People of different persuasions, philosophers, atheists, scientists, scholars, historians, communists, sociologists, and even some liberal theologians, are amazed, baffled, and some are perturbed that in spite of the hard going journey through the ages, Christianity has managed to survive, and even thrive.

They are surprised that Christianity has emerged virtually unscathed, and that spirituality and religion are so highly valued even in today’s godless culture of materialism and secular domination. They thought that once newfangled ideas came on the scene, ideas cultivated by people like evolutionary scientists, militant atheist, and New Age advocates, to name a few, that Christianity would not only be sidelined or submerged, but possibly killed off permanently. It has not happened, it will not happen.

Christians need to remember that all these fanciful ideas are just that, fanciful, and in time they will vanish as surely as the flat earth theory vanished after it was shown to be  just another European fantasy.

If Christianity survived the murderous external assault of the Muslims, the wretched, blood-spattered warfare of the Crusades, the internecine battles for doctrinal orthodoxy, and the enormous rupture caused by The Reformation, then it must have done so because of something beyond human’s ability to destroy.

That something beyond human’s ability to destroy can be identified, and as always, when you are stumped for answers, when the magicians, and soothsayers, and philosophers, and talking heads, and the willfully blind are clueless, as they so often are, then look to the scriptures for proper enlightenment.

The Bible tells us why Christianity is very much alive today, why all attempts to destroy the faith has failed, why the so-called intellectuals are baffled at its longevity and continuing appeal and vitality. The Bible puts it like this, “And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.” (Acts 5:38-39)

Whole countries, indeed entire empires, have fought against God and none has won that battle. The Babylonian Empire fought against God, and they lost, and are no more. The Persian Empire fought against God, and they also lost. The Greek Empire, that brought so much to civilization, also fought against God and lost. And the mightiest of them all, the Roman Empire, fought against God and lost too. They all lost out in the end because they turned to secularism and ungodliness as their way of life.

Even in more recent times we saw powerful countries, even so-called “superpowers”, who tried desperately to wipe out Christianity, and failed. A good example is the Soviet Union that tried to wipe out Christianity agrees perhaps that, “Religion is poison,” as Mao Tse-Tung was said to have stated. The Soviet Union failed, its legacy is now a footnote in history, but Christianity is still going as strong as ever. Believers, and indeed the whole world, should remember the mantra, “…if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it”.

In a previous article I said, “So Satan’s ploy, in pushing an evil, many-sided agenda, is to sift you, to move you away from the verities of the word of God and the Christian faith, to detach you from the groundings that will guarantee your anchorage in Christ and let you be lost.”

The tactics may differ, but the aim is always the same; to get you to relinquish your godly stand, to unbalance you, to get you into a state of uncertainty and equivocation, because it is then that you may move away from God.

Paul was very conscious of this, of the real possibility that under pressure some believers may go away from God, and so he encouraged the believers like this, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1)

The plain truth is that when some people are confronted with certain events, or when they are certain to face some upcoming challenge, they allow themselves to be intimidated. It is true that some challenges can be tough, but challenges also provide opportunity for you to see God at work if you stand your ground.

Let us be mindful of what happened to Moses when he led the Israelites out of Egypt, and was confronted by the formidable challenge posed by the Red Sea. God was about to do something unheard of, something spectacular, and mighty, but first, Moses had to stand firm and keep his cool, and not allow the Israelites to panic. Moses did as God instructed and was able to achieve success, “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord”, and as we say the rest is history.

The Apostle Paul was the most persecuted and abused apostle of Jesus Christ, the list of some of his sufferings is listed in 2 Corinthians 11: 23-25, and before he finally left Asia Minor he called the leaders to say goodbye, made them aware of his upcoming tribulations and ended the discourse with these words:

“And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.” (Acts 20: 22-23) It was going to be perilous going forward, undoubtedly not something to look forward to, but Paul was determined, “But none of these things move me” (Acts 20: 24)

Believers everywhere are in a similar situation, no one is immune from the assaults of the enemy; although the specifics may vary. As long as you are a believer, no matter how strong your faith, or where on this planet you live, you will be sorely tested. And if, for some reason or another you think you are different, then I warn you what the Bible says, “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12)

So how are we to make sure we stand firm in the faith?

Here are some things believers can do to stand firm in the faith.

1. Refresh your belief in God and his power to aid you. It is often the case that we get lulled into a state of helplessness, and forget that God is the God of miracles, and can do what to us might seem impossible. Just like a Christian revival, certain bad habits can diminish our fervour and reliance on the Almighty God and his power, and we are not firing on all cylinders. We often know the scriptures, but do not bother to petition God to act on his word, like here, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7”14) God’s power is available to assist you, but you must not only want it, but request it in times of need. Refresh, test, evaluate; this is the way to success.

2. Refuse to be over-burdened by circumstances. This is harder than it may seem at first sight because, sometimes, tragedies in the family, and such, can be extremely tough to handle. But the excuse some believers make, that they tried, but could not help themselves, or that the pressure became too great, are instances of being over-burdened. Being over-burdened is evidence that you are taking on your shoulders what you should not. God knows what you can bear, will not place on you more than you can handle, and the Bible tells us, “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” (Psalm 55:22) Even when you are over-burdened, when things become too much for you, it is still time to reach out to God in faith. I believe this is what David meant when he said, “From a faraway land I call to you for help. I feel so weak and helpless! Carry me to a high rock, where no one can reach me.” (Psalm 61:2 Easy-to-Read Version)

3. Remember to focus on God and eternal things. The truth is, that there is a strong tendency to become too strongly attached to earthly things, to let matters concerning property, wealth, general matters of living, family, and the like, consume our time and attention. We must make time, quality time, to study the Bible, pray, meditate and do the spiritual things that bring us closer to God. Sometimes we forget that earthly things are trivial and fleeting, whereas the heavenly things are glorious and eternal. The Bible puts it like this: “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” (Colossians 3:2)

What we know, what is certain, is that the devil has not the power to move you if you stand firm in the faith. It is up to every believer to be strong-willed, determined, resolute, not budging from what is true and unchanging. God will give you the victory if you stand firm, “I must calm down and turn to God; only he can rescue me. He is my Rock, the only one who can save me. He is my high place of safety, where no army can defeat me.” (Psalm 62:1-2 Easy-to-Read Version)

Staff Writer; Henderson W.

You can contact this Christian brother at: HWard@ThyBlackMan.com.

“ Remember Lot’s wife.” (Luke 17:32)

There is an abiding danger, however caused, that the present generation, and indeed generations to come, forget the significant milestones of the past, and thereby nullify the achievements, endeavours, and travails of those who have passed this way, and how God has been central to their survival and accomplishments.

Europe today calls itself “post-Christian” as if Christianity is a worn garment that you can cast off after it has served its purpose. Sadly, this same attitude is seen in some non-European countries, and coupled with the spread of vicious atheism, believers need to look back and remember the important role God played in the preservation of humanity.

It is also important that we see how essential and interlinked are the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. Some believers think that the Old Testament has no relevance to Christianity and the Church Age, and they deem the Old Testament as nothing more than the Jewish Bible.

While it is true that the Old Testament is a Jewish document recording the dealings of God with the Jews, and detailing the beliefs and practices of Judaism their religion, it is also true that the Old Testament is a fore-runner of the New Testament and is the foundation on which is built a lot of Christian theology. And it stands staunchly as Holy Scripture for all time.

In addition, it’s true that the Old Testament saints (nearly all Jews) and the New Testament believers (nearly all Gentiles) are one people in Christ with a common heritage, as noted by Paul in Romans 3:29-30. Hence, when God asks us to remember something that pertains to the one, it must of necessity have some relevance to the other.

The biblical feasts and festivals should be remembered, above all, because God  instructed the Jews to keep them in mind, but also for their significance, “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.” (Leviticus 23:1-2)

Israel, like all countries, have different years. Here in Barbados, for example, we have the financial year that begins on 1^st April, as well as the calendar (Gregorian) year that begins on Ist January. In Israel, each month begins with the new moon, and the first month of the new year, Nisan, is in the Gregorian calendar month of March or early April. Israel’s 12 month calendar is as follows:

1. Nisan, 30 days – 2. Iyar, 29 days – 3. Sivan, 30 days – 4. Tammuz, 29 days – 5. Av, 30 days – 6. Elul, 29 days – 7. Tishrei, 30 days – 8. Marcheshvan (or Cheshvan), 29/30 days – 9. Kislev, 30/29 days – 10. Tevet, 29 days – 11. Shevat, 30 days – 12. Adar, 29 days.

In the Bible, Israel had seven feasts, or festivals, that they were to keep throughout their generations. They added several others after independence in 1948, but the seven biblical ones are as follows in calendar order:

1. Passover, Exodus 12:13-14

2. Unleavened Bread, Exodus 23:15

3. Firstfruits, Leviticus 23:13-14

4. The Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), Leviticus 23:16-21

5. The Feast of Trumpets, Numbers 29:1

6. The Day of Atonement, Leviticus 23:26-32

7. The Feast of Booths (Tabernacles or Ingathering). Leviticus 23:39-41

The Passover is perhaps the most wellknown of the biblical feast, and it commemorates the time when the firstborn of the Egyptian household was killed and the Israelites spared. The Israelites were instructed to kill a lamb and spread its blood across the door posts and lintel, and when the death angel passed, it would pass over the Israelites, sparing their firstborn. The full details of the event are recorded in Exodus 12:1-14.

Why does the Passover matter to believers?

The Passover is the most important festival to believers because the Lord’s Supper, (that we take regularly as the Holy Communion), was a Passover meal. Remember what Paul said regarding this, “For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.” (1 Corinthians 11:25). When Jesus passed the bread to his disciples and told them that it was his body, and that they should eat it, Jesus was portraying himself as the Passover lamb, and Paul acknowledged it, “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.” (1 Corinthians 5:7)

The Feast of Unleavened Bread was the event when the Israelites were instructed to eat bread without yeast, illustrating the hasty preparation they made to depart from Egypt. The Feast of Unleavened Bread lasted for one week and followed immediately after the Passover. The full details of this event are recorded in Exodus 12:15-20.

Why does the Feast of Unleavened Bread matter to believers?

In Matthew 16:6-12, Jesus described the Pharisees as hypocrites, and their teaching as yeast. He warned his disciples to, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” (Matthew 16:6) In the New Testament , yeast is often associated with evil, and Paul said, “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” (Galatians 5:9) Since believers are to purge themselves of evil (1 Corinthians 7:1) and to present their bodies as a living sacrifice unto God (Romans 12:1), it is apt to remember both the origins of this feast and its application by Jesus.

The Offering of Firstfruits was a festival that took place at the beginning of the harvest and commemorated Israel’s gratitude to and dependence on God. In fact, Israel brought first fruits to God at various times of the year, depending on the specific crop that was harvested, but the Offering of Firstfruits, detailed in Leviticus 23:9-14, occurred in combination with the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and focused on the barley harvest. The full details of this event are recorded in Leviticus 23:9-14.

Why does the Offering of Firstfruits matter to believers?

Many churches throughout the world still engage in this Old Testament festival, the Harvest Festival, because all life on earth depends on crops of every variety to exists, and believers show their gratitude to and dependence on God. Some regard this festival as symbolic of the resurrection of Christ, “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” (1 Corinthians 15:20)

In addition to these three, they are four other feasts that were to be remembered. The Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) that celebrated the grain harvest, and the day Christians celebrate the arrival of the Holy Spirit; the Feast of Trumpets as stated in Numbers 29:1, was a celebration at the end of the agricultural year, and which Christians associate with the end of the age and trumpet blowing (Matthew 24:31, 1 Thessalonians 4:16); the Day of Atonement was concerned with atoning for the sins of the people, and which Christians associate with the sacrificial death of Christ on Good Friday (or Jesus’ Second Advent); the Feast of Booths (or tabernacles or Ingathering) was concerned with living in huts made from palm fronds to recall the sojourn of the Israelites in the wilderness before entering the land of Canaan, and which Christians associate with the start of the Millennium (and Christ living among us).

All these feasts were related to the spiritual life of the people. When God asks us to remember, he is not asking us to do a trip down memory lane for sentimental reasons, but for practical reasons related to our spirituality. In the most significant cases that God asks us to remember, he wants us to do something, to act, to take steps in a certain direction, to follow a course of action to uplift, invigorate and strengthen us in the faith. Here are three examples:

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” (Exodus 20:8). The world has gone mad in disrespecting and disregarding the sabbath day, and everywhere you can see how Sunday, for them, is just another day. Alas, some believers follow the example of the world, and engage in a number of unimportant things, things they could easily do on other days, and forget that God says to keep the sabbath holy. Believers need to remember, and act, “To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.” (Psalm 103:18)

“Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” (Revelation 2:5). This is not only true for the Ephesians, who had left their first love, but for all believers who have fallen away, regressed, or relinquish their enthusiasm and passion for the things of God and of Jesus. Get back to where you once were, is the call here for believers to remember.

“ Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.” (Revelation 3:3) The Sardisians had gotten sloppy, and it was badly affecting their spirituality. Believers today can get sloppy too, not being watchful and attentive, and being vulnerable to calamity if God puts in his appearance.

God loves his children, and so prompts them to remember things – for their own good.

Staff Writer; Henderson W.

You can contact this Christian brother at: HWard@ThyBlackMan.com.

As I walked through High Street last Christmas season, I saw an amazing sight. In this capital city of Barbados, nestling peacefully in the alluring blue waters of the Caribbean Sea, Bridgetown was abuzz with Christmas shoppers, and tourist with an assortment of holiday ensembles, some of the dresses and shirts could only be described as colourful, were enjoying the sights and sounds of the most tourist friendly nation in the Caribbean.

And there he was, bedraggled, forlorn, half-starved and pityful, wearing clothing that looked not to have known the benefits of washing for decades, and it was hanging majestically around his scrawny neck. Awesome.

How does someone, often seen sleeping on the street, often sitting on the sidewalk propped up against a wall, now in a moment of rare lucidity, has such a sign hanging around his neck. A sign that can be plainly read from back and front. The sign, or perhaps more accurately signs, one in front and the other behind, were hanging from his neck with cardboard rectangles in bold writing that said, “THE WORLD WILL END. REPENT.”

How did HE know that?

Is it not true, that truth can emanate from the most unlikely of sources? The wise have learned to be extremely careful not to ignore truth simply because it comes from an unexpected source, from someone we do not regard as credible, or someone we may not even respect. The Bible affirms this in words like these, “In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.” (Luke 10:21)

Even bogus religions and religious sects (same thing really) think that the world will end. Religious sects do not have a proper understanding of theology, and their access to divine revelation is non-existant, but some, like the Jehovah Witnesses, are constantly harping on that the world will end and give likely dates, which in the past have proven to be wrong.

It does not matter who articulates a biblical truth, that truth will stand, not because of who is saying it, but because it is a truth derived from the ultimate source, i.e., God himself.

Believers get themselves so worked up, and frustrated, when certain people say things that seem to cast doubt on God’s word. They should not. Nobody will ever find anything that will ever contradict God. Never.

If God had made this world to go through many iterations, but to continue forever, then that would be fine, and he would have said so. But God did not say so, since his intention was to create a world that has a beginning and an end. God owes nobody an explanation, or an apology, or excuse, for anything that he does. It is the height of arrogance, and shows how far we are from God, how wretched must be our soul’s condition, that we would blaspheme our maker with such foul thoughts.

This world will come to end because it is temporary. God made it so for his own purpose, and nothing we do, or say, or think, will change that.

Some people believe that we may end this world through the use of nuclear weapons, some think climate change will do the trick, and some think a combination of natural disasters might bring this world to an end. People are free to guess, to speculate, to argue and fight for their version of eschatology, but we humans are incapable of affecting God’s timescale, even in the most minuscule manner.

People forget that time was not always part of God’s universe. God created time, just like he has created the sea, the stars and us humans. And by divine design, time will cease to exist when it has served God’s purpose. God, and God alone, will call time on time, just like the referee or umpire blows the whistle to call time at the end of a game.

The Apostle John stated this fact, of God calling time, like this:

“And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer.” (John 11:5-6)

Time will be no more, Armageddon would be past, the Great Tribulation would be over, the White Throne Judgment would be history, and Jesus would have wrapped it all up with his final, delegated authority:

“Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.” (1 Corinthians 15:24)

This world will come to end because it has served its purpose. One of the arguments used for the existence of God is called the Design Argument, or teleological argument, an argument that I vehemently refuse to use on the grounds that any philosophical argument can be debunked. However, the purposefulness of all things in the universe, the reason they exist, is more than mere philosophical argument. It’s a matter of fact, and here is how the Bible puts it:

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

No matter how fond you are of a piece of clothing, no matter its sentimental value, you know that the time comes when it has served its purpose and has to be discarded. God, in like manner, and without the sentimental attachment, will do the same with this world when the time is right. God will relish doing so, since the world he created would have served his purpose fully and completely, in accordance with his will.

This world will come to end because God’s will is perfected. There are some things the human mind cannot conceive, like anything that has no beginning, and has no end. Infinity, although it can be described, is a concept beyond humans. Just like Almighty God, or his perfect will. We can accept or deny the concept, we can like or dislike the idea, but we cannot entirely wrap our minds around it, and that gives us a problem. The Bible asks the question, “Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?” (Job 11:7)

The answer to Job’s question is no. Some things we cannot search and find, we have to be told or shown. That is why God is God. Remember what the Bible tells us about God: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith 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.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)

God could have dwelt in eternity, in a perfect existence, and he would be absolutely complete and perfect. But he chose to create companionship, to share his existence with others. He could have created the angels and stopped there, but he chose to create humans and allow them to choose if they wanted to share eternity with him. Awesome indeed.

Finish story here; Christians: The World Will End, Repent While There Is Still Time.

If you have ever asked yourself some of these same or similar questions, then perhaps you like me need to study the definition of what it means to be tolerant.

Tolerance means the acceptance of differing views and fairness towards the people who hold these different views, the act of putting up with somebody or something irritating or otherwise unpleasant, or even the ability to remain unaffected.

While on the surface this seems like quite a good definition and we may think on first blush “Oh I get it – enough said”. I believe we need to dig deeper to fully understand it because of a few words that stick out, at least to me, buried in its definition. These words are; acceptance, fairness, irritating and unaffected.

Acceptance is another sneaky way of saying you agree with or have a willingness to believe that something is true. It means that you are having a realization of a fact or truth and you are in the process of coming to terms with it.

Fairness means to be just or impartial and being impartial means that you have no direct involvement or interest in one side more than another.

To cause somebody to feel annoyance or exasperation is another way of saying that they are irritating you. However, irritating can also mean to cause a painful reaction.

Lastly the word unaffected is defined as to be not changed or influenced by something.

Wow – with those words explained, we can now move on to the heart of the issue associated with tolerance. When we dissect the word tolerance, we can put it into the form of what most people use it for when they lay claim to it. When someone says they are tolerant of other religions what they are truly saying for themselves is that they have no real religion of their own or that they don’t think enough of their own beliefs to stand up for them, therefore, they don’t truly have any. I know I said it; you might want to go back and read it again because I’m not going to change it!

If you’re still with me right now let me further explain it this way. First of all, religious tolerance is primarily relied upon to claim that each religion has some truth or truths to it. While that may be, I have been taught at least, as an American, to seek (and speak) the whole truth and nothing but the truth (so help me God).

Why is truth important? Well that really can only be answered by the individual because if truth is not important to you as an individual then nothing else matters. You can do whatever, whenever, wherever, to whomever you want. Given our society’s high violent crime rate and the world’s implosion on itself, you may agree with me that many today do not value truth. On the other hand if you do have a sense that truth is important, then it must be either all or nothing. Again, if it is only somewhat important, it’s easy to slide into the mindset previously described.

So then, if truth is important and truth by it’s definition is true and can not be altered why are we afraid to seek it, learn it, share it or even discuss or challenge it. If truth is truth, then throw it on the floor of the arena (the school auditorium, the court room, the military tribunal, the work place or any other venue of choice) and let it stand for itself. There is no need to argue for or against truth – it is what it is. For example, we know a truth here on earth called gravity. What goes up must come down. We do not have to argue the point, if you don’t agree with the truth just try to contradict it and suffer the consequences. Jump as high into the air as you can and defy gravity’s truth and you will soon see what I mean. Hence, those who live by truth have no need for argument or debate; they simply live it out as an example to others.

However, when one doesn’t know the truth but thinks that they do or they only know part of the truth and think perhaps that it’s the whole truth; they must fight for their point of view and hold their ground. It is this kind of thinking and argument that has given religion a bad name. Again, this is why many religious people end up fighting others or even against those of their own sect for their beliefs. Please understand that beliefs and truth are not always synonymous. Just because I may believe the earth is flat does not make it so.

If I do possess the truth, then when I encounter the counterfeit, what should be my obligation to it? Should I ignore it? Basically when someone taunts “tolerance” that is in effect what they are suggesting I do. They are in effect saying that I should be tolerant myself which according to the words we defined above would mean that I would be saying that I agree with the counterfeit or am at least willing to agree to it. Really? Why if I have the truth would I be willing to accept less than the truth? Doesn’t common sense cry out that I correct the situation and share (not force but also not deny) the truth. If I know about gravity and I see you attempting to defy it shouldn’t I at least warn you of the possible consequences of your getting hurt? Yes, I should warn you but in the end I must also realize your decision to jump is yours not mine to make.

Oh but then some will say that I’m not being fair in accepting the view of others even though it might not be true. Again, seriously? According to the definition of fairness, do I have to be impartial to the counterfeit when truth has been revealed? Shouldn’t my vested interest always reside in the truth? Should I give up my involvement in truth just so others don’t have to be affected by the truth? In other words, if we all deny the gravitational pull, will it just stop pulling on us?

By this time into the discussion you can usually tell when people no longer want to hear the truth or listen to reason because they claim that those with truth are irritating them. So they cry the louder for tolerance. What they truly desire is for the pain to be displaced back on the one with truth. For if the one with truth turns from it just to agree even in part with those who don’t will the consequences be any less? If I do give in to tolerance and agree with you that gravity may not be as important as I first thought, then suffer the bruise from falling does it hurt any less? I don’t think so!

Finally what those who cry for tolerance are really trying to say to those with truth is that they don’t want to be affected, they don’t want to change. They are truly afraid that truth will influence them to live in a different way and either they are just too comfortable to take the risk or just plain defiant because they want their own way so they retreat to the false cover of tolerance. However I believe it’s important for us to consider what scripture says:

“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15 KJV)

“Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38 KJV)
“Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.” (Proverbs 23:23 KJV)

“For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.” (Proverbs 8:7 KJV)

“These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:” (Zechariah 8:16 KJV)

“Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.” (Ephesians 4:25 KJV)

“So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3:16 KJV)

I would encourage you today not to be fooled by the guise of those who cry for tolerance. If tolerance is truly tolerance then those who cry for it should be the role model for it, which is typically not the case. I do agree strongly with the principle of treating people with love, respect and proper dignity, but I also believe it is important to share the truth with those who have need of it!

Staff Writer; Rick S.

One may contact this man of God at: RS@ThyBlackMan.com.

Or maybe your confusion was of a different order. Your mind was swirling and twirling with loads of fact that you just could not make sense of; you were unable to distinguish what was real and what was fictional or inconsequential.

Perhaps it was worse, you were confronted with moral dilemmas where it was imperative to make important decisions and yet the mind seemed to offer nothing but fogginess and shadows and a nebulous reality.

It is telling that God disown confusion, especially with respect to believers, and the Bible puts it like this:

“For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” (1 Corinthians 14:33)

It is manifestly the case that confusion, like pride and lies, and it takes no great research to establish the truth, is a product of Satan and errant humanity.

Confusion is about bewilderment, lack of clarity, mistaking one for another, disorder, embarrassment, disoriented state of mind, and the definition goes on.

The devil loves confusion, spreads confusion, generates confusion everywhere to more easily hide his devilry, in similar manner to an army carrying out an operation behind a smoke screen.

In the world generally confusion is disastrous, but when it rears its ugly head in the assemblies of God, or among believers, it can become more serious, it can become deadly.

Confusion prevents clarity. It can be argued that Satan managed to confuse one third of the angels and lured them to vacate heaven and to certain destruction. Clear-thinking angels could never have chosen Satan in preference to God. No matter your good intentions where there is confusion the seeds of catastrophe reside.

An interesting quote says, “You can’t follow your heart when it is more confused than your head” and when there are those who are bent on adding to your confusion, you can see that is part of a plan to derail you and your good intentions.

There are some in the church, among them ministers of the gospel, who have clearly lost their faith and rather than do the right thing and move on would rather stay and spread confusion.

And they are young, impressionable minds seeing all this are apt to be thoroughly confused.

What are the youth to make of a same-sex couple in your church who are in full communion, partaking of the Sacraments, and even adopting a child with the church’s blessing?

What are the youth to make of a minister of the gospel, who professes love for God and the gospel of Jesus Christ, marrying a same-sex couple?

How do you explain to the youth why there is obfuscation about what is clean and unclean when the Bible goes to great pain and gives so much clear details?

The greatest error anyone can make is to get so confused as to credit Satan with that which belongs to God. It is called blasphemy, and is the one sin that is not forgiven. The Jews fell into this trap when they said Jesus was performing miracles because he was the prince of devils, Beelzebub.

It should have been clear to the Jews that no one but God, and his agents, could perform these awesome miracles that Jesus did; for their rulers had already concluded such, “The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.” (John 3:2)

Confusion is like a snowball rolling don hill that gets bigger as it goes because it does other bad things as well.

Confusion generates disaster and strife, i.e., conflict. Even among Christians who have left the world and embraced the teachings of Jesus Christ, confusion, that leads to conflict, is never far.

Paul and Apollos, two very sincere Christians, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to believers in cloistered assemblies, you would think, would be the epitome of harmony. You would be wrong. People in one of those assemblies, at Corinth, found something to be confused about and fomented great conflict that required the stern intervention of the Apostle Paul.

Paul saw the confusion and strife that was tearing the church Corinthian apart; and he addressed it directly. This was not a dispute about doctrine, or theology, which in some ways would be understandable, but this was about personality, about preaching styles, oratory and preaching performance. How very sad that people could believe virtually the same thing and create strife about some pettifogging issue.

There is a long list of trivial issues that believers fight over, each believing that it is necessary to contest and win, and some go so far as to require resignation and expulsion for the losers or those in opposition.

Paul was right to point his finger at the underlying cause of such confusion and strife, “For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? (1 Corinthians 3:3-4)

Confusion undermines divine plans. God is the God of order, of organisation, of harmony and of arrangement. We see very early in the creation cycle what God was like, “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” (Genesis 1:2-3)

God wants people to see clearly so that they can make informed decisions.

God wants people to be able to distinguish right from wrong so that they know precisely what they are doing and can evaluate the consequences.

God plans are, and always have been, that all humanity be saved even if it goes through the most intense hardships during the process.

Satan’s plans are to add confusion, and thereby undermine God’s plans.

How does Satan manage to use confusion to his advantage?

Satan knows that humans are vulnerable; especially when their prestige and pride are brought into question or perceived as threatened.

Eve fell to temptation in the Garden principally because she was full of herself, she did not even consult Adam before acting so rashly, she thought God was holding out on her and she was going to do her thing; whether God liked it or not.

The truth is that people get confused when they turn away, wholly or partly, from the clear teachings set out in the Bible and do their own thing.

Like the young Christian woman who could not find a husband among the believers, so she married a nice young man who was not a Christian. Guess what happened.

Like the man, saved and sanctified, who could not find employment so he went to work as a barman serving drinks in a brothel.

Like the Christian mother that thought it was fine to be the banker to her drug-dealing son as he peddles death to the youth.

Confusion is piteous, debilitating and shameful but some don’t seem to care. “My confusion is continually before me, and the shame of my face hath covered me”. (Psalm 44:15) To get rid of confusion is to fully and without reservation trust God, and it might even prevent confusion in the first place, “In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion”. (Psalm 71:1)

Staff Writer; Henderson W.

You can contact this Christian brother at: HWard@ThyBlackMan.com.

Almighty God, creator of heaven and earth, works by time.

Somewhere in our distant past, there was no time, just eternity. Things were the way they were, as they ever were, and then God intervened and created time.

People have argued for centuries about this earth, how old is it, how did it come into being, how long will it last, and asked deep questions that we do not have answers to.

What we do know, is that this world, as soon as it was inhabited by people, began to turn bad, it became disrespectful of its maker, and God, out of love for humanity had to cleanse it by sending the great flood about 2300 BC. The flood wiped out the human race, and saved just eight people; consisting of Noah and his family.

Of those eight people the world was repopulated, humanity grew and as is customary with people, they became wicked, reckless and dishonourable.

God saw the waywardness of the people and intervened, not by punishment as with the flood, but by sending messengers, prophets, and priests, and godly kings to warn, to guide, and to shepherd people back from disaster and onto a path of goodness and prosperity.

Sometimes we were blessed with good, wise leaders, leaders who have been committed to the welfare of the people and has done great work for the entire world to see and to admire. But too often the world has been cursed with abominable leaders and wicked tyrants.

God saw that the world needed a leader, a new kind of leader, to lead it out of spiritual darkness, out of immorality and idolatry, out of paganism and atheism. And so he sent his only begotten son, Jesus Christ the promised Messiah.

God works to time whenever he works with people. The Bible tells us, “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5)

God sent his Son to lead the world to a higher and better place, to bring light into our darkness, and to lead us to reconciliation with God.

Jesus did not come into the world as a conquering hero, or a dominating warlord, but as a suffering servant who gave his life as a ransom for the whole world.

Because of what Jesus Christ did, we all have a chance of redemption. God knows that we all need redemption, for the best of us are flawed, imperfect human beings.

So what did Jesus Christ do?

He came and lived a sinless life, right here on earth, so that the world could see that he was the Holy One sent from God. Nothing beats evidence. Even his enemies could not justifiably find fault in Jesus Christ. The Jews rejected him, ill-treated him and brought him to Pontius Pilate, whom they thought would condemn him, but the Bible says in John 19:4, “Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him.”

Jesus by his living showed that he was the perfect lamb of God, and the Bible gives confirmation in 1 Peter 2:22, “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.”

This man Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, came to earth for the sole purpose of redeeming us from the yoke of sin and reconciling us to Almighty God.  He did so by dying for us on Calvary’s cross, shedding his blood, and rising again the third day for our justification.

And so Jesus Christ, who is alive, and here in spirit, is calling you, he wants you to come into fellowship with him, and become part of his earthly kingdom the Church.

Jesus is here, and calling you, as written in the book of  Matthew chapter 11 verse 28, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Jesus wants to be your friend, He says in Revelation 3 verse 20, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

Jesus is calling you; men and women, boys and girls, and you can accept his call right now. He wants you just as you are; so why not come to him.

All that is required for you to be saved, to accept the call, is that you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, admit that you are a sinner, accept that sin must be punished, for the Bible says that the soul that sinneth must die, and recognize that Jesus is our substitute who died for us, that we might live.

Jesus is calling because he thinks you are worth saving, and he wants you to spend a blessed eternity with him.

The master is here, pleading for you to come on board, because he alone knows what waits for you ahead, and he wants you to be safe and secure with him.

It is always easy to put off the decision to give your life to God, and become a faithful follower of Jesus Christ, but to procrastinate is to endanger your soul, since you may not see tomorrow. Today is your time, so make up your mind now that you have the time.

Remember these words, “To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.” (Hebrews 3:15) Today, the master is calling for you, and deep down in your heart you know it is the time to answer that call.

Staff Writer; Henderson W.

You can contact this Christian brother at: HWard@ThyBlackMan.com.

I am still amazed at my own relationship with Christ, which began over 27 years ago. God radically changed my life instantly. A couple of my colleagues could not believe that the same person who drank beer with them during lunch the previous week was now saying he did not drink anymore. They never saw me go back on that testimony.

On the other hand, none of us has arrived. The Lord continues to work in our lives. We may not be aware that this is happening. He integrates this progressive work into our daily lives, exploiting opportunities to shape us into the image of His dear Son.

I believe that if Christians would be truthful, most of them would admit that they are not satisfied with their current relationship with Christ. Perhaps it’s because they are struggling morally in one or more areas in their life, and they can’t seem to get victory. Or maybe they feel inept to effectively do what they know God has called them to do in the ministry. Maybe they don’t even know exactly what it is, but they just know something is missing in their relationship with the Lord.

Listen to what the Lord inspired Paul the apostle to say about this: “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). I want to look at three key words in this verse:

The first word is confident. We must know without a shadow of a doubt that God continues to work in our lives. Have you ever heard a Christian who has a bad temper try to justify his outbursts of rage? He may say, “I can’t help it; God made me this way.” But it’s not the will of God for His children to go about erupting into tantrums. We need to pray for victory in that area. Such prayer for personal change must be undergirded by a confidence that it is the will of God to continuously change us into the image of Christ.

The second word is begun. The good work the Lord has begun in us is salvation. This experience does not denote spiritual maturity. The truth is that when we first got saved we didn’t act much differently than we did before we met Christ. That’s because we were babes in Christ. Not knowing what to do, we did what we knew. Through salvation, however, the Lord has provided us everything we need to become the great champion He wants us to ultimately become.

The third word is perform. I quoted Paul’s words from the King James Version of the Bible. The word “perform” from this verse means to “bring to completion.” You see, God wants to complete the good work He has begun in us. He will not be finished with us until the very end of our journey here. Thanks to the Lord’s salvation in our lives, we are no longer what we used to be, but because of His progressive work in our lives, neither are we yet what we are destined to become!

Paul’s letter to the Philippians is addressed to “all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi” (Philippians 1:1). The word “saints” applies only to those who have been saved. But it is important to understand that though salvation is instant, sanctification is a lifetime endeavor.

A lot of misconception has been perpetuated by believers who refuse to be for real. They have promoted this false idea that when a person becomes born again he almost walks on water. Some unbelievers who might accept Christ feel intimidated because they have been given this misconception that being a Christian denotes perfection. Not that we necessarily make statements that bluntly, but at times when someone fails we comment, “I know he said he was a Christian, but he must not be if he did something like that.” Well, friend, sometimes Christians do non Christian like things.

Even prominent ministers bear out the truth of what I am saying. As I write this message, I am reminded of three ministers who made the news big time last year in bad ways. I won’t name them. My intent is not to add embarrassment to them, but to expand on my point. Each of these ministers had national influence. A couple of them pastored megachurches. Because of their moral failures, none of them presently remain in those leadership positions.

Understandably, many Christians who had supported these ministers felt betrayed. They came on TV and stood behind pulpits telling the people of God how to live a victorious Christian life, and they themselves were not doing the same, some argue. Then some of the Christians at the grassroots felt that if these bigger than life preachers failed in such a big way, what hope was there for the little guy?

There is no way to put a positive spin on what those preachers did, the events were tragic for the body of Christ, the devil rejoiced over them, and the ministers involved no doubt endured much pain. But it is also important for us to remember that though ministers are saved and called to preach, God is still working on them as well. Being called to preach the gospel does not denote perfection.

The Bible says that the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: “and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” (Galatians 5:17). God inspired Paul to write this to the Christians at Galatia. He is telling us that a war exists within us. It’s between our born again spirit and our flesh. The one always goes contrary to the direction of the other. In this life, we will never be immune to be being tempted in our flesh. God’s will for each of us, however, is that we learn how to walk in the Spirit that we not fulfill the desires of our flesh (verse 16). This we will do if we cooperate with His progressive work in our lives. By that I mean we must be committed to fully developing. Some Christians fail to mature because they are not ready to die to themselves in some areas.

Perhaps as you read this article you are not where you want to be in Christ. You may even wonder how you will ever reach spiritual maturity, based on where you currently are, and where you desire to be. But believe me, friend, the Lord is not finished with you yet.

He deals with each of us differently for a number of reasons. You may be struggling in an area that you have been battling for the past decade, yet you know of new converts who had the same problem but God just miraculously took it away from them at salvation. That seems so unfair, right? Your theology is as good as mine as to why it happens that way. For example, I know believers who have been delivered from drugs and alcohol but who can’t seem to leave cigarettes alone. But I say never give up. Never read into your lack of progress in an area of spiritual development that God wants you to remain that way. Rather, for the struggles that make you feel less than complete, you must pray and seek the face of God, being confident that He has begun a good work in you, and He is committed to finishing the same.

Staff Writer; Frank King

You can contact this devout Christian at: King@ThyBlackMan.com.

I thought that since I went to college to be an engineer it would rub off on at least one of my six children. After all, they are all of my flesh and blood. But that didn’t happen. In fact, no two of my children have similar career interests.

There is something common to all of them, however. They all want to be winners. That’s true about everybody. Really, who in their right mind wants to be a loser? I’m convinced God has wired us that way; that is, to desire to want to win in life.

Winning requires more than a desire to win. We also must have or develop a winner’s attitude. This mindset is not incidental to salvation. A person can be born again, confident of his salvation, and still be driven by a loser’s mentality. The apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, writes about the winner’s attitude. The points we can draw from his letter are very practical and can be immediately implemented:

1. Be determined to win. “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize?” Paul asks (1 Cor. 9:24). “So run, that ye may obtain.” What he is saying here is that we should live our life as if we are running in a race for which there is but one winner, and we are determined to be that winner. No, he is not saying we should go around competing with everybody. But he is saying that winners become winners because they first determine to be winners.

2. Strive for mastery. Observe any great athlete on TV. One of the reasons he electrifies a crowd is because he has mastered what he does. This mastery does not come overnight. To get there, one must become “temperate in all things” (v. 25a). That means he must endure the road to perfection with much patience and persistence.

One thing that intrigues me is the finesse with which figure skaters perform. I can only imagine how long it takes for them to master their performance. They do all of this working for a crown that’s here today and gone tomorrow, but from the Lord we will receive an incorruptible crown (verse 25b).

3. Remain focused. We must maintain some sense of purpose in life. Paul talks about this in terms of a boxer. In order for him to hit his target, as opposed to missing his target and beating the air (verse 26), he has to remain focused on his opponent. We must do the same in life. We need a clear purpose, and we must focus our energies toward that purpose. No one can be a winner going through life aimlessly.

4. Play by the rules. In verse 27, Paul talks about the possibility of his preaching and winning others to Christ while at the same time himself becoming a castaway! What he is talking about is being disqualified. Even if you are not a baseball fan, you have no doubt heard the controversy surrounding Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants. At my writing this newsletter he is within one home run of tying Mr. Hank Aaron’s record. Many baseball lovers, however, do not and will never respect Mr. Bonds’ accomplishments because he allegedly used performance-enhancing drugs. I don’t know if he did or did not. But his case illustrates the importance of our playing by the rules so in the end we are not disqualified.

There are some people who will do anything to get ahead in life and to realize their dream, but God never regards cheaters as winners.

Notice the verbs used in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27: run, strive, fight, etc. These verbs suggest that opposition exists to our becoming a winner. This opposition comes from the devil. Hence, winning is not happenstance.

A winner’s attitude has nothing to do with where you are in life at this very moment. As you read this newsletter, you may be in the worst of times, but you can still adopt the biblical principles above, and they will revolutionize your life.

The medical profession recognizes the power of a winner’s attitude. I have witnessed a couple of instances where a person was in the hospital at the point of death, the doctors had done all they could, and the family had been praying constantly. After all of that, the only thing standing between the patient and death was the life support system to which he was connected.

Acknowledging that medicine and techniques have been exhausted, the doctor will say something like it’s really left up to the patient now. What does he mean by that? He is saying that a patient’s mere determination to live and not die can bring him through at times. Apparently, even when the body is at the point of shutdown, and all bodily organs have been compromised by the shadow of death, a winner’s attitude can energize one’s morbid being.

“If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth,” Jesus said to a man” (Mark 9:23). The Lord was saying to him that if he could believe that Christ could do for him what he was requesting, then it was possible. Let me paraphrase this for you:

No matter what your situation is, and no matter how finished you appear to be, if you pray to God with a winner’s attitude, and if you believe that what you are praying to God for is possible, then to you it is possible.

From what I have said up to this point, it should be obvious that a winner’s attitude requires more than positive thinking. You don’t become a winner simply by repeatedly telling yourself that you are until you believe that you are. Think about the pointers we drew from Paul’s letter: be determined, strive for mastery, remain focused, and play by the rules. A winner’s attitude is a way of life characterized by these actions.

There is a lot of truth in the trite cliché, “attitude determines altitude”. I firmly believe that a winner’s attitude can soar us to great heights.

Up to this point I have been purposefully ambiguous about the application of the four pointers above from Paul’s epistle. Though I have been talking about winning I have done so generically. The truth is that the concepts will work in any noble endeavor in life. Perhaps you work as a teacher in the public school system, for example. I say to you that if you are determined to be a success, strive for mastery, remain focused, and play by the rules, you will be a great teacher.

As you have been reading this article you may have been thinking about how you can implement the principles to boost your success in your career. Again, the concepts will work for you. But Paul’s focus in the epistle is on our walk with the Lord and our service to Him. That’s where we are being challenged to implement the principles above. They will make us winners in our walk with the Lord. In turn our winner’s attitude will spill over into every other aspect of our life. More importantly, our trophy will be an incorruptible crown that only the Lord can give.

Staff Writer; Frank King

You can contact this devout Christian at: King@ThyBlackMan.com.

Challenges are a part of life. There is no escaping them, no matter how much we would like to. Therefore, since we all face the challenges of life, what then makes the difference between those who do well in spite of them and those who stumble? I am sure there are a myriad of responses but when you boil it all down this one response plays a big if not an enormous part and it is called preparation!

To be prepared simply means you are willing and able to do something or you are ready to deal with something. In other words, is your physical, spiritual, emotional and mental state in a suitable place to be able to cope with whatever life throws your way?

Preparation – when you define this word compared to its earlier form of prepare or prepared, it implies the work or planning involved in making something or somebody ready, in putting something together in advance and a state of readiness. Within this definition is the key as to why so many miss the mark when challenges arise. It is referred to as work and work by its definition is purposeful effort. It is the transfer of energy from one thing to another. In short, it is expended effort and it is hard!

Now imagine expending energy and effort in planning for something you can’t see or imagine yet! It can make the perceived work seem all that much more difficult and hard. However, the key here is perception and perception is the process of using our senses to acquire information about our surrounding environment or situation. Perception is an attitude or understanding based on what is observed or thought about.

There it is – I believe we have uncovered the issue – it all lies in our attitude! When we feel that something may be too difficult, we may try to avoid it and since our discussion of preparation involves the unknown it is easier to simply ignore preparation altogether. None of us knows exactly what tomorrow will bring or if there will even be a tomorrow for us, but that shouldn’t excuse us from planning and working through the thoughts of what could be. On the other hand, many of us do like to dream of a better life and the things we want so we will at times try to work toward those ends. Yet, what is the disconnect between the two?

One can seem negative and one can seem positive but if we only have one without the other we become lopsided. I am not advocating a totally pessimistic or absolute optimistic viewpoint. I guess you might say I reside a little more on the realistic scale. Still when I look at a glass of water, I would say it’s half full rather than half empty. This concept goes beyond that kind of thinking. It should make us dig deeper and realize that if we take a look at both what our dreams are and what information our surrounding environment is providing us we should be able to apply ourselves in such a way as to accomplish both our dream and the preparation necessary to face the challenges of the unknown.

Challenges are God’s way of proving us and developing us. It is the tool He uses to help perfect our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual states. He may even allow the sacrifice of one area to help sharpen another area. It is also the way He separates out the sincere from the insincere. Another way of saying this would be that it is the way He identifies the wise from the foolish. The Bible has a lot to say about both topics of wisdom and foolishness and the impression I am left with from scripture is that God prefers that we pursue wisdom. Moreover, an essential part of wisdom is in being prepared. Sure, we may not know when the next stock market crash will occur but through observation of our surrounding environment, it would seem wise for us to have a few dollars tucked away to provide for our physical being. Additionally, we may not know when the next scandal will break, so again through observation of our surrounding environment, it would seem wise not to invest our emotional state in the newest political star but rather to build up the emotional bank accounts of those closest to us like family and friends.

I would even go so far as to say that given careful observation of our world wide environment that it would be wise to ensure that we have our spiritual house in order should God decide He’s had enough of sin, corruption, green and the filth of mankind. I know our attitudes may need adjustments in order for us to be prepared for the what if scenarios but simply ask those who have prepared in advance for either success or disaster and determine if they were sorry they expended the energy to prepare? I believe in either case you will get an answer of it was well worth it because for success it simply heightened it and made it sweeter while for disasters it made its blow a little bit softer.

I would encourage you today to show yourself wise by following one simple concept – preparation. It will take some thought, some diligence to look for answers, to gather resources or change your environment but in the end, you could find that it was about time and it helped you face the inevitable!

Staff Writer; Rick S.

One may contact this man of God at: RS@ThyBlackMan.com.

Hebrews 2:17 – Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God,

The purpose of this study is to bring to light the goodness of God and his compassion toward us, not only for the forgiveness of sin but toward the sick to be healed.

W.E. Vines dictionary says compassion is to be moved as to one’s inwards (splanchna), to be moved with compassion, to yearn with compassion,” is frequently recorded of Christ towards the multitude and towards individual sufferers, – to suffer with another (sun, ‘with,’ pascho, ‘to suffer’), to be affected similarly, – to have mercy (eleos, “mercy”), to show kindness, by beneficence, or assistance.

In many scriptures throughout the New Testament and throughout the Bible, the words compassion and mercy have the same or similar meaning.

Psalms 145:8 – The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy.

This shows the very nature and heart of our Father towards us. This is an aspect that inspires faith for healing as none other. This shows that God is willing, not only able, for his children to have divine health.

We need to recognize God’s willingness to show mercy toward us, and not just seek the power of God, but to seek his mercy, and in that, the power of God will be manifested. Faith in God’s will and God’s love secures blessings, not faith in God’s power.

I think most of us agree that God is all powerful, but the church body as a whole doesn’t know that God’s will is to demonstrate that power in His love toward us. We must know that our Lord is willing as well as able before we can receive our healing by faith, for faith begins where knowledge of God’s Word is known. God’s Word shows us over and over that God is willing and as well as able and He is wanting us to reach out by faith and receive it.

Micah 7:18 – Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy.

Micah is saying that God delights in mercy, if we could just get a revelation of that awesome fact, God wants us cleansed and whole.

I believe God is aggressive in His love toward us, and is always looking for opportunities to show His love toward us, but is very difficult for God to bless us when we won’t even acknowledge that He is willing. We know He is able, we must know He is very willing as well. Have you ever stopped to consider what it would be like to see your children hurting and you want to take care of them, you have the ability to help them, but they won’t acknowledge that you even want to help them, much less receive the help you have for them. How this must grieve the heart of the Father, for he delights in mercy.

Ephesians 3:20 – Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.

It would seem that God would almost rather have us doubt His ability than His willingness. This shows that we know God can, but that He doesn’t care enough for us to even lift a finger to help, — you know, that’s for some one else, I never get healed. If you are talking like that, you are saying the opposite of what God is saying, in other words you are saying God won’t and that kind of confession has to change in order for you to receive. You can’t say God is unwilling and then expect to receive healing from Him, you see that’s exactly what you are doing if you are not lining your words with His words. You have to acknowledge the truth in order to receive it, and you must know the truth first in order to acknowledge it. Our Lord Jesus Christ is a gentlemen and He never forces His will on anybody! God is able but He is also willing to show us and give us His best.

Psalms 145:9 – The Lord is good to all, And His tender mercies are over all His works.
Healing is one of His works,

Healing is part of the redemptive plan of God, that was fulfilled in the completed work of our Lord Jesus Christ. How can God be a respecter of persons, and just bless a few special people? The answer to that is He can’t. The scripture we just quoted reads the Lord is good to all! Not just some but all, praise God. That means the wicked as well as the saints. How then, can we the children of God think that God will withhold the covenant blessing of healing from us, while he extends His tender mercies to all the wicked of the earth. We should realize that if God is willing to show His mercy to all the wicked of the earth, how much more is He willing to show the mercy of healing toward His own.

Psalms 25:10. – All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.

Since this is true, then the Christian that has been afflicted can say along with Solomon in —
2 Chron. 6:14. – “Lord God of Israel, there is no God in heaven or on earth like You, who keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts.

As we read before Jesus was moved with compassion toward the sick during His earthly ministry.

In Mk.1:40-41 – a leper came to Jesus and said, 40. If You are willing, You can make me clean.”
41. And Jesus, moved with compassion, put out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”
42. As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed.

We see 2 important truths in this passage of Scripture, Jesus was moved with compassion, and the result of that compassion was God’s will was manifest, and the man was instantly cleansed. Jesus not only had the ability but was very willing for the man to be made whole.

Hebrews 13:8. – States that, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

This can only mean that since Jesus was compassionate toward the sick, and was willing to heal them then in His earthly ministry, that He is still compassionate toward the sick and is willing to heal them today.

Hebrews 8:6. – Says, But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, in as much as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.

Now, since we have a better covenant, built on better promises, and Jesus has a more excellent ministry, how much more should we be able to receive healing in this age of grace than in the Old Covenant where we saw that God wanted to show his mercy to all!

Hebrews 2:17. – Says, Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

As I defined mercy at the beginning of this study, W.E. Vines dictionary defines mercy,
and another definition says, — not simply possessed of pity but actively compassionate.

This is used of Christ in His role as High priest. This verse of Scripture has no reference to Christ compassion as it was manifested during His earthly ministry, it is referring to His ministry from heaven, and his purpose for His incarnation in the earth, was for this end, that He might show compassion as our High Priest. Jesus went away to be with the Father, but He continually makes intercession for the saints, let us realize that His compassions is the same today as it was yesterday, and He yearns to help us!

He never changes, He’s the same yesterday today and forever. His attitude towards the sick has not changed one bit.

So many Christians today are in the dark in this area, and it never occurs to them that God’s compassion for the sick is the same as it is for the forgiveness of sins.

Psalms 103:2. Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits:
3. Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases,

Forgiveness and healing go hand in hand, as the psalm says all His benefits, healing and forgiveness.

During Jesus entire earthly ministry he healed all that came to Him. The needs of the sick today are no different than in Jesus time, they needed healing then and they need healing now. Let me ask you a question, did Jesus withdraw His compassion, has he changed in some way and is no longer compassionate, or is he the same as the Word declares?

Praise God, He is the same as when He ministered bodily healing upon the earth, where bodily healing was bestowed upon all who sought it! Jesus is the same yesterday today and forever! Psalm 103 goes on to say;

Psalms 103:4. – Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5. Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6. The Lord executes righteousness And justice for all who are oppressed.
7. He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.
8. The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.

He forgives our iniquities He heals our diseases, He redeems our life from destruction, He crowns us with loving kindness and tender mercies, He satisfies our mouth with good things so that our youth is renewed like the eagles, our Lord is merciful and gracious, and He abounds in mercy.

That’s the picture of an actively compassionate God who is willing to show His mercy to all who are oppressed. God is willing, as well as able to deliver us in our time of need. Thank God we don’t serve a God made out of wood or stone, we serve the one true God who is alive and executes righteous judgments for all who are oppressed. We have a part to play in our own redemption whether spiritual or physical, we have to acknowledge Him, as our redeemer, that’s the one thing He won’t do for us. Quoting from the new International Version of the Bible the 91st Psalm starting with verse 14. says, Because he loves me “says the Lord. “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. 15. He will call upon me and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him, 16. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

We have to love him, we have to acknowledge his name, we have to call upon him. Then he will rescue us, then he will protect us, then he will be with us in trouble, then he will deliver us and honor us, then with long life will he satisfy us and show us His salvation. If we do these things He will do what He said He will do. For God is not a man that can lie, and His Word never returns void, but accomplishes that which it was sent to do.

If you don’t know Jesus as savior and lord I would like to invite you meet Him, by praying the following prayer.
Also if you don’t know Jesus as your healer I would like to invite you to meet him as your healer, and acknowledge Him as healer as well as savior. As the 103 psalm says; forget not all His benefits:

Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases; put him to the test, and receive both His forgiveness and His healing, I learned this as a young man and He has never let me down, I’m so grateful for all His benefits.

Dear Heavenly Father,

I come to you in the name of Jesus.
Your word says, “…him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (Jn.6:37),
So I know You won’t cast me out, but You take me in,
And I thank you for it.
You said in your Word, “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Ro. 10:13).
I am calling on Your name,
So I know You have saved me now,
You also said, “…if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Ro.10:9,10).
I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
I believe He was raised from the dead for my justification.
And I confess Him now as my Lord,
Because Your Word says, “… with the heart man believeth unto righteousness…” and I do believe with my heart,
I have now become the righteousness of God in Christ. (2 Cor. 5:21),
And I am saved! Thank You, Lord!
I can now truthfully say, I see myself as a born again child of God!
Glory to God!!!!

Staff Writer; Mark B.

This Devoted ‘Christian‘ can be found at; MarkB@ThyBlackMan.com.