Back to A Free Online Library of 21st-Century Christianity for Men and Their Families

Subsets:

• Notes on Secularism
• Notes on Feminism

***

Here is the summation of everything I have learned about the will of God: The duty of a man is to form a family and keep it in Christ – that is, in Jesus Christ and the Bible. Anything beyond that is gravy as far as God is concerned. Never underestimate the nobility of manhood.

***

The Incoherence of the Sexual Revolution

Consider the incoherence of people who claim that sexual deviation from biblical standards is legitimate. When LGB invited T to join the coalition (that is, to make the threesome a foursome), the latter’s justification for legitimacy (“right to choose”) pulled the rug out from under the former’s justification for legitimacy (“born this way”). Further to the point, T’s very means of existence is the bane of LGB’s existence: that is, “conversion therapy.” Therefore, even from a secular point of view, it’s not only empirical studies that undermine LGBTQ+ ideologies, it’s logic itself. Meanwhile, God’s word is consistent with both reality and logic. The only thing that has ever united the alphabet mafia has been opposition to, as the Declaration of Independence puts it, “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God.” That is, the individual ideologies of LGBTQ+ oppose each other and the only thing that unites them is their common opposition to their Maker.

Similarly, the malignant secularism that pervades 21st-century American culture extinguishes any and all mention of Jesus and the Bible but fully allows such inanities such as “Love is love” and “A family is a family is a family.” That people utter such phrases as if they actually communicated anything other than code for the promotion of sexual deviance and moral decadence is a sign of society’s deep mental disorder. Speaking nonsense as if it’s common sense is a sure sign we’re falling apart. Only in Christ is there coherence, for “in Him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17).

To sum up, you can’t understand the sexual revolution without understanding the God of the Bible, just as you can’t understand the word antichrist without understanding Christ. Our Lord is just that important. We are either loyal to Him or we oppose Him. But even when we oppose Him, it is He who by His coherence is defining the moment and the issue. Opposing positions are always incoherent for the very reason that they are opposing coherence.

***

Parents as Pastors

Is there anyone more appropriate to teach children about Jesus Christ and the Bible than their father and mother? Why then are parents outsourcing this all-important job to others? Let children learn the most important subject in life from the two people they most love and trust.

Don’t make children learn from adults they don’t know(John 10:5); rather, let them learn from the adults they know best (2 Timothy 3:14). The ancient church was the place people came to hear the word of the Lord because 1) many people were illiterate, and 2) few people had the money to buy and space to store scrolls sufficient to include the entire Bible. Today, we have Bibles in our home and even on our phones. There is no reason to go somewhere to hear the word of the Lord.

One of the main reasons megachurches exist is because their scale enables them to produce children and youth programs that outdraw any and all programs that smaller churches can produce. But this doesn’t mean that young people are truly learning about the Lord and His word. On the contrary, the children’s attention is being held temporarily through entertainment until they’re old enough to stop going to church with their parents. Similarly, parents make the mistake of depending on Christian schools for the “Christianizing” of their children. This strategy is failing dramatically these days, as young people are abandoning their faith (what little of it they had) as soon as they arrive at a college campus.

***

In the course of my lifetime, America has exchanged the glory of Jesus Christ for the shame of corruption and perversion. It’s been like watching Romans 1:18-32 acted out before our eyes. Yet Jesus is a refuge for those who turn to Him instead of away from Him (Isaiah 45:22). So don’t faint, men! The Lord is with those who are with Him (2 Chronicles 15:1-2)…even as the surrounding world keeps degenerating further and further into insanity. Judgments are surely coming. Cling to Jesus Christ and the Bible and you will come through travails like Noah led his family through the flood. And when the flood is past, don’t get drunk! (Gen 9)

***

Take your pick. It’s one or the other. You can’t live both ways at once.

For to me, to live is me and to die is loss.

?

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Philippians 1:21

***

Seek First the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness – It Pays!

Only a fraction of the American population these days is talking about God in a reverent way. Not a good sign. Even worse, only a fraction of that fraction is talking about Jesus Christ in a reverent way. If you’re determined to make and keep your house a place where Jesus’ name is spoken reverently, frequently, and lovingly, then heaven will not be able to keep from noticing. And your seed will have a measure of protection from things against which most people will find themselves defenseless. Some of you have already begun to notice that. Be of good cheer: God is with those who are with Him.

_{^{(Matthew 6:33; 2 Chronicles 15:1-2)}}

***

The Four Corners of Righteousness

Righteousness is doing the right thing for the right reason in the right way at the right time. The Bible makes clear in a variety of ways that all four of those things have to line up. Otherwise, a word or deed can’t be fully righteous. Everything Jesus said and did was the right thing for the right reason in the right way at the right time.

(For some biblical elaboration, see this.)

***

Two French Observers of America

Emmanuel Todd is the new Alexis de Tocqueville. By that, I mean that both are Frenchmen who wrote books for the world describing America’s life-giving force as Protestantism. Alexis de Tocqueville published his two-volume Democracy in America in 1835 and 1840. In that book, he described how vibrant Christian religion was animating all of American life – including its political life. Specifically, that form of Christianity was pluralistic Protestantism. The other French observer, Emmanuel Todd, published The Defeat of the West in January, 2024 – though it’s not yet been published in English. In his book, Todd describes how the abandonment of Protestantism has left America utterly decadent – with nothing else to animate it. That is, as Tocqueville explained the rise of America, so Todd is now explaining its fall – and the determining factor in the difference was and is the importance – or lack thereof – that Americans attach to the God of the Bible. You can’t launch a nation based on, as the Declaration of Independence puts it, “the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God” and subsequently defy both…and still expect things to end well. (For those who have sufficient time and want more detail on the two men and their books, here are Bill Federer’s comments on Alexis de Tocqueville, and Aaron Renn’s comments on Emmanuel Todd.)

***

Did the Jews Kill Jesus?

I hear a number of people lately saying, “The Jews killed Jesus,” as if Jews did it by themselves. Pontius Pilate was not a Jew; he was an official of the Roman Empire. Therefore, the crucifixion of Jesus was a collaborative effort by Jews and Gentiles. We should also remember that while Jews were complicit in the execution of Jesus, it also true that there were Jews who believed in Jesus. In fact, if there hadn’t been a sufficient number of Jews who believed in Jesus, Gentiles would never have gotten the message. The first 5-10 years of Christianity was nothing but Jews preaching to Jews. But all this is ancient history. We live in the kingdom of God where Jewish-Gentile distinctions mean no more than racial distinctions. We are all sinners…and we are all going to heaven…by Jesus Christ. Let’s live for Him so that we avoid as much of hell as possible while we’re still on earth.

***

Why Keep Pushing an Obsolete Vehicle?

Recent surveys demonstrate what we already know: that large numbers of churchgoers do not believe what their churches teach. The most obvious example of this is politicians who are Catholic yet support abortion, but all denominations have this sort discrepancy between pulpit and pew. What then is the point of going to church? This is not a rhetorical question. The answer is to keep the church going. Modern churches seek not to serve but to be served. This is the exact opposite of the New Testament church – “men of whom the world was not worthy” (Heb 11:38) and who “did not love their life even when faced with death” (Rev 12:11). Let us imitate the New Testament church in the spirit, not in the flesh.

Church people today are breaking their backs to push a broken-down car that ought to be carrying them.

***

Train up a child in the way he should go,
Even when he is old he will not depart from it. 
Proverbs 22:6

For better or worse, the behavior of any generation, generally speaking, reflects the training given them by the previous generation. Therefore, if you and I want the next generation to perform better than we have performed, we must give them better training than we received. (By the way, who was responsible for the training of the Millennials? Baby Boomers and older Gen Xers.)

***

Manage Your Mind

If you don’t manage your mind, it will tyrannize you. You manage your mind by getting it in alignment with God’s mind, and you do that by reading the Bible and praying every day.

Your mind consists of your thoughts. Mere human thoughts can be tyrannical. Use your will to tame your mind, and use God’s will to tame your will. You pray and read the Bible every day to reinforce your perception of God’s will so that you can submit your will to His. With your will submitted to God’s will, you can then wisely decide which thoughts are worth thinking. Just because you have a thought doesn’t mean it’s worth continuing to think it. (I know this may all sound too elementary to be useful, but I am amazed at the number of people who don’t seem to be choosing their own thoughts; as a result, they get tyrannized by their minds – through thoughts of fear, lust, etc. that they allow to remain in their mind.)

***

The apostles’ zero-tolerance policy towards fear (key words italicized):

• Paul: Philippians 4:6 – Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer…
• Peter: 1 Peter 3:6 – …do what is right without being frightened by any fear.
• Peter: 1 Peter 5:7 – casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
• John: 1 John 4:18 – There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear…

***

This adage is more apt than ever: “A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.” – George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950). By contrast, Jesus governs in a way that leaves room for generosity.

***

“How Dare You Defend What We Attack!”

Secular culture attacks traditional American (that is, biblical) values regarding family, sex, etc…and then accuses anyone who stands up for those values as “engaging in culture wars.” How ingenious! If only the Japanese had been this marketing savvy they could have accused America of being the aggressors for declaring war on them after they bombed Pearl Harbor.

***

Christianity Allowed Free Speech, Secularism Cannot Afford It

America is a product of Great Britain. Consequently, for two and a half centuries, we’ve been able to discern our future by paying attention to their present. As of the last 80 years or so, they’re just a few steps ahead of us on the de-Christianization – which is to say, secularization – trend line. One key aspect of this transition is a move away from free speech as a right of the people toward hate speech laws as a tool of authoritarianism. In this light, take note of these headlines: Scotland’s New Hate Crime Law Is No Laughing Matter (Christian Today) and More Than 3,000 Hate Crime Complaints in Response to Scotland’s New Law (BBC). I’m not trying to scare people; just warn them. Jesus shows us how to survive as lambs in the midst of wolves, and that survival starts with being aware of the wolves…and their most recent movements.

***

Free Speech, Free Lunch

There’s no such thing as free speech, just as there’s no such thing as a free lunch. If you’re not having to pay for your lunch, it means someone else is paying for it. Similarly, if you’re not having to pay for what you say, it means that someone else is paying for it. It should not surprise anyone that the decline of Christianity in America is being accompanied by a decline in free speech. Christianity can afford to allow free speech because its founder paid such a heavy price for it; conversely, no other religion or ideology can afford to allow free speech and this is why they all seek to stifle it.

***

Don’t Take Offense at Jesus

In Matt 11:6 and Luke 7:23, Jesus says, “Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.” Many people take offense at Jesus and, as a result, won’t believe in Him. However, it’s not just unbelievers who can make this mistake. Since 1978 when I accepted the Lord, I have – I am ashamed to say – taken offense at Him too many times to count. I didn’t think of it as “taking offense” at the time or else I would have immediately corrected my course. In retrospect, however, I have to admit I was taking offense whenever I disapproved of the way He did things and, as a consequence, didn’t fully collaborate with Him in what He was doing. I foolishly wanted to keep doing things my way and obtain His approval and get my prayers answered nonetheless. What this made me in those situations, of course, was an unbelieving believer – a man with one foot on the gas and the other on the brake. Those stretches in my walk with the Lord were bumpy and disorienting. Just because God doesn’t do something the way I would do it doesn’t make Him wrong. (Ha ha!) These days I try to avoid being an offended and pouting child of God.

***

How Does a Christian Nation Become a Secular Nation?

In one of his books, the novelist Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) famously had one of his characters answer the question “How did you go bankrupt?” by saying “Two ways…gradually and then suddenly.” As it is in a bankruptcy of money, so it apparently is in a bankruptcy of righteousness.

***

Questions Worth Asking about Transgenderism

Who taught us that males could become females…and vice versa? Where was the school in which we learned it? Where is the textbook that explained when and how American society came to reject all previous human understanding of male and female? What happened to the scientific teaching that male or female can be detected in the chromosomes which are found in the nucleus of a cell – meaning that, if we are male, then every cell of our body is male and the same for females? Since none of us can recall being taught when we were growing up that male and female distinctions cannot be made at birth but can only be made by the individual at the time of his or her choosing, mustn’t it have been taught and accepted during the time we have been adults – why, therefore, can’t we recall that day? Was it a law that was passed, and, if so, when was it passed and what legislative body passed it? Why were we given no say in that decision? Come to think of it, all our experience with insurance companies is that they avoid covering new things not originally contracted – why then would they agree to cover all these drugs and surgeries? Who is paying the additional premiums? And, as long as we’re at it, there used to be such a thing as female impersonators – why do we never hear about such men anymore? Have they all disappeared? What happened to them? Oh, and why do we catch so much grief when we ask these kinds of questions?

***

Jesus came to launch a movement that would follow Him, not leave an institution that would replace Him. In other words, His purpose was to make disciples, not church members. The purpose of the New Testament church was like the purpose of a chrysalis which is to transition a caterpillar into a butterfly. The church was to transition the nation of ancient Israel into the eternal kingdom of God.

***

There is no virtue in not going to church, but there is virtue in reading the Bible instead – especially if your goal is to find and serve the kingdom of God.

(When I say “There is no virtue in…” or “There is virtue in…,” I might just as well say “There is no righteousness in…” or There is righteousness in…”)

***

Boundaries and Righteousness

What does current US immigration policy have in common with current US family policy? No boundaries. Those boundaries are about as long-standing as you can get. In immigration, it was the long-standing boundary of a national border; in family, it was the long-standing boundary between male and female. By contrast, the Creator referenced in our Declaration of Independence used creation week to establish boundaries every single day He worked that week – starting with the separation of light from darkness on day one and ending with the creation of human beings as male and female on day six. No boundaries = “formless and void” = chaos. America today is of a very different mind and character from America at its founding. As different as you can get. As Peter Marshall said, it’s “Christ or chaos.”

The erasure of boundaries is the way of Satan. As for the way of God, Robert Frost picked up on it when he wrote “Good fences make good neighbors.” The restoration of proper boundaries is righteousness…which leads to peace (Rom 14:17).

***

Beware of Emotional Blackmail

Beware of anyone who tries to make you responsible for their feelings. They’re trying to enslave you. It’s emotional blackmail, and it’s rampant in this age. It comes to us both on an individual and on a societal level. For example, on an individual level a family member or friend may accuse you of being insensitive to their feelings. They seek to “educate” you so that you will know what to say and not say to them in the future. They may even try to get you to accept some new “identity” they have concocted for themselves – forcing you to lie to them in the process. As for the societal level, there are organizations like BLM or the ADL that seek to sensitize everyone to their issues so that none of us will ever “trigger” them. Whether it’s an individual or a society, what these kinds of people are seeking is to make you a slave to their feelings. They are already slaves to their feelings and they want you to be enslaved to them, too. The only feelings you can be responsible for are your own; and you must manage them – not let your feelings manage you. Do not submit to emotional slavery. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. People can have whatever feelings they want to have about that. Capitulating to emotional blackmail is a sure sign you’ve abandoned the fear of God and are walking in the fear of man. Walk in the spirit, not in the flesh. Jesus Christ is Lord.

***

A day in which we do not learn something more about Jesus Christ is worse than a wasted day. (Matt 13:12 “For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.”)

***

Finding and Following Patterns and Principles in the Bible

Don’t be like the generals who fight the battles of the last war

It is proverbial that generals fight the last war – that is, they tend to employ the strategies and tactics that succeeded in the previous war and thus fail to formulate strategies and tactics appropriate to the war that’s facing them. We can observe the same dynamic in spiritual warfare. Notice, for example, that the Pharisees argued with Jesus about the sabbath as if he was one of the sabbath-breakers with whom Nehemiah and Jeremiah had to deal. The Pharisees behaved this way because the sabbath was one of the last issues people argued over in the Bible they had. Similarly, people today want to focus on church and the second coming because these were the last issues described in the Bible we have. There is nothing new under the sun, but that doesn’t mean the next thing is going to look exactly like the last thing – especially not outwardly. The Bible gives us multiple patterns and principles; we must spiritually discern which apply to the particular challenges we face. Today, one of the most common things we hear is that so-and-so is like Hitler and thus the Nazis and World War II are the pattern that people think applies to our times. That is because so many people are lazily thinking that every crisis we face is going to follow that pattern. Let’s be more discerning than that. We have all of history and all of the Bible to inform us – not merely the most recent part of each.

***

Following a BRP

When we read the Bible according to a Bible Reading Plan (BRP), what are we doing and why are we doing it? We are making room for the word of God in our lives. This is something Adam and Eve failed to do. We make room for the word of God by committing to read the Bible and serve Jesus daily…and sticking to that commitment. In this way, we live lives of repentance…because repentance is not a once-and-done transaction. It’s a lifestyle. We do these things in order to find refuge in an increasingly dangerous nation; this America is not one we have known before. Jesus Christ has proven Himself to be “a very present help in trouble” (Ps 46:1). We’re all going to heaven; He wants to help us get there in one piece.

***

The Nuclear Family Is a Flock

Jesus said, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom” (Lk 12:32). That is a promise to you and the family for which you, as a man, are responsible. Seeing this promise fulfilled in the life of your family does not depend on any other family taking the promise to heart. Even if your family were the only one to believe it, you would still see it come to pass. Jesus Christ is nothing if not faithful.

***

Worthless Men

Where is the man when the proverbial modern woman is “consulting with her doctor about an unwanted pregnancy” – are these women conceiving by themselves? If a man doesn’t care about his own seed, the child’s first line of defense is AWOL. The infant has been sired by a deserter.

***

Churchgoing or Bible Reading?

Which is the more effective way to actualize the lordship of Jesus Christ in a man’s life – churchgoing or Bible reading? The answer’s obvious. Even pastors agree in their more candid moments. Churchgoing made sense when the pastor was the only one with access to a Bible; that hasn’t been the case for a long, long time. The pastor in that video clip has succeeded in getting men to come to him, but not in getting them to go to Jesus. I know that pastor’s life; I used to live it. I had to learn to get out of the way. Cut out the middle man; go directly to the Lord. You’ll find Him in His word.

***

The Final Frontier

When the television show Star Trek was originally broadcast in the 1960’s, the very first words you would hear at the beginning of each episode were Captain Kirk saying, “Space: the final frontier…” While God certainly wants us to explore and settle outer space, it is by no means the final frontier. On the contrary, the final frontier is inner space – the heart, the spirit, the soul, the center and unseen part of a man. This is what Jesus Christ came to teach us. When a man can tame and control the thoughts of his own mind, he’s on his way to maturity. By contrast, only people who cannot manage their own thoughts are foolish enough to think they are qualified and able to manage the thoughts of others. Through submission to Christ, you can conquer your inner space – and that by itself will make the world a better place. Those who live closest to you will appreciate it the most.

Don’t shrink back from your mission to boldly go where no man has gone before: your inner space. Subdue every square inch of it for the glory of the Lord.

_{^{(2 Cor 10:3-6)}}

***

A mature man is a spiritual man. An immature man is fleshly. We need to grow up.

***

Repentance Must Be to Christ

An increasing number of people now recognize that America has entered a phase of increasingly dangerous moral decline. Whether or not a majority of the population shares this assessment, I do not know…but it seems to be a sizable number. They all want to turn back the clock, but the problem is that they vary greatly in terms of how far back they want to turn it. I’ve heard Tucker Carlson say he wants to turn it back to the 1980’s. I think many people think that Trump wants to turn it back to the 1950’s. I’ve heard others say they’d be very happy to return to the 1990’s. I’ve even heard some say they be content with any time prior to 2015-2016. Of course, there are those who long for the “band of brothers” values that animated America in the 1940’s, and many more who want to go back to the values our country held in the 1770’s.

(A lot of this is people thinking, “Having now experienced the Bs and the Ts – not to mention the +s – I’m willing to unite with the Ls and Gs if the letters will just stop there.” In other words, even sinners can be grossed out by sins worse than their own. But this doesn’t amount to genuine repentance; it’s only a sign that the sins of others bother us more our own. True repentance is being grossed out by your own sins. Don’t compare yourself to the worst person you know; instead, compare yourself to Jesus Christ. If that doesn’t make you want to repent, nothing will.)

This degree of variation in how far back people want to turn the clock does not make for a unified political front that can have a chance at turning back the tide of precipitous moral decline we are experiencing. A moral problem cannot be solved by political means; a moral problem can only be solved by a moral solution. A man who lived in the 0030’s is the only one with a viable answer to what we now face. And the good news is that His way will work at the individual and family level even if it continues to be rejected at the national level.

***

Repentance Is a Lifestyle

Repentance is not a one-time event; it is a daily, lifelong process. It is an accumulation of innumerable decisions and actions, large and small. God could have just destroyed the human race and created an entirely different and better one, but He chose instead to give the existing one a chance to do better. What have we been doing with this opportunity? What will we do with it today?

Acts 11:18 When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.”

***

Secularism and Islam

Currently, Christianity’s greatest enemy in the East has risen from without and it is Islam; meanwhile, Christianity’s greatest enemy in the West has risen from within and it is Secularism. Satan thinks that through these two movements – one claiming God’s backing, the other insisting He be left out of the discussion – he has the world in a pincer movement from which it cannot escape. But he knows that Islam and Secularism will eventually devour each other because both long to be dominant. The devil just hopes he can use the two movements to extinguish Christianity before they extinguish each other. But Satan cannot outsmart God. Never has and never will. God will prevail on the earth…just as He has prevailed over and over, and most importantly as He did against death. You watch. You wait. You’ll see. Meanwhile, keep reading the Bible to yourself and your family every day, practicing the parts you understand. Jesus Christ will deliver you and yours as He did Noah.

_{^{(This note also appears on Notes on Secularism.)}}

***

A Mother’s Milk

Cyprian (210-258), bishop of Carthage, memorably said, “No one can have God for his Father who does not have the church for his mother.” If that’s the case, then the New Testament church is our mother. We drink her milk every time we read any portion of Acts through Revelation.

1 Pet 2:2 like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,

Ps 131:2 Surely I have composed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child rests against his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child within me.

No church today can say it is our mother, because no church today is in the same category as the NT church. Today’s churches are man-made; the NT church was divinely formed and governed. Its membership came from “the greatest generation them of all.” It was the bridge between ancient Israel and the kingdom of God, the cocoon between the caterpillar and the butterfly. Her milk is pure; nourish your soul with it.

***

Identity Theology and Identity Politics

Identity theology is as bad as identity politics – if not worse. Identity theology says “I’m a Christian and he’s not, I’m saved and he’s not, I’m forgiven and he’s not, I’m holy and he’s not, and other divisive views like this.” Identity theology, like identity politics, promotes groupthink and tribal warfare. True Christianity, by contrast, promotes the sanctity of the individual and family, mutual respect, and independent thinking. It does not divide people; it unites them. Jesus Christ is not king of some, He’s king of all!

***

God can’t grow what the sowers don’t sow.

A farmer who expects a harvest to arise from a field he has not planted is a fool or else mentally ill.

_{^{Gal 6:7-9; James 1:21}}

***

It takes some mental gymnastics to love the lyrics of In Christ Alone while labeling as a heretic anyone who worships Christ alone and not a trinity.

“But, Mike, the last verse of that song speaks of the Second Coming as still future – don’t you then consider the composers to be heretics?” Not at all – just mistaken on that point. The rest of the lyrics are lovely. Even a child like me can learn to eat the meat and spit out the bones.

Not everyone who disagrees with you is committing heresy. “To err is human” – not necessarily heretical. Let your condemnations be measured. 

As for Christ versus a trinity, the Bible instructs us to worship the former and says nothing about the latter. Nothing. Why should we honor a name God has never given Himself? For more, see There Is No Trinity; There Is Christ! (an essay).

***

Be the father you wish you’d had. But if you don’t simultaneously forgive your father for not being the father he should’ve been, your efforts at fatherhood will not achieve the results you want. Being bitter blocks being better.

***

Current stat: 63% of men ages 18-29 are single, a 12% increase from 2019. (Source) This stat is catastrophic. It has all kinds of negative implications for the present and the future of American society. It’s bad for men, bad for women, and bad for children. When God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Gen 2:18), He was not just uttering a nicety. It is truly “Not Good!”

Conversely, if you are a man aged 18-29 with a wife and children, you are doing good in the world. Everything else you do is icing on the cake.

***

Peace is not the absence of tribulation; it’s the sense of His approval of the way you’re handling the tribulation.

_{(John 16:33)}

***

For when you build up someone’s faith, you are giving that person – whether an adult or child – a measure of relief from the torment of fear.

_{(Rom 14:19; Heb 2:14-15)}

***

Sex is God’s.

A great deal of guidance can be unpacked from that three-word sentence. It is a paraphrase of Matthew 19:4-6. To start with, both the sentence and the Scripture passage validate the nuclear family as God’s intention for the human race: a man and a woman with God giving a harvest. Transgenderism is not even a possibility. Neither is there room for any of the other letters in current culture’s alphabet soup of sexual degeneracy. Laws of Nature cannot be repealed by us because they were legislated by Nature’s God. Only when He decides it’s time for heaven and earth pass away will those Laws pass away.

***

Man’s interest is to have a better world to live in; God’s interest is to have better men to live in the world we’ve got.

_{(Matt 16:23)}

***

God seeks order. Satan seeks disorder. Human beings are not nearly so consistent…but Jesus trains us to do better.

_{(1 Cor 14:33; Jas 3:15-16)}

***

God directs; Satan distracts.

_{(Mt 13:19; Mk 4:15; Lk 8:12)}

***

The solution to strife is separation. Separation is bad, but it is not as bad as strife.

_{(Gen 13:1-12; Prov 17:1; 20:3; 1 Cor 3:3; Jas 3:13-18)}

***

Getting a Grip on Your Life by Getting a Grip on Yourself

***

Peter failed a lot because he tried a lot. We don’t alienate ourselves from the Lord by failing to please Him, but rather by giving up the attempt. Peter never let his failures to please the Lord become an excuse to stop trying to please the Lord.

***

We read the Bible, but we are not disciples of the Bible. We are disciples of Jesus.

_{(John 5:39-40)}

***

Don’t join a church.
Don’t join Christians.
Join Christ!

Joining a church only connects you to a building.
Joining Christians only connects you to people.
Joining Christ connects you to God!

***

Let Every Day Be a Memorial Day for Jesus Christ

Is it right that we should have a Memorial Day in this country to remember those who have given “the last full measure of devotion” on our behalf? Absolutely! Shame on us if we fail to honor those who have shown us the greatest love of all (“Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends”).

If it makes sense for us to have such a day once a year to honor our soldiers, then it also makes sense for us to regard every day as a Memorial Day for our Creator who laid down His life for those from every nation. When He endured crucifixion, He was treating us as friends while we were treating Him as an enemy. He was loving His enemies and we weren’t even loving our Friend.

As creatures, we have been redefined by our Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection. That is, our Creator has now lived the life that He created for us to live. Therefore, we understand Him and ourselves in a whole new way. He has given us a whole new reason to live…and an example to follow!

The Lord could have wiped us out and started over with creatures more worthy of His love, but He did not. He chose to preserve us in death…and raise us from it. And raise us not just to life, but ultimately to life in heaven with Him! Is there then a single day in the rest of our days on earth when it would be appropriate to forget this? Never! Let every day be a Memorial Day for Him who loved us and released us from our sins by His blood.

***

Humility Month

Let us proclaim June every year as “Humility Month.” Humility Month, to be celebrated annually from June 1–30, will honor Jesus Christ and the impact His humility has had on human history, culture, and morals. By humbling Himself to suffer an ignominious death on a cross, He saved us from the ultimate consequences of our sins and re-routed death so that it leads above to heaven instead of below to Sheol (Hades). Let this month also commemorate the humility of the apostles and all those who have throughout the ages risked life, limb, and all they owned in order to pass on to us the good news of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. By honoring Jesus and all those who have followed in His steps, let our minds become more fully-sensitized to all the good that humility does in the earth, and, conversely, all the evil that comes through pride.

***

As salmon swim upstream to lay their eggs, so godly parents swim against cultural currents for the sake of their children.

***

The human race is a relay race. The current generation receives a baton from the previous generation, which it subsequently hands off to the next generation. For this reason, we’re not only judged by the running we do, but also by the way we receive the baton and the way we hand it off.

***

When you read the Bible every day with the intention of drawing closer to Jesus Christ in your thoughts, words, and deeds even when you don’t feel like it, you are doing yourself and those around you more good than you can possibly imagine.

***