HISTORICAL VALIDITY OF JESUS CHRIST

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JESUS’ HISTORICAL VALIDITY

Does HISTORY really validate the New Testament Gospels to be true about Jesus: His first coming, His crucifixion, His resurrection, His coming again?

Non-Christian ancient sources confirm details of Christ’s death and some of His resurrection. Dr. Gary Habermas catalogued over 3,400 sources, many of whom are sceptical, or even critical of Christians, adding to their veracity. Here are seven of the three thousand four hundred: 1. Josephus 37-100 AD, 2. Suetonius 70-160 AD, 3. Pliny the Younger 61-113 AD, 4. Tacitus 56-120 AD, 5. Mara Bar-Serapion 72 AD, 6. Lucian 125-180 AD, 7. Babylonian Talmud. They all confirm key points of the gospel: 

1. Jesus died by crucifixion; 2. He was buried; 3. His death caused the disciples to despair and lose hope; 4. The tomb was empty three days later. 5. Hundreds of people saw the resurrected Jesus.

After Jesus’ resurrection, all of His disciples saw Him and had many experiences with Him, “for over 40 days” (Acts 1:3) – eating with Jesus in different places, and lastly watching Jesus ascend off the earth – “as they were looking on, He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9).

Rome’s most prominent Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus (37-100 AD) wrote about the resurrection of Jesus. He also recorded Jesus’ 12 apostles and many of Jesus’ disciples (1 Cor. 15:1-9) all went to their deaths, most as martyrs for continually claiming Jesus’ resurrection (1 John 1:1-4). Some people have died for what was a lie – but no one, much less hundreds, will die for what they ALL KNOW is a lie! The apostles and Jesus’ disciples all preached Jesus’ resurrection up to the time of their deaths.

Today – anyone can find out if Jesus is alive! Jesus made it possible for our Heavenly Father to send the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, to indwell the spirit of everyone who repents of their sins against God and accepts Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. The Holy Spirit is their counsellor, teacher, and comforter.

“The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.” Proverbs 20:27

The spirit of a person was always meant to be filled with the Holy Spirit. The lamp of the Lord cannot function without the oil of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will convict us of sin. It is His job to make us like Jesus to enable us to be Jesus’ ambassadors on the earth.

“However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” Romans 8:9-11 

Thousands of Christians have been martyred for not denying their loyalty to Jesus Christ and many more will do so before His return. Jesus has warned us beforehand that prior to His return there will be a time of great tribulation for Christians.

There need be no question, historically or personally, about the resurrection of Jesus. If someone is willing to receive Him as their own personal Lord and Saviour they will receive the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit who will testify to the reality of Jesus and God the Father.   

The detail on the historical sources of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection was sourced from material provided by Jim McCotter – jimsbookstore.com

BIBLICAL HISTORY – POST FLOOD

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The Bible’s history provides the only true explanation for the world that exists today. We know from Egypt’s history that the eight people that survived God’s judgement of the worldwide flood of Noah’s day were deified as the OGDOAD. One of the reasons they were deified as gods was because they outlived at least 8 generations of post-flood people. God had reduced the post-flood people’s lifespan to a max of 120 years. The other reason being they were the only source of all of the knowledge of the pre-flood people which included building cities and forging with bronze and iron.

“Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch… To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. (Lamech’s wife Adah bore Jabal), His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. Zillah also bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron.” Genesis 4:17-22

The picture below depicts the eight people (Noah and his family) in a boat being held up by God (Atum) so that they survived the worldwide flood. To learn more, if you have not already done so, can I suggest you take a look at my post on March 14th, 2023 titled Biblical History: 1. Impact of the worldwide flood on Nations. 2. God established His nation Israel.

The meaning of Shem

Jesus descended from Noah’s son Shem. Shem means ‘name’ (reputation). It also denotes a person’s whole selfhood, their presence—which is why it was God’s “name” that dwelt in the temple (2 Chronicles 7:16). How fitting that Jesus descended from the one called “name”, as the perfect and whole representation of God, to dwell among us!

The eight people off the Ark lived long lives just as all pre-flood people did. Shem lived at least 600 years and was probably 450 years old when he met Abraham. Shem was still alive when Isaac was born—his great (8×) grandson. If they lived close enough for a family visit, Shem could have chatted with Isaac (and any of the generations in between still alive) and told them about the world before the Flood. For example, he might have shared how much more common dinosaurs were in the days prior to the Deluge, and that there weren’t any really high mountains to speak of, nor the Arctic and Antarctic of today covered in ice.

The unique biblical post-flood Ice Age model solves the stubborn mysteries of earth science that secular scientists have been wrestling with for some 200 years. The Genesis Flood explains why the Ice Age began, why it stopped, and how it took only hundreds of years, not hundreds of thousands. The Ice Age model solves other mysteries such as the life and death of the woolly mammoth in Siberia, Alaska, and Canada’s Yukon Territory; the end-Ice-Age mass extinction of animals; the mix of warm and cold-climate animals and plants; and why today’s dry areas (e.g. the Sahara, Central Australia) were once well-watered. See the article The Unique Post-Flood Ice Age by Michael Oard (www.creation.com)

In another post, we will look at the fact these eight people off the Ark would have lived through the Tower of Babel event when God created the nations by causing different family groups to speak different languages and so separated and dispersed over all of the earth.

CAN WE TRUST THE GOSPELS?

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The Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—are four accounts of Jesus’s life and teachings while on earth. But are they historically accurate?

New Testament scholar, Dr Peter Williams, presents a powerful case for the historical reliability of the Gospels. He compares different accounts of the same events, assesses how accurately the four biblical accounts reflect the cultural context of their day, considers how the texts were handed down throughout the centuries, and examines evidence from non-Christian sources.

Dr Williams applies a series of tests covering topics which range from geography to personal names, tax to language, and weights and measures to botany. His conclusion is clear: It is highly rational to trust the Gospels.

Contents
1. What Do Non-Christian Sources Say? 2. What Are the Four Gospels? 3. Did the Gospel Authors Know Their Stuff? 4. Undesigned Coincidences 5. Do We Have Jesus’s Actual Words? 6. Has the Text Changed? 7. What about Contradictions? 8. Who Would Make All This Up?

This book’s title, Can We Trust the Gospels?, is carefully chosen. It addresses the question by looking at evidence of the Gospels’ trustworthiness. The great thing about trust is that it is something we all understand to a degree because we all exercise it. … It is a version of [this] everyday sort of trust that we are going to consider in this book as we ask whether we can trust the accounts of Jesus’s life …

Trusting the Gospels is both the same as trusting other things and different. It is the same in that we often have to evaluate the credibility of people and things in daily life. It is different in that the Gospels contain accounts of miracles and of a man, Jesus Christ, who is presented as the supernatural Son of God who can rightfully claim ownership of our lives. But before we consider such claims, we need to ask whether the Gospels show the signs of trustworthiness we usually look for in things we believe.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Peter J. Williams (Ph.D., University of Cambridge) is the principal of Tyndale House, one of the world’s leading institutes for biblical research. Previously a senior lecturer in New Testament at the University of Aberdeen, he is the chair of the International Greek New Testament Project and a member of the ESV Translation Oversight Committee.

LOVING GOD WITH ALL YOUR MIND

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MANY PEOPLE, both inside and outside the church, think that Christianity means abandoning the mind. Nothing could be more wrong! Jesus’ “greatest commandment” is to love God with all your mind: our love for God must include our mind. Furthermore, the Apostle Peter told us, “always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). So our hope has a reason, and we should be prepared. And the Apostle Paul instructed us: “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). That sounds radical: destroying arguments (but not people) against Christianity and bringing people’s thoughts (not emotions) to follow Christ.

Jesus Himself is called the Logos (John 1:1–14), from which we derive the word ‘logic’. We are supposed to be imitators of Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:1); thus, loving God with our mind should be logical. Furthermore, it was by and through Him that all things, including mankind in His image and likeness, were created. This divine image must include being programmed with language and logic.

Such programming is clear from the creation of Adam, “the first man” (1 Corinthians 15:45):

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16).

The language was not just about things Adam could see but included abstract concepts such as logic. For example, Adam could eat the fruit of “every tree” but one—‘every’ is a logical concept called a universal quantifier. Adam didn’t need to see each tree to understand this concept. But there was one fruit Adam must “not” eat—‘not’ is a logical negation. And if he disobeyed God (sinned), then he would die. This command presupposed that God programmed Adam to understand logical implication.

This passage also logically links death to sin. Many Genesis compromisers deny this teaching by claiming that Adam could not understand death without seeing a dead animal. However, Adam didn’t need to see things to understand them. E.g., how could Adam have seen a ‘not’? But since God programmed Adam to understand negation, He also programmed Adam to know that death is a negation of life. God also programmed Adam (and Eve) as adults, ready to multiply and take dominion (Genesis 1:26–28).

Creation Ministries International (CMI), including their flagship Creation magazine, exists to help readers worldwide love God with their minds and imitate Christ in logical thinking. In every issue, They interview good examples of that; in the latest issue, geographer Dr Sarah Buckland from Jamaica (pp. 18–21) and biologist Dr KeeFui Kon from Singapore (pp. 36–39). They also show how biblical creation is logically illustrated by super designs, such as the golden plover (pp. 24–25) and even the air we breathe (pp. 50–52).

An important teaching is the Flood of Noah’s day, which must logically be global (Genesis 6–8). With an intense process like the Flood, we don’t need millions of years to form the geological strata that exist today. But millions of years are necessary for evolution from goo to you via the zoo. The Flood explains the spectacular ammolite (pp. 12–13) and the wide Nile valley (p. 56). But God rescued a remnant of people (such as Shem, pp. 46–48) and animals on a massive Ark (pp. 32–35). After the Flood, people and animals migrated around the world, such as rafting monkeys (pp. 14–17).

Another great article, by Jonathan Sarfati, from the latest issue of Creation magazine: http://www.creation.com. “LEAVING YOUR BRAINS AT THE CHURCH DOOR?” in the Editorial section

DEFENDING BIBLICAL FAITH

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Only churches that can defend Biblical faith will survive. The Bible clearly presents the following as historical events that we need to defend as miraculous events of God’s making:

  1. God created the universe in six twenty-four-hour days simply as a pattern for how man is to live. Six days we are to work and the seventh day is a day of rest and a day to worship our Creator God.
  2. Adam and Eve were created in God’s image to be in a relationship with Him. Death and separation from God were God’s judgment as a result of Adam and Eve’s SIN (rebellion against God’s command).
  3. Just 1600 plus years after creation sin had become such a problem that God judged humankind’s SIN again this time with a worldwide flood destroying all humankind and animal kind except those on Noah’s Ark.
  4. God established the nations when He confused the languages at the Tower of Babel.
  5. God established His nation; Israel was established for God’s purposes and it is yet to fully achieve those purposes. The fact that it was rebirthed as a nation in 1948 is a sign God is in control of His Story.
  6. JESUS enters history (B.C. and A.D. ) to provide humankind with a way back into a right relationship with God. He paid the price for our rebellion against God. The penalty for rebellion was death and Jesus died on our behalf so that all those that accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour are born again with the Holy Spirit to enable them to live a Christian life and be assured of resurrection to eternal life. First, the resurrected Saints will serve with Jesus for 1000 years (Millennial Kingdom) on this earth. Then the White Throne judgment, after which, there will be a new heaven and new earth where only the righteous dwell.
  7. God has given us His Word by inspiring His prophets and apostles to write the Bible. Its authenticity is proved by the fact that much of it is now fulfilled prophecies and we are now seeing many end times prophecies being fulfilled in our time.

Fortunately, God has established the following ministries to equip us to defend all of these seven historical truths:

  1. Creation Ministries International (CMI) http://www.creation.com
  2. Answers in Genesis http://www.answersingenesis.com
  3. Creation Research http://www.creationresearch.net

In particular, I personally recommend and use the Creation Magazine when I talk to a non-believer who raises evolution as an objection to accepting Biblical truth. Become a subscriber; go to http://www.creation.com

Can I suggest you watch out for a post I intend to do entitled Answering the Skeptics: No Evidence for God.

FURTHER EVIDENCE FOR NOAH’S FLOOD

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The recent observation of ‘floating islands’ large enough to support trees and monkeys provide interesting support for the biblical framework of animal dispersal after Noah’s Flood. Current long-age theories of biogeographical dispersal struggle to explain how rafting across oceans could be viable. However, the Flood would have provided much fodder for the formation of large floating vegetation mats akin to modern ‘floating islands’, but much larger, potentially enabling them to survive trips even across oceans.

There are numerous small floating islands on isolated water bodies adjacent to the Magdalena River of northwest Columbia. The rafts are composed of aquatic plants, bound together and floating. As the floating islands grow, they can support large woody vegetation such as vertical trees. These floating islands typically are 30 m long, but some are greater than 100 m long. One floating island was observed to have trees up to 10 m tall and monkeys on the limbs. Theoretically, as the river floods, it could pick up one of these floating islands and send it downriver to the ocean, where it could even float for a distance on the ocean. Apparently, ocean travel has not been observed. Still, the authors believe this observation provides the potential for explaining cross-ocean transport.

Photograph of one of the floating islands on the Magdalena River during the December 2016 field trip (credit UF). As a scale guide, the raft is about 80 m across. Also note that O’Dea et al. (2016) includes video footage from 2010 of similar scale rafts travelling down the Chagres River in Panama.

Despite the new observation, the evidence still suggests that the uniformitarian ideas of vegetation rafts and short-lived land bridges are very unlikely. For one, the rafts would be too small, assuming the vegetation was ripped up by a storm, deposited in a river, and carried to the ocean. Then there are the numerous other challenges presented by Mazza et al. listed in tables 1–3.

Creation scientists have a much better option for explaining biogeography. First, the rafts of logs and vegetation are a result of a violent global Flood, so they do not have to drift down a river to the sea, but would already be floating on the oceans. Based on the estimated amount of coal, it is likely that the pre-Flood biosphere had about 10 times the amount of carbon, which could translate into 10 times the number of plants and trees compared to the present earth. Although masses of this vegetation were deposited within the sedimentary rocks, much of it would have continued to float on the oceans after the Flood. These logs and vegetation mats could be extensive and thick and last many years. They should be able to transport small animals, and possibly relatively large animals, across water bodies. The ocean currents and winds during the Ice Age would have been different than they are today. Although we do not know these variables, we are not constrained to explain biogeography by the present-day water currents and wind patterns. Moreover, there was much more rain during the early- to mid–Ice Age, so the need for fresh water on the log mats would not necessarily have been a problem. It is likely that plants and even trees grew on these post-Flood floating islands, providing food for animals. I have observed plants growing on wood pilings (figure 1), so the same thing could occur on the floating islands.

Article: A floating island with growing trees and monkeys observed IN SECTION: PERSPECTIVES by Michael J. Oard in Journal of Creation 2022 Vol 36, Issue 3

TEST ALL THINGS BY GOD’S WORD

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For Christians, all of life is the enterprise through which we glorify God and enjoy Him forever. The means by which we do that is simple: we must know who this God is and how we can enjoy Him forever. This is only derived from a robust understanding and application of Scripture and understanding the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Thus, when we are faced with whatever progressive ideals might creep in, the principle is one whereby we test all things according to Scripture empowered by the Holy Spirit.

I am convinced many within the broader church have been pressed into the mold of a system of thought the broader culture adopts (i.e. progressivism), and the foremost institution this has been accomplished through is education. Generations of children have come and gone through this institution, which with the adoption of evolution has rejected any involvement of God in science and now education, as a result, society is largely secular. God’s values have been jettisoned and the progressives now dominate our educational establishments and parliament.

How do we solve this dilemma? The answer is surprisingly simple but unflatteringly naïve to the world, and even many professing Christians. The Word of God must be re-established as the foundation for all of life. Everything else is subservient to it and must align with it. In other words, we live consistently to the message we proclaim, from the seemingly mundane choices we make in entertainment, to how we spend our money, raise and teach our children, and how we do church, which means getting back to church as outlined in the Book of Acts, house churches that make disciples, and more. Only then will we be salt and light in the world. Only then will the Holy Spirit truly lead believers and the fruit of the spirit will be evident in their lives: love, joy, peace patience, faith, gentleness, goodness, kindness, and self-control. The ministry gifts, all nine will be evident including miracles, words of knowledge, and discerning of spirits.

The Gospel will then be unstoppable. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14

DIVINELY INSPIRED WORD OF GOD

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Jesus fiercely guarded the integrity of the word of God against limiting or misleading religious traditions, does he not also do so today? He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and I do not see him growing tired of that which motivated him on Earth.

“Jesus replied, ‘And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, “Honour your father and mother” and “Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.” But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is “devoted to God,” they are not to “honour their father or mother” with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.’ Matthew 15:3-6

The Pharisees were nullifying (reducing to nothing) the word of God, replacing its life-giving truths with traditions of their own invention. There is a difference in God’s eyes between the teacher and the taught. The Bible is clear that when we become teachers, we take on a new level of spiritual accountability. When we become shepherds, we answer to the Great Shepherd, who jealously guards his sheep. When we teach untruths from the pulpit and replace the word of God with powerless traditions, we harm the children of God, and God is protective of his children

Many Christians have become hopelessly compromised by insidious traditions which nullify the word of God – misleading ideas which have an appearance of humility but confuse us about the very nature of God. Let me present a single, simple example – something I hope most believers can get on board with. I’ll present the word of God first, and the tradition second.

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15

“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” John 14, 12-13:

Jesus was speaking to his disciples from the heart, in the knowledge that the cross awaited. Contextually, he is talking about his miracles, urging his disciples to believe in him as the Son of God because of the works he has done in their sight. Caught up in the Spirit, he prophesies that those who believe in him, including believers down through the ages, will perform the same, and even greater miracles. In the power and effectiveness of his children, Father God will be glorified. What a glorious promise!

How many churches believe and teach what Jesus promised we will do and how many churches are seeing their members operating in the power of the Holy Spirit with all nine gifts of the Spirit (1 Corinth. 12:4-11) including healing.

We lower our expectations of God, reducing his incredible promises to match our experience. By doing so, we lose our hold on faith, because we are no longer clinging to his word – our grip has been transferred instead to the tradition, and we are well adrift of the truth. Once we drift from the truth of God’s active, compassionate, interventionist love, and the promises of his miraculous provision, deliverance, and healing, we lose sight of who God is altogether. We paint a lesser picture and worship it instead.

ARCHAEOLOGY CONFIRMS THE BIBLICAL DATE OF THE EXODUS

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SUBMERGED RUINS OF 3,400-YEAR-OLD MITANNI CITY REVEALED BY DROUGHT

One reason this location is of great interest is that Mitanni is mentioned in the Bible’s book of Judges. In standard dating, the Mitanni kingdom ruled the northern Tigris-Euphrates region from before 1600 BC until about 1350 BC when it was overtaken by the Assyrian Empire. It became a weakened province of Assyria for about a century before fading from the historical record.

Mitanni’s history makes a strong argument against a late Exodus date (also known as the Rameses Exodus date) in the 1200s BC since there is good evidence that Othniel, one of Israel’s first judges, was fighting against a Mitanni invasion in Judges 3. A Rameses Exodus date would put the judge Othniel in the 1100s BC and about two centuries after Mitanni ceased to be a strong kingdom, thus showing that the Exodus must have been much earlier.

The following video produced by Creation Ministries is helpful in understanding the Bible and the archaeological discoveries that support Biblical events and dates. Can I suggest you go to http://www.creation.com and search “Bible and archaeology” where you will find that many archaeologists have found the Bible to be an accurate historical document.

Were the Bible’s stories made up long after the fact, or do the accounts preserve eyewitness testimony? See how archaeology supports the Bible.

A MINORITY OF PASTORS IN THE USA HOLD A BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW

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A “shocking” new survey from researcher and pollster George Barna of the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University found just 37% of U.S.-based pastors hold to a “biblical worldview.”

“This is another strong piece of evidence that the culture is influencing the American church more than Christian churches are influencing the culture,” Barna said of the survey results. “The research indicates that Americans are more likely to experience a positive impact on their worldview by hanging out with [spiritually active governance engaged conservative Christians] than they are by being in the presence or under the teaching of pastors.”

Taken on the whole, just under 2/3 of pastors embrace a form of syncretism, which is the blending of various belief systems together as one. In other words, purported ministers of the Christian faith don’t actually hold to the Christian faith, but an eclectic grab-bag of ideological, philosophical, and theological ideas that are fundamentally at odds with one another. 

If America is going to experience a spiritual revival it must happen at the grassroots level.

For the most part, Barna explained, people largely form their perspectives on the world before they reach 13 years old, then go “through a period of refinement during their teens and twenties.”

“From a worldview perspective, a church’s most important ministers are the children’s pastor and the youth pastor,” he stated. “Discovering that seven out of every eight of those pastors lack a biblical worldview helps to explain why so few people in the nation’s youngest generations are developing a heart and mind for biblical principles and ways of life, and why our society seems to have run wild over the last decade, in particular.”

According to information provided to CBN’s Faithwire, Barna’s “American Worldview Inventory” is an annual survey developed in 2020 and conducted by the Cultural Research Center, surveying roughly 2,000 randomly chosen U.S. adults. The survey contains 54 “belief and behavior questions” that determine a “biblical worldview.”

Preachers who hold to a biblical worldview are in the minority,

“The AWVI survey questions relate to eight different categories of life,” states an explainer on the survey. “Those categories are faith practices; human character and nature; God, creation, history; purpose, calling; sin, salvation, God relationship; family and value of life; lifestyle, behavior, relationships; and Bible, truth, morals. The AWVI provides scores for each of those eight areas, as well as identifying one’s dominant worldview.”

“Respondents who answer 80% or more of the belief questions and 80% or more of the behavioral questions in harmony with biblical teaching are identified as Integrated Disciples, people who have integrated biblical principles into their mind and heart in such a way that they clearly have a biblical view of and approach to life,” it adds.

Of all eight categories, the only one showing a majority of pastors holding to a biblical worldview was the purpose of life and calling (57%). In the remaining categories, a minority of pastors were found to hold to a biblical worldview: 47% on family; 44% on God, creation, and history; 43% on faith practices; 43% on sin, salvation, God relationship; 40% on human character and nature; 40% on lifestyle, behavior relationships; and 39% on Bible, truth, morals.

Similar research conducted earlier this year and reported on by CBN News found that, although 67% of parents with pre-teens identified as Christians, only 2% were found to abide by a biblical worldview, which stresses the importance of children and youth pastors believing in and teaching Bible-based perspective on life.

Although concerned, Barna suggested he is not defeated by the survey’s results. It is important, he said, for people to be aware of the problem — because that is the only way to fix it.

“God is in the transformation business,” he stated. “Pastors who are willing to allow Him to transform their thinking and behavior can emerge from that process as a powerful example of what can happen when one’s heart, mind, and soul are surrendered to God.

These are perilous days. And the days to come may even be more perilous than today, but hope in God. Join the throng of God’s people and wage war against the power and principalities of darkness looming over the church. The powers of hell cannot prevail against Christ’s bride; time and time again this keen and hopeful Word has proven true. Be strong and courageous, act like men, and gird up your loins by going about those ordinary works which He prepared beforehand for us to walk in. Lo, Christ is with us, even to the end of the age.