Red Sea Rule #1

Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea (Exodus 14:1-2 ESV).

It's not ironic, a coincidence, bad timing, Murphy's law, or just happenstance that we are, where we are, when the enemy shows up, the earth opens up, the storm blows in, or the disease flares up. Instead, we are where we need to be when we find ourselves at a place we don't want to be.

This became so clear to me in Bro. Robert J. Morgan's book The Red Sea Rules. In his first of ten Red Sea rules, we learn as did the Israelites that when we find ourselves trapped with the Rea Sea in front of us, mountain ranges on both sides of us, and Pharaoh and his army behind us, we are where we are meant to be. God doesn't make mistakes. The all-knowing God of the Universe is in control.

Knowing this truth, as well as, the truth of God's love and mercy, provides us with great comfort and encouragement in those very difficult times. As Bro. Morgan, puts it in his first chapter, "God allows our faith to be tried, and He permits troubles to crowd into our lives. Sometimes they seem more than we can bear, but Christ can bear them."

Even when our own actions brings us to the edge of the cliff or plants us in a pool of quicksand, God's permissive will allows it for a good purpose. Our best interest is His great concern. God knows how to get our attention. Just as the Israelites looked to God when facing the Red Sea, God wants us to look to Him when facing our Red Sea, lions' den, or fiery furnace.

God is most concerned about our relationship with Him, not our ease and comfort down here. So when you find yourselves being swallowed up by tragedy, heartache, or insurmountable problems, do as Bro. Morgan recommends, "take a deep breath and recall this deeper secret of the Christian life: when you are in a difficult place, realize that the Lord either placed you there or allowed you to be there, for reasons perhaps known for now only to Himself.

Prophecy, Pansexuality, and Pandemonium

Book Review of Prophecy, Pansexuality, and Pandemonium

by Li-ann Thio (Author) Review by Eddie Fleming

Just as a new pair of glasses helps us to see the world better, Dr. Li-Ann Thio's book Prophecy, Pansexuality, and Pandemonium enables us to see clearly the moral chaos that is occurring worldwide and the reason behind it. She shares stark examples of how laws upholding moral values and traditional standards are being attacked and torn down at an alarming rate.

Dr. Thio's background and experiences provide a perfect recipe to satisfy the hunger of many for truth and spiritual understanding in an increasingly anti-God environment. Her knowledge and use of the Scriptures are impressive. Her goal, which she achieves, is to show how the man of lawlessness (Satan) referred to in 2 Thessalonians 2:9, is behind the moral chaos that is sweeping the world. She reveals how Satan's actions have created a spirit of lawlessness, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 5:20 in which good is now called evil and evil is now called good.

Dr. Thio uses the word "Torah" throughout the book to refer to God's laws. She does an excellent job of using secular history and the Scriptures to build a case that the man of lawlessness is behind the cultural demise that is occurring and the resulting biblically inhospitable environment. She helps us to see that this spirit of lawlessness is not about anarchy--the rejection of man's laws outright--but a rejection of God's law. She points out that Satan's attacks upon God and His Word consist in the rejection, and/or rewriting of civil laws founded on Judeo-Christian principles. She declares that the goal of the lawless one is to bring about the removal of every vestige of God and His Word from society.

She identifies how that the methods of Satan have not changed. In Genesis he used humanism and heresy to get Adam and Eve to reject God's Word and determine for themselves what was good and right. He now does the same by employing diversity, tolerance, and feelings as the benchmark for determining what is right and wrong, good and bad. The end result is the destruction or distorting of God's creation and creative order.

She rightly declares that there can be no neutrality. Those espousing the new norms will not tolerate neutrality. A choice must be made and those who choose the Judeo-Christian way will suffer for it. In fact, she points out how the anti-Christian movement has given rise to a new term, christophobia, coined by Jewish law professor and noted scholar, J H H Weiler. Christophobia, she says, has been defined as an irrational fear or hatred of Christians, Christianity, or Christian convictions because of their position on moral issues, which results in verbal violence, or discrimination against Christians, or even subtle persecution and civil death (p. 47-48).

The battle, as she puts it, is between the sons of Zion and the sons of Greece. The sons of Zion represent "those who are "the community of believers in Jesus Christ who confess His Lordship and sovereignty over their personal and corporate lives." The sons of Greece represent "those who are opposed to God, and His Creation and Moral order."

She concludes the book by focusing on the need for the sons of Zion to fight the work of the sons of Greece, while reaching out to the sons of Greece in love and compassion. I found the book easy to read and very informative. The most compelling truth that I found clearly visible throughout her book was that Christians can no longer afford to ignore the rising tide of secularism and the searing winds of religious hostility. I have not read a better book for helping us understand the moral changes that are taking place in America and around the world.

From a practical standpoint she provides advice for ministers and church members. She points out three perspectives that must be considered for the church "to be the salt and light, hope and healing, a banner for righteousness and a haven where mercy and relational intimacy are deeply experienced" (p. 289).

1) First, people who struggle with same-sex attraction, sexual confusion, etc. fall into the same state that we all find ourselves. All of us are broken spiritually, just in different ways. We all need the grace, mercy, and healing of God.

2) Second, she states that the "Church needs to realize that there is a direct link between religious freedom and the pansexual movement which will destroy religious freedom." (p. 298)

3) Third, she emphasizes that, "If we are His, we will care about what is on His heart." She elaborates by warning the church and its leaders to be on the lookout for apostate churches and Christians. She stresses the need to love the truth, know the truth, and be willing to stand for it regardless of the cost.

The only negative I found in the book was a few missing words, but the context enables one to easily determine the word that was missing.

The Red Sea Rules

Book Review of The Red Sea Rules (Author Robert J. Morgan)

Review by Eddie Fleming

Have you ever gotten caught between a rock and a hard place? Of course you have. We all have. The bigger question is, how do you deal with it? What approach do you take? What principles do you employ, if any? The Rea Sea Rules provides us with practical and spiritually sound principles by which to tackle the difficult moments in life. Just as God gave us the Ten Commandments to guide us in our relationships with God and others, Robert J. Morgan has given us ten principles or as he puts it, "Ten Red Sea Rules" that can assist us when facing our Goliaths, den of lions, or fiery furnace.

The book is fairly small, very easy to read, well written, and definitely worth investing in. The church I pastor has used it along with its workbook in one of our small groups. It's content and price makes it an excellent gift to share with others.

Giving Thanks in a Storm

"[G]ive thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (I Thessalonians 5:18 ESV).

At approximately 2:30 A.M. on May 9th, 1996, I discovered that what seems impossible to us is possible with God. On that particular morning, in a hospital room in Nashville, TN, I gave thanks while experiencing a heart wrenching, dream-crushing reality.

When tragedy strikes, we must choose our response. As a pastor, I've been there when loved ones die unexpectedly. I've been there when spouses die of cancer and heart attacks. I've been there when a teenager dies of leukemia. I've been there and I have took notice. Some handle it well, and others not so well.

On this day, however, it was my turn, but this one was different. I've never been there when a healthy looking baby is born, only to be told three hours later that "there is a problem. She's hemorrhaging on the brain; there's nothing more we can do, and it doesn't look good."

Those words were ringing in our ears as the physician over the neonatal intensive care left the room where my wife had given birth to our first child. With the door closing behind the physician, our silence was broken by my father-in-law, a minister, saying let's pray.

When 8:30 P.M. arrived, some 5 hours after our daughter's birth, we were standing at the entrance to the Neonatal Intensive Care Ward (NIC). When I requested admittance over the intercom, we were told to wait for the doctor. Both physicians, the one who delivered our daughter and the NIC physician came out. Unfortunately, they gave us no hope. They said, "If by some miracle she survives, she would most likely live out her life in a vegetative state." They then led us in prayer and suspended all the NIC rules for us.

Shortly after my wife's parents took her back to her room for some rest, around 2:15 A.M., I was informed that a room had been set aside for me to use (We were from out of state.). At first, I declined its use, but after being told I had to put my daughter down to receive another blood transfusion, I accepted the invitation. My motivation, however, was not sleep--I needed some alone time with God.

When I entered the room, I knelt beside the bed. I acknowledged that God already knew what I wanted--I wanted a miracle for my baby girl. I reminded Him--as if He needed it--of how He had healed a woman in the Bible who had been losing blood for 12 years (See Mark 5:25-29). I told Him that if He healed my daughter, I’d give Him praise for it at every opportunity. But I also told Him, regardless of what He did, I would still love Him, trust Him, serve Him, and give thanks for every hour I had with my daughter. Yes, I gave thanks. For many years, the desire of my heart was to have a child. Now, at the age of forty, I had a daughter--if not but for a few hours.

Now, some twenty years later, I am not only thankful for that day and those hours, but also for every day afterwards. We took our baby daughter, Elizabeth Ann Fleming, home with us two and a half weeks later. She is now twenty-years old and a healthy college student, who last year won both the Math, Communication, and Trio student of the year awards at the community college where she attends.

I often look at her and give thanks. Giving thanks may not always be easy, but it is always possible. And giving thanks in all circumstances, not necessarily for all things, is also possible and most of all, it is God's will.