REPOST.. Regarding the Suicide of Robin Williams

Several years ago I wrote this in response to the suicide of  the daughter of a friend of our's.  Her mom needed some answers.  Perhaps this will give you perspective.  This has nothing whatever to do with IF Robin Williams was or was not a Christian.  I am not speaking to that.  It has more to do with the father heart of God and his response to one who commits the last ultimate sin of suicide.

From July 2, 2010

When a Person dies with Unconfessed Sin... Heaven or Hell?

If we can understand the Father heart of God, we can understand how he deals with our sin. Even the very last sin we ever commit. Without it we deal with sin by human understanding

We cannot get the sin out of our lives. It's there. It's part of our flesh. It's something we will do battle with until our last breath. We can do nothing about it. John the Apostle said it best to BELIEVERS. "IF we say we have no sin we are deceived and without truth in us." I didn't say that. Read chapter one of First John. It's all there. So sin is ever with us. We confess it and Jesus forgives. That much everyone can agree on.

So, what of the unconfessed sin? One where a person never had a chance to confess? One where in a moment of failure and weakness a person has just sinned, then an atom bomb goes off. Heaven or HELL? What is his or her future? I mean the sin wasn't confessed.

Does God then say, "Well, I know you were my son, confessed Jesus as your savior, was faithful for all those years and then, you messed up; you just didn't get that confession in on time." HELL awaits. That would make Father God a vindictive IRS agent.

How foolish to think such a thing. Let's see if we can understand.

Salvation is a gift of Grace. It's unmerited favor. You didn't earn it because of anything you did, you can't lose it by being stupid in something you did. Ephesians 2:8-9 This is not a license to sin, just step away from the fear in your life from religious condemnation: Romans 8:1

IF you didn't earn it by being good, you can't lose it by being bad.

OH, it may be possible to claw your way to hell after being saved, but it requires more will than I have ever known anyone to have. Once you have received a glimpse of Glory you will not go back. Even if you fall into temporary delusions that end your life.

If you have children, they are precious to you. They are the focus of your preservation. You will do anything you know how to do to bring them to maturity. And you aren't very good at it since you are mortal and not God. But you do what you must. You give and give and even if they seemingly walk away from you, you keep calling them home.

IF one of those children rebels, gets into a bad place, does very bad things, they are still your child. You still love them. You still want the best for them. You will still will receive them into your home. Even if they take you for granted. They might even seem to reject you, but when they find themselves in terrible trouble they will speak your name, particularly if you are a mom. Remember, this is how WE deal with and care for our natural children. And we are sinful humans.

How much MORE will our Heavenly Father deal with us even more graciously when we fall and fail. Even when we do in the worst ways. He doesn't reject us because of our sin. IF He did he would be saying to us, "The price paid on the cross was not sufficient". Really? Of course the price was sufficient. One drop of Jesus blood would have been enough to wash away every sin ever committed. But He sent a FLOOD to push back anything the enemy raises against us. "For he will come like a raging flood tide driven by the breath of the LORD". Isaiah 59:19b

Now to the hard question. If a person takes their own life in a moment of despair and pain or if they are murdered on the street while engaged in something evil or if their life ends early in an auto accident while drunk, in other words they die in a moment of failure, do they go to heaven or hell? I know what tradition says: Let's see what Jesus said about tradition, "You make word of God of No Effect because of your traditions". Mark 7:13

IF a person is a son or daughter of the Father, a free gift he gave, a covenant he keeps, then is there any sin that can separate (Romans 8:38-39) or pluck them out of the hand of God (John 10:28)?

Nothing.

Or we would all be lost because we sin daily.

That is the REAL answer to the hard question people ask in these times.

Can one lose their salvation? I suppose it is possible to renounce any trust or faith in Jesus blood and His sacrifice at the cross. But, that would presuppose that they knew it at one time. And if you did know it, wouldn't that be very difficult? Or even impossible?

I have known good, even great men of God who struggle with their emotions up and down who find themselves at the end of themselves and in a moment of failure end it in a suicide. That last sin was unconfessed. Based on what we have seen I'm not God, but I know His Fathers heart. He would call to them. And they to Him. And He brings them HOME to stay. Just like a prodigal who stumbles home smelling of a pigpen. Father doesn't reject, he runs.

Looking into the Father Heart of God we can have even the Hard questions answered.

The Dynamic Duo... Force Shield of Prayer and Prophetic Preaching

If you watch much Sci Fi you will soon come across the implementation of some kind of force field.  It's universal.  An easy device.  We all wish we had a force field.  We do.. but we don't use it.

Yet today we have a situation where the enemy is shooting darts and winning. Fear, Anarchy, Lawlessness, Cultural Collapse and Evil victorious.

The first response for many Christians is prayer.  That's good but the Father reminds us that WE are a part of the answer to every prayer we pray.  Prayer without action is useless. 

The enemy knows this and uses prophetic preaching to activate evil action among his followers.  The glib motivating words of misleaders has led us to this point.  To get us out of this mess will require that the true called and anointed of God speak boldly and prophetically to the people of God.

Most will not.  It would mean a loss of members. It would mean a loss of income. It would mean cultural discrediting.  You would be called all kinds of names.. in front of your face and behind your back. 

There is no law against calling evil EVIL and good GOOD. None.  Yet we allow the enemy to constantly call good evil and evil good and not say a word.

Pray but take action.   That will require you to speak boldly. Speak without consideration of the consequence.  Soft and couched words have no power even if you pray 24 hours a day.

Start speaking up, you are the called force field.  Prayer support will be there as you do.  One without the other is useless and worthless.

NOW START SPEAKING OUT!!

JESUS - Not worth losing your head over.. or

I am haunted by the persecution, murder and violence being carried out by Islamist militants in Iraq and Syria.  These are evil anti Christ spirit demonically possessed people.  The hang, crucify, shoot and behead anyone who differs from them..   And the most peculiar are Christians.  They suffer most.  They are being killed for the confessions of Faith.

To a secular humanist they would say, "Why not convert, adapt, survive,   I mean is this really what it's all about?  This is nothing to lose your head over." 

We were warned of the long deep cycles of violence that would come from the anti Christ spirit.  They happened before and are happening again.

^{Revelation 20:4} I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands.

The question is of those who DID lose their head over the Testimony about Jesus... those in Iraq and Syria.  Those in Nigeria.  Those in Sudan.  Was it worth losing their heads?  I may be reading this passage wrongly.. or not, but they may sit in judgement of our anemic testimony as western Christians.  We will to to our churches today, sing a few tunes, hear a lecture, give our money and drink a little coffee but in the end we will have done nothing.  We surely didn't lose our heads.

We are safe secure and the cloud of witnesses judge our devotion.. or lack of.  I will tell you as a prophet, the call of God is going to carry a greater price than you think.  It will cost you everything.

  In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. Luke 14:33

Now is it worth it?  I wonder how many of those persecuted in Iraq have wondered about the rapture... And been disappointed by bad teaching.

Matthew10:21"Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 22"You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. 23"But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.…

The Son of Man came.  He conquered.  He established His Kingdom. He has subjects.  They are proving to be loyal unto death.  Now how about us?  Are we?   I ask the question even for myself.

The Anti Maxim

Whenever we read a great truth, a great saying, a great promise in the Bible and apply it to our lives, it is a Maxim worth living to. There is also equal and opposite maxims.. Anti-Maxims. They are as valid and as powerful. We can not thinking live to them as well.

One came to mind this morning. Know (receive) the truth and the truth shall set your free.

The anti-maxim is Know (receive) a lie and the lie will put you in chains.

Then there is this well quoted passage:
Proverbs 4:5
Get wisdom, get understanding;
do not forget my words or turn away from them.
6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;
love her, and she will watch over you.
7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get[a] wisdom.
Though it cost all you have,[b] get understanding.
8 Cherish her, and she will exalt you;
embrace her, and she will honor you.
9 She will give you a garland to grace your head
and present you with a glorious crown.”

When you consider the anti maxim in this it's brutal stuff

Avoid wisdom or understanding. Remain willingly ignorant
Reject any wisdom anyone tries to impart. You know better.
Forsake wisdom and you will be vulnerable to all attacks of the enemy, you will have no one to look out for you.
In the end wisdom is too costly, don't bother, don't even try to understand. It's too hard.
Make fun of those who try to help you become wise, if you do it will debase you,
Eschew wisdom and you will end up dishonored. Shame will grace your head and you will stand in the courts of losers uncrowned with anything but filth.

YET people live exactly like the anti maxim and wonder why their lives are such a mess.

Manifested Spirits

Everything you see around you, all the good bad and ugly, all of creation, all of the glory of the heavens, all the evil, all the war, all the violence on our streets, all the beauty in nature, all the goodness one person shows to another, all the love, all the innocent, the laughter of children, the cry of the suffering and oppressed, the greed and hatred, poverty and want... ALL of it is a manifestation of something spiritual. Show me the circumstance and situations and I will show you the spirit behind it. From Shakespeare "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves - 

God is a Spirit and His creation is good and perfect... and we see it manifested all around. His creation reflects HIMSELF

Man, in his image is in and essence spirit and we see in all around us the manifestation of what spirit we be. When you see what is manifesting all around any person or people, the question is, what spirit being manifested?

So when we see things that make us sick, angry, fearful, awestruck, discouraged, victimized, abused, ... ask yourself of Jesus when He said to his Disciples...

Luke 9:54When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" 55But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know of what spirit you are; 56for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." And they went on to another village.

Peace in the Valley

Sometimes there are storms that sweep across the landscape.  The higher up the mountain you are, the stronger the winds.  Mountaintops are wonderful for the view and the fresh air, but the greater altitude will make you more vulnerable to strong headwinds you never knew existed when you were in the valley.

Some valley experiences, those low times, are to give you rest, respite and restoration of your peace.  You were meant to soar, to reach the heights, to climb, to go as high as you can go..

Yet when you are in a valley, even a high valley, it's a place for rethinking, resetting, becoming what you were meant to become.

Climb every mountain the song says.. yet there is Peace in the Valley.. just don't stay there forever.

From a man who just had a valley experience, but now is looking at the mountain again.. give me that mountain.

I have changed my view on ministering to the imprisoned and the homeless

 I have done both a great deal. Our problem as ministers is, we think the fruit of our efforts is to change (save and rescue) those to whom we minister. To get the homeless off the street and back into productive society or to get the one trapped in the revolving door of prison out for good and in a healthy life. 

No. I no longer believe we can operate in that expectation. In both ministries measuring "Success" by transformation will frustrate and discourage us. We must understand that the ability to escape the trap they find themselves in is not our job. We must offer them hope, prophesy good over them, build them up in the word of God as best we can, give them a script of good music to compete with the junk they will otherwise hear and be a listening ear. If that doesn't open the door by the Holy Spirit nothing including our best fleshly efforts will. Feeding and clothing the poor should be a small part of what we do.

So minister to both groups without unrealistic expectations. You do what you can. Don't enable. Don't be easy. Love but with boundaries.

If you do this without trying to hobble yourself with impossible measurements you will be doing the work of God. Let the Holy Spirit do HIS work.. and you ain't Him.