“Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” Zech 3:2

When the prophet Zechariah appears on the scene in 520 BC, one thing is vividly clear: God is on the move. Eighteen years prior, a ragtag remnant of Jews had returned to Jerusalem after seventy years of exile in Babylon. Motivated at first to return to the glory days of David and Solomon, as the years passed their zeal flagged. The walls of the city were rubble, the temple, a ruins. The fact that they were paneling their own houses at the same time was cause for a stinging rebuke from his companion prophet, Haggai (1:4). Talk about priorities out of line.

Suddenly, God opens Zechariah’s eyes. He has vision after vision of a flurry of activity in the heavenly realms. He sees horses being sent to the four corners of the earth. He sees four pernicious horns that have been used to scatter and persecute God’s people. As they fade into the background, he sees four craftsmen, or carpenters, who arise and cast out the horns. He also catches a glimpse of the future when “many nations will be joined to the Lord” (2:11). Chapter 2 ends with the words “He is aroused from His holy habitation” (v. 13). God was stirred up. When that happens, it’s time to look up, and watch out!

Several of his visions are images of building and builders. He sees a “surveyor’s line…stretched out” (1:16), as well as angels coming and going, one with a tape measure in his hand. He sees a plumb line being dropped. He sees a capstone being placed upon what we discover is the temple, declaring: “[He] laid the foundation of this temple; His hands shall also finish it” (4:9). 

In order to do construction, qualified builders must stand up and be counted. Chapter 3 introduces such a man: a “craftsman” Zechariah sees standing in the courtroom of the Almighty named Joshua. Satan himself is standing at his side to “oppose him”, only to receive a stern back off or else from the Lord of hosts. God boasts Joshua is “a brand plucked from the fire”. The Father proceeds to remove his filthy garments and garb him in splendrous robes, placing a turban representing authority upon his head. Reading between the lines, it’s as though God was about to proudly announce: that’s my boy!

Although the curtain to heaven has not fully opened to me in the same way, I am confident of this: God is on the move, again. He is about to do something new and glorious in our day. Heaven’s horses are baying. His eyes are scanning to and fro throughout the earth. Zechariah’s prophecies were about an actual, decimated temple, rebuilt for the nation God calls “the apple of His eye” (2:8). But they also pointed to a Day when a temple not made with hands would cause “many peoples and strong nations [to] come to seek the Lord…and to pray before” Him (8:22).

Before He does, God is again looking for fiery brands with Joshua-type fortitude and resolve. They are charred and have a smoky smell, logs who have been in the fire yet rescued by the very Hand of God, preserved and empowered for a purpose, against whom Satan’s attacks are futile. Beloved, mark my word: before God builds, He always looks for and finds builders. He could do it Himself, but He loves to include us. Rather than just deal with the evil horns, He counters them by raising up craftsmen. It is in this way He is glorified.

John Wesley was one of history’s greatest preachers. But when he was five, tragedy struck. His family house caught fire. Seconds before the roof collapsed he jumped into the hands of a human ladder his neighbors had formed, narrowly escaping certain death. He never forgot what God had done. In fact, he often spoke of how God saved him from destruction that day—identifying with Joshua, and recognizing he too had been saved for a divine purpose. Today, if you go to visit his grave, the epitaph he composed for his own tomb reads: “A Brand Plucked Out of the Burning”. 

Oh to be worthy of such an inscription on my headstone one day! Beloved, God is doing a work in our day. The “temple” will be completed, and all nations will flow to it. What remains to be seen is who will be among His fiery brands. 

“Jesus also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none.” Lk 13:6

Missionaries uniquely understand what 1 Peter 2:11 meant when he wrote about “aliens and exiles”. Sometimes we just feel out of place, or out of sync with what’s happening around us—which can be in our adopted country or even when we come back to the land of our birth. Sometimes we feel downright extraterrestrial, or what it must have been like when Rip Van Winkle woke up. 

I experienced this in Singapore. They spoke English, so naturally I was supposed to understand what they were saying. Until I didn’t. For instance, they loved to use acronyms—sometimes rattling two or three off in a sentence. They all knew what those three or four letters stood for. I was clueless. 

One I heard quite often was KPI. I seemed to be the only person in the room who had no idea what they were talking about. One day I got up the courage to ask someone, and found out KPI stands for “Key Performance Indicator”. I learned KPIs answer the questions: Are we accomplishing what we set out to do? or, If we continue forward on this trajectory, will we reach our desired destination as planned?

Missions worldwide went through an upheaval during and after the COVID years. We all got some form of PTSD (two more acronyms). We got waylaid, sidetracked, and benched. But it is time to shake it off, take stock, reorient, and forge ahead. This is true for anyone going through major transitions. We must maintain a curious and probing posture. What is the Holy Spirit saying to us here and now? How do we shift, apply new methods, adjust our goals to new realities? How do I take these five, or ten talents I’ve been given, and invest them in a way that pleases the Master? One day he will for sure come knocking. 

Like Jesus did when He visited the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3; they all receive a thorough and honest report card. He keeps repeating one phrase throughout, “I know your works”. He might as well have said, “You can’t fool me” or as The Passion Translation says, “I know all that you’ve done for me…but…” 

Likewise, in the brief parable in Luke 13:6-9 Jesus comes expecting results. He is “seeking fruit”. It seems God too has KPIs. Every year He comes to check how his fig tree is doing. We also discover he is patient, coming back the next year, and then the next. Still, we must never confuse patience with passivity. He for sure will come back and check again. We also see that He is gracious, magnanimous even. Though the owner says “cut it down”, He intercedes for the tree, then bends down to gently dig around the trunk and roots, literally getting his hands dirty with just the right amount of loving manure. When he comes the next year, it’s fruit, or it’s fire. Grace may be a free gift, but that is not the same as a blank check. It is an injection of undeserved resources meant to empower, resulting in fruitfulness. 

“Be fruitful and multiply” was not just the first command ever spoken to mankind, it was a revelation of God’s very heart. So let us consider how to stir one another up to good works, even as Paul exhorted his coworker Archippus with a KPI at the end of his letter to the Colossians: “take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it” (4:17).

“And Mary said: My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,  and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior… For the Mighty One has done great things for me;  And holy is His name.”  Luke 1:46-47

Mary was a worshiper. As she pours out her heart and soul, expressing her passionate love and adoration for God in Luke 1:46-55, I am moved to lift my hands and proclaim His greatness too. This was no rote prayer, a “bless me, God” petition, a “repeat after me”. Mary’s cry touches heaven; and two thousand years later, her song is still inspiring people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. Wow.

I’m struck by the depth and maturity of this young virgin from an obscure village in ancient Israel. We’re led to believe that people, and especially girls, in those days were ignorant, uneducated. In our “progressive” era, with all the “advancements”, “rights”, and access to knowledge, you might expect more from the women of our day. And yet it’s hard to imagine a fifteen year old in 2025 who walks in such intimacy with God as Mary did. 

I get it. Many of us live in reaction to the excessive exaltation, if not outright worship, of Mary that the Catholic Church has espoused. I think we need a course correction. She rightly prophesied “all generations will call me blessed” (v. 48). It is wrong to worship Mary. What we need to do is worship like Mary, to be a people who know how to press into God, that our souls may truly magnify the Lord. This is not an age or gender issue. It is a matter of choice. It’s a reminder that we are all invited into this kind of relationship with our Master.

A closer look at Mary’s prayer offers some keys. Clearly, she knows Him. She praises Him as mighty, merciful, holy, and faithful through generations. She knows He opposes the proud, yet draws near to those who fear Him. She prophesies by the power of the Holy Spirit. She references Israel’s history. And she knows the Word. In these ten verses, she quotes from: Genesis, 1 Samuel, Psalms (several times), Habakkuk, and Isaiah! 

Add to this another painful fact; she was likely an orphan by this time. A young teenager who faced ridicule and public humiliation, the likely shattering of hopes and dreams, and yet there is no mention of a mother or father who could affirm and comfort her in her hour of crisis. What Joseph would do was an unknown. He could have easily just walked away leaving her awash with shame.

In her hour of intense loneliness, Mary makes two very wise choices. She could have complained, and thrown a pity party. Yet, she chose to praise God. She could have turned to peers for solace. Instead, she packed her bags and headed to the mountains in search of an elderly, godly couple whom she had admired growing up at family festivals. Mary sought out spiritual parents, and was richly rewarded. As she entered the home of Uncle Zach and Aunt Elizabeth, they spoke the Word of the Lord over her and nurtured her for three months. She returned home emboldened, ready to face her accusers. 

I am reminded of two other instances when men of Israel faced a similar choice. One chose wisely, one poorly. When the city of Sodom was being destroyed by fire and brimstone, Lot fled for his life. Although he would have been warmly welcomed by Abraham who had raised and provided for him, he ran to a cave. Rather than get a warm meal, he had rocks for pillows. Instead of good advice, he got good and drunk. Years later David too was fleeing for his life, from the wrath of crazed King Saul. 1 Sam 19:8 says David “went to Samuel and Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him”. Smart. Like Mary.

During the Christmas season, as we joyfully reflect upon the birth of our Savior, our King, and our God, it’s good to be reminded as well that the teenage girl whom God chose to carry and raise Him was quite a star too. 

“I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state. For all seek their own…You know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel.” Phil 2:20-22

Through the centuries missionaries have rightly esteemed the Apostle Paul as a torchbearer. His strategies and methods have been exhaustively studied, and the wise among us have diligently sought to apply the principles he had instituted with such shocking success. 

The one thing that is most challenging to emulate is not the “why”, the “how”, or the “what”of Paul’s approach; it is the “who”. For when we consider the rapid expansion of the gospel throughout the Roman Empire in an age when travel was slow and dangerous, there is simply no way he could have managed the work as it grew on his own. Paul needed qualified, fully committed workers. Workers who were skillful and of the highest integrity. People whom Paul could trust implicitly, who knew his heart, and who would act in complex and threatening situations with fortitude and tenacity—ultimately as he himself would act. 

Herein we discover that the raising up of spiritual sons was not simply a feature of Paul’s method, but its core. In the above verse, Paul literally coins a term to describe his relationship with Timothy. The Greek word for “like-minded” (Gr. Isopsychos) means one who is equal or unified in soul or mind. Paul calls him a “true son” (1 Tim 1:2) manifestly because he resembles him, sharing his DNA. His trust in Timothy is such that he knows without a doubt that he will represent Paul fully in whatever place or capacity he is assigned to work. 

In the subsequent verses, Paul similarly commends Epaphroditus. He refers to him as his “brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier” who longed for the Philippians (v. 25-26), just as Paul had. Paul further says that they would be overjoyed at the sight of Epaphroditus, especially considering that he had come close to death, willingly risking his life in order to serve them (2:30). 

And then there is Titus. In 2 Corinthians, Paul actually says although an effectual door opened for the gospel while he was in Troas, “I had no rest in my spirit because I did not find Titus my brother” (2:12-13). So he left. Soon after, Titus helped Paul pioneer the work in Corinth. Then, after the gospel expanded to other cities, he sent Titus back there, testifying God had placed “the same concern for you into the heart of Titus” that he himself had, further adding of him: “Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit? Did we not behave in the same way?” (8:16;12:18 NET)

Titus’ ministry had proven so beloved and effective in Corinth that when the two of them launched a flourishing work expanding to multiple cities in Crete some years later, Paul had complete liberty to press on to other fields, confident that Titus would “set right what was left undone and…appoint elders” in every city where they had labored (Tit 1:5). Now that is real trust! 

As I look back over five decades of missionary service, I have discovered the most important thing that I have done is to equip not just disciples or even good leaders, but sons, or soulmates. You cannot plan for this and yet it must be one’s highest priority. It is not achieved by checking off boxes or graduating from some course of study, but by laying one’s life down. Sons are birthed by travail, not delivered by a stork, or Amazon, or even Fuller.

The impact of Paul’s approach has reverberated for two millennium. I can’t say I was clear-eyed about this when I started my assignment. But part of the richness of this principle is that it cannot be scripted; it has to be organic. Those who were spiritual mothers and fathers to me had modeled this way of ministry for me. I caught it, though it was never specifically something I was taught.  

As I had been freely given to, I freely gave. As this unique set of genes were passed down to me, I passed them to my own “offspring”. Subconsciously I had adopted a ministry posture that had a family resemblance. It turns out it is also the posture of Paul, the wise master builder himself (1 Cor 3:10). And what’s more, I now have the joy of watching my own “sons” carrying on the legacy. My hope and prayer is that it helps to hasten the Day or Jesus’ return for His bride. 

“God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.’” Gen 1:28

When meeting someone for the first time, the first words we speak carry enormous weight, setting the emotional tone and relational trajectory for what follows. Impressions matter. What we say and how we say it can mobilize or paralyze. It can draw people in or push them away. It can inspire or stifle. When conveyed with authenticity, humility, and sincerity, the resulting attention and respect garnered are tangible and immediately rewarded. 

Until the sixth day of creation, God had never spoken to any man. Ever. No one had never heard words being spoken to him, until that holy moment in time when the Father’s awesome voice echoed in Adam’s ears, most certainly causing all the hairs on his arms to stand straight up and his legs to wobble! And yet, despite its indisputable clarity, it is astounding how muddled people can be about God’s intentions. Or perhaps they imagine that God has changed His mind since so long ago? 

On that last point, there are many scriptures I could point to that answer this question resolutely. To put is simply: He hasn’t. 

But some might say, yeah, but the times have changed. True. Times are always changing. Yet there has never been a more prosperous generation. Health care has never been as good. Birth rates were higher during the Great Depression, and the children born at that time were adults during the period of America’s most dramatic rise to world prominence. So no, that argument against having children simply does not work. It’s an excuse masquerading as a reason. 

We raised seven kids in the nations during these “difficult times” even though we had no fixed income. Israel did not tell God His idea was not practical when they were oppressed and threatened as slaves in Egypt. Quite the opposite. Exodus 1:12 says: “the more [the Egyptians] afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew”. Holding the course, it was only a matter of time before they outnumbered, and overpowered their oppressors. 

If I was an unbeliever, I can imagine being hesitant, even fearful, in the face of uncertainty and pressures. But as believers, Gen 1:28 says we are blessed even before we obey. That means God has already made provision for us, and given us access to His favor, His wisdom, and His resources. Only then does He command Adam to be fruitful and multiply. Whenever God asks us to do something, He backs it up unsparingly…grace upon grace.

As believers, we know the gravity of obedience to God’s commands. If anyone is doubtful whether or not God was serious about this mandate, they should consider that He spoke these same words to Noah as he walked out of the ark with his family, then repeated them generation after generation to Abraham, then Isaac, then Jacob. Because this is His Word, we just do it and trust the results to Him. To look at circumstances or attempt to make truth conform to what is “reasonable” or comfortable is not an option for us. We are told to to walk by faith and not by sight. So what are we waiting for?

What God desires has never been in question. He wants us to fill the earth. As the waters cover the seas, so He shall His righteous reign be. The government which rests upon the shoulders of His son brings peace that knows no end “to order it and establish it with judgment and justice…forever” (Is 9:7). Our part in this Master plan is plain: we must be fruitful and multiply. As fertility rates shrink in our generation across the globe, as non-believers shun marriage and substitute diapers for doggy bones, the people of God must return to the traditional—the tried and true—that which God spoke to us from the beginning. 

God has blessed us. And knowing what is best for us, and necessary for His will to be done on earth, He commands us to have lots and lots of “kids”. While this certainly implies spiritual children, preaching to the lost and making disciples, it also is not subtle in saying that God’s people should prioritize the building of strong families at a time when a broken world has forgotten or rejected the eternal words our loving Father which He first spoke to man.

So what do you say? I say, Let’s do it. Let’s fill the earth…and make our Father’s heart glad.

“God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.’” Gen 9:1

In Adam, all peoples are united by blood. In Abraham, all God’s children are united through faith by covenant and commission. But it is in Noah that we, all mankind, are united by race since all races descended from him after the flood. Let me elaborate. 

First, consider the monumental task of building an ark 1.5 times the length and width of a football field and four stories high. At the very least, decades were needed for this work, with many Jewish and Christian scholars believing that it took all of 120 years to complete construction of the ark. 

Noah did not order his Black & Decker tools on Amazon. He couldn’t run over to Home Depot to pick up plywood, nuts and bolts, or shellack. He had no crane to hoist beams up to a height of 90 feet. The only thing he really had going for him was God’s promise, and three sons who stuck with him through it all. 

Try to keep focused on and mutually committed to a project for days, or weeks. Then think for a moment how hard it would be to persistently work on it for years. Let that now expand to decades, or a lifetime. If that’s not enough, consider that everyone—neighbors to the north, south, east, and west, young and old, rich and poor—opposed, mocked, and demonized them the whole time. God did not mince words when describing the depths of that generation’s depravity, saying that “every intent of the thoughts of man’s hearts were only evil continually” (Gen 6:5). 

Despite the culture being “corrupt before God” and “filled with violence” (6:11), Noah’s boys continued to honor their father, keeping themselves unbound and uncontaminated by the wickedness surrounding them. This certainly is a great credit to Noah and his wife. They’ve got my respect!!!

After the flood water receded, God began afresh. Although the command to build the ark was given to Noah alone, after decades of faithful service shoulder to shoulder with dad, God speaks to “Noah and his sons”. He includes Shem, Ham, and Japheth in his plan and mission. They all know it, and each has a role to play. Remarkably, all the world’s races came from Noah’s three sons. They not only became heads of families or tribes; the three major racial/cultural groupings came from them, including: Those who stayed in the region or travelled East (Semitic/Oriental), those who traveled South (African), and those who travelled North (European). 

In 2018 the Holy Spirit gave me a split-second download that shook me to my core. While sharing a stage with a Chinese pastor to my right and an African bishop to my left, He showed me God was bringing together the sons of Noah to reap a great, end-time harvest before Jesus returns. I wept, feeling numb and undone by what God had shown me. 

To think God knew all along that Noah’s sons would scatter and adopt distinct and even hostile customs and worldviews over thousands of years. And yet, before the return of the Son of God, through Jesus, by the power of His blood, the dividing wall will come crashing down. Those who are far off will be brought near (Eph 2:13), and will link arms once again in that same ark-building spirit, laboring diligently to usher in the Kingdom.

Beloved, if God can watch over all of history and work all things together for His glory, He knows where you are today, and what you are facing. If Shem, Ham, and Japheth could stick with father Noah for all those years in unwavering commitment and perseverance, I believe the grace and power of God will be with us too, keeping us fruitful, multiplying and ultimately using us to fill the earth. Amen.

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life.” 1 John 1:1

One of my favorite book genres is the legal thriller. I love the intrigue of detective work, the unfolding drama of courtroom ebbs and flows, and the suspense of a jury deliberating over the verdict. Whether there is a conviction or not often hinges on one key factor: was there or was there not credible and convincing eyewitnesses. 

John begins his epistle by establishing his cache as one who had heard, seen, and touched the Lord Jesus. It gave him street cred. It guaranteed that his words carried weight, that his instructions and warnings would be heeded, and obeyed. 

Luke was a doctor and a historian. Although he wrote his gospel based upon the testimony and records of others, there are sections in Acts where he writes in the first person. He served alongside Paul, a trusted co-laborer, as one who stuck with him in persecution and imprisonment even as others abandoned him. When Paul endured a murderous storm, Luke was there to capture intimate details of the shipwreck, as well as give us unique insights into the heart and soul of Paul as he boldly stared down certain death. Aside from the times Paul is transparent and brutally honest in his writings, there is probably no better way to understand what wound him up and made him tick than the last two chapters of the book of Acts. 

Something that strikes me about this section is Paul was not “on mission”. He was a prisoner being transported to Rome to have his case heard by Caesar’s court. As such, it reveals an underlying reality: It was impossible to extract Paul the missionary from Paul the man. He did not wear two hats. He did not punch the clock. He was the same person in the market and in the pulpit. His message was fully corroborated by his actions and reactions. As the last remnants of hope’s bubble burst upon the decks of that fated boat, a man of enormous, iconic stature emerged.

Luke chronicles the descent into the perilous and inconsolable plight gripping the shipmates. Fourteen darkened and tempest-tossed days, heaving the ship’s tackle overboard, abstaining from food, oppressed by malignant fear…and yet, Paul, the lowest of the low, a bound convict, rises to lift their spirits and assuage their paranoia. Luke’s own soul had been buoyed by Paul’s courageous pronouncement: “I now urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you…just as [God] told me” (v.22-25). 

Luke too had suffered hunger pangs after fourteen days. He shared their despair and terror, the sea-sickened and sleepless nights. So when Paul urged the entire ship to eat for their survival, that “not a hair will fall from the head of any of you”, Luke included himself to be among those who “were all encouraged” (vs. 34,36). When they had finally run aground, each man jumping into the frigid waters as the battered ship broke into pieces, they each saw for themselves that Paul’s was a Miracle-working God. They all escaped. They all made it safely to shore. No one was injured. Not a hair had been lost. 

For Luke, this was personal. When Paul contended in prayer for every soul on board, he counted himself among the two hundred and seventy-six of whom Paul had been given assurance: “indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you” (v.24). He had boarded the ship with a shackled man whom he had witnessed become the de facto captain over the entire crew, who had earned their trust and respect, and who had made them a part of unforgettable history. 

2 Cor 11:25 says Paul was shipwrecked three times. If Luke had not been with Paul on this fateful journey, the attitudes, the confidence, the faith that Paul exhibited in the midst of such extreme adversity would be lost to us. Luke had watched Paul board that ship, not as a great apostle, but as a bound, empty-handed, ordinary man, who through faith showed us what Moses meant when he told the Israelites, “And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God” (Dt 28:13). 

When all deliberations are done, the verdict that our God is faithful and ever the miracle-working Ruler of all will be unanimous. I for one am so thankful for all the credible and convincing eyewitnesses who have testified to the greatness of our God. 

“Immediately they left their nets and followed him.” Mark 1:12

I love to fish. I have ice-fished in sub-zero temperatures. I have fished in the middle of the night and long before dawn. I have fished through storms. I have been horribly seasick but still kept my line in the depths just in case. I know first hand that a true fisherman does not just walk away from all this. 

It’s vital for us to understand what makes a true disciple. What were the behaviors and attitudes that Jesus identified in his followers that qualified them for promotion? A salesman who signs contracts rapidly, a professor who frequently publishes in academic journals, an athlete who fills up the stat sheet all have something in common: They excel in their fields and are the first ones to be recognized and rewarded. They become standouts, are held up as examples, and are singled out for leadership. 

Mark was not among the disciples first chosen by Jesus, although he came into contact with them as a young teenager. Sometimes they gathered in his family’s home. That he would later become a scribe of Peter and a co-laborer with Paul, and ultimately be given the honor of authoring one of the gospels, shows that he paid attention and was careful to cultivate the qualities that pleased the Lord and increased his sphere of influence. 

One of the things that deeply impacted Mark was the spirit of decisiveness and resolve that he saw amongst the Twelve. Whereas our sinful human nature tends to procrastinate and poo-poo at responsibilities, Jesus’ chosen inner circle shared a common trait: They were willing to move when He said move, and go where He said to go. They had discarded the filters, the checklists, the fickleness that disqualified the multitude. They eagerly leaned into their next assignment. They shed dead weight in order to became unencumbered. They refused to be distracted, majoring on the Master and casting the superfluous and petty into the waste bin. They were focused, determined, intent. 

Although Mark’s gospel is the shortest, he used the word “immediately” more times than Matthew and Luke combined. He had observed a readiness of heart and quickness of feet during his interactions with Peter, James, and John. They did not just leave their nets, they left the businesses and their livelihoods behind as soon as they realized Jesus was so powerful and true. Without hesitation, they left their gawking, nets-in-hand fathers standing there in the boats with the hired hands. They kissed mom’s home cooking goodbye. 

Some weeks later when Jesus chose those who would become his most trusted associates after praying all night, these fishermen were among them. It was not education Jesus was looking for, or pedigree, and “influence”. It was this very thing, this Nike quality, the “Let’s Go!”, “Kawabunga!” “Just Do It!” attitude, that set them apart. These are the kind of people God was willing to entrust with the keys of the Kingdom, and with the responsibility to establish a Church that the gates of Hell could not prevail against. It was this daring, quick-to-obey band that Jesus went to first after rising from the dead, commanding them to go into all the world to preach the gospel to every creature.

It was this sense of urgency, capsuled in the word immediately, that had impressed and shaped young Mark on his own journey with Jesus.  Although he faltered during his first mission trip and went home early (Acts 13:13), he later recovered that same spirit that he’d idolized in the Twelve when he was young. We know this because Paul, in the last chapter of the last letter he wrote, specifically asks that Mark be brought to him in his Roman prison, writing he had become “useful to me” (Gr. profitable, prepared, meet for use, at the ready). No wonder he went on to become one of the great, instant in season disciples of the early church.

“Satan uses…every form of evil deception in order to deceive those who are perishing because they rejected the love of the truth…Because of this, God sends them a powerful delusion that leads them to believe what is false.” 2 The 2:10,12

It has been wisely spoken that the best defense is a great offense. This is true in sports. It is true in war. It is also true in life where Satan’s powerful arsenal of deception, his persistent and aggressive plots against us, are obliterated by any believer who wields the sword of truth without wavering. The true disciple is the one who never winks at or compromises on any point of truth. My mind must agree with truth. My will must submit to truth. My steps must align with truth. My heart must be totally and unshakably in love with truth. 

Truth is not open to negotiation. Whenever I am confronted with truth, I must never allow my feelings, or culture, or relationships to influence my commitment to follow her unflinchingly. Like David, I must be resolved: “I have chosen the way of truth; Your judgments I have laid before me” (Ps 119:30). 

Whenever we dismiss or dilute truth, refusing to accept her standards and demands upon our decisions and behavior, we do not remain in a neutral state. We are instantly and thoroughly disarmed and vulnerable. Satan lies in wait, ready to unleash “every form of evil deception in order to deceive us.” Even more sobering is the realization that the force and frequency of these powers are increasingly prevalent and effective in the days leading up to Christ’s return (Mat 24:4,10-11). Beloved, this time could be rebranded The Disinformation Age, a chapter in history marked by half-truths based on manipulated and manufactured “facts”. I have painfully watched too many people fall off a precipice into confusion, illusion, and error. When the books are opened, their indictment will be returned: they rejected the love of the truth. 

John penned his epistles in the voice of a father or grandfather in the faith looking back over a lifetime of service to warn and guide those he called “my [little] children” nine times in 1, 2, and 3 John. As such, his messages are a distillation of perspective, filtering out extraneous ideas in order to highlight and promote what is pertinent, essential, and eternal. Who could remain unmoved by the deep yearning found is his appeal in 3 John 4? 

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” 

As one of the pillars of our faith, he emphasizes that truth must never be tampered with. Mentioned 21x in his gospel (compared to Mat 1x, Mar 3x, Luk 1x), there are also seventeen usages in the seven chapters of John’s letters. The apostle could not have been more clear: truth is not an abstract or subjective matter. Either we believe and walk in it, or we don’t; and everything of consequence in this life and eternity hinges upon what we do with it. There is no such nonsense as “my truth” or “your truth”; there is only “the truth”. 

When Paul wrote his warning to the Thessalonians above, he was not wearing his theology hat. He had personally and painfully witnessed those who had fallen away and become trapped in the Devil’s snares. As he wrote to the Ephesians, he had seen them “tossed to and fro by every wind and wave of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting” (4:14). In the next verse, his remedy is unequivocal: He tells them to “speak the truth in love”.

The reason for their tottering and floundering was they had a casual relationship with the truth. Truth is not relative. It does not change with the times. It is unaffected by opinion polls. It remains constant even when its rivals get all the “likes” and accolades. It can never be perverted or pushed to the shadows. When all else fails and fades, when the popular and the fanciful and flashy have run their courses, we must all be found holding on to the one thing that will remain with all our hearts and strength. My prayer in closing is simple: Lord, even as we grow in our love for You, grant it that we also fall completely head-over-heals in love…with the truth. 

“I feel such great sorrow and heartache for you that never leaves me! God knows these deep feelings within me as I long for you to come to faith in [Christ].”   Rom 9:2,3 TPT

The Book of Romans is without a doubt Paul’s Magnum Opus as a theologian. The depth of revelation and the logical, systematic, and articulate way in which Paul distills the depth and clarity of the gospel is unparalleled. If Paul had done nothing else, if he had only penned this amazing treatise of Biblical truth, he would already be a legend heralded throughout the ages. 

As impressive as Paul’s insights into the mysteries of truth are, what moves me—often to tears—is the message of love and affection that is woven throughout. As a Pharisee of Pharisees (Acts 23:6), a man who had sat at the feet of Gamaliel*, Paul was trained by the best and excelled above his peers. His arguments in Romans are irrefutable, presented with legal precision. And yet, what shines through is not just his head, but his heart. He had not only been convinced and converted; Paul had fallen in love. More than enlightened, Paul had been turned inside out. A man prone to scale the heights of intellectual prowess had become undone by a much greater power. Christology and justification by faith are super, but Paul caps it off with an even more visceral and transformative reality: “because we can now experience the endless love of God cascading into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who lives in us!” (Rom 5:5 TPT). 

As Paul masterfully tackles the thorny matter of Israel’s place in the plan of God, he is so overwhelmed by the never-ending, reckless nature of God’s mercy that he quite unexpectedly, as if in mid-sentence, cries out: “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” (Rom 11:33). He then proceeds to say the only reasonable response to this is to present ourselves like living sacrifices upon God’s altar (Rom 12:1). Wouldn’t it be incredible if the theses of our seminary graduates went so uncharacteristically off-script! 

Paul begins the letter to the church in Rome by saying that he had been praying “without ceasing” for the believers there, longing to see them in order to impart to them “some spiritual gifts so that you may be established” (Rom 1:10-11). Since Paul had never been to Rome, that means he had not even met most of the people for whom he had such warm affections; and yet had had such an ardent desire to see them growing in Christ and becoming ever more fruitful in His service!

In Romans 15 he continues, expressing that he had had “a great desire these many years to come to you” that he might “enjoy your company” (v. 23-24). Paul had been raised in the hardware world of strict rules and regulations. He did not abandon the hardware after he met Christ; he overlayed and interfaced it with the software of agape—of relationships of a depth and quality that had been unthinkable under his former paradigm as a Pharisee. The word “enjoy” (Gr. empiplemi) means fulfilled, satiated, satisfied. Clearly his encounter with Jesus had been Grinch-like in its impact:

And what happened then? Well in Whooville they say—

that the Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day.

While many would probably say their favorite chapter in Romans is 8, or 12, I have always loved the way it reaches a crescendo in the last chapter, 16. Perhaps you only see it as a list of names, a salutation, or a way of sending one’s regards. Since the Holy Spirit first touched me about its essence, I can no longer see it this way. Although Paul had yet to visit Rome, he already knew the names of twenty-eight people there. His comments about them are priceless. Some had “helped” him, literally meaning caring for the needs of others and aiding them with resources. Some had risked their own necks for him. Some had spent time in prison with him. He commends them for their labors, as apostles, as servants of God, as beloved, even one as being his own mother! He exhorts them to greet each other with a holy kiss (16:16). 

My prayer for you is, as it is for me: that we would continue to grow daily in our walk. This includes in knowledge, in gifts, in service. And, that we might especially excel in the one thing that Paul referred to as the “more excellent way”, stating emphatically and conclusively, “[if] I have not love, I am nothing” (1 Cor 12:31; 13:2).

* One of the great thinkers in Jewish history, grandson of Rabbi Hillel, one of the most famous theologians of ancient Israel.