During the course of this past year we published well over a hundred blog posts here and on our sister site.

This list of "Twelve Favorites" gives you the posts that were most popular on this site, so check out the list to see how it compares with your own favorites and to see if you missed any...
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​Love and Bliss
The Way It Should Be
​Why Faith Needs Patience
Global Cooling
Three Crowns
When Encouragement Works Best
Walking in Truth and Love
Making Ripples
Safeguarding the Spirit
What Church Is Not
Parable of the Two Sons
Keeping the Door Open

If you would like to check the favorites on our sister site, TacticalChristianity.org, you can see them here.

The star that appeared to the wise men in the East announcing the birth of Christ and which led them to him (Matthew 2:1-9) shone brightly till its purpose was fulfilled, then it disappeared from view.  In a similar manner, John the Baptist, who was called the “greatest of those born of women” (Matthew 11:11), accomplished a short intense ministry aimed also at announcing and pointing to the Christ, then likewise faded from view.  

The star that heralded Jesus’ birth, bright as it appeared, was to be obscured by the One to whom it pointed – the Messiah himself.  Here we also see a parallel with John the Baptist.  As Christ affirmed, “He was a burning and shining lamp” (John 5:35), but John nevertheless  came only as a witness because “The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world” (John 1:8-9). Once Jesus’ ministry began,  John’s  “light”was dimmed by the rising of his successor.  As John himself said using this very analogy, “He must wax, but I must wane” (John 3:30).  But like the heavenly star that also preceded the Messiah’s birth,  John the Baptist’s job was fully accomplished in the short but intense work which God intended for him. Both were powerful witnesses to the coming of the Messiah.

How does this apply to us?  Although we may not live in the age which saw a heavenly light or a great prophetic “light” like John the Baptist pointing to Christ, the apostle Peter reminds us that “We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19).  That “morning star”  is Christ himself (Revelation 22:16); and the “prophetic message” is not so much all of prophecy as it is the prophetic message regarding the meaning and purpose of the coming of Christ.

The star of the Nativity, the “lamp” of John the Baptist, and the “light shining in a dark place” were different announcements made available to different groups of people: the first to only a select few, the second to all who heard John, the third to all who come in contact with the word of God throughout the whole world.    The three forms of announcement also increased in the level of understanding they provided those to whom they were given.  Bright as the heavenly star may have appeared, and powerful as John’s testimony may have been, we can be thankful that the announcement that has come to us is the fullest, clearest and most illuminating of all the “lights” God has given. ​

*Reproduced from the December 2014 post on our sister site, TacticalChristianity.org

​“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen …”                     (2 Corinthians 4:18).

When you look up on a starlit night, what do you see? For those of us who live in the glare of modern city lights, it may not be much. 

But some three thousand years ago, under the clear desert skies of ancient Israel, King David thought that he could clearly see God’s invisible hand in the starlit heavens: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge” (Psalm 19:1-2).

Like King David, most who will read this will probably  also  see God’s hand in the creation – that the vastness of the  heavens and everything in them could come from nothing, without cause and design, seems unimaginable to us.  Yet although some people feel they see the clearest evidence of God in the creation and in events in their own lives and in the lives of others, other people see nothing meaningful there at all.  It certainly isn’t a matter of wishful thinking or lack of education or intelligence on the part of those who feel they see an unseen God, as some cynics would like to believe.  The fact that there are equally intelligent and emotionally mature people on both sides of the “Is there a God?” debate demolishes that fiction.

So why is it, then, that some people see God where others see nothing?  The apostle Paul gives at least part of the answer. After affirming that:  “… since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made ...” (Romans 1:20), Paul goes on to show that many people do not see God because they do not want to see him (vss. 21-23).  Not wanting to acknowledge God’s authority in our lives usually means we will not see it. The Old Testament prophet Isaiah put the situation this way:

“If favor is shown to the wicked, he does not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly and does not see the majesty of the LORD.  O LORD, your hand is lifted up, but they do not see it” (Isaiah 26:10-11 ESV).

Isaiah’s point is that whether or not people are faced with blessings (“favor”) or punishments (“the lifted hand”) – the “carrot or the stick” – in their lives, those who do not want to see God’s presence will not see it.  But there is a lesson in this for those of us who do acknowledge God’s existence and presence in our lives.  We do have to look and continue looking, with spiritual sight, to keep that which is not physically visible clearly in our minds.  That is what the apostle Paul meant in saying “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen …” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

But the word Paul uses for “look” or “fix our eyes” connotes much more than just “looking.”  The Greek word skopeó that he used essentially signifies that on which we focus intently – as with a point of aim or a target we intend to hit (it is, of course, the root from which we get words such as telescope, microscope and rifle scope).  It is that kind of ongoing focused “looking” and “seeing” that helps us to recognize God’s presence in our lives and to live accordingly.  As the Book of Hebrews tells us of Moses:  “He endured, as seeing him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27 ESV). 

A thread that connects all these biblical writers is that they all show it is only as we look that we see God.  It is only as we fix our spiritual sight on the unseen that we succeed in our Christian walk.  Illogical as they might sound to the world in which we live, Paul's words remind us that we must constantly  “fix our eyes not on what is seen.” 

“The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.” (Proverbs 27:12)

I recently read a disturbing article in a Christian publication that stated that those undergoing persecution in areas where they and their families were no longer safe should not attempt to flee, but that they should have faith and should stay where they are in order to be a light to those around them, including their persecutors.

Although I’m sure the writer was well meaning, I think it is important that persecuted Christians understand  there is nothing biblically wrong with fleeing to protect oneself and one’s family rather than staying in the proverbial “frying pan.”  In fact, whenever it has been possible, it is “fleeing,” not “frying,” that has characterized Christianity throughout its history.

We have only to look at the biblical record to see the example of countless men and women of God who fled persecution.  Moses fled Egypt before later returning (Exodus 2:15).  Elijah fled from Jezebel before it was his time to return (1 Kings 19:3).  Jeremiah urged the people of Jerusalem to flee before the city was attacked by its enemies (Jeremiah 6:1).  The family of Christ was commanded to flee with the infant Jesus (Matthew 2:13), and Jesus, of course, told his followers not that they should not flee, but that they should pray that their flight be not at a dangerous and inopportune time (Matthew 24:20). It is historically clear that when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70, with a great loss of Jewish life, few if any Christians died in the siege of the city, as they had followed the teaching of their master – and fled.

We see this pattern of fleeing persecution in the New Testament itself.  The Book of Acts shows that when Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was killed: “On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria” (Acts 8:1).  The result of this fleeing was not some kind of spiritual decline of the Church, rather: “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went” (vs. 4), and Christianity both spread and increased as a result.
Even the leaders of the early Church who stayed originally in Jerusalem thought it wise to flee when circumstances indicated they should. We see that the apostle Peter fled when his life was threatened (Acts 12:17), and the apostle Paul fled on numerous occasions to avoid persecution and threats to his life (Acts 14:6, etc.). 

So the Bible does not teach that we should feel it is a matter of faith not to flee when every indication is that it would be wise to do so.  Certainly, there are cases where God has called individuals to stay and face persecution, but without a clear call to do so, God expects us to use wisdom in all things (Ecclesiastes 7:12) and to avoid threats that are avoidable (Proverbs 22:3 and Proverbs 27:12).

The answer to most life-threatening persecution is not to stay, but to have the kind of faith that trusts God enough to flee and receive his guidance and help to reach a place of safety. The Church has always fled when appropriate, and always will (Revelation 12:6). To suggest otherwise is to not understand the example of the Bible itself. 

Our new free eBook, THE BIBLE IN FIVE VERSES: KEY SCRIPTURES ON 36 BIBLICAL TOPICS by R. Herbert, is now online and ready for download.  
 
This eBook is a basic introduction to Christianity and was designed for personal study or missionary use. It explains thirty-six “key” Christian beliefs and principles of living in a straightforward, easy to understand manner, with introductory text and five key verses for each subject. 

​The book also includes a question for personal reflection on each topic and can be used to review key scriptures, for sermon and Bible Study preparation, or for inspirational reading.  

As is the case with all our eBooks, this one is completely free and you can download a copy for yourself without any kind of registration or hassle.  Just download the book in the format you prefer here.