God Blog

• Authority of Author: Scripture itself claims to be authored by the direction of God: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Seen in this light, every verse comes from the highest Authority. Even so, in certain instances extra consideration may be given to the New over the Old Testament. The teachings of Christ would seem to merit the highest consideration.

• Vitality of concept: What importance does the plain meaning of the passage's language communicate? To what degree does the author use syntax to accentuate the topic.

• Development of thought: How many verses are used to develop the thought? Is it continued throughout most of or even the entire chapter?

• Repetition of idea: Do subsequent chapters continue the same or a complementary train of thought? Does the author reinforce the concept in additional Bible books? How many of the Bible's 66 books and 40 different authors develop the same or similar themes?

• Detail of instruction: How much time and trouble does the author invest in detailing the concept? The more precise and compelling the instruction, the higher the emphasis being communicated.

• Indirect references: Beyond the direct language, does the author support the theme with indirect references? These might include citing other passages as well as the use of metaphor and typology.

• Stated benefits: What are the clearly stated benefits of understanding and complying with directive or meeting the conditions associated with promise?

• Explicit or implicit warnings: What level of disappointment or danger is the author warning against? What risks are involved in failing to heed the warning? How easily reversed are the negative consequences being discussed? Are the outcomes described temporal or eternal?

• Total Books: 66
• Authors: 40
• Chapters: 1,189
• Verses: 31,101
• Words: 783.137
• Commands: 6,468
• Promises: 1,260
• Predictions: 8,000 +
• Fulfilled prophecy: 2,000
• Unfilled prophecy: 500
• Languages translated into: 1,200
• Bibles printed: 6,000,000,000

• "We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." 2 Peter 1:16-21

• "There's nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God's way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us." 2 Timothy 3:15-17 MSG

• "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." Hebrews 4:12-13

• "When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others." 1 Corinthians 2:13-15

• "I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you." John 16:12-14

• Mortality: Full appreciation that we are not just fearfully and wonderfully made but most fearfully and wonderfully made, in a fearful and wonderful place, living fearful and/or wonderful lives, facing fearful and/or wonderful futures and a most fearful or wonderful eternity.

• Nature: We are triune beings as perviously explained. Hence we are spirits (eternal beings) possessing souls (personality) living in bodies. While God is the great I Am. I am nothing great. He has so much, everything. He knows so much, everything. He is so much, everything. Tri-Omnity. Eternally Self Existing and immutable.

• Sin: As good and evil blur into merely points of view, individuals and whole societies are free to do whatever's right in their own eyes. Yet, even the mundane has rules. Basketball without a rim and archery without a target would be meaningless. How much more so life? Rather than sounding an alarm over escalating levels of original and modern sin, Churchianity continues on with business as usual. Attending church has replaced being the Church. A passion for bigger buildings, mega ministries and comforting messages has usurped the fire of prayer, Bible study and selfless service. Vanishing, yet necessary hallmarks of true Christianity down through millennia.

• Obedience: As with our own children there are levels of obedience. Scripture requires we grow into greater maturity. Unfortunately, for the vast majority of church attendees, rather than having 5-20 years of Christian experience, we have 1 year of elementary Christian experience 5-20 times.

• Worship: What might be the difference between the worship preferences of Laodicea vs Philadelphia? What criteria would make modern worship honest and acceptable? What might be the cost of mistaking faith for presumption, or even profanity; i.e. treating the sacred as common?

• If My People: A familiar passage to many, God’s formula for repentance is little understood and employed even less.

• Cure for Worldliness: As discussed, only once does the Bible not only diagnose worldliness within the church, but offer a line by line prescription in treating this malevolent tumor metastasizing throughout the body of Christ. Particularly in the First World.

• Remembering Scripture: The average Christian is unable to quote ten verses in a row.

• Doctrinal Error: If you can’t remember Scripture it’s unlikely you’re interpreting it correctly. No wonder errors abound in understanding what the Bible truly has to say in regards to such crucial topics as salvation and the Holy Spirit, prayer and worship, eternal security and eschatology.

• Unanswered Prayer: The biggest reason for prayerlessness is unanswered prayer. Yet, rather than addressing the root causes of this extremely serious issue, we choose to either opt out or pretend all is well.

• Prayer Meetings: It’s been said, “You can measure the popularity of a church by the number participating in a Sunday service. You can measure the popularity of a pastor by the number participating in a midweek service. You can measure the popularity of God by the number participating in a regularly scheduled prayer meeting.” By this standard, God’s popularity has plummeted to single digits. Makes one wonder with defeats such as the inversion of millennia of morality, the abortion of over a billion, untold numbers of family members lost to sin etc. what more motivation is necessary? The lack of an extremely well attended serious and lengthy prayer meeting offered weekly, if not daily, is a tragic sign of the times. It’s one thing to fight and fail, quite another to fail to fight.

• Levels of Prayer: As there are various modes of prayer, so too are there levels of commitment and fervency. Again these include simply praying for, which largely amounts to wishful thinking. Next would be pressing in for hours at a time. Finally there is praying through, which implies continual intercession until the answer is in hand. In a time such as this, it's the role of wise intercessors to recognize the temptation and sin overwhelming society. Including those embraced by the people of God. Like Jeremiah, they pour out their soul in lament that God would save His people, even in the face of great personal cost. Like Habukkuk, they wrestle with God that in justice and judgment He might remember mercy. Like Mary and the Canaanite mother, they refuse to take no for an answer. Like Paul in his greatest prayer, they travail that the gifts of the Spirit would flourish and multiply, and the Church would be “filled with all the fullness of God.” Yet, where are the mature among us dedicated to this most crucial of missions? The fulfillment of which would benefit everyone in every way. Oh that we would genuinely pursue, and thus entertain a realistically hope, of fully experiencing the Spirit’s presence and power, provision and protection. In ways "exceedingly, abundantly, beyond all that we can ask or think.”

• Kingdom Wisdom: The New Testament reveals a heavenly wisdom in direct option to worldly thinking. Christian fellowship must reflect the importance of understanding the difference and choosing sanctification.

• Immorality: Though we may hope and pretend otherwise, immorality is a leading deal breaker in Scripture. A nearly 60 year deluge of temptation and deception has turned every aspect of Earth into a Waterworld of entitlement and sin.

• Dualism: A vast majority of society fails to appreciate the role dualism plays in shaping our lives. A form of double-mindedness, we are not only capable of good and evil, but often participate in both. Knowingly and not. Note: As was the case with the Rich Man in the story of Lazarus, the judgment of eternity will forever clarify the wisdom or folly of our choices. Truth, currently clouded by individual and corporate foolishness, will then have it’s eternal dawn. Long after the current cosmos have vanished, God’s glory will illuminate mankind’s cumulative consciousness. Some to everlasting joy and praise. Some to endless weeping and gnashing of teeth. There, knowing as precisely as we’re known, before eternity and the host of Heaven, there will be no shadow of confusion or turning, no discussion or excuse.

• Brokenness: Deeper than humility, brokenness is the honest expression of having our eyes and ears opened by Scripture and the Holy Spirit.

• Pentecostal Paradox: A major cause for the afore mentioned failures is lack of understanding of and insensitivity to the Holy Spirit. The two leading points of view regarding the Spirit’s work are opposite in nature, yet both have a negative, if not damning, effect. A majority of denominations and/or churches choose, purposefully or by default, cessationist theology. This suggests that miraculous gifts were only meant to attest to the veracity of the new revelation preached by Christ and His apostles. When this revelation was canonized into Scripture, the astonishing miracles ceased. Having timed out as a new dispensation focusing on the Bible began. Thus the authority of Scripture is said to have replaced the need for the extraordinary healing of the sick, tongues and their interpretation, prophecy, etc. A convenient doctrine to justify both worldliness and subsequent powerlessness. An excuse glaringly absent from Scripture. On the flip side, when it comes to gifts of the Spirit, modern Charismatics play loose with the facts, falsely assuring themselves of harmony with God via the continual demonstration of the miraculous in their midst.

• Fruit of the Spirit: God has tasked mankind with the gracious directive to develop and practice the fruit of the Spirit. As it is defined in Scripture. It’s more the quality than the quantity of direct and indirect Bible passages that emphasize the fruit of the Spirit as one of the of most crucial of topics.

• Gifts of the Spirit: The gifts of the Spirit, particular the healing of the sick, are essential in replicating the New Testament experience. Indispensable in both the ministry of Jesus, and that of His apostles in the Book of Acts, spiritual gifts stand as the first and foremost Christian icon of the presence and power of God.

• Prayer of Faith: Christ’s brother James, the head of the 1st century church of Jerusalem, admonishes, “Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” The fact that nearly to a church we are unable to routinely heal the sick strongly suggests either we have no genuine elders or they are unable to pray the prayer of faith.

• Revival: In light of our current spiritual crises, few topics are as relevant as revival. While the term has come to mean different things to different people, the kind of revival humanity needs is an unparalleled move of God on an unprecedented scale. Yet, the greatest restriction to the growth of the Kingdom of God lies not with those who know God least but best. The call to receive the challenge of revival falls not on the shoulders of sinners but saints.

• Abortion: In a single generation the loss of human life by clinical abortion has grown to eclipse all other forms of killing. From the men and women seeking abortion, to the institutions supporting its proliferation, the quantity and quality of so much innocent blood has spiritually stained our blue planet red.

• Abortion and the Church: Abortion’s devastating impact on the Church is universally underestimated. Without overstatement, it is the most cunning and devilish sin in human history. With over 60 million performed in the United States, clinical abortion in the U.S. has taken ten times more American lives than WWII. With more than a billion world wide, abortion’s toll is equivalent 5-10 times Earth’s entire population in Christ’s day. Fearful statistics in light of Christ’s waring, “Whatever you’ve done or failed to do to the least of these my brothers you’ve done or failed to do to Me.”

• Aborting our Prayers: When it comes to aborting planet fulls of the most innocent, Churchianity’s sins of omission and commission regarding abortion have been impacting our prayers for decades. “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. For your hands are stained with blood,  your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken falsely, and your tongue mutters wicked things. No one calls for justice; no one pleads a case with integrity… Their feet rush into sin; they are swift to shed innocent blood. They pursue evil schemes; acts of violence mark their ways.”

• Abortion and the Good Samaritan: Their's no greater question than how to inherit eternal life. The Bible records Jesus only being directly asked this question twice. The story of the Good Samaritan, which incidentally is not offered as a parable, raises questions about modern doctrines of salvation and grace. It’s also a chilling correlation to our lackluster response to the pinnacle sin of abortion.

• Authentically Pro-Life: There are differing views on what it means to be truly be pro-life. Sadly, the prevailing opinion is to be privately against abortion, whether such sympathies often or ever translate into appropriate action. If Christ taught that simply being anti-robbery and pro-safe travel wouldn’t save the priest and levite, how shall we today fare who fail the test of being Good Samaritans?

• General Revelation: There is mounting evidence that the Bible is God’s Special Revelation. Nevertheless there is a growing disconnect among Christians on how Creation (general revelation) must seamlessly integrate with our understanding of Scripture (special revelation).

• Young vs Old Earth: Again, the difference between Young and Old Earth creationism is night and day. To put it mildly, clergy and laity alike clinging to discredited beliefs appear foolish and uneducated in the scientific arena. An unfortunate and unnecessary hurdle in promoting the gospel.

• Amusement: Literally means "not to think.”

• Waisted Time: The average family routinely invests 100's of hours a month in TV and social media, yet invest less than a tenth as much diligently seeking God. Hardly redeeming the time as the Bible dictates.

• Morality: The proliferation of what was once considered soft porn infects everything from cartoons to prime time TV programing and commercials. Again failing the test of Scripture.

• Porn: Thousands of scenes depicting acts of immorality and hard porn, not to mention entire episodes and series, movies and music videos are dedicated to such programming. Absolutely anathema.

• Profanity: Millions of curse words permeate thousands of scenes, not to mention entire episodes and series, movies and music videos. Absolutely anathema.

• Violence: Tens of thousands of scenes, not to mention entire episodes and series, movies and music videos are dedicated to such programming. Up to and including the extremely popular and lucrative gore genre. Absolutely anathema.

• Occult: Tens of thousands of scenes, not to mention entire episodes and series, movies and music videos are dedicated to such programming. Up to and including the extremely popular and lucrative horror genre. Absolutely anathema.

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