On July 31, 2021

NOTES ON EXPOSING FALSE TEACHERS: KNOWING WHEN TO HOLD ‘EM & KNOWING WHEN TO FOLD ‘EM – PART II

PART I: False Teachers

PART II: FALSE GRACE

PART III: True Grit

SCRIPTURE. “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them, even to the [spiritual] shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the [spiritual] shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you kill the fatlings, but you do not feed the sheep. The diseased and weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the hurt and crippled you have not bandaged, those gone astray you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought to find, but with force and hardhearted harshness you have ruled them. And they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild beasts of the field.’” – EZEKIEL 34:2-5, AMPC

QUOTES

“If, then, I am not convinced by proof from Holy Scripture, or by cogent reasons, if I am not satisfied by the very Text I have cited, and if my judgment is not in this way brought into subjection to God’s Word, I neither can nor will retract anything; for it cannot be either safe or honest for a Christian to speak against his conscience. Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise; God help me! Amen.” – MARTIN LUTHER, ‘Speech to the Diet of Worms,’ April 18, 1521; cf. Roland Bainton, ‘Here I Stand,’ 1950; edited

“Cheap Grace is the preaching of Forgiveness without requiring repentance, Baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, Absolution without personal confession. Cheap Grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the Cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.” – DIETRICH BONHOEFFER, ‘The Cost of Discipleship [Nachfolge],’ 1937; edited

“The Foundation of this so-called ‘Hyper-Grace’ Message is that we are free to rest from our religious efforts. We’re not under obligation to keep the Standards of the Old, but instead we’re under the Grace of God who gives freely based on His ability to love, not our ability to earn His Love through our good behavior.” – D.R. SILVA, ‘Hyper-Grace: The Dangerous Doctrine of a Happy God,’ 2014; edited

Selah. Selah.

FIRST THOUGHTS

There is a common phrase that has been canonized in the American dialogue over the past decade or more, which I have come to detest:

“It’s all good.”

Different websites trace its Origin all the way from Billie Holliday referring to weed as, “all good,” to the more conventional definition from Answers.com: “Probably a translation/adaptation of the French sentence expression ‘tout va bien’. Since the phrase is in general not used by sophisticates, it is more likely from Pop Culture, such as either of two hip-hop songs of that name by Suga T and MC Hammer, both released in 1994.”

THE POINT. In either case, the essential presupposition is: ‘You can do what you want – ‘It’s all good.’ Philosophically, this would be a close cousin to ANARCHISM:

“[A] political theory, which is skeptical of the justification of authority and power, especially political power. Anarchism is usually grounded in moral claims about the importance of ‘individual liberty.’ Anarchists also offer a positive theory of human flourishing, based upon an ideal of non-coercive consensus building. Anarchism has inspired practical efforts at establishing utopian communities, radical and revolutionary political agendas, and various forms of direct action.” – ANDREW FIALA, ‘Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy,’ Oct 3, 2017; edited

CAVEAT. Now this is not to negate the Promise of ROMANS 8:28, that “All things work together for good” to those who are fully, ‘in Christ.’ But that is not the World’s understanding of the phrase; far from it. Rather, consider what JESUS CHRIST once said of this Idea to His disciples about the Times of the End:

“At that time many will be offended and repelled [by their association with Me] and will fall away [from the One whom they should trust] and will betray one another [handing over believers to their persecutors] and will hate one another. Many false prophets will appear and mislead many. ‘Because lawlessness is increased,’ the love of most people will grow cold. But the one who endures and bears up [under suffering] to the end will be saved.” – MATTHEW 24:10-13, AMP

LAWLESSNESS. From the Greek term, ‘Anomia’ [ἀνομία]: “Iniquity, disobedience, sin; transgression of the Law; without having direction; the utter disregard for God’s written and living Word, including its negative influence on a person’s soul status before God (reprobate, apostate, lost); properly, the condition of one without Law — either because of ignorance of it, or because of violating it; contempt and violation of the Law; [sustained] wickedness; illegality, as with the spirt of Antichrist.”

JOHN GILL. “‘And because iniquity shall abound’ – Meaning, either the malice and wickedness of outrageous Persecutors, which should greatly increase; or the treachery and hatred of the Apostates; or the errors and heresies of False Teachers; or the wickedness that prevailed in the lives and conversations of some, that were called ‘Christians’ [hypocrites]: For each of these seem to be hinted at in the context, and may be all included, as making up the abounding iniquity here spoken of; the Consequence of which would be, ‘the love of many shall wax cold’. This would be the case of many, but not of all; for in the midst of this abounding iniquity, there were some [the Remnant], the ardour of whose love to Christ, to His Gospel, and to the saints, did not abate.” – ‘Exposition of the Old and New Testaments,’ 1746-1763; edited

DK’S TAKE. In Sum: We are there, beloved. Right now, right here, all around the Nation and the Church. Indeed, the whole World. Reminds of an American musical by Cole Porter that exploded on the scene in the devastating wake of the Roaring 20s and Great Depression:

‘Anything Goes’ (1934). Its Narrative: All things are accepted or acceptable; nothing is off-limits. Everything is permitted. ‘There are no rules!’ Selah.

THE SEEKER FRIENDLY CHURCH MOVEMENT

All of this is rooted deep inside the belly of a grotesquely misguided ‘Church Growth strategy called, the ‘Seeker Friendly Movement.’ We glean much about its Origins from an article by T.A. MCMAHON, whose credentials are considerable:

President and executive director of The Berean Call ministry, editor-in-chief and contributing writer for The Berean Call newsletter, co-author of ‘The Seduction of Christianity,’ ‘America: The Sorcerer’s New Apprentice,’ ‘Understand the Times,’ and author of ‘Showtime for the Sheep?’ and ‘Temporal Delusion.’

A MODERN HERESY. You get the idea. I now turn to this supremely appropriate scholar to make the sharp points I wish to outline below. From his piece for the ‘The Berean Call,’ “The Seeker Friendly Way of Doing Church,” published March 1, 2004; edited.

“The ‘Seeker-Friendly,’ or ‘Seeker-Sensitive,’ Movement currently taking a host of Evangelical churches by storm is an approach to evangelizing through application of the latest Marketing Techniques. Typically, it begins with a survey of the lost (referred to by a leading church in this trend as the ‘Unchurched.’ This survey questions the Unchurched about the things their nearby place of worship might offer that would motivate them to attend. Results of the questionnaire indicate areas of potential changes in the church’s operations and services that would be effective in order to attract the Unchurched, keep them attending, and win them to Christ. Those who have developed this marketing approach guarantee the ‘Growth’ of the churches that conscientiously follow their proven methods. Practically speaking, it works!

ILLUSTRATION. Two Churches are seen as models for this Movement: Willow Creek Community Church (near Chicago), pastored by BILL HYBELS, and Saddleback Valley Community Church (south of Los Angeles), pastored by RICK WARREN. Their influence is stunning. Willow Creek has formed its own association of churches, with 9,500 members. Last year [2003], 100,000 church leaders attended at least one Willow Creek leadership conference. More than 250,000 pastors and church leaders from over 125 countries have attended Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Church seminars. More than 60,000 pastors subscribe to his weekly email newsletter.”

UPDATE. HYBELS was slated to retire from his position at Willow Creek in October 2018; however, he resigned in April 2018 after allegations of sexual misconduct were made against him. Although Hybels has denied all allegations, an independent review found the allegations to be credible. WARREN was quoted by the ‘Los

Angeles Time’s on December 23, 2019, in telling comments about Donald Trump:

“At the sprawling Lake Forest campus of Saddleback Church, the Orange County megachurch founded by Rick and Kay Warren, many continued to hold the calculation that Trump’s capacity for good work, such as support for Israel and judicial appointments that opposed abortion, were worth the character blemishes and alleged misconduct … ‘God will reward or punish,’ Warren bellowed. ‘There are hypocrites everywhere.… Fortunately, God saves hypocrites.’” – MATT HAMILTON, “Evangelicals Stand Firm With Trump”; edited

Um, make that read: ‘It’s okay to be a Hypocrite. ‘Everybody gets to go!’

BOTTOM LINE. In a scathing Seven Point Indictment of the Seeker Friendly Churches, Canadian pastor and scholar PAUL CARTER, offers us gritty Biblical and practical evidence for their devastating failure.

Neither is Carter a theological slouch. He attended Moody Bible Institute and is a graduate of York University (B.A.) and McMaster Divinity College (M.Div). This List is taken from his analysis, “Why I Abandoned Seeker Church,” ‘The Gospel Coalition,’ August 23, 2018; edited.

BECAUSE YOU GET WHAT YOU FISH FOR. “The basic logic of the Seeker Sensitive Movement was that we would get people in the door by playing contemporary music, singing contemporary songs, speaking contemporary jargon and addressing contemporary issues. Then at some unspecified point in the future we would ‘Transition’ into more meaty and substantial things. It was your basic Bait and Switch Operation, and as you might imagine it never really worked out in practice. The Bottom Line is that what you win people with is what you have to keep people with.”

BECAUSE SMALL GROUPS AREN’T THE CHURCH. “Of course, the Theory was that we would get to the meat in Small Groups. That was our mantra. We said that Sunday Church was for visitors now and Small Groups would be for us. That’s what we said, but in truth I’m not sure how many of us ever believed that … Now, maybe my group didn’t do it right. Maybe we weren’t committed enough. I’m just saying that if the Theory is that Sunday Church will become ‘a variety show’ targeted at Non-believers and my spiritual growth will be attended to in Small Group, then count me out. I will die in that set up – and I very nearly did.”

BECAUSE IT WASN’T FEEDING OUR PEOPLE. “When I was an Associate Pastor in a Seeker Church, one of the most common conversations I had was with folks who were wondering why we couldn’t sing certain worship songs that they had grown up with and that had ministered deeply to their souls. The company answer I was encouraged to give ran along these lines: ‘Because those songs are for Christians and our services are for Unchurched people. We need to think less about what we want and more about what they want. You can sing those songs in your Small Group’ … That’s one of the main reasons I left the Seeker Movement. The Seeker Movement seemed to assume that we strong people had received our portion of Grace, and now we needed to starve ourselves in order to feed others. I liked the theory until I discovered that I wasn’t as strong as I thought. It turns out that the Gap between me and my Unchurched neighbour wasn’t as large or considerable as the model seemed to assume.”

BECAUSE IT WAS TOO NARROWLY FOCUSED. “At the first Seeker Church I was a part of the Senior Pastor used to regularly remind us that we were not trying to be all things to all people. We were trying to be a Church for Baby Boomers and their kids. We were ‘a Targeted Church.’ The Theory was that since you can’t be good at everything and since there are always a bunch of good churches in town it made sense to focus our efforts and outreach narrowly at a particular slice of the community pie. We chose Baby Boomers and their kids. However, I began to wonder whether or not any of those other ‘good churches in town’ were likely to target some of the people we had chosen to leave behind. Would there be anyone targeting mentally handicapped seniors? Would anyone target immigrants? Would anyone target single moms or the terminally ill? By and large those people have no money and limited volunteer capacity. And yet. Those are the people that Jesus was particularly interested in. Those are the people who would most benefit from being a part of a Healthy Church.”

BECAUSE IT WAS KILLING OUR STAFF. “In the Seeker Churches that I was a part of, ‘Excellence’ was a very important concept. We spoke a lot about honouring the Lord with excellence. We wanted to honour the Lord with excellent announcements, excellent lighting, excellent sound, excellent seating, excellent signage and excellent program – particularly on Sunday morning. I’m sure that sloppiness is a sin, but I’m also sure that an obsession with Excellence eventually leads to the ‘Professionalization’ of ministry and service. Volunteers are almost never excellent … But in most churches, there are never enough professionals to go round. Therefore, the staff was expected to do more and more of the ministry. This wasn’t good for the people, and it wasn’t good for the staff.”

BECAUSE IT WASN’T BIBLICAL. “The more I came to understand the Philosophy of Seeker Church and the more I read my Bible the more ‘conflicted’ I began to feel as a Pastor in this particular Movement. So many of the things we did and so many of the values we espoused seemed completely at odds with what I was reading in Scripture. One of the primary assumptions of the Seeker Movement is that Unchurched people need a different sort of ministry than do Church people. Church people need the Bible (enter Small Groups) but Unchurched people need pithy sermonettes on topics of immediate concern. Enter the ‘Sunday Morning Variety Show.’ But that’s not what the Bible says. The Bible says: So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ (Romans 10:17 ESV). The Bible says that people are converted by hearing the Bible read and preached with particular reference to the saving work of Jesus Christ. Not by funny stories, dramas, videos or talks about money and marriage. Unchurched people get converted by hearing the Bible as it points to and pertains to Christ.

BECAUSE IT DIDN’T WORK. “I honestly don’t recall a single true success story from the entire 5 years that I spent inside the Seeker Church Movement. I don’t remember encountering anyone who had been previously Unchurched, who came to one of our accessible and relevant Sunday services, who became a ‘true’ follower of Jesus Christ, who transitioned into a supportive Small Group and who then became a multiplying and ministering disciple. I do however remember meeting lots of previously Churched people who had left their more traditional church fellowships because we had better music, lower expectations and shorter services.”

Is everyone hearing this, beloved? This is the hardcore Wisdom of God through a seasoned Pastor and scholar, whose heart was sufficiently humble and his study of the Scriptures thorough enough to see his error, and reverse course.

AMERICAN ‘SILLY CHURCH.’ I have used this phrase consistently over the past few years to describe what I consider to be the Heresy – yes, Heresy – of ‘Dumbing Down’ the Gospel for material gain and big numbers. And, beloved, I hate it! As a university professor, we have ‘a Church that can no longer Think!’ Not Biblically. Not critically. Not morally.

In this regard, I am reminded of research psychologist LEON FESTINGER, who would easily call this a severe form of massive ‘Cognitive Dissonance.’ This is a mental condition wherein one’s deeply held beliefs, especially including moral and ethical views, are in direct ‘Conflict’ with one’s external behavior. – cf. ‘The Psychology of Cognitive Dissonance,’ 1957; cf. SAUL MCLEOD, “Cognitive Dissonance,” Simply Psychology, February 5, 2018

Thus the believer is caught in the Twin Entrapments of both Lying and Hypocrisy leaving Christians with only TWO CHOICES: (1) Abandon the Lie and repent; or (2) Abandon the Truth and perish. Binary indeed, beloved. That is the way God has designed the Divine System.

IN SUM. We American Christians are become nothing more than Satan’s Foil as a bunch of foolish little children, all dressed up for fun and games in our hipster outerwear and cool cultural slogans, with nary a single True Spiritual Warrior among us – including Pastors!

THE TEACHING

Now it ought to be obvious by now that all of this Historic Scandal, this ‘Accommodation to the World Spirit,’ all this timidity and cowardice and compromise, traces its way straight to the SHEPHERD’S PULPITS.

They constitute the Heartbeat of American Church Leadership today, as poll after poll after poll has incontrovertibly demonstrated. I shall call them right about here by the Name they assigned to themselves two years ago, who still, still, beloved, Defer to Trumpism:

THE DEPLORABLES.“Lamentable; that demands or causes lamentation; hence, sad; calamitous; grievous; miserable; wretched; in popular use, low; contemptible; pitiable; as deplorable stupidity.” – NOAH WEBSTER, 1828; edited

Careful now to note the critical difference between Ad Hominem, and Truthful Defamation – as we have discussed before, more than once.

THE DOCTRINAL ALGORITHM. Lest Pastors think me unfair here, you are either ‘With Christ’ 100%, or you are, by the Canon, ‘Against Christ’ by default (i.e., defect) into ‘The 83%,’ Apostate Church. Again, either by your Proclamation of or Silence concerning Trump Christian Nationalism.

You are thereby very likely regarded as ‘Deplorable’ in the sight of Very God, as you continue to choose Membership in this group of Spiritual Brigands. This is tough talk, Pastors, well-deserved, however, after years of ineffective appeals and warnings.

BRIGAND. “A robber; a free booter; a lawless fellow who lives by plunder, or who belongs to a band of robbers; a bandit; an armed thief, and outlaw; from the Vulgar Latin ‘Bannire,’ ‘to proclaim or proscribe’ [falsely].” DK: Thus, a Spiritual Brigand is a Pastor or Teacher who preaches ‘Another Gospel,’ than the one proscribed by the Canon, and is therefore adjudged, “False,” and consigned to the appropriate Sanctions from God’s Word.

ANOTHER GOSPEL. “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to and different from that which we preached to you, let him be accursed (anathema, devoted to destruction, doomed to eternal punishment)! As we said before, so I now say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel different from or contrary to that which you received [from us], let him be accursed (anathema, devoted to destruction, doomed to eternal punishment.” – GALATIANS 1:8-9, AMPC

JESUS’ DIRE WARNING. “He who is not with Me [definitely on My side] is against Me, and he who does not [definitely] gather with Me and for My side ‘scatters.’ Therefore, I tell you, every sin and blasphemy (every evil, abusive, injurious speaking, or indignity against sacred things) can be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the [Holy] Spirit shall not and cannot be forgiven.” – MATTHEW 12:30-31, AMPC

COMMENTARY. “Their Blasphemous attitude showed that the Pharisees [‘religious hypocrites’] were not with the Lord; therefore, they were ‘Against’ Him. By refusing to harvest with Him, they were ‘scattering the grain’ … Thee verses mark a Crisis in Christ’s dealings with the Leaders of Israel. He accuses them of committing the Unpardonable Sin by Blaspheming against the Holy Spirit.” DK’S TAKE. By endorsing Donald Trump (actively or passively) as ‘Messianic,’ or God’s representative on the earth, Pastors ‘Reject’ the True Christ, and proclaim a ‘Different Jesus,’ the one cast in the dark caverns of Conspiracy Theory, QAnon and virulent White Nationalism. They become, theologically: ‘Of the spirit of Antichrist. – cf. WILLIAM MACDONALD, ‘Believer’s Bible Commentary,’ 1995 p 1250; edited

GOD’S RESPONSE. While we could take time to exegete the entire Passage from Ezekiel, its power and terror lay in TWO HEBREW WORDS that the Lord uses to command the Prophet to prophesy.

‘AGAINST.’ From the term, ‘Ra’ah’ [רָעָה], translated contextually means: “To break companionship with; devours, eats up those who entreat evil; accusative of; figurative of an idolater; as with a strong wind, must drive them away (with fire); they associate with fools, and make company with a bad-tempered man; in opposition; noting enmity or disapprobation.” DK: The Greek counterpart here is where God declares Himself to ‘Oppose’ such men – the arrogant, the false, the blasphemers (cf. James 4:6). The Greek word used is, ‘Antitassó’ [ἀντιτάσσομαι] – now hear this, beloved: “To range in battle against, to set oneself against; Usage – I set myself against, resist (the attack of); reject the entire makeup of, including its whole arrangement; used in antiquity of organized resistance, like an army assuming a specific battle-array position to resist in ‘full alignment’; to disagree (oppose) intensely.” IN SUM: All of Heaven Declares War on such as these. Selah.

SCATTERS. The Impact of this ‘Soft Gospel’ is catastrophic. From the Hebrew, ‘Puwts’ [פוּץ]: “To dash to pieces; break asunder; cast abroad; to drive away or disperse; to dissipate; to separate or remove things to a distance from each other; throw loosely about; to shake or shatter; to cause to vanish; to divide into ineffectual small portions; to go in different directions,” DK: The Impact of this False Teaching is to ‘Destroy the Unity of the brethren,’ the effect of which is to drive people into Apostasy, and the devastating Consequence of Hellfire. MACDONALD: “To this day many Religious Leaders have not learned the Lesson of Serving the sheep. They confuse their ‘service’ with a means of ‘gain.’ – ‘Believer’s Bible Commentary,’ 1995, p. 1061; edited

IN SUM. Beloved, if all this were even only partially true, and you love your Pastor and believe he just might listen, then prayerfully consider sharing this with him – while, as we always say now – there is still a little time. Before long, there shall be no more opportunity to Reverse Course.

THE CONSEQUENCES

Many if not most of us have been figuratively tearing our hair out, trying to comprehend the enormity of this Massive Departure from the Truth of the Canon in our times. It rips at our very souls, as we watch the Great Cascade prophesied by the Law, the Prophets, the Apostles and the Messiah Himself, taking place right in front of us.

But it is happening, beloved, and all we can do about it is to stay soaked in the Words of the King, filled with His Spirit, and pray for ourselves to STAND FAST while reaching out to others to Return to the Lord – and, more poignantly, ‘to us.’ – cf. Ephesians 6:11-13; 1 Peter 5:9; 1 Corinthians 15:58; Philippians 4:1

THE NEW CHRISTIAN. What I have worked hard to establish today is that all this American Apostasy begins with those ‘American Shepherds’ who have embraced the Seeker Friendly Heresy. Who subsequently cast their now-soiled lots with a Satanic Ruse, a Chimera if you will, in the form and person of Donald Trump’s ‘American Gospel.’

They have played what children would call, ‘Sitting Ducks,’ for such Easy Seduction.

This powerfully explains why we see the sort of ‘Christians’ we see everywhere in all walks of life in America today. They are woefully described and accurately portrayed in this Passage from what I have come to call, with some poetic license, THE CHRONICLES OF JUDE.

THE UNFAITHFUL. “These are hidden reefs (elements of danger) in your love feasts, where they boldly feast sumptuously [carousing together in your midst], without scruples providing for themselves [alone]. They are clouds without water, swept along by the winds; trees, without fruit at the late autumn gathering time—twice (doubly) dead, [lifeless and] plucked up by the roots; Wild waves of the sea, flinging up the foam of their own shame and disgrace; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of eternal darkness has been reserved forever.” – JUDE 1:12-13, AMPC

COMMENTARY. “These are Spots in your Feasts of Charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: Clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; He rebukes most sharply with many other notes and marks, both their dishonesty or filthiness, and their sauciness, but especially, their vain bravery of words and vain pride, joining with it a grave and heavy threatening from an ancient Prophecy of Enoch concerning the Judgment to come. The Feasts of Charity were certain banquets, which the brethren who were members of the Church kept altogether, as TERTULLIAN sets them forth in his’ Apologeticus’ (197 AD), chapter 39. Impudently, without all reverence either to God or man.” – WILLIAM WITTINGHAM, ED., ‘The Geneva Bible,’ 1599; edited

THE SPIRIT OF ISCARIOT. Make no mistake: This is no betrayal of men, but rather a Blasphemous Act of Spiritual Treason against the Godhead! There is no more serious Breach a so-called ‘Christian’ could ever join. One man epitomizes this Magnitude of Rebellion.

“Before the notorious act of Betrayal leveled upon our Lord as He exited the Garden of Gethsemane, the name Judas was a respected if not revered name. It was a common name meaning ‘celebrated’ or ‘lauded,’ that no parent would hesitate to call their child. Yet after selling out the Innocent Blood of the Son of God for thirty pieces of silver, and identifying Him to the authorities with a kiss on the cheek, few parents have dared to risk identifying their sons with a man like Judas Iscariot … Iscariot [later] wept in what can only be described as a foretaste of his own personal Hell, a place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” – ROBERT WURTZ II, ‘The Girded Mind,’ April 3, 2021; cf. Luke 13:28

MY PRAYER. May it not be so with any that we know and still hold dear, beloved. Whether a family member, or Pastor-Teacher, or business associate, or mere acquaintance who bears the name, ‘Christian.’ These are ‘Final Choices’ that shall determine our Eternal Fate.

Regard it as nothing less, and act accordingly in Real Time and true Christian Love, that “does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth.” – cf. 1 CORINTHIANS 13:6

LAST THOUGHTS

IN SUM. ‘False, Cheap Grace scatters the sheep.’ Its End Product is deep Division and ultimately, irreparable Schism’s in the Body of Christ, as One Group labors fervently to ‘Remain’ with Christ, while the Other, as fervently, fights to ‘Justify’ its Departure.

THE PROMISE. One author beautifully put it this way:

“God holds us. We are protected by His Grip in such a precious way that the good and the bad must pass through His fingers to us. No harm, fear, or pain can reach us without His allowance, and yet, it is a Loving Grip. A loving Allowance we cannot understand until time has frayed our pride and tempered our heartbreak. And even then, our only answer may be to trust His Love more than our understanding.” – PEPPER D. BASHAM, ‘The Thorn Keeper,’ 2016; edited

I don’t usually do this, but I wanted this time to end with a lovely profile of this author, like so many today, ‘hidden in the woodwork’ of our greatly beleaguered Nation and Church.

“Pepper D. Basham has been telling tales ever since she was a little girl. When her grandmother called her a ‘writer’ at the age of ten, Pepper took it as gospel and has enjoyed various types of writing styles ever since. A native of the Blue Ridge Mountains, mom of five, speech-language pathologist, and lover of chocolate, Pepper enjoys sprinkling her native Appalachian culture into her fiction wherever she can. She currently resides in the lovely mountains of Asheville, NC, where she works with kids who have special needs, searches for unique hats, and plots new ways to annoy her wonderful friends at her writing blog, ‘The Writer’s Alley.’”

THE POSTURE. I venture to say, in these Dark American Days, that ‘of such as these’ is the very Kingdom of God fashioned.

“Now they were also bringing their babies to Him, so that He would touch and bless them, and when the disciples noticed it, they began reprimanding them. But Jesus called them to Himself, saying [to the apostles], ‘Allow the children to come to Me, and do not forbid them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God [with faith and humility] like a child will not enter it at all.’” – LUKE 18:15-17; AMP

Do you hear Him, beloved? In being, “like unto a child,’ shall we find warm shelter, a loving caress and His priceless favor in the midst of the greatest trials of our Christian lives.

JOHN PEROWNE’S ‘Cambridge Bible Commentary’ (1882) captures the Idea so very well: “Because children are meek, humble, trustful, guileless, unsophisticated, pure,” this must be the manner of our approach to The King. Even now, and then forever and ever and forever.

Ever your servant,

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFzWBHQeaIY&t=50s