Hackberry House of Chosun/ the Blog

Church: Not yours or mine... HIS!

Let's set the record straight again. There's only ONE Body of Christ. It has no name but His name. It has no creed but the Spirit-anointed Book with 66 parts. It has no head but Christ. Its members are wildly diverse in thinking, looks, skin-color, and giftedness.

That means that my group is not the only group. That means I can't draw circles around my group that exclude you. Even doctrinal circles. Our understandings are growing. No denomination has arrived. They are all flawed. The perfect churches are the ones on fire with God's awesomeness and being persecuted by the fires of man's awfulness. "Perfect" does not mean only doctrinally pure.

No Pope or Chief Elder or Superintendent died for your sins. They are not worthy to lead. True men of God in the church of Jesus will submit to each other and all to Christ. Little lords are not needed. One big One is enough. Men who are lording over God's inheritance need to step down.

No label fits the child of God. No doctrinal or denominational title says it all. Throw me a label and I will throw it back. I will not be written off or written out because someone has said I do not belong. If my sins are washed away, and if the Word of God is true, and if there is one Lord and one church, I do belong, forever.

"Ah, so you are an ecumenist!"

You see, here come the labels already! No, Christ excludes from his church all who are not born again, regardless of their seemingly glowing credentials. Not everyone will be saved!

"A legalist then!"

No, the grace of God cuts across assemblies where most of us would not be found dead. Oh the surprised looks there will be when saints are raptured out of groups we had assigned to Hell! Oh the despair as those who attended "good" churches are lost forever!

The church has invisible borders. Only those with God-trained eyes know where the borders run. Follow the blood trail. The blood of Christ. The blood of the martyrs. There is the Church. Not your little group or mine. Not your little ideas or mine. When it is over, only God's Word and those in whom it dwells will stand.

Thanks for your visit! Go to https://www.icommittopray.com/ for regular updates on the persecuted church. Check out my books at Amazon.com. Send me a message at bobdiakonos7@gmail.com

Visit the podcast, too: https://www.hackberryhouseofchosun.com

INDEX to HACKBERRYHOUSEOFCHOSUN.COM at BUZZSPROUT

INDEX to my BUZZSPROUT Podcast

Browse the list.
Find a topic that interests you.
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1. 30 Years Among South Sea Cannibals (Paton autobiography)

2. Antichrist

3. Baxter (Richard)

4. Beeke, Joel

5. Bennett (Richard)

6. Bible Questions (Covers the entire Bible. Answered by Bob Faulkner)

7. Birds

8. Boettner (Loraine)

9. Bonar (Horatius)

10. Bounds (E.M.)

11. Brainerd, David (Life of)

12. Bunyan (John)

13. Calvin (John, and Calvinism)

14. Carey (William)

15. Charnock (Stephen)

16. Childrearing

17. Christ

18. Christian in Complete Armor (Gurnall)

19. Church

20. Colossians (study)

21. Daniel (study)

22. Drummond (Henry)

23. Edwards (Jonathan)

24. Election (grace, predestination)

25. Ezekiel (study)

26. Fanny Crosby

27. Flavel (John)

28. Food for the Lambs

29. Galatians (study)

30. Goforth (Jonathan)

31. Haggai & Zechariah

32. Hebrews (study)

33. Henry (Matthew)

34. Hyde (Praying)

35. Ironside (Henry)

36. Jesus

37. Job (study)

38. Joel (study)

39. Jude (study)

40. Kingdom

41. KJV

42. Knox (John)

43. Koran (Islam)

44. Livingstone, David (Life of)

45. Love

46. Luther (Martin)

47. Manton (Thomas)

48. Marshall (Peter)

49. McCheyne (Robert)

50. Millennium

51. Muhammad

52. Muller (autobiography)

53. Music

54. Nash (Daniel)

55. Newton (john)

56. North Korea

57. Out of the Depths (Newton autobiography)

58. Owen (John)

59. Passion (Translation)

60. Payson (Edward)

61. Persecution (and suffering)

62. Pilgrim’s progress (Bunyan and Spurgeon combined)

63. Poems

64. Prayer

65. Pretrib (pretribulation rapture discussed Biblically. Also other “last things”: Tribulation, etc)

66. Ravenhill (Leonard)

67. Resurrection

68. Revelation (Bible book of, study)

69. Revival

70. Romans (study)

71. Ryle (Bishop J C)

72. Scarlet Threads (Mystery Babylon)

73. Sibbes (Richard)

74. Simpson (A.B.)

75. Smith (Oswald J)

76. Spirit (Holy Spirit and the spirit world)

77. Spurgeon

78. Studd (C.T.)

79. Suffering

80. Testimony (Miscellaneous stories, inspiration etc)

81. The Bible and Modern Science (Henry Morris)

82. Thessalonica (Commentary, Thessalonians)

83. Titanic (Hero John Harper)

84. Universalism

85. Vicious Wolves (Heresy study)

86. Watchtower (Jehovah’s Witnesses)

87. Watson (Thomas)

88. Wesley (John)

89. Whitefield

90. Wurmbrand

Persecution: Visits Used by God or by Men?

Most of you are aware that high-ranking churchmen from our country have visited persecuted lands recently and in years past and come back with glowing reports of how free and easy it is to be a Christian in those lands. They are not aware that when they leave, some of the believers that they helped "flush out" by what seemed to be a thaw of the government's policy, are rounded up and put in prison or worse. They are -seemingly - not aware of the way they are being used by the government for propaganda. If they are aware they write it off as a decent bargain for the opportunity of preaching Jesus. Which means they are also unaware that Jesus is being preached in those lands already by the nationals.

Why do our brothers feel they must visit these lands? The answer to that question, when given by me, can only sound like a judgment. And I am not their Lord or their Judge. I leave it with them and with Him. But how I wish I could encourage them to stay home.

There are many ways to help the suffering church. Many many believers worldwide are praying, supporting, sending material goods, writing letters, visiting secretly, even moving to harsh countries as teachers and businessmen to be near the saints in trouble. The big-name evangelists don't seem to fit into that pattern of help. And when they come back reporting to us that suffering hardly exists, what horrible insults they give to those who are already hurting enough.

Tonight in Ethiopia an elder of a Mennonite church sits in prison for allegedly "insulting" the prophet Muhammad. What he did was to refuse to sell his property to a nearby mosque.

In Kashmir, India, this evening a family tries to recover from the murder of their husband and father, Tantray. He dared to convert to Christ from Islam.

In Vietnam, a nation that even our government is now saying does not persecute, a manual has been found that outlines a plan to subdue the rapid growth of Protestantism.

In Pakistan, two Christians have been assaulted in their own church by armed and drunken Muslims.

If our famous men visit these countries, will they bring back such reports, or only stories of the great crowds who gathered to hear them? Will they help us to see the true picture of the cross or only pictures of their "crusade"?

Oh yes, Christ is preached, and we must be glad. But does Christ ask His men to deceive for the privilege of preaching? Is there any clue in the New Testament that God's men are to behave this way? Did not God's true men risk their lives to preach the truth? Join me in praying for God to block the entrance of men who will do more damage than good. And that God will continue to use the "little" men and women and children of persecuted lands to bring about His glory.

Prophecy: The coming of Wormwood

On Thanksgiving Day 2006 I read in the news that a 25-million ton asteroid was hurtling through space at that very minute, and was scheduled to pass uncomfortably close to Earth in 2029. The call is going out from NASA for a hero who will, Hollywood-style, find a way to avert this disaster.

No, really, that was in the news!

And I read in my Bible that a great star-like mass "burning like a torch" is scheduled to arrive here one day affecting one-third of our water supply in such a way as to poison "many." Is there a match here? There was a time when the Book of Revelation seemed so "far out", but now we begin to see He meant exactly what He said.

One thing is certain. When God sends "Wormwood", the poison star of Revelation 8:10-11, there will be no rescue by mankind. Mankind, minus the remnant and the Kingdom, will be finished! When the rain of judgment begins to fall here, it will not stop pouring until God has completed the task with a fiery deluge far surpassing the watery one of 4500 years ago.

This judgment is not for true believers. We give thanks to God for His creation and His new creation (that's us!), and the coming renewal of the creation, the new heavens and the new earth. We've only just begun and there's all of eternity to be thankful for.

As for Thanksgiving Day: It was a unique blessing that America had the foresight to set aside a day for such a worthy cause as giving thanks. Oh that more of His people will turn from football and feasting on days like that and other holidays, and turn to thanking God for His great store of blessings and repenting of national and personal sin.

Baptism: Where do you stand?

It is an indication of the confusion in which the professing church finds itself to view each group's stand on baptism.

Some do not stand at all, ignoring this command of God altogether. Far worse than the "baptism-isn't-really-important" crowd who finally get around to leading their people to the water, this group is in denial that God ever intended such an "outward" "physical" thing to happen to His kids. To them, the Christian life is all "inner."

Others, mentioned above, take a weak stand, a take-it-or-leave-it stand. Hey, if you feel "led", then baptism is for you. And while you are choosing, you can choose the mode. "Sprinkling" is more convenient? Go for it! You're in a "dunking" congregation? Then get dunked. No big deal, they say. Some of these folks actually believe in their heads that God's Word is inspired. But what they actually practice is no better than liberal scholarship teaches: only the parts of it that "touch" you are really "the Word." They call it "rhema" these days, but that's another issue.

Then there are the ones who insist that baptism is so essential that it should even come before faith! Just get 'em to the fountain at the earliest convenience! The act itself will save them, even newborns. Rome and her daughters still hang on to this invention of men.

As to the mode, may I offer, the Greek word means to dip, plunge, or immerse. Ask a Greek. Ask a scholar. It never meant anything else. But how does a good King James Bible translator in the 1600's dare say that, when the Church of his day is sprinkling people? And his conscience will not allow him to say "sprinkle" in the text of Almighty God.

Thius was born the one-size-fits-all hybrid, "baptize." It can mean what you want if you really do not want to know. Those who care a little more know that baptism is a sign, a picture. And the picture is burial. The old man that we were, being buried in a watery grave.

And regarding the motivation, Does baptism save? Catholics and company say yes. Most evangelicals, no. What does God say through Peter the apostle? (I Peter 3:21, paraphrase)

"...baptism now SAVES YOU (yes!), but NOT by putting away the old sinful nature (no!) , but by the fact that the cleansed conscience is now responding to God."

Baptism is a response to salvation. Not a cause of it.

So is it necessary, people ask ? And I ask, Is any command of God to be obeyed, or left up to man? What a horrible question, Is it necessary! God says, Repent and be baptized! (Acts 2:38) and we say, Is it really necessary?

I was baptized three times. At a very young age, my Catholic mom dutifully hauled me over to St. Gabriel Church in Columbus, Ohio. In Catholic eyes, I was saved that day.

Later, the denomination of which I was a part stressed the importance of believer's baptism. I was only about 12, but I wanted to do the "right" thing. My friend said he was going to be baptized on a certain day, so I went ahead too. I was told afterwards that now I was saved (they had taken my public confession of Christ as evidence that I believed in Him) and had the Holy Spirit. All I remember was a little relief that it was over, and a mild gratitude to God that "something" had happened...

My third baptism... I'll have to tell you about that one another time ...

Christian Life: Submission

II Peter 2:18-25.

It's all about how servants should treat their masters. Tough stuff for Westerners to grasp until they realize that anyone who works for someone else is his "servant" . Very few of us are "masters" .

As for me, I'm a paid servant of a major American school system. That means I have a lot of masters, from my principal, to the people at the district level, the people "downtown" , even the mayor! And let's not forget the state, where federal dollars are flowing in and expected to be spent well.

Some of my masters are cool people who treat me just fine. Others are not. Peter says to respect and honor and obey all of them equally well. That's a tough pill to swallow. But with God's help, we are called to swallow it anyway.

The only exception would be those times when the boss says to in some way deny Christ. Peter would be first to "amen" this statement, because he was indeed a conscientious objector in his day. He kept on preaching in the face of the State's command to stop. And went to jail for it. More than once.

I've not faced anything quite that severe. Back when I was beginning my march out to the world to conquer it for my denomination, I found myself in the Albany, New York, area. The church was helping me but I needed to support myself too.

I found a job in the public schools up there. Knowing I had some influence in children's lives, I used it to invite them to after-school Bible studies. They showed up. It was a Catholic neighborhood. You can imagine the rest! I was fired. Chalk it up to no wisdom, or was I really being persecuted?

I broke the law in another public school system. We were told to teach the wildly unbelievable theory known as the survival of the fittest, pinning the origin of all things to a primordial soupy mush. Evolution. I shut my door and told the students about the creation and the Creator. About how life has been DE-volving from the beginning. About the second law of thermodynamics. And a whole lot more.

There were several bits of history in social studies classes that got messed with by this teacher, too. So far I have not been accused of anything. And before they come after me, one would hope they'll go after the gays, lesbians, adulterers, and abortionists, who live their life and spread their propaganda before these young minds.

There will be a reward for those who served their employers well in spite of obvious persecution for Christ's sake. The stories abound in the Communist and Islamic world of harrassed believers just being believers at work and paying for it.

But Peter is just as adamant in declaring that those who suffer for their own shenanigans receive no praise from God. How I wish I did not have further self-anecdotals on this subject. How I wish I had never been angered enough to slap that child, and to shake another, and to yell at still others. Losing control gained me only a deserved reprimand from the boss, and a weakening of my chances to be the light that Christ had so wanted in the darkness of that system.

Everyone needs someone to submit to, I think. In submission we learn Christ. Peter spends the rest of this passage convicting us, shaming our poor behavior, as He compares it to that of the Son of God, Who was treated despicably, but did not answer in kind. He ends by telling us where all that led: our salvation.

What will our perfect submission lead to? The same thing. Many will come to Christ when they see Who He really is... in us.

North Korea: The absence of Sun, indeed

Years ago I read Helie Lee's book about her rescue of some family members out of North Korea (In the Absence of Sun). I must hasten to add that although Helie has a healthy "respect" for Jesus because of Halmoni (grandma), my personal faith resembles that of Halmoni more than Helie. I do not condone the expressed lifestyle of this young Korean American, but I am captivated by the story and the very many details she shares of a land that I still wish to visit myself.

In telling the story, she mentions Kim Il Sung's "Ten Principles", a not-so-veiled replacement of God's Ten Commandments, created in an attempt to obliterate all things Biblical. All ten have to do with Kim Il Sung himself, his ideology, loyalty to him, his authority, his revolutionary thought, his centrality, confidence in him, the passing on of his thoughts to the next generation.

From page 101 & ff:

"The Ten Principles came with very specific guidelines. For example, Principle No. 3 went on to elaborate that ‘Kim Il Sung's portraits, plaster figures, statues, badges containing his pictures, publications carrying his pictures, paintings portraying his image, monuments or public notices containing his instructions...must be carefully handled and protected from being spoiled.'

"In 1985, Burundi's ambassador to Beijing checked into the Botonggang Hotel in Pyongyang. When he unpacked his bags and saw that his shoes were flattened, he stuffed a sheet of newspaper into them. A bellboy reported the ‘crime' to the police because the newspaper contained Kim Il Sung's picture. The ambassador was accused of damaging the dignity of the Great Leader, nearly causing a diplomatic incident."

Time and space fail me to record in detail Helie's reporting of the little 3-year old who caused her parents to be arrested by accidentally urinating on a Kim Il Sung booklet...

Let us allow the images of North Korea to disturb us, but only enough to pray. Depression and despair are not the goal of this blog. God will hear. God will rise up. He suffers long for His own purposes. But He is a jealous God and will not be mocked forever.

Remember Israel in Egypt 430 years! But He does arise. Is this His time?