Monday: Miracle Dream

God Sends Young Daniel   

     Nebuchadnezzar not only took the best and brightest youth from Jerusalem, he took articles from the temple and placed them in the temple of his god, in the treasure house of his god. How insulting! 

     God wasn't concerned about nick-nacks, no matter how sacred. He was about to reassure his covenant people that this would not be Israel's permanent fate. Of course, it would be final for most of that generation. 

     He also provided prophetic visions of his sovereignty over nations. 

     After 70 years, very few of those taken to Babylon would see Judah again, when the Lord gave King Cyrus favorable disposition toward the Jews. That included a miracle too, Cyrus in scripture long before Cyrus was born.   

     There is no indication in his book that Daniel ever returned home.

     In Babylon, young Daniel was known for integrity, prayer, fasting and prophetic gifts. He avoided the world's ways. 

     The first miracle in his book: He and his friends resolved not to defile themselves with royal food and wine. He asked his guard quietly to give them only vegetables and water for 10 days, after which they looked healthier and better nourished than any who ate royal food. Just 10 days! 

     Next: The big one! The king had a very troubling dream. He consulted his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers for an interpretation. They were eager to make up something, until he threatened them with their lives.

     Daniel, also condemned as one of the "wise men," apparently was privileged enough to approach the king and ask for time to pray about it. 

Monday: the interpretation

Or, read Daniel 2 for yourself

 

Darkest Hour    

     Before we move to the next wave of miracles, we must set the stage, as provided by prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. Miracles mean little unless we know the purpose.  

     This generation followed in the ways of their ancestors. People are people. Assyrians had swallowed up the separated Northern Kingdom.

     605 B.C. Babylonians take the best and brightest youth of Judah off to Babylon. Daniel is among them. 

     The darkest hour in Old Testament history has begun. 

     But God is light. He can perform miracles and inspire prophets in foreign Babylon. Nothing is impossible with God. 

     Eight years later, Nebuchadnezzar takes captive another 10,000 people, including Ezekiel. In time, Ezekiel begins to write the "book" that bears his name. 

     His message is judgment of Judah and of seven foreign nations. Another purpose is to sustain the remnant of exiles. And to emphasize personal responsibility of each individual before God. 

     586 B.C. Babylonians destroy Jerusalem and the temple. Most survivors are taken to Babylon. 

     Jeremiah, the "weeping prophet," witnesses the tragedy. He writes Lamentations, describing sin and rebellion, intense sorrow and emotional pain. 

     Then Jeremiah begins writing his "book," to record God's judgment. He demonstrates the authenticity and authority of the prophetic word. Many of his prophecies were fulfilled in his lifetime; others came to pass later, and some have yet to take place. 

     He said captivity would last 70 years (Jer. 25:11) which it did. 

     536 B.C. Daniel, now elderly, begins to write his "apocalyptic book" of the Old Testament, a preview of the future book of Revelation. 

     Daniel was possibly a descendant of King Hezekiah. In any case, he was from an educated family in Jerusalem. 

     His name meant, "God is my Judge." He wrote partly in Hebrew and partly in Aramaic. 

     Israel will rise, but never again be self governing ... until 1948.

Tomorrow: Daniel in the darkest hour

 

     

Water Heals   

     You didn't get much more important in those days than an army commander. Naaman served under the king of Aram. Poor man had a lousy case of leprosy.

     The king sent Naaman on a journey to Israel where - so they had heard - there was a man who heals. Naaman was accustomed to dealing with big shots. And he brought money to pay for his healing. 

     So, he was angry when Elisha, the healer, refused to see him face to face. He sent his servant out to tell Naaman to wash himself seven times in the Jordan River. 

     "No way," he must have said. He demanded to see the healer himself, and anyway, Assyria had better water than this dumpy river. 

     Naaman headed toward home in a huff, but his servant begged him to give the Jordan a chance. What could it hurt? Well, the commander was desperate. He followed Elisha's order, and was restored. 

     God had a higher purpose. Happy Naaman concluded, "Now I know there is no God except in Israel." We bet he took that truth back to where he came from. 

     Oh, yes. The doctor bill. Elisha refused to take Naaman's money. 

     On another occasion, Elisha threw a stick into the Jordan and an ax head they needed floated to the surface. What a river! Or stick! 

     You probably thought a wiser Aram was friendly now. Nope. They surrounded the army. His servant was fearful, so Elisha assured him,  "Those who are with us are more than those with them."

     God opened the servant's eyes to see the hills full of horses and chariots of fire. Elisha prayed, and the Lord struck the Arameans blind.

     Elisha led them to Samaria where the Lord opened their eyes. Elisha asked God to spare them. He gave them food and water, and Aram chose peace. 

Tomorrow: The Darkest Hour

Elijah's Entertainment

     Prophet Elijah had challenged King Ahab to bring it on. Gather all the "prophets" and spectators, and let's see who is really God. 

     The misguided prophets set a bull on the wood and prayed their hearts out. Hours later when nothing happens, Elijah tells them to shout louder ... maybe Baal can't hear them.  

     Elijah's turn. He builds an altar and trench, flooding it with water three times. With everyone watching, he calls on the Lord. Fire comes from above (no burnable material up there), and consumes even the stones, soil and the water. 

     II Kings. Elijah is still serving. He and his understudy Elisha come to the Jordan River. They probably could have swum across. But Elijah takes his cloak and strikes the water, which divides, and they cross over. 

     The man who never died. 

     As the two walk along, a chariot of fire pulled by horses appears in the sky. Elijah is drawn to it in a whirlwind, headed for heaven.

     Elisha, who insisted on traveling close to Elijah, returns to the river, strikes it (again) and crosses over on dry ground. Who needs bridges?

     In a motion reminiscent of Moses, Elisha throws salt into a spring, saying, This is what the Lord says: 'I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.'   

     We're not sure what some of these miracles did for the nation's purpose, but the Lord obviously wanted them recorded in his scripture.    

     Ahab's son, Joram, became king of Israel in Samaria. He did away with the "sacred stone of Baal." But he did evil in the eyes of the Lord.

Tomorrow: Army commander swallows pride

      

Nothing is impossible with God

Miracle Messages    

     Before Israelites decided they wanted a king - like surrounding nations have - the "Judges" more or less provided leadership. 

     Behavior displeased God such that he permitted powerful Mideanites to abuse them for seven years. Enough is enough.

     The "angel of the Lord" appeared to Gideon, a nobody. Just the kind of person God will use. 

     Gideon considered himself "the least of my family, in the weakest clan." Gideon tested God to see if he really would do what he said. 

     The Lord was patient. With just 300 men, trumpets, empty jars and torches, Gideon won. God caused the Mideanites to turn on each other. 

     Samson was a hunk. But his Philistine sweetheart coaxed him into revealing the secret of his power. While he slept, she cut his miracle hair. He ended up blinded and in custody. 

     Later in the Philistine temple, Samson found his way between two pillars, prayed, and with miracle might, brought down the house. 

     David - we guess he was a teenager - a nobody, but not for long - used a slingshot to kill Goliath. Was David that accurate, or did the Lord guide the stone between the giant's eyes? 

     In I Kings, the prophet Elijah fled to escape threats by Queen Jezebel, a worshiper of Baal. God ordered ravens to feed him. 

     During severe drought, God sent Elijah to the house of a widow and her young son. She had enough food and oil for one day. Her provisions never ran out before the rains came. Her son died. Elijah took him, prayed, and the Lord returned him to life. 

     Elijah - we will see him later in this series - confronted King Ahab.  He told him to summon people from all over Israel to meet on Mount Carmel. Bring the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table.

     He ask the people, How long will you waver between two opinions?  If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.

     Silence. 

Tomorrow: What happens? 

 Monday: Miracle Messages

What was God thinking?

Exit of the Exodus   

     Instead of a 300-mile (?) journey direct from Giza to the location of modern Israel, God had taken his people way out of the way, to a 40-year "school" in the Arabian desert. There he taught them without interference from the nations.

     The extended exodus gives way - finally! - to the task of displacing people who occupy the Promised Land.

     Moses and Aaron are history; Joshua, aide to Moses, will lead. Men without memory of Egypt and slavery have no problem marching out of this awful desert where they were born. 

     Miracles continue.

     Priests carry with them a precious chest - the ark of the covenant. Unfortunately, when they arrive at the Jordan River it's flood stage.

     Fortunately, as he did 40 years earlier, God parts the waters. Miracle. More precisely, he blocks water coming north to south. Water that already passed by trickles into the salt sea, and the invaders cross on dry land.

     Jericho is the first obstacle for some 40,000 armed Israelites. The would-be defenders and others are safely behind formidable city walls.  

     God has already told Joshua, I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.    

     Are you there? Two spies sneak into the city, where a prostitute, Rahab, tells them, "We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea (Hebrew, Yam Suph...Sea of Reeds) for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings east of the Jordan." 

     "Our hearts sank," she confides, "and everyone's courage failed because the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below." 

     What will the Lord do? 

     He plans a parade. For six days men and priests with the ark march around the walled city, blowing trumpets. If that didn't further unnerve the people, on the seventh day they circled seven times. 

     On Joshua's command, they all shout, and - miracle - the walls fall. 

     Many victories follow.

Monday: Miracle messages

           

     

Were You There?

     There's a song that begins, "Were you there when they crucified my Lord?" 

     Friends, were you there when the Lord spoke, just three months after the Passover? None of those who saw his glory and the miraculous signs he performed in Egypt and in the desert would ever see the land he promised on oath.

     Yours truly, Jimmy Donut ... if we had been there in the same experience, we would have griped and complained as well. 

     They treated God and his Word with ... God said "contempt" ... and so we think, "Shame on them." But we don't imagine responding any differently under those circumstances. 

     Some 400 years after Jacob, were these descendants prepared? They didn't have bibles. They didn't know Samuel, David, Solomon, Daniel, the Psalms, Proverbs or the prophets. They were okay with God so long as their needs were met. 

     They knew Egypt, slavery, false gods and maybe Abraham's story. 

     God forgave them, but with penalty. Only younger men born in the Arabian desert would follow God and Joshua into Canaan. The Lord fought for them, a miracle in itself, including the day the sun stood still.

     After conquering the land and settling into their allotments, the people began to drift. Some worshiped false gods. Joshua warned them thoroughly, but he knew his limits. 

     If serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. - Joshua 24:15 

     God chose Abraham's descendants to learn, obey and demonstrate to the lost world the merits of a nation under God. Christians have a new commission...win souls in all nations before the end of this age. 

     All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I will be with you always, to the very end of the age. - Matthew 28:18-20

Tomorrow: Exit of the Exodus

Even Moses Stumbles

     We learn a little about God. When the going was hardest, Israelites didn't trust and obey. Gentiles under those circumstances would do likewise. It's the world. People are people.

     Only two leaders entered Canaan: Caleb, who had "a different spirit," and Joshua. Other leaders were struck down and died of a plague before the Lord. 

     The Lord said to the adults, As for your children ... I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected. [Meanwhile] Your children will be shepherds for 40 years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the desert. I the Lord have spoken. - Numbers 14. 

     Some thought, okay, we'll go. Moses warned them, the Lord is not with you.

     They went up to the high hill country, and met the Amalekites and Canaanites who attacked them and beat them down. 

     Two more miracles on the exodus deserve a look. 

     At Meribah, the Lord told Moses to take his staff and speak to that rock and it will pour out its water. 

     Moses spoke to the assembly, 'Listen you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?' Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out.   

     The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Because you did not trust me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them. - Numbers chapter 20

     Finally, near Edom, the people again griped. Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in this desert? There is no water. And we detest this miserable food. 

     The Lord sent venomous snakes among them. Many Israelites died. The Lord said to Moses, Make a (bronze) snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live. This was a sign of future, great importance. (John 3:14-15) 

Tomorrow: Timeout. Were You There?

Forty Years for Forty Days 

     The people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. - Numbers chap. 13

     Joshua and Caleb said, "we can." The other leaders said, "we can't." 

     All the people ... raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, 'If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert!'

     Wouldn't it be better to go back to Egypt? We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt. The assembly talked about stoning them. 

     The Lord said to Moses, How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them?

     God said he would strike them down with a plague and make Moses into a nation greater and stronger. Moses was thinking of the Lord's reputation, not his own.  

     Moses noted the progress so far, and said to God, The nations who have heard this report about you will say, 'The Lord was not able ... so he slaughtered them...' 

     He quoted the Lord's own declaration back to him: The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished.

     The Lord replied, I have forgiven them, as you asked. Nevertheless, not one of the men who saw my glory and miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me ... will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. 

     Then the Lord ruled, For forty years - one year for each of the 40 days you explored the land - you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you. 

 Tomorrow: Even Moses Stumbles

 Was it Too Much?

     The scariest part (walking at night between two vertical walls of ocean) now behind them, Israelites shuffle into Arabia. 

NOTE: Following victory over Egypt in 1973, Israel had opportunity to scour the entire Sinai Peninsula. There is no evidence of the exodus. Mountainous terrain would not have accommodated people and their animals anyway. Google Earth backs this up.  

     The location of the miracle crossing has been confirmed. And two daring men flew to Saudi Arabia thanks to a friendly contact. They found and climbed the real Mt. Sinai while a Saudi army unit exercised behind the mountain, unawares. They took pictures of features described in Exodus chapters 19, 32 and 33.

      Unfortunately, a suspicious Arab (they know this is the "mountain of God" and no one dares touch it) forced them into a city. The men escaped on a flight with only a few of their photo rolls. (my sister has copies)        

     Back to the exodus. They're thirsty, and bitter water turns sweet. More complaints. Manna and quail rain down. 

     God tells Moses to take his staff and strike a rock formation. Out flows water for people and animals. (That spot is known, also)

     Imagine if God helped AAA magnify their travel packages.

     In the third month after leaving Egypt, not far from his recent homeland, Moses climbed Mt. Sinai to meet with God. And there was thunder, lightning, cloud, trumpet blast, fire, smoke - and did we mention - earthquake? 

     Miracles to get their attention. Miracles to produce holy fear. 

     God promised they would be a "holy nation," if they obey me fully and keep my covenant. They did not. 

     These people with little if any contact with God over 400 years had much to learn before they entered the Promised Land. Laws and property and responsibility and justice and festivals and offerings and lampstands and altars and garments and sacrifices and money and oil and regulations and "do nots" and tribal camps and special days including the Sabbath...

     Was it too much? 

     Tired of manna, they wished for their Egyptian diet - fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. 

      God wished to lead them into the Promised Land. He told Moses to send scouts into Canaan for 40 days. Ten of the 12 came back with such a negative report that the people once again clamored to go back to familiar Egypt. 

Tomorrow: Forty years for forty days

 

 

Monday

Was it too much?

Miracles of the Exodus

   Moses was born in the tribe of Levi, but raised in Egyptian royalty.

   By age 80 he was a humble sheep herder in Arabia. He sees a bush on fire, but not being consumed. As he approaches, God calls to him from within the bush. (Nothing is impossible with God.)

   Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals. The place where you are standing is holy ground. - Exodus 3:4-5. 

   If that didn't frighten him, the Lord added, 'I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.' Moses hid his face in fear. - v. 3:6

   After giving the Lord every reason he wasn't qualified to challenge Pharaoh and lead his people out of slavery, he reluctantly accepted the call to challenge Pharaoh and lead his people out of slavery. 

   God turns Aaron's staff into a snake and back, the Nile into blood, and he plagues the rest of Egypt with frogs, gnats, flies, boils, hail, locusts and darkness. If that doesn't move Pharaoh, God will take the lives of all Egypt's first born. It didn't and he did. The Passover.

   The exodus travels south along the Red Sea, following a cloud by day and fire by night. They find themselves trapped by the Gulf of Aden and an impassable mountain, with Egypt's army coming on! Pharaoh had changed his mind. 

   What have you done to us? they cry to Moses. It would be better to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert. - Exodus 14:11-12. It's a complaint Moses is going to hear every time of difficulty.

   There are about two miles of open water across to Arabia. Too deep to wade. Moses raised his staff. God parted the water into two walls, and provided light for the nighttime escape...while darkness halted the army.

   The Lord wanted more. The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.        - Exodus 14:18 

   Early in the morning the sea covered the pursuing Egyptians. 

  These days, there is a daily passover...numerous cargo ships passing over the graves.  

Tomorrow: It's raining bread

Unbelievable Truth   

   Without a diploma from Harvard or Yale, God created water. Lots of it! 

   Now, was God losing the war that Satan the serpent started? 

   The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on (God's) earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. - Genesis 6:5-6 

   God is capable of emotion and disappointment. 

   But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. 

   God instructed Noah, age 600, and his sons on how to build a vessel, and float on a miraculous flood for 377 days. Forty days of steady rain and the eruption of subterranean reservoirs would suffice to end civilization. 

   377-40 = 337 days it took for flood water to recede enough for Noah, his family and the animals to get off the ark.  

   There are rock formations as if mud had been violently sloshed around, and hardened over time. You may explain why that isn't evidence of the flood. 

   The apostle Peter wrote of "scoffers," ...they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and with water. By water also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 

   By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for (miraculous) fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. - 2 Peter 3:5-7.

    Today's world also has its own company of scoffers and ungodly men (and women). They cannot hide from the eyes of the Lord.

Tomorrow: Miracles of the Exodus

Creation: For What Purpose?  

        He who made something out of nothing can relate to us however he chooses. All to accomplish his ultimate plan.  

        Nothing is impossible with God. 

        What is his purpose, and why do miracles matter?

        God is a personal Being. He has revealed attributes of himself at various times. 

        O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

        When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him? - Psalm 8:1-4

        Earth is primarily a battleground, where God and his angels engage demons - spiritual agents who apparently sided with Lucifer. It wasn't long before the first hiss ... that is, skirmish. 

        A miracle. Satan (Lucifer) appeared to Eve as a talking serpent, and won the battle.  

        After scolding Adam and Eve, the Lord said to the serpent. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel. - Genesis 3:15 

        Who was God referring to? 

        Fallen angels had known God and yet rebelled. The Lord seeks men and women who don't see him, yet believe, trust and obey. 

        (As if to say, "Take that, Satan.") 

        Earthquakes, volcanoes, tornadoes, shifting tectonic plates and other annoying realities assure us this globe is not God's idea of eternal bliss. Revelation 21 reveals his ultimate plan.

        On a new earth, He will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 

Tomorrow: Unbelievable Truth

Formless, Empty and Dark  

       ...so it was, over the surface of the deep. 

       And God said: Let there be light. 

            STOP! 

       Is there a greater material miracle than waves of light energy produced, not by GE or Westinghouse, but by God, who is Spirit? 

       Stars are (radiation) light-bearers (Hebrew ma'or). God uses our star to mark days, seasons and years. We cannot fathom these hydrogen, helium, nuclear fireballs. Their gravity captures objects billions of miles away. 

       What do we learn? God is boundless power. We have nowhere to hide. 

       CNN and the New York Times weren't there, but Moses reported, in the form of a prayer: Before...you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. 

       The Creator had help. 

       In verse 2, the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Add water to your list of extraordinary miracles. No evolution about it. 

       Ruah, Hebrew for Spirit, can also mean wind or breath. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. - Psalm 33:6. When you send your Spirit, they (living creatures) are created, and you renew the face of the earth. - Psalm 104:30

       The Son of God makes three. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men.  - John 1:1, 3-4

        For by him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible ... all things were created by him and for him.      He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.                    - Colossians 1:16-17

        In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets ... but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.   - Hebrews 1:1-2

 Tomorrow: Creation, for what purpose?

                           IT'S ALMOST HERE                AND GOD SAID:      TUESDAY  >>>

Do You Believe in Miracles?

   We can learn from them. We have assembled something you likely won't find in a book store.

   Tuesday, we begin God's story in miracles, from Genesis to Revelation, summarized here in Views by the Sea. 

   Most of us would vote for a miracle when we or a loved one is in a tight spot, short of cash, or seriously ill.

   February, 1980. We were sick in bed listening to the radio broadcast of an Olympic hockey game between the USA and Soviet Russia. 

   Our team was a collection of college stars assembled for the Olympics. The Russians - whose assignment in life was to play hockey for the glory of communism - were four-time Olympic gold medal winners. 

   We don't know...maybe it was an exhibition. But, Soviet men had already tromped the boys soundly. Maybe they were overconfident. 

   With seconds to play in Lake Placid, NY, the U.S. leading 4-3, announcer Al Michaels asked in a level voice, "Do you believe in miracles?" Ever since, it's been called the "Miracle on Ice." 

   Awesome as it was, the game was a moment in history. The boys of Lake Placid soon will be on Social Security. 

   God who doesn't age...can we say..."skates along." No power on his earth - including demons - can overcome. 

   We believe, we win. We don't, we won't. 

   Over a couple weeks, Views will recap many miracles, including those yet to happen. If you follow us to the end, we believe you will believe at the end...of the Book. 

   God created earth, and he will someday uncreate it. You can believe it, and be glad. 

        Jimmy

  

NOTE: Catch our bulletin tomorrow about our special series, starting Tuesday. We mean our very special series.    Jimmy

God's Wrath Against Sin

   Let's finish off the week by hearing from God about the lies that suppress belief in truth. It's valid today. From Romans 1:18-27:

   The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth...since what may be known about God is plain to them... 

   For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. 

   For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images...  

   Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator- who is forever praised. Amen. 

   Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. 

We suggest you read on, through verse 32.

Such people hold positions of authority, 

teach our kids and oppose what God decrees.

   

Truth     < Belief  >     Falsehood

   Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness... Genesis 15:6

   The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news... Jesus, in Mark 1:15 

   He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe... John 1:7

   When he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"... Jesus, in John 9:35 

   Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe"... Jesus in John 20:27 

   Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name... John 20:30-31 

   That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved... Romans 10:9-10

   Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder... James 2:18-19

   Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. ,,, Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist...      1 John 4:1-3.

                                   Extra special series begins Tuesday, April 12

8th in the series

Truth     <  Belief  >     Falsehood 

   Guide me in your truth and teach me... David, in Psalm 25:5

   Redeem me, God of truth... David, in Psalm 31:5 

   Truthful lips endure forever... Proverbs 12:19 

   I the Lord speak the truth... in Isaiah 45:19 

   Speak the truth to each other... Zechariah 8:16

   I tell you the truth... Jesus, in Matthew 5:18 and many others 

   the only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth

        ... John 1:14

   God is Spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and truth

        ... Jesus, in John 4:24

   when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth 

        ... Jesus, in John 16:13 

   The wrath of God...against...men who suppress the truth

        ... Romans 1:18 

   Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist

        ... Ephesians 6:14

   God...who wants all men...to come to the knowledge of truth

        ... 1 Timothy 2:4 

   (Men) will turn their ears away from truth... 2 Timothy 4:4 

   Whoever knows God...this is how we recognize the Spirit of truth

        ... 1 John 4:6 

 7th in the series

1984

   When Englishman George Orwell (his pen name) wrote 1984, that year was still way off. He died in 1950, but had seen enough of Nazism, Communism and kings to describe the totalitarian state. 

   His novel included people changing perceptions despite compelling evidence. Citizens would be ignorant of the facts, scientific proof and common sense. Sound familiar?

   We believe what we want to believe. So true. 

   They plug their ears, as did people in Jerusalem, who couldn't tolerate Stephen's scolding. 

   People look for information that damage the person. That's easier than dealing with the facts.  

   Outrage, not rational argument, sways the gullible. 

   2022 in America, we have those who would "defund the police," alleging they are unjust. They call their cause, "progress" and "justice." More likely, they want to replace government power with their own. 

   There is "spin" in politics. It's how they communicate. 

   Like the devil in Genesis, activists appeal to desires, not minds. Appetite is more powerful than reason. 

   How do trappers succeed? They conceal the trap. 

   "All issues are political issues," said Orwell. "Politics is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia." 

   "All liars" conclude the list of those bound for the fiery lake of burning sulfur," in Revelation chapter 21. 

   In the previous chapter, it is Satan who "deceives the nations." The liar behind man's lies. 

       Jimmy

6th in the series  

Truth     <  Belief  >    Falsehood

   The serpent taught us how to do it.

   Hitler had his slogans: Starving kids was giving them a "low calorie diet." Euthanasia was "cleansing."  

   Radical Muslims have their own tricks: Shariah law is "liberation." "Armies bring peace." 

   Marxist Saul Alinsky, whose fans included Hillary Clinton, masked his agenda. If people have guns, abolish for everyone's safety. If only leaders have the guns, guns keep the peace.

   Propaganda is intelligent manipulation by an invisible government. 

   There are different forms: Hide the truth. Half truth. Distort truth.

   Select only the facts that serve the purpose. Tell them our "higher goal, good, rights, justice, moral, noble." 

   In 1929 Lucky Strike sought to double their profits by encouraging women to join in. Smoking women marched in a parade, demonstrating independence and equality with men. It worked.

   People of theft and mayhem justify it with the slogan, "No justice; no peace." 

   Pro-life citizens are "at war with women." Pro-abortion citizens "protect women's health." Killing preborn infants is "a woman's right to choose." 

   Russia invaded Ukraine and deliberately kills civilians, including kids, with "an operation to eliminate Nazis." 

   Isaiah wrote long ago: Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.

 Tomorrow: George Orwell's 1884

              Jimmy

 Join us Monday

Who to believe?

Truth     < Belief >    Falsehood

   Truth and lies compete in worldly affairs as well as religion. Truth has always had an uphill climb. 

   Hitler's career is among the infamous. He accomplished what he did with a clever, devilish plan. 

   One of his tactics cost the lives of six million Jews, and a few million others. Hitler didn't care about Jewish faith one way or the other. If Jews were the majority, he probably would have chosen a different group to slander. 

   (The devil wanted God's people dead, and he found a stooge.)

   Hitler wasn't concerned with Jewish culture and belief - he hated (devilish) communists also. He needed broad support for his takeover. Whether Germans were envious of successful, wealthy European Jews, we don't know. 

   But false accusations swayed the masses, and Hitler's speeches made them swoon. If hateful lies didn't suffice, fear of the Gestapo would. 

   Germans are good at doing good things, and they proved to be good at doing bad things. It helped Hitler that the nation was still reeling from the financial punishment allied nations imposed following WWI. 

   Not only was European Judaism wiped out, but Martin Luther's Christianity lost favor, as the church did little to oppose aggression. And where was God? The "Fuhrer" trampled Jews and others en route to his real goal: total conquest! Think of the coming antichrist.

Continued Monday

     Jimmy