The Empty Throne

"In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit." ~ Judges 17:6

We live in a culture nowadays where everyone adheres to their own truth, morals, beliefs, etc. It's as if objective truth no longer exists. People will even deny truth when it's staring them right in front of their face.

But Jesus declared Himself to be both King (John 18:36-37) and Truth (John 14:6). Whether people believe it or not, there is one objective truth that we will never be able to escape: there is an all-powerful, all-knowing, omnipresent God that exists. The Bible says that, in the end, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11).

It's a dangerous thing when people start to think independently from God, rationality, reason, and logic. When no objective truth exists, the natural consequence is chaos and anarchy. But just like gravity exists whether we believe in it or not, God's Word is truth whether we believe it or not.

Don't fall into this generation's trap. Truth is NOT whatever we make it. Jesus is Truth (John 17:17) - point, blank, period.

God bless,
J.W.

Power Source

"...I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst." ~ John 6:35

Have you ever been out and about and notice your cell phone running out of battery power? You then scramble around trying to find a source to which you can connect and restore your phone to its optimal state. If you're like me, you may have worn your cell phone out so much that you're constantly looking for a plug or outlet wherever you go.

The same thing can happen to us spiritually.

We're so busy nowadays that we often run out of fuel and go searching for replenishment, i.e. some power source that will fill us back up. For some, they run to drugs. For others, it’s alcohol. For some, it’s people (spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends, friends with benefits, etc.). For others, it's things (materialism, clothes, cars, houses, jewelry, etc.).

But you can never meet a spiritual need with a physical source. Physical connections address physical needs, but will never address a spiritual issue.

The fact is, we all have a God-sized hole in our heart that can only be filled by the One for whom it was made. Dr. Dhanus Daniels says that our hearts are a throne, not a couch. We can't have multiple people or things on the thrones of our heart. There’s only room for one. And we were built to be forever connected to the Ultimate Power Source.

So, who (or what) do you have on the throne of your heart? Is there something you run to instead of running to God? If so, I guarantee you, it'll leave you eternally empty. Connect to the Ultimate Power Source and be forever filled.

God bless,
J.W.

Is God Getting Your Crumbs? (Re-Post)

Good morning,

I ran across this message I posted on September 10, 2009, and had to re-post.

Enjoy!

- J.W.

Last week, I read a story about a Sunday School teacher that decided to hand out brownies to all her students. One by one, she passed out the goodies as each student approached her desk, until she came to Donald, who was the last student left.

The problem was when Donald's turn came, the teacher didn't have any brownies left. She had miscalculated and hadn't brought enough for all the students. Donald ended up with only the crumbs that were left in the pan.

This story reminds me of how we often treat God. We give our time, our attention, and our love to everything else, until we finally have nothing left to give to God.

He, however, should be first on our list.

Are you giving God your bread crumbs today?

God bless,
J.W.

Why Bad Things Happen To Good People (Part 8)

As we close out this series on "Why Bad Things Happen To Good People," let's recap what we've discussed.

In short, we’ve seen that bad things happen to good people because:

1. God desires a relationship with us (Part 1), and therefore, He’s given us free will (Part 2). 
2. Free will necessarily limits God's power here on earth (Part 3).
3. He's transferred at least some of His power to us, as earthly images, or copies, of Him (Part 3). 
4. We are in a battle between good and evil (Part 5 and Part 7).
5. God has called us to be His eyes, ears, hands, feet, etc. in that battle (Part 4). 
6. People mismanage the power and influence that God has given us (Part 6)

Hopefully, this series has transformed your view of why evil exists in the world, and God’s role, or lack thereof, in it. Despite what you've heard, it's not that God allows bad things to happen. Rather, we live in a fallen world - one that's turned away from Him - and because of free will, God allows us to experience the natural consequence of our fallenness.

Moreover, I hope this series has opened your eyes to the great power you have to stop bad things from happening. God has called us to be change agents here on earth. We have power to stop bad things from happening - through our faith, through our prayers, and through our actions. God holds the Body of Christ responsible for what it does or does not do here on earth.

Are you doing your part? Are you upholding your end? If not, it’s time to step up and get to it!

God bless,
J.W.

Why Bad Things Happen To Good People (Part 7)

We are in a battle - a battle between two kingdoms: 1) the Kingdom of God and 2) the kingdom of evil. Earth is the battlefield and the goal of each kingdom is to take territory.

Don't believe me? Look at the creation story in Genesis.

1. Adam: God, the King of Heaven, colonizes the earth by reproducing His image on earth in the form of the first man (Adam) (Genesis 1:26-27). He then tells man to have dominion, and multiply on the earth (Genesis 1:28). In other words, He directs man to colonize the earth.
2. Sin: The enemy then comes and attacks the colony by introducing the virus of sin into the earth (Genesis 3:13-14). Sin not only turns people away from the Kingdom of God, it kills God's colonizers (Genesis 3:19). 
3. Second Adam: God then fights back. Instead of simply reproducing a carbon copy of Himself (Adam), God sends the original, Himself, in the form of Jesus (the second Adam) (Romans 5:12-15). 
4. Death of Sin: God sends Jesus to become the virus of sin itself (2 Corinthians 5:21). Thus, by dying on the cross, God kills the virus, and frees His colonizers from its bondage (Romans 6:23). 
5. New Creation: God then resumes the process of reproducing Himself on earth by sending the Holy Spirit to live on the inside of us (John 14:15-17). That is why Jesus says it is good that I go that the Holy Spirit might dwell within you (John 16:7). The Holy Spirit is now the way that God reproduces Himself on the earth (2 Corinthians 5:20). God then tells His colonizers that, with the power of the Holy Spirit, we are to go out and make new disciples (take more territory) and colonize the earth once again (Matthew 28:19). 

Make no mistake. We are in a battle for territory. The King of Heaven and the king of hell are seeking to colonize the earth.

Which side are you on?

God bless,
J.W.

Why Bad Things Happen To Good People (Part 6)

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." ~ Proverbs 22:6

A couple of weeks ago, a 32-year old woman was killed in Charlottesville when a white supremacist drove a car into a crowd of innocent people. The man was identified as James Alex Fields Jr., a 20 year old from Ohio. A local affiliate was able to talk to Fields' mother, Samantha Bloom, who had the following things to say:

• Her son texted her Friday [the day before] to say he had dropped his cat off at her Monclova Township apartment so he could go to an “alt-right” rally in Virginia.
• “I told him to be careful,” Ms. Bloom said. “[And] if they’re going to rally to make sure he’s doing it peacefully.”
• He had told her about the rally last week, but didn’t offer details about its extremist nature.“I thought it had something to do with Trump,” she said. “I try to stay out of his political views. I don’t get too involved.”
• She said he had moved out of her apartment “five or six months ago” to his own Maumee apartment, but she declined to give the address. Ms. Bloom said they moved to northwest Ohio from Florence, Kentucky, about a year ago for her job.

A few things to think about from these statements:

1. Time: The mother had time to train up her son. Fields was 20 years old and lived with his mother up until 5 or 6 months ago. He had been under her roof for at least 19 years and 6 months. 
2. Knowledge: The mother had knowledge that her son was going astray. She said that she knew he was going to an alt-right rally, but didn't know the extreme nature of the rally. Was she living under a rock? Was she in denial? Or was she simply lying to the reporter she spoke to? Either way, the mother knew of her son's views.
3. Opportunity: The mother had the opportunity to train up her son. She told reporters that she tried to "stay out of his political views and doesn't get too involved." Time and knowledge gave her opportunity to correct her son, but she simply chose not to. 

It's funny how parents often to try to skirt their responsibilities when it comes to their kids. Yes, this man was officially an adult and ultimately responsible for his own actions. But he was just 20 years old and lived under his mother's roof for the majority of his life. She had influence with him, but admittedly chose not to use that influence.

This is not to solely blame the mother for what happened to the 32-year old woman that was killed. Certainly, his father's presence (or lack thereof) played a role. Certainly, there were other factors that contributed to the extremist nature of her son's views and actions. But each of us has influence over those around us, and we can either: (a) use that influence to create good in the world, (b) ignore that influence and let something or someone else fill the vacuum, or (c) use that influence to create evil in the world.

In the end, the Bible holds parents responsible for training up their children. Bad things happen to good people when we don't.

God bless,
J.W.

Why Bad Things Happen to Good People (Part 5)

Why do bad things happen to good people?

I found myself asking that question a couple of weeks ago when the violence in Charlottesville took place.

After all the emotions and confusion, the anger and fear, disappointment and hurt, the frustration and just being plain fed up, ultimately, I landed on Ephesians 6:12:

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."

Make no mistake, racism is wrong and should be confronted. But, at the same time, we must also remember that what happened in Charlottesville, and what’s happening all over our country, is much bigger than racism, white supremacy, and hatred.

Ultimately, we are in a battle between good and evil. Satan has his soldiers. God has his. Events like Charlottesville just make me want to become a better soldier for Him.

So, why do bad things happen to good people?

Ephesians 6:12 has your answer. We're in a battle. We need to start acting like it.

God bless,
J.W.