Are You Ready?

Acts 2(NIV)

40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

How many would have come to faith, professing Yeshua's name in public, had they known what the near future held? First the Jews, then the Romans hunted them down to rid the world of the "curse" of Christianity. But the fact is they had no idea of the persecution they would suffer for Yeshua's name, and when that time came they stood tall, singing God's praises while facing imminent, grizzly death.

Acts 7(NIV)

54 When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." 57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.

Acts 8(NIV)

1 And Saul was there, giving approval to his death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

Saul of Tarsus was a Pharisee, as zealous for God's law and temple as any Jew. He believed his righteous duty was to eradicate the plague called The Way, and he embarked upon his crusade with deadly efficiency.

Now, how many members of today's Christendom would follow in Stephen's and countless other martyrs' steps? Would church-borne professions of faith stand up to the threat of torture and death? Would a believing husband and father watch his wife and children raped and murdered rather than repudiate his, and their, Savior? Those questions will never be answered until, either we who claim to follow God's Son find ourselves in those awful circumstances, or we face Him in judgment.

The time will come when praise-chorus-singing evangelicals will stand beside stolid, liturgical church-members, and when the persecutor demands they recant their Christian faith, who among them will stand for Christ? Historically, many of the boldest, most vocal faith-professors crumple in persecution's ugly face while many other unassuming believers stand and take the enemy's worst, through a faith deeper than any human being can comprehend.

Acts 22(NIV)

4 I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, 5 as also the high priest and all the Council can testify. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.

Each of us must one day answer that question for ourselves. Whether it comes when we face cruel persecution, or when we face Christ's judgment seat, we will discover our faith's true character. Now is the time to begin preparing for either eventuality. Now is the time to petition God's sanctifying Holy Spirit to complete our heart-cleansing. Now is the time to fall on our faces in humble confession and repentance for our life-style and attitudinal failures, for when the testing comes ... and it certainly will ... we will not have time to prepare.

Another "IF"

Deu 28:6-9 ESV Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out. (7) "The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. (8) The LORD will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. (9) The LORD will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in his ways.

What a beautiful promise to God's holy people! In this context Moses referred only to Israel, God's original chosen race. The LORD(the Only Self-Existent One), however, included two conditions that must be met before receiving the full blessing of vss. 6-8. Moses could just as easily have written the if first, establishing the condition before the necessary result, but he chose to keep it positive, with the promised result first.
        When God utters an oath, we can take it to the bank. Since, however, his people Israel have modeled their corporate, stiff neck countless times throughout history, God had a "Plan C." If the nature of Plans A & B are a little obscure, we need only study Biblical history to observe his three attempts at fashioning a people for himself. "Plan A" was God's direct involvement with Man, the crown of his creation. Man entered into being as the wonderful artwork of the infinitely creative God, and since God can't do anything imperfectly, he made Man in his own image; the physical representation of the Creator. Part of that perfection was God's gift of personal volition, or choice ... we all know how that ended.
        "Plan B" was a new start, in the heights of the Mountains of Ararat. With Noah and his family the only survivors of a universal flood, Man had a second chance at obeying his Creator. But according to Genesis 6-9, this new beginning didn't last long.
        Millennia passed in cycles of gross disobedience and temporary repentance, before the time came for "Plan C," for Church. Man had suffered two strikeouts, with the game's, and Man's, eternal destiny depending on his response to God's Anointed. Would Man swing-and-miss, make a base hit, or finally put one over the fence. Strike One put Christ on Calvary's cross. Strike Two sent God's church into fearful hiding. But with the Holy Spirit's help, a base hit put the church on base.
        The next two millennia delivered too many errors, fouls and walks to count, and God's church is still playing lousy ball with God. Of course, right there the metaphor falls apart, for in baseball's actual rules the inning--and the game--would end after just a few tries. God's rules, however, are tempered by his love, his grace and his infinite patience.
        Only God knows when this game of life will end, but end it will. Personally, I don't want to be stuck on base when Umpire God calls for it to end.
        We, God's church, are "Plan C," the last chance for Man to live up to God's expectations in creating us. We--corporately and individually--had better not blow it.

Psalm 138:6

For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar.(Psa 138:6 ESV) Matthew 10:29 quotes Jesus as saying, Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. So when Psalm 138 tells us, the LORD is high, we can rest assured that despite his lofty perspective, the humblest of human beings can't hide from him; he "regards" them closely and continually. Both Psalm 138 and Matthew 10 reveal a core principle from God's word; those who consider themselves of low estate have the most immediate access to their Savior and the most intimate relationship with him.
        Of course, that doesn't mean people on the other end of the pride spectrum manage to escape his notice. The God who pays attention to a falling sparrow also notices the prideful misadventures of the haughty, the arrogant, the self-righteous, the possessors of lofty self-esteem. Indeed, their sin is all he sees, because self-aggrandizement is the foundational motive for all their good works.
        For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isa 55:8 ESV) One of those ways is God's refusal to compete for his creation's affection. Though he could blast a hole in the landscape next to anyone, or through them, for that matter, he typically limits his overtures to a whisper. When we demand evidence of his attention to our needs, he speaks ever more softly. When we assert ourselves against his authority, he becomes silent.
        Standing on the receiving end of God's wrath would seem to be the worst possible situation for a human being, but it is not. The worst possible condition for one of God's creation is for God to ignore him. Often we hear complaints of, "But God seems so distant." Then a rhetorical question follows: "How can anyone have a relationship with the God of heaven?" To a true Christian, the answer is a no-brainer.
        We feel God is distant because we naturally invest far more time and effort getting to know ourselves than getting to know him. Self-help resources are filled with ways to achieve self-realization, self-actualization, self-esteem, positive self-concept and self-love. Even many Christians, in trying to ride on the "self-awareness" bandwagon, tell us, "We must love ourselves before we can love others." Does God agree with that analysis? Let's take a look at his word on the subject.
        The Apostle John knew something about love. In fact, his gospel and letters to the church dealt with love more than those of any other Bible writer. In his first letter to the church, he stated simply: We love because he(God) first loved us. (1Jn 4:19 ESV) This short Bible verse tells us that God freely gave us his love first. First before what? Before we could love ... Love what? The Bible leaves that answer wide open, and so must we. Our love for God, ourselves, and anyone or anything else is our acknowledgment of God's original love for us. But, to acknowledge something is to first experience it.
        God's unpopular truth is, we must love Him before we can truly love ourselves, or anyone else. How does the average, unspiritual Joe Bloe first experience God's love so he can love God as the Scripture says? Like an old fashioned pump over a country water well, it seems our first realization of God's love must be primed with some of kind of instinctual response to his love before we can hope to realize it's right there in front of us. No worries. The Apostle Paul anticipated this spiritual, Catch-22 in his letter to the Romans, chapter ten: How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? (Rom 10:14 ESV) There's the question. Now, how about the answer.
        Two more verses from Romans Chapter 10 sumarize God's wonderful answer: So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Rom 10:17 ESV) The key here is we must hear through the word of Christ, or by using his word as a filter through which we might recognize God's truth. No, that doesn't sound easy, but the proverb goes, "Anythin' worth doin's worth doin' right."
        The second part of that answer(Remember the question?) is: Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, "I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me." (Rom 10:20 ESV) Yes, in some way that makes perfect sense to God, and doesn't have to make sense to us, our believing the gospel is, first and foremost, "a God thing." To come to God in faith, we must choose to follow his prompts; he calls, we choose to follow, or not. And based on our choice, he will, or will not, give us the faith to carry it through.
        The next truth one must accept fully to realize God's love in his or her life takes us back to Psalm 138:6, and God's response to the lowly versus the haughty. Those who claim to follow Christ must listen to him rather than the popular culture, and he said, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Mat 16:24) Debate has raged since Jesus said those words, as to what he meant by "deny himself" and "take up his cross." Did Jesus intend to confuse us? Certainly not! He looked into the distant future, to you and me, and to the worldly, self-centered lies that would assault us constantly. Even then, he recognized the "self-awareness" heresy for what it would be, that man has, is, and always will desperately grasp for self-affirmation. The simple fact is, when we assert ourselves, we elevate ourselves relative to those around us. And when we have succeeded in exalting ourselves, the natural line-of-sight when considering others is right along the ridge of our noses.
        So, what is this "cross" Jesus mentioned that we must take up to follow him? Some have said it is our sin, but that's already on the cross HE carried. Is it the burden of the Gospel that he laid on us? He answered that one with, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Mat 11:29-30 ESV) No, the answer is right in verse twenty-four, before our very eyes: Denying oneself continually, day-by-day, hour-by-hour, is the cross we must bear. In a way, it's the very same cross Jesus committed himself to when in the garden of Gethsemane. He said, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will." (Mat 26:39 ESV)
        As usual, it all comes together at God's will. Rebel against it, and you take your miserable chances. Obey, and share his glory for eternity. Sounds like the ultimate no-brainer.

More On Motives

I'm sure I must have dealt with motives, and my inability to nail them down—or nail them to the cross. Thus, this post's title. Today's Daily Manna From The Net presented Matthew 6:19-23 from the NIV, and began with, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." Instantly, I began congratulating myself for an ancient victory that demonstrated just that disregard for worldly possessions: Terry Brown's boys were all over my nearly-new Honda Accord's hood one Sunday after church. When Terry realized what they were doing, his mortification made him reprimand them harshly. Terry was a full-time student, supporting a family, yet he humbly offered to pay for the paint's repair. I assured him, however, that he needn't worry about paying anything because, except for a few minor scratches to the hood's paint, the car was fine. It took some convincing, but eventually Terry accepted my forgiveness, praising my Christian attitude about possessions. Yes, I forgave Terry and his boys, but not without some inner mourning over my nearly-new car's defacing, and I accepted his praises for my external, selfless attitude. So, hindsight being as acute as it is, these many years later I've come to realize something else probably motivated my grandiose, forgiving gesture. And that something provides no reason for pride. Throughout my life I've wasted countless opportunities for true conflict-resolution because of my phobia of confrontation. When something needed to be said, whether defending myself or confronting wrong behavior, I passionately avoided the issue. And the dynamic always boiled down to stark fear of confrontation. Most folks would be amazed at how many jobs a fear-consumed worker can lose in a lifetime. Once, a friend responded to my confession of fear-controlled relationships with 1 John 4:18, There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. That passage served to change my attitude toward fear, but it didn't change the paralyzing emotion when facing confrontation. Whether it's some jerk flipping me off from behind his self-righteous steering wheel, or a telephone tech-support customer angrily declaring I'm useless, such barbs catch hold and tear away chunks of flesh despite all my knowledge of how I should respond. Since discovering 1 John 4:18 I've "rightly divided" it exhaustively(torn it apart six ways from Sunday and put it back together again) and found not even a lame excuse for dismissing it. Yes, I'm afraid God's not letting me off the hook on this one; as much as I try to love everyone I encounter, I huddle in stark terror when anyone disapproves of me. Solutions? None. Band-Aids? A whole case of them, though I have some consolation in knowing the great Apostle Paul suffered from an unresolved thorn in his flesh. Truth-be-told, the Lord Jesus Christ shed his holy blood to wash away my sins and thorns in the psyche, even those that seem unresolved in this life. Through Christ, I am completely reconciled with the eternal, self-existent One. Yet, it is not I who live, but Christ lives within me. What an encouragement to know victory is mine, despite my short-term failures. So what, if I quiver like a lump of Jello in the face of confrontation. If it really mattered a wit, Jesus' Holy Spirit would—and will—grant me the holy boldness I so desperately crave. How do I know? The Bible told me so!

The Scriptural Basis For Fuss-Budgets

Based on the number of Nervous Nellies, Worry-Warts and Fuss-Budgets filling the average church's pews, we may assume that scripture give lots of foundation for fastidious fidgeting. There's a passage that says, "The Lord cares about what is important, but doesn't give a fig about life's daily cares." (Proverbs 18:26 DSP[Devised Substandard Paraphrase])
        Well, maybe that isn't the right scripture reference, but come on, it's got to be there somewhere. Fact is, churches have refined worrying to high-art, with Murphy's Law as their highest standard of behavior. Need proof? Try running the morning service's dismissal five minutes late. That's right, you would need a sharp knife to cut the atmospheric tension.
        Someone, if you dare, please stand at the end of a worship service and read the following passage from the Holy Bible: No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? (Mat 6:24-27 KJVA) Be ready, though, to finish reading over the sound of appreciative snorting and throat-clearing. And the thought occupying the space behind all those stressed expressions staring at you would be something like, "Why on earth is Pastor so long-winded today? The line at the Smorgasbord will be around the block by the time we get there." Those thoughts harmonize rather well with Matthew 6:25, do they not? Though, this passage from Matthew's gospel has seen more Sunday-morning light than most, it has been heeded less than any other.
        Maybe this vital portion of God's word would garner better reviews if the church leadership believed it more deeply than the pew-sitters. True, the under-shepherd must use his time wisely, with all those wandering sheep that need tending. The lessons of scripture, however, must be taught more by example than by sermonizing. A pastor is likely to have the most nobel of motives for being in a hurry(unless he's also worried about the Smorgasbord line), but Jesus never once hurried during his ministry, except to arrive on time for his crucifixion. Are our worldly concerns nailed to the cross of Christ?

Elisha's Bones by Don Hoesel

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Elisha's Bones
(Bethany House March 1, 2009)
by
Don Hoesel


BUT FIRST, A WORD FROM OUR BLOGGER:

I would say, "Hoesel does it again," but this is Don Hoesel's first novel. As an editor, I could detect a touch of inexperience in places, but always in the form of non-effusive wordiness. Even so, Hoesel's command of language and subtle humor eliminated any potential boredom during the read and kept the entertainment level top-notch.
        As Elisha's Bones was published by Bethany House, I knew it had to qualify as a Christian novel, but this gritty tale never once preaches at the gospel-weary reader, and conspicuously avoids Sunday-school-style conversion scenes. How refreshing! CBA authors, take note: Esperanza's transformed life demonstrates how the Christian way should be modeled in fiction. Believe-it-or-not, CBA authors, the literate public gets it ... even without having Jesus pushed on them.
        Write on, Don Hoesel, we're waiting for your next adventure yarn.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Don Hoesel was born and raised in Buffalo, NY but calls Spring Hill, TN home. He is a Web site designer for a Medicare carrier in Nashville, TN. He has a BA in Mass Communication from Taylor University and has published short fiction in Relief Journal.

He lives in Spring Hill with his wife and two children.

Elisha's Bones is his first novel.


ABOUT THE BOOK

Every year, professor of antiquities Jack Hawthorne looks forward to the winter break as a time to hide away from his responsibilities. Even if just for a week or two. But this year, his plans are derailed when he's offered almost a blank check from a man chasing a rumor.

Billionaire Gordon Reese thinks he knows where the bones of the prophet Elisha are--bones that in the Old Testament brought the dead back to life. The bones of the prophet once raised the dead to life... but they vanished from history in a whisper.

Bankrolled by a dying man of unlimited means, Hawthorne's hunt spans the globe and leads him into a deadly conspiracy older than the church itself. A born skeptic, Jack doesn't think much of the assignment but he could use the money, so he takes the first step on a chase for the legendary bones that will take him to the very ends of the earth.

But he's not alone. Joined with a fiery colleague, Esperanza Habilla, they soon discover clues to a shadowy organization whose long-held secrets have been protected . . . at all costs. And he soon discovers those sworn to keep the secret of the bones will do anything to protect them. As their lives are threatened again and again, the real race is to uncover the truth before those chasing them hunt them down.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Elisha's Bones, go HERE

Boneman's Daughters by Ted Dekker

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing

Boneman's Daughters
Center Street (April 14, 2009)
by
Ted Dekker



BUT FIRST, A WORD FROM OUR BLOGGER:
       Ted Dekker is not new to the thriller genre, but as with all massive institutions, the publishing world is slow to catch on to his unique style and marketability. Hey guys, THIS AUTHOR IS GOOD, even if you've never heard much about him. I guarantee that if you read Boneman's Daughters you'll become a Ted Dekker fan.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Ted is the son of missionaries John and Helen Dekker, whose incredible story of life among headhunters in Indonesia has been told in several books. Surrounded by the vivid colors of the jungle and a myriad of cultures, each steeped in their own interpretation of life and faith, Dekker received a first-class education on human nature and behavior. This, he believes, is the foundation of his writing.

After graduating from a multi-cultural high school, he took up permanent residence in the United States to study Religion and Philosophy. After earning his Bachelor's Degree, Dekker entered the corporate world in management for a large healthcare company in California. Dekker was quickly recognized as a talent in the field of marketing and was soon promoted to Director of Marketing. This experience gave him a background which enabled him to eventually form his own company and steadily climb the corporate ladder.

Since 1997, Dekker has written full-time. He states that each time he writes, he finds his understanding of life and love just a little clearer and his expression of that understanding a little more vivid. Dekker's body of work encompassing seven mysteries, three thrillers and ten fantasies includes Heaven's Wager, When Heaven Weeps, Thunder of Heaven, Blessed Child, A Man Called Blessed, Blink, Thr3e, The Circle Trilogy (Black, Red, White), Obsessed, Renegade, and Chaos.



ABOUT THE BOOK

Would you kill an innocent man to save your daughter?

They call him BoneMan, a serial killer who’s abducted six young women. He’s the perfect father looking for the perfect daughter, and when his victims fail to meet his lofty expectations, he kills them by breaking their bones and leaving them to die.

Intelligence officer Ryan Evans, on the other hand, has lost all hope of ever being the perfect father. His daughter and wife have written him out of their lives.

Everything changes when BoneMan takes Ryan’s estranged daughter, Bethany, as his seventh victim. Ryan goes after BoneMan on his own.

But the FBI sees it differently. New evidence points to the suspicion that Ryan is BoneMan. Now the hunter is the hunted, and in the end, only one father will stand.


If your an avid Dekker fan, and would like wallpaper and counters for your blog, go HERE.

You can listen to an audio clip HERE

Watch the VIDEO:




If you would like to read the first chapter of Boneman's Daughters, go HERE

Deadlock by Robert Liparulo

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Deadlock
Thomas Nelson (April 2009)
by
Robert Liparulo

BUT FIRST, A WORD FROM OUR BLOGGER:

I find I must not recommend DEADLOCK to readers who tend to ignore their responsibilities when entangled in a thriller the likes of this book. And to those who empathize too strongly with well-crafted, three dimensional characters, Warning! This one will break your heart. But to those who love a gripping read regardless of the consequences, buy this book!
        Liparulo possesses a uniquely compelling writing style and voice that digs down to the very heart of each character, whether hero or scuzzbag.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Robert Liparulo is a former journalist, with over a thousand articles and multiple writing awards to his name. Readers of his action-thrillers were not surprised when his visual storytelling style caught the eye of Hollywood producers. Currently, three of his novels for adults are in various stages of development for the big screen: the film rights to Comes A Horseman were purchased by the producer of Tom Clancy’s movies; and Liparulo is penning the screenplays for GERM and Deadfall for two top producers. He is also working with the director Andrew Davis (The Fugitive, Holes) on a political thriller. Novelist Michael Palmer calls Deadfall “a brilliantly crafted thriller.” March 31st marked the publication of Deadfall’s follow-up, Deadlock, which novelist Gayle Lynds calls, “best of high-octane suspense.”

Liparulo’s bestselling young adult series, Dreamhouse Kings, debuted last year with House of Dark Shadows and Watcher in the Woods. Book three, Gatekeepers released in January, and number four, Timescape, comes out in July. The series has garnered praise from readers, both young and old, as well as attracting famous fans who themselves know the genre inside and out. Of the series Goosebumps creator R.L. Stine says, “I loved wandering around in these books. With a house of so many great, haunting stories, why would you ever want to go outside?”

He is currently working on his next thriller, which for the first time injects a bit of the supernatural into his gun-blazing stories. The story is so compelling, two Hollywood studios are already in talks to acquire it—despite its publication date being more than a year away. After that comes a trilogy of novels, based on the critically acclaimed short story he contributed to James Patterson’s Thriller anthology. New York Times bestselling author Steve Berry calls Liparulo’s writing “Inventive, suspenseful, and highly entertaining . . . Robert Liparulo is a storyteller, pure and simple.” He lives with his family in Colorado.


ABOUT THE BOOK

John Hutchinson thinks it's no coincidence that Brendan Page runs this modern Praetorian Guard, and that the billionaire military industrialist must have had something to do with the atrocities his son Declan committed in Canada. The Canadian and U.S. Justice departments disagree, but Hutch has been digging for dirt ever since.

Brendan Page has some dirty not-so-little secrets. he's built an empire on supplying futuristic weapons and highly trained soldiers to the world's most powerful armies. But he's saved his most destructive weapons for himself.

When Hutch discovers the secret of Page's success, Page decides to teach him a lesson. But the operation goes terribly wrong, and Hutch's son is kidnapped. While a lone man stands little chance against the best black op soldiers ever issued M-16s, Hutch manages to survive longer than Page anticipated. As far as Hutch is concerned, high-tech helmets, machine guns, and hand grenades are nothing compared to a man determined to save his son. It's a lesson he sets out to teach Page-and one that he can only hope works as well in the real world as it does in his heart.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Deadlock, go HERE

Eye Surgery

God's word provides many rich symbols and images describing his truth. And his symbol for truth is, perhaps, the brightest of all. Jesus, as reported in Matthew 6:22-23, deals ruthlessly with the materialistic attitudes that we so easily allow to displace any deeper purpose in life.
        The eye can mean ones perspective, or outlook on life. It can either be worldly, focusing on material possessions and personal image, or it can be spiritual, focusing on God's eternal perspective and his gifts and other blessings so liberally given us.
        Lamp can be translated light, which is a symbol of truth. So a healthy eye is one that views life from God's eternal perspective, and the whole body is ones unique set of values, attitudes, beliefs, dreams and ambitions.
        The bad eye, however is a perspective that is clouded by worldly cares, possessions, personal image, philosophies, attitudes and beliefs that yield only the darkness of fundamental error. Normally, darkness is simply lack of illumination, but this whole body darkness is even deeper than that. It is the darkness of a double-shielded chamber; first, no light exists within, and second, external light is blocked by the indelible prejudices that form around a life committed to worldliness and naturalism.
        Speaking of prejudices, though, worldliness and naturalism are not the only ones that block the light of truth. Religious prejudice from deep-seeded human tradition can block truth at least as effectively as any secular lie. God's truth, quite tragic for those whose bad eye prevents its appreciation, makes no distinction between secular darkness and religious darkness. All who live in darkness, those who actively shun God's light, as well as those who passively miss its obvious existence in creation, will one day stand in judgment, in God's unapproachable light, and hear the fateful words that their choices made inevitable:

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." (Mat 25:41-46 ESV)

The Judge will not discriminate between varying shades of doctrine, ones faithful adherence to sacred ritual, or ones position within the church hierarchy. Jesus will simply judge the love shown, or not shown, to the least of these.
        Some will complain that this final judgment is based on our works, while elsewhere, God's word states that we are not saved by our works, but by our faith alone. Such complainers will be disappointed to learn there is no conflict here at all. Simply put, we cannot have saving faith without first allowing God's light to shine into our fallen souls. First, God's light. Next, God's saving faith. Finally, obedience growing out of God's saving faith. No one can have the last without the first, and neither can one truly have God's all-encompassing light without producing the resultant saving faith and the obedient works that it produces.

Guard Against the Knife ... Armor and Other Military-type Stuff.

Ephesians chapter six gives the receptive Christ-follower some solid spiritual protein.
        When Jesus mentioned an idea or command three times in quick succession, he was telling his listener(us) that this is important information. To a student, it would be as if a professor said, "Pay attention, this will be on the exam."
        Vs. 11 begins with his first command to "Put on the whole armor of God." Paul also mentioned this theme of God's armor at the start of his letter to the Romans, demonstrating once again, the high importance of the concept. Here, he reveals his purpose in adopting this military theme, "that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil."
        He places the devil here in the role a shifty, itinerant confidence man who engages the hapless pilgrim in conversation along the way. Inevitably, the conversation will wend its way into a conspiratorial grousing fest; oh, the deceiver agrees completely with the traveler's complaints about the weather, the road's condition, the danger of bandits, the intolerable Roman occupation, any pet peeve that will set the traveler's mind into a negative tail-spin. The devil veils his strategy with false empathy, bonding with the traveler in their seemingly common struggle against the System's unfairness. And of course, God is the System's distant, unapproachable, unsympathetic and judgmental King.
        Without intending to, or even realizing it was taking place, the pilgrim becomes intimate friends with the sympathetic soul who came alongside in a difficult or frustrating time. The deceiver throws his arm over the traveler's shoulder in true fellowship, steadying him, distracting him from the object of his quest, all the while furtively unbuckling the pilgrim's God-given armor. Together they amble onto a side path and into an isolated place where the devil can uncover his weapon and, from point-blank range plunge his fiery bolts into the unwary traveler's heart.
        Yes, this allegory smacks of Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan, which deserves all believers' close examination. So many Christ-followers, especially today, think of the devil as a horrendously ugly and powerful demon. And they envision spiritual warfare as specular exorcisms and blood-sweating intercession for those who are under Satanic attack. While that sort of violent intervention makes heart-pounding novels and movies, however, true spiritual warfare usually involves the enemy slithering into the good guys' trenches and taking on the appearance of an agreeable friend.
        The lesson here is we must never let our armor slip, even when among friends, even when it seems so heavy we can't march another step without dropping it along the way. Though the war-drums' pounding fills the air and incoming projectiles threaten our very existence, the means of our demise is far more likely to be a knife in the back.
        Then Paul explains in the most lucid terms, why we must don God's whole armor. This is like the early morning, pre-mission briefing that an officer gives his subordinates, identifying the enemy, clarifying the mission's objectives and rules of engagement, and trying to hype them up with a pep talk.
        First, the officer/author breaks the news that the enemy they will face is not comprised of the garden variety of brawny, heavily armored, blood-thirsty soldiers. In fact, we won't be going up against common soldiers at all. Today's mission is going to be anything but a cinch as we fight against forces of an entirely different kind.
        Our generation commonly plays electronic games where we engage a well armed enemy. We enter the fray with virtual particle-beam weapons blasting away any hapless monster that comes against us. We feel powerful, even invenceable; each time he takes us out we pop back up, having suffered nothing but a loss of points and capabilities. For one thing, our enemy is immortal; we can't kill it.
        And he is powerful in every way we can fear, which loads us down with terror and timidity. What soldier can fight while hunkered down in a corner trying not to be noticed? While his slaughter may be delayed by concealment, it is inevitable.
        Our true enemy actually holds all temporal, worldly authority in his ugly claws. And his invisible minions bear his delegated authority, an authority usurped from God when Man first chose his own way over the perfect way God had prescribed for him.
        And his most insidious power, his most dangerous and trusted weapon, is the wickedness of worldly religious authority. We Christ-followers have gotten the idea, diametrically opposed to the truth, that religion in any form is better than irreligion or no religion at all. Somehow we imagine that atheists are the greatest sinners because they desperately oppose the idea of spirituality, the visible trappings, and the influence of religion. But we are wrong ... deadly wrong.
        If we study Jesus' example of confronting evil, we see that the one evil he most consistantly attacked was the Jewish religious authorities who bent and spun God's law for their own gain, trying—but never quite succeeding—to satiate their own lust for power.
        How many sects of Christendom began with a nugget of God's truth, made perfectly clear to a man of God by his Holy Spirit through his word? And how many of those sects, or denominations, adopt values and traditions that directly oppose God's revealed will? Too many, that's how many.
        Christ-followers raised in these denominational traditions become blind to God's truth, when their church paints ever more carnal values over their established mural of truth. Sure, the leadership has wonderful ideas on how to spiff up the Gospel of Christ so as not to offend. And to make it more interesting, they cover that heavenly mural's subtle, inspired tones with the garish, bright colors that saturate our commercial world. Since it is all religiously done in the name of Christ, we impotent-minded lemmings follow right along.
        The solution? Some Christian fundamentalists would have us indiscriminately reject all of the traditional church's teachings, trappings and traditions as part of its vast apostasy, not realizing that the church's founders were godly men responding to God's Holy Spirit-illuminated word. Perhaps the greatest tragedy of this latter-day reformation, perpetrated by well-meaning, post-modernists, is throwing out the baby of truth concealed by the filthy bath water of humanism.
        Our only strategy for avoiding religion's human contamination is to nurture our own "baby of truth" to maturity, continuing our steadfast quest, always remaining teachable, and thus, reachable by God's Holy Spirit. Those of us who recognize human religion's error will never succeed in assaulting its ivory-towered bastions by direct confrontation. Religions sear their constituents' minds and hearts against the light of God's word, making them even silver bullet-proof. No, arguing religion with the religious, or the irreligious, is useless.
        Rather than attacking directly, Christ-followers would more likely succeed by infiltration; guerrilla spiritual warfare. After all, one of our prime directives is, "Let your light shine among men so that they will see your good works and glorify your Heavenly Father." While light dazzles the eyes of those in deep darkness, those who have some spiritual vision might just take a look at the "new guy's" life. Of course, that would mandate living a Christ-like, not necessarily religious, life. If that worries the Christian, however, he may as well plant his body on a pew and take root.