The Bible is very clear on the sin of pride. God hates pride. One of the reasons why God resists pride is because it blinds ones eyes to the fact that only God deserves all the glory and honor. This fact is demonstrated clearly in the life of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
The detailed account of King Nebuchadnezzar’s life is recorded in the book of Daniel chapters 1 through 4. As you ransack these chapters, you will find out the devastating consequences that pride can bring in ones life. Nebuchadnezzar was too proud to acknowledge that God is exalted above his creation and has no equal in this world.
God, at first, showed his greatness to Nebuchadnezzar when the Lord, through, Daniel was able to tell and interpret the dream which Nebuchadnezzar had one night. All the magicians in Babylon who were also the servants of the gods of Babylon failed to tell and interpret the dream. But Daniel after praying to his God, the Lord revealed the dream and its meaning to Daniel. After seeing this, the king acknowledged; “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings.”
However, due to pride, Nebuchadnezzar failed to live according to his confession. Some time later, he set up an image which he forced everybody in Babylon to worship. But the three friends of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, refused to worship. Nebuchadnezzar was furious with what the three did; he ordered them to be thrown in a fiery furnace. But the Lord saved them; they never got burnt by the fire. Nebuchadnezzar again acknowledged that The Lord is the most high and great are his signs and wonders.
But pride was still at work in the king’s life, and God send a warning to him in a dream (Daniel 4:4-17). In interpreting the dream, Daniel advised Nebuchadnezzar to repent of his sin of pride. The king was, further, advised to swallow his pride and admit that there is no one like the Lord in the whole world. Contrary, to the warning, Nebuchadnezzar continued to be puffed up with pride.
Then came a pay day for the king. A year after Daniel’s advice to the king, Nebuchadnezzar was walking on the roof of his palace and was praising himself for setting up a great kingdom. “What a mighty and great kingdom I have built with my own hands,” he thought. As he was doing that, a voice came from heaven and told him that because of his pride, God would humble him by driving him away from the people to live with wild animals. He would eat grass like cattle until he would acknowledge that God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes.
This really happened. For seven years Nebuchadnezzar ate grass like a cow, his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird. After the seven years, God restored sanity to Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar’s kingship was restored too.
Nebuchadnezzar then praised God and admitted: “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the king of heaven, because everything he does is right and his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble,” (Daniel 4:37).
One major lesson stands out in this story of Nebuchadnezzar. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5). May we learn from Christ the Savior true humility. May God’s grace be sufficient for us to know our place and humble ourselves before him for all the glory and honor belongs to Him and Him alone.
There is one part of our body that has always proved too difficult to handle. This part has dipped some of us into hot
A tongue used without the grace of Christ is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body
soup before. It has often brought great remorse in our lives. Even the Bible agrees that this is indeed a part that many of us have failed to master its proper use.
The tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.
Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.
The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body.
It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and it is itself set on fire by hell.
All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
With tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt flow from the same spring? (James 3:5-11).
For sure, a tongue can be a great problem at times. It can destroy in seconds that which took many years to build. It can turn best friends into worst enemies. It can bring regrettable divisions to a once united and harmonious people. It can shatter into pieces the long-held hopes inside our hearts. The list is endless.
However, there is only one man who can help us use our tongues graciously. This man used his tongue for 33 years here on earth but never sinned in his words. In fact, he used his tongue to heal broken hearts and bring hope to the hopeless. Above all, this man has transforming power that can change us from bad users of the tongue to better ones. The man is Jesus Christ the Son of God.
Tips can be shared on how best we can control our tongues, but without the transforming power of Christ, the tips will prove to be useless. Therefore, let’s acknowledge our failure to tame the tongue; then, we should turn to Christ for mercy and help, and we will be amazed with what Christ can do with this small part of the body. Of course, the transformation will not only be concentrated on the tongue. It will be a total transformation that will eventually see the tongue being tamed like never before.
So, taming the tongue is impossible without Christ. Without Him, our tongues will continue to be the world of evil that sets the whole course of our lives on fire.
How do you define true servants of God? There is one thing that I would like to warn us not to use as a sole basis for determining true servants of God namely wonders.
Sometimes, we judge true servants of God by wonders. If they perform some wonders, we conclude they are true ‘men of God.’ We then drop our guard and stop examining the spirits as advised in 1 John 4:1.
I know that we cannot put God in a box, but I also know, basing on Scripture, that wonders and signs alone are not enough to guarantee that one is a true servant of God.
Please consider these two statements from Christ. The first statement He made referring to our time today. The other one, He made to refer to what will happen on the Day of Judgment.
“For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand” (Matthew 24:24, 25).
“On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many might works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”
Jesus already warned us. We need not to drop our guard and by His grace we ought to stay watchful.
Today, I would like to write our president Mrs. Joyce Banda. First, I would like to congratulate her for becoming the fourth president of Republic of Malawi.
Perhaps, the president will read this blog. I would like also to share with her one thing that has bothered me over the years in regards to how we treat our presidents. We, sometimes, tend to exalt them to the level of God.
I have seen and heard the previous presidents been given names which belong to God alone. We have equated them with Jesus by referring to them as Messiah or Savior or Mose wa Lero. Biblically and theologically, Moses was a shadow or pro-type of Jesus Christ hence ‘today’s Moses’ is Christ.
I would like to ask our president to refuse such titles if any of us will give her one. It’s sad that often it’s Christians who give such names to the president. I appeal to my fellow Christians to give to God what belongs to God and to Caeser what belongs to Caesar. Never take what is God’s and give it to man.
God can never share his glory with mortal man for he says, “My glory I will not give to another” (Isaiah 48:11). Scripture also says “Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever! Amen (Rev. 7:12).
I remember while in Bible college, my Church History and Systematic Theology professors (both of them from the West) used to reiterate that Africa is the hope of Christianity. The Church History professor could go further and foretell that a time is coming when missionaries from Africa will go and evangelize the West reversing the trend of having Western missionaries coming to evangelize Africa.
Their observation was mainly based on what is happening in Africa where more people are being converted to Christianity unlike in the West where Christianity is not growing very much and in some parts it is slowly dwindling into oblivion.
All along I have believed my professors’ observation but now I have started having second thoughts because the main issue is not just having many Africans becoming Christians but what type of “Christians” are these people becoming. Indeed, Christianity is growing in Africa but what type of ‘Christianity’ (if I may use that word) is growing roots among us Africans.
I stand to be corrected, Christianity in Africa stands at the crossroads today because despite that we have some people who are preaching the Gospel as given to us in Scripture, there are also others who are advancing Liberalism and Neo-Orthodoxy. It is sad that many Africans, knowingly or unknowingly, are buying into Liberalism and Neo-Orthodoxy as pure Gospel.
But what do I mean by Liberalism and Neo-Orthodoxy. Allow me to use the word ‘Biblical Christianity’ to define better Liberalism and Neo-Orthodoxy. Biblical Christianity recognizes and teaches that the Bible is God’s Word. But Liberalism teaches that the Bible is man’s word about God. In other words, the Bible is not God’s word. Neo-Orthodoxy, on the other hand, teaches that the Bible is God’s Word only in the passages that speaks to you the rest is man’s word.
Now, on first glance, many of us would dismiss the fact that liberalism and Neo-Orthodoxy are growing roots among some Christians in Africa but when you take a closer look, you will be greatly surprised.
Is it not in our churches today where people can stand up and say something like: “Well, the Bible says … but that was then, things have changed let’s do it this way.”
Again I ask: Is it not in our churches where statements like: “I know the Bible says… but I have received a new and special revelation, God wants us to do….” are made?
Don’t we have some people within our churches who stand in authority over God’s Word and we tend to believe what they say and teach more than Scripture?
I can go on and on; however, the truth I am endeavoring to put across is that if we keep on compromising on Biblical Christianity and let Liberalism and Neo-Orthodoxy rule in our churches then we should forget of Africa being the hope of Christianity. If Liberalism and Neo-Orthodoxy have killed and continue to kill Christianity in the West, should we believe that they will revive and grow Christianity in Africa?
The Bible is God's Inerrant Word
The number of conversions to Christianity should not deceive us and cause us to take our eyes off the ball. We need to be sure of what type of Christianity these people are being converted to. If it is not Biblical Christianity then Africa cannot be the hope of Christianity and we will never see African missionaries going to evangelize the West. What message will they take there?
I always pray that God in His greatness and grace will open the eyes of Christian leaders in Africa to see and realize how evil and destructive Liberalism and Neo-Orthodoxy are. It is my prayer that God in His mercy and grace will raise Christian leaders who do not shrink from declaring the whole counsel of God. I pray for leaders who pay careful attention to themselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made them overseers, to care for the church of God (Acts 20:27, 28). If this can happen, then, for sure, Africa is the hope of Christianity.
Please Lord, help and bless Africa to contended for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 3). In that way, we will become the beacon of hope. All this to your glory alone. Amen!
On Thursday, April 5, 2012 the then president of Malawi Professor Bingu Wa Mutharika passed on after experiencing cardiac arrest. Later on Saturday, April , 2012, the then Vice President of the Republic of Malawi, Joyce Hilda Mtila Banda was sworn in as a President of Malawi by the Chief Justice, His Lordship Lovemore Munlo. No one, except God, knew that these things will happen. Again, God showed us that He is sovereign over His creation and no one can second guess Him. What Apostle Paul wrote about God in Romans 11:33-36 is very true:
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever.
Amen.
After I heard the news of the passing on of Mutharika, I, just like most Malawians, have keenly followed the developments that have occurred since then. A couple of thoughts have entered my mind.
First, I, strongly, believe that God loves the nation of Malawi in a special way. Going by media reports, some individual fought hard to violate the constitution of Malawi so that Banda should not become the president. However, their plans never came to fruition and all Malawians witnessed the rule of law prevailing in the land as Joyce Banda was sworn in as President. I don’t believe that this just happened but God being in control, he guided the events in our country to be what they are today. To Him alone be the glory indeed!
Secondly, my thoughts go to Her Excellency Joyce Banda. This should be a very difficult time for her as she has a huge pile of decisions to make in order to propel our country out of the current quagmire of problems to better days. Just to remind you. The President has to appoint a new cabinet. She, therefore, has a challenging task of choosing selfless people to serve our nation. She has to appoint people who will put the agenda of turning around the problems of our country before their own personal gains. Believe you me, such people are hard to find since the heart is deceiving above all things. Some might appear very good people who love the country, but deep down their hearts, they harbor selfish plans and are mere opportunists not true servants of the people.
Apart from this challenge, the country is in a very serious economic crisis. We are facing forex, fuel and drug shortages. The cost of living is rising almost every day. Our record of human rights has been worsening. There has been bad governance in the country and the rule of law has in some cases been comprised. Our relationship with most international donors and neighboring countries is not cordial.
Now, addressing these challenges is not easy. Some will even take longer to be sorted out. No matter how wise and knowledgeable Banda can be, she cannot solve these challenges without the guidance and help of the Lord. Therefore, this calls for us Christian to spring into action and continually pray for her that God should guide and lead her.
We should pray that God should give her the courage to take even those difficult actions that in the end will improve our situation for the better . As a matter of fact, our responsibility to pray for our leaders is very clear in Scripture:
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way (1 Timothy 2:1-3).
We should pray for President Banda that power should not corrupt her to become insensitive to the suffering of Malawians due to careless and selfish decisions of the government. We should pray that in all things she should trust in the Lord with all her heart and not lean on her own understanding and that in everything she should acknowledge the Lord so that He can make her path straight (Proverbs 3:5, 6).
Thirdly, my thoughts go to the former first lady, Callista Mutharika and the entire family of late Bingu wa Mutharika. This is, no doubt, a very hard time. They have lost a husband, a father, a grandparent, a brother, an uncle and what have you.
As this is not enough, there have been some people, especially politicians, who were very close to late Bingu who have deserted the family during this time when the family needs them most. It should be very painful seeing those whom you thought were true friends to your relative deserting you because the relative is no more.
Despite whatever bad things that the late Mutharika did, as Christians we are supposed to mourn with family. By mourning with them, we are not approving the bad things rather we are carrying out our responsibilities as God’s children to “rejoice with those who rejoice and to mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15).
So, we should pray that God should comfort the family when some of the close friends of the late Bingu are deserting the bereaved family. Above all, we can pray that God, in his grace, should help the family focus their attention on Jesus rather than on man because man can and will always disappoint, but Jesus never disappoints. Although the context might be different but I believe the Psalmist put it better when he said:
Do not reject me or forsake me, O God my Savior. Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me (Psalm 27:10).
These are some of my random thoughts on the passing on of late Professor Bingu Wa Mutharika and the ascension into the office of president of Malawi by Her Excellency Madam Joyce Banda. God bless our land of Malawi and continue to keep it a land of peace. Amen!
There is a song that was done by one of our local musicians, Lucius Banda. In the song, the musician asks this question: “You who believe that God ordained everything that comes to pass in this world, tell me, did God really ordain that we should suffer?”
I believe that many share this musician’s concerns. Of course, we may understand that God is not the source of the evil that goes in this world, but we still wonder why He allows evil in this world.
This is the same struggle that Prophet Habakkuk experienced. He knew that God is sovereign. By saying that God is sovereign, we, basically, mean that God is in full control of what happens in heaven and on earth. He carries out all that he wills and nothing can stop His plans. In other words, when we say that God is sovereign, we mean that God is God.
Now it is easier to say and believe that God is sovereign when things are going on alright but in hard and difficult times, our theology is tested. Habakkuk also struggled with the truth of God’s sovereignty when his nation, Judah, experienced evil and violence.
It is believed that the book of Habakkuk was written just before the people of Judah were taken into captivity in Babylon. It was written at the time when one of the evil kings of Judah, Jehoiakim was ruling and this is believed to be between 609-598 B.C. During this time, the kingdom of Judah experienced moral and spiritual decay. People were breaking the Covenant law of God as they willed. Everyone did as he pleased. Violence and injustice prevailed in the land and Habakkuk cried to the Lord in 1:1-4:
O, LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will you not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife, and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth; for the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.
In other words, Habakkuk was saying, God you are good and sovereign, but why do you allow evil, injustice, violence and destruction to occur in this land. How long should I cry for help, Lord?
Then the Lord gave a response in 1:5-11. In summary, God tells Habakkuk that He is not just sitting idle looking at evil in the land of Judah rather He is raising up the Chaldeans or the Babylonians whom He will use to punish the Kingdom of Judah.
Now, the mere mentioning of Chaldeans or Babylonians did not please Habakkuk because these people were even more evil than the people of Judah. Habakkuk did not hesitate but to question God’s wisdom regarding this development. He reminded God that He is too holy to look at evil, why would he then allow an evil nation of Chaldeans to punish God’s own people of Judah?
It is interesting that God did not answer all the questions of Habakkuk. God just told Habakkuk that after He has used the Chaldeans to punish Judah, He would later destroy the Chaldeans and turn their glory into shame (Habakkuk 2:16). God also assured Habakkuk that through what He would do to Judah and the Chaldeans the earth would be filled with the knowledge of His glory (2:14).
After this response from the Lord, Habakkuk was humbled by God’s greatness. He learned that God’s ways are not our ways. He also reaffirmed, in his heart, that indeed God is in full control of whatever goes on in heaven and on earth hence he turned into prayer and worshipped God (3:1-16). Again, notice that Habakkuk worshipped God even though all his questions were not answered. Towards the end of his book, Habakkuk shares with us what a true understanding of God’s sovereignty will do in our lives.
Habakkuk 3:2
First, an understanding that God is sovereign will bring joy in our lives even though we are passing through hard times. Hear what Habakkuk says in 3: 17, 18:
Though the fig tree should not blossom Nor fruit be on the vines, The produce of the olive fail And the fields yield no food, The flock be cut off from the fold And there be no herd in the stalls, Yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
This is what the realization of God’s Sovereignty does in our life. It brings us joy in the midst of hardship because we realize that God is bigger than our challenges. We can rejoice in the midst of those harsh times because in all things, God works the good of those who love Him and of those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
This is the uniqueness of Christianity. The joy in our hearts does not depend on what is surrounding us but it comes from our faith in God. The storms may rage, but our joy remains steadfast because God perfectly holds the whole world in his hands.
Secondly, when we understand that God is sovereign, we are filled with strength. This is what Habakkuk says in 3: 19:
GOD, the Lord, is my strength. He makes my feet like the deer’s; He makes me tread on my high places
While some people when they hear that God is in control of everything in heaven and on earth tend to believe that then there is no need to do anything but just seat and watch what God is up to, those who fully understand God’s sovereignty are filled with strength and have a reason to spring into action because they know that God is guiding their steps and He will use them to achieve His intended purpose.
God is in full control. Let this truth give us a reason to go on in life without being discouraged. Let’s know that as God’s children we are not lost in the midst of confusion or hardship we may find ourselves in. Rather, we should be courageous and strong by knowing that even in that confusion and hardship, God’s strong hand is leading us as that Hymn writer wrote:
Sometimes ’mid scenes of deepest gloom,
Sometimes where Eden’s bowers bloom,
By waters still, o’er troubled sea,
Still ’tis His hand that leadeth me.
He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
By His own hand He leadeth me;
His faithful foll’wer I would be,
For by His hand He leadeth me.
I would like to wrap up with the story of a man named William Cowper. This man was a Christian poet and a composer of hymns but he often struggled with depression. One day at the age of 32, he struggled with a very serious depression and he thought of committing suicide. He took poison, but it didn’t work. He then tried to fall on a knife, but the blade of the knife broke. Two weeks later he tried to hang himself but was rescued before dying.
Then one morning, not knowing what to do, Cowper turned to the Bible and read the entire book of Romans. After reading it, he composed the famous hymn, God moves in a mysterious way. I would like you to pay so much attention to what the third and fourth verses of the hymn say:
You fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds you so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.
That’s our sovereign God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Behind a frowning providence, he hides a smiling face. This is why I love the fact that He is sovereign.
On May 21, 2011 some people in various parts of the world waited with bated breath for the coming of Christ to take them to heaven. They had believed the prediction of a man from California, named, Harold Camping. But to their dismay, May 21, 2011 came and went just like any other day. No doubt, there were regrets, tears, anger, confusion just to mention but a few.
History is full of stories of people who predicted the end that never was. Most of these people, if not all of them claimed to be Christians and they used Scripture to make their predictions. A latest episode is the one of May 21, 2011. Harold Camping fooled some people into believing that rapture will occur on May 21, 2011 and the complete end of the world will be on October 21, 2011. I don’t have to remind you that both prophecies proved to be a fallacy.
Predicting the Day of Judgment has very serious theological implications. While some might regard it as an element of Christianity, the truth is that prophesying the actual day that the world will end is anti-Christian. This fact is seen when one puts on their biblical and theological lenses and look at the whole issue critically.
The first implication is that if one predicts the end of the world he makes God to be a liar. God has said in his word, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only…Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know what day your Lord is coming…Therefore, you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:36, 42, 44).
God in his word has clearly said that nobody except himself knows the Day of Judgment. Now, if somebody rises and claims that he knows the Day of Judgment he makes God to be a liar. He is in essence saying, “He lied to you that nobody except God knows the Day of Judgment, here I am I know it as well.”
Now if God can lie concerning the Day of Judgment, should we trust him in other areas? Should we trust his word when he says “Believe in the Lord, Jesus Christ and you will be saved”? (Acts 16:31).
If God can lie about the Day of Judgment can we take him at his word when he says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness”? (1 John 1:9).
This is the difficult situation in which all those who claim to know the Day of Judgment find themselves in. They imply that God is a liar and should not be fully trusted.
Again, here we need to ask: if God can change like this, can we really trust him? In Acts 4:12, God says that there is only one name by which we must be saved and that name is Jesus Christ. If God changes, how can we be sure that tomorrow he won’t change and give us another name by which we must be saved?
For sure If God could change then there could have been little hope in Christianity. However, the good news is that God can never change. Listen to what he says in Malachi 3:6: “I the LORD do not change.”
Sign for Family Radio's prediction of the end of the world (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Thirdly, predicting the end takes the eyes of people from Christ and his cross which is the basis for salvation of mankind. Those who predict the “doomsday” draw all the attention to themselves. People no longer talk about Christ but the prophets. People will say, “Let me repent because so and so says that the world is ending” instead of saying “Christ loved and died for me on the cross, I need to repent of my sins and be saved.”
It should be Christ and the power of his cross that should lead people to salvation and not the wisdom of calculating years to arrive at a date that the world will end. Apostle Paul knew very well about the futility of wisdom compared to the power of the cross. That is why he challenged the Corinthians who loved knowledge and wisdom and said: “When I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:1, 2).
Lastly, predicting the end and claiming that it will lead to salvation of many souls in unbiblical. Salvation is by grace not by fear. It was “Amazing grace…that saved a wretch like me” and not the amazing fear of the end of the world.
Moreover, fear can never truly save anybody. It is God who saves and nothing else. No matter what tricks we can come up with, they can never truly save. They will only produce fake and false conversions. “For it is by grace you have been saved and this is the gift (or the work) of God” (Ephesians 2:8) (italics added).
These are some of very serious theological implications that come along with predicting the day and the hour that the Lord is coming. So, for me, instead of regarding the prophets who predict the “doomsday” as working for the good of Christianity, I see them as doing otherwise. It is not my intention to judge or question their Christianity. Only God can judge them. Nevertheless, one thing I know for sure is that predicting Judgment Day is anti-Christian hence I don’t doubt that it grieves Christ.
Postscript:Following his failed predictions, Harold Camping together with his Family Radio Station have repented of their sin. I thank God for this and I believe that Camping’s repentance is sincere and that Christ has forgiven him. Below is a letter of his confession and repentance which was posted on the website of Family Radio but I got it from the website of Christian Post.
THE BOARD OF FAMILY RADIO WISHES TO POST THE FOLLOWING LETTER FROM MR. CAMPING. IT WAS OUR WISH, OUT OF RESPECT FOR OUR LISTENERS, TO MAIL OUT THIS LETTER BEFORE POSTING IT TO THE WEB SITE. HOWEVER, BECAUSE IT WAS LEAKED TO THE INTERNET WITHOUT OUR AUTHORIZATION, WE HAVE MADE THE DECISION TO POST IT IMMEDIATELY TO AVOID CONFUSION. THIS LETTER WILL ALSO BE MAILED OUT TO OUR LISTENERS.
“God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.” Romans 3:4
Dear Family Radio Family,
In this time of confusion and turmoil, God’s Word remains the only truth in which we can trust. God has shown us again the truth that He alone is true. In Romans 3:4 God declares: “Let God be true but every man a liar.” Events within the last year have proven that no man can be fully trusted. Even the most sincere and zealous of us can be mistaken.
The May 21 campaign was an astounding event if you think about its impact upon this world. There is no question that millions, if not billions of people heard for the first time the Bible’s warning that Jesus Christ will return. Huge portions of this world that had never read or seen a Bible heard the message the Christ Jesus is coming to rapture His people and destroy this natural world.
Yes, we humbly acknowledge we were wrong about the timing; yet though we were wrong God is still using the May 21 warning in a very mighty way. In the months following May 21 the Bible has, in some ways, come out from under the shadows and is now being discussed by all kinds of people who never before paid any attention to the Bible. We learn about this, for example, by the recent National Geographic articles concerning the King James Bible and the Apostles. Reading about and even discussing about the Bible can never be a bad thing, even if the Bible’s authenticity is questioned or ridiculed. The world’s attention has been called to the Bible.
We must also openly acknowledge that we have no new evidence pointing to another date for the end of the world. Though many dates are circulating, Family Radio has no interest in even considering another date. God has humbled us through the events of May 21, to continue to even more fervently search the Scriptures (the Bible), not to find dates, but to be more faithful in our understanding.
We have learned the very painful lesson that all of creation is in God’s hands and He will end time in His time, not ours! We humbly recognize that God may not tell His people the date when Christ will return, any more than He tells anyone the date they will die physically.
We realize that many people are hoping they will know the date of Christ’s return. In fact for a time Family Radio fell into that kind of thinking. But we now realize that those people who were calling our attention to the Bible’s statement that “of that day and hour knoweth no man” (Matthew 24:36 & Mark 13:32), were right in their understanding of those verses and Family Radio was wrong. Whether God will ever give us any indication of the date of His return is hidden in God’s divine plan.
We were even so bold as to insist that the Bible guaranteed that Christ would return on May 21 and that the true believers would be raptured. Yet this incorrect and sinful statement allowed God to get the attention of a great many people who otherwise would not have paid attention. Even as God used sinful Balaam to accomplish His purposes, so He used our sin to accomplish His purpose of making the whole world acquainted with the Bible. However, even so, that does not excuse us. We tremble before God as we humbly ask Him for forgiveness for making that sinful statement. We are so thankful that God is so loving that He will forgive even this sin.
So we must be satisfied to humbly wait upon God, and trust He will guide His people to safety. At Family Radio, we continue to look to God for guidance. If it is His good pleasure for us to continue on with our original mission, the proclamation of the Gospel, God’s Word, then we must continue to look to Him.
We consider you to be a real part of this ministry and the tremendous opportunities which God, by His unfathomable mercy and grace, continues to give to us. And, your steadfast involvement and support is so appreciated!
May God bless you, Harold Camping and the staff of Family Radio.
Last week, I posted on this blog an article entitled, “It’s by Grace Throughout” in which we discussed that we do not only need God’s grace for us to be saved (justified) but also for us to be transformed and become more like Christ (sanctification).
However, although it is true that sanctification also is by grace, there is a need to highlight that we need to cooperate with God for him to make us more and more like Christ. In other words, in justification God, single handedly, declares us righteous basing on the righteousness of Christ while in sanctification, God through the Holy Spirit works hand in hand with us so that we become like Christ.
For instance, one of the things we need to do to be more like Christ is to study God’s Word frequently and live it. So, God will give us the desire to study the Bible but it will take us to really study the Word. God will never open the Bible and force us to read it. We have to play our role of reading.
Now, one might ask that if we are to cooperate with God in sanctification, where is grace then? Philippians 2:12 has the answer: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
For us to obey God, it is God, himself, who enables to do so. God knows that on our own, we can’t obey him hence he works in us that we should obey him. This is grace, is it not?
An illustration of Samuel telling King Saul that the LORD has rejected him as king of Israel
Casting Crowns which is a Christian singing group from USA did a track entitled ‘Slow Fade.’ It chorus goes:
It’s a slow fade when you give yourself away
It’s a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It’s the last part that has inspired this article. People never crumble in a day. There are so many examples that you and I can cite to uphold this statement, but I would like us to turn to Scripture and look at the life of the first king of Israel, Saul. He, too, never crumbled in a day. It was a slow fade.
After being king over Israel for some years, God had this to say about King Saul: “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments,” (1 Samuel 15:10). Later on Samuel blatantly tells King Saul, “Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, the LORD has also rejected you from being king” (1 Samuel 15:23).
The story that began so well is ending on a sad note. Earlier on when the LORD directed Samuel to anoint Saul as king, Samuel said these words to the people of Israel: “Do you see him whom the LORD has chosen? There is none like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!” (1 Samuel 10:24). But after some time, the same Samuel tells Saul that God has rejected him as king.
Now, we might wonder as to what happened for the Lord to completely reject Saul as king but if we take a detailed look at his life we will find evidence of ‘slow fade’ in the life of Saul. He who begun so well by trusting the Lord, ended up doing things in his own way and breaking the heart of God in the process. Disobedience, jealousy, murder and idolatry slowly faded away the trust and faith that Saul had in the LORD earlier.
First was the disobedience to the word of God through prophet Samuel who told Saul to go to Gilgal and wait for seven days before Samuel could come to offer burnt offering (1 Samuel 10:8). However, Saul out of panic as the Philistine army approached him, failed to obey the word of God and offered the sacrifice himself instead of waiting for Samuel. Remember that only Samuel was supposed to offer the burnt offering.
Samuel rebuked him for this ‘foolish act” (1 Samuel 13:12) and he told Saul that because he disobeyed the commandment of God, the Lord will not establish Saul’s kingdom over Israel forever (1 Samuel 13, 14). I was expecting to read of Saul’s repentance in the proceeding verses but there was no such thing. No remorse, no repentance from Saul.
What follows this foolish act is another sin of disobedience when Saul directly disobeyed God’s command. The command from the Lord through His prophet Samuel was crystal clear: “Now go and destroy the Amelek and devote to destruction all that they have. Do not spare them but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey,” (1 Samuel 15:3). But disobedience reign supreme in the life of Saul and there is a sad report in verse 9: “But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of sheep and of the oxen and of the fattened claves and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. All that was despised and worthless they devoted to destruction.”
When asked why he defied the Lord’s command Saul shamelessly replied that he spared the best sheep and oxen to sacrifice them to the Lord. Samuel response to this lame excuse was very outstanding: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, to heed is better than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 1:22).
After this story we continue to see the godly life of Saul slowly fading into oblivion. Next you read of his jealousy of David. Jealousy leads to plan of murder. Saul is determined to kill David despite the latter sparing his life a couple of times. Then to crown it all, Saul takes the path of idolatry. Because his relationship with the Lord is not good, he resorts to consulting the souls of the dead to give him guidance. Idolatry finally leads to death and 2 Samuel 1:27 sums it up all: “How the mighty have fallen!”
Indeed it’s a slow fade and people never crumble in a day. After reading this, we might be tempted to shudder in fear and think, if this is the case. Who then can survive without slowly fading away? Christ has the answer in John 15:5, 6:
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into fire, and burned.”
The truth of our vulnerability without Christ should continually be borne in our minds hence we should continually lean on Jesus and completely refuse to be deceived by our wicked hearts that we are strong without Christ. The word of God is very lucid on this: “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall,” (1 Corinthians 10:12). We can’t stand without Christ otherwise we will surely crumble although it might not be in a day.
Confex Makhalira 