I’m being flippant. Forgive me.

One of my Facebook friends is my high school alma mater. The other day, the school posted a story about how the remains of Saint Don Bosco will be on tour making a pilgrimage to 130 countries around the world. The website–”Don Bosco Among Us“– has the the full schedule of tour dates and maps of where the wax replica will be. One of those stops will actually be at my old high school.

As a Bible-believing Christian–just like Roman Catholics should all be, right?–I had some issues with the “veneration” of the remains.  According to Merriam-Webster, the word “veneration” has the following meanings:

1. respect or awe inspired by the dignity, wisdom, dedication, or talent of a person
2. the act of venerating
3. the condition of one that is venerated

The verb “venerating” is defined as: “to honor (as an icon or a relic) with a ritual act of devotion.”

Don Bosco’s Tour website explains:

The Church honors God through the relics of the bodies of the saints, the things they used, and the lives they touched. The relic of Don Bosco is being brought to the world so Christians may honor him as a Servant of God, as well as view him as a source of inspiration for those still living.

That all sounds really nice. But it reminds me of the Bronze Serpent from Numbers 21. God commanded Moses to create this serpent on a pole to heal those who were bitten by serpents so they might live. What happened to this–if I might use the term–relic 700 years later? The people turned it into an idol! King Hezekiah destroyed it as a result!

He also broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel burned incense to it; and it was called Nahushtan. –2 Kings 18:4.

Someone else will have to confirm it for me, but I’ll be willing to bet that Don Bosco’s “relic” will have incense burned to it at each stop.

In any event, I posted a comment to the Facebook news article. It went something like this:

Brothers & Sisters, do you not see the danger of idol worship here? Don Bosco is absent from his body and is with the Lord. Flesh is flesh. We need to get our eyes off idols and back on the Lord Jesus, the Creator of us all. God shares His glory and worship with no one and nothing.

I spoke the truth of the Word. I was not in attack mode, necessarily, but I felt compelled and lead to share what I felt God’s Word says about this sort of thing.

Soon after, the attacks came.

• “Keep your opinions to yourself. No one likes a Bible Thumper.”
• “I heard Looney Toon music play in my head as soon as I read Joe’s comment.”

Part of me was surprised because, though Roman Catholics and Protestants disagree on a number of items, we both believe in the same God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We both believe in Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection and His Second Coming. Then it made me sad and Zechariah’s words came to me:

“And one will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will say, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’” –Zechariah 13:6.

These words are prophetic of Jesus’ wounds on the cross. And yet, He shows us over and over again how He experienced our pain of rejection. He reminds us that those who would persecute us are really persecuting Him!

And I suppose that is what makes me so angry. So many well-meaning Roman Catholics are deceived by false doctrines and out-right lies from Satan! I cannot understand how my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ could actually insult me by calling me a “Bible Thumper.” We read the same Bible!

Should I have stayed out of it? Should I have kept my opinion to myself? These are questions that haunt me a little as I think about this situation. But maybe my comments will actually drive someone to the Bible to see what God has to say about idols and relics. Don’t take my word for it. Take God’s Word for it. Seek out the truth of what God has to say.

Have you run into a similar situation where you kept quiet or spoke out? What was the result?

May He Increase!

Paul accurately describes it this way:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. –Ephesians 6:12.

These rulers, powers and world forces are not politicians or evil governments. They are demons and Satan’s angels! These are behind all the wicked rulers of the world.

With this in mind, there is a scene from the Old Testament that gives us a glimpse into who fights for the believer. It’s the scene where Elisha prays and asks God to show his servant that there is nothing to fear one early morning.

The king of Aram sent out a large dispatch of horses and chariots to go and arrest Elisha and bring him back. They surrounded the village he was in during the night.

Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” –2 Kings 6:15-16.

This poor servant gets up and the first thing he sees is an army amassing on their position. He panics and asks Elisha what they should do. You get the feeling from Elisha’s response that he might have still been lying in bed peacefully without a care in the world.

He then says something really provocative: “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Who or what is he talking about?

Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. –2 Kings 6:17.

Elisha was surrounded by the angels of God! Whether Elisha saw the horses and chariots before he asked God to reveal them to his servant isn’t clear. But that really isn’t the point. The fact is Elisha knew that it was God who watched over them and would fight this battle for them, in faith.

Paul also reminds us:

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? –Romans 8:31.

I don’t mean to minimize the power of the demons and satanic angels. They are powerful. On your own, you are no match for them. But they are created beings and they are no match for the power of God.

I take great comfort in knowing that there are angels watching over my children. They stand guard over my family in the battle that I cannot see with my human eyes.

May He Increase!

The fourth letter to the church of Thyatira has both words, with some additional stipulations. We look at this letter today.

Thyatira: The Church of Romanism

About 35 miles SE of Pergamum was the city of Thyatira. It was a city known for its numerous trade guilds and its wool and dyeing industry. In fact, Thyatira was the center of the dyeing industry at that time.

In the Greek, the name of the city is “Θυάτειρα,” transliterated it is “Thyateira.” The name means “odour of affliction.” Another picturesque name given what Jesus has to say to this church.

Thyatira is representative of church history between the Dark Ages of A.D. 590 to approximately A.D. 1000.

Jesus’ Letter to the Church at Thyatira

“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says this.” –Revelation 2:18.

We now see a fourth description of Jesus, in His role as the Son of God in judgment. Jesus says His eyes are like “a flame of fire.” These are eyes that see everything; nothing is hidden from Him.

He also says His feet are like “burnished bronze.” Whenever you see the element of bronze in the Bible, it’s figurative of judgment.

The word used in the Greek is “χαλκολίβανον.” Transliterated it is “chalkolibanon.” The King James version translated the word as “brass.” The New American Standard is “bronze.” Either way, the word is indicative of a highly precious metal. And that’s God’s judgment: it’s pure, undefiled, precious, and highly valuable. Moreover, it isn’t malleable. It’s unchangeable.

The Good News

“‘I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first.’” –Revelation 2:19.

Jesus has six specific commendations for Thyatira:

1. Deeds or Works
2. Love
3. Faith
4. Service or Ministry
5. Perseverance or Patience
6. “Deeds of late are greater than at first.”

These are similar to the “fruits of the Spirit” found in Galatians 5:22: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

The key to the commendation is the last one. Jesus’ praises the Thyatiran church for the increase in good works! Would Jesus say the same to your church? Would He write this letter to you personally?

The Bad News

“‘But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols.’” –Revelation 2:20.

The character of “Jezebel” here hearkens back to the Jezebel of old, found in 1 Kings 16-21 and 2 Kings 9:30-37. Here in Revelation, the usage of the word “Jezebel” may not no much refer to it being a woman’s name, rather a title. In other words, it could be more like calling someone a “Judas” who is a traitor or “Hitler” of someone who is evil. Even today, calling a woman a “Jezebel” isn’t a term of endearment.

Either way, this woman is a prophetess in her own estimation. Jesus warned us of such a one as this:

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

“I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him.” –John 5:43.

J. Vernon McGee has this to say about the historical implications of this “Jezebel” as it relates to church history:

Concerning the historical period of the Dark Ages which the church at Thyatira represents, pagan practices and idolatry were mingled with Christian works and worship. The papacy was elevated to a place of secular power under under Gregory I (A.D. 590), and later by Gregory VII, better known as Hildebrand, (A.D. 1073-1085). The introduction of rituals and church doctrine supplanted personal faith in Jesus Christ. Worship of the Virgin and Child and the Mass were made a definite part of the church service. Purgatory became a positive doctrine, and Mass was said for the dead. The spurious documents labeled Donation of Constantine and Decretals of Isidore were circulated to give power and rulership to the pope.

As Jezebel killed Naboth and persecuted God’s prophets, so the Roman church instituted the Inquisition during this period.

More Bad News

“‘I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality.’” –Revelation 2:21.

It’s interesting that Jesus specifically calls out the Roman church and still to this day, that church refuses to repent, even to the point of supplanting the Bible with “tradition” as being the authority.

“‘Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.’” –Revelation 2:22-23.

The imagery here reminds me of what God said in Hosea:

Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone. Their liquor gone, they play the harlot continually; their rulers dearly love shame. The wind wraps them in its wings, and they will be ashamed because of their sacrifices. –Hosea 4:17-19.

Jesus says in Revelation that he will throw the Thyatiran church on a “bed of sickness.” In other words, He will let them live out the consequences of their choices unless they repent.

“The minds and hearts” means that Jesus can see the thoughts, the feelings, and the purposes of the people.

A Little More Good News

“‘But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them–I place no other burden on you.’” –Revelation 2:23.

Another way of saying this is: “To those who have not been seduced by these false doctrines, these deep things of Satan, I will place no other burden upon you.”

“‘Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come.’” –Revelation 2:25.

A short verse, but oh how we can see the fulfillment of this drawing nigh.

The Promise to the Overcomer

“‘He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken into pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father; and I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’” –Revelation 2:26-29.

Verses 26 and 27 are taken from Psalm 2:

“‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.’” –Psalm 2:8-9.

Here Jesus says that the overcomer will rule the nations with Him! We will share the millennial rule with Christ! But beware: this is during the Millennium: not now!

Jesus Himself is the “bright morning star” (Revelation 22:16). It is in this appearance that the believer’s hope rests:

Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus. –Titus 2:13.

This is Roman church: the church at Thyatira.

Next time we will look at the Protestant church, the church at Sardis.

May He Increase!

The prophet Jonah had to learn this the hard way.

Many know about Jonah as the guy that got swallowed by a whale. For many years that’s about all I got from the story as well. The book of Jonah is surprisingly short, only four chapters. It’s one of my favorite books and I’d like to do a little series on it for the next the next week or so. Don’t let the brevity of the book fool you. Like many things, great things can be found in small packages!

The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.” –Jonah 1:1-2.

Many dismiss Jonah as strictly an allegory. In other words, the man didn’t exist, it’s all a fable. There are several issues you will have to deal with if you believe that:

1. Jonah is mentioned in 2 Kings 14:25:

[Jeroboam II] restored the border of Israel from from the entrance of Hamath . . . according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which He spoke through His servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was of Gath-hepher. (Emphasis mine.)

Jeroboam II was the king in the northern kingdom of Israel and he reigned forty-one years. This has been established through historical records. Jeroboam was a real man, Israel a real people and nation, and Hamath a true historical location.

2. Jesus acknowledged that Jonah was a real person and He even went so far as to establish that He spent time in the belly of a great fish.

“An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” –Matthew 12:39-40.

If you have a problem with the historicity of Jonah, then you have a problem with Jesus. And if you have a problem with Jesus, then there is little hope for your destiny with eternity.

Nineveh, at the time of Jonah, was the world power. But it was also a place of great wickedness, cruelty and evil, also historical facts.

God tells Jonah to get up and go to speak to the inhabitants of Nineveh for repentance. In spite of its evil, God has a message of forgiveness for them. Jonah, however, wants no part of that.

But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. –Jonah 1:3.

Ninevah was 500 miles northeast of where Jonah was located in Israel. God’s prophet so hates the Ninevites that he refuses to listen to God and instead travels southwest to the port city of Joppa to get on a boat and travel 2,500 miles due west to Tarshish, a coastal city off modern day Spain, near Gibraltar! He thinks that a boat can carry him far away from God. He has no idea the lengths to which God will go to ensure that His will is done.

The Lord hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to break up. Then the sailors became very afraid and every man cried to his god, and they threw the cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship, lain down and fallen sound asleep. –Jonah 1:4-5.

We can glean a few basic truths out of these verses. First, God is all-powerful. It is God who is in control of the situation. God commands the great storm to buffet the ship.

Second, these poor sailors are innocently unaware of the cargo they are carrying (Jonah) that is causing them so much harm. They don’t know the God of Israel, so they instead pray to their pagan gods who cannot save them. I wonder how many times we, when faced with a huge storm in life, go to our “gods”: a job, our own skills or knowledge, money, etc., which ultimately cannot save you. We need to take this as an reminder that only God is our sole source of rescue for what ails us.

So the captain approached him and said, “How is it that you are sleeping? Get up, call on your god. Perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish.” –Jonah 1:6.

Imagine you are on a ship and there is a raging storm outside (especially if you aren’t an experienced sailor). Would you be able to sleep soundly? And yet we see Jonah sleeping below all the calamity on deck.

Each man said to his mate, “Come let us cast lots so we may learn on whose account this calamity has struck us.” So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, “Tell us, now! On whose account has this calamity struck us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” –Jonah 1:7-8.

Casting lots was a common form of divination at this time and was used by the people of Israel to determine God’s will. The lot, obviously by the hand of God, fell to Jonah. So now all the sailors are looking at him and wondering “Who the heck are you, and who have you ticked off!”

He said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land.” –Jonah 1:9.

This is the first honest witness Jonah has given to this point.

Then the men became extremely frightened and they said to him, “How could you do this?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. –Jonah 1:10.

In modern vernacular, the sailors probably told him, “You idiot! Why’d you tick Him off!”

So they said to him, “What should we do to you that the sea may become calm for us?”–for the sea was becoming increasingly stormy. He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm for you, for I know that on account of me this great storm has come upon you.” –Jonah 1:11-12.

The question was most likely asked in terms of placating an angry God. The question was something akin to what kind of sacrifice will appease the god you made so angry. Jonah, in another example of latent wisdom, tells them what they can do to get out of this mess that he got them into.

However, the men rowed desperately to return to land but they could not, for the sea was becoming even stormier against them. Then they called on the Lord and said, “We earnestly pray, O Lord, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life and do not put innocent blood on us; for You, O Lord, have done as You have pleased.” –Jonah 1:13-14.

What a picture! Jonah tells the sailors how to get out of this mess, but they already can see what happens when you make God Almighty angry! They don’t want to unnecessarily anger God anymore by throwing Jonah overboard. And who can blame them? Jonah, in their estimation, doesn’t seem to have a good handle on what God wants in the first place! Why risk making Him any angrier? And yet, these pagan sailors pray to God! Has Jonah done so yet?

So they picked up Jonah, threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging. Then the men feared the Lord greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. –Jonah 1:16.

In spite of Jonah clearly being out of God’s will, these sailors became believers in the true God!

And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights. –Jonah 1:17.

And here begins Jonah’s frightful lesson about refusing to do what God commands you to do. In the next post, we’ll look at Jonah’s prayer in the belly of the fish.

May He Increase!

Neither option was good. Going part-time means no guarantee in hours if there is no work. So in my estimation, I chose the lesser of two evils. Part of me isn’t overly concerned (Matthew 6:34) but then there is the other half waging war against my spirit.

God is either in complete control of my life, or He’s not. Period. End of story.

He that created the universe, loves me!

He that parted the Red Sea for Israel, loves me!

He that brought down the walls of Jericho, loves me!

He that came down and dwelt among us as a man, loves me!

He that turned water into wine, loves me!

He that called the storm at sea, loves me!

He that casts out demons, made the blind see, and the lame walk, loves me!

He that died for my sins and rose on the third day, loves me!

He that is coming again in glory, according to all that is written of Him in the Bible, loves me!

Why, then … how then … should I fear?

I was lead to 2 Kings, chapter 3. The passage is about Jehoram’s battle against Moab. (As a side note into the historicity of the tale, in 1868, the Moabite Stone was discovered. It describes the revolt talked about in 2 Kings 3.) The three kings going to battle against Moab go to the prophet Elisha to inquire of the Lord. Elisha is somewhat distracted and irritable at the occasion so he calls for a musician to calm his nerves, as it where.

“But now bring me a minstrel.” And it came about, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him. –2 Kings 3:15.

This simple, unnamed minstrel was used by God to accomplish a military victory for Israel. A musician! I missed this detail for so long. I took great comfort in this passage being a guitar player myself. For far too long I have dismissed that talent as something that God really can’t use. How foolish of me!

He said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Make this valley full of trenches.’ For thus says the Lord, ‘You shall not see wind nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, both you and your cattle and your beasts. This is but a slight thing in the sight of the Lord; He shall also give the Moabites in to your hand.’” –2 Kings 3:16-18.

These passages completely blew me away. For starters, I love how God doesn’t just make it easy on them. They have to prepare for the blessing of God. God makes them dig trenches in the desert. Can you imagine that? You’re in a desert land, you’re tired, hot, and thirsty, but God asks you to dig trenches before He will make it rain! How I’m going through this right now in my life! God isn’t going to just rain down blessings, He’s asking me to prepare for them by seeking new employment in faith that He will provide. This follows right in line with Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:26. We aren’t going to starve or die just because I’m losing a job. God will supernaturally take care of us through normal means by being faithful in looking for work.

Moreover, my favorite part of this passage is: “this is but a slight thing in the sight of the Lord.” Our problems–though they appear insurmountable to us–are but slight things to God. It’s no big deal. He created the universe! He rose from the dead! That’s not to say He doesn’t care, but they are nowhere near insurmountable to Him!

Digging the ditches are necessary for God to rain down blessing. Otherwise we’d think we could snap our fingers and God would act. Digging ditches teach us to wait on the Lord in faith. Otherwise we’d think that we could do everything ourselves and not depend upon Him. Digging ditches gets us lower to the ground and causes us to humble ourselves. Otherwise pride enters the picture and God hates a proud heart. Digging ditches makes God’s blessings that much sweeter because we value them more.

But there is one blessing that you don’t need to dig a ditch for. That’s His love for you. That’s a love so deep that He went to the cross to pay the debt that you cannot work yourself out of. That’s the love everyone needs and I invite you to experience that love right now! Don’t wait another moment.

May He Increase!