Judges 21:25 7/21/2026

“In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”

Judges chapter 21 was probably written about 1100 BC.  The population of Isreal was around a half million people and the first part of this verse says there was no king to rule them.  But then the next phrase says something else… There was no official king of Israel so instead there were about a half million little kings who did what was right in their own eyes.  

We see the same thing in America today. We follow laws we agree with and self-righteously dismiss laws that are inconvenient. We make ourselves the final moral authority which doesn’t produce freedom, only chaos. As we scream about the importance of not having kings, we ironically crown ourselves as the only legitimate rulers.  Arbitrarily deciding what is right by what we feel, we insist that everyone ratify our lunacy.…. Not only will we not tolerate rebellion… we won’t even tolerate disagreement. Everyone must accept our make-believe royal decrees or they will be canceled. 

So, it doesn’t look like much has changed in the last 3000 years.  We still do what we deem right, and you are welcome to peacefully coexist as long as you agree wholeheartedly with my views. We crown ourselves as little Emperors who tolerate no critics nor detractors.

However, in the real world, there is only one King…and it’s not you or me… but since we’re made in His image, we constantly try to take the job. We declare ourselves as deity and allow opinions as long as they validate our illusions. The problem with that is that in the book of Judges this philosophy ends with moral decay, Idolatry, oppression, sexual violence, civil war, fraudulent religions, etc. So again, nothing has changed in the last 3000 years… Same stupid idea that we can be God, produces the same destructive corrosion that sin always generates. You would think we would learn from history, but here we are… 

So, you decide. You have a King… but will you acknowledge Him? Jesus came to be your Savior and Lord… He is either both, or He is neither. 

“There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done, ‘ and those to whom God says, ‘All right then, have it your way’” 
- C.S. Lewis

PSALM 48:4-5 7/14/2026

“4When the kings joined forces, when they advanced together,  5they saw her and were astounded; they fled in terror.”

This passage, referring to the City of God, illustrates the process our culture is involved in today, and the direction we are headed for tomorrow. Our rulers confidently march against God’s established conventions. They join forces to squelch the Word of God and mock those who believe. Our cultural “kings” have assembled to fight against the city of God, including anything that takes defining “right and wrong” out of their hands. 

It has become fashionable to reject The Law of the Lord and replace it with what you “think and feel”.  We ignorantly applaud those who speak “their own truth”, as though they have some innate ability to create facts. 

Individual “spirituality” is acceptable, but if our message threatens anyone’s ability to be their own little god… we will be canceled.  If we point out what God clearly calls sin, we are labeled intolerant. Society elevates those who create new ways to succumb to immorality. The most absurd claims of normalcy are approved amidst sinful depravity. We are desperate to be “edgy” and tear down all established truth and ridicule anyone who clings to the old, antiquated standards of godliness. 

But verse 5 is coming, when God will reveal the power of His fortress and all who have opposed Him will flee. The world will see God’s truth and be astounded, they will be wrecked by His power, and they will flee in terror. The city of our God will be established forever, and the “kings” of this world will be revealed as powerless pawns. This psalm opens with “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised” and nothing the kings nor people do can diminish that statement.  He is the beginning and the end, and His majestic reign is inevitable and our approval is unnecessary. 

Truth must be our focus… scripturally accurate truth… The kind that will set you free… Real Truth is static, immovable, and unalterable. It is exclusive and rigid and nothing our “kings” do will soften that reality. You can’t change truth; it must change you. Seek and you will find, ignore and you will perish.

“The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie, deliberate, contrived and dishonest, but the myth, persistent, persuasive and unrealistic”.
- John F. Kennedy

Matthew 7:21-23 7/7/2026

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and, in your name, perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

We’ve discussed this important passage before. But if we don’t examine Christ’s words here, we could be one of the “many” who miss the message. Jesus says that lip service won’t get you into Heaven. Simply calling Him Lord doesn’t make Him your Lord.  He specifically says doing the will of His Father is the key to eternity with God.

So, what exactly is the “will of the Father”?… Jesus says people will claim to preach, cast out demons, and work miracles… things they assume are God’s will. But according to Jesus, while these may be byproducts… they are not a fulfillment of the will of the Father. Unfortunately, many will be misled by this, assuming these activities will earn them a place in Heaven.

But look closely at Jesus’ reason for turning them away.  “I NEVER KNEW YOU”. That means Jesus knowing you, is the key to Heaven.  It’s not preaching, teaching Sunday school, or going to church. It is not even knowing Jesus… IT IS JESUS KNOWING YOU. 

There is only one way to have a relationship with Christ …by spending time with Him. There are no short cuts… no “fire insurance prayers” to recite… It is recognizing Jesus as God, confessing and repenting of sin, acknowledging His resurrection as your redemption, and being filled with His Spirit. If you do that, you will naturally build a daily relationship with Him. Talking to Him through prayer and listening through the Word. That is the will of the Father… that you experience a  saving relationship with the Son, in which Jesus recognizes you, because your time with Him has changed your heart.

Don’t let what you do FOR God… distract you from being WITH God. Build your bond with Christ, it is the litmus test of your faith… and the key that opens the door of Heaven.

“Apples don’t make a tree an apple tree, they just show that it is one.”