The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved

 

 

"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion." (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)

 

The Scripture verse above from the Book of Ecclesiastes is a fitting description of the kind of friendship I had with my dear friend, John.

I first met John when I was working for a tech company here in southern Idaho. I managed a small shipping and receiving department where the components for large computer servers arrived. The engineers came through to get the components for their projects. I usually had the local Christian radio station playing on my work counter. One day two guys were walking through my area and one of the guys who looked kind of like Serpico, a character from a 1973 Al Pacino movie smiled and said, "Hey, nice radio station!"

He came back a couple of days later and walked right up to me and asked, "Do you know what the exact center of the Bible is?" I said, "No, what do you mean?" He said, "Psalm 118:8. It has 594 chapters before it, and 594 chapters after it. And the passage says":

"It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man."

And that was the start of a wonderful friendship in Christ.

Throughout my walk with Christ God has brought key people into my life at just the right time, for His purposes, and my good. John was most definitely one of those key people.

At the time I was going through a very difficult season with my wife. If something didn't change soon we were headed for another separation, or worse. The Lord had recently told me to get out of a small whack-o church we were attending but my wife refused to leave as she "had friends there." These so-called friends were all trying to convince her to divorce me. Not very godly counsel. The Lord showed me this church was a "shipwreck" and would not last. He was right—it didn't.

John invited me to attend his church, which was a Calvary Chapel. It was very refreshing; solid teaching of the Word of God and no mumbo-jumbo. From the first time I sat in that place I knew I was 'home'.

It was a new thing for me to have a faithful brother in Christ who I could confide in, pray with, and talk about the Bible. It gave me a lot of encouragement to be in regular prayer with John for the healing of my marriage. We prayed a couple times every week for my marriage. I was very hopeful. Then something would happen that caused a set back—usually me screwing something up. I would get discouraged and John would say, "We just need to keep praying, Mark! She'll come around."

One night after inviting my wife for the hundredth time to come to church with me, she really shot me down and said some very hurtful things, I felt like things might be over. Maybe it was time to finally toss in the towel. John was saying, "You gotta have faith! Mark, I can see you guys sitting right over there!" Which was odd, because I always sat in the middle section of the church, never on the far right side. But that's exactly where he was pointing, over to the far right. I mourned, "No, she'll never come." John said, "Trust me Mark, she will! I know it!"

And a couple of months later, for whatever reason, my wife did start coming to church with me. And Our marriage has been healed ever since. 

Oh sure, we've had our share of tough seasons over the last 20 years. But our breakthrough was born from those many hours of persevering in prayer with John. God heard those many faithful prayers.

I'll be eternally grateful.

To me John was a true hero of the faith. He had his own trials and tribulations he was going through. But he never gave up. Some of the things he endured I don't think I could have done so. He was a great example to me that when times are tough you draw nearer to God and trust in Him. Stay in His Word. I had other times when I felt like giving up. But John always counseled me from The Word. Stay the course.

 

Over the years we enjoyed many great lunches together and times of fellowship, often times with another great brother in the Lord. We attended some pivotal men's retreats together. Life changing times.

Over the last year or so we kind of lost touch. A few weeks ago I sent John a text saying I was thankful to the Lord for giving me a friend and brother in Christ like him. I never heard back. 

His wife texted me a couple of days ago from his phone that John was no longer with them—he died of Covid on July 2, 2021.

I had no idea he was sick.

I was instantly reminded, "Absent from the body, present with the Lord." (2 Corinthians 5:8)

 

John and I had talked about that verse dozens of times. We spent many hours discussing the Rapture, Tribulation, End Times prophecies, and the return of Christ.

 

I listened to a message on radio yesterday reminding us that those like John who have died in Christ shall rise first at the Rapture, and then whoever is alive and remains at that time will rise and meet them together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:17)

 

This put a huge smile in my heart.

 

I envisioned John walking on the streets of gold, basking in the light of God, in a place where there is no more pain, sickness, death or sorrow—knowing I will be with him there in due time.

 

Thank you John, for being a faithful friend and brother to me in a time when I needed it most.

 

Love you Bro!

 

 

 

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

 

The Gathering Storm

  "And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows." (Matthew 24:7-8)

Picture Jesus sitting alone on the Mount of Olives.

In just a few short days He would be betrayed by a kiss from one of His own, and delivered up to be crucified by His religious enemies.

Shortly before this Jesus had been prophesying in the Temple of the woe coming upon the scribes and Pharisees who had rejected Him as the Messiah. And then He lamented the following over Jerusalem:

  

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ” (Matthew 23:37-39)

Jesus now foretells the destruction of the Temple:

"Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” (Matthew 24:1-2)

To Jesus' disciples this must have sounded like the end of the world. 

They had to know when will these things happen? What signs would Jesus show them to let them know His return is near? By what signs would they know the end of the age has come? 

"Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3)

These are perhaps the most pondered questions among Christians over the last two thousand years.

When will these things be?

What will be the sign of Your coming?

What will be the sign of the end of the age? 

I have been asking the answers to these questions since I first began reading about them in the Bible nearly thirty years ago.

So let's look at how Jesus answered His disciples questions:

"And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows." (Matthew 24:4-8)

Lets break this down:

1. "Take heed that no one deceives you." Deception will be extremely prevalent in this time. Among the deceptions may be false predictions of the date of His return, of which, Jesus said, "No one knows the day or the hour." False teachers are everywhere in these last days. Test all things by God's Word. Reject false teachers and their false doctrine.

2.  "For many will come in My name, saying, "I am the Christ." Think of David Koresh and many false prophets claiming to be the Christ. "And many will be deceived." Many have actually believed these demonic impersonators. People have given all their wealth up and followed these charlatans.

3.  "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars." Think of all the wars worldwide in just the last 100 years. More recently, rumors of potential wars with North Korea and Iran, to name just a few, are all over the Internet and news sources.

 

4. "Don't be troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet." You will see all these things happen, but pay attention; there is still more to come.

5.  "Nation will rise against nation." Again, just turn on the news. We see this occur frequently. Nation against nation can also mean ethnicity against ethnicity. Look at the ethnic cleansing that has happened in recent years. Racism is a global problem

6.  "There will be famines and pestilences." In 2019 locust swarms in the tens of millions descended on different parts of Africa, causing widespread famine and destruction of millions of square miles of crops and food supplies. The UN estimates there are tens of millions of people in the world on the brink of starvation. Currently the Corona Virus pandemic has spread across the globe like wildfire, causing sickness, death and panic. Before that consider the world AIDS epidemic, SARS, and Ebola. As well as other modern day pandemics.

7.  "There will be earthquakes in various places." Think of all the earthquakes worldwide over the last several decades ... and all the more interesting, when combined with all the other signs of the times that Jesus spelled out.

8.  "All these are the beginning of sorrows." Sorrows here are rightly defined as birth pangs, labor pains, or contractions. As a mother's labor pains and contractions progress, they increase in frequency and intensity. All the signs Jesus foretold to His disciples are the beginning of labor pains or contractions.

If we take all that Jesus said here at face value, I believe the final birthing period of world history is beginning. And as we approach the final seven year Tribulation period, the contractions or birth pains will rapidly increase in frequency and intensity.

It's not my intention, nor will I enter into a "Rapture debate" and the timing of this event. Because "no one knows the day or the hour."

We're simply looking at Jesus' answers to His disciples when they asked Him:

“Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"

Recently here in my city we had a small earthquake.

But it certainly got my attention, especially in light of all the above, including the Corona Virus pandemic that's happening in the entire world today and right here at home.

For the follower of Jesus Christ this is not to be a time of fear but one of joy!

Our Savior is returning as promised to take us to be with Him where He is. And we will be with Him forever.

Jesus spelled out the signs of the times for us.


Are we watching?

 

The Storm is gathering...

 

My new book, "The Gathering Storm", will be published early July, 2021. Look for it on Amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/Mark-Faulkner/e/B084RTK8F3?ref_=dbs_p_pbk_r00_abau_000000 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-God is Love and Love Never Fails.

Be Transformed

 

 

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God," 

(Romans 12:2).

 

 

This verse lays out clearly what is perhaps the greatest secret of life. The part that really stands out to me today though is, "be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

There's so much false information, false teaching and false narratives people are being distracted, deceived and led astray. The greatest battlefield today is the mind. We are depressed and brought down by thoughts in our heads that simply aren't true. And we allow them to remain there.

False thinking and false narratives need to be replaced with the Word of God—words from our Abba Father in Heaven. 

Too many people are prisoners of misinformation and deception. But they ignore the Biblical command to test all things and only hold fast to that which is good. People want personal, subjective experiences; the spiritual buzz. Faith in God and His Word simply isn't enough for many people today. 

Another ploy of Satan is to convince people "they can only be happy if they have this." Or, "I can't be happy without that."And there are a whole world of things and people that can fill-in those blanks. You know what yours are. I'm aware of my own.

God doesn't command us to not be conformed to this world because He doesn't want us to enjoy ourselves. It's because He knows the things of the world can never satisfy us. That, and conformity with the world sends a mixed message. We're supposed to come out and be separate—be different than the world. 

"Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him," (1 John 2:15).

You ever get the idea God is an all-or-nothing God? Verses like 1 John 2:15 prove it. That's a brutally powerful statement: "The love of the Father is not in him"—you can have all this world offers me, just let me never be accused of that.

A dark and scary prison people allow themselves to be trapped in is unforgiveness. They simply won't free themselves from those cold iron bars. Forgiveness is not saying what someone did to you was okay. It's not okay. 

No, what you are doing when you choose to forgive someone from your heart is free yourself of your own bitterness towards them. But you have to make the proclamation; "I am not going to let this person keep me imprisoned by my hatred and bitterness towards them." You are releasing them from the self-imposed prison of your own unforgiving heart. But you are the one who is truly being set free.

I'm not saying this is easy—it's survival.

But like anything else, forgiveness is a choice. You have to choose to change your own thinking—be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

And let me tell you... God is in the transformation business.

If you let Him.

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

What Do I Do Now?

 

"For nation will rise against nation." (Matthew 24:7)

I believe the majority of peace loving people today are sick and tired of the trouble on the news. Tired of the semantics and rhetoric. Tired of the looting. Tired of people burning cars and buildings. Tired of freeways being overtaken by protesters, dragging innocent people from their cars, often beating them. Tired of the long-standing racism and violence in this country. Tired of people murdering other people. Tired of all the blame and accusation. Tired of the media and political circus.

The phrase that troubles me as a Caucasian American Christian is, "white silence."

Who knows what this phrase means to most people, or how it originated. But I'm thinking about my own personal responsibility. "What do I do now?" 

I will not be silent. 

But the question is, what needs to be said?

Some say, "People need to behave better."

That's obvious. I think we all agree on that. Everyone needs to behave better.

People need to stop being racist. No doubt. Not just a few police officers. Everyone. We all know why better behavior is needed. The question however, is not why.

It's How.

Throughout recorded history there has been murder, hatred, violence, racism, injustice. We all know this is wrong. No one likes it. We all want it to stop. 

So why does it continue? The problem isn't knowledge. 

The problem is Sin.

Six thousand years of world history proves that mankind cannot solve its sin problem on its own. Mankind says, "I got this!" 

But that doesn't seem to be working very well—does it. 

Let the evidence speak for itself. 

As far back as history reveals race has risen up against race, or nation against nation. Consider the tens of millions of Jews killed by Stalin and Hitler. Or the "ethnic cleansing" atrocities committed all over the world. The imprisonment of Japanese Americans, put in internment camps during World War II, simply because of the color of their skin. The systematic killing and removal of Native American Indians from their land and homes so European settlers could have all the 'free land' they wanted. Most of the marginalized Native American people still live on Reservations to this day. And of course the unspeakable, shameful enslavement of African people, de-humanized and bought and sold as products. The consequences and pain of these atrocities are strongly felt to this day.

The racial divide in America seems worse than it's been in the last fifty years. I am sixty-one and I have been witnessing and learning about this all my life. And I don't believe I am alone in stating that man's ways of fixing this are not working. 

I believe most people know what the problem is.

So what is the answer?

People's hearts need to be changed. 

Their sin problem needs to be healed. But people have proven they cannot behave better on their own. They cannot stop sinning.

That is why Jesus Christ came down and said 'I will be the solution to your sin problem.'

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed."

(Luke 4:18)

Jesus Christ the Savior didn't come down to save a world that doesn't need saving. 

So the question all people need to ask themselves is:

"Am I willing to acknowledge that I am a sinner and that I cannot solve my sin problem on my own?"

 Until people are willing do that, racism will continue in this nation, and in this world.

Jesus came to set free all those who are oppressed by their own sin. Who are captives of their own hard hearts of unbelief. Again, world history proves that mankind is unable to save itself. To free itself of its sin. 

Jesus said:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed." (John 3:16-20)

To get the new heart that only Jesus can give the answer is not how.

It's Who.

Jesus is the only one who can save us from our sins.

He said:

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)

God is Love, and Love is a Person; Jesus Christ.

Call out to Him today. He will answer you. It's personal. It's intimate. It's urgent.

He is our Everlasting Father, the Mighty God. He is the Prince of Peace.

What do I do now?

I will continue to proclaim and speak out, of the love, peace, hope and salvation found only in Jesus Christ.


I cannot be silent.




—God is Love and Love Never Fails.

 

Seed Planters

 

 "Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" 

(Esther 4:14)

You never know how God wants to use you. 

I was encouraging my wife today about how God will use her love, devotion and faithfulness of many years spent teaching her four-year-old little 'Lambies' in Sunday School who their Savior Jesus is, for such a time as this—going through a very scary season of the global pandemic Corona Virus. 

One month ago she had no way of knowing that our world, our nation, and our children would have to go through this difficult time. None of us knew. 

This will change our world similar to how the events of 9/11 changed our world. And right now, we have no idea of just how much that change will be.

But the seeds God used her to plant along the way for His glory will sprout and grow up into all He foreordained them to be. He used her to sow seeds of His love, truth and Gospel. Praise God!

Another seed God planted was forty-eight years ago when He used my junior high school best friend; Eric Delap, to preach the Gospel to me. I was spending the night as I often did at his house. We spent many days together exploring, hunting and fishing Klamath Lake and the surrounding forests and marshes of the Klamath Basin. Eric was a very dear friend to me when I needed one most.

 (My best friend, Eric DeLap, 1972)

For whatever reason, I was a pretty sad and lonely kid in my school life. My home life was good for the most part. But I had really bad skin and was a painfully shy introvert. I didn't do well in school and I had zero self confidence as a person. It was hard for me to pay attention in class.

I don't remember the exact day that Eric changed and became a "Jesus freak", as they were affectionately called in those days. But he had a very captive and willing audience in me. I didn't understand everything that he was awkwardly preaching to me out of his shiny new Bible. But I understood enough to know that I was a sinner who desperately needed the love and saving grace of a loving Savior. I knew I needed Jesus. I believed the Gospel and prayed the prayer of salvation to receive Jesus Christ.

Sadly, I didn't have the opportunity to go to a church then and be rightly discipled and taught. So I more or less fell away, then we moved out of state. Away from my best friend and the beautiful Klamath Basin country that I loved.

And though for many years I didn't truly understand that I was already saved and born again as a seventh grader, God had planted seeds and His calling in me that would begin to bloom later on, after years of the fires of adversity, suffering, and learning through the consequences of life's many failures and setbacks.

The dear person God used to plant more seeds and lead me back to my Savior Jesus was my sweet Mom. She never gave up praying for me and encouraging me to come to Jesus, even though at first I wanted absolutely nothing to do with Him. But she remained faithful to keep sharing His love and Word with me.

 

(Mom and me, November 9, 1992) 

After my Dad died in 1992 I 'went south', to put it lightly. I left my wife and was in an adulterous affair. I hurt every person in my life that I was supposed to care about. Through my stupidity and selfishness I left a huge wake of destruction. I wish I could undo all the harm that I caused.

But God never gives up on us. He is always trying to draw us back to Himself through His grace, love and kindness. And He used my Mom a great deal in that redeeming work of His grace in my life. Throughout the next several years He led me back to Himself and healed my broken life and marriage. My wife and I are still happily and miraculously married after thirty three years as of this writing. That was only possible through the power of God's amazing love, grace and forgiveness! Glory to Him!

Never despise the day of small beginnings.

We may be doing something that we believe God called us to do and it may seem like nothing is happening. Not many people appear to be responding. It may seem like no one is listening. No one cares.

"Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"  (Esther 4:14)

Through a former client, who encouraged me to start a blog after I lost my job in 2010, God began to call me to start writing. I stumbled my way through building my first blog website, and prayed a lot asking God what He wanted me to write. Once I started I couldn't stop! He used this little Love Never Fails blog to help me find my voice. And I soon discovered that basically everything He had me write was meant for me to read and heed first. He was ministering to me through this blog. Sure, I was ministering to others and sharing my testimony and had a heart to want to help people.

But as always, I am the one in the most need of His help.

Now here we are ten years later, and God helped me to write and publish my first book: "A Letter From My Father." And I believe it is for such a time as this. In a time of unprecedented fear, uncertainty and worry, to point people to God as Father. To encourage His people. To share the Savior Jesus Christ and His Gospel with the lost. And to give hope to all who are afraid and suffering.

 

In terms of numbers, not a lot of people appear to be reading the book thus far. I have no way of knowing if this book will have a huge impact on the people I want so desperately to reach out to in Christ's love and encourage them.

A brother once said; 

     "We're not responsible for peoples response—were only responsible to be faithful".

That comforts me. 

But Jesus came to seek and save the lost. And that is, or should be, the driving force of love behind everything we do and say. 

It is for me anyway.

In terms of timing, I had no way of knowing a little over a month ago when my book was published that a global pandemic would be sweeping the earth. That people the world over would soon be living in panic and fear. Many without hope.

And yet, in such a time as this, my Father God used a not-too-educated, simple person like me to plant seeds of hope, grace, love and salvation through making a way when there seemed to be no way, for me to write and publish a book pointing people to Him as their Everlasting Father.

The results are up to Him.

However I would ask that if you haven't already, please read the book then share it with others. 

We're all just seed planters.

Others water.

But Father God gives the increase.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/173437120X/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=a+letter+from+my+father&qid=1581637434&s=books&sr=1-6

"In a world where there are no perfect fathers, imagine how your relationship with God would change if you knew He wrote a letter to you so you could know Him more deeply and more personally. So that you would know His Fatherly love, care and promises to you.God didn't give us the Scriptures so that we can know the Bible cover to cover. He gave us the Bible so that we can know Him. Author Mark Faulkner weaves his own story into the pages of this book of a lifelong journey of knowing God as His Father."

A Letter From My Father: Knowing God as Father Through Reading the Bible as His Letter to Us Paperback – February 12, 2020

by Mark Faulkner (Author)

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