Daddy, Are Superheros Real?

I'm not sure how the conversation started, but my daughter asked me this question the other day. Being the storyteller I am, I whispered that she had to keep a secret; and that I was a superhero. That started a multi-day journey of her asking me 1,000 questions about what I did, what my powers were, and who were the villains that I had caught. It is time that I will never forget. It made me start to think about the question. Are Superheros real?

I read an article discussing the ten highest grossing films in 2017. An overwhelming 80% of them were about a superhero. Good vs evil, light vs darkness. Everyone was clamoring to see a supernatural savior. So what does that say to you? A large portion of society is wanting to escape a fantasy world. It shows we have a deep longing to be saved, and an innate desire to be the one who saves others in distress.

But do Superheros exist? They most definitely do! They don't wear capes or masks. They don't wear their underwear on the outside of their pants. No, real superheros wear uniforms. They are the fire fighters, the police officers, and the men and women of the military. They are doctors, EMT's, and yes even Pastors. They are all mostly people that have accepted the calling to save others. Their goal is to save other people's lives, protect them from the evil in this world, and even sometimes at the great cost of their own lives. But are they the only Superheros that exist?

Can anyone be a Superhero? A teenager can be a Superhero. That few minutes you took the other day to talk to the kid no one speaks to makes you a Superhero. Just that morning they had made the decision to end their life, but your kind words changed their entire world. That lady in the grocery store that just dropped all her groceries and you helped her pick them up. She looks like she's about to lose it because she just found out her child is deathly ill. Your kindness allowed her to momentarily forget her pain. The happiness and smile that your visit to that lonely elderly man lying in his hospital bed, makes you a Superhero.

You see, the basic criteria for being a Superhero is Love. Showing someone sacrificial love and taking their needs into consideration above your own makes you a Superhero. It also makes you Christlike. 1 John 3:16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. Just like Superheros, Christians aren't promised prosperity in life. They are called to lay down their lives as followers of Christ.

It says in John 13:34-35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Our love for other people should stand out in stark contrast to everyone else. We should seem as something otherworldly in our compassion for others.

Christ was the ultimate superhero. His sacrificial love was bestowed to all of mankind. It was given to those who hated him as much as those who loved him. His sacrifice was given to all. He paid the ultimate price of his life while bearing upon himself every wrong thing that every person would ever commit. Philippians 2:6-8 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!

If we could show to each other even a small fraction of the love Christ showed; we would all have the ability to be Superheros. May You Be Blessed With Peace And Understanding.

Fear Or Fear Not?

It's virtually impossible to go a day without hearing from or about someone who is fearful, worried, or anxious about something. Whether it be fear of what people think of you, not having enough money, being away from home, failure, sickness, or losing a loved one. We all long for more of God's peace in the midst of the stresses of our lives.

"Fear not" is the most repeated command in the Bible. It has been said that there are 365 "Fear nots" in the bible; one for every day of the year. Lloyd Ogilvie in his book Facing the future without Fear says there are 366 "Fear nots". One for every day plus leap year. There is actually only 103 occurrences of that term in the Bible. But not being fearful is spoken of more than 500 times.

God wants us to be reminded more than everyday to not be fearful. To trust Him in the situations where we in our finite minds aren't able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  The Psalms are the Bible's great soul book, meant to train us to respond to all of life's situations and difficulties through prayer and trust in the Lord.

In Psalms 56, David has been seized by the Philistines and he starts to become afraid, but instead he sets his vision on his Lord and Saviour. He praises God and his word to all of us to "Fear not".
When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, In God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me? 

You see you must understand; without a belief and trust in God, that tunnel will always be dark. Is you heart right with God? Have you put your belief in Christ? Have you called out to him for salvation? Once you have been liberated from sin, you are giving a guiding light to shine a path of joy through all of life's problems. The outcome may not always be what you hoped or even prayed for. But know this; even in the hard difficult outcomes of life, He truly does only have the best interest of His children at heart. It may not be today, or tomorrow, or even for years down the line. At some point you will look back and see that trial in your life made you even stronger.

What fear is trying to take hold of you right now? What threat or trouble are you facing? Watch and pray as David did. "When I am afraid of _____________, I will trust in you, and you will light my path out of the darkness." Matthew 6:25-27  “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”

May You Be Blessed With Peace And Understanding

A Return To Baal

Baal was the chief god of the Canaanites and the chief substitute god for the God of Israel. When the ancient Israelites turned away from God, they turned, most of all, to Baal. Baal was lord of the Canaanite pantheon, god of thunder, fertility, and gain. His worship involved sexual immorality and the confusion of gender. His worship also involved the offering up of children. Parents would place their babies on the bronze arms of the idol and witness their children given over to the fire. It was for this sin that ancient Israel would be destroyed.

For those of you who have read The Harbinger or The Paradigm you know the link between America and ancient Israel. America was founded by the Puritans after the pattern of Israel in the Bible. The Puritan John Winthrop said that if we follow God, “we shall be as ‘a city on a hill’ and shall be the most blessed of peoples.” But most people don’t realize that Winthrop followed that vision with a warning. If America should turn away from the God of its foundation, and to other gods, gods of lust and profit, then the same judgments that came on ancient Israel will come upon us.

It would be hard to find anyone in modern-day America who would admit to worshiping a false god; but modern America is filled with idols and false gods. And if we turn away from God, and we have,  then we will find ourselves seduced by false gods, and we have, most notably the spirit of Baal. Baal is the principality that leads a nation that has once known God, away from God. Under the spirit of Baal, ancient Israel embraced sexual immorality, so have we. Under the Spirit of Baal, Israel embraced the confusion of gender, so have we. Under the Spirit of Baal, Israel killed its most innocent, its children, so have we, over 60 million of them.

When the battle over America’s future, a battle centered on the overturning of biblical morality, the killing of the unborn, and the acceptance of immorality, approached its climax in the presidential election of 2016, a sign appeared. It appeared in New York City, one month before the election. It was the sign of Baal. The arch of Baal, through which his worshipers passed to worship the deity, was erected in New York City.

Recently, the battle over the nation’s future again came to a furious climax, in the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh. As the battle approached its final phase, something happened. The day before the hearings over the accusations began, a sign appeared. It was the sign of Baal. – the same sign that appeared in New York City. The Arch of Baal was erected, now in Washington D.C. – on the Washington Mall – directly facing the Capitol building where the battle was being waged.

Even during the 2008 presidential election we can see the choice to use a symbol of Satan used for a symbol of America at the Democratic Convention. Obama took a trip to Berlin and saw the Altar of Zeus. The same alter that was moved from Pergamos to Berlin in the late 1800's right before World War I. And how do we know that this alter is the same one used to worship Satan in ancient times; because we are plainly told in God's Word. REV 2: 12-13 “And to the angel of the church in PERGAMOS write, ‘These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword: “I know your works, and where you dwell, where SATAN'S THRONE is."  America has been on a downward spiral for sometime and at breakneck speeds.

On January 22, New York Governor Cuomo passed the Reproductive Health Act that allows abortion up to the date of birth. And while this is atrocious, little has been heard about Vermont's proposed bill. Vermont’s goes all the way to creating an absolute right to an abortion, at any time in the pregnancy and for any reason, with no limitations as to method. Unlike New York’s new law and the Virginia legislation, there is nothing at all in the bill about distinguishing non-viability of the fetus from viability. There is no pretense of limiting late-term abortion to circumstances in which the life or health of the mother might be impacted. There is nothing mentioned about what to do with a born baby that survives abortion. It establishes a “fundamental right to abortion,” meaning an absolute right that cannot be infringed or restrained in any way. The bill has 91 co-sponsors. It could very well pass. If it does, I do believe it will become the most radical abortion legalization statute in the world.

We live in dramatic and momentous times – when a nation that once knew God is waging war against its own foundations. We live in the days of Baal. How shall we live? In the days of Baal, the people of God must live and move in the spirit and power of Elijah, bold, un-compromised, on fire, all out, advancing, and proclaiming the Word and ways of God. Let us set this in motion to resolve to do just that. And may God greatly bless you as you do!

"Emptiness"

This is a sculpture created by Romanian artist Albert Gyorgy and is located in Geneva, Switzerland. It is called Mélancolie. Mélancolie means, longing for something past, sadness resulting from being forsaken or abandoned, sadness caused by grief or affliction, a feeling of thoughtful sadness, and an atmosphere of depression. So much pain and grief bound up in one word. I can’t imagine any other image that could make someone understand what it feels like. The quite emptiness, the void, the weight of this eternal sadness.

We've all felt the utter feeling of emptiness in our lives. Whether it comes from the loss of a loved one, a job, a home, or just the feeling of depression. We all have had the feeling of an empty hole in our soul. Something is missing. And people will fill that hole with anything that might give them a momentary feeling of relief.

We try to fill it with alcohol, drugs, pornography, adultery, food, and a host of other life debilitating things. But those things only work for a short period of time, then we're empty again. That emptiness is a longing for something in our past. It's something that was removed long ago; and it can only be filled by one thing. You may feel that you have been forsaken or abandoned. It may feel like your affliction or grief will never be healed. But in our brokenness there is something waiting there to put the pieces back together.

Broken things and broken people are the result of sin. But Yahweh sent His son to be broken so that we may be healed. That emptiness, that hole in your life that you feel; is from our separation from God. And the only way to fill that void is to allow Him to heal you. The emptiness you feel is a lie from Satan. Right now, whatever it is you're feeling, whatever it is you're going through, the Holy Spirit will fill you. Have hope and keep your head up. You are not powerless. God is working through you and in you.

Arthur Erickson is a world renowned architect. He has designed some of the most well known buildings in the world. He once said that, “Illusion is needed to disguise the emptiness within.” How very true this is in our lives. We construct all kinds alternate realities in our lives through many debilitating habits. Many destructive habits or illusions to try and fill the hole in our soul. But no matter what this emptiness stems from, there is only one solution that can truly heal us. Arthur made another quote that gives even more meaning to this. He said, “The delusion of entertainment (destructive habits) is devoid of meaning. It may amuse us for a bit, but after the initial hit we are left with the dark feeling of desolation.” Folks, only our Heavenly Father holds the power to heal the desolation and emptiness in our souls.

In your despair just know that you can trust God. You can trust God with the unknowns about your future. You can trust God to heal the hurt. You can trust God to fill the emptiness. You can trust God to illumine this darkness. You can trust God to restore joy to your life. You can trust God to supply sufficient grace and divine power for facing whatever comes. Isaiah 49:13 Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains! For the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones. 

He Moves In Mysterious Ways

New Year’s Day, 1773, marked a decade since depression nearly snatched away William Cowper’s life. The mental agony tortured him so severely ten winters prior that he was locked up in St. Alban’s insane asylum after a botched suicide attempt. While there, he stumbled upon a Bible that the asylum’s Christian director had strategically left open. His eyes fell upon Romans 3:23–26, and the glory of Jesus Christ chased the shadows from his soul.

But by the beginning of 1773, successive blows had left Cowper staggering. His brother died in 1770, followed by two of his cousins the following year. In 1772, neighbors’ whispers suggested that Cowper’s relationship with his landlady was something short of innocent. The grief and the slander soon gathered into clouds too dark for his sanity. And so, as Cowper walked through the fields after church 246 years ago today, Cowper “was struck by a terrible premonition that the curse of madness was about to fall on him again” But before night fell on Cowper’s soul, he sat in the light of his remaining sanity, took up his pen, and wrote a hymn that has strengthened generations of staggering saints through their various shadows.

Cowper’s hymn “God Moves in a Mysterious Way” is a song for every saint who sits on the edge. It is a guide for all who do not see fresh hopes rising over the horizon of the new year. It is a confession of faith in the face of darkness; one that flickers with enough light to carry us through whatever midnights this year brings. At the heart of the hymn is a simple exhortation: “Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take.” Take courage. Take courage when the clouds come thundering toward you. Take courage when the coming days seem covered in shadow. Take courage when you cannot understand God’s ways. But why, we ask in the valley, should we take courage? Throughout the rest of the hymn, Cowper gives his reasons.

"God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform; He plants his footsteps in the sea, And rides upon the storm." As Cowper wrote his hymn, God’s ways confounded him. The God who had rescued Cowper from the storm of mental instability was now sending him back in, where Cowper would feel like he was scrambling always in the Dark, among rocks and precipices without a guide, but with an enemy ever at my heels, prepared to push me headlong. We can understand why he would begin his hymn with the famous line “God moves in a mysterious way.” But for Cowper, “God moves in a mysterious way” was a statement of faith, not despair. Cowper knew from Scripture that God rarely performs his wonders in lands of comfort and ease. More often, God delivers his people from one trouble only to usher them into another: he delivers us from Egypt, and then leads us to the shores of the Red Sea (Psalm 77:19). “He plants his footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm.”

Do not be dismayed when God’s ways bewilder you. Instead, take courage. Remember with Cowper that you are in the company of many trusting saints. You are walking with Abraham and Sarah, waiting decades for a son (Genesis 17:15–21). You are traveling with David through the valley of the shadow (Psalm 23:4). You are watching with Jeremiah as Jerusalem goes up in flames (Jeremiah 21:10). You are lying with John the Baptist beneath the executioner’s sword (Matthew 14:1–12). You are weeping with Mary Magdalene outside the tomb of Jesus (John 20:11–15). We do not need to grasp all that God is doing when we find ourselves in the middle of his mysterious ways. In the end, God will show that his ways, so high above our own (Isaiah 55:8), were nevertheless perfect (Psalm 18:30). “God is his own interpreter,” Cowper reminds us later in the hymn. And when the time is right, “He will make it plain.”

"Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take; The clouds you so much dread, Are big with mercy and shall break, In blessings on your head." Cowper did not downplay the anguish of depression or any of our other afflictions. He did not claim that, because of Christ, the children of God stride unfeeling through the thorns of this cursed world. He was willing to write in a letter to a friend that depression had thrust him into “the belly of this Hell, compared with which Jonah’s was a palace, a temple of the living God”  Nevertheless, Cowper’s hymn does more than give a voice to our distress. It also lends us the eyes of faith to look ahead at the storm clouds of our sorrows, no matter how dreaded, and to recognize them as the messengers of God’s mercy. “Dreaded clouds” are never the final horizon for the people of God. In the end, the barren couple holds a baby in their arms (Genesis 21:1–3). The sun rises over the valley of the shadow (Psalm 23:6). Jerusalem hears again the sound of a song (Isaiah 62:1–5). The martyr awakes with a resurrected body (1 Corinthians 15:53–55). The stone rolls away from the tomb (John 20:16–18).

Take courage. The clouds that cover you this year may be darker than any you have yet known. They may linger long. They may seem to blot out the sun. But God knows how to take even these clouds, and through them work wonders so marvelous, so unlooked for, that they leave us on our knees in worship.

"His purposes will ripen fast, Unfolding every hour; The bud may have a bitter taste, But sweet will be the flow’r." Toward the end of the hymn, Cowper leaves us with an assurance: God’s purposes “will ripen fast.” Very soon now, the sun will scatter these dreaded clouds, and we will stand upon the dry land of God’s goodness with everlasting joy on our heads. In the moment, of course, God’s fast may feel like a thousand years (2 Peter 3:8). The depression that fell on Cowper in 1773 covered him until his death in 1800; a 27-year darkness. John Newton, in his funeral sermon for Cowper, preached from the passage about the burning bush (Exodus 3:2–3), because, as he put it, Cowper “was indeed a bush in flames for 27 years.” Can we say that 27 years in the flames was a fast affliction? Only if we, with Cowper, set 27 years next to 27 million years, and allow eternity to adjust our scales. From the standpoint of forever, no calamity can befall us this year that will not be a “light momentary affliction preparing for us an eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17). For the moment, we taste only the bitter bud. Soon, we will see that heaven’s soil knows how to turn every bud into a flower whose beauty we cannot imagine.

Later in his funeral sermon, Newton agreed with Cowper’s sense of fast. “He was one of those who came out of great tribulation,” Newton said. “He suffered much here for 27 years, but eternity is long enough to make amends for all.” Eternity is long enough to make amends for all — all the evil that has fallen on us so far in this life, and any evil that will fall on us this year. So take courage. Today, we are one year closer to the land where the skies are always clear, where flowers cover the hillsides, and where every tear stained face feels the tender touch of Jesus Christ.

Life is Easy?

Life is easy. That's kind of an oxymoron. Life is far from easy. Yet we take great steps in trying to make our paths in life as easy and trouble free as possible. I'm sure your saying, "What's wrong with that?" In a sense nothing; but it's how we go about it, and what we try and prevent is the problem.

Everyday we see things that are marketed to make our life simpler, easier and hassle free. We are lulled into a state of complacency. We get to a point where we are comfortable, then put forth little effort to make our situations any better. Yet once troubles appear in our path, instead of pushing through, we just switch to an easier path.

I recently saw a commercial for Metro by T-Mobile, that had two bears trying to catch salmon in a river. The commercial itself was about switching your cellular service. But what stood out to me was while the other bears were trying to catch the salmon, the one bear says he's going to hit the sushi restaurant. So in essence instead of working toward catching the fish which takes time and could be difficult, he decided to just take the easier path and go to the sushi restaurant. So the commercial got me thinking about the treacherous journey a salmon must make.

You see, salmon were designed by God to return to the place of their birth. They will travel many miles upstream against the natural flow of things to get there. But instead of reaching their true destination many of them end up in a can on a supermarket shelf. So your calling as a believer is very much like that of a salmon. You are meant to go against the natural flow of the flesh, the world, of hate, of sin, discouragement, and darkness. You have the power to swim upstream. Your life has the potential to be a miracle.

It won't be an easy path; but that's why Christ said in Matthew 7:13-14-“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. It's a path that few will take. It's a path that is filled with hardships and sufferings. But it's a path that leads to the ultimate reward. The reward of returning to the place we were created, in the arms of our Father.

But the enemy will do everything he can to have you end up in a can. He wants your potential; the miracle in your life, the blessings, the ministry, the joy, and the victory that God has for you. If the potential in life is on a shelf somewhere in a can, God’s Word is still good, and His power is awesome. Spiritually you’ve got the power of God’s Spirit to go against the flow and reach your full
potential!

God's message for the path in your life can even be seen in secular music. There is a highway to hell, but only a stairway to heaven. So get set on the unworn path. It may look hard. It may be filled with temporary sufferings; but it's filled with eternal joy. So get going uphill, upstream, against the flow and out of that can.

May You Be Full Of Eucharisteo

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:18) Grumbling can be described as the accent of hell and gratitude as the accent of heaven. But as many of us prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, let’s take a longer look at gratitude. More specifically, how is it possible to obey 1 Thessalonians 5:18 and “give thanks in all circumstances,” especially if our circumstances are horrible? What fuels thanksgiving when life seems to be one discouragement, disappointment, disease, disaster, and death after another? There is only one way. And Jesus both is the way and shows the way.

The best place to see Jesus showing us the way is in the upper room where he “took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me’” (Luke 22:19). The Greek word for “thanks” in this verse is eucharisteo. The root word of eucharisteo is charis, meaning “grace.” Jesus took the bread and saw it as grace and gave thanks. He took the bread and knew it to be gift and gave thanks. Eucharisteo, thanksgiving, envelopes the Greek word for grace, charis. But it also holds its derivative, the Greek word chara, meaning “joy.” Charis. Grace. Eucharisteo. Thanksgiving. Chara. Joy. Now, let’s think for a moment about what Jesus’s eucharisteo meant.

Thank you, Father, that my body, symbolized by this bread, is about to be brutally broken and I am about to be momentarily damned by your wrath (Isaiah 53:10) so that you will receive supreme glory in being able to forgive undeserving sinners (Philippians 2:11) and I will share eternally full joy (John 15:11; Psalm 16:11) with hundreds of millions of forgiven sinners made righteous through my sacrifice (Isaiah 53:11). Jesus’s thanks was not based on his present circumstances. He was about to endure the worst possible horror. He felt thankful to the Father for the grace and glory that was coming because of the cross and this gave him joy. Eucharisteo. Jesus’s eucharisteo was fueled by his belief in future grace. That’s what the author of Hebrews meant when he wrote that, Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith . . . for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2) Jesus’s eyes were on his future joy. He got through the cross by not focusing on the cross but on the promised joy that would result from it.

That’s where God wants your eyes: on the future joy he has promised you. And what is your future joy? The very best possible future you could ever imagine; if you will believe it.
You will have the free gift of complete forgiveness for all your sins extending into forever (Romans 6:23). You will never have to merit your justification by keeping the law (Galatians 2:16). You will have all your real needs provided while on earth (Philippians 4:19). You will receive all the grace you need at all times so that you will abound in every good work God has for you (2 Corinthians 9:8).
God will complete the good work he began in you (Philippians 1:6). You will be raised from the dead and never, ever die again (1 Corinthians 15:52–53). That means someday soon you will see Jesus, be with him (2 Corinthians 5:8), and be like him (1 John 3:2). In that day you will know for the first time full, unpolluted joy (Psalm 16:11). You will be completely free from all corruption (Romans 8:21).
You will have God forever (1 Peter 3:18) as your exceeding joy (Psalm 43:4).

And that’s just a small sampling! The joy set before you is the same joy Jesus had set before him, because you are an heir of the kingdom with him (Romans 8:17). So right now you have trouble. That’s okay. Jesus said that you would (John 16:33). And Jesus really understands (Hebrews 4:15). In fact, the trouble that you endure has a purpose: in it you are displaying the reality of Jesus to the world in a unique way. The kingdom of God is most clearly shown on earth when Christians gratefully suffer present trouble because they see a future weight of glory coming that makes everything this world throws at them as “light momentary afflictions” in comparison (2 Corinthians 4:17).

So, how can you give thanks in all circumstances? There’s only one way: Jesus’s way. Look to the joy set before you. Look to the joy! If the future joy Jesus promises is real and you believe him, there is no circumstance that can steal your thanksgiving. May all your Thanksgiving celebrations be soaked in eucharisteo.