The Bait of Satan

Your response to offense will determine your future, temporally and eternally.

Last year I listened to a sermon preached in a little church in Texas. I was so impacted by it, I shared it with a friend. The message is “The Bait of Offenses” (preached by the now-late Mervin Graber).

Not long after, my friend was in the book section of a thrift store and saw this book title: The Bait of Satan (by John Bevere). Curious by its similarity to the sermon title, he pulled it off the shelf and saw it addressed the same subject. So he bought it. And read it. And loaned it to me.

I was so impressed by the message that I read the book. Wow! Before long, my friend’s wife found another copy of the book in a thrift store. She bought it and my friend gave it to me for Christmas or my birthday.

You can listen to the sermon version “The Bait of Offenses” at my Anabaptists website. I urge you to do so. Please.

The rest of this post is more about the book as well as some excerpts from it. Read it all

COVID-19: Hooked by Numbers and Death Projections

If you think getting hooked is a good thing, ask a fish or a drug addict or a prostitute

It has been several days since I last looked at the coronavirus world map put up by the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Here’s the screen capture I took at 7:07 this morning (here in Oregon, USA).

Johns Hopkins Coronavirus map early on 29 March 2020
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus map early on 29 March 2020

I do not for a bit believe those numbers out of China and Iran. Come on, folks, really? Especially those China figures. Right. Since when do totalitarian regimes dispense negative information freely, transparently, and fully? Read it all

How to Eliminate Coronavirus Hype

A straightforward solution whose principles are already kicking into gear globally...
How to Eliminate Coronavirus Hype

No, not how to eliminate the virus. Like all viruses, it will just have to run its course.

This is about how to lower the hype to normal-flu levels. Zero pretty much. Eliminate, in other words.

Israel and Italy are under full-blown quarantine, right?

Air travel is curbed, right?

Public assemblies are being canceled, right?

Even (some/the) Democrats are calling for canceling further campaigning, right?

To eliminate the coronavirus hype, to brush COVID-19 right out of the news… Read it all

Sasha Krause: Lost, Found, Buried

Actually, they found and buried only the body Sasha inhabited for over 27 years.

Sasha Marie Krause went alone to church on Saturday, January 18. It was just a quick trip for some Sunday School materials. She needed them to teach the preschool class the next day at her congregation’s outreach in Colorado.

Unscheduled in the grand scheme of life, that short drive to church was routine in that it was nothing special. She arrived safely…and vanished, no more to be seen in this life by family and friends. But someone else was with her. Someone not yet identified. Someone who took her or her lifeless body to Arizona.

On Friday (February 28) her body completed its earthly travels, this time in Texas to its burial.Read it all

Christian Aid Ministries Issues Update in Jeriah Mast Sexual Abuse Case

Well, OK, a set of prayer requests, actually...

About three hours ago, Christian Aid Ministries posted the following update on their website:

Prayer needs for Haiti situation

Thank you for your prayers, words of advice and correction, and notes of encouragement. We need your prayers! Here are some specific ways you can pray:

  • Victims and their families. Sexual abuse leaves victims in a wake of trauma and difficulty. Pray for their healing and restoration.
  • CAM Haitian and American staff and other mission staff in Haiti. Both CAM staff and those from other Anabaptist missions face many pressures in relation to this situation. Pray that God will give them strength and grace for today and the days ahead.
  • Board of Directors and CAM management: We have been meeting frequently to work through this situation. Pray for us as we make decisions and take action to care for those who have been affected. Much discernment is needed as we review policies and practices, work to heighten staff awareness of abuse, and create better ways for staff members to communicate questions and concerns. We want to continually improve mechanisms to protect children and other vulnerable people.
  • Victim care groups: Pray for all those who are seeking to respond to the needs of victims. Independent Anabaptist groups who have experience in dealing with sexual abuse victims are organizing themselves to help victims in Haiti. CAM also needs wisdom in fulfilling its responsibility toward victims.

Thank you for praying.

Sincerely,
The Board of Directors
Christian Aid Ministries (CAM)

I call it an update, but in reality, it’s more a prayer request statement. As you read for yourself, they’re reporting nothing new in what they have done regarding the leaders who failed them, their constituency, and the victims (who should have been protected by them). I hope the veil is lifted on that very soon. Those who would fault CAM for protecting (or at least shielding) these men will hardly be dissuaded by this morning’s statement. 🙁

How to Respond to Treachery in the Church

A determination to show love, forgiveness, and grace

What I say to treacherous, deceitful Brothers in Christ:

  • I love you.
  • I forgive you.
  • I don’t see you as my enemy.
  • I don’t trust you so much.
  • My trust is available for you to win back.

I want to say those five things consistently, dependably, and truthfully from my heart. Amen.

Glory to pass over a transgression (Proverbs 19:11) Read it all

Above all, love God!

since November 9, 2005