Better to Reign in Hell than Serve in Heaven?
The midterm national elections are upon us in a few weeks. Some have called politics "a blood sport" and with all the drama and personal destruction going on, one might wonder what makes people want to run for office at all. Surely some want to help and serve others and make the world a better place. For some the motive may be more about pride or ego to make a name for one. But if we are honest, it seems clear in this hour that some of our leaders run for office to gain power and control over others. Sadly, for some, power appears to be a drug or narcotic that becomes as addictive as alcohol or cocaine. A few leaders just crave the "high" they get when they taste power in office and seem willing to do anything to get elected...literally anything.Now deep down inside we all feel powerless at times. We live in a fallen world and there are times when we all would like to be in control and gain personal power. This attempt to gain personal power and control is humanity's way to deal with the need to replace the Lord and His power and control. After all, if we believed the Lord is the Lord, Almighty and in control of everything, we wouldn't go after power and control at all because it doesn't belong to us. However, since most people don't believe this truth they go after power and control anyway.
One of the goals of the Carlson Report is to get the Lord's people to do a little more thoughtful and critical thinking about the Lord and our lives in Him. It is easy to get lost in our sound-bite, shallow culture and miss the richness of life and the Lord. After all, aren't we all a bit tired of the mindlessness going on in our world today and sadly, sometimes even in the Church? A more thoughtful Church is a more powerful Church. That is true because we rarely act outside of our deepest thoughts and understandings of things. The truth is, we don't know what we don't know and we don't do what we don't think or know about. So, let's do some deeper thinking today about the Lord and allow Him to change our lives. A renewed mind is at the heart of every growing Christian disciple according to the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:2.
Every poll today tells us that the vast majority of people believe in God or some sort of Deity...over 80% in America. However, the real problem we face today is that people seem to have little fear, awe or reverence of the Lord that deeply changes their behavior. Instead, our belief in God has often just come down to acknowledging God's existence, but not much more. This gap between belief in God and a healthy fear of the Lord that really shapes how we live is the spiritual crisis of the day.
If someone was to ask me if I believed that the devil exists and why, here is my answer. Firstly, the Bible does not hesitate to discuss the existence of the devil and the spiritual battles we face each day connected to that reality. How can anyone look at the Lord Jesus' public ministry and conclude otherwise? In numerous passages such as Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:21-28, Luke 8:26-39, John 8:39-44 our Lord was engaged in spiritual warfare with the demonic realm. That battle continues through our Lord's public ministry and consummates in Revelation 20:10 with the destruction of the demonic realm. So, the main reason I believe in the devil is because of what the Bible says.
The Bible tells us that there is never anything new under the Sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). And with that thought, we have reached a pivotal moment in American history that needs to be understood and discerned by everyone, whatever our political views as we face the future. This current moment in American history has already happened before, but few ever believed it would emerge in America. You see right now we are watching the slow but steady growth of sanctioned violence that is beginning to surround our political disagreements. It started small, but it is growing each day. Do you see it? If this trend continues to grow, and is left unchallenged, it will ultimately lead us to an America none of us recognizes.
One of the major, unseen battles going on today in our lives is the attempt to define the relationship between truth and feelings. This conflict is at the heart of the entire Biblical story of redemption, yet sadly it is rarely discussed today. So then, what is the relationship between truth and feelings and why is this issue so important to the Lord and His work in our lives?
Does anyone remember the "good old days?" I do. I remember growing up in a sheltered life in suburban Chicago. Life was good. We had fun summers that included swimming at the beach, camping trips, picnics with my family, fireworks on the 4th of July and a good public school where I played football and ran track. People knew Communism was wrong because communists didn't believe in God and we could sing Christmas carols at Christmas. People went to the same-sex locker rooms for PE (Physical Education) and boys never thought they were girls. No one ever talked about killing or impeaching the President in public and we had "In God We Trust" on our money. Men opened doors for women and kids went to the Principal's Office when they caused trouble instead of a lawyer. For some of us such things truly seem like another world today because it was, and I miss those days for myself, my children and America.
In the last few days there has been an avalanche of anger, protests and outrage in response to the recent nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court by President Trump. From the moment the announcement was made on Monday there were protests outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. and around the Nation. At the heart of these protests was the belief that the laws of America were going to be dramatically changed by the new Justice and that America would never be the same. Some of the fears and rhetoric about these legal possibilities have bordered on hysteria. Consider this reaction by former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe as representative of the fears and hyperbole going on right now,
If there is one hidden storyline that has dominated our lives the last 20 years or so it would be the absolute love affair the world is having with technology. Everywhere we look today people are falling in love with phones, computers, the Internet and a variety of high tech "toys" that seem to keep people almost under a "spell." And while many of us in the USA seem to be under the "spell" of this exploding technology, there is one nation that is on the "cutting edge" of it all. That nation is Sweden. And so, in a dramatic news item that appeared this week was the report that thousands of Swedes are microchipping themselves voluntarily to make their lives easier and more "techier" for a variety of reasons. The reason why this story is worth considering is because socialistic Sweden, and other parts of Europe, tends to offer a prophetic glimpse into our future here in the USA.
The word "Nazi" strikes fear and horror into the minds of almost everyone. Many people remember hearing about or seeing pictures and newsreels of the horrors of the death camps, torture and murder of millions at the hands of Hitler and his supporters in Germany. For the Jewish people in Israel and around the world today, the Nazis still evoke a visceral reaction as they reflect on the over 6,000,000 of their fellow Jews that were murdered during World War II. For Simon Wiesenthal, pictured here, the word "Nazi" was not an abstract concept. Mr. Wiesenthal was a survivor of the Holocaust himself. He was incarcerated in several camps during the war until his liberation from the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp on May 5, 1945 by the Allies. Following his release, Mr. Wiesenthal spent the rest of his life, until his death in 2005, searching out Nazi war criminals trying to escape their past, so they could be brought to justice. His tireless work and desire to educate the public about the horror of the Nazi era is commemorated in the Simon Wiesenthal Center located in Los Angeles.
Do you ever find yourself thinking about Heaven? That theme must surely come to mind every time we attend a funeral or drive by a cemetery. However, for many of us the thought of Heaven may seem very far away today with the busyness of life and not even real at times. And yet, if we believe in the Lord and His Word, Heaven has to be a regular part of our thinking. The wonderful thought of going to be with the Lord and enjoying the wonders of Heaven is at the heart of everything the Christian Faith teaches. That thought was central to our Lord Jesus as He prepared to go to the Cross and shared these comforting words with his disciples in John 14:1-3,
If you really want to know what is going on today, as it relates to the future, keep your eyes on the visible Church and its leadership. The Bible is very clear that a major sign of the Lord's return is connected to the apostasy or departure from the historic Faith. After all, if the Church rejects the true Faith and embraces a false one, you have the seeds of deception and a willingness to embrace a false Christ or anti-Christ. This was the pattern in place during our Lord's 1st coming when our Lord was rejected and killed by the visible Church at the time. Surely, we are seeing that same pattern unfolding today through the Biblical confusion and movement away from the Christian Faith by growing elements within professing Christendom. One of the places where we are currently watching this unfold is in the ministry of Pope Francis. Since Pope Francis was elected to his office on March 13, 2013, the Pope has been at the center of regular controversy. From the beginning of his papacy, the Pope has made numerous statements that have left many Catholics and other Christians completely shocked and uncertain about the Pope's orthodoxy.
As Mother's Day approaches this Sunday, it is a wonderful thing to have a day of the year set aside to honor all our mothers. In a way, every day is Mother's Day because without our moms we wouldn't be here. It never hurts to have a nice reminder about the important people in our lives so we don't take them for granted. And while the meaning of many of our holidays has changed over the years, Mother's Day still brings a warm spot for most of us. The one hope of this article is to not only honor and remember our moms, but perhaps have a deeper understanding of how the Lord has used them to teach us about Himself. After all, Mother's Day is not really just a holiday to buy some flowers, cards or have a nice dinner. Mother's Day started in Heaven before the world was created. All the love, warmth and good things we associate with the best of motherhood are really about the Lord and should point us to Him.
For many Americans, the month of May is often connected with millions of students graduating from high school or some sort of higher education program. Many of us reading this blog may even be attending such a graduation for a family member or friend. Graduation can be an exciting time for people, filled with emotions that often mark a "rite of passage" for many of us. Graduations offer us a chance to look back on our achievements and a time to start looking ahead to where we might be going. And while Americans are spending billions of dollars each year to get an education, it has become increasing important to ask ourselves what people are really learning. The reason we need to ask this question is because it increasingly seems that our schools, colleges and universities are doing less and less basic educating. Instead, what has clearly been emerging since the 1960's is that our young people are being indoctrinated more and more with a culturally driven agenda that is often opposed to political conservatives and Christians that eliminates the real pursuit of knowledge and truth.
One of the greatest things we can do right now is to STOP, take a deep breath and look at the Lord Jesus Christ in a fresh way. He is everything that really matters today and forever. There is nothing else that is even a close second. As our world is seemingly spinning out of control, one must wonder how much of the Lord anyone is seeing. So often our Lord just seems to get lost amidst our busyness and religious lives. Now is an excellent time to draw near to our Lord's life and His purpose for our lives. The Lord wants us to enjoy Him and His gift of life by understanding and knowing Him on a deeper level. As we will see, every breath we take is a gift to praise, honor and worship our Lord. When the Lord gets our attention to that amazing truth we are changed forever. May that happen to each of us today.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg just completed his second day of questioning before Senate and House Committees regarding Facebook's role in our society and issues related to the possible manipulation of our liberties under the Constitution. If you have a chance to listen to the interviews, I would encourage you to do so and share them with others. The interviews are chilling to say the last and are a prophetic picture of the technology nightmare coming our way. It is already here! These interviews have to be one of the most important and scary interviews in American history regarding the future of our Nation, Constitution and the loss of freedoms in our Nation, the Church and our world today.
The simple message of the Bible, our lives and the world to come is that the Lord Jesus rose from the dead. This is the foundation of the Gospel and our faith according to I Corinthians 15. Christ is risen, He is risen indeed!!! As Easter/First Fruits arrive this Sunday, I want to share a few thoughts about the Resurrection that I hope will stir our hearts toward seeing the greatness and majesty of our Lord in the Empty Tomb and our modern lives today.
As Good Friday approaches next week, it is worth the time to stop for a moment and reflect on the Cross. Good Friday is a day of celebration that reminds us that the Lord Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world, and more personally for our sins if we are Christians. And while some churches have Good Friday Services, much of Christendom will skip them and just go to Easter Sunday. Sometimes this skipping of the Cross has increasingly turned into a problem for the Faith because without the Cross there is no real Church, no redemption and surely no Empty Tomb. The centrality of the Cross totally changed the Apostle Paul and led him to say in I Corinthians 2:2,
The private funeral for evangelist Billy Graham was held yesterday at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, NC before 2400 guests. Millions of others, from all over the world, watched the service online or on television. Billy Graham was 99 years old and will be buried next to his wife Ruth at the same library dedicated to his life and ministry. Billy Graham truly lived an extraordinary life. As a result, he was honored at his death by being only the fourth private citizen in United States history to lie in state at the United States Capitol rotunda in Washington, D.C on February 28-March 1. Graham is the first religious leader to be honored. At the ceremony, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan called Graham "America's pastor." President Donald Trump said Graham was "an ambassador for Christ." Many other tributes and accolades came in from all over the world to honor Graham and his ministry.
We live in fascinating times. Do you agree? One of the great pictures of that fact is the recent emergence of the term "Deep State" into our culture. Have you heard about it? That term, which is now being used frequently, has just come into our vernacular during the last Presidential election cycle. The term has been used to describe officials in the government that are working behind the scenes to sabotage and subvert the constitutionally elected leadership of the Nation. In other words, the "Deep State" refers to people that are breaking the laws they are put in charge of upholding. This lawless behavior may include revealing classified materials, violating the Constitution, manipulating and destroying people's lives without due process and even attempting to remove the President from office through a legally manipulated impeachment. There is no question that our Nation has moved into a very scary time when the rule of law is not being upheld by those appointed to do so. So, when the police become the criminals you have reached a turning point in any society.