Voice or Noises?

Voice or Noises?

12/30/13

The question posed in the title of this article can provoke many responses.  The way we answer that question can determine how we view life and what kind of lives we live.  It is important for us to hear voices for they can provide health, happiness, or even destruction.  The consequences of us not heeding or adhering to our voice of authority can lead to our destruction.  History has revealed that when we do not listen to the voice of God our expectations of humanity go up in flames and this is an issue that we need to change.  Even with all of the hustle and bustle of life’s surroundings we can still fine tune our spiritual ears well enough to listen to our Creator and to secure a complete life through Him.

There have been a few stories that have come across the news sources that have brought hope to many lives that cannot hear properly.  While there are numerous hearing conditions which impair the ability of a person to hear correctly, there are some technologies available now that can stop, reverse or override these negative effects.  One example of this technological development is a cochlear implant which when activated allows the ear to function in a normal capacity and brings sound to the recipient’s ears.  There was a news story not too long ago where a child who was suffering from a congenital condition received a cochlear implant.  Before the implant the child could not hear anything and was completely deaf due to the condition that he was born with but after the surgery the implant changed his life forever.

The parents agreed to have a video made of the moment that the implant was activated which was then agreed to be placed on the internet as a testimony of hope for thousands around the world who suffer from similar conditions.  The video was powerful because as the cameras began to roll, and the implant activated the child’s face immediately lit up with excitement and a smile came over his face almost at the same time.  The child’s father then spoke his name and the child turned his head in the direction of his father and the grin on his face grew by leaps and bounds.  The room was filled with tears of joy, and claps of approval began to ring about the room from the medical staff.  The doctor did some final checks on the implant and not too much longer and the family was allowed to leave and go home with their son that was now able to hear.

A couple of questions arise with this type of setting and the first one is most of us have no problems with our hearing and for the most part will not have any problems with this part of our anatomy.  But can you imagine how that young boy must have felt to be able to hear things for the first time and all of this being allowed to occur because of the knowledge of someone else and their capabilities to put into practice a device that would help someone hear?  The endless things that this child will learn now, you know, the ones that we take for granted each second of every day?  His world has now become alive all because he can hear what is actually going on.  After he gets older his parents will allow him to play by himself and to walk down a city sidewalk without fear of never coming back because he will have the ability to navigate the streets without help.  All because he has the capacity to hear sounds around him.

When we attend to another person’s voice we form a temporary communication link that serves a specific purpose.  That purpose of this link is to come to terms with what each other is trying to get across to the other party and while there are other methods of communication that humans possess, having the ability to hear what others are speaking to you speeds up this process tremendously.  But do we always understand what the other person is trying to convey to us or have we already preconceived what we want to hear before their words leave their lips?  It is a special art in listening and even though it might seem to be a simple process, what we hear may not be what we want to hear.  The boy who now can hear due to modern technology will now be able to hear everything that the world is saying, but not all of these voices are as such, many of them will turn out to be just plain noise.

How many of you hear your parents’ voices when they call your name?  How many out there ever knew that they were in trouble just by the way their parent’s called out their name?  What about when they used your middle name, did that mean anything to you? Sure did to me. J  How about on the opposite end of the spectrum could you tell when they had good news for you?  All of these examples and many more like them gave either a warning to us or promoted happiness within our lives and it was all due to our ability to hear their voices.

I still hear my dad’s voice today, even if he is not even in the same state.  It is not a bad thing but a comforting one to my life since my dad and I have a good relationship with each other.  Now, there might be some issues that we do not completely agree upon, but even having the capability of hearing his voice inside my head reassures me that his presence is still within my life; I revel in this knowledge as well.  See, being able to hear my father’s voice in my head lets me know that I have understood what he has been trying to get across to me all of these years and that is to reason things out and listen to the voice of wisdom before I act on things.  When I heed his words then that means I am putting into place the things that he taught me and following those guidelines that he wanted me to understand.  As I have gotten a tad bit older I look back now and wish that I had listened more to him and included many more areas of life that he wanted to share with me.

I still have the privilege of having both of my parents around me and in my life but I also have the confidence that when that sad day reaches me and they are gone that I will still be able to hear their voices in my head continuing their guidance and wisdom when certain circumstances arise.  To this day I still continue to seek my parent’s advice on matters and I continue to learn from their wisdom on a daily basis.  My point to this portion of the article is that hearing a voice of reason and wisdom proves to be invaluable to a person when those trying times arise for this voice is a constant one and a steady one that provides solid evidence to either avoid destruction or to limit destructive path while you travel through it.  It is the ears that allow your inner spirit to understand wisdom and to remember the voice of truth when times become tough and it is the voice of our Creator that we need to hear when our paths are about to collide with reality.

There is a popular Christian group out right at the moment named Skillet that many of the younger generations may recognize.  They have a new song out entitled “American Noise” and it is a fantastic song that enhances the topic of this article and it also leads into the second important question of the article as well.  There are so many noises that our ears are subjected to on a continual pulse and this pulse can seem overwhelming at times.  All of us have just wanted to run from this scene and lock ourselves into a quiet room and just sit and revel in the quietness of an empty place.  It seems like we can then reset our brains and think clearly once again.  But the question that this raises is one that puts into light to which voices that we are allowing to rule our minds and to what effect do these voices have on our ability to make sound judgments?

The world will never relent on its endless and mindless talents of noise for bringing noise into our lives is the only way that the world can gain access enough to influence our decisions.  Even reacting and running from all of the noise results in a benefit that the world has against us and costs us greatly in our walk in life.  We have no choice but to be a part of this world yet it is our choice to allow the noise of the world and our society deafen us to the point that we cannot hear the voice of our Creator.  These noises prove difficult to hear what specific people are trying to convey to us and if we continue surrounding our ears with many voices then eventually we will lose track of the one voice that we want to hear.  This is where focus comes into play and keeping our spiritual ears open to the voice of God and what he is trying to say to our lives.

We must first have a good enough relationship with God in order to hear His voice within our spirit.  And once this relationship is established then the danger is somewhat lessened as long as we continue seeking and remembering His voice in our hearts.  It is when we allow the entertainment of other voices that approach our hearts that it becomes dangerous because we while we are allowing the other voices to grab our attention we lessen the voice of God and of reason.  I am not saying that we have to isolate ourselves from the world, for that is an impossible task to contemplate but we can lessen the noises that we hear from the world by drawing closer to God in our relationship with Him.

It is just like hearing me father’s voice in my head even when he is not around.  It is the relationship that we have between us that continues his voice even when he is not around.  Ask anyone who has lost a grandparent, parent, etc and they will tell you that they still hear that person’s voice protruding in certain situations.  It is a normal response from our insides and it is this same type of relationship that God desires to have with us.  When we allow this type of relationship to develop with God the desire to al God to work through our lives will save us many heartaches and burdens as we continue the course of life.  Hearing His voice of wisdom will prove to be the perfect tool that we need to chip away at all of the junk that the world throws at us.

We become vulnerable to the world and its leader when we fail to recognize and hear our Father’s voice.  It is so easy to get caught up in the world’s settings and without even realizing our circumstances fall into the rap that has been laid before us.  When this occurs God has not forsaken us or stopped trying to get our attention.  It is because we have turned our focus away from Him and began to listen to the other noises around us that take us away from His voice.  Our ears are a gift that we need to make sure we take care of with the correct applications.  God’s voice does not change nor will His voice become in any manner threatening, but it will be a small still voice that provides direction and a steady course that will give us a way out if we are listening.

It is not too hard to find God’s voice and it is not hard to hear His voice either.  A common question is how to hear His voice and it is like this:  when you hear a voice that goes totally opposite to what the world is promoting, that is His voice.  When you hear a voice that wants you to have compassion with other people, that is His voice.  When you hear a voice that says repent for I love you, that too is His voice.  When you hear a voice that says that what you are doing is wrong; yep, you got it, that voice is His voice.  Are you listening for this voice or are you honing your ears on the voices, sounds and noises of the world?  God will allow you to choose the voice that you listen to and He will also allow you to experience the results of that choice.  The world’s patterns are set into place and its leader our eternal enemy but God will still allow your choice to be heard throughout the heavens, just as loud as His voice is calling you to be restored.

It is easy, the choices you have are of the world or of God both of which are acceptable because it is your choice.  One choice will lead to a miserable and confused life because of the environment in which that choice rests upon.  The other will go against the flow of the world and even though things might seem a bit tougher, true peace and tranquility will rule your life that will provide you answers to every question when you listen to the voice of our Father.  Our Father’s voice is a neat experience and one that will change your life forever.  The voice of the world will lead to destruction and a life so self centered that one will spin around in circles just to try and understand one point.  The world is not free, but God is and He offers this freedom to you.  All you have to do is look for Him and then tune your ears towards His voice and the restoration process is guaranteed to begin.

DLB

Two Birth Certificates

Two Birth Certificates

12/28/13

A birth certificate is an official document that states that a specific person has been born into this world and was born alive.  Every person in the civilized world has some form of documentation that says they have been born and while these documents come in a variety of ways they all basically provide the same information concerning the individual.  Even though birth certificates can stir up controversy, they do represent a reference point in our lives, not the beginning of our life but a point in time to which one can say that they were physically present on this earth.  We all understand that birth certificates are basically a modern invention and can be altered if done correctly but one cannot change the genetics of the representative of the one who is written about on that document.  Humanity does not have a monopoly on this legal birth certificate process the heart of God keeps a divine record of our birth certificate as well, but this one includes one with a spiritual content along with a physical content. 

The examples that I am going to use in this article are going to deal with a couple of people and how their lives are representative of the birth certificates that define their lives.  One of these people has been famous for many centuries and the other person for the most part is not well known at all.  But these people share a commonality in that they have some type of controversy concerning their birth, lineage and official documentation about who is actually who.  In truth these two people represent a political nature which is still being argued over today and thus the shared gains of these two individuals are unique in a manner that their stories define how the human race exists and at the same time what separates the human race from understanding what life really is all about.

The examples of a birth certificate and the official lineage of an individual can be quite contrary to the physical norm of life that we know.  The information present on a birth certificate is bound by law as the truth and considered for all purposes to be correct.  However, being human we choose to participate in extracurricular activities that can thwart the true nature of these documents; then we might have to alter factual information to protect people’s identities that have participated in specific portions of the filled in areas within this document.  My purpose is not to open any wounds or to get people to think about what actually may be the truth about their lives but I do want everyone to understand that it is important that we know who our father and mother is and what they actually want for our lives.  It is also important for us to understand that when the truth is revealed concerning the true nature of our lives, that our birth certificates are rewritten in a unique way in which overrides all previous beliefs and beginnings and that a new life is now being transcribed through our veins.

At this point in time in our nation’s history, there is a current controversy concerning the President of the United States and the origins of his birth certificate.  I am not going to deal with this trivial issue now for it is not my intentions to divulge into a whimsical and useless debate over nothing, but there is a significant concept that is at hand here and it deals with which certificate is legitimate.  It is my intent to publically declare that the two main people that I am going to use in this article do have two birth certificates and that both situations do have relevance in everyone’s lives even today.  And while the two birth certificates may differ in some specifics let it be known that in both circumstances each birth certificate was created through the law and were valid at the time each was created.  This is one of the major points that I wish to convey to you through this article that while mankind may squabble over a person having two birth certificates and the legality of which is correct, the concept and foundational aspects are of a godly nature that our enemy is exploiting to us each day that we draw breath.

Some of you may know a little bit about my personal history in the fact that I was adopted when I was an infant, so this means that on the physical level I have had two birth certificates.  There are many details of this process that I will not write about here but please understand that my parents took every step necessary to ensure that my adoption was legal and it was done with the knowledge and agreement of all parties involved.  The procedures for adoption back in the late 1960s were basically similar to those of today and the forms to fill out in order for my adoption and printing of my new birth certificate also resembled the ones formally issued today.  The information that is contained on that form is processed and then distributed to the proper authorities along with a copy that is given to the parents of the child. In effect, my new birth certificate, while I have two on the books, is my official birth certificate and there is no way that anyone can legally claim otherwise.  Keep this process in mind as well since it too is another major point of this article.

I was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on Thanksgiving evening on 23 November 1967.  When I finally was able to leave the hospital I had a legal birth certificate that declared I was born alive and it also presented the world all of my vital information including my name, Jeffrey Wayne Cearley.  Anyone recognize that name?  Up until a few years ago I had no clue about my original name and with my birth family finding me after approximately 42 years after my birth, some blanks of my beginnings have been filled in a bit.  Most of you did not know that I also had another name before I came to be in my parent’s arms so the majority of people around here have no reason to believe that my name was anything other than Darin Lee Bishop.  So, there you go, I have had another name in my lifetime but for all but a few months of my life I have been called Darin and so shall it be this name until the day I pass from this mortal life.

I left the hospital in Arkansas and went with my birth mother to a little town called Prescott, Arkansas.  There are some details of this time period that still are yet unanswered but are minor in accordance with the remainder of my life.  In short, a few weeks passed by and my birth mother allowed for my parents to adopt me and to legally become their child.  This began a process that would change my life entirely and as I stated above even my name was officially changed.  Some of the information that was on my original birth certificate would not change because those aspects of my physical being could not change.  But other information located on that document would change and those new words would be engrained within my life and become a part of my identity that continues with me today.  Most of this information I was not aware of until I became old enough to fully understand what had occurred those years back.  My parents never withheld any part of my life from me and I considered myself lucky to have parents that loved me enough to entrust me with this information as I became of sound age.

On my first birth certificate, the one that states my name as Jeffrey there was no father listed on that document.  There was a reason for this and it was not until some 42 years down the road that the majority of the truth came out.  It was not from my parents but from my other siblings who found me years later.  On my birth certificate now, I do have a father listed and his name is William S Bishop and he is the one that I proudly call “pop” today.   We do find it kind of funny and ironic at the same time that pop actually had coffee on occasion with my birth father without actually knowing the fine details of all parties involved in my creation.

So you are reading an article from a person who has two legal birth certificates.  Both certificates were obtained by legal means and by the normal human methods that define the meaning of physical life.  Neither of them has been tampered with nor have they been destroyed or damaged in any way.  I am proud to say that I have two birth certificates and I am also proud and honored to say that I am thankful for those two birth certificates because if both of them were not in place today that would have meant that somewhere along the way my life might not have even been recognized by this world.  Even though I know about my birth family and have good relationships with them, I still have not met my birth mother and many other members of my family but even so, I do know which birth certificate trumps the other and I am so glad that God saw fit for me to have both families present in my life.  I am also honored and amazed at the same time to realize that God is using my example of two birth certificates as a standard of truth concerning this situation and of the importance that we understand this concept and how relevant it is in our lives.

Both of these birth certificates identify me as a physical, living human being that inhabits this planet and both indicate certain features of my physical life.  But this is where my birth certificate stops, by identifying my physical definition, and likewise my birth information on my birth certificate ends its obligation.  For a birth certificate is just that, a record of live birth and then the responsibility of that individual life then belongs to the parents and then eventually the specific person themselves.  All humans have no problem with identifying themselves through a physical birth certificate even if questions arise.  It is the other type of birth certificate and everything that it represents that some have problems believing and for this side of our lives we must turn towards God for the answer, which brings me to the second person that plays a far greater role in this article.

We should keep in mind that when we read the Bible that all of its content refers to people and about the choices that those people have made concerning their lives.  There are literally thousands of examples that took place in which humans had to endure some type of happiness or heartache.  And when one read about these stories the reader can identify with similar circumstances that face our world today.  So it seems like not much has changed for humans in the physical manner of things but when one looks at the spiritual mannerisms of humans, there is a huge difference in our actions and behaviors.  It took mankind thousands of years to figure out the principles of God’s love for us that He has created a state of progress we must confront on a second by second basis instead of immediately being thrown into one; it is a teaching lesson that deals solely on faith and belief through our Creator and not of our flawed, limited and selfish ideas.

I am only going to touch on this point of interest right at the moment but I will be writing about it full detail in a matter of a short while, but even though some of the religious events and procedures are different from the Biblical days and today, man can still function in the past records of our life.  Sacrifice after sacrifice is recorded in Old Testament pages and a person does not have to search too long until they can find the same practices occurring on this very day.  The separation of man from God allowed these procedures to take place and all of them had specific meanings that defined the relationship between God and man.  It took thousands of years for God to prepare His ultimate lineage through man to complete the restoration process that would lead to the end of our separation from God.  God knew that the only way for this restoration and relationship to be healed was to do it through both the Holy lineage and the human lineage, which in blinded human eyes seems worthless, false and beyond comprehension.  God’s son Jesus has two birth certificates as well and He is the second example of my article. 

It is well known that Jesus was born into this world as a human as well as the documented facts concerning His presence was on this earth which includes the end of His life and death.  He functioned as any other human did with having to experience every human detail that any one of us would face each day.  Every physical characteristic that a person would have Jesus inherited as well, He even was subjected to walking and eating, just as we do.  Even though there were no official birth certificates as we know them floating around back in Jesus’ times, His presence on earth documents that He was a living and breathing human being and that He did exist on this earth.  None of us can deny this aspect of Christ’s life for it is recorded in history that this person was in fact alive and did eventually die.  This fact that history records His existence means that if there were anything present that served as a birth certificate Jesus would have had one.

While the physical birth certificate of Jesus really cannot be contested, the second birth certificate of Jesus is a little bit trickier since the origin of this announcement of live birth is one of a spiritual manner.  It is this certificate that people tend to disagree with or simply do not believe in at all and will actually argue its content unendingly; however, if one stops and reasons it out logically it does make perfect sense and it serves as a bond and a seal between God and man.  God made His intentions very clear to Joseph and while Joseph had the choice to believe in what God said or not, his faith was strong enough to ignore the human criticism that his friends and the law stated; here is another example of human choice in action.  We all have to agree to bypass the physical understanding of sexual content to accept this claim and it would be very easy to ignore any other explanation other from God Himself sending a divine representative.  While God’s name would not physically be on Jesus’ birth certificate all of the signs pointing towards this claim as Jesus’ father would provide adequate evidence of His intent to claim paternity of Jesus.

No one within the span of man’s existence can argue that each life represented does not have a purpose, no matter what that person has done.  Each person has an effect on someone else whether it is good or bad.  One would tend to believe that even though some may see no good in a person, others who knew them in another way might differ from their specific opinions.  Jesus had a purpose in His life as well and it was to provide the bridge that would once again connect God and man. Joseph had a specific purpose and role to fill while Jesus was in Mary’s womb and his presence sets in motion the legality of the father’s presence in a child’s life, both before and after the conception of a child. 

Just a short statement here on another topic, but there would be no way possible for Jesus to represent this bridge to God if He was not born differently than any other human on this earth.  So, this means that Jesus had to have another birth certificate because the bloodline that He received was from God the Father and not from another human being.  Therefore, this establishes the legitimacy of Jesus having two birth certificates and the legality of each, with the holy bloodline trumping the physical.  The Bible is very specific about the events that surround the conception of Jesus.  The entire bloodline that was established within Mary was a Holy one where it did not involve the human act of sex for Mary knew no man at this time. 

Even at the time of Jesus’ birth Mary was still did not know intimately what sex was and in truth was faithful to God while she was pregnant with God’s son.  We read that Mary was a quiet and simple girl and was afraid of what the local laws could have done to her because of her betrothal to Joseph.  Joseph was also placed in a precarious position and most likely had to encounter some type of ridicule for keeping Mary in his life.  But both of them understood what had transpired and their faith in God guided them in every movement.  This is another step and confirmation that God had already written the second birth certificate of Jesus even though He had not been born yet and it should serve as a notice of the importance of a baby within the confines of a mother’s body.

Here comes the fun part of the article.J  When Jesus was twelve years old the Bible states that He was in the Synagogue teaching, while His earthly parents were out looking for Him.  They understood that Jesus was only a boy and that He still needed to be close to His parents and had placed the fact that Jesus was God manifest on earth and that He had a mission to accomplish even though He was a young lad.  Yet Jesus was doing what He was commissioned to do by His father and can you imagine the looks on Mary and Joseph’s faces when Jesus reminded them of this fact?  Even though Mary and Joseph had been told by God that Mary was going to give birth to Jesus, they still had the earthly foundational beliefs that resided within them.  Jesus’ other birth certificate had already been written and He understood what His purpose was in life even at a young age.  Not many twelve year old children understand what their life’s goals are at that age but from this example and other factual examples in history that I have read, preteens do understand their calling in life even though they may not fully comprehend it as such. 

Referring back to the present situation concerning the major flap going around our nation concerning our top leader and his birth certificate, yet sticking to the fact that this piece of history is not the centerpiece of my article, yet at the same time needing to address this issue because the concepts of the arguments of the physical is relevant to our understanding concerning the concept of two birth certificates.  I have been shown details that many will find, or should find, very eye opening and has direct meaning to each one of our lives.  The arguments with this personal issue is whether or not that he has two birth certificates or not and if so which one is actually legal.  Some even question if he has any legal birth certificates at all.  Now while this imminent debate has settled down somewhat, there is a reason behind all of it and you might be surprised to know the reasons why.

This point of interest brings up a question as to why this issue has made such worldwide attention in the first place.  The surprising aspect of this current issue is actually addressed by Jesus while He was still walking on the earth.  After Jesus was born then reached the age of adulthood His work on earth continued as it had been ordained.  All of the humanness that He encountered and all of the personal drama that He witness could not deter His belief in His true father, in mankind itself nor the mission that He was to complete.  And informing us of this detail about our lives was part of His mission.  Not only does it apply to the President of this country but it also applies to each and everyone else that is lucky enough to escape the womb intact and breathing.  Ready?  Here I go with the explanation.

Why two birth certificates?  Well it all comes to light when Jesus is talking to the people about seeing the Kingdom and how one must be born again to witness this part of life.  The fascinating part about this concept is the legality questions that have been raised and the fact that a person has two birth certificates in the first place.  It took me a while for God to show me some things about this process and how we are being blind to the fact of a few things about our own lives.  Now we all know that God has a plan for each one of our lives and that our enemy will have a counter plan for everything that God instills.  Sometimes the counter plan that our enemy has can be funny, especially to us when we figure some things out and after we get through laughing, we then realize that we have been lied to and this should anger us to no end.  To be honest people we have been lied to and we need to understand that the physical birth certificate issue is actually a process that we really need to have in our lives.  Yes, we need two birth certificates and they both need to be legal in the eyes of each government; the physical government and the spiritual government.

The focus of our enemy is to make sure that we do not see or understand what our overall mission is and for him to confound our ideas and lives with enough nonsense that we purposefully render our mission invalid due to the backlog of trivial information that we allow to infiltrate into our lives.  Case in point is the controversy over the President’s birth certificate.  Our enemy is using this concept to frustrate our minds and our thoughts enough to make sure that by the time things come out that we will be so sick of the issue that we will not want to have anything to do with any further knowledge about birth certificates.

Jesus addresses the crowd and mentions the phrase that says a person must be born again to see the Kingdom.  This is an important statement because it mentions about being born again.  The person who asks Jesus the question about how can someone enter into his mother’s womb again is a logical and physical question but it is the spiritual birth or in this case rebirth that Jesus is talking about.  See, our spiritual connection with God died in the Garden when we choose to sin.  We broke that oneness with God and our spirits were automatically separated from God.  It is this reconnection that Jesus is talking about when He states about being born again.  One must see and understand the Kingdom and comprehend what the Kingdom is before that person can accept or reaccept the connection that allows us to be joined with God again.  In other words, when we truly turn our lives back to God we are spiritually reborn and reconnected with God.  This is the sole purpose of why Jesus came to the earth; to reconnect our communication lines with God.  His mission serves as a spiritual birth certificate, one that God sees on His spiritual level and recognizes our spiritual lives through the blood of Jesus. 

This means that only Jesus can serve as the connection between God and man.  This also explains the reason why God had to conceive Jesus into Mary and that it could not have been legally and properly completed by human means.  This is the part where I am going to step on toes but it needs to be said and it needs to be proclaimed throughout the world as the truth, and yes, this is part of the fun part of the article as well.  There is absolutely no way that two humans who conceive a child can honestly and truly produce a person who has the direct connection to God.  It does not matter how pure their parents’ genetic codes are, they will still produce a flawed offspring.  The bloodline is of human origin and therefore it is faulty where the spirit is concerned.

Any claims, by any person or group of people who state that their offspring is the Messiah, or has the answers for humanity through their offspring is a lie.  It does not matter what type of intentions that they have, it is a lie.  Jesus was the only one that was ever created by Holy blood and raised through human means and thus He can only be the one that provides our second birth certificate.  No one else and I mean no one else no matter how good they might sound to the human ear, can truly and spiritually proclaim this title. 

The human has two parts to our existence, one physical and one spiritual.  One is easily comprehended and the other is difficult to understand, but both are present in each of us and we need to keep this in mind at all times.  If we have these two parts that that means we need two birth certificates in order for us to be totally alive.  So it is natural when people try to end a life before it leaves the womb that our enemy would try every measure possible to make sure that we do not understand the spiritual birth certificate concept as well. 

Look at how many heated arguments and yelling has transpired because of this issue.  It has further deepened the wounds of this country and unless we allow God to change our lives the wounds will not be able to heal correctly and our country will continue its downward spiral; in every way not just on the physical side of things.  This issue also should cause us to examine our laws and come to the understanding that our laws are flawed by the very ones who have created them.  The same arguments are being played out for our spiritual birth certificates as well and it is just as important that we keep these spiritual documents in tact so that we may know, understand and live a full life.

I ask you to read this article over again to make sure that you grasp this concept and that you understand how vital it is that we know about our two birth certificates and the importance of each one to our lives.  And if one stops and thinks about some of these details, it would become clear to them of why we have two birth certificates and why it is important for us to fight for both of them.  God cannot leave one side of our lives undone, He must be complete in all areas and that is why He made our spiritual birth certificates but since we have the physical aspect of our lives and the spiritual aspect as well both documents must be alive in order for us to know true eternal life.  It also sheds light into the category of the spirit in terms of its place with God and how it is no longer separate from God, as long as we choose it to have a spot.  See the spiritual birth certificate actually gives life through Jesus to God.  This is the born again portion and the restoration of the spirit that we choose to separate from God back in the Garden of Eden

It is a necessity for us to have two birth certificates and this article proves that God wishes to have both physical and spiritual communications with His people.  God is a complete God and He only wishes to have a relationship with us.  Jesus is the only way that we can have God sign our spiritual birth certificate and the only way that this can occur is I we accept His ways and mission.  It is time that we open our spiritual eyes again and to begin to fill in the blanks for both of our birth certificates.  God promises us that He will restore our land if we turn from our wicked ways, this is the act of repentance and it is the first step of bringing to life our second birth certificate.

DLB

It Came To Pass

It Came to Pass

12/18/13

Have you ever wondered about some of the phrases that are used in the Bible and what significance those phrases have?  The Old Testament is filled with such phrases and they can become easily ones that are skipped over and sometimes even ignored.  But even these phrases have a definitive meaning and should signal to the reader that a certain process is taking place and should not be overlooked.  We must never forget that each letter of the Bible comes from the mouth and heart of God and has a specific meaning and purpose for each one of us.  This means that even certain unusual phrases that are present are special to someone and will reassure them in some way.

There are many of these phrases that we deem as non specific terms, words and sentences present in the Bible.  In those days, it came to pass and even the word begat are all clumped into this category and many will read these words and phrases but hardly take the time to find out exactly what is transpiring in these verses.  I must confess that I have read these types of passages all of my reading life and have not taken any time to understand exactly what God is trying to convey to me.  If the Word of God is alive then that means every single letter within its contents is alive and has a purpose in its existence, for God is eternally alive and therefore cannot write or produce something that is dead or lacks meaning.

The phrase that I am going to be using for this article is the phrase “it came to pass.”  We see this phrase in many settings within the bible and at different times of people as well, not to mention that it appears at some very unusual points in scripture.  I am not going to pin down any specific reference because a person needs to read this passage and understand for themselves its meaning.  The phrase “it came to pass” refers to a period of time of the individual, couple, group or nation that the passage is describing.  This is a general phrase that points to a specific period of time that is not effectively annotated in detail.  There is nothing wrong with this type of writing nor did God be vague in these passages because they are not important.

My point is this; let us take the life of Adam.  How many years does the Bible say that Adam lived?  He lived a bunch more years that you or I will ever see or want to be around for that matter.  My question to you is this: If a person lives to be just 300 yrs old and is being written about how much information would you think there would be on that person?  According to the Bible Adam lived to be 930 years of age.  His life volume of information would be almost impossible for our human mind to comprehend.  So, now throw into the mix David, Rachel, Eve, Sarah or Jonah and how much information would you have to read about then? 

By God using this phrase He is not saying that the details left out of these people’s lives are unimportant but He is saying that we have the capability to think and to reason with Godly wisdom in order to give a general account of how these people made their choices and decisions.  Humans cannot simply get to one point to another in a matter of seconds, it takes time and since each human is different and unique those patterns, while similar in nature take on their own characteristics.  This is why it is so important that we read and understand human history.  We can learn a lot about life through the life experiences of others who have come and gone before us.  While everything about their lives may not directly apply to us we will receive answers to certain questions about life and our lives if we look in the right places.

There is a new movie coming out entitled something like “Noah.”  It is the story about the days of Noah and how he was called to build the ark and the reasons why he was accomplishing this task.  In the previews it also shows how the people of those days were reacting to what Noah was doing.  It showed large crowds approaching him with clubs, sticks and other instruments of violence in total anger towards his dealings with what God had commanded him to do.  Do you know how long it would take to write about just a few days of that sort of activity?  Instead God leaves this portion of human events to our understanding through the study of our human past.  See, even in the days of Noah humans had a “human past” that they could refer back to when and if they wished.

It came to pass is a logical reference phrase for this usage and it actually brings out the genius in God.  The Bible was written about human and their activities during their lives but as we know not every detail is brought into light either.  This is where God intended for us to have an open, reasonable and Godly perspective about humans as we think about life during those times.  If a person reads a passage and places his own ideas within that context it becomes a biased opinion and interpretation, but if one places the ideologies of the human heart within that content then one can view that Biblical life or event within the confines of how God intended for us to read His word.

The Bible is totally about you and your life yet at the same time the Bible and God’s Word is not about you.  Your life is of the utmost to God for He created you in a way that never can be duplicated, even if you are an identical twin.  But when God was writing His Word for you, He intentionally left out your selfish attitude while He was writing about your life.  It is we who put the selfish attitudes into God’s Word and justify our beliefs accordingly.  If a person reads the Bible with the concept that God loves and created everyone for a specific purpose then your foundational reasoning is sound but when you read His passages with a selfish demeanor you decimate His meaning for your life and the mission that He has set before you.

The phrase “it came to pass” follows suit in that God places those words in that position so that your mind can settle upon the ideas, customs, ways or laws of that day.  It also allows our mind to flow through the person’s day and how they would react to those laws and the appropriate responses to each situation.  In Mary and Joseph’s case they went to their homeland and then began a fleeing process due to the laws of the land.  Take a while to think about how it would have been in those days with such laws being handed down.  How would you respond? 

God understands human history far better than you or I could ever imagine.  But even so He allows us to think about what others have accomplished and completed before we make the same choices.  It is a true blessing that god has allowed us the opportunity to reference our human past in order to make things better for us during this period of time.  Also, what can be better than for God allowing us to read His Word for our lives and to be able to sit and contemplate certain events within His Word and put those conditions into our mindset so that we may have a reference point of how those people acted back then and to serve as a tool for our actions if and when those types of circumstances arise in our lifetime.  What an example of a living Word!!

For those of you who wish to have a secular example, here you go. J “History reveals” would be the secular comparison to the Biblical passage of “it came to pass.”  Studying church history, agricultural history, European history, etc serves as the reference point that any student or person reading about that specific topic.  I have watched many documentaries over my life about numerous subjects and each one of them has a single topic or reference point that they center their investigations around.  This research process takes time and long hours of thinking, imagining, planning and conducting the activities to put on a finished product for others to see takes time, it is not an overnight process.  Even a 30 second television commercial takes at least two days of filming for it to be completed.  All of this and much, much more serves as another example of why God’s Word is relevant in our world today and it also proves to all mankind that God wants us to know everything possible about our lives.

If God would have detailed every aspect of the lives within the Bible then mankind would say that He is a dictator and spies upon us for His eye is on our every move.  People would have justification to warrant this type of belief in God had already written down this information.  It would be a standard that would not allow Him to be called Father and a loving Father at that.  The old reasoning of God sitting on His throne with a pencil with a gigantic eraser on it just waiting for us to mess things up and then erase our names from His book of life would surely then be accepted as truth.  Instead, God has placed this capability within our hearts to carry out making it our choice to read, listen, obey, disobey, clown around, etc with everything choice that has an opportunity to influence us.

One further example that places emphasis on the ability that God gave us to think and to reason things through an objective opinion.  One of these days, hopefully in the very distant future my life on this earth will be over.  And someone in the world will find some of these writings that tell about what God has said to His people.  The person searching my information will eventually find out that I am no longer alive and have gone from this world.  But as they read the material that God has shown me, it will take them time to complete my transcriptions and then they will choose to accept or to deny its contents.  But when they come across this article they will have the opportunity to understand what God means by “it will come to pass” and the very meaning that the phrase was written.  It came to pass means there is an unwritten story there that the reader is free to think about and if they are honest will think about my life as a messenger to others and not some biased religious freak that tried to spread propaganda to others.

God does not want to control a bunch of robots He desires to have a personal relationship with each and every one of us.  In order for Him to have this relationship He has given us the ability to think and to make choices.  God has already stated His desires for our lives and has provided countless examples and reference points to corroborate this fact.  It came to pass is not a meaningless phrase that we should skip over and continue our reading.  It is a phrase in which God wishes for us to stop and to take time to think about all details that the people in those passages were dealing with and going through.  For one day we might be faced with a similar situation or you might hear of a friend who is facing the same situation.  This is when we are to learn about our lives before we actually have to experience things and this is another reason why the Bible is relevant in our world and in our personal lives today.

DLB

Two Birds with One Stone

Two Birds with One Stone

12/9/13

The usage of a bird is a common animal that houses, territories or nations commonly use on their standards.  What about when a house, territory or nation uses one bird as their symbol but in reality projects another kind of bird towards the rest of the world, especially when these birds of representation are totally opposite of each other’s lifestyles?  Are we blind to what our hearts are portraying to each other or are we just deliberately living a double life from within?  The evidence is present for this double standard but as the title of this article states, the action verb of the phrase is what happens to both birds.  We need to change our ways before someone picks up that stone and uses it to complete the phrase.

I know that I have heard this phrase used many times throughout my life and for various reasons as well.  For the most part the phrase is used in good measures with a person or company taking care of two problems at once during one process.  It would seem that this phrase could only be used in good terms since the streamlining of events is everyone’s goal in life.  It saves time, money and effort when this process is done correctly.  But when one looks at this phrase in a wider stance, the meaning can actually bring a different ringing of our mind’s bells when we put the emphasis on the birds instead of the action of the one taking care of the birds.

Most of us understand that nations, families and other territories and provinces have flags, or standards, that they use to identify themselves to similar representatives.  This is an old custom and I suggest that you pull up some of the countries and territories of the world and study their flags and standards.  Some of the standards and crests that the old European, Asian and African peoples used are beautiful and have so much meaning to the ones that flew these flags for centuries. 

Many of these flags and crests are adorned with birds and represent either the bird of the area or in reference to the status of that family during certain periods of their existence.  Each flag and crest has a specific meaning and definition that the family or nation has followed. These crests and flags do not always go unimpeded with their designs and many times there are groups of people who hate what the flag stands for or even burn the standard as an act of protest against the specific family or nation.  Our own nation’s flag has come into light when it comes to this cowardly act of violence but we all need to keep in mind that it is a choice that a person, group or nation has that feels like they need to publicly demonstrate their disapproval of such standard.

It is never a good scene to watch people intentionally burn a flag of a country.  And when that flag that is set aflame is your country’s symbol it becomes distinctively painful to witness enjoy their destructive behavior against you personally.  Now we all understand that no everyone will agree with every decision that one’s home country makes but it is of an honorable society to correct those wrongs by not repeating them again.  The tables are turned however, when people of one country voluntarily disgrace their own flag or standard.  I must admit that is it very painful to hear and read about people who have issues with their country enough to display acts of violence against their own flag or crest.  This demonstration does not only show others an example of solidarity with their disagreements without country it also provides to others a state of change from within our country concerning the heart of the people.

While our flag does not have a bird on it our country has adopted a bird as its official symbol.  We see this bird on many things including our money, official governmental symbols and crests, and on various private markings that the public looks at every day.  We have pee wee, high school, college and professional teams who have taken the name of this bird as their emblem.  No matter what the team’s season has been we never deny the fact that the eagle is a proud and majestic bird that one should be proud of when people read about the teams’ history.  The eagle has become a recognized symbol that our country uses to identify a government official when they arrive at a foreign dignitary’s place of residence or business. 

When my wife and I went to Alaska to visit one of her friends we spent a great deal of time driving around the city of Juneau just looking at the different scenes of nature.  While we were on one of our excursions my wife noticed something while that was located in a tree.  I peeked over to see what she was referring to and saw the same thing.  At the time I had no idea what the white object was in the pine tree but I found it very beautiful and I found myself staring at it for a few moments before we proceeded down the road.  These white objects were not numerous but would appear every once-in-a-while and they would all of them be in the different trees.

Now most people when they mention that they have been to Alaska others want to know about all of the wildlife that the visitors witnessed.  While we did not see too many large creatures we did get to witness spawning of some of the salmon which I found very interesting to watch.  It was funny yet wise to have “No Fishing” signs around the stream mouth because in all reality it would technically be poaching if one fished here.  There were fish everywhere trying their best to head up from the bay into this small stream. 

Where there is a bunch of fish there is usually birds flying around as well and with the amount of fish literally crawling up each other to enter into the stream it was easy pickings for the numerous birds flying around as well.  I noticed all of the birds coming and going with bits of fish meat dangling from their mouths and talons and it was amazing to watch the steady flow of birds constantly landing and taking off. However, when an eagle approached the area all of the other birds quickly disappeared and the eagle soon was on its way to grab its portion for the day.  The eagle was wonderful to watch, completing it feeding duties and then returning to the trees.

It then hit my wife and me at the same time that the little white golf balls in the trees that we were noticed from the car were actually the heads of the eagles.  It took the action of the eagle and its return to its nest that triggered this thought into our heads.  The eagle was just minding its own business watching all of the activity from its nest and waiting for the right moment to come and get what it needed.

Once we knew what we were looking for it became almost like a game to us to try and find other white golf balls in trees.  After we had located some we did our best to stare at them as long as we could since being from the area that we lived in basically had no bald eagles for us to observe.  There was something about watching the eagle soar above us and then swoop down and grab its food and then leave the immediate area again.  It was a smooth process almost methodical in appearance and then quickly gone home.

I refer to this bird because it is the national symbol of our country and the founders who chose this bird as our symbol couldn’t have picked a more adequate animal for the world’s representation of our country.  The eagle is a majestic bird whose flight patterns have been studied for decades, its feeding patterns photographed and its care for its young plastered all across world magazines for everyone to behold.  It would be hard for a person to argue that this bird is not beautiful to look at and stunning to watch while it completes it everyday activities. The founders did an excellent job in choosing this bird as our national symbol since for almost three centuries now our country has performed its daily activities in this same manner.

The eagle is an ambitious and warrior-like bird, strong and worthy of its stature and it commands a humble respect from all other birds that are around it.  The eagle does not take from its competitors nor does it steal from its own because it would go in contrast to its ethical code.  When times are tough it works hard to find its source of food and energy and pursues this source with a direct authoritative spirit that tends to ward off any enemy present within the area.  The eagle protests its family with a ferociousness not demonstrated by many other avian species and when attacked it finds ways to make sure that its attackers understand that they have made a terrible mistake.

As with our eyes noticing the white golf balls in the green pine trees, the eagle sees its surroundings and it understands every bit of activity that swirls around it.  It plays no games when it comes to the security of its family and neighbors for it knows that if its neighbors are attacked then they too could be next in line, so they sit with their eyes peeled waiting for anything amiss to occur.  What a perfect setting to imagine that our country is doing every day, another reason why the founders could not have chosen a better national symbol.

It makes one wonder if our founders understood just how accurate they were when they choose the eagle as the symbol of our country. As I continue my study of the founders I am becoming more and more convinced that they did understand every possibility that this country could have upon the world and since the national symbol was and still is a popular notification, that the eagle would be the best choice for our nation.

I wish that I could say that every eagle that has ever lived had these same qualities as the eagles that I am referring to in this article.  But in all honesty I must admit that it is very possible and almost probable that there have been some eagles who have demonstrated other characteristics than what I have been describing.  It is logical for me to assume that this is a correct statement because even though the majority of humans could fall into the category of good and decent citizens who love their country, there would be those who did not see this type of belief as being fit.  It is these people who start out few in number yet rise in rank within society and then make enough noise to have their presence noticed by others.

These people have chosen to uphold their portion of the nation differently and while the majority of these people probably do not have anger or hatred within their hearts the progression of what follows them breed discontent and hatred in the form of natural progress of the human spirit.  I understand that this is a huge statement but stop and take a look back at where we have come from and where we are now and then compare the two settings.  Lose the political, emotional and human biases that we carry and look at our past and ten current times and see the differences that are present now.  It is safe to say that we no longer represent an eagle but that of a raven.  And to be fair I am now going to look at the raven and its life patterns so we can all know each side of the story.

The raven is a scavenger by nature and it sees everything that it can take from its competitors instead of working for its own needs.  The raven flies high as the eagle and its eyesight is just as keen and sharp, yet it uses its natural abilities to fend off others in order to take what has been provided by others’ means.  Ravens have no friends including the other ravens that might be in the area.  Nor do they truly want to make new friends, only use them for superficial gain and when their usage is done throw them to the other scavengers for annihilation, all the while watching them perish as they fly away seeking to locate further friends.  Ravens have been known to scare away younger predators in order to “flex their feathers” to obtain superiority among the local avian population.

Why would a bird actually want to continually live in an area full of desolation with no future of natural change possible, yet rely on other animals’ demise for their own consumption?  With this flight a raven believes in and cares for only itself and it is their right to have what they want, when they want it and it does not matter who they get their wants from either.  Both the eagle and raven expend equal amounts of energy to complete the necessities of the day and even though they may share similar features that each bird has, their hearts are totally different and their pursuant motives definitely can be seen by others.

Some of you may fail to see the comparisons between the two birds and how humans act within our country.  Each bird represents a spirit within in their lives each of which is distinctive to its own species, so does each human.  Now it is feasible to say that both the eagle and the raven cannot change its physical appearances to look like the other and even though humans try and do the same we too cannot totally complete this transformation.  It is also logical to say that both birds have a distinct philosophy about their daily activities and that sometimes an eagle can act like a raven and a raven act like an eagle and do not even get me started about this characteristic about humans. 

It has been said that what counts about a person only comes from within and that we should not take the physical into consideration when addressing a human being.  It is the actions of a person that give others the predetermination of that human, not what the person looks like. But we need to think about what exactly is going on inside the person who demonstrates a scavenger attitude towards his fellow commuters.  While we continue to notice the decent and honorable deeds that many of us do it is the actions of those scavengers who grab all of the attention.  It is the choice of the eagle to act like a raven and vice versa, as it is with the human being to act accordingly to the eagle and raven.  What the difference between the birds and the humans is that we have a choice to which we can pattern our behavior and turn from or go without choice.

It has become apparent that many governments within the world have turned towards the scavenger side of life instead of trying to soar with the majestic eagle.  We in this country have begun this turning as well.  Look at what we are reporting on the news each night and if you look at the inner deeds of these people you will see the scavenger-like beliefs protruding.  In other words, while we may have our common physical features in view for the world to notice it is our inner distinct character that the world is seeing.  Humanity is well beyond just a few of us acting in this manner, it has become a choice of life and a conception of a new way of living that will end in a result of death.

It is very important for us to understand that the founders chose the eagle as our national symbol for a reason.  They saw the integrity and drive of each family of this country displayed against the current belief of despair and the down beaten that the world had to offer.  The ones who braved their journey and risked their lives to seek a better standard for their families are the ones that this country displayed to the world.  The founders understood that some decisions would be hard to make and then to live with but they made those choices out of the goodness of their hearts.  It is this standard that the eagle was adopted by this country. 

But can we honestly say that our country still represents an eagle not only to the world but also to ourselves?  The dishonesty, cheating, stealing, and total corruption of our motivations have now encumbered a dishonorable reputation and are now breeding discontent within our own borders.  We have even lost our sense of humor that has been famous worldwide in favor for a stymied “correct” language that only frustrates everyone who is forced to live within its confines.  When our body’s appearance is more important than our education system, we have lost our way.  When our compassion for those that are less fortunate has been replaced with mandates and demands, our goals have been smashed from within.  When we loft ourselves high into the air and demand that others heed our commands without question then our defining spirit has been replaced by a “ravenistic” ideology.

Now let us do some investigating as to why our great symbol of the eagle is being taken over by the raven.  It is not easy to miss when it is placed into this type of scenery.  Whether one will admit it or not we are still living in pretty good times inside the western world. However, it is visible that this bubble of luxury is beginning to display some major cracks that if we do not band together and fix, will lead to a huge opening that will enable our way of life to disappear when times really become tough.  We have an obligation to see this ravenous state of our heart and to reverse the bloodline that we are providing for our children.

The progression of human self dependence has furthered this ravenous contention between nations.  A question that I have to ask and one that needs to be thought about very seriously is this: how many dead eagles do you see along the side of the road? And the next question would be this: how many dead ravens do you see along side of the road?  I just turned 46 years of age and I have never driven by a dead eagle next to the road, but I have driven by many dead ravens.  There is a difference in the eagle from the raven and in each difference there is a standard that has been bred into their lives.  Remember the old saying of how can you soar with eagles while you work with a bunch of turkeys.  Put the word raven in the turkey slot and then repeat that saying and that is exactly in what direction we are headed.

How does this fit into the title of the article?  Killing two birds with one stone is a great phrase and I hope that we all look at its wording a bit different after this article.  The phrase refers to two birds being killed.  It does not say what kind of birds, just two of them.  It refers to only one stone used to complete the task of killing these birds.  The phrase also refers to something or someone using the stone to strike the two birds that are close enough to each other to complete the task.  And finally the end result is the death of the two birds and the stone falling to the ground and waiting for someone else to pick it up again.

I believe that I have clearly demonstrated the two birds in this article and how they represent the two spirits within this country.  The something or someone who throws the stone represents us, each one of us in this country.  The stone represents our choices that we have picked up off the ground and are going to use against one another.  The verb killing used in this phrase is exactly what we will be doing to our country and to ourselves as soon as we pick up that stone and hurl it towards one another.  That stone will strike us and it will kill our bird.  It kills the eagle because that is not what our country was founded upon and it kills the raven because the raven is just doing its job where carnage has been left.  Both birds are in the same vicinity and are close enough to be killed with this one stone.

This setting is a perfect example of what our lives were meant to be and at the same time what we are allowing our lives to become.  We, humans are the same and have not changed our appearance, nor can we.  It is our hearts that are being changed by the choices that we make and how we deliver them to the world.  There are so many catch phrases that are being thrown at every group in this country and all we are doing is leaving the world without a leader while we transform ourselves into ravens.  Our country was not founded on being a raven, we were created as eagles.  The same goes for humanity overall for we were created to soar or to have dominion over this world instead of becoming its slave. 

Listen carefully to this statement before jumping to conclusions and picking up stones.  Our country was founded to be a light into the world and to show the world that with hard work, that prosperity can be introduced into every nation.  Lowering our standards to another level does not fix this sad situation and is definitely not a characteristic of a leader.  It is evident that there are many nations throughout this world who are spiritually and physically deprived of the high standards that we all desire.  But what we are missing is that the leader of the free world has encompassed itself with a ravenous philosophy that will only hurt the world and not help it and our actions will only shed further division and violence against each other. 

There is only one answer to our raven-like activity and that is by our creator Himself.  In no way can humans alone turn our world in the direction where it can heal itself.  Humans can only produce more raven-like attitudes and hearts which will rip our lives apart both spiritually and physically.  It is easy for us to want an answer to our problems but we must come to the conclusion that it is foolish and deadly to seek this answer by ourselves.  Only God has the answer for our lives and only He can turn our raven hearts around.  Our country was founded on eagle principles and we need to ensure that this foundation is not ripped away.  God is calling all of us to recognize Him once again so that He can restore our majestic flight status once again.  Once again it is our choice in the matter and so does the question in hand, what are you going to do with that stone?

DLB

Crashing into the Amish Buggy

Crashing into the Amish Buggy

12/8/13

Modern technology and all of its wonders can make life so much simpler for everyone.  This is a true fact and one that carries much weight throughout the international community.  Most of the world now enjoys connectivity with other parts of the world due to the availability of the internet.  But what happens when someone devises a plan to sabotage or disrupt these connections.  Will we be totally vulnerable while these systems are down or will we understand how to fend for ourselves in these times of turmoil?  Having the technological capabilities to talk to a friend across the world is a fabulous option, but what happens when that technology crashes into the Amish buggy?

There was a tragic news story that came out of Pennsylvania this past week about an Amish horse drawn buggy that was hit by a semi tractor trailer on a rural road.  It was not a very pretty scene since the majority of the occupants inside the buggy were killed almost immediately after the truck struck the carriage.  The driver of the truck had no injuries at all and the huge truck that he was driving sustained very minor damage; however, the buggy was totally demolished along with the wrecked family members of the Amish family.  This is a tragedy that no one ever wants to hear about but it still happens especially when tradition and the old ways collide with modern technology.

The roads that are provided for all of us are open to everyone and we all need to make sure that we understand this concept.  We, personally, do not own the road that we are on, but we are on its pathway that someone else has paved for us.  We also must keep in mind that thousands or even millions of people have travelled this same path before your car, truck, bike or foot ever made its presence felt on that surface.  The one thing that we do have in common with all of the previous travelers is that we are on the same path at some point in time of our life and at any moment our life or the lives of our family members can change in an instant.  And with this example I must say from the beginning, we all need to be ready to meet our Creator at a moment’s notice.

The roads that we travel during our lifetime have been crossed many times before by people who are just like us.  Here are no exceptions to this rule and no one is exempt from having an easy time in life.  When our road becomes our torture chamber we need to remember that our experience has been trodden upon by others just like us and that our paved, straight and smooth road can transform into a curvy dirt road in a blink of an eye.  In some instances this change of settings can be made affordable with the modern conveniences of technology but in some cases all the modern technology in the world cannot save us from the pain of our road. 

I recently travelled to southeast Texas to attend my niece’s college graduation.  It was my first time back in that area in quite some time and as I was trekking through my old stomping grounds I noticed that many of the scenery that I had once witnessed with my eyes had drastically changed. The roads were definitely wider and better and even many of the houses and businesses had been uprooted and been replaced by other civilized ordinances.  With all of the changes to the area I still could not forget the many times that I had travelled this road going back and forth for various reasons and while it had changed in many ways, the road was still considerably long and windy.  Even with the better technological car that I was driving this time, the road was still somewhat difficult to navigate and I knew that if any person, animal or car that would appear as I rounded a curve there would be trouble for everyone.

When a person looks at these types of contexts it would be easy to draw the conclusion that any modern vehicle would have an advantage over a single animal or person if the two ever came into contact with each other while moving.  But as we all know there are certain situations which the person in the vehicle comes out as the loser when this type of contact is made.  This type of scene actually sets the stage for the general idea of this article in which no matter if a person believes that they have the technical advantage in some manner, the grounds are level when contact with any other living being has been made.  This type of framework withholds how our enemy can use what we have presented onto the canvass against us when he sees an opportunity.

It would seem like that humans would always stick to the normal game plan when it comes to trying to create an edge over the opposition.  But any of us who have been involved in any type of friendly competition understands that the opponent will not conform to the everyday rules continuously.  Many times we have witnessed an underdog pull out a trick play to seal an upset over a highly touted team or a smaller business outbid a larger company for a ground breaking building project which catapults that small business into a well known company.  And we cannot forget the old saying that all is fair in love and war, which means that playing dirty, can be presented by either side at any time.  So why do we continue to warrant the idea of having a relaxed atmosphere when there is a potential for danger?  It is because we have become comfortable in our toys that have allowed us to gain access to everyone’s stage with ease.

We then have the audacity to gauge the so called loser of our challenges as lower than us or maybe administer an embarrassment to them by labeling them as backwards, cowards, or any other derogatory name that our society can dream up.  How do we come to grips with ourselves when we place our lives on a pedestal and deliberately step on heads to elevate our egos to this standard?  Even when a team can claim to be the champion of their sport they still had to play someone who reached the same level as they did and so it is in real life. 

No matter what efforts we try to avoid, clashes between humans will occur and someone will have to win and the others involved will draw the short straw.  Having a smaller team or not having the updated quality of gadgets does not make a person inferior to those who have more or better, in fact the ones who have less often are more creative than those who have the more advanced technology because of the skills it takes to think are used more under the technological radar.  But which one of these contestants is wrong for having their respective equipment whether it be advanced or not?  Underneath all of the armor a human being lies within who is as equal as the next person and should be treated as a human being just as a goliath would be.

This issue actually comes to light within the Church and creates more division within the body of Christ than healing to the world.  Each denomination is represented by a human being.  It does not matter which denomination a person is referring to, the bottom line is that in order for a denomination to exist it must contain at least one human being.  There are huge denominations that stretch to the ends of the earth and then there are those that are isolated within a small corner of a country.  Does the size of a denomination make their views and points automatically correct?  No!!  The same goes for a small church organization as well because it does not matter what size a church gathering may be, the damage or growth to another human can be identical.

It is the human being that has the sole capability to penetrate another human being, and then it is the work of God who brings forth light from within.  I do not care if a person is a Catholic or a Methodist, if that person demonstrates the love of Christ to others ten they are identical with me through Jesus.  God has the potential to use everyone that seeks after Him and it does not matter which field of work that you represent either.  God shows me things to write about yet I have no specific clue who each one of my articles are for but I am not going to argue with God about why I am doing this.  Another person may drive a bus on Sunday or preach the Word of God from a pulpit and yes, even custodians are part of the mission of Christ to a dying world.

If a person drives an old beat up car, so be it.  I have known a monk that walked everywhere no matter what the weather conditions were because he chose not to have a car.  On the other hand I know another monk that drives his car all around the state visiting family and friends.  Both monks have different faiths yet I would allow both of them to pray for myself and / or one of my family members without even questioning.  So what if an Amish lady drives in a wooden buggy that arrives at the grocery store before your Cadillac does, does this give you the authority to yell at her and call her names?

Our lives are filled with enough crashes and clashes that will do plenty of damage to our lives without us inflicting similar and intentional wounds from our mouths and actions.  Technology was not created to separate classes of people nor was the Church defined as the intimidating force to gain people access to God through manipulative methods.  God did not create the human race in order to force them to serve His ways; He created us in order to prove to His, and our, immortal enemy that He loves us and that we have the opportunity to choose Him on our own.

Crashing into a wooden buggy should not be the means that defines how we come into contact with those who are lost.  Making fun of those who do not believe in the same manner or see eye to eye as we do falls into the same category.  It does not matter which side of the game one plays the object is to win but to keep the level of play equal enough to ensure no hatred follows.  The goal of humanity is to bring people together but this shall never happen if we voluntarily place labels and blame upon those who we are trying to convert.  We can still have a wonderful relationship with the person or family that rides in a horse drawn buggy, in fact I would absolutely love to ride in one just to see what it is like to travel in that manner. 

We need to understand that each one of us will differ in some manner from others.  Even our closest friend that we can ever have will not believe exactly the same way as you.  God is the only being who can make sure that the divisions that we humans create can be mended and healed.  Living with differences is normal and it is healthy when another sides of the issue politely challenges us to think about what we believe and to scrape up the courage to respond in love about our beliefs.  God loves us in every way possible and it is His desire that we all understand His ways.  Denominational beliefs are just that, divisions that were created by man to hinder the advancement of God’s Kingdom.  Yes, denominations are with us and yes they will serve their grounds but it is those who trust in God more than their denomination that will find God for our utmost. 

DLB

Consuming What You Produce

Consuming What You Produce

12/7/13

This country was founded on the backs of people willing to sacrifice long days and even longer years of their lives in order to accomplish a dream.  The dream of ambition churned within these people who braved everything to start a new with nothing but uncertainty in front of them.  As we witness new people being brought up with a different standard that what we have previously known, one can only wonder what the future of this country holds.  It is stated in the Bible that if a man does not work he should not eat.  It seems like we have forgotten this work concept; at least, for now that is.

I am going to begin this article with one of my short history lessons about the founders of our country.  I am not going to refer to their religious beliefs, while those played a central role in their lives; however, I am going to focus on their work ethics for this article.  We citizens of today love to break out all of our tools when we are going to complete a project around our house, church, or neighborhood.  While there is nothing wrong with this type of luxury, we tend to forget just how hard it was for the founders of this country to build a simple storage shed much less a house or church building.

There was no electricity in those days so the work totally depended upon the weather and the length of the days.  Doctors were of rare appearance and many times a sickness took weeks to get over instead of a few days with our antibiotic supplies we enjoy today.  The mindset of foreigners and constant threats were a common occurrence since a great percentage of the working force were sent to complete scouting duty instead of being able to help out with building construction.  Breaks and lunch sessions were short and simple with no air conditioned parlors or salons to rest their weary backs.  All of the effort that it took to muster up a building was contributed by every able body within that community for they knew that if they did not complete the building within the appropriate time, death would surly follow the entire estate.

Not many people were left out of the working community in those days simply because there was a job to do for everyone.  If a person was not actually working on the construction site they served as water boys and girls or hand laborers to bring the necessary supplies to the site when they were needed.  There were those who worked in the surrounding woods to cut the timber needed for the buildings and those that moved those pieces of wood to the site must have been mighty strong.  Women were found to be at the site working their bonnets off trying to make sure that everything was being taken care of while the men were occupied with the project.  And we all cannot forget about the ones who kept the young children at bay while the grownups were slaving away.  I know that I have only touched upon a few of the actual jobs that took place at that time of construction but the picture is clear that everyone had a job to do to ensure that the new society and the grown of that society progressed according to its ability.

A step back further in time to the Roman Empire and we can see the same type of lifestyle in play.  If you thought that the pilgrims or pioneers of this country had basic tools take a closer look at what the workers of this era had to deal with on a daily basis.  The working conditions of the Rome had some similar foundational practices but in many other ways their working conditions were grotesquely simpler than in the pilgrim’s day.  Almost every tool that the Romans used were weaker in quality and in number compared to those whit which our founders used.  Yet the human factor was still in demand at this time as well and the Roman society was just as dependent upon human workers as was the founders of this country.  The same human working ethics were in play and needed to be portrayed so that everything could be completed in a timely and efficient manner.

If my reader is familiar with history he / she would recognize that I gave two complete different settings for my examples of human history, yet both of those examples are relevant in our own lives and society today because both are presented within today’s world.  The one obvious portion of these two examples is that humans were involved in both settings.  The living conditions and advancements might have been different but the human and everything that he / she had to offer is a constant.  When a person is asked about how the Romans lived one will automatically think of a Roman citizen lying on their side with a slave fanning them with a huge leaf fan and at the same time feeding themselves with a multitude of fruit by another servant of some kind.  In the other setting when a person is asked to think about the pilgrim or founder of this country the setting is completely different and usually something like: I would not want to live in those types of primitive conditions would be spoken to the person who asked that question.  Why is this and how does the settings affect our decisions?

But the real question that needs to be asked is if these two settings are actually different from each other or are they just different in their timing.  As far back as humanity has kept records the human has had to work for the things that they claim as theirs.  It is not hard for us to realize this concept for if we do not work for something why should we expect to have anything given to us for not pulling our weight.  Go back and read history and you will find that both of these settings will have examples of those who did not pull their weight within their respective communities.  Read how these people were treated and looked upon by the others in the community.  What motivates people to not participate within their community and help to pull their weight when things need to be completed?  I cannot imagine not wanting to pull my own weight for not only my family but in servitude for my county, state or country.  Work is an institution that none of really enjoy but we must remember that this brainchild of an idea is the major source that continues the circle of life for every human around the world.  So what is it about those who refuse to work yet are granted their own elite social status that usually has the same or greater benefits than those who continuously work?

This is the third article that I am featuring a passage from the book entitled “Black Sea” by Neal Ascherson.  Once again God has shown me a couple of things that He desires for His people to understand about the direction that we are heading and if we do not turn our ways of thinking around we could see an overall disaster fill our lives within a few years.  It is very important that we stop and take a hard look at the paths that we are accepting as the “norm” and re-evaluate them before we fall into seriously hard times.

I am returning to the small town of Nedvigovka which is located close to the shore of the Black Sea.  It is a small community that was hit hard by the Communist government and nearly died during this period of time.  After the Communists left, the local area began to rebuild and start over with new financial prospects and a few more resources to aid in the re-development of the community.  A local priest of the area had made an interesting observation about this rebuilding period and even though I do not know if that priest is still alive today, but he actually saw the world in motion for the future by what he told the author of this book.

Here is the excerpt from the book.  “What are we to think about this new Russia?  In this village of ours, people are beginning to come from outside and sell things which they have not made themselves.  To travel in order to stand on the street and sell carrots which you have grown, a toy which you have carved, a kettle which you fashioned in your own workshop – why, yes, that is natural and even good.  But these new people do nothing beyond buying and selling.  They buy an article in one place, and then they come here to sell it for a higher price.  They do not work, they do not make anything!  I have told my congregation that this is wickedness, a sin, to make money out of what you have not produced.”

What a great insight from a person who lives in a very small corner of the planet.  Until I read this passage in this book I had no idea that this little town even existed yet the local priest says words that defines the entire accepted views of the western world today.  One also has to keep in mind that this book was written in 1995 and all of the research for its material completed before this specific point in time, which means that there was no internet for the free access to everyone, especially to the rural area of the Crimea.  So how can this information be documented in this local priest’s heart?  It is because this priest understands what direction that humanity is progressing and it he understands the consequences that it will bring if we as a whole do not wake up and change our ways.  Now, if a local priest, who is a human like everyone else, can figure this image out then why can’t we so called modern folk do the same.

It is easy for one to forget this concept when the trend is to get something for nothing.  Western philosophy glorifies this process and it promotes it through the redistribution of assets to everyone.  Now while there are millions of people who believe in this system of production, it goes totally against the proven theories of work and everything that humans must to in order to claim something as theirs.  The convenience of this process is lucrative since little or no effort is required.  What a waste of existence on the part of humanity if there is no legitimate reason as to why a person should not be competitive in the working world.  However, when the leaders of the world have the same concept and make plays upon the glorification of this way of life for personal gain, the directional turn has already taken hold at all levels of society in which the new definition and standards in place.

Now, in order to be complete, I must interject the Church’s issues concerning this lifestyle.  One might not know that the Church has fallen into the same pattern as the world when it comes to this issue.  For as long as I can remember the Christian world has proclaimed that the process of salvation is easy and it is free of charge based upon the acts of Christ and His entire life including His resurrection.  While this is a very accurate and appropriate statement, we have placed so much emphasis on the word “free” that we have adopted the free for nothing concept.  Now, we also know that everything that God has done for our lives our enemy has a plan to counter.  Therefore, because of our inept and selfish beliefs concerning the mission of Christ and what our working responsibilities are, our enemy has used this non-action belief to his advantage

in the progression of human destruction.

It is the true and honorable nature of man to work for things that he / she desires to have in his life.  It is just as honorable for God to take away these benefits to humanity when they do not follow the rules of nature.  God established His works within man in order for man to understand the need for completion.  One cannot complete anything without exhibiting  some kind of equitable result on a personal level, humanity’s problem is that they have become so indoctrinated in their own policies that when they look at the results, society would rather stay at home and do nothing than make an honest living for their families.  Thus, is born the process of laziness where handouts become the income of society.  While I cannot solely blame the Church for promoting this activity, for this type of living was present before the Church was established, I can say that the Church has blossomed this idea due to the fact that we sit on our pews and wait for a future event without doing actual work that Christ commanded us to do.

What one does not understand about this type of belief is that it instills a process within our lives that has an eternal trap.  This eternal trap is a process that grows and overtakes the vital portions of our lives that we need to have in order to live properly.  It is a disease that affects our abilities to accept responsibility for our ways of thinking, looking, acting and working.  If left unchecked it can become so engrossing within our lives that we have no choice but to either remove it or allow it to totally consume our inner being.  If one wishes to compare it to a physical disease then let it be compared to cancer and the process in which this dreaded disease starts slowly and then consumes its host until death has the last word.  So will this process be implemented into our inner cores with the exact same result if we do not turn back to the one who can cure us of this dreaded disease.  It is written in human history and it will be written once again if we do not see the error of our ways and return back to the ways that God had intended for our lives.

In everything that God has ordained for man to do, work has been involved.  The physical laboring aspect need not be the exact meaning of this word for every display, but some explicit force is needed for each study.  The ability of man to create takes the effort of the brain and then steps to produce this creation can eventually be presented when the product is complete.  If one completes a product from its conception to its finale then those who worked on it will understand every detail within that project.  Not understanding even the miniscule details of a plan represents laziness and lack of determination to produce a finished product.  In this instance I can place blame on the Church for she has not adhered to this distinction of what her mission has been.  It is time that we stick our noses back into the Word of God and to see everything that He has for mankind, both the good and the bad.  We can only understand what our progressions will make us if we understand the true meaning of life.

We can try to accomplish this process on our own and from what it looks like we are failing miserably while we continually take steps according to humanistic ways.  God is calling for us to stop and turn back to Him for He does know what will happen to humanity if we do not heed His voice and words.  It is not God’s desire for anyone to miss out on the blessings of life but as long as we are self-centered in our ways, the consumption of our products will eventually run out due to the lack of people willing to honestly create the products.  It is my wish that everyone turns to God and receives His insight on how to restore our self worth through work for if we do not then our choice of selfish gains will produce death itself. 

DLB