Category: Christians

  • Blown by the wind? Read the Word

    Years ago, this whirlymagig used to hang outside our dining room window. Some people call them wind spinners, or whirligigs, but I’ve always known them as whirlymagigs. One of our sons built it at camp.

    It is a spiral of popsicle sticks, mounted with a swivel on a string. Whenever the wind blows, it spirals around with the wind; then the tension in the string spirals it back in the opposite direction when the wind stops. 

    It can be quite relaxing to sit and watch them spiral as the wind chimes toll their delightful melody. 

    If the wind gets to be too strong, though, the whirlymagig blows all over the place, and the wind chimes just clang with noise.

    Many people in the church are like this spinner. They don’t know what they believe or why they believe it. Never having read or studied God’s word for themselves, they blow to and fro with the teachers of their favorite pastor and clang about in a storm.

    The Bible warned that this would happen. 

    I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 2 Timothy 4:1-4 NIV

    We need to be diligent in testing out the teaching we hear with what the Bible actually says. Ask God to reveal His truth when you read. 

    If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.  But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.  For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. James 1:5-8 NIV

    By all means, listen to sermons, read solid teaching books, read devotionals like Gleanings, but ALWAYS compare them to the Word. If you’re not spending time in your Bible, give up Gleanings or one of the other things you read (or listen to) and invest that time in reading the Bible. Gleanings is only designed to supplement your time in the Bible, not replace it.

    Invest your time in reading and listening to the Bible. Learn what you believe and why you believe it, then when the winds of life blow (and they will), you will be anchored to a foundation that will stand.

    Our hope, our faith and our salvation is in Christ alone. Much of our understanding and our ability to apply the truths of that relationship comes from reading the Word. Studying the Scriptures teaches us more about Christ, about His power and His promises for our lives and those things help us to withstand the turbulence of life.

    Read the Word. Read THE WORD. READ THE WORD. Just in case you’re not certain as to what I’m saying, I’ll repeat it: READ THE WORD

    Invest in a good Bible, perhaps a couple of different translations, get a good concordance, and a Bible dictionary to help if you can. If you have no budget, there are a plethora of free resources available on the net.

    There are all kinds of delightful commentaries out there to help you understand, but the most important thing is time in the Bible itself. READ THE WORD!

    Don’t be like my whirlymagig, blown around by the slightest change. Study God’s truth for yourself. If the church you belong to tells you not to study the Word or won’t allow you to ask questions about it, find another church.

    Until next time, read the Word.

    Be blessed

    SUMMARY

    My whirlymagig only flies out of control when the wind gets too strong, and too many Christians do the same thing spiritually. Stop being blown around by every teacher and get anchored in the Word instead.

    TAKEAWAY

    If you’ve never studied God’s Word for yourself, you’ll blow around with whatever your favorite pastor says.

    Test every teaching you hear against Scripture.

    Don’t let a devotional like Gleanings replace your time in the Bible. Let it point you back to it.

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  • Blooming in the desert

    This lovely desert flower is a Mariposa lily (Calochortus bruneaunis ) – sometimes called a sagebrush or desert lily. It comes in a variety of colors from white through to brilliant purple, like this specimen I shot back around the summer of 2001. I confess the picture is cropped because I took it from too far away.

    The Mariposa thrives in arid, desert-like places where most plants could simply not survive. It truly blooms where others fail to even grow.

    In our Christian life, we can often be placed in situations similar to that. We can face ridicule, hostility, outright persecution, even the stripping of our possessions, jail time or in some cases death. Jail time and death are not common in the West (yet), they are a reality for our brothers and sisters around the world.

    According to an article in America Magazine, “More Christians were martyred in the 20th century than in all previous centuries combined, according to David B. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson, two of the world’s leading religious demographers.”

    Gordon-Conwell’s Center for the Study of Global Christianity estimates that 1 million Christians were killed between 2001 and 2010, and about 900,000 were killed from 2011 to 2020.

    It’s a reality out there, my friends. Our brothers and sisters are being killed for their faith. It shouldn’t surprise us; it’s been happening since the days of Saul of Tarsus. Persecution began a few years after the death of Jesus and has continued since.

    Jesus told us it would happen.

    “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. But this happened to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘They hated Me without cause.’ John 15:18-25 ESV

    What can we do in the interim?

    We can pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ and for those who oppress them. We can pray for those in power in our nation to come to faith.

    We continue to gather together as long as we can. We gain strength from one another. Our brothers and sisters in oppressed countries meet underground.

    We read, study and memorize our Bibles. We need to know what we believe and why. We need to be prepared in case there are no Bibles available someday.

    We live our lives daily as Christ called us to do. We stand as lights on a hill, pointing others to the love of Jesus.

    We trust God. He has it all under control and will use every hard thing that comes to pass for the good of those who love Him.

    The mariposa lily grows and blooms in dark, hostile environments. How much so can we shine in a dark and hurting world?

    Hallelu Yah (Praise God) 

    Be blessed 

    Kevin 

    SUMMARY

    The Mariposa lily thrives in arid, hostile ground where most plants cannot survive. Christians are called to do the same. Persecution is real, it is global, and Jesus told us plainly it would come. The question is not whether we will face a hostile world, but how we will stand in it.

    KEYPOINTS

    More Christians were martyred in the 20th century than in all previous centuries combined, and an estimated 1.9 million have been killed for their faith between 2001 and 2020 

    Jesus warned His followers directly: the world hated Him first, and it will hate them too — persecution is not a surprise but a promise 

    While brothers and sisters around the world face jail and death, believers everywhere can pray, gather, know their Bibles, live as lights, and trust God with every hard thing that comes

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