All Glory to God the Father and to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

From Westminster Shorter Catechism, questions 6 through 10: Q. 6. How many persons are there in the godhead? A. There are three persons in the Godhead; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. Q. 7. What are the decrees of God? A. The decrees of God are his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass. Q. 8. How doth God execute his decrees? A. God executeth his decrees in the works of creation and providence. Q. 9. What is the work of creation? A. The work of creation is God’s making all things of nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, and all very good. Q. 10. How did God create man? A. God created man male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness and holiness, with dominion over the creatures. When I was around 14, having grown up in a Missouri Synod Lutheran Church, we had confirmation classes every Saturday morning that I practically had to be dragged to. We did not use the Westminster Shorter Catechism, thankfully to my young and carnal mind, but something the Lutherans had created to bend our young and resistant teenage brains into loving Christ. The default standing of Man is to run from Christ. To count the bible as foolishness. We love our sin and want to hold on to it. Interestingly, John 1 verses 9 through 13 deals with this. Well frankly, the whole bible deals with this, but we will narrow our focus just a bit to keep our eye on the ball, as it were. John 1: 9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. With the Incarnation of Christ, and through the Sovereign power of God, every man has enough light to be responsible. God has planted his knowledge in man through general revelation of creation and conscience. This blessing of general revelation does not however produce salvation, but either leads to the complete Light of Jesus Christ or produces condemnation in those who reject such light. Condemnation that you see played out in many of our big cities just about every night this summer. The condemnation that you see in California where churches are are told they cannot meet, indefinitely, yet Planned Parenthood and abortions continue unabated. It is quite striking that demons have a better understanding of scripture than most people do. We find Jesus casting out demons in Matthew 8 verse 29: And they cried out, saying, “What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” They know who the Son of God is and that they are doomed to eternal torment. The coming of Jesus Christ was the fulfilment and embodiment of the light that God had placed in the heart of man. John 1: 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. We go back to the creation and know that the world was made through Him. I try to remember if this was ever made known to me in my small town Lutheran Church and while I have a pretty good memory, I don’t think so. I could be wrong, but verse by verse teaching was not in vogue back then in our part of the world. It doesn’t really matter as that was then and I was not a believer and this is now and I am. Christ was the agent of Creation (John 1:3) and we did not know Him (John 1:10). Even though we have a bit of Light installed in us, we do not know him. The Jews, brought out of Egypt, saw miracle after miracle, saw a burning cloud go before them (Exodus 40:34-38), water from a rock (Exodus 17:1-7), food on the ground every day (Exodus 16:4-5) and yet they did not know him. God in His Mercy sent His Son to save the world (John 3:16) and yet they did not know him. Consider us, with access to all the information that we have today, where we can look back into history and see how this story plays out, we for the most part do not know Christ. Why is that? When we were young, we drank milk, as we grew older, our liking for milk lessened as a drink of choice, but not in our churches. What am I talking about? Hebrews 5:13-14 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. Do you like your church sermons light, full of good news and short? No uncomfortable pieces of scripture that deal with our sin, talk of hell and damnation, tell us we are accountable once we accept Christ and can no longer live as we once did? I know I did. Squirmed a bit in the pew when the preacher went a little long. I am not saying that you have to attend a church that goes on for 2 hours, but it does have to preach to the whole counsel of God. See this video by Grace to You Church and John MacArthur for what Essential Doctrines a church should have. The trouble is that would we even know if we are still a milk drinker at church? This is where scripture comes into play. When you start to read it, it may not all make sense. But, little by little, the more you read, the more you know. This is the Holy Spirit at work in you. You have less desire to sin. Yes, you have to work at this, put away those things that you know are causing you to sin. And pray to a Loving Father in Jesus’s name. He wants to hear from you. The Holy Spirit helps in this too. Romans 8:26-27 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. John 1: 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. Who were His own? Mankind in general and the Jewish nation in specific. We are His creation. He owns us. Is that a shocking and uncomfortable thought to you? Put away your milk. So Christ came into His own, and they did not receive Him. Matthew 23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. And because the Jews were by and large unwilling to recognize Him as the Christ, the Gentiles were included. We, the Gentiles have always been included, from the time of Abraham. Genesis 22:15-18 15 Then the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, 16 and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” God’s plan all along was one of blessing for all nations. Because of Israel’s witness to God’s power and love, Gentiles throughout the Old Testament were drawn to the God of Israel. They came to know God by the testimony of his people and the Word he revealed. Paul’s mission was to bring the Light to the Gentiles. He always started in a Jewish synagogue, and if and when they rejected him, he sought out the Gentiles. We all are creatures of God and those of us that have repented their sins and acknowledged Christ as their Savior, we are children of God. A free gift that costs everything is how I like to look at it. John 1: 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, Children of God. I hope you can fathom how awesome that is. Once you have received Him, believe His birth, death and resurrection, repent your sins and follow Christ, you are no longer just a creature made in God’s image, but now a child of God. John 1: 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. This verse says right here that our salvation comes from God. Think about that. Do you hold to the idea that you have some part to play in becoming a child of God? How? You, the clay, how do you affect or control the Potter (Jeremiah 18:1-12). Yes we have free will, right up to the point where God says “You are Mine.” And be thankful for that, because if we had a part to play in our salvation, we’d probably screw it up. If you have questions about any of this, please let me know, or better yet, seek the answers in your bible. Also look into the scriptural references provided in this bible study. Rom. 15:13 – May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

All Glory to God the Father and to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

In my pursuit of scripture, I ran across The Westminster Shorter Catechism. You may have heard about this or it may be something brand new to you. It’s been around long enough that even the oldest of us had access to it if need be. Written in 1646 and 1647 by the Westminster Divines, a group of English and Scottish theologians and laymen, intended to bring the Church of England into greater conformity with the Church of Scotland. When you start looking at church history, there is lots of politics and unfortunately bloodshed. The great deceiver is very prevalent in pushing government into Christ’s Church. We see this today with various state Governors trying to prevent us from going to church, using this supposed pandemic for an excuse. It is also a very good example of why there is nothing new under the sun, which we find in Ecclesiastes 1:9. Getting back to the Westminster Shorter Catechism, the word catechism is defined thusly: An elementary book containing a summary of the principles of the Christian religion, especially as maintained by a particular church, in the form of questions and answers. This shorter Westminster Catechism was used in a practice of teaching the Christian faith. New converts to Christianity were taught through lectures during the first four centuries of the Church’s existence, but this practice was largely abandoned with the rise of Christian humanists; as I said, satan is very busy here. Now that we know a little something about this I thought I would drop in the first 4 or 5 questions and answers of this shorter catechism which has a total of 107 questions. Keep in mind, this was taught to children and the longer form was used for adults. My little 4 year old niece Rachel sat on my lap and was quizzed by her father with random questions on this shorter catechism and she spit those correct answers back to him as fast as she could get them out of her mouth. Questions and answers of Westminster Shorter Catechism 1 through 5: Q1: What is the chief end of man? A1: Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever. Q2: What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him? A2: The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him. Q3: What do the Scriptures principally teach? A3: The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man. Q4: What is God? A4: God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. Q5: Are there more Gods than one? A5: There is but one only, the living and true God. The intent was for the parishioner to know this, from memory, all 107 questions. And you thought that sitting in a pew for about an hour once a week was keeping you in good stead. I picked this up from one of John MacArthur’s writings: ”A Spirit filled life is a Scripture saturated life.” God expects us to study His book. Imagine that you’ve cashed in your chips, as it were, and are standing at the Pearly Gates. St. Peter is quizzing you on some of this stuff, things you really should know from studying the scripture, and a failing grade denies you entry to heaven. You really have no time to waste. https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/westminster-shorter-catechism/ We last left our boys, Paul and his friends, on the curb of the temple. The doors had just been slammed shut and the expectation of the crowd was they were going to stone these guys to death. We are at Acts 21 verse 30: Then all the city was provoked, and the people rushed together, and taking hold of Paul they dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut. At this point, it looked like the crowd was going to get their wish. Jesus Himself had been in similar situations. He was teaching in the temple in Nazareth, this was at the beginning of His Ministry. He had sat down, was handed a scroll, it was from the book of Isaiah 61 verses 1 and 2. He read this: 1 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, 2 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” And then He closed the book: Luke 4:21: And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” But there was a problem, you see this was their boy Jesus, Joseph’s son. They knew him to be a simple carpenter and now he is talking crazy, like He was anointed by God, but He’s just a bumpkin carpenter. They drove Him out of the temple: Luke 4:29: and they got up and drove Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. And here’s the part where Joseph’s son does what only our King and Savior can do: Luke 4:30 But passing through their midst, He went His way. My point here is this, Paul and his friends are in a tough spot. Through the Lord’s Will, I might add. Many times it looks as if things are not going to turn out well for Paul and his friends, maybe for us or members of our family or friends. The Glory of the Lord is brought out in our weakness (2 Cor 12:9), in adversity of our situation. When it looks as if all is lost, bam, water comes out of a rock (Ex 17:6), food is found on the ground (Ex 16), people are healed when they were counted as almost dead (Luke 7:1-10). They could even be dead and now they are not (John 11). There are so many examples in the bible that we can learn from. And how will you know these things if you never open the Book outside of this bible study? Let us finish Acts 21. The Lord had a different plan than those of the Jews who had grabbed Paul and his friends. A plan that would frustrate the people and bring Glory to Himself. Acts 21:31 to the end: 31 While they were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the commander of the Roman cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. 32 At once he took along some soldiers and centurions and ran down to them; and when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. Roman soldiers are brought in to thwart the will of the people. This is called Providence. How God, through His divine Will, can arrange things to happen without getting all splashy with a miracle. The kind of thing that happens to us every day, you may not even notice it. You should, and when you do, thank God for it. Thank God that He loves you so much that He would bless you with this or disciple you over that. A loving Father disciplines his children. We see in this world fatherless children, with little or no discipline. Look at any big city today and see what is happening. If you wonder at any of this, look at Romans 1 verse 18 and beyond. The Apostle Paul spells it out, even tells you the order of events. All foretold some 2000 years ago. 33 Then the commander came up and took hold of him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains; and he began asking who he was and what he had done. 34 But among the crowd some were shouting one thing and some another, and when he could not find out the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks. 35 When he got to the stairs, he was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob; 36 for the multitude of the people kept following them, shouting, “Away with him!” 37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the commander, “May I say something to you?” And he *said, “Do you know Greek? 38 Then you are not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out into the wilderness?” 39 But Paul said, “I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city; and I beg you, allow me to speak to the people.” 40 When he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the stairs, motioned to the people with his hand; and when there was a great hush, he spoke to them in the Hebrew dialect, saying “Brethren and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you.” So the Romans show up, calm things down. God arranged that. God used these godless Romans to come in and calm things down throughout all of the Land so that this very same Paul could spread the good news throughout all of Roman territory. That could not have happened in a land wracked with war as it quite often was. What is God arranging now in our land of many godless people? How is He using what is going on in our country to His Glory? All of this and more is in His book. Read it, study it and give thanks to Him that we live in the most glorious time of information and availability. You’ve got some work to do, we all do. Let’s get busy. Go serve your King!

All Glory to God the Father and to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

We will head back to our story of 2 weeks ago. Paul and his friends were in Jerusalem, going through purification, as dictated by the Elders of the church. The reason why Paul and his friends were doing this is because of having an extended stay in Asia Minor and they were considered unclean. When you brushed elbows with Gentiles, that made you unclean. Plus, the friends of Paul were very likely Gentile converts and that made all the Jews nervous. Acts 1:1-26 covers this. As we found out 2 weeks ago, there was a stone with an inscription that was thought to be installed on the Temple wall. It had been found in the late 1800’s when archaeologists had been digging in Jerusalem. The script was thus: “NO MAN OF ALIEN RACE IS TO ENTER WITHIN THE BALUSTRADE AND FENCE THAT GOES ROUND THE TEMPLE. IF ANY ONE IS TAKEN IN THE ACT, LET HIM KNOW THAT HE HAS HIMSELF TO BLAME FOR THE PENALTY OF DEATH THAT FOLLOWS.” The Jews knew of this as they probably saw it every time they went to the Temple. Anybody of the Jewish faith would be shocked that Gentiles would be allowed in the Temple. And what puts shine on the apple was that it was Paul that did this. Their boy Saul (Acts 9:1-9), now Paul, and working for Jesus instead of holding the coats of those that would stone prophets. See Acts 7, the whole chapter for this. It is a good read and I encourage you to check it out. Paul, being Jewish, was exempt from what was being asked of his friends, as told to him by James, the brother of Jesus, not James, the brother of the “one whom Jesus loved”, which was John. But Paul, out of love for his friends and wanting to show these nervous Jews that they were willing to satisfy the Law to make everybody happy. James, the brother of Jesus, was the head of the Jerusalem church and had made this decision to calm the waters of Jewish discontent. Not all were on board with the inclusion of Gentiles. Acts 21: 20-26 And when they heard it they began glorifying God; and they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law; 21 and they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. 22 What, then, is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. 23 Therefore do this that we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; 24 take them and purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads; and all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Law. 25 But concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we wrote, having decided that they should abstain from meat sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication.” All of this we covered two weeks ago, but it is good to bring us back up to date. These zealous for the Law Jews would need something from the Law, namely Purification, to make this bitter pill easier to swallow. And like I mentioned, Paul was a Jew and did not have to do any of this. But that’s not what Jesus taught. Your love of fellow man requires you to do these things, so that your lesser faithed friends would gain faith by your participation. We see a good example of how this works in: Galatians 2:11-14 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. 13 The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews? Peter had been eating with his new friends, the Gentiles. Everything was fine until men from the Jerusalem church showed up and started giving Peter the stink eye about him hanging with his new friends. Remember, these Jews were the “zealous for the Law” types. So zealous in fact, they could not reconcile their old beliefs with their new beliefs. Peter had a weak moment and stopped eating with his new, but now old and un-welcomed friends. It takes Paul to upbraid Peter to his face to set things back into perspective and right. Which must have been a defining moment to both Paul and Peter. Peter, the man Jesus told to “tend His sheep.” Paul a former enemy of Christ and now Apostle by the direct commissioning of Christ Himself. One Apostle councils and corrects another Apostle’s weak moment. The Gentiles had to have noticed their Jewish friend had not been a good or lasting friend. Everything told to them by Paul and Barnabas was that we are all one big inclusive church and that love rules all. After Paul had stopped hanging around and eating with them, they had to be wondering about that. Matthew 22:37-40 And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” The Bible is a continuing source of wisdom for those that seek it. In what I have written, the story of Paul and his friends, we find a story that is applicable today, or applicable to those at any point in the past. How is that you might ask. Here we have a disciple making new disciples. Brotherly love of one man for another. Doing something that would not cause a brother or sister whose faith is not as strong as yours to fall. Example: You can drink wine, your brother or sister was brought up believing that all alcohol is wrong. God has said in Acts 10 verse 15 “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” So, in spite of that, you do not drink wine when you are around those whose faith in God would be questioned. You could apply this lesson in oh so many ways. Masks and distancing to name a few. Disciple making: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 “He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.’” Mark 16:15 “‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’” Acts 1:8 That whole sitting in the pew, fidgeting and glancing at your watch doesn’t cut it. Really. Brotherly Love: “And the King shall answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, Inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these my brothers, you have done it to me.” Matthew 25:40 “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;” Romans 12:10 “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity!” Psalm 133:1 “Better is a dish of vegetables where love is Than a fattened ox served with hatred.” Proverbs 15:17 “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 13:35 And so on. The Bible is sprinkled with references to Brotherly Love. This is from John MacArthur: “Other common errors include equating love with emotionalism or sentimentality, or confusing it with a friendly spirit of tolerance and brotherhood toward others—often apart from any consideration for doctrinal purity or biblical convictions. But biblical love is none of those. The “more excellent way” Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians 12:31 is love that comes from God Himself and conforms to His holy attributes. We have no capacity to generate it on our own. The Greek word for that kind of love is agapé, and it is characterized by humility, obedience to God, and self-sacrifice. John 13:1 says of Christ’s love for His disciples, “He loved them to the end.” That literally means He loved them to perfection—to the limits of love. In verses 4-5 He demonstrates His love by washing their feet. Love is humble. It focuses on meeting needs. In addition, love is obedient and willing to make sacrifices for others. Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). God made the supreme sacrifice for us in that He “so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16). First Corinthians 13 applies to Christians of every generation because we all face the danger of misusing our spiritual gifts. As we study it and other passages about love, ask yourself if your love is all that God wants it to be. If not, take note of what changes you need to make in light of what you’re learning.” Did you catch that? We have no capacity to generate the love required by God, on our own. The love God wants from us is humility and obedience to Himself, along with self-sacrifice. Think about that, I mean really think about that and how it applies to your life. And keep in mind that Paul and his friends have been grabbed by the crowd, hustled out of the Temple, and the doors slammed behind them. We will head that direction next week. In the meantime, read your Bible, study your Bible, for we know not the span of our days. You don’t want to be left thinking you’ll get around to it and then one day you hear a soft voice in your head “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ Luke 12:20

All Glory to God the Father and to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

Something a bit more topical than usual. We are living in interesting times. There are those that see this as a sure sign of the end times and Christ’s imminent return. While that may be a possibility, the scriptures state that God has kept the time of Christ’s return known only to Himself. Mark 13:32 But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. I have always had an interest in history and from my reading, there have been many times in the past that looked to the people who were living through it, that the end was nigh. As I watch the country I grew up in unravel, I think we are not looking hard enough at the big picture. The really big picture is how God sees things. Is He happy with how we as a country have followed His Will? Hence, I see this as God’s wrath at a people who have rebelled against his Word and Will. We have, as a people, and I am talking about Americans here, codified into the law of the land, the murder of infants in the womb. In a time of only essential services being allowed to be open for business, via an edict of your local Caesar, Planned Parenthood was open and running. Churches were closed, but Planned Parenthood was open and providing its “essential” service. Those were scare quotes by the way. So how do you suppose that God is going to feel toward a country that has kicked him out of most of our lives? Churches, many churches, have opened their doors to the world and adopted social issues, rather than spiritual truths. The Bible does deal with social issues: Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, Romans 12:1-2 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Lamentations 4:3 Even jackals offer the breast; they nurse their young, but the daughter of my people has become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness. Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” That last one has to make us all a little uncomfortable. God knows each of us before we are born. Psalm 139:16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. And yet the Supreme Court of our Land says that woman’s choice is the law of the land. All of the above is my argument that COVID 19, Black Lives Matter, Defund the Police, riots, schools being closed and the mask mandate are His wrath at our rebellion and not necessarily an indication of immediate (more or less) end times. And I say again, I could very well be wrong about that. Fine and dandy you say, but what do we do about this? Have you ever wanted God to speak to you? To have direct chat with you, telling you about Himself and His will and what He wants from us? Well, have I got a deal for you. He wrote a book. Nah, that old thing, you reply. And I don’t like reading. Hearing this, I naturally wonder if you raised by wolves? Seriously, God wrote a book. 40 authors over 1500 years, and a consistent story. And after reading it, studying it and teaching from it, I find that it is timeless. Sure they talked, dressed and smelled differently back then, but there is nothing new under the sun. That little saying comes from: Ecclesiastes 1:9 That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun. Which is thought to be written by Solomon, the wisest man in the world. And I have to agree with him. Now getting back to God writing a book: 2 Peter 1:20-21 “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” There are more things like this in the Bible when you start reading it, or listening to it if you don’t like reading. Amazon has lots of audio versions of the bible. Getting back to what should be done about God’s wrath being played large across the land. Well first of all the acknowledgement that we deserve it. Fear not, the bible has an answer as to how to bring us back into alignment with God’s will. In fact there are quite a few examples of how people found themselves suffering God’s wrath and did something, and then they found we have a Merciful God. What did they do? They wholeheartedly repented, and God’s Mercy was shown to them. The key word here is wholeheartedly. Let’s look at an example. Jonah, the guy that spent some time in a big fish. If you went to Sunday school, Jonah was a favorite one to use because of the big fish. Maybe you didn’t go to Sunday school (see the wolves comment above) and don’t know the story. Jonah was chosen by God to go tell a sinful city to repent or else. Jonah 1:1-3 The word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.” Jonah was a man much like us, born to sin, and hearing the word of the Lord telling him to do this thing, thought nope, and ran in the other direction. Jonah 1:3 But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. Have you ever done something that you knew was wrong, but did it anyway? We go back to “nothing new under the sun.” Jonah 1:4-6 The Lord hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea so that the ship was about to break up. 5 Then the sailors became afraid and every man cried to his god, and they threw the cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship, lain down and fallen sound asleep. 6 So the captain approached him and said, “How is it that you are sleeping? Get up, call on your god. Perhaps your god will be concerned about us so that we will not perish.” What we see here in Jonah’s day is what we see in our day. Calling upon their own god or idol, and notice a small “g” god, to save them. What would that be now in our day? BLM, Feminism, LGBTTQ or even our own political alignment. Sometimes it is just chaos that some people have for a god/idol. Jonah tried to run from his God. The captain and crew were terrified and asked him to appeal to his God. Jonah 1:7-9 Each man said to his mate, “Come, let us cast lots so we may learn on whose account this calamity has struck us.” So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “Tell us, now! On whose account has this calamity struck us? What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?” 9 He said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land.” Interesting that the captain and crew’s god had no effect on their fate. Just like today. Your small g god/idol will have no effect on what you hope to accomplish. Just cast you further into sin. Jonah’s God, our God, the true Living Word, arranged the lots to fall upon Jonah, as they have now fallen on us. Jonah 1:10-17 10 Then the men became extremely frightened and they said to him, “How could you do this?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. 11 So they said to him, “What should we do to you that the sea may become calm for us?”—for the sea was becoming increasingly stormy. 12 He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm for you, for I know that on account of me this great storm has come upon you.” 13 However, the men rowed desperately to return to land but they could not, for the sea was becoming even stormier against them. 14 Then they called on the Lord and said, “We earnestly pray, O Lord, do not let us perish on account of this man’s life and do not put innocent blood on us; for You, O Lord, have done as You have pleased.” 15 So they picked up Jonah, threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord greatly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. 17 And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights. Jonah fessed up and into the sea he went. And our Lord had the perfect penance, a time for reflection you might call it. For those of you getting antsy over what my point is, I will speed things up and come to my point. Jonah was told to go to Nineveh and tell them to repent. This is from John MacArthur’s Study Bible, this being his commentary: Jonah 3:5 Jonah’s experience with a fish in light of the Ninevites’ pagan beliefs certainly gained him an instant hearing. From the Divine side, the wholesale repentance was a miraculous work of God. Pagan Sailors and a pagan city respond to the reluctant prophet, showing the power of God in spite of the weakness of the servant. And here is the payoff or my point, if you will. Jonah 3:5-10 Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. 6 When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth and sat on the ashes. 7 He issued a proclamation and it said, “In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water. 8 But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands. 9 Who knows, God may turn and relent and withdraw His burning anger so that we will not perish.” 10 When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it. Everybody in that day knew the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. You’ve got a strange prophet in your town, one who says he was swallowed by fish. He’s saying change your sinful ways or else. The king of Nineveh got what the “else” part could mean. And everybody, man and beast were to be covered with sackcloth. I checked with Amazon for sackcloth and all they could offer is burlap. But what I want you to understand is, if we are under the wrath of God, the bible shows us, more than once, what we must do. Sure, you didn’t protest, riot or burn any building, at least I hope not. But you are of this people who has abortion, gay pastors and marriage as laws of the land, to name a few. Daniel understood this and included himself in the sins of his people, while Daniel himself was righteous before God. Daniel’s Prayer for His People Daniel 9:3-10 Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5 we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against you. 8 To us, O Lord, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you. 9 To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him 10 and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. True contrition of the heart and repentance is required from each and every one of us. On your knees repentance. The bible truly is God’s breathed out Word and as such provides the information you need to live in these troubled times. Read it, study it and pray to God for wisdom in the scriptures.