Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello, saints! 3 different musings today.

Grace & Bass

As many of you know, Laurie and I have been diving head-first into the world of AI-assisted music to create new grace-filled songs. And listen—I totally get the reservations. Nothing will ever replace real musicians with real talent, and we’d never pretend otherwise. They deserve preference and priority. But for us grace believers, AI has become this unexpected doorway into making beautiful, MAD BAD-rich music we never could’ve produced on our own. And trust me, it’s no easy simple “push-a-button, get-a-song” situation. Every track starts with carefully crafted lyrics that reflect the sound doctrines of grace, then hours of experimenting to find the right musical style to let those truths breathe. It’s work—but joyful work, and the grace lyrics really elevate the music.

In any case, our musical ministry is in the midst of a creatively rich period. We have no shortage of ideas, and we’ve now released a whole lineup of albums — Songs of Grace, Grace Lo-Fi, Soul & Grace, and yes, even a folk rock album about the end times (because why shouldn’t the apocalypse have a soundtrack?). And we just dropped something completely different: a Christian Deep House album called Grace & Bass. Why? Because you know you love to groove… and occasionally break out into that “David dancing before the Lord” routine (when nobody’s watching)!

Happy Thanksgiving!

There were two points from my studies last week that I loved and thought I’d share.

Parable of the Ten Virgins

On Wednesday nights, we going through the Gospels in Chronological Order (83 messages so far). Last Wednesday, we covered a subject I always struggled with – the Parable of the Ten Virgins. What on Earth does the oil represent?

Some pastors would argue that the oil has to be the Holy Spirit and the lamp is the Word of God usually citing Psa. 119:105 to back that up. That verse says, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” They’d argue that the wise virgins had the Word of God stored in their heart. They were prepared and watching. But the foolish virgins, while under the sound of the Word, had not received it, nor had they stored it in their heart. Thus, they had no oil. One pastor made the point to me that “the five took no oil. It doesn’t say they didn’t take EXTRA oil. It says they took ‘no oil.’  So they didn’t have the Holy Spirit.”

Now this idea that the oil had to be the Holy Spirit never made sense to me. In vs 9, after the foolish virgins asked for some of their oil, they said, “Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.” If the oil is the Holy Spirit, this makes no sense. How can there not be enough Holy Spirit to go around for 5 more virgins? Where would they go to buy for themselves the Holy Spirit?

If the oil was meant to represent the Holy Spirit, then why didn’t the wise virgins give the foolish virgins the Gospel? If they believed, their lamps would be filled with oil, wouldn’t they? Why are the wise virgins refusing to help the unwise virgins here? Isn’t that what the wise do? They help the unwise get saved and have oil in their lamps? Prov. 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise. If they weren’t helping the lost to be converted, then they’re not wise according to Prov. 11:30.

The argument to that would be, “Well, the Lord has already returned. Once His foot touches the Mount of Olives, that window has closed. There are no more chances to be reconciled to God or to get oil for their lamps.” Okay, if that’s the case, then why would the wise virgins tell them, “go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.” Why tell them to go searching for something they know they cannot get now that the Master’s back?

One pastor, who thought the lamp was the Word of God and the oil was the Holy Spirit, wrote, “They are instructed by the others to find those that sell the light-giving oil and buy it for themselves. The Scriptures instruct us to “Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding” (Prov. 23:23). Who were the sellers of truth? Who could provide this commodity? Simple, those who minister the Word—pastors, teachers and Rabbis. But it’s too late! It’s night; they are nowhere to be found. Furthermore, the true ministers of the Word will also go out to meet the Bridegroom.”

That makes zero sense. Do you mean to tell me the only way the 5 foolish virgins could get saved was if they went to see priest? The 5 wise virgins who know their Bibles so well, who were fully prepared for the Lord’s return, couldn’t give them the gospel of the kingdom?

I finally reached a conclusion that finally makes perfect sense to me.

I’m going to make a unique and controversial statement. I’m going to tell you what the oil represents with real conviction.

Are you ready?

I would suggest that the oil in the lamp represents… oil in the lamp.

It’s not meant to be some other spiritual thing. It’s meant to illustrate practical obedience during the Tribulation. These wise virgins who believed in Christ knew His Word. They knew everything He said about the end times. They had Revelation memorized backwards and forwards. And they knew about the seven bowl judgments. They knew the entire Earth would become pitch black. So they were prepared in a practical way for the time when that happens. They took the practical step of having old school lamps and having oil in their lamps.

The oil and lamp was just an illustration of practical preparedness by believers during the Tribulation.

When you know the world is going to become pitch black during the seven bowl judgments, what do you do? You get yourself some old school lamps with oil and you save it for when that judgment comes. So when the wise virgins told the others they couldn’t share their oil with them, they were actually talking about oil. When they said, “Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you,” they actually meant that there wasn’t enough oil for all of them. And when they told them to “go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves,” they were talking about buying oil for their lamps. (Ricky Kurth pointed out to me – notice that the foolish virgins could go buy and sell. I wonder if they had a mark.)

But at the end of the day, this parable is about practical, real-world preparation for God’s judgments by the faithful remnant who know God’s Word. That is evidence of true faith in the Tribulation. You’re going to know His Word and you’re going to be prepared.

This is what the entire Olivet Discourse is all about – practical application based on what God tells you is going to happen in the Tribulation

1. Flee immediately when you see the abomination (24:15–20).
2. Don’t go back to get your coat.
3. False Christs will appear.
4. Natural light will go dark (24:29).
5. Cosmic catastrophes will happen.
6. Wise servants doing practical work
7. Evil servants not doing any practical work

Everything in the Olivet Discourse is about practical obedience. Everything is actionable. It would be inconsistent for Jesus suddenly to shift into saying: “And here’s a mystical symbol of the indwelling Holy Spirit—go buy some.”

I think the great lesson out of this parable is in taking God’s Word and making it practical. God never gave us His Word merely to inform us—He gave it to form us. Wisdom is not just knowing what God says but taking what God says and making it practical.

How Can God Command us How to Feel?

Last Sunday, I did a message asking the question, How Can God Command us How to Feel? I loved a number of things I learned when studying for that message.

When God commands emotions, He’s not saying, “Generate a feeling out of thin air.” He’s saying, “Respond to my truths. Respond by faith to who I am and what I’ve done for you and your heart will follow.” These are not just feelings. They are responses of faith to His Word, which brings about emotional responses. It is the natural outcome of learning these truths.

Change the truth you live on, and you’ll change the whole emotional center of your life. What you truly believe in the moment will shape how you feel. If you believe you’re abandoned, unloved, you will feel despair. If you believe “He will never leave me,” you will feel comfort even in tears. If you believe “God is punishing you,” you will feel anxiety. If you believe God is “not imputing anyone’s trespasses,” you will feel comfort.

So God gives you doctrine not just for your mind but to stabilize and revitalize your emotional life. For example:

1. Romans 8 doesn’t just inform; it steadies your joy.
2. Ephesians 1 doesn’t just teach; it fuels your praise.
3. The resurrection isn’t just a fact; it anchors your hope.

God can command emotions because He gives you all the powerful truths your mind will ever need to rightly shape your emotional life. The commands to rejoice, give thanks, love, fear, hope—this is just God saying: “Look at my Son. Respond naturally to these glorious truths I’ve revealed to you.”