70 TIMES 7

Now, one of the hard teachings of the Bible is that we are not just to forgive someone up to 7 times, but 70 times 7. People say, "Whoa!" Well, you know, it can be pretty hard to forgive somebody just once. Twice, they do the same thing over again. Mm, that is really rough. In fact, it says in Luke 17:3-4, “Watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. Even if he sins against you 7 times in a day and 7 times returns to say, 'I repent,' you must forgive him.” Now notice that it says, 'If the brother sins, rebuke him, but if he repents, forgive him.' We were in a situation many, many years ago, before we were in leadership, and the person we were under was very insecure and very partial, and they kept on doing things to deeply offend us. And, you know, we forgave them - we forgave them repeatedly. I remember the elder of the church who had charge agreed to meet with us, and we said, 'We really have a problem here. We're willing to forgive, but the person won't change. Can we please go to another group so that we don't have to abide with that?” They are forgiven. We're not holding anything against them, but it just doesn't seem like a good idea to keep putting ourselves in that situation. And he talked to some of the other brothers, and they gave us permission to join another group. And as soon as we moved, God just exploded the effectiveness of how the Lord wanted to use us. I'm telling you, you don't have to necessarily stay in a bad situation, but sometimes you don't have a choice. Perhaps it's a family member - you just can't abandon your family, can you? 

God put this in perspective for me, because if we sin seven times a day but repent, He forgives us 7 times that day. The earliest sin I remember in my life was when I was 4 years old, so that was well over 70 years ago. So, doing some simple math, since that first sin that I remember - and I probably sinned before that, but that's the earliest one I remember, and my parents aren't around to fact-check anymore- over 27,000 days have come and gone since that time. 27,000 days. So 70 times 7, which the Lord said in another passage, answering, “How many times should I forgive?” He said up to 70 times 7, and that's 490. Now, I don't know anybody who's forgiven anybody that many times. That is, except the Lord. I'm saying to myself, I don't know if I've sinned every single day, but some days I've sinned more than once. So if I just average it out at one a day, that means the Lord's already forgiven me over 50 times as often as He's asking me to forgive others. That is only 2%. All of a sudden, 490 times doesn't seem such an unreasonable request, does it? What if the Lord counted up to 490 and then stopped and said, "Oh, I'm not going to forgive John anymore." Well, I'd be in a bad situation because that would have expired decades ago, right? But God forgives me to this very day. He's forgiven everything I've ever done. He's cast it into the deepest sea. I think sometimes Jesus looks at the Father and says, “Again?”  Yet the Father nods His head, and we are forgiven.

 

The Lord's mercies are everlasting. They're beyond measure. They're mightily incredible, beyond anything we can ask or think. So when God says that, “If you don't forgive others, I won't forgive you,” that's not a simple supposition. That's a statement. He's simply saying, "Hey, look, if you're not willing to forgive, my Father is not going to forgive you either." If you ever had to face God and you pled with Him and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry," and you begged and everything else. And He says, sorry, you didn't forgive, so I'm not going to forgive you either. Really, that'd be a tragic end, wouldn't it? I mean, how hard is it to forgive? You know, it often means more to you than it does to the other person. The other person may be so used to doing stuff, and people forgive them. Some people miss the rest of the passage and keep forgiving people without exhorting them, or calling them out on what they're doing wrong. We can certainly say, “Hey, look, I forgive you, but please, for your own sake, you know, don't do this to anybody else, and let's get right with the Lord.”

Ask him or her, “Can we pray together, and let's have change come. Let's not just have to go through this cycle again and again.” We also need to do that with the Lord. When we sin, we can't just say, "Oh Lord, forgive me," and then just go on our merry way and then end up doing the same sin again, even 7 times a day. No, we have to say, "Lord, I don't want to sin." The Bible says that Jesus Christ was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. Many of His followers were women. They were probably very beautiful women. Some of them were very wealthy women. It says, "In every way He was tempted, but yet without sin." So if you have a temptation that you're having a hard time overcoming and you keep going to the Lord and you keep getting forgiven, remember that the Bible says, "Shall we sin that grace may abound? God forbid!" No, He wants us to stop sinning and be totally free. And I'm telling you, that is available through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. I’d love to hear your take on this crucial topic!

FOLLOWING CHRIST

 There is a hymn, "Where He Leads Me, I Will Follow". The verse that says we will go through Him in the judgment caught my attention.  So many people judge Christ -not just with profanities, but with disrespect, rejection, and more.  How often do we shrink back like Peter did or how often do we step forward and defend the Lord before others? I know I have been guilty at times of saying nothing. Perhaps you have as well.  Let's do what the hymn says!  We need to follow Him wherever He goes!

DECEPTION

We see so much political deception AND spiritual deception. I wrote a post long ago that they flow together. I have never seen them operate independently.  The reasons these deceptions exist are starkly similar.

I hear people who may agree with political policies but hate the messenger. If he or she is not a cuddly Teddy Bear, they will stop their ears and ignore the fact that the opponents are steamrolling them in the public square, attacking their faith, trying to pervert their kids, and removing core liberties that too many take for granted.

I also hear people who reject clear Biblical teaching. They may say it is too narrow or not loving enough, even if it closely resembles what Jesus or the Apostles taught. They then turn to those wider mercy people who cannot unequivocally say that Christ is the only means of salvation, or those who do not understand that the greatest love is to lay down one's life for one's friends, not to empty the pockets of your congregants because their love for themselves is greater than their love for either God or His people.

Our country has largely purged the study of geography, history, morality, and civics from the educational system, and most people are too lazy to study themselves as our great President Abraham Lincoln did. The result is civic illiteracy, which political predators take advantage of to lie about almost everything. They lie about their opponents while doing in spades what they accuse their opponents of doing. The Biblical mandate is to first remove the LOG from your own eye so you will be able to actually see clearly enough to remove the SPECK from the other person's eye. You need to research and multi-source what a politician believes - you have to look at what is said before different audiences, just as many big-name ministers people swear by reveal their true beliefs when interviewed by secular media. Much of the denial of basic truths in these venues is staggering, but most of their followers never bother to check and see before sending money or otherwise supporting wolves in sheep's clothing.

In the church, few Christians spend much time in the scriptures or being Bereans to evaluate what they hear from their own Pastor, from the radio or TV, or from people looking for their votes. I hear pastors who claim to follow the scriptures migrate into their own thoughts that totally contradict what they just said. Few actually research the people they sit at the feet of to see what they really say, write, or testify to. They think if THEY did not hear it themselves, the person never said it. NOTHING could be further from the truth. Authors with massive audiences, such as John Eldredge, Max Lucado, and a host of others, do violence to some of the most basic tenets of scripture, expressly contradicting its crystal clear teachings.  People "ooh" and "aah" and blindly accept things that weaken faith, not strengthen it. Paul balled out the Galatians and the Corinthians for being so easily deceived. In Corinth, they tolerated sexual immorality. In the church today, according to polls, most Christian couples come to their weddings having lived together or engaged in premarital sexual relations. Hardly an eyebrow is raised. When is the last time you heard a message about sexual purity? Sure is a lot about that in the Bible. I hear Christian men use foul language and be upset with you if you call them out on it. I hear appalling hate and slander toward political leaders Christians do not like, rather than offering the prayers God wants for them as prescribed in scripture. Many leaders do not want to preach the harder teachings of Christ, trying to be a big tent and perhaps attracting a lot more people. However, God wants a pure bride, and one with a character conformed to Christ. The prophets were stoned and killed for telling the truth, and if the New York Times says that if you go to church, this is the pastor to follow, BEWARE. If the world loves you, you are likely very compromised. If the world hates you, remember they also hated Christ.   Avoiding deception is not easy - we are constantly assaulted, but make it your business to hear the voice of God for yourself and to study to show yourself as worker not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

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, are not accorded 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 disquieted me and 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 discovering the increasing hard evidence as opposed to long-time innuendo that he was not a saint at all, caused a more thorough reevaluation. The testimony of his shockingly gross and pervasive sexual immorality from Ralph Abernathy, his successor at the SCLC, confessions of others close to him, including some of the women, and the note from Boston University concerning his plagiarized doctoral dissertation for his doctorate degree on display at the King Center at Stanford University painted a picture worse than his detractors who has opposed him before but whose opinions were dismissed as simply being opposed to civil rights. The doctorate would have been revoked except for the partiality engaged in. MLK himself said it should not be about the color of one's skin, but the content of their character. B.U. and so many others have repeatedly done the exact opposite as documented at the King Center at Stnaford University. B.U. 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 the King Center at 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, Daystar, 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?