The Loquacious Fools

Psalm 14:1

"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good."

The word fool stems from the Latin, which means bellows, bag. In other words, a bag of air that fans the flames. Quite a portrait! Biblically speaking, a fool refers to a person lacking in judgment or prudence in matters of God (Prov. 26:7; Isa. 32:6).


George Bernard Shaw, the essayist and playwright, said this about atheists, "Nobody talks so constantly about God as those who insist that there is no God."

People who don't believe in God work overtime to prove and demonstrate to others that God doesn't exist. It's like this: If they can convince others that God isn't real and gather as many people to concur with their atheistic belief then the strength in numbers proves that God is non-existent, as if by taking a vote disannuls God's existence.

Consider this anecdote: An atheist told a Christian, "If there is a God, may he prove himself by striking me dead right now."

Nothing happened.

"You see," he concluded. "There is no God."

The Christian replied, "You've only proved that He is a merciful God."

And so it is, that many believe that inaction by God demonstrates His non-existence. Not so, it's just that His ways are not our ways (Isa. 55:8-9) and that He doesn't any one to perish (II Pet. 3:9).

Another argument is that a loving God cannot exist in the presence of evil, thereby automatically disproving the existence of God. However, that is a wrong line of reasoning. After all, the knowledge of good and evil was present in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:8-17). But, hold on to that thought.

Instead, let's look at a list of infamous people who are considered evil:

1. Adolph Hitler - The dictator of Nazi Germany and approved the Final Solution, which meant the wholesale slaughter of & extermination of 6 million Jews.

2. Adolph Eichmann - He played his part in the Nazi extermination of Jews during World War II. He is quoted as saying, "The death of five million Jews on my conscience gives me extraordinary satisfaction."

3. Pol Pot - He was the Khmer political leader whose totalitarian regime (1975-79) imposed severe hardships on the people of Cambodia. His radical communist government forced the mass evacuations of cities, killed or displaced millions of people, and left a legacy of disease and starvation. Under his leadership, his government caused the deaths of at least one million people from forced labor, starvation, disease, torture, or execution.

4. Mao Tse-tung - His government killed somewhere between 20 and 67 million (estimates vary) of his countrymen, including the elderly and intellectuals.

5. Idi Amin - He was the military officer and president (1971-79) of Uganda. Amin also took tribalism, a long- standing problem in Uganda, to its extreme by allegedly ordering the persecution of Acholi, Lango, and other tribes. Reports indicate torture and murder of 100,000 to 300,000 Ugandans during Amin's presidency. In 1972, he began to expel Asians from Uganda. God, he said, had directed him to do this. Over the years, Ugandans would disappear in the thousands, their mutilated bodies washing up on the shores of Lake Victoria. Amin would boast of being a "reluctant" cannibal - human flesh, he said, was too salty. He once ordered that the decapitation of political prisoners be broadcast on TV, specifying that the victims "must wear white to make it easy to see the blood". One of Amin's guards, Abraham Sule, said: "[Amin] put his bayonet in the pot containing human blood and licked the stuff as it ran down the bayonet. Amin told us: 'When you lick the blood of your victim, you will not see nightmares.' He then did it."

6. Joseph Stalin - During the quarter of a century preceding his death in 1953, the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin probably exercised greater political power than any other figure in history. In the 1930s, by his orders, millions of peasants were either killed or permitted to starve to death. Stalin brought about the deaths of more than 20 million of his own people while holding the Soviet Union in an iron grip for 29 years. Stalin succeeded his hero Lenin in 1924. From then on, he induced widespread famines to enforce farm collectives, and eliminated perceived enemies through massive purges.

Perhaps, Reader, you knew some of this historical information. Maybe you didn't. But, let me ask you this: Are you evil just because you know about the evil that these men and their governments committed? Does this knowledge make you evil? If you're honest, your answer is, No.

And yet, people try to pin this logic & judgment against God. He knows about evil because God is all knowing; yet, that knowledge doesn't make Him evil. Thus, at the Garden, He knew about these things, but it does implicate Him in the evil doings of others.

Neither you nor I are off the hook, though, when it comes to being evil. If anything, we are evil simply because God says so. In Romans 3:10, He states, "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:" And, in Romans 3:23, there's further insight about our nature, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"

Don't be fooled by the arguments that God doesn't exist because of the presence of evil. It's all useless, worthless chatter that others use to confuse you in order to get you to agree with them. If you read the Bible through, from Genesis to Revelation, you will understand how sin was introduced into this world and how it is resolved at Calvary (John 3:16; Gal. 3:13; I Jn. 1:7). You will also realize that Jesus Christ is coming back to settle all acounts (Rev. 19:11-16).

Psalm 14:2-3 makes this conclusion about man: "The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one."

Don't be a fool. Get right with God while there's still time to repent and place your trust in God's word.

The evangelist got it right when he said in Hebrews 2:3, "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;"

Don't neglect your great salvation! Get right with God, now! I Want to Get Right With God Right Now.

For Jesus shed His precious blood
rich blessings to bestow;
plunge now into the crimson flood
that washes bright as snow.

Only trust Him, only trust Him,
only trust Him now.
He will save you, He will save you,
He will save you now.

Yes, Jesus is the truth the way
that leads you into rest;
believe in Him without delay,
and you are fully blest.

Only trust Him, only trust Him,
only trust Him now.
He will save you, He will save you,
He will save you now.

List of Evil Persons courtesy of The Scales of Good & Evil by Cliff Pickover

I Love To Tell the Story

Jonah 3:1-4

"And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey. And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown."

Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, which was situated on the eastern bank of the river Tigris. It was about 280 miles north of Babylon. The city was not only very ancient, but also very great. According to ancient texts, Nineveh extended 20 miles long and 60 miles in circumference (courtesy, Naves Topical Bible Dictionary).

When the Lord sent Jonah to preach to the Ninevites, they were much hated by the Jews because they were brutal, oppressive, idolaters and wicked. Indeed, consider this passage of the thinking of the military leaders of that time:

“I destroyed, I demolished, I burned. I took their warriors prisoner and impaled them on stakes before their cities. …flayed the nobles, as many as had rebelled, and spread their skins out on the piles [of dead corpses]… many of the captives I burned in a fire. Many I took alive; from some I cut off their hands to the write, from other I cut off their noses, ears and fingers; I put out the eyes of many of the soldiers."

               from Assyrian War Bulletin

Pretty brutal, huh?

But the truth for Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire is true of practically every nation on earth. If you think about it, haven't we encountered our own Assyrias in Nazi Germany; Cambodia's Killing Fields; China's Mao Zedong's regime; Stalin's USSR regime; and the Rwandan Massacres to name a few of the 20th Century? Yes, we have and if you notice, these regimes have been godless.

Yet, within these nations, there were many kinds of people - everyday people - doing the best they could on a day-to-day basis to raise their children, survive and prosper. Plus, they had no knowledge of God.

And so, this is what Jonah saw as he walked into that great city of Nineveh. God through Jonah showed great mercy on its people because they repented upon hearing the word of God.

There are so many points to draw on from this Bible passage, but the one I want to focus on for this posting is this: Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Rom. 10:13). We aren't responsible for saving people; that's God's job. Our task is to faithfully present the Gospel to everyone we can - family, friend and foe - and pray for their salvation.

What Jonah did was to proclaim the word of God to the Ninevites as he entered and walked about their city. Jonah was a street preacher, if you will.

With that being said, how many of us can boldly proclaim the Gospel in an open air setting out in public?

Two of my sons and Christian brothers from their church in Seattle do this just about every week. I'm including their March 2012 report for your edification and encouragement. I hope and pray that it will be a blessing to you as much as it was to me. To God be the glory!

March 7, Downtown Seattle

Bob the Barker was there - He listened to Efrain's message but was quiet. We silently praised and thanked God for bringing him to hear another message. While Efrain was preaching a young man tried to interupt him, then a young lady did the same thing. He directed them to me with their questions. The man wanted to know if we were living "in the revelation". I'm not sure what he meant by that but he seemed like a troubled individual. The young woman had a hook in her nose.

She asked "What are you doing?" I told her we were giving people the Gospel message. She repeated her question and I repeated my answer. She said that she used to be an athiest but now was going to church and that she found street preaching offensive and that we should "just love people to Jesus". I asked her "What did Jesus do?"

While I was talking with her, a young man (Chris) asked "What about Muslims?" "Are they going to hell?"

I said that we shouldn't limit his question to Muslims and asked him "What about Buddhists, Hindus, and all of the other religions? What happens to them?" Then I asked him if he was going to heaven. He said he thought so. I asked him if he was a good person. He said yes. We went through some of the commandments and he admitted that he was a lying, thieving, blasphemous, adulterer at heart and on his way to hell. (I know how that must sound but it was actually a friendly conversation). He was concerned about his state so we went through the Gospel. Afterwards he thanked me and I encouraged him to repent and receive the Saviour. The girl with the hook in her nose had been listening to our conversation. She also said thanks and it seemed like she wanted to say more but then she left suddenly.

March 11, Downtown Seattle

Our Christian brother Kirk was there. It was cold and windy. A young woman with many tattoos happened by and stayed for the whole message. She thanked me for being there and commented that most Christians don't share their faith. Also a man from Ethiopia, who barely spoke English, made a lot of gestures about how happy he was to see Jesus being preached.

As Kirk and I were about to leave the preaching area an older man crossed the street to where we were standing. This fellow always makes it a point to walk close by and swear at us. Today he was dressed in a tuxedo and I commented on how sharp he looked. He said the tuxedo was old but he used to wear it when he worked at Paramount Movie Studios in Hollywood. Turns out he was a voice-over singer for actors who couldn't sing but who were in musicals. After about 5 minutes of talking about music he seemed to realize who we were and began to curse and blaspheme the name of Jesus. We responded "If you knew Jesus you wouldn't talk that way about Him."  He doubled his efforts and again was told "If you knew Jesus you wouldn't talk that way about Him."

He went his way. Kirk and I prayed for him before we left and when we looked up Roger was standing there. Roger is in his 50's and homeless. He is a friendly sort but also a bit confused from years of drinking alcohol. We've talked with him many times over the years. Today when we looked up he had a reverent look on his face, which is most unusual. You just never know what will touch a person.

Dear Reader, I don't know where you're from; what language you speak; or, what troubles you have. This I do know: Every nation, like every human life, has an hour glass with grains of sand flowing through it. When those grains expire, death comes. For some, life will end all too quickly; for others, unexpectedly & tragically. Please know that to every man and woman is appointed to die once and after this, the judgment (Heb. 9:27).

Babylon has come and gone. Assyria has come and gone. As time marches on, only their memories will exist. For a while. We all need to look beyond the everyday-ness of our lives and past our busy-ness because one day our nations will pass; one day our lives will end. And the only thing left to us will be our relationship with God, standing either in our own righteousness, or in the righteousness provided as a free gift in Jesus Christ.

Have you trusted in Him today? If you haven't time is slipping. Please don't wait any longer! Click here: I'd Like to Know About Jesus and His Love!

I love to tell the story; ’tis pleasant to repeat
What seems, each time I tell it, more wonderfully sweet.
I love to tell the story, for some have never heard
The message of salvation from God’s own holy Word.

I love to tell the story, ’twill be my theme in glory,
To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.