“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority (all power of absolute rule) in heaven and earth has been given to Me’” (Matthew 28:18 Amplified).

That is to say, Jesus is not simply a historical figure, a great Man, or just a prophet. Nor is He but a Savior–though that He is. Indeed, He is all these things, but aye, far more. He is the Supreme Being, the ruler of the universe. He ought then be taken much more seriously than He is.

In fact, not only was the universe of both seen and unseen things made by and through Him (John 1:10, Colossians 1:16), the entire created order is held together and sustained by Him (Hebrews 1:3). There is no greater Personality in all heaven and earth than the One we know as Jesus Christ.

“These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might (the Father’s, that is) which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church” (Ephesians 1:19-22).

What then does this mean, if these things be so? It means we must give Him His rightful place in our hearts. Meaning this: we not only trust Him as our Savior, but we obey Him as our Lord. Both are conditions upon which we experience the salvation Scripture promises.

Here’s the thing: if we do indeed trust Him to save us, we will certainly do what He says. What man in peril, who, crying out for help, when a rescuer comes to his aid, will refute his instructions? Will argue with his commands?

All that Jesus requires of we who name His name is for the purpose of our good and that of others. No command of the Christ is intended for our harm. As Lord, His law is love and all the requirements of His kingdom are born of His love and kindness for mankind. There is another kingdom, but one other, whose supreme ruler is that evil one, and all his regulations are aimed at our destruction.

It is often overlooked that recognizing–and confessing–Jesus as Lord is the basis for eternal salvation.

“If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

The role of Christ in your life is intended by God to be that of Supreme Ruler. Jesus is to be Lord of your life. By this is meant your whole life, not just part of it. Life, as I understand and live it, is eating, drinking, sleeping, working, playing, relationships, buying and selling, money–everything we think, say, and do, including the reason for why we think, say, and do the things we do, all these God wants under the oversight and rule of the King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ.

“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.  Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest”. (Matthew 9:37-38).  

As a business owner, I have been praying that God would provide me the manpower to perform the work He has given me.  As in Proverbs 3, my “barns are filled with plenty, and my vats are overflowing.”  That is to say, I have a super abundant amount of work, but too few workers to do it.  

“Now you know how I feel,” the Lord seems to say.  “There is a plentiful harvest, but I’ve too few workers.  For this reason pray.”  

I wonder at what to do with this.  I myself have ‘volunteered’ freely over the years; I’ve prayed the prayer and said, “Use me and Barb.”  But no reason to wonder, as the Lord tells me what to do.  He says, “Beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”  So what am I to do?  Pray.  Make it a daily request.  

Actually, it needs to go beyond just asking.  Jesus says, “Beseech the Lord.”  Meaning, “to beg for urgently or anxiously.”  In other words, it is not just a perfunctory prayer; there is to be heart and soul behind it, a sense of desperation.  Similar to what I feel when I look at what I’ve to do and the limited resources I have to do it.  

We all (the church, that is) speak regularly of the great coming harvest of souls, such as has never been seen before.  Seems to me it is already upon us.  That is, the Lord says “the harvest is plentiful.”  It is already plentiful.  There is just no one to harvest it.  And what happens when a crop comes to fruition and doesn’t get harvested?  It rots and goes to waste.  How many souls are ‘wasted’ because there is no one to ‘harvest’ them?  They, through the activity of the Holy Spirit drawing them to Jesus, come to the place where they are ready to receive Him (though they likely know it not), but there is no one to lead the way.

In our case and at this time it is hard to get workers because many are on the government dole.  During this so-called pandemic crisis, where much of the economy is shut down, the government is paying workers more to not work that they would make if they were working.  They are comfortable right where they are at.  Why work?  

This seems like a type of the church–don’t get me wrong, I am part of the church; I speak with regards to myself.  We are quite comfortable where we are at; we don’t feel the need.  All the while, however,  there are people ready to meet the Lord, and the Lord needs workers.  Which is why He says, “Now you know how I feel.”  

Here Jesus says to His disciples, “pray”–or “beseech,” rather.  A few years later He says, “Go.”  That is to say, you pray and then you go.  

I note that the prayer is for the Lord to “send out workers.”  Really, the word is “thrust,” or “force.”  Two pictures come to mind.  The little bird whose mother feels it is time for her to fly, so she kicks the little one out of the nest.   And this one: the parachutist who for fear is reluctant to make the jump, but his friend pushes him out into the air.  What the Lord is saying is that we pray God would do a similar thing to His workers.  We are all workers, you know; every Christian is a worker.  Not that we all work; actually, the point is we don’t.  But the prayer is that God will give us a ‘little boost.’  

So it is, “Lord, thrust out workers into Your harvest. Force them out!”  

This happened in Acts chapter 8.  It took a little persecution to get the church moving.  Actually, it took a “great persecution” to get it moving.  Will this be needed in our day?  I pray not.  I would rather volunteer freely (see Psalm 110:3).   Yet something like this seems to me to be a real possibility in the days to come.  

I think there is a “Help Wanted” sign on the door of the church.   The Lord calls for His workers.  I come, Lord.  I come.   Sign me up.  

“One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25).

This is the testimony of every person who has received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior: he is able to see.

While not many of us were actually blind as was this man, we were all spiritually blind, unable to see things as they really are on account of our sin. Sin blinds a man; not only is he not able to view himself or the world properly, or at all, he cannot see the glory of God in the face of Christ. Not until the Son comes along and touches him, that is.

O how the masses are blind to the truth! There are far more of them than there are us. I recently read that among the 7,000 or so languages in the world, the Bible has been translated but into 700. And it is the Bible that gives light to a man’s eyes.

I recall Derek Prince telling of his experience. An honored Cambridge scholar, a philosopher, he was drafted into the British army and, deciding upon a book to take along with him, took the Bible, reasoning that given he had read all the other great works of the world, he should read this one also. Well, he did, and God opened his eyes to the truth; he was never the same.

“The entrance of Your word gives light.”

We are born blind just as the man in John 9 was, only spiritually so. Every single person on the planet is ‘naturally’ blind to the truth. Sadly, many who are exposed to the truth remain so deliberately.

“The Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, ‘We are not blind too, are we?’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, “We see,” your sin remains’” (verses 40-41).

The world is filled with these sorts too, persons who deny the reality of sin and the need for a Savior. Though they ‘see,’ they are the most blind of all.

For those of us who have received Christ, we are able to see; but not all do. The ability is there, but the pursuit of it is not. The eyes are opened, yes; but the mind is not. We all know that it is possible to be seeing the world around us, but to be missing the most of it. So too are many Christians, they see but they don’t. This is why, I think, Jesus clarifies His disciple-making mandate. Not only does He mandate we “go and make disciples of all the nations,” He instructs as to how this is to be accomplished. He says, “teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you.” And so vision comes to those whose eyes are opened–if indeed they are open to be taught, and, of course, there are those to teach them.

How powerful the testimony! Here is a man who has been blind since birth. He is not a learned man, nor has he been with the Lord for but a day. In fact, he doesn’t even know who He is just yet. But he has a testimony. “Though I was blind, now I see.”

So it is that every sincere born-again Christian, no matter how long he has been one, nor even that He knows Jesus to much of a degree, he has a testimony.

I can’t help but picture Mary Magdalene in the TV series, The Chosen. She encounters the Pharisee Nicodemus after both had just witnessed a lame man healed by the Lord. Nicodemus was the one (in the series–it is a historical fiction) who had seen Mary tormented by demons and was unable to help her, and here she was completely different. She says, “I was one way, and now I am different; and the difference is Him.”

“Though I was blind, now I see.”

Every person who has had a life-changing experience with Jesus Christ has the exact same witness. “The difference is Him.” No one can argue with testimony. They may disagree with it, they many not accept it, but they cannot deny that a person has had an experience. That is the power of testimony, and every Christian has one.

In fact, a person’s testimony is so powerful that it overcomes Satan and his cohorts. Revelation 12:11 says this: “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”

Testimony is the primary means of evangelism. Whereas the Gospel must be both preached and received, a person’s testimony is perhaps the best way to present it.

I remember the fist few months after Barb and I became Christians. We not only testified to what the Lord had done before a crowd in the Methodist Church, we told our closest friends–who, by the way, no longer were after that, except for Steve and Shoni Smith who, many years later, themselves became Christians.

Giving one’s testimony is also the easiest way to tell about Jesus. Why? Because if your life has been touched at all by Him, and you are different, it is only natural to tell of it. It may be hard to preach the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus in a casual conversation, but it is not so to testify to what God has done for you. You can always work that in to a conversation.

Spiritual vision–the ability to see clearly–is a gift God gives when a person’s spirit is reborn. If you are truly born again you can see the kingdom of God. You are given the ability to see the world–and the people in it, the way God does. And adapt your life and work accordingly.

So it is, that when Jesus comes upon you and He touches your eyes–He touches your life, He leaves you a different person. The difference is Him. Now you can see clearly. Now you have a testimony, something to say to the world around you. “Though I was blind, now I see.” Once I was like that, but now I am different.

Proverbs 29:18 tells us that, “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law.”  That is to say, without a vision for something—whether one for your health, your family, or your business, you will not do the things you need to do in order to achieve it.  You are ‘unrestrained.’ 

An athlete, for example, if he ‘sees’ the trophy, will take those steps necessary in order to put him first across the finish line.  

Parents, if they picture godly children. If they want their children to grow up in the “fear and admonition of the Lord,” will take the time to love, train, and discipline them.  

So too, the business owner, in order to fulfill his God-given role, must have a compelling vision for doing so.  What I mean is an overarching vision, a far greater one, one that is so grand, so far reaching, so motivating, that you are excited to get up in the morning to go after it.

This vision is the kingdom of God.  It is the kingdom of God here on earth, right here in Lansing, Michigan (or wherever you live).  Each of us has a vital role to play.  It is our job to bring God’s kingdom to our sphere of things.  

Three verses from the book of Matthew underscore the point.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (Matthew 13:44).

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it” (45-46).

This is how valuable the kingdom of God is—it is worth everything we have.  It is so great, so glorious, so much the treasure, so much the pearl of great price, that it is worth everything in order to have it.  

Not that we go out and sell everything we have—where would that put us but homeless and broke!  What is meant is that God’s kingdom is worth giving your all.  

I believe the purpose of the Christian is twofold—he is to glorify God and further His kingdom.  This was the Lord’s purpose.  The night before He was betrayed He prayed to the Father,

“I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do” (John 17:3).  

So too, our purpose is to glorify God.  Paul said, “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). We glorify God by doing—and accomplishing—the things He has given us to do.  

And furthering the kingdom of God?  This was the fundamental reason for Jesus coming to earth.  

We understand He came for a variety of reasons.  It was to seek and to save that which was lost; to set the captives free, and heal the broken-hearted. To destroy the works of the devil.  To bear witness to the truth. To serve as the Mediator between God and men.  He came into the world to save sinners.  These things said, they were all in the context of the kingdom.  He said, “If I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Luke 11:20).

Jesus came to inaugurate heaven’s rule to earth.  He began His ministry preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 

Fast forward to the first chapter of Acts.  There we see Jesus appearing to His disciples over a period of forty days.  What He is says here are His last words before ascending into heaven.  What was He was saying? 

“The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen. To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:1-3).  

He was “speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.”  I think it safe to say that all that follows in the New Testament has to do with one thing:  God’s kingdom.  

What does all this have to do with business?  Everything!  Inasmuch as we are told we must “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” it is our responsibility to seek God’s kingdom in everything we do—including running our businesses. 

What is the kingdom of God? Here is how the Bible defines it:  

“The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17).

“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power” (1 Corinthians 4:20 NIV).

The kingdom of God, then, is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Notice it is in the Holy Spirit, it is all in the context of the Holy Spirit; you won’t find it anywhere else.   And then it is a matter of power—it is all about power.  

In a prayer virtually the whole world knows, Jesus taught us to pray that God’s kingdom would come and His will would be done.

“This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

This is God’s vision for the earth! His kingdom come and His will be done.  And He wants it to be ours too!

Based on this prayer, I believe the kingdom of God is that realm in which God’s will is done. God’s kingdom exists in heaven; there, His perfect will is done.  When we pray this prayer, we are asking God for that to come to earth. That’s the picture.  

Think of it this way:  your life, your family, your business, is to be a little microcosm of God’s kingdom.  That is the way Jesus would have it—this is the will of God.  In each area of your life Jesus reigns supreme as Lord, and His will rules the day.  He is Lord over all, and how you operate your business—you find out how He wants you to do that and put it into practice. The kingdom of God is to be the driving force behind everything you do and say.  That is the plan.  That is the vision.   

Here are a few more things about the kingdom of God.

It is not of this realm.  It is other-worldly.  Translated into business, that means it runs counter to the ways of the world.  Our thoughts are not God’s thoughts; therefore, our job is to find out what God’s thoughts are and operate by them.  We will do things differently in and through our businesses that will, in a worldly sort of way, not make sense.  

It is a kingdom of light.  There are but two kingdoms in the universe today:  the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light.  Through faith in Christ we have been transferred from the one to the other.  So we live our lives and operate our businesses in the realm of light.  What does that mean?  In the light of God’s presence.  In the light of His word.  We get up and we go to work and we do what we do knowing that God is both with us and watching over us.  We screen everything through the lens of the word of God.  

It is characterized by power.  That is to say we do not do things in our own strength, but in the strength that God supplies—who is the Holy Spirit.  And not only that, but we seek to operate in power, to exercise that power in terms of the miraculous.  

Its singular rule is love—the Royal Law as James would put it.  Love rules the day in our businesses.  Seems crazy—almost undoable, but do we leave off of the 2nd greatest commandment when we go to work?  No, we go to work out of obedience to it.  

While many books have been written on the kingdom of God, and I could go on, I will give this one final thought:  the kingdom of God is to be furthered.  Psalm 145 says it wonderfully,

“All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord,

And Your godly ones shall bless You.

They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom

And talk of Your power;

To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts

And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom.

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

And Your dominion endures throughout all generations” (10-13).

Jesus, just before He was taken up into heaven, put it like this,

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).

Jesus is Lord—that is the message, and that is what we are charged with.  Ours is to operate under His Lordship, observe the things He has commanded us, and use our businesses to further His kingdom in the lives of others.  This is the compelling vision, the thing that should drive us.   

“And all the people would get up early in the morning to come to Him in the temple to listen to Him” (Luke 21:38).

Isn’t this way it should be, that all of us would upon rising from sleep go to Jesus and listen to what He has to say? Indeed it is. In another place it speaks of the people hanging on His words (19:48). Why? Because His words are spirit and life. And, as Peter would say to Him when eventually everyone else turned away from Him, “You have the words of eternal life” (see John 6: 63, 68).

By God’s grace and over the span of 45-plus years, I have made it a habit to go to God in His word every morning. I find it to be a spiritual experience most every time. But even when I feel as though not much is happening, I know God’s word is living and active and sharper than a two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12), and that it works in those who believe it (1 Thessalonians 2:13) ; therefore I come, and I read and I listen. These my journals, since 1993 when I first began journaling, testify to the living and abiding word of God. They tell the truth that God still speaks to His people. That He is intimate with the upright (Proverbs 3:32). That, “My sheep hear My voice” (John 10:27).

God, by His word, reveals Himself (1 Samuel 3:21). A man may get a good glimpse of Him in nature–he will see His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature (Romans 1:20); he will not, however, come to know His love for mankind, how He is at work in history, nor will he know His saving grace which has come to us through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Nor will he know what this Christ has to say. The Scriptures are the sole source of Jesus’ words. A man can surmise all he wants, speculate, and reason within himself; but if he wants to know the teachings of Jesus, he must turn to the Bible to learn. While we cannot go to Him in the temple per se, we can go to Him in His word, the Scriptures. And, as I have found on a regular basis, if you go to Him you will find Him. And if you listen, you will hear Him. And, since His word is eternal – “heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away,” what He said then, He says now; His words are always a present reality.

It is worth noting that the people went to Him early in the morning, and this for two reasons. One, He was there. I don’t find where He was there in the evenings, nor in the nighttime–maybe He was, but I am not aware of it. Hence, if you were to go looking for Him in the evening, you would not find Him. You’ve got to go to Him when He is there. Two, the morning has a special quality to it. Each day a person starts off anew. He may have had a bad day the day before, but sleep gives him an opportunity to begin afresh. So in the early morning you are starting the day the best way possible, by listening to God.

Too, in the evening a person is typically done for the day; he is worn out and tired from the day’s work. He wants to relax, kick back and begin to wind down. His mind is filled with all the things that happened that day–in our day our heads are bombarded with all manner of news and information. It is not the best time, then, to be trying to hear the Lord.

Now I realize that some are ‘night persons’; they are most alert in later hours, and that is okay; whatever time works best for a person to be hearing from God. Yet all throughout the Bible we find the early hours of the morning to be preferred. It is really up to you; what is important is to be listening to Jesus and hanging on His words.

Of course, reading Scripture should be only part of what we do; it should both inspire and lead us to prayer. So many consider prayer to be the place where God speaks, and that may be true–many a time, countless times, has God spoken to me during prayer. Yet I often find it to be this way: if I have truly lent my ear to the word of God in Scripture, listening to the Lord speak to me, then when I go to prayer it is almost anti-climatic; in other words, I have already in large measure experienced God. So then prayer becomes for me the place of thanksgiving and one of intercession.

All of this equates to a vital, one-on-one, personal relationship with God. That is what I am talking about. And it all begins with listening to Jesus. Especially early in the morning.

I believe it was 1977 and, as I was in my little ‘sanctuary’ in the basement of our rented home in North Lansing, I heard the Lord say to me, “Start a painting business.”

I was before the Lord yesterday thanking Him for all that He has done in and through my life as the outcome of these four words. I think of all the people, the projects, the events, all the relationships–in particular the one with my mentor, the late Jim Russell, and I just have to say along with the Psalmist,

“The Lord has done great things for us, and we are glad” (Psalm 126:3).

Who would have ever imagined? A man as I was–weak-willed, immature, indecisive, certainly no entrepreneur, with no knowledge or understanding of business, and who did not like to paint–God having me start a painting business!

It just goes to show that God has a plan for each life. That He knows what He is doing. That He accepts us the way we are, but is committed to making us into what He wants. It demonstrates the power of His word. Just four words changed the entire course of my life and my family.

By it He has provided, not only for me and mine, but for 100’s of employees, as well as being able to contribute to missionaries, churches, strategic thrusts of the Holy Spirit, orphans, prisoners, sex-trafficked women, abstinence programs…..why, we even paid for a page in Maoz Israel’s new Hebrew Bible, and 9 square feet in Vision for Israel’s Millennium Center in Jerusalem! He has, through my business and as a result of these four words, provided many thousands of dollars in support of the Jewish people—to whom we owe our material things (Romans 15:27).

The point of it is this: one word from God can change everything. It can alter the entire course of your life and serve to be a blessing, not only to you and your family, but to countless others beyond you. In my case it was four words, and it has.

Not long ago as I sat before the Lord I ‘heard’ the word “recalibrate”. So I pondered what it meant.

In the world of instruments, which is what I would most associate the word with, it means to makes small changes so that the instrument measures accurately. For example, I’ve got this little device that reads colors for the purpose of matching. Each time I turn it on it has to be recalibrated. It is then ready to provide me the information I need.

You could say that to recalibrate a thing is to bring it back to the place where it adheres to a standard, as most things, over time deviate one way or another. Most times, I think, it is used in connection with instruments, systems, and weapons. It has to do with precision, with accuracy. In most cases it means small but important changes, though it could mean major adjustments also.

You can also recalibrate your life, or things in your life. It can be your thinking, your plans, or your current direction. Maybe it’s your vision or your strategy for reaching your goals or fulfilling a dream.

You could rightly say–in spiritual terms–that to recalibrate is to repent; that is, to make the necessary changes where your thinking or manner of life has drifted from God’s design.

To recalibrate in this sense means you have to consider where you have deviated and focus your attention there. It is in this place, or places, adjustments are needed.

It has been rightly pointed out that just being one degree off now can mean multiple degrees down the road. An inch now could be miles over time. Where you wish to go and where you end up will be two completely different places. So it is that minor, even minuscule deviations can have undesirable outcomes in due course. A man ought continually examine himself then, to make sure he is on his proper course, always making the proper adjustments to stay that way.

Of course, this can apply to your relationship with God. Or with your spouse or family. To your church. Your attitudes, your motives. It could be your habits, such as in eating. Or it could apply to your business. In truth, it applies to all these, to everything in life. Recalibrate, adjust, change, bring back to a standard–God’s.

“Many also of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices. And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver” (Acts 19:18-19).

I remember two occasions on which I did some burning myself.

The first occurred after Barbara and I saw the movie about Saint Francis, Brother Sun and Sister Moon. I was not a believer at the time, but was searching. You could say I was nearing the state of desperation; I was becoming desperate for God. Having seen the film I was so moved in my desire that I came home and burned those things that were most precious to me. In those days we lived in a tiny rented farmhouse south of St. John’s, Michigan. Outside was a burn barrel, and into that barrel went my guitar and the writings I valued at the time.

Still, it would be days, weeks, or months before the real burning would come. I’m not sure what the hold up was; apparently I was not ready yet.

A lot happened in between that moment and the next. Without going into detail as to how it all came about, I received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior in October of 1974. It was three days later that Barbara, completely on her own and with no help from me, accepted the Lord into her heart. I don’t recall if it was that day, that evening, or the next, but we had a party. We did some burning.

We had–or should I say I had been (Barb was following me) engaged in an Eastern Religion, complete with a guru, his writings, pictures and placards about the house, plus records (these days they’d be CD’s) with that kind of music. Somehow we knew what to do with all these. So, in a joyful frenzy we searched every nook and cranny and gathered together everything we could find relating to our recent past, and just outside the back door, on the east side of the house, we burned everything.

The Lord Jesus, in setting forth His requirements for discipleship, calls us to forsake all. And that Barb and I did. We lit up everything that we knew and identified with at the time. And from there we went on to follow Jesus Christ.

That was over 45 years ago. I think we have burned a few more things, but mostly it has been a continual letting go of the things that seem to get in the way of a close relationship with God.

I have long taught that repentance is not a one time thing, but an ongoing attitude. It is certainly getting rid of ‘things’ – as in material things, at least not becoming too attached to them or allowing them to take precedence over your love for Christ. But more so it is those policies of heart that stand in the way of God having all of you. These are thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, motives, plans, words and deeds that do not line up with the will and word of God. These too need to be ‘burned.’

My guitar was probably not worth much, nor my writings. The books, pictures, placards, and records probably had some value–their purchase price, but they were nothing compared to what we received in return. Our lives have been far more richer than they could have ever been under that false system of religion, and have become increasingly so over the years.

Nowadays, we live in a beautiful home in a nice neighborhood. We’ve a car, a truck, a motorcycle, our own business, and just about everything we need and want. The important thing, though, is not what we have materially; this does not define us. Nor does it detract from what is most important. The key is maintaining that perspective. Otherwise, it all would need to go up in smoke. It would need to be burned too.

Inspired by my reading of Psalm 111, this morning I went to searching for this covenant that He said He “has ordained forever” (verse 9). Of course, it is not the Old Covenant given under Moses that is a forever covenant, but the New Covenant mediated by the Lord Jesus Christ.  This one was prophesied by both Jeremiah and Ezekiel, and was ratified by the blood of the cross of Christ.  

“This is the New Covenant in My blood,” Jesus said on the night of His betrayal.  

So I went to searching.  

It is my understanding that a covenant is an agreement between two parties, but this one seems one-sided.  Meaning, it is a covenant God makes and keeps; we are merely the recipients of it–if indeed we are recipients.  

Here is the New Covenant:

“Behold, days are coming, says the Lord,

When I will effect A new covenant

With the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;

Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers

On the day when I took them by the hand

To lead them out of the land of Egypt;

For they did not continue in My covenant,

And I did not care for them, says the Lord.

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel

After those days, says the Lord:

I will put My laws into their minds,

And I will write them on their hearts.

And I will be their God,

And they shall be My people.

And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen,

And everyone his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’

For all will know Me,

From the least to the greatest of them.

For I will be merciful to their iniquities,

And I will remember their sins no more” (Hebrews 8:8-12).

Here, in essence, is what God commits Himself to do:  1) He will put His laws into our minds, 2) He will write His laws upon our hearts, 3) He will be merciful to our iniquities, 4) He will remember our sins no more, and 5) He will be our God and we will be His people.  

Put briefly, He will “be in us both to will and to do” (Philippians 2:13), will forget our sins, and be our God.  

The writer of Hebrews wraps most of this up in his concluding statements.  He writes, “Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen” (13:20-21).  

Here we see it again:  “working in us that which is pleasing in His sight.”  This is so much the New Covenant!  It is all God!  

The Old Covenant was ineffective and did not work because it had to do with God’s laws outside a person; it was external and did not affect the heart.  Man, sinful as he is, could not keep the law.  The New Covenant however, is internal, and has to do with the heart and mind of a person.  It takes sin out of the equation and injects the Spirit of God into it.  

Paul writes,

“Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Corinthians 3:5-6).

The New Covenant is spiritual; it is inspired by the Holy Spirit, given by the Spirit, and enacted by the Spirit.  It is the work of the Spirit of God upon the heart of man.  This is why Jesus said, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”  And, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”  

What I marvel at, and take comfort in, is the commitment God makes to bring about His purposes in people.  He is saying, “I will do in you what you cannot do in yourself.  I will not only give you the desire to do what I want, but I will give you to do it.  I will work in you what is pleasing to Me.  This, My friend, is My promise to you.”  

What then is our responsibility–if we have one at all, given this is all so much God?  

Paul tells us in Philippians chapter 2.  There he says, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (verse 12).  In other words, what God works in we must work out.  We must obey the laws He writes upon our hearts and minds.  We must act on the desires He gives us.  We must do the doing; He cannot do the doing for us.  

It says here, “with fear and trembling.”  Why?  “For it is God who is at work in you.”  Chew upon that for a moment.  The living God, the creator of the ends of the earth, the One who calls the stars by name, who keeps everything in perfect order by the power of His word–this One is at work in you.  He is the One who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to His power at work in us (Ephesians 3:20).  Shouldn’t this inspire a deep sense of reverence and awe in us?  Ought we not tremble at the thought of not responding?  

I said this New Covenant was ratified by the blood of the Cross.  It is a blood covenant.  In other words, God paid a very high price for it:  the blood of His eternal, only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ–who was slain before the foundations of the world (cf., Revelation 13:8 NKJV).  

We can thank God that we need not measure up to a set of standards we could never keep.  Instead, rather, all we need to do is allow Him to do what only He can do and respond accordingly.  It is not that we are not to keep His commandments; we are.  But it is different this time around; He writes these upon our hearts and puts them into our heads.  He gives us the desire–and the ability–to keep them.  This was not so under the Old Covenant.  

“You hypocrites! You know how to analyze the appearance of the earth and the sky, but why do you not analyze this present time?” (Luke 12:56).

The New Living Translation rightly puts the address as to “fools.”  And that we are.  We have it down to a science as to how to predict the weather.  And investors are very good at placing their bets.  Good doctors know well how to diagnose problems.  Yet most of us do not know how to interpret the times we live in.  

I am no historian, but I know that the world has gone through upheaval before.  I understand that there have been plagues before, killing millions.  Two world wars saw tens of millions perish.   The second resulted in the boundaries of Europe and the Middle East being redrawn.  It saw an effort to extinguish an entire race of people. There was China under Mao Se Tung, and Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge. In our own country 500,000 lost their lives during the Civil War.  History is replete with the horrific, with seismic shifts in geopolitical affairs.  And yes, both historians, politicians, military leaders and lay people study these.  Yet few seem to understand what is transpiring at this present, throbbing moment.  

I believe God gives His servants eyes to see and hearts to perceive things that others cannot discern.  A spiritually minded person is able to peer into people and events and understand what is really going on.  He can tell what a person is like, he can see invisible realities in real time happenings.  

The Lord says we are hypocrites–or fools–if we fail to recognize what is going on around us.  So it is incumbent for we who are Christians to analyze this present time lest we fall into this category.  

The nations of the world are, at this hour, responding to an alleged killer virus, COVID-19.  I say alleged not because it doesn’t kill; it does. But not nearly to the extent it was predicted to.  They have responded by practically shutting down the entire global economy.   Though the virus is supposedly highly contagious and many have died from it, the available statistics do not to logic justify such draconian actions.  Indeed, as our President has stated, the cure has is far worse than the cause.  

Here in our country, tens of millions of Americans are out of work.  Businesses are shut down (including mine), and many have closed.  There are even hospitals filing for bankruptcy, with others failing financially because they have no patients, all because officials have declared that they must be available for the COVID-19 response.  The stock market has crashed, the price of oil almost nothing (putting our nation’s oil business out of business), and our supply chain at risk.  

The response of the federal government, as it always does, is to throw money at the crisis it created.  With a deficit of nearly $1 trillion already in place prior to the event, it has doled out trillions more, with more on the way.  It has also, along with the states, issued both guidelines and strict requirement to control the spread of the virus.  People in most states have been ordered to stay at home, practice ‘social distancing’, and wear face masks in some places.  

Here is what I see.  

Though I am not quick to say what is the origin of the virus, whether it is an act of war by the Chinese government, an act of God–literally (see 2 Chronicles 7:13), or just a natural occurrence, plain and simple, I can say with confidence I see a nefarious, diabolical plan unfolding the world over.  As a student of Scripture I see that it fits perfectly with end times prophecy.   Some of my observations are as follows:

• Government overreach.  As I understand our Constitution, what both federal and state governments are doing is in direct violation of the freedoms guaranteed by it.

• What the socialists cannot gain at the ballot box they are easily obtaining now–even from those committed to our Republic, who are unwittingly fitting into their evil plans.

• History has demonstrated that socialist and communists are willing to slaughter their own people to promote their cause.  Witness Stalin in Russia and Mao in China.  Are we in for such a time like this?

• While on the one hand countries are closing their borders, there is also much talk about a one world government.  

• I see entire industries becoming beholden to the federal government (e.g., airlines). 

• Businesses, large and small, are being bound to government by virtue of accepting loans to keep them afloat.

• Churches, having been forbidden to assemble under penalty of law, are coming under the authority of the state.  

• Entire populations are being placed, unwittingly, in dependence upon government.  My employees, for example, are making more on unemployment than they do working for me. 

• Our health care system, long desired by the left to become nationalized, is close to becoming so.  

• Technology companies Apple and Google, are cooperating on developing software to ‘track’ coronavirus carriers.

• Vaccines are in process of being developed–maybe a good thing, but a bad thing if those who have received them and those who have not are tracked.  Which is what is being planned.

• There has been talk of persons wearing badges, those who are carriers and those who have been deemed immune.

• Both drones and airplanes have been employed to keep track of people violating stay at home orders.

• In what is reminiscent of people turning against each other as seen in Matthew 24, Americans are doing just that; they are turning in persons who don’t comply with the government’s orders.

• Americans are avoiding each other like the plague, literally, through the nonsense of social distancing.  The whole idea of which has been disproved by good science.

• In some cities it is required, and when things open back up it will no doubt be required of everyone to wear face masks.  This too has been widely disproven as being zero effective against the spread of this or any flu-like virus.  

• Fear rules the day.  The pandemic is one of fear, not COVID-19.  The world has become enslaved by fear–the fear of death.  

• Government has exercised a massive sweep of Americans under its control, all under the auspices of a crisis.  And all of us have acquiesced.  The question is, what crisis is next?  

I could go on.  I know I sound apocalyptic, and I am.  I am not distressed. I have gone the gamut of fear like most, but then I realized, what do I have to fear?  I am not afraid of death!  Nor of those things that lead to death.  And I know Whom I have believed.  I know Who is on the throne of the universe.  I am not worried, but I am very concerned.  We like sheep (I speak of Americans) are heading for the slaughter, and we going along happily as if it were a good thing.    

It is not a good thing.  

Thankfully, many are rising up in protest.  As I sit before the Lord this morning and ponder His words, I wonder what I can do–I feel as though I can do precious little.  However, I can pray.  I can pray.  I can pray.  

It is written that the men of Issachar understood the times and knew what Israel should do (see 1 Chronicles 12:32).  It is incumbent that we who are the church understand what we must do.  The first order of business is to pray.  The second order of business is to pray.  And so the third, and the fourth, and so on.  That said, there is the Gospel which, no matter who or what rules us governmentally, regardless of our circumstances, must be furthered.  It is the only remedy for an ailing mankind, and our best defense against evil.  There may come a time–yes, there comes a time when we are forced to make decisions we don’t want to make.  I shall not go into that right now.  

Lest we be considered fools by the Lord Himself, let us be careful to analyze the times we live in and respond like God’s people should, not like the rest of the world that does not know God.