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It's easy to subscribe to the safe and predictable ideas concerning God's Word. You know - the ideas we've held to for a long time, the things everyone takes for granted. But sometimes the most accurate positions are the ones that emerge when we choose to step out from behind the rigid constraints of stained glass views. We may need to wrestle with uncomfortable themes as we do this. We may need to risk something we most want to believe about God or about ourselves. When I write an article, I use that exercise to process issues that God has laid on my heart. I may spend many weeks on it as I carefully consider its content, or it may rush out of me in one spasm of inspiration. Regardless, I trust these articles will move you, provoke you, and compel you to study the Bible with a fresh perspective.
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Fact or Friction
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11/09/19
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This is one of those articles that just sort of poured out of me - like it almost had a life of its own. I guess the news lately has had a lot of the same elements in play: lies, deception, a refusal to see the truth, efforts to paint a picture that doesn't exist, and so on. It's all become quite alarming. It's no surprise to me that much of this disturbing trend finds its source on the left side of the political spectrum. This article explores that specific dynamic and lays it alongside some future events which the Scriptures are quite clear about.
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In Their Right Minds
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12/30/18
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This article finishes the story I started in "The Gerasene Incident." Just as the first part did, this second half takes the pieces and parts of the three gospel accounts and develops one cohesive storyline. A little creativity proved helpful, but my goal was to lay a certain foundation. This will permit me to address some misperceptions about fallen angels and demons in future parts of this series. But - for now anyways, Parts 1 and 2 stand on their own as a bit of inspired writing.
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The Gerasene Incident
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12/02/18
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This is Part 1 of what I expect will become an article series that ultimately probes the question, "Are fallen angels and demons the same thing?" Here, I unpack the various gospel accounts of the Gerasene demoniac, and I try to tell the story of what "might have" happened. In incorporating the three accounts from Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and in "reading between the lines," I feel a dramatic scenario emerges. I've done my best to capture that here.
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LYING LIPS AND THE APOCALYPSE
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10/09/18
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We all know that "2 + 2 = 4," but in today's politically-correct environment, it's unpopular to state the truth. This article calls it like it is: the liberals have descended in their behaviors and antics so far that it's clear they are modeling what the antichrist's supporters will be like. This article examines the present state of our nation's culture and political climate, and it places those observations against the facts and texts of end-time Scripture. The picture that emerges "tells it like it is."
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DOES GOD LET YOU DOWN
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09/03/18
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The question is not meant to be irreverent, especially as the Scriptures show other people had their doubts and their unfulfilled expectations of Jesus Christ. The truth is we are called to live "by faith," and that is a posture that overcomes the way things seem to be. Many people struggle with feelings of discouragement in their Christian walk, and cliche answers aren't the solution to these sorts of needs. This article is a probing - and uncomfortable - look at circumstances we all deal with from time to time.
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Who is Daniel Chapter 8 Talking About Part 2
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08/13/18
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A series of matter-of-fact issues are outlined within the text of Daniel's second vision in Dan. 8:9-14, and within Gabriel's explanation of that vision in verses 23-25 of that chapter. These plainly-stated points make any efforts to claim that Antiochus Epiphanes is the subject of this text a very tough sell. This article is the second of two that argue my personal view that this portion of Daniel is instead referring to the antichrist.
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Who is Daniel Chapter 8 Talking About Part 1
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08/06/18
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There's an awkward tug-of-war when you feel the accurate interpretation of Scripture goes in one direction while the commentary notes go in another. This was my reality as I taught through Dan. 8:9-14. I disagreed with the view that this passage was about Antiochus Epiphanes. This article is the first of two-parts that lay out my rationale for believing this section of Scripture is instead about the antichrist. I unpack a "directional dilemma" that emerges with an honest assessment of verse 9.
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Lessons From My Cats
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07/31/18
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God is not confined to the Scriptures to teach us things we need to learn. The Psalmist said "The heavens declare the glory of God..." (Ps. 19:1), and sometimes God even uses - cats! I have two, and in addition to providing endless pleasure, they remind me of God's love and care for me in myriad ways. This article summarizes some of those events and experiences.
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WHO ARE THE SONS OF GOD IN GENESIS 6 Part 7
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07/23/18
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This article concludes a 7-part series on the core themes that emerge from a literal study of Genesis 6:1-4. The focus of this last article is one that looks ahead to the future, especially in light of Jesus' comments about the times just before His Second Coming being "like the days of Noah." There are clues in the Scriptures that suggest Jesus' words were intended to remind us of the Nephilim from antiquity.
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WHO ARE THE SONS OF GOD IN-GENESIS 6 Part 6
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07/16/18
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The events surrounding the life and crucifixion of Jesus Christ pull together several Scriptural references which tie directly back to the age-old battle between the seeds of the woman and the serpent. Because the goal of Satan is to escape the prophecy of his own destruction, his strategy against Jesus Christ is clear. This article reinforces that the New Testament theme of the Nephilim is based upon an accurate understanding of the very same theme in the Old Testament.
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WHO ARE THE SONS OF GOD IN GENESIS 6 Part 5
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07/09/18
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The fallen angels' agenda narrows its scope as God provides the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant. Now Satan knows he must focus on the Jews and try to disrupt their conquest of the Promised Land. God's "genocidal-like" orders to Moses, Joshua, and Saul are often maligned. This article explains how those commands can only properly be understood in light of the ongoing war between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman.
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WHO ARE THE SONS OF GOD IN GENESIS 6 Part 4
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07/02/18
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Conclusions surrounding the Great Flood are often wrapped in ignorance rather than a faithful study of God's Word. The Scriptures present the compelling case that the initial fallen angel agenda was directed against the entire human race. God preserved His promises with the global deluge, but Satan found a remarkable way to keep his own plans alive too. This article reveals the precise details of the post-flood account which affirm that God wants us to know how the Nephilim came back.
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WHO ARE THE SONS OF GOD IN GENESIS 6 Part 3
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06/25/18
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With the basics of the correct interpretation of Genesis 6:1-4 established, this installment of this article series focuses on a theory which has emerged in opposition to Biblical truth. Called "the sons of Seth" theory, this article examines where this fallacy came from and what motives brought it about. Special attention is given to the dangers of choosing to misinterpret God's Word, and several problems with "the sons of Seth" theory are exposed.
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WHO ARE THE SONS OF GOD IN GENESIS 6 PART 2
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06/18/18
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Building on Part 1 of this series, this installment begins a deep dive into Genesis 6:1-4, and compares this ancient text against other passages in the Bible. This exercise concludes that fallen angels mated with human women and produced gigantic hybrid offspring. It also emerges that one must willfully disavow the consistent arguments and message presented by the full counsel of God's Word in order to arrive at any alternative views of Genesis 6:1-4.
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WHO ARE THE SONS OF GOD IN GENESIS 6 Part 1
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06/11/18
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The church is mostly missing an extraordinary storyline that weaves its way from Genesis to Revelation. It's there because God put it there, and so it should not be ignored. Many people have overlooked it, have claimed it means something else, or have rejected it altogether. A key text is found in Genesis 6:1-4. This article sets the proper tone as the first of a series, and it outlines the responsible rules of Biblical interpretation.
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In God We Trust, Or Do We?
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06/04/18
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It's easy to distill the Christian life down to quips and quote that sound right but which don't reflect the true struggles of faithful living. For example, we casually claim that we "trust God," but are we really demonstrating that in our choices? This article is a small reality check on the Scripture-wide command to consciously and completely "trust God."
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Some Not So Subtle Sermon Suggestions
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05/29/18
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I'm concerned that too many pastors each Sunday are content with shallow dives into the milky parts of God's Word. The church today desperately needs more meat, and a big part of a meaty diet is Biblical prophecy - at least if we take the examples of Peter and Paul into consideration. This article is a sobering assessment of popular sermon themes, and it concludes with a challenge to reintroduce the prophetic Scriptures back into the regular diet of the church.
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The Benefit Of Studying Biblical Prophecy Part 2
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05/21/18
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This article concludes a two-part assessment of the value that accompanies the penitent study of Biblical prophecy. Four more benefits are reviewed, and while there are many more advantages to taking in God's prophetic Word than what these two articles have discussed, it is my hope that this two-part overview will compel each reader to a deeper and more meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ - and all the more as we await His glorious return!
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The Benefit Of Studying Biblical Prophecy Part 1
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05/14/18
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More than 25% of the Bible is devoted to prophecy, but that's not stopped various self-appointed "experts" from discounting its value. The truth is, the Bible emphasizes that prophecy is an integral part of one's faith, and the clamor against it from those within the church is a clear indication of the of end times we live in. This article is the first of a two-part series that examines well-defined benefits to the proper study of Biblical prophecy.
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Once Upon Elam
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05/07/18
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It seems everyone is talking about "Elam" these days - but most people simply refer to it as Iran. Elam is a province in modern-day Iran, and it has played a key role with the affairs of the Jewish nation from ancient history up to the present time. As I began to study Elam, the place where God gave Daniel his second vision, the fuller history of this little-known region began to take on great significance. For those believers who study Biblical prophecy, there is anticipation that God is about to fulfill His Word concerning Elam once more.
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Who Am I Really?
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04/23/18
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Big changes prompt big reflections. I recently experienced these processes. This article is about getting my head and my heart in the right place when life threw me a curveball. It was therapeutic for me to sort through my perspectives and to organize them on a blank sheet of paper. While they are my experiences, I believe the lessons I've learned here are applicable to all of God's children. I hope this article is helpful to others who have faced their own changes.
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The Exercise of Foolishness
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04/16/18
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Hardly a day goes by where I am not struck by the utter foolishness of our culture and of our world. There are so many cases of people doing, saying, and believing the most ridiculous things. Excuses for this phenomenon are easy to come up with, but the real problem is a spiritual one more than anything, and the prophetic Scriptures show the problem is going to get a whole lot worse. This article is a sobering review of where things are and where they are going.
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What's Your Brand?
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04/02/18
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It's hard to recognize a church by its name these days. It's even hard to recognize some of them by their choices and their behaviors. I know I'm not the only one to be concerned with all the ways the church has aligned itself with the world's standards, particularly when God has laid out such simple instructions for what a church needs to be and how it needs to function. This short article is intended to redirect us back to some basic terms of God's design.
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Pick a Pack of Proper Preppers
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03/22/18
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A great deal of misinformation swirls about concerning the Tribulation, and many believers are trying now to prepare for this horrible time. The problem is their notions don't always gel with the facts from God's Word. As a result, elaborate - and errant - ideas abound, and the net result is the church is ineffective with its witness. This article borrows from a conversation I had with a friend. It illustrates the futility of preparing now for the time of "Jacob's Trouble," and it reorients us to the frank truth of the Scriptures.
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The Last Hope
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03/03/18
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The news might represent a lot of things, but there are times it is a pulse on the spiritual condition of our world. A recent headline captured my attention and got me running with an idea. The more I thought about it, the more relevant the idea became with the prophetic Scriptures in view. This article seeks to blend man's idea of a "last hope" with the Bible's definition of the same.
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The POTUS the SOTU and the NWO
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02/10/18
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It's claimed that Tim LaHaye's wife said seeing so many Christmas decorations going up was a sign that Thanksgiving was just around the corner. Prophecy is just like that. We see things taking place now that are clear indicators of what is nearly upon us. The surge of globalism is an evident sign that the world is already being prepared for a time when the church is removed from the earth. Recent political events in our own country play a part too, and this article seeks to put some of these turbulent issues into proper perspective.
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The Threat From Within
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01/09/18
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As Christians, we tend - I believe - to focus on the threats to our faith and to our Bible-based values which come from the world-at-large, a place outside our community of believers. That's understandable, but it's not entirely correct. We're directed to be aware of the threats to our faith and to our values from within our ranks too. There are common adversaries in both places. This article is a review of a very real danger that both Paul and Jesus warned us about.
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Knowing Fear
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12/29/17
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It's flirting with disaster to take one's eternal standing casually. I've come to the conclusion that many "Christians" are not truly saved, and I believe the Bible has something to say which confirms my assumption. This brief article was a hard look in the mirror for me, and as I carefully forged each phrase of it I was challenged to take stock of why I believe the things I say I do. Perhaps it will help others to reflect on critical issues which are so important in these "days of deception." I hope so!
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Giving Glory To God
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12/21/17
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A busy life is not necessarily a good one. It may pursue responsibilities and goals that are noble by man's standards, but that's no guarantee they are consistent with the ideals of God's Word. In fact, a busy life often anesthetizes us against the expressions of a proper eternal perspective, and I'm as guilty of that as many others are. Consequently, this is a vulnerable article - and while it is brief, I trust it is "good medicine" for tired souls.
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The Basics Of Apostasy
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12/18/17
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There are various terms we toss around in Christian circles that are seldom understood as they need to be. "Apostasy" is one of those. This article provides a brief primer on the concept of apostasy, and it pays particular attention to how it's used in the Scriptures. The application of apostasy for the church today is a sobering one, for we may be more off-course than we are tempted to believe.
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A Crisis Of Truth
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12/15/17
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Blatant deception in our culture seems to be our "new norm." Folks are getting away with saying and doing things that a few years ago would have been inconceivable. We know the root cause to all these lies is mans' sinful condition, but things are going to get much worse. The prophetic Scriptures outline a series of events that systematically unfold in The Tribulation which show that mankind will stoop to levels of deceit that we can hardly imagine - even by today's standards. But God has the final say, and there is an end to all this corruption.
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A Most Unwelcome Leader
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09/21/17
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It was startling to me to discern the similarities between the attacks against Daniel as he rose in the leadership of the new Medo-Persian empire, and the attackes on our President today. There are so many ways in which the two circumstances, separated by thousands of years, are alike. In some reflection on the matter, I realized the heart of man has not changed - nor have God's ways. There are some very important takeaways to learn here, and this article seeks to bring those elements to the surface.
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Will Israel Go Extinct? Part 2
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08/25/17
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A key to grasping the answer to this title's question is understanding God's plan with regards to the worldwide re-gathering of the Jews. The Bible has some very specific things to say about this. If one accepts these things at face value, then they guide conclusions accordingly. The bottom line is there is no way - at least according to the Scriptures - that Israel's national welfare will be severely threatened until a time of God's design. That time is not now, and this article builds on Part 1 to make that point clear.
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Will Israel Go Extinct? Part 1
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08/25/17
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From political circles to the average person on the street, and from those behind the pulpit to those within the pews, there is a great deal of misperception about Israel these days. This is particularly the case as threats against this tiny Mideast nation mount. Whenever God's Word fails to factor in to the discussion as it ought to, Israel becomes a target. This article is the first of a two-part article that lays out a proper Biblical view of Israel's existence today.
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Global Warming
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06/20/17
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In my life and in my social circles, I run into many people that are rabid about "global warming." They believe anything they hear that supports it. The problem is, they are not accounting for the fuller picture and all the information. Christians too, fall prey to this, and I feel they are just as misled. It's time to look at the facts and to ponder them against the prophetic Scriptures. I think God may have something to say in all the climate change debate too....
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Superheroes And Superheresies
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05/30/17
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I get asked from time to time, "What do you really think the mark of the beast is going to be?" I think most people have not thought much about this matter and the implications of the Scriptures that discuss it. This article seeks to tie together several key passages about the mark of the beast that say much more together than they do individually. I chose an approach that was partly a personal story, partly an assessment of our times, but mostly a frank look at the clear message of the Word of God.
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The Man For Such A Time As This
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05/01/17
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I've been troubled to see the double standards of so many people as our country has transitioned from President Obama to President Trump. I've concluded it's an outward display of an inward problem, and the chaos surrounding current politics is little more than a dress rehearsal for much darker times ahead. This article was one of the hardest I've ever authored, but the exercise helped me process what I'm seeing and feeling.
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A Matter Of Choice
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07/22/16
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I'm not sure I know of anyone that has had an easy life. Most of us have endured much more than we care to share. So it was no easy task for me to lay bare in this article a time in my life when it seemed all the adversities and challenges had coalesced into "my perfect storm." It was a very vulnerable point, and I am grateful God brought me through it. It gave me a better understanding of a future moment in time when it will be too late for many.
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Getting Israel Right
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05/14/16
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I am dismayed at the heresies which have invaded the church concerning Israel. It seems to me that relatively few church leaders even bother to read the portions of the Bible which plainly affirm God's continued devotion to the Jews. A specific event in my own life underscored the nature of this problem, and it provided the basis of this article.
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Prophetic Malnutrition
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03/19/16
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It's not unusual for me to hear from Christian leaders within the church that prophetic themes are not important. I feel they are wrong, and I believe the facts of Scripture bear this out. Many congregations suffer because they have not sufficiently emphasized these doctrines which provided a strong foundation to the early church. This article was my attempt to summarize this dilemma.
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Kings And Prophets
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02/20/16
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It's easy to read the Bible and miss important principles in it that are just as true for us today as they were for the people at that time. This is particularly the case with the historical narratives of the Old Testament. I've contemplated the issue of how God deals with a nation as its religious and political leaders change and perform their responsibilities - or not. Christian leaders today must fulfill the role God expects them to. This article is a frank assessment of the conditions our nation faces politically and spiritually.
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Did God Create Evil?
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05/12/14
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There are theological matters which fiercely tax the heart and painfully stretch the mind. I know a number of people who have stepped off the narrow path, never to return to it, over issues that required a deeper and more mature faith to accept. The article here reviews one such matter. I felt the responsibility to write it as others were seeking me out concerning its tough questions.
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Perseverance
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01/14/13
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As an entrepreneur I've learned that, "Success is getting up one more time than you fall down." It's about staying on the path and putting one foot in front of the other. The book of James reminds us that similar challenges face faithful believers. It's all about "perseverance." It's all about choosing a right response in the middle of trials. This article underscores what is required to finish the race well.
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Chick-fil-A vs Culture
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08/01/12
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I wrote this short article when it seemed our entire nation, from top to bottom, had suddenly turned on Chik-Fil-A with bared teeth. They weren't hungry; they were mad. All Chik-Fil-A had done was stand up for Christian values, and that earned them the very worst sort of criticisms. I had to respond - at least a little. In the process, it helped me sort through some thoughts I had about our culture, including the one in our churches.
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Pray For Rain
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07/16/12
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This brief article is written more in a "devotional style:" pithy and punchy. A casual comment from a family member prompted me to wonder whether or not God still levies out rain (or withholds it) in judgment in our time(?). If I had to guess, I'd say "yes." I think he still uses rain to get our attention, and the Scriptures may suggest that. As brief as this little article is, it is significant for the points it makes. You can draw your own opinion.
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Why Should We Study The Tribulation?
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07/14/12
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There are many times I have felt a certain fear as I teach my class each Sunday. The responsibility of properly handling God's Word weighs heavy on me - as I believe it should for anyone in a similar position. Yet, I encounter people who glibly write off entire portions, doctrines, themes, and even books of the Bible as "unimportant." At best, this is ignorance - at worst, it is pure arrogance. I've noticed that this irresponsible posture shows up more around prophetic issues, and this article tackles the great danger of falling into these views.
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Moses
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12/11/10
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This was one of the very first articles I ever wrote, and it started me on the journey of writing many more. In the process of reading the Bible through, I had carefully studied the life of Moses. I was impressed with his failures just as much as I was with his successes, and it moved me when God finally took him to his eternal home. I had to find words to deal with what God was teaching my own heart in that moment, and this article was the direct product of that.
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