Bloody Good Show

Bloody Good Show

4/30/13

There are many parts of the body that we can live without and it still makes me stand in awe when I think about how God created our bodies to function when certain areas do not work correctly.  However, blood is not one of these organs and parts that we cannot live without.  Blood is vital to our sustainability and if our blood levels diminish too much our entire body feels the effects of this loss.  If an organ is this important for the complete functioning of our bodies then you know that it must be important in God’s eyes as well.

Over the past decades, researchers have gained more evidence of the importance of the blood that flows through our vascular systems.  For a long period of time mankind did not know much about the blood or its functions but since the development of modern instruments, a great deal has been found out about human blood.  We know now that even the slightest drop in the overall amount of blood in our vessels causes our heart to race which promotes the other organs within our body to work out of sync which if left untreated will produce multiple organ failure.  In short, if our blood volume decreases our bodies cannot survive very long and if left in this condition we will die.

This article is going to be a tad difficult for me to write since it is going to deal with a certain aspect of my job that all of us who work in the medical field dread will happen.  No matter what the setting is in the medical field there is always a possibility that some type of situation like this will occur and as you guessed it, this scene played out.  But God reminded me of this incident and told me that there was a purpose in this scene that everyone should know.  It is the importance of blood and what blood does even after it escapes the body and how precious it really is to God.

Working in the clinical laboratory setting our main purpose is to test blood samples; at least, that is what we are most famous or infamous for.  With the modern technology that has been made possible to us the amount of human errors that occurred within the laboratory has significantly dropped but being human occasionally something will happen with a specimen and that certain patient may have to return for another draw.  This type of scene in the laboratory is not a good event to experience since people are partial to their blood and would like to keep as much as possible.

One type of lab accident in the lab is when one of us drops a specimen tube.  It rarely happens and for the most part, will not affect anything since the specimen tubes are plastic now, but once in a while a tube will be dropped and a portion of the blood will spill onto the floor of the lab, or on any other surface that is around when the tube falls.  Now there is not very much blood that is contained within the specimen tubes but if anyone has ever witnessed blood splattering on a surface when it comes in contact with the surface, then they would know that it really makes a huge mess even though it may only be a few drops that have been spilled.

Of course we as laboratory professionals really get embarrassed when this happens and we do our best to clean up the mess as soon as possible because we know that ridicule is coming our way when our fellow colleagues find out what happened, not to mention the total embarrassed state we will be in if the patient has to return for another draw.  As reality sets in and we stand over the spill for a few seconds trying to ascertain how much damage has been done, we then begin the cleanup process.  This process is not the easiest of procedures since blood is considered a biohazard and the spill if large enough has to have special removal precautions taken in order for proper cleanup to be done.  Even if the spill is only a few drops of blood the mess looks like someone had stuck a pig and blood went everywhere. 

Blood has its own unique consistency that makes the cleaning up process interesting.  It is difficult to clean up blood because of this consistency and complex texture.  It takes a special kind of cleaner to completely remove blood from surfaces and even after cleaning with these special chemicals the entire spot of blood may not be totally gone.  And at crime scenes when the forensic team shines a special type of light on a specific surface the contents of the blood that remain will be visible.  This is kind of neat to know and to see under these conditions but it does have a resounding effect on people knowing that someone has lost some blood on a surface for some specific reason.  In other words, blood is specific both inside the body and outside of the body and whichever environment it is located the life of that person leaves a permanent mark.

One evening when I was working the 3-11 shift I received a phone call that a gunshot victim was coming in by ambulance and that the entourage would be arriving within ten minutes.  I knew what my protocol was and where I needed to be when the patient arrived.  Having no phlebotomist at that time of the night was common so I was going to work this trauma situation alone.  I had been in these types of situations before and really felt as comfortable as one could while the events were unfolding.

We all gathered around the EMS radio system and listened to the report that was being presented.  It was quick and to the point without any weaknesses in the description concerning the patient.  The ambulance pulled into the bay and within a few seconds the doors opened and the paramedics entered into the Emergency Room with the patient all the while trying to accomplish some type of resuscitation and leaving a steady trail of blood behind them as they reached the trauma room.  All of us quickly transferred the patient onto the ER bed and began diligently working on him.

The ER doctor quickly decided to perform a chest tube on the patient due to the location of the gunshot wound in which was made at point blank range towards the heart.  The incision went well and I was in my normal position ready to issue blood when the incision process was completed.  The doctor had his finger in the hole and was waiting for the tube to be placed inside.  The tube was then inserted into the patient’s chest and put in the approximate place believed to be inside the lung area.  As soon as the insertion process was complete the plug on the exposed end of the chest tube was opened.

As soon as gravity could realize that it was control of the situation inside the tube solid blood began pouring out from the tube and running onto the floor; in the same area that we were standing in to be exact.  The doctor quickly placed his finger back on the exposed end to stop the outpouring of blood and immediately knew that there was no way that the patient could be saved.  By the way, that the chest cavity had filled with blood and that no vital signs, including a heartbeat, were not to be found, the battle had been lost even before the ambulance crew had arrived at the ER.  There was no chance of saving this young person’s life and as soon as the doctor had checked a few other vital levels, the patient was pronounced dead.

I am not going to go into many details but the choice of this action by this young man was due to a failed relationship and this young man had it in his mind that if the relationship could not continue his life could not as well.  A sad chapter in that family’s history, one in which should have never happened, did.  A choice had been made and the results of that choice became the young man’s end results.

I remember standing in the area of this patient and looked down to the ground and noticed that the entire floor, on this side of the bed, was red in color.  The rush of blood out of his body was only there for a few seconds, just long enough for the doctor to react yet the amount of blood that was lost and that had landed on the floor looked like someone had completely bled out.  Blood was everywhere and there was no way that either the doctor or I could get out of the area without stepping in that pool of blood.

After the body was cleaned up and then moved so that the family could see him, it was time for housekeeping to come into the trauma room and begin the cleaning up process.  Luckily the ER had not been too busy that evening and the housekeeping personnel had enough room to complete their responsibility.  I then went down to the laboratory and returned the units of blood to the blood bank inventory and recorded my actions into the Blood Bank logbook.  I did not have any opportunity to run any blood tests since I had not drawn any blood, which I found kind of ironic since I had just walked through a pool of blood in order to get back to my department.

I slowly walked back down to the ER and began to hear a sound that one never forgets and that was the sound of a mother’s cry over her dead child.  It is a sound that will haunt a person for the remainder of their life and it is a sound that can be heard all the way down the halls of a building and no matter what part of that building you are in, it sends chills down your spine.  There is nothing light about hearing this sound and there is nothing appropriate that anyone can say to the mother and the other family members at that time. 

As I reached the ER doctor’s desk I asked if there was anything else the he needed from me and of course, the answer was “no.”  I then turned to ask the nurse on duty if she needed anything and she quickly asked if I had obtained any blood or if we had given any of the blood from the blood bank and both of my answers to her was “no.”  The ER was basically quiet with the exception of the crying sound coming from the other room which was to be expected in this situation.  So I turned towards the hall and was going to finish cleaning up my mess of blood supplies before I returned to my department.

I noticed that the housekeeping person had recruited the other housekeeping personnel to help out with the cleaning up of the spilled blood.  I walked into the trauma room and immediately encountered a bucket full of red water.  I lifted up my eyes and looked at the floor where I was standing and there was a slight shade of red still present but the pool had been spread out due to the fact that they were trying to clean up the blood with a mop which usually spreads the blood out first before it soaks up into the mop.

It was like the blood was clinging on to the last bit of surface before it had to let go and be placed into a different container.  I stood there for a few moments watching housekeeping do their best to remove all of the blood on the floor.  It took them approximately twenty minutes to get the floor back to its original color with no signs of blood on the floor.  I cautiously tiptoed across the wet area and quickly cleaned up my area and then crept back across the wet flow as to not slip and fall.

 

It is common for those of us that work in the medical field to know that blood is a major component of information that gives answers to unanswered questions when patients present themselves in a medical setting.  We in the laboratory believe that everyone should have a blood test because the blood tells the physician so many things about what is going on inside the patient.  It is important that physicians know blood levels that might help the patient recover faster.  The blood also has a way of letting other types of medical personnel know what is going on as well.

Short-term or acute experiences with patients are the main setting that some hospital departments witness patients, but long-term and permanent conditions within the body can be detected by obtaining blood samples as well.  We now have the capability of testing a patient’s blood for DNA and all of the possible conditions that can be present on that level, in other words, conditions that might affect your grandchildren can be detected now.  So no wonder God holds the blood as being sacred since it represents life for the body in many ways including death.

A passage in the Bible that has stood out to me for a while is a famous one where God is talking to Cain after he had killed his brother.  And God’s statement about Abel’s blood that it cried out to Him from the ground is the statement that I am referring to.  Have you ever wondered how blood could cry out or make noise?  When listening to the blood flow from the tightness of a blood pressure cuff one can hear the blood moving as the heart beats it past the squeezed area but to hear it outside the body?

If this is true, and in my opinion, it is, blood can still represent our bodies and our lives outside its vessel walls which means that even though it is out of its normal occupancy it is alive and God can hear its voice as the blood somehow tries to figure out what is going on with its new immediate surroundings.  What would blood cry out about anyway?  We in the lab have a saying that when people pull back too fast on a syringe and the blood flows out from the vein, in the same manner, we say that we can hear the red blood cells screaming as they are being pulled through the needle.  The cells are being placed into another environment in which they are not familiar with, which is the case since the clotting mechanisms activate at this time and begin to form a clot which is a natural response when blood is subjected to abnormal conditions.

I am guessing that the words that a person’s blood would ask the following: why it was pulled out of its life’s environment and placed in one way or another into another surface or area?  And this spilling of blood which is now automatically exposed to an unfavorable environment that would try to end its life in some manner is now considered to be the norm for the blood.  Knowing now that the DNA molecules that are inside the blood cells can live for centuries, it makes it more feasible to understand this concept of blood being able to speak to God.

The place that the young man died is now a parking lot and the spot that Abel was buried was in a field.  I could probably estimate to where the ER trauma room was located and locate an approximate when I believe the young man passed away.  But God knows exactly where both of these men died because their blood cried out to Him for the injustices that were wrought upon them.  And since that time millions of other people have lost blood as well and their blood probably is recognized by God as well.  This is a process that our minds cannot fathom, yet God has the authority and the power to look even upon the ground and hear the cries for Him.  He can do this because somehow our blood stays alive even after we die.

No wonder God chose the blood sacrifice as the only manner in which to be redeemed from the sins of the people. This also explains the reasoning for God to send His only Son to die on a cross as a blood sacrifice for our sins.  Somewhere between Genesis Chapter 2 and Genesis Chapter 4 people knew what the meaning of blood was and what it represented to their bodies.  For it has been stated that the blood sacrifice was accepted by God and not the results of the harvest. 

There is one more difference that needs to be addressed and that is the blood lineage of Christ.  God knew that in order to provide a way for mankind to have access to Him once again a unique way must be provided but it could not be by man alone but somehow man had to be involved.  This is why God had to keep the bloodline Holy and this explains the manner in which Jesus was conceived.  If one thinks about it man’s sins will always be present and since this is true there is no way that anyone can redeem anyone else coming from a “flawed” or in our case sinful bloodline, our redemption had to have Holy roots.

With the amount of knowledge that we have about the physical aspects of our bodies, it has been said that we are on the cusp of finding out some of the major reasons why certain conditions overtake our systems and create sickness.  However, on the other hand, researchers admit that we have only scratched the surface of how our bodies operate and function, with blood being one of the more studied organs there is yet still to be much determined of its overall viabilities.  This means that since we know about our blood and what it means to our lives we still do not have a clue about all of the benefits that it presents to us and that we have a long way to go in understanding everything about blood.  But even with all the lack of knowledge concerning blood, we strive forward and continue to learn as much as possible about blood and what it means to our lives.

God should be given the same courtesy since we know a little bit about Him but if we will be honest with ourselves we must contend that we hardly know anything about God and that it will take all of humanity’s endeavors to scratch the surface of God’s abilities.  Shouldn’t we give God the same amount of time in study in order to fully understand His love for us and to try and comprehend all of the things that He has provided for us through the blood?  If we do not then we rely on human abilities far greater than what God we hold God to be and this is a selfish habit that will lead to further empty questions.

I also understand that the more humanity begins to rely on itself rather than God then His ears is going to become bombarded with continual cries coming from our lands.  This is not an if statement it is a when statement because man cannot be satisfied with any accomplishment for an established period of time, he must do more and have more which stretches the imagination and pulls on the heart strings for more excitement.  God is the only stabilizer and true directional holder and He holds the keys to our eternal existence, not mankind.

I had a self-proclaimed atheist ask me not too long ago about why God allows things to happen to people and why He allows incurable diseases to be inherited in people.  I had no definite answers for this person but I did tell him that I am learning more and more about humans and God at the same time since I have sat down and honestly studied God’s Word.  I cannot tell you that I know everything and I cannot sit here and tell you that I know a lot about God.  The truth is I do learn more each day about God but I have not even scratched the surface of His knowledge but I do know this He loves me and He sent His son to earth to die for me so that I may live through His blood, this I cannot deny.

DLB

Orchestration

Orchestration

4/28/13

Humans that have a common core usually have the same set of values as the majority of the other inhabitants of the community or geographical area.  Music has been one of these common cores that humans share and church is another common chord that comes to mind quickly as well.  Would it be shocking to you to know that music and the church share many details with each other?  These commonalities serve as a basis for both of these examples and one will shortly see just how intertwined they are, and why our enemy loves to flag music as a specific target within the church as well.

If anyone walks by the door at work or by my office door at home will instantly know what type of music I listen to.  My mother introduced me to classical music when I was a young boy and with a few exceptional periods in my life I have never lost my love for this genre of music.  It has been a steady foundation in my life and it provides me with many benefits that I deem important enough that I cannot imagine classical music in my life.  It makes my heart sing and it makes my heart rate rise each time I hear a classical piece on the net, on the radio or playing on a CD. 

I look at classical music as a picture of humanity since a typical symphony has the majority of instruments all working together in one accord to produce a masterpiece of music that can be heard even outside the halls that it is being played.  If one takes away one portion of the symphony the work has lost something and it will not be the same as the composer intended.  It may sound good but without every instrument and section functioning as one unit the work will not sound great.  And if you take a look around the world today I will believe that most of us would agree that even though the world might sound good at times we are missing a core element which lowers our expectancy as humans.

One can try to use another form of music to illustrate this side of the article but I believe that the intended message would be lowered since classical music not only brings the music of our forefathers and their musical habits to our lives today but it also uses not one or two instruments but hundreds of them functioning as one unit to convey to the ones that are listening of their true potential.  I am not demeaning any other style of music nor am I saying that classical music is the only type of music that convey a message.  But I am using this genre of music here to demonstrate of how vital it is that we understand the importance of our positions and our responsibilities within the church are.

Back in the early 1700s there was no disco music, pop music or even Christian music only the kind of music that was played on a few types of instruments.  As the years went by, more instruments were developed and the composers were beginning to compose more difficult and complex pieces and as you would imagine the demand for people who could play these instruments began to increase as well.  But there was one major problem that was quickly presenting itself and that was while the number of compositions and composers were increasing the number of professional musicians that were available to play these works of music were not.  Composers were begging people to take up the art of being a musician in order to get their music out, which in turn provided the composers more money which led to more music and so on and so on.

No matter how hard the composers worked on their music and how often they heard the demand of their listeners to write new works, they could not fill the stage with enough adequate musicians to sufficiently play the new works that they had written.  The frustration level on every level grew exponentially slow but in due course enough people had taken interest in playing music that the concert halls began to ring out with large symphonic works night after night.  Yet, the demand for musicians did not ease since more and more composers began appearing on the stage and with their popularity soaring throughout Europe, musicians were constantly in dire shortage and were almost as popular as the composers themselves.

Today, there are hundreds of orchestras and philharmonic orchestras all over the world and with the ways of modern travel almost every orchestra can be called upon to perform on any stage across the globe.  Orchestral seasons are not just limited to the late fall, winter and early spring any longer summer is tied into their programs now with the festivals that many states host as a break from the summer heat.  As in the 1700s there are a few vacancies in almost every orchestra due to the lack of professional musicians that are available.  The number of music schools has declined which means that the number of students preparing themselves for orchestral settings is in decline as well.  Lucrative jobs are lying elsewhere and are being snatched up as soon as they are posted.  Even though this profession has a long history of good results and it brings people together in a unique manner, it is still difficult to find those who want to play music together in an orchestra.

The Church is one of the oldest organizations known to man especially modern man.  One can trace the roots of the church all the way back to approximately 33 AD and since the average human lifespan of a western cultured human being is about 77 yrs of age the church has accrued a long rich line of history.  We all know that the history of the church has not always been the brightest star in the sky but it is an organization that was established to provide light to the word through the life of Christ.  Yet we humans like to take control of things and run the situations that have been presented to us on our own terms and the Church is a great example of this manipulative attitude.

We like to believe that our beliefs are the best and that they serve and function as the closest to Christ’s activities and ways while He was on earth but this type of thinking and believing actually serves as the lowest form of mannerisms that Jesus represented.  Jesus’ methods were not based upon legalistic opportunities that when they presented themselves He embraced them with open arms; no He threw them aside and created an establishment that everyone could be a part of if they wished to obey God and wished to be in direct communication with God the Father.  It was through Jesus’ life that we now have access to God by the covering of Christ’s blood, and no matter who says what this is the only way that this communication can occur.

We must play our part within the entire Church since we are the Church and not some empty tabernacle or building that lies dormant most of the time.  The Church has life and it represents one part of the Church and your spouse represents another part along with everyone else who accepts Jesus as their savior they too are a part of the Church.  It takes everyone that is a part of the Church actively participating in order for the Church to sound like she is supposed to.  Our audience that we are performing for is the world and our personal lives represent the stage that we perform on.  All of these factors should conform into the likeness of Christ so much so that when we begin to play our specific tunes the music is a beautiful symphonic melody that protrudes louder than any other presentation that is being presented at any other time.

However, if one part of the symphony is not in tune with the remaining sections, the audience will hear it and then begin to recognize that there are flaws within the unity of the Church.  This concept many would believe would fall to the many doctrinal differences that each denomination has, but this is not the root of this issue.  In this instance the root is humans alone because it is our responsibility to ensure that the message of Christ gets out to the world, not the denominations.  It is our job to sound our Lord’s music to the audience and to create that organized and symphonic melody to the world.

Also, as in the classical music industry the amount of musicians that are needed are in short supply.  There are not many people that are willing to lay it all on the line for the amount of “pay” that is received in return.  In this manner we have lost focus on the goals of Christ and placed our focus on the issues at hand.  It is not popular to be a Christian now so it is not as “easy” to stand up and toot the spiritual horn that Christ wants you to do to a dying audience.  It is common to see large churches now-a-days and likewise to see just as large of youth groups.  But how many of these people in attendance actually are willing to actively participate in the symphony that God wants to play?  It is said that the harvest is ripe but the laborers are few and this is such a true statement especially for today.

As long as the Church continues in this manner our audience will continue to mock and ridicule the music that we are presenting to them.  Hey know that the beauty, power and strength of the music that we are presenting are weak and boring and that their other options pose far greater presence.  Our lack of strength and discipline to be exerted towards the audience is quite visible, so much so that the ones that are performing are even walking off the stage.  We have tuned our instruments so tightly on a personal level that we cannot outwardly portray the sound that we are supposed to be making.  Instead of playing the composition that the master has composed we are playing our own tunes which are a definite turn off to the audience.

Music has always brought people together in a very special way.  The Church’s music should be orchestrated in such a manner.  No wonder that our enemy likes to infiltrate the music departments of churches and it is a symphonic time bomb that if not conducted properly can lead to massive sour notes presented to the audience.  I am not talking about the physical music that is played within churches; however, in some cases the physical music that some leaders present has the exact effect on the audience as in the spiritual.  With in mind we need to stop adhering to our musical instruments to their cases or playing to our own rhythm and start reading the music that God desires for the audience.  It is God that has brought them to your concert we need to play what He wishes for them to hear and not what we think they need to hear.

In some states high school bands fill the length of an entire football field but how many of those kids continue their playing after high school?  It would be exciting to play in a band this large and think about the music and sounds that could be played with this many members.  You can plug any activity into this question and the answers would be similar as the band member answer.  We have seen how small churches have exploded into mega churches within a few years yet how many of those congregations sit within the walls and hide their instruments to the worldly audience?  Why are we allowing the audiences dictate what we conduct to them?  And why are we now writing music that soothes the audience instead of what God writes?

This is the commonality that music and the Church have and that is both need participants.  Right now both the classical music industry and the Church are functional organizations but when you look at them one will know that their numbers are slowly dwindling.  This is not a good sign in either case, not just for my love of music but also for God’s love for His people.  If it takes losing 90% of your youth group, fine just play God’s symphonic message to your kids so that they may protrude a glorious sound to their audience.  And I guarantee that the remaining 10% of your group God will use to replace that 90% loss and even more.  Encourage your congregations to get up and tune their instruments so that the audience that they see at work each day knows the true sounds of life.  We cannot afford to let the mission of Christ die for if we do then the world will follow suit.

God’s musical symphony is in need of musicians and He is calling everyone to heed this invitation.  It is not going to be a dream concert on the individual level but when all instruments are playing the same melody to the audience nothing but a divine chorus of sounds will protrude from our lives.  Restore your instrument today and allow God to complete His training within your life to play a sweet melody with others to spread His kind of music to a dying audience.  Some in the audience may never adhere to the calling and join the symphony but that too is their choice.  God is calling musicians for His concert will you step up and participate?

DLB

The Split Decision

The Split Decision

4/20/13

This phrase can serve many people and have huge consequences when the outcome is revealed to the world.  Many people do not understand that this scenario has played out thousands of time in the past and we have totally missed what it’s meaning in our lives.  If an enemy has the abilities to create this type of disruption within the opposing ranks the devastating results can so devastating that one could never recover.  This event happens on a daily basis and we do not see it and in reality embrace its decision and fail to recognize what has just occurred.

I realize that there are a couple of ways that a person can use this phrase and where both ways could be appropriate in this article, I am only going to use one option of this phrase, which means God probably will use another option of this phrase sometime down the road or tomorrow.  A split decision means that a deciding event has been conclude and there are doubts about what the final outcome is or that a winner has not done so convincingly enough to win over the entire public eye.  This type of event happens in every portion of the world’s settings which in turn means that this type of decision has an effect on everyone in the world.  Seem too much of an extreme view?  Then follow along with this article and let your heart think of any type of setting and think about the final results of those settings and then make your determination.  I believe that you will find that in nearly every case someone will not agree with the performance that has been presented.

For you soccer loving people, and that includes myself, this example will not be unfamiliar to you.  With all of the world wide competitions out there it has become necessary to build soccer organizations strong enough to participate in these select competitions I order to attract support, money and popularity.  If you study a couple of the huge leagues in the world you will quickly realize the competition for these tournaments and the titles that accompany them require big bucks and if you continue your search one will find that the rewards are far greater than what is invested. 

Over the years I have noticed that when teams win these competitions the fans, players and owners are elated on every level but it comes as a shock to us that in just a matter of days the manager resigns from the so called happy club for what seems like ridiculous reasons.  Then after the dust settles the truth becomes known, the people above the managerial level was not pleased at how the club won the tournament stating that the person in charge should have led the club to a better result.  This is an example of a split decision.

Businesses deal with this type of result all the time.  All of us who have been involved in decisions about the future of a person, group, or deal understand that the majority of the time not everyone in that room will agree with the decision that has been made and that disagreement is voiced when the vote comes back not as a unanimous vote.  The majority wins of course, but even though the decision or victory has been cast in the back of the minds everyone knows that not everyone is in agreement and that division actually rules the day.

This concept was introduced to me by my father many years ago.  Most of you know that my dad is a minister, he is retired….kind of…but he always had a certain rule that he followed when we were trying out for a church.  When I was young I had no real reason to know about this philosophy because I was not part of the direct decision team per say, even though mom and dad always include Bud and I’s opinions.  The point is this dad would not accept a church where he did not receive at least 95% of the people’s acceptance of him as a pastor. 

For most of you that are reading this article are probably saying that the percentage given above is a bit egotistical.  But think about it for a bit even a 95% acceptance rate is a split decision.  Yes 95 out of 100 people believe in what you are saying and wish for you to lead them in their spiritual guidance, but those five people do not want you in their presence.  Now, which percentage do you believe will grow, and which one has the potential to grow at a faster rate?  Think about it for a while and you will come to the conclusion that this is a good example of a split decision.

Now do not get me wrong here.  God made excellent choices in which we spent time in and no matter what part of the USA that we went to, God knew exactly what the people needed and showed dad the words to speak to them during our tenure there.  And I would not trade or change any of the places that I have lived, for in each place I have learned something else about people, relationships, the Church and about Spirit and is the backbone of what God is sharing through me to His people.

All of the previous examples have been local or regional ones so let me give you one that places this type of split decision on a global scale.  It is a piece of history that most of you do not know about because it happened in Europe in the 10^th century but the results of those events serve as another example of what a split decision means to mankind.

There are many global settings that could be tied into this one example but I am choosing not to include them, however I do find it interesting that basically the same countries have been implicated in hundreds of further altercations due to past split decisions as I am about to explain, so keep that in mind.  J

There was a ruler by the name of Otto who was the King of Germany.  His kingdom had an enemy who was headed by a man called Berengar.  Both sides wished to control the entire region as their own and both did their best to obtain the necessary backing in order to proceed with their ideas.  Otto’s plan was to influence the pope enough to claim to the title of emperor, which only the pope had the authority to promote and in order to accomplish this Otto had to defeat the pope’s enemies that were breathing down the neck of Rome.  Otto did this feat and the pope was convinced that with the accomplishments of Otto and his army that he should be granted the title of Emperor.  Now there are numerous aspects and conditions that played out during this period of time and all of know that when the human mind is involved in something, not everyone is happy, as was the case in this example. 

On the other side of the coin, one of the details that are of importance involves Otto’s son Liudolf, great name huh.  Liudolf was a powerful man and had held vast amounts of land and with this power that had been given to him and in concordance with human reasoning wished to increase his land holdings.  It so happened that Liudolf and Otto had their eyes on the same piece of property but the timing for Liudolf was not at hand so Otto quickly marched through the land and took it before Liudolf could form his armies.  As you might think this did not set well with the son even though they were on the same side of the fight.  The split was now in play and the consequences soon wee to be revealed to the world.

Remember Berengar who was the enemy of Otto and Liudolf?  Well Liudolf was so enraged by the actions of his father that he convinced another partner of the coalition, Duke Conrad who was in active combat against Berengar, to turn sides and begin to support Berengar and his claims, with full support of Liudolf to ensure victory against his father Otto.  What precipitated this seemingly treasonous act?  A split between the two major players of the coalition and the decision of one to override and take advantage of another, a split decision was the reason and the results of this act were painful to Otto.

Otto was forced to accept an agreement of peace with Berengar since his armies were now no match for the shifting of the sand where armies were concerned.  It was a forceful agreement and not one where both sides had equal royalties as a result.  The surrender of Otto set heavily on his world especially knowing that his own son had played a major role in his defeat.  There are many instances that have proven where families have stuck together in order to complete a desired goal whether or not all of the members agreed with what was occurring.  But in this case, the unity between family members broke so that a split decision amongst them ruled their court strong enough to bring down a king.

A split decision is the perfect result for an enemy.  It is the culmination of the greatest strategy of cat and mouse which results in victory for the enemy.  Not only has the enemy won the battle or war but he / they have successfully broken up the unity that you have with your army.  It is the greatest feeling that a winning side has when this type of scene is played out.  The losing side does not realize their mistake until it is too late and then they are forced to witness the results of their gamble which in some cases can lead to their own demise and / or death.

When we look at civil wars throughout history we notice a certain pattern about them.  That pattern is that they are normally the bloodiest and nastiest wars that are fought between humans.  The reason for this is that the sides that are fighting against each other know their enemies in such a personal way that the damage that they inflict goes straight to the heart.  More division and hurt come from civil wars and the results of these types of wars usually last a lot longer than foreign wars. 

What we as Christians cannot forget is that our enemy has done the exact same thing to us and we are continuing to let him slaughter us both in the physical and spiritual realms.  First we must understand that our enemy knows us more than you realize.  We do not like to think about this but he knows us on a personal level.  Another thing that we must understand is that spirit is pure there is nothing impure about it.  It is either pure in God’s way or it is pure in Satan’s way; there is no mixing of the two.  So if we are God’s creation and then at one time we must have been pure, this is proven in Genesis.  So it would be natural for our enemy to divide us from our Creator.

But why stop there?  Enemies do not just advance to a certain place or objective and then just stop, we have plenty of proof that those ideas do not work.  So our enemy continues his course on those who serve as warriors of his enemy, it is a perfect and logical means in which to win a war.  It is the perfect example of inducing a split decision amongst the spiritual troops, especially if our doubts have increased enough to allow this plan to be birthed into our ranks.  It is the perfect plan of deceit and it is the perfect plan of death to those who listen to it and follow it.

God did not make a mistake in our creation we were the ones who listened to our enemy long enough that we chose to agree to his ways instead of God’s.  It was our mistake not God’s.  And by this decision we have allowed ourselves to actually fight on the side of our enemy against the one being that created us.  We can change this and there is still a short amount of time for us to expose our enemy’s game plan.  It takes guts and courage to achieve this reality however, and it will require us to swallow our pride and to admit that we once again made a mistake in our decision making.  But I have every confidence in the Church that she will wake up and realize that the battle can still be won but only if we turn and stop aiding our own enemy.

It is time to end the spiritual split decision that we have embraced for centuries and turn back our enemy’s progression.  We need to realize that we are being used and that it is vital that we restore God in our lives and for us to lose “self” that we have built up within us.  God loves us and has provided an escape plan from our choices.  When one understands this concept of split decisions, it will become clear to us that every aspect of our lives fall into this plane and is subject to the same scenario within our lives.  Restoration through God is our only hope of true victory.

DLB

Your True Intentions

Your True Intentions

4/13/13

Humanity has a habit of not really revealing their true intentions about many things until the results are completed.  This act is one of the more fascinating characteristics of created beings that I find so intriguing.  It is also one of the definitions of mankind that makes us not trust each other when it comes down to crunch time.  Yet, we glorify these actions about people and continue to place our beliefs in the feeble minded qualities of human logic while rejecting the one true logical and perfect being that will never betray us nor tell us a lie.

I have started a tradition that many people have done over the years and that is allowing our pets to share some of our food while we eat.  I know that it is not a healthy idea for the animals and that they should stick to their own type of food.  However, I know that there are many people out there that do the same thing with their pets so I am not in this boat alone, plus as they sit there and watch the family eat and we notice their “starving” eyes we feel guilty and after a couple of verbal “no” remarks to them we give in to those pathetic looks that are tugging at our heart and feed them some of what we are partaking. 

An unusual event occurred in our house this morning in that our youngest daughter woke up earlier than we did.  This rarely happens but when it does she is the first one to suggest that breakfast should be made as soon as possible, not that she is going to help but that it is just made quickly.  A similar setting occurred with our two Dachshund dogs as well, they hardly ever get up and going early but like our daughter they too were up earl and ready to scrounge whatever they could from the table.

So our youngest got her wish of waffles, and whatever else we wanted, was graciously granted and within a short time breakfast was being served.  Of course the puppy dogs took their usual spots at the foot of the table and waited impatiently for their portions.  After prayer the eating commenced and the dogs soon received their table food after a cooling down period.  Everyone was filling their stomachs as normal and enjoying the food that had been prepared, including the puppy dogs.  All of the human side of the family had finished eating and was just sitting around the table and then Heidi began her second ritual of wanting more food.  Most of the time we do not pay any attention to her because she has her own dog food close by and after a few begging sessions that end in nothing, she goes and begins to eat the food that she should be eating.

Enter the cat, Tigger.  With the smell of waffles, eggs and ham being cooked and consumed Tigger eventually made his way down to the table and rightfully took his spot close by and gave one small meow to make sure we all knew of his presence.  Since Tigger usually does not come down and beg for food this was a rare occasion in which he had a change of mind.   This change of mind did not settle well with Heidi and she began to react accordingly.  Now, Tigger and the puppy dogs get along well together so much so that they do not even fight over food, Tigger eats his and the puppy dogs eat theirs and Tigger’s it is a happy arrangement and a sight to behold.

After a few moments of sitting and rejecting small morsels, it was obvious that Tigger had no intentions of eating but just wanted to be around the table with us.  There was a larger portion of a waffle that was left over that was lying on the table.  Heidi continued her dancing around the table trying to make sure that if any food was left that she deserved it and not Tigger.  So when Heidi saw that I was about to deliver the goods she positioned herself right next to Tigger and Tigger continued his non caring attitude about the food so, knowing that Tigger would not eat anything I gave another portion of this remaining waffle to Heidi who took the piece into her mouth and walked to the other side of the table.

I really did not think anything about it at the time but what Heidi had done was to take the portion of food that I gave her and move it to another part of the table and there she dropped it on the ground.  I had noticed that she almost immediately came from under the table and headed over to the water dish and began to drink, another reason why I did not suspect anything this is a common movement of hers. 

As I got up from the table I finally noticed that the piece of waffle that I had given her a few minutes ago was lying in the spot where she had dropped it.  It dawned on me that she had no intentions of eating that piece of waffle and that all she was concerned was that the cat did not have the opportunity to eat it himself.  I picked up the piece of food and showed it to Heidi and she reacted like any spoiled dog would, looking at the piece of food like she had no idea of why you would be showing it to her.  I threw the piece of waffle into the trash and then went on my way.  A few minutes later was when I received the subject for this article.

I am not comparing humans to animals that is not the intention of this article.  However, I am comparing our actions to that of what Heidi did when God gives us His words of knowledge for our lives.  The wisdom and understanding that God gives us is not to stored up or hidden under a table it is meant to be shared with others so that they may know that there is a God who loves them and that has every answer that humanity is asking.

For so long we have sat in our pews and have received the food that God has given to us.  We have received so much of the blessings of God that we have voluntarily stored it up in our spiritual cellars and it is now almost rotten because we have not performed what God intended for its usage.  We are completing the same concept when we allow ourselves to use this philosophy when it comes to God’s Word.  God did not mean for us to receive His benefits and then sit on them until we depart this world.

God meant for His words to be an active part of our lives that when another person approaches us or spends any time with us will know that we have something that they do not, but realize that they need to have it.  This concept shall not work if we are sitting back and not doing what Jesus commanded. Sitting around only advances the kingdom of our enemy, even though we are receiving our daily bread from God.  How can this be possible if God continues His outpouring of daily bread to our lives one might ask?  God will not stop showing His words to His people even though they are receiving them but not using them for His purpose.  However, there will come a time when He will stop sharing His words because His Kingdom is not being advanced which when this occurs, then He takes over and has to reinforce His authority over the world and remind humanity once again who is actually in charge of things. 

The art of sitting in the pews and waiting for our ticket to heaven to be punched is an act of treason simply because those actions represent an alignment with the world and an agreement with the world’s acceptance of the Church structure and not the function of the church.  It does not represent nor reflect the true separation of the Church from the world as a foundational light to the world.  This position also inactivates the life, death and resurrection of Jesus as a covering of our lives back to God and invalidates any hope that the world might have of restoration.

Do not take what God has given you and hide it or keep it from others who want to receive God’s words, for there is a reason that they are at the table.  We should be happy in the fact that God is within our lives and has supplied us with the spiritual food necessary to share with others.  That is exactly what Jesus said for us to do, not to preach and condemn, He did not even do those things.  Share the food that God has given to us and you will be amazed to witness what will happen.  People are hungry for the truth and if we do not share what God has given their only other option is what the world has to offer.  If you are not willing to complete this for God, then why are you in a pew?  This action or lack of action by us shows our true intentions where God is concerned and what He has done to provide for His children.

God loves you and everyone else in this world, equally.  He recognizes their sin as He does yours and mine.  He also knows that there is only one way to Him and that example has been provided to us and we cannot afford to sit on it and let it rot inside our lives.  Repent and ignore your pride and restore the spiritual meals back to the world that they so desperately need.

DLB

The Great What If Game

The Great What If Game

4/10/13

One of the more popular events that humans like to enjoy is playing some type of game.  The athletic events that engulf the world attract millions of spectators each year and the results of these events have people talking and arguing about them for decades.  But a sporting event is not the most popular sport that humans play and is not even close to the popularity of this sport.  The sport that I am talking about is the “what if” game.  Every human being has played this game and will play this game at sometime during their lifespan.  It is a sport of defeat and victory along with pain and progress.  We cannot change the scenes of the what if game, however there is a way to restore our playing field to the level ground that sets the record clean and allows us to fully continue with our journey.

One of the most disappointing realities that we have is to know that we will fail at some type of opportunity in our life.  These opportunities do not have to be just isolated in the business sense, but they can be extended into every aspect of human life.  It does not matter what part of the world or culture that you come from, we are all human and we are subject to this phenomenon. 

Of course we try and limit our missed opportunities in life but when you look at yourself and at others, one must realize that no matter how hard we try to avoid these situations, many times we fall right back into the same conditions.  It is ok to miss opportunities for it is a part of life’s lessons that we all endure.  None of us are immune to these situations and I am here to tell you that it is ok and that we have the ability to pick ourselves up and try again in life.  The majority of these situations present themselves at times when we are least expecting them but as in any case, these situations can be carefully planned out and then blown with one single phrase.  It has happened to me many times and like mine, most of these circumstances are on a personal level and ones that we will not forget for a long time.

When I was a senior in high school I was in a program that was designed solely for kids who were interested in going into the medical field after they graduated.  It was an academic program that a student could apply for but had to be approved by the teacher after a stern interview.  There were many that applied for a certain amount of seats in the class, but the teacher did an excellent job of making sure that the students that were accepted really were interested in the program and the possibilities of a medical career.

Being a typical teenager who believed that he knew everything I entered into the classroom each day with a certain degree of certainty that all was going to proceed according to plan where it concerned my studies.  I absolutely loved the HAS class and it was the highlight of my day.  I did not imagine how much I was going to learn in that class, but the information that was taught me I have kept with me even up to this day.  I will never forget the opportunities that the program opened up for me and I have not once regretted my decision to complete the course.

As time progressed in this class, I naturally became close to some of the other students in the room, which was easy since out of the class of sixteen students, only two of us were boys.  I was in heaven so to speak, or so I thought.  Even though I had not grown up in Nederland I was a friendly chap who got along with most everyone so by the time I graduated from Nederland, I was accepted as a native boy and loved every bit of it.  With my personality came choices that I had to make and since I was the local preacher’s kid I had to make sure that those choices did not have any bad reflections upon my parents.  Yes, I wanted to do stupid things and yes, I tried some of these things but for the most part I kept a clean sheet and honored my family name.

However, with me being a teenage boy the natural instinct concerning girls was prominent in my thinking.  However, there were some defining measures within my thinking that I did not know could be a potential time bomb, and at that time I also had no idea that the fuse had already been lit and it was going to explode within a few short months.  This situation would prove to be a monumental point in my life that would eventually bring significant changes to my thinking and beliefs, but this changing of the guard in my life would not actually occur until decades later.

After a while in class some of my classmates began to tell me about one certain girl that had expressed some interest in whereabouts, comings, and goings, etc.  At first I really could not believe that this girl was interested in me since I had not even been around her too much.  But over the next few weeks their prodding me about why I have not talked to her was becoming annoying, even though I considered this particular girl as a great girl to date.  It was obvious that she had every other female student in the class after me to ask her out.  So, being the nice boy that I was I waited till the girls in the class approached the other guy in the class and he promptly blurted out loudly in class for me to ask her out.  Embarrassment time was huge at that moment but it was effective and within a few minutes I had completed the task.

There was no hesitation on her part with an answer to the question that everyone wanted me to ask.  Even though I was embarrassed at the moment it was a great decision of mine and as I stared at her home phone number in my hand I could only imagine of the possibilities that could take place.  I placed the piece of paper in my pocket and left the building for my assignment at the hospital.  It was hard for me to concentrate on my learning duties that day but I muddled my way through it and was anxious to get home, eat dinner and then make a specific call.

When that moment came the confidence that I had built up all day long had simply seemed to vanish in an instant.  I picked up the phone and cautiously dialed the number and with the first ring on the other end my heart began to race.  The phone was soon answered and an older voice completed a greeting.  I hesitated for just a moment but found the courage to return the greeting and inform them of my name.  It was evident that the girl had told her parents that she was expecting a call because of the way her mother responded to my voice.  This eased my fears a bit but not very much since I had no idea of what her parents thought about me asking for her daughter to come to the phone.

A few seconds later a quiet voice crossed over through my receiver and my fears subsided for a bit.  We talked for a few minutes and then I thought that at this moment would be the best to find out when and where our first date would be.  It did not take too long to complete the details of this night but it ended up going to be a while down the road since both of our families had conflicting schedules; the date would be a few weeks down the road.

During the time that we were waiting to have our date it was obvious that we both liked each other by completing little things for one another.  According to the people that knew her and I, believed that we were a great match.  It took a few days for both of our nerves to settle down when we were around each other but soon we were functioning together as a teenage couple would be.  As we spent more time with each other we began to venture out and ask more specific questions about each other, this part of a relationship is always nerve racking since you are throwing your heart out to a stranger and it is well known that when this time arrives, each one involved is very vulnerable.  But there were not really any surprises with either of our answers to each other and we proceeded with our friendship.

The big day had arrived, it was date night and once again my comfort zone was being smashed with the thought of me meeting her family.  I did not have a clue about her side of things however, since she was in the same boat with meeting my parents.  I knocked on her door and was invited in by her brother, and then the formal introductions occurred and to my amazement no major hiccups were witnessed.  We scurried out of her house and I proceeded to be the gentleman that my father had taught me to be and we soon made way over to my house for part two of meet the parents night.  As expected my parents had no problems with her and the general questions that they had were of a light nature just as her parents’ were.  All went well with this part of the date and in our heads, the more exciting portion was yet to come.

The popular restaurant that we chose to go to was great and the food came in a timely manner.  The conversation was great and we were becoming more acquainted with each other as the minutes passed by.  We both had noticed that it was beginning to rain a bit outside, another common factor that we had with each other that added to the incredible atmosphere.  The dinner was over and we decided on desert, no problems in what to order either, it was looking even better.  After desert we sat around talking and just enjoying finding out things about each other, which is what people need to do that wish to establish any type of relationship between them.  This is the part where things fell apart, and it was not her doings it was totally mine.

The topic of religion came up and I knew that she did not attend my church but I had not officially found out which denomination she and her family was associated with.  When I asked that question she immediately responded and I just sat there for a moment.  She had known my denomination but I had not even bothered to ask her about her faith.  It should have been no big deal yet I sat a bomb off under the table that we were in by addressing the fact that I did not agree with some of the things that her denomination believed in.  Well, it went downhill from there because of my stupid and immature reasoning about differences people have.  On our first date we have an argument about a simple minor detail that was of no consequence to our lives yet I acted foolishly and ended a good evening and a potential wonderful relationship with my stupidity.

Needless to say the date ended abruptly and the ride back to her house was very quiet.  There was nothing that I could do to salvage the evening and we both knew it.  The quick goodbye at the door was it and I turned and walked back to my car believing that I was an idiot and that I had blown a perfect opportunity to develop a relationship with her.  There was no excuse for my behavior but I knew that right at that moment was not the time to address anything else.

News spreads fast in a small town, just to point that out to those who do not already know that. J  I had not taken into account of the reaction that I would receive on Monday in class, not too many people were happy with me about what had occurred over the weekend, and rightly so.  I approached the girl and tried my best to apologize for what I had said and done, a feeble response is what I received in return but the hurt and damage I had caused had been done and there was nothing left to salvage.  I did not blame her at all and neither did I blame the ones who chose to take it out me, for I deserved everything I received.

That incident and aftermath occurred over twenty five years ago and the entire role has played through my mind many times over the years.  I have asked myself “why” so many times I cannot count anymore and the question of “what if” have followed close behind.  It is a time of my life when I was young but I was also human at the same time.  Did I blow a perfect relationship and life that could have produced a President?  Or would it have produced a terrible encounter that might have led to an ugly life for the both of us.  The “what if” question still haunts me sometimes concerning this event and coupled with the other what if questions of my past, I am glad that there is a way past those questions.

I do not dwell on all of my “what if” situations for there is not much I can do about them at this time.  However, when God does allow the opportunity to rise and I have the ability to correct some of these things, I do it with a glad and happy heart for it is a restoration of part of my past that I see as an important issue to correct.  Even though I have set the record straight in one of these instances, it does not close the what if questions but it does allow for these questions to be placed in a separate category in which I know God has taken care of in His own way. 

We can spend gobs of time on our past or “what if” situations and end up with nothing but time wasted.  There is no point in dwelling on these issues.  But on the other hand it is very important that we do not forget them so that we can teach our children not to make the same mistakes as we did.  Will they listen, probably not but at least you have thrown out an example that they can grasp onto when and if the situation occurs.  Their situation may not be on a personal relationship level but on another similar setting that has presented itself.  Every individual is just that, individual and independent of another.  However, the same concept can be applied to these occurrences if we know and understand that we will always make bad decisions at some time, but God is willing to forgive us when we realize that these are mistakes that divide humans and draw back His Kingdom.

The gift of restoration covers every “what if” situation that we allowed to happen within our life.  And once we ask God to forgive these situations, He is faithful to restore us back to the level playing field with a better knowledge of handling similar circumstances in the future.  And having this knowledge of a restart with humanity is another great example of God’s Kingdom at work.

DLB