“Behold, I have created the blacksmith who blows the coals in the fire, Who brings forth an instrument for his work; And I have created the spoiler to destroy.” Is 54:16

I have a confession: We spanked our kids. Not every day. Not willy-nilly. Not with excessive force. Not in anger. I know, “enlightened” psychologists wouldn’t condone our methods. I know, some sixty “progressive” nations have outlawed corporal punishment. I know, there are many for whom spanking combines with other parenting practices and behaviors to be truly abusive. But when God’s Word clearly states we must not “spare the rod”, it trumps everything and everyone else. And God forbid we judge any action by its abuses. 

No serious student of the Bible can deny that God spanks his kids too. Not with spatulas and wooden spoons, mind you. How about a judicious use of “time outs”, or sending them to their rooms? I guess you might consider seventy years of exile in Babylon a kind of divine equivalent! 

If you are like me, you quickly gloss over Is 54:16 so you can get to the thrilling and familiar promise of v.17. Who doesn’t like to hear “No weapon formed against you will prosper”? Did I hear an Amen! But it is good to be reminded that context matters. What weapon is Isaiah referring to? Some verbal attack by an offended friend or family member? Or maybe a colleague being critical of our decisions, or leadership style, or wardrobe? An insensitive IG post? Certainly something unjust, or even malicious, right? 

You may be surprised to discover the “weapon” was actually formed in The Lamb’s Blacksmith Shop. God says, “I have created” the instruments used to punish you, Israel. He is the one who authorized the “spoiler to destroy”, also translated a ravager, a waster, and a destroyer to wreak havoc. Although we much prefer to see God as our Good Shepherd who makes us lie down in verdant pastures (which, of course, He does!), the truth is there are also times when He is forging tools to whack or restrain us. Ouch!

If we fail to rightly discern the Source of our present predicament, we are in danger of rebuking the Lord for sending us a gift meant to cause us to grow more mature and strong. We may resist a rod sent to discipline us, intended “for our profit” and to produce in us “the peaceable fruits of righteousness” (see Heb 12:7-11), thinking that it is an attack against us from our adversary. 

This is not to deny there are times when Satan comes after us to kill, steal, and destroy. But beloved, be warned lest you fail to see God’s Hand at work bringing afflictions upon you to prove, sharpen, and awaken something in you (see Is 54:11-13). God is even big enough to use the Devil to promote His purposes when He wants! As much as I have benefitted from engaging in spiritual warfare, I have also learned through the years that there are many times when the Lord is spanking me, and in those moments I am not meant to fight, but submit and humbly ask the Father to help me learn my lessons well. 

Lest we forget, the second half of the verse that says our enemy comes to destroy concludes with Jesus saying He comes that we may have “more and better life than you ever dreamed of” (Jn 10:10 MSG).

“I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.”  Is 6:1

As a prophet, Isaiah had witnessed darkness and corruption, and called out the nation for their rebellion and hardheartedness. Over time, their insolence could easily wear even the strongest down. He confessed, “my work seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose” (49:4). But early in his ministry, Isaiah saw God. In the year that Israel’s longest reigning king died, Isaiah had an encounter with the Sovereign Lord exalted high above all rule and authority. This glimpse into the reality of heaven, of God sitting upon the throne over all creation, inspired and energized him to serve faithfully for sixty-four years, spanning the lives of four kings. 

Beloved we will not survive long either if we only gaze upon the wickedness and debauchery that surrounds us. This is a delicate balance. We cannot become fixated upon evil, but neither can we be ignorant of the Devil’s schemes and devices. We acknowledge the rapid decay of morals and even reason in our day, but we do not despair because of it. God is still on the throne. Even when wickedness seems to prevail, it cannot extend beyond the boundaries God sets. When people around us are depressed and freak out, we must in the spirit of David say I will not fret because of evildoers…for they shall soon be cut down like the grass (Ps 37:1). As Paul said to the Thessalonians, “we are not like those who have no hope” (1 The 4:13). 

Paul’s words to the young church in Ephesus are also a great reminder to us today. Ephesus was built in the shadow of the great Temple of Diana. As such, it was a center of the cruelest forms of idolatry and perversion. Paul does not hold back when describing the depravity of the city, even saying many of them had been delivered from lewdness, deceitful lusts, thievery, greed and drunkenness, to name a few. His answer? He points them to Jesus, seated at the right hand of God, “far above all principalities and powers and might and dominion, and every name that is named” (Eph 1:21). Even Diana. 

The prescription for the “Hebrews” is very similar to what Isaiah had gone through. These believers had faced intense persecution. They were tempted to “become weary and discouraged in their souls” (12:3). Their hands were drooping and their knees had become weak (12:12). So what was the answer for them? “Fix [your] eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (12:2 NIV). Don’t be captive to the things around you or let the narratives that bombard the airwaves be the masters of how you think and feel. Lift up your eyes and behold, He rules over a Kingdom that can never, ever be shaken. 

Very few people get to see the Lord in the same way Isaiah did. While the experience is obviously amazing, God knows what we need to stand firm in our day. Seeing the Lord high and lifted up need not be with the natural eye. Knowing God is in charge is indispensable. Faith in His sovereignty anchors us in storms of persecution, in the shadows of Diana’s perversity, or as gross darkness descends upon us in our generation. As we enter into the New Year, let us ask God for a fresh set of eyes to behold Him, even as Isaiah later would promise the soon to be taken captive nation of Israel…

“Prepare for war! Wake up the mighty men…Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears…” Joel 3:9,10

When the Hamas paragliders descended upon innocent Israeli revelers on October 7th, a cataclysmic rift ripped open in its wake. The rape and brutality that followed dropped a pin on history’s pages. Evil now had a face. 

Political wrangling abruptly stopped in Israel. Against the backdrop of RPG-induced explosions of homes with families huddled in their bowels, mudslinging and vain arguments over petty political differences were put to rest. Israel, for all her military prowess, had been caught completely off-guard. Bombs served as alarm clocks as clueless eyes burst open from idealism-induced slumber. Despite black coffee’s reputation, nothing sobers like war. 

The media’s reaction to President Reagan calling the USSR an “Evil Empire” in 1983 was bellicose. Predictably, when George Bush called out North Korea, Iran, and Iraq as an “Axis of Evil” in his State of the Union address in 2002, news outlets also went berserk. Western “civilization”, according to our media gatekeepers, had embraced a laissez faire mindset in the aftermath of the 60’s I’m OK, You’re OK generation. The Bogeyman was no longer in vogue. Evil? How dare you malign those people over there? If you’ll just bow here at the altar of tolerance, you’ll be woke like me and realize they’re just different, or themselves victims of oppression!

Scripture has no such scruples. In Romans 12:17-13:4 Paul uses the word “evil” seven times in nine verses. He exhorts the Ephesians to not walk as fools but as wise, “redeeming the time because the days are evil” (5:16). God put two trees in the Garden, one of which was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. We better learn to know the difference! No wonder Hebrews states that mature believers “by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (5:14). 

How can we “abhor what is evil” (Rm 12:9) if we can’t identify it? How can we “prepare for war” if we have yet to realize we are under attack? Why should we beat our plowshares into swords? Is it really that bad yet? Yes!

The volume of voices crying in the wilderness increases by the hour. The foreboding goblin drumbeats are past being heard, the ground itself is quaking under our feet. Murderous hordes have already paraglided into our schools and halls of entertainment, kidnapping our vulnerable. I am not prophesying gloom and doom; I’m only acknowledging the facts. It is not hyperbolic to say “the whole world is under the control of the evil one” (1 Jn 5:19). It is the Word of God. 

Friends of mine have held services in rubble-filled sanctuaries in the aftermath of bombings, walled in by mourning loved ones. Reality is be a cruel pill to swallow, but our health depends upon receiving a daily dose of this bitter tablet. Remarkably, this did not deter my friends; they only become more determined!

We mustn’t let the pill swallow us. As ominous as this impending battle may seem, in the hours before Evil’s watershed moment, Jesus’ crucifixion, our Lord exhorted His disciples: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33). 

Joel’s prophecy is eerily relevant to us in our day. We may not see paragliders in our skies yet, but beloved, we are under attack. An alarm is sounding. It may not be a whirring rocket, but for those who have an ear to hear, it is ringing loud and clear. It’s time to blow the shofar, to rouse the mighty men, and awaken a royal regiment to fall in line behind the mounted King of Kings who comes out “conquering and to conquer” (Rev 6:2). 

“If someone who is peace-loving lives there, let your greeting of peace remain on that person…Stay in that same house, eating and drinking whatever they offer you…Don’t move around from one house to another.” Lk 10:6-7 GNB

In missions circles we often talk about “finding the man of peace”. More than just a method or target of evangelism, being diligent to seek after those people whom God has been uniquely preparing can be a key to opening up new fruitful fields of ministry. It can mean the difference between laboring for God and co-laboring with Him. 

Sometimes these “men” come to us, sometimes we are sent to them. Sometimes we meet them during our normal routines, sometimes we are Spirit-directed to them by a dream or a call in the middle of the night. On our part, we need to be watchful, expectant, and sensitive to realize that God has gone before us to make certain people open receptacles of His saving grace and power. Their salvation often creates a chain-reaction as those in their orbits are impacted by their testimonies. 

Peter was praying when he received the same unusual vision three times, prompting him to respond with wonder and faith when soon after an invitation came to visit a Roman centurion a two day, 32-mile, walk north of where he was. Cornelius was a man of peace whom God rewarded by generously pouring out His Spirit upon his entire family, and a household packed with guests. This was a major turning point, paving the way for the gospel to start spreading rapidly among the Gentiles. 

Philip heard the Lord tell him to travel from Jerusalem to Gaza, a 50-mile walk. When he got there he spotted a high ranking official from Ethiopia riding in his chariot. He was prompted to run along side of him, only to discover he was reading the most compelling prophetic verses about Jesus’ crucifixion in the whole Old Testament (Is 53). This eunuch was not only baptized that day, God used him as a catalyst to start the first vibrant church movement in Africa (the Coptics), which is still going strong today. 

Paul had a vision of a man from Macedonia pleading with him to come and help the people there. Once there, Paul wisely went to a spot outside the city of Philippi, where Jews went to pray on the Sabbath, to see if he could find a “man” of peace there. The “man” turned out to be a woman, Lydia. Act 16:14 says “the Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul”. She was baptized, along with her household, and quite possibly the first church ever on European soil was birthed as a result. 

Nobody was better at unearthing these spiritual treasures than Jesus. While we may recall the conversation he had with the Samaritan woman beside a well; we may not remember that he felt compelled by the Spirit to go there that day, and had no interest to accompany the disciples when they went into town to get food after the long journey. His encounter with this “sinful” woman left her flabbergasted, and radically changed. For me, the most exhilarating part of the story is that Jesus visited her village following her transformation to witness and nurture a revival that broke out when she shared the powerful testimony of what Jesus had done for her (Jn 4:39). 

Jesus attracted these men and women like bees drawn to sweet nectar. He is still doing it today by His Spirit who lives in us. This same Spirit also goes before us to prepare people’s hearts, as he had done for Cornelius, the eunuch, and Lydia. As Hanani timelessly prophesied nearly three thousand years ago, “the eyes of the Lord run to and from throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him” (2 Chr 16:9). Lord, help us to discover those Your scanning eyes are locked upon. Oh that we might become co-laborers with You, finding the men and women of peace you have prepared for us to meet—people to whom You long to show Yourself strong. Amen.

Although Abraham had been a tribal lord, a military commander, and one who built altars and offered sacrifices akin to the priests of his day, scripture and history remember him even as his name indicates: Abram/Abraham was a patriarch, one who had been promoted by God to be known as the father of many nations. 

In this role, Abraham was a kind of Yoda, a master mentor who not only directed or instructed people, but formed and activated them, reproducing himself in the lives of those who were privileged enough to walk closely with him. 

Nowhere is this perhaps clearer than in the longest chapter in Genesis, chapter 24. Though the headline of the story is the search for a wife for Isaac, the one who is actually front and center is an unnamed man called “the oldest servant of his house” (v.2). Most scholars concur that this was likely Eliezer, a man from Damascus whom Abraham had once designated as his heir (Gen 15:2). As such, the story also gives us a model and a standard of how we should disciple or train people whom God has put in our lives. It sure has inspired me!

The first question to slap me is: Do I have people in my life and ministry with whom I have this level of trust? Consider the standard. Verse 10 says “for all his master’s goods were in his hand.” As he loads up ten of Abraham’s camels with gifts for the 500 mile (800 km) journey, the wealth here is astronomical. Just the nose ring and two bracelets Eliezer presents to Rebekah at first were worth at least USD$15,000. The rest of the load was silver and gold jewelry and clothing for Rebekah, and expensive presents prepared for all the rest of her family as well. This was a fortune! Yet Abraham trusted him with it, implicitly. 

A second qualifier is: Have I passed along information, or have I deposited faith in my followers? Although Eliezer is a servant, and on the surface his mission is to find a wife for Isaac, in truth his actions are of one who himself has tremendous trust and confidence in the Lord. Upon arriving on the outskirts of Nahor, his prayer that the first person he meets will be God’s choice is unrehearsed, spontaneous, personal, and full of faith. And God honors it too. Verse 15 says “before he had finished praying” (NIV), of all people, Rebekah appears. He further prays for God to put it on her heart to give him and all his camels water to drink from the well. Sure enough, it happens just as he asked. It sure would be nice to know the people I train are so effectual in prayer. 

A final reflection for me is: Do my spiritual sons and daughters really love the Lord with everything in them? Eliezer’s passion for the Lord really shines through in this story. Upon discovering Rebekah is in fact a virgin daughter from Abraham’s distant family, he bows and worships the Lord right there in the field. And again, as soon as the marriage proposal is accepted, Eliezer, unconcerned by how his hosts might respond, falls on his face to worship the Lord in Laban’s home (v.52). He had refused to eat after such a long and arduous journey until he had told of his reason for coming. Neither was he tempted to party and celebrate for a few days before returning, revealing his motivation was not tainted by any benefits or blessings he might obtain for himself. Perhaps the real reason his name is never mentioned throughout the whole story is that he cared not for the glory and recognition. 

Eliezer’s motto could easily have been: everything always and ever for “the Lord God of my master Abraham“, an expression he uses four times (v.12,27,42,48). Abraham had done an amazing job raising up a man as loyal and responsible as Padawan Eliezer. Theirs was so much more than the kind of formal or superficial relationship that too often defines the church connections of our day. Jesus said we’ll know the rightness, the wisdom, of our ways when they are justified and manifest in our “children” (Matt 11:19). Abraham had been like a father to his servant Eliezer. He had also been his Yoda.

“The one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David and the house of David shall be like God.” Zech 12:8 

The deepest longing in our hearts, the “Abba!” cry of our spirits and our constant prayer, should be to be transformed—or to be more precise, to be conformed into God’s likeness. That is why Zechariah’s prophetic prescription is so stirring: the weakest among us will be like David. He speaks of a day when we will display the dignified qualities of royal heirs of the King of heaven. Its the culmination of the promise that Jesus our Captain is leading us, His sons and daughters, to greater and greater degrees of glory (Heb 2:10).

So what should we expect? What does it mean for us to look “like David”? Several things come to mind. Being courageous, for instance is certainly high on the list of attributes David exemplified that the Holy Spirit will anoint us to walk in as this prophecy is fulfilled. But there is another trait about to be unlocked that was especially prodigious in David’s story:  Loyalty. 

Loyalty is not a trendy subject these days. It strikes us as being out of touch, passé, boring! In our choice-filled world, if you don’t like something or someone, just walk away. Heaven forbid we should have to put up with being challenged or uncomfortable! Our generation lacks the backbone, the nose-to-the-grindstone, face-like-a-flint kind of attitude that keeps commitments, and presses matters through to the end. 

Not David. He was loyal to the core. He considered loyalty to man as a direct reflection of his faithfulness to God. He boasted in it as a badge of honor, declaring in Ps 15:4 that he who truly fears the Lord “keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change [his] mind.” 

Consider his loyalty to King Saul, the very man who tried to pin him to the wall with his spear, and obsessively chased him around the Judean countryside with his army for years. Even when Saul relieved himself in the cave where David was hiding, David refused to retaliate, but instead famously said: “The Lord is my witness, I would never do such a thing…I will never lift my hand against him, since he is the Lord’s anointed” 1 Sam 24:6 (CSB). Few people seem to understand as David did that leaders earn the right to have loyal followers when they show fidelity and devotion to their own leaders as they mature. 

David’s loyalty was not limited to those who were “over him”. The covenant of friendship David had with Jonathan is an unparalleled example of the power of brotherhood in history. To our microwave culture that has given birth to snapchat and instagram, such a depth of commitment seems naive. Who dares to form the kind of bond that says, “whatever you yourself desire, I will do it for you” (1 Sam 20:4)? These were not just words. Jonathan’s resolve was weighty, threatening his relationship with his own father, the King of Israel, and even his very own life when Saul cast his spear at Jonathan to kill him. Their bond of friendship was tested in the extreme, but through it all their fidelity to one another never wavered. 

David’s relationship to King Achish, ruler of the antagonistic Philistines, is yet another example that David had adopted loyalty as a life principle. It is shocking to consider David had earned the trust of this rival sovereign to the point of being invited to fight at his side against David’s own people. In the end, David did not need to go to battle; but who could fail to be inspired by the affect his standard of loyalty had on the people around him—even his natural enemies. 

One final instance of David’s loyal heart is found in 2 Samuel 9. David’s fealty to Jonathan extended even beyond the grave when he feels compelled to search high and low for “anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake” (v.1). This highlights a depth and quality of loyalty in two astounding ways. First, that David was motivated to fulfill promises made to Jonathan long after he had died, i.e. when no one was watching, when no one cared. In this sense, David was being loyal to himself! And second, David was not only loyal to his leaders or to his peers; he was even loyal to those who were under his command (eg. his motley band in the cave) as well as those who were far beneath him in society. Mephibosheth was crippled, a castaway, yet because he was in a covenantal relationship, David made sure that Jonathan’s heir had a seat of honor at David’s table for the rest of his life. 

When we read Zechariah’s prophecy, an image of David the warrior, the giant slayer, is the first thing that comes to mind. I get it. There is something invigorating about the picture of young David standing before Saul with the head of Goliath in his hand. We love our heroes. Courage naturally inspires us. And while this is something God is undoubtedly stirring up in us, there is another characteristic in David’s life that the Father is about to make available to His church as we approach the Day of His return. Join me in crying out to become a truly loyal people, like David. 

“Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away…” Heb 2:1

When I was a teenager, our family rented a camp on a lake for a week. I took the rowboat out fishing one afternoon and when I came back I nonchalantly tied a knot, mooring it to the dock. A violent storm ensued that night while we slept, and in the morning the boat was gone. We circled the lake only to find it on the distant shore. I’ve never tied a casual knot since!

The book of Hebrews was addressed to Christians of Jewish heritage. The circumstances that swept them into the Kingdom were spectacular. There were powerful outpourings of the Holy Spirit, thousands saved in a single day, extraordinary miracles, even occasional sightings of the Risen Christ. They were hot for God! When troubles came, even “great struggles with sufferings” (10:32), they were undaunted, even to the point of “joyfully accept[ing] the plundering” of their possessions (v. 10:34). 

Over time, these same disciples discovered they could avoid the hassles by hiding behind their Jewish cloaks. Although they still “believed” in Jesus as their Messiah, their submission to Him as Lord teetered on the waves of near-constant storms of opposition. They forsook regular gatherings together and no longer exhorted each other daily as they once had. 

The writer warns them of floating away from Christ, using a Greek word used to describe situations just like my rowboat. The constant rocking exposed the weakness of my willy-nilly knot, just like the relentless pressures unmoored these Jewish believers from their once sure attachment to Jesus, leaving them adrift, and vulnerable. In response, the writer employs yet another nautical term which can roughly be translated to batten down the hatch, i.e. make sure the sails are roped securely in order to stay the course. Hebrews translates it as “hold fast, or steady”, used in Heb 3:6,14; 4:14, and most famously in 10:23, “let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering.” 

 We’ve all witnessed this tragic spiritual decline. Former small group or cell members, people who once stood on the stage, friends who had encouraged us to press in to God, somewhere along the way, zeal flagged, lethargy set in, and over time they became shipwrecked. It’s painful. 

If we are honest, we will also see this same tendency in us. No wonder David cried out, “don’t let me wander from your commands!” (Ps 119:10). Or how about these words from the classic hymn, Come Thou Fount?

O to grace how great a debtor
daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
seal it for thy courts above.

We are all prone to wander. Not all of us feel it, or are willing to admit it. Check and double check your moorings, brothers and sisters! Make sure you are tied tightly to Jesus, that even hurricane force winds and billowing whitecaps of trials and pressures cannot separate you from the Dock of His love or the shore of your destiny as a child of God. Earnestly heed the things you have been taught, and hold fast, without wavering, lest one day you find your boat aimlessly adrift on some distant and godforsaken shore. 

“And he was called the friend of God.” Jam 2:23

Only two people are given the distinguished title of Friend of God in scripture. What an honor! What a privilege! What a legacy! I can think of no greater elite class to be a part of than this space occupied by Moses and Abraham.

Exo 33:11 says “the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.” Lest we forget, Exodus was written by Moses. Over his lifetime, he had learned to cherish friendships—the sweetness of being able to sit with a brother in unguarded, unpretentious, heart-to-heart fellowship. How remarkable that he found no better way to describe the relationship he had built with God, the Creator of the Universe, than that He had become his friend! This kind of communication is marked by liberty, enjoyment, and embrace. Devoid of judgment or apprehension, Moses spoke with God face to face.

The testimony of Abraham’s friendship with God is even more rich, and compelling. We have no record of Abraham saying specifically that God was like a friend to him. So when James says he was called God’s friend, how did he know? On what was James basing such a delicious accolade?

Of course we have the record of Genesis itself. Story after story unveil a depth and quality of their relationship that has set a high bar for all God-chasers throughout history to strive for. I love the measure of peace and security it gave Abraham. Rather than react selfishly or out of frustration when tensions boiled with Lot and his growing household, he offers to let Lot settle in the best of the land. He knew God, his Friend, had promised him the whole land anyway, so what did it matter?!

I love how Abraham could just be flat out honest with God. When God appears to him in Genesis 15:1, Abraham quickly reminds him about the fact that after all these years he and Sarah still didn’t have any children. He wasn’t afraid to ask because, well, they spoke often, and they were comfortable with each other.

I encourage you to reread the stories of Abraham, attentive to the intimacy and affection present in their exchanges. If you’re like me, it will make you hungry for a repeat performance in your own life.

You may be surprised to discover the first time a direct reference to their friendship is mentioned is by King Jehoshaphat in 2 Chr 20:7. Jehoshaphat was one of those rare kings who followed in David’s footsteps. He loved the “Book of the Law” (2 Chr 17:9) and sent the Levites and priests throughout the land to teach the people. Impressed in his own readings by Abraham’s walk with God, he opines in a time of prayer, he was “Your friend forever”.

As moving as it is to know that James and Jehoshaphat enshrined the beautiful bond that existed between our father Abraham and his God, the verse that really wrecks me is Isaiah 41:8, where God Himself calls Abraham “My friend”. Think about it. God describes his relationship with Abraham as a friendship! It is one thing for me to claim that God is my Friend. It is quite another for God to affirm it and also claim me as His.

I can think of no greater epitaph than this. Beloved, let us make it our aim to be remembered—on earth and by Heaven—as God’s Friend.

“Have nothing to do with pointless and silly myths.” 1 Tim 4:7

Paul, the greatest apostle the world has ever known, was a man of action. As a result, he simply could not stomach people who were full of bluster. Peter, too, warned us to stand clear of people who bragged about themselves with empty foolish boasting, describing them as dried-up springs, mists blown away in the wind, incapable of contributing anything of value to us (2 Pet 2:17-18).

Perhaps this is why Paul had no interest to stay in Athens. Once the center of Greek civilization from which the great philosophers Plato and Socrates hailed, it had devolved into a place where people “spen[t] their time doing nothing else other than listening to the latest ideas and repeating them” (Act 17:21 ISV). By the time he moved over to Corinth, he declared his feelings openly: “For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power!” (1 Cor 4:20)

Paul was not perturbed only by Athens either. He also castigated Crete and Ephesus for their blabbering. In fact, no less than five of his epistles contain rebukes of foolish and vain jangling. In writing to both his spiritual sons, Timothy and Titus, he admonishes them to shun/avoid such “unprofitable and worthless” rabbit-hole discussions (Tit 3:9; 1 Tim 6:20). Rather, he instructs them to insist that believers “devote themselves to…things [that] are good and helpful to other people.” (3:8 ISV). He might as well have said: Get out of the house, brothers and sisters! Go visit someone in need, someone who’s lonely, or an old friend.

In fact, this is a major theme of Paul’s first letter to Timothy. After a brief intro, v.4 warns Timothy not to “give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification”. People had “turned aside to idle talk” (v.6); they sounded smart, even convincing, but Paul decried such foolishness: “they don’t know what they are talking about” (v.1:7 NLT)! He ends his letter reminding him again to stay away from idle babbling.

I was listening to a podcast this week and a man said he was at first encouraged that he was adding so many new subscribers (more than 2000 per day), until he discovered they were all bots and all of them were attacking him! Since I was studying on this subject, I reflected on how Paul would have viewed our social media frenzied world. If Athens upset him, TikTok would have sent him into orbit! Talk about frivolity! How about distraction, confusion, waste-of-time?! The age we live in has put bluster and jabberwocky on steroids!

How much more do we need to heed the warnings of the great apostle today. How much more do we need to guard ourselves, and warn each other of the dangers of this age-old trap. How much more do we need to encourage each other to go beyond idle banter, to extract ourselves from fruitless chat groups and chain-linked videos, feeds, and clips. Collectively, with grit and determination, let’s put “godly edification” back in vogue.

Two thousand years ago, God showed us His heart and His way when Jesus came and lived among us. Word became flesh. Truth-swollen ideas, concepts, and principles were on full display in and through all the things the Son of God did. Talk is cheap. Let’s take up the mantle of Paul who walked in the footsteps of the Master. Beloved, let’s devote ourselves to godly edification. Let’s be men and women not just of talk, but of action.

“He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.” Mt 12:30

Christianity is not for spectators. For the believer, there simply is no such thing as taking a neutral stand, to be a man in the middle or one who teeters on the fence. In His encounters with people, Jesus does not give them multiple options to choose from. When He says, “Follow Me”, either you do or you don’t. Either your feet move, or they don’t. As much as we would like Him to, He does not come to bring peace, but a sword. If you think He is going to clean things up, think again. He may just start to flip your tables over.

While Jesus walked the earth, he was not moved by intelligence, position, or eloquence. Right thinkers and smooth talkers were not a part of His band. It is the Good Samaritans, the Action Takers, who earned His praise and embrace.

In Luke 11:31-32, Jesus contrasted the men of His generation with the Queen of the South and the citizens of Nineveh. What was special about these two examples? When the Queen of Sheba heard of the wisdom of Solomon, she did not just “like” it or post some feel-good emojis; she made the tortuous journey just to sit at his feet and learn. Nineveh was special because they were serious. Others heard the same urgent message; but Ninevites declared a fast and repented in sackcloth at the preaching of Jonah.

Yet Jesus does not only exhort us to action. He warns us against inaction. It is not just weapons that kill. If I know there is danger and I say nothing, silence can take a life too. Jesus’ words in Matt 12:30 are rattling. If we are not pursuing and promoting Him in tangible ways, our passivity can lead to real life consequences. Things do not just stay the same. An untended garden is soon overcome with weeds. Darkness must be pushed back. Lies must be exposed then replaced by truth. Demons cannot be ignored; they must be cast out.

The world was shockingly catatonic as six million Jews were exterminated. Those who were not standing against it abetted it by their complacency. Ignoring Hitler did not make the evil go away.
Jesus could not have been more right. Nobody drives in the median of the highway. Truth is, we are all either going in the right direction or the wrong one. Even when we think we are standing still, life’s treadmill keeps sucking us gullibly away from the Savior’s side and mission.

So many of us have been numbed by the screens before us. In this imaginary space, when we or our teammates get shot, we just press reset and voila, we’re up and firing again! How many succumb to depression because people they’ve never met beat them to a virtual pulp? No black eye, no scratches, yet these Wi-Fi borne sticks and stones are breaking bones, hearts, and dreams like toothpicks.

Mistakes in the virtual world lead to a loss of points or fewer clicks. Being unprepared in the real world can lead to loss of security, or limbs, or the most cherished things in life. You may be able to send an assignment or report through the web, but it is contradictory to believe you can be a disciple of Jesus without getting your feet wet and your hands dirty. Good luck sending the hungry a virtual hamburger, or covering the naked with a CGI jacket. Want to truly follow Him? Get into the fray.

Beloved, the tools and gadgets of our age have empowered us and given us advantages in so many ways. But we’d be duped if we think that we can be a disciple of Christ virtually. Roll up your sleeves and pick up your cross. Live in the real world where your favorite action hero is not in the theater, but the gutsy guy or gal in the mirror who’s making His Lord proud.