last blog post, Spiritual Thermodynamics, into the analysis tool on the website.  As I completed the menial task, I imagined which names might emerge from the analysis.

C.S. Lewis … John Steinbeck … Nathaniel Hawthorne … J.R.R. Tolkien…
Robert Frost … Daniel Silva … Mark Buchanan … Edmund Morris…
David McCullough … Louis L’Amour… John Piper…
Tom Clancy … Jerry Bridges … Joel Rosenberg…

I have read multiple books by these authors.  Surely, their style has crept into how I put words to computer screen.

I finished the cutting and pasting of the text of my writing and with anticipation clicked the Analyze button.  I had wanted the program to take some time in processing its work but it immediately provided its analysis:

H. P. Lovecraft (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

H. P. Lovecraft

Yeah!???

I had no idea who H. P. Lovecraft was.  Therefore, I did what every modern scholar does.  I Googled him.  According to H.P Lovecraft Archieves, “HOWARD PHILLIPS LOVECRAFT (20 August 1890–15 March 1937) is probably best known as a writer of weird fiction…”.  He is universally consider the father of modern horror and the inspiration for modern-day stories of success such as Stephen King (“The Shining”), John Carpenter (“In the Mouth of Madness”), Robert Bloch (“Psycho”), Clive Barker (“Hellraiser”) and Anne Rice (“Interview with the Vampire”).  (H.P. Lovecraft – Biography)

This was not the famous writer that I thought might be lurking in my style, particularly since I have never read any of his writing.

I realize that there is a difference between writing style and genre.  However, it strikes me as a little strange that a horror writer and a devotional writer would have the same writing style.  Although, the similarities of our writing may actually extend beyond mere word choice and style.

I write short devotionals based upon my morning Bible reading.  To me, I am not writing horror stories but consider the message to those who reject my faith and beliefs.  I have once again finished reading through the entire Bible.  I love the completeness of scripture.  I love the fact that God’s redemptive plan can be seen in Genesis.  I love that the pattern for the forgiveness of sin is laid out in the Law of Moses.  I am comforted by God’s longsuffering patience with a rebellious people.   I am astounded by His abounding love in sending His Son as the lamb for propitiation of a sinful people.  I am speechlessly grateful for His grace and mercy in the creation of new life in those who are born again.  I am dumbfounded by the mysteries of sanctification.  I am fearful of His justice.

I am in awe of my God who has revealed Himself through this Word that I call the Bible.

I absolutely love Chapter 22 of Revelations because it is such a fitting manner to conclude the inspired words of Moses, the prophets, disciples and apostles.  All of scripture comes to a crescendo in what was shown to John:

…the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; … No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.  They will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads.  And night will be no more.  They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.  (Revelations 22:1-5)

Brent Nelson / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

That is a message of hope for me, but it is not a universal message of hope for all people.

I read Revelation 21:6 and am encouraged:

And He said to me, “It is done!  I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.  To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.  The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”

Stuck in Customs / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

To those who reject Christ, they read Revelation 21:7:

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexual immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death. 

That truly is a horror story.  The message of the gospel to me is eternal life with the God of love and mercy.  The message of the gospel is foolishness to those who stumble over God’s judgment as a horror story too harsh to believe.  They read Jonathan Edwards‘ sermon, Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God, and reject that God as a relic of a superstitious age.

Yet, there are real horror stories in this world.  The greatest horror story is the just punishment of those who reject the Son of God and the redemption from their sin.  We should never soften the reality of the horror of this fallen world.  Jonathan Edwards’ sermon was an instrumental spark for the Great Awakening.  The message of the Bible is “come”.  Come to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was sent in the likeness of sinful flesh for your sin and my sin, to condemn sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us (Romans 8:3).  No one needs to “come” if there is no horror to escape.  The good news remains that God has provided a way from all who come to Him to escape the horror of judgment.

Don’t stumble over the message of Jesus Christ.  Hear His words and respond:

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.”  And let the one who hears say, “Come.”  And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.  (Revelation 22:17).

PRAYER: O Lord, thank you for opening my eyes to the good news of the Gospel.  Thank you for saving me from the horror of suffering the punishment that I have earned from my sin.  Jesus, I long for the day of your return.  May the day that you establish your kingdom here on earth come quickly.  Lord, thank you for your patience.  Thank you for granting more time for the lost to be drawn to you.  Father, call your children home; move them to respond to your voice and to come.   I pray this in the precious name of your Son,  Jesus Christ.   Amen.

“LIARS LIE” – Nov 29

“And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world – he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”  Revelation 12:9

I have known a woman who was a liar.

She did not stretch the truth.
She did not exaggerate.
She did not take liberties.
She did get confused in the grey areas.

She lied.

Her years of elaborate deceptions finally fell apart when the pieces of her puzzle failed to come together.  Once a few of her tales came into question, the remainder of her web quickly crumbled under closer examination.

We found that most of what she portrayed was an elaborate ruse of half-truths and misrepresentation.  She was a magician at distortion.  She understood human behavior like few that I have met at her age.  Her skill allowed her to merge truth and untruth in an amalgam of distortion, misdirection, and outright fabrication.  She created these fantastic fairy tales that were designed to manipulate those who cared about her.

When we picked through the ashes of her falsehoods, we found that she lied even when the truth would have sufficed.  It seemed that the purity of the truth was never sufficient.  She could not allow an unadulterated word pass her lips.

She was a liar.

It is difficult to deal with a liar.  I want to trust people.  I am inclined to believe what I am told.  I easily grant the benefit of the doubt to the spirit behind the words.  However, those tendencies are foolish to convey to someone who struggles with lying.  They thrive on the temptation of the trusting.  A true liar deceives and manipulates the naïve often without them even realizing it.

Only the simple or foolish will blindly trust the words of a liar.  I am on my guard when I am dealing with a message that comes from a liar.  I am cautious of being mislead.  I am inquisitive of underlying assumptions and redefinition of words.  I am hesitant to blindly follow the promises of one tempting my confidence.

I am reminded of the words of the French poet, Charles Baudelaire:
The greatest trick the devil ever played was convincing the world that he did not exist.

I am continually amazed by the lack of discernment that is shown to the messages of the world.  What do you think is the source behind the common message espoused through various media outlets?

What spirit do you think is behind Richard Dawkins message that there is no God?
What spirit do you think is behind Jon Stewart’s message that Christ is not the only way?
What spirit do you think is behind Rob Bell’s denial of hell?
What spirit do you think is behind Oprah Winfrey’s spirituality?
What spirit do you think substituted Santa for the manager?
What spirit do you think substituted the easter bunny for the Cross?

I am not making aspersion about any person nor am I presuming their motivations.  However, I believe there are spiritual forces in this world that have a strategy of deception.  We are told that Satan is the master of the false message.  The spirit of the great liar is infused into the messages from the world he controls.  His purpose is to lead people astray.  He can manipulate the unsuspecting into advocating an underlying message without ever revealing himself.

Do you believe that? 

I believe that.  It is why I believe that it is critical to judge the spirit behind all the messages that we are persuaded to believe.

Does the message teach that all spirituality must be consistent with the Bible?
Does the message teach that salvation comes by Christ alone?
Does the message teach that all glory is due to God?
Does the message affirm the teachings of prophets, Christ and the Apostles?

We live in a world filled with messages from conflicting winds.  These winds originate from opposing poles.  What you believe will determine where you are blown.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, SO THAT we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.  (Ephesians 4:11-14, emphasis added)

Those who are not in Christ will be blown about by the deceptive spiritual wind of Satan.  They do not have the Spirit of Christ within them to guide them.  They have not been equipped by the teachings of the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers.  They do not have the knowledge of the Son of God.

Therefore, we must be wise when handling their messages.  We must be discerning.  We must be on our guard.  We must be cautious of being mislead.  We must be inquisitive of underlying assumptions and redefinition of words. We face a liar behind all these messages who is bent on deceiving us.

If you believe that, then you should live in that reality.

We need to learn to trust the reality of the world revealed through scripture and not the one obscured by a liar.  We need to trust the words of the faithful servants of God who are a gift to our souls, given to keep us from being blown astray.

PRAYER: O Lord, thank you for giving us the tools to recognize the message of our enemy.  Thank you for teaching us how to stay close to You.  Thank you for you Spirit who you have sent to guide us.  Lord, open my ears to hear.  Strengthen my heart against all the enticing messages from this world that will blow me astray.  Write your word upon my heart.  Give me wisdom to discern your Spirit.  Grant me understanding to know You.  I pray this in the precious name of your Son,  Jesus Christ.   Amen.

Sources:

Charles Baudelaire Quotes
Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science
Jon Stewart on Religion – Morality
Love Wins a Review
The Church of Oprah Winfrey

“WARNINGS FOR THE CHURCH & ME” – Nov 22

“Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.  Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into to him and eat with him, and he with me.  The one who conquers, I will grant to him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”  Revelation 3:19-22

“I love you” manifests itself in a variety of pleasing forms when uttered in response to gratitude and appreciation.
“I love you” has a startling different appearance when declared in a warning.

Julian E… / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

Would it be “loving” for me to stand on the edge of the pool as my son thrashed through the water and simply watch him drown?
Would it be “loving” for me to speak words of affection and affirmation, spaced for those times when his head jerks above the surface in a gasp for air.

The loving response would be to reprove my son for not grabbing the pole that I have reached out to him.
The loving response would be to discipline him to learn how to swim.

We are attuned to recognizing the emotion of love in the context of relational harmony.  Love is hugs and kisses, fond family gatherings and reminiscing, feelings of warm emotion and happiness.  Songs are sung of this love.  Romance novels are written honoring this love.  Greeting cards fill store racks with sentiments of this love.

Love is harder to appreciate when it comes in the form of a warning. 

YanivG / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

I am distressed for those who define God’s love only in terms of warm affections and affirmations.  I am befuddled by those who refuse to hear the warnings of our Lord only as being judgmental, intolerant, and unloving.  Somehow, a belief has grown that true spiritual conquerors are individuals who love a god of their own definition, make it inside the walls of a church, or are spiritual in some sense.

The warnings that the Spirit spoke through John were to those within the church.  These were warnings to professing Christians.  I have listened and read many sermons regarding the applicability of these warnings to the churches of our time.  I was inclined to join my voice to the choir, pointing to the reality of the continuing presence of these same attitudes in today’s Christianity.  Then I read,

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (Rev. 3:22)

Will I have an ear or am I just another voice?  Will I listen to what the Spirit says to these churches or will I ignore the plank in my own eye?  Will I submit myself to the love of God?  Will I submit to my Father’s reproof and discipline?

Church of Ephesus: 

Do I toil in patient endurance?
Do I bear with those who are evil?
Do I test teachers to determine if they are false?
Do I bear up for Christ’s name sake?
Do I grow weary in my faith?
Do I still have the love I had at first?

Church of Smyrna:

Am I willing to bear tribulation?
Am I willing to bear poverty for His name sake?
Am I willing to be slandered by those who hate my Lord?
Am I fearful of suffering?
Am I ready for the testing of my faith?

Church of Pergamum:

How am I holding fast to the name of Christ?
How am I proclaiming my faith when opposed?
How am I opposing the heretic?
How am I protecting my brothers and sisters in Christ from the stumbling blocks of false teachers?

Church of Thyatira:

Are my works known?
Are my actions motivated by a love for God?
Are my steps reflecting my faith?
Are my steps following in patient endurance?
Are my works increasing?
Are my thoughts tolerant toward the sexual immorality in myself?
Are my opinions tolerant of the sexual immorality of others?
Are those who I allow to lead and teach me tolerant of the sexually immoral?
Are safeguards in place to allow me to hold fast to my savior?

Stuck in Customs / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

Church of Sardis

What is the pulse of my faith?
What is the completeness of my works complete in the sight of my God?
What am I remember?
What am I keeping?

Church of Philadelphia

Have I kept his word?
Have I denied his name?
Have I held fast?

Church of Laodicea

Is my spiritual temperature hot?
Is it cold?
Is my soul lukewarm and worthy of being spit out?
Is a love of riches and prosperity blinding me?

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (Rev. 3:22)

It is easy to bemoan the spiritual condition of the churches we attend.  However, I don’t believe these problems are with the churches.  The problems arise from the people who attend these churches and the leaders they choose to follow.

These warnings are for you and me.  I embrace these warnings even though I cannot answer them all like I would hope.  I am thankful for these warnings because they demonstrate God’s love for me.  God loves me.  God loves His Church.  The healing of my church starts with me.  It starts when I hear and respond to the warnings that the Spirit has for me.  If the children of God will hear these loving warnings and repent, God will heal our churches.  He will make us conquerors who will sit with Him on His throne if we heed His warnings.

Stuck in Customs / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

I don’t know what the future holds for the churches of America.  I pray that there will be repentance and a return to our Lord and Savior.  I feel powerless in the larger context of the church but that does not relieve me of responsibility.  I am still responsible for my soul and my family.  Therefore, I plan to follow the example of the faithful in the churches of Thyatira and Sardis

 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden.  Only hold fast what you have until I come.  (Revelation 2:24)

 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.  (Revelation 3:4)

 My encouragement for the faithful in the churches of this continent and the world is to hold fast.  Do not be lead astray by teachings that come from Satan.  Hold onto the teachings that we have been given in the Scriptures.  Hold fast because our Lord will return.  May we be found anxiously awaiting the bridegroom without anything to be held against us or our church.

PRAYER: O Lord, give me ears to hear your warnings.  Show me all that you may have against me.  Forgive me for all the ways that I fail like those in these churches that you warned.  Help me to hold fast.  Lead me in repentance.  Move me to turn to you in all things.  Enable me to walk by faith in white.   Keep me from soiling my garments.  I pray this in the precious name of your Son,  Jesus Christ.   Amen.

“SEEING JESUS” – Nov 16

“Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw several golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest.  The hairs of his head were white like wool, as white as snow.  His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters.   In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.”  Revelation 1: 12-16

Christopher JL / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

I know that my eyes do not work the same as others.  I perceive a world unseen by those who have stumbled against the gospel of Jesus Christ.  When I became a new creation, my vision became inverted to my previous awareness.

I do not see the same man hanging on a Roman cross, thousand years ago, as many.  Many see a good man; tortured and beaten.  They see a teacher of a unique philosophy that was brutalized by a cruel system.  They see a revolutionary crushed by an empire.  They see a philosopher with ideas that transformed the world.

mareeshastar / Foter.com / CC BY-SA

That is not who I see on that cross.

I see a King.  I see the most powerful warrior to have ever walked this earth, following His orders.  I see the Divine, who could vanquish the world with a word, allowing the created to abuse Him.  I see the most glorious act of love that this world will ever know.  I see the savior of the world.  I see my Savior.

I hear the call of my Father when I have wandered too far, like that of a Dad drawing his child from the danger of playing in the street.  I hear a beacon drawing me home through fog covered water.

The principalities that wedge themselves between me and my God feel the roar like that of a hapless victim who wandered between a grizzly bear and her cub.

pipitdapo / Foter.com / CC BY

I see my loving Father running to me with arms wide open, ready to embrace, when I repent and return to Him.  (When God Ran, Phillips, Craig & Dean)

The spiritual world sees the Commander of God’s army, standing triumphantly over a vanquished field of battle, sword drawn with lighting in His eyes.

I feel my Lord graciously removing all the desires that entangle my heart and cause me to stumble.  I perceive his everlasting presence clearing the path before me, leading me to righteousness.

Phil Romans / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

The thorn-filled vine of my flesh and the evil that ensnares me feels the crushing weight of His mercy.  His grace to me is a tearing hurricane that scours my path clear, bending all that might cling too closely from beyond my passageway. (How He Loves Us, David Crowder Band)

I know the loving embrace of my Father when the world seems too much.  I feel the comfort of a lullaby when fear grasps my heart and I struggle to see beyond my emotions.  (My Child, Plumb)

The powers of this world see the King of kings standing in the gap, holding back the hordes of hell, with the authority to command, “You shall not pass!  This one is mine and he is greatly loved.”

I long for the day when all of creation will worship the Lord of lords.  Every word that I pen, every action that I take, every conversation that glorifies God, increases my hope and longing for the day of my Savior’s return.  I feel the Lord opening my mind to a hope that is beyond this world.  I see the seed of faith that He planned in my heart blooming into yearnings for that which cannot be satisfied by anything in this world. (Lord of lords, Hillsong)

The powers of this world see only defeat and punishment of a conquering, irresistible, power.  They see the terror of chains, fire, and outer darkness.  Their inability to stop the work of the Spirit through God’s children is a reminder of their impending powerlessness.  The praise of the redeemed curses them to the abyss.

I have been blinded by the love of God.
I cannot see the world from outside His love.

By God’s amazing grace and fathomless mercy, I have been adopted by my heavenly Father.  I know His refuge.  I know the nourishment that comes only from His table. I know the tender correction that flows from His love.  My soul has flourished from my time in His holy courts.  I know just a hint of all the evil that He has spared me from.  I know a hope beyond my understanding.

I know that neither life nor death will ever sever me from my God.
His grace is sufficient.
He will never leave me nor forsake me.
His love will always preserve me.
(Children of the Heavenly Father, Plumb)

ecstaticist / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

I know that there are two worlds out there.  I know by the love of God I cannot truly see from the perspective of that other world and I don’t want to.  I am grateful that I will only know Jesus Christ as my friend, teacher, advocate, propitiation, redeemer, Lord and Savior.

I am thankful that I will never know Him as condemning judge.  I am thankful that I will never have to look into His eyes, flaming like fire, feel the weight of His burnished bronze like foot, or hear the roar His voice in condemning me to everlasting punishment.

All of mankind will one day see Jesus Christ.
By what eyes will you see Him? 

PRAYER: O Lord, thank you for making the way  for me to know your love.  Thank you for giving me new eyes to see you as my loving Father, Redeemer, and Savior.  Thank you for taking care of me, shepherding me, nourishing me.  Thank you for keeping me safe in your arms; for being my refuge.  I love you Jesus.   I give you my life for your glory and for your pleasure.  I pray this in the precious name of your Son,  Jesus Christ.   Amen.