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What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. - Ecclesiastes 1:9

We live in an interesting time. The fact of the matter really is though that everyone has lived in interesting times. Whether it be new technological inventions, politically charged times or through natural disasters. Every generation has its challenges. Every one.

As Christians we need to take this to heart. Truly not worrying about anything. We need to trust God in supplying our needs and sustaining our lives. Jesus speaks of this in Matthew 6:25 - 34 / “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

So do you actually believe this?

How much more valuable are you and your family than the flowers of the field or the birds of the air? You are much more valuable because you are created in the image of God. Do not be like a pagan who runs after trivial things. Trust your heavenly Father. He will supply no matter what you are going through.

My family and are doing our best to actually put this teaching into practice in all that we do. We also have been learning to trust Christ –followers to hear God’s voice and obey as well. Sometimes He puts it on people’s hearts to help us out in some way. You will notice though the Christ-follower must obey. We cannot just hear God's leading and then do nothing. We must do what He is calling us to do. What is so amazing is when He calls us as a family to do something that just makes no sense at all like helping someone in a financial way that we cannot afford in our mind or with time we don’t think we have and how He blesses us right back. In fact, we have actually sent money to someone we were led to help or support and then, usually, not soon afterward we receive what we gave to the ministry or people we gave to.

Let’s keep in mind that everything is God’s. He owns it all. I write this because other times we do not receive financially in return. We are blessed by giving and we keep James 1 in mind. "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him."

Remember that Jesus said this in John 8: "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." Hold to His teachings then the truth will set you free. Seek Him out. You will not be sorry! Your adventure in serving the God of the Universe is ready to begin. All you need to do is say yes, and then hear God’s voice and obey.

Live today. Tomorrow will have enough worry.

James 4, Focus on verses 13-17

Hear and Obey. Considering the recent shooting in Arizona and all of the lies and misreporting that immediately came after that tragedy, I would like to challenge all Christ-followers to raise the bar.

We need to always tell the truth. We cannot get entangled in telling lies or half-truths to further the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. This will only be a detriment to the cause of Christ. We must seek truth and then tell the truth no matter where it leads. Truth is truth. Jesus Christ is very clear in His teaching: “The truth will set you free.” We tend to forget to read that verse in context. It is true that the truth will set you free but only in light of the whole text: Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

We must be His disciples to really know the truth. We must read and study God’s Word. We must listen to and then obey the Holy Spirit’s leading. If you are not a sold-out follower of Jesus Christ in everything you do and are not striving to serve Him in all you do, then at certain times, as is clear from the text, you will not know the truth and will be deceived with lies from the evil one.

We need to heed Scripture. If we, as true Christ-followers, obey God’s Word and follow the Holy Spirit’s leading, we can influence this dying world. We can encourage those who think they are Christ-followers to wake up from their slumber and choose to truly follow Christ.

It’s time to actually live what we believe. When we do this, those who hear God’s voice and obey Him will be set free with the truth.

For further study, read John 8:31–47, Joshua 24:15, and James 3:3-12.

One final note: I would like to remind everyone that sometimes it’s best to simply refrain from saying anything (for instance, choosing not to comment on an internet thread, rather than joining in the debate). Self-control is a very good thing!

"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." - Winston Churchill

We have been designed by God to follow Him. He placed within us a desire to worship Him. However, Satan takes what God means for good and twists it. For instance, Satan used Scripture to tempt Jesus to sin. However, Jesus quoted Scripture to combat Satan and cut through his lies. Putting Scripture to memory in your mind and heart is one of the best ways to be on the attack against Satan’s wiles.

Satan can make sin look so appealing sometimes. From the earliest days of the world, Satan has twisted the truth to try to draw mankind away from God. He convinced Adam and Eve in the Garden that the forbidden fruit was appealing and harmless. They succumbed to his conniving ways and chose to disobey God, introducing sin into the world.

God told Adam from which tree he should avoid eating fruit and informed him of the consequences he would receive if he sinned against God. He gave Adam and Eve free will.

Did you spot the morsel of wisdom there?

In that little story, God showed us an incredible lesson in being a godly parent. He showed us that we should not force our children to obey. As Ephesians instructs, we should not exasperate our children.

I can imagine that students reading this right now are thinking, “Sweet! See? We can do anything we want.” Well, yes, that is true, but there is a catch: We must face the consequences of our actions.

As parents, we need to teach our children that there are consequences to our actions, just as God taught Adam and Eve. In fact, the human race is still reaping incredible strife from the choice they made to disobey God . . . but don’t blame them. We would have done the same thing.

Students, I know that consequences of bad decisions can hurt and are painful for a time, but discipline is not meant to be enjoyable. It is meant to teach us what we should and should not do. By accepting the consequences of our actions, we learn personal responsibility. We learn to mature and stop being children. I understand that, as a student, you want to feel and be treated like an adult. I know I did. Keep in mind, however, that it is a painful — but rewarding — path in learning to be a responsible adult and to live a godly life pleasing to our Lord.

Here are my challenges to you: Start to become observant of Satan’s temptations — when he twists the truth to try to draw you away from obeying God. Begin memorizing Scripture and storing it away in your heart. That way, when Satan does tempt you and twists the Word of God, you, like Jesus, will be ready to attack with the truth of God’s Word. However, when you do give in to Satan’s bidding, as we all do at times, stand up and accept the consequences of your decision. Not only will you be less inclined to make the same mistake again, but you will also be stepping toward a godly life of obedience as an adult. Something all of us adults still need to work on every single day with the help of the Holy Spirit.

For further reading, check out these Scripture passages:

Hebrews 5:11–6:6
1 Peter 4:1–19
Ephesians 6:1–4
Proverbs 22

“Dear Mr. DeZurik,
I wanted to apologize to you. I opened an (account with a social networking site) without my parents’ permission and lied about my age. Then I asked you to be my friend. I was wrong to do this. I will be closing the account and not opening one again until I am old enough.
Sincerely,
(Child’s Name)”

I recently received the above note from a young man who is learning a hard lesson — how to be a man of integrity. He’s learning how to be godly even though it is difficult.

It was such a blessing for me to receive the note and apology from this young man in person. Most likely it was uncomfortable for him because he did not know what my reaction would be. Of course, I forgave him and encouraged him to become the man of God he is called to be.

I’m encouraged by having friends like his parents who, like my wife and I, are trying to raise godly children. It is not easy to admit when you’re wrong or to teach your child to take the difficult road (the “narrow path”), but God has called us to this kind of living. In the long run, taking the narrow road will reap rewards in your life, your child’s life, and society as a whole.

As children of the most high King, we must not only teach God’s ways, but also live His ways in order for people to understand the life that He offers.

We must live for our King and not for our own selfish, evil desires. The carnal must die, and God must increase in our lives.

For further study, read Matthew 7:13 – 23, 1 Peter 1:13–15 and Colossians 1:24–29.

Dear Friends,

I would like to share with you straight from my heart what I believe God has been revealing to the board of Worldview Warriors and me.  Worldview Warriors has been doing ministry officially since 2006. We have reached countless students and equipped adult leaders to sink into these students, in person, in 22 states in just the last two years of ministry. We have also reached every state in the United States building up fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ through our internet presence. (We have reached 71 other countries around the world as well.)

This year we are entering into that crucial 5th year of ministry. As you may or may not know, many ministries and businesses fail before the 5th year or in the 5th year of operation. We know this is a big year for us. So let me share with you what the Lord has shown the board and me personally regarding the direction and focus of our ministry over the next year of 2011:

#1 – Slow down

I believe God has shown me that He wants to use our family as a testimony to those we come in contact with. We have already seen amazing fruit and encouragement to others through this.  I need to make the order of my relationships / priorities as follows:

• God
• My wife, Jaya
• My six children
• My relationships with others
• The ministry of Worldview Warriors

#2 – Get focused and do a few things with excellence

I believe God is calling me to stop booking and promoting the ministry of Worldview Warriors and focus on being still and meditating on God’s will. This will help me to focus on making our audio ministry even stronger than it already is. The board, staff and volunteers will be focusing in on promotions, syndication and booking. This focus includes:

• Our weekly 2-hour radio show called Do Not Keep Silent
• Our podcast, also called Do Not Keep Silent
• Our Worldview Warriors Fastcast / A 60 second nugget of truth for radio stations to play.

I am also called to focus in on writing. This includes:

• Weekly Blog posts
• The new book God is calling me to write

#3 – Continue speaking, but use our other speakers more often

The board, staff, and volunteers will be focusing in on promotions and booking.  We also have an outside person booking for the ministry as well. This includes:

• Jason DeZurik speaking more this summer and less on tours and focusing on implementing God’s direction.
• Implementing our other speakers more into the mix this year.

#4 – We are to build up our support base this year

This includes:

• Prayer Warriors
• Monthly Financial Donors
• Volunteers in the office and elsewhere.
• Educating people on how to give toward the ministry.

The ministry has already begun implementing the above changes to reflect what we believe is God’s direction. We have a full-time office person now. Her name is Marie Wise and she has been just amazing. We are honored to have her involved with what we are called to do here at Worldview Warriors. She is a major asset and will help greatly in implementing this pursuit of excellence in not only serving Christ but for us to pursue our mission of “Equipping Students to Impact This Generation for Jesus Christ.”

• I would ask you to please prayerfully consider God’s direction in giving Worldview Warriors an end of the year 2010 financial gift and/or becoming a monthly financial donor of the ministry if you currently are not a monthly donor.

• I would also ask that you please prayerfully consider telling people you know about the ministry of Worldview Warriors as we move forward into our 5th year of operation. We absolutely need more volunteers, prayer warriors, and monthly financial donors for this vision to move forward.

• Please pray for God to bring in the right people as we are looking to expand our board this year from 4 members to 6 members.

Some of you may be wondering to yourself, “Is this radio show really reaching people?” We can answer that question with an unequivocal, “Yes.”  Just on Facebook alone in the last month we have seen our activity jump from an average of 250 people per day to over 1,000 people a day. That’s per day! On Sunday night when the show is live we generally see over 4,000 people that are active on our Facebook profile.  Just last week there were over 9,500 people. Thanks for checking in and listening. We have also seen activity on discussion boards we put up and we are getting almost instant results from what we are doing for the Kingdom. People are not just listening, but they are learning and doing.  We hope this includes you. We hope not only others are putting their faith into action but you are putting your faith in Jesus Christ into action!

I hope you can see the vision of where we are heading in 2011. God has blessed us in the past and we are leaning on Him to supply our needs with this aggressive vision. Maybe He wants to use you, or someone you know, as a vehicle to help supply our needs this upcoming year.  If you have any questions please contact our office at 419-310-6249 and we will try to answer any questions you have to the best of our ability.

Thank you and God Bless,

Jason DeZurik
President and CEO
Philippians 1:21

P.S. A good friend of mine says, “When God supplies a vision He supplies the provision.” We are excited to see how God works in and through you and us to equip students to impact this generation for Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord!

I’ve often heard the question asked, usually to a pastor: “Which version of the Bible is the best?” One pastor I know always said this as his answer: “The one you will read.”

There are lots of ways to interpret the Bible – just ask anyone who’s seen more than one English translation. Given the selection of tens if not hundreds of different English Bibles, obviously there are many interpretations. So which one is right?

In reality, we don’t have the exact, authentic Scriptures that were first written down. People make mistakes, even people who are copying the Scriptures. We think that the Greek and Hebrew texts we have today are pretty close, but we have no way of knowing for sure, since we have no original autographs of Scripture. Scholars have determined that as far as they can tell, the Greek and Hebrew texts we have are pretty close to being original, and we need to take it on faith that they are what God wants us to use.

It can be quite difficult to accurately interpret a particular passage in the Bible, since there are so many unknowns for us today about the original audience and intention of the text. But, we can put forth a very good effort at accurate interpretation if we are willing to do some legwork in learning how to interpret the Bible. I will try and teach you what not to do and what to do.

The way we should never interpret Scripture is by doing what’s called eisegesis. Eisegesis is a fancy word for saying that we put our own meaning into Scripture (‘eise’ meaning ‘into’). We all read Scripture with some sort of bias, just because we are human beings. We all have a particular worldview through which we see the world, including the Bible. The difficult part is not to let our own individual worldview affect our interpretation of Scripture. Any time we apply our own culture to the Biblical text, we are doing eisegesis. Any time we read Scripture and make it mean what we want it to mean, we are doing eisegesis. Any time we pull a phrase or verse out of its context in the Bible, we are doing eisegesis. All of these things lead to inaccurate interpretation.

Instead of eisegesis, we should be doing exegesis. Exegesis is getting the meaning out of Scripture (‘exe’ meaning ‘out of’). When we do proper exegesis, our own individual worldview and thoughts do not affect the meaning of what is written in the text. This is much more difficult than it sounds, because we interpret everything in our world through that lens of our worldview.

To help us out with exegesis, there is a process called hermeneutics. Hermeneutics teaches us how to interpret the Bible in context. There are 4 key questions to ask when practicing hermeneutics:
1. What did the text mean to the Biblical audience?
2. What are the differences between the Biblical audience and us?
3. What is the theological principle in the text?
4. How should Christians today apply the theological principle to our lives?

Step 1 in the hermeneutical process is to determine what the text meant to the Biblical audience. This can be difficult because we may not know much about the people the text was originally written for or what its purpose was. But, here is where context can be very helpful. Look at the passages before and after the text you are studying. Look at the whole chapter of that passage. Look at the entire book of the Bible, and even the Bible as a whole. See where this passage fits into all of these contexts. If we look at the author of that particular Biblical book it may give us a clue as to why that passage is there.

We can also do research with sources outside the Bible to aide us in this step. Biblical dictionaries and commentaries are a great source of this information. Study Bibles also usually provide some insight. But, keep in mind that all of these resources are someone else’s interpretation – and they may or may not have interpreted the passage accurately.

Next in step 2 we need to determine the differences between the Biblical audience and us. Some things to consider are whether the audience was before or after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. Consider whether the audience was Jews or Gentiles (non-Jews). Consider the place where they lived and the culture they lived in.

It can also be useful in this step to determine the similarities we share with the Biblical audience. For example, all people in all times and places are sinful and in need of a Savior. Consider cultural similarities that may exist.

When we have determined all of these things to the best of our ability, we can move on to discovering the theological principle in the text. The theological principle is a timeless truth that applied to the Biblical audience and still applies to us today. It is not something that applies to both their culture then and our culture now. The theological principle is the main idea in the passage. Be careful that you are not using your own worldview or what you want the passage to mean. Instead, we must look at the text itself to determine this principle. If you cannot read the original Hebrew or Greek, compare various English translations to get a better feel for what the passage is meant to say.

Finally, once we have the theological principle, we must determine how to apply it to our lives today. Learning how it applied to the Biblical audience may help us with this, depending on how similar or different we are to them. Again here it is important to look at the text as objectively as possible. Do not read into the text what you want it to mean or how you would like to apply it (eisegesis), but rather glean the meaning and application out of the text (exegesis). So many people want to jump right to this step while skipping the other three, which definitely leads to eisegesis.

This process of hermeneutics can help us to exegete the meaning of the text as accurately as possible. It takes some effort to accomplish, but the result of having a correct translation of a Biblical passage is priceless.

For more study on this topic, please listen to these links from Do Not Keep Silent:
Hour 1 & Hour 2

While on solitude at an amazing place in Amish country in Ohio a Jehovah’s Witness stopped by.

To be bluntly honest, at first I was really annoyed and told God, “Are you kidding me? Here I am trying to spend some time with you and this annoying Jehovah’s Witness shows up at the door.”

Just as I was about to finish the conversation with the Jehovah’s Witness, the conviction came. I heard in my spirit, “She is made in my image and I love her.” OUCH! I felt so small and selfish at that moment and invited her in to take a look at the place. She only came in to the door way but she was in the house.

After some pleasantries about the place I just came out and asked her, “So what do you think about Jesus?” She went on to say how He was the Son of God and was with Jehovah at the beginning of time, among a few others. I asked what her name was and she said, “Amy.”

I asked her, “Amy, is He God?”

She said, “You mean Jehovah?”

I asked, Are Jesus and Jehovah the same being?

She replied, “Well, no. They are separate.”

I took her through John 1:1-3, John 14:6 and 7. I also showed her how Jesus received worship from Thomas after His resurrection where Thomas exclaims, “My Lord and my God.”

She wasn’t buying it but I must admit I could see her wheels spinning a bit and I began to get a little prideful. Then I heard in my spirit again, “This is not a game. I created her in my image. I love her. Show her My Glory.” At that moment I realized that I was moving toward trying to take the glory from God and confessed it to God quickly.

She said, “This is too much of an argument I need to go.”

I said, “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to argue. Besides, I’m just asking questions.” She stayed.

I then took her to Revelation21:6 in her Jehovah’s Witness bible (It is called The New World Translation).

It says something about Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. So I asked her, “Who is that?

She said, “Jehovah God.”
Then I took her to Revelation 22:13. It says something to the effect, I am Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and The End.

I had her read it and then asked, “Who is that?”

She said, “Well, that’s Jehovah.”

I then took her to Revelation 1:8 in her bible and asked her who is saying “I am Alpha and Omega?”

She said, “That’s Jehovah.”

I then took her to Revelation 1:17b – 18 and asked, “Who is this speaking of?”

She read it and said, “Well, that’s speaking of Jehovah too.”

In this text it speaks of the First and Last having died and that now He is alive.

I asked her, “When did Jehovah die?” She looked again and said, “Well, we read that differently. It is Jehovah but it is clearly Jesus too.

(Silence, Silence, Silence)

“Well, we just disagree.” she said.

I encouraged her to keep studying and let truth take her where it may.

She said, “Well, I better get going.” I asked her, “Can we pray together before you leave?”

She paused and then said, “No, it’s clear that we pray to different gods so I better not.”

I encouraged her to keep seeking truth and to study. I sensed that she had some major qualities as a leader and encouraged her to use those talents while still searching for truth. We then said goodbye and she left.

Looking back on this conversation I should have done the following differently: When she said, “No” to praying together I should have said something like this, “Well, how about we pray to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob then? Let’s pray to the Creator of the universe and ask Him to reveal His truth to each of us so our relationship with Him grows.”

But I didn’t. Maybe next time.

I hope this has encouraged you to learn and stand up for your faith in the real Jesus Christ. I also hope this has helped you see that we are in a spiritual battle that is not against people who believe misinformation and wrong teachings. We are against the Father of Lies: Satan.

Ephesians 6:12 - For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Please listen to the two podcasts we will be releasing this week on the subject of witnessing to Jehovah’s Witnesses and equip yourself for the real struggle.