JESUS - EMMANUEL

We can understand the importance of the birth of Jesus, the promised Savior, by examining the two names given to Him. They are Jesus, and Emmanuel. The first, Jesus, explains why He came into the world. The second, Emmanuel, shows Who it was that came.

JESUS. In the Bible we read, “And thou shalt call His name JESUS; for He shall save His people from their sin.” Matthew 1:21. The word Jesus means Savior, and from it we learn why He came into the world. He came to save us from sin. He didn’t come merely as a great teacher or as the founder of a new religion. He came as Savior, and the main purpose of His coming was to save us from sin. Oh, that we might so emphasize this truth, that all who read these lines might allow Him to accomplish this work of salvation in their lives. How He provided salvation for us, we will speak of shortly. It is enough now to understand that everything else was secondary to Him. To die on the cross as the Lamb of God was always the main purpose of His life. His death was the perfect sacrifice for sin. Therefore, when his suffering was over, while He yet hung on the cross. He was able to cry, “It is finished!” John 19:30. His sacrifice for our sins had been offered and accepted by God.

Notice too, that God wants to save us from sin, and not just in it. “Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” Titus 2:13 & 14.

This is the reason He came!

EMMANUEL. The Bible says, “Behold a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us.” Matthew 1:23. This shows us who it was that came. He was not just a prophet, not just a great teacher, but GOD HIMSELF who became man. Emmanuel means just that, God with us. Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” John 10:30. We also read, “Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill Him, because He not only had broken the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.” John 5:18.

It would be impossible for any man to procure salvation for other men. No angel could redeem us from our sin. Even a million angels could not do that. And so, God Himself became man to suffer, and die, that we poor sinners might have eternal life.

In fact, “great is the mystery of godliness; God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” 1 Timothy 3:16.

My dear reader, will you not open your heart to receive the salvation which has been prepared for you by Him whose name is Emmanuel, God with us? Remember, Jesus came into the world for the express purpose of saving you!

John E. Capron – Guest Blogger

THE SAVIOR'S BIRTH

When the fullness of time came, the promised Savior appeared. The King of heaven came to earth. God became man. “In Him was life and the life was the light of men.” John 1:4. He came to become the Light of the world.

His birth took place in this way. First of all, an angel of God was sent to announce His coming birth to a virgin named Mary who lived in Nazareth, a town in north Palestine. She was told that by the power of the Holy Spirit she would bear a Son. The angel said, “And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a Son, and shalt call His name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David; and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end.” Luke 1:31-33.

At that time Mary was engaged to a man named Joseph, a carpenter of Nazareth. Being a just man, he decided to break off the engagement, but while he was still trying to think of the best way to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him saying, “Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee, Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.” Matthew 1:20.

Afterwards, when Mary’s time to bear this Son had almost arrived, she and Joseph left Nazareth and went to Bethlehem. This journey was necessary because the Roman emperor commanded all to return each to his own home town to be registered for tax purposes. Joseph’s family was from Bethlehem. When they arrived they found the inn full and so had to spend the night in the stable.

There the King of kings was born, even He who was the promised Savior, Jesus Christ. He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger.

That night there were shepherds watching their flocks in a field near Bethlehem. Suddenly an angel appeared to them saying, “Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10-11. After the angel had gone back to heaven, the shepherds went to Bethlehem, found the babe and worshiped Him.

Some weeks later the newborn Savior was visited by several wisemen from the east. After they had worshipped Him, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Matthew 2:11.

This is the most important moment of all history. It is so important that all time is dated either before or after Christ.

The most important moment in your life, dear reader, is that moment when this King and Savior is born in your heart. And that will take place the moment you open your heart and receive Him. This birth, which is the experience we call salvation, can be yours today. Won’t you invite Him in right now?

John E. Capron – Guest Blogger

THE YEARS BETWEEN THE PROMISE OF GOD AND THE COMING OF THE PROMISED SAVIOR

Between the time when God made His promise and the coming of the promised Savior, there was a period of about 4000 years. Why God was so long in fulfilling His promise we do not know. We are only told that everything was in accordance with His perfect plan.

The Bible tells us a bit about the history of man during this 4000 year period. The purpose of God in placing this history in His Word is threefold:

1. To show that man is moving farther and farther away from God. The sinfulness of man reached a peak during the time of Noah. When it could no longer be turned aside, judgment came upon mankind because of this mounting sin. We read, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Genesis 6:5. Then God destroyed the ancient world by a great flood. The Bible shows that now man’s sin is again mounting up higher and higher and finally another judgment day must come.

2. To show the change which has taken place in the lives of those who believe in every age. There have always been those who believe in the promise and truth of God, although their number has never been large. Still their lives have been as gleams of light in an ever darkening world. Because they believed in God and His way of salvation, their names are still honored. Among this number are found such names as Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, Moses, David and Daniel.

3. To include in that history the prophecies concerning the coming Savior so that no one might be unsure about Who He is. These prophecies were given hundreds of years before Jesus was born, and yet they all clearly point to Him. Some of the most important of these prophecies are:

To Abraham it was promised that in his Seed (the promised Savior) all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Genesis 12:3.

About 1500 years before Jesus was born, Moses said, “The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto Him ye shall hearken.” Deuteronomy 18:15. And concerning this coming One, God Himself said, “And it shall come to pass that whosoever will not hearken unto My words which He shall speak in My name, I will require it of him.” Deuteronomy 18:19.

David the King also prophesied concerning the coming Savior, and testified that He would suffer (Psalm 22), die, and be raised again (Psalm 16) and afterwards reign forever. (Psalm 89).

The later prophets, Isaiah and Micah, prophesied that the coming Savior would be God Himself (Isaiah 9:5), Who would become man. His birth was to be by a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), and would take place at Bethlehem in Judea. (Micah 5:2).

From all these prophecies, you dear reader, can be sure that it was Jesus who was prophesied about, for only He fulfilled them all.

John E. Capron – Guest Blogger

GOD'S REMEDY AND PROMISE

The fall of man into sin did not take God by surprise. In fact, He knew before He created him that man would sin, for He knows all things. We read in the Bible that God’s remedy for man’s sin was prepared “from the foundation of the world.” Revelation 13:8.

After man sinned, it was God who sought the sinners. He called to Adam and Eve, “Where are you?” Ever since that time it has been God who seeks sinners. God is seeking you too, dear reader. He has always taken the first step in salvation. Man on the other hand, did not seek God, but hid from Him. He also tried to hide his sin. This characterizes man’s actions from that day to this.

When God judged Satan, He gave a promise to Adam and Eve, and to all mankind in every age. It was a promise of deliverance. Man did not ask for it; it was pure grace. He said, “And I will put enmity between thee (Satan) and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise they head and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:15. This is God’s remedy. He Himself would provide a Savior from among the descendants of Eve. He would bruise the devil’s head, thus destroying him and his works. The Savior would save man from the results of his sin. But He would only be able to provide this salvation through suffering. His heel would be bruised. He would suffer in man’s place. Because of that suffering, Adam and Eve, and all mankind, could be saved from sin forever.

After giving this promise, God emphasized this truth by what He did. He refused man’s efforts to hide the results of their own sin. He took goats and slew them. From their hides, He made coats to cover man’s nakedness. In this way God showed them, and us, that nothing man does can truly cover his sin. However, God Himself was willing to make a way for them to be saved. God’s way of salvation required blood to be shed, the blood of the innocent. The coming Savior was going to die in order to save all those who believe on Him.

Four thousand years later when Jesus was beginning His ministry, He received this testimony from John the Baptist, “Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.” John 1:29. Three years later He suffered on the cross and was slain that God might forgive and cover our sins. His death provides an eternal covering of righteousness for all who believe.

The Bible says, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:8.

Dear reader, you can be sure that Jesus “is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.” John 4:42.

John E. Capron – Guest Blogger

THE RESULTS OF SIN IN MAN'S RELATION TO GOD

It is very necessary for us to understand the results of Adam and Eve’s sin, because the results of our sin are the same as theirs. Those results can be classed under three relationships: man’s relation to God, his relation to his fellowman, and his relation to himself.

The results of sin which are connected with man’s relation to God are:

He became afraid to meet God. After God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, we read that it was His habit to walk in the garden in the cool of the evening. He came to talk and fellowship with them. How happy they must have been! It is easy to imagine how they must have waited for His coming. How happy they must have been when they heard Him approaching! But after they had sinned, what a difference! When they heard His voice in the garden, they began to tremble with fear. They ran and hid.

Dear reader, sin always makes us afraid to meet God. This is the reason why death causes so much fear to man. Death takes man into the presence of God who is both just and holy. And in every man’s heart there is deeply planted a belief that God, Who is holy, cannot overlook sin, but rather must punish it.

The fear of meeting God caused Adam and Eve to try to cover the results of their own sin. They made loin cloths from fig leaves for this purpose. Ever since that day, man has continually tried to cover his sin by making himself more acceptable to God. For example, he may cover himself with religion to accomplish this, for in his heart he feels that in this way his sin will not be known. His one desire is that other people, and more especially God Himself, should not know the sin that is in his heart.

He became separated from God. Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden where they had experienced daily fellowship with God. This being driven out was the fulfillment of God’s promise that in the day they ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would “surely die.” Genesis 2:17. This is the most important result of their sin and their heaviest punishment. Death never means an end. It means separation. When a person dies, what happens is that his spirit is separated from his body. Spiritual death occurs when a person is separated from God. In the Bible hell is spoken of as the second death, because those who enter that terrible place will be separated from God forever. And so, when man was driven out of the Garden of Eden, away from the presence of God, he died spiritually, for his sin separated him from God. Separated from God who is the Source of all light, man’s life became filled with darkness. Separated from God, the Source of all good, man’s life became filled with evil. Separated from God, the Source of all blessing, man could only bring a curse on those around him.

These are the results of Adam and Eve’s sin. These, dear reader, are the results of your sin too.

John E. Capron – Guest Blogger

DEAD TO THE LAW

"Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God."(Romans 7:4)

Why would Paul make such an outlandish statement right in the middle of dealing with us living the Christian life? We have already found out that the law (the 10 commandments mainly) could not provide us our salvation, our deliverance from the penalty of sin, our justification before God. And now right in the middle of explaining our sanctification (our Christian walk of being set apart to God in this life now and the resurrected life of Christ living in us and out through us now in these mortal bodies) He brings up the Law again.

He even uses a law that has to do with the marriage between a man and a woman to explain what he means by being dead or delivered from the Law. That the death of the husband freed the woman to be married to another and likewise the death we experienced by dying with Christ when His body died on the cross freed us from the Law so that we might be married to the resurrected Christ so that we might bring forth fruit unto God.

"For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man. Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God." (Romans 7:2-4)

We don't have a problem believing we need deliverance from our sins, or deliverance from the world, or deliverance from self, but deliverance from the Law? Sins and the world system and self are bad but Paul states that the Law is not sin (Romans 7:7) and is holy and just and good (Romans 7:12).

"What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” (Romans 7:7). "Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good." (Romans 7:12).

So why would he state that we are dead to something that is holy, just and good? Well let's see if we can find out. Do you ever get irritated with someone who is always negative? It doesn't matter what the subject is they always look at the negative. Telling you where you are wrong. It seems that their whole purpose in life is to tell you where you are wrong. It seems that they delight for an opportunity to tell you that you are wrong. Always pointing out the things that are wrong, only condemning. Not only that when they keep telling you where you are wrong, it tends to make you want to do what is wrong more than ever. How do we get deliverance from a person like this? Well I guess we just have to reckon ourselves dead unto them.

Well that is what the Law does, it tells, it reveals but shows no way of deliverance. The Law could not deliver us from the bondage of sin and could only reveal, and sin used the Law to arouse passions in us that ended up producing just fruit of death, thus our master was sin. As far as deliverance by the Law was concerned we were dead. We needed deliverance from the Law that, in itself could not deliver us.

"But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead." (Romans 7:8)

"BUT NOW" (Romans 7:6) through the death and resurrection of Christ we are delivered from the Law that couldn't deliver us from our state of death. So we need no longer try to serve the Law with the expectancy of deliverance. So now we are free from any expectancy of deliverance from the Law because we have been delivered from the penalty of sin and now have this power within us to deliver us from the power of sin as we allow Him to, because He will eventually deliver us from the presence of sin.

"But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter." (Romans 7:6)

The Law could not deliver us from the penalty of sin (our justification) and neither can it deliver us from the power of sin in this life (our sanctification). And I might add that it will not be the Law that eventually delivers us from the presence of sin.

We have been saved from the penalty of sin and have a new nature within us, a new creation, the new man that desires to do the will of God and be delivered from this power of sin but just doesn't seem to have the power to accomplish it.

The new nature tries but just seems powerless to this power of sin within us that is not dead unto us. We just cannot command and control this old nature by presenting the Law to it and trying to make it straighten up and even making more rules for it to abide by (and some of our rules can be just as strict as God's). This tells us that we still have confidence in this flesh and God has no confidence in it, and all He could do with it is crucify it.

Making more rules and regulations is the way we are convinced we can make this flesh do right, even though it has been proved to us by God's Word that we can't even keep the rules and regulations God has set up, let alone more that we set up. This would be turning the Christian life into a religion of works. This would all be our pride; that we could dress up something that God saw no use for and crucified it. It is easier for us to make rules and regulations than to look to God by faith to live this Christian life His way.

Neither can we present the Law to the new nature and tell it to keep it. The new nature delights in the Law of God and wants to keep it, but just seems powerless to accomplish it.

I believe that Paul's experience in Romans 7 answers the vital question. Can the regenerate (saved, born again) person, apart from the dependence of the Spirit do the will of God, even though he delights in that will?

I believe we all have to experience what Paul experienced in Romans 7 before we will turn this Christian life over to the power of the Spirit to be lived out.

The victory of Romans 7 is for those who have experienced the defeats of Romans 7. Each time there is progress in our Christian life it is preceded by dissatisfaction with our current condition. All progress starts with dissatisfaction.

"For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. Romans 7:15-20

I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin." (Romans 7:21-25)

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Romans 8:2-4)

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."(Galatians 2:20)

Mark Chandler

MAN'S FALL INTO SIN

In the Garden of Eden there were many fruit trees, which were planted by God to provide food for Adam and Eve. They could eat the fruit from these trees as they wished. However, in the middle of the garden was one tree whose fruit God told them not to eat. This tree was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Now, it came to pass that Satan, the deceiver, came into Eden to begin his wicked work of separating man from God. He began this work by placing doubts in man’s mind and heart concerning the goodness and love of God. He said, “Yea, hath God said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” By this question he sowed the thought in Eve’s heart that God was withholding something good from them. Now in fact, they could already enjoy every good and pleasant thing according to their heart’s desire. By forbidding them to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God was only protecting them from evil, and the misery and death that follow it.

After Eve explained God’s command to Satan, he answered, “If you eat of the tree, you shall not surely die.” That was the word of the father of lies. Then he showed Eve that the fruit of that tree was “good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise.” Eve was deceived, and she took of the fruit and ate it. When she carried some to Adam, her husband, he ate of it.

And so they made their choice. They chose to believe the devil rather than God. They chose to do what they themselves desired rather than what God desired. They rebelled against God, and sin entered into the world. The Bible says, “Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned.” Romans 5:12.

Their eyes were immediately opened and they knew they were naked, and they were ashamed. To cover their nakedness they made loin cloths from fig leaves.

In the cool of the evening they heard God walking in the garden. Because they were afraid, they hid from His presence. But God sought them, calling out, “Where art thou?” What a beautiful picture! God, who already knew that man had sinned, did not turn His back on them. Instead He sought them, to save them from their sin.

After He found them, God faced them with their sin. Then He punished each according to his part in that sin. The earth was cursed for man’s sake, and Adam was forced to work hard for his food. Eve’s sin was punished with added trouble and pain in bearing children. The serpent, who surrendered himself to Satan’s use, had to crawl on his belly all his life. God told Satan that he would be destroyed by the Seed of Eve, who was deceived by him. God Himself would raise up a Savior who would destroy the devil through His suffering.

After this God made coats of skins for Adam and eve. They were then driven out of the Garden of Eden, away from the presence of God, the Source of all light and good.

John E. Capron – Guest Blogger

SATAN

Into this happy place, where man had fellowship with God, came the tempter, Satan. He is also called the devil. In the form of a serpent, or snake, he came to Eve. His purpose was to tempt her and thus destroy man’s fellowship with God. To do this, he put the suggestion in her hart to rebel against God.

We do not know much about Satan. We are told by the Bible, our Guide, that he was created by God as an angel of the highest order. He was perfect and good, until he desired to become greater than God Himself. At that time he fell and carried many other angels with him in his rebellion. He became the prince of these angels, and now they all obey his will and wishes.

It would seem that Satan was the most glorious creature that God ever made, who was to stand in His presence. Even now his power is great, but the Bible says that his punishment is both sure and eternal. “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone . . . and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” Revelation 20:10.

His work now is to deceive anyone who will listen to him. He also tries to steal the Word of God from the hearts of those who hear it before they can understand and receive it into their hearts. His purpose is to take man to an eternal hell.

The Bible, our Guide, says:

He is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44.

He blinds the minds of them which believe not lest they should be enlightened by the Gospel. 2 Corinthians 4:4.

He often fashions himself into an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:14.

He is the prince of this world. John 16:11.

So it is clear that this evil creature is now set in opposition to God. He desires to deceive and destroy man. With great power and clever cunning he carries on this work, with the help of many other wicked angels. To do this he lies and tempts man with promises of the pleasure and sweetness of sin. To deceive, he often comes to us as an angel of light. His efforts have succeeded so well that he is now called the “prince of this world.” The whole world has been deceived by him. The Bible says, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23. You too, dear reader, have been deceived by him. By sinning, you too, have fallen under his sway and power.

There is only one way in which we can be free from his power. We must receive Him as our Savior who came to “destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:8. Jesus can destroy all of Satan’s works in your life. Jesus can eternally break all the devil’s chains that so long have bound you.

John E. Capron

CREATION

In the Bible we are not told what God did before the creation of this world. We are only told that, according to His own will, He did create the world and everything in it. Our Guide, the Bible, reveals this fact in this way, “The worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” Hebrews 11:3. In speaking of creation the Bible says, “And God said . . . and it was so.” Thus he created the world and revealed His mighty power.

The Bible also says that it was God the Son who created all things. “All things were made by Him (Jesus) and without Him was not anything made that was made.” John 1:3.

The creation of the world took six days:

On the first day God created light.

On the second day he created the firmament to separate the waters beneath the firmament from the waters above it. He called this firmament heaven.

On the third day God made the dry land. The waters were gathered together into seas. He caused grass to grow on the dry land, as well as herb yielding seed and fruit trees.

On the fourth day He made the sun and the moon. He placed them in the heavens for signs and to determine seasons, days and years. He also made the stars.

On the fifth day God created all kinds of fish and other animals that live in water. The birds were also created on this day.

On the sixth day He created all kinds of animals that live on dry ground. Finally when everything else had been prepared for him, God created man.

On the seventh day God rested from all His works of creation. He blessed and set apart the seventh day for man’s physical rest and spiritual refreshing.

It is clear that after He had created everything else, God created man in His own image and likeness, that He might know God and share His glory and love. Man is different from all other creatures in that he has a spirit that can know God. He alone of all God’s creatures, can know the difference between good and evil, and therefore is responsible for what he does. He was given the power to speak. In his free will was the power to choose sin.

In the beginning God created two people, Adam and Eve, his wife. God made a beautiful garden for them in Eden, where He placed them. They were to tend this garden. Even though they were naked, they were not ashamed. Because they had never sinned, they had no evil thoughts. They had daily fellowship with God and their happiness was complete.

John E. Capron

GOD

What is God like? How can He be described? The Bible, our reliable Guide, answers these questions in two ways. First, the Bible clearly teaches about the nature of God, describing His being and character. Second, it shows us what God is like in His relationships with man. By this we mean that the stories of the Bible have been carefully chosen by God Himself, because they show what He is like. Therefore, in order to know about God, it is necessary to examine His Word from beginning to end, from Genesis to Revelation.

It is well to remember too, that it was God who created man. Man (or to speak more clearly, you, dear reader) cannot create God. By this we mean that you cannot say that God must be like this or like that, according to your ideas of Him. God, who created us, has also revealed Himself to us in His Word. We must receive His testimony, although it might not agree with our own ideas. Remember, too, that His testimony concerning Himself is only contained in the Guide which He has given us, the Bible.

From the Bible we know that God is a spirit. (John 4:24). This means that He has no body. He did not have a beginning and He will have no end. (Psalm 90:2). He is eternal and unchangeable. (Malachi 3:6). He is all powerful. (Psalm 107:25-27). He knows everything (Isaiah 40:28), and is present everywhere. (Jeremiah 23:23 &24). He is complete in Himself, and does not need anything or anyone to serve or love Him. He is holy (Isaiah 57:15), which means that He hates sin. He is love (I John 4:8), and will forgive everyone who truly repents of his sins, and comes to Him for forgiveness.

God also is a trinity. (Matthew 28:19). There is only One God, but there are three Persons in the Godhead, these three Persons are God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Each has His own personality, but there is only one God. God reveals in His Word that man has been made in the image of God. We have three separate parts: a body, a soul and a spirit. In this way, man is an example of what God is like. Man, though having three parts, is only one person.

God’s Word clearly states that “no man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.” (John 1:18). This means that God has now revealed Himself as clearly as possible in a way we can understand. He became man to reveal Himself to man. In everything He is like Jesus. If we wish to know what God is like, we can find out by studying the life of Jesus.

Finally, the revelation of God to man concerning Himself is now complete. It will never be added to, this side of eternity. “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son.” (Hebrews 1:1).

John E. Capron

A Reliable Guide

To understand life, with its purpose and its goal, it is necessary to have a reliable guide. We cannot rely on our own thoughts or conscience as a guide to life, for these often change. Man’s opinions, at best, are never very dependable. And so a reliable guide cannot come from man, but rather must come from God Himself, the One who never changes.

Now, in fact, God has already given a reliable guide to us. It is the Bible. The Bible does not contain the opinions of man. It is the Word of God. Therefore, the Bible alone is a complete and perfect guide to life. It can always be depended on.

The Bible alone tells us about God, the Creator, and His purpose in the creation of man. It alone tells us about sin which separates us from Him, and thus frustrates His design. The Bible alone tells about God’s great love which He showed by sending His Son into the world to save us from sin, thus enabling us again to fulfill life’s purpose. The story of the Savior’s birth, His life, His death and resurrection are all beautifully told in its pages. The Bible firmly states too that He will soon return to earth again as King of kings and Lord of lords. In fact much, much more of God’s truth – past, present and future – can be found in this, HIS RELIABLE GUIDE.

We can assure ourselves that this guide is His Word by examining two things: the way in which God has given the Bible to us; and the way in which He has protected it in all ages, to the present, that it might continue to reveal Him and His way of salvation to mankind.

The Bible was written, from a human standpoint, by around 40 different authors, over a period of some 1600 years. These authors came from every level of society. One was a farmer, others fishermen, kings and prophets. Some were rich, others poor. Most of the time these men did not know one another. But when their writings were gathered together, there was no contradiction in them. All told one story and had one grand theme – the salvation of man by God Himself. This fact alone shows clearly that behind all these human authors there was One Who planned and wrote as He willed.

Even though the Bible has been hated in every century, because it tells of sin, its enemies have never been able to destroy it. Today the Bible stands as a strong proof that God Himself has continually preserved it as His witness to mankind concerning truth.

Whenever the Bible is proclaimed, there darkness disappears. And those who receive its teachings are of all men the happiest, having a deep assurance of salvation.

You too, dear reader, can receive it as your guide. You too can rely on it. “The entrance of thy Word gives light. It gives understanding to the simple.” Psalms 119:130

John E. Capron

Understanding Life

If we are to understand life, including its purpose and its goal, and how we can get the most happiness and enjoyment from it, then we must start at the beginning. “In the beginning God . . . “ is the way the Bible begins. This also is where we must begin, if we are to understand and enjoy life. That is, we must begin with God. He alone created life, and He alone can explain it, its purpose and its goal.

Apart from God you cannot understand life. God is light. He also is the Creator and Giver of life. Apart from Him life is dark and has no meaning. The person who denies the existence of God, or who refuses to follow His direction for this life, loses countless blessings, and walks in continual darkness. Such a person lives, but does not know what life means. His whole life, dark and unstable like a rudderless ship, is an easy prey for the storms of life.

Separated from God you cannot be truly happy. There are those who think that happiness comes from owning many things, from having a good job or from receiving praise from other people. But this is not true. The Bible teaches that a person can only experience true happiness when his or her relationship to God, which has been broken by sin, is made right again. In other words, the sin question must be settled first. We must come back to God before we can experience true happiness and peace.

Everything created by God has been made for a certain environment. Each creature can only be truly happy or content, if he is in that environment. Outside of it, he cannot be content. For example, fish have been created by God to live in water. That is their natural environment, and in water they are content. But if taken out of water, they can only flounder and die. The same principle is true of large birds like eagles. They were created to fly unhindered in the air. If caught by man and placed in cages, they walk to and fro, ever looking outward and upward. They are no longer content.

Man too has been created for a certain environment. He has been created to live in close relationship to God, to walk and talk with Him, to know and love Him. But sin has separated us from God. Sin has taken us out of our natural environment. And so we flounder like fish out of water. We pace to and fro like birds in a cage. We seek and seek after happiness and peace, but all our efforts are in vain. We live in uncertainty. Life has no meaning and no goal. We live only to eat, drink and be merry.

From the beginning it is well for you, dear reader, to understand one thing. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all they that do His commandments.” Psalms 111:10

“And to man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, And to depart from evil is understanding.’” Job 28:28

John E. Capron – Guest Blogger

The Black Hole

People who have been abused as kids develop a whole lot of coping mechanisms to just keep going in our lives. Part of the reason we do this is because we have to. If we dealt with all our pain all of the time we might just explode! So we develop ways of getting a little respite, of getting a little peace, and of almost completely disengaging sometimes as a method of staying sane.

But for those of us who carry our abuse into our adult lives, without healing, we now carry the terror and abuse of our childhoods into our work lives, our marriages, our parenting, and our everyday worlds. If I could have my wish it would be for every person on the planet to have the healing I have had from my abuse. Because it has changed my life. But part of why I write this blog is the hope that some of my healing process will give you the courage to fight for your healing process. Because you matter. God wants to unshackle you from the bondage of what abuse has done to your heart and your psyche.

Perhaps if you victims or family members or therapists or physicians or anyone reading this can relate to what I am writing in this particular blog, it will allow you to help someone take steps into their own healing journey.

This is a short writing describing some of my feelings and thoughts during my healing work. It’s my attempt to describe the dark place I would go into, a place of despair, at the worst times in my suffering from what abuse had done to me. The place I continued to fall into I called ‘The Black Hole.’ I seldom have any of these feelings in my present life but these feelings and thoughts permeated my heart before, during and for several years following the formal healing work I completed.

As you read this I invite you to imagine two things.

1.Imagine what it might have been like for my wife who lived with me all through the years I had these feelings and its impact on her.

2.Imagine the power at work, by my Creator and God that must have been at work to heal and restore the heart of the person I was, with these feelings being very real and dominant in my life.

Here is a little window into what it felt like to be in ‘The Black Hole’:

As a little tiny baby boy I was brutalized physically and psychologically by my father and abandoned emotionally and physically by my mother. This is the black hole.

I am broken on the inside. My heart is broken.

As an adult I have learned to function in the world but don’t ask me to trust you. DO NOT ASK ME TO TRUST YOU! Don’t ask me to depend on you. Don’t expect me to relax or rest peacefully . . . EVER! Don’t expect me to accept what you tell me as the truth. I know better.

What I know is you will lie to me. You will leave me. At the point when I most need you, you will be too weak or too busy or completely absent and I will be alone again with this monster, my father.

I don’t want to hear about your faith or your God. I know more than I ever wanted to know about your God . . . way more! I do not want to hear your words! If knowing your God makes you act the way you do toward me, why would I EVER want to know him?

I easily see your hypocrisy. I see your lies. I see your manipulation of circumstances to make them fit your blind prejudices. I see your deceit. I watch you and see where you don’t measure up. I know better than to ever believe what you tell me.

I know that things will never be different. You have made that clear to me. I have come to accept the fact that I will always be alone deep inside to face this frantic desperation all by myself.

Don’t ask me to have faith. I’m not that stupid. You hide all your hate and prejudice and evil and viciousness behind some belief in some invisible entity then you use this invisible entity to destroy me, your son. Are you kidding? Have faith in someone who gets people to hurt their children?

So now I want lots of facts that I can touch and verify on my own. So I can protect myself. So I am able to see and to know you are not lying to me, whoever you are. It doesn’t matter WHO you are. I’m too smart to fall for your blind faith. Show me the facts, sir. Show me the facts, ma’am. If I can’t see it, it’s not real. If I can’t control it I want nothing to do with it. If I can’t prove it with cold hard facts I will reject it. You will never be able to prove to me that there is a God who loves me so DON’T EVEN TRY! I have been terrified for years by your God . . . keep your God away from me!!

I may look like I am alive, but I’m really dead. You may see my body in the room, but you will never see my heart. That is still mine, however stomped on. I will appear to be kind to you and compassionate when I am able to because I know what it feels like to be treated with cold cruelty and I would never want you to feel what I have felt. But don’t expect me to show you my heart. Don’t expect me to give you my heart! Don’t expect me to be vulnerable with my feelings. Nobody will ever know how I really feel. And if you leave me it won’t hurt me because I won’t have really connected with you or attached to you from my heart. You will probably learn it would have been better if you had never met me!

I have become a master at living without living. I am a cynic. I am a doubter. I live in despair. My hope was taken from me within the first few days of my life. I will go through the motions of living but I am not truly alive.

The rage stored up in my heart from my abuse now gets used in destroying myself. It is too terrifying to show my rage to anyone because it feels like I might cease to exist. Can you normal people understand this? So I will try to keep my rage within but in doing that I am destroying my own body. I know my rage leaks out at times in little ways but there is nothing I can do about that. You will just have to live with it, sorry! I lived my father’s rage for years and now it is my default mode. So it will inevitably leak out on some of you.

Oh and don’t bother caring about me because it really won’t make any difference. There is nothing you can do. I learned in the first few days of my life not to trust you and I learned this lesson extremely well and have never forgotten it. Trust leads to others hurting you and then the inevitable betrayal and pain and I know I will always be alone in my pain. So I learned not to trust and I learned not to feel any hope.

Please don’t tell me God loves me because I know you are lying to me. If my father and mother don’t love me why would you expect me to believe that your invisible entity loves me! Can’t you see how ugly and worthless I am? What’s wrong with you!?

Once upon a time a little hope stirred somewhere deep inside me, and I think I may have seen just a little glimpse of light. But it was gone before I knew it. Darkness returned and darkness and anger and anguish remain deep in my soul. I will never trust what I can’t prove and what I can’t control. The pain is too overwhelming. The pain burns in my body and I do everything I can to avoid more pain and I stuff this pain down as far into my subconscious as possible because I can barely live with the pain I feel now.

Now let’s fast forward to the next phase of my life, after I left my family’s cult.

After I left my father and the sick things he taught me about how worthless and unlovable I was I still had to figure out the human race. I had no choice but to figure out how to get along with people. What a difficult world to figure out! I remember what an odd feeling it was when I first met a few kind hearted people who actually did not try to hurt me or destroy. How on earth was I to navigate that mine field?

It is an odd feeling to have the walls of my heart 10 feet tall and 10 feet thick and yet meet the occasional person who stirred something in my heart. In spite of those well-constructed walls I was allowed to see into some of the goodness of mankind. And what did I see in this process? Well, little glimmers. Of kindness. Of thoughtfulness. Of reasonableness. Of the spirit of an occasional person who seemed not to want anything from me but to say hello and ask what I wanted on my burger…Oh, how very strange to begin to realize there are some people who really are loving and caring people. How could I have been prepared for these folks with what I was taught in my hate-filled home!

When you are making a massive paradigm shift in your life it feels like you are in free fall. I was moving forward very slowly in my life from a world that had been defined by hate. What I was given a daily fare of in my home was God’s hatred toward his helpless creatures, my parent’s hatred of society and yes, even hated of their own children, and that society was evil at its core. But we in my family’s church were all the “good” folks, the only “okay” people regardless of how we behaved. So, yes, I began to gain some new data points from interacting with the world and learning there were some seemingly nice people, but my little kid core self kept arguing back and saying “Don’t trust this person! He could turn out to be like your father!”

Remember I asked you to imagine what my wife had to go through living with me during this process? Well sometimes she saw me taking a baby step forward in my trust of people, but she also got to witness me falling back into the black hole and believing that no one was trustworthy. And on some days it probably felt to her like I didn’t even trust her. One of the truly good people I had ever known. And whose love for me was profound and had been borne out in her daily patience and love that I still marvel to understand.

I also asked you to imagine the power of my Creator and God to help me heal and to restore my heart. Even when it was permeated by the poison of hate.

The Bible says “God is love.” And if true, that means God can only do what is loving. Ever! The chasm I had to cross was from a home filled with hate and the fruits of hate to trust the best, most trustworthy being in the universe. This was going to take a God who was a master at understanding the human heart and how to remove the poison of hate from it.

Our early childhood teaching is very hard to overcome. It comes in in the most formative years of our lives where the basis of all we are happens. And the core of what I was taught and understood was the core principle of life was hatred. How on earth was God going to help me extract that poison out of my system, my head and my heart? And how was I to maintain my relationship with my very tenderhearted wife and those who were around me in those years?

That journey is the journey this blog has tried to unfold. To say I marvel at the process of God’s mercy and help to me in this journey would be an understatement. But as I worked through to the other side of that process it has brought tremendous freedom . . . to love people, to love God, to love myself, my wife, and my girls . . . to love even the unloving. God has graciously modeled all of that for me and He has walked with me in each step.

The single thing that stunned me the most, and took my breath away, was when I realized that God desires for me to love Him from my heart, on my own, without Him forcing me to love Him. God desires a relationship with me. With me! He gave the life of His precious Son for me because He loves me. And He wants me to love Him from my heart. He wants me to love Him! This is the amazing truth that broke into my darkness, took away my fear and changed my life forever.

Thank you, God. Thank you, amazing therapists. Thank you, my darling wife. Thank you my brother Nathan. You all are the best. Without you I would not be the man I am today. Thank you!

Mark Phelps

Evidence For Faith

There is only one person in history whose life was accurately written about in explicit detail before he was ever born. The details of this man’s life included information about the circumstances in which he would be born, things that would be accomplished in his life, the type of death he would die and the fact that he would be brought back to life after he died. In fact he is the only person who has ever been raised from the dead and remained alive, leaving an empty tomb which remains empty to this day. This same person also had much detail written about his life after he was born in the form of biographies written by those who knew him.

The details about this man’s singular life that were written before he was born are included in the prophecies of the Old Testament, the sacred book that was given by God to the Jews. The details about his life starting with his birth and following are documented in the New Testament. The Old Testament was written between 400 and 1500 years before his birth by multiple writers, many of whom were not contemporaries of each other, and these writings were widely distributed centuries BEFORE his birth. The details about this person’s life in the New Testament fit the details that were written ahead of time with astonishing precision. We know of nothing that has ever rivaled this level of precise prophecy that was later fulfilled in the details of one man’s life in the history of the world.

By now you may have concluded that I am speaking about Jesus Christ of Nazareth, unique among men. Can you imagine, just for a moment, how absurd you would think it was if I talked this way about any other well-known historical figure? Who could have accurately written the precise details of the life of Einstein, Aristotle, Napoleon, Shakespeare, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander the Great, Thomas Jefferson, Henry VIII, Joseph Stalin, Mozart, Plato, you, your neighbor or any other character 500 or 800 or 1000 or 1500 years ahead of their lives? Nowhere in any of the literature on earth, secular or religious, is this duplicated. Not even close. The fact that Christ would be accurately written about in the Old Testament and the subsequent biography of Christ in the New Testament is nothing short of astounding!

We have historical evidence that the Old Testament was written well in advance of the New Testament. And because of this reality we can begin to think clearly about what it means that events were written about in a history book BEFORE they ever happened. Your mind might try to come up with feasible ways to explain how writings of this level of specificity could be written in advance of someone’s life, but one valid explanation is that this happened in a supernatural way. By supernatural I am meaning that God himself stepped into history and worked through the lives of writers to make sure that the details of Jesus Christ’s life would be in books written centuries before he was born.

The last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, was written about 443 B.C. The first book of the New Testament, Matthew, was written about 40 A.D. leaving approximately a 500-year gap between the Old and New Testament books. We know with certainty the Old Testament existed hundreds of years before the beginning of the New Testament because of the existence of the Septuagint, a translation of the Old Testament into Greek about 200 B.C. This translation was begun during the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus about 280 B.C. and was completed not long after. This confirms the fact that the Old Testament is much older than the New Testament.

God has chosen to show that the Bible is His communication to every man and every woman in a very unique way but he has backed his writings up in an amazing way by making sure we would know they are true. That way is through the giving of specific, detailed prophecy and the fulfillment, hundreds of years later, of this specific detailed prophecy. Prophecy is God’s own method of proving His truth.

If God wanted people to know he was a trustworthy person to listen to, what better way than to do something no one else in history could do? And that was to predict things hundreds of years in advance that he knew were all going to come true. The teachings of the Bible are so unique and different from all other religions, and so very important to the human beings God created. Events predicted centuries in advance confirm the Bible to be a heavenly decree, the absolute and final Word of God and that its message is fully authorized by the Almighty. It has His divine seal, letting all people know He has spoken.

This type of authentication for the truth of God’s writings can never be counterfeited by other writers because only God has foreknowledge of the actions of free and intelligent agents, men and women. It is the unique ability of the Almighty, the all-knowing God, to be aware of new things, new people and new events before they ever even exist or take place. The true God alone foreknows and foretells the future. And He has chosen to confine his foretelling to the pages of Scripture. Sensing the tremendous force of this fact, the philosopher and apologist Justin Martyr said, “To declare a thing shall come to pass long before it is in being, and to bring it to pass, this or nothing is the work of God.”

In the entire history of man’s existence, except for the prophecies of Scripture, there is not a single instance of a prediction, being expressed in unequivocal language, which included objective measurable detail, which boasts the slightest claim to fulfillment.

Suppose there were only 50 prophecies in the Old Testament (instead of the known 333) concerning the first coming of Christ, giving details of the coming Messiah and which all come together in the life of Jesus. The probability of chance fulfillment as calculated by mathematicians according to the theory of probabilities is less than one in 1,125,000,000,000,000. Now add only two more elements to these 50 prophecies, and precisely pre-state the TIME and the PLACE at which they would happen and the immense improbability that they will take place by chance exceeds all the power of numbers to express or the human mind of man to grasp.

The divine perfections of foreknowledge and fulfillment can best be seen in the realm of prophecies concerning Messiah, more than any other sphere. The Messiah was the person the Jews were waiting for who was coming to save their people from their sins. It is easy to see, if enough characteristic details are given, identification can be clear and precise when it comes to prophecy. So many details of Messiah are given in prophecy hundreds of years ahead of time and each one is exactly fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth, so identification is positive.

Christ’s coming is the central theme of the Bible. The coming of Christ promised in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New Testament; His birth, character, work, teachings, sufferings, death and resurrection; are the overarching and central themes of the Bible. Christ is the bond that ties the two Testaments together. The Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed, the New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed.

Here is a brief summary of the prophecies concerning Messiah, assuring His identity:

- The work of the redeeming of mankind was to be accomplished by one person, the promised Messiah

- As the “Seed of the woman” He was to bruise Satan’s head

- As the “Seed of Abraham” and the ‘Seed of David” He was to come from the tribe of Judah

- This Messiah must come at a specified time

- He was to be born of a virgin

- He was to be born at Bethlehem of Judea

- Great persons were to visit and adore Him

- He was to be called out of Egypt

- He was to be raised in Nazareth

- He was to be preceded by a person who was a forerunner/foreteller of him before beginning His public ministry

- He was to be a prophet like Moses

- He was to have a special anointing of the Holy Spirit

- He was to be a priest after the order of Melchizedeck

- As the “Servant of the Lord” He was to be a faithful and patient Redeemer for the Gentiles

- As the “Servant of the Lord” He was to be a faithful and patient Redeemer for the Jews

- His ministry was to begin in Galilee

- Later He was to enter Jerusalem to bring salvation (the saving of people from the penalty of their sins)

- He was to enter the temple

- His manner of teaching was to be by parables

- His ministry was to be characterized by miracles

- He was to be a ‘Stone of stumbling” to the Jews, and a ‘Rock of offense’ (he was going to offend people by what he said!)

- He was to be hated without a cause

- He was to be rejected by the rulers

- He was to be betrayed by a friend

- He was to be forsaken by His disciples

- He was to be sold for 30 pieces of silver

- His price was to be given for the potter’s field

- He was to be hit on the cheek

- He was to be mocked

- He was to be beaten

- His garments were to be parted four ways and lots were to be cast for his clothing

- He was to die by crucifixion

- His death was to pay for the sins of all people who ever would commit sin

- His hands and His feet were to be pierced

- Not a bone of His body was to be broken

- He was to suffer thirst

- He was to be given vinegar to drink

- He was to be “numbered with the transgressors”

- His body was to be buried with the rich in His death

- His body was not to see decay

- He was to be raised from the dead on the third day after he was buried

- He was to ascend to the right hand of God

- He was to make intercession before God on behalf of all who trust Him for the rescuing of them from the penalty of their sins.

Remember, there are actually 333 specific predictions concerning the coming Messiah in the Old Testament! These I’ve listed are just highlights. Here indeed is Jesus, God’s Rock of Ages, faith’s unshakable standing place!

You are invited, you individually, you the reader, to research these facts on your own regarding their prediction in writing in the Old Testament by multiple writers who lived at least 400 years before their occurrence; up to 1500 years before their occurrence; and the detailed writing of their fulfilment in the New Testament, especially the four gospel writings. For example, take the opportunity to read Isaiah 53 and compare it to the accounts of Jesus’ crucifixion in the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

http://www.bibleprobe.com/365messianicprophecies.htm

It is mathematically impossible for even a fraction of these clearly stated prophecies to be fulfilled by chance by any single person. Instead of chance happenings, what you have before you is an explosive, mathematical impossibility. And evidence for your faith.

But wait? Evidence for my faith? Why does any of my faith get exercised when God tells the truth about something hundreds of years in advance just by predicting it? I may even think it’s amazing that God has this power and knowledge but what does that have to do with me? Today?

Try to step for just a minute into God’s shoes. He knew He needed to communicate who he was to the people he made. But he had more to communicate than that. He had to communicate how to avoid some very serious land mines that would come up in every single human being’s life. And in the writing of this book that had such a critical message to life on the planet he had to do it in a form people could understand and relate to. People across all of history! And he had to write it in such a way that it would speak across language barriers and across all cultures. Tall order, right? And from God’s perspective this was the most important book in the world to the most important people in the world. We his amazing creation!

It was a book about him but it was also a book about us. God looked into our existence and knew there was something that was going to damage and hurt us and something that was bad enough that the only answer was something his own son would have to do for us. So while the Bible, Old and New Testaments combined, was written for people who would live in any age, God had to write it in such a way that people would actually pick it up! I have wondered if one of the reasons he put such extensive prophecy in his book is because he knew it would be a draw. To the mathematician and scholar who would KNOW that his prophecies could not be coincidence . . . and had to be orchestrated by a phenomenal mind . . . but more . . . by a God with a phenomenal purpose.

So while God used irrefutable factual evidence of the kind he intended you to have so you might have a faith based on information . . . and based on the facts that God Himself tells ahead of time, he also had a deeper work he was doing. He needed all of us to understand that a disease entered the human system that was going to take us down. All of us! And that disease was sin and the impact sin would have on us. Not just sin we would commit that would harm us who share this planet, but even bring harm to our relationship and ability to communicate with God. He also needed all of us to understand things he would describe in great detail that would show exactly what He had planned in the way of salvation for us; a Messiah; because of His indescribable and immeasurable love for each of us!

If only you could know His love for you, you would run to Him and never leave His side!

This is my hope for you, that you would know this love of Christ and by knowing His love be changed for good, forever!

What if you were to go do some digging and find out this truth for yourself? Or what if maybe you wrote to me and allowed me to connect you with resources and books that have these prophecies and their fulfillment laid out for you. This couldn’t be more important! This could not be more important for you . . . today, and for you for all of your tomorrows.

God spent a lot of time getting these prophecies written just to reach out to you, reader, in 2015 in the circumstances you find yourself in. Let His love pour over you through all this amazing truth!

Mark Phelps

My Brother and my Sister Interviewed

This is my brother Nathan and my sister Dortha being interviewed by telephone.

https://www.facebook.com/mark.chandler.319/posts/1649719458639406?notif_t=share_wall_create

Mark

Forgiveness

What happens if you forgive someone? A whole lot of wonderful things happen. In your spirit, in your soul, in your body. And in your future.

But before we talk about what happens if you forgive, maybe we should talk about what happens when you don’t forgive. Because there are big consequences in our lives for not forgiving people.

Many of us are being hindered from our destiny because we are being held hostage by a leash around our souls called unforgiveness. And that leash keeps jerking us back. The tricky thing about unforgiveness is it has a kind of logic to our hearts. We think it makes sense to hold on to our pain and agony because of what happened to us. All the way from a simple, but undeniable slight by a coworker at a meeting to the most profound abuse, there are a multitude of things that keep us tethered to that leash.

Whatever it is though unforgiveness is holding you hostage! Are you still seeking revenge? Do this person’s actions against you occupy far too much of your daily thoughts? Even though unforgiveness may “feel” right to your psyche, your heart will be destroyed without forgiveness. Today I would love to see you set free from this pain and anguish.

Nothing will hinder you arriving at God’s destiny for you like unforgiveness will. You may be ready to say “Great, I don’t want my destiny trashed by my holding onto the things that are already torturing me anyway. What is forgiveness exactly?”

Well, first of all forgiveness is a decision, not a feeling. You can forgive someone and not “feel” like it. It is an act of the will. And since we are the ones doing the forgiving it doesn’t require any action on the offender’s part. When we forgive we can be released from our painful bitterness, resentment and all-consuming thoughts by releasing the offender through our forgiveness. We do not need to wait for them to apologize.

What happens when we forgive is we give up our claim or rights over the person who has hurt us. Does it sound strange that you may be walking through life having a “claim” on someone who hurt you? Well yes. You may be living your life as if the offender’s wrongdoing allows you the freedom of certain thoughts and behaviors. And these thoughts may seem perfectly allowed and justified as far as your heart is concerned. So exactly what rights might you be giving up if you forgave someone who hurt you?

Well for starters the right to hate this person. Or the right to go after him and hurt him as much as he hurt you. You might be giving up your right to badmouth this person. Or giving up your right to nurse a grudge over her actions whenever you think about the offense.

But let’s be clear. Forgiveness is not forgetting. You still have a working memory after you choose to forgive and situations may come up that will naturally bring up the offense to your mind. But as we give the undeserved gift of forgiveness to our offender, we start to remember the offense differently. The offense no longer wounds us. We never forget, but the memories no longer damage us. Forgiveness doesn’t excuse the wrongdoing. And it doesn’t say you ignore it. It just deposits the offense in a different part of your psyche and your soul. And allows you to move on in a way you just can’t imagine possible if you haven’t forgiven.

But let’s talk a little bit about the idea that forgiveness is a decision. It is. It’s the first step. But forgiveness is not usually a one-time action. It is more of a process. Because a huge part about being human is having emotions and feelings that go along with the living of life. We have tremendous feelings of good during certain times of our life, but certain things like abuse often leave us in a mountain of pain. Forgiveness may indeed be an act of the will, but to work through the emotional aftermath of the pain from the hurt takes integrity. Forgiveness is the writing of the check, but choosing to do the work of healing and continuing to choose to forgive is like having the funds in the bank to cover the check. In my case the ongoing process of healing and forgiving in the midst of that healing took about 20 years. Lest I leave you with the feeling that forgiveness happens instantly.

I am reminded of the families in the Charleston shooting that occurred several months ago. These were amazing loving souls who dug deep and began the act of forgiveness in a courtroom setting by telling the killer face to face. These folks’ love and forgiveness could almost take your breath away. But not for one minute do I believe that initial decision to forgive isn’t going to be revisited in their hearts and minds and spirits over and over again in the next years. Because it will! We must do the emotional work of feeling the pain that comes from those who hurt us in order to let go. Yes, it starts with a decision, but it is a whole lot more.

My perspective as one who has been cruelly abused myself is that the ability to forgive is really a gift from God. Honestly we are hardwired to care about injustice and care about it deeply. It is no wonder that wrongs done to us and others we care about bothers us and makes us cry out in agony and despair. It seems SO wrong to see evildoers hurt people and yet seem to have no consequences for their actions.

You may be given the opportunity one day to seek reconciliation for certain offenses done to you. You may have the courage to go to your coworker who spoke poorly of you in a public meeting to challenge that action and to find out what is behind it. Perhaps you offended them and they are retaliating. That is certainly an important part of reconciliation. To learn that often we played a part in the conflict. And reconciliation between two people is a wonderful thing. Over events big or small. But in some instances the perpetrator of the wrong has no understanding he even did something that caused hurt, or worse, does not care and likely will never ask you for forgiveness. It is in those times that the forgiving will seem very one sided. And that is because it is! The power, the energy, the willingness to forgive may all have to come from you!

If that is the case, remember the ability to forgive is really a gift from God. Ask for the gift from Him. He is the great forgiver of all the wrong we have done (and others have done) and He is in the business of forgiving us. So He knows a whole lot about this. He created the human heart and He knows everything about healing it. There is a verse in the Bible that says “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Isn’t that fascinating that we get to see our own forgiveness of others in the greater context of God forgiving us?

God forgives us for everything we have EVER done wrong. He chooses to hold nothing against us, ever, for what we have done. No matter what it was! When He asks us to forgive, He is asking us to forgive a specific person for a specific thing done to us. Not for everything the person has ever done wrong, but THIS thing that has been done. It is not some blanket forgiveness. It is one person and one situation at a time.

God is not surprised by your anger at wrongdoing. He made you to care very deeply about wrongs. Just like He does. He has given all of us the command to right as many wrongs as we can in this life. We are to fight against injustice and to help people. Often we need to get clarity from God or wise compassionate people to even understand a wrong has been done to us and to even call it a wrong. (This can be especially true for people who were abused as children.) But when that clarity comes we are given the freedom to call that pain by its real name. And to not minimize abuse or pain caused by others. Acknowledging pain is an important first step in healing. So while God honors our need to see our pain named and acknowledged He does ask us to forgive as He forgave us. And He forgives us completely and totally.

It is a tall order. Honestly for some offenses it sounds plain impossible. Because in our brains forgiveness sounds like letting someone off the hook. So we are incredibly reluctant to do it. It seems to be a terrible betrayal to our own hearts. But forgiveness is never synonymous with forgetting what a perpetrator did. Or worse, not being allowed to care about the devastating consequences that may have come into your life. Forgiveness is neither of these things. There are often significant legal, societal, family or other relational consequences to a person’s actions against another. But forgiveness is not tasked with fixing or punishing the person for what they did wrong. That is someone else’s job actually!

What God was doing when He gave us forgiveness was giving us a gift. And this is a gift designed to free the human heart from the bondage of bitterness, despair, revenge, depression, and all the long list of things that happen to us when we hold on to the pain and the suffocating bondage of what others have done to it. I believe God invented forgiveness FOR us. God loves and cares about the victims’ heart. He knew how debilitating it would be to our hearts not to be able to forgive. So He gave us both a command to forgive but plenty of reassurances that He was in the forgiveness business and would step with us along the pathway through the pain. God is fully able to be with us on this journey, however long it takes, and be there on the other side when we are set free of what is dragging us down. God is the great Physician and Healer and longs to be able to give us these gifts.

One person described forgiveness as being symbolized by a rope that both you and the perpetrator hold. The rope ends up being able to tie you forever to him/her as long as you are unable to forgive the person’s actions. So to follow this word picture, to forgive is simply to let go of your end of the rope. Just let it go. The wrongdoer still has the other end of the rope. And perhaps this rope symbolizes that until the offender seeks forgiveness from you or from God the actions he did are going to destroy his soul too. But that is not necessarily your problem! (We might talk about restorative justice in a future blog.) One thing you do by letting go of your end of the rope is you cease to be judge and jury of the person. You give that job back to society and ultimately to God.

For me forgiving began with the knowledge that forgiving was what God wanted me to do. Because I experienced ongoing abuse over a long period of time the work of forgiving required working over a long period of time. And I needed others to help me. As I worked through main themes of abuse, over time I was able to reconnect to the experiences of abuse and the hurt. I was able to see the damage in my heart as a result of the abuse and was able to resolve the hurt emotions that had kept me so “stuck” and unable to go forward with my life.

First I had to work through the fear and terror my father had infused into my heart. Then I was able to work through the anger and resulting hurt and bitterness. At that point in the healing/forgiveness process I began to connect with little boy feelings of needing a father and not having his love and care. These emotions were softer with quiet crying and weeping. Eventually I had to mourn the losses of what never was and never would be. Feeling these losses brought on deep body crying with writhing because of the overwhelming anguish and grief and this often took all the physical strength my body could give.

As I slowly resolved all these many hurt feelings and was able to express them, many insights came to me I had not been able to see before. I began to realize the brokenness in my father, my abuser, and I began to get a sense of what his brokenness must have been like for him. With that understanding at last I was able to forgive my abuser deep within my heart. I had to be open to forgiving initially or I would never have been able to do the work required to deal with the emotional pain I had in my soul from my abuse. And dealing with my pain allowed me to understand my father. And it was at this point of understanding that I was able to fully forgive my father.

I remember the specific thoughts I had during this part of my healing work. I realized if my father were to ever have the willingness to face what he had done, honestly face it, he would very likely fall to the ground and never be able to get up again. When I experienced the wrenching agony in my body as I worked through the abuse I lived with at the hand of my father, it became clear to my heart that I had taken into my heart and my body what my father had been unwilling or unable to face within his own heart. He had buried his hurt and fear so deeply beneath his rage that it turned to rancid hatred. This hatred came out in his life and poisoned his soul and those in his life. When I began to understand this, I was able to have pity on my own father and was able to forgive him.

God understands us completely and is continually and immediately ready and willing to forgive us. He took all our mistakes into His own body in the person of Jesus Christ. But we must open our hearts to Him. To forgive another person we must open our hearts to ourselves (and God), admit our anger, resentment and bitterness, perhaps even hate, for the person who hurt us. When we take this first step, God does the healing work we need and enables our willing hearts to forgive our abuser. It starts with a mental decision and can eventually become full heart forgiveness. The abuser may never know anything about the work we have done but the work frees us to love again. We are free to love ourselves, the abuser and others in our lives. If you have a wife and children this becomes of priceless value! Yes! Because with a freed up heart you are able to give more of yourself to the ones you love and be more present in their lives.

If you allow God into your life and into your world then when you let go of the rope you have a loving God who can overrule the effects and damage of whatever happened to you. This is hard to understand but in amazing ways that only God can, He will work good in your life in spite of what happened to you. And in fact God will use what happened to you to bring good from it in a way you may never even dream possible. And God does this kind of thing every day. It seems like a miracle when it happens to you, but it is part of God’s continuing work in our lives.

If you have read my blog you know the process of forgiveness is not an easy one for those of us who were abused over a long period of time and in a particularly cruel way. But it most assuredly can be done. With God’s help I have become a truly free person. I am free to no longer hate my perpetrator. That is an amazing place to get to. Because I am now free to live my life without the baggage of all that pain and hatred. I wish I could describe to you the difference between the person I was when I was still holding on to that rope and the person I am now.

When you have a view of God that allows you to understand that He can even use the mess that messed you over, you will step into new territory in your relationship with God. You’ll come to understand He can make you into someone new and in many ways stronger and more compassionate as a person than you ever imagined. What happens when you forgive others is it can amount to a paradigm shift in your life. Most of our lives when we are victimized by people we just feel like victims. When we realize God can give us a new sense of freedom and self-worth and dignity as we choose to forgive we realize it allows us to step into our destiny in a new way.

When you are set free from the burden of the pain connected with unforgiveness you are able to handle the person who hurt you very differently. When you let go of the rope from a spouse or a co-worker or a son or daughter or friend you might just free them up to move on and do what they need to do in their lives. Others you choose to forgive may not be safe people in your life and just because you forgive them does not mean you have to have face to face contact with them.

God has some amazing promises in the Bible. One of them says “in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” That doesn’t say God sees the evil that happened to us as good. It doesn’t. It says God is able to bring good and work good out of any situation. Sometimes it takes faith to believe that initially but after you see God at work in hopeless situations in your life long enough you begin to trust Him. I believe this also happens to people all over the world who don’t know God but who God knows are going to come to know Him. Perhaps from God’s perspective this happens in nearly every person’s life. Who knows.

I forgive so that I can move on. That sounds a bit self-serving. Shouldn’t I want what is best for my daughter who I had a big fight with and not just “release” her by dropping the rope because I get to move on? Well, yes, by all means, be aware that your letting go of your judgments and anger and asking God to help you forgive may well bring her tremendous good, but sometimes do it just because you know God gave you this great gift of human relations. And He gave it to you for your good, so you could move on, And of course there are huge benefits for the doers of wrong down the road. Maybe! But honestly that is not ours to wrap our brains around. We have enough trouble living out a life of integrity and doing what is right. It just so happens that forgiveness is the right thing to do and the BEST thing to do for us . . . and for our futures.

Forgiveness is the key that unlocks the handcuffs of hatred and is the antidote to resentment. It is a power that breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness. What liberation when you can forgive! Love is an act of endless forgiveness. It is wiser to forgive than to hate. If you look closely you will find that each human heart is fragile and in need of understanding and forgiveness.

Forgiveness always means three things: It means, first, I will not say anything about this ever again to that person; he is forgiven. This is how God forgives us: "He casts our sins into the depths of the sea and remembers them against us no more," (Micah 7:19). Second, it means I will not talk to anybody else about it. I will not complain to anybody; I will not bring it up again and rehash it with anybody. Third, it means I will not talk to myself about it anymore. I will not play it over in secret all the time. I will not set up the motion picture projector in my mind and run it all over again until it arouses me and angers me and gets me all upset again. Now I will not be able to stop it coming back at times, but I will not entertain it; I will not listen to it; I will not play it again.

That is what forgiveness means. That is what God tells us to do: "Be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you," (Ephesians 4:32). Jesus warned us, "If you do not forgive one another, neither will my Father in heaven forgive you your offenses," (Matthew 6:15). We cannot live in a forgiven spirit if we are not willing to extend forgiveness to others.

Let the forgiveness begin…

Mark Phelps

First Radio Interview

Rick: Westboro Baptist Church pastor Fred Phelps passed away last month. He described himself as an old school Baptist. He said his theology was based on the five points of Calvanism. Over the years however he became a lightning rod for controversy as Westboro Baptist Church became famous for its protests against homosexuality and picketing the funerals of American soldiers as a way to protest American’s foreign policy and its support of abortion and homosexuality.

Rick: My guest today is Fred Phelps’ son, Mark Chandler. Mark is a devoted follower of Jesus Christ. He is currently battling a lung disorder. And I asked him to come on Trunews as a member of the family and to share with the whole world some very personal thoughts about his dad and the controversy that has surrounded his father. And I am very grateful that he was willing to accept this invitation and be on the program. Mark Chandler Welcome. Welcome to Trunews!

Mark: Thank you very much Rick. Glad to be here.

Rick: Yes sir. Glad to have you on the program. Mark is this a difficult interview for you to do?

Mark: It is not particularly difficult, no.

Rick: Okay, good, because you know I want to be respectful and sensitive to you.

Mark: Thank you.

Rick: You know I honestly do not know that much about your dad and Westboro. It is just what I have read in the papers myself you know. I never really followed his ministry or anything. It was a name that would pop up from time to time in the news. But he had his followers and he had his distractors and so he was a very controversial man. Now your name is Chandler. You changed your name from Phelps to Chandler. Let’s just start there. Why did you change your name?

Mark: That was just simply to protect our daughters. I left my family and that church in 1973 so it was not for any purpose other than to give our daughters a different last name as they started into the school system and began their lives. We have two adopted girls.

Rick: Okay. Well great! Great! I’ve got some adopted grand children in my family.

Mark: It’s wonderful. Just absolutely wonderful!

Rick: Yes and we are about to have more! My daughter and son-in-law are about to adopt five more so our family is about to take a big leap forward.

Mark: Oh that is so wonderful!

Rick: Okay you say when you left the church in 1973 you must have been what, in your mid 20’s or so?

Mark: I was 19.

Rick: 19. Okay. Was it that you just left home or was it an actual break with Westboro Church?

Mark: There was no leaving home or separating that from the church. It was only our family and a couple of other families. I was just so . . . at that point I did not have clarity, I was scared. I had met a young lady that was the way I believed a young lady ought to be and she was different than any girl I had ever seen or known. And I thought I was doing the wrong thing and I literally believed the first night that I left that I was going to end up in hell! But I left anyway. I just left! When you leave you are done and they cut you off and that is just all there is left . . . you are done. You either leave or you stay.

Rick: Was Westboro or is Westboro what is commonly referred to as fundamentalist Baptist?

Mark: Westboro has, certainly, some focus on the Bible and certainly they have some focus as Baptists, in terms of some of the aspects of that denomination as I have learned it. That church is a group that is mostly my family and they have been under the control and influence and abuse of my father from the time I was born. They broke off from a little Baptist church there in Topeka in 1954 when they got there to the city of Topeka. Maybe it was 1955. They cut that church off after that church had helped them set up their little place there at Westboro; they cut them off and it was only my family for a number of years than a couple of other families came along and that is how it was up to the time when I left. I started playing the organ for Westboro when I was five years old. My brother played the piano starting when he was six years old.

Rick: At the height; the peak of Westboro Baptist what was the membership, the attendance?

Mark: I’ve just heard since I’ve left, with all the nieces and nephews, and then I believe there was one other family that came in, it might have pushed 100. But what I want to emphasize, just for clarity, for anyone that would ever benefit from clarity . . . I mean this is years of boiling down Rick so I hope no one misunderstands . . . but I’m jumping over a lot of years of healing and experience and I’m boiling it down to . . . this is about my father and his hatefulness. And I have never been able to determine why he was so hateful. Certainly he used the Bible. My father used the Bible to abuse and he uses it now publicly to abuse. He is not doing anything different now, from my perception, to the outside world, than he did to his family. He had some visceral need to be hateful and mean and violent and cruel. And that’s not judgment; that’s just the truth of the experience that I had with my father. And it’s not about God and the Bible, as much as he tried to make it that. It’s about, for some reason or other he just has a need to be hateful. The concern I have is all those children that are there; my brothers and sisters, and now the nephews and nieces; they were born into it. And it is very difficult to undo the first few moments, weeks, months and years of your life. And so they have the same approach and the same words and the same passages from the scriptures they will refer to, the same speech style often; they have the same behavior as my father had and it denies; and this is what is so important to me; it denies the finished work of Christ on the cross and His love and for why He gave His life to redeem us. It is as if that never happened! Where is the hope? Where is hope? That’s what I want to know! If I am in that situation there at Westboro Baptist Church I’d like to know where the hope is! Where is Christ in that?!

Rick: Mark I just always assumed, and I know that assuming is not a smart thing to do, you know but I just always assumed that your dad, you know, as the years went by and he is getting older, you know, he maybe just didn’t know how to deal with America’s slide into debauchery and paganism and its sinful state. It’s gotten worse over the years. I just assumed well, you know what, he’s just an old fashion, old time preacher who is just going about this the wrong way but maybe his heart is right. I was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe his heart is right and he is just going about this the wrong way and trying to take a stand. But what I’m hearing from you was that this was a lifetime of being an angry bitter person.

Mark: Yes and to please not mistake that. I mean for folks that are confused and possibly, I don’t know, troubled. It is about his hatefulness and it is about abusing. And it started, I don’t have recall of this, but when work was done in 1994 the local newspaper was trying to research and understand my father and they hired a guy and he worked with my brother and I for a year and produced a written work that I named. This writer let me name the work he completed, the writing he did, he let me name it. I named it ‘Addicted To Hate’. And my only condition, and my brother’s only condition, for working with this gentleman, was that he be true to the truth. If we were going to take the time to talk with him and work with him; and it happened to be during the years I spent doing professional healing, you know working with professionals to heal; and that was our only request, that he just tell the truth and not change that. And the local newspaper was unwilling to publish his completed work. So the writer put his writing on the internet so it is available. And the truth about what my father’s life was and about what he did, even though that local newspaper was unwilling to publish it for whatever their reasons were, I don’t blame them because my family was so litigious; they are all attorneys as you know. But the newspaper did not publish the writing and the writer put it on the internet and that is; you can rest assured; that is the absolute truth about my first 20 years of life with my father. And that it is about abuse and that is about my father’s hatefulness to his family and to the world around him. It had not evolved to the point where it had evolved this last twenty years when that writing was being done but it had already begun. He was already doing the hateful faxes to the local community. Somehow he would get information about their personal lives, some of the political leaders there in Topeka, he would put it in a fax and my brothers and sisters and nephews and nieces would spend the whole day faxing, literally. They would spend the whole day faxing to the local businesses. Filth . . . absolute filth about the local leaders there in Topeka. My father’s life is just a litany of details about a man who was hateful. My father said of himself that his father taught him that ‘if you are going to be in a fight you need to kick the other person in the shin as hard as you can and hit them in the mouth as hard as you can’ as his first lessons of how to relate to another human being. And that is what my father apparently learned. I cannot understand it from any other basis and it has taken me years to recover from that.

Rick: And through the years Mark, as you have wrestled with this, you still have not uncovered the root of this hatefulness, what was driving it, have you?

Mark: That local newspaper sent two of their reporters to Meridian and Porterville Mississippi and they spent two weeks in those little towns talking with people and asking questions. Thankfully I learned quite a little bit about my family because my father was quiet on the subject of his family. My father had rejected his dad and his family where he came from so I didn’t know anything about them, some wonderful things. My father’s mother was a wonderful Christian woman and his father had a tremendous reputation in the community and had gotten my father an appointment to West Point Naval Academy which my father declined when he was 16 years old. But those reporters could not find the root of the hatefulness. My father’s mother died when he was five years old. That is the only thing that I can speculate about as to the reason for my father being the way he was. His mother’s death must have been so disruptive to his soul is my best guess. I just do not know. The reporters were not able to really identify the reason for my father’s behavior. I look at my father’s behavior and I look at the behavior of Christ and there is something wrong here. Something is wrong!

Rick: Yes, a deep rooted bitterness and anger.

Mark: Yes.

Rick: And perhaps towards him-self which manifested. Maybe it was almost like a self-hate which he manifested in the world around him by lashing out at other people. I don’t know. I don’t know how to describe or explain it.

Mark: Yes. That’s why I just focus on behavior because it is just so hard to tell a person’s motive. And I am not judging Rick. I am bearing witness to the heart of Christ and I am bearing witness to the heart of my father and I am telling anybody that wants to hear it that there is no relationship between those two hearts.

Rick: Uh huh.

Mark: The heart of Christ has healed me completely. I have a full heart. And I am born again. And I walk by the Spirit. And I did not have that. I was born again when I was 11 years old but I had no idea who Christ was until 15 years later. There is just no relationship or comparison there between my father and his life and the life of Christ. Just no relationship! It is supposedly in the name of fundamentalism that my father was so mean and harsh and hateful. And Rick it breaks my heart because the most fundamental, and I believe this with all my heart, the most fundamental is when the woman taken in adultery was brought before the Lord and The Lord said: “Any of you standing here, any of you people right here; and he could be saying it to us; any of you that has no sin cast the first stone. If we could simply understand the grace of God! He drops grace bombs; he slops grace; he literally covers us with his grace.

Rick: Yes

Mark: And his love and his mercy and his goodness and his kindness. He is light and life.

Rick: And he also said to the woman ‘go and sin no more’.

Mark: Yes, that’s right.

Rick: But he said it with love. He didn’t threaten her. He forgave her and then he told her ‘now go and sin no more.’

Mark: Because He loves her and doesn’t want her to hurt herself any more.

Rick: That’s right!

Mark: And when the Lord tells us that it is his kindness and all of you who are judging . . . see Rick I had to work this out because I was terrified of hell. I had to work this out in the deepest core of my being. And I know it is true now. All of you who are judging are you now under the same exact condemnation as those you are judging!? Romans 2 is clear about that and that it is His kindness and His goodness. We need a soft response in our broken lost darkness. And that is exactly what the Lord supplied! When they released Barrabas and Jesus stood there quiet. And Jesus died for his sins and he died for my sins. What do we need? That is all we need. We need to understand the heart of Christ and His love and His gentleness and His goodness and His meekness and His humility and we need to try to be that way with the people in our lives. And it heals people Rick. That is what heals the soul. And it is breaking my heart to think that people are moving away from the Lord Jesus Christ who loves them and He gave His life for them and now He is up from the grave. And people are moving away from the hope and the light because of the hatefulness and meanness and nastiness and cruelty of my family. We must not do this. We must speak the truth in love.

Rick: That’s right. Uhm . . . Mark how many years did it take for you to be healed emotionally, spiritually, of the experiences that you had with your dad?

Mark: It took me until about 20 years ago. So I’ve been gone 40 years and that means it took me 20 years Rick. And the last 20 years I would say have been ‘normal’, whatever that is, a more normal sanctification and growth in The Lord. It took me 20 years to not be terrified, to not believe the lies about who God is and that God is my Father. And now I have a father. Took me 20 years! And I had a loving wife who is the same girl that I left there with. I have been married to her for 38 years . . . all of the love that she has given me and her father was everything you could ask for from a father, to me. I mean, Rick, you just can’t even comprehend the pervasiveness of the injury and the damage and the destruction caused from living with hate and from violence and abuse. Even with all of the support The Lord has provided for me, and all of that time . . . it took me 20 years even with all of the love and support I had since leaving. And I had to work at it on purpose and 7 years of that 20 years was sometimes two or three times a week going and facing myself and facing the wretchedness within me and facing the abuse and praying and begging The Lord to help me get through it and get out of it. I worked hard to get the lies and poison out of my soul. And now I can play the hymns on the piano and rejoice in the truth of the words instead of remembering what it was like when I was a little boy.

Rick: Mark I know that there are people listening to you and me right now who have either gone through a time of physical, emotional, spiritual abuse or they are in it right now. I read letters and emails that come in here every week from listeners that are trapped in very destructive relationships.

Mark: Yes

Rick: What would you say to them? How can you help them through it?

Mark: I think the first step is just to say . . . the first step is to say ‘this is not working, I’m broken and I need help!’ And do not turn away from The Lord! By pure faith, pure blind faith if you need to, say ‘I don’t understand this, I can’t figure this out, but I know The Lord is what I need; The Lord is Who I need! I need to just give myself to Him and go get some help!” If they want to send me an email or call me, whatever they can do. They can get connected to people who know The Lord and understand how to help people heal. The people don’t heal you, they help you heal. And that is the hope, to just say that’s what I need and to go get help. And it is going to take some time.

Rick: How important is forgiveness?

Mark: Forgiveness is central! Defining forgiveness . . . meaning The Lord and you working in your heart to forgive the abuser and to forgive those who need to be forgiven. If you define it that the person who has been the abuser apologizes or says they are sorry or changes their behavior then you are going to wait forever in some cases. But it is very important to forgive as far as working that out of your own cells. You have to work it out of your own cells. Get it out of your body! Because it will kill you! Because if you do not, it will kill you! If you don’t do the work of forgiveness it will wear your body out just trying to maintain that non-forgiveness. The Lord knows that and that is why He expresses so strongly that we must forgive. We are not even able to experience His forgiveness of ourselves, Rick, until we have forgiven. Not fully! We get stuck in it and we have to get out of it!

Rick: I know. He told me one time when He was dealing with me. I had a terrible offense done to me and I was wrestling with it for a long time and one day He began to deal with me to forgive the perpetrator. And I told Him I can’t. I don’t know how to forgive.

Mark: Yes!

Rick: I said I don’t know. I don’t know how to forgive. I don’t know how to do this . . . because of the severity of the pain. And I remember He told me, Mark, he said Rick if you don’t forgive like me you won’t be able to live with me.

Mark: Yes!

Rick: And I said ‘Oh Lord! I have to live with you!’ And He said: ‘Then you have to forgive like me!’

Mark: Yes! There is something about the way He made our minds, the way He made our beings. We have to forgive Rick!

Rick: And the healing doesn’t start until we forgive the wrong-doer.

Mark: Yes!

Rick: And that opens up the Spiritual door for healing balm to be poured in from heaven and it begins to heal our hearts and minds. It starts with the forgiveness!

Mark: I call The Lord ‘The Wounded Healer’! He was wounded for us and He understands our deepest pain, our most painful feelings. His word is clear, expresses it clearly, He understands everything about what we are going through and what it is like and what it feels like. All of it!

Rick: If anybody had a reason to carry a grudge He had one.

Mark: Yes! And He didn’t!

Rick: When we think about what was done to Him. He had a reason to carry a grudge! But He forgave them. He forgave them!

Mark: Yes. He endured such harshness and such horrible treatment. I couldn’t endure it. I just don’t know how He did it. But He endured it and He asked the Father to forgive them and He is still doing it today! He is our intercessor.

Rick: Yes He is! Mark I appreciate you being here today.

Mark: Thank you!

Rick: I know this is blessing someone today. This is bringing healing to somebody today. I just know it. In my spirit I can feel the presence of The Lord right now in our studio.

Mark: I hope!

Rick: I know right now there are people that the Holy Spirit is dealing with you right now!

Mark: I hope!

Rick: Both to forgive and there are some people that need to forgive somebody else and then there are people that need to forgive themselves.

Mark: Yes!

Rick: Because sometimes it is not what somebody did to you but it is what you are doing to yourself!

Mark: Yes!

Rick: And you are your own worst enemy; you are abusing yourself!

Mark: Yes! I stood and watched my father, as a teenager Rick, abuse and mistreat and savagely beat and then I also joined in. I was either going to be beaten or I could beat my own brothers and sisters. So I joined in and I did the beating for my father. You don’t think I needed to forgive myself?!

Rick: Uh huh! Yes! Just forgive yourself. Just don’t punish yourself forever about something you did a long time ago!

Mark: That’s Right!! It’s past and it is removed.

Rick: Mark thank you so much. I appreciate you spending this time with us.

Mark: Thank you Rick!

Rick: Mark Chandler, son of Fred Phelps. Thank you Mark!

Rick: I wish I had more time to continue this conversation with Mark Chandler because I’m going to tell you, the presence of The Lord filled this studio. I don’t know what you were feeling but I could feel the presence of The Lord during this interview with Mark Chandler. I am really sensing that the Holy Spirit is dealing with a lot of people right now about forgiveness because The Lord desires to deliver you from the bondage that you are in. Either you are punishing yourself for past mistakes and sins or you can’t let go of what somebody has done to you or is doing to you right now. Regardless you are paying the price! And forgiveness is the beginning. God’s grace and miracles and love won’t flow into your life to bring healing until you first let go and forgive!

End of Radio Interview