Corruption like we have never seen.

Disregard for the most vulnerable.

Blatant dishonesty. Cascades of lies.

The most unqualified in the highest places.

Homes broken. Lives damaged.

How do we make it through the coming years?

I have struggled with this question. And I know there is nothing I can do to change our situation. Seriously, how do we live?

I have found my answer. I will center my life on God’s work as never before.

I am powerless to stop the carnage, but I do not have to keep my life focused on it. I will focus on what I can do. I will do the work God has given me.

I will pour my heart into my sermons and speak Gospel truth. I will encourage as many people as I can reach with the message of Christ. I will finish the book I have been working on for 20 years, Discovering God.

You, too, may want to shift your focus—away from what evil is doing and toward what God can do.

We cannot stop the lies, but we can stand for the truth. We have little power in the great big world, but we have great power in our little corner of the world.

Stand up. Stand firm. Do our best—and let God do the rest.

I will be starting a Thursday evening class on Discovering God on March 14 from 6:30 to 7:30 PM. I need a minimum of 12 people to sign up. If you are interested, send me an email at revmaxb@tx.rr.com.

Worship is at 11:00 AM.

Discovering God Class Resumes

On Monday, we began to function as an oligarchy.

“Oligarchy” is rule by a few wealthy and powerful (mostly) men who use their power for their own (often corrupt) ends.

Lincoln’s “of the people, by the people, and for the people” is over.

It is now “of the few, by the few, and for the few.”

But I predict chaos.

Someone in an NDE got a glimpse of hell. He saw selfish and vengeful people in endless war with one another.

Selfish and vengeful people have trouble getting along with one another. They lack the capacity to care deeply about anyone but themselves.

So—a friend one day is an enemy the next.

Evil is self-defeating.

Lincoln also said, “You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time.”

“But,” he said, “you can’t fool all the people all the time.”

People will notice:

• The rich getting richer.
• The poor getting poorer.
• Families separated.
• Mothers crying for their children.
• (And, of course, the price of eggs continuing to rise.)

And when people do notice, things will begin to change. But until then, the journey will be rough.

On Monday, an order was issued to end the task force working to reunite parents with children taken from them at the border.

A thousand children will not see their parents again. The evil has begun.

But it will not win. This is still God’s world.

Lord, hear our prayers.

My Discovering God class resumes, 9:45 Sunday.

Come. Be encouraged.

Last week I shared an account of an experience I had at age 14.

After my bedtime prayer, I said softly to myself, “Nobody heard me.”

Immediately, a voice clearly replied, “I heard you.”

I believe God spoke to me. But I asked you to say what you think.

There are three possible choices: 1) I am lying. 2) I am mistaken. 3) You believe me.

Six people said I was mistaken.

One replied: I believe you think you heard the voice, but I doubt that the voice was really there.

Another said: Sometimes our internal voice can seem like an outside voice. I heard such an answer to prayer once, back when I prayed. It startled me, but it’s not enough to make me believe in a god.

Fifty-one people said they believe me, and some shared their own stories.

One wrote: I was trying to decide what to do with my life after college. I was walking late at night and praying. A voice clearly spoke to me, saying, “Seek first the Kingdom of God.” I had hoped for something more specific. The same voice spoke again, “Seek first the Kingdom of God.”

Another wrote: I was leaving for work when a voice said, “Watch for a red car.” The message came three times because I ignored it the first two times. I said, “Ok, I’ll watch.” And a red car pulling a trailer almost ran me off the road.

I have many accounts like these last two. We are loved and watched over.

And God can speak to us in many ways.

Next time, I have another challenge for you.

Worship is at 11:00.

Give it a try.

Only 69% of Americans say they are Christian. Five percent are agnostic, 4% atheist, and 17% “nothing in particular.”

When belief was common, there was a lot of pressure to believe. Now, the pressure is off.

Truth is, many people simply don’t know what they believe and don’t trust the church to help them decide.

Have you decided what you believe?

Have you?

In the first articles of the new year, I will be pushing you to decide—beginning with a story I have told many times.

(Stick with me here.)

When I was 14, God spoke to me. (Do you believe that’s possible?)

I went to bed depressed and, it seems, a bit surly.

I prayed as I did every night, but then mumbled to myself, “Nobody heard me”—my first expression of doubt ever.

But my statement of doubt was followed by a response.

Immediately, a voice replied, “I heard you.”

The voice sounded in my head, but I looked around the room for the source.

Nobody there but me.

The voice was clear. I had no question about it. It shook me up at first. But then I felt the wonder of it.

I prayed. God answered.

In first person singular: “I heard you.”

But now, I want to know what you think. There are only three options. E-mail me with your choice.

You would say to me:

1. You are lying.
2. You are mistaken.
3. I believe you.

Be honest. Respond right now. I will give the results next week.

Please know, if you choose number 3, the implications are huge.

Some time back I asked you to let me know you were still reading this little box each Friday.

It’s an expensive project. I don’t want to keep talking if no one is there.

I got a big response—too many e-mails to answer, but I read them all. We have signed the contract with the Star-Telegram for 2025.

Thanks for your support.

The church in America is in trouble. It is time for honesty. The lies Christians tell turn thinking people away from faith.

The biggest lie is that the Bible is infallible. It isn’t. And anyone who can read knows this.

The value of the Bible is not in its perfection. The value is in the truth of its message. And the Bible is not all equally true.

Let’s stop pretending that the Book of Revelation has anything to do with Jesus. It doesn’t.

It is a book filled with blood and vengeance. It undermines Jesus at every turn. Preachers need to stop piously defending this vengeful work in defense of “the canon.”

“Oh, it’s in the canon. We must be true to the canon!”

No! It is time to be true to the teachings of Jesus—the unique teachings of Jesus.

And it is time for preachers to proclaim that uniqueness. I was in theology school for years. Not one of my teachers mentioned the uniqueness of the message of Jesus.

Jesus was the first person in all the world to tell us to love our enemies because God loves his enemies.

Jesus was the first person ever to get God right.

And you are in for another year of me pushing a God of unconditional love for all people.

Happy New Year!