Monday Morning Music Ministry

2-9-26

The Bible is theology: words from God, and a means of understanding Him. It is also history: researchers and archaeologists increasingly discover artifacts and even buried cities that confirm Biblical accounts once considered mere legends or fictional tales. The Bible is also doctrine: it tells us how to live; what is Truth; and the ways to experience joy and salvation… and the ways to be saved from misery and punishment.

Despite these factors, there are people who reject the Bible, starting their critique with the Book’s foundational reliability. I am not referring to non-Christians. It is humanity’s most populous faith, yet only about one-third of the world identifies as Christian. Christians are severely persecuted in some lands, and given a measure of credence in others; even Islam regards Jesus as a major prophet, while Jews still reject Him outright.

But Christianity’s major challenges are not with skeptics nor rival faiths nor persecutors so much, today, as with many who actually call themselves Christians.

Christianity – “Mere Christianity” as C S Lewis termed its basic tenets; and its simple Biblical elements, so clear in Gospel accounts of Jesus’s ministry, and exegesis of His teachings – finds its bitterest enemies in those who corrupt the faith, not only those who ignore it. A false church, after all, cannot hope to be an effective advocate… or even a plausible welcomer.

The very last words of the Bible’s very last book (Revelation 22:18-19, specifically cited by John as a literal transcription of words he received from Jesus) has a frightening warning – If any man shall add unto these things [words of Jesus] God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book.

In other words, God’s Word is sufficient (a Truth stated many times in many ways through Scripture) and must be the basis of our faith. Nothing more, nothing less. Sects and new denominations and cults – I will say, for instance, Mormons with “new” Bibles and even Catholics with inventions of way-stations between earth and Heaven like Purgatory and Limbo – are daring the Lord to fulfill this threat.

Such warnings, and controversies, are not new in the Church. But I believe no less a threat to the Church today are movements that subtract, not only add, to God’s Word.

Indeed, there is a tendency in the post-Christian West to change the Gospel not so much by adding to God’s Word, but subtracting – modifying, reinterpreting, pick-and-choosing, corrupting. Adding and subtracting from Scripture are both heresies, but (not to excuse) adding to God’s Word at least might represent efforts to be more holy or helpful or relevant. The opposite, however – subtracting from Scripture – weakens the Message, compromises with lazier theologies, aims to be more “comfortable” with the world’s standards instead of God’s.

What am I talking about? What “subtractions”? Avoiding preaching against sin. Compromising with “uncomfortable” Biblical teachings. Accepting Politically Correct standards. Not believing the Virgin Birth and other signs of Christ’s Divinity. Calling Good evil and Evil good. Vitiating the Gifts of the Holy Spirit for today. Excusing personal behaviors that the Bible condemns.

Are these elements of modern Christianity? Yes… in many places, many churches, many sermons. Subscribing to these beliefs – we can say, rather, this collection of non-beliefs – might be sending more people to hell than aggressive, rebellious sinning. Being half-Christian is like being half-pregnant.

This life-threatening evil was warned against elsewhere in God’s Holy Word:

Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you (Deuteronomy 4:2).

Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it (Deuteronomy 12:32).

Do not add to His words Or He will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar (Proverbs 30:6).

I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws’ (Matt 7:23).

If your beliefs are pick-and-choose…
You lose, you lose, you lose.

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Click: The Love of God

1-26-26

Skeptics abound in our society, around the world, and of course are manifest throughout the entire human race. Doubting is part of humanity’s DNA. Humankind is getting “smarter”; we can walk on the moon and we might cure cancer, but there still are flat-earthers, and believers in evolution, among us.

Skepticism is a prime component of agnosticism and atheism. Of course. Is there a God, really? Can He show Himself to us? Why not? Why did His Son come to earth as a baby, not a king? Did a man really perform miracles like healing the afflicted, walking on water, raising the dead? Why would He allow Himself to be tortured and killed? His Resurrection easily could have been faked; how could Romans, Jews, and other witnesses of the time not recognize the likelihood of fraud and deception?

Well, as you might anticipate, I will offer answers to these questions. Of course God exists; He has left His imprint on me, and all of us as individuals. If He did not create the universe, who did? – which in logic is not sufficient evidence, but I patiently will await a better answer. (If there was a Big Bang, who triggered the Bang; and what existed before it? And when we get to the edges of the universe… what is beyond them? Dear God: my head hurts, please help me…) Jesus came as a baby in humility, to identify with us. These and other questions fulfilled myriad prophesies.

Helpless skeptics and arrogant haters flail about, when they allege fraud and deception by Jesus and His Disciples. Yet scoffers scoff. They love the darkness and embrace rebellion.

Sixty years ago a British Jew called Hugh Schonfield wrote a book, The Passover Plot, that carefully laid out a story that a Jesus conspired with others to fake his death and resurrection in order to claim the realized predictions of a rebel who would challenge Roman rule over Palestine. It was a popular book and movie that, if little else, encouraged increased skepticism among the scoffers and doubters.

It has been that way through the centuries. Nothing new. Do you think you would more easily, or deeply, believe in Jesus if you could only see Him? Well, many of His day saw Him, and witnessed miracles… and yet doubted. Even some Disciples, those who walked and lived with Jesus, scattered like dry leaves on a windy day, “when push came to shove.” Would you react differently than they did? Really?

Here is a test – or Exhibits A through M or so, if this were a trial. Let us review the lives of the 12 Disciples after Jesus ascended to Heaven.

Judas drove himself to suicide, filled with remorse, after betraying the Savior.

James, son of Zebedee, was beheaded by Herod Agrippa.

Peter was crucified – upside-down because he wanted to avoid comparison with Jesus.

Andrew: Crucified on an X-shaped cross in present-day Russia, on a missionary trip.

Philip was executed, probably in north Africa.

Thomas, the Disciple who once doubted, was killed with a spear as a missionary in India.

Matthew was martyred in Ethiopia while establishing some of the first Christian churches.

James, son of Alphaeus, was thrown from the Temple and then stoned to death.

Jude was a missionary to Persia, where he was martyred.

Simon “the Zealot” likewise was murdered in Persia.

Matthias, chosen to replace Judas, was burned at the stake in Syria.

Bartholomew was whipped to death and beheaded in southern Arabia.

John was the last to die – and the only Disciple to die of natural causes, although exiled to the remote Isle of Patmos. It was there he transcribed the Book of Revelation.

Paul, the persecutor of Christians who converted and became a missionary and author of half of the New Testament, was martyred in Rome. My pied-a-terre in that city is near the Basilica of “St-Paul-Outside-the-Walls,” a wonderful site for contemplation.

This list of names is more historical than canonical. The Bible traces only two martyrs in the group; the rest are of tradition and local accounts, but surely reliable. Historians of the day, chiefly the Jew Josephus, and Eusebius, and Origen recorded the activities and deaths of the early church leaders.

How many of these martyrs and men who sacrificed themselves were skeptical of Jesus’s divinity when they gave up their lives? Obviously, none.

If they had participated in hoaxes and frauds, would they have carried to their graves the schemes to torture, crucifixion, impaling, burning at the stake, beheading? Would you?

I would not die for a scam artist; and it would take a rock-solid embrace of Jesus as the Son of God, Who remains the lover of my soul and clearly is the Savior of humankind, for me to choose any of these deaths over confessing a Passover Plot.

Would you choose their lives – and deaths – if it came to that?

But it might come to that for all of us: the Bible foretells a tribulation and persecution of the believers in End Times.

Would you die for a lie?

Would you die for the Truth?

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Click: When I Am Laid in Earth

1-19-26

Years ago in one of my previous lives I was a cartoonist and an editor. I served as Comics Editor of three syndicates (later in that capacity at Marvel Comics, and as a writer at Disney and consultant for European and American comics publishers), and for a reason I now forget I was invited to Manhattan by John McMeel. John’s relatively new enterprise was Universal Press Syndicate.

Universal was so new that its New York office was a shared apartment with Garry Trudeau, its star cartoonist who drew Doonesbury. Its Kansas headquarters had seen its first light in a basement. John had unerring instincts, as his eventual empire proved – other strips like Calvin and Hobbes, Ziggy, For Better Or For Worse, The Far Side; and Uclick and Andrews McMeel Publishing enterprises. That afternoon, he showed me samples of a strip Universal was considering: Cathy. He wanted my opinion. I read through several dozen strips, and while I could picture Cathy finding an audience, my assessment of its violations of basic design and reproduction rules began, “John, the lady can’t draw.”

“You’re right,” he said, casually. “She’ll probably work that out in a year or two.” I thought this attitude was the death-knell of newspaper comics. In fact, rather, it marked a time when good drawing and adherence to craft became irrelevant to cartooning success. (Also, the end of Marschall as an oracle about anything commercial created subsequent to oh, 1927…) Doonesbury, after all, a colossus as Cathy would become, was also drawn execrably. Trudeau had the sense to hire a ghost artist, I believe never acknowledged, as many cartoonists do and even more of them should.

But we live in different times. The levels of craft and self-respect have dropped in the comics field; and the same attends the concepts, writing, and premises of many contemporary strips. Part of the reason is that the public is less demanding of its daily fare. In fact I think many readers are devoted to strips because they think, even subliminally, “If I had the chance to have my own strip, I couldn’t draw well either, but I’d stake my claim!” This is a general indictment of the contemporary arts in America, more than of one creation.

This week I am thinking of a creator of this sort, and a contemporary strip: Scott Adams, creator Dilbert, who died on Jan 13, 2025. Dilbert, Dogbert, and the rest of the cast of archetypal drones of the cubical culture never were drawn well. In fact they were drawn as if by Etch-a-Sketch, intentionally and aggressively badly. Not by mistake or by Scott’s clear limitations. He seldom attempted close-ups and never depicted a character’s reactions or emotions. The depiction of banality required such – the evil of banality, if I may misquote Hannah Arendt.

Whatever the inspirational source, the soulless population of Dilbert were middle-distant actors with stereotypical attitudes not in command of their environment but rather reflecting aspects of it. Almost mechanically (in fact appearing to be virtual schematic diagrams) they helplessly manifested the roles consigned to them by the bureaucrat-industrial complex.

In that regard, Scott’s clunky, amateurish drawing style was irrelevant. Of course it was irrelevant to readers: Dilbert found incredible acceptance. It was carried by 2000 newspapers, filled reprints books, shelves of licensed products, and was made into an animated TV series. The point, or a point, is that comic strips overwhelmingly have become observational bits – comedians’ monologues come to “life” – and have inspired their readers to replicate wisecracks and sarcastic walk-away lines in their own “lives.” Exhibit A: eavesdrop on any group’s conversations at restaurants. The sympathetic chuckles are demand-notes for reciprocal assent, so “laughter” substitutes for wisdom.

Humorous comic strips have had stylistic cycles: stereotypes; slapstick; farce; character-based interplay; irony; commentary. Charles Schulz developed a rhythm where the “punch” is in the penultimate panel, and a character comments to self or to the reader in the last panel. Scott Adams used a variant of that structure, which usually attracts the reader into the gag’s environment. All legitimate. What made Dilbert different was the environment itself, offices that contained acres of dull, sterile cubicles.

Throughout history, in my view, two classes have kept humans safe and sane: the saints (priests, prophets, theologians) and the silly (jesters, humorists, cartoonists). Grumpy, insecure Establishment types always have cultivated martyrs among these groups, and by body-counts they have achieved some success… yet we are only encouraged, not defeated. Thanks to happy contrarians like Scott Adams.

America has become a bureaucratized culture. Everyone knows it, and is accepting to varying degrees. People live and commute to and from cookie-cutter houses and neighborhoods. The government and its tentacles want to homogenize us. Every innovation in life is co-opted despite bread-and-circus efforts to persuade us that things can be changed, and we can change things, and the Establishment does not impose its agendas. But to join the Bureaucratic life is to automatically accept marginalization.

In a different, or earlier, context a century ago, Franz Kafka recognized, was crushed by, and addressed this new world. So did other writers and poets and playwrights. They reacted with gloom and despair. Scott Adams was a rare creator who beheld the same soul-crushing Bureaucratic State… but reacted with humor, irony, and identification. More and more people recognized those felt-lined cells called office cubicles. Everyone knew the contemporary versions of humanity’s nitwits, incompetents, poseurs, and hypocrites. Dilbert struck a chord… even as its creator scribbled his observations from a cubicle at Pacific Bell, where Scott labored 9 to 5 at first, unconsciously gathering inspirations.

As Scott’s fame grew so – inevitably – did the Establishment’s opposition. Who could object to jokes about computer programs and fax machines? Not readers, who identified. But, you see, Scott Adams was more than a jester; he eventually wrote serious books; and, thank God for the liberating nature of the internet, began sharing his larger thoughts about life, politics, and current events. His common sense reflected uncommon sense. Ever the iconoclast, this jester became a respected commentator; he endorsed Doanld Trump and was invited to the White House; and discomfited the Establishment.

One discussion about a poll by the great Scott Rasmussen that roughly half of the Black population would not choose to be White – or some such news-cycle filler – moved Scott to say that, if true, he would be less inclined to stroll in some Black neighborhoods. The simple remark was pronounced as racist by the Bigotry Police. He lost a multitude of self-righteous clients; his syndicate cast him out into the cold; and Scott was reduced to his books and podcast

… at which pursuits he thrived even more than before. The web carried Dilbert. The podcast audience was phenomenal. Now Scott could, and did, reach more people, easily combine humor and commentary, and continue to visit the White House.

At the apex of his greatest successes and cultural influence, however, that most evil of Establishmentarians, Satan, planned another attack. Scott was diagnosed with Stage IV prostate cancer that had spread to his bones. He suffered further maladies like partial paralysis, challenges to his ability to draw and speak, and pain. President Trump and Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr fast-tracked alternative medicines.

Only weeks before his death Scott Adams addressed the public about his impending death. A startling portion of the statement addressed his imminent conversion to Christianity. Previously known for his rejection of faith, he wrote: Many of my Christian friends have asked me to find Jesus before I go. I’m not a believer, but I have to admit the risk-reward calculation for doing so looks so attractive to me. So here I go: I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and look forward to spending an eternity with him. The part about me not being a believer should be quickly resolved if I wake up in heaven. I won’t need any more convincing than that. I hope I’m still qualified for entry…

Adams, who could have statues or plaques in the Halls of Fame of Cynicism and Sarcasm, was totally serious. His remark betrays no panic but rather a calculated Pascal’s-Wager calculation, coldly triangulating between Mother Nature as oddsmaker, “What do I have to lose?” insouciance, and… an avoidance of what Christianity IS.

I tried to get through to Scott in his last weeks, hoping as many friends did that he “find Jesus.” There is always the possibility of a “deathbed conversion,” of course; and it. is. never. too. late to accept Christ, whose invitations have no scheduled start-times, nor expiration dates. But whether a person is in distress or has sudden lucidity or is the recipient of an urgent appeal at the end of life, whether from a friend or the Holy Spirit… We are blessed by such opportunities and workings of Grace. We do not know; we cannot know.

But the reception of Jesus into one’s heart is by definition life-changing. And life-saving. Personal conversion – after all, being saved from sin; yes, the prospect of eternal life – cannot be a “risk-reward” calculation. If one does “accept Jesus” you walk, talk, act differently. Of course! – whether you are eight and beginning life, or 68, moments from it ending. You can be smart, like Scott Adams, but never smarter than God.

I pray that Scott is in heaven now. No cubicles! Jesus promised, “In My Father’s house there are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you.” It would be the ultimate irony, in this rotten culture against which Scott Adams crusaded for years and lies to us about Christian truths, that he never realized the simplicity and beautiful promises of the Christian life.

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Click: Dame Judi Dench sings “Send in the Clowns” – BBC Proms 2010

12-22-25

“Never Again” should be dusted off as a watchword.

This is the third of three parts of a message that has been on my heart. It could have been 30 or 300 parts. It addresses the issue of our times (and has been, and will continue to be); that is, the radical, aggressive role Israel is playing; its eventual negative effect on our country; and American Christians’ role in supporting and enabling malignant Jewish influence. I especially have focused on Christianity’s role in the perversion of Bible passages, which provides a unique role in fostering the increasingly toxic situation.

Next week we will return to a new year and familiar themes.

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Is today’s country of Israel the Biblical Israel of prophecy?

It was taught by eschatologists to be so when I began to study End Times years ago. The “clock started ticking” – for the End of the Age – within the generation after the reestablishment of Israel. But 1948 happened, with nothing since except…

… Israel is a very secular country, in any event hostile to the Gospel.

… the Knesset mostly is filled with lawmakers who believe that Jesus was a false rabbi who deserved to be tortured and killed.

… It is a country, an “ally,” that allows abortions and gay/transition “rights,” even government financing of medical support.

… and is a country that grants limited freedom for Christians; has presided over attacks on believers and churches; and in Gaza the ethnic cleansing of 50,000 people, including 20,000 children it blanket-brands as terrorists.

Many Americans, if they heard a list of Middle Eastern terrorist acts would recoil at such events as these: the bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem and the death of 91 people; the massacre of more than 100 residents of the Deir Yassin village; the kidnapping of two occupying soldiers, their torture and hanging, and their bodies being booby-trapped to explode when attended to; bombs detonated in embassies, airports, oil refineries, bus stops, and airfields associated with occupying forces.

Of course civilized people would condemn such terrorist acts. People have however largely forgotten – or excused – these bits of history, because they were committed by Israeli terror groups like Irgun Zvai Leumi and the Stern Gang, against the British in the 1940s. Leaders from these groups later became “statesmen” of the country of Israel; even prime ministers. They simultaneously orchestrated infiltration of governments and institutions in Britain, the United States, and around the world.

This infiltration has extended from a virtual saturation of ownership of media outlets, news organizations, entertainment studios, religious denominations’ official stands, to personnel — for instance in government. Jews, who constitute less than 2.5 per cent of the population of the United States, have comprised nearly half of presidential cabinet and sub-cabinet positions for decades. There were so many Jews in Biden’s cabinet that minyan jokes (referring to Jewish quorums) were rife. Biden’s children all married Jews (Hunter has a Shalom tattoo). Kamala Harris’s husband is a Jew. The same profiles described previous cabinets; and the same is the case in Trump’s cabinet and family. His grandchildren are Orthodox Jews. Many of the people described above are not merely neighborhood Jews but almost all are committed Zionists, activists in Israel causes, or noted fundraisers, advocates, and lobbyists; sometimes dual citizens.

In the “opposite direction,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was reared in the US, went to high school in Cheltenham PA (where his classmate was pro-Israel commentator Mark Levin) and who encourages Americans to adopt dual citizenship. Americans can serve in the Israeli armed forces without losing American citizenship. The American Jonathan Pollard stole thousands of sensitive US military documents for Israel, was sentenced to life imprisonment, was released by Trump, and was welcomed at an airport ceremony in Jerusalem by Netanyahu. Pollard kissed the ground and recently was honored at the US Embassy itself by the “American” Ambassador Mike Huckabee.

The news media traditionally are lockstep in support of Israel, but not lately (not monolithically any more). American academia traditionally is lockstep in support of Israel, but not lately (facts and images of the massacres in Gaza are changing minds). The political establishment traditionally is lockstep in support of Israel, but not lately (the Jewish lobby AIPAC, which has been exempted from requirements of other lobbyists, has “handlers” assigned to every senator and congressman). The American church traditionally was lockstep in support of Israel, but… largely remains so.

Why? Churches traditionally cling to the questionable interpretation (discussed in our previous essay) of Bible verses addressing a contemporary country in fact being the Biblical Israel of the Old Testament. Why? Many ministries receive great donations from the Israeli government and from American Jews (who retain their rejection of Jesus as the Son of God, of course). Why? Many are afraid that any appearance of criticizing Israel’s government might be seen as embracing the Holocaust. In the meantime, Gaza is a gargantuan pile of rubble. Thousands of civilians, many children, have been slaughtered. Zionists expect America to endorse all, as usual.

But the wheels are coming off the Zionist wagon. A growing number of American Jews themselves are speaking out against Israeli atrocities, ethnic cleansing, and genocide. Among the many Jews going public with declarations of independence from Israeli bullying are Glenn Greenwald, Max Blumenthal, David Smith, Ethan Klein, Jeffrey Sachs, Katie Halper, Gabor Maté, Norman Finkelstein, and Adam Friedland. Prominent Jews like Yiddish singer and actor Many Patinkin are speaking out for persecuted Gazans. Jews like podcaster Andrew Klavan have converted to Christianity and are sharing their testimony.

There also has been a mass exodus away from once-predictable gentile support of Zionism. Decades ago Pat Buchanan recognized Congress as “Israeli-occupied territory” (and was effectively “cancelled” across the media) but today, gentiles are not so lonely in this regard, on a range of issues like the Gaza war and “Greater Israel” expansionism: Tucker Carlson, Ann Coulter, Ana Kasparian, Cenk Uygur, Joe Rogan, Steve Bannon, George Galloway, John Mearsheimer, Candace Owens, Nick Fuentes, Darryl Cooper, John Kiriakou, Dave Chappelle, Zach Costello, and the late Charlie Kirk no longer are silent (except for Charlie, of course). In Kirk’s case he was pressured by a phalanx of wealthy Jews to recant his growing skepticism of Israeli policies. Mere weeks before he was assassinated, he refused and had at least $2-million withdrawn from Turning Point support, amid other pressures to “tow the line.”

The names are difficult to parse – Dave Smith is Jewish; Dr Mearsheimer is not – but the point is not about birth certificates but of chosen identities. Many Jews are realizing that Zionism is not the only path to celebrate being Jewish; but many Christians still fear that criticizing Israeli acts of genocide means that they must, perforce, be anti-Semites. A growing number of anti-Zionists are realizing that influencers have been propagandizing all their lives and from every corner of the media, entertainment, politics, and… from Christian pulpits.

Where does this leave us… what does all this suggest?

If the problem is primarily spiritual – which I have argued: the essence of the misunderstandings, crises, and threats – then the answer also is spiritual. Whether the leadership of the country of Israel and its internal and external policies are consistent with Biblical prophecies, or are separate matters, is something American Christians must confront. Maybe for the first time.

American Christians must decide whether their government should be paying astonishing amounts of money – a large percentage of American foreign aid – to this one little country; and why that country receives favors and exemptions not granted to other countries; and why Israel controls uncountable portions of the American media, the entertainment industry, and the government to the extent that its leaders contemptuously laugh about it. American Christians must decide whether it is safe, physically, to declare independence from Jewish secular influence.

And American Christians also must decide whether we, ourselves, believe that Jesus is indeed the Son of God. Decide whether His words and the spiritual thrust of the entire Bible are true – that every person must meet, embrace, and believe that He died for our sins, rose from the dead, and ascended to Heaven. Jesus fulfilled the Law; He did not scheme to issue exceptions to those who hated Him. And all this was because He loved them. And still does. He offers Himself to all humankind.

… as we should accept and love all peoples, too. None are cast away; none are more special than others. To encourage otherwise is to consign people to hell. We cannot sit back as the world slips into hell on earth today.

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Click: Mary, Did You Know – English, Hebrew, Arabic from Bethlehem

What Scripture Really Says About “Blessings and Curses”

12-15-25

In my previous essay I addressed the disastrous set of circumstances besetting us at the moment – “us” being the world, the international order, peace in the Middle East, the American government and politics; and Christians. I am only one of many who identify Israel as the source – not to say “the Jews,” but expansionist Zionism and the impetus toward Greater Israel – and its influence on American politics and media.

As many people discuss many aspects of these profoundly significant challenges – even to the point where a growing number of Jews decry Israeli policies – I primarily want to address the spiritual factors. The relative paucity of religion’s role is surprising in public debates. Biblical history and God’s injunctions are essential components of the conflicts, however, and continue to exacerbate the dangers… when they should be, rather, informing and guiding us.

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It is ironic that Zionism and the creation of Israel in 1948 might not have occurred without the narrative of the Holocaust, nor have been sustained without charges of anti-Semitism. The irony increases as humanitarian impulses have morphed – most recently over the Gaza campaigns – to ethnic cleansing and genocide. The founder of modern Zionism (ironically, a secular Jew) envisioned a religious country of broad borders where displaced people would themselves displace people. Europeans, mostly, displacing Middle Easterners.

A majority of Jews reportedly consider Israel’s government to be committing war crimes in Gaza; suicides in its military are at the highest rate of any country’s. The world community largely shares these views. Israel however persists in its policies, and in fact has doubled down in justifying its actions. The awful reports of the October 7 attacks provided the trigger for virtual annihilation of Gaza’s already shaky infrastructure, and of many thousands of civilian deaths.

The defenders and sustainers of these policies are primarily of three sources: the extreme Zionist class in Israeli governments; the influence of the “Jewish Supremacist Billionaire class” (I am quoting Jewish critics themselves about influence on politicians and ubiquitous media themes); and American Evangelical Christians.

There are Orthodox Jewish sects, we have noted, that do not accept contemporary Israel as Biblical Israel, believing instead that only the anticipated Messiah’s return can bring that about. Yet American Evangelicals frequently support any and every Israeli government’s claim and action. Many believe that God spares the Jews from needing to accept Christ as a means of salvation. As a group, Evangelicals’ financial support and political pressure are unconditional. Why?

Many American Evangelicals place virtually their entire rationale on the oft-cited passage I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you (Genesis 12:3). Later in Genesis the Covenant with Abraham is expanded, In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.

To Jews and American Evangelicals these promises of God have been interpreted as to mean any people who are circumcised (a condition of the Covenant) are free of God’s other conditions. If they are of a geographic group or are people with certain names or DNAs, or are members of a political party or a country, that is deemed sufficient. If a country called Israel is one that was founded by terrorists or persecutes Christian believers or allows abuse of Jesus followers – they are free of God’s rules supposedly meant for the rest of humankind. A “Get Out of Jail Free” card?

Many Jews and American Evangelicals ignore other portions of the Old and New Testaments: “Abraham’s seed” in His promise was not a string of nephews and nieces, but… Jesus Christ.

Jesus Himself confirmed His centrality to the Abrahamic Covenant. One of myriad times He asserted His divinity and identity as the successor of Abraham and fulfillment of Covenant promises was when He distinguished between Abraham’s seed and Satan’s seed. Accusers wanted to stone an adulteress (John Chapter 8):

“I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, Jesus said to the Jewish mob; but you seek to kill Me because My word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.” They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.”

Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. You do the deeds of your father….You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. …Because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.

“Before Abraham Was, I AM.”

The Biblical record clearly indicates that ancient Jews were Chosen as a people to be the ancestors of Jesus. Subsequently, the spiritual descendants of Jesus are God’s Chosen.

One of the earliest Pauline Epistles, written to correct misunderstandings about God’s heart and will, was to the church in Galatia: Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. God did not say, “And to seeds,” as if of many, but as of one, “And to your seed,” who is Christ (Galatians 3:16). We should note, being grammatical: not countless offspring; but singular – the Messiah Jesus Christ. Abraham’s seed.

Abram (before God chose him, later changing his name to Abraham) was the father of the faith ordained by God, and leader of humankind’s first major monotheistic people. His descendants would be found in Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Members of all these major world religions commonly and mutually are called “People of the Book” and “Abrahamic” faiths. Muslims revere Abraham (and, similarly, they have a higher regard for Jesus Christ, whom they consider a major prophet, more than do the Jews, who outright reject Jesus and any aspect of His divinity).

My notes here are not shared as Bible lessons. Well, actually… they are, because misunderstanding essential Biblical doctrines has consequences. The world seems to be slouching towards not Gomorrah, but worse: broad international conflict, possible nuclear war, institutionalized injustice. At the other extreme of eventualities is not peace and harmony but mutilated babies and grieving mothers. No positive aspects.

We may grant that zealots are blinded by feelings of insecurity and hatred, perhaps doctrines of Supremacy; and that well-meaning Christians are Biblically ignorant or naive. In any case, sympathy is useless, even deadly, as the world hurtles toward calamity.

To return to my main thesis, begun in the previous essay, the questions I raise finally are being discussed openly by many people. Overdue. But some influencers are blowing smoke, changing the subjects, scattershot-blaming random parties, and kidnapping debates. For instance, Charlie Kirk’s legacy is being eclipsed by charges peripheral to his program (in the weeks before his murder, by the way, he had declared himself free of the Israel Lobby and Zionist influence).

It is tragic that American Evangelicals are major culprits to these malignant trends through their ignorance and prejudice and self-righteousness. They effectively practice divided loyalty and have Chosen to encourage distinguishing between dead babies shown on the nightly news. God forbid!

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Next Week: Are the End Times Beginning?– A final discussion of Biblical clarity and the responsibility, culpability, and choices facing American Christians. The degree to which America – the cultural establishment, the media, the government – has been subservient to foreign influence, and might regain its independence and integrity.

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Click: Lacrimosa

12-8-25

I am preparing a magazine article on what I believe has become the most pressing issue facing America today. I shall focus here on the Biblical and spiritual aspect of the sudden and menacing collapse of what recently appeared to be the dawning of reform and renewal, even revival.

Political reforms were accompanied by an amazing spirit of renewed faith – frequently among the young, and igniting revival in Christian communities. The impact of Charlie Kirk – his life AND death – promised a Great Awakening in America, perhaps around the world.

Almost overnight, the progress and hope, good will and alliances, seem fractured. From many, many sides come distractions. Bizarre unrelated urgencies. Recriminations and bitter feuds between those who recently joined forces. I believe these “speed bumps” and detours are not coincidences. Many of their authors are malignant and are happy to fracture the furtherance of civil peace, progress and prosperity, and the advancement of the Gospel.

I have dug deep, prayed for guidance and wisdom, and… I welcome comments.

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History’s inflection points and paradigm shifts can happen unannounced, catching us by surprise. We often observe the trees but not the forest, as the proverb says.

It is difficult to realize that we suddenly find ourselves today in a time of major, worldwide, and extremely consequential change. At the very least, the trajectories of international diplomacy, cultural assumptions, and even religious understandings are dissolving. Most of us know the elements, but are not connecting the dots. We will be face-to-face with dangerous realities… soon enough.

Christians are at the center of many of those currents, appropriately so because Western societies (home to many of the Faith’s bases) are severely threatened. Ultimately, and importantly, Christianity is relevant to the controversies, conflicts, causes, and conclusions. And ironically it is Christians – for the most part, contemporary Evangelical American Christians – who are the most unaware of their role, the threats they inspire, and the consequences they stoke.

A major source of these disruptions unfortunately has echoes of the sad history of societal turmoil: Israel. Not “the Jews,” not “prejudice,” not “persecution.” Not “the Jewish Question” and all of history’s baggage – and not even the country of Israel, its foundation and existence; but rather its governments’ policies. Eons of discrimination and contemporary, continuous Holocaust tales cloak, and often excuse, the maladministrations and offenses of the Zionist “state.” Plausible blessings and arguable curses have ever been the Jews’ lot, and in our day are intensifying.

Isolating one flash-point of many, I invite attention to Gaza. That strip of sand has superseded “Palestine” as an umbrella-term for lands, peoples, and nearly insoluble dilemmas. Gaza is a non-country (no government, flag, native population, nor identity: an empty place on maps; crowded with 2-million people minus those recently slaughtered). Since the cross-border terror attack on and Israeli festival Gaza is described by every observer as a wasteland of rubble. As previous to the Israelis’ unending ”retaliation,” the Gazans’ access to water, electricity, and food is severely restricted.

A recent survey indicates that 40 per cent of Israelis themselves view their government’s policy toward Gaza as genocide. Sixty-one per cent believe their government intentionally is committing war crimes. It is well-known that the majority of the world’s nations routinely have condemned Israeli policies, not only toward Gaza but the expansionist goals of Zionism. The majority of American Jews disapprove of the Zionist agenda, and many prominent Jews are quite vocal in that regard: Hannah Arendt, Noam Chomsky, Norman Finkelstein, Glenn Greenwald, and Max Blumenthal represent dissident critics of a new country imposed on the sands of Transjordan and traditional Palestine-Protectorate neighborhoods. Today there is a tsunami of Jewish activists including many “Holocaust scholars” who oppose the genocidal policies and in many cases Zionism itself. (So do Orthodox sects that believe that only the coming Messiah can re-establish Biblical Israel.)

However, despite proponents of expansionist Zionism – those who plan for occupation of the entire Levant, from the Mediterranean to the Tigris and Euphrates; from Egypt to Turkey, and the Israeli Military and Mossad (intelligence service) – the most effective Zionists are American evangelicals.

Many Christians have been persuaded by interpretations of the Bible presented to them. Among the prominent persuaders are leaders who regularly receive subsidies from Israel and its proxies. Without blind support from the Christian Right, especially since the wars of 1967 and 1973, Israelite foreign and military policy would not have triumphed as spectacularly as it has. The 10 most recent Administrations would not have become subservient rubber-stamps to Israel.

Pastors, denominations, and ministries have taught their followers to reject any skepticism about, and cancel any opposition to, all of Israel’s policies, even when its government impedes the sharing of the Gospel. Many Christians have been led to believe that Jews have a “free pass” to salvation, exempted alone among all humanity from accepting Christ as their Savior. By their financial and political support, Evangelicals are complicit in genocide and ethnic cleansing that frequently plant seeds of generational resentment, hatred, and dedication to revenge… not merely against festivals on the border of Gaza but perhaps downtown American cities too.

American Evangelicals rightly have been taught to reject racial hatred, the displacement of entire populations, the assignment of collective guilt, suppression of minorities and their rights, and Supremacy as a governing doctrine of an exclusive class. They boo Nazis every week the swastika appears on TV and movie screens. However, they embrace every mirror-image of these actions and policies when practiced by the Israelite government — consistently, virtually without reservation or second thought. Even gleefully.

Why?

How do they avoid seeing a double standard? Many believe the Bible tells them so. “The Jews are God’s Chosen People.” That should not mean that Israel can practice bigotry and genocide, but it has had the stamp of approval of the American government, which decades ago was characterized as a virtual vassal state of Israeli diplomatic and military prerogatives. And, again, the Bible also approves…

Or thus saith Evangelical leaders.

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Next Week: The Chosen People and Abraham’s Seed – “Those who bless Israel shall be blessed.” An examination, seldom undertaken by contemporary Christians, of what Scripture tells God’s people about… God’s people. Biblical history and recent, though suppressed, history.

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Click: Hallelujah

11-24-25

Like a superhero character who is not aware of his powers, or like the movies’ Pa Kettle who was once tossed unjustly into the town jail and missed the point of his friend the jailer “accidently” dropping the cell keys in front of the iron bars, many Christians don’t realize the gifts, blessings, and rights God has granted them.

Power, too. And authority. Being blessed, and the right to bless. The ability to do “greater things” than Jesus did – as He promised (John 14:12) when He said He was leaving the earth but be succeeded by the Holy Spirit. The very Spirit of God, to live in our hearts. Humbling.

That manifestation of the Triune God was indeed sent on the Day of Pentecost, and lives today in the hearts of born-again believers. “Our elder brother Jesus,” as evangelist R W Schambach used to call Him, said He was ascending to Heaven but be followed by “One who was greater,” the Spirit. And do “greater things,” beyond the attributes listed above. Also the power to heal; to forgive in the name of Jesus; to exercise gifts of wisdom and knowledge; to receive supernatural giftings of faith; to work miracles; to to speak prophetically; to discern spirits; to speak in unknown tongues and to interpret tongues and supernatural, edifying words of God.

These gifts are called Gifts of the Spirit. They are apart from one’s salvation (assurance of eternal life) but are God’s provision for Jesus-followers. Who would reject gifts… especially from God?

Yet many Christians do reject them. They are too shy to claim them. Or are embarrassed to exercise them in public. Or are “happy enough” just loving church. I can share that I have experienced them, in ways I did not expect or rehearse. I have prayed for people in turmoil and found myself knowing things they had not shared… but speaking them in prayer broke through their angst and blessed them tremendously. I have been aware of afflictions people had but were chary of detailing; how did I know? The Gift of Knowledge, and their souls were blessed.

When my son Ted was being born (my wife having been in hospital only for tests) I drove through the night, emotionally unsure, praying through my tears, unable to form my prayers, realizing my words were confused, too self-conscious to form my pleading… but then I let my heart cry out in words not familiar to me, but aware that I connected with the Throne by the Holy Spirit. I knew that I knew that I knew that God knew my desires and heard my cries. Peace that passed understanding. That has been my closest experience with that particular Gift of the Spirit.

Tongues are not the greatest (but not the least) of the Gifts, however often there is too much emphasis, by those who embrace it and those who decline its exercise.

In the larger sense, all of the Holy Spirit is ours. When God sees the born-again believer, He sees the Jesus in our hearts – and so does the devil, who wages war on us to the degree we are indwelt by the Spirit. It is simple: if we sin after conversion, God no longer sees us, but the Jesus who lives in us. We are “covered by the blood” He shed on the cross, and that’s all God sees.

When I was a new Christian I prayed with a friend and addressed God humbly, as a sinner, ashamed of my low standing, conscious of my offenses… and my friend stopped me and said I was reminding God of things He promised to forget (throwing my sins “into the sea of forgetfulness”); as a follower of Christ it was the shed blood of His Son that God saw when He dealt with me ever after. Not my sins and faults and dirty rags.

Realize your super Powers… pick up those keys… open the Gifts… let Jesus into your life in ways you never dreamed of… ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance and comfort and Power. Christianity is the only place in life where to be Power Hungry is a good thing. Its potential awaits.

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Click: Holy Spirit

11-17-25

Lately, here, I have found myself referring to martyrs – those who have died for their faith or beliefs. This has not been an intentional obsession, nor aspect of morbidity; nor yet a celebration of courage, sacrifice, and integrity.

I think my themes have been prompted, rather, by calendar-dates like Reformation Day and All Saints Day, and events like the threats Martin Luther endured, and the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

And, avoiding deathly aspects, martyrdom does not require ravenous lions, the rack, the pyre, the firing squad, or what Alice E Duffy called history’s “antidotes or heterodoxy.” Martyrdom ain’t what it used to be; that is to say, today there are milder forms of punishment, and subtler means of imposing conformity, throughout the world.

But there are myriad punishments, and uncountable methods of crushing individual will, that contribute to 21-century martyrdom.

For individuals are being crushed; personal prerogatives are seduced; and big lies run the culture. Examples range from Woke “education” (i.e., secular propaganda) to, at the other extreme, mass execution of Christians in Nigeria. Socrates drank hemlock to poison himself rather than teach lies. “E pur si muove” was supposedly muttered by Galileo when the Catholic Church demanded he renounce his belief that the earth rotated around the sun – “Yet still it moves!” His life was spared.

Galileo nonetheless was grievously inconvenienced, so we are reminded that martyrdom does not require death. Would you deny the truth when you know that such a denial would change nothing? You might live to pursue other truths, and perhaps live to see your views vindicated.

Obviously every case is different. Justice is measured on a scale, not stamped by a template.

If the culture’s incessant standards and versions of truth are persuasive, it makes history’s martyrs seem more distant to us: many of them stood alone, threatened with torture and death, or as innocent victims of terror (as the Nigerian Christian girls when they know fior certain that their murderers lurk in the forest).

Which category is braver is not my question. I am wondering how many of us realize that we are martyrs, most of us, every day of our “normal” lives. You lose friends because of your political views. Worse, you change your opinions due to peer pressure. You refrain from condemning sins because you are afraid of “offending” someone. If your cancelled counseling could have saved their lives, you make martyrs of them, as well as of your own integrity. You believe that abortion is murder and drugs are destructive, but you keep quiet. You conform to the “world” in order to advance in school, your job, clubs, or councils; surely that is sacrificing your self-esteem at the very least.

In these examples you do not escape being burned at the stake, but – a curse of contemporary life – your standards are chipped away bit by bit by bit. Society wants us to believe that minor compromises are better than one huge offense… but that is like being just a little bit pregnant. Life doesn’t work that way, and neither do our consciences no matter how we deaden them, or let society lull them to sleep.

I invite you to remember that our “little” conflicts of conscience are not separate but descended from martyrs’ battles in earlier times. Without martyrs who stood their ground or put to death when challenged over their beliefs, we are the inheritors of freedom. And responsibility. And inspiration. We gloss over minor inconveniences when we compromise, but they sacrificed all for principles. We stand on their bloody shoulders.

The Declaration of Independence pledged “our lives, our fortunes, our sacred honor” (interesting, that order) when to be silent was an easy alternative when authority was challenged.

Hebrews Chapter 11 talks of a “great cloud of witnesses” who watch us and record our choices. Feel-good appearances before this contemporary version of civilization will gain us nothing… except the loss of our souls.

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• Stand up, Stand Up For Jesus

11-10-25

There is knowledge and there is belief. If we are humble enough we believe what we know, and that we don’t know everything. And people should – but many do not – know what they believe.

Many of us actually are aggressive about their lack of beliefs. When Jesus, on the cross, asked His Heavenly Father to forgive the tormentors and executioners “for they know not what they do,” the Romans and the Jews actively sought His blood. But today there are people who are indifferent about their beliefs: which translates to not having core principles. Can such a thing be? You better believe it.

In contemporary America, society’s standards certainly have been lowered from previous times, and a swath of the population is content about that… or, again, indifferent about the consequences. No standards of right and wrong in society, or for themselves. The virtual absence of standards results from the lack of basic convictions, and of selfishness and self-indulgence. The lack of self-respect, diminished morals, indifference to others’ concerns, and (let us say essentially) the loss of faith, complete the ugly picture.

Back to “knowledge.” Does the accumulation of knowledge, of accessible facts, replace beliefs? Surely it does in the sense that “nature abhors a vacuum,” however as magpies acquire random shiny objects to pile in their nests, newly formed or discernible facts are abstract and not pertinent to most of us. Scientific knowledge, we are told, doubles every five years; if that is a fact, it presumably advances civilization, but represents mysteries to most of us everyday folks.

I was prompted to think about these things and share my thoughts (yes, I believe you can know that I have a point) because of Internet pop-ups and other news I have noticed lately. I realize that certain stories come my way because of algorithms. I discuss the Thanksgiving dinner with my wife, and the next day I receive posts advertising vacation packages to Turkey. This portends a New Paranoia that ought to be the subject of another blog essay, no?

In the meantime, I open one site and others follow like ducks in a row. For the moment, the current e-onslaught is actually interesting to me. I will not promote the sites nor go into detail, but I have been learning (knowing? believing? at least my interest is piqued) –

• The Webb telescope estimates ever more and more stars. There seems to be a trillion galaxies, many of which contain trillions of stars and planets. Matters pertaining to the formation or collapse of galaxies, their rotations, and such, contradict the Big Bang hypotheses.
• More evidence accumulates for the existence of a great flood several thousand years ago. We know Noah, no? Geological signs point to evidence of a Biblical flood based on physical evidence.
• In similar regards, anthropological and biological discoveries are pointing away from the theory (remember, theory) of evolution and its Old-Earth claims. The co-existence of animal species and mankind, the fossil record of giant life forms, the tarnished reputation of carbon-dating… are upsetting the apple carts of scholars. Or should.
• Archaeologists are almost routinely unearthing things from chards of clay tablets all the way to foundations of entire cities that confirm Biblical accounts. What scientists and historians once dismissed as Scriptural allegories now confront them. “Legends” are now acknowledged as facts. A 2700-year-old cuneiform message from Assyrian invaders demanding treasure from the king of Judah exactly parallels a Biblical account to the last penny, so to speak. This was unearthed in a drainage ditch under construction near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

I have not cited news stories nor academic journals about such things; my purpose here is not to enroll any of you in Biology 101 again. Refer to Mr Google. But I have been impressed that many things we (humankind) “knew” or thought we knew… we should be intellectually humble about. Review the dogmatic assertions of history’s experts about the earth being the center of the solar system; the efficacy of bleeding sick patients; the wisdom of infant sacrifice.

It is baffling how people can be dogmatic about, say, the “prehistoric eras” and age of earth when few of them were around “millions” of years ago as witnesses; but they fiercely refuse to accept tangible signs of a creator God’s work and inspiration and signs and wonders; of fulfilled prophesies; of confirmed miracles. They will trust bogus science and disgraced theories, but ridicule our counterpart: faith. The definition of faith? — “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).

I have a little method I rely on when I consider such questions or anomalies, contradictions, theories, dilemmas (let the world can take its pick) . I believe Jesus was God-in-the-flesh; He was sinless but sacrificed Himself as a means to assume the punishment for our sins and rebellion; that He rose from the dead to confirm His divinity. If Jesus believed in a six-day Creation; if He believed in Adam and Eve and the Flood and the prophets of old… who am I to contradict Him?

He knew because He was present in all those cases. If He was mistaken about those things of which He taught, He surely could not have been correct, about anything else. He had knowledge and belief as well as trust and faith — all things that He desires us to embrace.

I believe the incarnate God. What else can I do?

When we rely upon “facts” and knowledge to be the bases of our beliefs – instead of faith as a foundation of our worldviews – our standards, values, passions, loyalties, and actions are not reliable blueprints for living. Many facts and even scientific theories change; they have changed; they will change. God’s Word is unchanging; His promises are everlasting.

“Y’know, God, I believe You, except for what that guy on TV said. No, not him; he admitted he was wrong. I mean the guy on Facebook last week…”

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Click: I Believe; Help Thou My Unbelief

11-3-25

We have all been there. Every member of the human race is different in some way or other. But one aspect we all share is that we occasionally feel alone, neglected, unloved. It might be for a short day, praise God if only that; but for some people it haunts and re-visits; for a few, God forbid, it is part of daily life.

Does anybody care? is indeed a common question. A plea from hearts and souls.

Hallmarks of these feelings include isolation and loneliness. We have arrived at the “communication culture,” with all sorts of ways to speak and share and interact… yet everyone around us seems buried in their cell phones. They text people who are across the room. Ear buds feed them something-or-other while shutting out the rest of the world. In some ways we choose to be alone, and then lament our loneliness.

And, ironically, many of us ask Does anybody care?

In ancient days, even the Psalmist cried out: Look and see, there is no one at my right hand; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life (Psalm 142:4). Have you been there?

Of course, people scarcely ever actually are without caring folks around them. Perhaps we might not always be aware of them, but, famously, there are puppy dogs and mothers and grandmothers. “A friend in need is a friend indeed,” and they might be nearby too. I am intentionally veering in to clichés, for clichés become clichés because they are true.

Fear not: I will remind us that Jesus cares; He is that Best Friend. His promises are true to Everlasting; He is a Brother who sticks to us closer than a shadow does; His mission on earth was to save our souls by embracing His sacrifice.

But I want us to think about the conditions that are real, before any remediation by spiritual life-preservers. The heart’s cry Does anybody care? is a growing, not a receding, neurosis in society. The World (secularism, pop culture, government) has myriad solutions. It prescribes drugs. It advocates mindless distractions. It encourages variations of authentic human relationships.

Perhaps worst, the contemporary world actually dismisses serious responses to emotional ills. It says to us that spiritual crises cannot be answered by spiritual solutions. Not for the first time, the World System’s advice falls somewhere between foolish and suicidal.

In this drama, the major villain to me is Government – specifically the Socialist templates upon which most countries these days run their affairs. Don’t be fooled: that includes the United States to a major degree. The latest government shutdown revealed in its coverage how many welfare, redundant, and useless programs there are, massively funded by Washingt… er, you and me.

When first ran for president, Franklin Roosevelt was the anti-Big Government candidate, believe it or not. He said: “The present [Hoover] administration… has piled Bureau on Bureau, Commission on Commission. Bureaus and Bureaucrats have been retained at the expense of the taxpayers.” Yet within 15 months, FDR created 92 new government agencies, and he didn’t stop there.

FDR’s disciple Lyndon Johnson declared a War on Poverty in 1964; and after many trillions of dollars were allocated in that war, the poverty rate in America has increased exponentially. And so on. Ronald Reagan once said the nine scariest words in the English language are “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” Yet despite him and recent reformers… government programs grow and grow, as the society sinks and sinks.

St Augustine, around 300 A.D., looked back on Jesus’s words The poor ye shall always have with you, and ahead to the failure of Socialism as he addressed that reality. In his view, Jesus was not being pessimistic nor fatalistic; rather he reminds us that there will always be those who are worse off than we are. God wants us to discover, nurture, and exercise a charitable impulse. To care.

If governments usurp the role of charity – picking our pockets in order to bestow gifts elsewhere – then we no longer need to care. We surrender our rights to choose, indeed our consciences, because government agencies pick and choose for us. We stop caring… we cease looking to churches and private charities to channel our caring… and when we stop caring for others – which is the natural consequence – we eventually feel that no one cares for us, either.

And, “not so quick,” Capitalism comes in for blame, also. It is less coercive than governments, generally, and Socialism especially. However the profit motive is a two-edged sword, and greed has been cloaked by uncaring attitudes all too often. Free enterprise employs freedom, but Capitalism, in whatever varieties called “Finance” or “Crony…” is pernicious.

So, Does anybody care? Yes, Jesus does. An extreme cynic might respond, “OK… what is ‘caring’ when you are hungry or sick or friendless?”

That’s easy. Just ask anybody – ask me – anybody who has been hungry, sick, or friendless. The ray of hope… the shoulder to cry on… the word of encouragement, can mean all the world. Especially when they are brought to by the Savior of humankind, the Lover of your soul.

Who cares? The One who changes you from feeling like nobody cares… to knowing that Somebody cares, One Who cared enough to die for your sins, Who feels your hurts, and will fill those voids.

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Click: Does Jesus Care?

8-11-25

May I share random observations, revelations, and (I pray) inspired thoughts I recently have had, and jotted down? What percentage of each is of the Holy Spirit or “me, myself, and I,” is for others to debate or decide. But these thoughts have got me to thinking – perhaps a major accomplishment right there – and maybe they’ll start spiritual balls rolling in your daily walk too…

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Satan tempts.
God tests.

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Pride might be the chief sin, the worst offense of all.
Every other sin is committed because we think we know better than God, or He will give us a “pass.”

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Life without Jesus can yield partial success…
But it ultimately guarantees total failure.

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Not original with me, but it is in the Bible –
And a deadly warning if you ignore it:
Be not deceived; God is not mocked.

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The Bible has been 100 per cent correct about prophecies fulfilled. The world scurries about, managing at best to predict the past.

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No offense meant to charitable impulses,
But in God’s view there is a big difference between giving and forgiving.

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The James Webb Space Telescope reveals the incredible immensity of God’s universe. We see that Earth is, relatively, one tiny dot.
Secular people say that means we are insignificant.
God says that means we are special!

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Stop trying to be Politically Correct.
What matters is that we be Spiritually Correct!

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We are told that no one knows the time of Jesus’s return to earth.
I do!
… It will be the time we least expect it.

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You can’t lose a friend you never had.
What a Friend we have in Jesus!

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Jesus is never rude, but He can be annoying.
That knocking you hear at the door – when will you open it?

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An appropriate testimony and prayer by the autistic blind boy Christopher Duffley.
Written by my friend Paul Baloche.

Click: Open the Eyes of My Heart

6-23-25

The Bible is the Eternal Word of the Everlasting God, supremely relevant to all peoples in all places at all times. Yet as the last written words were recorded about 2000 years ago, there are a few perceived anomalies. 

I am talking about language, vocabulary, grammar, and syntax… not the Book’s theology. I was privileged to be part of the editorial team on the 1599 Geneva Bible project, the first updated-language printing of the Bible that the Pilgrims brought to the New World, and that the Founders read; not the King James Version. Even at that, virtually the only changes were Thees and Thous (and “breeches” for Adam’s fig leaf). That’s all.

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

Yet, as I said, there are anomalies, or certain hurdles that might present themselves. None is major. Even if children never have met a lamb, they can understand what a shepherd’s job is, for instance. Men in Biblical times wore robes. Travel was by foot, or perhaps horses, donkeys, or camels. “Why did the Bible stop being written after Jesus?” Well, Jesus is the “revealed Word of God” – He came to fulfill Scriptures, and the Holy Spirit inspires, guides, and supplants what needed to be written in the earlier dispensation of God.

(In this regard, I laughed at a conversation this week between two of my wife’s sons. Talking about ghost-writing – which I am doing for a book “by” a former Trump adviser – they deconstructed the term and agreed that the Bible was written by many men but basically was ghost-written itself: Holy Ghost-Written. Can’t argue with Robbie. Or Marcus, for that matter.)

Some of the terms that still do make sense but whose use, today, are almost obsolete are the names of God. Ironic. But stick with me:

We still have kings these days. Some are august and serene, projecting a sort of authority. I am thinking of Abdulla of Jordan; and, maybe, King Mswati III of Eswatini. No offense to Mswati, if I may be familiar, but except for my friend Becky Spencer, who has established wonderful missions projects there, I would not be able to find that king or kingdom on a globe. Then there are monarchs we know better, like Charles of the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland” whose vast realm includes the commonwealth nations of St Vincent & the Grenadines, and some place called Tuvalu. 

Some monarchs are called “majesties” but they do not always reflect majesty or even “highness.” The aforementioned Charles, for instance, is an admitted adulterer, despite his job description as head of the Church of England.

Nevertheless, the Bible refers to kings – humans on thrones – but also Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. God and Jesus are bestowed other descriptions and titles throughout Scripture: Potentate (I Timothy 6:15); Cornerstone; Deliverer; Elect; First Witness; Heir Of All Things; Alpha and Omega; Horn of Salvation; Lawgiver; Light Of the World; Mediator; Mighty One; Morningstar; Redeemer; Rose of Sharon; Shiloh; Great Witness; Truth; True Light…

Now, some of these terms and titles are Scriptural: theological descriptions of names that had been prophesied. Often they are for our edification in later church ages. If Jesus lived today and had a cell phone, I doubt He would have recorded a message, “Hi. This is the Light Of the World. I’m not in right now…”

There is a serious point in here, somewhere. Readers in the 21st century – let us say youngsters, or people around the world, encountering the Gospel for the first time – might not easily identify with “kings” and “majesties” since those professions are reaching their titles’ expiration-dates. But, would it do to substitute modern equivalencies? What would they be today? – Boss; Chief; General; CEO; Prime Minister; Prez; Chairman…? God sort of is our Boss. Jesus is a kind of Chairman. But…

These otherwise normal cultural evolutions add to the gaggle of factors that make faith difficult. No: these things do not make faith difficult to acquire or embrace or exercise; they only oblige us all (and those we nurture) to study more, understand better, and invite the entitety of God’s Word into our hearts. The Holy Spirit will help us “get it.”

Recently this became even more of a relevant question because of a brand-new protest meme, “No Kings.” (It can be called “Astroturf” and not a “Grass-Root” movement because it is artificial, managed, and PR-directed.) Our president is charged with harboring monarchical ambitions, while of course he is rather shrinking the size and influence of government. This illustrates, however, that kings – who they are; what they can do – are becoming abstract concepts. Trump’s predecessors acted far more arbitrarily than he has. MAGA, at its core, is about Restoration, not Revolution.

But in the meantime, let us keep in mind that God is on His throne. That is where kings sit. And you can address “King Jesus,” or call Him – oh, I don’t know – maybe “the Best Friend You’ll Ever Have.” Good title.

Is He “Lord” of your life, whatever that is? Claim it. And some day think about all the names and titles Heaven has for you: Beloved; Child; Disciple; Saint; Follower; Son; Daughter; Redeemed; Forgiven; Saved…

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A song whose message is as ancient as the kings of old; and as relevant as the awful events in today’s headlines:

Psalm 2 Song

6-9-25

Think back to when you were a child. It’s Christmas morning. You know there are presents waiting for you. They were hinted at, and promised, and your loving parents have always come through. What anticipation!

You come downstairs, and – yes! – there are many waiting for you. All wrapped, different sizes and shapes, colorful paper, all with your name on the tags. Your parents set them before you and invite you to open them. You do! What joy!

But the big one in the corner you choose not to open. The long box with the colorful ribbon you tell your parents you’ll skip. “Till later?” “No, it just doesn’t interest me.” The square box in the colorful paper sounds intriguing when you shake it, but… you reject that too. And so on.

How often did that happen with you on Christmas or your birthday? Never? Probably never.

Presents from strangers are exciting enough, but gifts from your loving parents are bound to be special… chosen for you… pleasing to you… designed to meet your needs and desires and expectations. Why would you say No?

OK, you know this is an analogy. In the Christian world, where we are the children and our loving father is… our loving Father, we have been given lessons and tasks and rules and advice and love, lots of love, we have also been showered with gifts. Lots of gifts. Forgiveness, salvation, mercy, peace, wisdom… lots of gifts. Why would we turn any of them down?

Millions of Christians do.

When Jesus faced crucifixion – He knew what was coming – He told His disciples that One would come to them when He would ascend to Heaven. The Holy spirit, of course was active throughout the Old Testament, as God’s agent of sorts, just as Scripture tells us that through Jesus the Universe was created; and He was the Man in the fiery furnace when Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego were miraculously spared. When Jesus was incarnate – the Messiah; Emmanuel; “God-With-Us” – it was God dwelling among us. Totally God and Totally man? Well, the Lord is a miracle-working God at whose ways we marvel.

But when the disciples were troubled that Jesus announced His imminent departure from this earth, He reassured them and promised: “I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you (John 16:7).”

The Helper, the Advocate, the Comforter – the Holy Spirit has many names, as He has many roles. But. As Christ left this earth physically, the Spirit came to dwell in the hearts, minds, and spirits of Believers. Many Christians treat the Holy Ghost as some sort of cartoony-angel sitting on our shoulders, or a go-between to Heaven when we pray, or… not at all. Yet the Spirit of God is the Spirit of God. He is as much God as Jesus was when walking on earth. He is as much God as, well, God Himself. 

Jesus was sent to “be” God among us, to serve His mission and be sacrifice for our sins. The Spirit was sent to “be” God in every Christian’s heart. 

Yet many treat Him as an option, an afterthought, almost apart from the Father and the Son – as if the Godhead is a “diune,” not a Triune, God who has revealed Himself in three manifestations.

This is Pentecost Sunday, named for the Hebrew feast that coincided with 50 days after Passover / Easter. It was the day, described in Scripture, after Jesus bodily ascended into Heaven to rejoin the Father. It was the day when “a mighty rushing wind” blew through the assembled believers in an Upper Room. Strange things happened: All began speaking in unknown languages. They marveled, and observers wondered if they spontaneously were drunk. They appeared to have supernatural flames on their heads.

Those who had been cowering fear for days became bold. The confused became wise, for the rest of their lives. Followers became leaders. The impulsive Peter became head of the church, logical and firm. 

It was the Day of Pentecost, and the followers of Jesus, the nascent church, indeed the entire world, has never been the same. Because the Holy Spirit was sent by the Father to indwell believers.

I will return to the Christmas-Day analogy. The Holy Spirit also came with Gifts. As recorded in Scripture – examples cited in the Book of Acts; in numerous references in Paul’s Epistles – He shared spiritual gifts. There are nine specifically referred to but, as with Fruits of the Spirit, we may experience more. But:

The Word of wisdom; the Word of knowledge; Gifts of faith;

The Gift of healing; Working of miracles; the Gift of prophecy;

Discerning between spirits; the Gift of speaking in tongues; the Gift of interpreting tongues.

The First-century Church grew exponentially and despite persecution partly because new Believers were wise, brave, equipped, and blessed by these gifts. Eventually broad swaths of the Church disdained these Gifts as… weird, supernatural, often misapplied. Yes, they were; but they are still God’s gifts, God’s will. Pastors have sniffed to me, “So, have you experienced these manifestations?” That’s no challenge: Yes, I have. Have I witnessed miracles? Yes, I have. Do I believe the “Baptism in the Holy Ghost” is for today? Um, should I call God a liar?

It is strange, but the Gifts are widely disdained as “not for today,” meant for people 2000 years ago, just “odd” for modern folks. Yes; there are strange things happenin’ every day. Thank God.  

The Gifts of the Spirit are for today. These can be explained more, and I invite readers to write if I can share and explain. The Holy Ghost is on the move in this world – Pentecostals, for instance, outnumber Catholics today in the country of Brazil. We have adherents in every denomination, but also separate church bodies like the Assemblies of and the Church of God and Church of God in Christ. 

Faithful believers who seek the Baptism, and the Gifts, should be assured that God honors the desire… and grants the Gifts as He wills. Don’t get caught up in Tongues, for instance, when you might have been ministering to many through Wisdom and Faith and Discernment. 

But If people fear God and love His Son… why would they disregard the Spirit Who yearns to dwell within us all? And why would people ignore all those Gifts prepared for them?!?!

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Sweetest Name I Know

05/18/2025

Some readers know that among the hats I have worn in the past are writer, editor, and cartoonist. Last summer, the folks at Comic-Con International in San Diego remembered this juggling act, and presented me with a lifetime “Inkpot” Award, of which I am still proud and will always be. Those three disciplines came together when I was Editor at Marvel Comics.

When I worked there – back when I was different, and the comics business was a little different too – the editorial meetings and bullpen sessions often centered on the powers and superpowers of the characters. The spinoff movies of Marvel and DC are constructed in similar ways, little different than fanboys’ chatter: “What If…?” and “Why Not?” and “How about…?”

Characters defy gravity; shift shapes; exert mind-control. “If you can imagine it, it is plausible in the (ever-expanding) Marvel Universe.” Characters come to earth from the heavens and have super powers. The greatest heroes have even died… and come back to life.

Well, it’s all fiction, of course; and every fan knows that. Or most of them do.

Stan Lee, whom I knew before my Marvel tenure and worked with afterward, used the phrase about the appeal of comic-book stories: The Suspension of Disbelief. Clever and correct, but I have met many fans who live on the edge of that line between Reality and Possibility. Movies employing CGI (computer-generated imagery) and the visual miracles wrought by AI make that easy. Our imaginations foster reality, either virtual or actual. Life, having become cheap and virtually without standards anymore, has to be, at least, fun. Right?

Back on Memory Lane, it always was amazing to me that creators could discuss the plausibility of characters being able to see through walls, and transcend space and time, and traverse the universe – granting fictional characters physical feats – yet when Jesus was raised, hoots of “impossible!” and “how could that BE?” and “Who believes THAT?” were raised too.

Yet Jesus brought the dead back to life; He was, Himself, raised from the dead; He walked on water and through locked doors; He read peoples’ minds. 

Especially on the days we think about right now, post-Easter, Jesus went into hyper-mode, a comic caption might say. It is recorded in the Book of Acts, and the Gospels, and in secular, historical accounts by Jewish and Roman writers, that His appearances included, in order, His Resurrection after three days dead; Appearing to Mary Magdalene; Appearing to the other women; Walking with two believers on the Road to Emmaus. Jesus appeared to Peter; He appeared to the Apostles behind locked doors; He appeared to the Apostles including doubting Thomas; He again provided a miraculous catch of fish. He reconciled with Peter and counseled him; He commissioned His Disciples to teach and baptize all nations; He appeared to more than 500 people at the same time; He  appeared to His brother James. Jesus ascended bodily into Heaven before witnesses.

For all of Jesus’s great acts – confirming to the public that He was alive; instructing His Disciples how to spread the Gospel; preaching and revealing that the Holy Spirit would succeed Him on earth and in the hearts of believers – what else did He do all those long 40 days? 

I have shared my opinion (inspired speculation is all I can claim) that Jesus walked and talked and ate and preached, this we know. But I believe it possible too that Jesus roamed back roads during those days. Likely on dark, quiet nights. He could have visited shores of the lakes and seas. He would have encountered the lonely and lost. He would have befriended strangers. He would have comforted the sick and the hurting. No fanfares. No rallies. No crowds.

Well, Jesus still is doing that. He loves you and me. Of course He still is doing that.

Comic-book gods who do supernatural feats are cool. Yet a True God who did (and does) supernatural feats is… what? We are told by many that the Son of God is a myth, impossible, a collection of fables, ignorant superstitions… and that self-delusion somehow soothes a lot of minds. 

“Somehow” is easily explained. Fictional gods are mutable. They can change. They can be superseded. You can close the comic book, or go to the next movie. The real God, however, does not go away. He always has been, is now, and ever shall be. How supernatural! He knows your mind, supernaturally. He created the universe (the real universe) yet loves you to the last atom of your being. 

Supernatural acts? I know one: he loved me, a sinner; sacrificed His Son to atone for my sins; and counts me as one of His children. A miracle right there – supernatural. Does He meet you in the midst of a flash of lightning, like St Paul or Martin Luther? Sure. Can He meet you on a dark highway or bi-way? Or near the sea billows? Sure. He owns them all, and He meets you when you are ready. Or not. (Yes, Jesus plays “Ready Or Not, Here I Come!”) You can ignore Him or even reject Him… but He still seeks you Out.

He loved us while we were yet in rebellion. He forgives us of everything when we believe in Him. Such a Savior is, literally, super-natural.

It takes belief, not suspension of disbelief. POW! 

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Click: God Walks the Dark Hills 

4-21-25

As we awoke this morning my wife asked me about the “to-do” list I had scribbled out the night before. Oh yeah. Let me see what was important last night and what I somehow forgot to remember but needs attention. Sometimes that happens to all of us.

Actually I can check several to-do lists, because I seldom throw things away. Sometimes I find old scraps of paper and notes like that. Oh, here’s one:

Friday.

After breakfast, clean up yard, take kids to game.

Noon. Join friends to watch the Savior of Humanity be nailed to a cross at Golgotha. Mock Him. Watch Him die.
Evening. Have dinner with friends.

Of course I am not quite that old, but this could have been my to-do list for that first Good Friday. It probably describes how many people spent that day. Sometimes I come face-to-face with the likelihood that the previous week I would have recorded that my activities, planned or unfolding, would have included praising this gentle Jesus as He entered Jerusalem, laying down palms and garments; watching as He rebuked money-lenders outside the Temple and challenged the religious Establishment; become convinced that He was dangerous and needed to be… executed. Watching Him be whipped until nearly dead. I would have spat on Him as He dragged His own cross to Calvary.

Sometimes I realize that of course I would have done those things. Everyone else did that Week. Am I any different? Are you?

If I had kept a diary, some notes after the Crucifixion might have noted:

Watched Jesus be nailed through the wrists and feet.

Watched the soldiers slam the mocking crown of sharp thorns on His head.

Heard Him moan in agony. Heard Him ask God to… forgive the soldiers.

Heard Him ask God to forgive me… all of us.

Then,

Saw Jesus look down through His sweat and blood and tears… at me.

Sometimes I know that is how my diary would have read. Because He did look down at me. Not a 2000-year-old story-version of me… but me, today, now, here. God’s only Son looked down on all of us in those moments, supernaturally at us all, in that crowd, across Jerusalem, around the world, through time to today.

Jesus suffered and died for all of us. Yes, He made eye-contact. He knew us. He knows us. He loves us. To those who believe He was and is the Son of God, and that He would be raised from the dead to conquer sin and death – Oh, what a to-do list and diary entries for Easter Sunday would have been like! – He promises eternal life with Him.

Well. Back to the present. Despite the truth, not a story, the Salvation experience does compress time and space. The Bible tells us that the pre-incarnate Jesus was the Person by whom the universe was created; that God is the Great “I am,” not “I was” or “I will be sometimes”; that Jesus is the same “yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

The only thing that changes in these realistic stories is me. Oh… and you: the everyday folks who plan their days, go about their business, take the kids to games, and casually watch the Savior of their souls be mocked, tortured, and killed.

How would your diary entries read?

What would your to-do list be like?

Two thousand years ago, or now, you still can fill out your to-do list. You still have things to do. If they include meeting His loving, forgiving gaze, and responding to Him… do that item on that list. Think on these things this weekend. Sometimes it causes you to tremble. Or it should.

“Were you there” when they crucified our Lord?

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Click: Were You There?

4-7-25

There is a Bible verse about rain falling on the just and the unjust alike (Matthew 5:5). King Solomon said that time and chance happeneth to all. Jesus says that the sun rises on evil people and the righteous alike, and rain – or misfortune – pours down on everyone. These are reality-checks, not notes of resignation. We are to be aware that not everything in life is specific to individuals, rewards or punishments on this side of Eternity, but rather that we must rise above our circumstances (yes, even look beyond blessings). And, importantly, that hope and redemption always are available to all.

Ultimately, these factors are all components of faith. When we are among the people who love God, accept Christ, and endeavor to do good, yet suffer misfortune, we affirm our humanity when we wonder, even for brief moments, why bad things visit us. Why? Why?

The hard answer is that there is sin in the world, a condition that transcends our righteous efforts, no matter how sanctified some folks might be. It is a world that God created, but that human nature has corrupted. Our charge is to resist evil, to be overcomers. As we travel life’s paths, we realize that God does not tempt us… but He does test us. This is not to play with us or our emotions; but it is to enrich our spiritual maturity, to strengthen our faith.

Some applications of faith come supernaturally. It is Biblical to not only exercise faith but to pray for faith, for an “increase of faith,” and to realize that the Holy Spirit was sent partly and specifically to gird our faith. God requires much of us. He has issued commands throughout human history. Jesus shared many lessons and “marching orders.” But faith is the virtual foundation-stone of communication with the Almighty, and receiving blessings.

This week I endured some “rain falling” in my life. Moving my household goods and a massive collection of rare books, original artwork by famous illustrators and cartoonists, complete runs of many vintage magazines and newspapers to the house I will share with my new wife Mickey, the moving van took a rainy highway exit too fast, rolled over twice, and spilled its contents. Not a stick of my furniture survived, and my archives spilled over the road and wet ground. It was a valuable archive that took a lifetime to assemble (and I am old). Friends try to reassure me – “it’s only paper”; “insurance might cover the loss” – but, signed first editions and such aside, that was my life passing before my eyes.

Yet what was catastrophic for me pales in comparison, I quickly remember, to life-altering matters I once shared. My late wife Nancy sustained health “challenges” all her life long: diabetes; celiac disease; five heart attacks; several strokes; cancer; amputations; a heart transplant; a kidney transplant; ultimately Lewy Bodies syndrome, a form of creeping dementia. “That all must have been hard on you,” friends again said, reaching for sympathy. Are they kidding? Even a spouse cannot fully comprehend such curses. In our case, everything I experienced were mere inconveniences… especially as I beheld her life of acceptance, optimism, witnessing to others. Faith.

Where does one find the kind of faith that, like peace, passes understanding?

An underlying message of all God’s instructions – the bedrock requirement of those who would be children of God – is that we have faith. Faith in God’s Word; faith in God’s promises; faith in revealed supernatural things. Faith is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11). If you have never found these characteristics difficult, you need a check-up from the neck-up. It is why we plead for the Holy Spirit’s help in times of emotional need. Can we be so faithful on our own?

Remember, we are told that to be saved it is as simple in God’s eyes as confessing that Jesus is the Son of God and believing that God raised Him from the dead. Faith.

I wrote a message some time ago that I had the “Big C,” and many readers thought I meant Cancer. OK, I rattled some cages, but what I meant by the Big C was… Christ. Faith in Christ does not make us immune from life’s vicissitudes; but it gets us through them, and even triumph over them.

This week, these truths – the only, only sane manner by which to endure and triumph over life’s storms – were brought home to me in ways I have not felt since the crises of my family’s “challenges,” even more poignant than my archives’ recent calamity. Pastor Loren Larson, of Family Worship Center, Baton Rouge LA, returned to the pulpit after months of coping with brain cancer, cancer throughout his body, attendant disorientation and, naturally, emotional distress.

His message is remarkable, and is Must-See TV for anyone dealing with cancer, suspicious of having cancer, a relative of a cancer victim… or anyone experiencing any challenges – shaky faith, lack of faith, or difficulty in exercising faith. Brother Larson admits, freely, to “human moments” when his fervent trust and beliefs were undermined; when those still, quiet moments bring terror instead of reassurance.

As he shared with prayer partners in the message, many of the tumors are shrinking, though some remain. He retains faith in the God who heals; and trusts that prayer can move the heart of God. Still, Brother Larson cannot shake the “human moments.” He praises God – not only for the evidences of healing, but reaffirming the truth that faith can heal the soul as well as the body. What can he, and we, do but trust and obey? Faith.

Faith in God is essential in our daily walk. Having, myself, chosen it (and often pushed into the mode by the Holy Spirit!) I cannot imagine going through certain situations without it… whether the situation is a little misplaced document or an impending life-altering calamity.

Faith in God is not merely the best way to navigate life’s journey, but the only way. It is God’s provision for us to keep dry from the “rain.”

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Click: I Believe, Help Thou My Unbelief