Calculating God's Timing

Calculating God’s time

1/27/12 

The human brain’s capacity is remarkable when you look at everything that it can perform.  In an alive human the brain is actually very soft and one can poke a finger right through the entire brain if it was exposed.  The brain controls the entire nervous system, tells the muscles what to do and even protects us when our physical bodies are in danger.  Yet this permanent record holder only functions at best about 12% and there are some things that the brain cannot comprehend and it is even limited in other processes.  So, what makes our limited functions believe that it can reason out another time frame that has no boundaries.

The functioning brain is fascinating in that with all of the complex activity that occurs in milliseconds in which the responses that the brain produces need to be at my fingertips as I am typing this paragraph.  Each neuronal function completes its job in an almost immeasurable amount of time yet it allows our bodies to operate in what seems like a constant fluid motion.  The scientists of today still admit that we hardly know anything about the brain and everything that it can do or possibly perform.  It will be interesting to see how much more knowledge we gain about our brains over the next few decades.

We all have watched science fiction movies or TV programs that deal with the “mad scientist” in which he or she has a brain in a jar sitting on the laboratory counter.  The “brains” that we see in the movies basically look like the ones that housed in our cranial cavities.  But this picture that is painted is misleading in the fact that while we are alive the brain material is almost a liquid.  The brain is moist and very, very soft in nature; so soft that an untrained individual could actually sink their finger into the inner portions of the brain with just the slightest of motions.  Then you look at this watery convoluted mass and you realize that it is fully functioning while you stare at another brain of like kind.

I remember seeing my first open brain during an autopsy.  The person had deceased a few days before and so the physical conditions of the brain were a bit distorted.  When the pathologist took the brain out he handed it to me and I stood there with this thing in my hands and I then turned to put it on the scale.  I cannot remember the exact weight of the organ but as he looked at the weight he mentioned that if this person was alive it would actually weigh a lot less.  It was then I began to think about how the brain works and how many different paths information could take to complete a command that some part of my body wished.  Such a delicate organ yet is functioned in a way that controlled everything that my larger and more complex body needed.

A person that is knowledgeable in the sciences could fairly accurately state that the human brain is an advanced organ and will produce actions that suggest the same.  The same scientific person would also have to say that our brains are limited in the fact that even though it can calculate certain formulas, the ability to truly understand the results is limited.  We can calculate through formulas of a distance of 1,000 light years away but our minds cannot fully understand that time and distance.  We know how many calories one strawberry has but we cannot understand what a calorie is how big it is or what it even looks like.  These are the limitations that our minds express, which there is nothing wrong with these constraints, it is just a fact of life that we have no option but to accept.  This barring phenomenon is called finite within the scientific and mathematical fields; and since we still do not fully understand the brain’s complete function in theory that means that we do not understand completely a limited organ.

Now let us take God’s mind and run a comparison with His mind and our brain.  First of all we must acknowledge that He created our brains and every bit of wiring that it needs to function.  Next we have to accept that he placed the firing mechanisms in place so that all of the functions of the brain can operate accordingly.  Thirdly we have to understand that after a while our brain capacity begins to diminish in some way.  There are many more examples that I can use here but I am going to end and begin with God’s brain.

God’s brain is eternal and infinite and has always been in existence.  His brain knows and processes every movement that ever has been thought about and completed by every living thing, and yes dad, even cats. J  God’s mind created everything that we know of on this earth and placed it its environments.  God’s mind created the laws of thermodynamics, the laws of gravity, and many other forces of nature that keep us and our planet stable.  On this subject I could go on with many other examples as well but I am going to end with these.

Can anyone say for sure what God’s brain actually looks like?  We were created in His image, so one could say that we do.  But to what limitation are we placing on God when we try to figure out His timing and His thoughts.  To be honest I really have to ask for forgiveness from God while I am writing this message, why?  Because I have actually placed a limitation on God’s mind because my finite mind is making an assumption about something that is infinite.  So what makes humans believe that they can know when God is going to complete a task?  How do we know how God will respond to our questions and needs the minute before He fulfills them?  Actually, most of us, including myself, have received many answers from God about certain situations that we totally missed because we were looking and expecting a totally different answer.

There is a story that I heard a while back and it goes something like this:  A man had a dream one night and he was taken directly to God’s throne.  God began the conversation by asking the man a few questions and the man politely responded.  The man, while answering the questions, looked around the area and then realized he was in heaven and then asked God if he was dead.  God said no that he was only dreaming but what he saw and heard was real.  The man asked if it was true that one second in God’s mind was the same as 1000 years in a man’s mind; God answered yes that is true.  After a few more interactions God then said that the man’s time in heaven was over and that he needed to continue with his sleep.  As the man was “returning” to earth he stopped and turned around to ask God for a favor.  He asked God, if He could give him a 1 million dollar gift and God immediately spoke to the man in His own gentle way and said, sure…in a minute.

The story is a good example of a finite mind versus an infinite mind and the way both think.  God’s mind operates in ways that we as humans cannot explain, or can we honestly understand and it really does not say how His mind operates on a functioning level.  There is nothing wrong with us trying to figure out God and the plan He has for the world, in fact it is part of our nature to be inquisitive about the things we do not know.  There I go again, placing God in a box with my mind.

It is well known that there have been many religious people and church organizations that have tried to guess when Jesus is going to return to earth.  The Bible clearly states that only God knows when the end will come and when Jesus returns to earth; how vain it is for a human to lift himself above this statement and believe that God would tell anyone else before He tells His son to go get His bride.  We have been given a very minute peek at what is going to happen in he world and it is really exciting to watch unfold as humans try to do their best to correct problems and situations on their own, only to have them inch closer to the small peek.

Let us imagine for a second that God did show us a detail on an infinite level.  How would our minds possibly process that type of information?  Yes, God shows us things that we have to sometimes think about or write down or repeat over and over in our heads, but all of these concepts are given to us on our level.  Each tidbit of information is specifically made finite so that we can comprehend its meaning.  In no way am I demeaning our existence as humans, we are the elite creation of God and His pride and joy; but because of our nature and the pattern of sin that we have inherited we are limited to what we can accomplish and comprehend.

It is God’s desire to show us the plan that He has for our lives.  It is also His desire to communicate with us on a daily basis.  It is our lives that He truly loves enough that He sent His son to die for us so that we may have a direct link to Him.  The only way that this link is possible is for us to recognize that God is our creator, leader and savior.  We need to restore our relationship with Him and let Him guide us and show us the things that He wants us to understand.  Not all of us will be shown the same information that is a part of our individuality that God has placed into our lives.  So when others say to us that God has shown them this be excited and realize that God has placed another piece of grand puzzle together through our communication lines. 

Also know that He will not show us specific things that deal with His Kingdom and the future actions of His Kingdom.  Even the prophets in the Bible who told of things going to come had the authority to say such things because of the acts of the people at that moment or actions that they have accepted into their lives.  Yes minor details have been given to us of our future but you can rest assured that more details will be known when that time occurs.  I cannot tell a person what to do but in my opinion, I say let us all stop trying to focus on what the future holds, keep it in mind however, and try and do what Jesus commanded us to do which is to go unto all the world preaching His Kingdom to those who do not know.

DLB

Rosie Tough

Rosie Tough

1/24/12

The first settlers came to this country in the early 1600s the people that ventured to these shores knew that things were not going to be easy.  Even though scouting reports had promised great potential the reports also determined that many obstacles would present themselves during each seasonal cycle.  These people had to be mentally, physically and spiritually sound in order to have any success in this venture.  As time went along we all know the story of the first settlers to this country and the demise that was bestowed upon them.  This could have been the end of our country, even before it truly began but hard work, determination and boldness prevailed.  Our country once again faces an enemy but this time our enemy is from within and the free country that we live in today must brace itself once again for this turmoil, but for us to see victory we must truly change.  Our land has never tolerated stagnant people, it demands hard work to control its harsh responses and we humans must adjust accordingly.

The Jamestown settlement and many other settlements in the beginning of our history have provided a thorough review of how ideas that seemed impossible could be accomplished when man puts his mind and heart into it.  Even though this example proved to be a disaster it formed the basis of a land that still survives today.  This does not mean that these people did not give it their best when times became tough and pure thinking was required.  The settlers did everything in their power to obtain the necessary supplies for their survival which sustained them for as long as possible, but eventually time, health issues, food needs and other severe living conditions prevailed over their consorted efforts.  The colonists found themselves dying at a rapid pace and realized that it was time to return to England; with their heads hung low and many relatives being left behind lying in the ground they went back home to try to start their lives over once again.

The depression was another example of a time when this country was in dire need of daily miracles in order to survive.  Almost every person in this land was affected by this economic fiasco; this included both the people that lived in the cities and the people in rural areas.  People of every cultural heritage pulled together and helped each other out as much as they could; providing means whenever and however they could in order to help out the fellow countryman and his respective family.  Yes, there were some people who did not make it through this time but the vast majority did and after the living conditions began to improve, the entire country emerged as a better place.  But it was during this period that people learned to depend on one another once again to pull themselves through tough times.  The people that are still living today that experienced this disastrous period will tell you that even though they do not wish to relive those days again, it did bring everyone closer together not only in the family setting but also as a cohesive country.

The last example I am going to use in this message concerns the American Civil War.  There is no more horrible excuse for mankind to deliberately destroy itself and to destroy one’s own countryman defiles the word humanity all together.  War itself and the actions of the participants in war defy all human logic towards civility still do not compare to wars that involve one’s own family fighting against each other in the same battles.  When brothers are forced to aim a weapon against his brother or if a son draws a sword against his father, this is the true definition of brutality and crimes against humanity.  Still, this country fought a long war in this manner and eventually settled its differences enough to end the bloodshed. 

These are only a few examples that I have chosen to use but there are thousands more like them.  I have only dealt with a few aspects of each of the above examples but I believe I have made the direction of this message clear.  It takes hard work to develop this land it takes even harder work to establish it as a nation.  This process has been exemplified for almost two hundred and forty years and until this day this nation has stood strong and tall and had one goal in its heart.  Hard work had to be attained to end these wars, areas of desolation and economic woes.  Hard work has been the backbone of this nation ever since its beginnings and hard work needs to return to this nation before its foundations crumble.

Throughout history individuals have proven themselves of having brilliant ideas in solving the problems of the community, state, province, etc and when these ideas are presented to the higher ups they are greeted with exhilarating results because the entire team has contributed to the ideas.  This is the prime example of everyone working together in order to provide for the better of the public.  These people that got the job done per say all functioned in one common goal and ignored their personal interests and did what was right for the area at the time.  They did not place personal greed into the project nor did they place personal gain as the sole motivation for the completion of the project.  They were united in their ideas and their only goal was to make things work.

These examples of courage, humility, determination and just plain hard work kept this country intact and have made our land more productive than any other country in the world.  Many of our history classes from elementary rooms all the way through to the college courses do not place enough emphasis on these times and how we Americans stood tall and strong during these times.  One common cornerstone that this country has relied upon over the centuries is God.  We may not have always expressed God to others in our thoughts but our actions have spoken His word throughout the world on a continual basis.  This common cornerstone has been the one rock that has forged this nation into the nation that she is today, but sadly, this nation has begun to turn from this cornerstone and began another mission towards individuality.

In watching the news each day one can gather that this country is not the only one that is having trouble on a national scale.  Many countries are facing similar situations and it does not seem like much effort is being placed into the recovery mode.  Instead, governmental agencies are butting heads over who is right and who made bad decisions which are further dividing each land.  This is not progress by any means and it sure does not help the togetherness policies that everyone is wishing for.  Within these divisions has risen the anti God views and how we are better off without God directing our lives.

Many of the people who do not believe in God mock God along with those who do believe in Him.  They tear down His name at every turn and thumb their noses at Him, all in the name of freedom.  Even the people that do go to church cannot agree on the fundamental principles that God provides for us in the Bible.  The theologians and all of their legalistic whims make a mockery of the Bible and all of the laws that God wrote.  This mockery has filtered down to the pulpit level and is displayed on a daily basis when these ministers accept the rule of law in the land and refuse to teach the laws of God.  We as a society continue to push God and His principles out of our lives all the while embracing a secular individuality that allows us to proceed with our own agendas.  This current policy will not give us any answers that will help with our situations in fact it will only cause more problems down the road, some of which will be presented to us in a very short time.

If we allow ourselves to be governed by God, He will see to it that all of our needs are provided for on a continual basis.  We do not have to be fanatics about this process but I believe that the lifestyles that we will portray to the world will be on a fanatical level that cannot be compared to in any other event in history.  We as humans do need strict rules for the careless options that we have chosen in our past, but these new guidelines will seem less strict on our personal lives if we just live within the standards that are given to us by God which in turn will drive away any concern about becoming financial life beggars to society whilst we bask in every luxury known to man.

As one politician has campaigned, it is time for a change.  And once again we have witnessed man’s changes on what he believes and not what God believes.  We also have witnessed the failure of man’s change and how it is actually harming society instead of providing answers.  The answers that man’s beliefs will provide will always fall short of what everyone is expecting and needing.  The only time man will receive the answers that he needs is when he turns to God, the one TRUE God, and shapes his mind and heart in God’s terms.

Let us hope that we once again find way quickly and turn our hearts back to God and restore His light within our lives so that we may know true light on the path this country is leading.  And in this likeness it is our responsibility to turn back towards the one person who can guide us through these times, that One person is none other than God.

What better way to learn this concept than through restoration.  Restoration means that someone, some group, some country, or continent has fallen short in some manner but has made the hard decision to return to their roots and begin again.  This is not due to failure or to a defeat but a realization that things have been done wrong and it is time for a real change of heart, a change so dramatic that it completely rearranges your thinking process.  A change that recharges your heart with the Godly energy that perfects personal decision making, all areas of growth patterns, and life development plans, all with the aspects of a covenant relationship with God.

I chose the title of this message as Rosie Tough and you probably have guessed it by now of whom I am referring to.  Yes it is Rosie the Riveter and the symbol that she stood for during World War II.  Rosie was a symbol to everyone in this country that together we could complete anything for the American cause and that united we could defeat any enemy.  There is no way that this country can survive disaster after disaster if God is not our eternal symbol of freedom.  We may believe that our freedom of speech, choice, understanding, kindness, rudeness, insubordination, etc, etc is a right and that our rights are the most important manner of life, but if this is the case then we have forgotten who gave us those rights and who gave us the desire to be free.  Who better to guide us in this process than the person who made it and understands it more than we can ever imagine. 

DLB

Church Do Not Allow Yourself to Become Bound by Acts of Humans

Church Do Not Allow Yourself to Become Bound by Acts of Humans

The church is a body that needs to be free to operate in all manners of its existence without being bound in relations with humans.  The church should have no part in manners in which speak of people demanding things be done their way or being placed into a circumstance where some material article can be held over its head.  The church faces many spiritual obstacles on a daily basis it does not need to be subdued in human matters where its growth can be inhibited.  It is known that humans make up the church and they are vital to the establishment, building, growth and mission of the church but they should not have a personal capacity to dictate how the church completes this commandment to preach to the world the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Contributing humans always have a great ambition to do what is right or to perceive that they are doing right.  This quality of humans is a noble one in that it can allow for great progress for the advancement of the specific idea that is to be undertaken.  The thought of being able to be involved in the actual planning, funding, building and dedicating the finished idea allows the person to believe that the project was theirs.  Is this a bad situation that has been allowed to happen?  I believe not as long as the people involved in these areas realize and understand that the final decisions must be made by the church leaders and the professional workers and not the individuals of the church.

When you have people who wish to project themselves as a leader of a church project, no matter what the project might be, needs to be made aware at the beginning of the process that all major decisions that need to be made will be conducted at the appropriate church level and no other options will be considered.  This stance may cause some twinges in the beginning but I can guarantee these twinges would become major quakes if allowed to participate any further.  It is true that the church depends on human activity for its financial stability and it is also true that the church needs humans to fill its congregational status.  But when the church itself allows humans to produce the works that God commanded us to do, then the church becomes limited in its spiritual authority to advance the Kingdom of God.  Humans should give to the church willingly and then step back and let the church complete the mission that it was destined for.

I am going to give you a few examples of the church being handcuffed as it were in similar situations involving humans.  Upon the death of Callistus II on 13 December 1124, the majority of the college of Cardinals reached agreement on the election of Cardinal Sasso of Saint Stephen’s Church in Rome, but the powerful Pierleone family opposed him, and just three days later, they were able to force the election of Cardinal Theobald of Saint Anastasia who took the name of Celestine II.  But the new pope barely had time to don the red cloak and intone the Te Deum, a hymn of praise, before the Frangipanis burst into the papal apartments with swords drawn, wounding him and forcing him to abdicate.

Subsequently, by agreement with Aymeric of Burgundy, Cardinal Lambert Scannabecchi of Ostia was elected as Pope Honorius II.  The Pierleone family decided to accept this election in exchange for large sums of money and promises of favors.  In short the papal vote was bought by a certain family within the local community and the family’s control of papal decisions was biased for many years to come.  The effects on this act eventually affected the entire Catholic Church.

The second example is not going to make any great news around the world but it is an example that involved myself and was actually not resolved until about fifteen years ago; given that this incident occurred back in the early 1980s.  This incident had to do with a building project that the church had been planning for quite some time.  The financial means for the project could have been met a bit further down the road and the clergy and church members were all in agreement that this should be the case. 

However, one of the church members approached the pastor and spoke with him and the board about financing the project so that the completion could be sooner rather than later.  This man had prestige within the community and could get things done at a faster pace than would the average business man.  Everyone in the authoritative positions met and agreed that this would be a good idea.  As time progressed the plans for the project became clearer and things were travelling at the appropriate speed.  A detail came into light that needed to be fixed and this detail, what seemed to be a minor issue, actually became the cornerstone for a gigantic collapse.  The person who was financing the project did not agree with the decision about the fixed issue and threatened to pull out of the project.  The end result was that the church was hindered in a project that was supposed to be used for God’s Kingdom and to be a testament to the same Kingdom.

I cannot speak for the medieval participants in the first example about their intentions, but I believe that their actions speak volumes to us in ways that we need to take heed in the elections of current people in authority.  I honestly believe that the individuals involved in the second example probably did not begin their quest as haughty figures that would produce actions that would eventually lead to the fall of the project and to some extent their personal relationship with God.  However in both examples given, people were hurt and upset with the decisions that were made, and from reading the historical passages and personally reflecting upon the events I can only gather to conclude that Kingdom of God was hindered by individuals that took more pride in their personal feelings than knowing what was best for the Kingdom.

This list of incidents within church communities is endless and can have many volumes attributed to this subject.  The amount of examples in this message is not important but the content of these examples is extremely important for us to realize and to grasp.  I believe that these acts hinder the church in an unspeakable manner even to the point of the church becoming gilded and prostituted.  I have no doubt that the intentions of these people were honest in nature and that they may have truly set out to advance God’s Kingdom.  But what changes occur in our hearts that we begin to believe that we are the center of the church or its development within the community?

Do not get me wrong donating time, money and dedication to the church and its advancement is a wonderful idea and there are many examples of these acts in the Bible, but we must remain faithful to the cause of Jesus when we are performing these acts of gratitude.  Not only are these types of acts examples but other smaller and more defined acts are included in this order.  Worship leaders, lay ministers, deacons, ushers, security personnel, and any other role a person has within a church needs to be completed with nothing but love for the church and not for personal gain.

Now let me turn to the personal side of these issues.  Some of the people that are associated with the church actually recognize these situations and become despondent with the situation.  Some address it but others tend to ignore the conditions and become unhappy and eventually leave.  Restoration is the only way for these people who have witnessed these types of acts or have been directly involved in the actions somehow to be healed and to recover fully in the body of Christ.

The second example occurred while I was a teenager and being in my teenage years, and being a typical boy, I really did not pay too much attention to what was going on around me, with the exception of girls J  Most of the time things were comfortable at my place of residence but when things were tense I could tell.  With hours of eavesdropping, asking questions and putting things together in my head I came to the conclusion that something was not well with the church building project.  Continued eavesdropping episodes proved that I was correct and I found out enough details to also figure out the source of the tension.  Now my brain was trying to figure things out and answer the question of why someone would do this. 

Since my parents would not discuss church business with me, which was the correct thing to do, I had to continue perfecting my eavesdropping abilities to satisfy my curiosity and finally it paid off and I knew who the individual was.  I also became a tad miffed that the individual involved was upsetting not only my father but some other people in the church.  But even with me being kept out of the loop I could not help but notice that the issue at hand was beginning to have an effect on more and more people and that the situation became prominent even in the youth of the church.  Some of these people slowly began to leave the church and the direction of the church had now been altered. 

Eventually the situation calmed down and the dust settled as they say.  It was clear that the church was intact and was still headed in the right direction.  But the church was minus people that should have been involved in its mission; for it was these people who left, it was their desire to win people to the Kingdom and to see the Kingdom of God moved forward.  What a cost it was for the church to recover after a simple matter became out of control.

After moving to Delta and approximately two decades down the road an event occurred that opened my eyes to a root.  There had been some services that dealt with some of the spiritual aspects of life and how they impact our lives without us even knowing they existed.  For some reason God placed it on my heart to review the events that occurred in a small community a long time ago.  As I began to think about things, specific memories came to the forefront of my thoughts and it all had to deal with the building project so many years ago.  I did not understand how this could have been an issue now and even more bizarre was how it was affecting me at that time.  The more and more I thought about the situation I began to realize that some of my behavior patterns and belief patterns about relationships could be traced back to that event so many years ago.  It was confusing at first because I was not even directly involved with the church decisions at the time and it really did not have any bearing on my life, so I thought.

As I was talking with mom and dad about this it became clear to me that this event had become a root in my life and that I needed to do something about the root and soon!  After I had identified the root and as I traced some of my present actions of mine backwards, it dawned on me how an incident that had nothing to do with me, that I overheard and then saw occurring, could have an effect on my decision making years down the road.  That was when I knew I had to get rid of this root before it did any more damage to my inner self and to my present and future relationships with others.  Yes relationships with other people can be determined by past actions of individuals that are close to you or your family’ community.

Once I found out this root and I had up-rooted it from my life I had to burn that root so that it would not return in any form again.  The only way I found that I could do this was to restore this individual to his former position in my life.  See this person was very close to our family and was my brother’s best man in his wedding, we had family dinners together on many occasions, went to ballgames and countless church functions together.  His restoration was the only way that I could be released from this stranglehold on my life, a stranglehold that I did not even know existed until the spoken word of God revealed this condition.  I guess you could say that this event was the beginning of my quest for people to be restored back to God.

This man died some years ago but those roots are still there in many people’s lives.  Even though I did not get to personally tell him of what occurred in my life I know that through God the restoration process was completed before he left this earth.  I have no doubt that this man was a Christian and that his boys know God in the fullest of ways, but I also know that this man’s family is back on level terms with my family.  Always remember that one person or group of people may begin a process, but it must be known that other parties involved, directly or indirectly, in that process are all subject to the restoration process.  Restoration occurs on both sides of the aisle at the same time, in other words, if one side is not restored then the other side is not restored either.

This next part is a little bit off the subject but it does have direct relations to the issue stated above concerning the building of the new church building.  I spoke to the church in Delta about this situation a long time ago.  Even though it had nothing to do with the people in Delta, it had everything to do with them about the roots that can influence their decisions.  Even though I was not in direct contact with any of the process that had occurred, the spirit that had been around me did have an influence on me. 

Please do not mistake my words as being against individuals in the church helping out to finish a project.  It is an awesome thing to help construct a church or to take part in some church project but that is all it should be, taking part to further the church and its mission and for the participation not to be for one’s own gain.  But it is of the utmost importance that the church realizes that it must NOT place itself into any position where we must answer to man first.  The church cannot be held hostage by others who believe their agenda is greater than the God’s.

Restoration…no matter what your situation with the church might have been the restoration process is a necessity in your life and a process that must be completed so that God’s Kingdom can once again move forward in the manner that it was created.  The Kingdom can only be moved forward when the church, that is us, are in unity for a common goal.  That means all major differences that involve the church are non-existent and every thought of the church dwells on the advancement of God’s kingdom.  When this is happening, all personal sightings are not on the table and all acts of the flesh are prohibited by the spirit, which moves the church down the spiritual road of completion.  This is an example of a church that is one agreement.

Quick publishing note here; the example of Pope Honorius II comes from the book The Templars by Barbara Frale and the second example came from my past J

Is Your City Lit?

Is Your City Lit?

1/15/12

Ever consider yourself as big as a city?  Or having as much power as a city has, both in the size of that city and in the influence to other cities around the area?  A city on a hill cannot be hidden, both during the night time hours and during the day.  One city, that does not change its geography but can still effect the environment in both day and night.  A human has a greater authority than a city, because we have the ability to change other people’s surroundings.  Let’s see what happens when we place ourselves as that city and let us look at both scenes and determine if our lighting is correct, appropriate and adequate.

There is a story in the Bible where Jesus talks about us being a light on a hill and how a city on a hill cannot be hidden.  It is common for us to attribute this scene during the dark hours of time, in other terms, at night.  All of us know that this statement is obvious in these conditions, even when storms are in the area the lights of a city can be seen in adverse times.  The lights of a city serve for many reasons that stretch from protection as one is walking home from work to guidance for the traveler on the road that passes through the area.  

The focus of this message is going to be on the daytime and not so much on the nighttime lighting of a city.  In no way I am saying that either of the two conditions is better than the other, but for this message I am going to speak about the importance of the lighting and positioning of the city during the day.

There is a mountain range that is very close to my town and it is called the grand Mesa.  It is actually the world’s tallest flat top mountain and it is a beautiful sight to see when he seasons change.  The mountain does not move at all but the light that shines on the mesa during the daytime hours provides one of the most amazing views that I have known.  The colors on the mountain change as the sun rises in the sky and provides a majestic image of beauty that as one gaze at the mountain can only claim that God could have made such a feat.

As the sun creeps along the side of the mountain the colors seem to change almost minute by minute.  Some parts of the mountain are not in full color but other parts are; a bit later that part that you think is so beautiful has changed and another part takes its place, and then another and then another.  Not all people are going to believe that the area you think is beautiful at that moment in time but may think the other parts are.  The link to this scenario is the light that shines down onto the mountain and how as the moments pass someone in the area will notice a certain thing about that mountain that catches their eye and will take notice.

A city at night is surrounded by darkness and needs to have some type of light illuminating so that people in the area can see where the location of the city is; now apply this concept to our lives.  Darkness always represents the opportunity for bad things to happen.  Throughout history the majority of the crimes human commit are performed at night.  Darkness allows stealth activity to approach the area without being noticed.  So, for this part of the message you can see that having lights provided to others it is important so that we can see the coming attacks.  Lights from a city point the way to safety or guidance to end a long journey home.

A city during the day serves for another purpose.  A purpose that may be even more important at least just as important as the night lights of the city.  As you will guess there are not many lights that are illuminated in the city during this time period.  This too is common knowledge to humans.  The human eye can sharply distinguish the obstacles in their path during the daytime and unless the immediate conditions are severely limited, a person can easily maneuver around without too much difficulty.  The human eye can also focus in on the personal activity of the city and can tell its general functions as the minutes pass.  The human senses can gather almost all of the important information that one needs to predict the cities next move, add this intelligence to the knowledge already accrued by the person before entering into the city and this person has already made a formidable accession of the area.  A city just does not sit there and not project images to the people it comes in contact with.

So why is a city lights so important during the day if the humans who come in contact with this city already can find their way around?  It is not the lighting of the city that is important in this situation it is the light that flows upon the city that is important.  The city is not going to move anywhere and will not change much in a short period of time.  The lights of the city are placed in positions that serve the city to their best possible outputs.  Photographers understand this concept quite well.  If the lighting is not just right the entire picture will not turn out perfect.  Lighting that hits the object that is being photographed is too bright, or it is shining in the wrong direction the entire setting is not appealing to the one that wishes the picture taken.

Which brings us to the question of how does your city look when the sun is shining on it?  Are your actions providing a good reflection to others when in the natural light or is it providing a scene of make believe that others notice while we pretend not to notice.  See, the light that shines on the city during the day is a bright one and allows all of the above situations to play out, it is a light that comes from the sun and hides nothing from others. 

When we take this example and apply it to our lives God becomes the light that shines through our lives and is in turn reflected outwards towards others for them to see.  We are there doing our daily activities and not technically witnessing to others, but in the eyes of others we are.  Their keen sense of sight is set upon us like no other sense, which brings into play their ears and then their mind and eventually their mouths.  All of this occurs because the provided light through us has caught their attention and then become interested, or frightened by what they see.  God’s light will not waiver in its passing.  It is ever present through our lives and will provide answers that people are looking for, what will God’s light show when it passes through you?

I need to have a little caveat about ghost towns.  All of us know that ghost towns were once towns that had life and inhabitants with a thriving community support system in place.  For a multitude of reasons these towns began to die and people left until the entire area was desolate with activity.  These towns still exist and have the light of God shining through them but these towns become useless to society and eventually were forgotten.  It is sad to know that there are many ghost towns that are “thriving” within the church.

I consider people who are not actively participating in God’s mission to be included in the ghost town category.  The ones who sit in the pughs and chairs and do not go and witness to the outside world; they believe that have their ticket punched to heaven and are waiting on God to take them home.  This activity has become very popular in the church and this activity serves as a doorway for Satan to place his ideas into our heads that go contrary to God’s word.  I will go as far to say that this type of activity, or non activity, has placed the church in an inactive and vulnerable place in the world and is now facing scrutiny from its leadership down to the new converts.  This non-activity of the people has reflected a distorted view of God and has turned the eyes of others away from God and has given them no reason to see the beauty of His creation.

None of us are exempt from the ghost town appearance in our lives and I include myself in this category.  All of us have walked by many people in our lives and our city lights have reflected these people away.  God places people into our pathways for a reason and when He allows this event to occur it is a sign that God is in control and that through your actions He is actually speaking to the people that have encountered your light.  Through your actions the door to their lives is open and God will raise questions in these people that someday may ask you to answer.  These silent opportunities occur due to the relationship you have with God and this relationship is supernaturally (spiritually) is transferred to other people’s spirits.  At the same time some of our reflections will give these people with questions the answers that they are not looking for and could provide them with a false idea of the love God has for them.

The sun shining on the city (our lives) represents the Son and His light provides light to others even though we are not verbally witnessing to these people.  The actions that we protrude define this light for these people and allow them to see the city that God so desperately loves and wishes to comfort.  The people that see us come in all shapes and sizes which include close friends, people passing by and family members.  All of us come into contact with people every day that do not know God and have no clue that He wishes to have a relationship with them.  Here is something that you need to keep in mind God is in control of everything that occurs in everything that we can imagine, including personal lives.  I hope that you realize that He can allow people to “bump” into each other for what seems the most unlikely of situations; and can repeat the process as necessary until the reasons are completed.  Let us have our city ready to serve others when God’s light shines through us towards someone else’s direction.

DLB

Don't Believe The Hype

Don’t Believe The Hype

 1/11/12

If a person who is from the country atmosphere or that came from a third world country would have the opportunity to see the glitter and glamour of the fast paced modern world, of course they would be awe-struck and probably would have a hard time comprehending what was actually taking place around them.  For us that live in the modern society and experience this style of behavior, it seems like a commonality between all parties involved.  But to what extent are we let down when we realize that this life that we embrace as normal offers us nothing in return but worn out shoes.

No matter what you read on the internet, see in the news, or hear on the radio it all revolves around the pomp and circumstance of the modern world.  Even the technology that we believe we need to function contributes to this belief and enables our minds to function in a capacity that in itself is mind boggling.  We have learned to thrive in this lifestyle without having to motivate ourselves to complete the day.  It is exciting for us to brag about how busy our day was or what party we are going to after work or how long we plan on dancing at the club tonight, but are these things considered the necessities of life that we need to live?

How many of us actually take a few minutes at the end of our work day and look back to see the accomplishments that we have made over the past few hours.  What about the same question but over our work week?  I can guarantee that all of have looked back at our work day and said “get me out of here” or something to that effect.  We toil at our jobs and go home beat down and tired and not willing to let the day go without a fight before we go to bed; oh yeah, tomorrow.

We finally get a day off and what do most of us do….go, go, go.  Our days off are so filled with activities, chores, and other things to be done that we do not even have the opportunity to enjoy our time away from work or to enjoy time with our families.  Our entertainment schedule becomes the highlight of our time away that we spend so much energy towards getting prepared for the big event that we forget to relax and give ourselves time to slow down and take in the moment, which will not come around again for a while.

After the day or week is done, what do we have left?  An empty shell of a body that is so tired that it cannot think straight has nothing to look forward to but a bed to lie in and prepare for the next day.  Our minds turn to the events and schedule of tomorrow and how we are going to complete all of the known tasks that are assigned to us.  And then it hits us, we forgot to call our mother and wish her a happy birthday!!  We look at our watch and it is too late to call now.

It was 1988 and I was living in Camden, Arkansas with my parents and working at the local hospital in the emergency room.  I had made the decision to join the military and was waiting for my turn to leave for basic training.  Weekly check-ins with my recruiter continued to uplift my hopes as time drew nearer and nearer.  Daily workout activities continued to prepare me for the physical aspects of basic training but what I was not being told about was the mental aspect that those six weeks would have on my bearing.

November rolled around and I was off to Lackland AFB, San Antonio, Texas.  I arrived late in the afternoon and was met by a representative from the USAF.  Myself and about 15 other guys and girls were escorted to a small holding room and left there for what seemed days.  A couple of hours later and the door opened and a few more joined our party; a quick head count and then the representative left us once again.  A sudden knock on the door and two MPs came in and told us to stand up and get ready to leave.  We then formed two lines and walked out to the bus.

Day one of basic training had just begun and boy was it different.  We were met at the bus by a very large man wearing a military uniform and a smokey the bear hat.  He did not say much but yelled a lot.  We got on the bus and it was clear that the mental games had begun.  He took another head count and then told the driver to leave the area; within a few minutes we were at the main gate of the Air Force Base.  We were then ambushed by six other drill instructors that hitched a ride with us to the processing center.  

The processing center time went smoothly and after a short while another group arrived and sat down next to us.  In all there were about two hundred of us in the room before the proceedings began.  One by one the people at the front called out names and sent those people off into different directions.  We were being assigned our flight numbers and told which bus to take and pointed into the direction of the appropriate bus. At this bus was when we met the drill instructor that would be over us for six weeks of training.  We did not meet his friends until we got to the squadron overhang; that is when the “fun” stuff began.

Oh the funny lines that were begin thrown out across the individual flights, they were hilarious but you dared not laugh for if you did an entire group of instructors would descend upon you and would rake you over the coals.  It was well after midnight when we were allowed to get to bed, but as we climbed into our bunks we noticed that there were many beds still empty; these would be filled by the remaining members of our flight at about 0200 in the morning.

A couple of days passed and the pace began to increase a bit and the mind games continued at a soaring level.  Do this and do that and you have no time to complete these things and complaints about how you did them when you thought you were finished.  Bed checks produced garbage cans rolling down the center aisle and how the drill instructors would love to through clothes all over the bay.  All of this activity was being dished out for a purpose, to bring us into a collective so that we would operate and function as one unit.  For the military purposes this is a wonderful thing and it teaches us to function in this manner so that we stay alive when times are bad.  But until recently have I realized that this method of training is actually how the world institutionalizes our lives into functioning in this fast paced capacity.

Then…hard times set in, we got a new drill instructor that believed he was God and he let us know about his authority from the moment he walked into the room.  I am not going to dwell on his name or any personal feature of this man but even though it has been almost 25 yrs ago, I can even remember the color of his eyes.  He calmly walked through our day room throwing people around and slapping them in the face and I will never forget the huge fireman that was in our flight that he punched right in the stomach and then began to berate him after he found out his vocation.  All of this was part of the training, but we did not see it this way.

Our flight, instead of coming together literally fell apart and we began to argue amongst ourselves.  Our squad leaders were constantly yelling at us and always in turmoil with the dorm chief.  Now we had to deal with angry squad leaders and a dorm chief that was nuts, in my opinion.  It was at this time that we began to look at ourselves and wonder if we had made the correct decision about joining the military.

As the next few days passed, tensions grew between our drill instructor and some of our flight members.  His brutality was becoming a problem to some and talk began of turning him in for abuse.  Many suggestions were made in squad meetings and then given to the dorm chief for action.  The eventual decision was made that we would report him to the Major and see what would become of the situation.

BAD MISTAKE!!!!!  The one thing that we had not learned yet is that people in the military, no matter what the circumstances are, do NOT abandon their friends in time of need.  Boy, almost immediately we had a hornet’s nest of angry drill instructors breathing down our throats.  They tore our bay apart and then got mad J  It was not a pretty sight at all and it was all because we could not see the hype that had been built around us; we fell apart and fell down on the job.

Being last in line for chow or showers became annoying and frustrating.  Being laughed at and scoffed at by the other drill instructors when they pass by became a game to them, we were the lowest of the low and it seemed that no redemption was possible.  Flight 071 had its reputation all around the squadron, but what we did not realize was that it was all part of the training and that one day soon things would look brighter.

It was not until 4 weeks into basic training that things began to change and the truth about our flight began to be claimed.  The flight begin to think about all of the activities that we had done and how much we had been through, it seemed quite a bit to be honest but we deserved it.  We realized that we fell into a trap created by our instructors to get us to act and react to difficult situations.  We believed the hype that they created and how cleverly, or stupidly on our part, they incorporated it into the entire squadron. 

At this same time, our instructors began to praise some of the activities that we completed, but their heavy handed control over our moves was still evident on a personal level.  While they are beginning to accept us as airmen, their authority continued to under mind any thought we had that we “had arrived”.  The name calling and shouting began to calm down but the phrases still filled our ears throughout the day. 

I remember when the entire flight realized the entire plan that the instructors had constructed for us.  We were marching along to the medical facility to receive our final shots when our drill instructor commanded us to halt.  He put us “at ease” for a few moments.  To our front we could see a rainbow flight approaching.  A rainbow flight is a flight that the recruits have not received their military uniforms yet and the members are still in their civilian clothes. 

There is a formal drill called “eyes right” that can be performed while a flight or squadron is marching.  This procedure usually is done under formal conditions as in parades or at graduation.  However, on this day our instructor had other plans for this drill exercise.  As the other flight approached our instructor noticed to which side the approaching flight was taking, which in a few seconds they would pass on our right.  As the rainbow flight approached our drill instructor placed us at attention.  When the flight was a few paces from our squad leaders, our instructor gave the command for “eyes left”.  All of us turned our heads to the left as the rainbow flight passed.  After the flight passed our instructor gave the command for “eyes forward” and then again brought us to “at ease”.

He then proceeded to inform us that the reason that he gave that specific command was so that we would not get any ideas into our heads and begin to mess the flight up again as we were when we were considered a young flight.  I put this part of the story here because Satan will remind us of where we have come from and will try to burden us with the details of our past.

How many times have we subjected ourselves to these same terrifying conditions in our daily lives?  The world loves to call us names and beat us down; it is the way the world responds to our existence in its presence.  How else are we to behave when we believe that the world owns our every move and forces us to conform to its posture and serve its molecular crazes?  What specific conditions form this world that we live in such that we are consumed in its environment, totally engrossed as to blind us from the path that we have chosen?  It is the broad path of self that has brought us to this place, and this self that has become our destiny in this world.

The basic training scene provides us with a similarity of how life and the world treat us.  There are so many activities that are ongoing and we watch them as we pass by and wonder if we will ever make to that level in society and how long it will take us to reach that place.  We run and run our lives at a pace that is not healthy for our bodies and minds all while keeping our eyes on what we might have in the future.  While accomplishing this task for prominence we forget to take care of the details that should be the defining details in our lives and not the ones we remember as our heads hit the bed each night.

The hype that the world brings to our lives can easily be missed by us just as the hype was missed by all of us in basic training.  It is our duty to ignore this hype and keep focused on the goals that are set before us.  When the hype is found out not to be true, we feel cheated and robbed of our time and our emotions.  We as humans place so much value in being accepted and doing a good job that we tend to forget that the world we are trying to impress actually ignores us and spits us out after the fake hype has been revealed.  We feel used and dirty at the end of the day for what, so that we can perform the same duties the next day?

Don’t believe the hype that the world tries to form into your life, but keep your eye steady on God’s word and the plan that He has for your life.  It is a guarantee that this world and everything that it stands for will let you down and when it does it will not care one bit about you or the condition that you are left in when it leaves.  All of us have fit into this category, all of us go through this process every day, and all of us understand that we have to compete in this environment to earn a living but it is a must that we do not fall into the scheme of hype that blind us from life itself.

There is good news!!!  We do not have to conform to the world’s drumbeat and we do not have to transform our lives to this worldly order.  God has provided a restoration plan that will earn us peace and tranquility in life.  This plan will bring back everything that the world has stolen from us and give us rest that is beyond our imagination.  All we have to do is accept His ways and live for Him each day and God will provide a way that would have never been possible before.  Don’t listen to the wide path that the world has to offer, it may look good as we are passing by but in the long run it is a deadly game that we should have no part in playing.  Restore yourself to the one true God and He will see fit to renew your life abundantly. 

End Note:

Three days before we were to graduate from basic training, we had a flight picture taken with all of our drill instructors and any other squadron personnel that had charge over us.  We had a sign in front of us with all of our flight information on it.  Along with our flight information, each flight was required to have a motto that defined their stay while at basic training, ours was easy to come up with and it was a unanimous vote “Don’t Believe The Hype”.  I still remember that phrase and I also remember that picture that was taken on that day.  This message came to me while I was listening to a song that I was playing on the internet; you never know when God is going to speak J

End Note 2:

In no way do I consider the military a bad experience or harsh in any way.  I am just using this example of the relation that we have with hype and how it can affect our decisions when we do not recognize it.  I loved my time in the military and do recommend that option to all young people of this country.

DLB

God Does Give A Honk

God Does Give A Honk

 

1/5/12

 

 

Humans are extraordinary creatures in the manner of lifestyles and the paths that we take during our existence on earth.  The pathways that we endure during our lifetime bring us many objects that can hinder our spirits in many ways.  They are varied and can present interesting stories when we tell them to fellow travelers.  One shared experience is that we all have troubles, we deal with those troubles and we continue with our journey.  Many times we forget that God is a forgiving God and He wants us to listen to His words and follow His examples.  There is a reason that we are here on earth and it may be rough along the way but God does have an answer.

I realize that I have written about this special purpose topic a couple of times now but I want the people who read this message to grasp the truth that you are special and that your life does matter.  I cannot say for sure but I honestly believe that this will not be my last message on this topic; and since God is directing these messages…I let him take the lead.  However, I had no idea that God would use my enthusiasm about geese formations as a part of my restoration process.  I am learning that God has a unique way of letting other people know, along with myself, of how He loves us and how special we are to Him no matter what patterns we display, how many shapes or sizes we have or acquire throughout our life.  I guess we will see in the future how many other examples He will use to let these people know His love for them.  So here goes the message from a human’s view of the formation of flying geese.

 

In the community where I live there is a small wildlife refuge that more geese know about than humans.  It is not large enough to be considered a national park or any tourist attraction but it provides a stopping point for the migrating geese in the fall and in the spring.  This so-called refuge is located on two man-made lakes both of which are within a few miles apart; and to be complete we have to include a few spots along the river as well.  There is always some type of bird species located at one of these spots but not as many in number as Canadian geese.

 

Hundreds of geese fly to this place to complete their daily activities and just do whatever migrating geese do and after a selected amount of time they gather up the troops and off they go.  Some actually decide to stay, for whatever reason, and make this area their home for an extended amount of time.  These geese actually will give birth to their chicks and watch them mature until one day they decided it is time to leave in which they fly away and go on about their business.

Ever since I have been in this area I have loved to stand and watch the geese fly in their formations heading to their next destination.  But lately I have been really interested in how they actually form their flying “V” and I find it just as fascinating of how the geese approach the flying formation, it actually reminds me of how we as humans come to God and the path that we take.  This is not the first time that I have been around migrating birds or any other type of large bird groups but it is the first time that I have made any type of their flying formation and compared it to human life.

Geese on the ground are constantly moving about and making sure that everything in their immediate surroundings is where it is supposed to be.  My youngest daughter does not like the geese ever since one of them got after her thinking she was going to attack the other members of the flock.  Others think it is neat, especially some of the kids, when a goose comes up to us and begins to follow us, look at us and basically just takes an interest in us.  And we all know it is a great feeling to have the opportunity to feed them, remembers doing that when I was a kid.  I do not know about the people reading this message would agree with me but I find it relaxing to sit and watch geese or ducks alongside a pond, river, or lake.

When it is time to leave the area and continue towards the next stop in the journey, one goose takes control of the situation and begins to alarm the others that it is time to leave.  The beginning steps of the flying formation process look and sound like a calamity and can either occur on land or in the water, but it is soon becomes evident that only one goose is going to be the leader of the congregating flock.  The gathering process has a specific amount of time to complete and then without warning the lead goose takes off and the other geese soon join her / him in the air.   The geese on land will waddle around a bit and make a huge racket as they are begin to leave the ground; it takes them a short distance but they are soon in the air.  The same goes for the water based geese in that they make the same amount of racket but the addition of their legs and wings splashing in the water during takeoff is a sight to see.  To be honest it is kind of comical in a certain way but at the same time the job gets done.

 

As I watch the geese begin to take to the air I notice that some of the geese are joining from the land and some are joining from the water and many times the geese are located in the same immediate area.  What is interesting is that not every goose in the area will be joining the flock that is leaving.  To the human eye and common mind it looks, and sounds, like the other geese are not paying attention and actually do not seem to care that some are about to leave the area.  My only thought about this is that for whatever reason the geese that do not leave at that time are not tuned into the one voice at that moment.  I know they hear that voice, but for some reason, they ignore it.

When the geese are airborne they begin to move into the direction of the lead goose.  Each one has its own flight pattern and method of joining the rest of the flock.  They are at different levels in the air, coming from different directions, some in pairs or small groups and others are by themselves but they all have one thing in common they continue to honk and fly towards the lead goose.  But from what I have been told and what I read in my Ornithology class in college, is that the lead goose knows each goose that is following by the sound that they are making.  The lead goose does not stop and wait for the others to join up nor does it fly so fast that the others cannot catch up, but it is at a regular pace so that all who chose to join the formation has the opportunity to fall into their place.

As this scene plays out and some of the geese follow the leader, I am reminded of when Jesus came to each of the disciples and how he convinced them to follow him instead of relying on their daily activities.  Each of them were performing their daily duties and completing the tasks of the day.  Each of them had the choice to accept or reject His offer.  The Bible states that some did not go willingly at first while others greeted Him with open arms.  But I do know that all twelve disciples’ lives changed once the heeded the call from God.  As I watch all the geese take their place in the flying formation, I now think of each person who decides to follow Christ.  All of us come from various cultures, languages, shapes and sizes and as you look at us, none of us are the same.  We arrive into Christ the exact same way. We are wobbly, dirty, smelly and we look like we have been through the ringer but none of us are turned away after hearing the call.         

How many things have we done in our past that we bring into the fold and how many times have we straggled into situations that we regret later on in life.  God is not looking for the perfect person; in fact I compare the perfect person to the geese that hear the call to leave but chose not to follow into another area of life.  God accepts us just as we are and then He will lead us to the next step in our lives.  We cannot change our past experiences including the ones that produce the scars that stay with us forever.  Only God has the capability to heal our pasts and to give us the desire to improve ourselves by using our experience as a guide, smoothing over our scars and picking us up and beginning again.  Never forget that Jesus himself kept the scars that were given to Him by other humans.

Humans have no choice but to travel their own journey through life for it is one of the cruel guarantees in life.  Along this journey we allow ourselves to be placed into situations that can drag us down and sometimes can cloud our direction.  It will always be the individual’s choice to be placed into these situations.  Life can be harsh at times and could take a toll on our wills to survive but even through these times God is our creator and will provide many opportunities for each of them to return to the fold.  So the question is why do we wait so long for our specific time before returning?

The moment we hear God’s voice and lift our eyes towards Him, the restoration process begins.  The process of us joining the flock has commenced even though we are still on the ground we are preparing ourselves for liftoff.  Once we choose to pick ourselves out of the muck that we have been living in, and hear the voice of God calling to us we then have made the decision to rise up out of current conditions and better ourselves with a new leader.  The restoration process makes us look a tad funny to others at times and could even seem impossible to achieve, but as a great coach once said “Never, Never Ever Give Up” because the end result will prove to be a remarkable change in our atmosphere.  We also do not need to forget that there are people still on the ground that are watching us and wondering where we are going.

Even after we have joined God’s flock and are safely “flying” with Him, we will still not be perfect by any means.  If you look at a completed flock in the air it still has flaws in its formation.  Our human form that we all know and love will continue to reap the benefits of nature which always means trials and slip ups.  However, when this occurs we do not have to drag ourselves through the muck once again all we need to do is look back in the direction of God and listen to His voice for correction and guidance.  We must accept the fact that this portion of our life is not going to change while we are still active on this earth, which allows us to trust and depend on God for our eternal safety.  So the next time we see any type of bird flying in a formation or birds trying to get a formation, let us reflect on our lives and remember that we too are trying our best to change towards being a better person for God.  As I stated before I am fascinated with how the formation of a flock of geese actually occurs, just think of how fascinating it is to God when our lives take a turn towards Him which proves that God really does give a honk.

DLB