Review -- Why No Revival

Why No Revival? is a tract available from Chick Publications. Chick Publications designs and publishes tracts that are like mini comic books but they deliver a powerful message. All Chick tracts end with a presentation of the Gospel. Tracts themes cover everything from bikers to gunslingers to convicts to Halloween. There are also tracts written for children and tracts written particularly for African-Americans.

            Why No Revival? answers the question, why have we not had a revival in our land in such a long time. Jack Chick, the author and publisher of Chick tracts wrote in the foreword, “Many pastors are unwilling or unable to say the things that appear in this book.  Many things will make you angry and upset (I hope so), but I pray it will lead to repentance and to revival.” The tract then proceeds to illustrate why there is no revival. It depicts church members praying for new TVs instead of God’s presence. It depicts self-righteous attitudes. It depicts the selfishness of “Christians”. There are a host of other humorously depicted reasons, though the reasons themselves are not humorous. One thing the tract does succeed in illustrating, though, is that we have our priorities mixed up. In that way, we are like the world. Entertainers who add little to our society make millions while those who do contribute positively eke out a living. In the same vein, Christians care more about the newspaper and the TV Guide than they do the Bible. They spend more time in choir rehearsal than they do in prayer meeting. Want real revival, then I recommend every born again Christian read this tract.

Chick tracts are simple and easy to read, reminding us that the Gospel is not complicated. At the end of the tract is a prayer the reader can say to receive Christ as Lord and Savior. Chick Tracts can be ordered either individually or in bulk. I’ve also found that you can click on a tract on the website. When it opens up, you can print the whole thing. The only negative of that is that it all prints on one page instead of the booklet format the tract comes in.

The Letter -- A Review

          The Letter is a tract available from Chick Publications. Chick Publications designs and publishes tracts that are like mini comic books but they deliver a powerful message. All Chick tracts end with a presentation of the Gospel. Tracts themes cover everything from bikers to gunslingers to convicts to Halloween. There are also tracts written for children and tracts written particularly for African-Americans.

            The Letter is a tract that will haunt you after you read it. The letter for which the title refers was delivered in a dream by an angel (or demon, I’m not sure). The letter was written from a friend in hell. In the letter, the friend accuses her still living friend of cheating her by not telling her about Jesus Christ. The tract ends in a chilling twist. Each person who reads the tract will have a strong inclination to tell their friends about Jesus.

           Chick tracts are simple and easy to read, reminding us that the Gospel is not complicated. At the end of the tract is a prayer the reader can say to receive Christ as Lord and Savior. Chick Tracts can be ordered either individually or in bulk. I’ve also found that you can click on a tract on the website. When it opens up, you can print the whole thing. The only negative of that is that it all prints on one page instead of the booklet format the tract comes in.

This Was Your Life Tract Review

This Was Your Life is a tract available from Chick Publications. Chick Publications designs and publishes tracts that are like mini comic books but they deliver a powerful message. All Chick tracts end with a presentation of the Gospel. Tracts themes cover everything from bikers to gunslingers to convicts to Halloween. There are also tracts written for children and tracts written particularly for African-Americans.

            This tract, This Was Your Life, is a take on the Parable of the Rich Fool. In it, a rich (or well-to-do) man has a heart attack and dies. He is then cast into hell. From there, He later stand before the White Throne Judgment Seat of Christ and his life is reviewed. It is shown as flashbacks as it is projected across the backdrop of the cosmos. There everything is laid bare—his history, his actions, his thoughts. My favorite part is when after all is revealed, including the many times he had opportunity to accept Christ and didn’t, he says, “I must have been insane!” After this story comes a parallel story, This Can Be Your Life. This one depicts what would have happened to him had he made better choices.

            The tracts are simple and easy to read, reminding us that the Gospel is not complicated. At the end of the tract is a prayer the reader can say to receive Christ as Lord and Savior. Chick Tracts can be ordered either individually or in bulk. I’ve also found that you can click on a tract on the website. When it opens up, you can print the whole thing. The only negative of that is that it all prints on one page instead of the booklet format the tract comes in.

Make Your Boast in the Lord

²³Thus says the LORD:

“ Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man glory in his might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
²⁴ But let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and knows Me,
That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
For in these I delight,” says the LORD.

We live in a world where people brag about nearly everything. They brag about what they've accomplished. They brag about what they own. They brag about what they're going to do. Sometimes, they even brag about what they haven't done. God gives us the truth about what we are to brag about. We are to brag that we understand and know Him. I don't know about you but bragging about knowing God is the best thing I could ever hope to brag about.

Perhaps, you ask 'why?' I will not give you just one reason but I will give you three reasons why you should brag about understanding and knowing God.

First, knowing God is important because He is the only One who can affect change in our circumstances. It doesn't matter what we’re going through, there is one Person who can change it. That Person is God. He can change situations. He can change hearts. He can change lives. All we have to do is go to Him and let Him know our request. If we want to know how to express ourselves to God, read the prayers of King David in the Psalms. In them, he expressed his despair at the triumph of the wicked. He pled with the Lord for relief, for deliverance. He asked, “Lord, where are you?” “How long, O Lord, will you let the wicked go unpunished?” “Please don’t let my enemies triumph over me.” God heard and God answered.

Second, knowing God is important because He is the only One who can affect purpose in our lives. God is our Creator. As Creator, He designed us for a purpose. Much like a potter creates pottery for a purpose or an inventor invents a device for a purpose. God knows what our purpose is and if we are to learn it, we need to ask Him. He will reveal it to us. God has no reason to keep it secret. Look at Samson, God told Samson's parents what Samson's purpose was before he was born. Samson was to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines. God also told Jeremiah the Prophet, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” In short, knowing God can help us find out why we're here--what were we created for.

Third, knowing God is important because He is the only One who can affect salvation for us. God created us to have a relationship with Him. Unfortunately, sin destroyed that relationship. God took the initiative to restore that relationship when He sent His Son Jesus to live for us and to die for us on the Cross of Calvary. He then raised Jesus from the dead to show that Jesus' death was sufficient payment for our sins. Through Jesus Christ, we can be restored—reconciled —to God (2 Corinthians 5: 19). Jesus said that the very definition of eternal life is to know God and Jesus Christ who He had sent (John 17:3).

Here is the wonderful thing: we can know God for ourselves. We don't have to go through an intermediary. Jesus' blood has made it possible for us to go boldly to the throne of Grace (Hebrews 4:16). We cannot even hope to know Oprah or have access to her. Even if we could get some access to her, even with her vast resources there is only so much she can do for you. This is true of any human. President Obama, Queen Elizabeth, Warren Buffett, Rupert Murdoch, all of them are limited in what they can do, even with their vast resources combined, provided you could even contact them. All the money in the world can't heal an incurable disease. All the money in the world can't save your soul. All the money or good words/wishes in the world can't give you true peace.

Only God can do these things. He offers us a relationship with Him. We don't have to go through a personal assistant. We don't have to have an appointment. We don't have to have a big name or know someone who knows someone. Instead, we can just go to God and ask Him to save us.

First, acknowledge you're a sinner. Second, repent of your sin (wrongdoing). Next, acknowledge that you need a Savior--someone to save you from the penalty of your sin (death). Then go to God and ask Him to save you, to forgive you. He will do so and you can begin a new, wonderful relationship with Him.

You then can make your boast that YOU understand and know the Lord.

2 Great Proofs That God Exist

There many proofs that God exist. First, the earth is proof. We are on a planet that is safely distant from the sun. We are close enough that we don’t freeze; yet far enough that we don’t burn up. Human life is other proof. The body is complex. Even the eye is too complex for modern doctors to completely understand. We can even begin to scratch the surface of the brain. Here are two more proofs of God’s existence. Yet, many people think this all happened by chance.  But these are not the two great proofs I am referring to. The ones I am referring to are Israel and the Church.

Israel

I believe Israel is one of the greatest proofs or evidences of God’s existence. According to the Bible, Israel was founded by God through the man Abram. God said to him that He would make of him (Abram/Abraham) a great nation. He promised that Abraham’s seed would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand by the seashore. God promised Israel a land that would be theirs forever.

God allowed Israel to go Egypt in order to grow into a nation large enough to conquer the Promised Land. After 400 years, He visited Israel and delivered her from the Egyptians and led her into the land in which they now live. From the time that they left Egypt until this day, Israel has been under attack. She has been hated and despised by her enemies. Yet, she still exists. Even though she has gone up against enemies bigger and more powerful than she is, she still stands and they have fallen. Whether they are Perizzites, Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, or Amalekites, God has protected the nation of Israel. Even Adolf Hitler could not wipe out the Jews.

In fulfillment of His promise in Ezekiel 66 that a nation would be born in a day, Israel was recognized as a state in May 14, 1948. During the 6 Day War, God protected Israel when Egypt, Syria, and Jordan sought to invade. Even today, with Iran breathing threats of destruction, the Palestinians sending bombs and missiles into the land, and the whole world looking at Israel with disgust, she will still stand. If God does not exist, how could such a nation still exist in the face of such opposition? God defends Israel, Even when Iran and her Russian and Muslim confederation try to invade her, God will defend Israel by destroying the entire invasion force. Why does Israel still exist? God looks after her. He made a covenant with her and He will see it through to completion.

The Church

Since the Church’s beginning, she, too, has been the target for those who are against God. Why is this? Since her founding, the Church has done nothing but preach love and hope and sought to meet needs. Yes, there were some bad apples along the way. The Crusades were not ordained of God, I believe. But for the most part, the Church has been on the defensive not the offensive.

Nearly all the Disciples of Jesus were martyred; all but John the Revelator. People argue that the Bible account was a lie and that Jesus did not die or that Jesus did not get up from the grave. They pose the hypothesis that it was all a ruse perpetrated by His Disciples. My question is, to what end? They nearly all died miserable deaths. Peter, Philip, Andrew, Simon, Thaddeus, and Bartholomew were all crucified. Paul and Matthias were beheaded. Matthew was killed with a halberd. James the Less had his head bashed in with a fuller’s club. Thomas, also known as “Doubting Thomas” was thrust through with a spear. So, if they made up Christ’s resurrection, why didn’t they recant? Why did they die? How were they to gain from a lie in death?

Persecutions didn’t stop with the Disciples. Church fathers like Ignatius, Polycarp, Justin, Plutarchus, and Irenaeus were among those martyred for their faith. Arguably, thousands, if not millions, have been tortured and/or killed because they identified themselves with Christ. This is in fulfillment of John 15:18. Thousands of years have passed, millions have been martyred, yet the church still goes on.

Even today, churches are burned. Christians are ridiculed. In foreign countries, they are still hunted and martyred. In fact, a website, called Voice of the Martyrs, has been set up to showcase this persecution and to be a nexus for prayer for these brave soldiers. Yet, the church still goes on.

Why does she [the Church] still go on? She still goes on because she is fueled by God. Temples to Venus and Jupiter and others like them are out of business but the church is still marching on.  She’s been attacked by pagans and Muslims, but she still marches on. She’s under attack now by liberals with a self-centered agenda, but she will continue to march on until the Lord calls her home.

Yes, I believe Israel and the Church are the two greatest proofs that God exist. There is no other explanation as to how two entities, who are despised by so many, can continue to exist and thrive except for God. Businesses have come and gone. Empires has risen and fallen but both the Church and Israel continue on. With that, there is no argument.

The Republican National Convention (RNC) and Blacks

Is there any wonder why a political sect who calls itself the “Grand Old Party” is not a magnet for Blacks (or any minority for that matter)? Whenever you see a Republican convention or a Republican campaign gathering, all you see is a sea of white faces. This is not so with the Democratic Party. When you see one of their campaigns or conventions, you see what America is all about, sea of diversity—Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, Asians, and everything in between. Why is this? What must the Republicans Party do to reach out and win the hearts of minorities? Are they willing to do it?

            I know that the Republican Party is called the Grand Old Party, or the GOP, because it is one of the longest standing political parties, founded in 1854 by anti-slavery activists. But how many minorities know this about the Republicans? How many know that Abraham Lincoln, someone Barak Obama refers to often, was a Republican? When most minorities think Grand Old Party, they likely think “Grand Old Times” when blacks were slaves and white ran everything. The name may hearken back to a time when things and people were segregated—an idea reinforced by a sea of white faces. In fact, up until the mid-to-late 20^th Century, must Blacks were Republican.

            So, what changed? What changed is what is set in the mindsets of those who are now Democrats. The Republicans were made up of the whites who endorsed segregation. They enforced rules of Blacks riding in the back of the bus, separate water fountains and separate restrooms. They were mainly the ones who chased down and killed those who were opposed to change. These “Gentlemen” were the ones who lynched blacks and burned crosses, all the while wearing sheets over their heads to hide their identity and protect their standing as upstanding citizens.

            Democrats, on the other hand, offered equality for Blacks. Presidential candidates like John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B Johnson offered hope for minorities going as far as to enforce school integration and passing the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act. With these enticements, minorities migrated over to the Democratic Party and have largely been part of the Democratic demographics ever since.

            Because of strong maternal influence, a large number of minorities are church-goers, although this number is decreasing with each generation. However, because of the church’s influence, many minorities have a strong since of morality and values. In fact, I am willing to go as far as to say that many of their values are the same or closely related to the values of conservative Republicans. Speaking from what I know, most Blacks believe in the sanctity of marriage, prayer in schools, God in America, are either against homosexuality as a class or believe it is up to the individual but not a matter for law, and believe in smaller government and lower taxes. Most are for immigration laws and tougher penalties for crimes.

            Therefore, with so much in common, why are most Blacks, as well as, other minorities Democrats? Personally, I believe it is because most Blacks see Republicans as rich white folks who don’t want Blacks to have anything. As spun by the media, Republicans don’t want to pay their fair share of taxes but what to add more of that burden on the backs of the poor, the have-nots, the minorities. They see Republicans as people who want to cut programs like Social Security and Medicare yet not cut their own salaries, which most of them don’t need because they’re rich already. Republicans have endorsed two wars overseas leading to the deaths of over 4,000 American soldiers. Republicans are responsible for giving tax breaks to corporations that outsource jobs overseas, jobs that are primarily held by minorities, thereby leading to higher unemployment. In short, Republicans are interested in only protecting their interests which are contrary or contradictory to those of minorities.

            So, what can the Republican Party do to correct this and get more blacks in their ranks? First, they need to change their image. They need to be seen as a party who care for everyone and not just the rich and the middle class. They need to work to get better paying jobs in this country—perhaps those green jobs Obama spoke of in 2008. If the Republicans want to get rid of or decrease dependence on welfare programs, they should provide more funding for better education and hold people responsible for their actions. If people have children, they need to take care of them. That is not society’s job. (It may take a village to raise a child, but the village doesn’t have to pay for it.) Republican leadership should have an open and candid talk with Hispanic leadership to discuss how best to tackle immigration laws. In the end, not everyone will be pleased, but something has to be done.  In short, take care of home first.

Taking care of home first means balancing national security with the needs of the home. We need to be safe and feel safe but national security is not mutually exclusive to balancing the budget, improving education, creating jobs, and securing our borders. Like anyone else, Blacks are going to give their allegiance to those they perceive are meeting their needs. Perception is everything.

Will the Republican Party do any of these things? Will these middle- and upper-class Caucasians embrace their minority brothers and sisters? Will they seek to convert them to the ‘true’ party line? Time will tell. They will do something better than they did if they sincerely want Obama to be a one-term president. A black RNC chairman won’t be enough as Ron Steele has already shown.

           

As a long-time Democrat, I admit I am losing admiration for the party. They are embracing ungodliness in the name of inclusiveness. They have not delivered on most of their promises. They are in favor of big government despite what they advertise. As someone once said, the more the government gives, the more control they want. I don’t want a society of entitlement but a society of encouragement and an even playing field. God. Country. Party.

Where Your Heart Is...

Luke 9:62; 17:31-32

But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

“In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. ³² Remember Lot’s wife.

Our past is important to us. It informs us who we are and from where we came. It is from the past that we learn how to behave in the future. There’s a lot of useful information in the past. We are to cherish our past whether it be personal or cultural, but we are not to cleave to it. In these passages, Jesus discusses the importance of letting go of your past in order to embrace your future.

            In the Luke 9 passage, two men profess that they want to follow Jesus; however, they had to fulfill certain obligations first. One had to go bury his father and another had to go say good-bye to his family. Jesus told them that anyone having once put his hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.

            Why does Jesus say this? Does He not want us to grieve and bury our dead? Does He not want us to say good-bye to our families but just disappear? No, that is not what He was saying. Jesus was addressing the heart of the issue. He wasn’t so much as addressing the men as He was addressing the excuses. If their intentions to serve were real, they would not have put stipulations on them. Jesus is to be first; all else is to be last. What was Jesus really saying? I believe we will find our answer in the next passage.

            The Pharisees asked Jesus about when the Kingdom of God would come (vs. 20). Jesus explained to them that they would not “see” the Kingdom for it is within; rather, it would start out an internal (spiritual) Kingdom not an external Kingdom. He goes on to talk about the arrival of the external Kingdom—when He would return to rule and reign in Person. He describes    athe panic and chaos of that day as people flee their home and work (possibly from His presence). He says that they are not to turn back for their things. He then tells them to “Remember Lot’s wife.”

            Lot’s wife died because she disobeyed and looked back at the destruction of Sodom. When the angels prophesied the demise of Sodom, they told Lot and his family to leave and to not look back. However, on her way out of the city, Lot’s wife looked back and she became a pillar of salt. Why did she look back? She looked back because her heart was in that city. Sodom was her home. It was where she grew up. Her friends and family were there. She looked back with longing like any of us would if our home was being destroyed. Whether it was because of curiosity or remorse is unknown. The fact that she looked back and the consequences of looking back are known.

            I believe this is what Jesus was saying to the two men. They wanted to return home because that is where their hearts were. They wanted to follow Jesus but, like the rich young ruler, they couldn’t separate themselves from what meant more to them, in this case, their past.  Jesus knew that they might have went home to do the things they intended but then never left because something else would have come up—another emergency, parents begged them to stay, etc.

            Ask any farmer and he will tell you that you cannot plow a straight line looking backwards. Instead, you have to fix your focus on a mark in front and aim for that mark while plowing. Likewise, if we are going to follow Christ and stay on the straight and narrow row, then we cannot spend our time looking back. We can’t focus on past mistakes. We can’t focus on missed opportunities. We can’t focus on family. We can’t focus on friends. We can’t focus on careers. We can’t focus on hobbies. We can’t focus on anything that takes our minds off Jesus and His purpose for our lives. We must focus our attention on the mark and keep moving forward. These are the words of Paul in Philippians 3:13-14: “…forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead I press towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

            Where is your heart? It is with that that you treasure most. What do you treasure most?  Jesus said where your treasure is is where your heart will be. Lot’s wife’s heart was in Sodom. Those men’s hearts were at home. Today, many people’s hearts are with their families, their careers, their sports teams, but not with Christ. They may be religious but religion saves no one. Jesus wants a relationship. Jesus wants our hearts.

            I don’t know about you but my heart is in Heaven.

Where Did Everybody Go?

A message to those left behind.

Suddenly millions of people have disappeared from the earth. Perhaps, you are wondering what happened? Where did everybody go? What's going to happen next? I can tell you what happened. The Rapture of the Church has taken place. This is Jesus fulfilling His promise that He would return to get His people and take them to the place that He has prepared for them (see John 14 below). The truth about this mass exodus will rarely be heard. Instead, you will fictionalized accounts about what had happened. These stories will range from people being transported by aliens to the earth cleansing itself of negative energy to people being transported to another dimension. However, it is all a lie. What happened is the fulfillment of the following prophecies:

¹ “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. ² In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” John 14:1-3

⁵⁰ Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. ⁵¹ Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— ⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. ⁵³ For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. ⁵⁴ So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
⁵⁵ “ O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?” –1 Corinthians 15:50-55

¹³ But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. ¹⁴ For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.^[b]
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore comfort one another with these words. –2 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Think about the people you know who have disappeared. Weren’t they all Bible-believing Christians? There may be some who have died incidentally to the Rapture, for instance, due to planes crashing because their pilots were raptured. But for the most part, the majority of the missing will be children and Christians.

Where did they go? They went to Heaven. They are with the Lord and are receiving their rewards for the work they’ve done on the earth. They will return in around seven years.

How can you join them? Trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. You are a sinner (someone who has fallen short of God’s standard of perfection). The wages for sin is death. Jesus came to earth to die that death. He was then raised from the death three days later by God. According to Romans 10:9-10, if you believe that and confess it, you will be saved. You will not immediately join them in Heaven but God will write you name in the Lamb’s Book of Life and you will join them there one day; or perhaps, by the grace of God, you will be here when they return.

What to do next? Get a Bible and read it, particularly Revelation (the last book). There are many other books, videos, and podcasts that will explain what else you can do. Try to find other believers. Do not follow the new world leader. DO NOT accept the mark of the beast. Pray and persevere and, Lord willing, we’ll meet on that day when Jesus comes back (Revelation 19:11-21).