Poetry by Kay Cude. Used with permission. Right click on image to open larger in new tab. Or read the text below. Artist’s statement:
I keep returning to our (me!!) needing to “remember” God’s promises and provision. GOD THE I AM is the only fortress in Whom we find a righteous protector, defender and provider. He is the only place of eternal refuge from the world’s continuing tragedies and chaos. He is the stronghold Who is and Who will provide peace, wisdom, understanding, instruction and endurance.
FACING FEAR: IN THE MIDST OF GOD’S PROVIDENCE As waves of fear rolled nearer still, as deep its swell approached us nigh; our hearts near failed as we cried out, “O Lord, Your servants rescue now!” And crashed the waves of terror strong, our lives at risk — we knew death’s tide; yet stilled our hearts Your Glorious Word and on we clung and Truth prevailed.
As deep and dark, as depth of brine, we battled ‘gainst the foe’s onslaught; its torrents fierce as bounding main, — with cruelest rage this foe can slay. Yet in Your Will, O Saviour ours, Salvation’s Light’s our mighty Ark; afloat we stay midst evil’s gale, for You prevail within its rage.
Afloat we ride with knowledge sure, we look ahead with strength not ours; Endurance meets us Face-to-face, ’tis You our Strength our sure Bulwark, The fears we face — our spirit’s gain, makes strong we resolute of heart, to live God’s Will through providence — and triumph through His Will’s Intent. ~kay cude, October 1, 2017
OUR FORTRESS PREVAILS Refer to Psalm 46. FEAR NOT, GOD IS OUR ETERNAL REFUGE AND STRENGTH. “We will not fear, for God hath willed His Truth to triumph through us; The body they may kill. God’s Truth abideth still, His Kingdom is FOREVER.” ~Martin Luther
IT IS the grace of God through His unfathomable mercy through the power of His predetermined love that urges us to remain and stand in His will concerning providence! WHAT THEN
IS IT that assails our thoughts with such unrelenting vengeance that can tempt us into overbearing fear when trials overtake us?
IT IS not remembering His Word — that He is Sovereign over all circumstances and issues we will encounter during our lives, during our service to, for and through Him…
Allie Beth Stuckey published a book that’s out this week, called Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion. The book is making waves and causing a hearty discussion on social media.
That’s good. Stuckey explores the concepts of the current cultural mantras, “love is love”, “trans women are women”, “abortion is health care”, “social justice is justice”, and pointedly, that empathy is not always empathy. Love, justice, empathy are good words, but they can and are appropriated by bad people who use those words to manipulate the people around them, especially Christians. Stuckey wrote in her introduction,
But empathy alone is a terrible guide. It may be part of what inspires us to do good, but it’s just an emotion and, like all emotions, is highly susceptible to manipulation. That’s exactly what’s happening today. Empathy has been hijacked for the purpose of conforming well-intentioned people to particular political agendas. Specifically, it’s been co-opted by the progressive wing of American society to convince people that the progressive position is exclusively the one of kindness and morality. I call it toxic empathy. Source: page xii)
Of course the culture will push back on a Christian re-redefining the words that the progressives have appropriated and redefined. Here we see one reaction-
Mason Mennenga@masonmennenga wrote on Twitter, “if you think empathy is toxic then you’re going to hate this guy named jesus christ“.
According to our own understanding of the word ’empathy’, of course the guy is right. But then again, this is a situation that calls for thought, not knee-jerk reactions such as “Yeah!” then press ‘like’.
The ever wise Ron Henzel @ronhenzel replied to Mennenga, (≠ means ‘does not equal’):
“toxic substance” ≠ “all substances are toxic” “toxic waste” ≠ “all waste is toxic” “toxic relationships” ≠ “all relationships are toxic” “toxic empathy” ≠ “all empathy is toxic“
We must, MUST think things through. Christians are a thinking people, (Philippians 4:8). As Stuckey said, emotions can be manipulated.
Emotions are a part of life. But I bring this to your attention…what were the first emotions seen in the Bible? Shame, guilt, blame. Genesis 3. Satan manipulated Eve’s curiosity into a temptation and we know what happened from there.
Of ‘toxic empathy’, the American writer Flannery O’Connor said,
“If other ages felt less, they saw more, even though they saw with the blind, prophetical, unsentimental eye of faith. In the absence of this faith now, we govern by tenderness. It is a tenderness which, long cut off from the person of Christ, is wrapped in theory. When tenderness is detached from the source of tenderness, its logical outcome is terror. It ends in forced-labor camps and in the fumes of the gas chamber.”
AI explains the quote-
This quote, by Flannery O’Connor, argues that modern society, lacking a strong religious faith, governs itself through a detached “tenderness” that, without the grounding of Christ, ultimately leads to horrific consequences like violence and oppression, symbolized by the gas chambers of concentration camps.
And haven’t we seen that? “Love thy neighbor” was the covid-flu mantra pressuring the populace to ingest untested or unwieldy vaccinations, to close down society against common sense, and to become isolated robots. What happened was the elderly were left to die alone and society’s children were impacted negatively for a generation to come. That’s just one example of how progressives used toxic empathy against the people in their society.
Moving away from toxic empathy to examining toxic zeal, Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached a 2 part series on true zeal versus false zeal.
There IS such a thing as false zeal. False Christians who seem so zealous for God are actually not zealous for God. It’s a manufactured zeal cloaking their zeal for themselves, or for satan. See this verse-
Brothers, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation. For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. (Romans 10:1-2).
By this verse we see there is such a thing as a zeal that is not of God. There can be zeal, or fervor, or energy around religious things, but not according to what we know from the Bible. AKA knowledge.
Zeal: great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective. Synonyms: passion, fervor, enthusiasm.
They went across the world to make one proselyte, but wound up making him twice the sons of hell they were. (Matthew 23:15). That verse is the example of zeal without knowledge. You can be passionate, you can be busy making disciples, but a false zeal will make disciples who miss the mark completely and will wind up in hell as a son of hell. Zeal, no knowledge.
Beth Moore has been consistently described through the years as “energetic”, “charismatic”, “passionate”. She puts out an energy as zealous for God. But because we know she is a false teacher, her zeal is without knowledge. She is full of emotion but lacks the tether to the Rock via faith.
Question: Can you encourage teachers and preachers, especially in this season when it is hard to speak truth and there is a lot of destructive forces that are trying to take down teachers and preachers?
Answer: “Keep asking the Lord to give you fire in your bones, to teach and preach and communicate the Scriptures so that you can’t keep it to yourself. Ask him for it when it wanes, and it’s going to wane…Nobody just keeps that naturally on their own.“
It’s love for scripture, love for Jesus, that drives the Christian to search the scriptures and then the scriptures fire up that proper zeal.
“Is My word not like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock?” (Jeremiah 23:29).
You get a ‘fire in the bones’ when you open up the scriptures!
And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?(Luke 24:32).
But Moore said it is important that “we’re not just going to the scriptures to prepare a lesson.“
To be fair, she was talking of the teacher having a right relationship with Jesus as one prepares the lesson. I can intuit that she means not apathetic, in prayerful humility, regular church goer, etc But she didn’t say those things. She just muddily talked of the overflow (whatever that means). Consulting the scriptures is primary. But for the false zealer, it’s secondary. Emotions tops the list.
I was struck by what she said and what she did NOT say. Any thinking Christian must think of both- what is said and what is not said. Moore did not say it was crucial for the leader to pray for perseverance in staying in right doctrine. To ask for moral righteousness. Begging to rightly divide the scriptures. Her reply focused on emotion. ‘Fire in the bones’ (whatever that means) was most important to her because, as we know, she is driven by emotion. Zeal misapplied is false. Zeal untethered from the Rock will lead you nowhere good.
False teachers appear to be doing a religious effort, they look like they are on the right track, and part of that appearance is because of their fervent energy.
The Bible says that satan and his demons masquerade as angels of light. That means behavior, outward appearance. The thinking Christian must look deeper.
Do not fall for toxic empathy. Do not mistake toxic zeal for righteous fervor. Above, all, THINK!
Here in this article What do you think about emotional sensationalism in the modern church? Stephen Nichols of Ligonier says there are valid emotions, but “especially in the American church, we seem to be very susceptible to this. There is a difference between emotion and emotionalism.”
I often take stock. Taking stock is something we do ‘to review or make an overall assessment of a particular situation, typically as a prelude to making a decision‘ as it’s defined.
Sometimes the process is called “personal inventory,” when we go through some self-examination to reflect on one’s thoughts, actions, motivations, and other aspects of yourself. In other words, How’m I doing in life?
People go through a spiritual accounting as well. I used to do that before I was saved, and of course, after I was saved too. But though the process is the same, the outcome is totally different.
The main difference is the pronoun. Before salvation if one takes stock, every item in the spiritual inventory will begin with “I”, as in I did this or I did that. Afterwards, it focuses on “You” as in Jesus, the Redeemer. Let’s take a look at some examples from scripture.
The Rich Young Ruler. First of all, notice his emphasis even in the beginning, his question focused on himself:
“Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 18:18). Jesus answered, referencing the Commandments, and the Rich Young Ruler replied, And he said, “All these things I have kept since my youth.” (Luke 18:21).
EPrata photo
His was a spiritual accounting that was of no account.
Of course, we are all familiar with the Pharisees, Scribes, and Sadducees. Let’s review the Pharisee at the Temple.
The Pharisee stood and began praying this in regard to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, crooked, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ (Luke 18:11-12)
Did you notice the verse in the NASB says the Pharisee prayed in regard to himself? The focus (and the pronoun) is I-I-I.
Saul before he was Paul, prior to salvation, thought he was earning his way to heaven with all his spiritual deeds,
If anyone else thinks he is confident in the flesh, I have more reason: circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless. (Philippians 3:4-6).
Before salvation it was all about him, wasn’t it? But Paul found out different, didn’t he? His spiritual accounting was based on wind.
For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; (Isaiah 64:6).
Boasting in one’s self displeases God, but relying on God does please Him.
Job’s spiritual accounting changed from the beginning of the book to the end, where Job, though spoken of as a righteous man by God, finally acknowledged his inadequacy.
Therefore I retract, And I repent, sitting on dust and ashes. (Job 42:6).
Humility. Focus is on God. Not self.
The Tax Collector near the Pharisee who was boasting in himself, had a total focus on God and a right view of himself. He knew he was a sinner, he knew he was unworthy.
But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to raise his eyes toward heaven, but was beating his chest, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!‘ (Luke 18:13).
In all of Paul’s post-conversion pleadings, his repentance and please were bundled into one word, CHRIST.
In our repentance, in our prayers, when we take stock or do a spiritual accounting, let us (me) be focused on our Good Savior, the only good, the only worthy, the only One who can receive our prayer AND do something about it- Jesus, The Trinitarian Godhead persons who delight in humility and penitence.
Oxford Dictionary defines bragging or boasting as excessively proud and self-satisfied talk about one’s achievements, possessions, or abilities.
Boasting is part of growing up. ‘My dad can beat your dad’ is often heard on the playground. So is ‘I can run faster than you- let’s race.’ And the ever popular ‘I win!’
Developmental psychologists say kids boast because “After age 7, children develop a new cognitive ability to think of themselves as having enduring traits and abilities…” Excited about this new understanding of themselves, children “want to talk about them and have others notice — which is what leads to that bragging.” (Source).
Children need to be taught how to be humble.
Why? Because bragging or boasting is based on pride. People brag to be liked or admired, because they want to feed their ego, or because they have low self-esteem and try to puff themselves up in the eyes of others. When we grow to an adult, if it hasn’t been educated out of us, as much as people still possess a tendency to tend to brag, we equally hate it when others boast.
I wrote recently that Christianity is an upside down, unexpected religion. “The path to eternal life is narrow, as opposed to the broad path to destruction. The first shall be last. The last shall be first. Humble yourself and you will be exalted, but exalt yourself and you will be humbled. Love your enemy, do not hate your enemy.”
Boasting is another of those upside down lifestyle choices we are to master in our walk.
Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:31, “so that, just as it is written: “LET THE ONE WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”
My soul boasts in the LORD; let the oppressed hear and rejoice. (Psalm 34:2).
We’re allowed to boast, but not of ourselves. Not of our accomplishments. Not of our possessions. Not of our works- If Abraham was indeed justified by works, he had something to boast about, but not before God (Romans 4:2).
In the Bible, the word for boast “to praise”; kaucháomai, “to vaunt oneself,” is used in the Bible in both in a good and a bad sense. When it is boasting of God, it is in the good sense. When it is of ourselves, it is in the bad sense, self-righteousness (Ephesians 2:9; Romans 2:17, 23).
Lord forgive me, I still boast! Why do I boast of myself when I am a worm in the dust, and the only ‘good’ in me is Christ, who is worthy to boast of? Paul because he did so many amazing things that are out of the realm of my conception, but I do feel kinship with him in this verse
For I do not understand what I am doing; for I am not practicing what I want to do, but I do the very thing I hate. (Romans 7:15)
Barnes’ Notes on the Bible explains the 1 Corinthians 1:31 verse, As it is written – This is evidently a quotation made from Jeremiah 9:23-24. It is not made literally; but the apostle has “condensed” the sense of the prophet into a few words, and has retained essentially his idea.
hat the design of the plan of salvation is to exalt God in view of the mind.
(2) that the design is to make us humble; and this is the design also of all his works no less than of the plan of salvation. All just views of the creation tend to produce true humility.
(3) it is an evidence of piety when we are thus disposed to exalt God, and to be humble. It shows that the heart is changed; and that we are truly disposed to honor him.
(4) we may rejoice in God. We have no strength, and no righteousness of which to boast; but we may rejoice in him. He is full of goodness and mercy. He is able to save us. He can redeem us out of the hand of all our enemies. And when we are conscious that we are poor, and feeble, and helpless; when oppressed with a sense of sin, we may rejoice in him as our God; and exult in him as our Saviour and Redeemer. True piety will delight to come and lay everything at his feet; and whatever may be our rank, or talent, or learning, we shall rejoice to come with the temper of the humblest child of poverty, and sorrow, and lack, and to say, “not unto us, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake,” Psalm 115:1.
O, that I would do better in the boasting – and boast rightly of Him. As Isaac Watts wrote in his hymn, “Immortal honours to thy sovereign name.”
Jesus is the only Person in the Universe who is proper to boast in, not ourselves, not our things, achievements, or deeds. Glories manifold to you, O King, for ever and ever!
Believers, if you have been faithful and your persevering walk is evidence of that faith, you will be given a pass into eternal glory upon which the Lord of Hosts, the Ancient of Days, the Holy-Holy-Holy Lord has written upon it Himself, personally for just YOU!
“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.” (Revelation 2:17)
“But there’s an interesting little historical note, when a victor won in the games, whatever great games were being held, it was not uncommon for the victor to be given as part of his prize a white stone. And the white stone was his admission pass into the festival that was held following the games for all the victors. Could it be that the overcomer will receive the ticket to the eternal victory in heaven?”
Commentary on that verse from John MacArthur:
“And then He says, “And a new name written on the stone,” and I read where they would do that. They would give the victor, like a trophy, a stone with his name and he alone could use it as his pass. “A new name written on the stone which no one knows, but he who receives it.” I can’t tell you how many people have asked me…what is that name?”
“A lady will come to me any time I preach on the book of Revelation and say, “What is the name that no man knows?” Folks, I don’t know what the name is. If I knew what the name was then this verse couldn’t say what it says, it would have to say, “And no one knows except John MacArthur.”
“The only one who knows what it says is the person who receives it, that’s how personal it is. What it is to me is some kind of personal message from Christ to the one He loves which is given as an admission pass into eternal glory. I’ll know mine and you’ll know yours and we’ll know the Lord wrote them for each of us and for none of the others of us.” (source)
It is huge to think of the precious Savior not only saving me, not only guiding and protecting me, not only providing for me, but when He brings me to glory (amazing!) He gives me a personal message just for me, out of the millions thronging there!
Friend, if you have ever been picked last, if you have ever had unwanted divorce thrust upon you, if you have ever been fired from a job, marginalized at home, or left in any feeling invisible and unwanted, THIS should pick you up. A secret message/name is waiting for you, just for you, with the Savior’s love and care personally imprinting it and gracefully extending it to you in heaven. What a day that will be!!!!!!!
On the Mount of Olives, Jesus sat with his disciples and answered their questions about the end of the age and the signs of His second coming. He answered in specific detail in Matthew 24 and 25, also Mark 13 and Luke 21. It is the longest answer He gave to any question the disciples asked.
The verses in Mt 24:3-6 read: “Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.“
These signs are warnings to allow the Spirit to give birth to the faith within. A parallel reference to Matthew 24:6 is given as Romans 10:17: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”
He speaks through His word (the Bible) and He shows himself through the creation.
I am reminded of Paul’s warning in Romans 1:18, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,”
They suppress the truth. What is that truth? That truth is that God exists, He created everything, thus, He is Authority over the earth and its inhabitants, and as the Authority and Creator, He will judge our lives. The other truth is, that we are ALL sinners due wrath from God. They suppress that!
When I saw the devastation in TN, North Carolina, and southern Georgia, it shocked me. Whole towns wiped away. Cities like Asheville and Augusta, extremely damaged. You’ve seen the pictures and video. Shocking and heartbreaking.
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (Matthew 3:7)
There is wrath to come.
Jesus said in His Olivet Discourse as to the end of the end of days, it will be the worst time on earth there ever was or ever will be. Famine, earthquakes. Never mind towns, whole islands will flee away. Hawaii- gone. Malta, gone, Elba, gone England, gone. Floods, tsunamis, volcanoes. It will be like the North Carolina floods happening but also everywhere else all the disasters are happening too! At once, and/or in rapid succession. Just as one devastation happens, another occurs.
The one who believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (John 3:36)
In fact, the purpose not only is to demonstrate God’s wrath for sin and to punish Israel, but to UNcreate the earth before God restores it to its near-pre-Eden condition and then remake it totally. The recent hurricane was monstrous in size and its path of devastation was horrendous. The Tribulation will be worse.
Please listen to what Jesus is telling us in His word. He loves the world. He wants your sins to be forgiven so He may embrace you as friend on Judgment Day (1 Timothy 2:4), and not cast you alive into the Lake of Fire as an enemy. The difference between friend of God and enemy of God is a personal recognition of our own sins, and repenting and asking Jesus to forgive them. He is already the Lord of your life- this life AND the next one. Repenting makes Him your Savior. Saving from what? The wrath.
You do NOT want to be here during the coming Tribulation. Repent while it is still day. Before you are hardened in your sin, before you draw your last breath. Jesus forgives and He saves!
There was a woman taking out trash in the early pre-dawn who was hit by an illegal alien. His car knocked out of her socks and her body was a hundred feet from her trash can. The DA decided not to press charges.
We read stories like this all the time these days. I’ve mentioned several times recently that we are living in a culture of death. That culture will climax in the moment when all the world rejoices that the Two Witnesses of the Tribulation are killed and lay putrefying in the street. They celebrate their deaths by giving gifts. As opposed to Christmas when we celebrate the life of Jesus birthed on earth in the flesh to live among us.
The dignity of life is nothing these days. The fact that humans are made in the image of God means nothing to an increasing amount of people.
We have become inured to death. There have been over 63Million abortions since it was legalized in 1973. Abortion is death. It kills a human being.
Movies and televisions shows today routinely show death, and as a culture, we are fascinated with seeing death, watching serial killers, true crime, and horror movies. Even TV show title covers and movie posters are literally dark.
I watch the Aussie TV show City Homicide which started in 2007. They begin every episode with this title card:
In today’s real world, there seems to be rare honor in preserving life, caring about life, bringing justice to a life cut short. Oh, I know it exists, but increasingly what we see in the news is that the loss of a human life just doesn’t have the same punch for people. Children raised on vicious and violent video games laugh when someone gets hurt, shot, or killed. They think it’s funny.
But God! We Christians are released from death to live life and live it abundantly! We have life eternal. We among all people know what Life IS, and what death really is. We can and should display the joy that comes with this sure knowledge.
When we are in Christ, we are In the Person who will never die. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of mankind, (John 1:4).
And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms on account of My name, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. (Matthew 19:29).
These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. (Matthew 25:46).
You will make known to me the way of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever. (Psalm 16:11)
You have put joy in my heart, More than when their grain and new wine are abundant. (Psalm 4:7).
So therefore let us be joyful, let our faces shine with peace and happiness that we are saved and entered into full life of joy with the savior. In a culture of death, this will stand out to those staggering under weight of sin and specter of death. As death gleefully chokes our culture with its maniacal joy, let true joy of eternal life flow out from us who know the savior.
The biggest topic I used to receive pushback on was naming a false teacher. People got angry when their favorite pet teacher was outed as false, thus, out flowed their invective. But lately the most pushback I receive is when I say that God is not speaking to us audibly or personally in these days. People are REALLY defending that one!
It’s sad how embedded the notion of God still speaking directly and audibly to people has become in such a short time. It’s particularly crushing to see that Celebrity women with large platforms are promoting this, and have been for years. Almost an entire generation now.
Is He whispering? Sending signs or omens? Should we seek intuitions, feelings, nudgings, whispers, small voices, and promptings that we might sense inside of our brain? Or even hear audibly?
Does God give new revelation today? Did He tell Beth Moore to go to a zoo and watch a napping baby koala together or build a snowman with Him? Did He respond to Sarah Young’s yearning “for more” than scripture by giving her so many personal devotions? Did He awaken IF:Gathering’s founder Jennie Allen one night and tell her to gather and equip this generation? Did He walk with HGTV’s Fixer Upper Joanna Gaines in her garden and tell her that He has a calling for her and that one day she will have a platform taking Magnolia further than she ever dreamed? Did Priscilla Shirer write an entire Bible study to teach us how we can prepare to “hear God’s voice and receive wisdom from Him”? These women have all claimed to have heard from God, AND put His alleged words in quotes.
A short history of “God told me”
I mention these particular women because they are (or were) not fringe, not in a cult, and not outside the bounds of orthodoxy when they first began claiming direct revelation. Oh, for years false prophets had been claiming God spoke to them, but they were never taken seriously. From around 90 AD when the canon was completed in the Book of Revelation to the 20th century, it was a given that the mainline church believed God’s new revelations were concluded. His final word was THE Word.
So why is it so rampant now?
top row l-r: Jennie Allen, Priscilla Shirer. Bottom row, Beth Moore, Sarah Young of Jesus Calling
Justin Peters addressed this issue at the Truth Matters conference in 2019 (one of many tmes he has addressed the problem). The title of his talk was “Hearing from Heaven: How to Know the Voice of God” He said-
I would submit to you that the resource, the book that is singularly most responsible for introducing charismatic theology into at least theoretically non-charismatic churches is Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby that came out in 1991. If you go back before 1991, at least in non-charismatic churches, almost everyone would have understood that God speaks to us through the Bible, we speak to Him in prayer. Today hardly anybody understands that; and I believe experiencing God is singularly most responsible for introducing these notions into non-charismatic churches.
I agree with this perspective. I remember when the book came to my former church. There was a huge buzz about it and immediately groups were formed to go through the study. We were told that it was going to change our life, make a huge difference in our walk, and so on.
Southern Baptist Convention member Beth Moore soon latched onto this notion that God speaks to us directly and from her earliest days promoted the idea through constant sharing of anecdotes of what He was supposedly telling her. Her very first “Bible study” called A Woman’s Heart: God’s Dwelling Place was published in 1995. Every page of the 200 page workbook (!) Moore asked the student to write on the blanks the answer to the following 2 questions: [underline mine]-
“At the conclusion of each lesson you will find two questions: 1) How did God speak directly to you today? 2) What is your response to Him?”
“By the conclusion of each lesson you should be able to identify something in particular that you believe He was saying directly to you.”
Due to Moore’s large platform and general respect (back then) for the Southern Baptist Convention’s orthodoxy, her idea grew tentacles among women’s ministries and went everywhere from there.
In 2004 Sarah Young’s book Jesus Calling was published, where young outright said she heard from God. This book also made a huge impact and picking up the baton from Moore, the notion began forging new trails into the heart and mind of conservative women. It was no longer a fringe notion, since Blackaby and Moore were in conservative churches, not Charismatic nor Pentecostal…nor were either of them being chastised for their presumption that Jesus chooses special people to whom he gives special revelation directly and apart from the Bible. Sarah Young’s book became a brand and a cottage industry.
in 2014 Jennie Allen held her first IF:Gathering, in which she related to her audience that God woke her up one night to tell her, or whisper, or both, she couldn’t decide exactly, to gather and equip this generation, something not even Paul was charged with.
And now it’s 2024 and everyone and their sister seems to say, “God told me”. Luke Smallbone of the Christian musical group For King and Country said this month,
From Smallbone’s Instagram reel
It was actually a sweet moment. He was saying he had felt far from God, hadn’t dived into the Word in a while, and was repenting of that. Great. But he continued, “I felt God say to me, ‘Luke’, and I listened, and I felt him say, “I’ve missed you”.
While the sentiment is true, God does love us and wants us close to Him, it is unhelpful for Luke to claim that he heard God personally deliver the comfort. It is just plain wrong to put it in quotes. Even though Luke said ‘I felt God was saying’ it is still wrong. Luke didn’t say “I went to the scripture and the Holy Spirit, through the word, comforted me”. No he alleges he had a conversation. Tellingly, he did not turn to scripture for comfort nor did he advise his followers to do so. He just said “When life gets a little hectic, listen to what God is saying.”
A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. (Galatians 5:9).
And “God told me” IS leaven.
In the next part, what direct revelation is (leaven) and isn’t (happening now), and how to respond to people who claim to have heard from Jesus.
FurtherResources
G3 is hosting the Cessationist Conference Oct 3-5, 2024. “Join us in October of 2024 as we carefully consider key biblical arguments for the cessation of the miraculous gifts of the Spirit.”
A very famous married elderly Reformed preacher was forced to confess he had been having a five-year-long affair with a woman almost 50 years younger than he. He was fired from his preaching position, ejected from the ministry he founded, and rejected in his many other ministry positions of authority and prestige.
The shock went around the world. Literally. The ensuing shock is still reverberating. Some insiders have said, “No one saw this coming.” Not that they disbelieved that anyone can sin into adultery, but no one saw it coming from this man in particular.
Al Mohler spoke about this situation, answering a question he’d been asked as to whether pastors falling due to adultery are happening more frequently these days. It seemed so to the questioner.
Moher said that he “doesn’t sense an increase in number but an increase in public damage to the church of Jesus Christ. The effect of the issue upon the church and the ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is so grievous“
Mohler also quoted advice given him by an elder honorable Christian man,
You will never have sex with a woman not your wife, if you are never alone with a woman not your wife.”
In the aftermath of this news, people have been discussing the background of Mohler’s quip, the Billy Graham Rule. (BGR)
The BGR is a rule that 20th century evangelist Bill Graham instituted for himself never to be alone with a woman not his wife. As a traveling evangelist, he was subject to gossip and speculation, particularly in the wake of traveling religious men before him who had been charlatans.
“Graham tells the story of when he was walking along a quiet street with his 18-year-old daughter: the next day, the local paper printed the story that Graham was “again” seen with a beautiful, young woman, insinuating that Graham’s sexual exploits were beginning to be a problem,” explains Kurt Edwards in his dissertation “Billy Graham, Elmer Gantry, and the Performance Of A New American Revivalism“
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In this June 27, 1954 file photo, Evangelist Billy Graham speaks to over 100,000 people at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany (AP)
Graham himself had said of the issue, “There is always the chance of misunderstanding. I remember walking down the street in New York with my beautiful blond daughter, Bunny. I was holding her hand. I heard somebody behind us say, ‘There goes Billy Graham with one of those blond girls.'” (Source).
These rumors bothered Graham, who wanted to maintain a pure reputation. He had recently read the devastating book Elmer Gantry, about the perseverance, rise, and ultimate success of a corrupt preacher who was in fact a false convert. This book spooked Graham. He was concerned enough with his reputation in light of the Gantry book and subsequent movie, that in 1948 “while in Modesto, California, he [Graham] gathered close advisers, including Grady and T.W. Wilson, Cliff Barrows, and Bev Shea” wrote Edwards, to discuss how to handle this kind of attention.
The issues they were concerned about were money, sexual immorality, discord with local churches, and telling journalists the true numbers of attendees (not inflating the truth when speaking of publicity) – these “rules” were to help squash any issues with these 4 problems and became known as “The Modesto Manifesto”.
The rule Graham had about maintaining sexual purity was that he would never travel alone, nor would he meet with or eat alone with any woman other than his wife. But there is an interesting twist to that Rule many people do not know. More on that below.
It was a purposeful strategy to ignore the Elmer Gantry-ish excesses of the famous American evangelists who’d come before him. And it worked like magic. When scandals destroyed some of his imitators in the 1980s, like Jim and Tammy Bakker, Graham’s operation looked even more like a model of rectitude in comparison. (Rolling Stone, The Soul Crushing Legacy of Billy Graham).
BGR or BGR-ish Can Be Good
I have an issue with the Billy Graham Rule, and it is not what you think. I believe the wisdom behind the Rule is good. It is NOT wise for a man, clergy, pastor, counselor to meet alone with a woman. Not professionally and certainly not personally. Not even in public, as in a restaurant, mall, or park. I also believe it is not a good idea to frequently text or email or phone call a woman who is not his wife, an added caveat since new technology has been invented since Billy Graham was around.
It was not holiness that prompted Graham and his cohorts to formulate this rule. It was not to establish guardrails for the purpose of maintaining discipline so God gets the glory.
It was performance. It was to create an external appearance in order to glorify self.
Some may take issue with what I’m saying here. But I’ve done a lot of thinking about Billy Graham and even more study on his life and ministry. Much. I don’t say these things lightly or without reason or substantiation. I know some won’t like it because some idolize him. That’s fine. Their opinion. I have mine.
As a side note, I’ve read Stephen King’s The Mist, Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Lovecraft…and Elmer Gantry. Let me say that Elmer Gantry out-horrored them all and was the most chilling, horrific book I ever read. It definitely leaves an impression.
Throughout Billy Graham’s career, the evangelist sought performative manners to ensure that he would not be perceived as another “Elmer Gantry”, or huckster preacher out to win money, fame, and favor. Graham’s intent was to grow a ministry that would form a new performance paradigm for American revivalism. Graham prepared as an actor to use his gifts, train his voice and body, to write a different style of script, to capitalize on celebrity, and to embrace new media forms that would bring his message around the world thus creating a “New” revivalism while at the same time distancing himself from being seen as the character in Sinclair Lewis’ novel Elmer Gantry…” ~Dr. Ronald E. Shields, Bowling Green State University.
Why I am suspicious about the BGR
Graham decided not to sup alone, be seen with, or in any way be tainted by the notion that he was alone with a woman not his wife in public, and this included his daughters.
This is my issue and it’s why I deem it performance, a whitewashed tomb rather than a God-glorifying pursuit of purity.
He sacrificed his girls on the altar of personal reputation. It wasn’t for the glory of God. It was so people would think he was a highly moral person. We see this conceptually in the Modesto discussions, and we see in reality at the abandonment of his daughters for the sake of being well thought of.
“From that point on, Graham would not to travel, meet, or dine alone with any woman other than his wife Ruth — even his very own daughters when they came of age.” ~Edwards
Evangelists were often separated from their families during long periods of time and could be tempted with immorality (at least to do things that were disparate with what they were preaching for or against). The team pledged to avoid even the appearance of compromise. From that day forward, Graham never traveled alone, nor did he meet or eat alone with any woman other than his wife (including his teenage daughters). ~paraphrasing William Martin’s book, “A Prophet with Honor: The Billy Graham Story.
So: the entire point about me cautioning with regard to the Billy Graham Rule is —
MOTIVE
You ask and do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives, so that you may spend what you request on your pleasures. (James 4:3)
All the ways of a person are clean in his own sight, But the LORD examines the motives. (Proverbs 16:2)
The Pharisees were ALL ABOUT performance. Jesus called them out on it. He said they stand on corners (busy location) so they would be seen They didn’t wash, so they would be seen. They pulled long faces at fasting, so they would be seen. When they tithed they sounded trumpets. They sought the chief seats at banquets. All so they would be praised and glorified.
Then the Lord said, “Because this people approaches Me with their words And honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me, (Isaiah 29:13).
Practicing righteousness to heap glory onto one’s self is a worthless endeavor.
Take care not to practice your righteousness in the sight of people, to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 6:1)
CAUTION
As you think about the BGR, ponder your motives. And sin being what it is, even if you’ve instituted such a rule for yourself at the start based on wanting to give glory to God through a holy lifestyle, over time it can become hardened and rigid, and become one of many rules that are void of worship and instead by now are just a performance. A rule for the sake of a rule.
For am I now seeking the favor of people, or of God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10).
That question should always be utmost in our minds. WHY do we do the things we do? Is what I am doing out of love and submission to the Savior? Am I pursuing holiness for the sake of God getting glory, or for myself so as to be well thought of? Has it become rote, and devoid of meaning and worship?
but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not intending to please people, but to please God, who examines our hearts. (1 Thessalonians 2:4)
Weariness, concern, anxiety, frustration…all feelings we may be feeling in these difficult times. Financial hardship to emotional stress, to outright persecution, there is no doubt that many are stumbling, suffering, or staggering.
Look to Jesus.
The scene in Gethsemane usually focused on is the sweet scene where Jesus is praying, alone. It touches the heart to see the beginning of the emotional and physical travail our Savior endured for our sakes. But John’s Gospel alone has the scene where Judas arrives with the soldiers and the soldiers approach Jesus. Jesus asks the soldiers whom they seek:
Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground. (John 18:4-6)
This is a picture of what will happen in Armageddon. Both the Old and the New Testaments are replete with passages that at once depict live events, events that are partial fulfillments of the near future, and are complete fulfillments of things that will happen in the far future. One example comes to mind, the destruction of Sodom for sin, and how Peter advised us that what happened at Sodom is an example of what will happen to the ungodly in the future.
As Jesus spoke, his very words (almost) slew the soldiers, and they fell onto their backs. This is a picture of Rev 19:15, 21,
The Coming of Christ From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.
And to confirm, Isaiah 11:4;
But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
THIS is the mighty God we serve! He speaks, and the wicked fall. He speaks and worlds are made. He speaks, and angels fly. He speaks, and billions are redeemed. He is mighty and wonderful! No matter what comes upon us in this world, He will see us through it, and then soon, so we shall be with Him always!
the-end-time.org 