There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. —Soren Kierkegaard. "…truth is true even if nobody believes it, and falsehood is false even if everybody believes it. That is why truth does not yield to opinion, fashion, numbers, office, or sincerity–it is simply true and that is the end of it" – Os Guinness, Time for Truth, pg.39. “He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.” – Blaise Pascal. "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily" – George Washington letter to Edmund Randolph — 1795. We live in a “post-truth” world. According to the dictionary, “post-truth” means, “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Simply put, we now live in a culture that seems to value experience and emotion more than truth. Truth will never go away no matter how hard one might wish. Going beyond the MSM idealogical opinion/bias and their low information tabloid reality show news with a distractional superficial focus on entertainment, sensationalism, emotionalism and activist reporting – this blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." – George Orwell “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ― Soren Kierkegaard
Time has a way of making things become obsolete. Think back to 1844 when Samuel Morse invented the telegraph. This invention, back then, was a quantum leap in communications. Today, it is basically a relic of the past; with cell phones and the internet making this once amazing invention virtually obsolete. And many contend that the Bible, 2,000 years ago may have been relevant, but today it is just out of step with our modern technological space-age society. Let’s examine the evidence.
While it is true that back when the Bible was written people basically lived in an agrarian economy that doesn’t mean the farming analogies used in biblical times are not useful for today. Remember that the authors of Scripture used the times and culture to communicate and these analogies were powerful tools to make people understand the biblical messages that God wanted to communicate. Today it is a simple matter to use more cultural and time sensitive ways of viewing things to convey biblical truths to our modern readers. Even the Apostle Paul used this technique and shared the gospel in different ways depending on the culture he was dealing with.
So many of our common sayings today can trace their roots back to the Bible, particularly the King James Version, translated into English in 1611. These phrases are as relevant today as they were 400 years ago; as well as in biblical times. For example, “escaping by the skin of their teeth” (Job 19:20), “a house divided against itself cannot stand” (Mark 3:25), “a drop in the bucket” (Isaiah 40:15), and “a leopard can’t change his spots” (Jeremiah 13:23) all find there origination in the King James Version of the Bible. These phrases as well as the hundreds of proverbs that King Solomon wrote in the Scriptures may be ancient, but they are still wise wisdom 3,000 years after they were penned.
Science has made amazing advances since biblical times but if you have been following my blog for any length of time you will realize that many of our greatest advances in this field have been made by men who were strong believers in the Bible. These men believed that because of the orderly nature of our universe, God’s laws could be applied to make their discoveries. Not only that but many of the things that man has discovered over the last 500 years in the field of science were already discussed and known in the Scriptures. In essence all man has done is to confirm much of the scientific knowledge already stated in the Bible. There are numerous books and websites that speak about this. I challenge you to do a google search on science and the Bible to unearth some amazing scientific facts that were only discovered by man; in some cases, two or three thousand years after the Scriptures stated them.
One final area where the Bible is totally relevant today is in the area of human nature. Since God created man, He knows more about our nature than we do. Not only that but His book, the Bible, is our basic instructions before leaving earth. The Bible has more to say about how do live a joyful, peaceful, and purposeful life than any other book ever written. Man is still searching for meaning and happiness but the Bible tells him that until he gets right with God, through repentance of sin and accepting Jesus as his Lord and Savior, he will never find the meaning he is looking for.
Far from being out of date and irrelevant for today, the Bible has the answers to life’s most challenging and important questions that man is still trying to find. Questions such as, “how did I get here,” “where do I go when I die,” and “what is my purpose in life,” are the same questions man has had in every age and every culture. Books come and go, societies form but die out, and philosophies of life can never give us the real answers to these age-old questions. But thank God that there is a book that has all the answers to these questions – our old friend (and totally relevant) the Bible!
Author’s note: I sense it good to again present this salvation roadmap. Never has the truth of God’s saving grace been more urgent or more important than now, so near the Rapture of believers into the presence of Christ.
Salvation
Salvation is rescue from something that is death-dealing in nature. That is, it is the plucking from a deadly situation or circumstance and placing in a position of safety. This is what God offers to all of humankind. He offers salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Salvation from what?
Each human has been born under the penalty of sin, since Eve was seduced into eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and Adam knowingly disobeyed by joining the woman in eating that fruit.
God warned the first two people that if they disobeyed by eating fruit from this tree, they would surely die. Lucifer, in the form of the serpent, put the question of whether to believe the Creator in their minds by asking, “Yea? Hath God said?”
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:1–5).
With that disobedience—just as God said—sin and its consequence, death, entered the world. The man and woman lost fellowship with God. They began aging and degenerating toward death. Human beings now needed salvation from sin and death.
God loves His creation called humanity, and wanted to have the people become part of His eternal family—to live with Him forever in Heaven. The Creator, in His grace and mercy, said He would redeem them; He would bring into the world One who would save them from sin and death.
He cursed the serpent, Lucifer, who became known as Satan, and the devil, and said to him:
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15)
Sin had begun its life-sapping work, and the man and woman had to be ejected from the Garden of Eden. Many Bible scholars believe this was done to keep them from the Tree of Life that grew in the Garden. If they had access, they would eat its fruit, and rather than eventually dying, they would grow increasingly grotesque in every way. Angels were placed at the Garden’s entry to keep them from returning.
God shed the blood of His creation for the first time when He provided animal-skin coverings for the naked man and woman. This was the first of the blood system of sacrifice that would foreshadow the awful price that would be paid for sin upon the cross at Calvary, when God’s only begotten Son died there.
John the Baptist announced Jesus’ purpose when Jesus approached while John stood at the Jordan River, baptizing people.
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)
Jesus lived on the earth for thirty-three years, then was sacrificed by crucifixion—the cruelest of all executions of the day. Jesus became sin for all of humankind on the cross that day. God the Father could not look upon Him while Jesus took all sin upon Himself for all men, women, and children.
Jesus’ true agony of that moment, when He became the horrendous thing His Father could not look upon, was recorded by the Gospel writer Matthew.
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46)
Matthew recorded the moment when Christ completed His mission on the earth:
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. (John 19:30)
Jesus Christ, the Lamb that takes away the sins of the world, had fulfilled the supreme sacrifice.
Jesus spoke of that salvation mission while preaching, teaching, performing miracles, and ministering during His time here as the Son of man—the only sinless human ever to walk the earth’s surface.
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:14–18)
The question often arises: What about those who haven’t heard of Jesus? This was asked of the late Dr. Tim LaHaye, and when he started to answer, he was allowed only a few seconds. He was put on the spot by the host, who asked a question that called for a profound answer.
Dr. LaHaye had only a moment to answer the TV host’s assertion that it isn’t fair of a God to send anyone to Hell if they don’t hear the message. Dr. LaHaye used Scripture in a split-second decision in answering, then was abruptly cut off from continuing with his answer.
The Scripture in question is Romans 2: 12:
For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law.
Tim was saying, I think, that the totality of Scripture teaches that people are without excuse who have the understanding that there is a creator who judges sin. This is true whether Gentile or Jew.
Implicit within Dr. LaHaye’s response were things he never got to explain. I knew him well, and he would have made his case something like the following, had he been given time.
God’s precepts are one upon another, remember, and often truth comes from an entire body of scriptural proof, rather than from just one or two verses.
Paul was addressing, particularly, the Jews, who labored under the Mosaic Law (although by that time, the Law was not in effect because of the Cross), juxtaposed against the Gentiles, who didn’t have the Mosaic Law.
Keep in mind that God’s Word says:
Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth [it] not, to him it is sin. (James 4:17)
Scripture says also:
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:13–17)
All of this adds up to the fact that Jesus Christ, alone, is the way to redemption. But, He must be lifted up so that all will be drawn to Him. If there is no preacher to preach, then there can’t be faith, because faith comes by hearing (the Gospel). Just as an infant is innocent in God’s eyes, because the child can’t “hear”—i.e., understand—so are those who haven’t understood (truly heard) that Christ is the way to salvation.
However, even among savages in the darkest places where the Gospel hasn’t reached, if they “know to do good, and do the opposite,” they are not guiltless. God will hold them accountable for the light they have, which the Law would have provided for more civilized peoples.
The key here is that Jesus fulfilled the Law when He said “It is finished!” and gave up His spirit to death. Remember, Jesus once asked those around Him, “Why callest me good?” He then said, “There is but one good, and that is God” (Matthew 19:17).
Jesus was, of course, saying He was the only good, because He is God. He is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world to cover the sin debt owed by fallen humankind. So, when the savage knows to do good, he is given that light by the Holy Spirit. He still chooses or rejects Christ, who is the only good.
The simple explanation is that people are accountable to the extent that they have been given light (understanding). But, that doesn’t unveil the whole Gospel story, regarding its application to those who haven’t had a preacher or teacher.
The Bible speaks to savages and the so-called civilized as well. Here are some relevant salvation Scriptures that cover every person who has been or will ever be born.
I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. (John 10:14–18)
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse. (Romans 1:16–20)
Here once again is how to come to salvation, thereby to dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus Christ, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9–10)
There is always something more to know about the people we know best. The same is true of Jesus—but how can we come to know Him better? Today, Sinclair Ferguson addresses this question. Hear more from Things Unseen with Sinclair B. Ferguson: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL30acyfm60fWgA8zL6TjP3KtLhRFNHfxi
Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; … neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, …but rather giving of thanks.
EPHESIANS 5:1, 4
Few things are as useful in the Christian life as a gentle sense of humor and few things are as deadly as a sense of humor out of control.
Many lose the race of life through frivolity. Paul is careful to warn us. He says plainly that the Christian’s characteristic mood should not be one of jesting and foolish talking but rather one of thanksgiving. It is significant that the apostle classifies levity along with uncleanness, covetousness and idolatry.
Now obviously an appreciation of the humorous is not an evil in itself. When God made us He included a sense of humor as a built-in feature, and the normal human being will possess this gift in some degree at least. The source of humor is the ability to perceive the incongruous.
Humor is one thing but frivolity is quite another. Cultivation of a spirit that can take nothing seriously is one of the great curses of society, and within the church it has worked to prevent much spiritual blessing that otherwise would have descended upon us. We have all met those people who will not be serious. They meet everything with a laugh and a funny remark. This is bad enough in the world, but positively intolerable among Christians.
I see no value in gloom and no harm in a good laugh. My plea is for a great seriousness which will put us in mood with the Son of Man and with the prophets and apostles, that we may attain that moral happiness which is one of the marks of spirituality.1
The Bible is full of inspirational verses, but others have inspiring quotes that just might inspire you.
Inspiring Quotes
The Bible is full of inspirational verses, but other people have inspiring quotes too that just might inspire you today, and now more than ever, we could use some inspiration. We all have those days where we are feeling low and need some encouragement. It is in these precise moments that we seek Him and find solace in His Word (the Bible). That should be your first and primary source of strength every day, so don’t get into a personal famine of the Word in your life because you will lose a strong source of God’s own power (Isaiah 55:11; Rom 1:16; 1 Cor 1:18). There, in His Word, is a shelter of safety to run to (i.e. Psalm 51, 103). When we immerse ourselves in the Bible and His teachings, we allow Him to work through us as the Spirit of God takes the Word of God and changes the children of God. It is our hope that these inspirational Christian quotes and Bible verses will lift you up as you seek comfort, guidance or simply a reminder of God’s love and His will for your life and instructions on how we should live our lives. John 3:16 should be inspiring enough, but other chapters are there to strengthen you and encourage you, so use them!
Anxious for Nothing
Corrie Ten Boom once said, “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows; it empties today of its strength.” That goes along with Jesus’ statement about worry, that none of us, “by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life” (Matt 6:27). If anything, worry or anxiety can shorten our life. We have Jesus’ word that we can “ask and sit will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9). These verbs (ask, seek and knock) are in the Greek imperfect tense, meaning we must keep on asking…keep on seeking and keep on knocking. Pastor Tony Evans wisely said, “God will meet you where you are in order to take you where He wants you to go.” I’ve seen that proven to be true many times. The Apostle Paul had no anxiety and could confidently say that “my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:19). Do we have that same confidence? We should because we can believe His Word.
A Tested Faith
I believe that a faith that’s not been tested is a faith that can’t be trusted. Mother Teresa knew, to “Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” She echoes Jesus’ statement, “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much” (Luke 16:10). Living out your faith is not getting any easier today, which is why we must “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses” (1 Tim 6:12). How true it is what Elisabeth Elliot wrote that “Faith does not eliminate questions. But faith knows where to take them,” but we must remember, “God does not give us everything we want, but He does fulfill His promises, leading us along the best and straightest paths to Himself” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer). Pastor/Author John Piper put it nicely when he wrote, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”
Treasures (not here but) in Heaven
“…we should give to store up treasure in heaven and not on earth.”
One principle I’ve learned about not losing rewards is if I tell everyone the good thing I did, I get the glory and not God, and all my reward amounts to a pat on the back. That’s it! That’s a pathetic reward isn’t it, but Jesus said the Jews lived for such accolades and why our Lord said, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven” (Matt 6:1). What we tell others, God will forget; what we forget, God will remember. Randy Alcorn said, “He who lays up treasures on earth spends his life backing away from his treasures. To him, death is loss. He who lays up treasures in heaven looks forward to eternity; he’s moving daily toward his treasures. To him, death is gain.” Francis Chan says “Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.”
Learning Contentment
“I’ve learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends on our dispositions and not on our circumstances,” said Martha Washington. Paul himself had to learn to be content in all circumstances. The terrible circumstances he endured couldn’t reach the joy he had. How did Paul learn contentment? In being in terrible circumstances (Phil 4:10-13)! You can’t learn contentment when everything is going well. Paul never looked back but rather he said, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:14). If you’re pressing forward toward a goal, then you’re likely not looking back with discontentment. Williams Gurnall said, “Let this encourage those of you who belong to Christ: the storm may be tempestuous, but it is only temporary. The clouds that are temporarily rolling over your head will pass, and then you will have fair weather, an eternal sunshine of glory. Can you not watch with Christ for one hour? “
Conclusion
The late Dr. Charles Stanley reminds all of us that “Your potential is the sum of all the possibilities God has for your life.” One of my personal favorites is from Dr. John MacArthur who said, “You are the only Bible some unbelievers will ever read.” And to encourage you, Eleanor Roosevelt said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your permission.” If we have never trusted in Jesus Christ, we stand on the cliff of eternity which we could fall into at any moment, all of us are one breath, one accident, or one heartbeat away from judgment (Heb 9:27), or if Christ were to return and you have not yet placed your faith in Him, your judgment is settled for all time (Rev 20:12-15; 21:8). Please reader, I pray you put your trust in Christ today, while it’s still today (2 Cor 6:2), for tomorrow may be too late (Dan 12:1-3).
Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: Study Bible: English standard version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
In these words the Lord in the plainest manner claims the right to give or to withhold his mercy according to his own sovereign will. As the prerogative of life and death is vested in the monarch, so the Judge of all the earth has a right to spare or condemn the guilty, as may seem best in his sight. Men by their sins have forfeited all claim upon God; they deserve to perish for their sins—and if they all do so, they have no ground for complaint. If the Lord steps in to save any, he may do so if the ends of justice are not thwarted; but if he judges it best to leave the condemned to suffer the righteous sentence, none may arraign him at their bar. Foolish and impudent are all those discourses about the rights of men to be all placed on the same footing; ignorant, if not worse, are those contentions against discriminating grace, which are but the rebellions of proud human nature against the crown and sceptre of Jehovah. When we are brought to see our own utter ruin and ill desert, and the justice of the divine verdict against sin, we no longer cavil at the truth that the Lord is not bound to save us; we do not murmur if he chooses to save others, as though he were doing us an injury, but feel that if he deigns to look upon us, it will be his own free act of undeserved goodness, for which we shall for ever bless his name.
How shall those who are the subjects of divine election sufficiently adore the grace of God? They have no room for boasting, for sovereignty most effectually excludes it. The Lord’s will alone is glorified, and the very notion of human merit is cast out to everlasting contempt. There is no more humbling doctrine in Scripture than that of election, none more promotive of gratitude, and, consequently, none more sanctifying. Believers should not be afraid of it, but adoringly rejoice in it.1
It is difficult to overstate how much of an impact that late philosopher, theologian and apologist Norman Geisler had on the discipline of Christian Apologetics. Those interested in learning more about his life and ministry, you can check out this documentary.
During his ministry, Dr. Geisler was known for presenting 12 points that demonstrate that Christianity is true. Below you will find a lecture featuring Dr. Geisler arguing for each of the 12 points.1
WE shall now read parts of the epistle to the Galatians, in which Paul stands in opposition to the Jewish professors who denied his apostleship, and strove to bring the church under the yoke of the law.
Galatians 1
1–5 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches pf Galatia: Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Paul is very fond of writing doxologies. His heart was full of praise, and he could not help giving it vent. Would it not be well if every now and then, even in the midst of other things, we paused to bless the Lord? The apostle was answering opponents, but he sweetened the controversy with grateful adoration.
6, 7 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
8, 9 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. (Paul makes short work with newfangled gospels. He was not one of the broad school whose wanton charity trifles with divine truth, as if it were a matter of no consequence what is preached, or what is believed.)
10 For do I now persuade (or seek to win the favour of) men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ (Christ’s ministers must never be men-pleasers, or they are false to their trust. Offend or please, their one business is to preach the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.)
11, 12 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. (He was no retailer of other men’s stuffs: he preached what he had been taught of the Holy Ghost in his own soul. Lord, send us more such ministries.)
13, 14 For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: And profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.
15, 16 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:
17 Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.
None could say that he was a copyist. In the solitudes of Arabia he had studied the Old Testament, communed with God, and obtained insight into the deep things of God; and his testimony was therefore fresh from heaven. More of God and less of man is what we all need.
18, 19 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother.
20 Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not.
21–23 Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia; And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judæa which were in Christ: But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. (His remarkable conversion and independent course made him very decided in his teaching. The more certainly grace works in us, the more attached shall we be to the gospel of grace, and the more opposed shall we be to all those errors which rob God of his glory.)
24 And they glorified God in me. (May we so live that others may glorify God, because of his grace displayed in us.)1
Can guilty sinners such as you and I be saved? We might as well ask, can an incurable leper be healed or an iron axe head float! Naaman was a great general who had given victory to Syria, but he suffered from the miserable, and ultimately fatal, disease of leprosy. By God’s grace an Israelite girl, captured by the Syrians, in the service of Naaman’s wife, pointed to his cure: the prophet Elisha, in Samaria (Israel). So Naaman goes to Elisha’s house. But expecting special treatment by Elisha, himself, he was told by a messenger to wash in the Jordan seven times to be healed. Naaman turns away in a rage. This was an insult to his dignity! The rivers of Damascus are better than any of the waters of Israel. In effect, he says, “If I want to take a bath, why don’t I just go there? Since they’re far more beautiful and impressive, why not?” For one reason only: because salvation is found in Israel alone! In fact, it’s found in Christ and the power of His cross alone!
To many, like Naaman, God’s prescription for salvation is degrading. And no wonder! For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18). Persuaded to believe the word of God’s prophet, Naaman was healed. And like a lost axe head, his life was restored. So may we hear and believe God’s ultimate prophet, Jesus Christ, and be restored today!
Suggestions for prayer
Pray that we might not only hear the Word of Christ, our Chief Prophet, but like the captive Israelite girl, cause others to hear His life giving Word, as well.
Rev. Barry Beukema is a graduate of Calvin College and Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia. He has pastored the Christian Reformed Churches in Burdett, Alberta and Smithers, British Columbia. He then pastored the URCNA churches of Smithers, BC, Thunder Bay, ON, Lacombe, AB, Neerlandia, AB, and is now pastoring the United Reformed Church of Taber, Alberta.Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com.
Daniel 4:1 — John Walvoord makes an interesting observation:
In the background of this account is the obvious concern of Daniel the prophet for the man whom he had served for so many years. Daniel, a man of prayer, undoubtedly prayed for Nebuchadnezzar and eagerly sought some evidence of God’s working in his heart. While the experience of Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 4 was not what Daniel had anticipated, the outcome must have approximated Daniel’s fondest hope.
Daniel 4:30 — At the Oriental Institute in Chicago, they have a brick from Babylon with the name of Nebuchadnezzar carved into it.
Daniel 4:32 — John Walvoord states that this has been diagnosed as boanthropy:
[Dr. Raymond Harrison] actually observed a clinical case of boanthropy in a British mental institution in 1946. The patient was in his early 20’s, who reportedly had been hospitalized for about five years. His symptoms were well-developed on admission, and diagnosis was immediate and conclusive. He was of average height and weight with good physique, and was in excellent bodily health. His mental symptoms included pronounced anti-social tendencies, and because of this he spent the entire day from dawn to dusk outdoors, in the grounds of the institution … His daily routine consisted of wandering around the magnificent lawns with which the otherwise dingy hospital situation was graced, and it was his custom to pluck up and eat handfuls of the grass as he went along. On observation he was seen to discriminate carefully between grass and weeds, and on inquiry from the attendant the writer was told the diet of this patient consisted exclusively of grass from hospital lawns. He never ate institutional food with the other inmates, and his only drink was water… The writer was able to examine him cursorily, and the only physical abnormality noted consisted of a lengthening of the hair and a coarse, thickened condition of the finger-nails. Without institutional care, the patient would have manifested precisely the same physical conditions as those mentioned in Daniel 4:33 … From the foregoing it seems evident that the author of the fourth chapter of Daniel was describing accurately an attestable, if rather rare, mental affliction.
Some dismiss this account of Nebuchadnezzar’s madness as unhistorical, but there is no historical record of his governmental activity between 582 B.C. and 575 B.C. This silence is deafening, especially when we keep in mind how Near Eastern leaders liked to egotistically trumpet their achievements – and hide their embarrassments.
Daniel 4:34 — Nebuchadnezzar realized man is nothing (Daniel 4:35), but God is everything!
2 Peter 1:3 — We have “all things that pertain unto life and godliness.” We have no excuse!
2 Peter 1:21 — Peter lays out the case for the inspiration of Scripture. Daniel 4 isn’t a collection of fables as Wikipedia tells us is the scholarly consensus. Scripture came as the Holy Ghost moved in holy men of God.
Psalm 119:97 — What is our response to the inspired Word of Scripture? Love it!
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.Revelation 21:4
Yes, we shall come to this if we are believers. Sorrow shall cease, and tears shall be wiped away. This is the world of weeping, but it passes away. There shall be a new heaven and a new earth, so says the first verse of this chapter; and therefore there will be nothing to weep over concerning the Fall and its consequent miseries. Read the second verse and note how it speaks of the bride and her marriage. The Lamb’s wedding is a time for boundless pleasure, and tears would be out of place. The third verse says that God Himself will dwell among men; and surely at His right hand there are pleasures forevermore, and tears can no longer flow.
What will our state be when there will be no more sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain? This will be more glorious than we can as yet imagine. O eyes that are red with weeping, cease your scalding flow, for in a little while ye shall know no more tears! None can wipe tears away like the God of love, but He is coming to do it. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Come, Lord, and tarry not; for now both men and women must weep!
Why is it so hard, even for those of us who have accepted Jesus as our Savior, to surrender our identity to Him? How can we “tier” our identity from a foundation in Jesus? Why does this matter in the first place? What impact can it make on our lives?
To see more training videos with J. Warner Wallace, visit the YouTube playlist.
Description:After Jesus touched a man who was mute, the tongue that had failed to speak was set free to declare the glory of God. In this sermon, R.C. Sproul continues his study in Mark’s gospel to show how this miracle points to an even greater reality in the life of every Christian.
In the early 2010s, a historian proposed that the world was soon going to have a century-defining event take place, because such things seemed to always happen in the second decade of the century, ever since the Reformation.
If this theory is accurate, then the election of Donald Trump to the US presidency in 2016 — arguably alongside and certainly foreshadowed by Britain voting to leave the European Union earlier that year — was going to be the defining event for our age.
It’s been nearly ten years since the once-and-future president first made his way down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, but I suspect for most people (myself included), it feels like a lifetime ago. Where do you even begin to chart the ups and downs of Trump’s circular journey to the White House?
But the ferocity of those twists and turns has been, at times, enough to make one sick — or at least want to get off the ride for a while. The intensity with which society has been brought into this war over truth, goodness and beauty is impossible to overstate, and the Covid era was probably the apex of the journey. It is probably not a coincidence that many people do not want to revisit the wrong decisions that were made at that time, because it was all quite overwhelming,
But now: relief. The roller-coaster is slowing down. The world is no longer tilting on its axis, the adrenaline is no longer pumping. Why? Because the epicentre of this cultural vortex has been the United States, and Donald Trump has been walking through the eye of the storm. With this comprehensive election win, it is his side that is clearly the victor. He and his supporters and allies should now have the opportunity to decide the immediate future of their nation, and through them, the future of the world into the next century.
Yes, Mr President
The US has really been in a state of civil war for the past ten years, but much like the Cold War, it’s been without a shot fired directly between the two adversaries. Instead, it has been a war of entrenched sides using every cultural and political tool available to them to try and outmanoeuvre their opponents, enlisting voters as their soldiers by attempting to convince them of the moral superiority of their party’s position, and of the failings of the other side.
There would be few people in the United States who still don’t have an opinion on Donald Trump. Symbolically, though, this Cold War has been about the direction of the United States. Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have all represented the liberal establishment that has directed the country for many decades now. Donald Trump has been the anti-establishment representative, the agent of change railing against a system that has clearly failed large swathes of the population.
It may be easy to forget now with everything that’s happened since then, but the first battle of the Cold Civil War wasn’t the 2016 election. It was the 2015 Republican primaries. Since the late 1980s, the Grand Old Party had followed the lead of the Bush family and their allies, creating and embracing their neoconservative worldview. Trump’s takedown of Jeb Bush, who had come into the campaign as the establishment favourite, was a sign of things to come.
Donors, lobby groups, special interests, party grandees and congressional Republicans and their staff were all largely opposed to Trump, but couldn’t stop him from winning because his platform was what voters had been crying out for. The same thing nearly happened to the Democratic Party, but their system for choosing a candidate allowed the party leadership to avoid running with Bernie Sanders.
The Democratic establishment, especially the media organisations that had treated Trump as an unserious candidate who nevertheless gave them great ratings, quickly had to shift towards treating him as a real threat. The Republican Party leadership of Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell, meanwhile, had to talk out of both sides of their mouth, technically supporting their candidate despite hating everything he stood for.
After his victory, both sides of the establishment doubled down and acted to obstruct Trump as much as possible, and after the 2020 election that turned from obstructing the Trump government, to obstructing Trump as a person from ever running for the presidency again.
But the world was shifting under their feet. For every battle they felt they were winning — blocking the wall, impeaching the president, sending him to trial after trial — there were thousands of smaller battles they were losing, without even noticing.
Every worker who lost their job during the Covid panic, every household struggling to put food on the table, every social media user banned for expressing a newly taboo opinion, they all needed somewhere to turn politically. And they came from all walks of life, as exemplified by not only Trump himself, but three of his newfound allies: Elon Musk, Tulsi Gabbard, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
All four were once members of the Democratic Party, and all four felt rejected by the party because of their increasingly stringent requirements for ideological purity. Disagreement among the Democrats has been largely taboo since Trump first ran, and arguably even earlier.
Now Trump is the de facto head of the Republican Party, Gabbard is a member of that same party, Musk is using his money to fund Republican campaigns and Kennedy — part of the most famous Democratic political family of all — is an independent and soon to be part of the Trump cabinet.
And so, while the Bush Republicans tried to keep ‘their’ party the way it had been for decades, the millions of Americans who were looking to Trump and his allies to bring their country out of the quagmire it found itself in, were shifting the Republican Party to be remade in the image of the 45th President.
The humiliating primary defeat of Liz Cheney in Wyoming was the ultimate symbol of how the tide had turned in the GOP, and only now, with victory in the Electoral College, in the popular vote, in the House and in the Senate, it is clear to all that there is a new Republican Party, and the old guard have to get on board or they’ll suffer the same fate as Cheney.
The Democratic Party, meanwhile, has been beaten thoroughly. They lost the popular vote for the first time in 20 years, because Trump won over a coalition of voters they thought would never leave them. They don’t hold any significant office federally. The ideological platform they zealously pursued has been tested and found wanting, and they appear confused as to how this could be the case. They have no real basis upon which to keep fighting.
Some in the media, like the hosts of Morning Joe on MSNBC, as well as the editors of The Washington Post and The L.A. Times, are suddenly singing from a different hymnbook, one of impartiality and openness. The Young Turks, who have been the forefront of pro-Democratic alternative media for over a decade, are happier with the Trump team than they are with the party they’re aligned with.
If you’re anything like me, you’ve seen and felt something like a fog being lifted over the past couple of weeks. It’s a reflection of a simple reality: the war is over.
But then again, maybe it isn’t.
The Never-Ending Struggle
Real life is not like a game, where the winner gets the prize and the loser gets nothing, and that’s the end of the matter.
Deeply held political convictions don’t change just because your side didn’t win an election. There might be a smattering of Democratic Congressmen who think that Trump will be a better president than Kamala Harris was, but there are likely far more Republican Congressmen who believe the opposite.
This is especially true in the Senate, where people tend to hang on to their seats for decades. Mitch McConnell was elected to the Senate in 1984. His hand-picked replacement as Republican leader in the chamber, John Thune, has been there since 2004, after being in the House of Representatives from the 1996 election until the 2002 midterms.
Thune, like McConnell, is deeply connected with the Washington establishment, just as he was with the South Dakota establishment when he first made his run for the House in 1996. He says he will support the Trump agenda wholeheartedly as Senate majority leader, but it wasn’t that long ago he was calling for Trump to step aside as a potential candidate for 2024, having done similarly in previous elections.
Thune’s worldview, like many Republicans in the Senate, does not align with voters who support Trump. With the exceptionally anti-establishment picks Trump is making for his cabinet, this may tempt those Senators to reject his nominees, or at least some of them. But those same Senators would surely be keeping an eye on their re-election bids, knowing that they may get Cheney’d if they appear to be blocking too much of Trump’s work. Many Republicans in that chamber are up for re-election in 2026, and if they spend the first two years of Trump’s second term blocking his work.
Not that this will stop all Republican Senators that way inclined. Susan Collins (from Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (from Alaska) were particularly opposed to Trump in his first term, and have already made similar noises this time around. The withdrawal of Matt Gaetz from being the nominee for Attorney-General after meeting with the Republican Senators may already indicate that a number of them will not be too open to working with Trump.
And if there are Congressional Republicans grumbling about Trump’s return to the Oval Office, you can bet that there will be Democrats in Congress who are apoplectic about the matter. They certainly aren’t just going to give in and allow Trump to do whatever he wants simply because he won. They still represent tens of millions of Americans. They will continue to use every level available to frustrate his presidency, as they did the first time around.
So, too, will their other allies, both at other levels of government and in other positions of power. A number of Governors and Mayors are already talking about preventing federal agents from deporting illegal immigrants from their jurisdictions. Other media organisations, journalists and university professors show no signs of understanding what has taken place and seem to want to double down even further, going so far as to leave X for BlueSky, a perceived social media safe space.
Ultimately, even if Congress were to approve of everything Trump wanted to do, and Trump’s other opponents made nice and never raised a fuss, something would change further down the line. Every government is only human, full of people with foibles and who often act in their own interest rather than the interest of others. On top of that, Trump’s alliance is full of humans who don’t necessarily see eye-to-eye on a lot of matters. There’s every reason to think that this time of ‘peace’ won’t last for a long time, and it certainly won’t last forever.
Until the return of our Lord, governments across the world will continue to act in ways good and evil, and those of us in democratic systems will continue to be called upon at election time to correct those who have gone astray and approve those who do the right thing.
But for now, even if just for a moment, the world can breathe again. This part of the journey is over. For a time, we can have peace.
And for that, we can be thankful.
To understand more about why the US presidential election had the result it did, you may want to read Jordan’s prediction, which was written in the days prior to the election. You can do so here.
On Sunday, Hezbollah launched more than 250 rockets, drones, and missiles in one of its largest barrages against Israel since the beginning of the war. Donald Trump has now named almost all his cabinet picks. Many will easily be confirmed, but some will face opposition from Democrats and some tough questions from Republicans. The high cost of housing is a big issue in this year’s election. in some parts of the country, homelessness is soaring. Surfing is often seen as a sport or a hobby yet for some, it’s much more than that. They see riding the waves as a way of life or even a spiritual practice, and a path to deeper connection.
Well, this is kinda scary. The chair of NATO’s military committee, Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, is now warning business leaders to be prepared for a wartime scenario.
President Donald Trump’s latest nominee for surgeon general, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, has sparked a significant controversy among conservatives due to her previous public endorsements of COVID-19 vaccinations and mask mandates.
To her credit, Dr. Nesheiwat has since adjusted her stance as more data became available. She criticized the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for its handling of the vaccine’s rollout and mandates, particularly its impact on children.
Trump’s pick for Surgeon General, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, blasts the CDC to Tucker Carlson in 2022:
“There’s no good reason to have a vaccine that can’t stop disease, can’t stop transmission. On the childhood schedule….This vote was irresponsible and illogical.” pic.twitter.com/YSkBG3xhWQ
— Tucker Carlson Network Fan Account (@TCNetworkFans) November 23, 2024
Despite her recent reversals on these positions, critics argue that these initial missteps reflect poor judgment.
Critics highlight Nesheiwat’s comments during the pandemic, where she strongly endorsed COVID-19 vaccines, masking protocols, and even praised social media censorship of vaccine skeptics.
She championed booster shots and backed policies like double-masking and vaccinating children, citing studies and data from the CDC.
Her public statements emphasized the importance of vaccines in reducing hospitalizations and deaths.
At one point, she even commended Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for censoring “anti-vaccine” content, saying she hoped other platforms would “follow suit.”
Trump’s Surgeon General nominee Dr. Janette Nesheiwat praising Facebook for censoring “anti-vaxx” info & hoping other social networks censor people too.
Her statements on double-masking were particularly contentious, something Fauci would say. Nesheiwat claimed, “Wearing two masks will likely give you more protection—between 15 and 20%.”
Dr. Janette Nesheiwat also advocated for masking children in schools. It should be noted that masking children does affect their childhood development.
Even CNN medical analyst Dr. Lean Wen admits the so-called science she demanded the public comply with has impaired her young son.
“I’m a doctor. Here’s why my kids won’t wear masks this school year,” states the title of Wen’s editorial that was published on Tuesday.
“Masking has harmed our son’s language development, and limiting both kids’ extracurriculars and social interactions would negatively affect their childhood and hinder my and my husband’s ability to work,” Wen admitted.
Here’s Nesheiwat pushing for masks on young kids:
Dr. Janette Nesheiwat supported masking kids in school. DEALBREAKER.
Below is a video compilation of Dr. Nesheiwat’s past comments via “I Meme Therefore I Am.”
I never did what was popular, but what was right. Here is a compilation of videos of Trump’s Surgeon General, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, and her stances during the COVID pandemic.
Dr. Janette Nesheiwat praised Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg for censoring individuals who questioned… pic.twitter.com/yyMW8eDgwE
Prominent voices from the medical and conservative communities have been quick to condemn the nomination.
Dr. Simone Gold, founder of America’s Frontline Doctors and COVID-19 critic, lambasted the pick, saying, “Trump’s pick for Surgeon General, Janette Nesheiwat, praised Facebook for censoring “anti-vaccine” sentiment & wanted other companies to do the same. Silencing those raising legitimate concerns about an experimental vaccine is wrong. Shame on her!”
Dr. Simon Goddek joined the criticism, stating, “She praises Facebook for censoring anti-vaccine information and says she “hopes and prays” that other social media platforms follow suit. This isn’t draining the swamp—it’s empowering it!”
Dr. Mary Talley Bowden, who fought tooth and nail against the COVID shot, also wrote, “The online riot against Doctor Janette is something to behold,” adding, “The worst public health event in our lifetime…. and none of the people picked to lead our public health system have any first-hand experience treating C0VID patients.”
Vocal conservative commentator Viva Frei didn’t mince words either, writing, “I don’t care if Trump’s pick for Surgeon General has apologized, recanted and repented for her positions on masks, the jab, and treatment of children during Covid. What Doctor Janette has said about Covid, facemasks, and the “vaccines” is utterly disqualifying… She should respectfully decline the nomination, and let someone who did not contribute to the Covid crimes against humanity accept the position.”
I don’t care if Trump’s pick for Surgeon General has apologized, recanted and repented for her positions on masks, the jab, and treatment of children during Covid.
What @DoctorJanette has said about Covid, facemasks, and the “vaccines” is utterly disqualifying.
Even charlatan Dr. Peter Hotez, who tirelessly advocated for the experimental shot, celebrated Nesheiwat’s nomination—a fact that some critics see as further evidence of her unsuitability.
Meanwhile, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vocal critic of COVID policies and Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, notably congratulated the other nominees announced alongside Nesheiwat but refrained from endorsing her.
Dr. Nesheiwat’s nomination puts Trump in a delicate position as he seeks to maintain the support of his base while promoting candidates he deems fit for office. Many conservatives are calling for someone who stood firm against “COVID tyranny” from the start.
Independent citizen journalist KanekoaTheGreat listed down the doctors who called out the vaccine at the very start.
During COVID-19, these American doctors demonstrated exceptional courage, intelligence, and critical thinking. They would make excellent reformers for U.S. health agencies:
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya
Dr. Martin Kulldorff
Dr. Scott Atlas
Dr. Peter McCullough
Dr. Robert W. Malone
Dr. Pierre Kory
Dr. Joseph Varon
Dr. Brian Tyson
Dr. Richard Urso
Dr. Harvey Risch
Dr. Paul Marik
Dr. Retsef Levi
Dr. Tess Lawrie
Dr. Joseph Ladapo
Dr. Lynn Fynn
Dr. Ryan Cole
Dr. George Fareed
Dr. Tracy Beth Hoeg
Dr. Aaron Kheriaty
These doctors were correct about the need for focused protection of the vulnerable, such as the sick and elderly. They were also right about keeping schools, churches, and businesses open.
While agencies like the NIH, FDA, and CDC—as well as medical universities—failed to provide early treatment protocols, leaving many COVID patients untreated during the critical early stages, these doctors advocated for accessible and affordable treatments. They recommended commonly used antivirals, antibiotics, anticoagulants, and anti-inflammatories, demonstrating practical solutions and a patient-first approach.
Despite their success in treating thousands of patients, many of these doctors faced severe consequences. Some were penalized by medical boards and health agencies; others were publicly smeared by officials and censored by big tech platforms.
These doctors stood firm, showing integrity and commitment to the Hippocratic Oath, even in the face of significant opposition from the “medical establishment.”
They would be outstanding candidates for leadership roles in the Donald Trump administration as part of Robert Kennedy Jr.’s mission to address the chronic disease epidemic and work toward Making America Healthy Again.
The Gateway Pundit has reached out to Dr. Janette Nesheiwat for a comment.
During his “My Take,” Monday, “Varney & Co.” host Stuart Varney discussed how the media is reacting to Trump’s election win, arguing news outlets like The Washington Post and New York Times have been reduced to “sniping” and “whining” about his Cabinet picks.
STUART VARNEY: The media just doesn’t know what to do. Their candidate lost. Trump won and has now assembled his Cabinet in just 18 days.
How to stop him? How to resist? They have no clue. They are beginning to realize that Trump is going to get his way, and they can’t stop him.
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