Being a Follower

When Belonging Is Found in the Wrong PlacesIn this episode, we explore why people often find a sense of belonging in places built around escape—and what that reveals about us. Real community is more than proximity or familiarity; it is being known, challenged, and shaped in truth. If people feel more connected outside the church than within it, we should ask why—and respond faithfully. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

Speaking Truth in a Free SocietyIn this episode, we consider how Christians should respond to a changing cultural and legal landscape. Truth is not something we enforce—it is something we live, speak, and trust God to work through. Faithfulness means engaging without panic, conviction without coercion.Referenced in this episode:Ken Ham — Canadian Man Fined for “Hate Speech”https://answersingenesis.org/culture/canadian-man-fined-hate-speech-2slgbtq This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

If we truly believe Jesus is Lord, our lives cannot remain unchanged. In this episode, we walk through Colossians 3 and Paul’s call to put to death the old nature, put away destructive patterns, and put on Christlike character. This isn’t about behavior modification—it’s about living like people who have been raised with Christ. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

Honest Doubt and the Demand to DecideIn this episode, we look at Matthew 11 and the difference between honest doubt and hardened unbelief. Jesus welcomes sincere questions, but He still calls for a response. Faith is not blind—it is trust rooted in evidence.Referenced in this episode:The Humble Skeptic — https://thehumbleskeptic.com(Substack also available through the site.) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

In this episode, we revisit the familiar story of Jesus walking on the water through John’s account. This miracle isn’t just about power over nature—it’s about identity. When Jesus says, “It is I,” He is revealing who He truly is. If He is the Creator, then storms, fear, and uncertainty are no longer ultimate. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

When Angels Are UnseenIn this episode, we reflect on a missionary account where God’s protection was real—even though it went unseen by those being protected. Through Scripture, we explore how prayer often precedes protection and why obedience matters more than spiritual experiences. God is at work, even when no angels appear. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

Covered by the BloodBefore I start today’s post, I wanted to share an image another Substack writer shared.There is so much here we could unpack! The fact that ONLY the blood of the One Who died for us can cover our sins; the fact that we are all covered in the same way; the fact that it doesn’t matter what’s on the INSIDE, but that the blood covers the outside. What does it say to you?Next, no apologies given — it was a hectic season. The last post was before Christmas and there was a lot going on. As I type this, we are ‘snowed in’ during the great winter storm of 2026. But we are warm; we have electricity; we have food; we have each other. There are so many that do NOT have all of those things. A Roll Call Before the CelebrationLast time we talked about symbolism and timing and such. I promised to continue that, and there’s a particular thing I want to mention next. In the book we’ve been discussing/using as a springboard — Angels, by Dr. David Jeremiah — he mentions the robes of white and the “countless multitude.” Now last time I mentioned the 144,000:Revelation 7:4–8 – Then I heard how many people were marked with the seal. There were 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. From the tribe of Judah, 12,000 were marked with the seal. From the tribe of Reuben, 12,000. From the tribe of Gad, 12,000. From the tribe of Asher, 12,000. From the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000. From the tribe of Manasseh, 12,000. From the tribe of Simeon, 12,000. From the tribe of Levi, 12,000. From the tribe of Issachar, 12,000. From the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000. From the tribe of Joseph, 12,000. From the tribe of Benjamin, 12,000.Now something I heard recently in a commentary about this passage was that it sounds like a roll call or a call to arms. Think of calling soldiers to battle.Also note that the 12 tribes listed are not the same as in other places in the Bible. What’s striking in Revelation 7 is not just who is listed, but how the list differs from earlier biblical patterns. Dan is entirely absent, Ephraim is never named, Joseph appears instead, and Manasseh remains distinct. The number of tribes is still twelve, but the composition has shifted. This isn’t the standard territorial list from Joshua, nor the patriarchal ordering from Genesis. It’s a theological list, not a geographic one — signaling continuity with Israel’s story while also showing that something purposeful has changed.That contrast becomes clearer when we compare Revelation to earlier passages. In Genesis 49, Jacob blesses all twelve sons, including Dan and Joseph’s sons implicitly through Joseph himself. In Ezekiel 48, Dan is restored and even given prominence, listed first among the tribes in the future division of the land. Revelation, however, omits Dan altogether and reshapes Joseph’s line by naming Joseph and Manasseh while leaving Ephraim unnamed. The text doesn’t explain why — and that silence matters. Rather than inviting speculation, Revelation presents a reordered but complete people of God, marked and sealed by Him, showing faithfulness to the covenant story while pointing forward to its fulfillment.The Countless MultitudeSo we have a roll call or call to arms followed by a victorious celebration in verse 9!Revelation 7:9 – After this I looked, and there before me was a huge crowd. It was so large that no one could count the people in it. They came from every nation, tribe, people and language. They were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes. They were holding palm branches in their hands.Some people say these are the tribulation saints, but I see these as the actual people covered by the blood of the Lamb! The saved and reborn from all ages! So where some see this as a literal counting of the Jews that are set aside for salvation, I see it as a reminder that God is still working and still using His people. But then the great number that no one could count includes the Gentiles and the Jews! Not separated, because we are all grafted in!White Robes and White Horses… And NamesOne more point about the white robes, and fair warning here — this branches off into another major point. Jeremiah quotes Revelation 19:11-14.Revelation 19:11–14 – Then I saw heaven open. And there before me was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and fights wars. His eyes are like blazing fire. On his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows except himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood. His name is The Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him. They were riding on white horses. They were dressed in fine linen that was white and clean.Note the similarities first — same white imagery; very different role. But what I really want to point out is the symbolism here!White horse symbolizes purity, of course. The rider is called Faithful and True. These are descriptors, not names. The eyes are like blazing fire — they can burn through lies and see the truth, yet, but it is because they can see ALL things. Many crowns on His head because He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords!But what is His name? “He has a name written on him that no one knows except himself.“ Have you ever wondered about this? His Name? I personally believe that just as we are made in the IMAGE of God, and just like all other allusions (Father, Son, etc.) they are words that relate a description. Is it Jesus? Or Yashua? Or Joshua? The name we use is in a human tongue, but His TRUE name? We can’t even comprehend it!Remember, this is the Spirt that created EVERYTHING — and yet loves us!Seeing What Others CannotNext, Jeremiah goes into seeing angelic beings. He mentions how some could see and others couldn’t. He mentions Daniel 10, where Daniel could see but those with him couldn’t.He mentions Balaam’s donkey seeing the angel before Balaam himself did.The passage where Elijah asked God to allow his servant to see the chariots of fire all around them comes to mind. Could Elijah see them also? Or did he just KNOW that they were there? Paul was blinded on the road to Damascus. He saw the light of Jesus. I personally think he saw Jesus Himself, but was unable to tolerate it.Before this Stephen had seen Jesus at the right hand of the Father while the others couldn’t. And of course there are people at death’s door that will often see loved ones that have gone on before. I do not think these are ghosts that have come back to the living, but as people are passing from this life to eternity are able to ‘see’ and experience and tell us what they see as they are passing. In other words the dead don’t come back to earth to take them away, but they are being taken into their presence in Paradise or Heaven. Jeremiah goes on to mention the account of Elisha. He mentions 2 Kings 6:16, which reminds me of another verse:2 Kings 6:16 – “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”1 John 4:4 – My dear children, you belong to God. You have defeated the false prophets. God’s Spirit lives in you. He is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.Or as I have heard it said, “greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.”God Is the Focus, Not the MessengersJeremiah points out that once the servant’s eyes are opened, he is not mentioned anymore in the passage. What comes to my mind is maybe this is so we can put ourselves in his place — to be able to comprehend how it feels to know what is around us, but not be able to see it.Note that the servant is not the focal point of the story. Neither are we. And neither are the angels! God is Supreme and in control! God’s armies — angelic beings — are sent to protect us, to fight for us and to sustain us. That is the key takeaway!I pray that 2026 is a great year for you and your spiritual growth! I won’t hope that your wishes come true, unless you are wishing for God’s will to be on earth as is it in Heaven! Amen! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

In today’s episode, I continue our conversation about angels, spiritual discernment, and what Scripture actually teaches—not what culture, movies, or personal experiences might lead us to assume. We look at several key passages, talk through the difference between truth and deception, and explore why God’s Word remains our ultimate authorityin understanding the unseen world.I also share a few personal reflections and encourage you to test everything, hold fast to the truth, and stay grounded in what the Bible says—especially in a world full of spiritual counterfeits.As always, thank you for listening. If this episode encourages you or gets you thinking, feel free to share it with someone who may need it today. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

In today’s episode, we look at what Scripture says about angels, why they’re compared to stars, and what that means for us as believers. We’ll talk about spiritual sensitivity, following the Spirit’s prompting, and what it really means to “entertain angels unaware.” I also share a personal story about obedience and stepping out of my comfort zone when God whispers.Scriptures referenced: Isaiah 40:26, Hebrews 13:2, Matthew 25:35, Philippians 4:8, Ecclesiastes 9:7-8.If you’ve ever wondered whether God places people in your path on purpose — this episode is for you. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

In this episode we continue our series on angelic beings, looking at wind, fire, and shining garments in Scripture. We explore why no one but Jesus could open the scroll in Revelation 5, how “spirit” and “wind” connect in both Hebrew and Greek, the powerful entrance of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and several passages that describe angels in bright, shining clothing.A lighter topic this week, but still full of encouragement and biblical insight. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

In this episode, Jimmy reflects on themes from The Exorcist Files podcast and the growing talk around ayahuasca and other “spiritual gateways.” He looks at what happens when people seek the supernatural apart from God’s design, why Scripture warns us to test every spirit, and how Christ gives believers true authority and protection. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

In this episode, Jimmy looks at what angels reveal about obedience — and what fallen angels reveal about rebellion. Drawing from Scripture and Dr. David Jeremiah’s Angels, he explores when they were created, why they serve, and how their story mirrors our own call to submit to God. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

Moving on to Chapter 5 of the book Angels, by Dr. David Jeremiah, he writes about something John Calvin believed and taught. This is a long quote, but it’s important.“God employs angels simply as ‘a help to our weakness,’ in order to ‘elevate our hopes or strengthen our confidence.’ Calvin admits that God’s offer of his own personal protection ought to be enough for us. He says it’s ‘improper’ for us ‘still to look round for help.’ He adds, however, that if God in his ‘infinite goodness and indulgence’ chooses to provide angels for our weakness, ‘it would ill become us to overlook the favor.’ His conclusion reflects the teaching of Hebrews 1:14, a verse we keep coming back to: Angels are ‘ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation.’ Angels are here for us.”Perhaps They Were Created for Fellowship TooIt’s easy to think of angels as purely functional — messengers, warriors, protectors — but Scripture also points to a relational aspect of their creation. Perhaps they were made for fellowship and worship with God, just like us. But just like humanity, some didn’t stay holy. We see this in the rebellion of Lucifer, once a radiant being who sought worship for himself instead of the Creator.Tom Horn and Timothy Alberino suggest that humans are the younger brothers in God’s family — that the angelic realm came first, and that we were created later to share in the same divine fellowship. Derek Gilbert even connects this to the parable of the prodigal son — that humanity’s story mirrors a long estrangement and return to the Father’s household. (Is this something you’d like me to explain and discuss?)Hebrews 1:14 tells us what angels do: All angels are spirits who serve. God sends them to serve those who will receive salvation.But that leads to a deeper question: were they created as servants to man, or assigned that role after the fall? Were they always meant to be part of God’s work on behalf of humanity, or did their mission shift when we entered the picture?For example, the Watchers had no one to watch over until man was created. Does this mean that they were called the Watchers after man was created? Were they created for something else, then assigned that role?Or does it imply that God’s plan for angels was always intertwined with His plan for us — a shared purpose that reveals His heart for relationship, order, and redemption? Of course the Bible doesn’t tell us, and we would be wise to remain focused on Jesus and not on the creation. Romans 1:25 – They chose a lie instead of the truth about God. They worshiped and served created things. They didn’t worship the Creator. But he must be praised forever. Amen.Now I’m not saying that angelic beings are a lie - just pointing out that the crux of this verse is to worship the Creator God - not ANY part of the creation - either the earth, or the sky, or nature - or heavenly beings!Servants or Partners in God’s Plan?And that brings me to another area where this distinction matters — the way some traditions call on saints or angels for help. Let’s take a closer look at what Scripture actually says about intercession and worship.Scripture couldn’t be clearer — God never permits us to reach across the veil to seek guidance or help from the dead. Communication, intercession, and authority all belong to Him alone.Deuteronomy 18:10–12 – Don’t let anyone among you offer their son or daughter as a sacrifice in the fire. Don’t let anyone try to learn what will happen in the future by using magic. Don’t let them explain dreams or try to find out what will happen in the future or use spells. Don’t let anyone try to get messages from those who have died. The Lord hates anyone who does these things.Some traditions — especially within Catholicism — teach that we can petition saints for help, almost as if invoking those who have gone before us. I’m a huge proponent of spiritual warfare. As I’ve said before, I don’t look for a demon under every rock, but I also recognize the battle we’re in. The enemy seeks to kill, steal, and destroy.John 10:10 – The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so they can have life. I want them to have it in the fullest possible way.In Catholic exorcism rites, the priest will often ask the demon’s name, what purpose God originally gave it, and who its enemy is in Heaven. Then they call upon a particular saint to aid in the battle.I struggle with this, because it seems to contradict what Deuteronomy 18 forbids. I haven’t spoken to a priest about this firsthand, so I won’t speculate or condemn — but it’s worth examining.Adrian Rogers once addressed a similar misunderstanding. Someone accused him of “praying to Satan” when he said, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” Rogers quipped, “I tell my cat to get off the table — that doesn’t mean I’m praying to the cat.”Maybe that’s the distinction. Perhaps “calling on the saints” is more like speaking about them than to them — an acknowledgment that they’re alive in God’s presence and may be used by Him for His purposes. I don’t know for sure. If you have insight, share it in the comments or reach out!Either way, I deeply respect those who take spiritual warfare seriously. They boldly confront the enemy and proclaim the power of Jesus’ name. I think we Baptists could learn a lot from that. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

In this episode, we return to the topic of Angels from Dr. David Jeremiah’s study — exploring what it means that Jesus was made “a little lower than the angels,” and why that truth reveals the power and humility of God’s plan.We’ll talk about delegated authority, God’s dominion over both seen and unseen realms, and how understanding angels helps us better understand the One who commands them — the Lord of Hosts, who never loses a battle.Scripture references include:James 5:4Psalm 113:4–6 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

Today I pause my series on angels to share some thoughts sparked by a recent essay from Scott Sauls (Out, Spot). Using Shakespeare’s imagery of Lady Macbeth’s bloodstains, he reminds us that some things in our culture - and in our own lives - are simply not okay.I weave in my own reflections on worship, Jimmy Joe’s message about “empty rooms,” the story of Lazarus, and Nehemiah’s response to brokenness. The thread is the same: we can’t scrub away our own stains. Only Christ can fill the empty spaces, bring life where there is death, and awaken us to His glory. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

In this episode we reflect on what it means to be God’s messengers today. Scripture shows us that prophets, apostles, and everyday believers were chosen to carry His Word—not their own opinions. We’ll look at how God’s truth must come first, how our voices are called to echo His Word faithfully, and how that shapes the way we live, speak, and serve.Key points:God calls ordinary people to share His extraordinary messageOur authority isn’t in our own words but in ScriptureBeing faithful messengers means humility, obedience, and boldnessPractical encouragement for carrying God’s Word into daily conversations This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

No New Revelations — Just God’s MessageAre angels still at work today? Scripture reminds us: God has already spoken fully in Jesus Christ. The book is closed. Yet His Spirit still moves, still guides, and still uses His messengers — both heavenly and human — to point us back to the truth.In this post, I reflect on how we test the spirits, how creation itself points us to the Creator, and why our calling as messengers matters more than ever.Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

In Revelation 22, John fell down at the feet of an angel — and even he was tempted to misdirect his awe. The angel’s response was firm: “Do not do it! … Worship God.”This post looks at why angel-worship (and every other kind of idolatry) is so dangerous, why even good things can become distractions, and how Scripture calls us back to the only One worthy of our worship.🔹 Angels are messengers, not masters.🔹 Fallen angels still have power — but it’s twisted for evil.🔹 Every idol, whether Baal, Molech, or something modern, eventually crumbles.The call is simple and timeless: Worship God. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

It’s easy to chase spiritual experiences, causes, or even good things like nature, angels, or family — but still miss the One who created them. In this episode, we talk about how even sincere people can accidentally let creation crowd out the Creator… and how to turn back. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

What does the Bible really say about angels, aliens, and myths we’ve come to believe? From manna in the wilderness to modern UFO sightings, this episode explores the truth that matters most — and the God who calls us to choose Him. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

Man’s Idea of Angels vs. God’s RealityContinuing the book Angels by David Jeremiah, he paints a picture of a spiritual guide through various angelic encounters in Scripture. He finishes, “divorced from any credibility forever in our minds are the thoughts of plump baby ‘cherubs’ or pale ladies with see through wings traced in glitter across our Christmas cards.”Again, the other book I read points this out as well. These are all man made images that are CALLED angels. As a reminder, angel means ‘messenger’ - it is a job title, not a physical description. Think of the angels that are warriors for God. I don’t see them in my mind’s eye as ‘baby cherubs,’ do you?Let’s put it another way. Would you fall smack dab out at a cherub appearing? No! No more than a fairy or a goblin. But what Ezekiel saw? Jacob? John? Others? They fell as if dead.After Pentecost: Angels Still ActiveAt this point in the study, Pastor Jimmy asked us to look up some homework — are angels even mentioned after the Day of Pentecost, once the Holy Spirit is released into the world?The answer? Yes. Angels didn’t suddenly “retire” because the Spirit was poured out. Scripture after Pentecost still shows angelic activity:* Acts 5:19–20 — An angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought the apostles out.* Acts 8:26 — An angel told Philip to go south on the desert road, which led to his encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch.* Acts 10:3 — Cornelius saw an angel who told him to send for Peter.* Acts 12:7–10 — An angel freed Peter from prison.* Acts 27:23–24 — Paul, in the middle of the storm, said an angel of God stood beside him and told him not to be afraid.* Hebrews 13:2 — Believers are warned that some have “entertained angels without knowing it.”* Revelation — John’s visions are filled with angelic messengers carrying out God’s orders.Notice something? The angels in these accounts aren’t decorative ornaments. They’re warriors, deliverers, and messengers on assignment from God. A far cry from chubby cherubs on a Christmas card.Angels in the Fire and the Lion’s DenAnd if you need one of the strongest reminders of that, look no further than the fiery furnace in Daniel 3. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s idol, and for their faithfulness they were thrown into a furnace heated seven times hotter than normal. But they weren’t alone in the flames.Daniel 3:25 records the king’s shock: “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”Some believe this was an angel sent by God. Others say it was a Christophany — Christ Himself present before His incarnation. Either way, the point is the same: God did not leave His servants alone. He sent help from heaven, right into the fire.And then in Daniel 6, when Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den, he testified the next morning:Daniel 6:22 – “My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight.”Did the angel become visible? Scripture doesn’t say. But here’s the thing — it doesn’t matter. In the fiery furnace, the angel (or Christ Himself) was visible, because Nebuchadnezzar needed to see it. But here in the lions’ den, only Daniel experienced the miracle. Visible or not, the point is the same: God sent His help, right when and where it was needed.Angels on MissionAnd then in Acts 12, when Peter was miraculously freed from prison, Scripture says:Acts 12:10 – “They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.”Why did the angel disappear so suddenly? Simple — the mission was done. Angels aren’t here to hang around for applause or admiration. If they lingered, people might be tempted to worship the messenger instead of the One who sent him. Their task is clear: show up, carry out God’s command, and then step aside so the glory goes to Him alone.Immediate ObedienceIn each of these stories — Elijah with Ahab’s captain (2 Kings 1), David receiving God’s word through Gad (1 Chronicles 21:18), Joseph warned to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt (Matthew 2:13) — there’s no hesitation. The message is clear, the source is God, and the response is instant obedience.Now pause and let that sink in.If the Creator of EVERYTHING tells you to do something, why would you hesitate? Even if it pushes against what the world calls “common sense.” Even if it makes you stand out. Even if it runs against the grain of your traditions.I’ll be honest here. I believe God has been leading me in some ways that don’t always line up neatly with “traditional Baptist beliefs.” This isn’t just theory for me — it’s something God has been pressing on me personally, and I can’t ignore it. Even when it pushes me beyond the comfort of tradition, I know obedience has to come first.The point is this: if I’m sure it’s His Word and His Spirit that’s guiding, then obedience is the only faithful response.So I’ll put the challenge back to you:What has God already told you to do that you’re still putting off?Is it forgiving someone who hurt you? Is it stepping forward to serve where you’ve been dragging your feet? Is it sharing your testimony with someone who desperately needs hope?Partial obedience is just delayed disobedience.When God speaks, the only right answer is yes, Lord. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

Do You Believe?Continuing the book Angels by David Jeremiah, there are some stories of encounters with angels. One in particular is a man named Walt that was saved from a fire by two strangers who disappeared after rescuing him. He then came to follow Jesus, and his dad suggested that they were angels sent to him. Why? So that he would have the chance to do what he did - to turn to Jesus. Jeremiah asks, “Do you believe Walt’s story? I do.” Well I do too! Were they angels in the sense of spiritual beings? Or were they people - human beings - that God sent at the right time? Does it really matter?Yes They ExistNext, Jeremiah goes into the fact that angels (spiritual beings) are REAL. Do you believe it? Do you still wonder? Quoting the book, “in the Scriptures - from Genesis to Revelation - the existence of angels is simply assumed. The Bible contains more than three hundred direct references to them.” If I remember correctly, the other book I read on this topic had a similar opinion from the author. We aren’t given a full diagnostic description because when the scrolls were written, people didn’t doubt! They also didn’t doubt the existence of witches, demon possession, etc. But our modern day ‘scientific’ perspective leaves no room for such ‘superstition.’ The SadduceesSomething I had never ‘caught’ before in my reading of the Bible (side note - isn’t it great that when you go digging, you learn EVERY time you open yourself to the truth of the Word?). Acts 23:6–8 – Paul knew that some of them were Sadducees and others were Pharisees. So he called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee. I am the son of a Pharisee. I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead.” When Paul said this, the Pharisees and the Sadducees started to argue. The people in the meeting were divided. The Sadducees say that people will not rise from the dead. They don’t believe there are angels or spirits. But the Pharisees believe all these things.Did you catch that? The Sadducees didn’t believe in the resurrection, nor angels or spirits. It’s no wonder that when Jesus and the disciples were casting out demons and ‘unclean spirits’ that they didn’t believe Jesus. Do you know anyone that claims to believe in God the Father - the Most High - the Creator - but not in other spiritual realms? It’s a dangerous place to be… There’s an old quote that fits here… “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” — often attributed to Charles Baudelaire.This isn’t Scripture, but it captures a truth the Bible makes clear — Satan works in deception. If he can convince a person that there is no spiritual realm, no angels, no demons, no need for a Savior… then he’s already won the battle for that soul.No Choice But to Believe and Speak ofJeremiah quotes theologian M.J. Erickson - “The teaching of Scripture is that he has created these spiritual beings and has chosen to carry out many of his acts through them. Therefore, if we are to be faithful students of the Bible, we have no choice but to speak of these beings.”This applies to other topics as well. Do I talk timing of the Rapture when I am witnessing? No! But Jesus talked about the End Times, so it shouldn’t be ignored either. Actually there are MANY things that are ‘discussed’ and different people will draw different conclusions, and I’m happy to ‘respectfully disagree’ on these secondary issues, but when it comes to Jesus being the Way, the Truth and the Life? No compromise!When Eternity Is at StakeI would like to share another longer quote from Jeremiah… “Most Christians agree demonic activity will increase as we near the last days. It’s a viewpoint grounded not only in simple observation of what the world is coming to, but also in Scripture. ‘The Spirit clearly says,’ Paul reminds us in 1 Timothy 4:1, ‘that in latter times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.’” Now of this, I have no doubt! I don’t know that the demons are stronger, or that the church is weaker, but at the very least the church does NOT have the influence on the secular United States that it once had. Is the same thing happening worldwide? I can’t say for sure, but I do know that reports are coming in of people being converted in every part of the world!Let me be VERY very clear in something. The church is made up of believers, and believers that don’t FULLY COMMIT to following Christ will not have the effect on the world that they could have - and SHOULD have! Is it too late? Not at all! 2 Chronicles 7:14 – if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Can God really hear us and heal the land? YES! What will it take? His people - Christians - doing the things mentioned. Humble themselves is the first thing listed. Are you humble? I am definitely trying to be humble towards my fellow man and especially towards God, but I fail sometimes…Do we pray and seek His face? Do we turn from our wicked ways? That last one is especially hard. It means turning away from your sin - from your wrongdoings. This is harder and harder to do as things become more enjoyable.Why is pornography so prevalent? Why is alcohol so accepted in society? Why is abortion simply called a “choice” and no longer called murder? Because we are selfish. We love our sin. As long as we can have a moment of pleasure, we tell ourselves God can wait.But He won’t wait forever.We can’t keep sowing our wild oats and telling God we’ll deal with Him later. Souls are at stake. Every moment we delay, people are slipping into eternity without Christ.The time for excuses is over. The time for obedience is now. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

Continuing the ‘study’ of the book Angels, David Jeremiah shares an interesting view. He says that his personal lack of a personal angelic manifestation might be a ‘backhanded compliment’ from God. He says, “God may be telling me, ‘Jeremiah, you don’t need an angel. You’ll be fine. You know who you are and Who’s is with you - and that’s enough for now.’” I have to say, I can relate to this!John 20:29 – Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you see me. Blessed are those who have not seen me but still have believed.”I always felt like John recorded these words and Jesus was speaking about ME! Is He speaking of you as well? This also reminds me of something that happened to me in the world of ‘spiritualism.’ I have mentioned before that I read a book as a young, impressionable teen-ager that told how to communicate with spirits. One way was with a pendulum that I created myself, with the book’s instructions. Did it work? YES! Am I proud of this? Not at all. I have repented of it and know it is against God’s teachings… Deuteronomy 18:10-12 – Don’t let anyone among you offer a son or daughter as a sacrifice in the fire. Don’t let anyone use magic or tell fortunes. Don’t let anyone try to explain the meaning of signs. Don’t let anyone take part in witchcraft. Don’t let anyone who does those things cast spells. Don’t let them try to get messages from those who have died. The Lord hates anyone who does these things.Now, does God really HATE these people? I believe it means they are an abomination to Him - that these are wicked things to do. That being said, does it mean someone can’t be forgiven of this? Not at all! Jesus paid the price for all of these things - for all of the times that I tried to communicate with the dead.But the story I wanted to relate is this. When I had family members that were using the Ouija board to communicate with what we all believed were the dead, I decided to try to speak to one of them with my old pendulum trick. Now by this time I might have been not STRONG in following God, but I had committed myself to Jesus. I believe that this caused things not to work correctly for me. There were four self identified guys in this group. One of them I felt was in the car with me as I was sitting and waiting for the lunch hour to be over. I grabbed a pendulum and started talking to ‘him.’ The answers were supposed to come via the pendulum, but it wasn’t working… Not at ALL. Now today I believe this is because of the indwelling Holy Spirit preventing ‘it’ from controlling even a little part of me, but I don’t know for sure.At any rate, what did happen was I would ask a question and ‘it’ wouldn’t be able to respond, but I still felt the presence right there in the car with me. After several failed attempts, I got frustrated. I felt the ‘presence’ in the car was me telling me I didn’t need that. I was speaking out loud and again being frustrated until I realized I was communicating already.Now, was this the spirit or soul of a dead person? No - I believe it was an angel, but not one of the good ones. I believe it was a spiritual being of course, but it was one that, when ‘tried,’ did NOT profess Jesus as Lord.1 John 4:1-3 – Dear friends, don’t believe every spirit. Test the spirits to see if they belong to God. Many false prophets have gone out into the world. Here is how you can recognize the Spirit of God. Every spirit agreeing that Jesus Christ came in a human body belongs to God. But every spirit that doesn’t agree with this does not belong to God. This is the spirit of the antichrist. You have heard that the antichrist is coming. In fact, he is already in the world now.Now some Christians would tell me today that it was just my imagination. But ask someone that has done ‘automatic writing’ if the written words were their imagination. See someone use automatic writing to let the channeled spirit write something that can only be read in a mirror, or in another language that the person doesn’t speak.These are all things that exorcists will see manifest in people that are possessed by what we call demons or evil spirits - often understood as fallen angels, or messengers of the enemy (Satan.) Sensationalized or not - it’s still real. Why would God forbid something if it couldn’t be done in the first place?Jeremiah continues, “I don’t have a fixation on angels, but I’m more convinced that ever that they are far more involved in our world than most of us realize. I believe they certainly do intervene here, both visibly and invisibly.”I personally agree! The spiritual world is closer than we realize — perhaps just one veil away. If demons can whisper temptations, what stops angels from guiding and protecting us too?I believe that these created beings are endowed with certain powers, just as we are! We have the ability to write, sing, create, think, build and so very much more! We can’t fly or walk through walls, but being spiritual beings they can. Those who followed Lucifer - the fallen - didn’t lose their abilities when they rejected God. So let me ask: when we reject God’s will and chase after our own pride, greed, or lust… do we lose our gifts, or simply misuse them?In closing, I’m not sharing these things to glorify the past or stir up curiosity - quite the opposite. I share because deception is real, and the enemy still whispers. But greater is the One who speaks truth.So test the spirits. Be alert. Trust God’s Word. And most of all… remember what Jesus said:John 20:29 – Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you see me. Blessed are those who have not seen me but still have believed.”That’s a blessing meant for us. Walk in it.Let’s pray together…Father God, I thank You for each person reading or hearing these words right now. You know their hearts. You know their fears, their past, and their questions. Lord, I ask that Your Holy Spirit would move in them - not with fear or confusion, but with clarity and conviction. Let Your truth rise above every lie. Let Your presence be louder than any whisper of the enemy.Lord, if anyone is dabbling in the things You’ve called unclean - whether knowingly or unknowingly - I ask that You bring them into Your light. Show them Your mercy and lead them to repentance, the kind that brings life and freedom.May Your Spirit guide them, protect them, and fill them with wisdom and discernment. And may we all learn to trust You more - not because we see signs and wonders, but because we have believed without seeing.Thank You, Jesus, for being enough. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

Back to the WingspanThis is where I’d normally apologize for no post in a few weeks - but I’m not going to do that. As some of you know, I get the bulk of the summer off work so things have been out of routine, so to speak. We have had the pleasure of our grandson from out of state with us, and the responsibility of discipling him on the nature of God and what it means to be a ‘believer.’But to dive back in… We are still discussing the book Angels by Dr. David Jeremiah. To recap, this is the book that the men’s Bible Study (some folks calls it small group, but I calls it Bible Study) has been discussing. As before, I’ve made a ton of notes that are more for THIS audience - YOU - than for that audience. That being said, let’s jump back in with both wings…Why Angels Matter (But Aren’t the Main Point)Jeremiah says something very important! Actually it is repeated all throughout the book so you don’t miss it. “Everything Scripture says concerning angels is in connection to something else as the main theme. There are no pages or passages whose central purpose is to spell out a doctrine of angels. So we can’t uncover as much about them as we might like. Unfortunately those who don’t understand or appreciate the Bible’s wisdom and authority have been quick to jump in and try to fill all the gaps with fanciful conjecture.”I have another book on angels and that author says the same thing. To paraphrase, when we read of angels, they are performing a larger work. The goal is NOT to teach us ABOUT angels, but that God loves us and takes care of His own!So remember as you think about ANY spiritual being, what is the PURPOSE behind it. Is it to point to God and His grace, or is it to deceive and ensnare?Don’t Chase Shadows - Chase the Source (of Truth)The next point I want to bring out is something Jeremiah quotes John Calvin on - “Let us remember that on the whole subject of religion one rule of modesty and soberness is to be observed, and it is this - in obscure matters not to speak or think, or even long to know, more than the Word of God has delivered.”Now let me get OFF the subject of angels for a moment and say that this is such a great point overall! To search outside of God’s Holy Word is to invite lies and deception, as well as confirmation bias. In other words, do you trust what God says in His Word? Or do you trust what someone else has TOLD you it means? Do you read it for yourself and ask God to reveal it to you? Or do you ‘listen to preaching’ or ‘go to church and hear the Word’ - as delivered by someone else…Don’t get me wrong, we are COMMANDED to get with a local group of believers and grow in our spiritual journey! We are told to disciple others - to preach the gospel to the world. As you’ve no doubt heard me say over and over and over again, how can we do this if we are not grounded in the Word?John Calvin Was Right (and Also Not Always Right)Take these very quotes I am sharing. Jeremiah believes in a ‘secret rapture’ - a pre-tribulation (before the seven year period) rapture that could occur at any moment. I don’t agree with this interpretation, but that doesn’t mean he is a heretic or not worthy of attention. None of us know it all, and I believe there are a lot of us - me included - who will stand before the Lord one day and go “oh - that’s what you meant - well I guess I got that part wrong.” To believe anything else is to believe you are infallible.And then the latest quote from John Calvin. I agree completely with what he says here, but I do NOT agree completely with what he taught about predestination. Doesn’t mean I can’t learn from him, but it does mean that I shouldn’t take anything ANYONE says and run with it without verifying. And friend you shouldn’t take anything that I say on faith either. I am saying what I believe God is leading me to say, but I also know my views have changed over the years, and I am humble enough to know that I could be wrong.A Message for One Heart - But Maybe Yours TooOne more point and I’ll move along… There is someone HEAVY on my heart that I pray reads this post. She once told me she was ‘looking for God’ and I was too immature as a Believer to be able to point her in the right direction. Now it’s years later and she has been deep in the occult and ‘spirituality’ ever since. I believe she respects me enough to listen to me, but I’m not getting through. I want her to hear this if nothing else…I believe God is real. Jesus is God in the form of a man. Not a person that ‘kept doing it until He got it right,’ but is the eternal Creator come to earth. He told us this, and then proved it by resurrecting Himself. Any other ‘spirit’ that tells you something contrary to this can’t be trusted.Neither can I be trusted, in the sense that MY views are not guaranteed to be correct. But listen PAST the words you’ve read and heard from others, living and dead, and search out the ultimate truth! I don’t want you to blindly believe something, because that’s only surface-level belief at best. I want you to KNOW it in your heart, as I do!Spiritual Beings Are Real—But So Is DeceptionOne last point for this post - one that ties directly to everything above. Jeremiah says, “Wonderful as the presence of an angel might be, God has given us something better. In fact he’s given us the greatest gift of all: his presence through his Holy Spirt, and in his Word.”Might an angel just be yet another sign? And they are all there - in history! We don’t need a sign to know God is real - or said another way, Creation itself testifies to a Creator. We don’t need to personally see everything God has ever created.The angels are created beings - just like us! Do you have to see someone in every country to know they are there? Or do you believe that since others have seen people in another part of the world that it exists?Are there spiritual beings? Yes! Have I seen one? Not that I am aware of, but I have experienced things from the spiritual world. I have experienced what we Believers call the indwelling Holy Spirit, and I have experienced the uneasiness of created beings in the spiritual world that are NOT working for God. I have been deceived and I have also seen the Truth. Do ‘angels’ always point to God? No! 1 John 4:1 - Dear friends, don’t believe every spirit. Test the spirits to see if they belong to God. Many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 Corinthians 11:14 - Even Satan himself pretends to be an angel of light.So test the spirits. Trust the Source. And never chase shadows when the Light is already shining. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

The Danger of Belief Without TruthWe are still discussing the book Angels by Dr. David Jeremiah. Jumping right back in, he makes a point that I’d like to share. “Because belief in God is no longer “popular” in America, it is possible to believe in anything. People are searching for spirituality-but not if it involves God.” I heard it said recently that, “People will believe anything - as long as it is not in the Bible.”When Heaven Comes NearJeremiah quotes part of the 1975 book Angels from Billy Graham, where he speaks of his maternal grandmother’s death. “The room seemed to fill with a heavenly light. She sat up in bed and almost laughingly said, ‘I see Jesus. He has his arms outstretched toward me. I see Ben [her husband who had died some years earlier] and I see the angels.’ Then she slumped over, absent from the body but present with the Lord.”Now modern ‘angelism’ or spiritualism would have spared her life - not watched her cross over. As I have tried to point out time and again, this world is temporary! To a Christian, going to be with Jesus is a glorious thing, not something to be saved FROM!You might have heard me point out in my previous teachings and writings that in mainstream media, death is the worst thing that can ever happen to you. Hurting someone, stealing from them, lying to them - these are all bad, but death? Well that has to be the worst, right?Matthew 10:28 NIRV — Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body but can’t kill the soul. Instead, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.To paraphrase my pastor, “If Christians spent as much effort in prayer trying to keep lost people out of hell as we do saved people out of Heaven, it would be a much better place!”And there’s also the fact that God heals in many different ways. Sometimes it’s with an earthly healing that no one sees. Maybe a doctor gives the right diagnosis; maybe someone prays for healing and they receive it; maybe they are healed to go and be a witness.But every one that has ever been healed has either died, or still will die. The only TRUE and ULTIMATE healing comes in the presence of God when we are given Glorified bodies. Until then, it’s temporary, so don’t get hung up on that.This truth reminds us: healing is a gift, but eternity is the goal.Angels as MessengersBut we were discussing angels. Before I continue, just understand that angels are messengers and they don’t always have a message of healing. God knows, not us, what is best in the long run.Graham continues, “as an evangelist, I have often felt too far spent to minister from the pulpit to men and women who have filled stadiums to hear a message from the Lord. Yet again and again my weakness has vanished, and my strength has been renewed. I have been filled with God’s power not only in my soul but physically. On many occasions, God has become especially real, and has sent his unseen angelic visitors to touch my body and let me be his messenger for heaven, speaking as a dying man to dying men.”Let me ask you something. Can God speak it, or think it, and it be so? Yes! Does He use human messengers to sow the seeds? Yes! So it would make sense that He would use His angelic messengers to carry out His instructions as well. Heaven is ‘somewhere else.’ God became human to walk, talk, teach, die, be resurrected… And to ascend. To do these things, He had to limit Himself. He had to remain God the Creator, but take on the form and flesh of a human man. Perhaps He limits Himself in other ways, to use angels - messengers - to help facilitate free will for us.God’s Protection Through His MessengersI think a perfect example of this is brought up next in the book. I’ll paraphrase it here. A man and wife missionary team were surrounded by hostile natives one night. The natives were intent on burning them out and killing them. The missionaries prayed all night that God would deliver them and when the morning came the attackers had left!About a year later, the chief was converted to Christ and the missionary asked the chief what kept the natives from burning down the house. The chief said they were afraid of the “hundreds of big men in shining garments with drawn swords in their hands.” So it was obvious that God had sent angels to protect him and his wife!Now again, God could have struck down the natives with a thought, but He didn’t. Could the angels appearing have been part of a bigger plan? Part of the plan of converting the chief? I believe they were there for a PURPOSE and a much bigger purpose than just protecting life; they were there as witnesses of the power of God. Let me be clear - life is sacred. God does not look favorably on those that would murder. Jesus even said if you have hatred for your brother in your heart you’re already guilty of murder. In the old testament the Hebrews were warned not to let their children pass through the fire.I believe we are to value life! We are to protect the unborn and the born in equal measure. But once someone has given themselves to Jesus? They are no longer home here. It’s not an excuse to end their life, but their life is no longer the most important commodity they have.1 John 3:15 NIRV — Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer. And you know that no murderer has eternal life.Deuteronomy 18:10 NIRV — Don’t let anyone among you offer a son or daughter as a sacrifice in the fire. Don’t let anyone practice evil magic. Don’t let them explain dreams or get messages from the dead.Mark 8:36 NIRV — What good is it if someone gains the whole world but loses their soul?Faith and Action: Digging into the WordJeremiah goes on to give other examples and even mentions that we can learn about angels in the Scripture. He points out that the Holy Bible contains “rich and inspired messages” that tell us about angels. I would say that it does more than that, of course, but the focus on this book is angels. “Through careful study, anyone who truly seeks the Lord with a good and honest heart can find these riches.”God’s Word is rich, but it isn’t surface-level. He invites us to dig. I have heard it said, you don’t lean on a shovel and pray for a hole - you have to dig! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

Men’s Study GroupBeen a bit since I’ve written. My sister in Christ Debbie says I have a calling for this, and I agree in that I feel led to do it, but life has been busy! To be honest, I’ve not been the studying person lately that I know I should be. Yes, daily I have recommitted to Christ, but I’ve also fallen down on that, and my ‘ministry,’ of sorts, has suffered for it.So, jumping right in! Our men’s study group is reading and discussing a book by Dr. David Jeremiah called Angels. I more or less lead this discussion every other Tuesday, and I have made notes with the intent of sharing them. I’ll go ahead and say that not everything I note makes it into the Tuesday night sessions. As I make notes, I feel some of them are led to share there, and others are specifically for here. This will perhaps become evident as I proceed.BackgroundFor background, Dr. David Jeremiah is a well known speaker, pastor and author. When our pastor made the suggestion of moving to this book, I commented that I thought it would be an interesting one to read and that, on a personal note, it would prompt me to study more. Why? Because I don’t personally agree with everything that Jeremiah has to say. If I agreed with him 100%, it would be an echo chamber. It would simply be “amen!” and “that’s right” and I wouldn’t learn anything. Since I don’t agree completely with him on SOME things, it will cause what I do read to be evaluated and tested against the Scripture. Think of the Bereans and how they are well known for DAILY searching the Scriptures, even testing Paul’s teachings to make sure they aligned with God’s Word.Acts 17:11 NIRV — The Berean Jews were very glad to receive Paul’s message. They studied the Scriptures carefully every day. They wanted to see if what Paul said was true. Many of them believed. A number of important Greek women and many Greek men also believed.Now, do I want you to take what I say and simply believe it? NO! Test it! Compare it with the Word of God. Find where I am wrong and tell me so! Allow me to challenge your beliefs and please challenge mine as well! Another BookThere is another book on Angels I had started reading as well. Very well written, even though I haven’t finished it yet. I set it aside to start on this one to be able to stay with the group. I do reference it from time to time though.Like Jeremiah, Gilhooly attempts to share what is in the Bible ONLY and not pull from popular culture or historical beliefs. We find from BOTH authors that there is really not as much information as we would expect, based on the popularity of angels in the world.Another WorldOn page 15, Jeremiah is discussing the DANGERS of belief in Angels. Sounds weird, right? Well, let’s follow along. People are turning to spirituality for answers that science and rational thought can’t give them. Much like in the days of the Romans or the Greeks, or even going back to the Egyptians, they had a knowledge of things that we call science. How water works, the rain cycle, making machinery to power things with wind or water - the list goes on. But they also had ‘many gods’ - that’s lower case “g” - to look to for things that they could not explain. Are we any different today?Mankind wants to explain things - the human race wants to explore and learn. What if there is no scientific explanation for something? Then a dimension beyond the one we have in front of us is a possible answer. Lately, mainstream science fiction has turned toward ‘the multiverse’ to explain other realms we can’t see. Now lest you be deceived in this, this is NOT something that Marvel came up with for the movies. The idea of a multiverse, or infinite realities, is something that science fiction writers have used for a long time.Remember that I enjoy time travel stories and movies? One of the explanations of time travel in these is the ‘alternate reality’ explanation. That is that if you were to travel into the past, it’s not your own past you’re going into, but an alternative one. Now as a young science fiction reader, I saw nothing wrong with this. As I’ve matured in my spiritual walk, I still see it as complete fantasy, just like any fiction you read or watch. Mission Impossible might deal with current events, but it’s not ‘our world’ because we don’t actually have a guy that looks like Tom Cruise riding motorcycles and saving the world. Same with sitcoms… There is no Jerry Seinfeld living in New York with a neighbor across the hall. There might be SIMILAR things, but that sitcom takes place in an ‘alternate world.’ Geeking OutOkay - sorry for the geek out there. Those of you that read this and know me in real life know I can get like that, and I apologize. Where I’m going with this is that a Biblical Worldview says that God is the Creator and Sustainer of all that is. This includes the spiritual realm as well. If God’s Throne Room that the Tabernacle was to be a copy of exists somewhere, then it’s not on this earthly plane of existence. Hebrews 8:5 NIRV — They serve at a sacred tent that is only a copy and a shadow of what is in heaven. That is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tent. God said, “Be sure to make everything just like the pattern I showed you on the mountain.” (Exodus 25:40)If in Daniel when the angel mentioned ‘fighting’ with the Prince of Persia and being delayed, this obviously doesn’t happen in a way that we would have seen the fight itself, so it was in another plane of existence. Same for when the Angel appeared to Mary before God became man to be born of her and Joseph - and the dreams that Joseph and the Wise Men had… I could go on and on with examples.Daniel 10:13 NIRV — But the prince of Persia fought against me for 21 days. Then Michael, one of the most important angels, came to help me. I was left there with the kings of Persia.Luke 1:26-38 NIRV — In the sixth month after Elizabeth had become pregnant, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee. He was sent to a virgin. The girl was engaged to a man named Joseph. He came from the family line of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel greeted her and said, “The Lord has blessed you in a special way. He is with you.” Mary was very upset because of his words. She wondered what kind of greeting this could be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary. God is very pleased with you. You will become pregnant and give birth to a son. You must call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God. The Lord God will make him a king like his father David of long ago. The Son of the Most High God will rule forever over his people, who came from Jacob’s family. That kingdom will never end.” “How can this happen?” Mary asked the angel. “I am a virgin.” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come to you. The power of the Most High God will cover you. So the holy one that is born will be called the Son of God. Your relative Elizabeth is old. But even she is going to have a child. It is said that she cannot have children. But she has been pregnant for six months. That’s because what God says will always come true.” “I serve the Lord,” Mary answered. “May it happen to me just as you said it would.” Then the angel left her.Matthew 1:18-25 NIRV — This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about. His mother Mary and Joseph had promised to get married. But before they started to live together, it became clear that she was going to have a baby. She became pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph was faithful to the law. But he did not want to put her to shame in public. So he planned to divorce her quietly. But as Joseph was thinking about this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. The angel said, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary home as your wife. The baby inside her is from the Holy Spirit. She is going to have a son. You must give him the name Jesus. That’s because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to bring about what the Lord had said would happen. He had said through the prophet, “The virgin is going to have a baby. She will give birth to a son. And he will be called Immanuel.” The name Immanuel means “God with us.” Joseph woke up. He did what the angel of the Lord commanded him to do. He took Mary home as his wife. But he did not sleep with her until she gave birth to a son. And Joseph gave him the name Jesus.Matthew 2:12 NIRV — But God warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod. So they returned to their country on a different road.Matthew 2:13-15 NIRV — When the Wise Men had left, Joseph had a dream. In the dream an angel of the Lord appeared to him. “Get up!” the angel said. “Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you to come back. Herod is going to search for the child. He wants to kill him.” So Joseph got up. During the night, he left for Egypt with the child and his mother Mary. They stayed there until King Herod died. This happened to bring about what the Lord had said would happen. He had said through the prophet, “I brought my son out of Egypt.”Spiritual PlaneThe point in all of this is that there is a spiritual plane of existence. Why do we call it spiritual? Because it’s not physical, or at least not what we call physical. God is often referred to as “the Father” but is also described as a Spirit.John 4:24 NIRV — God is spirit. His worshipers must worship him in the Spirit and in truth.So naturally we would call this other reality the spiritual world. It’s just a name - just something we reference it as to describe our relationship with it. So getting back to how it’s dangerous, Jeremiah says, “the biggest danger may well be greater susceptibility to spirituality’s dark side. Mankind’s mental doorway may be open wider to thinking about religion and eternity, but it’s probably also open wider to Satan’s influence.”’Now let me clear about something. Spirituality does NOT equate to Christianity. The witch at Endor was VERY spiritual, but she was practicing what God had said not to. 1 Samuel 28:7 NIRV — Saul spoke to his attendants. He said, “Find me a woman who gets messages from those who have died. Then I can go and ask her some questions.” They said, “There’s a woman like that in Endor.”The Egyptians, as I said, were very scientific, but they were very spiritual as well. They had many gods they would turn to, and they had their own magicians that could duplicate the first few things that Moses and Aaron did.Exodus 7:22 NIRV — But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by doing their magic tricks. Pharaoh’s heart became stubborn. He wouldn’t listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.Fast forward to today. We have palm readers, tarot card readers, mediums, diviners - these are all examples of spiritual people, but they don’t turn to the Most High God - The Creator God. Can they encounter the One True God of all Creation this way? Well it’s not the way the Bible says.John 14:6 NIRV — Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”1 John 4:1 NIRV — Dear friends, don’t believe every spirit. Test the spirits to see if they belong to God. Many false prophets have gone out into the world.Belief in AngelsNow we are getting to the meat of it all. Jeremiah says, “but a stronger belief in angels is no guarantee of greater understanding of God’s truth. The devil can ensnare us as much through ‘angelism’ as he can through materialism or sexual lust or power-hunger. In fact he has scored some of his greatest triumphs in the disguise of angels.”He goes on to mention in 610 AD Islam was born when Muhammed was visited by ‘an angel’ and given the Koran. He also mentions Mormonism when “Moroni” came to Joseph Smith. To be clear here, and this is something Jeremiah hasn’t brought out at this point, the english word angel simply means messenger. So when the Bible mentions that Satan can appear as an “angel of light,” it simply means a messenger of something or someone. In this implication, it means ‘light’ as in “Jesus is the light of the world.” 2 Corinthians 11:14 NIRV — And no wonder! Even Satan himself pretends to be an angel of light.John 8:12 NIRV — Jesus spoke to the people again. He said, “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in darkness. They will have the light that gives life.”So if we change the reading of the verse in 2 Corinthians to something we can better understand, it would be - “Satan pretends to be a messenger of God - of Light - of Truth.” Now we also know that Satan is a liar, so if the messenger we are listening to is Satan or a fallen angel - a messenger of lies - then we know the message is false. Stay Anchored in the LightAs we’ve seen throughout Scripture - and even in modern examples - not every spiritual experience is from God. Some messengers of “light” are, in reality, messengers of deception. This is why discernment is not just helpful - it is absolutely essential!I’m not just sharing this with you. I’m preaching it to myself as well. I need it just as much as you do. Let’s commit together to seeking the true Light and testing EVERY message and messenger against the Word of God. Join me in prayer?Lord Jesus, You are the Light of the world. We ask You now for discernment - not just to recognize truth from error, but to love truth above all else. Guard our hearts against deception, no matter how beautiful or convincing it may seem. Strengthen us to stay grounded in Your Word and quicken our spirits to recognize the voice of the True Shepherd over all others. I pray for each reader, each listener and for myself, that we would not be led astray by false lights, but that we would cling to the One True Light that gives life. In Your powerful and holy name, Jesus Christ, Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

Sunday SchoolI’m typing this on Saturday morning. Tomorrow’s Sunday School lesson is called Our Relationships.” I studied last night and made several notes that I’d love to share with you - the reader and listener. As a believer living in the world, I think there’s a lot of good we can glean from this!The scripture is from 1 Peter - 1 Peter 3:1-12 NIRV - Wives, follow the lead of your own husbands. Suppose some of them don’t believe God’s word. Then let them be won to Christ without words by seeing how their wives behave. Let them see how pure you are. Let them see that your lives are full of respect for God. Fancy hairstyles don’t make you beautiful. Wearing gold jewelry or fine clothes doesn’t make you beautiful. Instead, your beauty comes from inside you. It is the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. Beauty like this doesn’t fade away. God places great value on it. This is how the holy women of the past made themselves beautiful. They trusted in God. They followed the lead of their own husbands. Sarah was like that. She obeyed Abraham. She called him her master. Do you want to be like her? Then do what is right. And don’t give in to fear.Husbands, consider the needs of your wives. They are weaker than you. So treat them with respect. Honor them as those who will share with you the gracious gift of life. Then nothing will stand in the way of your prayers.Finally, I want all of you to agree with one another. Be understanding. Love one another. Be kind and tender. Be humble. Don’t pay back evil with evil. Don’t pay back unkind words with unkind words. Instead, pay back evil with kind words. You were chosen to do this so that you might receive a blessing from God. Scripture says, “Suppose someone wants to love life and see good days. Then they must keep their tongues from speaking evil. They must keep their lips from telling lies. They must turn away from evil and do good. They must look for peace and go after it. The Lord’s eyes look with favor on those who are godly. His ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord doesn’t look with favor on those who do evil.”Huge Evangelism PointThe writer uses this passage to speak about wives submitting to their husbands, but I see it more of an evangelism tool. For example, the writer says, “many who were born into the class of the weaker power had to learn how to relate to others around them in a way that would advance the gospel and bring glory to God.”(((Weaker power here refers to those in the society at the time born as workers, or Jews, or non-royalty. Many of the classes that were around then are around today, just called something different. For example, you may not have the power to make policy at home or work or in the government, so even though you are no less a person, your earthly influence is limited. Understanding this helps us approach evangelism wisely, because it shows us how influential our actions can be, even when our authority seems limited)))Now this is a HUGE point for us that take evangelism seriously. You must learn to be firm and not waver on the truth, but you must still be diplomatic. Remember, not everyone agrees with you or your worldview, but bridging division is KEY, not creating division!Looking back at verses 1 and 2 specifically - Wives, follow the lead of your own husbands. Suppose some of them don’t believe God’s word. Then let them be won to Christ without words by seeing how their wives behave. Let them see how pure you are. Let them see that your lives are full of respect for God.There is so much truth here to unpack! First, let’s change wife/husband to brother/sister, friend, colleague, etc. For example - Workers, follow the lead of your boss. Suppose they don’t follow Christ. Then let them be won over not with words, but with how you behave! Let them see how pure your thoughts and actions are. Let them see that you respect God.Put your own situation in there! Daughters, follow the lead of your mother. Suppose they don’t follow Christ. Then let them be won over not with words, but with how you behave! Let them see how pure your thoughts and actions are. Let them see that you respect God.If you have read or listened to me much at all, you know that I believe evangelism is job one for a Believer. If you agree, then let that guide your thoughts and actions as well! Let it guide your relationship with non-believers all around you!Living in ObedienceThe writer points out later in the lesson, “they (wives) could not expect unbelieving husbands to live in obedience to the Word of God.” This is very true, so how does it affect us as believers? First of all, we SHOULD expect believers - church family - to live in obedience. We are charged as a fellowship of Christians to make sure our members are living as they should. But we must remember that so many that come to church are lost! And the goal is not to get them to ‘live better,’ but to find Jesus!So to clarify, what I’m saying is that if you encounter visitors at church, or people you work with, or go to school with - don’t expect them to follow a Biblical worldview just because you do or because you know it to be TRUTH. If they were believers of Christ as you are, then expect it.2 Peter 2:22 NIRV - What the proverbs say about them is true. “A dog returns to where it has thrown up.” (Proverbs 26:11) And, “A pig that is washed goes back to rolling in the mud.”Is this running down non-believers? Not at all! It is simply accepting the fact that people that follow evil will continue to do evil. They may ‘turn over a new leaf’ one day, but unless there is a change of heart, they will continue to return to evil. This is to be expected and planned for.You have probably heard it said by secularists that ‘people are basically good at heart.’ I disagree with this! Jeremiah 17:9 NIRV — A human heart is more dishonest than anything else. It can’t be healed. Who can understand it?Isaiah 64:6 NIRV — All of us have become like someone who is “unclean.” All the good things we do are like dirty rags to you. All of us are like leaves that have dried up. Our sins sweep us away like the wind.So the Bible makes it clear that the human heart is evil. If someone begins to ‘do good deeds’ to make themselves feel better, they aren’t offsetting the evil in their heart; they may do good for a while, but if the heart isn’t changed, then they will eventually show their true selves. How is the heart changed? Only through a relationship with Christ, which transforms the heart rather than just the outward behaviors.”Submission to AuthorityThe writer continues, “submission did not imply inferiority, nor did it encourage wives to participate in sinful activities or remain in threatening situations. As much as possible, the wife was to voluntarily submit to the authority of her husband for the purposes of leading him to Christ.”As I said before, replace wife with whatever you are. This goes for our job, our parents, the government… We are not to sin because our parents tell us to, or our job requires it, or the government makes it a law. We are to stand on God’s Word and do what is right, but as the writer says AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE we are to be subjects to the law.Do you parents tell you not to pray? That this is all a bunch of lies? Then pray silently. God can hear your thoughts and definitely knows the intent of your heart. They don’t want to hear about or think about God? Then don’t bring it up, but be ready to respond if and when they do! And continue to seek God in your own heart!When it comes to the government and laws, a good recent example of respectful civil disobedience was during COVID-19, when some governments placed strict limits on church gatherings. While many churches complied initially out of caution, ours included, others chose civil disobedience by respectfully gathering anyway. This showed prioritizing obedience to God’s call to worship over local laws. They weren’t defiant or belligerent; they quietly chose God’s authority over human rules, and our church has committed to doing this as well, when the time comes!MeeknessA couple of quick points - the writer mentions that “a meek spirit is not a quality reserved only for women.” He goes on to point out that even Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount mentions it. Then Paul mentions something similar in the letter to Ephasis. Matthew 5:5 NIRV - “Blessed are those who are humble. They will be given the earth.”Ephesians 5:21 NIRV - “Follow the lead of one another because of your respect for Christ.”The bottom line? Meekness in truth will sway hearts where belligerence won’t. And remember, meekness is not weakness. Being meek means not insisting on your way or no way, but respecting others and their opinions. Being meek doesn’t mean ‘taking your ball and going home,’ but it also means winning graciously. Being meek means allowing others to disagree with you. You can disagree respectfully.In ConclusionLook back at verses 8-12: 1 Peter 3:8-12 NIRV - “Finally, I want all of you to agree with one another. Be understanding. Love one another. Be kind and tender. Be humble. Don’t pay back evil with evil. Don’t pay back unkind words with unkind words. Instead, pay them back with kind words. That’s what you have been chosen to do. You can receive a blessing by doing it. Scripture says, ‘Suppose someone wants to love life and see good days. Then they must keep their tongues from speaking evil. They must keep their lips from telling lies. They must turn away from evil and do good. They must look for peace and go after it. The Lord’s eyes look on godly people, and he blesses them. His ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord doesn’t bless those who do evil.’ (Psalm 34:12–16)”I am currently having a private conversation with a friend where the term ‘live and let live’ was brought up. This entire passage sounds like exactly that… until you get to the last part - “but the Lord doesn’t bless those who do evil.”Yes, God still loves everyone. But being a just God and a fair judge, He doesn’t ignore sin. If people refuse Jesus they not only get what they deserve, they get exactly what they ask for. But we are still to love them just as God does! We are to forgive them - over and over and over.This is epitomized in the passage on the greatest commandment - Matthew 22:37-40 NIRV - “Jesus replied, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your mind.’ (Deuteronomy 6:5) This is the first and most important commandment. And the second is like it. ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ (Leviticus 19:18) Everything that is written in the Law and the Prophets is based on these two commandments.”The first part means we do what God says EVERY time. Then love your neighbor as yourself - PERIOD. Reflect on this: How are you actively pursuing peace in your daily life? When faced with unkindness, do you consistently respond with kindness? Or do you find yourself demanding that others agree with your viewpoint?God bless!!! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

IntroIn February, I led the service one Wednesday night. I’ve not put this on the blog/podcast yet, so here it is. I titled it, “The Testing of Our Faith: Strengthened to Serve.” The essence of it was finding joy in troubles and tribulations and how they can make us stronger Christians. I hope you find edification in this.God Bless! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

The Importance of Guarding TruthI have yet to record the last episode - my voice is not 100% - but I’m continuing with my journey through the Bible in chronological order, so I wanted to go ahead and put some things down as God reveals them to me…First of all, there was a blog post by Ken Ham that goes along with Creation, and it led into another one that was just as timely. I’d like to share those now.The first one is called Show Your Teen This Example of “Evolution in Action” and basically shows how words matter! What is “reported” as evolution is not, in fact, evolution at all. Once again the word is used because it is assumed that evolution is a fact, when the fact it is it is just a theory. If we call ourselves Christians and say we believe every word of the Bible, then we must stand guard against things like this! We must reject them in our personal beliefs and strengthen those we are charged with teaching!I’m reminded of when I visited the Children’s Museum in Indianapolis. The dinosaur exhibits spoke as if it were fact. If you dig down, you’ll find that there is so much supposition and theory, but the ‘placards’ for the exhibits? They just talk about this dinosaur being in this period and that one being from that period. It’s up to you to dig deeper and find out WHY they say these things, yes, but it saddens me that it has become commonplace and never questioned. It is yet another way that society - secular society - has eroded Truth.The Consequences of BeliefYou might ask why does it matter and that is a valid question! Does it matter that scientists say dinosaurs lived millions of years ago instead of thousands? Well, did sin originate in the Garden of Eden with the serpent (the nacosh - the shining one) and death came about because of it? Or was death a part of Creation before Adam and Eve came on the scene?If it’s the former, then Genesis 3:15 is a prophecy about Jesus and Satan. If it’s the latter - that death was a part of Creation before Adam - then why should we believe the rest of the account of Creation?Ken has another blog post - Debunking Misconceptions About Creation. This one is also well worth your time to read! It is a very brief description of why Answers in Genesis teaches what and how they teach, and it should reinforce the Christian’s attitude toward the Scripture. Read it and ask yourself, “how many of these things have I fallen for over the years?” Then ask God to open your eyes - your mind - and especially your heart! Remember, if Genesis 1:1 is true, and it is, then the rest is at least possible! What do I mean by that? If God created everything from nothing, then it stands to reason that every other miracle in the Bible, from parting the Red Sea to raising the dead, is at least possible. Why should the creator of life and matter itself be unable to use or manipulate that matter in the way that He sees fit?The Gift of Rest: Why the Sabbath MattersReading Genesis 2, we start with the seventh day and how God rested. Now, ask yourself, did God need rest? No! God sits outside of time and space; created the universe with a word, or more likely first a thought, so why would He need to rest? Mark 2:27 NIRV - Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath day was made for man. Man was not made for the Sabbath day.Now this was Jesus’ response to the Pharisees when they criticized His disciples for picking grain on the Sabbath. It emphasizes that the Sabbath is a gift from God for human rest and spiritual renewal, rather than a burdensome rule. I personally take this very very literally, and just goes to show that God didn’t need a Sabbath, but He knew that we would!God’s Breath of Life: The Soul in CreationThen we move onto a retelling of sorts of when God created mankind. The first man, Adam, was formed from the dust. Taken literally, God spoke Creation into being, then used part of that creation (atoms, molecules, what have you) to FORM a human being. Then, and this is key, God breathed life into him! He became a living soul at that moment! I just heard on a podcast where a priest was talking about the traumatic experience death can be. Why? Because we were not created to be souls in a body, but we ARE the soul. It is our essence. The Bible mentions the ‘heart of a man.’ This is not the blood pumping organ in our chest, but the thing that makes us - well - US. The heart, or the inner being, is where our thoughts and desires come from.So God breathed life into Adam. This is not oxygenated blood - that is a physical thing. This life is what God shared with us. His breath became our life force! Amen!In Conclusion I lost my voice for a while and even though I was studying, I wasn’t sharing it here. To end this episode, I’d like to share another blog post. This was one I stumbled upon some time ago, but never shared it. I promised the author that I would, and more than that I WANT you to read it. Here’s the link - https://storykeatley.com/2021/04/12/that-night/#comment-13214In closing, think about how you treat the Sabbath in your life. Is it for rest? Reflection on God? Or is it a chance to sleep late or go fishing… Where are your priorities? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

A Warning from ExperienceLet this be a warning. It is too easy to get out of the habit of Bible study. I have been ‘less than 100%’ for over a week now. Nothing contagious, per the doctor, but I’ve had trouble breathing and have missed as many days at work as I’ve been over the month of January.Just before Christmas, I decided I was going to stop trying to ‘catch up’ with my daily devotionals and start fresh January 1. I regret to say that I have NOT kept up with them like I had planned. I also had planned to start a ‘chronological read through’ of the Bible. This was something I actually wanted to do in 2024, but let the first few weeks get by me. For 2025, I was going to do it!Well, it hasn’t happened. Last night I was talking with a sister in Christ about this very thing and she turned me on to one published by Bellevue Baptist in Memphis. She got a late start too, but that’s the one she’s been following. I have made the commitment to myself to follow through this year. I’m not going to get discouraged if I miss a day or three, as I don’t want that to derail everything.So why am I sharing this? Why am I admitting that I have failed myself, and you, and God? Because I want you to understand just how easy it can be to fall off of the wagon. I have recently made the comment that it is a DAILY recommitment, and I have failed to do this myself.Now for the record, I’ve still been attending church, even when my body didn’t feel like it, and I’ve been keeping up with my Sunday School lessons, but not to the extent that I usually do; nothing extra, which means in my life, I’ve been failing. If you happen to be right there with me, then join me in recommitting RIGHT NOW! Join me as we dig deeper!If you have NOT fallen to the side like I have, Praise the Lord!!! Keep it up! I commend you and am thankful for your journey! Please pray for me and others I share this boat with.The Right Plan for YouHere’s the Bellevue page - https://www.bellevue.org/bible/ They have a hard copy available for purchase. As a lot of you know, I use E-Sword for my studies and have tried to find a ‘version’ or copy on it. No such luck. They do list a YouVersion though, if that would help some of you. At any rate, there are several ‘plans’ available on the web. My dear Sister in Christ Darla was sharing how Bellevue has a podcast and other resources to help with study. She spoke highly of it, so I’m going to keep those resources in mind! I did finally find an E-Sword ‘Bible Reading Plan’ that gives me what I need, sans the study notes.Please let me know if you choose to follow theirs and what your experience is! Meanwhile I’ll begin the E-Sword version.Before “The Beginning”Obviously, we begin with Genesis 1:1. This is the ‘beginning’ - the start of EVERYTHING, right? Not exactly… It is the story or account of the beginning of what we can experience. Not to be pedantic at all, but God Himself has no beginning. God is outside space and time. He is the Creator Being; He was here ‘before’ the universe. Of course time wasn’t created until the universe began, so ‘before’ is an odd term to use.In our mortal, finite minds, we can only comprehend what we can imagine. We can imagine yesterday and we can even muse on tomorrow. But how can we fathom a time ‘before time began?’ We can’t! I can imagine what it was like on earth in a time before I was alive, but I have no personal point of reference for this.Boy this is hard to explain. The act of explaining it means you are putting it into a definition, and it’s impossible to define. What was here before Genesis 1:1? There was no here. There was no there. There was God. Where did God come from? That question assumes there was a place to come from, but ‘places’ didn’t exist before the beginning. At least what we refer to as places.Faith and Science: A Conflict?I have huge respect for Ken Ham and Answers in Genesis. He has opened my eyes to see things in a Biblical context in a way I never had before. Schools teach that the earth is millions or even billions of years old, yet that doesn’t coincide with Genesis. Even if you take it as allegory, which was the first way I was given to understand it as a child, it still doesn’t fit with what scientists say are geological ages.There are people that are so ‘stuck on science’ that they ignore miracles. They also ignore contrary science when it is starting them in the face. Take for example the almost universally accepted method of measuring the decay of certain isotopes to ‘date’ something. Many scientists accept the idea that the earth is millions or billions of years old based on certain dating methods. This is contrary to the fact that the same dating methods routinely show the ‘age’ of trees buried by volcanic eruptions to be millions of years old as well.When I was younger, I remember when Mount St. Helens erupted. I had a brother in law at the time that even brought some of the ash back to Tennessee. Less than twenty years later, trees were uncovered and ‘dated.’ I remember when this happened and the tremendous pressure from the eruption caused a change in the buried items. Things were tested and dated and ‘proven’ to be thousands and even millions of years old.Now, am I saying for a fact that the world is NOT millions of years old? No. I wasn’t around all that time. That’s the whole point. Observational science is where you can either observe something taking place, or you can observe it being duplicated in the lab. Fossils are another example. We are taught that fossils formed over millions of years, but in the lab we find that fossils are formed when conditions change rapidly, not slowly.In other words we can recreate fossils in the lab by applying extraordinary circumstances, such as what would have happened during the flood of the Bible. Things buried in a short amount of time under a tremendous amount of water will have the scientific effect of creating fossilized remains that APPEAR to be millions of years old.The First Verse: A Foundation for FaithI’ll hold off on other flood talk for when we get to that. For now let’s just say that the first chapter tells the WHY and the WHO more than the HOW. We are not told if God used a ‘big bang’ event or not, and it doesn’t really matter. The fact is that God spoke it into being. How did He speak it? And was it really ‘spoken?’ How could sound travel when there is no space to travel through? Again, these are all words we use to describe something in ways that we can understand. Did God simply ‘think’ and it happened? Did God create a heavenly council first and do things through them? There are many thoughts around these things and we are not told with complete clarity what the answers are. Keep in mind that we are not given the answers to everything we WANT to know, but God has given us what we NEED to know.So what do we NEED to know from Genesis 1? That God is in control. That He created everything we know, see, feel, touch and think about. He formed the earth, then made it where it would sustain life. He made light, the sun, the moon. He made the plants and the animals. Think about that for a moment. Before mankind was created God set up plants and animals. The oxygen cycle was in place before Adam breathed his first. There was no evolving - it was just put in place.A Challenge and a TruthAnd one last thing. If the first verse of the Bible is true, and it is, then every other verse is at least possible. If God is the Creator of everything, then He has the power to do anything He wants. Just as God set everything in place with intention, we, too, must be intentional in studying His Word. Let’s continue this journey together! I challenge you to read Genesis 1:1 again, and maybe read some commentaries on it as well. Let it be the foundation for YOUR journey as well!Blessings and Grace to you! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

Praise God for His Word Going OutHello! First post of 2025. I didn’t intend to ‘take the holidays off’ but it worked out that way. Some of the sub stackers that I follow have talked about their most popular post or top few of 2024. Since I’m working on this as a podcast as well, I thought I’d share my most popular post as a podcast as well.My most viewed post in 2024 is from February 13 and is called choosing a direction. Here’s that post as a podcast, and edited with extra content that is relevant for now.Choosing a Direction - Which way are you going?Life presents us with choices, including which direction to take. Not just north/south or east/west, but toward God or away from Him. You may not realize it, but you are constantly moving. It is impossible to stand still. I’ve not kept up with my studies the last few weeks and it shows. I’ve let distractions creep in. Remember I have said lately that we must make a DAILY re-commitment? I’ve fallen down on this lately, but I’m making a commitment NOW to turn to Him more and less to the world. Yes, it’s a daily struggle.The lesson referenced in this posts uses Genesis 13:11-13, but we need a little more context for what I feel led to discuss. Let’s go back and start with verse 5.Genesis 13:5-13 NIRV - Lot was moving around with Abram. Lot also had flocks and herds and tents. But the land didn’t have enough food for both Abram and Lot. They had large herds and many servants, so they weren’t able to stay together. The people who took care of Abram’s herds and those who took care of Lot’s herds began to argue. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time. So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not argue with each other. The people taking care of your herds and those taking of mine shouldn’t argue with one another either. After all, we’re part of the same family. Isn’t the whole land in front of you? Let’s separate. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right. If you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”Lot looked around. He saw that the whole Jordan River valley toward the town of Zoar had plenty of water. It was like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. So Lot chose the whole Jordan River valley for himself. Then he started out toward the east. The two men separated. Abram lived in the land of Canaan. Lot lived among the cities of the Jordan River valley. He set up his tents near Sodom. The people of Sodom were evil. They were sinning greatly against the Lord.Remember a previous lesson about East being away from God? Lot went East. The King James puts it like thisGenesis 13:12 KJV - Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.Pitched his tent toward Sodom. Where have you pitched your tent? Well let’s discuss that a little more…PeacemakerAbram, following God's lead, allowed Lot to choose which land to take, demonstrating his role as a peacemaker. Abram wanted them to be a family, so they needed a little more room, but he didn’t want to boss Lot around.So Lot looked and saw the Jordan valley and how well watered it was. Since it’s mentioned it was similar to the Garden of Eden, I think we can safely assume it was lush with vegetation and a perfect place to raise livestock. Note that the ‘cities of the plain’ were there too: Sodom and Gomorrah. The Bible clearly states that Lot pitched his tent there and dwelled near Sodom. Now later on we find that he is actually living INSIDE the city, but his first step was to move TOWARD it. He had all this lush land and what God provides, but moved into a city where men were wicked and sinful.Do we do that same? And I’m not talking about living in a city instead of the country. Where I live, the ‘country’ is mostly farmland. Our society is such that you can’t get very far from a Dollar General store, so unless you go up into the hills or become an Amish Mennonite, you’re not going to be able to live off the land.So not speaking of ‘cities,’ but of society in general. When we have a chance to go one of two directions, are we drawn to the wicked and sinful? Do we even make excuses about it? Do we say things like, “well I’m only human!” Yes we are, but we are also made in the image of God! We bear His image and we were created for so much more!Promised LandThis term has grown to me so much more to me lately! Promised land or Holy Land - God Himself chooses it for His people. The trick is we have to follow Him! He has to be Lord of All!Genesis 13:14-18 NIRV - The Lord spoke to Abram after Lot had left him. He said, “Look around from where you are. Look north and south, east and west. I will give you all the land you see. I will give it forever to you and your family who comes after you. I will make them like the dust of the earth. Can dust be counted? If it can, then your family can be counted. Go! Walk through the land. See how long and wide it is. I am giving it to you.” So Abram went to live near the large trees of Mamre at Hebron. There he pitched his tents and built an altar to honor the Lord.Now I don’t want to read too much into this, but God spoke to Abram AFTER Lot had made his own decision. Was Lot not a part of this promise? Is it possible that when Lot moved towards sin he was not included? We know later that Lot and his family were saved from the destruction of Sodom, but at the very least Lot was not included in the blessings that he could have received. Getting back to the older notes, I want to point out a couple of specific things here. First, God is the One and Only Sovereign Creator. He has the power and the right to do what He wants. If God wants to give this land to Abram and his dependents, He has that authority! Remember, God created literally EVERYTHING in the universe.So people may chant, “from the river to the sea” and call for the land to belong to Palestine, but keep in mind that Palestine doesn’t own it - God does. And if God gives it to Isreal then that is His eternal prerogative. As Christians, we don’t own anything either. If we have a dollar, it should belong to God, not us. Same for other property.Love your enemiesRemember that Jesus said to love your enemies? Do you think He really meant that?Matthew 5:43-44 NIRV - “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor. (Leviticus 19:18) Hate your enemy.’ But here is what I tell you. Love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you.Around the time of the initial post, I had had a conversation where the person said Israel was being an aggressor. I couldn't deny that at all! Being defensive against attacks from Hamas is fine, and I believe they have a moral obligation to protect their innocent citizens, just as we do. I don’t pretend to know the details of what they are doing in the ‘attacks’ that they are carrying out, so I had no ground to deny that this person had a point.Now to be clear, this person does NOT believe that Jesus was who He said He was. He actually made a comment (I’m paraphrasing, because it contained adult language) that if he can’t get into Heaven without bowing down to Jesus then he didn’t want in. Note the fact that he is making a conscious choice NOT to follow Jesus. Not everyone you speak to will be that up front and honest about it, but the attitude is there.All that being said, God - the One and Only God of the universe - gave this land to them. It is their land. They are not occupying Palestinian territory - they are where God told Abram that his decendents would be. Why don’t they occupy all of it? And why were they not even in the area for so many years? Because they turned their backs on Jesus, and thus the Father. Just like my friend, they made a conscious decision to NOT follow Jesus.So the bottom line? It’s the Promised Land - it’s Holy Land - but it belongs to God to do what He will. Right now the Hebrews are not living in the entire area, but one day they will!First things firstAbram did what God said. He got up, packed his things, and left. Now God is telling him that everywhere he sees will be his land - his and his descendants. What was the first thing Abram did? Yep - built an altar!What is the first thing that we do when God leads us somewhere or gives us a blessing? Do we build an altar? Not in the Old Testament sense, but do we come before Him humbly? Do we thank Him? Do we ask what comes next?Or do we just go “whew - God delivers again!” and go back to our lives? Do we have reverence for what has just occurred? That the Creator has blessed us with something?Seriously - take a second look at this. I initially said it at the end of making a point, but I don’t want it to get lost in the rest of the writing. If we follow God’s plans for us and get to our personal ‘promised land,’ do we actually thank God? Are we in tune enough with the Creator to even be able to follow Him? Or do we have in our own mind what our ‘promised land’ should be?As a reminder, Abram was told by God to get up and go, but wasn’t told where he was going. But he went anyway! Do we do that? Or do we want God to give us an outline of what to expect? When the Hebrews were delivered in the Exodus, they had a specific place they were planning to go worship. Then God told them to move into the “Promised Land” and He would go before them. To put it simply, the majority of them doubted and failed to follow God’s direction. To put it another way, they didn’t have the faith to follow. Do you and I?A challengeI challenge you to look around you at the blessings you have been given. Thank God for them! Has He led you in a particular direction or to a particular place in your life? Did you thank Him for this before continuing? Did you ask for direction once you were there?When you ask for something and He blesses you with it, thank Him! Don’t dismiss it and go to the next thing on your list, recognize that He has shown favor to you and express that thanks! It will cause you to be humble and ready to accept the calling that He has prepared for you!And above all, recognize the He is the Creator and that He is in control. Recognize that He owns everything and we don’t deserve an explanation. He deserves our worship and our allegiance. Period.I hope you and I both remember this every day…Thanks for reading / listening! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

Passover RemembranceAs I’m going through some devotionals this afternoon, I have one I saved from October 20. It’s called A Day to Remember and comes from my favorite - Beside the Still Waters. It talks about a church that burned so they were moving services to the pastor’s home. They will never forget the day the church burned, but what ties to things I’ve been discussing is how, “in the Old Testament, God commanded the Israelites to keep the Passover as a day to remember their deliverance from bondage in Egypt.” This is contrasted with the Passover celebration in the New Testament where we are also told to remember something. Our table at church even says In Remembrance of Me. We hold Communion at church several times a year, and it’s always a time to reflect and, dare I say, rededicate!The writer includes something I’ve never thought of though. We know that the blood is the wine and the body is the bread. We know that Jesus is our Once and Everlasting Passover Lamb. What I had not thought of is this. “The reference is both to Christ’s physical body and to the church as His spiritual body. Many grains are crushed and many grapes are pressed to make these emblems, and this illustrates how we need to blend together as a brotherhood.”That is beautiful! No, it’s not ‘thus sayeth the Lord,’ and there is no scripture reference to back it up, but the thought behind it - the UNITY behind it - speaks to what I’ve been talking about as it applies to us today; to us in the sense of unity with other denominations. Walking in the SpiritWhile I’m discussing some things that jumped out at me, October 22 is about gossip. Now listen closely, so I don’t have to repeat this… Paul writes - Galatians 5:16 NIRV - So I say, live by the Holy Spirit’s power. Then you will not do what your desires controlled by sin want you to do.Galatians 5:16 KJV - This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.The lust of the flesh. This sounds so dirty, doesn’t it. You know there are more than one type of lust though, right? You can lust for money; for power; etc. Lust is not just for sex or intimacy. Actually one could argue that TRUE intimacy contains no lust whatsoever, but that’s a topic for another day.Right now, just know that lust means a strong desire for something. And lust is STRONG - like an overwhelming urge to do or have something. Think of a strong craving for chocolate. Is it lust? Or just desire? Can you easily say no? Can an alcoholic easily say no? That should put it in perspective.Here’s verses 19 through 21 in both the NIrV and King James…Galatians 5:19-21 NIRV - The result of sin’s control in our lives is clear. It includes sexual sins, impure acts and wild living. It includes worshiping statues of gods and worshiping evil powers. It also includes hatred and fighting, jealousy and fits of anger. Sinful desire is interested only in getting ahead. It stirs up trouble. It separates people into their own little groups. It wants what others have. It gets drunk and takes part in wild parties. It does many things of that kind. I warn you now as I did before. People who live like this will not receive God’s kingdom.Galatians 5:19-21 KJV - Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.So as you can see, a lust for power results in more than just adultery or fornication. Lust for ‘fun’ leads to drunkenness and partying. Make sure whatever you desire is in harmony or concert with what God desires for you! When we walk in the spirit, we will do things that are in line with what the Spirit leads us to do!GossipThe point in this daily devotion is that gossip is talking; communicating. This is something we all enjoy doing. My blog and podcast are communicating, and I believe that is a gift and calling of God. Talking, writing, singing, etc. are not in and of themselves evil, but they can be used for evil. The writer uses two verses to help illustrate this.Matthew 12:34 NIRV - You nest of poisonous snakes! How can you who are evil say anything good? Your mouths say everything that is in your hearts.Does what comes from YOUR mouth and MY mouth reveal what is in our hearts? Yes! You might have control over your tongue around certain people, or you might install a filter so you don’t ‘cuss on Sunday’ or ‘tell a dirty joke in the church,’ but if those things come from your mouth you better believe they started in your heart! So the writer points out that, “gossip is not merely a mouth problem but rather a heart problem. It starts with what we meditate on.” Philippians 4:8 NIRV - Finally, my brothers and sisters, always think about what is true. Think about what is noble, right and pure. Think about what is lovely and worthy of respect. If anything is excellent or worthy of praise, think about those kinds of things.Remember what we say in the computer world: garbage in - garbage out. If you input things that are incorrect, it doesn’t matter how smart you are or how you manipulate the data, it’s going to be incorrect at the end. If we dwell on the negative, we are going to produce the negative. If we dwell on the things we do not have we won’t appreciate what we do have. If we think negative things about people we will say negative things about people.The writer ends with, “profitable conversation should be a daily habit.”False TeachingsLast night the pastor was teaching on Matthew 24. He got a little bogged down in verses 4-8 talking about false prophets and false teachers. This really was driven home today when I was listening to a podcast and I heard someone say that God spoke to him audibly.Now this is nothing new; I have felt the tug on the heart or God telling me to do something too. I don’t claim to hear it audibly, but it might as well be audible. “Go to that person. Turn around. I said go to him. Don’t just drive off like you didn’t hear me.”No, none of that was audible, but I still felt the words, if that makes sense. Well, this person was talking about the rapture of the church and preparing people. He was in church on a Sunday morning. He admitted he was not a committed Christian (his words were “I wasn’t really religious”) and was only there to please his mom. But God said three words out loud to him.Now what was the first thing he did? He went to prayer? Went to the scripture? No - he asked for a sign. He asked God to send a sign that if it was really Him and not another spirit or ‘lower case gee’ god that was talking to him. He asked that if it was really from God that the pastor would call him that week.Sure enough - middle of the week - middles of the day - his phone rings and it’s the pastor calling him out of the blue. He said the pastor didn’t know him so it was not something normal. So it must have been God, right? Sorry - I’m not buying it…Now I’m not saying that God will only ‘speak out’ to someone that is a dedicated Christian and not just at church because their mom wanted them there. Jesus called to some of the disciples before they were believers. And we all ‘got the call’ to salvation while we were still antagonists. My point is that I don’t think God will answer the question for a sign with - well - a sign. Rapture TimingThere was another lady on the show who said God told her that she would be in her 40’s when the rapture occurs. She is now like 42. The pastor last night keyed in on this specific verse…Matthew 24:36 NIRV - “But no one knows about that day or hour. Not even the angels in heaven know. The Son does not know. Only the Father knows.Now before I go any further, I want to say that I don’t believe the Bible teaches that the rapture is ‘imminent.’ I believe that it teaches we will be taken before God’s wrath is poured out, but that the entire seven year period is not God’s wrath. Actually, the verses just before this say what I’m talking about… Now I recommend you read the entire passage of Matthew 24 so that you can read it for yourself. I will point out specific verses though.Before you read this - or listen to this next part - please know that I’m not trying to convince you to believe like I do. I have been asked WHY I don’t believe in the ‘pre trib rapture’ like I’ve been taught for years, and this is the answer to that.Matthew 24:15 NIRV - “The prophet Daniel spoke about ‘the hated thing that destroys.’ (Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11) Someday you will see it standing in the holy place. The reader should understand this.This is known as the ‘abomination of desolation.’ For reference, here are the verses quoted.Daniel 9:27 NIRV - A covenant will be put into effect with many people for one ‘week.’ In the middle of the ‘week’ sacrifices and offerings will come to an end. And at the temple a hated thing that destroys will be set up. It will remain until that ruler who will come is destroyed. Then he will experience what the Lord has ordered.”Scholars agree that the ‘week’ is a period of seven years. This person is referred to in modern times as the Antichrist.Daniel 11:31 NIRV - “His army will come and make the temple area ‘unclean.’ They will put a stop to the daily sacrifices. Then they will set up a hated thing that destroys.Daniel 12:11 NIRV - “The daily sacrifices will be stopped. And the hated thing that destroys will be set up. After that, there will be 1,290 days.This 1290 days is the second half of the ‘week.’ A Jewish month is 30 days; 1,290 divided by 30 is 43 months. You may have noticed this is longer than the “3-1/2 years” that make up the second half. There are many ideas why this is the case, but no one knows for sure. It could be that it takes 30 days for these things to progress, so there’s not a specific day that can be calculated when it will happen.The point is, though, that Jesus references this event and then says to flee. Then Jesus continues…Matthew 24:21 NIRV - There will be terrible suffering in those days. It will be worse than any other from the beginning of the world until now. And there will never be anything like it again.Many people say this is referring to the seven year tribulation, but that is not taught in the Bible; that is an interpretation. The “Great Tribulation” is said to begin after the mid-point. Everyone agrees on this. Skipping ahead - Matthew 24:29 NIRV - “Right after the terrible suffering of those days, “ ‘The sun will be darkened. The moon will not shine. The stars will fall from the sky. The heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ (Isaiah 13:10; 34:4)These two verses in Isaiah are basically what Jesus is quoting - Isaiah 13:10 NIRV - All the stars in the sky will stop giving their light. The sun will be darkened as soon as it rises. The moon will not shine.Isaiah 34:4 NIRV - All the stars in the sky will vanish. The heavens will be rolled up like a scroll. All the stars in the sky will fall like dried-up leaves from a vine. They will drop like wrinkled figs from a fig tree.A lot of people want to say this is the second coming of Jesus, and that the rapture is an event that happens earlier. But let’s keep reading…Matthew 24:30 NIRV - “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven. At that time, all the peoples of the earth will mourn. They will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven. He will come with power and great glory.The people of earth will mourn. Worldly people. People following the Antichrist. Jesus will be seen by all in all His glory, not simply calling people away from earth and just disappearing. The next verse actually describes the rapture. Matthew 24:31 NIRV - He will send his angels with a loud trumpet call. They will gather his chosen people from all four directions. They will bring them from one end of the heavens to the other.Now I ask you, who is Jesus referring to? If you believe in a pre trib rapture - that is a private going away before the seven year period begins - then you’ll say this is the ‘tribulation saints.’ The verses don’t support this though.And then the money verse - the one the pastor mentioned…Matthew 24:36 NIRV - “But no one knows about that day or hour. Not even the angels in heaven know. The Son does not know. Only the Father knows.Note that Jesus says no one knows. As the pastor said last night, if someone tells you they know, then they are saying they know more than Jesus and the angels. That is pretty presumptive. What About Me and My Pastor? A question for you. Am I a false teacher for not believing the teaching of a ‘pre trib’ rapture, and for sharing my beliefs here? If I’m reading this correctly, does that make others false teachers for promoting this belief? Personally, I don’t think either makes a false teacher. If someone believes that Jesus Christ died to pay the price of their sins and they have called on His name for salvation, that is key! That is what matters! If someone teaches something other than this, they are a false teacher. If someone says they have a different revelation than what the Bible says, they are mistaken. Galatians 1:8 NIRV - But suppose even we should preach a different “good news.” Suppose even an angel from heaven should preach it. Suppose it is different from the good news we gave you. Then let anyone who does that be cursed by God.I am not saying that Jesus is anything but the Way, the Truth and the Life. My pastor preaches the same thing. The timing of the rapture is a secondary issue at best. But to say that God told you when the rapture was going to occur? Or to teach that the trumpets have already started sounding because God showed you something that He didn’t show anyone else? I’m sorry, but that doesn’t ring true with me. Nor with Paul.So the question stands. And I’d also like to know YOUR take on this. Am I totally off base? If so, how and why? And not just because you were taught something different or don’t want to be here during the tribulation. There are other thoughts I have on this too and will be happy to share if you’d like to hear it, or if God leads me to.Until next time - Merry Christmas and God Bless! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

The Importance of Teaching Future GenerationsToday I’d like to share a post from Ken Ham. In his latest blog post, he talks about being encouraged as well as discouraged. I encourage you to read the entire post. There are a couple of things I want to pull out though.I’m typing this on a Saturday afternoon and this reminded me of tomorrow’s Sunday School lesson, which delves into the first Passover and the importance of teaching future generations about God’s work. I believe Christians today have failed in this. We lose a generation when we don’t ‘train up a child’ like we should. We should start TODAY to do better. If you’re like me and your kids are grown, you can still influence them. While you can’t make them attend church, you can share Bible verses, offer to pray with them, and remind them of God’s promises. If you have grandkids you can surely influence them while they are young enough to not be hard hearted. If you are not blessed with kids or grandkids, there are still those you can influence. You can’t influence someone else’s kids if they don’t bring them to church, so make sure to be there for them while they are there!!! We are coming up on Christmas so it’s one of the two times of year some people will come to church. Don’t miss the opportunity!!!Science, Worldviews, and Interpretation of DataThe reason I mention that is because Ken Ham mentions in his post about a letter received from a mother who shared her son’s commitment to Jesus. Such a heart warming thing! He shares other things too, including some ‘push back’ from secular as well as Christian people. Some of the criticisms Ken receives highlight the challenges Christians face in defending biblical truths.Two in particular - “We are often called anti-science, anti-intellectual, and anti-academic. Such monikers attempt to undermine our integrity.” I’ve listened to Ken talk about the science behind what they believe and teach, and I believe it is sound! Most people today believe that the theory of evolution and the theory of when the dinosaurs lived are fact. Again, we’ve done too little, too late to prevent our kids from believing these things and they get repeated as facts.Ken and Answers in Genesis remind us that these are not fact at all, but interpretations of the data. If we start with a secular worldview, we are going to make the data fit our beliefs. If we call ourselves Christian, though, and believe that the Bible is fact, then we are going to see this data through a Biblical worldview. Either way, the data doesn’t change, but our understanding of it does.Take for example the Grand Canyon. Secular scientists will say that the layers were formed over millions of years by the river cutting through the canyon. They don’t believe in the Bible nor the flood of Noah, so they dismiss that as even a possibility. What makes more sense to me is that the layers were formed over a short period of time. Fossils are another example. We are told in science class that the fossils were formed over a long period of time, yet you can’t duplicate that in the laboratory. What you CAN do, though, is repeated - over and over - show how fossils are formed when something cataclysmic happens in a short period of time. Look at it this way, then draw your own conclusions. If a footprint were made today, how long would it take to be disturbed? Even if you put up police tape and made sure no one walked in that area, would the mud stand the rain over even a year? Would the footprint be there in a year? Or would the only way it could be preserved as a fossil would be if it were ‘filled in’ in a short amount of time?The same with dinosaur bones. We know that when a body dies it starts to decay immediately. We also know the bones are the last to decay. Could a dinosaur’s bones remain exposed and undisturbed for millions of years, or would scavengers and natural decay prevent their preservation? What about the ones that are found ‘mostly intact?’ They HAD to be covered over quickly.One last thing - do your own reading… There was a recent find of soft material found that breaks all the theories of ‘millions of years.’ I recommend you read it for yourself. This article, for example, is titled in such a way that it MUST be old and we just don’t understand how it happened. We call this FAITH. They have faith that it is 75 millions years old, even though they don’t believe that soft material can actually last that long. What Do You Believe?Okay. To those that are non-scientific, sorry for the rabbit hole. The point is that science doesn’t tell us anything - scientists do. And they have a worldview when they look at the data. They ignore what is right in front of them because it doesn’t fit their paradigm, but call Ken anti-science because he believes the Bible.Bottom line - what do YOU believe? Make sure you aren’t trusting humans more than you are trusting God. The end of his post lists several examples of how Christians say that he teaches, to paraphrase, young earth is fact and if you don’t believe it you can’t be saved. This is simply not so. He and his people teach that Jesus Christ is the One and Only way to God. Period. He personally believes in a literal six days; others disagree. That’s okay! We will find out the truth when we get to Heaven, if we still care. The point is to get there!!! Did God Really Say That? Trusting God’s Word Amid DoubtTo shift gears, I’d like to share my notes from a Sunday School lesson from a few weeks ago. November 24 was titled Trust - Believers find joy through trusting God in all circumstances. The writer starts by saying there are two responses to situations: fight or flight. He points out that believers have a third response: faith.The question is presented: “How do you respond when confronting serious problems? What makes it difficult to trust God in every circumstances?” I answered prayer and faith; I added, though, doubt sometimes, though I’m not proud of it.Why doubt? Sinful nature; the human side believing that we are somehow in control; the fact that we can’t see God, so sometimes it is hard to believe in Him. Think back to the first whispers of doubt, which remind us of the challenges we face in trusting God fully.Genesis 3:1 NIRV - The serpent was more clever than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. The serpent said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat fruit from any tree in the garden’?”Did God really say that? We are told that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Light - the ONLY way to Heaven. The enemy will whisper to us, “did God really say that?”This time of year, It’s a Wonderful Life, gets a lot of play at our house. It’s a great story, though it’s not Biblically sound. Angels don’t get wings, and angels are not dead people. But again, it’s a cute story and tugs at the heartstrings. It does get one thing right - we are not an island! For good or ill, we definitely influence others. But I mention it because Clarance at the beginning is told he is to help a man on earth. Clarance asks, “is he sick?” to which the head person, God?, replies, “no, worse, he’s discouraged.” When we doubt, it’s easy to become discouraged.Is God sovereign? Then why should we be discouraged at all! We are on a first name basis with the Creator of the universe! But just a little bit of doubt will cause us to act as though we don’t know this fact. We have to constantly remind ourselves. Remember this verse and know that it applies to this circumstance as well - Romans 10:17 NIRV - So faith comes from hearing the message. And the message that is heard is the message about Christ.You might be more familiar with the King James version - Romans 10:17 KJV - So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.Choosing Faith Over FearThere’s another question I’d like to discuss. “As you read Acts 27:31-44, note how Paul trusted God in the situation. How did Paul’s faith impact others?” My answer was that even as the world was falling apart around him, Paul was preaching. The same thing we are called to do. The fact that he had this love inside - the Holy Spirit - in the midst of all these trials made his testimony that much more impactful!If you read that passage, you’ll see how the people were afraid the boat would not make it. At one point they threw their cargo overboard. The writer brings out a good life lesson. “When life is threatened, financial gain seems unimportant.”This reminds me of something Ray Comfort says. In the process of witnessing, sometimes he will say how you can offer someone on a plane a choice between a parachute, a bag of money, gold or diamonds. No one wants the parachute. But then tell them the plane is going to crash and they will leave everything behind except the parachute. Using Life’s Challenges for God’s GloryTwo more points in this lesson - we’re almost done… Paul was bitten by a viper and then healed the father of a leading citizen to gain favor with the people. This gave him a chance to preach and be heard. Note that Paul took no glory for himself, but used it as a chance to give God the glory and preach the gospel. Shouldn’t we be the same way? Our trust in God can inspire and strengthen others, even in life’s storms.And lastly the writer says, “only by depending on the Holy Spirit and having a personal relationship with Christ can we choose to live in faith, not fear.” Those without Jesus are also without the Holy Spirit. I think we forget this sometimes and expect people to respond as we do, or see things as we see them. We have to remember that people are not always at the same point in their spiritual path as we are. Have patience, yes, but always - ALWAYS - be ready and willing to share what we have and why we are different. Approach BoldlyI leave you with Hebrews 4:16 and a reminder that we don’t have to wait until we are snakebite, or stranded to approach God. We are on a first name basis with the Creator, so take this verse to heart.Hebrews 4:16 NIRV - So let us boldly approach God’s throne of grace. Then we will receive mercy. We will find grace to help us when we need it. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

Hidden TreasurePicking up from the last post and the Jerusalem mission field, I am reminded of the analogy of the hidden treasure. I love the idea of this, and I love the way it was expanded upon in a movie called Testament. It is only in one verse, but it says so very much! I’ve also quoted the next two verses.Matthew 13:44-46 NIRV - “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure that was hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again. He was very happy. So he went and sold everything he had. And he bought that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a trader who was looking for fine pearls. He found one that was very valuable. So he went away and sold everything he had. And he bought that pearl.The lesson here is that “the kingdom of heaven” is so incredibly valuable that selling all you own in this life to obtain it is simply what you do! When we are presented with the kingdom of heaven as a choice, the wise thing is to give up all you have on this earth in order to obtain it.This is epitomized in one of my favorite verses. It shows that your eternal soul is worth more than any short term wealth or advantage you can get on this earth.Matthew 16:26 NIRV - What good is it if someone gains the whole world but loses their soul? Or what can anyone trade for their soul?Now why do I bring these up? Because if you are living a witness for Jesus, people are going to see you giving up everything in this world in order to get to Heaven, and they are not going to understand. Remember, it is not up to us to ‘convince’ them - it is not within our power to change someone’s heart for eternity. It is up to us to present them with the truth - the facts - and then it’s up to them to respond.The bottom line is make sure you are not assuming there is no need to try! Don’t write people off; don’t assume they would say no. Responding to the CallNow the next part of the lesson and my notes are about the steps needed to respond to this. As I said last time, my local group wasn’t very open to this. I share these steps now in hope that it helps someone out there…Quoting from the lesson for a moment - When a church understands and accepts Jesus’s Acts 1:8 challenge, what steps does it take to fulfill God’s mission at its end of the earth and in its Samaria, its Judea, and its Jerusalem?* Prepare. Empower a designated leader of missions and develop mission teams, strategies, and plans to take the gospel to your community, state, continent, and world.A smaller church will have different challenges to overcome. Teams are smaller and there may not be a particular person to head this up. Our challenge is people may not be interested in something they have to commit to on top of other things at church. I feel it’s my job to lead by example and encourage.Remember above where I mentioned it’s not up to us to change someone’s mind? I can’t change the mind of the casual or dedicated Christian to be an intentional witness for Christ, but I can sure encourage it and I can remind them! Yes, they may call it preachy and they may get turned off by it, but please tell me what is more important in the life of a Believer than carrying out the Great Commission?So let me encourage you to do the same… Be an intentional witness and lead by example!Beyond the Checkbook* Learn. Bring missions awareness and interaction to the entire church body, train members for service, and connect them to missionaries and mission needs.Baptists like to mention and support missionaries around the world, and this is a good thing! But I have known people in different churches that when asked about what they are doing to spread the word they mention the different missions programs they support with their giving. Don’t get me wrong - this is a great thing, but throwing money at something is not the only thing you can do! Yes, you may not be physically able to drive someone and talk in person to someone. You may not be able to grab a box and stand up and preach on the street. You may not be able to walk around a crowd and pass out tracts. But you can call people on the phone! You can help coordinate the efforts of the local church.If money is the ONLY way you can support, then by all means do it. Just don’t have the “I’ll support with a check so I don't have to get my hands dirty” kind of attitude. We have a gentleman at church that has been to the Philippines several times over the years. This is wonderful and the church supported him when he went. There are others that are not called to do this, though, but are called to go across town! Communicate needs to others so they can go as well. And a ‘team’ can consist of just two or three dedicated people.Power of Prayer* Pray. Ask God to give you a kingdom perspective and a worldwide vision as you intercede for Christian workers and unevangelized peoples.Also pray for direction. To be effective, people must be committed to Jesus and not living in sin. It is warriors on the frontlines in a spiritual battle. We will experience resistance. Satan does not want to see anyone experience deliverance, so he and his unholy minions will fight back!There’s a popular meme going around social media right now. I can’t seem to find it (spiritual interference?) but it goes something to the effect of, “If church weren’t so important satan wouldn’t try to keep you out of it.” There is a lot of truth in this. Being in a fellowship of believers is very VERY important for your personal spiritual growth. It is also somewhere where you can help OTHERS grow.Giving with Purpose* Give. Increase the financial support of the Cooperative Program and other Southern Baptist cooperative missions.Now I won’t rehash this, but I wanted to show how Lifeway includes this in the message. Plus I didn’t want to skip number four and you wonder what it was. Going Beyond* Go. Enable a growing number of members to participate directly in short-term, long-term, and marketplace opportunities to minister and spread the gospel beyond your church walls.Remember when I said to be a daily witness for Christ? We should also be preparing others for the same. It’s easy to sit back and say people should be doing this, but maybe it’s time you and I did something specific about it. Remember, there are many ways to do this. We can go house to house with intentionality, but we can also visit public spaces. We can ‘street preach’ - we can pass out tracts. But most of all we can be an everyday witness. But we can’t do that without a constant rededication to Jesus and distancing ourselves from personal sin.Sharing the Mission* Tell. Involve an increasing number of members in intentional, culturally relevant evangelism.This one goes with number five. We should share what we are doing with others to encourage them to do the same! We are all in this together.Equipping for Outreach* Send. Provide opportunities for members to hear and respond to God’s call to vocational missions service.Maybe they need the pastor to mention it during a Sunday night or Wednesday night service, when the bulk of he ‘dedicated’ members are present. Sunday morning sermon has to be the Gospel along with instruction, but at least in our church there are many more people there just for the sermon. You have to wonder why if they call themselves Christian they aren’t involving themselves more in service and to being fed.Now this might sound harsh to you to hear it put that way, but ask yourself, do I go to church all the time? Or when it’s convenient? Or just on Sunday morning? Do I not have time to follow God and be there when the doors are open? Do I make time on Sunday morning because it’s a habit? Or because I want to worship? If it’s the latter, then are you not to worship the other times that church meets?But back to the topic of send, perhaps the group needs to be trained, as I mentioned last time. Remember The Way of the Master? It’s not just for group training, but is a wonderful way to learn to be bold and intentional in personal witnessing too. Expanding the Kingdom* Multiply. Participate in church planting and help facilitate church-planting movements. Is this something a small church can do? Sometimes it seems we don’t have enough people to do all that is needed today. How could we help with planting?The first step is to realize that there is a mission field and people need a place to go. It can be discouraging seeing empty pews in the church we have. Perhaps we need to get back to worshipping in homes as well. We can actually partner with another church in this and experience mutual growth!Now your knee jerk reaction might be that our church doesn’t agree with the church down the road. I’m not saying that you should compromise your beliefs in order to have fellowship, but if the core tenants of Christianity are the same - that is that Christ died as a penal substitution for us; that He died to pay the price of our sins so that we can have eternal life - then we can meet and pray and grow!We all feel like we are right. If we thought we were wrong we would change our beliefs. Two groups that have different opinions can not both be right. We should be firm enough in our beliefs to not be easily shaken, but at the same time open to challenges to our beliefs so that we are not afraid to join hands with another church.Keep in mind, denominations were not part of the early church as described in the Bible. Peter didn’t make a Methodist church and John a Baptist. Paul was not a Catholic. Over time people have keyed in on particular things and built their belief system around them. There are things we can disagree on and still recognize each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. If a church is planted as a denominational thing only, or as the core backbone, that might not be following what Jesus would want. The early church spread from home to home and Paul would write letters giving truth. Not denominational truth, but God’s truth. Breaking Barriers in FellowshipI believe another obstacle to fellowshipping and worshipping with another local church is the pastor and elders. Pastors will invite someone to share from their pulpit during a time of revival, but they won’t let an ‘outsider’ take over teaching for a long period of time. I’m not saying they should, but I am saying this could be an obstacle. We as the BODY of the church need to get past this mentality and get to know people in other denominations and fellowships. Again, be firm in your belief, but be willing to listen to another brother or sister and compare it with scripture. If we walk around with the thought that we are the only ones that can be totally correct, we will see ‘them’ as enemies and people to avoid. This just causes yet another barrier to working together for Jesus. How do we get past this?One more thing about the pastor as it applies to church planting. He is busy with his own flock, and that’s the way it should be. I know that people need Jesus before they need church. Some people come to church and find Jesus; others come to church because they have found Jesus. There are people in the world that might respond better to a different person, a different preaching style, a different shepherd. If you witness to someone and they come to Jesus but go to a different church, that does not make your church a failure! God will lead a believer to where they need to be for their spiritual growth, as well as where God wants to use them. Let that happen as He wills and intends, and not think it bad if they don’t join my or your local church.Also, think of it this way. Paul was not a pastor, but he influenced them! We are never told of any of the Apostles settling down to lead a single congregation. Has God called you to be a pastor? Then do that! If not, then do whatever He has called you to do, and I’m pretty sure that includes evangelism. A Prayer for Unity and GrowthI know this got a little long, but it was a lot I felt led to cover. My prayer is that this message edifies you and your church - and that it encourages you to strengthen fellowship with other believersGrace to you! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

Small Group ReflectionsToday I’d like to share some notes from the Tuesday night small group. In our gathering, the men and women meet in separate buildings for their discussions. I serve as the ‘leader’ for the men, though I consider it more of a facilitator role. I make copious notes while also encouraging group discussion.We are still in the Training Union book (similar to a Sunday School book, published by Lifeway), which I previously used for teaching on Sunday nights. I’m still learning to adapt the material for a mixed small group, as opposed to teaching a broader age range.Last Tuesday night, we had seven in attendance. I quickly realized my notes were ‘preaching to the choir,’ prompting me to adjust on the fly.In hindsight, I see now that these notes were inspired by God with this blog and podcast in mind. Let’s see where they lead, shall we? Buckle up - things might get real!The Jerusalem Mission FieldWe are finishing up discussing the mission fields of the church. We’ve covered everything in this verse except Jerusalem - Acts 1:8 NIRV - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. Then you will tell people about me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria. And you will even tell other people about me from one end of the earth to the other.Jerusalem was the hub of Jewish culture, home to the Temple, which once served as the center of worship. However, the Temple is no longer part of worship now that Jesus has become the One True Sacrifice. At first glance, you might think it would have been easy for those who followed God from the time of the Patriarchs to accept this new covenant. But Jesus upended the established religious order, replacing the Law with Grace - and, as we know, people have always been resistant to change.A Sobering ConversationI do want to share some things that were said last night. The opening anecdote from the writer talks about meeting a gentleman on a plane. They started talking and had several things in common - married, same number of kids, same age, etc. The difference, though, was a major one. The writer asked the other about church attendance and the other guy said that he “got enough church at a young age.”Wow. This is a strong statement, and maybe a shocking one. How often do we see this in our own circles - people who once seemed deeply committed but have drifted away How many of them just got enough God to do them for life? Maybe they make a conscious decision that they are good to go to get into Heaven and don’t need to serve, but if that’s the case then Jesus is no longer Lord of their life! He can’t be Lord of all, except when it’s time to go serve.This is an example of the mission field of Jerusalem. Someone who has been to church; been to the temple; probably heard the Gospel, but rejected it for the long haul. Does this person need to hear the Gospel now? YES! Never miss the chance to influence someone like this just because they’ve made a decision. If you need just a bit more encouragement, think about a time you were in and out of church, or just going through the motions. Did someone influence you? Did someone pray for you and you decided one day to get serious about serving God? What if those people had written you off as well…Practical Concerns in MinistryThat was supposed to be about what was said last night - sorry. I got a little sidetracked. We talked about people that have joined the church in the past but now don’t come at all; or just come for Sunday Morning Sermon; or come more than half the time, but don’t get involved. One of the guys mentioned that we had talked about a New Converts class, but we never got that going. We discussed some strategies and agreed that it was a huge concern.The Call to Reach JerusalemGetting to my notes, I will share this in such a way that it will hopefully be edifying to you and your local church, wherever that may be.The writer says, “the Jerusalem mission field is the surrounding community where you live, work, shop, play, and go to school.” Sounds easy, right? We are around these people all the time! They see us out and about; they see us going to church; they see us at the store. They also see us when we fail and when we fall.So how do we become the best witness we can be? It requires living every day in the will of God. It requires following Him in ALL things! Can you think of people who proclaim Jesus but don’t live it? They say He is Lord, but you don’t see the fruits of the Spirit in their lives. Worse yet, does this describe you?If it does, take this opportunity right now to stop and ask God for help. It might require what Baptists like to call a rededication. Personally, I believe we should live in a constant state of rededicating ourselves to Him.And lest you think this is my idea, take a look at these passages. First, Jesus spoke to the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane before His arrest:Matthew 26:41 NIRV - “Watch and pray. Then you won’t fall into sin when you are tempted. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”Paul also writes about this ongoing struggle:Romans 7:18-19 NIRV - I know there is nothing good in my desires controlled by sin. I want to do what is good, but I can’t. I don’t do the good things I want to do. I keep on doing the evil things I don’t want to do.Left to our own devices, we will quickly fall. Make it a spiritual habit to examine yourself daily and ensure you are letting the Holy Spirit lead in every encounter.Encounters in Everyday LifeContinuing, the writer says, “our daily and weekly routines regularly bring us into contact with people who don’t know Jesus. Whether anonymous faces, casual acquaintances, or established relationships, people in our Jerusalem need to hear the spiritual truth we possess.”This is a very true statement, unless you live in a bubble or only deal with sanctified brethren. As above, we need to be aware of our actions and attitudes, as they will be a witness as well. Remember - we are a constant witness. The question is, is it for Jesus? Or ourselves?So, I would dare say that most of us are around people every day that need to hear the Gospel. Even if we are around other Christians all day, we should be encouraging them. Actually, there are needs all around us, and we should be mindful of them and willing to let the Holy Spirit work through us in whatever way God sees fit.Reviving the Spirit of VisitationThe rest of my notes are specifically designed to incorporate a visitation plan for the church. We had done something like this several years ago with great success, but it was something that we stopped after a while. A couple of years ago we talked about starting back, but talk and some basic planning was all we did. I think it’s time to do it again, but this was not well accepted with my group.So I prayed and asked God why He prompted me write so much about it. To be blunt, He impressed upon me that there was a reason and that I should bring it to YOU, the reader or listener to this. Perhaps it is to encourage you to start something in your local church, or maybe just an encouragement for you to do some visitation on your own. Either way, I trust Him in whatever He leads me to do.Answering Two Critical QuestionsFor today, I’ll share one more thing. The writer asks two very pointed questions - Who in our community does not know Jesus?What will be required to share the gospel to the lost people in our Jerusalem and to involve them in a local fellowship of believers where they can grow, serve, and reach out to others?As for the who, start at home. Neighbors, people in the community where you live, people in the community of the church. ASK! Work on being brave and being open about your beliefs. You’ve heard to avoid politics and religion in polite company, right? WRONG! That’s the world talking. There is a proper way to do this. First, you have to make sure that politics (or your political party or affiliation) is not your god. If your goal is to bring someone to your side of the aisle, then you are not witnessing for Jesus.Second, make sure your political views are informed by a Biblical worldview. Do you agree with abortion being okay? Then you’re not following Thou Shalt Not Kill. Do you agree it is wrong? If so, why? Because you don’t like the idea of children being killed? Or because it is wrong to do such a thing?Hopefully it’s the latter, and don’t be afraid to say why! People don’t have to agree with you, but love them enough to tell them the truth. You don’t have to be ‘in someone’s face’ about something, but don’t shy away from expressing the love of God and why He says something is wrong.Remember, people that disagree with you will have their own reasons. As long as you are not attacking them, calling them names, etc., then all you are doing is presenting an opposing view. Someone who does not see Jesus as Savior already has an opposing view to you, so you know going into the conversation that you are going to be unable to support their core beliefs.Equipping the SaintsAs for the second question, what is required, does your church need to start a visitation program? A jail ministry? Something else? Yes, we as individuals should be a daily witness for Jesus, but it’s a fact that there are people that work much better with structure; in a group.You must also recognize that some people need a refresher. I’ve heard pastors say, “if you are really saved, then you should be able to tell someone else how to be saved.” While I agree with this as a precept, there are best practices when it comes to witnessing. I see nothing wrong with having a group get together and share or even practice techniques. As you’ve heard me say before, if I were in charge of something like this, I would use the Way of the Master series from Living Waters ministry. Their outline is to share why someone needs Jesus before they are presented with the Truth of the Gospel. You don’t need me to rehash it, but if you’d like specifics, please let me know and I can make a post and episode on that topic. A Closing PrayerWe will pick up there next time, but first, I’d love to pray with you. I encourage you to personalize this prayer with your own words and use it as a way to rededicate yourself to being a witness every day.Dear God,May we always be mindful of the witness we present, and show the same grace to others that You have shown to us. If there are those who need encouragement to step out in faith and witness, I pray that You give them strength. Give me the words to encourage them, not hinder them.I praise You, Lord, both publicly and privately.In Jesus’ name, amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

Happy HolidaysI hope everyone ate plenty of turkey and dressing, or ham and stuffing if that’s what you prefer. I do apologize for the lack of posts and audio. We traveled for the holiday and I was working on my Tuesday night leading of the small group study. More on that later.Right now I want to go back to the revisit of an old post. As before, here’s a link to the original - Compelling Them to EnterThe last thing we talked about was the Great Commission. Next Charlie mentions a verse from the parable of the ‘great banquet.’ For context, it’s when the Master of the House wants to have a banquet and he calls his friends. They present one excuse after another, so the servants were sent to bring in the poor, the maimed, the invalids and the blind. Even after this there was still more room - so then this verse is given - Luke 14:23 NIRV - “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads. Go out to the country lanes. Make the people come in. I want my house to be full.Now I don’t believe we are to physically drag people to church, but we are to be persistent. We are to compel them. Do we truly believe that Jesus died for us - and for them? If we do, do we care enough to act on it?The night I shared this lesson at church, our pastor had just that morning said something to the effect of, ‘if we really believed Christ could come back today, we’d be out there urgently sharing the Gospel with everyone we could find.’ The doctrine of imminence, which many believe, teaches that Jesus could return at any moment - that the Rapture could occur at any time. While I believe Scripture points to something else, that’s a discussion for another post.The bottom line is that 100,000 people die every day. That person you encounter could be gone tomorrow. Don’t waste the opportunity! At the very least, invite them to church. Go back and listen to the last episode for more on that.Holy Spirt MUST Be ThereAt the end of that particular lesson, Charlie mentions that if the Holy Spirit is not part of the church, then it truly is just a building! Remember, we as Christians are the Church; it’s not the building. I have a question: Can we have a ‘good spirit’ - a positive vibe or uplifting atmosphere - without the Holy Spirit? Absolutely! We can get excited during the song service or enjoy seeing our friends; we all love a good fellowship supper. These are all wonderful experiences, but they can happen without truly inviting God’s presence into the space.He goes on to say - “A church also needs the guidance of the Holy Spirit to teach us all things or we will lose ourselves in the false doctrine of man. According to the Bible, a church left to itself will lose its love for Christ, turn to false doctrine, become prideful in its ways, and become void of God’s Spirit. May the Lord help us that we never become a church without the Holy Spirit.”Is it really possible that we can “lose ourselves in the false doctrine of man?” Yes! It happens all the time! Any church that follows a spirit or ‘lower case gee’ god may have power, but it’s a false doctrine! Satan was the one that tempted Eve and introduced a doctrine where ‘mankind’ could be their own god! That’s a false doctrine of man that continues to this day. Some call it humanism.History shows us that false doctrine often arises when people depart from God’s clear instructions. Take the Tower of Babel as an example. God commanded humanity to multiply and fill the earth, but instead, they settled on the plains of Shinar and built what they intended to be a doorway to Heaven. Did God tell them to do this? NO! This was yet another false doctrine of man - a choice to follow their own reasoning rather than God’s direction.What about the Mosaic law? That was given of God - but what about the oral traditions of the Jews at the time of Christ? Would you say that the Pharisees had turned away from God and had added their own laws? So why can’t it happen today? There are churches that are more concerned with numbers than truth. There are churches where the music service is more like a rock concert than a church service. There are churches where the Word of God has been labeled as outdated to allow for more people to be comfortable and come to church.We must be on guard so that we don’t fall into this same trap! We must study and follow the Word of God. We must step aside and allow the Holy Spirit to take control of our hearts and minds. If we do that, then He will automatically have control of the services. False Teachers Among UsAnd one more for thing for this time… Charlie says the Bible teaches that a church without the Holy Spirit will lose God’s Spirit. There are several letters to the churches in the book of Revelation, but I want to look specifically at the one to the church in Pergamum. Revelation 2:13-16 NIRV - ‘I know that you live where Satan has his throne. But you remain faithful to me. You did not give up your faith in me. You didn’t give it up even in the days of Antipas. Antipas, my faithful witness, was put to death in your city, where Satan lives. ‘But I have a few things against you. Some of your people follow the teaching of Balaam. He taught Balak to lead the people of Israel into sin. So they ate food that had been offered to statues of gods. And they committed sexual sins. You also have people who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans. So turn away from your sins! If you don’t, I will come to you soon. I will fight against those people with the sword that comes out of my mouth.To dive a little deeper here, in verse 13 He mentions Antipas. This is Greek for “a Christian.” I believe He is saying that they have held the faith, even when those among you were put to death for the faith. In verse 14 He mentions Balaam, which is symbolic of a ‘false teacher.’ This also can mean Balac - Balak - or king of the Moabites. The impetus is that it is a false teacher in the midst of the people. It is not clear if they are being accused of the acts listed, or if it’s just the spirit of Balaam, but either way, they have allowed this spirit or this attitude to enter the church.The bottom line is don’t allow those with false beliefs to teach the rest of the flock. If the entire local church that you are a part of doesn’t hold fast to the doctrine of Christ, then it is going to lose the Holy Spirit. It is up to the members to study, then study some more - and then study some more - so that they can help instruct others.And then in verse 16 they are called to repent. When you realize that something like this - false teaching - is happening, you repent immediately. You don’t wait - you correct it.When a ship goes off course, does the captain allow it to continue off course so as not to upset the passengers with a sudden change? What if that course is carrying you into dangerous waters? What’s more important, the safety or the comfort of the passengers?What is more important at your church? The eternal safety of those there as well as those they will come into contact with? Or keeping them comfortable? What good is being comfortable if it puts you in hell? Remember the verses about plucking out your eye? Or cutting off your arm? Comfort is fleeting! Eternity is forever.In ClosingDear God I pray You take these words that You have led me to write and use them however You choose. I am a disciple only and in Your service. I pray that wherever they are read or heard that Your Spirit will open the hearts and the minds to Your presence only. In the name of the One and Only Jesus Christ I pray - amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

Why Revisit This Message?Today I’d like to reshare a post from over a year ago. A very dear friend and sister in Christ brought up a question from this post. She didn’t disagree at all, but thought it could use some clarification. Since I’ve started recording as a podcast, I have thought about recording older posts as well, and after talking to her I thought I’d start with this one.I’ll link the original post, but don’t expect it to be a word for word rehash. I feel like God has expanded my audience as well as my voice; He has given me more boldness to speak the truth. I expect that it will be expanded upon. Join me as we see where God leads!Make UpThis particular post was a sharing of my notes from the Discipleship class I was teaching at the time. We were using Brother Charlie Halliburton’s book Five Things You Ought to Know. Though I don’t agree with everything in the book, I do believe it is a great resource for a new Christian to get some foundational study. We actually stopped with the book before we got into eschatology, and I don’t think that was an accident. This is one of those things that he and I have a difference of opinion.That being said, we were talking about the Church - specifically the MAKE UP of a church. Before you head off to Ulta or Merle Norman, hear me out. This is talking about what makes up the INSIDE of the local church.The Church as a Spiritual HospitalCharlie calls it a spiritual hospital - and I agree with that analogy. The doctors and nurses are the sanctified and the saints; the patients are the lost and dying. Now imagine a hospital that doesn’t just heal people and send them away. Instead, imagine that those that are healed become doctors and nurses themselves. And if they move out of the area they join the staff of another hospital. Or they might even establish a new hospital. The cycle can go on and on, because those healed become doctors and nurses themselves.Or at least it should go on and on. When we lose a generation we lose a lot of ground; we fall behind and the world; Well. The world begins to look like it does now! I recently saw a meme on Facebook that said something to the effect of, “when prayer and the 10 Commandments were taken out of schools, we wondered what would happen. Now we know.” LGBTQ is now considered normal; transgender rights including those of people to mutilate minors is on the rise; witchcraft and the occult are mainstream; pornography is considered entertainment; sex workers are just in another profession; trafficking is at epidemic levels. It’s actually a heartbreaking report, and we should be reminded that we sometimes live in an ivory tower. Now I’m not saying the Church has perpetuated these crimes. Yes, there are terrible examples of church leaders that fall to pornography, adultery, embezzlement, but overall that’s what happens. Those are individuals that fail in their own lives. The church as a whole doesn’t perpetuate these things. But look at that list again and recognize that we the Church have not prevented them!The Great Commission Is for All of UsThis next part is the part that needs more clarification. I had said before that to continue the analogy of the hospital, we are to bring the spiritually sick to Jesus. We are to bring them to His Church - but not the building. We are, according to the Great Commission in Matthew, to disciple them.Matthew 28:18-20 NIRV - Then Jesus came to them. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. So you must go and make disciples of all nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And you can be sure that I am always with you, to the very end.”This means we are to teach them; we are to help them learn. The contentious part of what I said was that “it is NOT the job of the pastor to tell people about Jesus!” “It’s NOT your job to go and get them in the door then turn it over to the pastor.” Just so there is no mistake here, what I meant by that is so many people in churches think their job is to invite people to church and that’s all. I want to reiterate and clarify that this is ONE thing we can do, but that’s not the ONLY thing we should be doing!Yes, the pastor is going to share the Gospel from the pulpit. Yes, the pastor is going to teach Biblical truth from the pulpit. Yes, the Sunday School teachers are going help expand the knowledge. But it is NOT their job and theirs alone. We should be DAILY in the Word of God; we should be DAILY seeking to do His will; we should be DAILY actively looking for opportunities to be a witness.What If Invitation is Not Enough?Yes, by all means invite them to the church. Invite them to the hospital. But don’t be afraid to do a little first aide before you do. Take this terrible example. You work with someone that you’re not sure if they are saved or not. Rather than talk to them about Jesus, you invite them to church. They say, “sure,” but months go by and they still don’t come, even though you continue to remind them. Eventually you give up. Please pretend this is you and tell me exactly where in there you shared the Gospel?What if they finally come to church one Sunday morning, but they are killed in an auto accident on the way. Boy it’s a good thing you stayed on them about church isn’t it! Now they go into eternity knowing you loved them enough to mention this building where MAYBE someone will say the right thing and they will be convicted of their sin.Now ponder that for a moment… If you are reading this or hearing my voice and you are saved, praise God that whatever happened in your life resulted in you hearing the Word and responding to it. But imagine all that ever happened was someone inviting you to church. Would you be a Christian today if that’s all that happened? I hope so!What It Means to Be Born AgainNow if you’re reading this or hearing my voice and you are NOT saved, you may have a false belief that church attendance or membership is what’s important. Please hear me now and know it is NOT! Yes, we are supposed to be in attendance and be part of the local body of believers. We can’t work the ER at this spiritual hospital if we never clock in. But the MOST important thing is to TURN TO JESUS! John 3 is the account of Jesus and Nicodemus talking in private. Nicodemus tells Jesus he knows that Jesus is from God, because of the ‘signs’ (miracles) that He performs. Jesus doesn’t say ‘shucks’ or anything of the kind; He gets right to the issue!I want you to read the entire chapter, but for purposes of this post and recording, I’m going to concentrate on the first eight verses.John 3:1-8 NIRV - There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus. He was one of the Jewish rulers. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. We know that God is with you. If he weren’t, you couldn’t do the signs you are doing.” Jesus replied, “What I’m about to tell you is true. No one can see God’s kingdom unless they are born again.” “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “They can’t go back inside their mother! They can’t be born a second time!” Jesus answered, “What I’m about to tell you is true. No one can enter God’s kingdom unless they are born with water and the Holy Spirit. People give birth to people. But the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised when I say, ‘You must all be born again.’ The wind blows where it wants to. You hear the sound it makes. But you can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going. It is the same with everyone who is born with the Spirit.”Listen to this part again - “no one can see God’s kingdom unless they are born again.” Jesus didn’t say sit at my feet, give me your tithes, join my disciples. He mentioned getting to Heaven, which happens after we die.Jesus continues, “born with water and the Holy Spirit.” Everyone living is born with water. When a woman gets ready to have a baby, the water breaks. The baby is delivered via the birth canal and the baby is wet. But the Spirit is invisible, like the wind! The Holy Spirit actually comes into a person when they are born again.Now listen very carefully! People are not born again when they come to church. People are born again when they accept the forgiveness that Jesus offers. Jesus died to pay the price - the penalty - of my sins and your sins. You accept that payment when you repent - that is turn away from, not just say you’re sorry - and turn to Jesus as your One and Only way to the Kingdom of God!Coming to church doesn’t get you a seat on the bus, to use an example. Joining a church doesn’t either. Yes, we should be a part of a church, but being a part of church without the Holy Spirit inside? It means nothing - NOTHING - after you die…An Invitation to HeavenOkay, like I said, it wasn’t just a rehash… There is more in that post that I hope is edifying, and I will share the rest over the next few posts. Until then, invite someone to church, of course, but make sure you invite them to Heaven! Invite them to Jesus Christ!Lord, please Bless this humble servant’s attempt at communication. I feel like You are leading these posts and recordings, and I pray that your Word goes out where you want it, and that you continue to guide what I say and do. In the name of Jesus Christ - amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

JudeaWe had our bi-weekly Tuesday night men’s group tonight. My notes for the class talked about Cultural Christians and I realized when I mentioned it on the last post I was talking about notes I had not shared yet. Sorry about that! I will jump into those notes now. We are up to the week of September 22. Remember, we only meet every other Tuesday night so I try to cover more than one lesson, but this time there was much discussion. The topic is Your Church’s Judea and it continues the theme from - Acts 1:8 NIRV - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. Then you will tell people about me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria. And you will even tell other people about me from one end of the earth to the other.This isn’t just about distant places; it’s about the people right where we live, in our local communities. For us, that means Beech Grove’s Judea—or your church’s Judea, wherever you’re called. I led the group with an evangelical focus, as always, but especially because that’s the whole purpose of the verse.Why Judea?Historically, Judea was central to the early church, contrasting sharply with Samaria, which we previously discussed as more of an outsider territory. Judea, especially Jerusalem, was where Christianity began, yet it wasn’t the majority faith; it was dominated by Jewish religious leaders and mixed with various pagan practices. The church’s roots here highlight the challenge and courage of early Christians, spreading their message in a region steeped in strong, established beliefs.The writer clarifies, “for the twenty-first-century churches the Judea mission field represents the immediate state, province, or region in which the church is located.” This is why I mention it is Beech Grove’s Judea or YOUR Church’s Judea. Three type of people are mentioned - Irreligious, Religious Status Quo, and Cultural Christians. Irreligious The irreligious in our area—those who not only reject religion but actively resist it—aren’t necessarily opposed to the idea of God. Many may ask for prayer in difficult times, yet they prefer that religion stay out of public life, including politics and school. Why? Because the truth of Christianity calls people to repentance and change—a truth that many find uncomfortable.Now why is this the case? I believe it is because people don’t want truth; they want happiness. The truth is that you shouldn’t lie, steal, murder or commit adultery. They want to cheat on their taxes; say what they want to get what they want; have the choice to murder (abortion); have access to pornography; have as many boyfriends or girlfriends as they want (or both, as the case may be). Yet they don’t want any repercussions from their choices.Christianity, specifically, will not let them do these things and simply get away with it. To turn to Christ is to turn away (repent) of sin and let Him have control. Let’s be honest; you can’t choose the things I mentioned in that list AND let Christ have control too.So what’s the solution? Well, to them it is to keep religion out of anything they might come into contact with. We as Christians know that murder is wrong, including murder of the unborn. If we ‘push’ for that to be illegal then we are… How do they put it? “Pushing your religion onto others.” Something we can get into at a later time, but I’ll touch on now. The separation between church and state doesn’t mean what they think it does.Religious Status QuoHow can I discuss this without gossiping about other churches? Let’s just say that if someone is compromising the Word to either maintain power or wealth, then they are not doing the true work of the church. As a hypothetical, a pastor that refuses to preach on pornography or abortion. Why? Because he doesn’t want to upset the congregation or lose members. The same would be true of a lawmaker (representative) that doesn’t want to make a public stand against abortion because he or she might lose votes. If they are a Christian and trying to do what is right in the sight of God then they shouldn’t worry about votes. If God wants them in that position then He will support it. Period.Cultural ChristiansI see this as just as big of a problem as the others. This is individuals that identify as Christian without putting God first. For example, a recent Barna poll from 2023 reports - Most Americans (68%) consider themselves to be Christians. Among these self-defined Christians, though, only 6% have a biblical worldview. Less than half of the self-defined Christians can be classified as born-again, defined as believing that they will go to Heaven after they die but only because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Within the born-again population (just 33% of the adult population), a shockingly small proportion (13%) hold a biblical worldview.What’s the takeaway? That 68% of Americans identify as Christian. Maybe they are members of a church. Maybe they don’t go to church, but they pray. Maybe they don’t pray but like the 10 Commandments - or at least the ones they agree with.I know people personally that say they are “Christian,” but when pushed to tell me why, it’s usually because they believe in God and believe in Jesus. Is that enough? James 2:19 NIRV - You believe there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that. And they tremble!Do you believe that the demons are “Christian?” No? Then why would the belief in God and Jesus make you one?Why Bring These Up?Now I bring this all to mind because this is Judea - this is our local mission field! What do we do about it? First, for the irreligious, they don’t need religion. Remember, Christianity might be called a religion, and in my local area that is what people refer to in a general sense, but that is NOT what they need. They need Jesus! Until they put Jesus first, having a religion means nothing!There’s an old saying, “at least he got religion before he died.” Is this a euphemism for saying he got saved? If not, then he didn’t really get anything.Again, to the irreligious, they need Jesus. So what should we do? Present Jesus to them. Yes, we should witness, but we should also LIVE that witness in front of them. Don’t argue about why they are wrong; they will simply dig in deeper. Instead ask them questions; present things to them to make them think. You are not going to scare them into believing. Also be open to witnessing without pushing for conversion. Remember that we are gardeners. Sometimes we plant a seed; sometimes we water; sometimes we pull weeds; and every so often we get to harvest. Don’t look at it as harvest or nothing! And that thing you say may be what they think of when they are in their dying moments, so don’t waste it!Breaking the Status QuoAs for these people, if they are compromising the Word, then what they need to to examine their personal commitment to Jesus. Since they are likely ‘religious’ then we don’t have to worry about them, right? WRONG! We are to encourage and to help disciple people. Remember that if you love someone, you want them to know the truth, even if they disagree with it. It’s not a call to stand up and argue and always be right, but again to at the very least plant a seed. There are examples in the New Testament where Paul spoke in the synagogues as well as homes. He was sharing the Messiah to the religious people of the day. That’s all I’m saying that we should do. And remember, just as we shouldn’t assume every person that is a member of a church is saved, we shouldn’t assume that every one that fails to live up to OUR standard is not saved. And since we don’t know, we share; we disciple; we love.Cultural but not TruthfulIf you think the last category is bad, what about this one? I have a person in my life that says she believes in God; she believes in Jesus; she says she’s going to Heaven because she believes, but she has never made a conversion to Christianity. I’m not saying that she needs to join a church - I’m saying that she hasn’t accepted Jesus and repented of her sins. She has the ‘I’m good enough’ attitude.This is hard to deal with, because if someone is part of that 68% mentioned above, they already think they are ‘good enough.’ We still have to reach these people. They may require more time and effort, but is there something more worthwhile? Remember, it’s part of the Great Commission! We aren’t told to go into all the world and share the Gospel with everyone “except those that have a false belief they are going to Heaven.”American Judea?The writer says…“Of all the places where Jesus said His disciples would be witnesses, Judea must have seemed the most inviting. Judea represented the remnant of the Southern Kingdom of Judah.”This might sound like America, right? I mean especially in Tennessee. Not only are we in the Bible Belt, but we are pretty much the Belt Buckle! So it should be easy, right? I wish it were so… America has so much overall prosperity that people don’t see the need for Jesus. Ray Comfort likes to put it this way. You offer someone on an airplane diamonds, gold or a parachute and they won’t even think about taking the parachute. You tell them the plane is crashing and suddenly the gold and diamonds are worthless! What good is wealth if you are about to die?People in America are bullet proof - or at least we feel that way. We have doctors to give us meds; we have television to keep us entertained; we have TikTok to keep us from talking to people when we are in line at the grocery store. Why do we need Jesus?Speaking of doctors, when does someone go to the doctor? When they are sick. When do they go to Jesus? When their soul is sick. Those 68% that say they are Christian - how many of them are spiritually sick and don’t know it? America was founded on Judaeo Christian beliefs. Look how far we have fallen from that though! And the world - the public - sees nothing wrong with it. When I was young, being “gay” was not something you talked about. Now we have a month to celebrate it. Are there more gay people now? I don’t think so - I think they just don’t repress it.Of course the world would step in here and say, “be true to yourself.” But what does the Bible say? Jesus never condemned someone for having the urge to commit adultery. It’s hard to look at a pretty girl in a bathing suit and not have lust, but you should turn away. Accidentally stumble on something on the Internet? Get away from it! Feel like you want to have a homosexual relationship? Don’t. Yes, it sounds simple, and I don’t mean to make light of it. Someone with an addiction, be it drinking, smoking, pornography, sex, whatever - that person has a real issue with things. But just because someone has an addiction to alcohol doesn’t mean they MUST take a drink. It’s a struggle, but they don’t have to give in. It’s the same with a homosexual. You don’t want to be with a woman? Fine - then don’t get married. Stay single; stay celibate. You have a choice!A Bigger JobSounds like we have our work cut out for us! Witnessing is not easy, but it GETS easier with experience. Not everyone is bold at first, but look for opportunities to be bold. Look for chances to speak to the people you talk to all the time. Have you invited them to church? Maybe they go to church somewhere. Maybe they are cultural Christians because you don’t see a true Fruit of the Spirit. Don’t assume they are saved; go to them! Ask them to pray with you about something. They will see that you are serious and you’ll find out very quickly how serious they are!If I had to sum it up in one sentence, let’s open our hearts, open our eyes, and be ready to meet the challenge. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

Owning Your Faith StoryYesterday we started talking about Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus. We talked about how he used it to testify on behalf of the power of Jesus Christ, and that we can do the same! But remember, you have to have your own conversion account; you can’t just share Paul’s.Remember the Way of the Master series from Living Waters Ministries that I mentioned? It is a great training, but if you haven’t experienced the change yourself then you are just repeating someone else’s words.Most of you know I’m a musician and a singer/songwriter. When I learn a new song it is someone else’s story. I might be able to relate to it, but it is still their story. What I like to do is make it personal with small word changes here and there.The song Amanda, for example. There’s a line in there about “now I finally reached forty, and I’m still wearing jeans” and another line about looking in the mirror “at the hair on my shoulders and the age in my eyes.” When I sing the song, I say “at the grey in my hair, and the age in my eyes” and “now I’m pushing sixty, and still wearing jeans.”Larry Cordle has a wonderful old song called Black Diamond Strings and he gave me permission to record it while changing some of the words. We’ve not been back to the studio since before Covid, so it’s still on the to do list, assuming God approves. He allowed me to change up quite a few words to make it reflect my own personal history and story.Now I mention those as examples to say that this is a good way to think of training. You can learn how to start a conversation, or how to approach someone, but you are not memorizing someone else’s story. You’re not telling Paul’s account - but you can use it as inspiration!Boldly Share The writer says, “all believers can tell others how they came to know Jesus as Savior. We are not shy to talk about family, sports teams, or politics. Why should we hesitate to introduce others to our Savior?”To this I say Amen! I needed to hear that reminder as well!Under Christ’s Authority and for All PeopleTwo more things the writer says, “Paul was no longer in authority but under the authority of Jesus.” This is key! I know I’m really hammering on that nail, but it’s worth repeating. Jesus is in control, not you! If you are in control then you need to get out of the way and let Him lead!The other is, “the target of his witness was all men. Paul took the gospel to Jews and Gentiles alike.” Let me repeat part of that - all men. Now that Jesus the Messiah had come, the Gospel was open to all men - and it is still open to all men, women, children.I don’t believe there is anyone on earth whom the Lord turns away. Being a Jew right now means nothing if you personally deny Jesus. Yes, they are the ‘chosen people,’ but they have also turned away. Now all that being said, living in a country like America and going to church doesn’t make you a follower either. Remember the cultural Christians I mentioned? And having hidden or unconfessed sin in your life will prevent even a true follower from having an effective witness.Guarding the Gospel Lens in a Divided WorldI want to shift gears here a moment and touch on something else I mentioned last time - politics. This morning I was listening to the Living Waters Podcast and Oscar brought up a disturbing account. I’m going to insert this into the audio feed. If you are reading this, here’s a partial transcript. I read this book, and the pastor was telling the story, I don't know if I've ever shared this on the podcast before. He's telling the story that the neighbor, they were a non-believing family, and they were going through a divorce. For years this pastor and his family tried to invite him to church. They had a little son, I think he was, like, 11, 12 years old.And so one Sunday, the mom calls up and is like, hey, I've got this thing an errand I need to run. Can you watch my son for me? And they're like, yeah, but I'm preaching this Sunday. He's coming to church with us. And she's like, that's fine, I just need someone to watch him. So this is the first time this 11 or 12 year old kid is walking into a church.They go pick him up. He's wearing an Obama shirt. It's kind of funny. They pick him up, they take him to church and they're all getting ready. The little boy is walking down the center aisle to his seat. And one of the elders looks at him and goes, boy, you better take that shirt off before God burns it off of you.Now, was that elder looking at that child through the lens of the gospel, as his primary identity is a son of the living God who saved them? Or was he looking at that child through his identity of being a political idea?From The Living Waters Podcast: Ep. 305 - When Politics Becomes Idolatry, Nov 12, 2024This material may be protected by copyright.This breaks my heart to hear this. But you know the worst part ? I can actually see that happening. Can you hear someone saying this? Worse yet, can you hear YOURSELF saying this?In ConclusionUntil next time, seek His will - ask Him to use you - and don’t let your worldly notions drag you down. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

The Command to WitnessThe Sunday School lesson for November 10 is Witness - Believers must share their faith story with others. Yes, it’s a MUST - because of the Great Commission! Matthew 28:18-20 NIRV - Then Jesus came to them. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. So you must go and make disciples of all nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And you can be sure that I am always with you, to the very end.”Mark 16:15 NIRV - He said to them, “Go into all the world. Preach the good news to everyone.This is something Jesus TELLS us to do - it’s not an option. All my life I have heard “you can talk about anything - BUT - don’t talk about politics or religion.” I now disagree with this statement. You shouldn’t force them, but the other person or people are willing, then feel free to be loving and diplomatic while you share your Biblical world view!I recently had someone on social media tell me, ‘keep your religion out of politics.’ I respectfully disagreed with him and said that everyone has a right to vote their beliefs, whether it’s religion, secular or whatever. I explained that as a Christian and disciple of Christ, my worldview is shaped that way and when I vote I am going to vote for people that support my worldview. I told him I would expect him to do nothing less as well.And remember, as you have heard me say so many times, when you commit to Jesus it is not a part time thing. Either He is Lord of all or He is not - there there is no middle ground. All includes how you talk to and treat others as well as how you choose to vote, volunteer, etc. Not every conversation is a mini-sermon, but I stay open to share. If they don’t want to talk about it, fine, but it won’t be because I ignored it - it will be because they don’t want to hear it. That makes it THEIR decision and I’m not making it for them. Similarly, we’re called to live our witness openly.Navigating Faith ConversationsThe writer says, “when we share our faith stories, we are witnesses for Christ. What we say, how we say it, and the character of the person saying it combine to produce credibility.” Let’s break that down…What we say - first of all, it should always be the truth! Remember, if you love someone you’ll tell them the truth, even if it’s not what they want to hear. If you just want to avoid an argument you’ll agree with whatever they say. That is not ‘truth.’How we say it - it should always - ALWAYS - be with love. When I witness, I will ask them how many lies they’ve told, have their ever taken something that is not their own, looked on another with lust… This gets them to judge themselves and I’m not judging them, but at the same time I’m sharing the truth about the condition of their eternal soul.Character of the person - I recently pointed out the passage about ‘sawdust’ or ‘a speck’ in your eye. To reiterate, how can I effectively help someone else with a sin problem when I suffer from the same. Or worse…Matthew 7:3-5 NIRV - “You look at the bit of sawdust in your friend’s eye. But you pay no attention to the piece of wood in your own eye. How can you say to your friend, ‘Let me take the bit of sawdust out of your eye’? How can you say this while there is a piece of wood in your own eye? You pretender! First take the piece of wood out of your own eye. Then you will be able to see clearly to take the bit of sawdust out of your friend’s eye.Witnessing Through Everyday ActionsThe passage next referenced is Acts 21:17-23:35. To paraphrase, Paul was falsely accused of teaching Jews to ignore their heritage and the mob attacked Paul. Paul identified himself as a Roman citizen and was able to speak on his own behalf. Rather than just declare that he was innocent and should be left alone, he turned it into a witness! We should always strive to do this! If someone asks why you are doing something, give God the credit!Buy a homeless person a meal? If they ask why, don’t say, “it’s the right thing to do” or “I wanted to help” or even “I was raised that way.” Say this - I am a disciple of Christ and He wanted me to.Now they may NOT respond in a good way. They may even be under demonic influence and respond in a negative way or even lash out. But regardless, you are giving God the glory and planting a seed.Are you being gentle or kind to someone? Say someone asks you why you are so easy to get along with. Don’t take the credit - say “because I have the Holy Spirit in me. God forgave me of so much - why should I treat anyone else bad?”Of course use your own words in this. Not only will it be a witness and hopefully open a door, but it will be a reminder to you as well. As you hear yourself giving God and Jesus the credit, you are actually going against the internal evil - the sin nature - that you and I were born with.Recognizing God’s Call for YouI want to share this part of the account. Acts 22:6-9 NIRV - “I had almost reached Damascus. About noon a bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice speak to me. ‘Saul! Saul!’ it said. ‘Why are you opposing me?’ “ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked. “ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth,’ he replied. ‘I am the one you are opposing.’ The light was seen by my companions. But they didn’t understand the voice of the one speaking to me.I wanted to point this out specifically because you may be reading or listening and have never heard this particular passage. Paul was blinded by the light from Jesus. Others there saw the light - the Glory of the Lord - and heard a voice, but weren’t blinded nor did they understand the voice. Why not? Because they were not the ones Jesus was talking to.Let this also be a lesson to us in this way. God calls different people to different roles in the Body. Some He calls to lead as a pastor; others to evangelize; others to write a blog; others to tend to the elderly… The list goes on and on. Make sure of your PERSONAL calling. you may desire to do one thing but God is calling you to something else.Or you may see someone else doing something that you’d really like to do and wish that God would let you do that. There is nothing wrong with wanting to do more for God, but remember that God has a role for YOU! That is your job and He wants you to do it.A ChallengeHas it been a while since you sought God’s will in your life? Reach out to Him now. Open your heart and your mind to Him; to the Holy Spirit. I’m reminded of the song Jesus Use Me. Now that this is also an audio podcast I can share it.The first time I asked God to actually tell me what He wanted me to do, it was while the Barnetts were singing this song. I went to the altar at the old Holy Hills Baptist Church building in Dyersburg and prayed. And I did NOT give God a multiple choice set of answers. What I did NOT do was say, “do you want me to do this thing I’m good at? Or that thing I wouldn’t mind doing?”What I DID say was very simple - Jesus use me - tell me what you want me to do. Take my life, my breath, my energy - everything about me - and put me where you want me to be. Even if it’s to go to another country as a missionary, you tell me and that’s what I’ll do.Now did I WANT to go off like that? Not at all, but I was so much more concerned with what Jesus wanted me to do that I didn’t hesitate to ask, even knowing that could have been the answer.I also didn’t go to the altar as a show or so others could see me. As far as I was concerned, it was just me and Jesus. I was submitting my will to Him and didn’t care who else was around. Now I realize that other Christians were praying for me, just as I pray for others during an invitation time. And just as I am praying for YOU now.Lord, if anyone is reading or hearing this and needs to ask YOU what to do, I pray that you will bind satan and the fallen ones and let that person have the strength to turn to You right now. I pray that you will hear their question and give a clear answer to that person. And I thank you for using me in this process and I give you Lord all the glory. In the name of Jesus Christ - Amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

Doubt and TrustToday I want to share the first of three “sermons” that I brought at church. The audio is pulled from our live stream, so please excuse any sound issues.This is from July 21, 2024. The pastor was out so I filled in. Remember I said I’m an evangelist, not a pastor? This is an example. I’m not trying to steer the flock in a certain direction, but more speaking to individuals about doubt and turning our backs on God. More of a challenge to trust Him. I pray it is edifying to you. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

No Partial MessageAs promised, pulling at the thread we started yesterday, let’s talk about the FULL Gospel. Paul had declared, as the King James puts it, all the counsel of God. Are we also sharing the full message? Do we say “God Loves You!” and smile as we walk on? There is absolutely no salvation in that statement.Do we say, “Jesus can forgive you” as we continue on our journey? Again, not the Gospel.Do we say, “God loves you” to someone obviously suffering in sin? This can potentially give the impression that God doesn’t care about their sin; that He loves them just the way they are. Yes, this is true, but He doesn’t want to LEAVE them like that.Remember, the Gospel is the fact that Jesus DIED for us! Why? Because we deserve death, not love. But He loves us anyway; even though we are His enemies.Now how do we communicate this? The older I get and the more I witness to people, I realize how important this verse is…Matthew 7:3-5 NIRV - “You look at the bit of sawdust in your friend’s eye. But you pay no attention to the piece of wood in your own eye. How can you say to your friend, ‘Let me take the bit of sawdust out of your eye’? How can you say this while there is a piece of wood in your own eye? You pretender! First take the piece of wood out of your own eye. Then you will be able to see clearly to take the bit of sawdust out of your friend’s eye.To put this even simpler, I might see the sin in someone else’s life, but what right have I to point it out when I’m not willing to remove the even larger sin in my own life? If I am obviously not living a Christian life, then why would anyone want to believe what I have to say about sin and the punishment for it?Do you remember as a child one of the worst things a parent could say to you was, “Do as I say; not as I do.” This is so very hypocritical! Don’t be that way to your neighbor! Don’t live one way while you pretend to live another. It’s living the life of a hypocrite to say to someone not to do something while you are doing it yourself, or something even worse!Let me ask you something serious. Is adultery wrong? Then why do you watch pornography? Remember that Jesus said if you look with lust then you have committed adultery in your heart. This was something God had to give me the strength to get past. I’m not proud of the way lust was a part of my life and my thoughts, but thank God I’m not that way any more!I don’t even want to sing songs that glorify it. Two songs are old favorites, but I have stopped listening to them because I realized they were poisoning my mind. George Jones’ song Her Name Is and Bobby Bare’s Tequila Shelia. It may not be a sin to you to listen to them, but to me it is. They glorify adultery and I want no part of them any more.Be On GuardI want to share all four of these verses - Acts 20:28-32 NIRV - Keep watch over yourselves. Keep watch over all the believers. The Holy Spirit has made you leaders over them. Be shepherds of God’s church. He bought it with his own blood. I know that after I leave, wild wolves will come in among you. They won’t spare any of the sheep. Even men from your own people will rise up and twist the truth. They want to get the believers to follow them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning you. Night and day I warned each of you with tears. Now I trust God to take care of you. I commit you to the message about his grace. It can build you up. Then you will share in what God plans to give all his people.There is so very much in this passage we need to unpack! First, those that you have helped lead to Christ are now disciples of Christ. But we can’t watch over them forever. It is up to them to find a church and grow and learn. Now if you are the leader of a small group or even a pastor of a church, this obviously doesn’t apply to you, but to the majority of people sharing the Gospel, you won’t be there tomorrow to help them. I think about the role of evangelist as opposed to a pastor. A pastor is there to lead the flock day after day and week after week. Your local pastor fits this role, but someone like Billy Graham was an evangelist. He would go and share the Gospel and help people see the truth. He didn’t stop in every city and start a church and help them grow; he trusted that they would find a local flock to be a part of.Two roles to play - different, yet similar. I consider myself to be an evangelist. I have had a few opportunities to “preach” and if God wants, I will do more. I don’t, however, feel led to be a pastor of a flock. But the bottom line here is that Paul couldn’t keep speaking to them day after day. We all have a date with death. I wanted to help my kids and I am proud to say that I helped Vanessa raise two fine boys. But there comes a time you stop making their decisions for them.It is the same with making disciples. Make sure you are in the will of God so you can make the right impressions and help them grow, then they have to go on their own to their own flock.There is a local pastor that I have tremendous respect for. He is having health problems and it is hard for him to speak. He knows now better than at any time before how important it is to say what God tells you to say while you still can! Don’t do like me and realize years later that you wasted so much time.Brother Clyde - if you’re reading or listening - I love you brother and pray for you often. Let me know if I can ever help out.More PreachingThat finishes up the Sunday School lesson. Since we’re on the topic of preaching, though, I will point out that last week I shared three ‘sermons’ that I brought. I put them on YouTube and they are available on my channel. Since I am now publishing this as a podcast, I will be sharing the audio of them very soon.A Challenge for UsWhat’s the takeaway here? Let Jesus sweep your house clean from top to bottom! Give Him full control of your life and let Him rearrange in whatever way He decides. Remember that He is the Creator and He knows best for us!Once you have done this you will be in a better position to share about sin. Remember, it’s not just that Jesus loves you, or Jesus died for you, but that you are going to hell for your very sins if you don’t trust Him and repent! That is the Gospel message! What good is a salvation message if you don’t know what you are being saved from? Get some gospel tracts - get something catchy. I love to carry the Million Dollar Bills from Living Waters Ministry. They are eye catching and people generally enjoy receiving them. The message on the back is very blunt though, so it gets the message across with no pretty words or pretense.Make sure you have read the back of them too! Make sure you know what they say and why they say it. You can then use the same approach to talk to someone about Jesus. I also highly recommend the Way of the Master series from Living Waters. They can be found on YouTube as well and is a great training course on how to boldly speak up for Jesus. Though I’m not a pastor, if I were I would likely be using it to train my flock to witness effectively. Until next time, be Blessed and strive to do His will."Almost New" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

CommitToday, I’d like to share notes from our recent Sunday School lesson titled Commit. The tagline of the lesson is Believers must resolve to faithfully serve Jesus all their days. Note that this means it is not a part time job. This Christianity thing - making Jesus Lord - in an ETERNAL commitment, and this scares some people.Remember, when we allow Jesus to take control, He is supposed to have ALL control. This reminds me of the verse about driving out a spirit and sweeping the house.Matthew 12:43-45 NIRV - “What happens when an evil spirit comes out of a person? It goes through dry areas looking for a place to rest. But it doesn’t find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives there, it finds the house empty. The house has been swept clean and put in order. Then the evil spirit goes and takes with it seven other spirits more evil than itself. They go in and live there. That person is worse off than before. That is how it will be with the evil people of today.”You see, some people want Jesus to clean their house, but then they don’t let Him fill it up. Jesus wants to do more than just sweep and clean the house. He wants to tear down walls, add windows, and rebuild you entirely.So, continuing this analogy, some people will let Him in and have fellowship with Him, but they don’t want to allow Him full access. Have you heard anyone tell you, “keep your religion to yourself?” Or, “keep your Bible to yourself?” To someone that puts God in a closet and only brings Him out when He is needed, they will never hear those words. But someone that lets Jesus have COMPLETE control in the ETERNAL commitment! Now that’s the goal!OppositionThe writer mentions those who serve in the military must show bravery and commitment during periods of warfare. As Christians, we are constantly in a state of spiritual warfare. While the writer notes that “behind all opposition lies the schemes of Satan,” I don’t take this to mean there is a demon behind every rock. If you go back to Genesis 3 you’ll see that opposition to God is the original sin. When the serpent tempted Eve, it didn’t do so by loud boasting, but by planting a seed of doubt! If the enemy can cause people to doubt, he can stand back and watch! Man will let their evil, human nature take over.Hold Nothing BackI want to share part of the passage. Acts 20:18-21 NIRV - When they arrived, he spoke to them. “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you,” he said. “From the first day I came into Asia Minor, I served the Lord with tears and without pride. I served him when I was greatly tested. I was tested by the evil plans of the Jews who disagreed with me. You know that nothing has kept me from preaching whatever would help you. I have taught you in public and from house to house. I have told both Jews and Greeks that they must turn away from their sins to God. They must have faith in our Lord Jesus.In the King James Version, verse 20 reads - And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house.Paul says that he held nothing back! The word translated as ‘profitable’ is from the Greek sumpherō soom-fer'-o, which means to contribute or collect; be better for, bring together, be good. In other words, whatever would help you to grow. I pray that I can be the same in that I hold nothing back that I learn or discover, but that’s a conversation for another day. In Paul’s case it means everything said and shared was for THEIR benefit, not his.What love to show to fellow man! Boldly sharing not just the Gospel itself, but instruction and correction as well. I think it is safe to say that even though he wasn’t there, Paul took the Great Commission seriously! Remember in Matthew, our Lord says to make disciples and teach the things that He taught. I have specific things in mind about this topic which I promise, Lord willing, to share later, but for now just look at it this way. If Jesus said it, did it or taught it, then it is important! If the Gospel writers recorded it, then it is important for us today - including sharing it with other believers. Publicly and house to house, I believe Paul’s message was the same. There is no hidden knowledge; no secret society or handshake - the Gospel message of Jesus Christ is for everyone - Jews, Greeks, Gentiles. And the rest of the teachings are as well.If Jesus said it, did it or taught it, then it is important!Not ShunnedI’ll leave you with one more passage today.Acts 20:26-27 NIRV - So I tell you today that I am not guilty if any of you don’t believe. I haven’t let anyone keep me from telling you everything God wants you to do.Paul was not guilty of leaving anyone with the excuse that they had not been told. Can you say that? I must admit, I can’t say this. I do strive to find opportunities to share, but I seem to end the day thinking I could have done more.As I was writing these notes, I was sitting at an outside table at a local restaurant. I had given several tracts that day, including two while making the notes. Should I have done more? COULD I have done more?TomorrowWe’ll pick up this thread tomorrow and discuss practical steps we can take. Until then, be Blessed and strive to do His will. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com

AnnouncementA quick break from the usual format: from this post onward, I will include an audio file. This will also be available as a podcast on Apple, Spotify, and other platforms.I personally consume the bulk of my content via podcasts while working, driving, etc. and I think others may be the same. I also feel led to expand the reach of this blog, and a podcast seems like the natural progression.That being said, please let me know if you would like me to republish older posts as audio as well! Happy to do so. For those that are hearing these as audio only, you are welcome to come to the post page and leave your comments.SamariaBack to the study group lessons, September 15, 2024 is Your Church’s Samaria. Remember we are looking at Acts 1:8 - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. Then you will tell people about me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria. And you will even tell other people about me from one end of the earth to the other.So this time we are looking at Samaria. I’d like to start with paraphrasing the story that the writer leads with. Pay close attention to this and see if you can relate. He starts with his history as a pastor’s son and the importance of missions, with an emphasis on ALL people need Jesus. He would always invite his closest friends.But there was one family out on the edge of town he refers to as the Thirsty Family. No way he would ever invite them! They were dirty, smelly and obviously poor. There was one boy about his age that soaked up Bible verses and drills like a sponge! He ends with this quote -The Thirsty family was not like anyone else in our church, and Ralph Thirsty was not like me or my friends. Our children's teachers had to make concerted efforts to reach out to the Thirsty kids. Today I'm sorry I didn't make the same effort.Has something similar happened to you? I am ashamed to admit this, but it has to me. We tend to gravitate to those that we want to spend time with. Those people need Jesus too, but what about the kid that’s picked last? Or that doesn’t wear the right shoes? Or may not have running water at home to shower? Again, I am ashamed that when I called myself a Christian in middle and high school that I let ANYONE go uninvited to church or even to Jesus.Cultural HistoryAs a brief background, the Samaritans are part of Hebrew culture. For instance, Jesus met the woman at Jacob’s well in Samaria. They trace their lineage back to Jacob, just like the Jews. Following the Assyrian conquest in 722 B.C., the Samaritans intermarried with the invaders and incorporated some of their religious practices. In contrast, the ‘traditional’ Jews who returned from captivity did not intermarry and thus viewed themselves as more faithful to God’s ways.I propose that we could look at it as a denominational difference. I happen to go to a Southern Baptist church, but I am no more or less saved than someone at a Methodist or Assembly of God or any title you want to throw out. At least as long as that someone is a blood bought believer in Jesus Christ. We can have differences of opinion on eschatology or women pastors, but as long as we trust in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to pay for our sins, we are still brothers and sisters in Christ.Now to be sure there are others that will claim the title of Christianity but preach a false gospel. Think of the Mormons and their works based, or Muslims and their allegiance to their Messiah. You could even say the Jewish people today that reject Christ. Do we ignore them because they are different? Or do we take the Gospel to them as well? Are they not God’s creation too, for whom Jesus died?Here’s a quick test. Do you believe the truth? Does it agree with what they believe? If not, then they need to hear the truth. Period. Then they can make their own decision. Don’t assume the individuals in these religions have rejected the truth; they may be living the only thing they’ve ever been told.IntentionalAnd lastly on this lesson about Samaria (or as a substitute ‘other denominations’) the writer says that “Jesus was intentional in His approach to reach the Samaritans.” Jesus went out of His way to travel through the area. This should be a lesson to us. In this modern day, we are minutes by car from people we may never normally come into contact with. Is God calling you to be a witness there?And remember to personalize the message, like Jesus did. Keep this in mind as you talk to people. As long as you don’t compromise the message - the Gospel - you can use different techniques and conversation.This applies to more than just witnessing and conversions. It also applies to discipleship, something we are called to take part in. Remember, everyone is at a different stage of their spiritual growth.Until next time, be Blessed and strive to do His will!"Almost New" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com