Top Ten Books of the Bible to Read Right Now

10. 1st Samuel 16-31 and 2nd Samuel - This is a great time to reflect on the trials, trails, tribulations, and amazing victories of David's journey from outcast to king of Israel. 

9. 1st Kings 17-22 - The saga of Elijah has been a draw for me recently. Elijah went through a lot and saw God move through him in amazing ways.

8. Esther - one woman can change the fate of hundreds of thousands of Jews in exile. So imagine what you can do?

7. The Song of Solomon - the beautiful poem of love between man and woman, but also shows us the beauty of love between God and us.

6. Nehemiah - The man who struggles with constant problems as he attempts lead the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. The prayer of repentance is beautiful.

5. Ezra - Another hero, attempting to rebuild the temple. Inspirational.

4. Jude - In a time of false teachers and milquetoast deism, read about how the problems haven't changed over 2,000 years. Boldness in action.

3. The Psalms - Go here again and again for real, raw, deep, emotive cries to God

2. Revelation - the 7th messages to the churches, the end of history, apocalypse, destruction, new hope, what's not to like?

1. Ecclesiastes - Reminds us just how meaninglessness everything is apart from God.  A great reminder for us today, who so often ignore God, and seek pleasure.  Everything is empty apart from Jesus. 

10 books I recommend for Excellent Reading during this Lockdown

10. A Tale of 3 Kings by Gene Edwards - I found this book randomly at a thrift store in South Carolina. Read it and was pleasantly surprised by some very deep thoughts about the saga of David and Saul, and considering David and Saul in reflection of experience of Christian leadership, and being hurt by poor leaders.

9. The Evidence Study Bible - Ray Comfort's study Bible is excellent, the articles are very engaging and relevant. NKJV isn't my favorite, but it's readable.

8. The Wesley Study Bible - it's very good, I love the CSB translation comes through very nicely and uniquely at times. Commentary is good, wish it was more direct quotes of Wesley, instead of others telling me general ideas of Wesley. Also, some of the book summaries reflect a lowered view of scripture sadly, which is endemic sadly in much of modern wesleyanism and methodism. Overall though, great study bible.

7. Apologetics Quotes by Charlie Campbell - tons and tons of apologetics quotes, and it doesn't disappoint. I love me some apologetics quotes.

6. Gems from the Greek - Rick Renner - A year round devotional in which each reading considers a word from the greek of the Bible and what it's deep meaning is. Very good, devotions are a bit too long though. Still fascinating. 

5. Rediscovering Americanism - Mark Levin - one of the deepest philosophical I've read about the political conflict between enlightenment philosophy and progressive philosophy.

4. Heaven is so Real - Choo Thomas - people like me, heady theologians often turn up our noses at supernatural testimonials, something I no longer do, I thoughtfully consider these books, this one was amazing. 

3. Grace for the Moment - Max Lucado - Though I find Max Lucado's feel good hyper grace Christianity a bit too soft and milquetoast for me, this devotional book is actually pretty good. Thoughtful and succinct.

2. Thus Saith the Lord? John Bevere - I found this at a goodwill store in SC, very good book, very heady, considering the concept of hearing from God through prophets, the good and the bad.

1. The Bible - if you haven't read the Bible, even from a historical or sociological context, you definitely owe it to yourself to do that. There are so many gems in this book, I can't help but read it over and over.

The Marriage Dinner of Jesus Christ: Revelation 19:1-9

While on a South Pole expedition, British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton left a few men on Elephant Island, promising that he would return. Later, when he tried to go back, huge icebergs blocked the way. But suddenly, as if by a miracle, an avenue opened in the ice and Shackleton was able to get through. His men, ready and waiting, quickly scrambled aboard. No sooner had the ship cleared the island than the ice crashed together behind them. Contemplating their narrow escape, the explorer said to his men, "It was fortunate you were all packed and ready to go!" They replied, "We never gave up hope. Whenever the sea was clear of ice, we rolled up our sleeping bags and reminded each other, 'The boss may come today.'"

The word "maranatha" is a Syriac expression that means: "our Lord comes." It was used as a greeting in the early church. When believers gathered or parted, they didn't say "hello" or "goodbye" but "Maranatha!" If we had the same upward look today, it would revolutionize the church. O that God's people had a deepening awareness of the imminent return of the Savior! (Our Daily Bread.)

Today we’re looking at Revelation, the last book of the Bible, chapter 19. In recent weeks we’ve talked about the triumphal entry of Jesus, the death of Jesus, the resurrection of Jesus, and last week we talked about the ascension of Jesus.

Now I want to fast forward over two thousand years from the moment Jesus ascended, in AD 33, to the moment in the future when Jesus Christ returns.

So we know that right now we’re in the church age. The church has expanded across the Earth. And we know that Jesus will come again to collect his church and bring them home.

That moment I believe in rapidly approaching for us. But before history is completed, a time called “the great tribulation” will occur. This is a time of great crisis and struggle for the world at the end.

In life we have all sorts of struggles. We have health problems, surgeries. We deal with money problems, job problems, family problems, and so on. Life on Earth is rough. But the great tribulation will make all of this stuff seem like a walk in the park.

If you’re looking for an image of what this will be like, the Bible describes it this way, from Amos 5:19, “It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him.” So it’s described as these worst case scenarios that only seem to get worse. You’re walking down the street and you just escape getting hit by a car, but then you get hit by a bicycle. It’s bad.

Now there is a view in apocalyptic theology that if we are followers of Jesus Christ, then we will be spared from this moment. They call it the pre-tribulation rapture. The idea is that Jesus Christ will come suddenly, gather his church, and bring us to heaven before the tribulation. That’s the view we’re going to go with today. There are other opinions, but we’re gonna focus on this view for today.

Christ returns in a moment and gathers the church to heaven. So you’ve got millions of people disappearing, then the great tribulation begins. So the church is safe in heaven while the tribulation occurs. So then we see the rise of the anti-christ and the formation of a world wide government. Many events happen but then at the end, in Revelation chapter 18, we see Babylon, called “the prostitute”, destroyed by God. And then we come to our scripture today: Revelation 19:1-4

“After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a large crowd of people in heaven, saying, “Praise God! Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God! 2 True and just are his judgments! He has condemned the prostitute who was corrupting the earth with her immorality. God has punished her because she killed his servants.” 3 Again they shouted, “Praise God! The smoke from the flames that consume the great city goes up forever and ever!” 4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. They said, “Amen! Praise God!”

So let’s pause right there. We see this beautiful scene in heaven, you’ve got the church praising God. You’ve got the evil kingdom destroyed. And you’ve got the 24 elders praising God. Who are the 24 elders? Well we believe this would all the great humans in bible history, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and so on, and Jesus’ disciples, Matthew, Mark, Luke, James, and so on. The four living creatures, you’ve got me, I don’t really know what they are, but they’re made by God, to worship God and declare His glories.

Then it says in verse 5 through 8, “Then there came from the throne the sound of a voice, saying, “Praise our God, all his servants and all people, both great and small, who have reverence for him!” 6 Then I heard what sounded like a crowd, like the sound of a roaring waterfall, like loud peals of thunder. I heard them say, “Praise God! For the Lord, our Almighty God, is King! 7 Let us rejoice and be glad; let us praise his greatness! For the time has come for the wedding of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself for it. 8 She has been given clean shining linen to wear.” (The linen is the good deeds of God's people.)

9 Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Happy are those who have been invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And the angel added, “These are the true words of God.”

Now you have this beautifully pictured marriage ceremony between Jesus Christ and “his bride.” Who are his bride? We are his bride. We are wed to Jesus, becoming one with Jesus, for all eternity. This will be a time of great celebration in heaven. As we gather around the table for this great and exciting ceremony of the marriage supper of the lamb.

Are you guys with me so far? Jesus was born, 2000 years ago. Jesus lived, and was crucified for our sins on the cross. Jesus came back from the dead. Then Jesus ascended to heaven, went to heaven to prepare a place for us. And now we see that Jesus will gather us in the rapture to heaven. The great tribulation will occur. The anti-Christ will establish an evil kingdom, and that evil kingdom will be destroyed by God.

Then we will celebrate the marriage supper of the lamb, this ceremony where we are joined with Jesus forever.

That is the day I’m looking forward to you guys. To be with Jesus in heaven. To be found faithful by God. So I’m always watching. Always waiting and hoping for Jesus to gather us to himself.

Your ultimate destiny as a human being, living on Earth, is to be washed in the blood of Jesus, have your sins removed, and to live to serve Jesus. And then, when the day comes of Jesus coming, you will be brought to heaven. And you will be joined with Jesus Christ your savior forever in the marriage supper of the lamb. This is the great moment of consummation. This is the great moment when we are permanently joined with Him.

We love Jesus today, but in the future we will be married to Him forever. That is the moment I look forward to. My destiny is in another world. My destiny is the new heavens and new Earth. That’s where I belong. No where on this Earth really feels like home. Heaven is home. The City of God is the real home.

But let me remind of you this, yes focus on heaven, watch always for the return of Jesus. But also continue to work here on Earth to get people saved and appose evil.

After World War I Germany was economically devastated and left broken. In that vacuum a terrible leader named Hitler rose to power. Many quietly followed Hitler and allowed him to take power. But famed Protestant theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was imprisoned for taking a stand against Hitler. Yet he continued to urge fellow believers to resist Nazi tyranny. A group of Christians, believing that Hitler was the Antichrist, asked Bonhoeffer, "Why do you expose yourself to all this danger? Jesus will return any day, and all your work and suffering will be for nothing." They had taken a fatalistic approach, that it was already too late.

But Bonhoeffer replied, "If Jesus returns tomorrow, then tomorrow I'll rest from my labor. But today I have work to do. I must continue the struggle until it's finished." -Daily Bread, November 10, 1991.

Yes I am waiting for Jesus. I fully expect Jesus to return in my life time. I don’t expect to die of old age. I expect to see Jesus with my own eyes sooner rather than later. You might think I’m being symbolic or theological, I’m being literal with that statement. But today, right now, I’m working to get people saved by Jesus, and to serve humanity through food, encouragement, hygiene products, help with bills, and so on. I’m hard at work. And you should be too.

Why do I talk so much about the return of Jesus? Well, because the word of God talks about it so much!

The Bible is filled with references to the second coming of Christ. “In the 260 chapters of the New Testament, there are 318 references to the second coming of Christ--an amazing 1 out of every 30 verses. Twenty-three of the 27 New Testament books refer to this great event.” -Today in the Word, April, 1989, p. 27.

In 1987 Americans were surveyed, asking do you believe Jesus Christ will return a second time? 62% of Americans said yes. I wonder what that percentage would be today. I really wonder that. Or as Jesus said, “When the son of man comes again will he find faith on the Earth?”

We think we’re so advanced in the western world. We think we’re so sophisticated. We put so much faith in medicine, the sciences, and the intellectuals, we put so much faith in the experts, and we live by what they tell us to do. Whether it’s facemasks don’t help at all, we don’t use them, then a month later, facemasks are absolutely necessary. Then everyone wears facemasks. That’s a lot of faith. That’s very promising actually. Imagine if we put as much faith in Jesus Christ and the Bible as we do in handwashing guidelines, WebMD articles, and expert studies from The King’s College. I suppose that’s what we were taught, especially my generation, we were taught to trust experts, trust science, trust society, trust the TV, but the truth I realized later in life was, we should be more skeptical of the so called experts, and trust God’s word much more. It only took me about half my life to realize what my grandparents already knew a generation ago, God is real, and humans aren’t as smart as they think they are. A study can be absolutely wrong, and a Darwinian theory can be an invented fraud. And God’s word, though mocked as it is today, can actually be completely true. How ironic. What are you putting your faith in today? Theories of man, or God’s eternal truth?

So in conclusion today, Jesus Christ will gather His church, and we will be joined to Him in a marriage ceremony, the whole church to Jesus Christ, at the marriage supper of the lamb. We will see Jesus face to face, and be joined with Him. But yes, you’ll still be you. But you’ll be free from sin, and in love with Jesus with a full heart. Wow. So beautiful and amazing.

How Do I Discern the Will of God: A few Lessons from My Own Failures

I recall many times biking and running, when the whole body felt on fire.  It was burning.  And it wasn't fun at all.  But what does any gym enthusiast know?  No pain no gain. The incredible discomfort of the workout is leading to a stronger future.  Much is the same with mental fitness. When my mind is on fire, and I feel completely out of control, and my emotions are screaming unease, actually something exceedingly therapeutic is taking place. I'm going to level up, you might say, to a more mature state.  Just like severe exercise levels up the body, muscle by muscle, so mental problems, mental anguish produces growth. 

But to be honest, I never knew adulthood would involve this much Ibuprofen, Aleve, and Tylonel.  I'm on a merry-go-round between the three.  I now fully understand why old people are so grumpy.  And I only just turned 35.  Imagine the physical misery when I turn 60 or 70! 

Sometimes in life you just have to bear up under suffering.  Don't pretend it's fine either. It's not really fine.  It may be OK, and you're at peace with it, but there is a legitimate ouch to all of it.  Ouch. OUCH. Yes.  Very ouch.  About one year later, of being a minister, all I can say is, ouch. After a month of being in lockdown, once again, ouch.  Still being single at 35 with no prospects, well, ouch.  

But I suppose it's better than being with a wife that I realize to my own consternation that I don't like at all. Though I fully reject the modern concept of "falling out of love" with someone. Love is a choice. And given prayer, God can and will ignite those feelings that may have been lost from poor maintenance in the past. 

I found myself in a spiritual crisis of a sort recently.  I have a close relationship with God. Being a minister, I better have that.  And honestly, you can tell if a minister doesn't. Their sermons lack any power, it's just words they came up with, and their ministry lacks any growth or vitality.  So it's easy to tell.  But anyway, I found myself in prayer with a Bible in my lap, searching for answers from the Lord on situations in my life.

Now, if you don't know this already I am prone to mild flights of fancy.  And so I've gotten into this habit of looking to the future, to prophecy, and considering what is coming.  And then searching the scriptures and listening for God's response.  And this led me to a number of "predictions" of a sort.  

Does this sound familiar?  I'm not the first person to do this sort of thing.  It's a game.  But I've really felt many times that I was truly hearing something from the Lord.  And the truth is we do hear things from the Lord.  I've heard things many times from the Lord.  Dozens of situations in my life.  And the Lord is nudging me in a direction.  So I felt very firmly in a great deal of prayer and scripture reading and discussions with friends and family that I had discerned a path God was taking me on.  

Or I'll see something in a dream. And I'll assume that this moment in this dream is a word from the Lord.  Believe me, that is almost always a mistake to think that.  I've had all sorts of stuff blow up in my face from thinking a dream was from the Lord.  It may have been from Satan, but it wasn't from the Lord.  Yet here we go again, a dream can certainly be from the Lord.  It happens in the scriptures.  So it's confusing.  How in the world do I know what is God's voice and what is my own voice and what is even the voice of evil?  

That is the question I'm wrestling with right now.  Because I was really sure about this.  Multiple things had happened in my life that were saying "this is the new path."  I mean, first I had a dream, then I prayed about it, several people brought up that topic with me, without my prompting, even before the dream.  That next day my best friend brought up this topic without my prompting.  I read the scriptures, the scriptures in prayer, and they seemed to be pointing in that direction. More prayer, more prayer, and I felt an emotive notion that this was the path.  I received a random gift in the mail 2 days later that seemed to be highly symbolic of this notion I had dreamed of and prayed about and scripturally studied.  And yesterday I found out that this was almost certainly not happening.  Amazing, isn't it? 

We can think that we have all the answers and it's coming together and all these nods are pointing me in that direction.  I mean this is what I was taught as far as how to discern the will of God.  I constantly pray "God grant me knowledge of your will for me, and the power to carry it out."  I applied this four-fold method: Constant prayer, diligently searching the scriptures, talking with friends and family, and watching for signs/clues in the world around me.  All of them pointed to this conclusion.  But it wasn't true.  

My reaction to this situation and the conclusion was a great deal of anger, even rage.  I spend a great deal of time searching after God. I take it seriously.  I spend a great deal of time trying to discern what God is saying, and I was flat wrong.  This of course throws into chaos many things in my worldview.  How do I hear from God?  Why am I failing to hear from God?  Can I even hear from God?  It throws into question many concepts and ideas that I've been living on.  So it's very distressing for me to consider how to hear from God. 

It's always been a fudge area honestly.  God does not often speak in a literal voice.  He has done that at times throughout history.  And even currently he does do that.  We hear of reports of thousands of Muslims turning to Christ by dreams they have in the Middle East.  I remember talking to a woman who had been kidnapped and taken to another country, and raped, and brutalized, but God helped her escape, and she heard a verbal word from the Lord telling her "you're going home."  So yes, God does speak.  But I have never once heard a verbal word from the Lord.  

So it's tough to discern God's will.  It's not always clear, which that also makes me angry.  God obviously wants us to do His will.  Then why not be a little more clear about it?  Why allow me to delude myself time and again?  Especially when I'm honestly attempting to find God's will.  I'm honestly spending time searching for it.  So why can't I hear properly from God?

Well, the answer came recently.  My friend said, you know you can't always know the future. You're blind like the rest of us, living on faith in God to an unknown future.  

Aha, I thought to myself with a severe amount of irritation.  How correct she was.  I had been playing games with God attempting to gain special knowledge of the future.  How often does God give that sort of knowledge? Well, sometimes he does.  If you recall the Apostle Paul was told by the Spirit of coming trouble. From Acts 20:23 "I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me."

Similarly Jesus told Peter ahead of time that he would deny him 3 times.  But these of course are special circumstances.  But I fully believe God does the same thing today.  God has at times warned me that trouble is ahead. So it's tough to discern.  

But essentially my friend was 100% correct, I was trying to force God to give me constant special knowledge of the future.  There's nothing wrong with an assertiveness before God and a desire for knowledge.  I think you should ask for new gifts, for prophecy, for dreams, for ideas, for friends, for family, for healings, and so on and so forth.  Be bold in prayer.  But I had taken it too far.  And we have to be very careful when discerning the will of God to look to silence our own minds.  I had developed an uncanny ability to assemble a house of cards.  And they have kept collapsing on me.  

So in conclusion, be cautious friends when discerning the will of God. Be patient.  And listen, while silencing your own mind.  How easy we deceive ourselves! But consider this also friends: This is pat of the full body burn of ministry, indeed of Christianity.  We wrestle with God over and over in our lives.  We go through suffering of the body, but also just as much suffering of the mind.  We get the full body burn, and the full mind burn.  Yes, these are tough situations! But remember that burn of the mind is going to be fertile ground for growth of beautiful gardens of the mind in the future.  So bear up under it, and keep going!