George Cargill

The world seems to become more violent and dangerous year by year. Truly mankind cries, “Peace and safety,” but there is neither peace nor safety. According to the Geneva Academy there are over 110 armed conflicts going on in the world at this time. Criminal gangs are growing more powerful and challenge even the most powerful nations in the world. Crime is running rampant and law enforcement is becoming less effective and increasingly corrupt. Religion is being used to foment hatred and genocide against entire ethnic groups. Nuclear weapons threaten the very existence of mankind.

In the days of Noah, God saw the corruption of the people of the earth and said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.” Genesis 6.7 (NASB) He decided to flood the earth and remove men from the earth except for eight people. God commissioned Noah to build an ark, a ship, so that he could save the animals that God chose and the members of Noah’s family that the earth could be replenished with life.

Jesus compared the last days of the age to the days of Noah. “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be”  Matthew 24.37-39 (NASB). Jesus said that He would return in that day to rescue His own church and bring a terrible judgment on the earth. How are we to escape the violence and hatred of this present day and avoid the coming judgment? Jesus told us how,

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not condemned; he who does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the condemnation, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.” John 3.16—19

And,

 “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11.

If we have faith in Jesus enough to repent of our sins, humbly confess them to God, and receive Jesus, we will be born anew by the Spirit of God and be saved from the wrath to come. We will have eternal life assured in heaven. Thanks be to God!

Receive Jesus Christ and live! He is the ONLY WAY!

George Cargill

Everything in the church and in government rises and falls with leadership.  I heard a man who was a leading authority on leadership and management skills say, “Most of what I am teaching you about leadership I learned from the Bible.” This seemed amazing to the mostly secular crowd that listened to him. But I have found it to be true.

Lessons and examples of leadership abound in the Scriptures in both the Old and New Testaments. In the tenth chapter of 2 Chronicles, we find the example of Rehoboam who became king of ancient Israel when his father King Solomon died. Solomon asked for and received wisdom from God about leading the people in a right manner. He became immensely rich and built the most powerful and influential kingdom Israel has ever experienced. But it came at the expense of the people who suffered under his tyrannical rule. Solomon seemed to forget all the wisdom he received from God and lived opposite to the proverbs he wrote for everyone else. But then he died and faced the righteous Judge of the Universe, the fate of rich and poor, weak and powerful alike.

Imagine what King Rehoboam received!  Untold wealth and the throne of one of the superpowers of the known world. He had eighteen wives, sixty women in his harem, fathered twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. But at the coronation a fly landed in the soup. The people had been groaning under the despotic rule of his father Solomon. A leader named Jeroboam had arisen among the people who spoke in their behalf to King Rehoboam, “Your father made our yoke hard; now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.” 2 Chronicles 10:4 (NASB) I think the people presented the young King a fair request, “If you will rule justly with a light hand in favor of all the people, we the people will be good, loyal, and peaceful citizens.” Rehoboam, being new on the job, asked for three days to think it over. He did the right thing initially and sought the counsel of the elders who had served his father. They advised, “If you will be kind to this people and please them and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.” 2 Chronicles 10:7 (NASB) But Rehoboam decided instead to take the advice of his new counselors, friends of his youth and other sycophants who did not regard the people but wanted to lord over them for their own benefit. He decided not to listen to the people. Scripture records how Rehoboam answered the people.

“…all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day as the king had directed, saying, “Return to me on the third day.” The king answered them harshly, and King Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the elders. He spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.”2 Chronicles 10:12-14 (NASB)

The result was inevitable. A great majority of the people rebelled and unified behind the leader who was their advocate. Ten of the twelve northern tribes of Israel formed a new nation with the capitol in Samaria and crowned Jeroboam King of Israel while Rehoboam was left with the southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Rehoboam continued to reign in Jerusalem along with all his friends, the elite ruling class of government officials, most of the priests, some false prophets, and all the other ring-kissing functionaries of a monarchy. Israel was divided north and south and never reunited, sometimes warring against each other, or occasionally allied against a common enemy until the demise of their kingdoms more than three centuries later. This too was inevitable.

The best leaders are those who respect the lives of the people they govern whether in the church or the state. Good government  guards and strengthens the God-given rights of all the citizens, who are not just some oligarchical elite of rich and influential supporters but include the weaker members. Justice is established when all the people are equal before the law. Good leaders protect their preborn citizens as well as the helpless elderly. A nation that kills its children for the sake of birth-control or convenience will never find success as a just and enduring republic.

Current events seem to be taking America in directions that free people do not wish to go. What then does an ordinary citizen do? Even when we think our votes have been nullified and the corrupt have won, we must keep voting and advocating for life and justice with whatever influence we have. With what is left of our free speech we need to speak out as long as we can, supporting only candidates who will protect the lives of the preborn and will strive to bring about justice and freedom in the land. We who follow Jesus Christ must pray and live with love and integrity as Christ and His Apostles commanded us, believing that God sees all things and will reward the nation that will turn from evil to establish justice for all. We must do this so that our nation, in the words of President Abraham Lincoln, “...shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

George Cargill

I am amazed by the people in my community who do not seek to be justified before the law.  It can begin with a very minor incident that can end up being a terrific problem for them. I know of a person who got a minor traffic ticket and was summoned to court. When that happens, a person can pay the fine before time, or go to court. At court, a plea can be made before the Judge who will say “guilty”; or “not guilty.” Whether a person pays the fine or walks out of court acquitted, they are justified before the law of the community. The person that I am thinking of decided that it was not important to seek justification and thought that they could forget the whole thing. Of course, a bench warrant with a bond was issued, which the offender also ignored. Inevitably, the person was stopped on a minor traffic offense, arrested and released on another summons to appear. Ignoring this ticket, another warrant and additional bond was issued. It went on like this for a long time, until a fifteen-dollar ticket became a liability to the law of several thousand dollars, growing to a fine that the person had no way to pay. It is like that trying to be justified before God. We are sinners who need to be justified but we find that the “fine” is more that we can ever pay. The more that we try to ignore the need of it, the greater the condemnation and judgment. Jesus provided the payment for our sins to those who will repent and trust in Him.

“He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”Titus 3:5-7 (NASB)

 Each of us will give account of our lives before God. We have no defense of our own to take before the Judge of the Universe. We are guilty as charged and we have not the ability to pay the fine or present any atoning deed to Him. Paul tells us by faith in Jesus we can receive a pardon. Those of you who are used to saying something in church like “Amen” or “Hallelujah” could say something like that right now.  I think I will. Hallelujah! Praise God!

A prayer to share:

“Father in heaven, Jesus paid it all. I owe everything to Him. Sin had left an ugly stain but now I am white as snow. The indictment against me has been removed. I have been acquitted, freely pardoned! Thank you so much Lord. Thank you for sending Jesus. Thank you for His faithfulness. Thank you for His sacrifice so that I may be justified before You. Hallelujah, I am saved! Amen.”

All people in the world are created in the image of God, the Imago Dei. The Bible also teaches us that all people today came from one family, the progeny of Noah and his wife. The plague that the whole world has dealt with this year has also taught us that we are of one nature and one blood. It does not matter the color of our skin, the difference in facial features, our ethnic identity, whether we are rich or poor, or whether we are somebody or nobody. We are all subject to the same pandemic. The difference comes in how we react to the epidemic and what we learn from it.

From the earliest years of Christianity, the church reacted to the plagues that periodically ravaged the ancient world. The Roman world was without widespread public health care. It remained for Christianity to invent the hospital. Even though it was a persecuted minority, the church began early in the second century to provide palliative care for lepers and victims of plague. They found they could significantly reduce the death toll by providing clean bedding, proper nutrition, and prayer. They cared for all, whether Christian or Pagan, believing that all people are of one blood and created by God in His image. Monks, along with laypeople, dedicated themselves to the healing arts and tended to people who were sick regardless of the risk to themselves. In the one hundred years prior to the Edict of Toleration in 311 AD, Bishops of the church in Rome spent from 500,000 to 1,000,000 sesterces annually on health services and aid to the poor.[i] The Roman world learned that the love of God existed in the church and turned to Christianity by the millions.

By their good deeds and love for all people, Christians infused a new morality into the Western world regarding healthcare. We are reaping the benefits to this day. Great effort has been expended so that everyone who needs care in this current outbreak receives care. Ventilators are manufactured by companies that formerly manufactured automobiles. Government has gone on a “war-footing” to provide supplies. Health care professionals are working faithfully despite the risk of infection to themselves. Enormous amounts of money are being expended to help everyone who is affected by the pandemic. The believer and the unbeliever alike agree that this is the right thing to do. The world was not like that before Jesus Christ taught us to love God supremely and love others sincerely.

Both governments and citizens have learned something valuable. We were not prepared for this emergency and our supply lines are vulnerable. If we happened to be prepared with what we need, we have been reminded that others among our family and neighbors are not. So, we learn that that we must be better equipped to get along for a couple of months and have enough to help others who will not be prepared. We must live our lives trusting in God so that we can teach others to do the same while we help them with what they may need. Jesus Christ has the answer to the problems of the world. Love God supremely, love others sincerely, doing unto others as we would have done to ourselves.

George Cargill

Author of In the Grip of God, Journey into Corinth

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[i] Ferngren, Gary B., “New Era in Roman Healthcare,” christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/new-era-in-roman-healthcare

Love the Narrow Path: Meditations on the Straight and Narrow

After four months of writing, I have turned in a manuscript to Iron Stream Media four weeks ahead of deadline. The Lord has helped me greatly, answering my prayers by giving me insight to the Word and giving me endurance for the task. My previous book, In the Grip of God, is a work of biblical, historical fiction. Even though I had a lot of historical research to do, the novel seemed to be easier for me to write than this much shorter work of non-fiction. Not only does the work have to be biblical and theologically sound, it must be helpful and appealing to Christians who, for the most part, are doing their best to walk the straight and narrow way. It must also ring true in my own heart. As a result, I spent a lot of time in introspection and prayer. The work is built around the command of Jesus for us to enter the small gate and walk the narrow path (Matthew 7:12-14), put together with His teaching that every expectation for our conduct is fulfilled by loving God supremely and loving others sincerely (Matthew 22:35-40; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14), and doing unto others as we would have done to us (Luke 6:31). The love that the Bible speaks of is agapē, divine love, the kind of love that God has for humanity when He gave His Son as a sacrifice for our sins. Agapē is a word from the Greek that  defines, illuminates, and marks out the boundaries of the narrow path. I have coined it God-love. So, the theme of the book is God-love. In Love the Narrow Path, I have tried to examine every facet of this diamond called agapē.

There are 91 devotions of about 425 words each, 13 weeks of daily devotions. The entire manuscript came in at 40,200 words. Each devotion is accompanied by one to four verses of Scripture. The translations of the New Testament are mine. I wanted to use “God-love” extensively as the English equivalent for agapē and provide a more literal translation into vernacular English, even at the cost of a sometimes-awkward style. The Old Testament is quoted from the NASB which I consider to be the best of the modern translations. I do not yet have a schedule of editing or a launch date.

Love the Narrow Path came from my conviction that God-love is not only the answer to the Christian’s desire to please God, but the solution to most of the problems of the world.

George Cargill

There are questions and there are questions. Whether one has faith in God or not, the world is filled with unanswered questions. I have taught the Bible for many years and have had all kinds of students, from unquestioning sponges to knot-headed atheists. I like to lecture for part of the class and then slip into the Socratic method of question and answer, going back and forth between teacher and student. Neither teacher nor student can get away with only asking questions and never having to answer questions or justify their answers. An acceptable answer is “I do not know.” Then we can talk about learning about what we do not know and try to find some wisdom in understanding the limits of knowledge. But there are bad questions that are put forward that are intended do nothing but confuse the issue, waste time, and avoid other questions. A classic bad question is, “Can God make a rock so big that He cannot move it?” It is a bad, time wasting question, because it assumes that an irresistible force and an immovable object can exist in the same reality. I have learned to trust the Word of God to answer the most important questions that any person can ask, “Where did I come from, why am I here, and where am I going?” Do not look to atheistic evolutionist for the answers, for their answer is, “You are an accident of time and chance, there is no reason for your existence, there is no hope beyond the pleasure and purpose of the moment; you are going to die and that’s it.” I have learned that many atheists are atheists not because of evidence found in nature, but because of their skepticism. They simply do not want for there to be a Creator God.

The beginning of wisdom is to believe what God said through Moses, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Joshua the Son of Nun was in the first generation to receive the written word of God from Moses. He saw the sea parted by the hand of God He witnessed the fire on the Mountain of God and heard the thunderous voice from the Mountain. But what made Joshua wise is that he learned from Moses.

^“Now Joshua the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; and the sons of Israel listened to him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses. Since that time no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face.”  Deuteronomy 34:9-10 (NASB)

In recent years, science has been converging with Genesis. Physics and astronomy have shown that here was a beginning to the universe and there will be an end. Microbiology has shown that time and chance cannot produce the complexity of life we observe. Archeologist have found a creation “event” in the fossil record, the per-Cambrian “explosion” that records the sudden appearance of all the body plans we observe today. We can conclude that evolution was never a theory at all, just an unproven hypothesis glommed onto by atheists of the nineteenth century so that they could argue against creation and the Bible. Joshua did not have what we would call scientific knowledge. But he had wisdom gained through hearing the Word of God through Moses. The Bible has withstood the test of time and every assault of atheists. Look there to find the answers to those fundamental questions, “Where did I come from, why am I here, and where am I going?”

George Cargill, author of “In the Grip of God: Journey into Corinth” and a forthcoming devotional, “Love the Narrow Path.”

Here Today—Gone Tomorrow – John 12

Why are things like they are? Why do people have to suffer? Why do I have to die? Why does God allow such evil? Why does it seem that God is not concerned with our suffering? These are questions for which no human can supply a full answer. Who can know the mind of God? But, sometimes, God gives us wisdom with an insight into His purpose. This happened to a woman named Mary, after Jesus raised her brother, Lazarus, from the dead. When her brother became ill, she sent for their friend, Jesus. She knew He could heal Lazarus. But, Jesus took His time responding. By the time He got there, Lazarus had been dead four days. Mary chided Jesus, “If you would have been here my brother would not have died!” Jesus said, “I am life and life after death. If you believe in Me, you will live after you die.  Do you believe that?” Her answer was rather noncommittal. Jesus proceeded to raise her brother back to life and restore Lazarus to his sister. Later, they were having supper. Lazarus was at the table.  Mary did something that showed that God had revealed something to her about Jesus; about life, death, and the resurrection.

“Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.  But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray Him, said, ‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?’…Jesus said, ‘Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of My burial.’”  John 12:3-7 (NASB)

Mary had one of those moments in time, where you might say, “the light bulb came on”; a sudden realization of the truth. That jar of nard was worth three hundred day’s wages. It was probably her life savings. Jesus said that Mary had realized something that no one else in the room understood.  The Giver of Life, Jesus, would pay the price that every human being would pay for being born—death.  Mary understood, if Jesus raised her brother from the grave, it could not hold the Giver of Life. She now knew that if she believed in Jesus, when she died, she would live again, just like the Giver of Life. Her hope had been in her savings, but now it was completely in Jesus Christ.

“Father in heaven, I believe every word of Jesus. Help me to understand that my life is just a vapor, here today, gone tomorrow. My hope lies in the One who has passed through death before me.  Jesus Christ won, with His own blood, a propitiation for my sins. The grave could not hold Him, and it cannot hold me, because I have faith in His words. Eternal life!  Eternal life! Thank you, Jesus. Amen.”

The 91st Psalm is a scripture that is precious to many Christians. It speaks about hiding behind God. “God is my shelter, my refuge, I will hide in His shadow and under His wings. He will deliver me”. I have known many Christians who have survived the most terrible of circumstances while clinging to the promises of this Psalm. Perhaps it would be a good time to pause and read this Psalm or listen to it here.

“For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, that you do not strike your foot against a stone… Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.  He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.” Psalm 91:11-12; 14-15 (NASB)

Jesus claimed the promises of this Psalm. But on two occasions, Jesus was taunted by the words of this wonderful passage of Scripture.  These passages were thrown in Jesus’ face by Satan and evil men. Satan taunted Jesus with that big “IF.”  “If you are the Son of God,” Satan said, “Throw yourself down from the height of the Temple.  For it says, ‘The Angels will deliver you.’” Evil men gathered around the cross reviling and taunting Jesus who was hanging pitifully on the cross, “Let God deliver you,” they mocked Him, “since you are His son!”  They spat on Jesus and said terrible things against Him.  “If you are what you think you are, come down from the cross.” But God did deliver His Only Son.  He raised Jesus from the dead and exalted Him to the very throne of Heaven.  God never told Jesus that He would not have trouble in the days of His flesh.  But God assured His Son of deliverance.  We have not been promised that there would never be a “terror at night”, or an “arrow that flies by day,” or “pestilence that stalks in darkness”, or “destruction that lays waste at noon.”  God has promised that we can have no fear of these things if we trust in Him. By His life, Jesus showed us that no matter what happens to us is this world, God will deliver us from this life into the next. Hide behind God. He is always there to be our shield and our fortress, so that our faith will not fail in the time of trouble.

“Father in heaven, thank You for being a shelter for me when things go wrong in life. I have no need to be terrified, because You are with me. Your love sustains me. Your grace saves me. I am hiding behind You. All glory to You, my Father!  In Jesus name, AMEN.”

George Cargill

Author of In the Grip of God: Journey into Corinth