Snapshots and Synapses

When I was a young adult, I was intrigued with the words of Winston Churchill: “The whole history of the world is summed up in the fact that, when nations are strong, they are not always just, and when they wish to be just, they are often no longer strong.” Would you agree or disagree with this statement? It made perfect sense to me at that time. Compromise was often needed to operate from a position of strength, and I could do more good if I positioned myself to a place of power, where the strong make the rules. Compromise was simply a negotiating tactic to gain or secure power, and if I valued anything above strength, including justice, then it would eventually weaken my position. Churchill lived out his beliefs as evidenced by his decision to bomb French ships during WWII at Mers-el-Kebir. It was debatably a masterful, strategic move that prevented the French fleet from falling into the hands of Nazi Germany, but we’ll never know what “could’ve been” if Churchill hadn’t done that. W...

With the growing conflict in the Middle East, the eyes of the world have been turning toward Israel. So it was no surprise when I was asked the question: do I believe that Modern Israel is the same Israel that’s talked about in the Bible. That question is slightly complicated and one that causes some debate in Christian circles. Understanding the complexity of the question To answer this question some people may argue that we must first draw a distinction between Modern Israel and Ancient Israel. There is no doubt that Ancient Israel is all throughout Scripture, and we know historically it was destroyed as a nation. The people of that ancient nation were scattered throughout the world just as God foretold as early as Deuteronomy, one of the first books in the Bible. God warned that this would happen to Israel as consequence of their sins. Known as the diaspora, the Jewish people wandered for thousands of years without a land to call their own and yet they maintained an identity. I don’...

One of my favorite stories about Jesus is when he’s approached by His friend, Peter, who asks how many times he should forgive a person. (See Matthew 18:21-35 ) Peter threw out a number, suggesting that a person should be forgiven 7 times. Seven (7) was understood to be the number of perfection and completion, so Peter was demonstrating his understanding of how important it is to forgive. But it’s hard to discern a person’s heart, especially from a short and simple story. Was Peter asking in order to justify himself and his own self-righteousness or was he being sincere in trying to understand God’s view on forgiveness? Regardless, Jesus responds in a way that Peter wasn’t expecting, saying that we should forgive 70 times 7, figuratively explaining that there is no limit to the number of times we need to forgive others. Jesus then goes on to tell a story that explains this concept, tying how we are forgiven with our ability to forgive.   As we know, Peter like all Jesus’ friends ab...

Since the Garden of Eden, there has always been evil in this world, and yet at one point the wickedness of men had become so great that the Bible tells us God regretted making mankind, deciding to flood the Earth and start over with Noah and his family. Some people say that wickedness has always existed and today is no different from years past, but I disagree. I have seen in my lifetime the growth of wickedness as described in the Bible as an increase in lawlessness or rebellion. Yes, evil has always existed, but it was not socially celebrated as it is today. What occurred in shadows is celebrated publicly, and the sophistry of today’s social norms would have quickly been silenced in a younger world.  I’ve been accused more than once of focusing so much on what I am against people sometimes wonder what I’m for, and I have to admit it’s often easier for me to see what’s wrong when I look at our world today. It saddens me, and I wonder if that’s how Jeremiah felt as he looked upon t...

Why do we celebrate mothers? Should we celebrate all women on Mother’s Day? When God created women and men, He created us in his image. Male and female He created us. So from that aspect, yes we value women as much as we value men. We value mothers and women without children equally. We should never devalue what God has called invaluable. Yet just as we don’t celebrate men on Mother’s Day, we don’t celebrate all women. There are women without any biological children who play the role of a good mother for others. These spiritual mothers are every bit as worthy of celebrating as much as any biological mother. We celebrate mothers, because of what a good mother is. A good mother encourages her children in doing what is right and rebukes them for doing what is wrong. A good mother is loving. She is self-sacrificing, and she is self-sacrificing because she loves. Because she loves, she does what’s in the best interest of her children and does not follow her own selfish desires. She minister...

My Life / My Will If I were an atheist, reality would be centered around me. I would judge things as good if they were in my best interest, and I would judge things as bad if they were not to my advantage. If I were an atheist, all relationships would exist for my pleasure and for the pursuit of my best interest. I would be at the center of the universe, and all others with circle around me. It would therefore be important that people agree with me in all things. Depending upon my level of sophistication, I would get people to agree with me without even realizing how I was manipulating them. In fact, I would take great joy in converting people to my way of thinking, and if I changed my thinking in any way, then I would want others to join me in this new enlightenment. If I were an atheist, I would want people to think of me as somehow “good“, so I would probably have some story to tell people about my “goodness”. It could be around my generosity, which would be just enough to have peop...

From its origins, Christianity has seen a connection between Passover and Resurrection Sunday, commonly known as Easter. At a minimum, Christians acknowledge that Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection occurred during the Jewish Passover celebration. The Bible clearly tells this story through the lens of the Passover Meal that Jesus had with His closest friends, commonly referred to as the Last Supper. It’s the night that Jesus is handed over to be scourged and crucified; we recall Jesus’ death on Good Friday, called good because He paid the price for our sins on that terrific day, fulfilling the law (Matt 5:17) and demonstrating a divine love.   Did you know however that Passover and Easter were linked from the Israel’s origin?  Recall as Abraham was ready to sacrifice his first-born son on Mt. Moriah. Abraham told Isaac that God would provide the sacrifice, most likely not knowing how true his words were. However, it was not Isaac who was sacrificed on that hill; it w...

  I've heard this question many times in different ways:  "[Your] God made this happen!" "How can there be a God when He allowed this to happen?" "If God is in 'control', why would He allow this?" "Why would I believe in a 'god' that allows this?" Before answering these questions, it’s important to know what is meant by the term “God”. Throughout history, mankind has worshipped many 'gods'. The nature and power of these gods vary. Some are good, some are bad, but they share one common trait: they are simply beings superior to man. There’s even a subtle form of ‘self’ worship where we view ourselves as somehow greater, kinder, and overall better than if we pause to consider an honest reflection of who we really are. We see this in secular humanism which has a utopian vision of man as a being who is basically good with the power to achieve anything he sets his mind to do. But to be God, and by this I mean the One-True-G...

What does it mean to be loved? How can love be found? It’s the subject of movies, books, philosophers and romantics. The pursuit of love has steered history. Why does the human heart crave this even if the essence of love is elusive? I’m reminded of the musical “Oliver” as the main character sings “Where is Love?” A young orphan, his heart yearns to find someone who will love him. Like most musicals this ends happily, but the reality for many is that love remains beyond their grasp.  There are loveless marriages, loveless families, loveless lives. We all have a need to be known and accepted for who we are and not simply for what we do. When dating, we put forth our best image, not just because we desire the admiration of another, but because inwardly we desire to be a that type of person. I’ve often heard the words “He/She brings out the best in me” as a person strives to be better for the sake of the person they love.  What is love? Love is a powerful feeling, but it is more ...

I blogged a couple years ago about How to Fight , embarrassed to find the typos that have been out there, and which I promptly cleaned up. (Well, at least the ones I noticed!) My typing hasn't improved, and my views haven't changed since I've written that blog. There is an appropriate way to fight, and it should always be with the right perspective of who we're fighting. It's not flesh and blood but principalities. Still, there is a time for taking decisive, physical action when the evil worked through human hands needs to be stopped. Now, I believe that all truth is God's truth, so we can find God's hand outside of the Bible such as science or philosophy as long as those disciplines don't contradict what God has told us in Scripture. We know we have an enemy who is a great deceiver, who would appeal to our prideful understanding and use it to set up a barrier between ourselves and God. Because of this, we need to carefully seek the direction of the Holy...

On October 25, 2020, Archbishop Vigano sent a public letter to President Trump, warning of a “great reset” across the world and a move toward global tyranny. He is not wrong. He stands as a watchman upon a watchtower as described by the 33rd chapter of Ezekiel. There will certainly be a global reset that establishes a new world order, and this time in history seems to be a turning point. Yes, this seems to be the turning point as prophesied in Scripture , but humbly we must admit that no one knows the day nor the hour. All we know for sure is that the Day is approaching. How should we respond to this knowledge? It seems that the schemes of the wicked are reaching fruition, but do not despair! This is not a time for fear; neither should we become preoccupied with the success of their plans. ( Ps 37:7 ) Rather, we need to need to submit ourselves to God with renewed fervor and wait patiently for Him being more intentional in our interactions with other believers, spurring each other on ...

To say the least, it was unusual for a Destroyer to be the flag ship of an admiral, but this was such a small group of ships that the Commodore chose the USS William V. Pratt. It was the ship I served on as a junior officer, and I was fortunate for the experience. I was a new Christian, and one night I found myself in a theological debate with the Commodore over the question: Is man basically good? The flag officer insisted that man was inherently wicked, but I held onto the belief that man was basically good. From my perspective, the cause of bad behavior was that people were hurt by life’s experiences which created a cycle of pain, but I contended that if a person was treated well and educated, they would grow beyond their experience and learn to respond in a better, healthier way. The prevailing thought in 2020 American society holds the view I boldly debated with the Commodore. In that conversation so many years ago, neither one of us were able to sway the other person, yet I ackno...