Dr H Reflections

Prevaricator in chief

The devil was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. – John 8:44

2 Corinthians 11:14-15

 14 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

 15 Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,

 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

 5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,

Many commentators and wonks agree that the year 2018 could be characterized by one word, “misinformation.” There are unintended consequences of the information age. One is misinformation, closely followed by disinformation. Misinformation often involves delusions, lies, and blind, adamant beliefs. Prevarications proliferate from Russian troll farms, media, Facebook, Congress, and the White House. Consider the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh. The reality of evidence-based objective truth was brought into question.

On Aug 19, 2018, Rudy Giuliani acting as a lawyer for the White House declared “truth isn’t truth.” Truth it seems is inherently partisan and becomes whatever you prefer to believe. The goal of misinformation and propaganda is to create doubt about the obvious. So much misinformation pervades storylines, with alternate explanations, interpretations, and views that the facts are simply crowded out.

The Father has given us something unique in the world, Absolute Truth. Absolute Truth never varies, never compromises, never synthesizes. It stands alone in opposition to all other conflicting opinions and points of view.

How do we know when we are being told a lie? We test all information by the standard of the truth of the Word of God. This of course necessitates that we actually know what the Word of God says. Therefore, it is important to be in the Word, reflecting and meditating on what we read, and internalizing it in our hearts and minds.

A staff member at a major university quipped he could always tell when his boss was lying. There was one simple giveaway, his lips were moving.

The enemy of our souls is the father of lies and the ultimate master of misinformation and disinformation. He commands an army of demonic double-agents. The devil loves darkness and falsehood and ultimately inspires every lie. Deceit and deception are the very center of the devil’s strategy. Duplicity is employed to accomplish the devil’s work. Darkness hates the light; falsehood hates the truth and tries to destroy it.

The devil leads those that follow him to death and eternal separation from the Father. The enemy murders goodness, chastity, honor, honesty, beauty, and all that makes life lovely. The enemy of our souls murders peace of mind and happiness and even love. Evil routinely destroys. In stark contrast, Christ brings life, and Christ leads to life. He provides the Way, and the Truth, and the Life which leads to the Father.

John 8:44 [The evil one] speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

When the evil one speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature. The Greek phrase which is translated from his own nature is ek ton idiom. The enemy of our souls speaks from his own stuff, his own nature, and his essential character. He is doing what comes naturally. He disassembles and prevaricates.

REFLECT & PRAY

Each of us can remember when we were confused and immature regarding the truth of the Father’s Word. For some of us, that might not have been too long ago. It may still seem so.

Father kindle within me the desire and energize me to get into and remain in the Word of Truth. Let the truth of Scripture permeate my mind, and soul, and spirit.

INSIGHT

The enemy and the Lord Jesus Christ are complete opposites. The Lord Jesus Christ loves us and desires our best. The enemy hates us and seeks our worst. The Lord Jesus Christ brings life and light. The enemy offers death and destruction.

The ultimate battlefield is the mind. The apostle Paul emphasizes the need for preparing and training the mind to engage in spiritual warfare. We are to take captive every thought and bring it into agreement with the Truth of Christ. We wage war against invisible, intangible spiritual forces. Satan is behind these forces. Satan is repeatedly spreading misinformation, propaganda that contradicts the Father’s revealed Truth. His half-truths often appear lofty, erudite, enlightened. But in fact, they are hollow, pretentious, and fallacious. Embedded within are despair, misery, and death.

It is incumbent upon each child of the King to develop a sophisticated Truth filter. We must equip ourselves to separate what is precious and useful from what is worthless, tangential, and base.

Jeremiah 15:19 If you extract the precious from the worthless, you will become My spokesman.

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Where’s the beef?

James 2:18 Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”

James 2:17-20

 17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

 20 How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?

“Where’s the beef?” is a catchphrase in the United States and Canada, introduced as a slogan for the fast-food chain Wendy’s in 1984.

The original commercial featured three elderly ladies at the “Home of the Big Bun” a fictional competitor of Wendy’s. Clara Peller receives a burger with a massive bun. The other two ladies poked at it, exchanging bemused comments, “It certainly is a big bun. It’s a very big bun. It’s a big fluffy bun. It’s a very big fluffy bun.”

As one of the ladies lift the top half of the bun, a comically minuscule hamburger patty with cheese and a pickle is revealed. The small patty prompts Peller angrily to exclaim, “Where’s the beef?”

The catchphrase was repeated in television shows, films, magazines, and other media outlets. During the 1984 presidential primaries, Democratic candidate and former Vice President Walter Mondale used the phrase to sum up his arguments that program policies championed by his rival, Senator Gary Hart, were insubstantial.

Since then it has become an all-purpose phrase questioning the substance of an idea, event, or product.

Down through the centuries, people and particularly theologians, have debated the relationship between faith and works. If we say that we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, how can we know for sure if we have been redeemed? Is our faith adequate and genuine? Where’s the beef?

REFLECT & PRAY

“For James, ‘faith alone’ means a bogus kind of faith, mere intellectual agreement without a genuine personal trust in Christ that bears fruit in one’s life” (ESV notes).

Father thank You that You have provided salvation by faith alone. Encourage and strengthen me to bear the fruit of my faith.

INSIGHT

The apostle Paul unequivocally stated that salvation comes by grace through faith and it is not the result of any effort on our part.

Ephesians 2:8-9 [NLT]

 8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.

 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

Ephesians 2:8-9 [NAS]

 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Salvation is the Father’s gracious response to our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and our acceptance of Him as our Savior. Before the birth, life, and death of Christ, children of the King believed in the promises that the Father made in the Old Testament. The best illustration of this is Abraham.

Genesis 15:6 Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith.

The Father made promises and Abraham believed them. That is when he became a child of the King (Romans 4:3, Galatians 3:6). However, how did he demonstrate that his faith was real? That came years later.

He was asked to sacrifice his son Isaac, whom he dearly loved. His response to this seemingly over-the-top command showed that his faith was real. He prepared to do just as he was told. Just as he was about to carry out the Father’s request, he was stopped by an angelic messenger.

Genesis 22:12 He said, “Don’t lay a hand on the boy! “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.”

Abraham’s works, good deeds, efforts, and willingness to carry out the Father’s command demonstrated that his faith was real. Works are the outward demonstration of the inner reality of faith.

But there is more. The Father provides an inner awareness through the work of the Holy Spirit to confirm that our faith is real and that we are His children.

Romans 8:16 For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.

Anyone can say they have faith. But saying you have faith is not enough.

James 2:20-24

 20 How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?

 21 Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?

 22 You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete.

 23 And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God.

 24 So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.

Our actions do not make us right with the Father, our actions demonstrate we are right with the Father.

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Making good people helpless will not make bad people harmless

For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you. – Mark 7:21-23 

Romans 1:28-32 

 28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done.

 29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip.

 30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents.

 31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy.

 32 They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.

On May 25, 2020, a horrific murder was perpetrated in Minneapolis, MN. The entire event was witnessed and recorded by bystanders. The weapon of choice, was a knee to the neck of a man handcuffed and pinned to the ground. It took 8 minutes for George Floyd to slowly suffocate while pleading for his life. The callous brutality evoked protests, both peaceful and violent, throughout the United States and eventually reached countries throughout the world.

It was as though the long-needed “wake-up call” was finally heard and answered. 

What happened was clear and critically evaluated. Why it happened is at the center of a continual discussions. It demonstrates the potential cruelty and hatefulness of humankind.

The sad fact is that the human race is fallen. We are capable of great evil and yet great good also. Of course this should not be news to anyone. Watching most any 2-year-old child provides adequate evidence of both.

People controlled by their lower, baser instincts, and motivations have always done horrific things, dreadful and monstrous things to other people. It is a grim reality of fallen DNA.

What can be done to change this?

Pleas have gone out throughout the earth for justice and equality, as it were, for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Calls for greater safeguards against brutality by law enforcement officers and gun control are reverberating throughout the land.

Making good people helpless will not make bad people harmless.

What is needed is a supernatural transformation of our innermost heart of hearts which the Father alone can do. When we are born again from above, we spend the rest of our lives learning to walk in the light through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.  

Perhaps, we need to begin by reminding ourselves, “There but for the grace of God, go I” (Google it).

Bad people do not obey laws, they flaunt them, and use them to their advantage. Further, bad people with evil intent, when given the authority to do so, often make bad laws simply to harm or diminish others.

REFLECT & PRAY

Darkness dwells within every human heart. It is like a raging beast, that cannot be reasoned with, only restrained.

John 1:5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

Father You are a defense for the helpless and the needy in their times of distress (Isaiah 25:4). Father thank You that You are always at work, often behind the scenes to accomplish Your will on earth as it is in heaven. Let Your light shine bright within the heart of each child of the King.

INSIGHT

Human cruelty is accurately recorded in the Scriptures. But it is never sensationalized Evil laws and their consequent collateral damage are chronicled for us. Rather than be discouraged, we are to take heart. So it is in the book of Esther.

The book of Esther tells the story of Esther, her uncle Mordechai, and Haman. Haman was an evil, selfish, prideful man who hated Mordechai because he would not bow before him as he passed. Haman felt humiliated and sought cruel revenge. He deceitfully appealed to and persuaded Xerxes, the king of Persia, to pass a decree that all of the Jews be destroyed because they were not only different, but dangerous. They would not go along with Persian customs. They just did not belong in the kingdom. The whole land would be better off if they were exterminated. Mordechai of course was a Jew.

Esther 3:8-9

 8 Haman approached King Xerxes and said, “There is a certain race of people scattered through all the provinces of your empire who keep themselves separate from everyone else. Their laws are different from those of any other people, and they refuse to obey the laws of the king. So it is not in the king’s interest to let them live.”

 9 “If it please the king, issue a decree that they be destroyed.”

Xerxes approved the decree and sealed it with his signet ring. The death of all of the Jews in the kingdom of Persia was now put on the calendar. But unbeknownst to Haman, Esther, Xerxes’ beautiful queen was also a Jew.

The decrees of the Medes and the Persians cannot be revoked once they are put into effect. But Esther wisely and shrewdly appealed to King Xerxes for the lives of the Jewish people. She told Xerxes that she too would die because she was Jewish.

Xerxes was furious! But how do you resolve the issue. Xerxes could not reverse the first decree. So Xerxes issued a second decree. He gave the Jewish people permission to defend themselves. Problem solved! Haman suffered a cruel death, the one that he had planned for Mordechai.

Esther 8:11-17 

 11 The king’s decree gave the Jews in every city authority to unite to defend their lives. They were allowed to kill, slaughter, and annihilate anyone of any nationality or province who might attack them or their children and wives, and to take the property of their enemies.

 13 A copy of this decree was to be issued as law in every province and proclaimed to all peoples, so that the Jews would be ready to take revenge on their enemies on the appointed day.

 16 The Jews were filled with joy and gladness and were honored everywhere.

 17 In every province and city, wherever the king’s decree arrived, the Jews rejoiced and had a great celebration and declared a public festival and holiday. And many of the people of the land became Jews themselves, for they feared what the Jews might do to them.

When really bad decrees are passed, they can be offset via new decrees. The book of Esther is filled with cliffhangers and ironic twists. Haman only wanted to do evil, Mordechai only wanted to do good. What Haman desired for Mordechai, he himself received.

Galatians 6:7 do not be misled – you cannot mock the justice of God. For whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.

“Be careful what you wish for, lest it comes true!” (Aesop’s Fables, circa 260 BC).

Perhaps it is more true to say that helping good people, may well make bad people less harmful.

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Vaccinated

Because of Christ and our faith in him, we have boldness and confident access through to God him and presence. – Ephesians 3:12

Romans 5:1-2

 1 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.

 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, we have obtained access and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.

An article appeared in the Wall Street Journal titled: COVID-19 Vaccine Passports Could Help Life Return to Normal, but Experts Urge Caution (WSJ, Jason Douglas, Dec. 8, 2020)

The idea is that individuals could stop wearing masks and following social-distancing rules. That is if they can prove they have been inoculated  and so they are not a risk to others. Studies determined that crowded, indoor venues probably accounted for 80% of new coronavirus infections Restaurants, coffee shops, theaters, and offices could reopen with confidence by admitting those certified as vaccinated, and international travel could resume. As the vaccinated population increases, normal life could gradually resume.

Should vaccinated people have greater freedom? Was there a case for issuing proof of immunity to people who have been inoculated? Such proposals triggered moral and political considerations as well. It is it wise or just to divide citizens into new categories based on their vaccination status?

As the vaccines began to be distributed for the coronavirus in late 2020, a whole series of ethical and practical dilemmas began to arise. Will people be coerced to take the vaccine? Will people be required to demonstrate that indeed they did take the vaccine? “The 2019 coronavirus pandemic and ensuing global shutdown has demonstrated the need for instantaneous, verified, and individual-consent public screening for immunities, vaccines, and travel history” (https://immunosafety.com/). What form of proof will be required? Will it be a card or a vaccine passport? Could it possibly be some form of digital proof of immunity? (Google it)

Could the vaccine be required for travel, work, entry into public buildings, or sports facilities, shopping, buying and selling? Who knew where this is all headed?

In December 2020, the Health Ministry of the Nation of Israel made plans to issue “Green Passports” to all citizens that had been vaccinated against the coronavirus. This passport will show that a person is vaccinated and will give a number of advantages. The passport will lift some restrictions, including mandatory quarantine following exposure to an infected person, and offer access to cultural events and restaurants.

Access to some locations on planet Earth is highly restricted and protected. For example some research and medical facilities, military bases, Area 51, Fort Knox, and of course the White House.

Dr. Erwin Lutzer relates his personal experience about the time he visited the White House. He was in Washington D.C. One of the individuals who had access to the White House invited him for a personal tour. He was delighted to go. Once he was initially vetted, Dr. Lutzer accompanied his host on his personal one-on-one tour. He soon discovered that it was not necessary for him to show his pass demonstrating he had clearance to enter and move about in the White House. His host was well-known and only had to say, “He is with me.”

REFLECT & PRAY

“There is no vaccine against stupidity” (Albert Einstein).

Father thank You that I can come boldly into Your presence without fear or trepidation. The choices before me require Your all-knowing guidance and direction. Give me wisdom, insight, and discernment to know what to do.

INSIGHT

Romans 5:1-2

 1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

 2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.

The Greek term translated introduction or access is prosagoge. Prosagoge could be literally translated “a leading or bringing into the presence of.” It is derived from two Greek words pros – to and ago – to lead. It denotes “access,” freedom to enter provided by the assistance or favor of another. Prosagoge was commonly used for the right to approach royalty or other high officials granted by someone capable of doing so (Zodhiates).

Access to the Father has been restricted since the Garden of Eden when the human race was separated from Him. Even Moses was not allowed to approach Him unimpeded.

Exodus 3:5 Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

But all that is now changed once and for all time! We are now welcome, more than that urged to come excitedly into the Father’s presence!

Prosagoge is the regular word for introducing or ushering someone into the presence of royalty; and it is the regular word for the approach of the worshipper to the Father. It is as if Paul was saying, “Jesus ushers us into the very presence of the Father. He opens the door for us to the presence of the King of Kings; and when that door is opened what we find is grace; not condemnation, not judgment, not vengeance, but the sheer, undeserved, incredible kindness of the father” (Barclay).

Because of what Christ has done, we have obtained our access, our introduction to the presence of the Father, the very throne room of the Father God. We can confidently and excitedly approach Him.

Hebrews 4:16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

One day, each child of the King will go to their heavenly home because of the access and introduction they have been provided through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Imagine for a moment that an angel would challenge our right to be there. The Lord Jesus Christ will simply say “they are with Me.”

Blessed assurance Jesus is mine, O what a foretaste of glory divine (Fanny Crosby).

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The vaccine breakthrough

If you eat its fruit [tree of the knowledge of good and evil], you are sure to die.” – Genesis 2:17

John 3:14-19  

 14 And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,

 15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.

 16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

 18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.

 19 And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.

The dreadful year of 2020 was marked by the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic. It left millions dead in its wake. No one can know for sure how many people were infected globally, but the number was huge. Once scientists and medical experts understood what was going on, the race began for a vaccine that would defeat the virus. Multiple companies rushed to find a cure. Experienced vaccinologists predicted it might take years until an effective cure was found. However, before the end of 2020, several companies announced that they had developed vaccines that were 95% effective.

Pfizer and Moderna employed the latest 21st-century science leveraging state-of-the-art genetic technology to come up with a solution in just 63 days. It shattered the previous speed record of 4 years. Previously vaccines were made from a benign version of a virus or bacteria that would fast start the immune system. It would be prepared to fight the real pathogen if and when it struck.

Pfizer and Moderna used a snippet of genetic material called messenger RNA or mRNA encased in a protective bubble of fat. Messenger RNA has been referred to as “the software of life.” mRNA is normally made by DNA to carry instructions to cells in the body to manufacture proteins.

When the coronavirus attacks, it commandeers the machinery of our body’s cells and instructs them to multiply the virus, generating a cascading assault. The vaccine leverages the strategy the virus employs to assault the victim. The vaccination injects mRNA into the upper arm of the individual receiving it. It then instructs the body’s cells to manufacture just a piece of the coronavirus, the outside spike proteins. These spike proteins are harmless, but they trigger an immune system response. The immune system is then quickly trained to react to and defeat the actual full-blown coronavirus.

Long before there was a coronavirus, there was a spiritual virus that was running rampant throughout the human race. Looking back to the Garden of Eden where it was first spawned, we might label it Eden-19. The Father provided a 1st century solution which is still efficacious today.

REFLECT & PRAY

I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. – John 10:10

Father thank You for sending the Lord Jesus Christ to heal the venomous spiritual virus that altered our spiritual DNA and brought certain death to the human race. The Lord Jesus Christ is the “the firmware of life.”

INSIGHT

It has been about 6000 years since the first case of the deadly spiritual virus, Eden-19, was observed. This virus results in the death of everyone who carries it. This 100% death rate was predicted by the Father. It was part of the warning that He gave to Adam in the garden.

Genesis 2:15-17

 15 The LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it.

 16 But the LORD God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden –

 17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”

The primary symptom is obvious: the awareness of good and evil. But there many corollary symptoms and side effects which also soon became apparent: guilt, shame, blame shifting, defiance, rebellion, envy, rage, and murder just to mention a few. The ultimate consequence is death.

Eden-19 became part of human spiritual DNA.

Rather than being quarantined and forced to shelter in place, Adam and Eve were expelled from their home, the Garden of Eden. They were forced out on their own. Paradise was lost. They had to learn how to live and survive in a beautiful, but tainted fallen world.

Immediately, social distancing was put into effect. The human race was separated from the Father. Tragically, all of Adam and Eve’s offspring are born separated from the Father as well.

The Father knowing all things, always, had already drawn up the plans for a vaccine that would provide a cure. No research was required. It would prevent eternal death for any and all who would receive it. He only prepared one dose. But that dose can be used over and over again by all of humankind. The supply would never run out and everyone could be safe and secure. At the incarnation, the Lord Jesus Christ became the “the firmware of life.” His spilt blood on the cross would heal Eden-19.

John 3:14-16

 14 And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,

 15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.

 16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Isaiah 53:5 By his stripes we are healed.

1 Peter 1:18-23

 18 For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver.

 19 It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.

 23 For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.

Our altered spiritual DNA is repaired and restored by an injection mRNA from the Savior of the world. He invites all those who are weary and heavy-laden to come to Him.

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