Love Truth Blog

Someone asked me about a very cherished item and wondered whether or not God would allow her to take it to heaven. I wondered for a moment. Then I remembered something Chuck Swindoll once said. It went as follows... Shortly before her death, Corrie ten Boom attended our church in Southern California. Following the worship service, I met briefly with her, anxious to express my wife's and my love and respect for her faithful example. She inquired about my family . . . how many children, their ages—that sort of thing. She detected my great love for each one and very tenderly admonished me to be careful not to hold on to them too tightly. Cupping her wrinkled hands in front of me, she passed on a statement of advice I'll never forget. I can still recall that strong Dutch accent: "Pastor Svendahl, you must learn to hold everyting loosely . . . everyting. Even your dear family. Why? Because da Fater may vish to take vun of tem back to Himself, und ven He does, it vill h...

Suppose for a moment one could actually dangle a person over hell fire and brimstone. The body secured with just a thin chord, which could easily be severed, sending the poor soul into the unquenchable flames. Would that put the fear of God in anyone? No way. I doubt God would use any kind of scare tactic just to bring a person into relationship with Him. This is never to say hell is irrelevant or even non-existent, but scaring someone would never work, at least for the person who sincerely wants to be changed and rearranged to be fit for heavenly life. The scoundrel in the midst of a raging battle may call out to God for deliverance inside the foxhole; however, once the danger has passed, he simply carries without giving thought to the Creator and how his very life rests in His hands. No, scaring in never enough to bring wayward souls into the temple of the Lord to learn at the feet of the Messiah. What God does is He sends the Son into this world to be incarnated as a man, ...

July 14, 2013, I was kicking back at home when the news flash came on that George Zimmerman was found not guilty for the second degree murder of Trayvon Martin. Backtrack to February 26, 2012, when George was on the neighborhood watch, saw Trayvon, perceived the lad was acting suspiciously, through a course of events the two got into a scuffle, with Trayvon dying of a fatal gunshot to the chest. Befuddlement is what I felt after hearing the verdict, as I was certain the accused was facing a guilty verdict. Yet, it is still surreal that this incident has sparked a national debate, with two sides calling the greater populace being defined by a story. Truth is really secondary to the whole debate. What the debaters are speaking about never really touches upon cardinal issues of American jurisprudence, such as a speedy trial by jury of one’s own peers, the principle of being innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt, and the like. These ideas are important, but the nationa...

I flipped on the television last Wednesday, June 26, 2013, and watched the news on the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which essentially kept same-sex couples from receiving tax, health and retirement benefits from the government. At that moment I thought, “Wow, whatever might come out of this, however this decision might shape each person in America, the world I lived in would never be the same.” Yet, inasmuch as the decision was monumental, as a Christ follower in covenant relationship to the God of the Universe, there is a bit of personal uneasiness over the whole situation. It would be naive to think the Supreme Court decision about DOMA is simply about the money $$$. (Who would object to a gay couple formulating contractual agreements for inheritance, hospital visitations, or property?) Rather, the decision set a legal precedence about marriage, particularly who can be married, and who can reap the benefits of being in a marit...

Jesus Christ’s cleansing of the temple has been on my mind of late. Matthew informs us that “ Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. And He said to them, “It is written, ‘ My house shall be called a house of prayer ’; but you are making it a robbers ’ den ” (Matt. 21:12-13). Mark adds that Christ “would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple” (Mark. 11:16). John informs us that the Jesus “made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple” (John 2:15), and said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business” (John 2:16). The disciples who witnessed this incident “remembered that it was written, ‘ Zeal for Your House will consume me ’ ” (John 2:17). [1] This incident would have occurred in the Temple’s Court of the Gentiles. In that place, there were money changers offering pure...

I just came across this special interest story, Banknotes worth $65,240 eaten by termintes - People's Daily Online . After reading it, I just had to let out a Homer Simpson, "Dooh!" Sad to read of how a Chinese woman lost a huge sum of yuan due to a termite infestation, but fortunately the bankers were able to consider the remains and the dear lady was able to recover what was eaten. This news piece really brings to mind the Christ's words "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matt. 6:19-21). It is a reminder of the importance of having an eternal perspective, particularly when it comes to being a good steward of what the Lord gives. ~ WGN ...

divine omnipresence də-ˈvīn   äm-ni-ˈpre-zən (t)s Someone once asked me, “If God cannot be in the presence of sin, why does Satan can have access to heaven? The idea is that Satan enters into heaven to accuse the righteous in the books of Job (Job 1:11, 2:5) and Zechariah (Zech. 3:1-5). The problem comes when reading about final glory in the Book of Revelation, wherein there is a picture of the New Jerusalem coming down as a bride adorned for her husband, and John the Revelator says, “nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Rev. 21:27). How can this be? Some might parse out the semantics in Job and Zechariah in such a way to contend that “the Satan” in these Old Testament prophets is someone other than the Devil. So the problem is simply a case of mistaken identity. I’m not bought and sold on that one. So how it is that Satan can accuse the brethren ...