Strong Man Of God Blog

          As with all born again Christians who love the Lord and understand something about His prophetic Word, I have been saddened by the murderous attack Hamas carried out against Israel this past October 7^th.  With the Lord’s leading, I write this post speaking directly to Israel and then, the Church His message serves to also soberly warn in accord with His will expressed from Scripture concerning all of Israel’s historical experiences (1 Corinthians 10:1-11).  This message from the Lord came to me just after 3AM on October 13^th exactly one month after earlier experiencing His grief mingled with my own while fasting on September 13^th.  Now, I know there was more to His grief.¹

          I write in all humility and His love knowing that as a Gentile and Christian, there is nothing I have to say even declaring it is from the Lord you, Israel, feel any obligation to hear.  For I also know of the long history of disqualifying bigoted treatment by professed Gentile Christians.²  Nevertheless, in writing to you at the Lord’s directive I am part of the continuum of fulfillment to His nearly three thousand year old prophecy through Isaiah the prophet one of Christianity’s most prominent Jewish apostles also affirms: ‘“With men of other tongues and other lips I will speak to this people; and yet, for all that, they will not hear Me,’ says the Lord,” (Isaiah 28:9-13; 1 Corinthians 14:20-21, NKJV).

          The heart of His message to you, Israel, is remember who you are, whose you are and your unique calling from God!  You are the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who the Lord in His perfect plan and timing brought out of Egyptian slavery to the land He promised them, in covenant relationship to be His “special treasure” “above all people,” “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation,” (Exodus 19:1-6, NKV).  The guilty in that generation perished in the wilderness because of their unwillingness to believe God and obey His Word.  So, Moses again reminded the survivors “who held fast to the Lord” of His great will for you as His people (Deuteronomy 1:1-8, 4:1-14, 7:6-11, NKJV).

          As the unique people of God, Moses also declared to you, ‘“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!  You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength,’” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5, NKJV).  With such knowledge and devotion, your fathers were repeatedly warned not to serve idols or adopt the ways of the nations they passed through and that surrounded them in the land God promised.  But as He foreknew and foretold through Moses, they would and did not listen so that God’s judgments including being expelled from the land to Babylon came upon your fathers (Deuteronomy 31:14-29; Jeremiah 25:1-11; Ezekiel 20:1-31).

          In Babylon, the Lord spoke solemn words through Ezekiel the prophet to your fathers avowing, ‘“What you have in your mind shall never be, when you say, “We will be like the Gentiles, like the families in other countries, serving wood and stone,”’ (Ezekiel 20:32, NKJV).  Back in the land after this with much adversity, finally, the fullness of God’s wrath came upon your fathers in 70 A.D. as Jesus of Nazareth foretold whom they rejected as the Christ and put to death in the plainly foretold events and timing of the “beloved” Daniel (Daniel 9:1-26; Luke 19:41-44, 21:20-24, NKJV).  Scattered to the Gentile nations, God made you a nation again in 1948 and has brought many back to the land.

          God, who does not change, has preserved and brought you back to the land in accord with all He has foretold through the prophets still to be fulfilled including more adversity until the coming of His Anointed to comfort His remnant (Isaiah 28:14-22, 40:1-11; Jeremiah 30:1-11, 31:1-14; Ezekiel 20:33-44; Malachi 3:1-6)!  In the land, He still holds you accountable to be and conduct yourselves as the covenant people, His holy nation (Malachi 4:4-6).  He stands by His vow that you will not be like all the other nations as idolaters or wrapping yourselves and parading about in rainbow flags openly flaunt their wicked deeds or does not His many painful punishments of your fathers for turning from Him and disobedience adequately serve to warn you, O Israel (2 Chronicles 12:1-12, 36:15-21)?

          Let all the followers of the Son of God and David, Jesus Christ, crucified, buried, risen and ascended to God’s right hand (Acts 7:54-60) take due prophetic note of what is now, unfolding in the land of Israel.  Our earth sojourn has been closely associated with that of unsaved Israel from the first century; both suffering persecution from Rome, other pagan nations and religions thereafter as is the case at this very hour and yet to come as foretold (Daniel 7:19-27, 8:23-26, 9:27, 11:36-45; Matthew 24:9-25; Acts 14:21-22, 19:21-41; Revelation 12:13-13:18).³  The faithful are to prepare in faith for the coming persecutions while with biblical understanding endure the adversities the Lord brings as judgment upon His Church (Psalm 103:10; Lamentations 3:37-40; Micah 7:1-10; Matthew 10:34-39).⁴

1 Read the September 24, 2023 post, Racism In Christ’s Church A No-No, under the category, Instruction.

2 The Scourge Of Racism, Copyright 2023, ODCM Publishing Division, Portland, OR, p. 14.  See also the September 17, 2023 post, Racism A Two-Fold Scourge, under the
   category, Biblical Worldview.

3 Arrogant, apathetic and at ease, many American Christians have no idea of the great suffering our brothers and sisters are experiencing in various nations around the earth
   because  of  their  faith.   Read  some  of their stories and help Global Christian Relief among others serving persecuted Christians in dire need.  Coming to America sooner
   than you think!

4 Read the October 15, 2023 post, In Judgment, Grace, Mercy And Revival, under the category, Glory To God!
 

          Arising from the midst of the Lord’s permitted severe adversities as judgment upon along with grace, mercy and revival in His American Church are men; men who aspire to be “strong” as described of old by Daniel the prophet and in Christ’s image (Daniel 11:32-35; Romans 8:29, NKJV).¹  Such men are supposed to be well represented in the Church.  However, in these latter days they have been made rare by a multitude of Church sins including the toleration and practice of racism.  Restored in their sold out devotion and obedience to Christ, aspiring strong men of God in His image are the only ones that can stand to lead the Church out of racism and into modeling racial harmony!

          All men are weak in sin before God (Psalm 6:1-2a, 51:5; Luke 5:4-8; Romans 3:9-18, 23)!  Our thinking, attitudes, words and deeds fully display the sin nature that resides within us (Mark 7:21-22).  Indeed, racism is but one of many sins men practice that flow from our sin nature and the arrogance with pride spawned by it in the heart.²  With all other sins men commit, racism too, is not only a display of the sin nature, but spiritual weakness.  Consequently, as the Lord leads me to write in The Scourge Of Racism, those who practice racism whether they profess to be Christians or not and whatever their hues are also showing spiritual weakness only He can deliver a man from.³

          Jesus Christ, God “the Word” and “Son,” came into the world from Heaven by the express will of “the Father,” (John 1:1-2, 14-18, NKJV).  He taught with “authority” and did mighty works in the power of God (Mark 1:21-28, 4:35-41; John 20:30-31, NKJV).  He was also tested in every manner as we are to the death, but no sin was found in Him for He was perfect in all of His ways (Matthew 4:1-11, 26:36-46, 27:35-54; Hebrews 2:18, 4:15).  Without dispute, Jesus Christ is the Strong Man of God He wants all willing men to look to as the role model for what being a man is about, follow and imitate to the end of bearing His image forever (Luke 9:18-36; 1 Corinthians 11:1, 15:47-49)!⁴ 

          While the Father does allow for the reality of sin weak Christ followers, this is not His perfect will (1 Corinthians 11:23-32).  Every man that repents of his sins and believes on Christ for salvation is called by the Father to become a strong man in His Son’s image and purposely set on a path to spiritual maturity to that end by Him (Matthew 10:24-25; Ephesians 4:11-16; Hebrews 12:1-11).  In seeking to please Him and do His will, Christian men as aspiring strong men of God in Christ’s image submit to and obey His commandments as taught (Matthew 28:18-20).  Chief among the Lord’s commandments is for His disciples to “love one another” as He exemplified (John 13:34, NKJV).⁵ 

          Not only would the world know the reality of Christ by His disciples’ display of love for each other, but they by their obedience to His command would be showing Him love the way He requires (John 13:35, 14:15).  As a result, they most assuredly would not be tolerant of or practicing the loveless sin of racism!  For besides disobeying the Lord’s command to love each other practicing racism, they know this sin wickedly does harm to its object whether a fellow believer or not (Romans 13:8-10).  Too, they understand themselves to be sons of God who behaving in righteousness and love, are distinct from the devil’s children and their hurtful conduct toward others (1 John 3:10-15).

          The men I am describing--aspiring strong men of God in the image of Christ--are not more evident in the Church at this hour because many have been left ignorant of their calling attending churches where it or anything like biblical manhood is not taught.  Also, men are marginalized in the Church due to another sin, capitulation to feminists for the sake of their definition of equality.  Nevertheless, Christ Lord of His Church is restoring willing men through Ministries like ours!⁶  They are being purposely taught the way of Christ as the Strong Man of God so in being personally restored, they might also restore their families and communities to include local churches as needed.⁷ 

          As I write in The Scourge Of Racism, whatever their hue aspiring strong men of God in Christ’s image do not tolerate, practice or in silence endorse the sin of racism, but call it out while modeling the Lord’s commanded love.⁸  As it should be, these aspiring strong men of God in the image of Christ are local church leaders as well as those rising up from the pews to display the solution to racism in His Church and to a skeptical, hostile watching world to His glory as we are called to do!  Truly, standing against racism and all biblically defined sin in the midst of intensifying adversities and persecution from Christian impostors and the world will be challenging; they will have the experiences of the men in Daniel’s prophecy already cited as they serve in Christ’s strength (Philippians 4:13).

1 Read the October 15, 2023 post, In Judgment, Grace, Mercy And Revival, under the category, Glory To God!

2 See the September 17, 2023 post, Racism A Two-Fold Scourge, under the category, Biblical Worldview, for a definition of racism. 

3 The  Scourge  Of  Racism, Copyright 2023, ODCM Publishing Division, Portland, OR, p. 64.  The book can be purchased in this Ministry’s Web Site Stores including the
   Strong Man Store, all major internet booksellers and brick and mortar bookstores.

4 Learn more about Jesus Christ as the Strong Man of God in my previously published book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics!  The Hard or Soft Cover or E-Book
   Editions are available in the Strong Man Store, all major internet booksellers and brick and mortar bookstores.

5 The  Lord  knows  His  commandment  is  impossible without the indwelling power and help of the Holy Spirit and spoke in anticipation of His coming to equip us to obey
   (John 3:1-8, 14:16-17, 26; Romans 5:5; 1 Peter 1:22-25).

6 Since  2005  Strong  Man  Ministries  has been carrying out the Lord’s mission to restore men, their families and communities despite actual opposition not only from the
   world, but local churches!  Learn more about our work on our Web Site and courageously consider supporting it.

7 Restoration  through returning to the Lord is an important first step for professed Christian men who know they are far from anything like His image in their walk.  Our on-
   going  Strong Man Of God Online Rally, Return To The Lord, seeks to facilitate that restoration.  Your soul, sir, is worth the thirty minutes it takes to watch the rally on our
   YouTube channel.

8 The Scourge Of Racism, op. cit., p. 64.