Atheists love to prove not only Christians to be wrong, but anyone who they consider to be a ‘theist’.

In their passion to discredit the God, the bible, and those of us who believe wrong, many go to two sources…

SCIENCE

THE BIBLE

The fact is that if you have had a conversation with atheists, or monitored/participated in an online or physical forum with them, they often quote scriptures from the bible…

Questioning them…

Belittling them…

Mocking them…

Trying to find contradictions in them…

Trying to disqualify them and anyone who believes them.

Many of them dig pretty deep and go as far as to STUDY the bible trying to look for evidence to make their case against it stronger.

However, this tactic is not new. Even the devil himself knows the bible and tried to use it against Yeshua (Jesus Christ) in the wilderness…

Matthew 4:1-11 (NKJV)

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. ³ Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” ⁴ But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” ⁵ Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶ and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ” ⁷ Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not ^[a]tempt the Lord your God.’ ” ⁸ Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹ And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to him, ^[b]“Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” ¹¹ Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

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It’s unfortunate that many Christians are not equipped to contend against an atheist whose using the word of God because they don’t read and study it enough for themselves. It is essential that we in the Body of Christ study the work of God not only for our own relationship with God and spiritual maturity, but so we can be ready to give an answer to those who refute it…

2 Timothy 2:15 (NKJV)

¹⁵ Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

1 Peter 3:15 (NKJV)

¹⁵ But ^[a]sanctify ^[b]the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

Psalm 119:11 (NKJV)

¹¹ Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You.

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The word of God should be a part of our daily spiritual nourishment. Any Christian who goes days, weeks, months and even years without studying God’s word along with history, culture, biblical language and anthropology…is seriously spiritually malnourished. In many ways believers who don’t study God’s word do more harm to the Kingdom of God than good.

It’s a good practice to add to you prayer life prayers for atheists who read the bible trying to disprove it, that God will let what they read be ‘good seed in good soil’. Pray that God will actually give increase to the ‘seed of the word’ that they read so that they can believe in Him through Jesus Christ. Pray that God actually makes them laborers for His harvest, and give them a passion FOR Him that is even greater than the passion they had against them…

Matthew 9:38 (NKJV)

³⁸ Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

If Saul/Paul, a man who passionately worked to destroy the church can be converted…anyone can.

How often do you enjoy quality time with God in His word? PLEASE don’t dishonor God by allowing an atheist to know more about His word than you.

A ‘VERSE OF THE DAY’ is not enough!

BE BLESSTIFED!

Many times after we have hurt someone, and they have ‘forgiven’ us, it angers us and hurts us when they bring it back up. We quickly remind them that ‘you are supposed to forgive and forget’. We remind them of how God says He will never remember our sins anymore…

Isaiah 43:25, “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”

God is letting us know the power of His forgiveness, but do you think our omniscient, all-knowing God can’t recall what we did? Do you think He actually can’t remember it anymore?

This must be understood in proper context. God forgives us and doesn’t hold our sins against us WHEN WE REPENT. But, what is repentance? Repentance is godly sorrow over what we’ve done (2 Corinthians 7:10). Repentance is a change of heart, and doing our best to never do that again. Repentance is making every effort to not put ourselves in the path of temptation for those sins. Repentance is an all out, sincere effort to turn around. But, Israel sometimes continued to rebel against God. Israel sometimes continued in the same sins…that’s not repentance. Israel sometimes put themselves in the path of temptation making it easier to fall.

You will notice that when Israel returned to their previous sins, that God STERNLY AND LOVINGLY BROUGHT UP THE PAST.

God was always first hurt, and then angry when Israel backslid. It’s not that they surprised Him. He already knew what they would do, when He forgave and restored them. How many times have you forgiven someone, but you fully suspected they weren’t yet strong enough to resist going back or hurting you the same way. When they did it again, you thought to yourself, “I knew it”, and it made your flesh even more angry because you expected it. You expected it because you could see them slipping back into old habits.

When ISRAEL backslid after being forgiven by God… BROUGHT UP THE PAST, HE CALLED THEM OUT, HE REMINDED THEM in a stern and loving manner. In your free time read these scriptures, and these are not the only ones, where God BROUGHT UP THE PAST. I suggest you read the entire chapters for context…

·       Judges 2:1-4

·       Judges 6:7-10

·       Judges 10:10-15

·       1 Samuel 10:17-19

·       Ezekiel 16

·       Ezekiel 20

·       Psalm 81

Following God’s example, when someone repeatedly hurts you with the same sin expecting you to ‘get over it’, expecting you to not allow it to bother you, expecting not to have to have anything to say…remember that, in love, God called out ISRAEL when they fell back into rebellion against Him. He reminded them of everything that He had done for them. How He delivered them from the hand of the Egyptians, gave them a land inhabited by others, made their enemies subject to them. He reminded them of all He had done for them and pointed out what they did.

When someone blatantly hurts you, just like God, you have a right to remind them of your love for them, and bring up the past responsibly….in the spirit of love, STILL WILLING TO FORGIVE. This works both ways. You are willing to forgive no matter how many times they do it (Matthew 18:21,22), as Jesus commanded. And if they care about you, reminding them pricks their hearts, hopefully leading them to repent and have a sincere desire to not do it again. God said if we delight in Him He will give us the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4). If it’s our desire to not do these hurtful things again…then we won’t. It works both ways towards forgiveness and repentance.

Read the scriptures I’ve listed above. Study this topic. See how God sounds like a hurt lover when His people chose evil over Him (Judges 2:2). Notice how He sternly, but lovingly reminds them His love, their sin and their promises. Then look at how He is willing to forgive again, and how they are led to repent. BRINGING UP THE PAST IN LOVE….it all works for both parties involved.

So, if you find yourself to hurt someone in the same way you did before, and they forgave you, have enough humility and respect to allow them to remind you of their love and your promise. And, if someone blatantly hurts you again after you’ve forgiven them, ONLY BRING IT BACK UP IN THE SPIRIT OF LOVE, fully ready to forgive again…and again…and again.

I would love to know your thoughts on this.

BE BLESSTIFIED!!!

I strongly feel that one of God’s spiritual purposes for allowing COVID-19 to interrupt in-person worship is so we can pause and take a good look at how we approach worship and our traditions.

One of the reasons the religious establishment sought to kill Jesus was because He challenged their traditions.

Matthew 15:3 (ESV)

³ He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?

He also made it clear that God demands that we worship Him in spirit and truth, not just what we choose to believe…

John 4:24 (NKJV)

²⁴ God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

One of those traditions that I think that God wants us to reconsider is what we call ‘Good Friday’ or the day when Yeshua was crucified and buried. I can’t count the times I’ve heard or read arguments trying to make Friday through Sunday 3 days and 3 nights. And quite frankly, it always sounds like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

Many Christians feel they have to justify making two days into three because they don’t want to contradict what we have been taught… a tradition.

It’s like trying to fit a square peg into a circle.

Consider this.

Take another look at the account of the day Yeshua was on the cross taking into consideration that the Jewish day began at what we call 6pm or sunset to sunrise.

The Gospels say that Yeshua cried out and breathed His last breath around the 9th hour, or 3pm…

Mark 15:33-37 (NKJV)

³³ Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. ³⁴ And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

³⁵ Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, “Look, He is calling for Elijah!” ³⁶ Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down.”

³⁷ And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.

As we move forward to verse 42, it is now EVENING and Yeshua is still on the cross as Joseph of Arimathea asks Pilate for the body.

Mark 15:42-43 (NKJV)

⁴² Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, ⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

Upon the arrival of evening, it’s no longer the same day as it was when Yeshua was crucified.

Genesis 1:5 (NKJV)

⁵ God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. ^[a]So the evening and the morning were the first day.

God gave us His word from a Jewish perspective. Problems arise when we try and view it through the lens of our western perspective.

Notice everything that had to take place after before Jesus could be placed into the tomb after 3pm…

John 19:31-42 (NKJV)

³¹ Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. ³² Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. ³³ But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. ³⁴ But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. ³⁵ And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. ³⁶ For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.” ³⁷ And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.”

³⁸ After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. ³⁹ And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. ⁴⁰ Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. ⁴¹ Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. ⁴² So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.

Remember, harmonizing with Mark 15:42, it was EVENING when Joseph of Arimathea asked for the body of Yeshua. This was AFTER the soldiers came to break His legs (this was evening too) and realized He was already dead. This was after he was given sour wine to drink before He died. All this was after 3pm and took time. It took time for Joseph to go to Pilate, ask for the body, get His linen cloth, properly wrap His body in the cloth, get the body of our Savior off the cross, and take it to the tomb.

This all happened after evening had arrived…the next biblical day according to the Jewish perspective of a day beginning in the evening rather than at 12 midnight.

So, with the ARRIVAL of evening came the Day of Preparation, or what we call Friday, which means everything that happened BEFORE evening was on the previous day, what we call Thursday.

If the crucifixion occurred on what we call Thursday, then one can easily justify three days and three nights… no trying to fit a square peg into a circle.

Of course, some are so devoted to a tradition that doesn’t make sense, they will ask, “What does it matter?”

It matters because God demands to be worshipped in spirit and truth.

It matters because we don’t want to be guilty of teaching, preaching and believing a lie.

It matters because the Adversary wants to pervert everything holy (NAMES MATTER (WHY WE SHOULD STOP CALLING EASTER…EASTER).

I’m sure some ‘seasoned’ theologians will read this and try and make me seem as though I don’t know what I’m talking about…and that’s exactly what happened to Jesus.

Think about it.

BE BLESSTIFED!

There are many people in the world who don’t want any attention drawn to themselves…

And, there’s nothing wrong with that.

But, when I’m honest with myself, I sometimes crave attention….Why?

Because I’m a creative…Sometimes creativity crying to be seen, heard, tasted, experienced, enjoyed,… meant to bring inspiration, comfort and evangelize can cause uneasiness and even depression.

Why?

Because I’m a minister and disciple… ministry and discipleship are nothing if they aren’t seen…heard…shared.

Even Jesus Himself that we aren’t supposed to hide our light, but share it…

Matthew 5:14-16 (NKJV)

^{14 (A)}“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do they ^(B)light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, ^(C)that they may see your good works and ^(D)glorify your Father in heaven.

God wants us to draw attention to the gifts He’s given us with humility and grace…not arrogance and pride.

BE BLESSTIFIED!