Poetry by Kay Cude. Kay Cude is a Texas poet. Used with permission.
The following is the Artist’s Statement.
The credit for the direction of my thoughts and words is not mine. I account it to the merciful pricking of my spirit as well as the instruction available to all of the redeemed through God’s great men of sound Biblical doctrine, unshakable faith, and enduring conviction, past and present.
We know that the redeemed of God through Christ are the beloved, but our hope, desire, and urge to live for His Glory while living in Satan’s economy (which is temporary) is oftentimes exhausting. This war, now heightened and intensified during these end of days, will continue up to the moment we see Christ Jesus face-to-Face. Until then, some of us may wander towards (or in) “a” wilderness that is connected to our trials. Some of us will encounter despondency, loss, or worse. Yet we know and believe that God and Christ are faithful to rescue the redeemed out of those wilderness episodes.
I am so grateful He has purposed them to be instruction that opens our eyes and ears and leads us to repentance and/or greater understanding. It is from there that we can gain purposeful insight and maturity in Him. Surely all of the redeemed agree; for we know that we cannot live without God, nor do we wish to. We need and desire our Saviour to work in our hearts, life-experiences, and circumstances hour-by-hour and day-by-day. This sentiment is deeply indwelt truth that resides within the very core of the spirits of “we,” the redeemed of Christ.
Finally, when any of us go through “wanderings,” and when we “bump” into the profoundly lost or into fellow brethren who are also in the distress of wandering, we want the evidence of God’s drawing us back to Him through instruction, repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation to be the hope and evidence of God’s grace and mercy to rescue “whosoever” to repentance that lead to salvation, or to the redeemed’s restoration to fellowship with the Father and the Son.
May the Lord our God use all “wanderings” as a powerful testimony of how great is the draw of God and how profound Christ’s rescue, for the lost and for the saved.
OK, there’s more than two but I’m talking not about life’s pet peeves, but doctrinal, theological error that seem to gall me more than others. Doctrinal error is a problem and in my portion, there are two particular ones that are upsetting to my heart.
I get upset with women claiming they have these conversations with God. When you do that, you immediately declare the Bible INsufficient for all edification and good works, contrary to what the Bible actually says, which is that it’s perfectly sufficient. (2 Timothy 3:16).
When I come across people who say they have been transported to heaven and back, given tours, spoken with relatives and with Jesus, it is highly upsetting to me. This is doctrinal error and a demonic delusion.
No one has ascended into heaven, except He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. (John 3:13)
Who has ascended to heaven and come down? (Proverbs 30:4a)
Only Paul, John, Isaiah, and Ezekiel were given a view of heaven. Only three of those men wrote about what they saw, with Paul saying it is unlawful for a man to go on about it. Isaiah, Ezekiel and John were given permission to write about what they saw.
Yet all these people claimed to go to heaven and be given personal tours by Jesus or their grandfather or an angel or they just strolled admiring everything. Worship seemed absent in these recountings.
And as for God calling down from heaven to assure some of these women that yes they will be successful in TV, or that they ARE enough, or whisper sweet nothings…it just galls me. Not because I’m “jealous” as critics like to lob, but because it’s unbiblical. Unbiblical things lead people astray. It’s terrible when people go astray because of supposed leaders teaching error. I don’t like it.
So I fixed it.
Left photo from Amazon.com
Left photo from Amazon.com
Left photo from Amazon.com
Left photo from Amazon.com
No I didn’t fix it really, lol. But I wanted to do this so I could make the statement that though the Bible records real heavenly visits and conversations with God, in these days they are not happening and if someone claims otherwise, it’s unbiblical. And, I wanted to offer some biblical resources to help clear up confusion on these issues.
If you have any questions or need more resources, just comment below or send a message from the contact page.
We are looking at a watershed moment. We are seeing it happen in real time. We see who, and we know why. It’s not often we understand that THE turning point is happening when it is happening, but we do today.
A watershed moment is defined:
an event marking a unique or important historical change of course or one on which important developments dependplansponsor.com
a turning point, the exact moment that changes the direction of an activity or situationgrammarist.com
A scandal erupted recently involving some executive higher ups in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and Tom Buck and his wife Jennifer Buck. I won’t go into all the details because others have and they have explained more fully what happened. My indignation is deeply grieved over the details, but is also more universal than that.
Brief recap
In 2018 Pastor Tom Buck’s wife Jennifer wrote up a testimony of what Jesus had done in their marriage 25 years ago when they were newly married. This testimony had been verbally delivered many times to members of their church in counseling sessions and other places. Locals knew of the great work Jesus had done in uniting a drifting couple from years ago, dampening building resentments, and handling anger issues between them. Mighty is He to save…marriages!
The Bucks often lauded Jesus all these years for His intervention and in creating a beautiful picture over time of the Gospel and its power. So in 2018 Jennifer and Tom thought others might be encouraged by their testimony, and Jennifer wrote it up.
Not being a writer per se, Jennifer contacted someone in the literary world known for her writing and editing skills, and that person was asked to review the testimony and share constructive criticism with Jennifer so she could make a final draft. This person was the sole possessor of the draft and the person was told it should remain that way until it was finalized.
The chosen editor was in a bad car accident and dropped out of public life for a while to recover. Jennifer’s writing project stalled and stayed on the back burner, almost forgotten … until this month.
“Somehow” the draft resurfaced, was passed around to executives and higher ups in the SBC, gossiped about, and maliciously used as a weapon to try and discredit Tom (an outspoken critic of the leftward drift of the SBC). It had been published without her permission, the early draft that contained information that in the end, Jennifer did not want made public…but “somehow”, it was.
Questions to ponder
Whether the draft was consciously and knowingly held for 4 years because opponents recognized its value as a weapon, (?) or whether it was rediscovered recently and consciously and knowingly used as a weapon, (?) the fact remains, it was used as a weapon. It was circulated without permission, it was used to discredit a brother and a pastor in the faith, and it was used to embarrass a married couple in the faith.
Here is the watershed moment that upsets me so greatly:
EPrata photo
THE CHOICE
Someone or Someones held that draft in their hand. They looked at it, with the author’s emotions laid on the page, her raw feelings poured out and her heart opened bare. All for the cause of Christ and to extol Him who saves souls and restores marriages. The Someone or Someones had a CHOICE.
They could choose to use the draft for the glory of Jesus’ name, its original intent, or they could use it in a gross political game to push forward a fleshly agenda and in the process deliberately hurt or even destroy a brother and sister. They could have called up Jennifer and helped her finalize the draft and happily publish it to the edification of many in their own denomination, or they could darkly connive to use it in a way that did the most damage to someone they disliked. They could glorify God, or they could exalt themselves.
You know what they chose.
Now, these are people who lead a denomination. They are people who help others lead the denomination. The denomination was founded for the name of Christ and all its doings are supposed to be for the glory of Christ. Yet, they chose sin, not Christ.
They chose sin. Publicly, unquestionably, shamelessly. Are these the sort of people you want leading you, representing you?
NO.
That brings us to the fifth way God is glorified, which is not in parts, but in the whole of our lives. Just as God’s own glory is the fullness of His being, so must our response of glorifying Him be found not in limited actions but in the whole fabric of our lives. “We may think that God wants actions of a certain kind, but God wants people of a certain sort,” C.S. Lewis wrote. In other words, we glorify God by consecrating the whole of our lives—every hour, every relationship, every conversation, every possession, every endeavor, with faith and repentance, starting and stumbling and beginning ever anew—to Him. “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31, emphasis added). ~Source TableTalk Magazine
DEAD
What ‘sort of people’ are these, anyway? Dead. Too harsh? We’ll see.
He who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, and yet you are dead. (Revelation 3:1)
The SBC had a reputation for a long time of being ‘people of the Book.’ Of being stalwart in their pursuit of God, of being conservative, of aligning with the Bible in all its precepts. At times there was even a whiff of smug satisfaction that those other denominations were drifting, becoming liberal, but the SBC remains the lone city on a hill shining its beacon abroad. Hm.
Yet at some point, the loose conglomeration of people in this organization, and I won’t even call it a denomination anymore (for I fear it has nothing to do with Christ, at its highest, decision-making levels), became infected with rot. Trees suffer from something arborists call heart-rot, and it’s apt. The reputation went on in front of the SBC, its deeds became known so they seemed to be alive, BUT ARE DEAD.
Too harsh? Well the church at Sardis was told otherwise in Revelation 3. It IS possible for a church to seem to be thriving, active, and performing many deeds, but inside the heart-rot was killing it all along. It happened to Sardis. In my opinion it happened to the SBC.
One characteristic of their death is that they have forgotten what they were in better and happier times, and therefore need the exhortation, ‘Remember how thou hast received and didst hear.’ They have fallen so far that the height on which they once stood is out of their sight, and they are content to lie on the muddy flat at its base. No stings from conscious decline disturb them. They are too far gone for that. The same round of formal Christian service which marked their decline from their brethren hid it from themselves. ~Source McLaren’s Expositions of Revelation 3:1
Someone or Someones held a document in their hand. It could exalt the name of Christ, or it could be used to try and destroy brethren. You know what they chose. Now they are lying in a muddy pigpen at the base of a mountain whose apex they can no longer see. And worst of all, they seem happy there.
For nothing is concealed that will not become evident, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. Luke 8:17
Our loving God gave us the grace to follow Him. I sincerely pray you have praised Him for that grace. The best way to see through counterfeit gospels, gods, doctrines, activities, and commandments, are to know the real ones through and through. Read the Bible each day, practice memorizing scriptures. Pray deeply in your walk with the Lord, not just quickie hello prayers or “I want” prayers seeking things from Him, but giving Him your worship and devotion. Seek His face. If you possess the REAL Spirit, sealed inside you, not the fake belief that leads to destruction in the Lake of Fire, you will be able to spot the counterfeit when it comes along. And it will!
“The Indonesian Ayam Cemani chicken, with its unrelenting darkness, is one of the world’s most fascinating chicken breeds. Its feathers are black, but so is its skin, muscles, bones, and organs!” Source in caption.
God is amazing. His creation is beautiful and even more amazing, it’s temporary. He will burn it up in a fervent heat, and make all things anew. I wonder what the NEXT world will be like! Paul said even glimpsing the current third heaven was inexpressible. Isaiah saw gems and jewels and creatures up there he could barely comprehend. John too! God’s intellect is bigger than the universe and His mind’s depths are unfathomable. I am grateful that He was mindful of me! And saved my polluted, sinful soul and is transforming it into a thing of beauty.
Fellow Christians, as the Church Age draws to a close, the anger, mocking and scoffing grows. On internet chat boards, forums, blogs, and e-mails, the unsaved do rail and rebel in unloving and unforgiving manner. In real life, they mock and sneer, scorning our beliefs. Oppression, ridicule and persecution grows. Even witnessing to family members can be heart-breaking, as the most polite response is usually simply a deafening silence and at worst, rifts grow.
All this can bring a Christian down. It can cause one to despair and stumble, as we wonder if the tears that Jesus wipes from our face will be falling in grief because our loved ones are absent in glory.
Remember, Jesus knows this would be the circumstance in the end of days. He inspired Jude to write these words, as comforting to the church then as to us now:
A call to persevere
But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, in Jude 1:18-23, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.“
These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; snatch others from the fire and save them; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh. Jude 1:18-23
Doxology To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. (Jude 1:17-25)
Witness in love, pray for the lost, and persevere dear Brother and Sister. For He is able to keep us from falling, He is the most Worthy One to whom we shall be presented in due time and in great joy. Until then, “to others show mercy.”
Lois and Eunice were Timothy’s mom and grandmom. They were lauded for teaching Timothy the Jewish scriptures well, and raising him as an obedient son of God. He was ready for the Gospel message when it came. We know where that ended up! Timothy became a pastor.
What if Lois and Eunice said one day “We believe in the passion, purpose, and potential of every woman everywhere. Let’s start a guild to activate every woman to make an impact in her world for the Kingdom”. And, what if, forsaking teaching the boy, Lois and Eunice cast their eyes on the wider world, abandoned their sphere of influence at home and instead struck off to focus on women everywhere ‘make an impact’? No Timothy, true son of Paul and pastor to many. The Lord developed spheres of influence and roles for each demographic, including women for a reason. The Lord puts us where we are for a reason.
I recommend John Owen’s works. Admittedly, his writing is dense and difficult, being 350 years old. However, there are many helps available to aid understanding of his writing, many notes and modern language updates. Here is one from Meet the Puritans. It is very much worth it to pursue a study of Owen’s monumental books.
Here is Texas Poet Kay Cude with her thoughts sprung from Owen’s work Mortification of Sin. Used with permission. Right-click to open larger in new tab.
I came to the Lord sometime between December 10, 2003 and January 1, 2004. There were many reasons for my accepting the Truth, (besides the fact that it is the LORD who opens eyes and hearts) but one of them was a long-time curiosity with how the world got started and a dissatisfaction with the secular answer of evolution, Big Bang, and simple chance. During this time of my peak curiosity, I was fortunate to be able to travel the world for ten years. I saw many sunsets, the majestic Alps, active volcanoes, the Northern Lights, myriad exotic animals, the ocean at peace and in turmoil, and I would think, ‘there HAS to be more to it than a Bang…this is all so beautiful and delicately complex.’ In this, the scripture in Romans 1:20 comes into play, “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:” Eventually, I clearly saw, and I understood. More important, I believed.
The elephant in the room is: Why did the SBC allow Beth Moore to preach, usurp, & be so divisive?
In 2019 John MacArthur hosted the Truth Matters conference at Grace Community Church. 2019 marked the 50th year he has been pastoring and teaching at that same church, a remarkable achievement for which we have the Holy Spirit to thank.
At the conference there was a Question and Answer session, as there usually is at these things. Todd Friel of Wretched Radio moderated. He explained at one point near the end he was going to have the men on the panel enter a sort of lightning round, requesting one or two word answers to the names Friel would utter.
the-end-time.org 