GOD'S ANSWERS TO PRAYER

We know God answers prayer. However, many believe in asking for what they want, what gratifies THEIR flesh, and so forth. However, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed not once, not twice, but THREE times that the cup would be removed from Him. He knew during His whole time on earth the Father's plan for Him, and He frequently mentioned it. Yet, He prayed His heart, but still submitted to the Father's will.  That submission won salvation for us. God's plan was fulfilled, and I am so grateful.

We pray for our Christian brothers and sisters who are being persecuted abroad. Thousands of churches have been burned in Nigeria, for example. Thousands killed.  I just learned that in one case, Muslims burned a church and the houses of all its members. The police stood by, doing nothing. The people fled. Would seem like the typical ending to this type of thing, right?  God had a different idea. In this case, the Muslims went to where the Christians had fled and begged them to return, expressing sorrow for what happened. A mighty big price was paid for that to happen, one we would never pray for nor accept if it happened. God always answers prayer. When it is not as we pictured it, do not lose faith in God. Simply know that He has a plan for all that happens - He is sovereign - and we have to wait for God's wisdom to be revealed.

MLK DAY

 Over 40 years ago, back in 1985, my wife and I started a non-profit dedicated to breaking down barriers among people - racial, economic, educational, denominational, political, etc. This ministry is totally non-denominational and has published a lot of gospel literature and produced over 3,000 radio programs.  We have a black-white marriage, and there have actually been NINE interethnic marriages in our extended family - black, white, bi-racial, Hispanic, Asian, you name it.

Due to my passion for true unity, I was often the designated speaker at church on MLK Day. I honestly would have preferred it to have been called Civil Rights Day, as that is the nature of most Federal Holidays. Even George Washington, the Founder of our nation, and Abraham Lincoln, the one who preserved the Union, do not have a day with their name on it - only "Presidents Day".   Even Christmas and Easter are not named after the Lord who left heaven to come die for us and be raised up, do not accord that honor.  Only Columbus Day, which dates back to 1792, and MLK, Jr. Day remain.  Even then, only 20 states make Columbus Day a paid holiday, and many insist on trashing Columbus Day and celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day instead.  There is a lot of P.C. behind this, as well as a total glorification of those called Native Americans, often ignoring actual history, which indicates that they are no more sainted than any other people group. There was some pretty intense violence, massive intertribal warfare, and the like, flying in the face of the prevailing peace-pipe images.  I have nothing against honoring them as much as any other people group, as ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God. However, to demonize Columbus while practically deifying Native Americans is simply a non-starter for me.

The move a few decades ago to practically deify MLK led me to stop doing those speeches.  For the last few, I only talked about civil rights and barely mentioned his name. However, pushing him to sainthood despite the increasing hard evidence he was not a saint at all, from the testimony of his gross and. pervasive sexual immorality from Ralph Abernathy, his successor of the SCLC, confessions of others close to him, including some of the women, the note from Boston University concerning his plagiarized doctoral dissertation doctorate degree at the King Center at Stanford University, which would have been revoked if others did the same. They asked what purpose that would serve, ignoring academic integrity. 

Many have criticized the current president for his own immoralities years ago, ironically when he was a Hillary-supporting Democrat, and certainly those are blemishes as well, but the stark contrast in how Trump and King have been treated is unsettling.  Each of their achievements can be honored without white-washing their failings or making them into saints.

I have been to the King Center in Memphis, but have studied documents from Stanford. It has always bothered me that Christian evangelicals often call him a prophet, though originally they opposed him. With the rise of Malcolm X, he seemed more palatable, so it was Christian P.C. to embrace him as a fellow believer with a call on his life. However, any honest reading of his academic papers indicates he was never born again, and in fact was an enemy of the true gospel, never having preached it his entire life.  He says he was baptized at six but had no clue what it was about, simply joining others. He became a skeptic as a child, and by the age of 13, determined that Jesus Christ was not God.  Any "divinity" was simply because Jesus was doing God's work. The virgin birth and much of scripture were not in his belief system at all, and the entirety of his theological education was at apostate institutions. He leaned on theologians who denied the central beliefs of Christianity, and seemed to have never seriously studied scripture, but cherry-picked passages that were consistent with his message and interpreted them to suit his agenda. Of course, that is called eisegesis, and he is far from alone in doing that. Whether the purveyors of health and wealth on TBN and similar networks, those pushing feminism, or liberation theologians in Nicaragua and elsewhere, eisegesis is a sure-fire path to deception. Only exegesis, which seeks to take from scripture the pure, obvious, and eternal meaning, will keep one on the straight and narrow path to eternal life.  I Peter 2 warns us about people who appeal to Christians, but who have an immoral character and other issues that we need to avoid.

I find that those who are partial, who look past the sins of those they admire, fall into manifest deceptions no matter who the person is they deeply admire. That is so common today among so many that millions honor and respect, and MLK is not the slightest unique in that. The reason we point out the specifics today, though, is that we have a Federal holiday that honors him above all others, even those whose character dwarfs his. To be impartial is more than a notion, and we need to be 100% consistent in that if we are to please the Lord.

THANKSGIVING

This is the time of year ,amy express thanks to the Lord, though we are admonished in scripture to give thanks on an ongoing basis. The Lord said to enter His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be sure to give thaks WHENEVER you pray. Give thanks in all situations, even when things are going hard. Be sure to take a cue from the Apostle Paul, who in his letter to the Phillippians gave thanks for them - be thankful for those God has put in your life, and celebrate their victories in Cnrist as well as your own.

THE BATTLE

 The assassination of Charlie Kirk struck home in South Korea and the UK as well as here. People around the world are as tired of being censored and marginalized and having their faith slandered as we are in the USA. Around the world, we have been in a culture war for some time now - Christianity is mocked while even many who CLAIM to be Christians support things which are abominations to the Lord.

It looks to me like many people are being energized to speak up, to debate, and to reclaim ground. Let us hope and pray that those publicly calling for violence will be fired and removed from positions of influence. Also pray that Christians will not stoop to the ugly rhetoric or murderous spirt that we have seen online from those celebrating the man's death. After all, Jesus said hating is equivalent to murder. Where there is hate, let us sow love. Where there is hurt, let us sow healing. Where there is ignorance, let us share understanding.

Continue to pray for his widow Erika and his two young children. Cause good to come out of evil. May his death not have been in vain.

FATHERS' DAY

(MY FATHERS' DAY MESSAGE AT SUNRISE MEMORY CARE IN ABINGTON)

I asked to speak today here at Sunrise because today means a lot to me. My father has been gone from this earth for over 30 years. I still remember where I was when the news came – I was in a closed off attic cavity in South Philly where I was checking dimensions in an Augustinian personal care facility I was designing the renovations for – I had to squeeze through a 12” opening and though I was probably 20 pounds lighter then, it was still very tough getting in and out. I had to breathe in to reduce my belly enough to pass through the opening and got very dirty in the process. 

 

I had been closer to my mother, but she passed on several years before my father. Both my parents encouraged reading and thinking deeply about things. They let me go to the college of my choice and sacrificed deeply so I had no college loans when I graduated. That enabled me to be a VISTA volunteer to serve the poor for 2 ½ years after college with no financial hurdles to jump over.  I had grown my hair long and though my father did not like that, he used to wash it for me when I visited him  - love despite disagreements is a powerful tool for fathers to have and I never forgot that. For years after he passed, I found myself sometimes picking up the phone and dialing my father’s phone number to talk to him only to realize there was no way to communicate any longer. In time, that passed, but I am glad it was that way and not like some who want to forget their father or are only interested in knowing what was in his will to benefit them.

 

Unlike some boys – no, to be honest, I must say many boys – I had an earthly father who loved me, provided for me, and set a tone in our home to facilitate my relationship with God. I never even questioned going to church even though we typically had four to five church events every Sunday. He did not simply tell me to memorize scripture – he did it himself – as an adult, the program required 7 verses a week – for us kids it was 12 verses a week – after all, kids’ minds are usually better able to memorize things!  The same kids also remember almost every hurt, but also more blessings than you may imagine.

 

However, no earthly father is enough. They may do you a whole lot of good, but they are human and fail as well. They may be too passive and not act when they need to on your behalf. They may not demonstrate all the love for your mother you know she deserves. They also may act in ways that are not helpful. They may not share their own trials with you or how they overcame in life. Their love may also be inconsistent, and they may be partial toward one child over another which can be so challenging. However, they can sometimes understand where they fall short and let other men into your life – my Dad was not athletic – he was rated 4F by the draft board and could not serve in WW2. My very athletic uncle had a collection of trophies and took me under his wing and taught me to play ball and I got to be pretty good at it. My parents also encouraged me to join the Christian Service Brigade which I did and completed the entire program and received their highest honor, being named a Herald of Christ. I am so grateful.

 

I was so glad to also have had a second Father in my life – an even better one with none of the failings even the best human fathers have. That happened over 70 years ago for me, so for basically almost my entire life I have had a perfect Father to talk to – as a child, a teen, AND as an adult. He filled any gaps of fathering I needed and those exist for all of us no matter how wonderful a father we may have. My Heavenly Father always had time for me. He never rushed me. He guided me in decisions big and small. He encouraged me. And yes, He also chastised me. Whom He loves, He chastens. All true sons of our God are scourged. The clearest evidence that God is NOT your father is if He NEVER disciplines you. God calls us the B-word and not sons when that is the case. The only person who never had to be chastised by God was Jesus, as He was perfect, and God called him his beloved Son in whom he was well pleased.

 

I am grateful today as I remember my own earthly father, though he is no longer present here with us, but I am even more grateful for my God and Father, who has surpassed my wildest expectations. I love Him dearly. I would suppose that few if any of you except the staff here still have a living earthly father, or a father you are still in communication with, but whether you do or whether you don’t, I want you to get to know my Heavenly Father much better. I preached at the funeral of the father of one of our radio actors. His whole life seemed dedicated to making others miserable. He had no use for God, but in his old age he did what I am going to invite you to do in just a moment. Within two weeks of knowing God as His Father, he had passed on.  Not a lot of time to enjoy the Lord, but our Father knows best. I am sure none of you EVER did any of the atrocities that he committed, but all of us have still fallen short. None of us has been as righteous as Christ. That is why we have to ask Him to give us His goodness and show us His mercy. God alone has a large enough heart and the infinite capabilities to be a true Father to everyone in the world, and He wants TODAY to be the Best Father to you that you could ever imagine. If you want to know Him better or know Him for the very first time, TODAY is the day of salvation. If you will, hear His voice. He is not willing that any person, including those gathered here today, should perish but that all should come to repentance and enter His eternal kingdom for the rest of their lives here and then for all eternity in a much better home.  Any of us here from Shalom would be honored to assist you in receiving the free gift of salvation and then turning your life over to Him in order to fully enjoy that relationship, not only here at Sunrise, but for all eternity.

May God bless you.

 

 

JOIN THE COMMONWEALTH?

I sent a note to the President largely along the following lines:

Back in 2017, there was some talk of joining the Commonwealth of Nations, and now in 2025, King Charles III has made a fresh overture which you have responded positively to. While joining a widely diverse group of nations seems a magnanimous gesture and gives our athletes a venue leading up to the Olympics, a scriptural injunction from St. Paul comes to mind - BE OF THE SAME MIND ONE WITH ANOTHER.  In actuality, the principles of the Commonwealth are largely far more in sync with Obama and Biden than with you, so we would be a nation swimming upstream against 56 others, all of which are considered EQUAL. In addition, we would be agreeing to things 180° opposite to your agenda. To wit:

1) Heavy support for the UN and its agenda.

2) Almost universal condemnation of Israel, our best ally.

3) Big on man-made climate change.

4) South Africa with racist policies just rejoined and you had to expel their diplomat.

5) The UK arrested a man for praying SILENTLY near an abortion clinic, a gross violation of free speech. Other members have similar draconian policies that are anathema to us.

6) UK students have a right to study at any nation that is a member of the Commonwealth - given the heavy Muslim component in the UK which has been very radical, you would be bringing in the very people like the deported Columbia student who want to destroy our nation.

7) India and Pakistan have atrocious records on human rights.

Just think really hard on this one.  I do not see a way it can work - plus you are already fighting what remains of the Deep State which is very much ingrained and hard to extricate, and we hardly need to expand this war until we win the one we are in already!

Thank you!

THOUSANDS OF SPORTS TEAMS MURDERED BY PLANNED PARENTHOOD

 EACH YEAR.

There is a planned diaper drive in DC to protest the 392,000 children murdered by Planned Parenthood under the latest statistics.  They plan to put a diaper for each one of them in DC and then donate them to people in need, as diapers can be rather expensive. Note that MOST diaper companies actually support abortion - talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face. 

Approximately 37% of boys and 29% of girls participate in Youth Sports. With an average of about 15 children per team, this comes out to about 4,800 boys teams and 3,700 girls teams.  Annihilated. Gone.  EACH YEAR.  The equivalent of almost 1000 Boeing 747 Jumbo Jets with 400 children each crashing each year with no survivors.  ALMOST THREE EVERY DAY INCLUDING WEEKENDS! 

Yet people say ho-hum? I heard a "Spirit-filled Christian say God has put abortion on the back-burner. Really? If reported honestly, this would fill the news non-stop with investigations and NO ONE wanting to fly. Yet women who never even looked at an ultrasound and who are scientifically illiterate about what REALLY happens still file into PP, and they are not the ONLY ones killing innocent children before they can even be born - it is beyond the pale. Our nation has a cataclysmic population problem - not too much, but too little - we are far below replacement levels and are dying as a culture.

We have some new leaders who say they want to defund and stop this atrocity, but many who claim to know God are still not on board. What is required to stop spitting in the face of the God who lovingly crafted each one of these little ones?  I am sure glad my mother did not do that. Are you?

HIGH STAKES

We are at a time of very high stakes as a nation and as a church. With the political divide now far greater than any divides over race, where you live, or how much or how little money you make, people are often at each other's throats.  I was in a meeting of Christians last week where they handed out flyers on how to oppose the elected government - the hatred was very thinly veiled, and later one of the attendees who is lock, stock, and barrel into their agenda committed slander, expressed vitriol and hate, and cared nothing for the scriptural mandate to honor the king.

I also hear kind voices telling people not to criticize others. Obviously, some make a cottage industry of being negative and opposing everyone but themselves, but scripture is very clear we are not to accept deviant beliefs or ministers who deviate from scripture and lead people astray. Paul said things probably even the most aggressive blogger would stop short of saying.

I am reading an EXCELLENT book titled WOKE JESUS.  It details the start of totally changing the image people have of Jesus that started in the 1700's with the German theologian Immanuel Kant. The emphasis on the humanity of Jesus and diminishing and then tanking his deity and oneness with the Father continued on with Hume, Tillich, MKL, Jr., and just about every WOKE seminary professor today including those from the Southern Baptist Convention. People have painted on a "Jesus canvas" their OWN ideas and made him either Nordic, Black, married, gay, confused, or an anti-Semite.  That is what happened in Germany - they stripped the favor of the Jews from the Bible and made an Aryan Jesus of their own making. Today, people attribute in blasphemous ways their own sins to Jesus, the sinless one. They seek to demonize actual Christians who love and believe the scriptures and who have a vibrant, intimate, and deeply satisfying relationship with the Son of God Himself. They opposed everything God stands for, and ministers of the gospel MUST warn people about these folks as all others who are wolves among the flock. 

So many like to key on the buffoons on so-called Christian TV who are easy targets, but there are far more of these people in local churches that people attend, defend, and give to. They slowly introduce destructive heresies and with the loyalty of the parishioners in hand, they go deeper and deeper into deception. hey often start by "demythologizing" Genesis. They say God did not create everything in six days despite a direct quote of God Himself in Exodus 20 that He indeed did do exactly that. They say the Bible is not a science book, and of course, it is not ONLY a science book, but the Devil loves to start with things like this. The Devil ALWAYS puts man's ideas above God. Do alleged scientists who indict themselves as fools when they confess they believe there is no God carry more weight to ministers than the Holy Spirit who hovered over the face of the waters and was there with the Father and the Son when all this occurred? I see people talking about "old-earth creationism" which also denies the global flood. Interestingly enough, Peter, who made no claims to bring a scientist, but who wrote under the unction and direction of the Holy Spirit, said people in the last days would be destroyed just as those in Noah's day. clinging to uniformitarianism that would dominate the day. EVERYTHING PETER SAID HAS BEEN TRUE FOR OVER 150 YEARS. 

People do not start off denying the resurrection. The build-up to it can take years, but if never addressed, you will be lost. NEVER DOUBT anything in the Bible. If you have an issue, ASK GOD. If you cannot hear His answer, tap other saints for their wisdom. Never let a difficulty in your spirit go unattended. The stakes are TOO HIGH for that. Faith is a gift. You need to keep receiving it from God. Never stop exercising faith, never stop receiving from God.  He has the answers you are seeking. Do not gamble when there are HIGH STAKES involved. 

FIVE THINGS

Elon Musk raised the hackles of a lot of Federal Employees by sending a pretty simple email. It required the receivers to list five accomplishments over the prior week and if they could not do that they would be fired. He said that was a very low bar and I agree. When working for a large firm many years ago as a manager of projects, having twelve project managers report to me on all their work, it was far more than five, believe me. They had to evaluate all projects under their control and I had to ask hard questions.

In my Sunday message today on station KERI out in Bakersfield, California, today, I dealt with this issue. My message was titled "FIRED!" (You can hear it at KingdomGospelMinistries.org)

The big question, of course, is - does God do this?  Christianity has a diversity of positions on many life issues - some are works-based where your eternal destiny is based on what good you accomplished in your life. Others are faith-based where your eternal destiny is solely based on having accepted the sacrifice for sin offered by Jesus Christ through His suffering, death, and physical resurrection from the dead.

Actually, it is a combination. Ephesians 2 is an excellent chapter to read about this. We are not saved by works but by grace.  We could never please God through works, and to be honest, most works we would come up with would be no more efficacious than those of the Scribes and Pharisees, who would not pluck grain on the Sabbath if hungry but would have no problem plotting to kill the Son of God on the Sabbath.

We are saved by God's grace alone, NOT of works, let anyone should boast. So, does that mean we should laze about and not be active for the Kingdom of God? Ha! Anyone who actually studies the Bible should know better.  Right after that warning in Ephesians, the Apostle Paul writes that GOD has prepared good works for us to walk in! God defines the works we should do! In Ephesians 5 which I preached on this morning on WRDV (Radio Delaware Valley) and also in Galations 5 which details the fruit of the Holy Spirit. REWARDS in God's eternal kingdom ARE based on what we do after receiving the free gift of eternal life from Christ. Jesus taught about what was the result of what people did with the talents they were given. Unequal outcomes are throughout scripture. If two people do not end up with the same, God does not take from the fruitful one to give to the unfruitful one. It is just the reverse. The same with the ten virgins. Paul beat his body into subjection to win the prize. We should do the same. I want to hear, "Well Done,  Good and Faithful Servant! - Enter into the joy of the Lord!"

So, FIVE THINGS.  Looking back on the last week -

1) Received a signed contract from a church in Fox Chase to expand it to 430 seats.

2) Worked on a ground-up new house in Upper Dublin.

3) Dealt with a client non-profit working in foster care and adoption in renovating a building they bought.

4) Talked with one of my sons at length about new business propositions he is contemplating.

5) Met with a Temple Professor I am discipling for about 2 1/2 hours to share a meal, get into detail on mutual concerns and pray for each other.

And many more including my wife, my sister, and producing the three radio shows we do every week.

Five Things?  Not very many when you think about it...  Hard to see how that could be an issue for someone working full-time. We all need the redeem the time, because the days are evil. Spend your time wisely! There is only so much of it!

THE GOLDEN STATUE

Many Americans are heartened at the shock and awe campaign to eliminate the funding of projects that are detrimental to our families, children, and societal cohesion.  So much of the underbelly of corruption in the government is being exposed seemingly every day. The pushing of an immoral agenda worldwide including drag queen shows, the support of the mutilation of confused young people who have not come to peace about the binary gender God created them to live and thrive in.

Yet, we know that leaders with good intentions are not perfect and sometimes they do the craziest things not advisable for ANYONE, let alone a major leader.   The Prez on Truth Social shared an AI-generated video of his vision for Gaza as a Riviera in the Middle East. A debatable concept, but one that was seemingly intended to get people thinking of solutions other than the status quo that has clearly been an abject failure. We know a two-state solution cannot work when one side wants the other erased. Israel was actually living with a defacto multi-state solution when the horror struck October 7, 2023. A rather diverse group of people, while seemingly not wanting the Vegas-like vibe depicted in the AI-generated video, they do believe some other solution is needed and this video opened the door to thinking outside the box. 

In that video, which shows a war-torn area transformed into some resort area like Miami Beach, Vegas,  or some other pleasure place like that, a child is carrying a gold Trump balloon and there is actually a huge golden statue of Trump that is reminiscent of the one erected by Nebuchadnezzar thousands of years ago. While no one was asked to bow and worship, one scene was like what the Children of Israel did when Moses was on the mountain.  The married President was also dancing with a scantily clad woman in an atmosphere like Vegas we hardly should want to export. America has exported enough cultural garbage around the world through USAid and other entities that we need to stop and for sure not seem to want to do it even more. This looked like something the President's enemies would have produced to viciously lampoon him, but HE is the one who shared it himself.

AI will do what you say, and would not it have been great to see Jews, Arabs, and Palestinians living in a normal way with churches and synagogues open to all - the beachfront a place for families to go to relax, share with one another, and enjoy God's creation with a Democratic and not an authoritarian government pushing life, wholesomeness, and cooperation instead of the death and violence that has been synonymous with Gaza since Israel gave them self-governance?

I am praying that the President will truly have a Nathan to advise him so that the things our country needs done will not be sabotaged by those who do not distinguish between what the voters had in mind in supporting the need for massive changes and a cleaning out of negative activities, especially those paid for on the taxpayers' dime, vs. any ideas that come to mind but not being thoroughly thought out. In a multitude of counselors, there is safety, and I have redoubled my prayer efforts so that our nation will become a fairer, more moral, and more just place. I pray for salvation for our leaders - some know you, but most do not appear to. I have prayed for people in the government for many years, and we still need to do that, perhaps more than ever, as the battle lines are getting more distinct and sharper and the middle ground has been vanishing.  We must always side with what is right, never what is simply expedient, and we must always be fair in our judgments.  Personally, I am a huge fan of foreign aid wisely spent, as $100 will feed a child in El Salvador for a year, while bringing the child here multiplies that cost by 100.  I put my own money where my mouth is, helping people in other nations to overcome the cards they have been dealt. I hope our nation will not throw out the proverbial baby with the filthy bathwater, but truly minister righteously and compassionately without the political agendas that have stained those efforts over the last few years.  We can do this! May God bless as you intercede for our  nation!