Luke 9: 23 – 24 – Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.”

Wikipedia says “Self-denial is an act of letting go of the self as with altruistic abstinence – the willingness to forgo personal pleasures or undergo personal trials in the pursuit of the increased good of another.  Various religions and cultures take differing views of self-denial, some considering it a positive trait and others considering it a negative one. According to some Protestants, self-denial is considered a superhuman virtue only obtainable through Jesus.”

The Protestants to whom this description refers are Calvinists, presumably.  John Calvin’s view of self-denial is almost completely centered on the list of “don’ts” that are associated with asceticism, as opposed to altruism (the Golden Rule).  Calvin was also most well-known for the odious doctrine of “double-predestination” causing millions of modern Christians as well as many of those since the 16^th Century to believe that God predestined all people he created, some for Heaven and some for Hell (none knowing for sure who is who).  Even Calvin stated that this decree by God was “horrible” (and yet he believed in it enough to put it into doctrine and  burn others at the stake for disputing it!).

Conversely, I maintain that the self-denial that Jesus taught was denial of self for the purposes of putting others ABOVE yourself and spending your thoughts in prayer for others, and spending your time and your money pursuing the betterment of others (and of course living out a true Christ-like example so that those that know you can see Jesus in you and come to faith).

Let us look at the picture that is painted when we put these whole-thought scriptures beside one another.

Philippians 2: 1- 4 – Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.  Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.  Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

Matthew 22:37-40 -Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

1 John 4:7-8 –  Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

God, Whom John says “is Love”, desires that we love Him and love each other.  Therefore, I assert that the “self-denial” that Jesus taught is the laying down of one’s life for 1. The Glory of God (His Will, not mine be done) and 2. The benefit and betterment of those God has placed around you.

That said, as I have revealed in previous blogs, I believe that being/becoming “the called” is a whole life event and that God knows who belong to Him at the end from the beginning because He is transcendent (in all time and space at once) AS WELL AS imminent (with us in real time through His Spirit).  Because this is true, those who are the called are set apart even before they say YES to Jesus in this time and place we call life on earth.  For that reason, God is gracious and merciful to them and they are capable of great acts of love although not yet regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit that happens at the moment of their heartfelt confession of faith in Him.

Think on this symbol of the horizontal piece of the Cross as Jesus’ and our love for each other, and the tree, or vertical stake, as Jesus and our love of and for our Heavenly Father.  We CARRY the horizontal piece to the vertical piece of the Cross where He was lifted up and nailed to the Cross.  This is a vivid representation of the journey of the called.  Loving people around them until they can acknowledge God and see the Truth of Jesus, be crucified WITH Him, and only then loving Him FIRST while continuing to love all those around them with HIS love.

Perhaps you are unsure of the metaphor because you believe that Jesus carried the WHOLE cross to Golgotha.  Then please consider the following…

All of the narratives are silent about the details of the cross Jesus carried, likely because their audience, Jews and Greeks in the 1st century, were well aware of the Romans and their methods of torture. Crucifixion was a common penalty for criminals in the Roman Empire and was used as a public deterrent. Those who read/listened to the accounts of Jesus’ crucifixion did not need a detailed description as they knew exactly what it looked like.

Historian Hershel Shanks explains in an article in the Biblical Archeology Review that wood was difficult to acquire and that the Romans reused wooden uprights that were already fixed in the ground. This means anyone who was crucified only had to carry the crossbeam.

“According to the literary sources, those condemned to crucifixion never carried the complete cross, despite the common belief to the contrary and despite the many modern reenactments of Jesus’ walk to Golgotha. Instead, only the crossbar was carried, while the upright was set in a permanent place where it was used for subsequent executions. As the first-century Jewish historian Josephus noted, wood was so scarce in Jerusalem during the first century A.D. that the Romans were forced to travel ten miles from Jerusalem to secure timber for their siege machinery.”

This is what it looks like for us… We take up our Cross daily by carrying horizontally (the Crossbeam) the burdens of others out of love for them (that comes from God of course).  God bears with us as soon-to-be saints because we have love for our neighbors until we can arrive at our own personal Gethsemene and agree to lay down our lives not ONLY for those around us but for the GLORY OF GOD (the Vertical pole).

Let us not esteem people lightly who do good for others yet are “not Christians”.  They have love, so they have God.  Show them the best you have of what Jesus looks like and watch them come to the foot of the Cross and receive the salvation prepared for them from before the foundations of the world!

With Love and Life Abundant,

John Henry

Philippians 3:17-19 – Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things.

This scripture was written while Paul was under house arrest in either Rome or Ephesus, to the followers of the Way of Jesus the Christ in the church at Philippi.  The Philippian church was the first church that Paul had planted in what is now modern Europe, in Greece.

Philippi was a global center (global in the sense of the then-known world) of commerce and politics and although under Roman rule at the time of this writing, had been the center of the Greek Empire under Alexander the Great, and was, in fact, named for Alexander’s father Philip of Macedonia.

In Acts 16 we see that Paul was called to Greece (Macedonia) in a vision on his 2nd missionary journey.   “And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.” (Acts 16:9,10)

In the church at Philippi were found both Jews and Gentiles (all believers).  In the scripture noted above, Philippians 3:17-19, Paul is recognizing the worldliness of the culture surrounding this flock of believers.  He implores them to follow his example, and walk worthy of the calling with which they were called by emulating those who like Paul and Silas and Timothy, are mature in the Lord.

We are living today, in the USA, in a center of commerce and politics much like Philippi and face the same temptation to “conform to the world” that the believers in Philippi faced.  Our popular culture, like that of ancient Philippi, is filled with idolatry of various kinds.  This idolatry might take the form of sexual perversions (adultery, fornication, prostitution, homo, trans and pansexuality, pornography), which may seem obvious to the believer called out of the darkness and into the marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9), or it may take other, more subtle forms.  Perhaps just as obvious to some of us who follow Jesus, is the idolatry that He specifically warns us makes it impossible for us to serve God, the love of Mammon (money).

Idolatry is simply anything or anyone that we place above, or even alongside of God.  This includes nation, family, jobs, politics and even ministry.

However, let’s focus for the purposes of this message on the two major idols that troubled and eventually seduced the people of Israel.

These two were Ashtoreth, the goddess in several of the Caananite cultures who represented fertility, but also sexual licentiousness, and in whose worship were included temple prostitutes of both sexes, and abominable practices such as “passing their children through the fire” to receive favor from their gods, and Mammon/Money which leads it’s followers to covet, steal, lie and distort the truth to gain their riches or comfort at the expense of  the poor and their neighbors

The Spirit drew me to Philippians 3 and these verses specifically for this reason.  The current American political and cultural landscape  is rife with Idolatry, whereby it’s idolators, either directly, or through their political Proxys (representatives that they vote for and support) further the agendas of Satan’s two Lieutenants, Powers and Principalities.

Let’s start with the Powers.  The American political Right, on it’s extreme edge, is Mammon.  Those who serve Mammon seek their own comfort and security at the expense of those less fortunate and the neighbors whom they are supposed to help.  This includes warmongers and the wealthy who benefit from wars and throw young people into harm’s way for their greed and self-interest. These are people, including believers, whose “God is their belly”.

As for the Principalities… The American political Left, at it’s extreme edge, is Ashtoreth, whose supporters are doers and enablers of all kinds of sexual perversion, abortions, and lies about God.  These are those whose “glory is in their shame”.

Is one worse that the other?  They are both the epitome of evil.  However, let’s take a deeper look…

We are now living under the New Covenant. Hallelujah! The Messiah has come and done the one thing that men could not do for themselves, namely, provide salvation by His death and Resurrection on the Cross.  Those of us who believe, should rest in the power of God’s Grace and walk out this great salvation in fear and trembling by extending the same Grace to those around us, including sinners, among whom we were when we were saved.  The ultimate Grace is to forgive and tell them the good news about Jesus Christ.

So… let’s take a step back.  The snare of the OLD Covenant to the people of Israel was the Ba’al (or Idol) Ashtoreth (also Molech, Chemosh, etc.) who were the gods of the peoples of the land of Caanan who were under God (The Lord’s) wrath because of sexual immorality and just plain old disobedience to the one true God.  Worship of, and simple obedience to the “gods of the land” were what ensnared God’s people and caused Him to send them into captivity time and time again.

Before Jesus came to provide salvation, the woman caught in adultery, who we see in the New Testament Gospels, would have been stoned to death by the righteous among God’s Chosen People and this is where the confusion begins about what sin remains under the new Covenant…

In short, the only sin that remains under the Blood of Christ for believers is unacknowledged and unrepentant sin.   Since the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin (convicting meaning bringing it to mind, not condemning us), we who are true believers must acknowledge our sin and cannot use ignorance as an excuse.  Also… if we acknowledge active sin in our lives, we must repent of it, and if we repent of it, then we must also allow the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom and strength to turn from it.

So… back to the woman caught in adultery…

When the Jews (mostly Pharisees and Sadducees) brought the woman to Jesus, their purpose was to trap Him into contradicting the Levitical Law, which demanded that she be stoned to death.  Hypocritically, although the man involved in this adultery was also ‘caught in the act” they did not bring him.  Perhaps he was even one of those who cried out for the woman to be stoned.

Jesus response was to begin writing in the dirt with his finger and saying to the crowd… “let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”  I have always thought that Jesus was writing each of the Commandments given to Moses one by one and that as he wrote the command that each person in the crowd was guilty of breaking, they slunk away until there were none left.  At this point, Jesus said to the woman that since all of her accusers were guilty of the same or equally awful sins and were therefor unable to accuse her, that He, God incarnate, did not condemn her either but did acknowledge her sin by saying “now go, and sin no more.”

Now… back to the question of the sin of political idolatry in our modern times.

Let’s look at the parable of the Prodigal son.  The one who disrespected his father and then wasted all that was coming to him, acknowledged his sin when he was living in the pig sty and repented by saying that he had sinned against his father, and also against God.  He turned from his sin by getting up from his filth and beginning the long, hard walk back to his father and apologize, willing to forego his sonship as punishment and be a slave of his father.  As we know, his Father, who represents God in the image of Jesus, was already aware of his repentant son’s heart and ran down the road to restore him fully into the family.

Clearly this part of the story represents the carnal sinner who truly repents and receives salvation and not only is restored to his position as son but also the power that comes from being the son of a great and wealthy man (Robe, Sandals and Ring).

The parable does not end there, however.  The elder brother who remained with his father was angry that his brother got to go off and “do his thing” and was then forgiven.   His response was to disrespect his father by questioning his forgiveness of the younger son and as the parable ends, he remained angry.

So… the prodigal son represents a sinner who is saved by Grace, and the elder brother represents the Pharisees and Sadducees who rejected the Grace of Christ.  They, like the crowd who accused the woman caught in adultery, were guilty, as was the elder brother, of rejecting the Grace of the Father who was now in their midst in the Person of Jesus.

The extreme political Right movement in the American Church is clearly like the elder brother.  Angry at the entitlement of those they consider lazy and undeserving of Grace that they themselves have received.  Willing to ignore their responsibilities as followers of the Way of Jesus to protect the poor in their midst and being eager to cast stones at their neighbors who believe differently then they do.  In other words, New Testament Grace for me, Old Testament judgement for you, and without irony apparently. These believers, to their shame, are circling the wagons in fear of “the other side” and are ignoring the Great Commission. The extreme adherents to the Idol of Trumpism are the greatest transgressors in current times, especially those who lie and support liars and hoard guns and ammunition, waiting for their opportunity to “avenge” God against the Godless.  Many of these use as their excuse/mantra that we are “in the end times” and God wants them to bring violence to overthrow those they consider to be “evil” (or more evil than they are) on the Left.

The extreme political Left movement in the American Church is not, however, blameless either, in that unlike the prodigal son, they neither acknowledge nor repent of carnal sin, but rather celebrate it by proclaiming as good and right many of the things clearly described as sinfulness in the Bible.  Fornication (“free love”), abortion as a means of birth control, homosexuality, transvestitism, trans and pansexuality, etc. are being celebrated, often in church under the “rainbow flag”.  Ironically, many of the adherents and celebrators of this licentiousness in society are also the defenders of the poor and those of races other than Caucasian who may need legitimate redress to their having been enslaved, belittled and undervalued by a society that claims to provide “freedom for all” but has historically practiced “freedom for some”.  Jesus approves of the latter, I believe, but given the odious nature of the former, cannot bless it.

So where does this leave the Body of Christ in America?  It’s fairly simple.  Jesus is in the center.

Think of the Cross as being in the Center of God’s “perfect and acceptable” will for all humanity.  Remembering that the sin of the people of Israel was worshipping strange gods AS WELL AS the God of Israel, It is not acceptable to God that those that have received and proclaimed the greatest gift given to man, Jesus Christ, also give absolute obedience to ANY worldly political or religious construct that are, quite literally, the Powers and Principalities that are the rulers of darkness in the world.

We, the Body of Christ, true followers of His Way, having taken up our own crosses as He commanded, should not be standing on the Left or the Right, throwing stones at the other side, but we are to be united as one true Church, encircling the Cross at the Center of human experience, with our faces outward and arms open wide, attracting and embracing the lost that are running from both Left and Right, Powers and Principalities, and inviting them to receive that great Salvation, prepared for them from the Foundations of the world, growing the Kingdom of Heaven to the Glory of God!

Humbly, In His Grace,

John Henry

“Maybe there’s a God above
But all I’ve ever learned from love
Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you
And it’s not a cry that you hear at night
It’s not someone who’s seen the light
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah”

These lyrics appear in Leonard Cohen’s beautiful and haunting song Hallelujah. In this poetic, seemingly hopeless verse, we may not see so much the poet’s personal view of love, but a near perfect representation of what the world’s view of “love” is… It mostly knows the heartbreak of romantic, erotic love which is so easily broken and causes terrible, even sometimes generational brokenness.

Perhaps surprisingly, the Greek word “eros” , which is the Greek word used for sexual and/or romantic love is never used in the Bible, not even as a cautionary word. Biblically, I believe that the closest concept to “erotic” or eros-driven is the Hebrew word “zanah” which is used to describe both fornication (sexual gratification without affection) between partners and is used in the Old Testament to describe prostitution, incest and rape and also, interestingly, it describes the idolatrous acts of apostate Israel (the harlot) because Israel is considered by God in the OT to be His beloved bride and by worshipping idols his beloved people are committing spiritual fornication/adultery which God detests.

There are several types of love found in the two major languages of the Bible, Greek and Judeo/Aramaic which is an early form of Hebrew.

The Old Testament uses the word Ahava or Hova (Judeo/Aramaic) to portray a love that a man has for a woman (The word used in Genesis 29:30 for Jacob loving Rachel more than Leah is that all purpose word ahavah which in its root means I will give. Jacob ahavah Rachel but he hovah Leah. He loved Leah only out of obligation.) Sometimes the word Ahava is used as Ahab or Ahaba (Hebrew) and can also denote the Love that God has for His people.

The New Testament as we now have it, uses these primary descriptive words for love:
Phileo or Philadelphia (Greek) best understood as friendly affection or “brotherly” love.
Storge (Greek), or natural affection as a mother has for a child or a father his children.
Agape, the highest form of love such as God’s Person (“God is Love” – 1 John 4:8 & 16), His love for His people, also the love that a person has for God which is rooted in a willingness to submit fully to the other’s authority.

Here is an example of a subtle difference between phileo and agape love in John 21.

Peter, Do you love (ἀγαπάω/agape) me?
You know that I love (φιλέω/phileo) you.
Do you love (agape) me?
You know that I love (phileo) you.
Do you love (agape) me?
You know all things. You know that I love (phileo) you.

Jesus is asking Peter if he loves Him as Lord and Peter keeps responding that he loves Him as his brother. Jesus overlooks Peter’s obtuseness and gives him the instruction to “Feed His lambs, et al. In so doing, the implication is that by actively loving his brothers (phileo), Peter will be loving/serving Jesus/God as his Lord and Master (agape).

But I digress… Back to the world’s problem. What the world mostly teaches of love is the hopelessness of inordinate affection and the obsessive addiction of sex and sexuality on the human psyche. Like a rat in a lab test, we tend, without the Spirit’s leading, to repeat the same mistakes over and over again as we look for “love in all the wrong places” and take our physical comfort where we can find it, offered or not. This always leads to dysfunction in relationships which brings harm to all parties involved.
This is not to say that there is not the ability of the unregenerated (Godless) human being to be kind or compassionate. However, the Lord says that “there is none good but God the Father, not one”.

Interestingly, the word Chrestotes (Greek) is used in the New Testament to denote the goodness that leads to repentance because of the kindness of God. Romans 2:4 shows us that it is through the richness of God’s goodness that we find repentance. The Greek word here signifies more than goodness as a quality—it is goodness in righteous action, goodness expressing itself in deeds. It was God’s/Jesus’ goodness that led Him to take the Cross for us. We who have chosen to receive Christ must first choose to acknowledge and repent of our inherent sin. That is as close to Chrestotes as we can get.

My opinion here is that this type of goodness or kindness is always God-breathed, even in the unregenerated human being. However, it may come and go in that person in the same way that the Holy Spirit came and went among the OT prophets. When “the called according to His purpose” is awakened to Christ and receives Him as Lord, the Holy Spirit then comes to dwell with and in that person. Their part is to offer the hospitality of obedience to Him.
Jesus will never leave or forsake that person and will continue to draw him/her to Himself but if that person hardens their hearts to the Lord’s Ephesian 2:10 invitation to walk in the good works prepared beforehand for them to do, and continues leaning on their own understanding, serving idols like Mammon (love of and/or trust in money), Astoroth (eroticism in all forms), Hedonism (self-worship), and even inordinate affections like Politics, Sports, Fandom and even work or family obligations when they overshadow God’s Presence through His Spirit, then eventually they will grieve the Holy Spirit that is calling them even as one who refuses the invitation of the Cross. You cannot love the Lord, in other words, and not “follow Him”. That was true for Ancient Israel and it is true for the Israel of God (known today as Christians but originally “The Followers of The Way of Christ”) as well.

Let us then “Love the Lord our God with all of our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind.’ – Matthew 22:37

Remembering that He loved us first, this is the love of God that He deserves in return from us, those who believe and follow Him.

In His Amazing Grip of Grace,

John Henry

In a word, the answer to this question is “No”.

That said, one of the first arguments that unbelievers (and often seekers) make when they question our faith as followers of Jesus is, “if God is all-powerful and completely good, how can He allow children to die, disease and poverty, or evil to prevail under any circumstances?”

This question obviously assumes that God operates by human standards of acceptable behavior.  As we know, God, the Lord, the Creator of all things, does not answer to, nor is completely understandable by His creations.  However, there is an answer to this question, and it is a theme that runs throughout the Bible.

As we see from the very beginning in the Book of Genesis, God is a Creator who desires to have a relationship (fellowship) with His creation.  It was for this reason that He made man in His own image. (Genesis 1:26)  He also desires that we should grow into the image of His Son Jesus so that we can truly be His children for eternity. (Romans 8:29)  In order to understand this passage as well as the concept that God is always just and therefore “fair”, we first must comprehend, if not completely understand, the basic nature of God.

God is both Transcendent (the cause of His Creation living outside and beyond it) and He is also Imminent (involved intimately in every aspect of His physical Creation and interacting, through His Spirit, with every individual person and thing He has made).

In order to more fully understand this concept, think of His Transcendent nature being the Creator Father who was unknowable by the people of Israel even though they were His “chosen” people.  They were afraid of the raw power of the fire on the mountain that they saw and asked only that Moses would interpret the Law for them so that they would not have to be confronted by His awesome and terrifying (to them) Presence.

Now, think of the Imminent nature of God as the Person and Spirit of God represented by Jesus Messiah.  While we can only approach the Transcendent God with reverence and awe, we can approach Jesus as His child, and also our friend and brother as well as Savior.  We can come confidently before His (Jesus’) “Throne of Grace” to make our requests known to God. (Hebrews 4:16)

In Matthew Chapter 5, the same Chapter that contains the Beatitudes, Jesus tells His followers that the sun shines and it rains on the just and the unjust.  This is told to them in the context of exhorting them to love their enemies, so that they can be perfect as their Father in Heaven is perfect, the implication being that God provides His blessing of sunshine and rain on the wicked as well as the righteous and so we must endeavor to also do good to all regardless of their attitude towards us.

Is this fair?  Of course it is.  God intends the sun and the rain to always be a blessing and He loves all His children.  When He created the Heavens and the earth, He said “It was good”.  To see how this is fair from our human understanding, however, let’s take the long view.

Matthew 5:43-48 – “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,  that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?  Therefore, you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

It occurred to me a long time ago that the reality of the effect of even good things on the just and the unjust can be entirely different.  After all, even in human terms we see that “as a man sows, so shall he reap” (Galatians 6:7)

Think of it then this way… When it rains on the just it waters their crops.  When it rains on the unjust, it washes out their house.

By the same token, when troubles come (and they will and do) to everyone, the way we approach our trials, and whether we trust the Lord or not according to His Word in Romans 8:28 (God works ALL things together for the good…) can and will have a tremendous impact upon the outcome.  After all, for the believer/follower of Christ, the goal is to grow into the image of Jesus and as it is said (NOT in the Bible, but true nonetheless) “no pain, no gain”.  For the wicked person, whose only interest is their own satisfaction and/or benefit, the outcome of their trials (although undoubtedly allowed by God to draw them into right relationship with Himself and those around them) is usually fear that leads to unhappiness or worse.  Think of this as the sun warming the face of the just and burning the back of the wicked.

Romans 8:28-30 – “For we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.  For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.  Moreover, whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”

Again, about this verse I often hear both believers and unbelievers alike ask “How is this fair?  If God “predestined” some for Glory and not others, why should men even bother to be good?”  Again, this plays out in terms of God’s Transcendence and also His Imminence.  In His Transcendence, He knows the end from the beginning.  He “foreknew” His Chosen, the “called according to His Purpose” because He is at the beginning and the end (or the beginning of eternity with His finished Family) simultaneously.  He (Father, Resurrected Son and Holy Spirit) are the Alpha AND the Omega.  God foreknows and predestined us because He already knows the choices we made about a relationship with Jesus and how we lived out His Word by treating well the people He put in our lives.  It is WE who are living life out linearly, one choice at a time, while He sees us in real time both before, during and after the choices we will make, are making and have made.  It is ALWAYS God’s desire that all would come to salvation in Christ Jesus and spend eternity with Him in Paradise.  Yet as we know, some won’t, and by their own choices.  That is how God is fair even if we can’t always wrap our heads around it.

Perspective is everything on earth and in Heaven.  On both Heaven and earth, the Lord’s perspective is the only one that matters.

In His Truth, with His Love,

John Henry

Jesus words in red in the Gospel of Matthew tell us “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”  When our Lord Jesus tells us something this specific, we would do well to pay attention.  Note He says NO ONE can serve two masters.  In other words, you trust Me or you trust what I have given you.

The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Timothy  that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil”.

While we may be tempted to think that because we don’t consider ourselves greedy or money-grubbing, and we might from time to time give to a church, or some televangelist, or some foreign Mission or even give a buck to a needy stranger or a relative needing help, that we are immune from the warning of which both Paul and our Lord Jesus tell us have spiritual consequences.  We must not allow ourselves to be lulled into complacency by the enemy.  The Idol Mammon is one of his chief lieutenants.  It is not a question of degree.  It is a matter of trust.

Here is a personal story…  Two and a half years ago, my lovely wife Donna took a nasty fall at work which injured her severely.  We tried to take care of her injuries through our Health Insurance but the moment that they found out that the injury happened at work, they told her that they could not treat her and that the injuries had to be reported to Workman’s Compensation and be taken care of through the Work Comp Insurance carrier for her employer.

Two and a half years later this saga is still ongoing and with very few exceptions, my wife has had no meaningful treatment because of the constant denials by the Insurance Company of treatment authorizations requested by the very Doctors who she was referred to BY THE INSURANCE COMPANY.

I have been Donna’s advocate and defender throughout this soul-crushing process and so I am intimately aware of the callousness and lack of compassion for the injured worker that is an integral part of this system.  Along the way, we have met several kind and well-meaning physicians and others who have shared with us that this is common experience with most work comp patients.  The System AKA the Insurance Company and the Utilization Review vendors routinely deny reasonable care as a means of coercing the injured worker to settle to their own and their employer’s detriment.

The Employer, the Insurance company’s client, also suffers because they do not get their valuable employee back in a timely manner  (or in some cases like my wife, ever) because the injuries, easily addressed in the beginning with reasonable proper treatment, eventually become worse and chronic as the denials drag on.

This has been the case for Donna, and to add insult to injury, the Insurance Company has recently paid a Private Investigator to follow her and take surreptitious photographs attempting to “catch” her doing something outside the guidelines of activity for her Medical Disability evaluation.  That money would have been much better spent taking care of Donna’s injuries early on thereby allowing her to return to work.

Why am I telling you all this in a discussion about the idol Mammon?  Here it is.  As I was praying in the Spirit for Donna’s health the other day, a Word came to me that I should also be praying for those who identify as “Christians” who work for the Insurance Company as well as for those who work for the Utilization Review Company and for the politicians who allow this system to continue.  Why?  The Lord revealed that these Christians are trading their soul’s right standing with God and trust in security in HIM for their trust and security in their paycheck.  We have been assured by some who would speak out (mostly treating Doctor’s whose recommendations the Insurance Company denies through the Utilization Review company) that all along the line these people KNOW that they are denying reasonable care and they are doing it for their bosses who answer to their stockholders. That said, I am praying for the stockholders too.

What does this have to do with us?  When Jesus tells us that NO ONE can serve God and Mammon, we need to hear Him!

Jesus tells this story in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke.  Here is the story in the Gospel of Mark…

Mark 10:17 – 22 – Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”

So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”

And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.”

Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”

But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Now I point to the line… “Jesus, looking at him, loved him”.  Jesus knew his heart.  He wanted to be worthy to inherit eternal life and he acknowledged Jesus, but he had an Idol in his heart that was going to keep him separated from the Kingdom of Heaven as long as he did not deal with it.  What was the idol?  Money.  Plain and simple.  He walked away, sorrowful, because he was going to continue to put his trust in riches, and not in God, the Giver of those riches.

Wealth is a responsibility.  It is supposed to be a gift that is given away.  It has been said that we all want to be blessed, but some just want more blessing for themselves, while others want more blessing to bless others.  God deserves the latter.  That is why we have the Golden Rule.  God blessed Abraham so that through him the world might be blessed.  Jesus left His riches in Glory to become poor and a sacrifice to many.  If we say we follow Jesus then we must do as He did.

2 Cor. 8:9 – For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

The Apostle Paul quotes Exodus 16:14 in 2 Corinthians 8:15 when he was exhorting them to give generously to the poorer churches out of their wealth, which they had in abundance.  He tells them “As it is written, “He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.”  The early church was supposed to live this way.

The original verse was found in Exodus 16 in regards to the manna which fed the Israelites for the 40 years in the desert and which they were told to use for the welfare of ALL of them but NOT save up or hoard.

Exodus 16:15, 16 – And Moses said to them, “This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat.  This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: ‘Let every man gather it according to each one’s need, one omer for each person, according to the number of persons; let every man take for those who are in his tent.’ ”

Then the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less. So when they measured it by omers, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. Every man had gathered according to each one’s need. And Moses said, “Let no one leave any of it till morning.”

Certainly “saving for a rainy day” is prudent, if worldly advice.  But are some of you listening to this broadcast putting your trust and faith in your money in the bank or in those that promise to increase your wealth, rather than gratefully depending upon the Lord for your daily bread?

Don’t get me wrong.  It is okay to have much.  But we must always remember that Jesus said in the Gospel of Luke that “to whom much is given, much will be required.  He was referring to the knowledge of the Gospel and the great Commission, but I believe that He was also referring to our gifts and possessions.  We who believe must look to the Holy Spirit to reveal what we are to give away, when and to whom.

We live in a society that values personal wealth as well as fame, good looks, desirability and political power.  We must realize that these things are worldly pursuits.  Our gifts, including money but also our talents and other strengths are mandated by the Lord, to be used for the benefit of others and the Glory of God.  When we make our daily decisions based on whether they benefit us financially, or in any other way for our personal benefit, we are serving an idol.

Ephesians 2:10 says “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”  Those good works always involve giving something that you have been given whether it is God’s Grace and mercy, some piece of wisdom, or ten thousand dollars.  Trust Him.  Seek HIS will.  Ask for courage to give more than you think you can.  That is what trusting the Lord is all about.

In His Grip, with His Love,

John Henry Raskin

It is March 2020. March, they say, goes in like a Lion and leaves like a lamb. Jesus is both the Lion of Judah and the Lamb slain for us. True to his twisted nature, satan shows the reverse. Right behind the movement of the Spirit and revival of faith within the Body of Christ that we saw in the beginning of the year, now the roaring of the enemy has intensified and we all now find ourselves in the uncharted stormy waters of an international pandemic.

Psalm 91: 1-3

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”

Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the enemy
And from the perilous pestilence.

Psalm 91:9

Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;

For those of us who live in right relationship with the Lord, and pray as we are commanded, led by His Holy Spirit, there is nothing to fear, but we must be vigilant.

1 Peter 5:8

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

As we ask for wisdom, God will let each of us know in real time, how and what to pray, but also how to protect ourselves, family and neighbors, when and where to go or not go, and what to do or not do to actuate the Psalm 91 protection that He has promised to us.

James 1:5

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

He will also extend His hedge of Divine protection over our unsaved friends, family and neighbors through the effective prayers that He leads us to pray and we speak into Life in obedience to His Spirit.

1 Peter 3:12

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers

James 5:16

Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous person avails much.

Donna and I are going out only as needed, to procure food and supplies and to distribute meals, water and needed goods to neighbors and members of our flock who are homeless, elderly or immune compromised, We are also doing worship services on Sunday as a Live Stream on Facebook (AbundantLifeSimi) thereby limiting exposure to the COVID19 virus. We feel led by the Lord and feel secure in His leading.

We are also giving added financial support to Homeless Services organizations in our area (HopeoftheValley.org, Samaritancentersimi.org) and suggest that all of us be mindful and generous to those serving on the front lines of the fight against this viral attack of the enemy, especially toward the poor and homeless.

Above all, as the enemy has temporarily been somewhat successful in isolating us from each other for this (hopefully) short season, we must be more fervent in praying for each other, and looking out for the weakest among us. Stay safe, and above all, faithful.

Yours, in eternity, Armor on, and faithful,

John Henry

Yesterday, on the first day of the first year of this new decade Abundant Life Church saw tangible evidence of the miraculous power of God moving in our midst through the prayers of the saints! We are going to see much more of this in the days to come…

Here is what happened… A Paralympic skier who is a member of the family of one of our flock was hit in his wheelchair at an intersection by a car going 45 miles an hour on New year’s Eve and was knocked out of his wheelchair and up onto the windshield. He was rushed to the ER. As soon as that happened, our church member called for prayer to Pastor George and I and several other prayer warriors on a text chain. The Lord, through His Spirit, gave me specific words to speak on that chain which turned out to be prophetic.

In His Grip of Grace and Love,

John Henry

When I was in the world, before giving my life to Christ, I would let the circumstances of any troubling situation drive my direction and decisions.  It was my human nature, based in my PHYSICAL reality, that caused me to REACT to whatever was going on around me.  Call it fight or flight.  When good things were happening, I was happy, but when I perceived that bad things were happening, or about to happen, I became UNhappy and fearful, so I reacted, often making the situation worse.

When I said yes to Jesus’ Lordship over my life at age 43, I understood, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and His revelation through the Word of God, that I no longer had to REACT to the circumstances that were bringing change to  my life, but that these circumstances were being PROVIDED for my good and if I RESPONDED in my spirit to what the Holy Spirit wanted to do in my life, I would see true growth in my relationship with God and the people He had put in my life.

Romans 8:28 was one scripture that enlightened me on this point.  “we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

Unfortunately, now that I have been mostly delivered from these fear-based reactions, I know many Christians who, when faced with life challenges, react in their fleshly understanding instead of believing God’s Word and embracing the situation in faith.  They too, are driven by fear and fear-based perceptions.  The Apostle Paul illuminates for us the solution to this.  We must make the choice to believe God and we will then know how to be CONTENT in whatever circumstances we find the Lord has allowed in our lives.  GOD HAS A PLAN.

Paul was chained between two Roman guards for two years when he wrote this.  His circumstances were dire, but he knew that God had allowed whatever Paul was experiencing for His Glory and Paul’s benefit.  He wrote…

Philippians 4: 6,7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Phil. 4:11-13 “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:  I know how to [d]be abased, and I know how to [e]abound. Everywhere, and in all things, I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Remain blessed, in all you do acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.

John Henry

Today, I had a mentoring session with a long-time Christian brother who only recently gave his whole life to the Lord and has begun to take up his cross daily and follow Him.  I am always joyful when a person who identifies as Christian but is seeking true relationship with God, comes into Abundant Life Church and gets what I lovingly call “switched on”.  This particular fellow, upon asking Jesus to be the Lord of His life, began praying and reading the Bible daily, seeking regular fellowship with the Body of Christ, and began meeting with me weekly as Care Pastor for Abundant Life.

After a few months of attending Abundant Life Church and our weekly Men’s Bible Study, shortly after we began our weekly sessions, he revealed to me that the Lord had put the poor on his heart and he knew he wanted to do something about it.  This was remarkable, he said, because he had not before been one who particularly cared about homeless or disadvantaged people one way or the other, and had, he said, been more likely to look away when confronted by, or was forced to be in the proximity of, “those types” of people on the street.  As he revealed this to me, we prayed for the Lord to open a door for him to use his newfound passion. The following Saturday morning, at our weekly men’s Bible study, I hooked him up with a good brother and fellow soldier of mine who goes to a different church and has a monthly Skid Row ministry where he takes volunteers to get an orientation at the Dream Center in Los Angeles and then takes them to the streets of Skid Row to bring the love of Christ, and give water, food and clothing to the people who are living there in miserable conditions.

In our meeting today he was telling me, now that he has been going to Skid Row monthly for about six months, he wants to start up a weekly meal for the homeless in Simi Valley.  He is on fire and it is all Glory to God!  As we were praising Jesus for the work of the Holy Spirit in my friend, I was reminded of how amazing God has revealed Himself in my life and that even though we who serve don’t need validation for the work, we do often receive it through God’s incredible generosity and love.

This was what the Lord brought to my mind as I remembered.  At a weekly church feeding in Van Nuys, about 12 years ago, there was a regular client named Virginia.  She was a sweet, disheveled and very dirty older woman who looked to be in her late 70s (but may have been younger).  She was always very appreciative of the food we served, and also of the Word that was preached.  When I first met her, she would always sit by herself and seemed fearful of the others, especially the homeless men.  I would always try to strike up a conversation with her, and she was very kind and grateful, but closed to much interaction. Whenever I asked her if she needed anything other than the food we were serving, she would always say “no thank you” and that was pretty much all. One day, we did begin to talk and I asked her why she was so afraid to be around the others.  She revealed to me that she had been raped several times on the street.  When I learned of this, I made a point of introducing her to some of the other women.  Over the course of about a year, she began to form friendships with a couple of other women who had had similar experiences on the streets and eventually, the three of them pooled their meager resources and were able to stay together in a local motel.  As she was able now to shower and dress in privacy, Virginia began to take more pride in her appearance, and she was always clean.

Now that she was not ashamed of her condition, she began to seek out conversation with me every week.   I soon learned that although things for her were much better, she was riddled with guilt because she had walked out on her family when the children were in their teens because of depression and because her husband had been abusive.  She had been homeless, she said, for over thirty years.

I asked her about her children.  She said that they had gone to live with her sister in Indiana after she left and that a short time later her husband had died.  She would call her sister twice a year to see how the kids were doing but would never tell her sister where she was or ask to speak with the kids because she was too ashamed for leaving.  She lost track of her two sons and her daughter completely six years ago, she said, when her sister passed away.  I asked her if she wanted to pray for her kids.  At the suggestion she began to cry and was clearly terrified, but she agreed.  As we prayed, the Holy Spirit came on me in power and spoke reconciliation and restoration over her relationships with her children.  It was clear that Jesus wanted to give Virginia back the “years the locust had eaten”.  Joel 2:25

After we prayed, I asked Virginia if she knew where any of her kids had gone.  She said that the last time she knew, before her sister had died, the two boys had gone to live in Texas, but her daughter had stayed in Indiana.  I asked her if she wanted to speak with her children now.  She said that as we were praying, the thought has burned in her mind and heart that she wanted desperately, to reconnect with her daughter, the oldest child.  She was in tears as she said to me that she had no idea how to reach out to her.  I asked her to tell me her daughter’s name and last known location. She said that the last thing she knew was that her daughter had married a man and told me his name.  I tried to look him up on my cell phone and came up with a few possible numbers which I called but to no avail, as all those numbers were disconnected.  I then tried her daughter’s name with the man’s last name.  Many of the same numbers came up but one was different.  I felt the Spirit on me when I called that number.  I got a voicemail.  It was her.  I left a message saying that I was a Pastor and a friend of a woman named Virginia who had been homeless in California and that I needed to speak with her.

Virginia’s daughter called me back in 5 minutes.  The first thing she said to me, in fearful tones, was “Is my mother dead?” She had been home listening to my message when I called and was so shocked that it took her that 5 minutes to compose herself enough to call back.  I told her, happily, that her mom was not dead, and was in fact, standing right next to me.  I asked if she wanted to speak with her and she said, in tears, “Oh yes, that would be wonderful!  As I handed the phone to Virginia to speak to the daughter with whom she had not been in communication for thirty years, I thought she was going to faint, so I brought her a chair and they started to talk.  Here is where the Lord gave me a great gift!  I got to be a witness to God’s incredible generosity as Virginia’s face went from abject fear to unspeakable joy in the course of 15 minutes!

As it turned out, her daughter had been actively searching for her mother since her aunt had died.  She was recently divorced from her husband (who was also abusive) and was a successful business owner with a beautiful home and two kids and a beautiful extra bedroom all set up for her mother, should she ever be fortunate enough to find her.  With a look of stunned happiness, Virginia handed my cell phone back to me and said that her daughter had something to say.  Her daughter thanked me in tears and we prayed together, thanking the Lord for all He had done that day!  Her daughter was a believer who had been praying for her mother to return!  She then asked if she could make a donation to my ministry and I told her to send her offering to the Rescue Mission.

Later that very day, Virginia’s daughter wired her the money to come to Fort Wayne and live with her and her children.

A few months later, I got a call from Virginia thanking me again for facilitating the great thing the Lord was doing and letting me know that she had been reconnected with all her children and that they understood why she had left and were in fact grateful to her for getting them to safety with their aunt before she left.  They were a family again!

Anyway… I related all this to my friend who was just beginning his life of ministry to the poor to let him know that whether he gets this kind of validation from the Lord or not (and I believe that everyone who truly serves does receive it), he should always be aware that every act of love done to the poor and broken is done unto Jesus and brings Glory to God!  Matt. 25:40

What is the Lord speaking to you today?  Ephesians 2:10 says that YOU are His workmanship, created IN Christ Jesus for good works that GOD has prepared beforehand that YOU should walk in them.  Let us walk joyfully in those good works as God is glorified in us.  THAT is what Jesus IS doing!

With Joy unspeakable and love for you, my brethren

In Jesus Mighty Name!

John Henry Raskin

Roadhouse Rabbi

“Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:  Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” Luke 2:8-14

Born in a humble manger where animals were kept, the helpless babe, the Son of Mary, grew up and lived as the sinless Son of Man, taught us how to live a life pleasing to God the Father, died on the Cross as the sacrifice for all of our sin, and rose triumphantly on the 3^rd day, the Son of God, Prince of Peace, King of Glory.

This is Jesus the Christ, Messiah, born of a virgin, God of the Universe Who made Himself man for us and died so that we might be saved in Him and live forever with Him in Paradise.

He is more than Santa Claus, better than presents, He is the Gift that keeps on giving, He is the Light of the world.  This Christmas remember to be thankful for what we have received.  If you have not yet received the free Gift of salvation and been set free from the POWER of sin and eternal death than give yourself and your loved ones the best Gift ever this year.  The gift of salvation.  Say yes to Jesus and let Him be Lord of your life.

Have a blessed and merry Christmas!

With Love, through His Holy Spirit,

John Henry Raskin

Roadhouse Rabbi