Spying, Scandal and Secrets

The scandal over National Security Agency snooping continues to evolve. A recent report showed that the NSA had violated privacy rules and overstepped its authority thousands of times while gathering foreign intelligence. It is attributed to violations of standard operating procedure and significant compliance problems. The issues may affect international relations, especially with Germany. And even more tracking has been revealed. Another report indicates that the NSA can track 75% of Internet traffic including phone calls made on the Internet.

The scandal has many people a bit nervous about government intrusion, especially when the NSA has been called the most powerful institution in the world. Many are wondering just what personal information might be seen and heard by strangers. But there’s another, more powerful, entity who sees all our secrets, and that should make some people really squirm.

The Bible says, “For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7) “He knows the secrets of the heart,” according to Psalm 44:21. “O God, You know my foolishness,” wrote the Psalmist, “And my sins are not hidden from You.” (Psalm 69:5)

One can perhaps elude NSA surveillance by never using cell phones or the Internet, but there’s no place to escape an omniscient God. As the saying goes, You can run, but you can’t hide! “‘Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I shall not see him?’ says the Lord; ‘Do I not fill heaven and earth?’” (Jeremiah 23:24)

The NSA may never use much of the information it gathers, but the actions and thoughts seen by God will have repercussions. “For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 9:14)  “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” Hebrews 4:13

The Good News is that there is a way to avoid the consequences. “I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.” (Psalm 32:5)

“But this Man (Jesus Christ), after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God… For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days,’ says the Lord: ‘I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,’ then He adds, ‘Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.’” (Hebrews 10:12, 14-17) God sees all our sins, but once we put our trust in Christ, the evidence is destroyed and He forgets they ever existed!

There’s an upside to our deepest secrets being revealed: God doesn’t’ just see the bad, He sees the good things, too.

He saw us before we were even born, and knows us more intimately than anyone else. “My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.” (Psalm 139:5)

God knows our secret desires and the pain we can’t share with anyone else. He hears our heart’s cry. “Lord, all my desire is before You; And my sighing is not hidden from You. My heart pants, and my strength fails me … My loved ones and my friends stand aloof … For in You, O Lord, I hope; You will hear, O Lord my God.” (Psalm 38:9-11, 15)

God rewards what may not have public recognition and promises to answer our prayers. “But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. … But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” (Matthew 6: 3, 4 & 6)

Government spying on unsuspecting citizens might not always seem like a good idea, but God’s knowledge of all our secrets is always to our benefit. It points us to the need for salvation through Christ and the promise of His love, care and blessings.

Gayle Virkler

Rescue In The Wilderness

The ordeal for a teenage girl who was kidnapped and dragged far into the wilderness by her own father’s best friend is over. Hannah Anderson is alive and safe. Sadly, her mom and brother are not. Both died in a house fire and likely at the hands of the villain who took the teen and who later died in a shootout with the FBI. The rescue occurred after her captor, James Lee DiMaggio, was spotted by two couples on a camping trip in a wooded area. They sensed something was not right and reported the location to authorities after returning home and learning about the crime still in progress. When asked about whether it would have been better for DiMaggio to have received life in prison for his act or be killed as he was by federal agents, Anderson reportedly stated, “He got exactly what he deserved.”

Human sin takes many forms and some are far more gruesome than are others. This time, the victim was fortunate and may well live a long and full life - God willing. Others in similar situations have not done so well and  left memories and scares on loved ones that may never fully heal. But when it comes to perpetrators of such vile acts as this one, most hope that these do get exactly what they deserve. And as easily understood as that outlook may be, the Bible indicates that same grim outcome to be true for everyone – even most who would never conceive of a crime of this magnitude.

Scripture maintains that all have sinned and all have of fallen short of attaining God’s holy standard! The Old Testament confirms this harsh  reality in Psalm 53:3. The passage was written by a great man of God and one all too familiar with sin – serious sin! King David says there of the entire race, “Every one of them has turned aside; They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.”  Then again in Romans 5, Paul reminds the reader how the amazing love of God  has been mightily shown to every desperately flawed, and fully undeserving, man or woman.  In verse 8 he records, “In that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 

Because of those 11 short words, not all will get “exactly what they deserve.” Instead, the opposite will be the case for some. The reason is provided in that fifth chapter. Right on the heels of the above verse, verse 9 reads, “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” This clearly confirms the ultimate promise of not getting what we all deserve. It declares that some will not face eternal judgement for their willing and dreadful disobedience against their great Creator. But why is this true for some but tragically not others?

Hopefully Hannah Anderson has, or will realize in the healing days to come, that even as the innocent victim of this terrible offense, she and all of us with her can escape getting exactly what we, too, deserve. That can be true only by recognizing our deadly faults and then trusting in the One who got exactly what He did not deserve in order to save us! The Son of God sacrificed Himself willingly to pay the price of sin – all sin and every level of sin! Despite our initial lost spiritual state, He has given each of us the glorious opportunity to avoid the fully deserved penalty of eternal suffering and separation from Himself forever. It is through saving faith in Christ that we can all be spiritually rescued from a wilderness of sin and given in its place a new heart, a new life and a new eternal destiny!

Bill Breckenridge

A More Powerful "Not Guilty" Verdict

One can only imagine how George Zimmerman must have felt when he heard the verdict “Not guilty” in a Florida court room last week. After a 14-day trial and 16 hours of jury deliberation, he was acquitted of murder on the grounds of self-defense and walked out a free man.

But even though Zimmerman will not receive a penalty for killing Trayvon Martin, he still has to live with the consequences. No court of law can change the outcome of the tragic night of February 6, 2012. The fact remains that Zimmerman did indeed take a life, and he has to live with that. Although he is free, there have been death threats against him and his family, and he may spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder.

Spiritually-speaking, every person is guilty of sin and deserving of full punishment under God’s law. The Bible says, “There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10) No amount of spiritual legal wrangling or defense can remove the sin each of us is born with and which separates us from God. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23)

But there is a way to obtain a “Not guilty” verdict that does far more than the one George Zimmerman received – one that doesn’t just remove the penalty; it removes the crime itself.

That verdict is granted through the blood of Jesus Christ and His resurrection power. Because Christ took the penalty in our place, when we put our faith and trust in Him we are justified – legally proclaimed righteous. “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rom 5:1) One explanation of justified is “Just as if I’d never sinned.”

Because of this, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son….” (Rom. 8:1-3) In the Greek, “no condemnation” is also a legal word meaning, literally, “no adverse sentence.”

God promises, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” (Hebrews 10:17) David described it in Psalm 103:12. “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

Charles Wesley put it this way in the hymn And Can It Be?: “No condemnation now I dread; Jesus, and all in Him, is mine; Alive in Him, my living Head, And clothed in righteousness divine…”.

The concept is also found in the chorus of the old hymn One Day!, which has enjoyed renewed popularity with a different tune: “Living—He loved me, Dying—He saved me, Buried—He carried my sins far away; Rising—He justified freely, forever….”

If you are burdened with the guilt of sin, trust in Christ as your Savior. Admit that you are a sinner before a holy God and that a penalty must be paid, acknowledge that Jesus Christ, through His death, burial and resurrection became your substitute having paid that penalty on your behalf, and receive Christ into your heart through faith in prayer. You will be free from the penalty of sin, declared “Not guilty!” and certain of eternity in Heaven.

Gayle Virkler

Egypt's Biblical Significance

NOTE: This post contains excerpts from David Virkler’s commentary “Egypt from Pharaohs to Prophecy”, which covers Egypt’s history and religion, its relationship with Israel, and the many references to Egypt in the Bible both historically and prophetically. A copy of the full 12-page commentary is available for a suggested donation of $3.00. Click here for an order form.

Egypt is once again headline news in another round of unrest and violence. President Morsi, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood who has been in office just a year, has been deposed and a new government is being formed by the military. The Muslim Brotherhood is vowing to continue protests.

Most people know that Egypt is an ancient country. Many may not know is that Egypt is also a much-mentioned Bible country. From Genesis to Jude, Egypt is mentioned in 32 books of the Bible (27 in the Old Testament and five in the New Testament), and it has a prominent role in prophecy. One author says that 250 verses throughout the Old Testament are prophecies of events in Egypt.

Biblical Egypt is first mentioned when Abraham, then called Abram, went there in time of famine (Gen. 12:10). Abraham must have been quite far south at the time since the capitol of Egypt was then in Memphis, which is a bit south of modern Cairo and likely west of the Nile River.

The land covenant God made with Abraham went from the northern border of Egypt, known as the River of Egypt, in the present Rapha area up to the Euphrates River (Gen. 12:18). Abraham fathered Ishmael by Hagar, who was an Egyptian. She took a wife for Ishmael out of Egypt (Gen. 21:21).

In Genesis 38-50, we find the story of Joseph and the children of Israel in Egypt. Joseph was the favored son of his father, Jacob. His jealous brothers sold him to some Ishmaelites (Gen. 37:28), who sold him to an Egyptian officer, Potiphar, who made Joseph manager of his entire household. Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce Joseph and then falsely accused him of seducing her when Joseph refused her advances.

Joseph was sent to prison where it was eventually discovered that he could interpret dreams. His jail term ended when he interpreted the dream of Pharaoh that indicated seven years of plenty and then seven years of famine. Joseph proposed a plan to prepare for the famine, and Pharaoh was so impressed that he appointed Joseph as second in command over all the land.

During the famine, Jacob sent his remaining sons down to Egypt, and Joseph provided the family with food. After forgiveness and a family reunion, Jacob’s entire family moved down to Egypt at Pharaoh’s invitation, and thus began the story of the Israelites in Egypt.

The Israelites’ exodus from Egypt is covered in Exodus 1-14. Eventually, a new Pharaoh who did not know Joseph became ruler, and the Israelites numbered so many that Pharaoh feared an uprising. He made them slaves in terrible bondage, but their numbers still increased, and Pharaoh instructed midwives to kill newborn boys. To prevent the death of her son, Moses’ mother hid him in a basket on the riverbank, but he was found by Pharaoh’s daughter and adopted into the royal household.

The 10 horrendous plagues sent by God to show His power to Pharaoh ended with the slaying of all firstborn children in Egypt. The Israelites were spared by shedding a perfect lamb’s blood and applying it on the doorway and eating its flesh. This was the Passover when God’s destroying angel passed over them. The Israelites left Egypt in the miraculous Exodus.

The Jews were not gone from Egypt forever, though. Jeroboam fled from Solomon to Egypt (I Kings 11:40). Despite God’s specific warning not to, some Jews at the time of the Babylonian captivity took refuge in Egypt with tragic consequences (Jeremiah 42-46). History records that Jews taken captive when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70 were sold back into Egypt.

There is a positive side to the Jews in Egypt. It was there that Joseph and Mary fled from Bethlehem with the young child Jesus to avoid King Herod’s wrath (Matt. 2:13–19). They lived in Egypt for about two years and returned to Nazareth after Herod’s death. Matthew states that this was in fulfillment of Hosea 11:1, “... and out of Egypt I called My son.”

I believe God has a remarkable plan for Egypt in the end times because it gave refuge to Jacob’s family and the young Christ child and also because it was the first Arab nation to recognize the state of Israel. However, that blessing will eventually come only after horrendous judgments. Two significant sections in the Bible outline future troubles for Egypt in the end times.

In Isaiah 19:2, the Lord says, “I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians, city against city and kingdom against kingdom.” I can’t say that the commotion in Egypt is direct fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, but it surely comes close. 

Verse 4 says, “And the Egyptians I will give into the hand of a cruel master, and a fierce king will rule over them.” In verse 11, we read that the rulers’ advice is totally erroneous or, literally, stupid. Verses 5–9 speak of horrendous judgments upon the Nile River. The Nile dries up, the vegetation along the banks is badly damaged, fishermen are terribly upset, and the textile industry is tragically damaged.

There are some other incredible chapters that refer to Egypt in the end times. Ezekiel 29-32 is an astounding prophecy of God’s judgment on Egypt including marine creatures in the Nile being thrown into open fields to decompose, the land becoming utterly waste and desolate, and Egyptians scattered to finally return after 40 years.

Is there anything in our day that would correspond to the fulfillment of these prophecies? In a word, yes! It has to do with the Aswan Dam and huge Lake Nasser that was created behind it. Unfortunately, the Aswan Dam has all but wrecked Egypt. Space does not allow a full description, but present conditions of the dam and lake are such that they could cause the scenario of decimated agriculture. Ezekiel 30:8 says that the Lord will set “a fire in Egypt”. If that fire is a nuclear attack on the Aswan Dam, a flood of radioactive waters would surge through the Nile Valley and surrounding countries making the land uninhabitable, perhaps for 40 years.

There is good news for Egypt, however. Following the dire prophecies in the first part of Isaiah 19 are verses that outline a sweeping and glorious national revival to come. Verses 16–25 forecast something never yet seen—Israel, Egypt and Assyria (modern Syria and parts of Turkey and Iraq) will worship together and be a blessing!

“…for they will cry to the Lord because of the oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Mighty one, and He will deliver them. Then the Lord will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day, and will make sacrifice and offering; yes they will make a vow to the Lord and perform it … In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the Lord of hosts shall bless saying, ‘Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance’” (Isaiah 19:20b-21, 24, 26).

Arabs and Jews will worship Jehovah together, and the worship will be centered in Israel. It sounds like the Millennium when Christ reigns in Jerusalem.

If developments in Egypt over the last couple of years are even a small part of the end-time forecasts of Isaiah and Ezekiel, then we are truly rushing closer to the return of Jesus Christ for His redeemed Church since the most dramatic prophecies are likely to be fulfilled in the subsequent Tribulation and beyond.

If you do not know Christ as Savior and are unprepared for His return pray the sinner’s prayer, “God be merciful to me the sinner” (Luke 18:13). Invite Jesus Christ into your heart in simple faith. Romans 10:13 promises that “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” It is high time to seek the Lord Jesus Christ and, having found Him, to serve Him.

Public Graduations and Public Prayer?

The month of June brings the warmth of the summer and will see the very longest day of the calendar year. Many so look forward to some much-needed time away from their jobs and spending precious time with their families in some special or unique place.

June also brings with it special moments in the lives of many younger people as they end a lengthy educational chapter in their lives. It is the culmination of years of patience, hard work and sometimes a great deal of money spent, especially on the upper end of the educational sphere.

But it seems that every year brings some major controversy when certain top-notch students are chosen to represent their fellow graduates at a planned school ceremony. These are given the title of class valedictorian.

This year there was a fuss at the Riverside School district in Lake City, Arkansas where the administration actually opted to not go through with a sixth grade graduation after a lone parent protested against prayer during the ceremony.  In another setting, the president of the 2013 graduating class of Lincoln County High School in Kentucky boldly continued a longstanding tradition of student-led prayer at the school's graduation ceremony despite efforts from at least six students to shut it down. One schoolmate has stated that he may consider legal action.

But one of the more famous controversies this season came when valedictorian Roy Costner IV in South Carolina ripped up his graduation speech and prayed the Lord's Prayer. Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly said that America's Christians have a new hero who symbolically got right into the faces of the secularists who want to keep Jesus out of public schools.  Kelly said, "It says something about the country that we live in now that it takes courage for you to recite the Lord's Prayer at a seminal moment in your life."

Any look at early American history shows that the nation itself was born in a prayer meeting. And we all know how prayer is no problem at all, and even encouraged, when any major disaster strikes like the recent tornadoes in Oklahoma. At these moments, even those unfamiliar with any form of prayer seem to try and even covet prayer from those who practice it as a lifestyle. And then of course there is the installation of the nation’s leader in January. It is a national political spectacle that includes prayer and then is followed the next day by an official and massive public prayer meeting in the nation’s capitol. But a simple quoting of the Lord’s prayer at a graduation is unacceptable, distasteful and somehow even dangerous? How utterly silly and beyond hypocritical.

So just what does the Bible suggest concerning prayer as part of the Christian faith? It must be remembered always that prayer cannot be separated from the life of a true child of God. In Philippians 4, we read, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." Then too, 1 Thessalonians 5 states, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

We also need to note just two clear biblical examples on the subject. In the Old Testament, Daniel was forbidden to pray publicly or privately to God. He boldly ignored the official ruling and was slated for execution for doing so. Most know the end of the story. The God he served and obeyed miraculously delivered him from certain death and thereby made a huge public statement to the people and anti-prayer rulers of that day.

Then in the New Testament we see the story the apostles in Acts 5. They, too, were in hot water for preaching the name of Jesus in public. The passage gives the details. “And the high priest asked them, saying, 'Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man's blood on us!' But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: 'We ought to obey God rather than men.'" Man's law was not to supercede God's no matter what the consequences might bring!

Those who oppose prayer may want to consider some of its obvious benefits. An example would be seen in 1 Timothy chapter 2. "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence." Prayer tends to support and encourage leaders for good while promoting peace – for all! And if there is a verse to close the issue with it would have to be the one found in James 5:16. "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."

Perhaps those who protest prayer at America's graduations, or in any other public forums, should reconsider what the fervent prayer of God's righteous people has done for their nation and thus for they themselves! It has helped provide them a lifestyle that is still the envy of the world. It has given them amazing security and nearly unlimited blessings. And it has even provided the rare freedom to protest the results of the Christian-based prayer that has benefited them more than they may ever know.

Maybe they need to go back to school for a time and use the Bible as their text. Maybe they would even discover the purpose, power, promises and prosperity associated with the act of fervent prayer directed to the God upon which their great nation was founded! What a blessed national graduation that would be!

Bill Breckenridge