The Scourge Of Racism
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The violence and lawlessness that has been displayed both in the aftermath of the shooting death of Michael Brown by then Ferguson police officer, Darren Wilson and the Grand Jury decision not to indict him for it is evil in the sight of God. Having once been a deeply embittered young black male against the legacy of America’s racism and contempt of black lives by all of its societal agents including the police, I fully understand the anger aroused when it apparently continues. However, in coming to Christ and His Word, I have renounced bitterness toward worldly injustice and have instead embraced hope in the God of justice (Isaiah 30:18, 42:1-4; Matthew 12:9-21)!
As the Lord has taught in His Word, so, I teach males aspiring to be strong men of God in the image of Christ that we are to respect not resist the governing authorities as a general rule (Romans 13:1-7). Many of my forefathers gave this respect and were still treated unjustly. I get that. Yet, when Michael Brown reached into the officer’s vehicle to punch him, he crossed the line and invited the officer’s Heaven and earthly granted right to kill him. The only exception to God’s general rule for obeying authority is when it calls for us to disobey Him (Acts 4:13-19, 5:27-29). Even then we are to follow the non-violent example of our Lord and His apostles and prepare to suffer (Acts 5:30-42).
Unjust, intense suffering and martyrdom are being endured at this hour by the saints in many nations and soon--as is foretold--globally. Few--to include professing Western Christians many of whom are busy fighting each other over human invented doctrines and protocols--are marching in moral outrage about this! Nevertheless, as the Lord led me to warn in this week’s blog repost from 2012, global Christian suffering is moving closer to reality and we are expected to be ready to face it with the heart of a lamb like our Lord not anger, violence and lawlessness (1 Peter 2:18-23).
Originally Posted December 2, 2012
Ah, the joy of the season; Christmas is near! I am no Grinch and enjoy the holidays as much as anyone. In fact, if it were God’s will, I would want to bring you nothing but glad tidings and promises of hope for unending tomorrows of warm, holiday bliss. However, if I did so as many do claiming, “The people need hope, not negativity” I would be disobedient to our God and truly a false
prophet and teacher meriting His just punishment (Jeremiah 6:10-15; 23:30-32; 2 Peter 2:1-3).
Let the faithful saints always remember our hope is One that lives eternally and He transcends, space, time and circumstances of all kinds (1 Timothy 1:1; 1 Peter 1:3). Therefore, we possess and maintain hope regardless of what is going on circumstantially in our lives and the world. This said, we should want God’s servants to teach and tell us the truth from His written Word and mouth respectively at all times even if it spoils our temporal aspirations and activities in this life. Of course, God’s truth is never a spoiler to those who love Him and His Word!
Scripture is clear; the faithful saints of God are to understand ourselves at all times as “sheep for the slaughter,” (Romans 8:36, NKJV). While the ultimate sacrifice in martyrdom may not come at this moment, we are nevertheless to live as though it could happen and be prepared. As was pointed out in my blog entitled, Great Women Of God Martyrs under the category, Glory To God, violent persecution and martyrdom are on the increase around the world in non-Western nations.
As I have warned in my book, The Strong Man Of God and this blog, Christians in the West need to prepare for the same because though violence is at a minimum presently, hostility toward believers and the faith by once welcoming government authorities and secularists is steadily rising. This could be temporary as many worldly Christians with their heads buried in the sand want to believe, but not likely (long-term anyway) if prophetic signs the Bible gives to alert us are taken seriously as they should be.
Truly, a post-Christian West now is a powerful sign of the nearness to the end of the entire so-called “Church Age.” Western European Christians and their scattered descendants have been prominent in history after the first century and particularly the last 500 years in taking the Gospel to the rest of the earth. Even as that is nearly accomplished and many now send missionaries to the West, we are clearly moving into the next foretold spiritual paradigm of Christian apostasy along with increasing hostility toward the true faith and the faithful (Matthew 24:9-12; 2 Thessalonians 2:3; 1 Timothy 4:1-3; 2 Timothy 3:1-13).
This reality must not be left unaddressed by Western church leaders that wish not to alarm their people and keep offerings coming in. Unfortunately, the days that are now unfolding will expose this effort at blocking out negativity for the selfish deception it is. Indeed, the days of apostasy and increasing hostile persecution now descending upon especially Western forms of professing Christianity will expose all of the self-spun deceptions in doctrine, tradition and practice that exist for what they are.
While it saddens me that it will take this to finally strip many of their pride and arrogance in their religiosity, endless opinions and expertly devised systems of sinful human reason within Western Christianity, I am pleased that God--ever the revealer of hearts--will clearly show who was right or wrong, true or false, faithful or unfaithful and reward each accordingly (Jeremiah 17:9-10; Malachi 3:13-18; Romans 2:1-11; Hebrews 3:7-19; 1 John 2:18-29; Revelation 14:9-13). Also, persecuted Christians facing the same certain end for the faith (i.e. “sheep for the slaughter”) are not likely to still be quarreling over their differences as the foretold morphs into reality before their eyes. It is all uncomfortably closer than Western Christians are ready to believe.
The peaceful, law abiding and authentic cry for justice and righteous conduct by our law enforcement officers on the streets of our nation at this hour is good (Matthew 5:6)--if long overdue and finally, in the end, futile where this world is concerned. The effort in the end is futile from a biblical worldview for two important reasons. First, this world is governed by one who cares nothing about justice (Matthew 6:13; Ephesians 6:12; 1 John 5:19) and second, apart from the renewing work of God through the Gospel, the human heart is thoroughly wicked (Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:9-18, 23); incapable of producing lasting justice as only the living God can and will through His Anointed (Psalm 89:11-18; Isaiah 9:6-7, 11:1-10)! He has come and is coming again; we who have looked to Him, wait for Him to bring in our everlasting triumph over evil (Luke 2:1-14, 24:44-51; Acts 1:10-11; Revelation 1:4-8) as I celebrate in the following 2012 blog re-post!
Originally Posted December 9, 2012
Faithful Christians are sheep for the slaughter because we live in a world that is under the rule of Satan who has never ceased to hate and oppose God who loves us (John 14:30, 15:18-25). As a result, just as the Jews throughout history, so, Christians have been the target of this world’s oppressing, harassing and murderous persecuting activity. In fact, today is Hanukkah, the Jewish Feast of Dedication.
It commemorates the end of a foretold three year time of intense persecution in 165 BC by Antiochus Epiphanes, the ruler of the Syrian division of the former Hellenistic Empire of Alexander the Great (Daniel 11:21-35). Many were slaughtered during this period. Finally, a group of Jewish guerrilla fighters called the Maccabees prevailed and came to Jerusalem where they began purifying the Temple. Tradition has it that a small jar of oil miraculously was enough to keep the golden lamp stand in the Temple burning for eight days.
God’s historical permission allowing the Jews to take up arms against their worldly persecutors was temporarily withdrawn after Jesus of Nazareth their Messiah came on the scene and purposely took on the demeanor of a defenseless Lamb. Though as the “Lion of the tribe of Judah” He had Heaven’s might at His disposal and authority to bring it if He chose (Matthew 26:51-54), He declined to do so that He might allow the Father to pour out the fullness of His wrath against human sin upon Himself.
This He did on a Roman cross to save Jew and Gentile that believes in Him and receives God’s forgiveness and reconciliation obtained through His substitionary atonement (Romans 5:6-11). Those who believe He invites to walk by faith in the example and power of His own world overcoming victory to include loving our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48; Luke 23:32-34; John 16:33; 1 John 5:4-5). This means no Christian at any time has God’s blessing to take up weapons and war against the world in His cause or self-defense (Matthew 26:52; Romans 8:33-36; Revelation 13:10).
And so, many born again followers of Jesus Christ have died since the first century, do and will die at the murderous hands of sinful, satanically controlled men following His example of non-violent submission to and love for evil enemies as sheep for the slaughter until the Lord returns. Those who have suffered and been martyred in living out biblical Christianity include the strong men and great women of God among my slave and free forefathers.
Professing black American Christians do not talk enough about them because of satanically inspired deception and shame that these saints were somehow weak and cowardly sell outs. Many professing white American Christians out of shame, others out of continuing unrepentant haughtiness refuse to talk about them or acknowledge the historic black experience at their hands under the guise of Christianity as ranking among the world’s greatest historic evils. Yet, my Christian forefathers then and we who love the Lord now forgive our white brothers in the instruction and example of Christ (Luke 17:3-4, 23:34).
Faithful saints have endured suffering and death at the hands of this evil world system understanding as I have already written in this blog and write in my book, The Strong Man Of God, that it is first and foremost, the way of Christ we have been called to follow (Matthew 16:24-25; Philippians 1:29). Second, they have understood God has ordained that all the tribulation His children endure is part of His faith and character building program leading to the salvation we have hoped for (Romans 5:1-5, James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 1:3-9).
Finally, faithful saints understand in all of their trials they are “more than conquerors” through Christ who loves us (Romans 8:37-39). A conqueror conquers the thing he pursued and after enjoys it for only a short time before someone stronger takes it or he dies. But we in Christ are more than conquerors because of the overwhelming greatness of our conquest over evil in that not only do we rise again from the dead after being killed (or dying) once, but we live thereafter in immortal glory and the eternal riches of God’s love and grace (Romans 8:31-32; Ephesians 2:1-7)!
Without a doubt, Peter has Isaiah 53:4-9 in mind as the Holy Spirit inspired his writing of 1 Peter 2:21-25 since he quotes verse 9 and alludes to the rest. In 1 Peter 2:24-25, Peter writes of the spiritual outcomes that Christ’s sacrifice brings to believers in that having died to our sins in coming to Him through faith, we now live for righteousness since our painful separation from God has been healed. Truly, we were as sheep “going astray,” but now through faith “have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer” of our souls (NKJV). Such are the rich and joyful realities the apostle writes of in a context in which he is encouraging us to follow Christ’s example when we suffer. However, in these latter days, apostolic instruction like Peter’s is being ignored and many of those that claim to love the Lord are rebelling against Him as the Shepherd of God’s flock to include men who supposedly have been called by Christ to serve in the ministry of shepherding under Him (John 14:21-24, 31, 15:9-10, 21:15-17). The Lord Jesus is the “great” and “Chief Shepherd” of God’s sheep that purchased them with His own blood and it is His will that is to be implemented in pleasing Him among them (Hebrews 13:20-21; 1 Peter 5:1-4, NKJV)! But the guilty in rebellion are sheep going astray all over again after having already returned to God through Christ our Shepherd. In the meantime, many of the guilty are running around calling for “revival in the land” because our nation is steadily losing its collective mind in approving social policies that God condemns. How can professing Christians call unsaved rebels to repentance and they as rebels need to repent themselves? The Lord had me to write about this sham cry for revival back in 2012 and nothing has happened since then to make a liar out of me. We desperately need heartfelt revival in the land alright, but we need it in God’s house among His sheep first and of the drastic variety seen under Judah’s king Josiah before God’s severe judgment fell (2 Chronicles 34-35:19). Only after will we appreciate as fully as we ought, the divine imperative to restore men. Originally Posted October 28, 2012 It has been nice lately hearing all of the cries for revival in our nation. Unfortunately, as I have previously written and the Lord in righteous indignation impressed heavily upon my heart on Friday, October 19th, without heartfelt repentance on the part of professing Christians, authentic revival is not coming--right at this moment anyway. Why? Many of these folk calling for revival are still standing knee deep in rebellion while they quote 2 Chronicles 7:14. This is not a game and my God is not stupid. You do not think He knows a deeply repentant and broken heart from one that is merely superficially acknowledging a few general acts of common sin? How could it be that women as pastors and those that endorse their clear break with Bible instruction would actually believe God is moved by their ostensible display of humble petition for revival? Hypocrites! God is not pleased and rather than revival, prepare for His remedial judgment as also happened to ancient Israel for trying the same thing (Jeremiah 6; Revelation 2:18-23, 3:19). God’s people from ancient times only ever got in trouble with Him after departing from His Word. In God’s words to Solomon by night after the Temple dedication ceremonies, He is concerned in verse 13 first to have him understand judgment would come upon His people for their sins. Drought, devouring locusts and pestilence are sent by God upon His people not for doing well, but for their wicked ways. It is deeply offensive to God holy, righteous and true that His people not only willfully sin against Him, but corrupt His Word to His face to even justify their wicked ways. Israel would do this and many professing Christians across America are now doing it (Matthew 15:1-9). So many professing Christians treat God as a marshmallow who only cares that they have some level of acknowledgement of Him in their lives. While confessing that all of the bad stuff the sinners in America are doing is the source of our nation’s troubles, I hear nothing about how we, God’s people, have sinned against Him in disobedience not to some obscure passages of Scripture, but very clear instruction. This is instruction from Christ on adultery and divorce for example in Matthew 5:27-32 and 19:1-9. As well, it is anointed apostolic instruction on the headship of men in the home and churches along with greed such as is found in 1 Timothy 2:11-15 and 6:6-11. Christ says “not to resist an evil person,” (Matthew 5:38-42); we say, “Whoever takes from me will pay” and justify keeping deadly weapons for protection. Christ says “love your enemies” (Matthew 5:43-48); we say, “This is impossible” and justify racial prejudice. On and on this goes ad nauseam and we are guiltless? God is telling Solomon in 2 Chronicles 7:14 that on the condition His people would earnestly petition Him in repentance from their sinful and wicked ways that has brought judgment upon them, then He would “hear” (which plainly asserts until that point He is not listening), “forgive their sin and heal their land;” that is, restore the land devastated by the judgment represented in drought, devouring locusts and pestilence. Before Holy Ghost fired revival will come to American Christians and churches there must be deep and bitter repentance from the sin, worldly compromises and corruptions of His Word we have made. Apparently, the travails of our nation to date have not yet been severe or painful enough to bring us to this. However, get ready; God who knows how to humble the proud will bring His people, professing Christians and this nation to our knees in a disciplinary judgment that will not be easily dismissed as “natural” in any way. Then, there will be serious repentance and genuine, fresh surrender to Jesus as Lord as well as commitment to obey even the whole Word of God as He requires His people. In that hour very near too, there will be no more clever skating around obedience in the deceitful and convenient dismissal of God’s Word as rules so as to avoid “rule keeping,” (Psalm 119). (ODCM Publishing Division is pleased to invite readers of the Strong Man Of God Blog to visit a new Facebook Page, The Strong Man Of God Resources that debuted today with a post from Robert Kelley and featuring a You Tube link to the Strong Man Of God Book Trailer video.)
Besides the history of Israel as biblical precedent, the apostle Paul provides compelling New Testament instruction concerning why God would judge so harshly. Having praised the church at Corinth for remembering him and his teaching as he had presented it, the apostle could not praise them for the “instructions” he now, wrote in their failure to properly reverence “the Lord’s Supper“ when they met together for that purpose (1 Corinthians 11:1-2, 17-22, NKJV). They had ego driven divisions and factions when they met; some were selfishly eating their own food ahead of and not sharing with others leaving a hungry person while another came to the meeting drunk.
Such behavior showed not only contempt for “the church of God,” but Christ who is the holy Object of the memorial supper He instituted (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)! Paul is very clear, “whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.” Thus, we are to “examine” ourselves thoroughly for sin to the end of confessing and repenting from it before partaking of the Lord’s Supper. We do this to avoid eating the bread representing the Lord’s body and drinking from the cup with His blood “in an unworthy manner” and bringing judgment upon ourselves (1 Corinthians 11:27-29, NKJV).
The guilty may not, but God plainly takes the sacrifice of His Son that has saved us from our sins very seriously (Ephesians 5:1-7)! As a result, the apostle reported in his time that many were “weak,” “sick” and dead from divine judgment for their disrespect of the Lord’s body and blood while practicing sin. And we can be sure this has been the case for every guilty soul until now, because “God shows no partiality,” (Acts 10:34-35, NKJV)! “For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged” by the Lord who calls us to repentance and chastens to help us avert eternal condemnation “with the world” if we will (Romans 1:18-2:11; 1 Corinthians 11:30-32, NKJV).
“Lest you come together for judgment” is the spiritual reality the apostle Paul sums up his Lord’s Supper instruction with; warning the Corinthian church and every other to this hour if they would pay heed (1 Corinthians 11:33-34, NKJV). The evidence of history is that many churches have not given heed either to the apostle’s warning about proper reverence for the Lord’s Supper or his instruction from Him on the order of their assemblies. Already during and after the first century many local churches became the pride of sinful flesh and manmade religion; their leaders also driven by selfish ambitions to pursue and relishing power and control over them (3 John 9-11).
Furthermore, as foretold, these men (and wickedly now, women too) in sin have purposely drawn away especially the gullible and weak among Christ’s sheep after themselves and made membership in their local church false proof of true salvation (Acts 20:29-30; 2 Timothy 3:6-9; 2 Peter 2:12-22). Something is wrong when like a drug addict people have a need to go to church, take their favorite seat, hear their pastor preach, the music team sing their favorite song or irrespective of gifting, work in their desired humanly invented position. Something is also wrong when pastors need to be up preaching to “their people.” This is textbook co-dependency God never intended!5
As houses of ill-repute, all manner of evil, impropriety, vice, false teaching, dysfunction, torture and murder of enemies in sin to name only a few things have been practiced and tolerated while the Lord’s Supper is featured and regularly taken as their grand display of Christianity in them! Arrogant, defiant and obstinate; those that are guilty in our times reached critical mass in much of the foregoing and practicing disorder in the Lord’s house. For they not only have rejected the Lord’s order of mankind from creation to be practiced by Christian men and women He gives through Paul, but the place, use and order of spiritual gifts in their assemblies as well (1 Corinthians 11:3-16, 12:1-14:40).6
The question is not why God would judge guilty local churches so harshly by shutting them down, but why did He take so long given how widespread the wickedness among them is? Is it not again the longsuffering of our God that in grace waits as long as possible for repentance since He knows when He finally does judge, it will not be a lightweight slap on the wrist (2 Peter 3:9)? As with Israel’s past judgments, He also knows His faithful though not guilty, will nonetheless, be impacted. He waits making the way and opportune time to minimize that impact (Ezekiel 9; Luke 21:20-24). The Lord’s Coronavirus judgment came suddenly and invisibly out of nowhere first in China last fall and then, upon our shores this past January en route to spreading fatally over the inhabited earth.
In the frantic mix of government solutions to fight the spread of the plague, churches along with others that host public gatherings were required to shut down. As the Lord also led me to write previously, the upside for Christians and their local churches that will survive is the fact He has provided opportunity for soul searching and repentance as needed.7 Too, the Lord has graciously given all an advance look at the near future and reality check about just how important the local church really is in His grand scheme of things. In a moment, churches can be no more as happens to our persecuted brethren in many places. Recognizing this, should not leaders be intentional about lining up the churches they can still serve with God’s will, way and Word as it is written?
(Thoroughly grateful to God to remain employed full-time in His service, I will be taking Sunday, September 6th off as my Labor Day rest. Lord willing, my next post will appear on September 13th. Enjoy your Labor Day and if you are looking for work, seek the Lord who is merciful for help.)
5 I write about this tragic spiritually, mentally and emotionally unhealthy reality of local church life which crosses ethnic and cultural lines in a March social media post
that I repeated and added to in the April 5, 2020 post, God Is Speaking, under the category, Call To Repent. We are to absolutely ever need only Christ (Deuteron-
omy 31:6; Psalm 23; Acts 18:9-10, 23:11; 2 Timothy 4:16-18; Hebrews 4:14-16)! Also pastor, you do not own His authentic sheep, they belong to Christ who “pur-
chased” them “with His own blood.” You sir, are a shepherd under Him if He appointed you and steward that must give an account (John 10:11-16, 21:15-17; Acts 20:
28; 1 Peter 5:1-4, NKJV). Consequently, you should fear lest you through wickedness be found the cause of even one of Christ’s sheep being “scattered,” “lost” and
devoured by that spiritual wolf, Satan (Ezekiel 34:1-10; Mark 9:42-48, NKJV)!
6 Contrary to the deceit planted by Satan and slowly cultivated by professed Christians over the past century, God has not changed His order of mankind from creation
as I also maintain in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics. A print copy or digital download of the book is available at major internet booksellers such as
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, ChristianBooks.com and Apple (digital only). You can also purchase a print copy in the Strong Man Store.
7 See God Is Speaking.
It is painfully clear to me that pastors are sinful men too (except when they are sinful women in rebellion against the divine order)! Most pastors learn how to be a pastor sitting under and watching other pastors as their primary example. Watching another pastor is not a bad thing if he is following Christ’s example as did my father in the ministry, the late Rev. Percy N. Manuel, Sr. Christ is the “great” and “Chief Shepherd” of God’s flock (Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter 5:4, NKJV). He is our example in everything including shepherding people as sheep since He is preeminently qualified, proven and our Head (Psalm 23; John 10:1-18; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Colossians 1:9-18).
Too, He is our Judge which should cause the rebel pause since the local church is not your private flock to do with and teach as you please, but His (2 Corinthians 5:9-11). Truly, our Lord Jesus has only delegated this great responsibility of shepherding to us to be carried out under His tutelage and oversight. As foretold, however, from the first century until now, corrupt men as “savage wolves” have come among and led God’s sheep astray (Acts 20:28-31, NKJV). They do whatever it takes to gather a following including corrupt God’s Word to gain success and prove they are men of renown. Their ambitious sons in the ministry copy their manner and adopt their perverse doctrines.
The Western and especially American economic system with its attendant philosophies that for example, esteem the entrepreneurial spirit manifested in self-starting, self-made men, thoroughly saturates every segment of society along with the churches and enables such men as pastors contrary to the instruction of Scripture (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31; Galatians 6:14; Philippians 2:3-8, 3:1-19). In this cultural context, men rise up to found churches in any old hole in the wall with the aspiration not to see souls added to the Kingdom as a first priority, but to build a church of great numbers, wealth, buildings and stature in the community, among denominations, other pastors and churches who will envy and seek to emulate their self-made success.
Very sad are those men that after many years have not realized their aspiration, but hold on in maintenance mode with a few sheep to retain the status of being a church pastor. God calling us to be shepherds is not to satisfy the cravings of the sinful flesh, but to physically represent Him in the service of His flock (Matthew 20:20-28). In this 2013 blog repost I write urging every pastor seeking a reward from Christ for your service, to repent if guilty from purposeful ministry out of the motives and deeds of the sinful flesh. Instead, serve as men led, controlled and empowered by the Holy Spirit with the Lord our Shepherd as your role model and the pure Word of God as it is written as the final authority for your life and teaching.
Originally Posted July 7, 2013
Besides having served the Lord as a shepherd under Him just over sixteen years, I have been an observer of men in the office from my childhood. The ungodly attitudes and behavior that I have seen come from so many of these men over the years has been very grievous and in some cases, personally injurious. I know it is virtually impossible that leaders on our best days won’t offend or injure somebody given the high level of sensitivity many religious folk have. However, I am not talking about the stuff of over sensitivity, but the very real harm I have seen and experienced that was deliberately carried out by men who are supposed to be born again, love Christ and are completely sold out to serving Him by serving His flock (John 21:15-17).
On the occasion of the end of my second year since I last formally shepherded a local church, the Lord would use me to help especially a younger pastor by way of some important admonitions and words of encouragement. Let me begin by warning all pastors: the worldly conventional wisdom to only pay heed to models of success is not from the Lord, but the world and ultimately Satan who sets snares for us in accord with the ego needs of the flesh born of selfish ambition for achievement, accolades, power, standing and money (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 22:24). What? The world is crumbling around us, churches are dying ‘“And do you seek great things for yourself,’” the Lord asks, (Jeremiah 45, NKJV)?
We come to salvation mostly from among those that are not wise or noble (1 Corinthians 1:26). Does God all of the sudden change after we are saved to require of us credentials gained from the best institutions and how to information from the men who model the success we crave to do His will? No, but God has chosen us of the “foolish,” “weak” and “base things of the world” to bring glory to Himself in the wisdom, power and humility of Christ that is displayed through us (1 Corinthians 1:27-31, NKJV). Repent, brother pastor, if you are in it for your own flesh driven priorities and glory. The wisdom you need to please the Lord begins in Him and His Word (Proverbs 2) and will also come from Him through men other than success models (Romans 12:16).
I will soon wrap up the series of posts the Lord Jesus Christ has led me to make since November 27, 2022 examining His foreknowledge then, literal experience of persecution to the death in God’s will as an instructional example to us Christians. Before this though, I want to revisit an event and a person in those posts that impact critical issues in our times. Today, on this Sanctity Of Life Sunday dedicated to urging every citizen in our nation to treat human life beginning at conception as from God and sacred (Psalm 139:13-16; Isaiah 44:24; Luke 1:30-35), I bring the Lord’s Word and a warning to those who continue to wickedly clamor for the right to murder the unborn.
The event that inspires this post is Herod’s massacre of the male children two years old and under in Bethlehem and its surrounding districts in his attempt to destroy the Lord Jesus Christ as a young Child he feared as a rival to his throne.1 Make no mistake about it; the dark and evil heart that could murder babies and toddlers out of the motives of fear and narcissism is the same one in those that would take out the unborn in their mother’s wombs. I know this from the forgiven guilt and shame of having been a teen father that gave consent as well as relieved endorsement to the abortion of my children before and during the days of Roe v. Wade as I wrote in previous posts and my book.2
The apostle Matthew is led by the Holy Spirit in his Gospel to comment on Herod’s massacre of the children that it “fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: ‘A voice was heard in Ramah; lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they are no more,’” (Matthew 2:17-18, NKJV). At first glance, it seems that the Lord simply foretells this event over 600 years in advance rightly acknowledging the grief of the Bethlehem mothers figuratively represented by a woman named Rachel, but quite unfeelingly offering no explanation of why or comfort. However, deeper Bible study bears great fruit showing otherwise!3
Led by the Holy Spirit, a deeper Bible study involves examining the background of Rachel and God’s prophecy as it originally appears in context. Indeed, Rachel is the second of two wives of Jewish patriarch, Jacob, that were sisters when he was sent to get one by his father, Isaac, from his mother’s people (Genesis 28:1-5). He meets and falls in love with Rachel and works seven years per agreement with her father, Laban, to marry her. But Laban deceitfully sent in his older daughter, Leah, when it was time to consummate the marriage and gave Rachel to Jacob only if he served him another seven years--he did (Genesis 29:1-30). The women competed to bear him children.
Leah and her maid gave Jacob eight sons and one daughter, while the maid of barren Rachel bore him two sons. By God’s grace Rachel was finally able to conceive and bore Joseph to Jacob (Genesis 29:31-30:24). She also bore him the last of his twelve sons, Benjamin; dying in the process with great sorrow and was buried as the family made their way from Bethel to “Ephrath” “(that is, Bethlehem),” (Genesis 35:16-20, NKJV). Though she had borne him fewer children than Leah, Rachel is considered the mother of all Israel because Jacob loved her. Her burial location would prove significant in what are actually two future events involving Rachel’s children.
In Jeremiah’s day hundreds of years later, Babylon’s invasions of Judah as God’s judgment yielded captives that were marched in chains on the well traveled road northward from Bethlehem and other cities to various staging locations that included Ramah (Jeremiah 40:1-6). The Lord used Rachel as the mother of Israel to figuratively represent all the affected mothers weeping at their children being taken away. But this Word was given in the larger context of Jeremiah 30-33 as God spoke of a future day when He brings a remnant back to the land complete with Messiah their King and “a new covenant,” (Jeremiah 31:31-34, NKJV). So, He tells Rachel to ‘“Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears for your work will be rewarded…,’” (Jeremiah 31:16-17, NKJV).
There was hope for the future because God would bring Rachel’s children that were taken back as a remnant to Israel’s border (Isaiah 49:8-26)! But they are not all of them. As this prophecy is true in the natural, so too, in the spiritual and applies to the male children Herod killed instead of Christ. They live as does every unborn child ever aborted (Ecclesiastes 12:7)! The innocents killed by Herod died in Christ’s place so He could live and die for them and all mankind on the cross!4 As a result, the innocents will be raised at Christ’s command among all who have ever lived and with the saints, enjoy immortal glory (Psalm 90:3-4; Isaiah 26:19; Luke 20:37-38; John 5:24-30, 11:23-27). Woe to all the unrepentant murderers of the unborn (Genesis 9:5-6; Revelation 20:11-15)!5
1 Read the December 18, 2022 post, Christ Persecuted As A Child, under the category, Instruction.
2 Concerning previous posts see for example, the one on January 21, 2018, Protecting Our Children, under the category, Biblical Worldview. You can pick up a Soft or Hard Cover copy of my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics at your favorite internet bookseller or brick and mortar bookstore and the Strong Man Store.
3 If you want to learn how to get the most out of your Bible study, I invite you to take the layman’s Fruitful Bible Study Self-Paced Video Course the Lord led me to develop to help. Get an overview of the course in the introductory first session at https://youtu.be/uufAkc3aYSc on our Strong Man Virtual Institute YouTube Channel.
4 The unborn and young children are not without the nature and taint of sin from Adam (Psalm 51:5; Romans 5:12). So, it must be atoned for as Christ accomplished on Cal- vary. They are however, innocent of willful sin because of not having yet reached the age of accountability before God which is generally when they have the ability to un- derstand biblical right from wrong (Proverbs 20:11; James 4:17).
5 While I and to be sure, every other born again, biblically conservative Christian advocate for the unborn in America continue to rejoice in the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade in June of 2022, the spirit of murder behind legalized abortion remains intact and influential throughout the land (John 8:44). This is evident in the protest marches and persecution of Christians to include attacks on associated properties such as churches, businesses and pregnancy resource centers that have erupted. It is also seen in the efforts State by State to retain legal sanction for murdering the unborn and once again grant it nationally, this time through congressional legislation. Let all deceived and led by the spirit of murder to kill the unborn recognize if you will that the Lord is being gracious to allow you the opportunity to give heed to His warning and repent now, since no such opportunity will be offered on judgment day (2 Corinthians 5:9-11)!
The real fear and depth of pathos in the face of 12 year-old black American Keedron Bryant as he sings the song his mother wrote, I Just Wanna Live, overwhelmed my heart along with many others as it went viral and global in the days immediately following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis, MN police officer back on May 25th this year. And while I cannot speak for Keedron’s feelings, in it for me was not just the Floyd murder, but the repeated killings of black American males in the news across America since I can remember in over sixty years of living not only by the police and white citizens, but other black males in predominance as I have written about in other posts.1
I write to Keedron, my own progeny and every black child now, and to come in this 21st century with a word of encouragement from the Lord! First, Keedron, know your mother’s song expresses the heartfelt prayer our forefathers had in slavery God has already answered for those willing to believe. For while a relative few slaves thought to liberate themselves through violent uprisings, those that had become Christians in larger numbers decided to put their faith in and wait on God who had allowed their plight and would in His timing, set them free which He did (Psalm 107:10-16).2 Their faith in God brought them and its legacy the Christians that have followed through much suffering!3
Second, know that God in Jesus Christ, His Son, has already answered your prayer for freedom from fear of death and to live in peace in spite of what is going on all around you. You are right to believe you should not have to live in fear and feel like prey from any source much less those of your “kind,” officers as sworn agents of God and men to uphold the law or fellow citizens. But the one who really wants you to live in fear for your life is not human. He is the devil, one of God’s fallen angels who hates Him and mankind. He works through sinful persons from all walks of life to hurt and destroy as many as he can unlike Jesus (John 8:44, 10:10-11; Ephesians 6:12; 1 John 5:19).
Making the Lord Jesus your Shepherd assures His protection on this earth to the extent He wills since out of love for Him, we as His sheep are already prepared for the slaughter; living as though we have already died in Him who raises us from the dead to live with Him forever (Psalms 23, 44:22, 118:6; Romans 6:1-8, 8:31-39)! Also, He gives us His peace, the peace of God so that we do not have to live in fear of man or anything else of this world (Isaiah 26:3; John 14:27; Philippians 4:6-7). Too, we are to “be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might;” putting on all of the “whole armor” He has given to stand while we purposely live holy (Ephesians 6:10-18; 1 John 5:18, NKJV).
Finally, once more the Lord has already answered your emotion laden prayer in song through Israel’s king David who over three thousand years ago made many of his divinely inspired prayers Psalms for all to read in the Bible. To those in Israel similarly oppressed, troubled by and living in worrisome fear of those doing evil, he wrote encouragement in Psalm 37:1-11 we can take hold of. His key points are not to worry about those who do evil or practice things clearly forbidden by God because they will not long endure (vs. 1-2). Instead, “trust,” “delight yourself also in” and “commit your way to the Lord,” (vs. 3-6, NKJV). “Rest in” “and wait patiently for Him” as well (vs. 7, NKJV).
Furthermore, along with ceasing from worry, do not be continually angry and bitter as are many of your “kind” that destroy themselves and others as victims or again, worry about evildoing racists with or without police badges. God is going to deal with them, but anger, bitterness and worry harms you (vs. 8-9a, 10)! Therefore, let these destructive emotions go through faith, forgiveness and hope in the promises of God “who cannot lie,” (Habakkuk 2:4; Ephesians 4:26-27, 31-32; Titus 1:1-3, NKJV). Among the promises God has made to all David calls “the meek” is that we “shall inherit the earth” and enjoy an “abundance of peace,” (vs. 9b, 11, NKJV).4 God will take this present world away from evildoers, reverse the way it works and give it to us, His saints to rule under Christ!
Indeed, teaching His disciples in first century Israel the Lord Jesus affirms God’s promise made a thousand years earlier through David declaring: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth,” (Matthew 5:5, NKJV). The Lord comes to the stunning promise of future reversal in favor of those that humbly serve God now, after acknowledging how they first came from having poverty of spirit and continual grief through the wicked works of evildoers as well as their own sins (Matthew 5:3-4, NKJV). But God begins the process of reversal right now, through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross to save us from our sins and resurrection from the dead; assuring the Kingdom we wait for comes to earth, His forgiveness and eternal life are available to all in the meantime (John 3:1-8; Acts 2:36-39).
1 See the August 12, 2018 post, Curtailing Gang Violence, under the category, Call To Repent and its follow up, August 19, 2018, Valuing Human Life, under the cate-
gory, Biblical Worldview.
2 Read the two-part post beginning June 2, 2019, Message From A Redeemed Black Man, under the category, Biblical Worldview. Be sure to also visit our Ministry’s
Web Site dedicated to the cause of presenting a biblical worldview of the black American experience, https://fromslaverytovictory.org.
3 The legacy of faith our Christian slave forefathers left us is embodied in their simple, and deeply emotive “Spirituals” (which I Just Wanna Live harkens back to); those
Christian black Americans thereafter in most forms of their Gospel Music to this present day!
4 To be meek is not to be weak, cowardly or an “Uncle Tom” as negatively defined by many black Americans (read the biblical worldview of this fictional character the
Lord led me to present on our From Slavery To Victory Education Project Web Site). Meekness is the willful choice by aspiring strong men and great women of God
to walk in Christ’s humility as a Lamb and His strength under control as a Lion. I give this instruction as the Lord leads in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To
Basics. It is an excellent resource for godly parents to use in teaching and mentoring their children into biblical man or womanhood as they near their teen years. Get
a print copy or digital download of the book at major internet booksellers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, ChristianBooks.com and Apple (digital only). You can also
purchase a print copy in the Strong Man Store.
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