Hitler seemed to win the first few rounds by his shrewd timing and deceptive propaganda aimed at the needs and wants of the masses. "Change" he cried - "Change!"
Faithful pastors were dismissed, arrested, imprisoned in harsh concentration camps. Into the empty pulpits stepped "German Christian" ministers -- handpicked puppets of the state, who preached Nazi ideology that replaced Biblical truth with utopian doctrines cloaked in Scriptural promises.
The people who called themselves Christians fit into three categories:
1. those who would rather face death than deny their Lord;
2. those who delighted in the new positive gospel of Nazi Germany; and
3. the complacent masses who couldn't tell the difference between the two.
From the start, one of the main leaders of a secret Christian resistance movement was the esteemed Pastor Martin Niemoller. His God-given wisdom and gentle strength spread hope and courage to the troubled souls that had counted the cost of resistance and could no longer remain silent or turn back.
In the early years of this intensifying spiritual war, God's soldiers seemed to be losing ground. But under God's sovereign hand, their early "defeats" awakened thousands of complacent Christians to the unthinkable Nazi hatred for God and His ways. This deepening awareness led to an underground fellowship that God used to encourage His faithful people to take their stand in Him, hold fast to His Word, draw strength from His Spirit and, if necessary, be ready to die for His name's sake.
Under Pastor Niemoller's leadership, the movement became known as the Confessional Church.
Their beloved pastor was arrested well before World War II began, but his message was multiplied during the dark years of Nazi tyranny through thousands of fellow warriors for Christ.
Today, we do well to remember Pastor Niemoller' sober words ~
"First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionist, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, there was no one left to speak for me."
Monday, October 19, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
The Sign of the Tsunamis
by Alan Kurschner
The sixth seal informs us that there will be this "huge earthquake" accompanied by a cluster of celestial signs:
"Then I looked when the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and a huge earthquake took place; the sun became as black as sackcloth made of hair, and the full moon became blood red;" - Rev 6:11-12 (cf. Isa 13:13)
I don't believe this will be some regional earthquake; instead, it will be a global (pole shift possibly?), since "every mountain" will be moved from its place. Given the magnitude of this earthquake, it makes perfect sense why the Bible suggests tsunami language in two passages on the sign of the Day of the Lord:
"And there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth nations will be in distress, anxious over the roaring of the sea and the surging waves" - Luke 21:25.
Interestingly, the Greek term for "surging waves" (salos) can mean "earthquake." Also, the text indicates that the nations on the earth are not so much distressed and anxious over the celestial signs as they are with the roaring of the sea and surging waves.
The other text is Revelation 6:14, which reads: "and [every] island was moved from its place."
Mere ten foot waves do not accomplish this. No wonder Scripture prophecies that "people will be fainting from fear and from the expectation of what is coming on the world."
This is a sober truth. Do not fall into the Amos syndrome, in which his audience was deceptively self-assured that they were right with God and that the Day of the Lord was for those "other people."
"Woe to those who wish for the day of the LORD! Why do you want the LORD's day of judgment to come? - Amos 5:18
Today is the day for self-examination.
by Alan Kurschner
The sixth seal informs us that there will be this "huge earthquake" accompanied by a cluster of celestial signs:
"Then I looked when the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and a huge earthquake took place; the sun became as black as sackcloth made of hair, and the full moon became blood red;" - Rev 6:11-12 (cf. Isa 13:13)
I don't believe this will be some regional earthquake; instead, it will be a global (pole shift possibly?), since "every mountain" will be moved from its place. Given the magnitude of this earthquake, it makes perfect sense why the Bible suggests tsunami language in two passages on the sign of the Day of the Lord:
"And there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth nations will be in distress, anxious over the roaring of the sea and the surging waves" - Luke 21:25.
Interestingly, the Greek term for "surging waves" (salos) can mean "earthquake." Also, the text indicates that the nations on the earth are not so much distressed and anxious over the celestial signs as they are with the roaring of the sea and surging waves.
The other text is Revelation 6:14, which reads: "and [every] island was moved from its place."
Mere ten foot waves do not accomplish this. No wonder Scripture prophecies that "people will be fainting from fear and from the expectation of what is coming on the world."
This is a sober truth. Do not fall into the Amos syndrome, in which his audience was deceptively self-assured that they were right with God and that the Day of the Lord was for those "other people."
"Woe to those who wish for the day of the LORD! Why do you want the LORD's day of judgment to come? - Amos 5:18
Today is the day for self-examination.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. James 2:17-18
It seems that the only Scripture a Bible-believer knows about good works is that we are not saved by them and that they are virtually insignificant. But James' argument is simple... People act according to their beliefs. He minces no words in describing the specific spiritual actions expected of Christians.
"And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged, each one according to his works." Revelation 20:12-13
Judged by works? You gotta be kidding?
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:16
"I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work." John 9:4
It's getting darker and darker. It's time to get to work
It seems that the only Scripture a Bible-believer knows about good works is that we are not saved by them and that they are virtually insignificant. But James' argument is simple... People act according to their beliefs. He minces no words in describing the specific spiritual actions expected of Christians.
"And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged, each one according to his works." Revelation 20:12-13
Judged by works? You gotta be kidding?
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:16
"I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work." John 9:4
It's getting darker and darker. It's time to get to work
Friday, October 2, 2009
Excerpt from The Strength of God & the Problem of Evil
by Greg Koukl
Let's pretend that you claim to be the strongest person in the world. More than that, you are the strongest person in the universe. You can pick up an entire building. You are so strong that you can pick up an entire city. You are so strong you can pick up an entire country. In fact, if you had a place to stand, you could lift the entire planet, even the solar system. You have so much strength, you can do anything that strength allows you to do. This is your boast to me.
"OK," I say, "let's see if you can prove it." "Just give me any test you want" you respond. "If you are so strong, then make a square circle." "I can't do that." "You're not very strong, are you?"
"This has nothing to do with strength, does it? Because no matter how strong I am, I could never make a square circle, because making a square circle has nothing to do with power. It is a self- contradictory concept, having square circles. They can't be made by anybody regardless of how strong they are. This test is unrelated to the issue of power."
Now, how does this tie into our discussion of the problem of evil? Simply this. God certainly is strong enough to obliterate evil from the earth or to have prevented it in the first place. No question about that. But let me ask you a question. Is it a good thing that God created human beings as free moral creatures, capable of making moral choices? It strikes me that the answer to that is yes. Because God is good--which is one of the things in question here--God created free moral creatures.
But this changes everything, doesn't it? What makes you think that strength has anything to do with God creating a world in which there are genuinely free moral creatures and no possibility of doing wrong?
You see, now we're back to square circles. It's just as ridiculous to ask God to create a world in which we have genuinely free creatures with no possibility to do wrong, as it is to ask Him to create a square circle. The task has nothing to do with His strength. It has to do with the nature of the problem. If you're going to have morally free creatures--that is, human beings that can make moral choices for themselves--and if God is good, then He is going to create creatures that will be truly morally free. But that entails, of necessity, at least the possibility of evil in the world.
This has nothing to do with God's power. It is unrelated to the issue of power just like making square circles is unrelated to the issue of power. It relates to the nature of the good universe that God created, a universe that was populated by beings that were morally free. Morally free creatures by necessity, by definition, have the possibility of going bad.
Now you know why this is not a good argument against the existence of God. It just doesn't apply. One could even argue there's a kind of category error here because in this particular case, according to Christianity, dealing with evil has nothing to do with strength. It has to do with the nature of the game itself.
What's neat about the Christian point of view, is that God did the good thing by creating morally free creatures that went bad, yet still did the loving thing by cleaning up the mess man created in such a way that greater good results. Now that's the result of a Master mind.
by Greg Koukl
Let's pretend that you claim to be the strongest person in the world. More than that, you are the strongest person in the universe. You can pick up an entire building. You are so strong that you can pick up an entire city. You are so strong you can pick up an entire country. In fact, if you had a place to stand, you could lift the entire planet, even the solar system. You have so much strength, you can do anything that strength allows you to do. This is your boast to me.
"OK," I say, "let's see if you can prove it." "Just give me any test you want" you respond. "If you are so strong, then make a square circle." "I can't do that." "You're not very strong, are you?"
"This has nothing to do with strength, does it? Because no matter how strong I am, I could never make a square circle, because making a square circle has nothing to do with power. It is a self- contradictory concept, having square circles. They can't be made by anybody regardless of how strong they are. This test is unrelated to the issue of power."
Now, how does this tie into our discussion of the problem of evil? Simply this. God certainly is strong enough to obliterate evil from the earth or to have prevented it in the first place. No question about that. But let me ask you a question. Is it a good thing that God created human beings as free moral creatures, capable of making moral choices? It strikes me that the answer to that is yes. Because God is good--which is one of the things in question here--God created free moral creatures.
But this changes everything, doesn't it? What makes you think that strength has anything to do with God creating a world in which there are genuinely free moral creatures and no possibility of doing wrong?
You see, now we're back to square circles. It's just as ridiculous to ask God to create a world in which we have genuinely free creatures with no possibility to do wrong, as it is to ask Him to create a square circle. The task has nothing to do with His strength. It has to do with the nature of the problem. If you're going to have morally free creatures--that is, human beings that can make moral choices for themselves--and if God is good, then He is going to create creatures that will be truly morally free. But that entails, of necessity, at least the possibility of evil in the world.
This has nothing to do with God's power. It is unrelated to the issue of power just like making square circles is unrelated to the issue of power. It relates to the nature of the good universe that God created, a universe that was populated by beings that were morally free. Morally free creatures by necessity, by definition, have the possibility of going bad.
Now you know why this is not a good argument against the existence of God. It just doesn't apply. One could even argue there's a kind of category error here because in this particular case, according to Christianity, dealing with evil has nothing to do with strength. It has to do with the nature of the game itself.
What's neat about the Christian point of view, is that God did the good thing by creating morally free creatures that went bad, yet still did the loving thing by cleaning up the mess man created in such a way that greater good results. Now that's the result of a Master mind.
Monday, September 21, 2009
BE ALERT TO THE SIGNS OF OUR TIMES!
"Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near." Revelation 1:2-4
America has been blessed with unusual freedom for more than two centuries. But now -- as multitudes reject God's Word, justify immorality, laugh at evil, and embrace depravity -- the protective walls of justice and integrity are fast eroding. In their place, we see a rising tower of global tyranny.
Americans are no longer safe from the persecution that has tested the faith of Christians through the centuries. In fact, God warns us that the global battle against Biblical Truth will surely intensify. While we don't know His timing, He tells us to be alert -- always ready to follow His way, trust His grace, and demonstrate His strength -- no matter how fierce the foe.
"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." Ephesians 6:12-18
"Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near." Revelation 1:2-4
America has been blessed with unusual freedom for more than two centuries. But now -- as multitudes reject God's Word, justify immorality, laugh at evil, and embrace depravity -- the protective walls of justice and integrity are fast eroding. In their place, we see a rising tower of global tyranny.
Americans are no longer safe from the persecution that has tested the faith of Christians through the centuries. In fact, God warns us that the global battle against Biblical Truth will surely intensify. While we don't know His timing, He tells us to be alert -- always ready to follow His way, trust His grace, and demonstrate His strength -- no matter how fierce the foe.
"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." Ephesians 6:12-18
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Are You Clothed in Jesus?
By: A Fellow Believer
The storms began to hit hard at the end of my first year as a Christian
They took me by surprise.
After a delightful year of learning to know Jesus and discovering the marvelous resources of His Kingdom, I thought I had a handle on the Christian life. Ignorant of spiritual warfare, I didn't guard against the perversity of my flesh (the old human nature) nor against Satan.
Suddenly neither my outward circumstances nor my inner struggles fit my vision of the Christian life.
Disappointment, failure, and loss happens to everyone, but in me they opened the door to doubts and despair.
The questions in my mind reflected the confusion in my heart: If Jesus is my Shepherd, why doesn't He take better care of me? If God is my sovereign King, where is His power to provide strength and peace? If He is my Father, why isn't He gentler with me?
Of course, the problem was me, not God. I just hadn't seen all that He offered me, nor had I applied all that He had shown me. My royal wardrobe hung unused in the closet.
I had pictured both a vertical love-relationship with my LORD (His hand and heart reaching down to me) and a horizontal friendship with Him (walking and working side by side). Both became real and precious to me, but I had missed the very best -- the intimate union in which He joins me to Himself. He remains my LORD and Savior, but we are always together.
Jesus said: "In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you" John 14:20). In other words;
Jesus is in the Father - I am hidden in Jesus - and Jesus is in me.
Thus, whatever touches me must first pass through both the Father and the Son. Not only does Jesus the Christ cover me with Himself, He and I become one. In His garments, I am not only protected, but I am also united with Him.
Are you ready and willing to put on Jesus the Christ?
By: A Fellow Believer
The storms began to hit hard at the end of my first year as a Christian
They took me by surprise.
After a delightful year of learning to know Jesus and discovering the marvelous resources of His Kingdom, I thought I had a handle on the Christian life. Ignorant of spiritual warfare, I didn't guard against the perversity of my flesh (the old human nature) nor against Satan.
Suddenly neither my outward circumstances nor my inner struggles fit my vision of the Christian life.
Disappointment, failure, and loss happens to everyone, but in me they opened the door to doubts and despair.
The questions in my mind reflected the confusion in my heart: If Jesus is my Shepherd, why doesn't He take better care of me? If God is my sovereign King, where is His power to provide strength and peace? If He is my Father, why isn't He gentler with me?
Of course, the problem was me, not God. I just hadn't seen all that He offered me, nor had I applied all that He had shown me. My royal wardrobe hung unused in the closet.
I had pictured both a vertical love-relationship with my LORD (His hand and heart reaching down to me) and a horizontal friendship with Him (walking and working side by side). Both became real and precious to me, but I had missed the very best -- the intimate union in which He joins me to Himself. He remains my LORD and Savior, but we are always together.
Jesus said: "In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you" John 14:20). In other words;
Jesus is in the Father - I am hidden in Jesus - and Jesus is in me.
Thus, whatever touches me must first pass through both the Father and the Son. Not only does Jesus the Christ cover me with Himself, He and I become one. In His garments, I am not only protected, but I am also united with Him.
Are you ready and willing to put on Jesus the Christ?
Monday, September 7, 2009
"Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all. --1 Chronicles 29:11
Evangelism: Man-centered Christianity
by A. W. Tozer
Christianity today is man-centered, not God-centered. God is made to wait patiently, even respectfully, on the whims of men. The image of God currently popular is that of a distracted Father, struggling in heartbroken desperation to get people to accept a Saviour of whom they feel no need and in whom they have very little interest. To persuade these self-sufficient souls to respond to His generous offers God will do almost anything, even using salesmanship methods and talking down to them in the chummiest way imaginable.
This view of things is, of course, a kind of religious romanticism which, while it often uses flattering and sometimes embarrassing terms in praise of God, manages nevertheless to make man the star of the show.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil." Proverbs 3:5-7
Evangelism: Man-centered Christianity
by A. W. Tozer
Christianity today is man-centered, not God-centered. God is made to wait patiently, even respectfully, on the whims of men. The image of God currently popular is that of a distracted Father, struggling in heartbroken desperation to get people to accept a Saviour of whom they feel no need and in whom they have very little interest. To persuade these self-sufficient souls to respond to His generous offers God will do almost anything, even using salesmanship methods and talking down to them in the chummiest way imaginable.
This view of things is, of course, a kind of religious romanticism which, while it often uses flattering and sometimes embarrassing terms in praise of God, manages nevertheless to make man the star of the show.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil." Proverbs 3:5-7
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