A reader had asked me a question, my response focuses on the significance of the spiritual gift of discernment within the church. This gift helps identify and warn against false teachers, which is crucial given the prevalence of false doctrine in the New Testament. A by-product of training one’s self in discernment is that the Christian values the word of God even more. All believers should cultivate discernment, recognizing the balance between vetting teachers and focusing on Jesus.
This discussion highlights the often negative portrayal of Job’s wife, emphasizing her grief after losing everything along with Job. Despite Mrs. Job urging her husband to abandon his faith, my essay calls for a compassionate understanding of her character. It warns against allowing adverse circumstances to weaken our faith, and I encourage women to provide support to their family during trials.
G3 Conference 2020, theme was Worship. EPrata photo
SYNOPSIS:
I talk about Christian conferences, particularly in light of the recent issue of the G3 Conference. While I appreciate the value of some events, I express concern over commercialization and issues undermining spiritual integrity. The tension between organizing a large venue conference and pure ministry remains a critical issue.
Many feel insignificant in their contribution to the Kingdom but can still make a powerful impact through humble service. Each person’s efforts, no matter how small or overlooked, hold value in God’s eyes. Like minor biblical figures who played crucial roles, everyone can honor God through sincere and prayerful actions.
I reflect on the disorder of my digital files while I was reorganizing them, and in so doing re-discovered a commentary I’d forgotten I had. It is by John Phillips called Exploring Genesis. Phillips recounted different reactions to apocalypse, including Jonah, Abraham, and Jesus. In this essay I urge readers to remember the impending apocalypse and to respond as Abraham and Jesus did, with prayer and tears.
I watch Nathan Fillion in his TV show “The Rookie”. It’s about LA’s oldest police rookie on the force, loosely based on a true story of an older man who really had switched careers mid-life and decided to become a beat cop.
In a recent episode, Fillion, playing police officer John Nolan, woke up, stretched, grimaced, and said, “Getting older means waking up every morning wondering, “Why does that hurt?”
He nailed it.
As I age, sleep becomes important proportionately to the amount it becomes elusive. I’ve always been a good sleeper, no issues with insomnia. Even now as I’m older I still sleep well, but now only for 5 1/2 to 6 hours straight. Then I wake up. It’s usually around 3am, and it takes me a while to return to slumberland. Which is irritating because on weekdays I get up at 4:30am.
Everything in our lives, saved or unsaved, is from the Lord. He either allows it or causes it. As a Christian, sleep is a graceful gift from the Lord. He gives us sleep, peace, and rest.
Now, being the Bible, those three words have various meanings. Sleep in the Bible is used sometimes as a euphemism for death, because death for us is not final, our ‘death’ is only sleep until we are resurrected. Sleep can also mean a spiritual torpor. (Romans 11:8). Sleep also means actual 40 winks sleep.
Peace can mean a restful interlude that includes sleep or not, but it also means peace as in cessation from war and enmity against God due to our sin. Rest can mean actual rest as in the 7th day God rested and we do too, or it can also mean a rest from the struggle against sin.
But for now, let’s look at actual 40 winks sleep and rest. There is natural sleep, bad sleep, and good sleep.
Sleep is a natural human function and a good gift from God. He knows our body is temporary, gets tired, and needs sleep to continue to function. So sleep itself is a gift and is neutral. The human side of Jesus got tired, and He slept.
Psalm 4:8,In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For You alone, LORD, have me dwell in safety.
Psalm 127:2, In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat—for He gives sleep to His beloved.
Bad sleep:
Then there is a sleep our mind uses to indulge the body or escape the conscience. Jonah the runaway prophet disobeyed God and ran in the other direction he was told to go. He scurried to Joppa and boarded a boat. He went “down below into the stern of the ship, had lain down, and fallen sound asleep.” (Jonah 1:5b).
Now this is funny to me because I am a small craft mariner. I’d lived on a 37′ sailboat for two years. In Jonah’s storm, the sailors were hurling cargo overboard – so picture the bumps and scrapes of amphorae and trunks being dragged across the deck- the waves were crashing against the boat, the wind was screaming, the sailors were yelling, the sails noisily hoisted and reefed…a lot of noisy activity all around Jonah. Yet he not only slept, but the Bible said he slept soundly. The Hebrews word lists synonyms for soundly as a heavy sleep or a dead sleep.
As a mariner, I wonder HOW he could sleep deeply when all this activity and noise was going on?! We do know his journey to Joppa was full of emotion and stress. Stress and exhaustion can make one tired. Barnes’ Notes mentions this true fact, “Perhaps he had given himself up to sleep, to dull his conscience.” Sleep IS an escape.
In Jonah’s case, the LORD had not given Jonah the sweetness of refreshing sleep, instead He had given the ship a great wind and storm. (Jonah 1:4).
Also, as Ellicott’s Commentary says, “when a resolution is once irrevocably (as we think) taken, conscience ceases to disturb with its wakeful warning, and the restlessness of remorse has not yet arrived.“
So while a deep sleep is a gift from the LORD, our flesh can also give us a deep sleep, but the two are not the same. One is a heavenly gift and the other is a fleshly indulgence. Deep sleep can arise from sloth, avoidance, laziness (Proverbs 19:15), or just lain weakness of the flesh, as we see in this next example.
The Disciples slept in Gethsemane the night of our Lord’s arrest. The Lord Jesus asked Peter, John, and James to stay awake with Him. He said he was greatly distressed, grieved to the point of death and to stay and keep watch with Him. Yet their eyes were heavy and they fell asleep. Jesus returned from his little distance away three times and each time found them slumbering.
And He *came to the disciples and *found them sleeping, and He *said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? 41 Keep watching and praying, so that you do not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak”. (Matthew 26:40-41).
The disciples’ flesh won in this battle.
And then Jesus was arrested and there were no more chances to be with Him! How guilty would you feel if a dear loved one asked you to stay awake and pray with him or her but you fell asleep and then they were taken away, or died?
Jesus told them that they were willing but their flesh was weak. And so it is. We forget just how child-like we are. We forget just how weak we are. We forget just how bound by our flesh we are.
Weird sleep
Several times in the Bible we see that God gave a deep sleep to someone for spiritual purposes. In Genesis 2:21 God gave Adam a deep sleep while he took a rib from the man. In Genesis 15:12 God again caused a deep sleep to come on Abram, when God was making the covenant with him. In 1 Samuel 26:12 the Lord caused a deep sleep to come over King Saul and his men while David crept in and took his water jug and spear.
He often came to the Prophets when they slept to deliver a vision.
Jeremiah 31:25-26, for I will refresh the weary soul and replenish all who are weak.” / At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been most pleasant to me.
I am glad for Jeremiah for his good sleep. For once the Lord had not given him dire visions or terror warnings in his dreams, but instead Jeremiah had received a vision that was actually pleasant. Phew.
Good Sleep
Psalm 3:5 I lie down and sleep; I wake again, for the LORD sustains me.
Proverbs 3:24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you rest, your sleep will be sweet.
Jesus slept on the boat in the storm. The disciples were heaving water overboard as fast as it came in. The wind screamed. The sails flapped wildly. The men were yelling. So finally they woke Jesus up. What a similar but different scene with Jonah on his boat. This was an example of both Jesus’ humanity- the man Jesus was exhausted. And it is also a spiritual picture of his deep, unwavering trust in His Father. This is a sleep of trust in the good gifts of the Father.
When you lay your head down tonight, thank the Lord for making us weak and needing sleep to keep going. Thank Him for the sweetness of an unencumbered sleep. Ask Him, if you are troubled, to give you the gift of an uninterrupted night of rest.
I was watching a Youtube video titled “How North Korea Finally Made It Impossible to Escape“. (also below) NK is the only country in the world where it is impossible to leave. Even moving within the country from province to province is fraught with paperwork, obstacles, and suspicion.
The video is interesting and seems factual. The narrator goes over what happens when someone defects and where they can go if they defect north, west, or south. Options are limited. China and Russia have extradition treaties, so a defector must make it through to Mongolia or Taiwan of they are to be successful. This is extremely difficult. Even more difficult is that Jong Un has closed the border physically and tightened it dramatically, and also digitally. He seeks to be a digital and physical island in the world with no outside contact. In this, he is succeeding.
I was happy to hear that South Korea’s stance is that all Koreans on the peninsula are Koreans, and if a North Korean defected from North Korea to South Korea (more often in the past, see chart below) they would be taken in as a citizen. However, reports are, that the vast climate differences, social differences, and some prejudice from the South Koreans make it difficult for a North Korean to thrive. But at least they are out of the most closed and oppressive country in the world.
in 2023 only 37 people were able to defect from North Korea as opposed to up to 3000 just a decade prior.
Life in North Korea ranges from difficult to daily horrors, if reports that happen to make it out of the country are to be believed, and they should be believed. The three dictators of the nation after the NK-SK split in 1945 Kim Il Sung beginning in 1948, Kim Jong Il, and Kim Jong Un who is dictator now. The current dictator’s regime brutally enforces any breeching of any law. Sentenced people are usually sent to a prison, a euphemism for hard labor camp. In fact, in 2016 an American tourist on an organized tour was alleged to have stolen a propaganda poster, and sentenced to prison on a charge of subversion. Months later he was released back to America in a vegetative state with no explanation. He died shortly after.
In the video the narrator made mention of this terrible situation that occurred a a few years ago but we are just hearing about it now. Two parents were discovered to be in possession of a Bible. They were arrested and imprisoned for life. Their two-year-old child was also imprisoned for life!
It is estimated that between 50,000 and 70,000 North Korean citizens have been imprisoned for ‘being Christians’. An entire family, including a two-year-old child, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2009 simply because a Bible was discovered in their possession. This shocking case highlights the extreme measures taken by the North Korean regime to suppress religious freedom.
According to Wikipedia in North Korea, Religion (2020) 73% no religion (officially an atheist state) 13% Chondoism 12% Shamanism 1.5% Buddhism 0.5% other[Including Christianity, Islam, and Chinese folk religion]
It is encouraging that a Bible had made its way into the country. It is also encouraging that the parents took such a risk in possessing it, they honored Jesus with their life by making the choice for Him rather than their physical life. But the brutality of North Korea’s dictator against a baby reminds one of Herod who killed the children, or Pharaoh who allowed his own people to be killed in all the plagues, famines, and firstborn deaths rather than capitulate the greater Power of God.
As we come off the glow of yesterday’s Easter celebrations, let us remember that our happy family pictures on a grassy lawn in front of a thriving church where we celebrated the resurrection of Christ is something to be treasured and appreciated. The ease with which I drove through three ‘provinces’ (aka counties), walked freely into my church, sang and worshiped without fear of reprisal for me or any of the children in the congregation, is a gift we presently enjoy.
From the Economic Times article: Defectors from North Korea have revealed that the state promotes an ideology called “Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism,” which involves intense study of the teachings of Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il, and Kim Jong Un. While this ideology does not explicitly declare the leaders as gods, they are described as exceptional beings capable of supernatural abilities.
Hadn’t the Pharaohs claimed to be gods? And the Caesars? Wasn’t Herod Agrippa killed and eaten by worms that God had sent because he accepted worship? (Acts 12:22-23). Unless Jong Un repents, the wrath of God abides on him.
A comment on the youtube video’s page also reminded us that China is no friendly act, either:
Also, a reminder that North Korea can only do most of what it does thanks to massive support from China. China sends regular supplies to North Korea, in direct violation of sanctions, to prop up the autocracy. Because the only thing worse to China than the shit happening in North Korea is having no buffer between themselves and an American allied country. Without this critical support, both official, and under the table unofficially, North Korea probably would have collapsed long ago. Or at least they’d be a minor player who would increasingly have little ability to enforce the oppression they have upon their population.
Here is the video I’d watched. And remember to pray for any Christians in North Korea. Praise the thank God for your own ability to easily and freely worship Him here in America.
Can you imagine the pit of despair the Disciples felt on Good Friday? To them it was a hellish and confusing Friday. They were confused, they scattered, Peter even denied Jesus.
Jesus’ separation from the Father while on the cross (Matthew 27:46) is the loneliest and most poignant moment any person ever felt in the history of the universe, bar none.
But the disciples’ sudden and unexpected separation on Friday from their spiritual Father they’d been following so hopefully for three years came upon them cruelly and brutally, throwing them all into states of panic, despair, and spiritual depression. Even though Jesus had told them ahead of time, and even though they had studied the scriptures, they didn’t understand. To them, it wasn’t Good Friday. It was just bad Friday and the seeming end of the long trail of hopes and highs they’d been experiencing for three years with Jesus in discipleship to Him. They did not know as we do, Friday’s here, but Sunday’s coming!
We worship Jesus every day. We worship and praise Jesus collectively in services on Sunday. We exalt Him each year on Resurrection Sunday. We know Him as Resurrected King triumphant over sin and death!
His ultimate moment will be His return, when every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess (Romans 14:11, Philippians 2:10, Isaiah 45:23).
“The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name.” (Zechariah 14:9)
Everyone will know that Jesus is MESSIAH! They will finally know the Resurrected Jesus is the only name. He is all names. He is the beginning and the end!
And it started with the cross on Friday, when it was finished.
I designed this picture to stare at and better ponder its truths. The mental picture of it as I was reading was so vivid before my eyes I had to draw it out.
Initially I drew just the wavy line and the cross. The cross is lifted up, the sole item on the bloody landscape. To view it, all eyes must look UP. The cross of Christ is the only thing has any meaning in the world. When I was an unsaved person I rejected this notion immediately. As a saved person, by the grace of God, I am humbled to kneel and stare at this wonderful, terrible cross.
The line represents not only the hill, for the Son of Man must be lifted up, and it was a hill He died on and a hill he will return to. (Zechariah 14:4).
The line is also the dividing line of all human history. The above and below, the hell and the heaven, the line that divides before Christ’s birth and after Christ’s incarnation and is both the starting point and the ending point of all that is and all that will be.
On the day of His death the sun was darkened. This is only right, for Jesus is the Light of the world.
It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the entire land until [u]the ninth hour, 45because the sun stopped shining; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. (Luke 23:44-45).
“Christ’s victory is the spectacle that holds the attention of the universe.” ~Tony Reinke, Competing Spectacles
Christ’s glory is the spectacle of all spectacles, and its power is most clearly seen in how it equips and motivates and animates our faithful obedience in all other areas of life.
Christ was not merely made a spectacle on the cross, the cross became a shorthand reference for everything glorious about Christ- His work as creator and sustainer of all things, his incarnation, his life, his words, his obedience, his miracles, his shunning, his beatings, his crucifixion, his wrath bearing, his resurrection from the grave, his heavenly ascension, his kingly coronation, and his eternal priesthood- all of his glory subsumed into his heavenly spectacle. ~Tony Reinke, Competing Spectacles
To be able to love Jesus and not hate Him any longer is the joy of my life.
We are going through the book of Mark in our church. Our teaching pastor recently preached on Mark 5:1-20. It’s the incident of the Gadarene Demoniac. The man in the Bible had a Legion of demons in him. A Roman legion had up to 6000 soldiers. The man didn’t necessarily have 6000 demons in him, in fact it’s more likely he had around 2000, but still.
Demons are fallen angels. These are the angels who rebelled against God and followed satan. They are totally depraved, sinful, and out to do as much damage as they can on the earth to all people, but especially to God’s people.
The demons are present on earth always, but seem to have been more highly active in three great waves. They were particularly active around the time of Moses, during the Elijah-Elisha period, and when Jesus walked the earth. In the future, they will be highly active during the prophesied Tribulation period. Demons are also called ‘unclean spirits’.
In the New Testament, we read of the demons and their activity more times than one may remember. It is a big topic, especially in the Gospel of Mark. A demon became agitated when Jesus taught in the synagogue, and the man the demon was inhabiting shouted, “saying, “What business do you have with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are: the Holy One of God!“( Mark 1:24).
The Gadarene legion of demons in the man called out “Jesus, Son of the Most High God.” (Mark 5:7). This title was used by both Jews and Gentiles to distinguish the one true God from the false gods. The titles the demons used to speak to Jesus, Most High God and Holy One of God are acknowledgements from the fallen, unholy angels that they know exactly who Jesus is. Even if the crowds didn’t or even the disciples.
The demons used the highest name for Jesus, they know who He is and how holy He is.
After that incident, Now when evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed. 33And the whole city had gathered at the door. 34And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew who He was. (Mark 1:32-34).
‘all those who were demon-possessed’… ‘cast out many demons’. Hmm, sounds like a plague of demons were abounding. In Mark 3:14-15 there is an important verse, don’t gloss over it when you’re reading:
And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach, 15and to have authority to cast out the demons.
EPrata collage
Jesus appointed them to preach AND to show they had authority over the demons.
That is a key thought. They had authority. So did Paul. (Acts 16:16-18, Acts 19:11-12). This was to authenticate their message. Remember the demon-possessed slave girl? She had a spirit of divination, and she annoyed Paul for many days. He busted that spirit out of her. He “said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very moment.” (Acts 16:16-18).
Do you remember that Jesus appointed 72 to go forth and preach and heal etc? They came back jubilant. Now the seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name!” (Luke 10:17).
The apostles, including Paul, and the 72, had been given authority by Jesus – “The Holy One of God” – to exorcise demons. And they did. Demons were busting out all over the place by those who were given that authority.
Charlatans abound in every era and in every religion. There were false prophets, false healers, and false exorcists. These exorcists roved from town to town, plying their trade. Casting out demons is mentioned in Matthew 12:27; and Mark 9:38.
Copycat exorcists, hoping to profit from the excitement created by Paul’s ministry, sprung up around Ephesus. The book of Acts records that some groups successfully invoked the names of Jesus and Paul in their exorcisms, possibly receiving financial rewards (though this is not mentioned in Acts). Source Lexham Bible Dictionary.
But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to use the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had the evil spirits, saying, “I order you in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches!” Acts 19:13).
Demon deliverance was a thing. Even some who were not believers seem to have been successful at times in getting a demon out. Luke 7:21-23 shows some people pleading with Jesus to allow them into heaven, because they did miracles and works and cast out demons.
Pharaoh’s magicians were able to counterfeit some miracles- up to a point. And in Matthew 24:24 we are warned- For false christs and false prophets will arise and will provide great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Satan and his fallen demons are active and powerful.
EPrata collage
Then the scene narrows in to one particular instance- Now we come to a funny scene.
It seems that there was a Chief Priest named Sceva who had 7 sons. Acutely aware that Paul was earning much notice with the people, these 7 brothers tried to copycat, at least where demons were concerned. These Jewish demon busters tried to get a demon out of a man. The demon inside didn’t budge but then asked the Jewish itinerant exorcists,
But the evil spirit responded and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know of Paul, but who are you?” (Acts 19:15).
Then the demon possessed man leaped on the 7 brothers and beat them up until they left the house howling, bloody, and naked.
The Sons of Sceva tried to cast the demon out but instead the demon cast the Sons of Sceva out!
You might be thinking, ‘one against seven? The odds are in favor of the brothers, aren’t they?’ No. Demons are mighty. They are angels after all, fallen and unholy, but still powerful. An angel is going to stand on the sun (Revelation 19:17). Four angels are going to stand on the 4 corners of the earth and hold back the 4 winds. (Revelation 7:1). The Gadarene demoniac was so strong he broke chains and no one could contain him.
A Christian cannot be demon-possessed. We are sealed with the Holy Spirit. We are given armor of God to protect us, (Ephesians 6:11–17) and we are supposed to resist the devil and he will flee from us. (James 4:7).
So, how are unbelievers successful in casting out demons if they do not have the authority from Jesus nor even belief in Him? Catholics are famous in secular literature for their supposed expertise in exorcisms.
Demons are real. Satan is real. However, Satan is a master trickster and the father of lies (John 8:44; 2 Corinthians 11:14). A demon’s ability to lure gullible human beings into its traps often exceeds our ability to detect the traps (2 Corinthians 2:11; 1 Peter 5:8). If it would serve its purpose to hide within a human body, a demon might do that. Or, if it would serve its purpose to pretend to come out on command, it might do that, too. Satan could very well participate with an unsaved exorcist in order to inflate the exorcist’s pride and boost confidence in his power over evil. Source GotQuestions
I find the topic of demons fascinating. I believe there are demons around today and inhabit unsaved people. We are not so scientifically advanced as to disbelieve the reality of satan and his minions operating on the earth, second heaven, and third heaven. But though it is a legitimate topic of study in Systematic Theology, (see links below), I think that focusing too much on demons will take our eyes off Jesus. Keeping our eyes on him through His word and prayer is the best practice. We will meet the holy angels one day, and we will see the judgment of the unholy angels. What a day that will be.
EPrata photo
Further Resources
“Spiritism” sermon by Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Synopsis- ” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones looks across Scripture to help the listener understand the general activity, as well as the particular operations of evil and malevolent spiritual forces in the world. This sermon on demonology helpfully classifies the outworking of occult activity in its ancient and modern forms.”
The Doctrine of Satan and Demons: Wayne Grudem (outline) The following is an outline from Wayne Grudem for chapter 20 of his book, Systematic Theology, dealing with Satan and Demons. There are three teachings on this chapter located elsewhere on this website.
Angels and Demons– Ligonier Ministry (23 minute video). “If we claim to believe what the Bible teaches, then we must take the existence of angels and demons seriously. In this message, R.C. Sproul turns to the teaching of Scripture on the role of these spirits and the reality of Satan.”
the-end-time.org 