Selective Hearing

They sit in fancy boardrooms, making decisions about what news stories that you and I see or read. This happens all over the world at both a national and local level.

How many people are in these meetings? Eight, ten, twelve? It varies, I'm sure.

Consider what "news" they feed us. Trump's ballroom is a big one. Mamdani's impending victory in the NYC mayor's race. Oh, and then there's Gaza and Ukraine, and the occasional natural disaster like Hurricane Melissa. And SOME stories we NEVER hear.

For example, has anyone seen on the nightly news a story about 7,000 Christians being killed in Nigeria since the beginning of the year? No? Hmm. That's strange. That would seem to be a rather large story. Yet, not much has been heard about it? Why not?

Because a small group of people has deemed the story unworthy compared to other "news" of the day. And why was that? Personal opinion vs actual newsworthiness. Or a political agenda vs actual truth.

In the last presidential election CBS "News" edited an interview to create a more favorable outcome. They were sued and they settled. It cost them $16 million. ABC "news" also settled a similar law suit for $15 million.

So, who can be trusted to speak the truth anymore? No one, in my opinion. No one except God Himself.

"The Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind." - 1 Samuel 15:29

"God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man that He should repent; has He said and will He not do it? Or has He spoken and will He not make it good?" - Numbers 23:19

Turn off the news. Read the Bible. It is the only source of truth to be found. Examine everything else and measure it against the truth of His Word and you will do well.

"The Voice of Truth tells me a different story." - Casting Crowns

Please play for our brothers and sisters in Nigeria.

"The truth shall set you free." - Jesus (John 8:32)

 

7,000 Christians Killed - Newsweek

Voice of Truth - Casting Crowns

Terminal Narcolepsy

Do you have trouble sleeping at night? Try reading one of my stories. It'll knock you right out! Sadly, today's story is about falling asleep, but because we can't help it.

Have you ever taken an accidental nap? You know. You're sitting in your comfy living room chair and you're watching the Packers game. Suddenly you wake up and the game's over.

"Did you have a nice nap?" your spouse asks. You wipe the drool off your lip and try to pretend that you're awake. Jesus' disciples had that very same problem.

"Then He (Jesus) returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter." - Matthew 26:40

I can imagine the Disciples got VERY tired, trying to keep up with Jesus and His ministry schedule. Walking everywhere, serving meals of fish and bread to 5,000 men, etc. Plus being persecuted everywhere they went.

There is a different type of "narcolepsy" that has crept into our world in these last days. Even into our churches. We are being lulled to sleep by Satan and his schemes. Just look at the world around us.

Lawlessness, wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, the murder of innocent lives, sexual perversions, deceptions, idolatry, I could go on and on. And many of these things have so invaded our society that they have woven their way into our laws. Even into The Church!

It is just as Jesus asked, "Couldn't we keep watch for even one hour?" Apparently not. So, what do we do? Jesus tells us.

“Watch out that no one deceives you." - Matthew 24:4

Too late. The world has already been deceived. So, now what? There is only one hope. His name is Jesus.

Yes, Jesus died. He was crucified. The same thing happend to many Christians in Jesus' day. The difference, and it is a HUGE difference, is that Jesus rose from the dead.

Yes, there are other examples of this happening to others in the Bible. Lazarus, for example. Only God has the power to raise the dead.

We Christians believe that Jesus IS God, along with God The Father and The Holy Spirit. Consider closely these words from Jesus.

"The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life - only to take it up again. ¹⁸No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” - John 10:17-18

Have we laid down OUR lives for Jesus? Have we left our life of sin and turned to Jesus, our blessed hope, to have it raised again?

This is not a time to be sleeping. Rather, it is a time to be waking others up,  in Jesus' name. So get up and get out there!

“Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” - Ephesians 5:14

Throughout the Bible, God has ALWAYS left a remnant of believers, through persecutions, sickness, strife, and war. I encourage you today . . . become part of today's remnant. Believe in Jesus.

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” - Acts 4:12

Birds of a Feather

There are many signs that the season is changing, especially fall. Temperature chages and leaves changing color (I wrote about that last time) are just one. Here's another sign. I almost ran into one last week!

Flocks of starlings gather during this time of year. The flocks can get so large that they can sometimes seem to come alive as a dark undulating cloud. This is called a murmur, or murmuration. The birds do this as they gather to roost for the night.

"Will somebody just land already? I'm getting tired!"

These murmurs bring to mind a question. How do these birds not collide with one another? Why are there not dead birds covering the ground?

It's a God thing.

You can also see this behavior in large schools of fish, darting here and there to avoid predators. There IS safety in numbers.

Have you ever been in a large stadium and someone, somewhere, starts "the wave?" Synchronized standing and sitting creates the illusion of a human "wave" circling the field.

If you trace these events back to their beginning, they all start with a single bird taking flight, or a single human directing the "standing up." There is a beginning and therefore an ending. Carried to their very inception, each on them has a creator. A thought.

There are several biblical analogies to behold in the example of a murmur.

"In the beginning," God created Adam, right? Out of one man the world's population has now increased to 8.2 billion inhabitants. If we all jumped at the same time, what would happen?

When God spoke to Abraham, He  said, “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing." - Genesis 12:2

By the end of the Book of Genesis (Exodus 1) the Israelites were a murmur unto themselves.

"The Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; they multiplied greatly, increased in numbers and became so numerous that the land was filled with them." - Exodus 1:7

When Joshua and the Israelites conquered Jericho they all marched around the city then siddenly shouted. The city walls collapsed (Joshua 5:13 - 6:27).

A time is coming, and it is coming soon, when all God's children will be taking flight, just like those starlings. It will happen "in the twinkling of the eye" as Paul told the church is in Thessalonica. We will be like starlings in our coordinated flight up to be with Jesus.

"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever." - 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

Let's murmur!

Starling Murmur

Warm Up!

It's beginning to get a little cool up here in Central Wisconsin. It was 30° when I woke up this morning! And as I look outside, the leaves on our maple tree have almost completely fallen off. Another sign of what is to come. Winter.

Today I will be gathering kindling for the upcoming winter fireplace season. Another sign of fall - the first smoke coming out of chimneys around the neighborhood. My wife and I enjoy the changing seasons, but we also like to stay warm.

The air temperature isn't the only thing that's "growing cold." Have you seen the news lately? There is so much hatred in the world right now. It's almost unbelievable.

"At that time many will fall away and will betray and hate one another, ¹¹and many false prophets will arise and deceive many.

¹²Because of the multiplication of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold. ¹³But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved." - Matthew 24:10-13

This morning I encourage you to persevere. Spend time with those who love you. Linger after church tomorrow and encourage your fellow believers. Love is the wood for the fire that keeps us warm. And Jesus is the spark that ignites it.

Look at The Fields!

There are numerous verses in the Bible which refer to a time of harvest. And although barley and grape harvests are also spoken of, the crop that is usually mentioned the most is the wheat harvest.

We first hear about this in the Gospels.

"Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest." - John 4:35

Jesus also spoke of a need for workers saying, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." - Luke 10:2. Why such a need?

The problem is us. And Satan.

There is a saying in the church that "80% of the work is done by 20% of the people." I think that is true.

There also seems to be a lack of hikers on the way to The Promised Land. Jesus told us about that shortage in the Book of Matthew.

"But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." - Matthew 7:14

The road is narrow because there is no need for it to be wider, due to the small number of travelers.

Why so few?

Like I said, the problem is us. And Satan. He is very good at what he does. Distraction, procrastination, pride, self. And we are very bad at repentance and obedience. We can see an example of this in Matthew.

"Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 19:23

Then, in verse 25, the disciples asked, "Who then can be saved?"

Good question.

Jesus then goes on to give the reason that so few will enter The Kingdom of Heaven.

“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” - Matthew 19:26

So, the problem is us. We need to have God. We need to spiritually "sell all we have" and surrender to God in our inability to accomplish salvation on our own.

This cannot be accomplished by our volunteering more at church or in the community. It is accomplished in our hearts. We must be willing to give Jesus everything. EVERYTHING.

Easy to say. Hard to do.

We done HAVE TO go to church. It should be our desire to do so. Same with serving others. It should be in our nature to do so, not forcibly given. That's why God tells us that, "I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings." - Hosea 6:6

The workers are few and harvest time is approaching. Time to get to work!

I Surrender All - Robin Mark

The Ordinary World

The problem with many Christians today is this: until one has experienced Jesus and His Holy Spirit, it's hard for them to understand that there is more to their faith. I mean, why should someone trust what we tell them about Jesus unless they can experience it for themselves. Witness it being lived out in OUR lives.

I woke up at 2:20 am with another song in my head. Hmm. I wonder. Is there something I should be writing about?

This song was about lost love and the writer was lamenting about a relationship that is now gone. But pride prevented him from finding his true love - Jesus. He just wanted an "ordinary world."

I won't cry for yesterday

There's an ordinary world

Somehow I have to find

And as I try to make my way

To the ordinary world

I will learn to survive

If he only knew what awaits him. He longs to have his ordinary world instead of an extraordinary world that he cannot see.

Why merely survive, when you can thrive!?

For most of my life I thought I knew who Jesus was. However, I did not really KNOW him. Not like I do know. And I am STILL getting to know him. But it is a deeper and more meaningful relationship than it ever was when I THOUGHT I knew him.

"Seek Him and you WILL find Him, when you seek Him with all your heart." - Jeremiah 29:13 (Bob's paraphrase)

"Take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. ¹⁸But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen." - 2 Peter 3:17-18

An extraordinary world awaits those who seek Him with all their hearts. Have YOU found Him yet? Are you sure?

Ordinary World - Red

Trust

God can bless us in very unexpected ways sometimes. Like this past Sunday in church for example.

A young mom and her daughter approached me before the service and asked, "Can my daughter sit with you during church? I volunteered for nursery duty and my husband had to stay at home to fix our well."

The mom then told me that earlier, when she was wondering what to do with her daughter, her daughter spoke up and said, "Why can't I just sit with Bob? He's one of Daddy's friends."

How could I say no now? So, there we sat, an old man and his 6-year old friend.

During the pastor's message she was very well behaved, coloring in a little book she had brought with her. That is, until she began tearing pages out of it.

After the service was done we both went to the nursery. There was her mom helping other moms with their kids.

Then my little friend said, "Here. This is for you," and she handed me one of those torn out pages. It was a hand-drawn picture of a little girl (I assumed it was her) and a chicken.

"Oh, thank you!"

She then proceeded to give pictures to others as they came out of the nursery. Aww. How cute!

Then she said to me, "There's something on the back."

(See picture above)

What a blessing! Think about it. Here was a mom who felt confident enough in me that she would entrust her older daughter, six, into my care. Wow. And here was a daughter who spent her time in church that day thinking about, and creating gifts for, others. These ladies reminding me of another woman I once read about.

"She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. ²⁶She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. ²⁷She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. ²⁸Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: ²⁹“Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” ³⁰Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. ³¹Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate." - Proverbs 31:25-31

Take A Stand

Look at these two young men. They look different, yet they are the same, yet they are different. Confused yet? Let's clear things up.

Both men played for the same baseball team (LA/Brooklyn Dodgers) in the 50's and 60's. Both men were pitchers and played in multiple World Series games, winning several championships.

Their differences? The guy on the left, Don Drysdale, was a right-handed pitcher and the guy on the right, Sandy Koufax, was a lefty.

There is another little known difference between the two - Sandy Koufax was Jewish and his faith has everything to do with today's story. This is from William Choslovsky, JNS News:

"60 years ago on Oct. 7, 1965, that Koufax, a Jew, sat out game one of the World Series because it was Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar."

What? He was the best pitcher on the team and he opted out of starting game Game 1 of the World Series? Yes. Because of his faith in God.

Koufax went on the pitch two shutout games in the series that year and the Dodgers became league champions.

That makes me ask myself, "What are MY priorities when it comes to worshiping God?

"I didn't go to church on Sunday because the Packers were playing at Lambeau and I had to set up for the tailgate party."

"We would have been there but Johnny had a baseball tournament."

"I was scheduled to work that weekend."

"We were on vacation."

What will our excuse be next time? Sandy Koufax probably missed many trips to the synagogue on the Sabbath due to his baseball schedule, but he chose not to miss the holiest day of the year. That says something. It speaks to his life's priorities.

What are OUR priorities? 🤔

“The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present a food offering to the Lord. ²⁸Do not do any work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the Lord your God." - Leviticus 23:27-28

Sandy Koufax Story - JNS News

Self Betrayal

"The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” ²⁶For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes." - 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

That's the typical passage of scripture that churches us when they take communion. But the last time our church did this, our pastor pointed out something interesting. Verse 23 above says "on the night he was betrayed." One of the men Jesus was praying with and breaking bread with that night, had betrayed him, and the other 11 would deny they even knew him before the day was done.

Our pastor encouraged us to pray for those who have betrayed us. Question: Has anyone ever betrayed you? I'm sure there are a few for everyone.

I began to make my mental list of the betrayers in MY life, but then I stopped and thought, "What about me? Haven't I also betrayed God through my sin? Haven't I betrayed myself?"

Ooo. Ouch. That was pretty humbling, and that was just how I prayed. A different kind of prayer comes out when you think of yourself as a type of Judas.

Does God look at us as "a Judas?" "A blasphemer?" Yes, He would - without the sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf. I personally am SO grateful for Jesus and what He did! We ALL should be.

"We ALL sin and fall short of the glory of God." - Romans 3:23

"We ALL sin," the Bible says.

Quite rightly, those following Jesus once asked Him, "Who then can be saved?"

"Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”- Luke 18:26-27

The world tells us to "forgive ourselves" for the sins we have committed. According to verse 7 that we just read, that is impossible. Maybe it is IN OUR OWN EYES but not in God's. However, God HAS provided a way for us to be totally forgiven. His Son, Jesus.

If one scrolls back up and reads that opening passage again, it kind of makes us want to eat some bread and drink some wine, and pray, as we remember what Jesus did for us.

"As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." - Psalm 103:12

Peace?

The day is Thursday as I am writing this. Everyone is talking about the new peace deal between Hamas and Israel. Trump has announced that he will be flying to Israel for a signing ceremony. The people of Israel are already celebrating in the streets.

If all this indeed comes to pass it will be absolutely wonderful. However . . . let me show you something.

‘"Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace." - Jeremiah 6:14

There will never be a lasting peace until Jesus sets up His millenial kingdom. We have become distracted by the very thing we have been praying for.

What crosses my mind about this is not good. Isn't this a perfect opportunity for Iran to strike both of its enemies at the same time? Trump and Netanyahu BOTH will be in the Knesset on Monday. Iran must be salivating loke a dog waiting for its dinner.

Of course, it's possible that nothing will happen, and probably won't, but think about the possible dangers in this.

I am reading through Ezekiel right now, speaking of things that could happen. It's not very comforting.

"You will look for peace, but there will be none." - Ezekiel 7:25

I do not trust Hamas. I don't think that Israel does either. The only reason that Hamas agreed to the ceasefire is because Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey told them to or they would not back them in the future.

This war is not over.

As Christians though, we still have hope. This is not our home. We look forward to the day when our Lord and Savior returns and DOES set up a lasting peace.

In my opinion, NONE of the people in this whole peace thing knows Jesus. And that includes our president. Yes, I cannot tell what's on someone's heart, but I am a certified Matthew 7 "fruit inspector."

"Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them." - Matthew 7:17-20.

As the song says, "In Christ alone, my hope is found."

In Christ alone my hope is found

He is my light, my strength, my song

This cornerstone, this solid ground

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease

My comforter, my all in all

Here in the love of Christ I stand

A Time For War?

"A time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace." - Ecclesiastes 3:11

Right now, negotiations are taking place in the Middle East to end the war in Gaza. It seems as if the entire world is against Israel, doesn't it? And that is the way God intended it to be. But that war is insignificant to what is brewing elsewhere and in the future.

If we zoom out from the Middle East it's not long before we can see Ukraine and Russia. They too are in the midst of a war.

Keep zooming out and we can soon see the NATO countries. And China. And North Korea. There are plenty of antagonists out there. And plenty of egos to satisfy.

Trump has had some success at stopping small wars but he will not have success with Russia, nor China. This is just my opinion. "Change my mind," as Charlie Kirk used to say.

Russia has already "accidentally" flown drones into Poland and Denmark. Three Russian war planes entered Estonia's airspace. Putin is testing Nato's reaction. Even NORAD had to scramble some planes to intercept Russian jets that were approaching Alaska.

Jesus tells us in the Bible (Matthew 24) that a BIG war is coming. There are also other references in Ezekiel and Revelation. It's going to be bad. Very bad.

"For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now - and never to be equaled again." - Matthew 24:25

We who confess faith in Jesus do not need to concern ourselves with this. We should be gone from here by then. Time will tell.

Christians have hope. The rest of the world does not. And that's sad. Many of those we know and love are not going to make it. Though we try to tell them, they don't have ears to hear.

For the Christian, this is a very interesting time. We are seeing the Bible coming to life as we wait for Jesus. But God did not give us a Spirit of fear. As Jan Markell always says, "Things are not falling apart, they are falling into place."

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control." - 2 Timothy 1:7

So, be encouraged! We are not of this world. We are IN it, but not OF it. Our hope is in God.

There is a single Hebrew word that means "the Lord saves." That word is 'yeshua.' In English-speaking bibles and languages we use the word Jesus in it's place. It also translates as Joshua.

"She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” - Matthew 1:21

The point being that Jesus saves. His death and resurrection saved us from our sins. Would he not also save us from the coming wrath of the Lord God Almighty? I believe He would.

Russian Drone Flights - AP

Youth Group 3.0

Well, here we go again.

Shortly after coming to faith in Christ 19 years ago, I joined a youth group as one of the adult leaders. That was an absolute blast. It became rather clear to me that I had found my calling. Sadly, the teachings of that church strayed from God's Word so I departed "with weeping and gnashing of teeth."

God provided a new wonderful church to pour myself into, which I did. Another youth group and many more teens to love and minister to. That was an amazing time of doing what I felt God had wanted me to do. But then the lead pastor left and the new replacement pastor led the church in a different direction. Many people left that church, including me.

Again, God provided a new church, my current church home. The teaching is excellent. Right out of the Bible. Just what I was looking for. However, there was no youth group. No opportunity to serve as a youth leader. That was fine with me.

But then the church began a Vacation Bible School program. I joined that and was made a teacher. I absolutely love serving the Lord in that capacity. However, VBS only lasts one week. Still I was okay with that. I love the people AND the teaching.

Recently however, I felt led to create a young men's Bible study on Biblical Manhood. I've written about that before in this blog. Near it's completion, I approached the pastor and offered it to him. That's when God's plan began to show itself.

He told me that two of our parents had asked to start a youth group at our church and wondered if I would be interested in being the teacher. Hmm. What do YOU think I said? Lol!

[pause]

Think about this now. Within two weeks' time, three people approached the pastor about starting a youth group / bible study. I'm beginning to think that God wants us to pour into the lives of some teens in our church, in His name.🤔 Well, that is happening October 24th.

I'm just a little excited to see what God will be doing.🙂

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11

"Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord." - Psalm 24:11