Choosing Freedom

Choosing Freedom

by | Jul 2, 2015 | Updates

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“….if you can gain your freedom, do so” (1 Corinthians 7:21).

Freedom is always a good idea.   You don’t have to persuade Americans of that, especially around the fourth of July each year, and most every other place in this world either celebrates freedom or mourns its absence at any given time.  

But freedom comes with a price, of course.  It is always bought with a struggle, and in this country we can look back on the War of Independence and the abolition of slavery as only two examples of the value of freedom and the struggles necessary to obtain it. 


The apostle Paul recognized the same truth applies in a spiritual sense. Writing to the Corinthians, he said “….if you can gain your freedom, do so,” and the context is interesting.  Notice the whole sentence from which this quote is taken: “Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so” (1 Corinthians 7:21).

Paul tells us several things here.  First, we must remember that slavery in the biblical world was not the evil of the racial slavery conducted at various times in history.  It was more like indentured service from which people could often work their way to independence, and it was certainly nothing like the totally demeaning and dehumanizing types of slavery with which the world is sadly more familiar.   So Paul tells his readers,      “don’t worry about it if you were called without freedom.”  Under the circumstances of his time, although it was not the best situation, slavery in that culture did not restrict many aspects of personal freedom and usually didn’t interfere with a person’s choice of religion or other things we would regard as essential rights.

Nevertheless, Paul still wrote to people in that situation: “… if you can gain your freedom, do so,” and the words are not given as advice to be considered, but a principle to be followed.  It’s easy to read over them today as being antiquated and not applying to us in our modern age, but they do. 

Many biblical verses show that when we are called we are all actually spiritually enslaved – enslaved to sin and our own human nature  (John 8:34, etc.).   But many other verses show that through the struggle fought on our behalf by the Son of God, we are given freedom from these things (2 Corinthians 3:17, Galatians 5:1, etc.). 

Yet, just like physical freedom, spiritual freedom has to be recognized, appreciated, guarded and preserved.  As Paul wrote in his letter to the Galatians: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1).  How can we lose our spiritual freedom?  The New Testament shows that we can sink back into slavery through accepting false beliefs (Galatians 2:4), by not controlling our physical natures (Galatians 5:13), or through anything that takes control of our lives (2 Peter 2:19).

But it needn’t be that way.   Just as celebrations of freedom, such as the Fourth of July, each time we observe them remind us of the need to protect our physical freedoms, every time we study the word of God it should be a reminder that we need to preserve our spiritual freedom, too.  Look how the apostle James – the brother of Jesus – reminds us of this truth:  “But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do” (James 1:25).   A little later in his letter, James also tells us: “Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom” (James 2:12), and it’s really the same principle.  

Freedom is always a good idea, but whether it’s this Fourth of July or the next time we open our Bibles, it’s something we must remember: freedom must be chosen, and choosing freedom is always the right idea.

Smuggled Pearls

Smuggled Pearls

by | Jun 25, 2015 | Great Commission, Updates

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​This post is extracted from our eBook, Warriors of the Way: Christian Training, Combat and Victory. You can download a free copy from the E-Books page on this site.


Victories of biblical proportions did not end with the completion of the Bible.

In one night in June, 1981, a clandestine Christian operation successfully smuggled a staggering one million Bibles into China, where they were distributed and gratefully accepted as great treasures by those who longed for Bibles, but had no way to obtain them. 

The mission, code named “Project Pearl,” was primarily organized by a former Marine and carried out by Christians during a time when the Communist Party was actively trying to destroy Christianity in China; the level of success achieved by Project Pearl was nothing short of astounding. Reporting the incident later, Time magazine called it “the largest operation of its kind in the history of China.”

The story is a fascinating one. On the night of June 18, an innocuous-seeming tugboat churned its way across the sea near Shantou, China. The twenty crew members on board were all taking a great risk. They were not Chinese. They were from Australia, Canada, Holland, New Zealand, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United States. And this was no ordinary tug. It pulled a specially built barge loaded with 232 one-ton waterproof packages of Bibles.

Interception of the cargo would have led not only to the destruction of the Bibles by the Communist authorities, but also to serious repercussions for the crew members. But the tug continued, undetected, past the ships of a Chinese naval base to a position just off a secluded beach where a group of Chinese Christians were waiting. The specially built barge was then partially submerged so that the packages of Bibles floated off its deck and were carried by the waves to the beach. 

There, the assembled Christian team hurriedly opened the packages and carried the Bibles off to distribution points in cars, on motorcycles and bicycles, and by foot in backpacks and other containers. From each distribution center the Bibles were carefully released to avoid the suspicion of the authorities. To help in this process, the Bibles had been bound with red covers and made to the same size as Chairman Mao’s famous “Red Book,” so that they were easily mistaken for that.

Some containers of the Bibles not moved from the beach in time were found by Chinese guards who threw the Bibles into the sea, but even these copies were retrieved by fishermen who dried them on the roofs of their houses, and they were then passed on to others. Several hundred copies that were found by the authorities were thrown into a cesspool only to be later carefully retrieved by Christians who thoroughly washed them and sprayed them with perfume.  Even these so-called “wet” and “perfumed” Bibles were accepted just as gratefully by Christians who had no other access to the word of God.

Although conditions have changed in the years since this daring mission was accomplished, and printed Bibles are no longer the most effective manner of getting the Scriptures into China, Project Pearl remains a wonderful story of what was accomplished by the dedication of Christian warriors who, with the help of God, were able to accomplish a truly astounding victory.  We cannot even begin to calculate the total effect of this project, which placed Bibles in the hands of one million people who did not have access to them. But one thing is sure, Project Pearl played no small part in the revival and spread of Christianity in China – where there are now more Christians than in any other country in the world. 

“Do Not Betray the Refugees”

“Do Not Betray the Refugees”

by | Jun 19, 2015 | Persecution, Updates

PictureCamp for Syrian refugees in Jordan, (Photo: Reuters–Pool)

“…. Make your shadow like night — at high noon. Hide the fugitives,  do not betray the refugees. Let the … fugitives stay with you;  be their shelter from the destroyer.”
(Isaiah 16:3-4)

Saturday, June 20th is World Refugee Day, and the problems highlighted by this day have seldom been greater than they are this year. Every minute in the world in which we live eight people leave everything they have and flee in order to escape the terrors of persecution or war. Although this may not sound like a lot of people, you just have to do the multiplication to see that millions of people are affected in the course of a year. It is estimated that some 60 million people (roughly equivalent to the entire population of Italy or the United Kingdom) have had to leave their homes, 14 million of them in the past year alone – and half of them children.

People are fleeing persecution  and war in many areas, especially in Africa and the Middle East.  Groups such as  ISIS and  Boko Haram are daily terrorizing, torturing and killing people of every age in many areas.  Christians are one of the most persecuted groups; as a result, thousands are being forced to flee their homes and livelihoods each day.

Overall, relatively little is being done to help these people in desperate need, though there are some bright spots. In the Middle East, for example, where thousands of Christians are struggling to flee Iraq and Syria to avoid death at the hands of the  Islamic State,  huge tent cities have been set up in neighboring countries as staging areas for people who can get to them. Turkey is helping with this, and the Polish Government has recently stated that Poland will accept Christians fleeing from ISIS.  A number of Christian aid groups are doing tremendous work – with limited resources – in helping move refugees such as the Syrian Christians to areas of safety, but so much more needs to be done to save hundreds of thousands.

What can we do about such a widespread problem? Everyone can do something!  This year, celebrities from around the world have released a series of 30-second videos supporting refugees as part of a coordinated campaign for World Refugee Day.  If we are able we can support missions such as Barnabas Aid’s “Operation Safe Havens” which is evacuating Syrian Christians in danger. The fund is rescuing Syrians and flying them to Poland and other areas where churches are organizing to welcome them and to find accommodation and jobs for them.  Anything you can donate to this cause – however small – can help save lives immediately.  Go here if you would like to donate to this particular operation.   

Financial support is not the only way we can help rescue those threatened by ISIS and similar groups. Local churches can arrange to receive and settle Syrian or other Christian families, and individually we can contact our government representatives to urge them to involve our government in doing  something – or doing more – to restrain the threats and to help those in this great need.   And, of course, whatever our situation, we can all pray fervently for those in need of deliverance from danger.

The current refugee crises around the world demand more action and humanitarian involvement than is happening.  As Christians we have a special responsibility to those we can help, and especially to our brothers and sisters who are being singled out and slaughtered for their faith. We might well remember the words of the prophet Isaiah, quoted above, in this regard. Not to help the refugees, if it is in our power to help them, is to betray them.

Fly like a Butterfly, Sting like a Bee!

Fly like a Butterfly, Sting like a Bee!

by | Jun 14, 2015 | Updates, Women of Strength

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Most people have heard the expression “fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee!” – but ancient Israel’s most famous woman warrior, Deborah, whose name in Hebrew means “bee,” can be said to have “flown” like a bee and “stung” like one, too!

Deborah led Israel for 40 years (Judges 5:31) as the fourth “Judge” of the pre-monarchial era around the 12th Century BC (a century or so after Israel’s settlement in the Promised Land), when Israel was ruled primarily by warrior leaders.  She was, in fact, the only recorded female Judge, and it is easy to see why she qualified for the position. Deborah was not only a prophet used by God to foretell things such as the outcome of battles, but also she was clearly a strong, competent and inspiring military leader who acted quickly and decicively.

Judges chapters 4 and 5 tell us that Deborah lived in the hill country of Ephraim, which was in an area controlled by the Canaanite king Jabin of Hazor (perhaps a descendent of the Jabin Joshua fought), who had oppressed the Israelites for 20 years.  The Book of Judges states that Deborah received instruction from God and summoned one of Israel’s great warriors, named Barak, telling him to deploy 10,000 Israelite fighting men on Mount Tabor to confront King Jabin’s general, Sisera, who led an army including 900 iron chariots.  We do not know how many foot soldiers Sisera commanded, but the chariot was the tank of ancient warfare, and Sisera’s force was vastly superior by that fact.

Nevertheless, Deborah did not hesitate: “Then Deborah said to Barak, ‘Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the Lord gone ahead of you?’” (Judges 4:14).  Despite the apparent odds, on Deborah’s unflinching command the Israelites met and completely defeated the Canaanite force, and the victory is celebrated in Judges 5, often known as the “Song of Deborah.”  The Bible itself gives few details of the battle, though Jewish tradition has it that torrential rains bogged down the heavy Canaanite chariots in mud, rendering them useless against the attacking Israelites. This providential help may be implied in Judges 5:4, and the Bible does mention another detail of the battle.  The defeated Sisera fled his army on foot and came to the tent of the woman Jael and her husband. Jael was able to trick Sisera into letting down his guard, then struck him through the temple with a sharpened tent peg (Judges 4:17-21).

What is clear from the biblical record is the reluctance of many of the Israelites to fight when the time was long overdue to fight and the hesitancy of even the leading warrior Barak who would not fight unless Deborah accompanied the troops (Judges 4: 8). These details contrast starkly with the bravery and willingness to fight of both Deborah as military leader and Jael as front-line fighter.    Both women are portrayed as true warriors who led and fought without hesitation.  If there is a lesson to be learned from the story of Deborah, it is exactly that willingness to act. 

Battles of any type, physical or spiritual, are lost by hesitation.  Had Deborah not been close enough to God to receive his guidance and then willing to go to war immediately she knew what had to be done, she would not have been able to seize the opportunity to route her enemy when the enemy could be defeated.  It is a spiritual principle as true as the physical principle of battle – delaying what we know we must do only allows our enemy to become stronger.  Deborah knew and fought by that rule and, as a result, with God’s help she was victorious and gave Israel forty years of peace, security and freedom – some of the very qualities that spiritual victories bring as well.

Healthy Incompatibility

Healthy Incompatibility

by | Jun 7, 2015 | Family, Relationships, Tactical Articles

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Recent statistics suggest that  as many as 40% to 50% of marriages in some developed countries end in divorce. The divorce statistics for second and third marriages are even higher (practice evidently does not improve performance), and these sad statistics underline the even more unfortunate truth that many of these divorces were undoubtedly preventable.

While some marriage splits are, of course, the result of adultery, drugs, alcohol, spousal abuse and other problems, the great majority of divorces claim “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for dissolution of the marriage bond.  This is where the aspect of preventability enters into the picture. “Irreconcilable differences” is really just an expensive way of saying “incompatibility,” and at the heart of many divorces – and of problem marriages which somehow stay together – it is incompatibility that is so often cited as the underlying problem.

Now in most all cases where incompatibility is cited as an issue, it was not present at the beginning of the relationship (we doubt many couples who always considered themselves incompatible get married) – it is something the marriage partners feel “happened” as time progressed.  But the truth is, incompatibility between a man and a woman usually never just “happens” – it is present, under the surface, all the time.  It is simply that marriages begin to falter when couples begin to focus on their incompatibility.  A century ago, in his book What’s Wrong with the World, G.K. Chesterton put it this way:

“I have known many happy marriages, but never a compatible one. The whole aim of marriage is to fight through and survive the instant when incompatibility becomes unquestionable. For a man and a woman, as such, are incompatible.”

These may be among the wisest words ever written on marriage problems.  They are based on the undeniable fact that most marriages occur because “opposites attract.”  But when  marriage begins we are focusing on the “attract.” As marriages progress, if we are not careful, the focus switches to looking at, and dwelling on, the “opposites.”  Our point of view shifts and we begin to see our relationship differently – and as we do, the problems develop.

Simple as it may sound, the quality of every marriage, and every day within every marriage,  depends on how we look at our partner. We must remember it is not that beneath the attraction there are differences we must somehow try to suppress, but that the differences between us are so often the root and cause of the attraction itself –  and we mean not just the sexual aspect, but the full range of psychological, spiritual and physical attraction.

A happy marriage is, then, always one of managed incompatibility. We can certainly do what we can to make it easier for our mates to deal with our differences where they are problematic (Romans 14:19 – “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”), but each mate must concentrate on how he or she sees the other – we must continue to look at the attractive things about him or her.  There is perhaps no more helpful scripture on this fact than the words of the apostle Paul:

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things” (Philippians 4:8).

We render this wonderful advice useless by consigning it to nice thoughts about pleasant ethereal things.  But this approach is a potent marriage problem solver.  If we apply these words  in the sphere of our relationship with our mate  – in constantly looking for, affirming, complimenting the good things we appreciate about each other on every level – the matter of incompatibility usually becomes increasingly a non-issue.  

Incompatibility is not the destroyer of marriage; it is the healthy tension that forms the basis of meaningful marriage relationships. The more we begin to see each other in a positive way and keep our focus there, the more we see attraction and the less we see opposites.  In fact, we become more and more able to celebrate our incompatibility – and good things happen when we do.  In the words of Genesis: “He created them male and female and blessed them….” (Genesis 5:2). We see God blessed the marriage relationships not generically as unisex, unithought, uniform pairs of mankind, but blessed us as male and female – blessed us in our differences.