“The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.” Psalm 145:18-19 NIV
One of the biggest problems in the world today is that people believe lies, even outrageous lies. Who would have believed that American universities would be teaching that a man can get pregnant, or that an unborn child at full term isn’t a human being?
Who would have believed that, all over the world, people would be protesting against the Jews in support of the evil terrorist organization Hamas? Who would have believed that an irrational hatred for Israel and the Jews would be unleashed that hasn’t been seen since the Holocaust?
These lies come straight from Satan. He is behind the dangerous lies that much of the world has bought into.
Unfortunately, many people believe these lies (also known as propaganda). It’s shocking how easily a culture’s thinking can be reformed and controlled.
Remember, Satan is the Father of lies. Speaking to the Pharisees, Jesus said,
“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44 NIV (emphasis mine)
I’ve read many historical novels that take place during WW2. You may have read the famous book, The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom. (If you haven’t read it, please do!)
How could 6 million Jews have been carried off to concentration camps and no one stopped it? Why didn’t the people do something? Some, like Corrie ten Boom and her family, did take action by hiding Jews in their home. They were arrested and put in the infamous concentration camp Ravensbrücke. And there were others, like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who gave their lives to stand against evil. But the vast majority did nothing. Did they believe Hitler’s lies?
As we think about our question, consider these words of Adolf Hitler:
Throughout the world today, there is enormous support for the terrorist organization Hamas and an irrational hatred for Jews. Only demonic influence can explain it.
“The world changed on October 7. It will never be what it used to be.” Jan Markell
“As the world becomes more and more anti-Jesus, it is going to become more and more anti-Jewish.” Trevor Rubenstein
“Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” Winston Churchill
“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” 1 Corinthians 13:6-8a
“So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth…” Ephesians 4:25 NLT
No wonder the Bible has so much to say about love and truth! How important they are!
“Manna from Heaven” has become an idiom of the English language. It means “An unexpected benefit or assistance, especially when it comes at the time when it is needed most.” For example, “Unable to pay my bills, the stimulus check was like manna from Heaven.”
God’s Word is our “Manna from Heaven”.
“Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium … When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall with it.” Numbers 11:7-9 NASB
“The house of Israel named it manna, and … its taste was like wafers with honey.” Exodus 16:31 NASB
The manna may have looked something like this.
God provided what they needed for sustenance then, and He has provided what we need for sustenance now. He has graciously given us His Word, and that Word is the Bread of Life.
“Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life.” John 6:35 NASB
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1 NASB
From John 1:1, we know that Jesus is the Word. Jesus also declared that He was the bread of life.
Many lessons can be derived from the provision of manna. To me, the most important one is that God’s Word is our daily bread. Jesus taught us to pray,
“Give us this day our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11)
How can we receive our daily bread (sustenance) if we are not in the Word? Do we grumble and complain, as the Israelites did, tired of the manna and wanting something else? God’s Word is our guide. It will sustain us in every situation.
The Psalmist wrote,
“I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.” Psalm 119:15-16 NIV
“When peace comes we will perhaps in time be able to forgive the Arabs for killing our sons, but it will be harder for us to forgive them for having forced us to kill their sons. Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.” ― Golda Meir, A Land of Our Own: An Oral Autobiography
I recently returned home from a 2-week visit with my only daughter, who just had her first baby, a son! Needless to say, helping care for a newborn takes up a lot of your time. I wanted to share this wonderful blessing with you and also explain why I haven’t been as attentive to your messages as usual!
MY BUNDLE OF JOY!
We all thank the Lord for this great blessing!
“Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.” Psalm 127:3 NLT
“Reproductive rights” is an euphemism for abortion. There are many euphemisms for abortion, including women’s rights, women’s healthcare, reproductive choice, pro-choice, and others.
Using these euphemisms, abortion advocates redirect the conversation away from the child and to the child’s mother—or, as they prefer to say, “the woman.”
But the fact is, we’re really talking about abortion, which is the taking of a human life while in the mother’s womb. Abortion rights activists claim the unborn fetus is not a baby, but we all know that it is a baby, and the “person with a capacity for pregnancy” is the mother.
They can change the language all they want, but it doesn’t change the reality.
A euphemism is a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant.
Over time, the use of euphemisms can, and has, changed society’s view on abortion. It is a deception that seeks to hide the reality of murdering a child and cloaks that murder in a positive light.
It isn’t the worst thing in the world to have a baby you didn’t plan on. The worst thing in the world is to kill that baby.
But don’t expect pro-abortion activists to fight for the right to kill your baby. That sounds too harsh. And it is.
These linguistic sleights of hand work. Abortion advocates themselves have been and remain deceived—seduced even—by these very euphemisms. They sincerely believe the moral claims they assume in this way of speaking.
“Those responsible for changing the language have changed the way people think and believe and act.” Trent Hunter, Aborion or Feticide: Words Matter (I encourage you to read this excellent article.)
“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.” Isaiah 5:20 NIV
“For You created my innermost parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.I will give thanks to You, because I am awesomely and wonderfully made;” Psalm 139:13-14 NIV
So, as you watch TV or scroll social media, take note of the deception being used to mislead the public into supporting the murder of babies in the mother’s womb. Do not be deceived by euphemisms.
One of my favorite genres is historical fiction during WWII. At one time, I found it hard to understand how the German people could remain silent during the Holocaust. But now I understand that societal pressure and fear are powerful forces to keep one silent.
It isn’t easy to speak up against lies, in the church or in secular society. In the case of Nazi Germany, silence aided evil. Silence can aid evil in today’s world as well.
“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” Isaiah 1:17 NIV
Even secularists know what it means to stay silent:
“Your very silence shows you agree.” Euripides (480-406 BC)
“Sometimes, to remain silent is to lie, since silence can be interpreted as assent.” Miguel de Unamuno (1864-1936)
Peter’s final message before he was martyred tells us that the issue he was most concerned about was false teachers. His words are just as pertinent today as they were when he wrote them.
“But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories.” 2 Peter 2:1-3 NIV
Have you ever read a book by a so-called Bible teacher that describes their highly unusual encounters with the living God? I could give examples, but I will refrain. Peter says false teachers exploit Christians with made-up stories.
Why? They’re greedy. They make a lot of money from their books, videos, and personal appearances. (Don’t get mad at me. I’m just telling you what Peter warned us about in his final letter.)
Peter goes on to say, “They are experts in greed—an accursed brood!They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness.” (2 Peter 2:14-15 NIV)
In other words, they are experts at making money.
“For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.” 2 Peter 2:18 NIV
Commentary: “They are accomplished orators, holding audiences spellbound by their grandiose rhetoric. Their erudite vocabulary attracts undiscerning people. What their sermons lack in content, they make up for in a dogmatic, forceful presentation. But when they have finished, they have said nothing.” Believer’s Bible Commentary
Peter was martyred by crucifixion in Rome around 64–67 AD during Emperor Nero’s reign. According to tradition and early Christian accounts, Peter requested to be crucified upside down, feeling unworthy to die in the same manner as Jesus Christ.
May we always treasure God’s Holy Word and recognize that it is our Way to Truth. We need not be deceived.
During a period of intense persecution of Christians in Rome, the Apostle Paul wrote 2 Timothy while he languished in prison. It was the last letter he would write.
Historians describe Rome’s Mamertine Prison as a former cistern, a cold, damp dungeon in a well, 12 feet below ground. Neglect, darkness, and stench made it hideous. It was the last stop for prisoners condemned to die, where they awaited execution by strangulation or decapitation. Strong evidence tells us that Paul spent his last days in such a place.
Paul knew he would die soon. Therefore, this letter is not to be taken lightly. I urge you to read this short letter. The following are a few of the verses from that special book of the Bible:
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a worker who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 NASB (emphasis mine)
“But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these.For among them are those who slip into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. … But evil people and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” 2 Timothy 3:1-7, 13 (emphasis mine)
“All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness;” 2 Timothy 3:16 NASB (emphasis mine)
“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, and they will turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” 2 Timothy 4:2-4 NASB (emphasis mine)
In summary: More difficult times are coming. Make sure you teach the Bible correctly. It is the Word of God. Even greater deception is coming. Evil impostors will teach people what they want to hear, rather than the truth.