Hindsight Is 21:6
There's a common phrase that says "Hindsight is 20/20" meaning essentially that "It's Easy To Know The Right Thing To Do After Something Has Happened, But It's Hard To Predict The Future" or something to that effect.
"Hindsight" means "Thinking About Things After They've Happened" and "20/20" refers to having "perfect vision" as these two numbers are how Eye Doctors measure people's ability to see things clearly.
In most cases, this common saying ends up being true for so many, because there's usually something you didn't think was accurate or right in the past, but now that you think back on it, you can definitely realize that it is, in fact, accurate and right.
Well, color me cross-eyed (as in "God's Grace Has Given Me The Eyes To See The Truth")! I still cannot believe what I just realized, which was staring me in the face for so long. I mean, it was right there in front of me from the very beginning, but I somehow completely missed it!
Some of you already know that before I became a Confessional Lutheran I was a Non-Denominational-Dispensational-Evangelical-Type-Of-Spiritual-Island-Unto-Myself who created a Bible Prophecy/End Times blog called "Look Up Fellowship (LUF)" that became quite popular and fast.
The popularity of that website turned into podcasts and those podcasts turned into invitations to speak at various Christian conferences and events as well as opportunities to be a Guest on numerous radio shows around the country.
It was truly humbling, but it was also spiritually dangerous.
I've written about how God eventually opened my eyes to the truth over time and how it ultimately led to the Look Up Fellowship brand going away for good.
In short, the more I focused on God's Word as opposed to utter speculation and sensationalism, and the more I focused on Jesus Christ instead of trying to play Pin-The-Tail-On-The Antichrist, the more people hated me for it and criticized me for "abandoning" my audience!
That was 2008-2013. Fast forward to 2018.
I've decided to "make amends" by going through the thousands of posts I published for LUF and revisiting them here, but from an Orthodox Christian (a.k.a. Confessional Lutheran) perspective if I can, and God willing, of course.
So, you can imagine my surprise when I discovered that THE VERY FIRST POST I PUBLISHED back in 2008 for that blog should've been enough to stop me in my tracks right then and there! See if you catch it...
Lord, have mercy, and please forgive me!
Never mind all of the obvious "red flags" like calling myself a "born-again Christian" (in the Evangelical "Decision Theology" sense), like relying on my so-called "intuition" and "gut feeling" in an attempt "to listen to that voice inside you" and even calling the blog a "ministry" too -- yikes!
Instead, please pay close attention to the one Bible verse that served as the inspiration for all of it: Luke 21:6. I correctly noted how that sole verse is referring to Jesus's Second Coming so how in the world did I use that same verse to justify adopting a "Dispensational" and "Rapture" belief system that was more consistent with fictitious bestsellers about the "last days" than with the very Word of God itself!?!
My goodness, I probably wrote about the so-called coming "Rapture" more than anything else during those 5 years of LUF, and yet, here was my very first post I ever published for that blog stating QUITE EMPHATICALLY that the verse that supported my apparent "intuition" and "gut feeling" actually contradicted EVERYTHING that I was ever going to write about pertaining to Bible Prophecy on that website!
In a Lutheran layman's terms, for most, hindsight is 20/20, but for me, hindsight is 21:6 (as in Luke 21:6).
NOTE: Please understand that I'm not a called and ordained minister of God's Word and Sacraments. I'm a layman or just your average everyday Christian, Corporate Recruiter, Husband, Father, Friend who lives in the "City of Good Neighbors" here on the East Coast. As another Christian Blogger once wrote, "Please do not see this blog as me attempting to 'publicly teach' the faith, but view it as an informal Public Journal of sorts about my own experiences and journey, and if any of my notes here help you in any way at all, then I say, 'Praise the Lord!' but please do double check them against the Word of God and with your own Pastor." To be more specific, and relevant to the point I want to make with this disclaimer/note, please understand that I'm a relatively new convert to "Confessional Lutheranism" and one who recently escaped an American-Evangelical-Non-Denominational mindset a little more than 4 years ago now despite being a Christian my whole life. That being said, please contact me ASAP if you believe that any of my "old beliefs" seem to have crept their way back into any of the material you see published here, and especially if any of the content is inconsistent with the Bible, our Confessions, and Lutheran doctrine in general (in other words, if it's not consistent with God's Word, which our Confessions merely summarize and repeatedly point us back to over and over again) so that I can not only correct those errors immediately and not lead any of His little ones astray (James 3:1), but repent of my sin and learn the whole truth myself. With that in mind, please be aware that you might also discover that some of the earlier/older pieces I wrote for this blog back in 2013 definitely fall into that "Old Evangelical Adam" category (and they don't have a disclaimer like this) since I was a "Lutheran-In-Name-Only" at the time and was completely oblivious to the fact that a Christian "Book of Concord" even existed (Small/Large Catechism? What's that!?!). This knowledge of the Lutheran basics was completely foreign to me even though I was baptized, confirmed, and married in an LCMS church! So, there are some entries that are a little "out there" so-to-speak since the subject matter was also heavily influenced by those old beliefs of mine. I know that now and I'm still learning. Anyway, I decided to leave those published posts up on this website and in cyberspace only because they are not blasphemous/heretical, because I now have this disclaimer, and only to demonstrate the continuing work of Christ and the Holy Spirit in my life (Hebrews 12:2; Philippians 1:6). Most importantly, please know that any time I engage in commenting on and/or interpreting a specific portion of the holy Scriptures, it will always closely follow the verse-by-verse footnotes from my Lutheran Study Bible and/or include references to the Book of Concord unless otherwise noted. Typically, I will defer to what other Lutheran Pastors both past and present have already preached and taught about such passages since they are the called and ordained under-shepherds of our souls here on earth. Finally, I'm going to apologize ahead of time for the length of most entries (this disclaimer/note is a perfect example of what I mean! haha). I'm well aware that blogs should be short, sweet, and to the point, but I've never been one to follow the rules when it comes to writing. Besides, this website is more like a "Christian Dude's Diary" in the sense that everything I write about and share publicly isn't always what's "popular" or "#trending" at the time, but is instead all the things that I'm studying myself at the moment. For better or for worse, these posts tend to be much longer than most blog entries you'll find elsewhere only because I try to pack as much info as possible into a single piece so that I can refer to it again and again over time if I need to (and so that it can be a valuable resource for others -- if possible, a "One-Stop-Shop" of sorts). Thank you for stopping by and thank you in advance for your time, help, and understanding. Feel free to comment/email me at any time. Grace and peace to you and yours!
"Hindsight" means "Thinking About Things After They've Happened" and "20/20" refers to having "perfect vision" as these two numbers are how Eye Doctors measure people's ability to see things clearly.
In most cases, this common saying ends up being true for so many, because there's usually something you didn't think was accurate or right in the past, but now that you think back on it, you can definitely realize that it is, in fact, accurate and right.
Well, color me cross-eyed (as in "God's Grace Has Given Me The Eyes To See The Truth")! I still cannot believe what I just realized, which was staring me in the face for so long. I mean, it was right there in front of me from the very beginning, but I somehow completely missed it!
Some of you already know that before I became a Confessional Lutheran I was a Non-Denominational-Dispensational-Evangelical-Type-Of-Spiritual-Island-Unto-Myself who created a Bible Prophecy/End Times blog called "Look Up Fellowship (LUF)" that became quite popular and fast.
The popularity of that website turned into podcasts and those podcasts turned into invitations to speak at various Christian conferences and events as well as opportunities to be a Guest on numerous radio shows around the country.
It was truly humbling, but it was also spiritually dangerous.
I've written about how God eventually opened my eyes to the truth over time and how it ultimately led to the Look Up Fellowship brand going away for good.
In short, the more I focused on God's Word as opposed to utter speculation and sensationalism, and the more I focused on Jesus Christ instead of trying to play Pin-The-Tail-On-The Antichrist, the more people hated me for it and criticized me for "abandoning" my audience!
That was 2008-2013. Fast forward to 2018.
I've decided to "make amends" by going through the thousands of posts I published for LUF and revisiting them here, but from an Orthodox Christian (a.k.a. Confessional Lutheran) perspective if I can, and God willing, of course.
So, you can imagine my surprise when I discovered that THE VERY FIRST POST I PUBLISHED back in 2008 for that blog should've been enough to stop me in my tracks right then and there! See if you catch it...
How Did You Come Up With That Name? (2008-07-24 11:17)
"How did you come up with that name?" someone asked. Well, as with most things lately, I just felt inspired to go with it and, in my limited experience as a born-again Christian, one of the first things I learned is to listen to that voice inside you. Whether you want to call it 'intuition' or your 'gut feeling' it's important to consider in any decision making process. Actually, the background on how I came up with the name is a little more complicated than that. Look Up Fellowship derives from the passage that begins in Luke 21:6 where Jesus is talking about the last days in remarkably specific detail. I plan to set the stage for us moving forward by briefly breaking down that speech verse by verse in the near future. The discourse culminates with verse 27 which refers to His glorious Second Coming! Then, in the very next verse, Jesus instructs us by saying, 'And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws near.' This online ministry was named for those of us who are beginning to notice that perhaps our time is short. Given this realization, we have become a fellowship of believers who are looking up and expecting the return of our Lord and Savior!
Lord, have mercy, and please forgive me!
Never mind all of the obvious "red flags" like calling myself a "born-again Christian" (in the Evangelical "Decision Theology" sense), like relying on my so-called "intuition" and "gut feeling" in an attempt "to listen to that voice inside you" and even calling the blog a "ministry" too -- yikes!
Instead, please pay close attention to the one Bible verse that served as the inspiration for all of it: Luke 21:6. I correctly noted how that sole verse is referring to Jesus's Second Coming so how in the world did I use that same verse to justify adopting a "Dispensational" and "Rapture" belief system that was more consistent with fictitious bestsellers about the "last days" than with the very Word of God itself!?!
My goodness, I probably wrote about the so-called coming "Rapture" more than anything else during those 5 years of LUF, and yet, here was my very first post I ever published for that blog stating QUITE EMPHATICALLY that the verse that supported my apparent "intuition" and "gut feeling" actually contradicted EVERYTHING that I was ever going to write about pertaining to Bible Prophecy on that website!
In a Lutheran layman's terms, for most, hindsight is 20/20, but for me, hindsight is 21:6 (as in Luke 21:6).
NOTE: Please understand that I'm not a called and ordained minister of God's Word and Sacraments. I'm a layman or just your average everyday Christian, Corporate Recruiter, Husband, Father, Friend who lives in the "City of Good Neighbors" here on the East Coast. As another Christian Blogger once wrote, "Please do not see this blog as me attempting to 'publicly teach' the faith, but view it as an informal Public Journal of sorts about my own experiences and journey, and if any of my notes here help you in any way at all, then I say, 'Praise the Lord!' but please do double check them against the Word of God and with your own Pastor." To be more specific, and relevant to the point I want to make with this disclaimer/note, please understand that I'm a relatively new convert to "Confessional Lutheranism" and one who recently escaped an American-Evangelical-Non-Denominational mindset a little more than 4 years ago now despite being a Christian my whole life. That being said, please contact me ASAP if you believe that any of my "old beliefs" seem to have crept their way back into any of the material you see published here, and especially if any of the content is inconsistent with the Bible, our Confessions, and Lutheran doctrine in general (in other words, if it's not consistent with God's Word, which our Confessions merely summarize and repeatedly point us back to over and over again) so that I can not only correct those errors immediately and not lead any of His little ones astray (James 3:1), but repent of my sin and learn the whole truth myself. With that in mind, please be aware that you might also discover that some of the earlier/older pieces I wrote for this blog back in 2013 definitely fall into that "Old Evangelical Adam" category (and they don't have a disclaimer like this) since I was a "Lutheran-In-Name-Only" at the time and was completely oblivious to the fact that a Christian "Book of Concord" even existed (Small/Large Catechism? What's that!?!). This knowledge of the Lutheran basics was completely foreign to me even though I was baptized, confirmed, and married in an LCMS church! So, there are some entries that are a little "out there" so-to-speak since the subject matter was also heavily influenced by those old beliefs of mine. I know that now and I'm still learning. Anyway, I decided to leave those published posts up on this website and in cyberspace only because they are not blasphemous/heretical, because I now have this disclaimer, and only to demonstrate the continuing work of Christ and the Holy Spirit in my life (Hebrews 12:2; Philippians 1:6). Most importantly, please know that any time I engage in commenting on and/or interpreting a specific portion of the holy Scriptures, it will always closely follow the verse-by-verse footnotes from my Lutheran Study Bible and/or include references to the Book of Concord unless otherwise noted. Typically, I will defer to what other Lutheran Pastors both past and present have already preached and taught about such passages since they are the called and ordained under-shepherds of our souls here on earth. Finally, I'm going to apologize ahead of time for the length of most entries (this disclaimer/note is a perfect example of what I mean! haha). I'm well aware that blogs should be short, sweet, and to the point, but I've never been one to follow the rules when it comes to writing. Besides, this website is more like a "Christian Dude's Diary" in the sense that everything I write about and share publicly isn't always what's "popular" or "#trending" at the time, but is instead all the things that I'm studying myself at the moment. For better or for worse, these posts tend to be much longer than most blog entries you'll find elsewhere only because I try to pack as much info as possible into a single piece so that I can refer to it again and again over time if I need to (and so that it can be a valuable resource for others -- if possible, a "One-Stop-Shop" of sorts). Thank you for stopping by and thank you in advance for your time, help, and understanding. Feel free to comment/email me at any time. Grace and peace to you and yours!
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Thank you for visiting A Lutheran Layman! Please feel free to leave a comment or a question since we do not exercise censorship. We've seen a similar policy with other blogs and it's worth repeating: Please act as if you're a guest in my home, and we'll get along just fine. I think anyone would agree that the kind of back-and-forth that is characteristic of blogs/chat forums and social media is becoming tiresome for all of us. Still, we should confess, edify, and love (and contend and defend when needed). Bottom line? Search the Scriptures! Apply Acts 17:11 to anything and everything you find here and, if you do happen to disagree with something you find here (which is certainly ok), or think I'm "irresponsible" and "wrong" for writing it, then please refute my position by supporting yours with Scripture and/or the Confessions. I don't think that's an unreasonable request, especially for those who identify themselves as "Christians" here, right? Besides, Proverbs 27:17 tells us "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another" and 2 Timothy 3:16 says, "all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." If you have an opinion that's great, I welcome it, but try to support it using God's Word. I mean, if the goal here is to help us all arrive at the truth of God's Word (myself included), then it should be easy to follow through on this one simple request (I'm talking to all you "Anonymous" visitors out there). Grace and peace to you and yours!