Many Christians spend their time oblivious to the enemies of the Gospel, and then when an attack comes they are found completely unprepared. Wokeness is my view is a clear and bold enemy to the Gospel, but instead of confronting it, some turn the other way or in some cases conform to it.

My definition of wokeness is simply calling wrong right, and right wrong, they call evil good, and good evil. It disregards all of God’s laws and makes man a god over sinful social norms. It is an absolute lunacy but what we see is the enemy gaining ground because the church is so very weak in confronting this evil.

Being spineless is not courageous, it is capitulation. You aren’t loving your neighbors by allowing them to defile the Almighty God. You are not gaining converts by bringing wokeness in to the church either, you are planting seeds for Satan. Instead of social justice, speak on God’s JUSTICE of which we are all guilty.

By straying from Scripture, you are ripe to be trampled by the enemy. They aren’t going to take you in and whisper sweet nothings in your ear, they are dead set at destroying God’s Kingdom. If regenerated, God has given you a SPINE, and STRENGTH, not weakness and feebleness.

Look to the King, Jesus Christ if you need inspiration. There was no time in His history where He surrendered the Gospel to the enemy so as to not to hurt their feelings. When He needed to be tough, He was ultimately tough! He spoke on their demise, He warned them constantly, He didn’t compromise or appease.

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness

You attend church one Sunday, and the pastor stands up and says “disregard what I taught on how one must be saved, this is now what I believe”. Or a prominent pastor on the radio you have listened to for years suddenly says “hey, I no longer believe Scripture is the inerrant word of God”. Or a commission is convened and they declare to your particular church “we now believe same-sex marriage and abortion are no longer sinful”.

Now if you were dependent on that pastor as opposed to Scripture, you would fall into their error of apostasy. Roman Catholics and Mormons have a huge glaring problem, because the deemed their teaching authority as “infallible”, so whatever the case might be, they must always follow their teaching as opposed to what Scripture teaches.

This is WHY by Scripture alone must be your practice. Man is corrupt, they are all fallible including myself. It must always be set ABOVE man and their teaching. So when and if a pastor goes off the rails, you can discern the apostasy trap immediately and leave that pastor and/or church. If you see the church as some sort of social club, where whatever they teach is not going to affect you, you are ripe for apostasy.

I said this before but I would venture to guess that 95 percent of Catholics sitting their pews would not care nor know the difference if their priest started teaching open Satanism. Because Scripture is NOT their authority and their church is set above it, they are literally ripe for any false teaching. Every cult will set man above Scripture.

Jesus and the Apostles constantly warned that the day will come when some with show themselves as apostates. Are you prepared? The only way to be prepared is by holding to Scripture alone, so when that day comes and the teacher says “I changed my mind, God is not sovereign” or “don’t trust the Bible, it has errors”, you will be ready not to affirm this lunacy, but to refute the lunacy, to challenge the lunacy.

Trust the Holy Spirit alone to guide you to the truth of God! Set His word ABOVE any man’s teaching which always needs to test out through that word. This is why by Scripture alone is so utterly important!

If you never heard of Lane Frost, he was a Christian first and foremost and also professional bull rider who in 1989 tragically perished at the age of 25 during a rodeo. Lane was a champion in his profession at a young age. His discipline and training along with a passion made him one the absolute best who ever rode a bull. They made a movie about him called “8-Seconds” which sadly left out everything Lane wanted people to know about him. He was a superstar of the rodeo, and a superstar for Jesus Christ!

When hearing his family and friends speak about Lane after his death, it was Lane’s Gospel message which was much more important to him. He told a friend who asked for tips on bull riding that “if there is anything to remember about me, it is that I wanted you to be saved.”

And one by one, after Lane’s tragic death, his friends and family realized that Gospel message he was preaching to them. That it would be by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone they could be saved. According to Lane, his rodeo achievements meant really nothing compared to the gift of eternal life God had granted him.

His widow Kellie spoke about how Lane basically accomplished everything he could have in the rodeo field. And again, he was only 25 years of age. Lane believed the Bible, that “life is a midst” and that no one is promised another day let alone just 8 more seconds.

He told his friends as in a premonition of his death, that if they wanted to see him in the future, they would have to come to Jesus. And slowly one by one did. Maybe it took his death at such a young age for them to wake up from their slumber, and just maybe this was God’s plan for Lane.

Today is the day of your salvation, tomorrow might be too late! If you are not in the peace and rest of Jesus Christ NOW, TODAY, as Lane was, you won’t be in that peace or rest after you perish. What a great testament to our faith in Jesus, Lane did so and he continues to do so.

A person who takes the name of a “Christian” should always be ready at the drop of a hat to share the Gospel of their salvation, the Good News of Jesus Christ.

What are some of the important precepts to the Gospel?
1. All of mankind are inherent sinners. We all have broken God’s laws.
2. The judgment of “guilty” has been leveled by God to every last human being.

3. The penalty for this guilty verdict is God’s wrath, and eternal torment in a place called Hell.

4. God because He is gracious, loving, and merciful, knowing that mankind is guilty, sent a Messiah named Jesus Christ to make an atonement on their behalf.

5. Jesus, the eternal Son of God, was born of a virgin, incarnated as man. By this birth, He is 100 percent man, and 100 percent God. He is deemed “the perfect Lamb of God”. The perfect “Lamb” meaning the sacrificial lamb in the place of sinners.

6. To be saved, the sinner must place their faith alone in Jesus. They must believe that He died on their behalf, that He sacrificed Himself to propitiate (satisfy) God’s wrath on their sins. That Jesus alone is the way, the truth, and the life. By this, His perfect righteousness is credited to you, so now God sees you as in Christ, perfect in Him alone.

7. Jesus is now your Mediator for all your sins holding you NOW blameless, GOOD NEWS. The Holy Spirit who indwells the saved sinner serves as the seal and guarantee of your eternal life. He is always going to be with you!

8. To realize salvation, the sinner must have an inherent desire to now repent, to turn away from their sins and follow Jesus in heart and mind and soul. This desire to repent steadily grows which is called sanctification, being set apart and placed in Jesus.

9. If saved, this isn’t a struggle or a chore. You repent because Jesus saved you, not to be saved. God saves the ungodly, never the “godly. No one will be saved by their works or they could boast in themselves.

10. If saved, as Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, the saved sinner too shall rise and forever live in heaven with Jesus! THIS IS THE GOOD NEWS!

The Bible teaches each one of these 10 precepts in detail. Train yourself to know them intimately. I would write out all the verse numbers and passages which speak on these, but use this for your own practice and training. Study the Scripture, when challenged be able to reference everything quickly.

1 Corinthians 9:24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.

As I listened to a podcast of a couple of people who participated in bow and arrow competitions, they said some profound things which I know can be applied to Gospel sharing. One of guys said “no matter where we went, I knew we would win”.

Now he was saying this because as he explained, no one put in the amount of work they did. Each day they went to the range, they fine tuned their equipment, they practiced both mentally and physically. And they did this, not because it was a chore, but simply because they were passionate, they loved what they were doing.

He said “as soon as we looked around in the room, we knew who we were up against, and I had no doubt in my mind we would win because we worked harder than all of them combined”. Their confidence was not a cockiness, but a realization of the will to win. They were simply stating “we are the best around”, because of the practice and discipline, they knew they were the best.

In the Gospel arena, do you have that confidence? Can you say you could witness to absolutely anyone out there, and have the confidence in yourself that you did your job for Christ? You can only get there by the same mentality of discipline and practice and training each day.

Some have this idea that the pastor of their church should be the one training, while they sit back as lazy oafs and daydream. And then the day comes, a stranger asks “can you please share with me the Good News?” And you fumble, mumble, and flutter upon their questions. You try to remember where the verse number was the pastor taught you, but can’t seem to find anything. After a few minutes, the stranger starts to doubt everything, and you walk away in shame.

Some also think Gospel sharing is a hobby only to come out when you feel like it. Worldly politics seem more exciting for awhile so you focus more on the latest drama. Only then to face the scenario I described above. The shame and guilt should surface upon every failure, that’s IF the Holy Spirit is indwelling you.

You have no excuse, no rationalization you can give to Jesus Christ as to why you are not studying His word, why you aren’t training to be the very best around! I am sure like in everything, we could pretty much give an excuse, but the failure can only be blamed on the one who looks you in the mirror.

I personally find it highly odd if someone claimed to be a Christian for a few years, and still can’t get their words together, or are still on level one when it comes to Scripture. I don’t believe it is an intelligence thing, it is more of a passion and discipline void. Again there is NO excuse! Unless you do not own a Bible, or have access to online sources, I don’t believe there is any excuse one can give as to why after decades they still don’t quite get theology, hermeneutics, context, etc.

Want to be the very best in Scripture? Nothing and nobody is preventing you from doing so other than yourself. The Holy Spirit is willing and able 24/7/365 to train you, to discipline you, to enlighten you. Talk about having the VERY BEST EVER right there waiting! Like those I mentioned with their bow and arrow, IF you put in the time, IF you practice, IF you train and have a PASSION, the confidence will exude! There won’t be a person on the earth who could trip you up! As Paul exhorts “RUN IN A WAY TO OBTAIN IT”

Imagine a Judgment day where God asks the people standing before Him, “who here is worthy to enter My Kingdom?” And then thousands upon thousands raising their hand, “me, Lord!”. God then asks many who raised their hands, “what have you done to be worthy?” And they respond with all their works, their religious involvement, the time when they helped a poor grandma across the road, the time when they volunteered and gave a few bucks to a charity, the times when they cared for their kids and put a roof over their heads and fed them, the times when they helped out the poor and needy. They’ll cite their “integrity” and “honesty”. And then will say “we did this all in Your Name, Lord.” But are they worthy to be saved?

And then there will be some in the crowd, who never raised their hands. Rather they cowered in shame, seeing themselves as sinners in God’s light. Who could only beat their chest and cry “have mercy on me, Lord”.

Which out of the two groups do you believe is worthy to be saved? If you answered, “neither”, you are 100 percent correct! But which group do you think God saved? If you answered those who raised their hands and cited all their works, you would be 100 percent wrong. But this is the common notion that Satan has influenced in the world, that you will save yourself by being “good”.
Are you doubting me? Here is what Scripture teaches.

Matt 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Luke 18:9 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: ¹⁰ “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ ¹³ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Romans 5:6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

The WORTHY one, is Jesus Christ! We are not worthy, we do not deserve anything from God other than His wrath. If you believe you are good enough on your own for God to save you, you will be sadly be mistaken on Judgment Day. There is not one of your works you could cite which would erase just one white lie off your record. You could save 100 people from a fiery building or give millions to charities which help the homeless and needy, and it does nothing to evade God’s wrath.

There is just ONE WAY to the Kingdom, it is by the person and work of Jesus Christ. He propitiated God’s wrath by His death and resurrection, which means God is satisfied, the penalty for the sins are paid in full. But if you FAIL to place your faith alone in this fact, that wrath remains. You will be judged on a strict comparison to a perfect and Holy God and just one sin negates your argument. It doesn’t matter if you were sorry, I am sure the fallen angels were sorry after they defiled themselves, but that soreness did nothing to quell God’s wrath.

So it is up to you! Will you continue to falsely believe you can tip the scales of God’s justice by yourself, by your false notion of an inherent “goodness”? Will you falsely believe that religiosity, going to church on Sundays, is going to save you? Or will you acknowledge you are nothing but a total rotten dirty sinner in God’s sight, and today place your faith alone in ONE person’s work, Jesus Christ who is the Savior. He is the ONLY way, the ONLY truth, the ONLY life!

It was two years ago today, 2020, that my dog Leo and I returned home from a long trip to Colorado. It was approximately two and a half months prior to this that we left Minnesota to seek a lifesaving treatment for Leo’s lymphoma.

We left Colorado on Feb 10, 2020 and arrived in a sleepy little town called Cozad, Nebraska where we spent the night. The weather was almost exactly what we are having today in Minnesota, cold, dark, and windy. But nothing was going to deter us, as this was a MAJOR victory. Leo had survived almost 100 chemo treatments, and was still with me. His demeanor was great and his health was stable. Prayers were answered!

The following day, we drove all the way home. Leo looked out the window constantly, something he did not do on the way out to Colorado. As he was taking it all in, I couldn’t help but wonder what was he thinking about and feeling. He must have known his life was coming to an end, and didn’t want to miss out on any sight or sound. I told him a couple of times, “Leo, you can lie down, we have a long ways to go”, but he ignored that request. And now two years later, I do understand why he did. He was taking in God’s creation, as it would be the last time he would be able to. The thing he feared on this trip home was missing out on what was to come and I learned this as we got close to home.

I speak of God’s providence, because the pandemic was still in its infancy. No real reported cases. But I dodged a bullet because we met someone with Covid symptoms right before our trip home and I did not get sick. At that time, there was no protocol, as I believe there were only a couple of cases reported on the west coast. So we thought it was the flu. God’s providence as well was to place it in my heart and mind to come home a couple of weeks earlier than planned or we may have ran into problems with the pandemic.

His providence as well was that Leo and I made it to Colorado, he survived the treatments, and now he was coming home with me. A lot of things had to neatly line up, and they did. We had much support in prayer! And it was ironic that the church we attended while in Colorado was called “Providence Bible Church”.

But a special providence as I look back was Leo looking out the window on the way home. On the way to Colorado, he could barely move, he slept most of the way and looking out the window was something last on his mind. It was as if God granted him a gift of a little more time, so he would have no regrets, nothing to be missed such as a deer or pheasant or duck, things he loved seeing.

As we got close to home, I decided to drive by the park we usually went to at that time of night. Leo let out a cry of joy! He was beside himself as he saw his park again. The looking out the window came into view now, this is what he was looking for all along! The crying of joy didn’t cease, it remained until we got home. It was as if he was thanking God as I was that WE MADE IT HOME!

I write this as a testament to the supporters we had! Your prayers were listened to by God. He granted His providence, we survived the uncertain war, Leo was happy once again. So the next time you hear a doubter when they mock “thoughts and prayers”, I do hope you think of this!
God is Good! He listens, He provides, He is merciful and gracious! What could we do without Him?!

Isaiah 42:16 I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, And crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, And not forsake them.

I used Isaiah 42:16 in my book “The Roman Catholic Problem” as a description of what took place in my personal testimony and witness in Jesus Christ. Take notice of the word “blind by a way they did not know” and that God will lead the sinner on a path they have not known. During this He shows His glorious light which exudes from the darkness of sin. What an awesome PROMISE from God to every child of His that He gives a rebirth to.

My mind goes back to my former life of sin. A few years before my rebirth, I recall coming home from the weekend strip club excursion I had been on, feeling empty, feeling dead inside as I always did after doing something immoral like that. I recall driving home in a daze, wondering what in the world I was doing with my life. I was spending money on immoral things, living a life of sin, but really no joy or motivation inside. The darkness was all around me. Day by day and week by week, it was the same thing.

While on the outside, I may have seemed like an upstanding motivated person, nice and kind, but on the inside I was dreadful, evil, immoral, grudgeful. I had a short temper, I cursed like there was no tomorrow. Like every blind lost sinner, I sought whatever would make me happy no matter how short term it was and how immoral it was. Meanwhile, the church I was attending, the Roman Catholic Church was the crutch I used to justify this immoral life. An hour a week of attendance and I thought all was good.

The spiral downward continued as I attracted evil and evil people in my life who then cast that spiral in over-drive. There was no light, just darkness and sheer emptiness. Because the RCC doesn’t teach the biblical Gospel, it too was the help in that spiral downward, little did I know.

When God did as He promised in late December of 2010, the crooked path started to become straight. He led me on a path that I had not known before, true repentance. Some sins were a full and immediate stop without so much of a slight looking back or regret. The desire in my heart changed almost immediately! I was starting to feel fullness! That was the Holy Spirit who made His home in my heart and mind now.

I’ll never forget my former life of depravity because the rebirth would then need to be forgotten as well. God DOES AS HE PROMISES! There is nothing slight or half-hearted when it comes to Him. And I thank Him each day still for saving me by the person and work of Jesus Christ, of which I did absolutely nothing to deserve that redemption.

Romans 5:10, “for if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. ¹¹ And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

There are people beyond redemption, but they are probably NOT who you think they are.
The answer to the question “is there anyone beyond redemption” is yes. However, it will be ONLY those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit, a specific sin, which is stated (blaspheme) by attributing the Spirit’s work to Satan or a word against the Holy Spirit, claiming He would lead a sinner to commit evil for example. These folks are beyond redemption because Jesus said that sin is unforgivable and without forgiveness redemption cannot be granted. This sin is committed mainly by religious sinners, not by unbelievers, because first you would have to believe the Holy Spirit exists and who He is, Satan exists and who he is.

So if you haven’t blasphemed the Holy Spirit, and there are some who have openly, you are not beyond redemption. Yes, even the worst murderers and serial rapists can be saved. It doesn’t mean however God will save every sinner, it just means that the verdict while being guilty doesn’t necessarily mean a pardon cannot be granted.

Some world religions out there cast Christianity as a perfectionist club. That you need to be self righteous FIRST before God will think about redeeming you. So they put the sinner through a series of tests, religious pomp and circumstance, and when they deem you worthy enough to be saved, God may just do so. How WRONG these religions are!!

Romans 5:8 teaches us that Jesus saves a sinner WHILE THEY ARE STILL SINNERS. This would pretty much refute the notion that the sinner needs to clean themselves up first or make themselves worthy to save, when Scripture teaches us that NO ONE IS WORTHY! Not a one! Salvation is never by self righteousness but by the righteousness of Christ.

So if you were jaded by someone who claims to be a Christian, seek your answers only from the word of God. Don’t take my word for it, read and study Scripture and you will see God’s granting of His mercy and grace to whom He wills, not to whom a religion wills. Let’s face it, if man held your salvation in their hands, they would cast you into hell unless you stroked their ego, they’d do this without shame or guilt. So be comforted, it is God who holds your salvation in His hand alone.

The very first lesson God gives upon a rebirth of a sinner, is to show you that you were NEVER beyond redemption even though your sin record was wicked, the evil things you did, etc. sent Jesus to the Cross to what? TO REDEEM YOU! Those who have been saved understand this. Those who haven’t will continue on in their self righteousness, and in the end, will find out how very wrong they were to do so, but at that point it will be too late.

So place your faith alone in Jesus, His work, His person, and you shall be saved! Again, there are people beyond redemption, but they are probably NOT who you think they are.

When we lose a loved one in our life, the main temptation that comes to our minds is to say “how unfair” it is. We naturally do this because we somehow believe we deserved more time with them, and they deserved more time.

God completely understands our minds and understands that feeling of unfairness. And if we understand Him, we really have no right to tell Him that we deserve more than unfairness. After all, was it fair that His perfect Son Jesus Christ was tortured and put to death to save sinners who vehemently opposed and wanted nothing to with Him? That is the epitome of unfairness in my view.

When believers and unbelievers alike say “life is unfair”, this is not a caricature, but an actual truth. We live in a fallen world. We sinned against a holy God, so if God were actually “fair” with us, none of us would have been created. We get unfairness because of God’s mercy, not because of His wrath.

View the Apostles, they went onto share the Gospel and grow the church. They left everyone and everything to do so, and in the end were persecuted, jailed, and put to death. So the idea of “fairness” needs to be thought about from God’s standpoint.

When my dog Leo was diagnosed with cancer at 7 years old, I will admit that one of the first thoughts I had was “how unfair”. I looked at others in my life with dogs, complete unbelievers and doing evil against God’s kingdom, and their dogs were granted much longer lives. That comparison and thought was completely vanquished when I viewed it from God’s standpoint and His perfect Son Jesus Christ.

After all, it should have been ME and not Jesus Christ being tortured and put to death because of my sins. So if I wanted to make an argument with God on “fairness”, that’s ALL He would need to respond back with.

So in the growth of a Christian, you will understand that life here on earth is unfair, but there is a God who realizes this and understands. We don’t need to dwell on it, because God is in control and no matter how unfair we think it to be, God is always working the good for those who love Him. Because again, if we received fairness instead of mercy, none could stand. So I’ll take life being unfair, and accept it as should you!