There are Many Adversaries

Two things a Christian can do in the face of adversaries: 1) Chicken out. 2) Go on the offensive. Paul took the offensive. We read in 1 Cor. 16:9 that he considered that a 'wide door' had been opened so he could take on the adversaries. If we read Luke's account of this 'wide door' concept, we see Paul beaten, cast out, shipwrecked, etc. Paul agrees with this 2 Cor. 11:23-33. When enemies came after Paul, he figured this was a sure sign. True, at first people would 'ooh' and 'ahh' when they saw the power of God manifested by miracles, but then they turned against him as they became exposed to the light of the gospel.

Did this stop Paul? Although he could become discouraged and afraid like any of the rest of us (2 Cor. 1:8, 4:8), he found strength to go on the attack. Who did Paul attack? Principalities and powers. Some thought he fought in the flesh, attacking people, but though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds): Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that raises itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ? Having in readiness to revenge all disobedience, when our obedience is fulfilled.

Sometimes, he was the only one standing, and the brethren would be in their holes waiting for him to be taken out: "At my first answer no one stood with me" 2 Tim. 4:16. So there he is, forsaken by all, himself up on stage in front of the hostile crowd, probably in a church (or maybe they were in an open arena), defending the words of Jesus Christi (the gospel), while the other brethren fall to the side of the enemy. Which brings us to the other group: Chickens.

That's all they have to do: Don't say anything. Or say something only when you will get plaudits or it's safe. This leaves the brethren who love Christ stripped and defenseless before the adversary (at least, that's what the adversary hopes). Paul, knowing how damning this is to those who claim to be Christians says, "...I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge."

Paul encourages the faint-hearted thus: "And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God." Philippians 1:28. If anyone should live in fear it is the adversaries: "But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries" Hebrews 10:27. There is much more, but a final verse: "Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen" 2 Tim. 4:17-18.

Chris Simsonson  8/31/2005

This works, but it makes it so that all the windows immediately below the soffit (like the one I am looking out of) have bird netting over them. Once a bird manages to find its way in, it never finds its way out. So this bird is flying around madly, wearing himself out and becoming weaker and weaker as he fails to find the little hole that got him into this trouble. He is too stupid to figure it out, and even if he had some idea as to how he got in here, he is so desperate and panicked, he couldn't do a logical search anyway.

He is very energetic, but in a few more minutes he is certainly going to die. He has had his last meal, and he will die of starvation, dehydration and exhaustion. The sun is beating down on the west wall and making it like an oven in there. I could go on describing his futile struggles, but it suffices as an allegory. However we got into the mess we're in right now, it is pretty worthless to thrash about using our own resources. If we weren't so proud, we would realize we don't know a way to escape.

God, however, knows exactly the way to escape and has made all provisions for it (maybe not for this bird, but we are worth far more than several birds according to Jesus). How do we find the way out? We cannot trust in our own understanding, says the Bible. We must ask Him who made the setting sun, it's heat, buildings and bird netting, and the last meal we eat. If we don't believe in that sort of Creator, then we most certainly deserve to die.

"How shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation?" Hebrews 2:3.

Chris Simsonson  8/30/2005

Because their context is very small, they don't get the 'big picture'. They are concerned with a career in law, or medicine, or business administration, or law enforcement, or fire protection, or computer technology, or rocket science, or religion, or cotton picking, but they are not concerned with standing before God on judgment day. Therefore, everything they do is out of context. This includes going to church and paying tithes. They feel that doing religious exercises atones for their blindness. The deeper they sink into their own conditioned-response paradigm, the more they feel they are para-diplomatic, the more they feel they are gods, discerning what's best for them apart from the textual context of the Holy Scriptures. Their universe consists of their own wants and needs. They become corrupt, abominable before God, who will judge the living and the dead. They invent their own context, or really, a false context is imposed upon their rebellious minds. This allows them to 'live with themselves'.

If their true life situation were revealed to them, they might cry out to God for help. Thus the enemy blinds the minds and hearts of those who are held captive by him at his will. Because they are so out of context, they feel as though they have free will. And in the realm of doing sin, they have complete freedom. However, they understand not that the light of the world has come into the world and that the only path to life is by his narrow way. So, they have no power and no freedom of will to pursue the course of life, and their world is deception. They stay to the shadows. Many of these deceived persons claim to know the Bible, and indeed, they know many verses and can quote them readily. However, they quote them to remain in darkness. They quote them out of context.

Chris Simsonson   8/26/2005

'God's' Powerball Men

We have a nation full of powerful men of faith, whose main goal is to accumulate as much wealth as possible in the name of God. The Bible says to stay away from such men (1 Tim. 6:5). But, the Bible also says to rebuke them so that others may fear (1 Tim. 5:20). Andrew 'Jack' Whittaker is one such man. He won the single largest undivided lottery in the history of all lotteries. He belongs to the Church of God sect. We might ask ourselves, What the heck was he doing playing the lottery, but we may as well ask ourselves the same question. His church promotes such mockery of faith, saying that God will steer the dice our way if we only believe.

And, that is what Jack said when he won the $314 million : "God made the machine come up with those numbers." And he was so right. Now, less than three years later, Jack is a drunk, a brawler, goes to strip clubs (and church, of course), pays off gambling debts (and tithes, which the church accepts, of course) and many other horrible things. He gave his dearly beloved granddaughter a whole bunch of this money, and she O.D.'d on drugs at her boyfriend's dad's house, her body having been wrapped in a tarp and stuck outside next to a junk vehicle. Police have filed no charges. Her other boyfriend died a few weeks earlier of a drug O.D. at Jack Whittaker's house. Police assure us that the deaths were not related. Death and destruction all around.

Jack's pastor, the Rev. C. T. Mathews, for whom Jack is building a $4 million church, said this: "It doesn't seem fair." Jack's wife has this to say: "I wish all of this never would have happened. I wish I would have torn the ticket up." The path to hell is paved with good intentions, they say.

Now seriously, how many so-called Christians wouldn't leap at the opportunity to have millions of dollars at their disposal? Oh sure, they would give it to charity and "use it for the Lord's work." That's what Jack said. That promise got him into all sorts of trouble, as the recent history shows. He wanted the world to know what kind of magnanimous guy he was. Now they know a man who has been destroyed by greed. Good lesson to learn, reader. If you are gambling, playing Lotto, blah, blah, I suggest you re-examine your faith to see if you are really believing in anything but the god of money.

A warning in case you don't get the point of this message: The God who rules over the affairs of men and the roll of the dice may just give you over to your greed if you don't take care of your idolatrous heart. Fear God and keep his commandments. Keep yourselves from idols, amen. 1 John 5:21

Chris Simsonson  8/25/2005

So, apparitions of Mary have been popular instead, because the devil knows that some people actually read their Bibles, and the Bible warns nothing against Mary showing up on grilled cheese sandwiches (which can be sold on eBay to a gambling casino for $28,000). 

Nonetheless, on August 16 or thereabouts, a pierogi sold on eBay to that same casino for $1775 because it had an image of Jesus burned into the glutenous outer covering. 

A woman was frying the pierogi last Easter when she flipped it over and exclaimed,  "There's Jesus!"  So she froze it. Then she sold it. "Everything happens for a reason, and I think this one did. I truly do," said the lucky owner/fryer/seller of the pierogi. It may seem incredible, but the woman was born and raised a Roman Catholic.

Chris Simsonson   8/24/2005

The doorbell rang this morning. We were watching a travelog my daughter had videotaped on her trip to Kenya (see my past blog on 'church plans'). I did not answer the door. Whoever was pushing on the button evidently didn't know how, holding it down irritatingly and letting the thing buzz instead of ring. Someone answered finally and behold! It was a couple of door-to-door evangelists, a man and a woman. Jehovah's Witnesses. So here they are on a Saturday taking time out of their precious lives to spread the good news of the 'kingdom'. The man said nothing; the woman wouldn't shut up. The person in my household who answered the door was not impressed, but said, "Let me tell you that you are wasting your time because we are Christians."

This only fueled the cultic desire of the woman preacher who gave a standard rundown of where we go when we die, where we live afterwards, blah, blah. I finally got up and looked to see if the man was the same one who has been hitting my house faithfully for the last couple of years, with whom I have had some interesting conversations, but I haven't seen him for a few months. No, it wasn't Mike. I asked, what happened to Mike? The man didn't know of any Mike. So maybe they lost him. I hope so. I went back and sat down and let the fur fly. One of the last statements made by the J.W. was that she and the other J.W.s were the only ones getting out there per the Lord's command to go door to door. She must not know about Mormons, but then again, she must not know about me.

I'll be spending the evening passing out tracts in the city and preaching as the occasion arises. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has given to us the precious word of life. May we handle it carefully and generously. I hope I meet a J.W. tonight who thinks they did their righteous thing during the day, and now it's time to do their other thing in the night, down in Old Sacramento. I always meet such Christians, calling themselves Baptists, Catholics, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Non-Deformational, etc., but who want nothing to do with the gospel of Jesus Christ while they are on their date.

Chris Simonson  8/23/2005

Dennis Rader, churchman

The serial killer will be an usher. He will run the sound system. He'll count the money after the service. If something needs to be done, Dennis was always available to help. As hard as this may be to believe, the serial killer told the psychologist in the jailhouse interview that he considers himself a religious person.

In answer to the question, "Do you pray?" Rader said, "Yes, I do. Study the Bible daily and that helps, not only just for spiritual. But a lot of it is good meanings and the good concepts, things that you can use in life."

Rader was a good Lutheran and became President of the Church Congregation just weeks before he was caught. According to the expert psychologist: "Being in charge, being in control, power, importance are themes in his life. That's why he pursued this role in a church."

That seems to be the reason many pursue a role in a church.

Chris Simsonson  8/22/2005

"Fortunately for you, our team of loving, caring professionals will be offering a once in a lifetime opportunity to share in the archeological find of the millennium! Our organization, Search High And Low, has just received word from a secret order of Buddhist priests that the ark is being held in a vault high in the Himalayas, guarded by a mercenary Sasquatch Man regiment imported from Big Tujunga Canyon in California. Tibetan officials deny any connection between recent uprisings of disgruntled Yeti due to their replacement by Sasquatch substitutes. However, the government is willing to negotiate a trade in which the ark will be handed over for a small fee of $55 million U.S.

The ark is in reputably excellent working condition. Several church denominations are coming together to raise the necessary payment. That's where we come in. We are coordinating this landmark effort of church unity. We are trying to raise at least $5 million U.S. (the government is graciously extending an offer where we can pay by credit card, but they need a minimum down payment of $5 million U.S. cash). If we don't act now, before the government changes its mind, or before the ice melts from global warming, allowing the ark to return to the murky depths of inner earth, we will never have another opportunity. We need your help today! Over the next 60 days, we need to get the five million dollars plus another two million for operating costs to mount an expedition to save the ark! Please send a generous tax-exempt donation to SHALow Research #1024, P.O. Box 34059, Tujunga, California, 95667."

If you read the above with amusement, good. If you are thinking of sending some money, please don't. It is a scam. Number one: the ark was last seen in Turkey, not Tibet; number two: it's way too big to fit into a vault; number three: Sasquatch Man don't fight for money, U.S. dollars or no.

But we still need to answer the question: Where is the Ark?

The question is two-fold. There are two missing arks: One large; one small. The large one keeps getting spotted in Turkey somewhere; the other one shows up in Indiana Jones films. The large one is the Noah's ark that was as big as an aircraft carrier; the other is coffin-sized, manufactured by Jews to hold the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments. Of course, this must be the one held in that vault in the Himalayas.

But isn't it funny that there is not a trace of either?

We have the Bible, the source of the stories about the two arks, but we don't have the arks. The Bible has been around for at least three thousand years in some form or another, but we can't find one splinter of evidence for the arks. Shouldn't these wooden artifacts have been kept as sacred objects of proof? The Bible has a couple of stories about things being destroyed before archaeologists could get to them. For instance, within the ark of the covenant (the gold-encrusted one carried around by priests), there were supposed to be the original stone tablets given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai.

Actually, that's wrong. The original ten commandments written by the finger of Jehovah were destroyed almost immediately after He made them. Moses broke them. At the same time, Moses also destroyed the golden calf that the people of Israel quickly fashioned while God was writing the ten commandments. The stone tablets contained in the ark were actually copies made by Moses of the first tablets. We don't know what happened to them, either.

What else disappeared? Another Moses artifact was a bronze snake that he lifted up on a pole. Jesus even referred to it in the gospel of John. It worked just fine when the people of Israel looked at it in order to be cured of snake bite. Somehow, it became an idol. Possibly they felt it had special powers apart from its intended function, or apart from the commandment of God. Either way, some artifact collector tucked it away somewhere, so it could be used as an idol hundreds of years later. One of the kings of Israel finally had the thing smashed to smithereens, and we have been cheated out of another piece of archeological evidence.

In fact, we don't have any of the cool stuff talked about in the Bible. We don't have one brick from the tower of Babel. We don't have one sandal left of the ones that didn't wear out for forty years while the children of Israel wandered around in the desert. We don't have any remains of the Urim and the Thummin. We don't have the manna that was preserved inside the ark. We don't have Goliath's sword, or even the smooth pebble that put his lights out. All we have is the Bible record.

That's the Old Testament. We don't have any New Testament artifacts, either. The churches down through the ages have sold a lot of holy archeological relics in order to fund cathedrals and crusades, but it is doubtful that any of them are real. It has been said that, accounting for the money made from their sale, several boatloads of the splinters from Jesus' cross must have been delivered to the paying faithful. Recently, we have come across the Shroud of Turin, which seems to hold fascination for National Enquirer readers and scientists with grants, but no news recently from either.

The big ark, supposedly nestled up in the ice of an ancient volcano in northeast Turkey (named 'Mt. Ararat' by the sentimental), has the greatest promise. Even though it would be several thousand years old (4,300 according to Biblical bean counters), it is a large structure and there could be large pieces of it floating around inside the ice. What makes this scenario even more enticing is the recent discovery of mummified remains of people who were freeze-dried up in those same sort of mountains and only recently uncovered due to the melting ice caps or some other phenomenon. Their morbid remains have been subjected to shameless display by eager exponents of archeology. What any of this proves is doubtful, except to prove once again that history and science are subject to the latest phenomenal fads.

Which brings me to my point. For some odd reason, modern men love to find ancient or important objects and adore them. Whereas in the past each conquering civilization tried to wipe out the memory of rival idols, we moderns, with our science and disdain for religious superstition, disinter and adore these same idols carved in shapes of men, women, animals, insects, and demons. We love to have them in our museums and our private collections, but we sigh with superiority when we consider the ignorance of those who made the idols. All this while we kiss our Blarney stone, rub our religious fetishes, eat our little wafer gods, and dig up graves. We just can't wait to find an ark, or a chalice, a dead body or something else to touch and handle, and sell for a goodly price.

God knows this. That's why He destroys these things in time. Isn't it interesting that we have no physical description of Jesus Christ in the Bible? All his apostles had the opportunity to touch him, dine with him, listen to his voice, memorize his features. But they did not bother to tell us what he looked like. Paul, who knew Christ really only after his resurrection, said, "Henceforth we know no man after the flesh; yes, even though we knew Christ after the flesh, we know him thus no more."

Jesus is not an icon. He is not a memory. He is not a wafer. He is not many things that man wants him to be. John's gospel tells us the risen Jesus said to the doubting Thomas: "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing." Thomas said, "My Lord and my God!" which is commendable. But Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe."

God knows that our tendency is to make idols out of everything. So the gospel removes all such idol worship and replaces it with the hearing of the Word, which seems like foolishness to the unbelievers (these are going to eternal destruction); but to us who believe, the Word of Truth is the gospel of our salvation and we do not let the latest fads and rumors of fads sway us from our goal: eternal life.

Little children, keep yourselves separate from idols. Amen. 1 John 5:21.

P.S. Don't be afraid of abominable snowmen. The last remaining one dyed his fur blue and acted in the movie "Monsters, Inc." Hasn't been seen since.

Chris Simonson  8/19/2005

An enemy has done this

Evil things happen and we make up stories to account for it. We make up gods and devils, or we go to school and make up neuroses. Most people nowadays mix up the two and have degrees and certificates to prove they know. They don't, most of them. They don't know they walk in blindness, waiting judgment before a vengeful God. The wrath of God hangs over them and they think he loves them. Yes, He loved them enough to send his own Son into the world to absorb their evil thoughts, their evil actions, their evil conscience, and their fitting judgment, but did they believe? Not most of them, according to the record. "Who has believed our report?" John 12:28.

What is to account for the evil we have in the world? It is as though at the beginning of the world the Son of Man sowed his good seed, the seed of the righteous ones who are his chosen. Sometime during the night, when everyone was asleep, the Evil One sowed his evil seed, the weeds of the children of wickedness. As the world unfolded, it was as though the wheat and the weeds grew up together. As they began to bear fruit, it was discovered how evil the evil ones were. The servants of the Son of Man came to him and asked, "Did  not you sow good seed? Why then are these weeds growing among them?"

His response was, "An enemy has done this." So, that explains why there is evil in the world.

But that is not the end of the story. The servants asked should they pull out the weeds so they no longer interfere with the righteous? Jesus said, "No, lest while you pull up the weeds, you root up the wheat with them. Let them both come to maturity. Wait until harvest and then you can remove the weeds and burn them in a furnace of fire. The wheat you will gather into my barn. So it will be at the end of the world. The Son of man will send forth his angels and gather out of his kingdom everything that gets in the way of the righteous, including those who do wickedness. These he will have thrown in a furnace of fire where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear let him hear."

An enemy would have you hear otherwise.

Chris Simsonson  8/18/2005

Life is passing him by

Joe churchgoer is depressed. He has a pretty good job, but it's dead end. He's already had his midlife crisis and his marriage counseling. He has weathered the storms of life. But, he has his eye on the neighbor's new car, the neighbor's new swimming pool, the neighbor's successful business career, the neighbor's college degree, the neighbor's ability to provide his kids cars, college and cash. And the wife, she keeps reminding him of it.

He has lost the ambition to go on in the dull sameness. He wants excitement and so does his wife. But he's already been through the midlife crisis, so what's next? He's very active at the church, doing men's ministry and helping missions. But he knows: His neighbor has more and better stuff than him. He has the problem with no name. However, we know the problem: He is covetous. He even covets the neighbor's wife if the truth be known. He needs to repent and do whatever it takes to serve God, even if it means telling the wife no, and letting go a few luxuries to get his heart back on track with his Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. There is hope for him as long as he is convicted of his sin. Otherwise, his sin remains (John 9:41). He should be depressed: Life is passing him by.

Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walks in darkness knows not whither he goes. While you have light, believe in the light, that you may be the children of light. These things spoke Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them. Then spoke Jesus again to them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. He that loves his life shall lose it; and he that hates his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor.

From the Gospel of John, chapter 12.

Chris Simsonson  8/17/2005

Grumpy old men

So I go to this old guy's house. I expected it to be austere and unwelcoming, from the reports. But they say he is benevolent. Anyway, as I walk up to the house, it's like scary and beautiful at the same time. The landscape looks ancient and fresh at the same time. It's hard to describe. Maybe like a movie set for Narnia, with flowers and birds everywhere, but the forest floor is thick with years of fallen leaves. Weird.

I rang the doorbell. The music stopped inside. It's hard to describe this music I heard, but it seemed to come from one instrument that had many levels of richness, as though a violin, a piano and a guitar, maybe a clarinet... well, it was weird, too. But the few notes I heard told of a symphony of bliss.

The old guy shuffled up to the screen door and said, "What?" He did not seem friendly at all. So I wasted no time with pleasantries. "I represent a charitable organization and we need funds from people like you to keep it going." He said, "I don't give to religious organizations."

I tried to convince him that the money I collect is used for the poor and the gospel, but he seemed unimpressed. So I left, but not disheartened. I heard this was the way it is with him. I noticed a few days later that the charity fund had swelled, having been enlarged by an anonymous benefactor. Coincidence? I don't think so. Maybe one day I'll visit and ask the old guy to invite me in. Not just yet.

Chris Simonson  8/16/2005

Yusta-Gonna

These are two of my most hated words. The first word means 'used to' and the second means 'going to'. They are usually used right after someone has been warned or challenged or even just plain notified about the way one should walk in Christ. If I pass out tracts and say, "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.", the yusta-gonna crowd says, "I yusta (pronounced yew-stah) do stuff like what you are doing now. I serve my church now and they're gonna let me teach a class in how to evangelize correctly." "When is that?", I say.

"After I graduate from mowing the yard and cleaning the toilets, then teach kindergarten, then so forth up until I get to the sixth graders. You'd know what I'm talking about if you submitted to the church of your choice."

Yusta means that once they were inferior creatures saying stupid things like "Repent!" or "There is only one Name given among men whereby they must be saved!" Now, they are good little churchmen making good tithing salaries and getting along nicely with the world. Guiltily, they say, "I'm gonna make my new religion good by convincing others that I know what I'm talking about and I'm a good guy and I?m a little loving plastic parishioner."

I?m talking about the proper use of words, here. An example of a possible proper use of 'yusta' is, "I yusta do this or that evil, but thanks be to God, he delivered me from that." Likewise, the word 'gonna' should be used in a sentence like, "I'm gonna stop saying gonna and I confess my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ right now even though it may cost me friends, my job, or my marriage." However, in my opinion, let your Yes be Yes and your No be No. Gonna never cut it with anybody.

The yusta-gonna crowd are in this place between history and the future. Normally, we call this the present, but with the yusta-gonna's it is limbo. There is no pull from opposite poles. Jesus calls them from the present, saying, "Today, if you will not harden your hearts, Today is the day of salvation!"

Chris Simonson  8/15/2005

Many pastors and evangelists nowadays talk about love. They do not talk about hate, unless they are coming against the preaching of the gospel by unlicensed persons. To them, hate does not belong in the Christian's vocabulary, except to condemn lay preachers. But let us see how the apostle Paul used the word hate: "Let love be without falseness. Hate that which is evil; cling to that which is good". Romans 12:9. So here is a good use for the word hate: It is good to hate evil. Paul said, Let love be without falseness. Is it evil to love falsely?

Does Paul condemn false love as sinister He says, "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. Today's loving churches would say that's O.K., let's just love them to death. But Paul here speaks of Satan and his co- workers (2Cor. 11:13-15) of which the Bible states again and again, "Be not partakers with them?" (1 Cor. 10:21, Eph. 5:7, 1 Tim. 5:22, Rev. 18:14). 

Perhaps, the false brother may say to himself, "fake love is almost as good as real love; just a few more touches here and there and she'll pass as real." And so it happens, he is surrounded with the praise of men and women who take his (or her) love as genuine and godly. My Bible says to watch out when all men praise you.

Is fake love an enemy of real love? Fake love has the same structure as false brethren. On the surface, they appear to be genuine, but somewhere within lurks the evil one, working iniquity through lies and deceit. Today's churches mostly hate to deal with the issue of false brethren or fake love. They say it is better to focus on love and the 'real thing', rather than dwell on horrible subjects like "wolves in sheep's clothing."

There is a reason for this. I'll give you a hint: They are most likely false themselves.

Now, are we trying to say that talking about love is evil? No, the apostle John would therefore be evil, but we do not make such a claim. As a matter of fact, we quote John when he says: "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" (1 John 4:7-8).

However, we are warned again and again throughout the Bible about false brethren, false prophets, false teachers, false gospels. The true Jesus Christ and his disciples gave us these warnings. They are meant for our good, not to get us astray. Why did Jesus and his apostles warn us? Because these false brethren diminish real love between the true brethren. Love is everything in the end; it must be sought after in faith. But we must be careful: "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1 et al).

We must not be caught in the teeth of the false brethren. It is a lie of the enemy that tells us that we should pay no attention to those sheep with long fangs and blood at their muzzles. According to them, we are to cast a blind eye on their fruits and love them as brethren. Better to cast your right eye after plucking it out, Jesus says (Matt. 5:29). If not, pretty soon, we find ourselves sympathetic and become useless to God. The modern church calls this uselessness 'love'. God calls it lukewarm and He will spew them out of His mouth (Rev. 3:16, companion verse to John 3:16). Just in case the reader is actually looking up these verses to see if I'm a liar, please show me, by the Scriptures, where I'm wrong if that thought happens to pass your mind.

Now, I have not hereby given anyone a clue as to whom are false and how to spot them. For sure, Matthew 7:20 says you will know them by their fruits. We may have memorized the 'fruit of the Spirit' in Galatians 5:22-23 because this is the religious thing to do. The first fruit is, of course, love. But that is the very fruit that the false brethren fake, so we are back to base one, unless we know what the love is. Which brings us back to how we started this tract: "Let love be without falseness." Many people in today's churches think they can pretend to love and then as time goes along, God will help them by giving them the real thing. By cleaning up the outside, they think the inside will take care of itself.

This is, of course, the error of the scribes and the Pharisees. Jesus said, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity." Matthew 23:27-28. Jesus also told his disciples, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod."

This leaven is the doctrine that it is O.K. to perform outward religious acts to show your love for God, and yet within, you are full of adulteries and thefts and covetousness.

Now, you may think that none of this has anything to do with love. You may be cringing in fear and loathing, hating the exposure of the light. Instead of going on and on about love, I would recommend you to the mercies of God, who will hear your confession of your own hate toward him. If you will acknowledge his charge of sin against you, if you will stop playing around with appearing to be loving, if you will come to the cross of Jesus Christ where your sins were dealt with once and for all, you will find mercy. If you continue on with showing your own love as though it is God's, and yet remaining unfaithful, then hell opens its mouth wide for you.

The end.

You may say to yourself at this point, "Where does it say any of that stuff in the Bible??"I am glad you asked. I hope you will read the following passages with great consideration to your own soul. They were written by men who have far greater insight to the things of God than you or me, and they loved without falseness.

Matthew 7:15-20 Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits.

Matthew 24:11 Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Sat can disguise himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.

2 Corinthians 11:26 I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren;"

Galatians 2:4-5 But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage. But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

Philippians 3:1-3 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you. Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh,

2 Timothy 3:13 But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

2 Peter 1:20- 2:3 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Revelation 2:2-6 I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name's sake, and have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place -- unless you repent. Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

Chris Simonson  8/13/2005

Need to be Assertive

The most disgusting thing about the women's movement is this need to be assertive. The modern church has fallen to the assertiveness of the flesh and defiled the gospel of Jesus Christ that allows only obedience to his commands. When we are assertive, we are under God's wrath. We are gods who see some fruit on a tree and see how wonderful it looks, and it makes us assertive and it tastes good to boot. Then we fall, again and again. The human race has fallen, past tense, under the curse that came by the disobedience of one man, Adam. But we can presently be free because of the obedience of one man, Jesus Christ. His obedience is counted as our obedience. Why would we then need to be assertive? We should fear God and be grateful by seeking to obey.

Why would we come under the bondage of needing to assert ourselves? We should re-examine our faith when we think assertiveness has anything to do with worshiping our God. Let us not fall to our enemy, having been raised up together with Christ. Let our men lead the church and let us remove the leaven of assertiveness. Let the husbands love their wives as Christ loved the church. Christ does not take orders from an assertive church. Neither should a man let a woman order him around in the name of 'love'. The fear of man (or women) leads only to trying to assert ourselves to make up for our cowardice. Let us assert only this: Be subject to one another in the fear of God.

Chris Simsonson 8/12/2005

Deliverance from the past

Interesting scripture: "...I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them." This is just a little phrase out of a much longer passage (Ezekiel 37:23 in context). Those that do not know the power of the Scripture might assume this passage is about Jews coming back into Palestine, but we who have been delivered from the past rejoice that these words are for us, to take hope and have faith: God has remembered our old sins no more! He has taken us from places in which we found comfort and removed us from their curse.

The deliverance is from those places in which we have lived so long, the situations we have found ourselves in , the places where we have strayed and sought refuge and safety apart from the only refuge, God Himself. We could only sin in those places. The very act of self-preservation, when not directed at coming out from those habitations of sin and death, was an act of sin unto death.

"Deliver yourself!" cries Peter in that first great sermon on the day of Pentecost. "Save yourselves from this corrupt and perverse generation!"

Chris Simsonson 8/11/2005

Convenient Jesus

This is the American Jesus. He is a God of Convenience. Like the other conveniences, he is there when you need him. Otherwise, he is a terminate and stay resident program clicking away in the background in our technologically advanced lives. He is the doctor that keeps hospitals and insurance programs alive and well. He is the mechanic that keeps our cars running and cushy. He is the technology that keeps everyone lazy and fed, pretending to have jobs that mean something to someone. He is the government that decides what countries will be protected by our kindness and compassion, and what countries will slide. All is based around convenience. If something becomes inconvenient, the churches are outraged and vexed because their freedom to pursue the bottom line has been stolen by the devil, the petroleum thief.

In the meantime, the TV god, the convenient one, tells us stories of love and compassion based on heroines overcoming male-dominated culture in a technologically sound way. Plots galore show mean and nasty men wreaking havoc that must be overcome to restore convenience and godliness. Story line of TV movie: Horrible man doesn't stop when his date says stop. She becomes the heroine and a proactive nun/women's rights advocate. Horrible man also tears down significantly historical buildings to make room for shopping malls and skyscrapers with his name on them. He lies and says that this progress will employ thousands of women and free them from the tyranny of their husbands. But the reverse happens.

The money does not go into the pocket of the heroine or her adorers, but into men's lodges named after various mammals. She figures this out and decides she must expose their wickedness. She obtains help from other women and men who have come out of the Dark Ages. The technology used to do this is astounding. However, she dies in a primitive way that is internationally televised. She's making a TV appearance for her ordination as an Episcopalian priest.

A mean group of fundamentalists bearing illegal firearms try to attack her while the miter is placed on her head by a gay bishop. She does not strike back until she has been properly ordained. Only too late she defends herself by swinging a Samsonite nightcase round and round. Although she gets a few dozen of them, they finally bring her down by removing her source of strength, a scapular placed on her by the Pope himself. There are closeups of Gideon Bibles hanging on the ammo belts of the assassins. The gay bishop courageously warns the TV cameras: "You've seen it for yourself. Love in action. Sister Therapy may have died here today, but her cause will live on in our hearts if we'll only stamp out hate". Then the camera pans to the evil men with Bibles as acrobatic women cops, engaged in conflict resolution and flying martial art tricks, kick them to pieces... like old bamboo sticks useless to the new-age politics.

The convenient Christians watch this stuff and feel good about themselves because they know they love the heroine and would never shoot her with even legal weapons, much less display Bibles in a public place. They feel good about themselves because they tithe to their churches who love them back. They feel good about themselves because they let their light shine by smiling and saying nice things to people, like the woman martyr described above. If someone asks them what makes them so happy and loving, and if the convenient Jesus says it's O.K., they tell them it's Jesus. They feel good about themselves because they never shove the Bible down anyone's throat, including their own. They are so sugary sweet that even their smiles are crystallized. They feel good about everything until some preacher challenges their faith. Then the wrath of the convenient Jesus pours out like sugar plums that have been in the belly too long.

I don't know about you, but I don't want a convenient Jesus. I wasn't looking for one when I got saved, and I'm not looking for one now. The Jesus I know is Jesus Christ, the Lord. He can make things very inconvenient for those who are his, but have strayed from the path. If we want to feel good about ourselves, then let us do so by having a clear conscience before men and God. The only way I know to do this is to follow after the gospel of Jesus Christ, warning every man of the coming judgment (Colossians 1:28). Smiling pathetically in lieu of a stern warning never brought anyone to Christ. Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." He said to believe in him and not be ashamed of his words. Pretending to believe in him but rejecting his words will only make you bring a severer punishment upon yourself than you already deserve. Stop pretending, stop believing in the convenient Jesus. Start believing in the God of inconvenience and may the God of all comfort, the God of Jesus Christ, comfort your heart through belief in His Name.

Chris Simonson  8/09/2005

Eulogies, sacrifices, and obedience

"He was a good man..." goes the stereotyped funeral eulogy. Euphemistically, the minister nails the coffin shut on another soul, officiating over the death traffic. The funeral arrangements are grand, much like the marriage ceremonies and the proms. Traditions, rituals and sacrifices are made on behalf of the dearly departed, evidently freeing up emotional gridlock. Closure, farewell and auf Wiedersehen my friend. No wonder Jesus said, "Let the dead bury the dead."

He calls for obedience, not sacrifice or eulogies. On judgment day, he won't be selecting based on how many funerals we attended and spoke well of the dead, but did we help the living while there was still a chance for them?

Chris Simonson 8/08/2005

Man-eaters Protect Little Girl

Supposedly, somewhere in some remote region of Ethiopia on June 9, 2005, three lions rescued a 12-year-old girl who had been kidnapped and held by seven men for seven days. The men were trying to force her into marriage by beating her and possibly raping her, as is the custom in Ethiopia.. 70% of marriages are arranged this way there. The black-maned lions, famous in Ethiopia as the country's national symbol, chased off the abductors and guarded her for half a day until police found her. All this per Sgt. Wondimu Wedajo: "They stood guard until we found her and then they just left her like a gift and went back into the forest.", said Wondimu.

I hope this story is true. A nation that outwardly admires their lions but secretly practices cowardly and contemptible customs, is rebuked by those lions and their abominations come to world attention. I hope the little girl is protected throughout her life by the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Lord Jesus Christ. I hope more lions come out of the forest and tear up a few of the bad guys for a change (as a message of the gospel that says, "Vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord").

Chris Simsonson  8/05/2005

The question is, what comes out of our mouths?

Do we spend most of our conversation talking of our work, bills, husband(s), wife(s), other family, friends, activities and/or vacations, homes, cars, money or the lack of it, bodily functions, ailments, etc? Or, when it comes to spiritual matters, what does our conversation consist of? Your 'spiritual' experiences? Spiritual disappointments? What you feel? Your local church (good, bad or indifferent) Your pastor? Youth Program? Christian retreat/ Christian camping trip? Your Christian music? Anecdotical stories from the last Sunday sermon? What you have done? What you plan to do?

What encompasses your speech? Do we talk of Christ and His Word, and the Kingdom?

What is the abundance of your heart?

Steven  8/4/2005

Exodus 20:13 'Thou shalt not murder.'

The word murder here is "ratsach", meaning: properly, to dash in pieces, i.e. kill (a human being), especially to murder

In the New Testament: "He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder..." Matthew 19:18

Murder here is "phoneuo", meaning: to be a murderer, do murder, slay.

In contrast: In Joshua 10:26, we see the Lord, through the hand of Joshua, executed 5 enemy kings. The word execute here is 'muwth', meaning: causatively, to kill; notice the Lord did not tell them to go murder, but to kill the enemy.

One may draw the conclusion that in some circumstances one may kill, but we are not to murder, an act which is malicious in intent to kill an innocent, often illustrated as dismemberment or being dashing to pieces in the act.

A good example is: A nation under God's law has the right to kill, in fact if they did more of that, there would be a whole lot less murders. Also, a police officer in a just situation has the right to kill, but not the right to murder. We can kill to defend our families from intruders, but, not to murder as was done to our Lord.

So, this is the ultimate example: Jesus was not killed, He was murdered.

Steven  8/3/2005

Scripture Warfare

The use of Scriptures in spiritual warfare reminds me of a man who throws small daggers at a moving target; the daggers represent the Scriptures. As the man spends time practicing his throw, he gains more hits with growing speed and strengthening accuracy; moving targets are not easy to hit and require a tremendous amount of patience. Sometimes its not the speed that counts, but the accuracy, and at other times both speed and accuracy are vital. But, every time, the ability to pick up the dagger is the basis and foundation of the throw. This basis comes from studying the Scriptures in context; understanding what the Writer was intending to say is extremely important. Once you begin to understand what you are reading then you are able to pull from the context with accuracy, then to apply it to the target.  The more you practice learning the context, and pulling from the context within the context itself, as opposed to being out of context, the more effective you are. Speed comes with time and practice obviously, but you'll find your grasp of the Scriptures  increases. 

Another example: I am at war; I have an M-16 and every battle is different, my only defense is my M-16. The more effective I become at being able to load and re-load my weapon, the better I can defend myself. In certain situations, where the enemy surrounds one and is visible, it requires rapid-fire to release as many bullets as possible, to take out as many targets as possible. The ability to 'rapid-fire' is much easier and is effective at times. Then, there are times when you want to take out just one target, and to spray copious amounts of bullets would give away your position, or run the risk of missing your target; the ability to conserve time and ammunition is very important. 

When I am preaching out on the streets and I meet someone for the first time to talk to, I usually have only 30 or 40 seconds to present the gospel in the most effective way possible. This requires an ability to pull from the Scriptures, quickly and accurately, what the individual needs to hear. It would not be effective for me to start quoting the "whom begat whom" Scriptures at the person at this moment, so the ability to narrow down what you are doing out there (which is to preach the gospel of Christ), with specific Scriptures relating to sin, repentance, hell, salvation and the resurrection, to effectively hit the target.

If I have a large audience that may or may not know Christ, I can set my weapon on rapid-fire, and fire as many Scriptures as possible, relating to the subject, in context, that I'm pulling from.  These methods can be used in various combinations and take discernment and time to perfect the accuracy and speed, but the best place to begin is Scripture memory and study of contextual Scripture; know what you believe and why you believe it. Sometimes if you don't have an answer, the shield of faith is the most effective way to protect yourself from the onslaught of the enemy.

These examples are not mentioned in Scripture and should not be used with the same authority, nevertheless I hope that they will help you in your quest to effectively preach the gospel. Everything must be tested with the Scriptures.

Steven  8/02/2005

Paul said, pray without ceasing. (1 Thess. 5:17)

"For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray and make request for you, that ye may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, " Colossians 1:9

"We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, " Colossians 1:3

Also: "And in like manner the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity: for we know not how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered;" (Romans 8:26)

"Now we pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we may appear approved, but that ye may do that which is honorable, though we be as reprobate. " 2 Corinthians 13:7

" For we rejoice, when we are weak, and ye are strong: this we also pray for, even your perfecting. " 2 corinthians 13:9   "Brethren, pray for us." 1 Thess. 5:25

Prayer is an essential part of a believer's life. If you are not praying then you are not in really in need of a savior. One of the things to help people realize how important prayer is, is looking at the needs of the Church:

1) start with the Persecuted Church, they have great needs that must be met, and you don't always have to give financially to help meet these needs, but simply pray for them; videos, books and websites are a great way to find out the needs of the persecuted church, one is Voice of the Martyrs.

2) pray for those whom preach and teach from the Scriptures, that they not be deceived and that they have boldness to accurately divide the Word of Truth

3) pray for the brethren in the Body that they may lead their houses with godliness, wholesomeness and in the fear of the Lord, washing their wives in the Scriptures. Likewise, pray for your husband or wife, and children. Those whom are single, should pray for guidance that they may be useful to the Lord.

4) pray for those whom publicly preach the Gospel, that they may be bold and accurately communicate the Gospel to the lost; pray that the lost would be convicted of their sins and be led to repentance.

Finally, you could pray for us; we go preaching every Saturday night around 8:30pm, Pacific Standard Time.

There are many more things one can pray for, but those mentioned above, in my opinion, are some of the most important.

Steven  8/01/2005