Children are under sexual attack in several ways today! That, unfortunately, is nothing new. Adults have been abusing children sexually, emotionally, and using them as basically slaves or to further their interests or agendas since the fall of humanity in the Garden of Eden! In the Roman Empire in Jesus’ day, fathers treated their children like possessions and could actually have them killed if they wanted to!

When parents brought children to Jesus to bless them, even his disciples didn’t think they were worthy of his time, and rebuked the parents!

¹³  Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, ¹⁴  but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” ¹⁵  And he laid his hands on them and went away. – Matthew 19:13-15 (ESV)

Apparently the disciples had forgotten Jesus’ teaching on the value of children just a day or two before!…

¹  At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ²  And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them
³  and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴  Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵  “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, ⁶  but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

¹⁰  “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven. – Matthew 18:1-6, 10 (ESV)

So, what is Jesus trying to tell us about children in this passage?

a) They have a wonderful innocence about them, even though they are born sinful as all of us were. They haven’t yet seen, heard, and been taught all the variations of sin and it’s destructive effects that have broken us as adults and caused our souls to be lost in sinful confusion.

b) With that innocence comes a wonderful sense of trust in parents and other adults, and they believe that we really love them and always have their growth and best interest at heart! That’s why Jesus says we have to have that innocent trust and humility of children to fully trust God for salvation and enter his Kingdom, no longer trusting in our own good works or character to save us!

c) Because Jesus loves the tender hearts of children so much, he issues an awful warning to those who would take advantage of and abuse children in any way, and warns child abusers of being thrown into the fire of Hell!

So, how are children being abused and exploited today?

1) Human sex trafficking (slavery)!

This has been going on since the beginning of time, but now worldwide sex trafficking of women and children has reached record numbers! This is second only to drug trafficking as the most profitable business in the world, and may soon overtake that. Recently the movie “Sound of Freedom” came out about a true story of a government agent who quit his job to rescue kids from sex trafficking in South America. I hope that all adults agree this is evil incarnate, but strangely many politicians and media downplayed the movie! Why? Even they know this is evil, some are involved in this sexual abuse and others are making big profits from this business. As in any generation, lust, money, and power speak louder than decency and morality!

If you want to support this fight, check out Operation Underground Railroad, the organization that grew from this story to fight human trafficking!

2) Sexuality and gender confusion forced on children!

This is derived from some in the current LGBT movement, and the “Trans” part of that movement in particular. Now, whatever your view of this movement, it is important to understand that it began because many of these folks were being bullied both physically and emotionally for what they were going through. That should never happen to anyone, and followers of Jesus should be the first to protect any person from bullying! After all, ALL people are made in the image of God and of ultimate value to him. Jesus died to offer salvation from sin and redemption to all of us. (and we ALL need it!) Now laws have been passed to protect them from these attacks, and that is certainly just for anyone.

  The concern today is that the LGBT movement has now been combined with new gender theory studies in universities, high schools, and even elementary schools. These gender theory ideas say basically that there are many different genders and that people can discover their gender identity at any point in life, and that gender is fluid, so you can change genders as well. This contradicts traditional understanding of all of us being born either male or female, and having only those 2 sexes. ( For those who don’t know, that is also the Biblical concept on sex. God created us make and female in the Genesis story, and Jesus confirmed that in his teaching. And, there was no concept of “gender”.)

This new gender theory began primarily in the 1950’s with the Kinsey sex study, and then a professor named John Money who redefined the term gender to lead to all the new, confusing gender ideas we see happening today. Both of these men had very flawed, controversial research, and both were known to have experiments that were deviant in many ways and exploited children. Today, even the leading doctors and proponents of “gender affirmation” care admit that these ideas are very subjective and based on an individual’s feelings about themselves and their perceptions of who they are at this time. It is not based on biology or any objective science.

Now, as adults in a free, secular society, we are free to believe what we want about these things and make decisions for ourselves about what we want to do with our bodies and our lives. (and live with the consequences of our actions).  However, I hope most adults, of all backgrounds, can believe these ideas should NOT be forced on children! Parents, doctors, and counselors have known for centuries that children’s brains and discernment patterns don’t develop fully until they are somewhere in there 20’s generally. All parents understand their children, up through high school at least, are constantly changing how they feel about themselves and trying to figure out who they are. Sexuality is always one of the most puzzling things for kids to deal with, and even the best of parents tread lightly and carefully when discussing this with their children. I mean, most kids struggle with what they want to eat for dinner and what clothes they will wear tomorrow! Do we really want to make them responsible for life-altering decisions that could mutilate their bodies and change their future permanently?

The greatest danger to children today comes from a small radical activist part of the “trans” community that, in many people’s eyes, has become the bullies themselves, and perhaps the most powerful and intimidating lobby group in the country. They have successfully intimidated politicians, businesses, education, research, and the medical communities. Yes, gender dysphoria is a real condition where people feel uncomfortable and dislike being in their body and want to be the other sex. It used to be considered a mental disorder treated with therapy and counseling, and most children overcame those feelings after puberty and went on to live normal lives. Today, however, these trans radicals are pushing the use of body-altering drugs that block puberty, the use of drugs for chemical castration that are also given to pedophiles and rapists in prisons, and now “gender affirming” surgeries that lead to young girls having their healthy breasts removed, and boys being chemically and sometimes physically castrated. Doctors and researchers who disagree with these methods and fired or threated with losing their jobs and never getting hired in those fields again if they speak out. Young men and women who have already had these treatments and surgeries and have suffered terrible side effects are silenced and threatened if they tell their stories.

Perhaps the most insidious problem is in our public schools. Many, but not all, schools today are not only pushing the gender theory ideas and encouraging young children to question their sexuality, they are also encouraging children who feel they “may be” trans to consider taking puberty blockers and moving toward mutilating surgeries, often without the parents’ consent or knowledge. Every week the news covers stories where teachers are trained to, in some cases, openly lie to the parents about what is happening to their children! Some states have passed legislation even allowing the schools to take children for these controversial treatments without parental knowledge and consent. And in some cases where parents protest this happening to their children, they have been arrested for child abuse against their own children, and threatened with having their own child taken from them!

I don’t believe most teachers want to have anything to do with this whole confusing, manipulative movement! I was married to a wonderful teacher for 42 years, I have a son who is a teacher, and I know many, many wonderful teachers. I don’t think any of them want to take over a parent’s job of teaching their kids about the topic of sexuality and all the confusion every child will feel about this area.  But sadly, this is happening more and more, and teachers have to stand up and fight back against being used in this manipulative, and I think EVIL, movement to use a young generation of kids as their experimental guinea pigs. Too much is on the line! In 20 years, we may have tens of thousands of young people who have been drugged and mutilated, suffering terrible side effects and unable to live normal, healthy sexual lives. And if that’s the case, they will really be “pissed off” at those who did that to them, and those adults who allowed it to happen!

3) Because of the above movement, an unfair side effect today is that young girls are forced to compete in athletic events against boys who declare themselves as trans girls/women.

 Not only will the boys win most if not all of those events because of their physical advantage, but the girls are forced to share locker rooms with them and undress in front of them and be subjected to seeing the boys genitalia as well! And when college female athletes complained about this, they were told THEY were the problem and were “transphobic”, and were offered counseling to change their minds!

So, what can and what should we do?

Pray, and protect our children….

Pray for parents of all backgrounds to unite and take back the moral education of our children to the home and not the classroom or legislatures!

We already see this happening: a group called “Gays against Groomers” has teamed up with a group called “Mothers of Freedom” to protect their children. In another region, there was clergy from Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and other faiths coming together to resist this movement.

Pray for teachers! Most teachers, from all political backgrounds, are parents themselves and truly love their students and want a healthy future for them. Pray these teachers can resist this experimental sexual manipulation and instead work closely with parents to raise healthy, well-adjusted children!

There is a well-known Proverb (22:6) that says “Train up a child in the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not depart from it”.

This was written to Hebrew parents implying first of all to raise them according to God’s teachings, but also recognizing that God has a unique path for each child and it was the parent’s responsibility to help the child recognize that future path and steer them into that future that God had planned for them!

Now, of course, Hebrew communities worked together to support the parents, but that was also under God’s direction and moral teachings. Parents need other parents’ support, as well as grandparents and good teachers, coaches, pastor, etc. But it was the parents who were given the ultimate responsibility for their children. Today, we often hear the secular proverb “It takes a village to raise a child”. Well, maybe yes, but often no! We don’t want a village raising our kids when the village is run by village idiots!

Finally, (and I know this is a long blog…sorry!), we Christians should know we are not to hate those we disagree with on this or any other issue, and they are never our ultimate “enemy”!

Paul reminds us:

¹⁰  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. ¹²  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. ¹³  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.-  Ephesians 6:10-13 (ESV)

This is ultimately a spiritual battle, and our true enemy is Satan and his evil demons who always want to destroy us all! He is the author of confusion, deception, mistrust, and hatred, and we should never go there when thinking about those we disagree with in any situation!

Therefore, remember, we are ALL broken by sin, we are all misguided at times, and yet Jesus loves us all and died to offer us forgiveness and power to overcome that sin and see the wonderful future he offers to us all.

Pray for, speak out and protect children from any and all harmful situations…

Pray for those who you disagree with, that they might also turn to God for his healing, forgiveness and love as well!

I close with this prayer for you from Paul in Ephesians 3: 14-19

¹⁴  For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵  from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, ¹⁶  that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸  may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹  and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. ²⁰  Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, ²¹  to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. – Ephesians 3:14-21 (ESV)

Everybody wants to be happy! Many people make it a lifelong, and futile, pursuit of making money, collecting things, and searching for new, ever more exciting experiences. But sooner or later in each life, we realize circumstances are not always good, friends and family will sometimes let us down, tragedy, illness, an even death will occur, and all this leads to many people falling into depression, anxiety, and a sense of pessimistic hopelessness. Recent studies have shown that the youngest generation in America has a higher rate of depression, anxiety, and hopelessness than any previous generation! Their rate of suicide is also the highest ever!  So, is there an answer to this common feeling of un-happiness?

The biblical book of Philippians is often called the “epistle of joy”, written by Paul as he was imprisoned in Rome. Biblical joy is greatly different than our culture’s shallow pursuit of “happiness”. In my Life Application Study Bible, it defines biblical joy like this: “True joy is deep and strong, not superficial. It is the quiet, confident assurance of God’s love and work in our lives—that he will be there no matter what! Our happiness should not depend on what happens TO us but on what happens IN us—the transformation that takes place when we put our trust in Jesus and His Holy Spirit comes to live in us, giving us God’s perspective on life and all the ups and downs that come with it”.

In chapter 1 of Philippians, Paul gives us some hopeful reminders of how to find God’s joy even in the worst of circumstances! Writing from prison, which would lead most people to fear, depression, and hopelessness, Paul instead gives us hope and a Godly perspective which will take us through the worst that life’s circumstances can hit us with!

1) Always seek to know God better and get his wisdom and insight because he intends to use your life for good!

Paul prays with joy for his Christian friends and reminds them that he is confident that “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ” (v.1:6)  Because of that confidence, he continues to pray this for them:

⁹  And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰  so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, ¹¹  filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ–to the glory and praise of God. – Philippians 1:9-11 (NIV)
Do YOU believe that God has a specific plan and use for your life, up until the day you die?  Or, are you just always working on YOUR agenda for your life, and somehow hoping God will “bless and rubber stamp” your plans?

2) Paul found great joy, purpose, and power in knowing that he (and all of us as Christians) are on a mission to share the gospel and bring others into Jesus’ eternal Kingdom!

Many people are unhappy because their self-determined plans for their lives fall short in disappointment, and they see external circumstances limiting what they dreamed and hoped their ideal life would look like. If you keep insisting that God should approve and bless “your plan” for your life, you will never be fully happy, and will miss out on the greater plan and purpose God has for you!

Even though he was confined to prison, Paul saw every day and every place he found himself as an opportunity to share the good news of Jesus! So, he joyfully shared Jesus with his captors and many of them became Christians, and became God’s “secret agents” in Caesar’s household! Paul would say that whatever happens to him, whether in good or bad circumstances, it was “all good” because nothing can stop the advancement of God’s Kingdom!

Paul was not only confined to prison, but he saw that others used his imprisonment to “backstab him” by trying to take over his churches and leadership and get all the credit and recognition for themselves! While many today would cry unfair and whine about the unfairness of that and question God’s plan, Paul saw it entirely differently! He calmly says:

¹⁵  It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. ¹⁶  The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. ¹⁷  They preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. ¹⁸  But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, ¹⁹  for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.  -Philippians 1:15-19 (NIV)

3) Paul was able to find joy in the midst of suffering because he knew Jesus has promised his followers a future hope that will last forever and can never be taken from us!

Our pastor likes to speak of the “capital H” hope as opposed to the “lower case H” hope. The lower case hope is what we all hope for daily in life. Things like good health and jobs, a happy family, finding the right girl/boyfriend or future spouse, great vacations, good friends, an easy life with no conflict or drama, etc. While those certainly are good and happen often, life is never always easy and often ends up being difficult, hard to deal with, and discouraging. No one ultimately escapes the worst in life, and we all will eventually die physically. As someone said, “None of us are getting out of here alive”!

The “capital H” hope, on the other hand, is what Jesus promises to those who trust their lives and future to him. He has promised us eternal life, a new, amazing quality of life that beings now as his Spirit indwells his followers and lasts forever when we fully enter into his present and future Kingdom that will last forever! When we live in that perspective, we see all of our life and circumstances from God’s perspective. We can enjoy each day and see God’s hand at work in our lives in spite of the trials, injustice and setbacks that come our way. And we have joy because God is always with is and will never abandon us, and he will give us the strength we need to face the hard times in life!

Paul loved people and life, but he wasn’t afraid to die because he knew that when that happened he would be with Jesus forever and that would be even better! He said:

²⁰  I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹  For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. ²²  If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! ²³  I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; ²⁴  but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. – Philippians 1:20-24 (NIV)

Paul was so confident of God’s love that he was basically telling his enemies “ I have no fear of you. The worst thing you can do to me is kill me, and if you do, I get to go home to Jesus and live forever in an even better and amazing life!” And, because of that perspective, he was truly free to love his enemies, pray for them, and share the hope of Jesus with anyone he could. He encourages his followers to have the same attitude and live a similar life worthy of being a follower of Jesus! He tells them:

²⁷  Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel ²⁸  without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved–and that by God. – Philippians 1:27-28 (NIV)

WHATEVER HAPPENS…..

LIVE FEARLESSLY IN A WAY THAT HONORS JESUS AND ADVANCES HIS KINGDOM!

You may be going through a difficult time now, and you are not at all “happy” and don’t think you can feel any “joy” right now either! But remember, biblical joy is not at all about how we feel at the moment, nor about the circumstances you find yourself in.  God’s joy consists of an internal stability in spite of external circumstances!!

When I watched my wife Claudia fight cancer for 18 months, only to die in October 2020, I can’t say there was any time in that experience that we would say we were particularly “happy” about any of it! Sure, there were times when the chemo reduced tumors, and the long surgery appeared successful, at least for a few months. But all of that time was hard, it was depressing, it was scary for us,  it was just “awful”, and although we had several moments of “lower case” hope happening, in the end, our hope and prayers for God’s healing of Claudia didn’t go the way we were praying. From a human standpoint, it would have been easy to be angry at God, feel we were unfairly punished, and we could have been bitter and actually turned away from God!

HOWEVER…..

Because Claudia and I were both blessed with decades of knowing and experiencing Jesus’ love in our lives, we were able to experience the “capital H” hope of seeing this whole experience through God’s perspective!

And because of that, I can truly say that we experienced God’s “joy” many times in the midst of that difficult journey. There was NEVER a doubt that whether Claudia died of cancer, or was healed, that she was going to live forever in the presence of Jesus in his future Kingdom! Towards the last months of her life, as difficult as it was to watch her body waste away to that awful disease, we both felt a peace in our souls that was beyond our human understanding, and our perspective and prayers changed to asking for Jesus to take her home, gracefully and peacefully, to where she ultimately longed to be.

So, today, I can rejoice that Claudia is victorious over death because of what Jesus did on the cross for us, and I am truly delighted that she is wonderfully alive and singing praise to God more than ever, something she lived for and loved to do in this life!

And as Paul wrote, I can also rejoice that God will now use the rest of my life and finish the plans he has for me, however long that journey may turn out to be. As Paul might say, whether I live many more years or die soon, I’m going to enjoy and be thankful for what God brings me each day, I’m going to share Jesus with everybody I can, and I going to strive to live in a life worthy of Jesus, filled with peace, joy, and never-ending hope!

I wish you all many “lower case” hope fulfillments in your life, but above all I pray you will experience the “capital H” hope of eternal life that only comes with personally giving your life to Jesus. With that comes God’s joy, peace, and assurance that is beyond anything this world can ever offer you!

I leave you with Paul’s wonderful exhortation and encouragement in Philippians Ch. 4:

⁴  Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ⁸  Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. ⁹  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me–put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. – Philippians 4:4-9 (NIV)

Remember Who You Are, In Jesus,

And Don’t Let This Toxic Culture Label You!

If you listen to any news outlet today, any pundit, any college professor or teacher, any politician, or even many pastors today, you will be hopelessly labeled by some real or perceived brokenness in your life! Today’s favorite labels today deal with various forms of sexuality, gender, racial identity, nationalism, political and economic philosophy, age, belief systems, and on and on… This just leads to terrible division, mistrust, and downright hatred for those who don’t represent our labels and agendas enough to satisfy us! And of course, with the ease of the Internet and social media, we can all righteously “virtue signal” to “our side” how right we are, and how wrong, stupid, and evil “they” are!

What most people don’t realize today is that this is nothing new! Since humanity’s fall in the Garden of Eden, sin has broken and destroyed us mentally, emotionally, physically, sexually, and has torn our very souls apart, leaving us broken and wandering aimlessly trying to recover the essence of true humanity that God created us for in the Garden before we sinned and rebelled. SIN is thinking and acting in ways that are less than God intended for us when he created us in His image originally. Sin literally means to “miss the mark”, such as when an archer misses their target. We ALL sin in thought, action, and motives, and the Bible tells us we can’t just overcome it by self-improvement and trying harder! We are ALL broken by sin, and only God can ultimately fix that brokenness!

To escape the never ending labels and accusations of human brokenness that we all struggle with, we need to let God rescue us from sin and give us his power to overcome and change! There are 3 major components to recognize if we want to go from brokenness, division, and hopelessness to new life and a brand new humanity!

 1) We are ALL “spiritual zombies!” – we are literally walking around spiritually dead because of our sins!

¹  As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ²  in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³  All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. – Ephesians 2:1-3 (NIV)
 

As much as we like to think of ourselves as better than others and on the “right side” of many moral arguments, Paul says in God’s view, we are ALL hopelessly lost, actually following the ways of Satan, and have no ability to really get back to what we were meant to be as human beings originally! After all, a “dead person” has no power to make himself come alive!

Bummer!  Pretty bad news, huh?

2) BUT… GOD! These are the 2 most hopeful words in scripture, because God did something to rescue and save us!

⁴  BUT because of his great love for us, GOD, who is rich in mercy, ⁵  made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶  And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷  in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– ⁹  not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰  For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  – Ephesians 2:4-10 (NIV)

Because we are hopeless and spiritually dead, God, in his mercy and grace (a free gift), made us alive through the death and resurrection of Jesus! He died in our place, took our punishment, and now we are forgiven by God for all our sins, and God now looks on as though we had never sinned! Jesus took on our sinful nature on the cross, and in exchange, we are able to take on his sinless nature through faith in him!

No notice… this is all GOD, not you and your best effort! Stop any pride, or arrogance or tooting your own horn! Your degrees, your accomplishments, your good looks and charm have no ability to save you; only God can do that! All that God asks of you and I is that we accept this free gift of salvation by FAITH, or trust, in Jesus. That means more than mere intellectual assent! It means trusting your life now, and forever, into the hands of Jesus!  And when we do that, it leads to a life-changing future! 

3) When we surrender our lives to Jesus, his gives us his POWER to change and become new creations ourselves! God softens our hearts and changes us from the inside out, slowly taking away our desire to sin and giving us His power to resist sin, and help us want to live his way!

So, what about the division, hatred, and labeling today? In every generation, including when the New Testament was written, people hated and mistrusted each other, just like today. In those times, there were divisions like the elite and rich Pharisees and Sadducees verses the poor and uneducated, men verses women (who were treated liked the husband’s property in the Roman Empire), Romans verses everybody else, Jews verses the Gentiles (anybody who was not a Jew), and free workers verses slaves (which were often more like hired servants at that time). It was said that Jewish men felt so superior to everyone else that they would begin the day by praying “Thank you, Lord, that I am not a Gentile, a slave, or a woman”!

That sounds like a prayer many would say about other groups today, doesn’t it? And today, many groups want to win elections, control money and power, and pass laws that justify their views, and shame or cancel the views of those that disagree. And because with many of our sinful habits we don’t have the desire or power to change, we just want to change society to believe that particular sinful behavior is now declared normal and good, and then we can now celebrate it!

But that’s not how God changes us, and he wants us all to overcome our sins and live again like we were created to live before sin wrecked our lives! When Jesus softened and healed the broken hearts of these various factions, they looked at each other differently! When Jesus’ love became dominant in their hearts, their differences no longer mattered, and they repented of their own sins, and for gave each other, and worked together to build each other into a new humanity that God desires for us all to join! Paul describes this in Ephesians 2:

¹⁴  For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, ¹⁵  by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶  and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. ¹⁷  He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. ¹⁸  For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. ¹⁹  Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, ²⁰  built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ²¹  In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²²  And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.  –Ephesians 2:14-22 (NIV)

When these groups that had always hated and mistrusted each other began to love and forgive each other, and sacrifice for each other, it changed their culture and drew many others to Jesus and a new life that can last for eternity!

And it can happen today again!

Remember, God doesn’t change people through government, or new laws, or secular education programs.

God changes people when they come to him with humble, contrite, and broken hearts!

When you come to God with your brokenness and want to change and trust your life to Jesus, and live his way (repent), he will graciously forgive all your sins and give you His power to become a new person!

Then you can see others the way Jesus sees them, and learn to love those you may have hated before!

Today, we hear many stories of spiritual revival around the world!

Revival happens when people humble themselves before God, repent of their hardened hearts, and seek God’s forgiveness and power to change and love God and others with tender hearts.

As I write this, I sense I need to repent and soften my heart towards some people and groups today.

Maybe you feel that way too!

Whenever we humble ourselves before God, it opens up the door to God’s fresh power from His Spirit to blow through us and change us, and in turn change the world around us!

I want that power for me, and I want that power for you as well!

I’m going to close by sharing a beautiful prayer from Ephesians 3 were Paul prayed for that life changing power to come again on his people! I’m praying this for me, and for you, and I look forward to what God may do in, and with, our lives as we surrender again to Him!

Ephesians 3:14-21 (NIV)
¹⁴  For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵  from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸  may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹  and to know this love that surpasses knowledge–that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. ²⁰  Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹  to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted”

– Jesus, in Matthew 5:4

2020 was the worst year of my life for mourning and grief! My older sister Marlene died in August, and then my wife Claudia (CJ to many) died in October. Even though CJ and I were mature Christians and understood that physical death was not the end of her real life, and that she would immediately be in Jesus’ presence after her last breath, it still was an awful, painful and disappointing experience to go through! I recently reviewed one of my blogs I wrote in September of 2020, about 1 ½ months before she died. I was sharing how we both felt about our own grieving, so I’m going to share an excerpt of that blog with you because I think it reflects how most people feel when they experience grief and mourning (you can read that full blog on my blog site at www.boomers4jesus.org ) :

“When I refer to CJ’s “status”, most folks think of her physical status in relation to her cancer. To be honest, it is not good. She is getting weaker each week, and struggles with shortness of breath and water retention as symptoms of this cancer. Fortunately, the pain has been quite manageable and the medication is doing the trick in keeping the pain down. It’s also good that she is still fully alert and enjoys reading, watching TV, listening to praise music, doing her Bible studies, and is still active on social media with friends. Saturday all of our kids & grandkids came over for the day and that was wonderful to have all 17 of us together!

While we both continue to pray for God’s  physical healing and have no doubt he can do that, and we know many of you are praying that as well, it is becoming more likely that God is not going to do that. CJ’s body is dying, and we are certainly aware of God’s presence and leading as we go through this process. As humans there is no easy way to go through this process, and to put it in human (not spiritual) terms, dying sucks! We both grieve those things we will never do together any more, and CJ grieves especially not seeing our 9 grandkids grow up, get married, etc. As those of you who have gone through this experience of losing a spouse, child, parent, relative, or friend, you know life is never always fair and the way we think it should be! It is easy as we face the process of physical death to fall prey to fear, discouragement, and hopelessness, especially if you don’t believe there is life after death.”  – from Sept. 9^th, 2020

We mostly think of grief and mourning in relation to the loss of a loved one. But you can also grieve over a broken marriage that leads to divorce, a serious accident or illness, a child who falls prey to addiction or criminal activity, the loss of a job, a broken friendship, or anything that seems like it should never happen and is just not fair or right! When anything like this affects us deeply, we have an innate sense that “this is just not right, this is not the way it’s supposed to be”!

So, what is Jesus getting at in the passage above when he says “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted”? This is from his “Sermon on the Mount”, and this is the 2^nd of eight Beatitudes, or “Kingdom Values” that I would like to explore with you. These are values and character traits that Jesus wants us to develop that will reflect his character and bring glory to His Father. As we mature in, and live out, these eight Kingdom Values, Jesus will bless us with spiritual advantages that will strengthen us and give us unshakable hope as we face the chaos and darkness of our sin-stained world. These will enable us to see our lives, and our world, from God’s perspective. And that can lead to peace of mind and hope for an eternal future!

1) Mourning and grief are a response to the brokenness and sin that mars our world and affects us all!

Remember God’s perspective: He created us to live with him in the Garden of Eden, free from sin and all its evil effects. In that sinless setting, we would never get sick or die, there would be no wars, hatred, hunger, crime, abuse, or any of the horrible effects we see from sin every day in our fallen world. But, when Adam & Eve rebelled and sinned, they were banned from God’s presence and the result of sin was physical and spiritual death for all in the human race, and all of the brokenness and chaos that is our world today!

So when we mourn and grieve, our souls are crying out that this is not right, this is not the way it was supposed to be! Even in our sinfulness and separation from God’s intimate love, even in the hearts of those who don’t believe in God at all, there is an innate knowledge and sense that all of this horrible crap we see in the world every day is just not right, it’s not the way things are supposed to be, and we KNOW there should be something better than this in life!

2) Jesus is calling us to mourn like God does!

God hates the effects of sin in our lives also, and mourns and weeps for us as well! God is constantly encouraging people to repent from their sinfulness (turn and go the other way), and if they do, he will gladly forgive them, make life better now, and promise a future new Kingdom that will be like the Garden of Eden, restored and without any sin!

In the prophet Joel, 2:12-13, God says,
¹²  “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; ¹³  and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.

Too many people just succumb to the horrors of sin, and in today’s culture, we have even come to accept and even celebrate some of the results of sin! It’s like people believe “this is just the way it is in the world, and nothing will ever change or get better!” BUT THAT’S NOT TRUE!! Jesus came to die for our sin, and his Resurrection overcame the power of sin and enables us to have his power to resist and overcome sin as well! And, while we still may struggle with the effects of sin, God promises to comfort us through his Holy Spirit and give us his amazing peace in the midst of whatever circumstances we may face.

3) Mourning as God mourns will give us an unshakable hope and lead us into a future Kingdom with Jesus, where we will have new bodies and never get sick or die!

Mourning and grieving means we DON’T accept the sinful status quo of this world, and we long with hope for God’s promise of a better world! It’s really very similar to the definition of faith in Hebrews 11:1—“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not yet seen”.

Mourning reminds us that a new “morning” is coming, a better day and place in which all sin will be reversed, and we again joyfully live forever in the very presence of God on a newly restored and sinless earth!

John describes it this way in Revelation 21: 1-5:

¹  Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ²  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. ⁴  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” ⁵  And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Mourning and grief are hard to bear and endure. But in the midst of all that sense of loss and unfairness, trusting in God will remind us that sin is not the last word in his plan! Sure, I miss Claudia and wish the cancer had never happened, but because I know and trust Jesus, I also have great comfort in my life and look forward to the rest of my life on earth with peace, joy, and anticipation of what God has for me in the future! And, I find great comfort in knowing that Claudia is amazingly happy now in Jesus’ presence, and that all the pain and hurt she endured has already been reversed and wiped away, and she is restored to the beautiful daughter of God that she always aspired to be here in earth. And, we will meet again, as brother and sister in Jesus in the new and amazing family of God in his new Kingdom!

I don’t wish the experience of mourning and grief on any of you…

but, knowing that we will all experience times of loss and grief, perhaps many times in life;

I pray that that you will turn to God and let him help you to mourn and grieve as he does, and then trust him for the comfort, peace, and eternal hope for a new and better Kingdom that he so eagerly wants to give you, if you will just trust his son Jesus!