What’s Fueling The “Meltdown”?

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

The big news today is the world wide financial crisis. Some are calling it a “Meltdown”, others call it a recession or a crisis and there are some who dare to call it a full out depression. Regardless of what name you put on it, the financial markets are in some of the worst turmoil ever. People, corporations and governments are losing money faster than ever before.

There’s already been a lot of talk about what caused it however most of it boils down to one word: Greed. What more and more people are asking now however is why doesn’t it stop? What’s keeping it going? The answers to that kind of question are actually pretty easy, as is the solution.

The two main things keeping this crisis going are greed and fear. Greed, in that there are a lot of people who want nothing more than to save their own financial skins and whatever they have to do is ok with them. Plenty of these people are still yet working out ways to profit from all of this.

Fear however is a larger, more widespread reason for what’s going on. Until people decide that they are not going to act on their fears of losing money, they will continue selling and driving the market values downward.

Fear is destructive. Even if there is reason for that fear, allowing yourself to give in to that fear and live and act in it will only result in things getting worse.

1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”

There are two things that can be used to stop the insane roller coaster ride downward: Love and Faith.

Yes, there are fearful things happening and what’s happening in the financial markets is frightening to see, however the solution to fear is in deciding not to act on it. Instead, your actions should be dictated by love. Remember, love isn’t the warm fuzzy feeling that poets and infatuated teens would have us believe. Love is a decision, an action. Love is deciding to put the welfare of others before your own.

To act in love in the financial crisis is to make the decision to not allow fear to control the situation. You should not act blindly in a panic, but with deliberation. If enough people take that advice, the panic selling will stop and the plunging market will stabilize.

The other factor is faith. Faith is also not some mysterious thing that means blind trust. Faith is a decision based on the sure knowledge that God is in control. Knowing that God will provide for and protect His people. When you know that God is on your side and you act on that knowledge, that is faith.

I know that God is looking out for me. I know that He has and will provide for my needs. I know that He will protect me from harm. Because of that, I know that He will not allow this crisis to endanger me or my family and I will base my actions and decisions on that knowledge.

The financial crisis of today is a drop in the bucket compared to what is coming. There will come a day when a day’s worth of food will cost a day’s wages. How can anyone expect to deal with things like that if they don’t have the assurance that God is on their side and providing for them?

Obviously, in order to have that kind of security, you have to know God. You have to be able to say that Jesus is your salvation and that You have accepted that gift from Him. As we move further into these last days many things will only get worse. If you don’t know Jesus then now is the time to accept His gift and get to know Him.

And by the way this is a limited time offer. When Jesus returns the time given to accept this offer will close. That return could literally be any time now. Don’t wait too long.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Feelings, Nothing More Than Feelings

In my last post, “Why Don’t I Feel Any Different?” (Yes, it’s been entirely too long since I’ve posted anything here! That’s changing today), I talked about the very common problem that new believers often have. Namely, that they often don’t feel like anything has changed since they made the decision to accept Jesus.

Since then, I received a comment from a person who was concerned that I was having doubts of some kind about my salvation. This tells me that I need to clarify what I said. I will start by saying that I have zero doubts about the state of my salvation. I invited Jesus into my life when I was nine years old and while I spent a good many years running away from God (You can read my testimony for more details if you like), I have no doubt that His sacrifice on the cross has paid the way for my entry into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of times when new believers confuse feelings with reality when it comes to spiritual issues. Thinking the way the unsaved world does, it’s a natural enough to expect that when you do something, you’re supposed to feel some reaction.

The problem is that in matters of the spirit, how the physical and emotional part of you react and feel doesn’t matter at all. Salvation is not a matter of feelings, it’s a decision. Once you make that decision, you have to ignore and refuse any feelings and doubts because that is the enemy trying to incite you to doubt your decision and walk away from God.

Feelings, thoughts, doubts, temptations are all things that attack each of us every day. However we need to keep in mind the truth of the matter. A new believer needs to tell themselves something like “I don’t care how I feel, I *know* that Jesus is my lord and I am saved”.

Those doubts, feelings and temptations to sin are all attacks. The Bible tells exactly how to deal with them. Don’t give in.

James 4:7, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

So whether you’re a new believer or have been following Jesus for years, there will occasionally be times when you are subjected to temptations to sin. Don’t give in to them. There will be times when you don’t feel like God loves you or that you’re saved. Don’t permit those thoughts to stay in your mind. Instead, refresh yourself in the word and refuse those thoughts planted by the enemy.

Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Why Don’t I Feel Any Different?

That’s a question that a lot of people have after they’ve prayed the sinner’s prayer and accepted Jesus. They wonder why they don’t feel any different because they expected somehow to have some experience that left them changed in some way. Lots of people believe that there should be some kind of physical experience because they’ve heard reports of others who have had (or claimed to have) such things happen to them.

The answer is that salvation and accepting Jesus is not about feelings at all. It’s about knowledge and choices. It’s about knowledge in that in order to be saved you must know and acknowledge the fact that you are a sinner, you have sinned by doing things that you knew were wrong when you did them and that you have not sought or followed God’s will. Then you have to acknowledge that in order to enter into the kingdom of heaven you must be perfect and that you are not even close to perfect. You have to know that the only way that a sinner can get into heaven is because of the sacrifice of Jesus dying on the cross in your place.

It’s about choices in that while God requires perfection and has made a way in Jesus for everyone to be welcome in heaven, He is not going to make the choice for you. God gave humans the ability to choose their own path.

Deuteronomy 30:19, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:”

In that verse God sets before us a choice He recommends one of those choices and then the actual decision is up to each of us.

Once we’ve made the decision, what we have to do is then act on it. A person who accepts Jesus and decides to become a Christian will then need to take time in prayer and studying the Bible in order to learn what God’s will is and then apply that will to their lives. Waiting for a feeling or other experience to somehow confirm that you are in fact saved is a bad idea because while such things do sometimes happen, they are very rare and most people never have them.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

What Is Faith?

Faith. It’s a word that gets used and misused a lot these days. People talk about their faith when in fact they’re actually talking about the religion or denomination that they are born into or choose to follow. That isn’t faith, it’s religion. Faith is something much larger than that and has very little, if anything, to do with “religion”.

A good general definition of faith starts out as “a conviction of the truth of something”. Now take a look at Hebrews 11:1 where the Bible defines faith as God sees it:

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

The Greek word translated ‘faith’ is pistis {pronounced pis’-tis} [strongs number 4102] means ‘belief with the predominate idea of trust or confidence’ which agrees with the general definition that we started out with.

The word ’substance’ in the text is translated form the Greek hypostasis {pronounced hoop-os’-tas-is} [strongs number 5287] and its meaning talks about ‘the thing put under, the substructure, foundation, confidence, firm trust, assurance

Faith is much more than mere believing in God, it is a trust and confidence in God and what He has promised us and made available to us. The writer of Hebrews is not simply saying that faith is what something hoped for is made of, but that faith is the foundation and assurance of that hope.

In modern everyday usage, hope has come to mean something synonymous with ‘wish’, as in ‘I hope I get that raise’ where the person saying it is expressing that they wish that they would get the raise, but that they do not necessarily expect to actually get it.

The Greek word translated ‘hoped’ in this verse is elpizo {pronounced el-pid’-zo} [strongs number 1679] and means ‘to wait with joy and full confidence’ It is derived from elpis {el-epice’} [strongs number 1680] and means ‘to anticipate, usually with pleasure, joyful and confident expectation’

This is the faith that God wants from us. This is the faith without which it is impossible to please God. This is the childlike faith that Jesus taught about and found in so few.

This faith is what makes it possible for a person who is in the depths of spiritual despair to call out to Jesus to accept the gift of salvation that will take away the pain, loneliness and futility from life and restore that person’s soul.

This faith, combined with study of the scripture and prayer, will renew and transform the mind.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

What Is Prophecy?

In these last days there are more and more times when you see the word “Prophecy” used. People use and misuse the word a lot these days, flinging it about like a popular buzzword without really understanding what it means.

Try an experiment, ask ten people what the word “Prophecy” means and it’s very likely that you’ll get several different answers, most of which will be variations on “Prophecy means predicting the future”

While it is true that somebody performing giving a prophecy may be instructed by God to give messages that foretell future events, such things are actually among the smaller (although perhaps more dramatic and exciting sounding) functions of prophecy.

1 Corinthians 14:3 defines for us the functions of prophecy:

“But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort.”

The word edification is translated from the Greek oikodome {pronounced oy-kod-om-ay’} [strongs number 3619] and means building up, promoting growth. This means that one that prophecies is very likely going to be saying things that build up and promote the growth of those they are speaking to.

The word exhortation comes from the Greek word paraklesis {pronounced par-ak’-lay-sis} [strongs number 3874], which means calling near, summons, admonition, encouragement, persuasive discourse. This function of prophecy is when the speaker is calling people to prayer, thought and action. Encouragement is given and the speaker persuades the listeners.

The word comfort is translated from the Greek word paramuthia {pronounced par-am-oo-thee’-ah} [strongs number 3889] and means consolation, comfort. This is things said that are intended to console and comfort those being spoken to.

If you take a look at it, these three things are all functions that any apostle, prophet, pastor, preacher, teacher or evangelist will have. In the course of their jobs, each of these will from time to time speak in all of these modes. What gives it power is that when God is directing the speaker in what to say, there will be a powerful effect on those listening.

People are helped to get over grief, anger, frustration and are given new hope. They’re taught what God’s position is on a particular topic and what His will is for a given situation. They’re encouraged to do the things that they know are right.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Why Do People Fear Things?

Fear is a big thing. These days it seems like people are afraid of more and more things. Afraid of losing a job, getting hurt (physically or emotionally), being rejected, and what seems like an ever growing list of “Phobias” in which people are afraid or even panicked by everything from heights and confined spaces to germs, dirt and crowds or gatherings of people.

The news doesn’t help matters because they’re always much quicker to broadcast things from a sensationalist point of view in which the worst possible aspect of something is presented as if it were the only aspect.

The sad thing is that fear, as in terror and dreading anticipation of an evil outcome, is not a state that God wants us in. As a matter of fact, if you look through the Bible you will find over 80 times when God is telling people things like “fear not”, “have no fear”, “be not afraid”. Jesus even specifically commanded us not to fear, but to love:

John 13:34, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”

The Bible shows that Fear is the opposite of Love:

1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”

Don’t let that word “perfect” scare you. It’s translated from the Greek teleios {pronounced tel’-i-os} [Strongs number 5046] and means brought to its end, finished, wanting nothing necessary to completeness, perfect

This word is talking more about something being complete and in it’s finished form or mature. If you look at this verse again with this in mind, “but mature, complete love casteth out fear”.

The key of course, is in our own choices. All of God’s gifts are right there waiting for us to make the choice to accept both Him and His gifts. The biggest of those gifts is love. If we choose to accept His love then we can lay our fears at the foot of the cross and instead of living in fear, we can live in peace knowing that God really does love us.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Handel’s Messiah

I first heard this as part of the soundtrack in “The Greatest Story Ever Told” as people raced to Jerusalem, proclaiming the miracles that Jesus had done. The Hallelujah chorus is a celebration of the compassion, power, and absolute majesty of Jesus. To this day I find it impossible to hear it without being moved by it’s message.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

What Is A Blessing?

You see several forms of the word all through the Bible. Bless, blessing, blessed. People use it church and when they’re either around other Christians or when talking to someone about God or any Biblically related subject. Even when someone sneezes you’ll often hear at least one “Bless you” or “God Bless you” spoken to the person sneezing.

The question is though, with all this use of the word, how many really know what it means. The answer is: not very many.

Early in Matthew 5, in the portion of scripture referred to as the Beatitudes, Jesus listed nine groups of people and called each of them blessed. The Greek word that’s translated “blessed” in these verses is makarios {pronounced mak-ar’-ee-os} [strongs number 3107], which language references I have checked say means “blessed, happy”.

Not being satisfied with a definition that uses the word being defined, I looked farther and found a reference in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia that clarifies things some… that the word “Blessed” when referring to humans it is being used in the sense of “happy” or “favored,” which makes perfect sense in the context of the Beatitudes.

Other uses of the word Blessed in the New Testament are translated from the Greek eulogeo {pronounced yoo-log-eh’-o} [strongs number 2127] and means to speak well of, thank or invoke a benediction upon, prosper.

Now the phrase “God Bless you” takes on a whole new, powerful meaning. You could look at the meaning of eulogeo and render that phrase “May God speak well of and prosper you”.

It’s also important to remember that God speaking is a powerful thing. If He speaks something, it comes to pass. In Genesis He spoke and there was light. He spoke again and the heavens were formed and so on through the creation story. When God speaks, things happen, His word is powerful and will always accomplish the purpose He speaks it for.

Isaiah 45:23, “I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”

When you think about it, there’s a high degree of awesomeness in this. God speaking well of you and prospering you.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Yisrayl ‘Buffalo Bill’ Hawkins And The End Of The World

I saw the story on GMA this morning about this self proclaimed prophet and his latest declaration that the end of the world will occur on or before Thursday, June 12, 2008 in the form of nuclear war. He and his followers have made extensive preparations for this end and are apparently unshakable in their belief that this is going to happen.

This whole “end of the world” thing pops up every once in a while when somebody predicts that the “end of the world” will occur on this or that date. A lot of people have been talked out of their life savings based on such teachings and more than a few have died as a result of them.

The fact is there’s a serious misconception about the whole “end of the world” thing.

Matthew 24, verse 3 is the beginning of a passage of scripture where Jesus teaches His disciples about things to come.

“And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”

The first thing to note is that the word translated “world” in this verse is the Greek aion {pronunced ahee-ohn’} [Strongs number 165] means an unbroken age, perpetuity of time, eternity, period of time, age.

With that in mind, the phrase “end of the world” is much better translated “end of the age”. It’s not referring to the literal physical destruction of the world. It’s talking about the end of a particular age in history. Specifically, it’s referring to the end of the part of history that extends until the return of Jesus. His return marks the end of the current age and the beginning of the millennium during which He will rule the Earth from His throne in Jerusalem.

Jesus also warned about false prophets and false Christ’s, people that would either come in His name or claim to BE Him. He told them not to believe those claims.

Matthew 24:23, “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.”

He made it clear that His return would be sudden and without warning:

Matthew 24:27, “For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

He also said that nobody would know ahead of time when this would occur:

Matthew 24:36, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.”

So anytime somebody starts making predictions about when the “end of the world” will happen or when Jesus will return, you know that they’re not telling the truth because nobody’s going to know. The very best anyone can do is to read the Bible, pay attention to what’s going on in the world and know the season that we’re living in. Matthew 24 is loaded with such “signs of the times”, things that when you see them happening you know that it’s close.

We cannot however, know exactly when He’s coming back. I believe that the best way to proceed is to live as if He were returning any minute and be about His business so that when He does return, He’ll find you doing what He wants you doing.

Here’s some related reading: World Ending? Who Said? and Jesus and the end of the world.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

What Does It Mean To Humble Yourself?

What Does It Mean To Humble Yourself?

Often, when people see a verse like this one in 1 Peter 5:6,

“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:”

They wonder just what it means to “humble yourself”.

The best answer is to go directly to the source. (Hint, if you don’t have a Strongs concordance or a Bible software package that includes it, it’s VERY much worth the getting.)

Taking a look at the word “Humble” in that verse you’ll see that it’s the Greek word tapeinoo [Strongs number 5013] {pronounced tap-i-no’-o}.

It means to make low, to assign a lower rank or place, to lower, depress, to bring into a humble condition, reduce to meaner (of lesser importance) circumstances

What all these definitions are saying about the word humble is that it means recognizing one’s true place in the scheme of things. It means acknowledging that God is the highest and therefore we must have a lower rank, position, authority, etc. in God’s plan. It does NOT mean that we’re to think of ourselves as worthless, just that we need to remember that WE are NOT the final authority, God is.

For a couple of articles on the subject, check out Humble Pie and The Handy Dandy Screwdriver, a modern parable.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!