The Worthiness of Being Flawed

The Worthiness of Being Flawed

7/31/13

It is everyone’s desire to be liked by their acquaintances, neighbors, colleagues and everyone else in whom they have contact on a routine basis.  Humans have a built in mechanism that when one senses their status rising confidence builds around them and they self indulge themselves in this atmosphere and rise in popularity with those in their circles.  But being popular is not always the path that God has for our lives and as He has set in the past popular people are not always the ones who He uses to get His message out to the world, even though we continue to strive to be popular.

There is not a child on this planet that has come home at one point in time and has been upset with the amount of friends that they have or do not have.  All parents have to deal with this type of drama and explain to their children that their current situation is ok and that in a short time their situation will change and there will be more opportunities down the road that will warrant new friends or the return of old friends.  It is devastating to a child, and adult, when a friend leaves or hurts a certain friend, and it really does not matter what the circumstance is at that moment.  So this type of relationship even though it can be volatile is important to us and even though it can hurt at times our desire to have friends, in our minds, makes us popular.

But what price will we pay to be popular?  Anyone remember the old 1980s movie “Can’t Buy Me Love”, where one of the geeks in the local high school buys a replacement dress for one of the popular girls in the same school in exchange for her allowing him to hang around with her?  The plot is an excellent one in that kids will do these types of activities to be accepted as popular and to be considered normal.  It is this type of belief that can come back to haunt a person as well, just as the movie projected.  This grasping into thin air is a normal human process and all humans have witnessed this type of activity no matter what culture we are talking about. 

We see the popular culture all around us in our society.  The western philosophy thrives on this type of lifestyle and it sets a foundation of excitement that we believe is necessary to be successful in this day and age.  But what price to we pay or what will we sacrifice in order to become popular amongst our peers?  Look at all of the people that are involved in the entertainment industry around the world and look at what they must do to maintain their appearance in the eyes of the world.  One must ask if this type of lifestyle is worth the pain staking routines we must endure in order to be accepted within a certain community.

A few years back there was an incident in India that involved the murder of a woman who was trying her best to become a world renowned movie star.  She had left her family and moved away to fulfill this dream.  Her pursuit of popularity in the film industry led her to meeting a couple to plan a movie shoot which was going to be located in another part of the country.  All of them agreed on a familiar location to shoot the movie and since all of the people involved in making the movie were familiar with the countryside, things would be over in a very short amount of time.  The “producers” asked the lady if they could use her car to get to the location because they were new in the local area and within movie business as well and were not financially well enough to provide everyone with the necessary transportation.  According to other friends that were with the lady at that moment, she agreed without reservations concerning the traveling arrangements and all three of them took a road trip to another part of the country.  Immediately upon arrival in the secluded hotel the true plans of the couple were revealed when they bound the lady and informed her that she was now their hostage. 

The couple then used her lady’s cell phone to call the parents of their hostage to inform them of what was occurring and to demand a ransom from them in order for the safe return of their daughter.  The couple then promised to release the girl when confirmation that the full ransom had been paid by official notification.  The parents immediately paid the ransom in full and the established line of communication was then relayed to the couple.  The couple then left the hotel and began the journey back to their city on a bus. 

The couple did as they promised and released the girl, in pieces along side of the road which they threw out of a window of the bus while they were traveling back home; consequently on the same road that they had traveled to the part of the country for the so-called movie shoot.  Now, was her desire worth her effort in trying to be popular?  I know that this is an extreme example but how many people have to agree to do unusual things in order for them to become this way, and is this path really worth all of the risks and trouble?  And is this path really what God wants for your life?

Saul is an example of this type of career move based upon popularity.  And his rise to fame was strictly due to his strikingly favorable status among the people.  The people were tired of God leading their ways and instructing them through His laws so they demanded that God allow them to elect their own king, a human king one that could relate to them more directly.  Boy, did that decision prove to be a doozey and look at what that one setting led to for Israel.  Also one must take into consideration of what happened to Saul as well and the torment that he must have felt during these times.  The Kingdom of Israel under his leadership suffered greatly and one cannot pass by and not recognize the troubles of Israel since this time in human history. 

What kind of person would you like to see as a king, president or leader of your community, state or nation?  A natural response would be someone that would be respected, popular and one that everyone could trust to do a good job while in office.  Now, ask that question to ten people that you do not know and write down the answers and ten make the totals and notice where you stand in comparison.  I can guarantee that not every one of those ten people will give you the exact same answers as yours.  Why? 

It is because man‘s ways differ from each other and there is no way that two people on earth can agree on every single issue when they answer honestly.  Man’s ways and beliefs differ greatly and this is due to the freedom of thinking and of choice that God has given us.  And since we are made with this free choice mechanism that is buried within us somewhere we must logically expect others to have different opinions and answers than what we provide.  So logically, one could assume that popularity could fit into this category as well, but one has to understand this concept before passing judgment on those whom they believe do not fit into the popular category. 

The above example is one reason of why man cannot rely on human judgments and laws.  Is it reasonable to ask ourselves why we continue to rely upon mankind and our methods of completing things since it is impossible for everyone to completely agree on issues that provide us with a false trust in a failing service?  There is a clear answer to all of the problems that we world is facing and it has nothing to do with man’s ideas and capabilities.  Does the old adage hope springs eternal really have to come into play?

The answers lie within God’s Word and it has been proven time and time again that if we as a human race believe and implement His ways our lives will last much longer and will find ourselves in a trustworthy state with everyone else that inhabits the earth.  It has also been proven that if we do not understand and follow God’s ways our societies that we have established will do nothing but rise and fall according to man’s incapacity to work together and to form an adhesion with each other because of limited beliefs.

There are many things that we can learn from the examples in the Bible.  If you take one story that is present in the Bible and break it down verse by verse I can guarantee you that a person can find an answer to a number of problems that we are facing today.  The story does not even have to contain a commandment or a specific law either.  How do I know this?  Well, the Bible is a book about people correct?  And the person reading this article is a person as well, correct?  So, if people lived back in those days and people are present on earth today that means that we are dealing with the same common denominator, correct? 

Since humans now are the same as the humans in the Bible that means that the people that are in the Bible should act similar as to us today, correct?  So with a few minor details of technology left out of the picture the human mind in the Bible should function in the same manner as our minds do today, and if this statement is correct then the people in the Bible had the same opportunities to correct measures or not to correct measures with the same choices that are presented to us currently.  So why can’t we learn from these people in the Bible since they have already been through similar situations that we are facing?  Why do we have to follow the same patterns that some of them lived?

Some states have what we call a Lemon Law in which if a person purchases an item and after it leave the store continually has problems, then the purchaser of that item can return the item to the place where they bought it and with valid proof of certain problems can return the item without penalty.  All of us have run into this situation at some point and we wish that we could have returned the item and then purchased something else.  But God does not have a Lemon Law in place for us and it is our duty to understand that people before us made mistakes and history has recorded those mistakes and we should do our best not to repeat those same mistakes.  We do not have a second life in which we can restart things, so it is of the utmost that we try and do things for the best at all times.

If a person travels a passage way from Bethlehem from the town of Jerusalem on a regular basis, then that person will have enough time to think about all the possibilities that could happen to her / him.  It would be easy for us to understand that we might see a person stranded alongside the road but what if we found ourselves in that condition?  It is a possibility that the majority of us at one time or another has had a flat tire.  What about in the ancient days or even the early 1900s when traveling was atrocious and the conditions were not the best, could people get robbed or hijacked?  If people had the same knowledge about how to do things to humans back in the olden days, then the same can be said of us today, so why follow people who have so many choices instead of the one God who stays constant and never changes?  Reliance on mankind to behave ourselves will always result in a disaster or disagreement and with all of the examples that we have to choose from throughout history, it really is a no-brainer if you wish to put it in that language.

Each man likes to be right and has a hard time with accepting the fact that his suggestions and ways are flawed and that while the initial ideas may be provocative eventually they will begin to crumble.  It is normal for the human to be upset and to react against those who disagree with said ideas, but I am so very thankful that God is not like humans in this manner and that He gives us time to seek Him and to learn His ways so that we do not have to suffer the same fate as those in the Bible or such as the others throughout human history.  God chose non popular people to get His message across to those that lived in the Bible days and He is doing the exact same thing today.  It is hard for society to accept this fact and it is difficult for a person who is honest and humble with themselves, to accept such a role as well. 

It is quite easy for mankind to take their eyes off of God and place them onto the visible everyday situations.  But this is where we must recognize that God is always with us no matter what we are going through and if we have placed His words within our hearts we will have the necessary means to make timely and orderly decisions with shear confidence through the words that formed us from the beginning.  It is much easier to place our cares upon God and let Him deal with situations instead of using our finite capacities to solve issues.  Total trust in our Creator will fail us in times of need and that is why the term coward can only be applied to humans and not God.

Restore your confidence and trust in God and He will never let you down.  It does not matter what your surroundings may bring you, He will never vary in His protection of you.  But one must read His word and apply it daily to our heart so that we may understand what is actually transpiring around us.  Our journey is not an easy one but we can have so much more confidence in walking this pathway if we recognize that we have our creator right beside us every step of the way.  Our decisions will be flawed, that is a guarantee but if we allow God into our lives those flaws will be in the back of our existence and not going ahead of our shoes.

DLB

I Am The Greatest

I Am The Greatest

In western philosophy the statement “I am the greatest” is what drives our everyday thinking.  This phrase is what we focus upon and everything that we say and do is centered on this phrase.  The Church itself has adopted this statement as well by protruding herself above all other institutions yet she fails to see that she is not even close to being what her origins were nor is she striving to become like her original state.  The Church has fallen into the same trap that the world has in such that it has believed the lie of greatness, acceptance and security from the enemy that she is subjected to on a moment by moment basis.  It is time that individual societies and the Church realize this downfall before the violations catch up with us.

For those of us who remember a boxer by the name of Cassius Clay, who is also known as Muhammad Ali, will know that he was the one who made the statement “I am the greatest” famous.  In his eyes there was no other person in the world that could match his abilities inside the boxing ring and at that point in time it seemed like he was correct.  Not many people could challenge Ali in the ring and come out standing, for most of his opponents went down and then subsequently counted out by the referee in charge.

I remember Ali when I was a young boy and watching some of his bouts on television.  I knew that he was a very strategic person in the ring who knew his opponents well.  This understanding of his opponents went far while he was facing them in the ring, even though sometimes the bouts drug on for many rounds before any action was witnessed by the spectators.  This style of boxing and approach to his opponents only increased his status within the boxing world and reinforced the belief that he actually was the greatest.

But as we all know there would be others that followed Ali that could be set upon the same plane as his claimed status.  As time proceeded other boxers came forward with similar tactics and statements concerning their theories about boxing, some were successful and others failed miserably.  All of them had one thing in common and was to chase the ultimate prize in their weight division and become the next overall and undisputed champion of the world.  There is nothing wrong with this concept and the goals that one has to hurdle in order to achieve this status; however, one must not let this belief of being the greatest go to one’s head and bypass the true calling of the reason behind the ability one has to have the opportunity to achieve this accomplishment.

When the truth comes about with Muhammad Ali one has to remember that his claim of being the greatest eventually had its own fall and someone finally beat him at his own game.  His career was undoubtedly stunning to the world of boxing but someone eventually came along and knocked him down from that status.  Some people considered Ali to be very arrogant in this stance of greatness and I can imagine many men wished that they had the opportunity to shut his mouth up and make him eat those words of greatness.  I see a pattern here that is frightening to me in that we as a nation and of a philosophical nature have voluntarily allowed this greatness phrase take a hold within our minds and hearts enough to flaunt it throughout the world, and that many other “men” in other parts of the world have now began to seek to dethrone us because of our own arrogance on this stance.

I wish that I could say that this “greatest” phrase is only limited to the sporting world but with the overwhelming evidence that we are subjected to every day, it is not difficult to draw the conclusion that this phrase has not only crossed into the public sectors of our world but also has become a philosophy to modern thinking.  It does not take a person long each day to see this type of belief being portrayed to the world.  If a person is honest with oneself, each person who understands this concept will be appalled at our own senseless display of public fornications where it comes to this manner. 

This concept has not left out any area of western thinking and ideology and has included all aspects of life even down to the competition of national and international food chains.  As I have stated before it is sad that a country or hemisphere would boycott a food corporation because of a belief or stated policy that defines that institution.  Is it wrong to have a different opinion about the current catch phrases and beliefs that others portray, or is the reactions falling into line with the human pasts that we are so “desperately” trying to rid out of our societies?

I often hear from others that the Bible is outdated, antiquated, unrealistic, or just plain dumb in nature.  My favorite complaint that I “like” to hear from others is that the Bible is not relevant for today’s societies and we need to lose all biblical concepts that are in place.  In keeping with this theme there is an example in the Bible that one can refer to when this type of attitude presents and this example also invalidates any claim that the Bible is not relevant for today because the same situations and settings were in place for the Biblical example as it is for today.

Those who are familiar with the Bible will remember when the disciples were gathered together in a place and were debating or arguing amongst themselves about which one of them was the greatest.  Now, doesn’t this setting sound familiar with the world today?  The disciples, who were the ones that had constant relationship with Jesus, saw Him on a regular basis and physically walked with Him to different towns and events and even with this physical eye to eye contact they completely missed the point about this topic.  This is an actual event that took place thousands of years ago yet we see its genetic codes being displayed in people throughout the world today.  Nothing has changed without ways and methods of thinking because we are human and it is normal for us to place the importance of ourselves first instead of turning control of our lives over to someone else, especially a person whose meanings go contrary to what the human mind can ascertain.

Another portion of this story that relates to today’s settings is that this argument between the disciples occurred in a public place and we know this is a fact by the example that Jesus takes.  Today our world is filled with people that have opinions and it is a popular idea now-a-days to air our opinions to the entire world no matter which method we use.  Back in Jesus’ time they had no internet or television so the common methods of communication were the written word or the spoken word.  In this case the disciples were arguing so the words could have been heard by the other people that were around them.  Now today, if we watch other people’s opinions on television and then form our own ideas and thoughts about them then I guess it would be safe to say that the people around this argument would be for or against those who were participating in that argument as well.

I can imagine Jesus staring at them when He heard the question that they presented to Him and I know that Jesus did not mock them in any way or call them names or question their integrity by deeming them incompetent or simple, but He turned around and went over to the children and brought them up to Him and said something like that it is the children who will be great in the Father’s Kingdom for they have the willingness to admit that they do not understand everything, desire to learn more through experience and studying, and by having a simple faith that allows God to work through them in ways that only can be explained as unique and individual as they are in life.

What Jesus demonstrated should have had a profound effect upon the disciples and His example should have sunk deep into their hearts of how they were acting.  First Jesus made a silent statement to His disciples by choosing children as His example that they were acting just like those children in fighting over who were the smartest, closest and greatest among them.  This states that the disciples knew that they had been chosen to operate differently from other people around them and that they should be the ones to set examples to others of Jesus’ ministry, and in fact at that point they were in all reality proving to be the examples of the modern day Church and all that she wishes to represent to the world; they were acting as the future if you wish to put it in those words.

It does not matter who is the greatest on this earth or in Heaven and that concept should never approach our thinking capacity.  Our commission is not based upon status nor is it founded upon the acts of men.  Our objective in this world is to take dominion over the world that God placed in our care and to push forward His Kingdom in order to defeat the enemy that is poised to destroy us.  God does not look upon our deeds as the official records of His Kingdom, He cannot for that is a human concept which means that it is flawed in nature and thus cannot come from God.  It is our duty to have faithful hearts through Jesus in order to receive the message that God intends for us to deliver to the world.

Jesus had made it very clear not only to the disciples but also to every person that He came into contact with, including the leaders of the Jewish and Roman communities, that no one was greater than anyone else in the eyes of God and that all men were created equal in the status settings of humanity and in His eyes as well.  Humans love to elevate themselves in status when they are correct about something.  This type of platform is not necessarily a bad thing but it does present a problem when the platform becomes a stage which defines the human concept as a whole, which if Jesus had allowed to continue within the midst of the disciples could have triggered a rebellion much earlier than when it actually occurred.

This philosophy and ideology of being the greatest, biggest or the most influential has also crossed over into the modern church setting.  I could include the medieval church setting in this era but I am going to limit it to the modern times but please remember that the concepts would be similar back then as well.  The modern church wants to be accepted so it joins in kindness with the world in order to feel needed and to fit in with the on goings around her.  This ideology of acceptance has been embraced, with delight, by our enemy in many ways and we must recognize that these acts of worldly acceptance will crumble the Church as we know it.  I can list numerous patterns that the Church has taken over the past few years that support this position, but take a look at what the Church is preaching and search the content in what she is presenting to the world.

We understand that the church should be different from the world and we should also understand that the ways of the Church should not align themselves with the ways of the world.  Many of us, including myself, do not understand what the meaning, function and original design of the New Testament Church was and to be frank, not many of us care to know about her origins either.  The modern church has been established as a false intake of what Jesus established and our enemy has having a thrill a minute while we continue our course.  I do not know much about the early church that was around shortly after Jesus’ death but what I have read about her and have studied about her, we are not even close to what was created.

Our churches are filled with mush sermons that have nothing to do with repentance, God’s Ways, love, kindness, salvation or of the Holy Spirit.  There is nothing wrong with coffee and doughnuts in the foyer but when those items replace the communion table as the focus of the Church our vision is compromised and we lose the commission that Jesus commanded us to complete.  It is time we stop playing church and come back to God in such a manner of humility and ask forgiveness for the false idols that we have incorporated into His Church.  It is time that we read and understand the Bible as was written for each of our lives, both the Old and New Testaments.  It is time that we understand what the true Church means and to accept God’s ways for a perfect bride.

I believe it is time that we as a society need to understand that our way of life is no better than any other person’s in the world and we should come down from our high horse before God knocks us off from it.  The Church needs to understand that we need to not be included in this great horse as well for God will allow “great” things to occur in order to grab our attention.  God loved us so much that He sent His son to bridge the gap between God and man, a gap that we initiated and created, so I believe that we need to separate ourselves from the world and once again operate in the Spirit of truth.  And the only way we can do this is to flag the Church as spiritually defunct and allow God to re-establish His presence within her.  God promises restoration if we turn our eyes towards Him, I am doing this and I believe that you should too.

Let us voluntarily look towards the heart of a child in order to give us a spiritual direction when it comes to serving and representing God.  Jesus made His point to His disciples without cutting them down yet made His point strong enough that each of them should have recognized the importance of His teachings.  God does not desire to knock us down but if we give Him no other option, then He must do so.  We have many examples within the Bible where humanity has ignored these warnings and since we are all humans and react to things accordingly, it is safe to say that the warnings within the Bible are relevant today since things have not changed much in the battle settings.

DLB

Not Everyone Will Be Happy With the Rain

Not Everyone Will Be Happy With the Rain

7/17/13

While we humans bask in the rays of the sun and claim its warmth upon our lives we know that the sun even though it is a comfort to have, water is actually more important for our lives on a continual basis.  Rain, snow, hail and other forms of water provide the necessary life giving nutrients that will allow every living organism to fulfill their duties.  However, we all know that sometimes while parts of our world seem inundated with water, at the same time certain other parts of the world are starving for this precious commodity.  We have to understand that as long as we inhabit this rock we must fall within the guidelines that God has established through Mother Nature and whatever pattern arises we must adjust to its conditions.

The area of the country in which I live tends to be on the cold side during the winter months.  If anyone who lives within the northern hemisphere of the world will not find this statement unusual, but for those who live in the southern hemisphere are at the same time experiencing beach weather.  This phenomenon is sometimes difficult for us to comprehend since our finite minds can really only physically understand our current moment and surrounding conditions even though people in other parts of the world are experiencing different conditions.

Out here in the western portion of the country water is a very important topic all year around.  If one reads the history of the west they will get a good grasp of how people rely on water.  The water issues that the west faces can divide even family members with each other if their opinions differ.  There have been many books published on this topic and if you look in past court cases from the west one will find hundreds of them that were settled in a legal manner.  So while one portion of the country reaps a vast supply of water another portion is listening to court cases to grab as much water as they can.  Yet, the entire country is involved with the water issues and in the long run still the country has to depend upon single acts of the human in order to provide this service.

Farmers and ranchers face this same issue concerning water as well.  One can even isolate this desire for water in a regional area or even down to a smaller land base.  It is known that when summer storms arise that not all of the area around the storm receives adequate amounts of water as another, so the dependency can be conditional at times.  While I have lived in this part of the country now for over twenty years I have witnessed many different patterns of precipitation that supports this conclusion; and each one of these conclusions is unique in its own.

Our area is currently in a drought and is need of rain to make sure that the lands do not burn up.  Most of the world has watched television footage of the massive fires that have plagued the western portion of this country for the last few months now.  It seems like most every year that during the summer months the need for water increases.  I find it fascinating that even though the overall land’s requirement of water is extraordinary there are small instances where water is not encouraged at this moment.

A detail to keep in mind while reading this article, the Bible teaches us that God has established the seasons of the world and that these seasons are going to be in place until God removes Himself from the face of the earth.  This means that God has control over the seasons and the patterns that accompany each one and if He has the authority to change this pattern on a vast level, then that means He must have created the seasons because even though humans might be able to manipulate a few rain clouds, we have by no means the capability or ability to change seasons.  Therefore, this means that God has to keep in place the overall patterns no matter what the humans are doing which in the long run means everyone within that seasonal pattern could be affected in some varying degree.

We that live in the drought area have also watched the news concerning the major floods that have been occurring in Europe due to the heavy precipitation that that part of the world experienced during the winter and in the spring.  Most of us have cringed to think about all of the water that they have to deal with and I can guarantee that some have even wished that a good portion of that water could be moved over here instead.  The amounts of water that is passing through that land that will never be used could easily replenish our empty reservoirs here in the western portion of America.  It is painful for us to sit and watch these water levels destroy homes, lands and communities when other parts of the world could put this water to good use for mankind.  Yet at the same time we sit back and chalk this fact up as a quirk of Mother Nature and then return our eyes towards the sky and pry for any type of water.

A couple of nights ago our neighborhood witnessed a house fire that proved to be pretty destructive to the house involved.  The loss of the personal belongings will prove to be high and the heartache and grief great.  While no life was lost in the fire the toll still accumulates when certain possessions are destroyed.  This single event occurred within the area that is considered to be in a drought and even though the fire was not related to the drought by any means the results of the fire still has to succumb to the results of the impending rain that may come our way.

The night of the fire the storms stayed clear of our area but this was not the case the next night.  Heavy monsoonal flow developed over our area and blessed us with much needed precipitation.  While the farmers, ranchers and other residents of the area rejoiced our neighborhood was filled with the smell of wet burnt wood.  This is a minor inconvenience to all of us but for the recovery effort and all of the exposed items that were subjected to the moisture this was not a welcome relief.  While all of us stood out in the rain and thanked God for the much needed rain, most of us had the thought of what was going on to the personal effects of the family that had the fire.  It then hit me that even though the conditions of the area warranted a good soaking, there are those areas that really do not need the water for various reasons.

We understand that when storms and weather conditions occur that large amounts of land can be included, but on the other side of the coin we generally do not realize that some of these people within the affected area might not be too keen on the moisture idea.  This also brought to my attention a thought that I had about God and an answer to a questions that so many people have concerning His allowance of things to happen to good people at the same time as the “bad” people are going through their trials.  If a person takes a look at the overall picture of this scene, they would realize that the scene with man actually follows the same pattern as the weather laws.

When we look throughout history we notice that man has to go to another portion of the world in order to find new things, to have new opportunities or just to start over in life.  American History is filled with these types of people and we are familiar with them through their titles of pioneers.  The West was not settled overnight and with this invasion of the west it was not always fun and games as the brochure stated.  We read that a good portion of the pioneers faced hardships that are hard to conceive but they continued to follow their choices in such a manner that many of them reached their goal and began a new life while others never made it to their destination for many other reasons as well.  The patterns of survival were in place and each participant into that area had to roll the dice and see what occurred.

Everyone who went out west did not have major problems as others did.  We are not currently facing the devastating floods here in America that Europe is enduring at this time.  My house and all of the other houses on our street with the exception of one are still standing and have no fire damage.  Yet in each condition, people and land are involved but not every single person is affected in the same manner.  Have you drawn a conclusion to this pattern?  The conclusion is that both humans and their decisions and the seasonal patterns fit into the same huge categorical conditions.

These examples beg the question in many minds and hearts of why God would allow the innocent to be included in the grief of the bad or guilty.  Human nature tends to try and reward the good but leave out the bad when it comes to rewards.  Humans also reverse the prospects when it comes to crimes and views on how the people in charge handle these cases.  Even though we are quick to place people into categories and take sides on these issues, we must step back and realize that everyone involved will pay a price for their participation.  Now, is this a fair assumption to have placed on everyone involved?  This is difficult to ascertain since we humans are opinionated on every topic that we come into contact or do not really understand or care about those that oppose the side in which we chose.

We must keep in mind that God has stated that His ways are not like our ways and that there is a reason that He made this point known.  If God has established physical laws, as demonstrated above, He must follow these laws in order to be fair and just to these laws.  He cannot waiver or vary His ways in order to please one side of an issue.  The issue must be allowed to play out according to its legal path and whoever is in the “way” of the path must be subjected to its results.  To put this into a human perspective, when a drug bust goes bad and the bullets begin to fly, there is always innocent bystanders that end up getting hurt.  In this case the choices that people make stick and the full results of these choices must play out accordingly.

God cannot pick and choose which “fights” to be involved in nor does He purposefully exclude certain people from receiving unjust rewards for their activities.  Whereas man has the opportunity to move to Vienna, Austria or to become a physician God made His choice a very long time ago to include every person in His laws and ways.  It was mankind who decided to provide themselves with an option to choose God and His ways and if one looks at this pattern they will see that it follows the same path as the weather and personal issues; some will accept His ways and some will not.

Since God cannot change or vary His ways and laws this means that man has to be subjected to both the blessings and misfortunes that besiege man.  Man’s fate lies strictly within himself through the choices that we make.  I have known some people who have had a rough life until they come to God and I have also known people who had a nice life when they did not know God and then received one torturous moment after another when they turned their hearts towards God.  Why?  This does not seem fair or right but it does follow the established laws that are in place, no matter how you try and justify the results.  If we contend that everything has a pattern or a reason, then we must accept the results no matter how difficult they may be.

When we question or doubt God because of the issues that we face we must look in all directions before we become angry with God.  As in the case of the flooding in Europe, many houses and buildings have been destroyed yet people chose to live by the river and rivers do have laws of volume that “they” have to follow.  Also, the people in our neighborhood who lost their home and then it rained to compound the problem with their personal effects still have to be subjected to the laws of the seasons.  I find it very fascinating that man fails to recognize that every time a human and their ways are placed up against a natural force, the natural force or law always wins in the end.  And if God established these laws and they were created a reason, guess who will win in the end. J

God is a constant God, an individual who has thought through every guise that our enemy might portray upon our lives.  Yet God allows us to choose to accept Him and the things that He has for us.  How could a god who does not allow this practice from each of his subjects have the true authority to rule in this manner?  Only a God who accepts everyone and one who has established every eternal law has the authority to claim this banner.  How can God allow things to occur to the innocent as well as the guilty?  I believe that you now understand the reasons why this question is asked and also how this question is answered.  God cannot waiver on His laws nor can He find rest in excluding people.  Everything boils down to the fact that humans control their own destinies, whether of good fortunes or sure death.  Man cannot, and as long as the world rules their hearts, shall not comprehend this concept of God’s laws and justice.  But if one allows God to speak to their heart God will reveal Himself to that person in a unique manner to which that person can understand.  Not every question that a person has about God will be answered immediately but when each answer arrives at their respective times, know that God loves you and that He knows your heart so well that He can provide the answer you need at that time.

God has established His love for your life even before your ancestors were even thought about in this world.  The plan for you is special and unique that blends into a much larger plan for mankind.  There are different levels to what will occur and how we will respond to each calling but rest assured that God has everything under control and it is imperative that we trust Him with everything that we know.  All of us have come short of our potential and that is ok, but we must not stay in our defeated and lousy state of existence.  We need to allow God to pick us up from the ground and then restore us back on our feet so that we may once again advance His Kingdom forward. 

Times will be tough and some instances in our life will be difficult to accept and to explain, but that does not mean that God does not know who you are and where you have been; He knows exactly what He is doing at all times.  God must follow His own established laws and that will include everyone on this planet.  God also must adhere to the justice that He must pursue when that time arises as well.  Even God allows bad circumstances to occur on His chosen people; God cannot play favorites it goes against His laws.  We are all people and we have the ability to make a choice and since He created that gift within us, this He cannot change either.  So even though the earth may require its nourishment, we humans may not always be especially thrilled with the rain.

DLB

The Fear of the Water

The Fear of the Water

7/11/13

Most of humanity lives on the dry land and with an exception or two of certain cultures this presumption stands true.  Land is a safe place to be because it provides us with a solid foundation in which for us to walk and live.  We can include anything that is solid that is under our feet in this classification, but it is the water that is where the unknown is located.  And is being on dry land the type of place that we need to be in Christ?  God calls us to do many things and if we are listening to His calling the things that He asks us to do usually is away from our comfort zones.

Does anyone remember reading the cartoon of a person that is all alone on a small island with water surrounding the small island like it is supposed to be?  The cartoon also predicts that no other life forms can be seen with the human eye with the exception of the sharks that are swimming around the island and from the appearance of the cartoon the island is in no path of any vessel or airplane route?  However, the cartoon always has the person on land where it is dry and safe even though they are alone.  I find it ironic that even though the person is on dry land and seems safe from the perils of the water, he is all alone and is not free to function in a normal manner.

Remember the movie “Castaway?” where the plane that the man was on crashed into the sea and he washed up on shore on a deserted island?  He lived there for years and did not see any type of life form that approached the island.  Finally he decided to build a raft and to cast off of the island by choosing to leave his safe ground and risk it all by casting himself on the ocean.  Eventually a ship passed by and found him and after years of waiting he was rescued.  He had finally realized that his present circumstance was not going to get him back home and that he needed to make himself known to the watery world in order to complete this task.  He had to take a huge risk so that he might be saved.

There is a song that I have listened to for a while now and every time I hear the music and words it comforts me to know that God loves me enough to provide safety and peace when storms arrive.  The name of the song is Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) and it is a powerful Kingdom song.  When one hears this song I would “guestimate” that the majority of the people cannot help but to imagine that God would place our feet back on solid ground, dry ground in this case, to steady our hearts.  But this is not the case in that God will steady our hearts in the place that we are at as long as we have obeyed His will and are doing what He has commanded us to do.  The song speaks about how God will protect us while we are in areas that our feet may fail, in other words in places that we are not comfortable in or that our footing can be taken away from us at any moment.  Being a human being we can find ourselves living in this situation many times in one month even in one day as well.  So, even in the midst of a huge storm God is truly with us and providing us with His solid ground.

Some of us may remember the story in the Bible of when Peter and some others were in a boat and they were in the midst of a storm.  They looked out on the water and they saw a person walking on the water and who was coming towards them.  At first the person was hard to recognize but within a few moments Peter knew that it was Jesus.  Now there are a bunch of things that are in play in this scene and some of them I am not going to address in this article but please keep in mind all of the events of this story as you continue to read. 

The most intriguing aspect of the story that the story provides is where Peter gets out of the boat and then goes out to see Jesus and the fact of the miracle of Peter walking on the water as Jesus was doing.  The other part of this event that we use is that as long as Peter had his eyes fixed on Jesus he stayed above water and when he didn’t then things got wet.  These two aspects of the scene are very, very important and are usually the two aspects that most sermons are based upon; however, these examples are not what I am going to use in this article.

The portion that I am going to share to you concerns the stepping out of the sound ground and into the water where our feet are not on solid ground.  No one would argue that a boat is not considered to be solid ground; in fact the word solid only can be used on shaky terms if one wishes to be specific.  But in this case Peter and all of the other occupants in the boat, we all understand are congregated within this boat so technically the solid foundation that is beneath them does represent the ground.  But the boat is made of wood and when the wood is placed tightly together and joined together properly it can serve as a solid foundation even though it is not on dry land.  A logical question would be if a person is in a boat would they feel safer inside the boat or in the water?  I guess the answer to that would have to include the surrounding atmospheric conditions.

Peter being a fisherman was used to boats and was comfortable in boats because that was his trade and he was around these settings all the time.  Without boats Peter could not make a living for his family and for others who depended upon him for his catches of the day.  Since the use of modern cars and other transportation systems were not in place, boats were the main transportation services used to cross vast areas of waterways and thus would be crowded at times.  In other words when boats were in proper use they were filled with a certain amount of people who depended upon the safety of the boat to accomplish the task at hand.

I am going to use the boat and use it as an example of the Church and of the human heart.  First of all the boat is an excellent example of the Church in the fact that it can represent salvation or safe haven to many who are present within its confines.  Many people believe that just being a part of a church is a guarantee of shelter from life and the sin nature that plagues mankind.  This concept and belief is far from the truth, yet even understanding this belief to be a lie we continue sitting inside the boat looking at the world (water) and feeling comfortable about not having to swim in the waters of the world.  Even though we may be frightened and upset with the current atmospheric conditions that are jostling the boat from side to side, our comfort level is far greater inside the boat than outside the boat.  So in this case it is easier to sit inside the dimensions of the boat and wait until the storm passes and hope that everyone on the outside of the boat will come inside the boat on their own.

There is a time when people need to be comforted within the confines of the church and it is a normal reaction to go into the church when times are tough.  Yet the difference is that in order for the church to be effective in its mission the people have to be out in the world on a constant basis, teaching the people that there is one who can help them and to provide for them a spiritual peace during these times.  However, while using the boat as a place of refuge when the designated time approaches is a necessity it does not represent the only time that we need to direct our attentions to this spiritual seating arrangement.

The second example of the boat that I am talking about is the symbolic version of the heart whereas like the Church the heart becomes content with its surroundings and will stay in one place while our journey continues its course.  Mankind does no function without the heartbeat within her / him and whatever movements that we decide to do the heartbeat will increase in order to supply the necessary nutrients and blood supply to accomplish the job requested.  So the heart can represent a steady and slow resting beat when not doing anything “exciting.”   And like the Church once again if the other people in the same boat are acting accordingly then they too will be like the old adage of being in the same boat as you, which means comfortable and content with your current surroundings.

If one has been associated with a church or has been in church for a long period of time, these people should be able to recognize different atmospheres that each church gives to people.  It does not take a person long to understand what the specific functions of that church are and where their spiritual heart lies.  And if a person stays within this newly accepted church setting then their spiritual heart will beat according to their surroundings.

Now let us look at Jesus for a moment and where He was located during this story.  Was he in the boat for this event?  Was He late for the boat when it left its port?  No on both accounts, for He was on the water where the trouble was brewing; right in the middle of the storm which represents where the people that need God in their lives are located if you symbolically use the water as the world conditions again.  I find the wordage that Jesus was walking on the water towards the boat in such an interesting manner for this signifies that Jesus was actively present and being active in the world as well and not hiding from it within the confines of the boat.  I also find it interesting that if you keep the analogy of the water and the boat going that He had to go through the world to reach the Church and shouldn’t that be the opposite case?

I have heard hundreds of times a phrase that goes something like this, “Jesus sure did show up in church today” Or “the presence of the Holy Spirit was powerful in church today.”  These are fabulous sayings to hear from people who understand the power and the presence of God and it really does mean something to others when these types of phrases are being said around town.  But, if these people recognize that God showed up today that means that one could also mean that He had to come into the building, correct?  That means that it is a logical explanation that God is out where the hurting people are, or in this example where the storm is located.  Isn’t the mission of the Church to go to the world and preach the gospel?  This example does say that Jesus will come into the church and fill the building with His presence, however, how will He view your existence on the pews while He is completing His work in others’ lives?

Now let us look at Peter once again who was sitting in the boat.  There really was no storm around and there was not too much mentioned about the conditions of the waters in this scene so we can roughly assume that the waters were calm.  However, it was still water and we can become nervous when the thought of anything going wrong with the boat runs through our minds, and for someone to voluntarily get out of the boat and land into the water places things into an entirely new ballgame.  I find it also interesting that there were many people in that boat and only one person left the boat to greet Jesus.  The others remained in the boat and even after they witnessed what occurred, they continued to stay within the confines of the boat. 

Do you find that this detail about the story odd or commonplace?  I find it commonplace and if one takes a good look at the condition of the modern church of today, that person would understand that the church (boat) inhabitants are performing the same ritualistic sitting around and waiting for the savior to appear in their so called solid groundings.  Now, one has to keep in mind that the people in the boat were not new converts, but they were His disciples which baffles the mind to think that not all of them would have done the same thing as Peter.  This is a great example of how even though there are many people who have been in church all of their lives continue to miss the actual presence and authority of God and everything that He represents to, in and through our lives.

So Peter sees Jesus coming towards him and he leaps out of the boat and begins to walk on the water just as Jesus did.  The inhabitants of the boat must have believed that Peter was absolutely nuts to get out of the safe area and tread towards Jesus, who is coming in the boat’s direction anyway.  The others must have been flabbergasted when they witnessed that Peter was not sinking or had sunk into the water but was actually walking on the water as Jesus.  So once again the question of why didn’t more of the people in the boat at least attempt to get out of the boat and go towards Jesus?

Peter takes the initiative to get out of the boat and go towards Jesus.  He knows that Jesus is approaching and sees what Jesus is doing.  He also must have realized that Jesus was not physically in the boat either and that He was out on the water.  While this might seem as a “duh” moment in the fact that it says that Jesus was on the water we might forget about what that means.  Jesus was not sitting in Church he was out with the people of the world.  Don’t you find the fact that Jesus called Peter to come to Him out on the water; why would anyone do this?  Jesus recognizes that we are in the Church where it is safe and He understands that we cannot be effective for Him if we continue in this manner.  Jesus could have called the entire crew that was in the boat to come and meet Him, but He chose only one to make a point that everyone has the opportunity to go to where Jesus is on their own and that they do not have to wait until Jesus comes along by their side.

By the way, our enemy knows and understands this concept as well and as long as we continue to sit in the pews (wooded area in the boat) and do not participate in the activities that Jesus commanded us to complete in the world then guess what….we will sail right over the world and not reach one person for Christ.  Yes, our boat probably will complete its journey and be “seen” in the world, but what will our image be if we just sit back, cross the storm and watch others perish as we coast by them.  I have a really hard time with that philosophy yet it is a common activity that is being submitted to the storms of the world by the Church; and our enemy absolutely loves this from us.

We must follow in Peter’s steps and get out of the boat and go into the water with Christ, for it is Christ who has the authority and power to change lives not us.  Jesus is not in the boat folks he is out in the water waiting for you to respond to His calling in order to save a dying world.  It is time that we initiate the adrenaline of our spiritual hearts so that we may once again climb out of the church boat and place our feet on failing surfaces so that we can be a witness to the world.  This action by our lives takes faith and it takes love for a dying world to accomplish, and if we complete this command from God we will find that this action, not the human action but God’s action in others, automatically strengthens the relationship that we have in Christ as well, which in turn advances the Kingdom of God. 

People have said for centuries that it is their desire to be where Jesus is and this is a true statement for those who believe in Him.  Nor would any soul argue the fact that they believe that the presence of Jesus is in the local church building and that people do sense His presence.  But why do we struggle with the fact that Jesus could be on the street corner or in a bar or in a movie theatre?  Why does the church struggle with the fact of going out to these places and just sitting there and wait for people to come over and ask why you are there?  People are curious by nature and God knows this and will use this human quality to accomplish what we need in our lives; this type of activity takes place and it happens for a reason.  The world is looking for answers and we need to realize that their first place to seek out this answer is NOT a church building.  If it was the bars and all the sidewalk activity would have ceased by now and every church would be having four services every Sunday morning.

Peter loved Jesus enough to have what it takes to step out of the boat and go towards Him.  That is all God is asking of us today as well.  Will we step out of the boat and to display the love that God has for the lost world and will we have it in our hearts to take the initiative to reach these people.  As usual you will see more people inside the boat than in the water but the ones who are in the water have overcame the fear of their confines and are obeying the call of God.  It is ok for us to out of the boat and standing in the water.  Yes, there will be those who ridicule you for your stance and actions but this type of response from others is of no concern if only one person is reached while you are out on the water.  Jesus will always be on the water when it comes to the dying world and the question is where will you be?  Will you lose your fear of the water?

DLB

Serving a Changing God

Serving a Changing God

7/11/13

Change is a common item that humans have to face every day.  None of really like to go through a changing process but it is a process that is necessary sometimes and one that can reshape our directional flow if allowed.  Being in a daily or common routine gives us a certain security about our surroundings and for the most part this is a good thing but as with any other situation this process can become so engrained within our minds that we lose our spiritual focus upon the one true constant that is provided.

No matter where we live at in the world all of us will experience the change of seasons.  Many of us have a favorite season or time of the year in which we absolutely love everything about that period of the year.  One aspect of the seasons is that the world is divided into two halves so when summer is present in one area the other part of the globe is in winter.  For all of us in the northern part of the world it is difficult for us to imagine a very hot Christmas, hot enough to be lying out on the beach and having to place suntan oil on our skin to keep from burning, yet this is what occurs every year in Australia.

I am one of the more unusual ones in that winter is the time of year that I love the most.  Not many people like the continual cold conditions but for some odd reason my body feels the best when the weather is chilly.  I often tell people that in my opinion the perfect day weather wise is about 35 degrees, cloudy with a slight breeze and drizzle.  Weird, eh J  Anyway, each of us have their own time of the year that we consider the best but even then we as humans cannot always predict what the atmospheric conditions will be.  I live in Colorado and if one knows this bit about my whereabouts then one would assume that my winters are cold and snowy.  Well, for the most part this is true but I have witnessed a dry Christmas with temperatures hovering around 60 degrees as well.

Mother Nature throws in a curve ball every once-in-a-while just to remind us that we should not always follow the patterns that we have set before us.  This year is a prime example of this sine our spring was late and we ended up having a very late freeze which destroyed the majority of the fruit crops in our valley.  While we will still enjoy some of the fruit in the valley, and that the fruit that will be available will be bigger, the abundance of fruit will be greatly diminished.  These unexpected turns in weather do have a disruptive effect on our lives and even though we may at the time reap the benefits of the unusual weather pattern.  We have to adjust our activities and our expectations when these turns occur, which can cause humans to react in a number of ways.

Most of us within the west understand that there is a tremendous shortage of water due to the drought that we are currently going through.  The fire season have already proven to be deadly and with some relief noticed, the weather conditions still favor for a very long, dangerous and potentially devastating time.  However, even though our land is thirsting for water, the farmers in southern Texas have enjoyed a bumper crop of cotton while this current drying of the moisture has occurred.  So, everyone may not always agree with the surrounding conditions in every instance.

It is these surprises that keep us on our toes when it comes to change and all of its possibilities.  The potential for human adjustment and adaptation is great for some yet others tend to be more cautious about the changes and may take their time in accepting the ideas and conditions that have been placed before them.  There is nothing wrong with people taking their time to weigh these different conditions but as humans we have a tendency to push people by using these changes in persuading them to accept the concepts that have been put into place.

Laws function in this same changing fashion.  New laws that are written and passed by Congress are set in stone and have an effective date in which the content of these laws become enforceable.  I remember when I was just learning to drive and Texas passed a law stating that everyone must wear a seatbelt when operating a car.  The law also stated that everyone inside the vehicle must be in a seatbelt as well.  Many of us new drivers went nuts over this condition and many dreamt up ways in which to fight the law.  The older drivers were just as angry because they had been driving for decades without wearing a seatbelt.  After a short period of time the conditions of the new law were accepted and for the most part the whining and complaining ceased, but there are still holdouts where this law is concerned even though the seatbelt law is enforceable in all 50 states now.

As we have watched over the past few months, a series of laws are being handed down that not everyone agrees with.  In fact, many people do not believe that these laws are not constitutional and should not have even been considered in the first place.  Why do these laws get passed and then implemented if the majority of the people do not agree with them?  It is all part of the human ideology of change and how things need to be “stirred” up every now and again.  All of us would agree that there are some laws that need to be changed, yet the people who have the ability to change these laws do nothing about them.  No matter which side you are on or how you wish to see these laws come into the public eye, all of these actions would require an action of change from the people if put into place.

This variance and status change is easy to adapt to most of the time, sine it is within our scope of human understanding to complete this task.  How difficult is it when a major change in our lives comes along that force us to comply with a standard that we do not agree with?  Anger is a word that pops into my head when addressing this type of situation.  Humans sometimes take extreme measures and resort to violence when the change is fully maintained.  All of these mentioned responses and thousands more like them all represent a characteristic within us that will fight our obligations that others impose upon us, while others will revel in the newly established guidelines for our lives.  So the question now begs of why do the laws need to be changed or the conditions of living need to be changed in the first place?  And is there a standard that can be put into place that permanently serves as a foundation to which a person can fall back upon when times differ from the established policies?  A standard in which does not include bias of any race, sex or living condition and one that cannot be broken only ignored.

Well, contrary to popular belief and what the majority of people will tell you, there is such a foundation and it has been established in order to provide our lives as the answer for every possible situation and condition that we may face.  This foundation actually knows no change; on every level that we can comprehend.  Yet as humans we seem to find a thrill in doing our best to reject and ignore this foundation and in turn place our faith and hopes on mankind alone.  This ideology of human first seems ridiculous in my opinion but it is widely accepted and considered to be the norm now-a-days.

Having a foundation that never has the opportunity to change may seem a bit egotistical, boring or might even display lack of progression if one does not look at what the foundation actually represents.  This foundation has been established for as long as our finite minds can comprehend and then that is a conditional time since we cannot further grasp beyond a certain point.  More good news is that this foundation can never be shaken or broken which means that the reference material for our finite minds has a database background that is never ending with truth.  Further good news is that the reference material that is available is adaptable to humans since when it was written it was done so according to human activities and how to truly prevent things from occurring or to find out what will happen to humanity when things are done correctly.

The best news of all is this; the primary source of this reference material is still alive and well today.  He is available for all occasions and has no bias towards any person.  He has supplied every answer to every problem or concern that we may encounter and it is accessible 24/7.  There is only one condition that the author requires from us and that is we accept His ways in order to understand what He is saying to us.  For if we do not accept His ways into our life we shall never understand the reference material and it will become a useless source of information that we place on the shelves of our lives and allow it to collect dust.

The author of this valuable resource is God and He has a plan for each one of us no matter what our present or current circumstances are in life.  He is no respecter of persons and His foundation has no flaws in its molding.  There are no hidden fees or special conditions that need to be met before one can use this resource for personal reference, only the one condition of accepting Him.

In some ways changes are of a good nature and serve humanity well.  However, when it comes to their personal lives and everyday eternal well being changes are not good and it only produces devastation when they occur.  In these matters of great importance why do we continually seek the ways of those whose ideas and philosophies deal in the flawed and limited?  Is it that difficult for us to follow something that is of a solid and unblemished nature or have our prides overtaken our senses enough that we intentionally ignore the option that is not considered to be within the top of the so called bell curve?

The plan is laid out for us in black, white and red.  The foundation has not been changed, for it has always been there and we humans have chosen not to allow the author to explain its full meaning into our lives.  The reference represents an accurate account of humanity and everything that it includes, so why wouldn’t use this resource in our lives?  Yet, we love to throw it around and literally throw its principles, guidelines and consequences out of our societal thinking.  It amazes me of how much faith we place in humans while ignoring the one true God that has provided the way that would bring us and instill in us the true meaning of life itself.  I am sorry, but this way of thinking, relying on humans, is based upon a flawed and limited spectrum of ideas that only produce a flawed response and answer.

We shall never get out of our humanitarian slump until we recognize that humanly based ideas are wrong and again return back to the one resource that can guide us in every way imaginable.  We shall never completely understand God’s ways but He has provided us a means in order for us to try and do our best to adhere to His ways as much as possible.  There is nothing wrong with living a Godly lifestyle, but as the world sees things, this type of lifestyle would take away from the daily muck and mire that actually spins the world.  God does not spin; He is constant and cannot change.  So, if you are serving a lifestyle that constantly changes, comes and goes, spins, or changes directions you are serving a changing god and not the one true God.

DLB

Taking Me As I Am

Taking Me As I Am

7/11/13

What a wonderful concept and feeling we as humans have to know that no matter what we have done in our lives God will accept us for who we are at any time.  As we can see throughout history, this concept has not always been adhered to by the Church and for many reasons humans have obliged the policy of acceptance by force, which is just as horrific a concept.  However, the enemy has played a huge part in this philosophy and it is in play even today.  Acceptance of people for who they are is one thing and it needs to be in practice on a continual basis but do the people that are in this condition changing towards a Godly lifestyle or are they still in the same place that they were upon entering the Church?

Once again our entertainment news is filled with the unofficial acceptance policies of western philosophy.  Sides and lines have been drawn on this issue and our societies are just waiting for further instructions on how to act, react and treat these modern “offenders.”  It has been a continual topic on our lips for almost a decade now and like any other movement we have people on all sides and each extreme of the subject.  While accepting a person for who they are is a great concept and it needs to be practiced in everyone, reality tells us that not everyone will agree with this policy.  It is also just as important that we understand where this belief is taking us and to what extent that it can have in our communities and churches.

It needs to be stated that many of our churches have fallen into this category of acceptance and that is a wonderful thing for them to do.  As one reads church history they will see that the Church has been one of the cruelest entities towards people that mankind has ever witnessed.  I am not going to go into details about this history but please understand that the Church has killed more people in the name of God than all of the secular wars put together and in my opinion this rings loud and clear that the Church has missed its mission statement.

I recently read an article from a woman who has been in church the majority of her life.  She understands the Bible and its meanings and actually what the Bible represents to her life.  She also stated in this article that she is a practicing lesbian and even though she sits in church every week and listens to the sermons that are taught to her, she feels no compelling desire to change her ways.  This lady struggles with the fact that she is a lesbian and coming from a lifetime of being in church understands the consequences of her lifestyle as well.  According to her she is still desires to be free from this part of her life and sincerely wishes that the Church would give her enough spiritual energy to defeat the attacks that are anchored within her spirit.  This lady also stated that she cringes when she hears the topic of homosexuality being spoken about within the church, yet after the condemnation speeches as she puts it, there is no explanation of how to defeat this part of her life.

This is the part about church that this lady struggles with is that she sits there every Sunday and no one is concerned with her or what she is going through.  Not even the pastor goes up to her and asks her about her life, happiness, family, or anything else that would initiate a real reason for her to reach out towards God.  In her eyes the church has accepted her life in secret and screams at her for the sin that she harbors within her yet is not willing to understand exactly what she is going through and to provide her with the real reasons for her struggles.

There is a huge controversy ongoing at one of our local churches.  I am not going to go into any long or detailed structure of what is transpiring but there are some issues that are common with the above paragraphs and part of the results of the current condition of this local church.  The subject matter is not what is commonplace here but it is the spiritual aspect of both situations that has its roots and if one part of the story comes from a large congregation from another portion of the country and is found in a small community in a totally different part of the country, there is a tie and this means that it has infiltrated the entire Church and it needs to be recognized and dealt with on both a personal and organizational level.

I have been in this community for over twenty years now and many of the young people that have been here all of their lives I have witnessed either their births or have been a part of their “medical” lives for their entire life.  I have watched these families grow and I have watched them depart into other parts of the country to attend college, get married, find work and many other opportunities that have been presented to them.  These all personal opportunities that these kids have accepted are wonderful and I am so proud that they have been given these opportunities.

At the same time as these personal opportunities have been presented I have also noticed a few things about their spiritual development as well, and this observation is what concerns me and one that I do not see as structurally sound.  I have heard and personally witnessed the spiritual heritage of this local church and when I read, hear or think about this heritage I cannot have any other feeling except of joy since this church has produced so many people into the ministry down through the decades of its history.  What a legacy for one church to have and I know that if I study more local histories of other churches I probably would find the same patterns of ministerial service.  But what about now and the present and future generations that is coming up?  This is the part of the story which concerns me and a recognition of mine that the Church ahs lost a part of her that if not found once again, will have dire consequences for the world.

I have noticed over the past few years of the youth that are attending these local churches and how they have conducted their personal activities within their schools, their sports and other general public appearances and attitudes concerning their lives.  It grieves me that when I recognize these kids in public they really do not standout from the world nor do they portray a Godly or spiritual image to their friends.  Yet, they grace the presence of their respective youth groups on a regular basis and try to attend, and be seen, at these groups to satisfy their spiritual gratification.

When I have talked to these kids I have always asked them a common question and that is how did your youth service go?  I have asked my own kids this same question and what I find interesting is that even if I personally know these kids or not, all of them reply with basically the same answer and it goes something along these lines.  Yes we had a great service and I could not believe who actually showed up tonight….We played a really gross or cool game before service started and we had to do……Peter, Tammy, Kim and Sue were all talking about…..

So after all of these answers are given, I then ask them one other question which usually I get basically the same answer from these kids as well.  The 2nd question goes something like this.  What was the sermon about and what did you receive from it?  While I receive a fifteen minute answer to my first question about how the youth group went the majority of the time I receive approximately a thirty second explanation that states the following:  I have no idea of what the sermon actually said and that I did not learn one spiritual thing during service.

In this I turned to my own daughter and asked her a few more in depth questions concerning her youth group.  The answers I received while did not shock me because I was expecting something according to my thoughts, but they did enlighten me on a few more facts that I have noticed within the attitudes of the churches around here which if thee small churches have this attitude so do the larger churches as well.  And this attitude is that there is no fire within the church anymore and that people do not wish to change their lives and move towards God any longer, or that the Church has stopped teaching and preaching the truth about God, His Kingdom, our enemy and what all of them combined along with the role that we play in this war actually mean.  And to be honest, I believe that people still want to know God and have a genuine desire to change their lives but because the church would rather feed them coffee and doughnuts and make them feel good this longing to change within their spirits will quickly fade if the Church does not change herself.

An interesting tidbit before I proceed.  I find it intriguing that the enemy attacks and uses people in the same manner when it comes to churches and their spiritual conditions.  For centuries the Church has thrived and boasted on how large of a congregation or following that it has.  While it is a good thing to have many people in church it is not the size of the church that matters only the individual person within that church and what this individual is being fed from the pulpits.  If the enemy attacks people in small communities and in large cities by using the same methods, this means that the size of the church really does not matter and is only a superficial condition that even our enemy ignores.  It all boils down to two people and the Holy Spirit that matters and if the minister is not listening and preaching the true Word and the person sitting in the pew is not willing to listen and to “go” then the Holy Spirit cannot do His job throughout the world and the enemy wins.

This all reverts back to the idea of acceptance.  If a person walks into a youth group and takes a quick glance around the room, gym, or sanctuary that person can quickly ascertain what the general direction of that youth group is headed.  It is not just the dress and physical appearance of the kids but the attitudes that they portray and how they look at the unknown person that is observing them.  This type of function is a direct link to what is within their hearts and what is actually important to their lives while they are in youth and representatives of that youth group.

If the youth group displays this type of spiritual disorganization then according to the laws of spiritual covering the adult covering is in the same shape, organization and belief.  There might be some friction between the youth and the adults but this is normal but in the cases that I have noticed there are none which means that the spirits are in unison and not butting heads so to speak.  The recognition of the level of spiritual authority may be acknowledged, recognized and talked about but it seems like that is all it is, just talk.

As I stated above the concept of acceptance is a great concept and I am so thrilled that the Church has finally opened their eyes concerning this issue.  However, where is the awareness of the spirit from the people within the church that draws them to these new people in order to provide guidance for them?  New people in the church do not know much about God or the entire principals that govern the spiritual world, so why isn’t the church taking the initiative in completing this basic command of “go”.  This tells me that the church while they allow these hurting and suffering people within their walls, the congregations have no clue of how to respond to their needs and this means that the spiritual condition of the church is asleep itself and busy relaxing in front of the coffee stand in the foyer.

The concept of accepting people for who they are is what the church was designed for and it is the policy of the founder of the Church, which is Jesus Christ, demonstrated this mission to its utmost.  However while Jesus went to His enemies in the world He did not stop there by walking away and just accepting them for who they were and what condition they were in at that moment.  He went and died for them and took that extra step in order that they may understand their importance in the world and to realize their own personal worth to the Creator of every living thing.  It is the living experience of Christ and what He did, all of what He did, that should be the representation that we share to the world. 

I hear and read about many people saying that we need to be more like Jesus and go out and reach the poor and this is true.  But what frustrates me is that these people who are saying this and wondering why we are doing this process stop right here and mention nothing further about the mission that they evidently believe in.  Reaching out to the poor and needy is a great policy to have and promote, but if you do not finish the mission it means absolutely nothing to them and in the case of the Church if you accept people hurting from the world and do not share with them the spiritual concepts of what they are fighting against you are doing the exact same thing for them which is nothing.

Our enemy does not care if a person is in church or not, and our enemy will go as far as to open the door for you and sit and drink coffee with you in the pews.  It is the spiritual concept and meaning to our lives that matters if our enemy is either opening the door for you at church or if he is trying his best to distract you from attending or living a separated life through Christ.  Church really, really think about this and come to the realization that the patterns that we have allowed into our lives are not what God has planned for our lives.  It is the spiritual battles that we need to be aware of and we need to understand that each one of us face these battles every second of our lives.  It is of dire importance that when new people come into our church doors that they are not accompanied by our enemy but welcomed by people who care and understand what these hurting people are fighting against.

I understand that many ministers, deacons, and even long time church attendees will not take kindly to this article, if they even read it that is not the point.  This topic needs to be addressed throughout every denomination that has ever been created.  This topic is a good one but the Church needs to understand that we cannot just stop with accepting these people in our doors we need to witness to them and to provide them with the answers that they are looking for and longing to receive.  We shall not win any people to God if we do not put this concept into continual practice even though our church numbers may swell to over 10,000 per congregation.

Accepting people for who they are is a must but allowing them to stay accepted in the condition that drew them to their desire for inner change is not acceptable.  The kingdom concept of life occurs on two sides only with no intermingling possible.  These people realize this battle within their lives but do not understand what is actually at stake and what is going on inside them.  It is the responsibility of the Church not to just bring them into the fold but to teach them, not condemn them, about the spirit and how it affects their lives.

If the Church accepts this philosophy of truth without numbers and begins to once again to complete the mission that our founder established, I guarantee that when you ask the kids within the youth group or the adult members of any church the questions that I have asked, you would hear a response about how exciting the church is and how much they have learned about God and what He is doing in people’s lives instead of Paul, Sally and Sue said this about….

Further proof that acceptance without God being the center of that process is actually told in the Bible.  As of this current time there are many forms of government throughout the world and still these secular forms of laws cannot agree on a plan to bring everyone together.  As time progresses, some of these current governments and ideas will merge together in order to better mankind, including the acceptance of more groups of “outsiders” into the collective fold; this method will too fail as long as God is omitted from the equation.  Humans will eventually try the one world government system and proclaim that this form of leadership has all the answers, but as has been foretold this method will omit God and will cause the deaths of no doubt millions of people.  No acceptance policy shall ever come to pass and complete what it is designed to do and include everyone in the world as long as God is not present at its centerpiece.  We humans are taught that history is a boring subject and that we should not pay attention to what has occurred over the years but to focus on where we are now and where are headed.  What a dangerous indoctrination that will lead to sure destruction because if one looks back at history we can conclude that humans have never been fully accepted no matter where they traveled, so why would humans believe anything different about themselves for the future?

If a church is not in some type of constant spiritual turmoil and battle, then someone needs to begin to ask what is going on within the church that makes us immune to this condition.  Then we must realize our ways and turn back to God and allow Him to search out the laziness and the incomplete influences that we have accepted as truth within our lives.  God promises us restoration if we allow Him to work through our lives.  The restoration process will hurt a bit but at the same time we will understand that our lives are being cleansed of worldly possessions that hinder our spiritual vitality.  Once a church accepts these aspects of Kingdom, the Church will thrive in a manner to which Jesus’ actions will be portrayed and not man’s ambitions to impress.  God desires to live within our lives and to have a direct relationship with us at all times, but this shall not happen until we accept God’s spirit back into our churches and lives.  And remember that if we choose not to allow God this access once again, the enemy will continue his march and bring nothing but utter confusion and destruction to mankind.

DLB