A Shemitah Prayer

A Shemitah Prayer

12/31/14

As this year in our lives draws to an end we are facing some vital issues that have not been resolved.  It is amazing to me that the world continues to look at these voids as issues that it can solve alone, without any help from God.  As the past years have came to their ends, they too were left empty without any true direction or comfort simply because we have refused to turn our lives over to God.

This coming year is a very important year in the fact that according to Jewish calendars the year 2015 is a Shemitah year.  I know that this country is not Jewish and up until this very moment of me writing this prayer, we have adamantly denied God into our lives and made it perfectly clear that we have no room for His presence either.  But as for me and my family that is not our request and it is definitely not our will to have that mentality.

In the Jewish traditions, which have been proven correct over and over again I have come to believe that we need to understand exactly what a Shemitah year is and how it will affect our lives even though we are not Jewish.  Over the past few Shemitah years our country have received clear warnings about our lives and how we are living them.  Yet, with these warnings and the consequences that they have brought we have continued to snub our noses to God and have gone our own way.  Once again, my family does not represent this attitude and we welcome God into our lives and into our homes for as long as we draw breath.

I understand that over the past 47 years of my life that I have not always been the best person and that I have done some pretty stupid and hurtful things to myself, to my friends, to my family and to my God.  In this Shemitah year I release this burden and give it all to God and ask that each and every one of you for your forgiveness.  I desire no animosity between any one of you and my family and I ask this all in the name of God the Father and Jesus Christ our eternal Savior.

I want you to know that I am not dying and I have not been diagnosed with any dreaded and deadly disease, for I know that these types of notes usually come in this manner.  But I am concerned that this country is going to change drastically within this next year and I want to make sure that each and every person who reads these articles understands that all of us need to complete this healing and forgiveness process within their hearts.  The Shemitah year is a year of forgiveness and restoration and while it originated in the Jewish calendar it is meant for each one of us, no matter what our faiths may be.

Every seven years we give our garden a rest for planting, it allows for the regeneration of the soil so that it may yield its full potential at all times.  Every seventh year it is a Shemitah year as well and in this last September the Shemitah year began all around the Jewish year.  God is a complete God and He shall always follow through in His promises no matter how we humans deem them important.  God also understands that we have a choice to accept His laws or to deny them.  In my family and in my house w shall accept God’s laws and shall do our best to live through these laws to the best of our abilities.  My family understands that God’s laws are present for our protection from the world, not to hinder our lives in the world.

I ask that God bless each and every one of my family members this year and to keep each of us happy and healthy.  I know that I cannot change every heart within the world but I pray that God opens up my writings to the world so that everyone may have the opportunity to know God and His love for us.  I pray that my country opens her spiritual eyes to God once again and that she return to her spiritual roots and to forsake the world and its wicked ways.  I can only pray that she understands what the Shemitah year means before God has to remind us once again.

Lord God, I ask that You protect each one of Your children during this eventful year and to allow us to be prepared for the entire year and whatever it may present.  I speak blessings on those who understand your ways O Lord and I ask that you instill peace into each one of our lives.  Help us to be still and to listen for your guiding voice each second of every day, so that we may walk in your grace and in your eternal salvation.  Restore our hearts this year God and make our fields fertile with your divine and holy seed again.

Return to our hearts your ever entrusting and divine truth and may we live in this truth through your holiness.  May we never forget the true and great sacrifice that you gave to us through your Son Jesus and may we never diminish His blood and its meaning.  May we continue to live as Your prophets did by keeping our hearts pure before You.  Guide us as we wake each morning and sleep each night.  Return our love to you as you have given your love to us.  I ask that this Shemitah year be one of true blessings to each family that believes in your laws and keeps them.  Help us to endure the judgments that you must bring in order to grab our attention as well.  We love you God and please never forget about those people who love you.

I ask that you receive this prayer from your humble yet wicked servant; one who has wronged you every second of my deathly life.  Continue to show me the words that you desire your people to hear and allow me to place them into the ears and hearts of those who are listening.  Protect us this coming year God as you bring us back to your groves.  Forgive us of our sins against you God and I pray that this will be the last time that You have to remind us in this manner.  I ask Your Shemitah blessings over all of those who know and understand You and who follow Your ways, and I humbly ask for these blessings for my family as well.  I shall always give you the glory and the honor for each day of my life and I pray that I shall be a true and gentle servant for Your Kingdom.

Amen

John the Baptist

John the Baptist

12/30/14

Many people have problems with this man John and how he approached the ministry of Christ.  There are many examples of John’s extravagant behavior and living conditions which puzzle many people as to why he operated in this manner.  One has to understand some things about the Church, the leadership of the Church and some of the beliefs that the Church held during that time in order to “figure” this setting out.  John represented everything that God desires for His Church in the content of being separate from the world and it was those who accepted the worldly practices into their lives that John directly shouted and startled.  There will be more people like John, for it is necessary that we realize that once again the Church has fallen into this trap of worldly acceptance.

When many people are asked about the life of John the Baptist one or two common responses are heard.  The first one being and probably the most common one was that he was beheaded by the ruler of the local government.  The second most common thing that people respond about John would be that he dressed funny, did not bathe much and ate weird foods all in which commuted a very scary appearance to those that he jumped out and ticked off.  Both of these answers are correct and it is easy for one to draw a simple conclusion concerning John and what his type of life might have been like, but if one digs a little one will find a simple reason as to why John lived the way he did and as to the reason why he died in the manner as he did as well.  There are many similarities between John the Baptist and Jesus, with their messages basically the same.

John the Baptist had many followers no doubt because of his willingness to address the abuses that the Jewish leaders had towards other people within their land.  It was not unknown that some of the Jewish leaders, especially the Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees, who would generally be offensive and flat out cruel to those who crossed their decisions and words from the pulpit.  Many witnessed that their actions in the Temple and out on the streets were different and how they had effectively become total hypocrites in daily life.  How could one call themselves a High Priest or a holy man if they could not keep true to the laws that they demand from others, themselves?  How devastating this must have been to those who had previously received punishment according to the same laws to which they were breaking; all seemed to be injustices in the name of God because that was what they were advocating.

We all know that the times of John the Baptist and Jesus corresponded and that both knew each other, even when both were still inside of their respective mother’s bellies.  This means that the same living conditions of both men were known and they understood what it meant for the High Priest and his entourage to appear in public with a certain provocative dressing.  It has never been assumed that John had fancy dress clothes or ever made a “flashy” appearance when he was ministering to those that were listening to his teachings about the coming of the Messiah.  John has always been acclaimed with a dirty and separatist appearance that one would imagine him to look like; and that is exactly what he was supposed to be, separated from the world far enough to be able to understand how much the Jewish leaders had muddled themselves into the world.

John did not limit his scoffings to the Jewish leaders; it was for everyone who would listen to the words of repentance.  Walking was the major means of transportation in those days so roads were well travelled.  Many of the different tribes, people and cultures would distinctly draw themselves by their appearance so it would be easy for one to identify where someone generally was from just by the what he / she was wearing.  Now, picture if you will a person who fits this description walking along and talking with the person or group that is with them, and all of a sudden the bushes begin to ruffle and out jumps a dude who is wearing basically branches, has locust wings in between his teeth and who points his finger at them and says to them, “repent!!”  How are they going to feel about this approach? 

How different would John be from the way that church services would be conducted during those times?  How differently would John’s dress and appearance be than those who attended service regularly?  Is it safe to say that many of those same people had no clue that God had directed John to dress and to eat like he did and that there was a reason for this behavior?  It is safe to assume that they did not but there was a reason and it was for a specific purpose so that God could grab the attention of the “church” person and to show them that no matter who you might be a person who believes in God should be separated from the world at all costs.  John did not care who he frightened nor did he care who might take offense to his mannerisms.  John understood that he had a message from God and that he had specific reasons as to the tactics that God showed him to take.  John was set apart to instruct the congregations of that land that there is someone coming that was going to change the way people looked towards God and the that God reminded them that they had to completely separate themselves from this world, including their general appearance.

John’s appearance and message was presented to the same people that Jesus was about to embark upon, so why would God send a servant of His that would routinely mimic what was already in place and had been established for millennia?  God had planned for our restoration of the relationship between God and man for a very long time but mankind had issues that they had accepted, especially with the concepts and laws that God had set before them.  John was another powerful reminder to the common people and to the leaders of the Jewish communities that God wanted a separation of His people from the world and that they had become so like the world that they were now blinded from God Himself. 

When Jesus was asking His disciples who they considered Him to be their answers were varied in the simplicity of the people when they responded that some said you were this and some said you were that.  But Jesus wanted to know who they said He was; and there was a reason for this and it all stems with the same ideologies that we church people are waving today.  The fact that the disciples’ answers varied about who others said Jesus was confirms the fact that many ideas about the Jewish leaders and who they said they were, who they represented and how much earthly power they had among their constituents verified that a religious status and political ladder was in play, just as it is today.

It was John’s calling and his message to inform the people of this fact, including the religious leaders of the time.  It is our position today to do the exact same thing to those who believe that the Church mixing with the world is a possibility.  The church can mix with the world all it wants to, it is free will to do so.  However, the Church cannot mix with the world for her representative is God and there is a groom that is coming for His perfect Church.  It is evident that the Church has failed once again to realize exactly what is going on and how costly our actions shall be one day.  We have a great example of this that we can refer to and one that has dire consequences still being felt as of this moment.

In the year 300 AD, the early church was very young and it was very fragile.  They had persevered many hard and torturous times and had come out smelling like the beauty of the finest rose.  There had been many people killed because of their faith and many had lost everything they had and some even everyone in their family, yet they continued to serve God with all of their hearts and did not waiver.  But not everyone could say this nor could they admit to this standard, which would not be too uncommon since after all we are dealing with humans here.  With the knowledge of what their forefathers and foremothers had to endure, some of the people within the Early Church began to accept certain practices of the world within their lives.  It was not long afterwards that some of the people within the Church accepted positions within the empire known as Flamens.

I remind you that in only a short period of time, approximately 250 years or so, the enemy of our lives had convinced to shake off the heritage of the founding fathers of the Early Church and to try and establish a “peace” between the world and God.  If John understood that this process was ongoing and occurring within the Jewish leaders then it would have made sense to him that it would also occur in those who are not directly within that leadership role, thus having the commission to preach this separation from the world message to everyone.

Within a few generations in tow, the Church had some of its people, no doubt some of its ranking leaders as well, totally engrained into the cults of the Roman Empire.  This was exactly what John’s message was warning us about.  There is no doubt that many had no real reason or “evidence” that what they were accepting within their lives as wrong or harmful with their relationship with God.  The Christians had been fighting with the Jews and with Rome long enough to believe that they had due cause and belief that they were different from the world, including the religious aspects of it.  The position of a Flamen was a very highly respected position and a Flamen was considered to be a priest to one of the cults of the Roman Empire.

It is this position that had to create so many problems within the Church and in its structural beliefs.  Sadly, we have not learned from this process and have once again turned our eyes upon the world in order to find our completeness.  If it took just a short amount of time for the pagan cults to enter into the Church what kind of belief system do we have in place almost 2000 years down the road?  As I continue my pursuance through Church History my heart cannot be but hurt with example after example of God’s Church proclaiming to be a part of the world and of God at the same time.  We have failed to understand the laws of God and what they mean for our lives.  We have physically and spiritually told God to get out of our decisions and have made the choice to try and have the best of both worlds.

We have taken off the coat of John the Baptist and placed upon our backs the shirt of Judas, and it shall be the destiny of such a Church as it was for Judas.  We cannot afford to have any type of Flamens within our congregations for if we continue to allow such activity, our foundation shall crumble from underneath of us and the era of the Church that we know now, shall not be around.  As 300 AD rolled around the Flamen status within the Spanish Church grew in influence and it was not too much longer until Spain, through this compromised state, began to commit horrendous crimes against God chosen people.  Yes, our actions have consequences and it should be kept close in our hearts of this fact.  Spain itself has never been great as she was before that fateful year of 1492.  She has been constantly indebted to other nations, lost many wars and has been invaded and defeated in countless ways ever since that year.  More importantly she has been in a constant state of internal war against separatists who wish to break up her historical structure.  Yes, these are the consequences of her actions against God and it is the results of her carrying on with the world that has led to this constant torment and struggle for survival.

What the most frightening aspect of this example is is that Spain considers itself a Christian nation with a high Catholic representation each day of its physical state.  The majority of the country considers itself as “Christian” and yet continues to harbor this mentality that it can hold on to Christ while keeping its eyes fixed upon the world.  The frightening part is that the remainder of the Western societies, including the USA, falls within this category as well.  God does not miss a beat, nor is He blind to the real intentions of our hearts.  He did not miss a thing when it came to the Jews that were alive in Abraham’s day, and He did not miss a moment of the people’s hearts when His Son walked this earth, so why would we have the audacity to believe He would change for our thinking?

Yes, John the Baptist was beheaded by a local governor who was calling him out.  Yes, Jesus was killed for calling out the Jewish leadership.  In both instances, the evidence that these entities had with the world was overwhelming and in both cases both entities had no desire to rid themselves of this tie.  Look at the actions that both entities turned to as a final answer to their problem.  The Roman Empire fell a few short years after 300 AD and was never reunited again.  The Jewish community that was so large and strong lost its Temple not once but twice and were totally defeated and scattered throughout the world as a result.  What will be our result?  The West and its societies far outnumber and outreach what the Jewish world and the Roman Empire even imagined; it begs us to ask how far we shall fall.  There is still time to change our choice, but I suggest we get into motion and get it done NOW!  Our hearts need to be as John the Baptist was, totally separate from this world at all times.

DLB

Adherence

Adherence

12/21/14

This is a word that has a direct purpose with a defined outcome and one that the world loves to exercise when challenged.  It is the defined boundary of this word that I wish to address in this article and how it affects each one of our lives and what happens when this word is not adhered to and the consequences thereof.  We have a tendency to forget about these types of words but we need to understand that many laws are based upon the usage and the containment of this word.  The physical world and biblical world are both filled with similar terms that represent the exact same meaning, protection.  But what type of protection do these laws represent, that is the most important and defining boundary of this word.

The Merriam – Webster dictionary defines the word adherence as the following:  the act of doing what is required by a rule, belief, etc; steady or faithful attachment.  This is a perfect example of a word that has a direct and purposeful boundary that if applied to will have rewards but if not followed within the required means projects possible adverse consequences.  This word is one that is not used very often when humans write laws but is assumed to be present due to the fact that the law itself is being written for a reason.  I recently wrote an article that described the position of compromise and how it affects our faith and lives, both in the spiritual and physical sense.  How defined does one believe that physical and spiritual laws are?  Have we become so accustomed to rejecting laws that we deem unfair, impossible to comply with or believe that the law is unconstitutional? 

It is amazing that some bills that are passed into law around the world even were considered in the first place.  If you want to spend some time laughing take a gander at some of the old laws within the USA back in the mid 1800s through the mid 1900s.  Many of them are still on the books and can be enforced if someone pushes their adherence; a bunch of them are a hoot.  For example, at one time in Wisconsin it was illegal to serve apple pie without cheese being served with it.  Yep, this was a state law and it could be enforced at any time it was not adhered to.  Sounds hilarious to me but for whatever reason the State of Wisconsin deemed it necessary to write and then pass this law.  While this law may sound ridiculous, it was expected to be enforced at the same time, to its full extent without compromise.  This law served as its own boundary which separated itself from all other laws within that area of the region.

We all know that there are laws recorded that are deemed “more important” than other laws but is this really the case? Should everyone look at and respect each law that is established with the same equality or does each law even apply to everyone?  How can we ascertain this situation if we do not even understand as to why they were written in the first place?  And is it our responsibility to understand each law?  I believe it is of our utmost responsibility to understand each law that we are subject to for as I have previously stated there is a reason for which they were written.  Do we scoff at these laws because we find them superficial and meaningless for our current existence or is it just plain disregard for authority?  Everyone has gone over the speed limit at some point in their driving experience, how do we feel when we get pulled over?  Mad, upset, frustrated and many times all of these emotions are directed at the police officer who pulled us over and not ourselves.  The response to our breaking of these laws is how we tend to believe in those laws and how we abide by them.

Can we interpret and justify going 15 miles an hour over the speed limit to the authorities when there is no legitimate reason as to why we deemed that speed necessary?  There is a reason authorities set the speed limit at 15 mph around elementary schools and there is a reason as to why there are speed bumps in front of supermarket exits.  Some may not care about these “stupid” laws but they are placed there for your protection and not your hindrance.  When I would bring home bad grades I knew my parents would not be pleased because I had broken a standard that they expected for me.  It was not because they wished for me to make straight As but they did want me to care enough to learn information that would help me out in the future; for my protection not my hindrance, even though I did not look at it that way at the moment.

The question that remains is how do we feel about and interpret God’s laws for our lives?  Do we disregard them just as we have done to our physical and societal laws?  It does not take a rocket scientist to answer that question.  It is a given that the world shall never accept God’s laws in any form simply because the ruler of the world hates God and everything that He stands for.  That concept is one that we need to never forget because it is a boundary that the ruler of the world shall never break; he shall only advance his side of the boundary, or try to do so.  In other words, Satan shall never adhere to god’s laws and will try his best to attract your attention away long enough for you to lose your adherence to them as well.  God’s laws serve as an eternal boundary to Satan and there is no way that he can penetrate them but he can push them back in such a manner for us to believe that they are irrelevant to our lives and to our society. 

It is at this point that we need to become alert at what the enemy is trying to accomplish.  It is at this point that we are in right now and as of this moment even the Church is refusing to recognize this fact.  God cannot change and He cannot undo a law that He has put into place.  Satan loves to place the idea into our hearts that God’s laws are hindering us from having fun or living a fulfilled life.  We have the concept that we will miss out on something if we follow God at all times, especially when we are young.  I know that I have had those thoughts run through my head when my parents did not allow me to do something that I wanted to do, and I have to admit that those same thoughts I allowed to filter in when God told me not to do something as well.  There is a reason God places His laws into our lives and it not to hinder us but to protect us so that we may live in harmony and in relationship with our Creator eternally.

When we humans break a law we will have consequences no matter if we get caught or not.  How many times have we heard about kids playing with guns and end up shooting themselves, just because they were curious?  How many friends do we know that have died in car accidents that were cut short in their prime?  I know of one example of a friend of mine whose life was cut short in this manner after she snuck out of the house to go be with friends, got in an accident and was burned to death.  No, she did not get caught by her parents nor did she receive a ticket for doing something illegal, but she no longer has a life due to the unforeseen consequences of her actions.  Her actions became eternal and could not change ever again.

Does anyone remember the first law that God gave to mankind?  It was the law that was present in the Garden of Eden and it was a simple one.  Do not eat of that one single tree and that was it.  God also stated what would happen if mankind did eat of that one single tree.  Both sides of that law were clearly stated to mankind yet we chose to do things our own way and to listen to another voice instead.  I find it very interesting that when the serpent convinced Eve to eat of the tree God was not in the immediate area.  This meant that while God had placed the law into motion and had warned mankind not to eat of it, He understood that it would be our choice to obey that law or not.  He was not hovering over mankind in order to enforce His law upon us; we chose to disobey it on our own free will.  Why is this important?  Because it states that God’s laws are put into place for our protection and not to hinder us, simply because of the word choice does this fact and truth become active in our lives.

It was God’s choice to establish a process to keep us protected and in turn it was our choice to try things out on our own.  This type of action is how we personify our lives yet we tend to forget just how important our choices and actions are to ourselves, towards others and to our Creator.  We often make our choices and then shrug our shoulders and walk away from the results all the while putting on an outward masquerade towards our public that everything is alright.  What kind of example of adherence does this give our inner being?  And is this type of adherence the only kind of commitment that we can offer?  This type of adherence not only do we apply to the laws of the land but to the laws of our own lives also, which represent a poor quality of results for anyone who participates in this style of activity.

How can we offer anything more concerning the adherence of our faith, to God or to our everyday lives?  We are so limited in our capabilities to secure a complete adherence status that we just give up and settle for second or third best.  So if it is easy to do this on the physical conditions and laws of our lives how much easier is it to do when God is concerned?  This is an important issue to realize because it really is a key element to our spiritual survival, in the fact that unless we remember that our knowledge and belief in God is through our faith first we cannot keep the tangible elements of God in the correct order within our hearts.  It is through the faith in God that grants us the spiritual connection that all humanity desires to have, but when it is coupled with the solitary confinement of the world that communication connects to the wrong source and will eventually be cut off completely due to the lack of spiritual funds.  This is when the adherence principles of our spiritual nature becomes weak and thinly strung which makes us susceptible to all sorts of deadly attacks from our enemy.

It is the disciple of the Holy Spirit that allows us to continue and to strengthen our adherence policies.  If we stop and think about what was just said we will understand the eternal connection that God has with His creation.  If we did not have any type of connection to God on a continual basis just imagine what our choices in life would be; oh, wait a minute I believe that we can see that type of evidence present right now, that should tell us something.  I understand how this process can work in those who have no clue about God and how difficult it must be when there is no true connection or permanent tie to secure our lives.  I also understand how wide the gap is between God and man which proves just how much work is needed in order for humanity to recognize this gap and to accept the bridge that has been made for us.  With all sides battling for supremacy in our lives, which one do you believe has the advantage?  That also explains why we have such a short attention span when it comes to adhering to anything as humans.

It is an effort for humans to want to do the correct thing and it is a harder effort to put forth when we are trying to maintain the adherence of our own laws.  There are many times that we wish to give up and go on our own but if we do this it is a guarantee that one day trouble will find us.  We must be diligent to adhere to our laws both the laws of the land and to our own personal safety laws.  If we include God in these practices and place His laws above our own, a noticeable separation from the world shall occur.  It is also a must to understand that God shall never leave us no matter what our circumstances are.  This does not mean He will take away our problems, but it means that what we are dealing with He can and will provide protection over us while we walk in that path.  This is where faith comes into play and strengthens our resolve, and if our faith is shaken enough or distorted in such a manner that we have lost our stability, our direction follows suit.

We should never doubt God’s commitment towards us.  While our commitment to Him is shaky at best sometimes He has shown us just how much He loves us and actually given us a clear example of this commitment.  If one wishes to be precise about it His commitment can be summed up in one word and that is the word covenant.  And it is through this covenant that God lays out His ways and what they mean to Him, what He will do in order to protect us, and what shall happen if we violate this covenant.  It is all laid out for us to read and understand.  The best part is that when we begin to understand what kind of level covenant really is, and then we shall have no question at all about God’s commitment to us and just how important our lives are to Him.  The recognition of God’s adherence to us also brings out the importance of our everyday choices as well and how each one will affect our lives.

DLB

Compromising Faith

Compromising Faith

12/19/14

This is a term that many of us despise yet at the same time we blindly accept it within the walls of our hearts.  The world today has the goal of compromising everything that people adhere to and have known so that it may redefine the population as a single group of people.  This philosophy is not uncommon and it truly is one of definite proportions because its goal is true and permanent separation of outside thinking.  The Church is subject to this technique and as it stands now, we are falling for it without notice.  If the truth be known a compromising faith falls into the same category as working with the enemy for in Kingdom warfare there is no compromise, only fighters for one side or the other.

For most of us the term compromise means getting things done so that some object or goal can be achieved.  There are few instances where every human agrees on all areas of a subject, so few that it is safe to say that it never occurs.  A compromise usually involves a give and take approach to the idea at hand, where some people on one side give up some of their wants in order for the opposing side to comply with other areas of the idea.  On paper this seems to be a good idea but after the project is complete we all know that there are some that have the notion that they will somehow seek and achieve revenge for giving up their “meaningful” ideas for someone else’s “petty” and indifferent thoughts.  Is this actually progress or is it a temporary reprieve to the inevitable conflict that will one day rear its ugly head?  With the settings of many governments today, the answer has proven itself to be quite clear concerning this issue.

So why is it that everyone would rather compromise their fundamental ideas and beliefs when they all know that one day things will turn ugly?  Is it a “hope springs eternal” attitude or is it one of abiding time so that we can better arm ourselves with information, arms or other weapons of personal destruction so that our ideas and side shall prevail when the time arrives.  This type of belief seems futile and has no direct and peaceful ending, so why do we even continue to pursue such an action?  Furthermore, why does the Church try and achieve this type of action fully knowing that the same result will occur since she should recognize that her opposition is our eternal enemy.  Have we forgotten the overall concept of Kingdom warfare or do we even know about it and it actually affects our lives?  I believe that the answer to both of those questions is “yes” and we need to understand once again why we are fighting and what is at stake.

When someone or a group of people accept a compromise they are essentially stuck into a negotiating process that will eventually result in a huge loss for each side.  For millennia countries, nations, territories and lands have tried this compromising idea with not much success only anger and hatred towards the other parties involved.  This is why it is important that we cannot compromise any of our personal standards and give into our enemy on any level; this includes the spiritual level as well.  This concept of compromise begins in the book of Genesis both on the spiritual side and the physical side. Yep, once again the Garden of Eden is my example; it so amazing to me how one small passage of text can produce so much information about how our lives are affected today.  The spiritual side of things begins even before the Garden in a setting that our minds hardly can imagine and that is in heaven with a situation between God and Lucifer.

Lucifer was the name of the one being that was the “second in command” if you wish to put it in those terms.  He was a powerful worship leader in heaven and had great authority in which he had been given by God.  After an unspecific amount of time his job became “mundane” to him and he decided, for whatever reason, that he wanted more.  This portion of the story is easy for us to understand because our minds choose to dream about this type of life as well.  In Lucifer’s case the idea became a reality in his individual world and one day God decided to take him up on his offer.  Lucifer was immediately filled with anger and events concluded with him being thrown out of his eternal position and given a new place of residence.  Even with this futile belief of his, Lucifer continued with his plan to out duel God and this duel continues today, with no compromise in sight.

We must keep in mind that God is a complete, honest, and total God at all times.  Once His motions are set into place they cannot be changed for if they did He would have no claim on being God of the entire existence and Satan would have legal claim to his status once again.  This is the defining point between the Kingdom lines and the defining point as to which our lives are measured and there is nothing that we can do about it.  It is a war that is constantly being played out with no compromise on either side, only battles that are won and lost, advancement or decline, nothing in between.  This spiritual battle bleeds over into the physical aspects of our lives and has the same consequences as in the spiritual, eternal life or death, nothing in between.

The human problem with this fact is that we tend to lose or to forget about what is at stake here and yet while doing so actually playing out the war that we are so desperately fighting.  It seems ironic but it is the truth because we do not recognize that everything that we do stems from this war and these actions push one kingdom forward and automatically push the other backwards.  There are many examples of this in the physical realm that include both sides of the lines and it is easy to recognize if one understands what “the lines” are and just how defined they really are.

The first example occurs in the time shortly after Jesus walked the earth and involved the Roman Empire and the Early Church.  In Asia Minor there was a province named Bithynia and it had a governor by the name of Pliny, the Younger.  It is known that the Roman Empire had strict religious laws in place when it came to worshiping their gods.  These edicts came into place throughout the entire empire and were strictly enforced at all times.  The question of Christianity was the major source of these edicts and many Christians fell into the wrath of these laws.  At one point Pliny wrote to Emperor Trajan and asked him to clarify his position on the law breaking Christians and how he should handle them when they were located.  Trajan responded by telling him to uphold the law but allow them to recant if they wished and all charges would be dropped against them.  This was Trajan’s compromise to the Christians and for many of the Roman citizens it seemed like a fair one at that.  But to many of the Christians this compromise was a slap in the faith, if you wish, and they continued to ignore its content and practiced their complete faith.

Governor Pliny made a statement at one point after a long torture session of two deaconesses and that was he understood that these people broke the law and had to be punished but he also came to the conclusion that the Christians were virtuous people.  He also found their actions far more than appalling because they were caught breaking the law, had the opportunity to make a compromise and walk away free yet refused to do so because of their governmental religious atheism.  It was this act of religious belief by the Roman Empire and the Christians that defined the eternal war for our lives.  The earthly laws were in place and even provided a compromise to the other side of the fight, but at the same time the other side did not offer a compromise only a steadfast position on eternity.  Interesting fact isn’t it; ever wonder why Jesus never compromised God and His existence?  And have you ever wondered what would have happened to the foundation of the Early Church if these members did accept this compromise by the world?

Let me flip the tables for a minute and look at the other side of things concerning the Church and let’s see what happens when the Church does make an unknowingly compromise with the world.  We can find this example during the end of the medieval time period in history.  Many of us know that the Medieval Church had some real crazy laws and were very temperamental about them along with their methods of distribution of them as well.  In this example I am going to focus on the Kingdom of Spain in the year 1492.  There was an important event that occurred during this year and it of course to our American egos we automatically think of Columbus and his discovery voyage of the Americas.  But there was a sinister event that took place that year as well and it had the Church’s diabolical fingerprints all over it.

King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain were very devout Catholics and they had no intentions of giving up any of their ideas, philosophies and land to anyone who did not believe as they.  So an article of self Catholic containment was drafted and came to be known as the Edict of Expulsion.  This law was strictly directed towards the Jews and how much the Church despised their existence within “Catholic lands”.  It was made clear to them that the government of Spain would seek them out and provide the full punishment of the Edict as soon as possible.  The initiation of the Spanish Inquisition was soon governed and the result of this Edict and Inquisition cost thousands of Jewish lives all in the name of God.  This Inquisition is one of the most notorious and gut wrenching historical facts of the Catholic Church that can never be denied but it can represent a reason for the Church not to bend or waiver from the laws of God either.  The problem is that we allow our eyes to become fixed upon the world and its standards then this action results in conforming our minds and hearts to its status, automatically losing focus upon God and His ways.  Which is exactly the compromising position that our enemy wishes us to take.

While Ferdinand and Isabella believed that what they were doing for the Church was a sign of respect and godly, it was actually an act of our enemy to advance his kingdom against the people of the world and towards the chosen people of God.  There is no way that we can ever say that this act of the Catholic Church was sanctioned by God, nor did it have anything to do with God Himself either.  It was part of the spiritual warfare that we witness each day of our lives but fail to recognize this because we have watered down the gospel of God so much that it can fit into an 8 oz. drinking glass.  This is what occurs when the Church compromises, inadvertently or voluntarily with the world and she is on course for this type of scenario to occur once again.

So far I have given examples of a Church that stood its ground and did not waiver in its beliefs and it cost many lives simply because they were Christians.  I have also given an example of what occurs when the Church compromises with the world setting and how it costs other people their lives.  Both examples resulted in the result of the usage of God and His name yet one is pure and one is evil.  These examples are perfect in laying out the definition of the battle lines and what is at stake, our lives!  And when dealing with a life there can never be any compromise, for if someone does then their life shall always be at risk for eternal destruction.

How does this affect the Church of today?  I am glad you asked because we the current modern day Church is at the decision making point to which direction she shall take.  Both examples above proved that those people had choices to make concerning their faith and their lives.  Both examples also proved that the governments involved had options to take for compromise yet failed to grant sustainable and viable exemptions to the people in question.  We are at this point in modern times once again for it is very clear that we have refused or totally ignored human history once again.  The Church has also lost her separation status from the world and has begun reconciliation with it and if allowed to continue, will bring up another global disaster for humanity.

The governments around the world have adopted certain laws and edicts that go directly against God’s Word, the Church knows this.  Yet the Church is so divided on these matters and the main question is, why?  The denominational spirits that control the Church of today are so strong and in such control that it holds more power within the Church than the Word of God.  This is the danger about denominations and it once again has its grip around the neck of the Church.  These governmental laws are forcing the Church to make a choice whether to stand against them or to follow along with worldly standards.  The indecisions of the Church prove that we once again have no clue about the laws of God and what they mean to our lives.  We have voluntarily blinded ourselves and if we do not take the shields off of our spiritual eyes quickly, we will once again find ourselves losing life.

Will the Church go down in God’s history book as the Church who stood up for His ways and laws and sacrificed our lives for the advancement of His Kingdom?  Or will we be as the Medieval Catholic Church was and compromisingly align ourselves up with the world governments in order to further our congregational numbers by throwing around our superficial worldly status?  It is imperative that we understand that there is a definitive battle line that has been both physically and spiritually drawn and we are right in the middle of the fighting.  There is NO getting around this fact and it is a must that the Church recognizes this.  It is the duty of our enemy to shield us from the truth and it is the duty of his kingdom to ensure that we do as much damage to our eternal livelihood as possible.

Compromising our faith is a perfect example of how our enemy is accomplishing this feat.  The world may seem to have open arms in this compromising attitude that the Church is displaying with it, but at some point that compromise shall be used against us in order to advance the world’s cause and the Church shall be expected to compromise herself once again.  Once a compromise process has begun the doors to the world are flung wide open and the spiritually legal terms come into play.  We cannot control the Trajan’s, Pliny’s, Ferdinand’s and Isabella’s edicts once we have chosen them into power and it will become obvious at some point where we will have to make a choice whether or not to stand for what we really believe in or not; that is a guarantee.

We cannot afford a spiritual compromise of faith nor can we afford a physical compromise of faith either.  It is time that we open our hearts and return to the Word of God for guidance.  WE need to stand for God and His ways and reject the governmental garbage that they wish for us to make penance to.  There is a definite defining boundary that we need to recognize and we need to understand that this boundary is a solid one in composition but a fluid one in action.  The boundary cannot be breached nor can it be dissolved but it can move back and forth depending upon what humanity does.  Seem wild?  It is but it is the truth and one can see this boundary move both in the physical and spiritual realms if we only open our eyes and look at it.  Never compromise faith!!

DLB

Being Hanukkah Prepared

Being Hanukkah Prepared

12/18/14

Many of us know about the Jewish tradition of Hanukkah and most of these individuals, such as myself, are still learning about the details of this holiday.  Of course there is the Jewish history lesson and how this holiday represents lights and how to be prepared.  For Christians it is a symbol of our savior and how we must be spiritually prepared for His return and never be off trying to get things in order when He comes for us.  For the physical aspect of this holiday the same concepts and applications must be in order to ensure our readiness in troubled times.  The question that remains is of our overall preparedness on all of these levels and how we are doing to make sure that we are ready at all costs.

Up until a few decades ago I pretty much kept my distance from all Jewish holidays.  It was this ignorance of mine that cost me dearly in the understanding not only of the history of the Jewish people but also many foundational aspects of the Christian Church.  I find it amazing of how many Jewish holidays, both the feats and the fasts, relate to our relationship with God and how He views our lives; also, how we should view our overall existence in and through Him as well.  There is so much more information about Jewish history that I still have to soak in and the same goes for my understanding about God.

There was a crisis within the Jewish community in ancient times and this crisis was inherited as a result of the world not accepting the Jewish cultures and faith.  The community had suffered great torture and sacking with many others running in fear for their lives.  Times were tough and supplies had been running low due to the sacking and usage.  Total carnage was all around the Temple and the work began to restore its holiness which meant that more supplies were needed to complete this mission. Much hurt, devastation and anger had to be present within the hearts of the Jewish people, yet with meticulous workmanship they tried their best to restore things as they had been before.

After the Jewish community had retaken the land of the Temple it was to be rebuilt and rededicated.  In order for this to occur, pure olive oil had to be used so that total purity would be a guarantee.  There were not enough oil basins to complete this task so runners had to be set out as soon as possible to obtain more oil.  Only one basin was present and it had been sealed for a long period of time and was known how pure its quality was, the only problem was that this basin would only allow the lamp to burn for one day.  The basin was unsealed and its contents used in order to begin the process of restoration.  However, with the quantity being so short the people understood that the oil was sure to be used up before the runners returned with more oil.  But everyone involved trusted God to provide, and as my dad always says, “then God showed up.”

Miraculously the lamp continued its burning a second day, then a third, fourth and all the way up until the runners returned from their mission.  As soon as the runners had delivered the oil reserves, the lamp went out which was no longer a concern because the replacement fuel was ready to be used.  For eight full days that single lamp and its contents burned brightly, showing the Jewish population and to whomever wished to view that the repairs of the Temple were blessed by God.  This is how the holiday of Hanukkah originated and why it is so important to the Jews’ lives.  This holiday should also be understood by non Jews as well for it plays a significant part in our lives and what Jesus means to us and how important it is that we never forget this truth.

In the Christian aspect of this holiday we can find many facts that lead us into the acceptance of Jesus as our one and only savior.  The physical destruction of the Temple could not be rebuilt exactly as it had been before because we all know that once a physical characteristic is demolished for whatever reason then rebuilt “exactly” as it was before does not measure up to the first structure.  It may look the same and feel the same but inside and other physical details are not exactly replicated as previous standards.  This physical destruction represents our physical lives and how sin has entered into us and completely devastated our physical presence.  It would have been wonderful to know how it felt to have an eternal physical body, but because of our choices we have the lives that we know about today.

It was the pure oil that was needed in order to guide the Jewish community so that they could see to rebuild the Temple.  While they were interested in rebuilding the physical Temple the same facts can be applied to our temple as well.  Every detail was supplied for the rebuilding but for the people to see what was going on and to allow them to work as needed, they needed a light source.  The Middle East is full of olive trees and their oil is very abundant and could have been easily purchased without much hesitancy.  But it was the quality of oil that was needed in order to keep the sanctity and purity of the rebuilding process and nothing less than a pure olive oil would do.  This is where Jesus comes in to provide the light unto a dark and dying world.  It was His pure blood that was shed in order for us to be restored to purity within the eyes of God.  Jesus is the only one that had pure and holy blood coursing through His veins and therefore only His quality can do the job.

The last portion of this holiday I am going to share is the one of being prepared.  Being prepared does not always mean to have excess goods present in case a disaster occurs.  It also can mean that when a disaster does occur we have the frame of mind to understand our surroundings well enough that we have the knowledge of the resources needed to restore our facilities when this type of event occurs.  While physical disasters require us to search out needed items for our survival and are very important we must consider that our spiritual well being is just as important and in my opinion more important because as I have stated before eternity is a very long time to be without.

It is well known that it is only a matter of time before the life we know it comes tumbling down.  Every sign imaginable is pointing to this direction and with a certain amount of astrological patterns coupled with our current form of spirituality we are ripe for a huge shaking, one that would affect the entire world.  Remember God is a complete God and He usually does not leave anyone exempt when He has to grab our attention.  It is in this situation and condition that we need to be prepared, not in the disaster itself but how we are going to begin to repair ourselves after this disaster occurs.  As of now we have no idea of how or what will occur but we do have the capability to understand how to rebuild afterwards.  The only question is if we will rebuild correctly or rebuild according to how we here in the West have done it previously.  It does not take too much digging to find this selfish rebuilding pattern, we only have to look back to the year 2001.

It is through this selfish and worldly rebuilding process that we have guaranteed ourselves another lesson from God, for we have had the chance to reclaim His promises by His manners yet we have constructed our lives by these gifts through our own ways. We still have one more small window of opportunity to correct this wrongdoing and the holiday of Hanukkah would be the perfect stepping stone to show God that we do still want His ways into our lives.  If we do not rebuild our temples with God first and His ways it is a guarantee that He will have to show us our transgressions once again.  It may be through man’s actions, it may be through His methods, or even both.  But why do we have to go through a long period of hardships because of our selfish behaviors?  Why do we have to rebuild our temples once again?  There is a process in which all of this tearing down and rebuilding can be bypassed.

The Jewish people tried to rebuild their Temple according to God’s laws and they did a good job of it the first time around, but after the second Temple was destroyed not much could be done due to the geographical circumstances of that time.   While the Temple was rebuilt physically the Jewish people totally missed out on what God was really trying to show them about their lives.  Yes, they rebuilt it according to God’s laws and God honored that but God also understood that if they did not understand what the true Temple was and what it represented their physical Temple meant absolutely nothing, for it was their eternal temple that God was trying to get them to rebuild in the same manner.

The same holds true for our lives as well.  It is our inner and eternal temple that God is trying to get us to rebuild.  The physical things of this world will pass away and will return but our eternal beings have but only one life and it is quite evident that we have voluntarily strayed from the correct course and chose to accept our own ways instead.  God shall have to correct this course if we do not recognize this fault immediately.  God shall never force Himself upon us even though He might have to show us a corrective action or two.  However, we must remember something about God, He has a way of doing a corrective measure once and He will allow us to rebuild.  But just as with the second Temple in Jerusalem and its destruction, there is only a single wall up for that destruction was far greater and lasted longer than the first temple destruction.

There are many more details about this holiday that needs to be addressed, but it is our responsibility to understand that Hanukkah is not just for the Jewish people but for everyone.  Allow God restore our destructive hearts and allow Him to use His son’s blood to give us the light that we so desperately need.  It is through this holy blood that is the one way that will guarantee our restoration both physically and spiritually.  I ask you to look and see what the world is doing and in which direction it is taking us.  The world can only lead to death for that is all it can offer.  Christ is the only way to salvation, happiness and restoration.  It is important that if we do not change our ways God will have to wake us up once again, but this time it shall be wider and far greater than ever before.  If we chose to allow it to come to this act of God, may we recover quickly and return back to His ways instead of our own.

The true spirit of Hanukkah has an opportunity to shine bright through our lives in an entire new capacity if we fully understand its meaning.  I hope that you study this holiday further and grasp its entire meaning for our lives.  You do not have to be Jewish to celebrate this holiday because it is a holiday that is for everyone to enjoy and to remember how God is our provider.  I am thankful that God is sharing with me some of the information about His life through our history.  I pray that God shares with you some of the things that God wants to give to our lives.  It is an awesome experience and a wonderful and fulfilling life in Him.

DLB

The Importance of Your Interior

The Importance of Your Interior

12/10/14

It has been stated that the exterior of a house or building is important to attract potential customers and represents a great advertising plug.  The passing eye usually does draw its attention to things that “catch” it and for the most part once the catch is made we are more likely to shop within the contents of that particular building.  We in the western portions of society have also applied this standard to our physical shells as well and we now have begun to incorporate this type of outward perfection into our inner bodies which we readily forget that our inner selves cannot function in such a manner.  It has been noted for millennia now that if a person tries to incorporate certain worldly standards inside their lives, destruction always follows.  We have this in our western lives now and as long as we continue to live this way our inner resources will eventually dry up.

When I was a youngster I would periodically hear my parents refer to our house as a glass one.  When I was a small guy I had no idea what this phrase meant but in my mind I tried my best to picture glass walls as I looked at the physical walls of the house.  I would stand there for about two seconds staring at the walls and then give up because I could not see the glass that mom and dad were talking about.  As soon as I walked away from the wall that I was staring at I forgot about what they said and continued my playing.  However, I do remember one time after I had gotten into trouble and mom stood me in the corner for a while I thought to myself that I wish those glass walls were around so at least I could see outside while I was standing there.

As time went along and I became more social I began to understand a little bit about what my parents were referring to concerning the glass house theory.  As my social skills became more focused on girls, school, girls, chores, girls and girls I realized this concept a bit better.  Then I began to associate their experiences of good housekeeping with their own social status within the community and things began to click even more in my head.  It finally hit me that no matter how good your exterior might be it is the interior of the house that matters because the interior will be the eventual pattern that others will see as you routinely go about your day.  The ironic thing about this personal state is that for the most part we ourselves do not even recognize how much our interiors reflect outward to the public even though we are directly in contact with said public at all times.

As many of you have gathered I love Church History and one of my honors was able to visit one of the American West’s old church missions a couple of years ago.  I have talked about this mission once before in a previous article and I am going to use it once again as another example of how the Church herself is in trouble.  The interior of this mission was simply wondrous and as I have stated before I could have sat in the row of pews for hours just gazing at all of the icons and artwork that adorned her walls and ceilings.  We did spend hours at the complex but there was no way that I could have fit all of its history into my head during this short period of time.  I continue to wonder about how many people have had their lives changed within that complex, whether for the good or for the bad; we all know that not all churches have a good reputation especially ones that were present around the early portions of this country’s history.

Also, a while back I wrote about how many of the old medieval church buildings in Europe now sit dormant or even crumbling due to their closure many centuries earlier.  These church buildings have not been repaired nor have they been deemed necessary to rebuild because of the amount of newer cathedrals and other church buildings that we have today.  Even though I have never been to any of the churches in Europe I would love to witness them one day before I physically leave this planet.  As I read about the medieval times I cannot help but to stop and think about how the atmosphere was inside these old churches; were they active, boring, condemning towards each other and to the surrounding communities?  As I continue my readings it becomes very clear about the attitudes of the churches and my questions are quickly answered.

About seventeen years ago I had the privilege of traveling to the Ivory Coast for a spiritual conference.  It was a fantastic trip and while I was in that country I learned a lot about the topic of Kingdom and how it reflects in our lives and world today.  The main focus of the trip and conference occurred in a small village called Yamoussoukro which serves as one of the capitals of the country.  A couple of years before my trip the president of that country commissioned and built a gigantic basilica for the people of the country.  It was built next to a banana plantation and for the most part was sitting on a bare piece of land that connected to a dirt road on one side, a huge dirt and unmarked parking lot on another side, the priest’s housing quarters on a third side and a large paved road and main access gate to the complex on the fourth side.  It was an extraordinary complex and one that I have not forgotten about even today.

My eyes had not witnessed any more a spectacular church building ever and even with my experience at the Catholic mission in Arizona, this complex still reaches by far in superiority.  As we entered onto the property I was so amazed at how much detail the gardens, walkways and outer structures had and how well they were groomed also stood out to me as we passed by them.  At that time it was the 2^nd largest Catholic basilica in the world.  It actually seats more people than St Peter’s in Rome but was built shorter in height than St Peter’s in order to please Pope John Paul II.

The doors to the sanctuary were simply incredible.  If you ever watch some of the programs that the Catholic television channel has and you get a glimpse of how big some of the doors inside the Vatican are these doors to this basilica looked just like them. As I stepped into the sanctuary my eyes were met with a sight that I had never witnessed before in a church setting.  I immediately thought to myself none of the churches that dad had pastored in looked like this.  I quickly scanned the entire room and was awestruck with the enormous size and beauty.  The tour guide stopped walking and talking for a bit because everyone in the party was just staring at any object within the building; I believe he did this on a routine basis due to the expressions on the individuals in other parties, it was that awesome.

The tour guide soon continued and began to give some details about the interior of the complex and it was amazing of how many events and people could be in the sanctuary at one time.  Not all of the information was good however, it was said that the sanctuary pews themselves could hold about 10,000 people and with the standing room only crowd outside a grand total of 110,000 people could be listening to sermons being preached at one time.  The sad portion of this that only approximately 100 people or so attended on a regular basis and even when the pope blessed the complex only about 9,000 people were in attendance.  So why would such a place with an extravagant interior and exterior be so dead inside?  This is the grand question that many Christians face and do not know how to answer when asked.  Another sad fact is that when Christians are asked this question it comes from two sources, one is obvious and that is from the public but the other source is more drastic and that source comes from their own interiors. 

This statistic about the average amount of people kind of shocked me but not totally because the entire population of the village of Yamoussoukro was only about 7,000 people or so.  This said a whole lot about many issues concerning this building and it reinforced that even though it may have been the most magnificent building in the village and one of the more extravagant ones in the country, its interior beauty was not enough to attract a large population.

I had traveled thousands of miles to ask myself this simple question as to why a place was built to house thousands of people, its interior was magnificently constructed and yet it was so dead at the same time.  There was soft choral music playing but there was hardly any life present in that sanctuary.  I did not receive the answer to this question at that time; it took almost a couple of decades for God to give me that answer.  I would not have understood it at that moment but now I have a fair grasp on what that answer is.  What I was witnessing back in that huge interior portion of that basilica was a picture of what the condition the Church’s interior actually represents to a dying world.  The interior of the Church is adorned with extraordinary beauty and is captivating when one first gets a look at it, but as the world continues its course within its contents they soon realize that the place is dead.

One must ask themselves about what the world offers them.  It is obvious that interior and exterior wants and desires will be the first to come from the world.  It is a given and should not be any surprise as to this spoken truth.  In our current society one can basically ask for anything and within a few days receive the wanted products.  There is nothing that one can ask for that cannot be provided in today’s world, in fact a human can even have a online boyfriend or girlfriend, someone who they have not even met but through this technology can enjoy many pleasures that makes one feel great at the moment.  How many shopping channels are online?  We can now order our groceries online and have them delivered to our doorsteps within a few hours. While these amenities seem glorious to our lives they do not represent any life to our interiors, only services contracted in order to appease our wants and comforts.

It is this type of fake beauty that the Church has allowed to enter into her doors and then permitted to inhabit her pews.  These worldly concepts have served an inner purpose that we have totally forgotten about and that is what is outside of the Church walls.  I remember stories that my parents would talk about when non church people would enter the buildings.  Their appearance would not be considered “acceptable” and they would quickly be labeled as non church going people.  Some of the older people in the church would actually and loudly gasp in horror that anyone would grace their sanctuary with “that” type of appearance.  Instead of welcoming them into the church building they were ridiculed, scorned and mocked, just as the world had treated them, so why would they bother in returning to hear the gospel of Christ.  Think about that process for a moment.

It is through these types of actions from church members which has placed the Church in the condition that she is in.  These church buildings were built with grandeur in order to represent a difference from the world standards and while the physical interiors of these buildings seem radiant to the eye its inhabitants and spirit project nothing but a familiar death to those who are seeking life.  Now, with the dead atmosphere that we have allowed to run rampant within our walls, the world’s leader is now sending in more people who are in dire need of salvation into our congregations fully knowing that the message that will be spoken to them is full of lies.  There is HUGE difference when a Christian brings a sinner into the Church and when a person who has no real idea of accepting God comes into the church.

When a person comes into the church and hears a message that goes against their current state of being, it should convict them and provoke a desire to change their beliefs and ways, in order to become closer to a holy God.  This is a sign of the Church who is alive and pushing the kingdom of the world back.  Recently I saw a funny cartoon in one of the local papers.  It had two frames entitled “back when and now”.  The “back when” portion had the parents pointing their finger at the student and obvious furious with him at what the teacher had to say about his grades, attitude, attendance, etc.  I remember this type of setting when I was a boy.  The 2^nd or “now” portion of the cartoon depicts the parents pointing their fingers at the teacher, yelling at her, and wanting to know why the boy was complaining and getting bad grades.  While this cartoon is funny to read it does set into motion a problem that the Church is actually facing.

The student should recognize that he is the one that is not following through with his grades, attitude, etc.  The school system sets up these parent / teacher conferences as a help time for the student, not the teachers.  Now-a-days this concept has been reversed and the attention has been taken off of the student and placed onto the teacher, which usually is made out to the problem instead of the student.  The same has been allowed to occur within the Church and we are now seeing the evidence of this spirit being manifested within our congregations.

One of my dear friends told me a few months back that in one of the larger congregations of his denomination the bishop of that diocese was preaching and teaching about the dangers and sin of homosexuality.  During his words a person stood up and shouted back at him that what he was saying was wrong and irresponsible and that it did not go with the current thinking of the world.  The bishop allowed the person to speak but then stood up for the gospel and told the man that what he was saying came straight from the Word of God and that it WAS his responsibility to teach others about this sin.  The bishop further added that if he did not speak up and tell the truth about this sin that then he would be in the irresponsible category.

There is nothing wrong with allowing sinners into the church buildings, for that is EXACTLY what we are supposed to be doing.  But when we allow them to become comfortable in the pews and do not offer them the truth about their sins, the interior of the church may be beautiful but the contents within are simply dead.  I do not care what condition a person is suffering from, the Church is the perfect place for them to be but if the true interior of the Church is dead, then all we are allowing them to feel is a false gospel that will drag them to hell right along with those who accept that conditions as the truth also. 

It is time that we re-examine our interiors and see what they truly look like.  The bride of the Christ should be bloodied, bruised and dirty for that means she is an active bride working to tell others about her groom.  The only way that this type of condition can occur is if she is warring with the world, not accepting it through her doors.  As I look back on the words of my parents the saying of living in a glass house becomes even more accurate.  Because if we do not have an accurate concept of what the bride of Christ should look like there is no possible way that we would know how different we are from the world.

We need to keep in mind that throughout history mankind has always be in contrast with the church, even when the church has accepted the world’s ways.  The world does not understand this and many Christians do not either.  The two kingdoms that are fighting for our lives can never mix.  We need to remember this on both sides of the block.  Our enemy always recognizes our potential to push his kingdom back so he does his best to infiltrate and incorporate his home field advantage into our lives. 

God recognizes this and sees how much our interior beauty is and measures it against the inhabitants of His Church, in this case that would be us.  If our hearts are not representing life as she should be, then God is going to allow things to occur to the Church.  Do not believe me?  Ask the people in 70 AD about what the Romans did to the Jews, Jerusalem and to the Temple. Look hard into what the Jewish people had just witnessed AND rejected, then tell me where their hearts were.

It has been taught for as long as I can remember that in the end times things are going to be bad for the world.  This is a truth that not many people can argue with especially if they turn on their television sets and watch the news.  But what we do not mention is that if the world is going to hell in a hand basket what does that mean for the Church, what kind of conditions will she face?  Guess what, it will not be a bed of roses!  Look at the trials and persecutions of the Church around the world, there are thousands that are dying each day just because they are Christians, nothing more.  We here in the west dismiss this activity because it has not reached us yet; yes, yet!  Because of our weakness and lack of responsibility to teach the truth the world and its spiritual leader is having a field day with havoc against the church.

A reality bite here.  If we allow sin into the Church and then pacify it by allowing it to stay within our walls unabated, that gives our enemy the perfect open door in which to bring in his destruction.  If the Church in the Middle East and other hostile countries are being persecuted in such a horrific manner by enemies that they have lived with for millennia, what kind of destruction do you believe will occur from those same enemies that we have no clue about?  The Middle Eastern Church is tough and they are being picked apart due to their faith and beliefs and we over here cannot even decide on what we believe in!! That is why I say that we are headed for a huge and core shaking fall, both in our physical lives and in our spiritual lives.  We are setting our own selves up for it and if you really want to know what is coming then read the Old Testament scriptures for it records many examples of the Israelites and their perils and glories.

I challenge you to take a very hard look at your interior and see what he / she are representing.  Each one of us is beautiful and represents a wonderful creation in every masterful sense.  But if our inner beauty is dead and rotting what difference are we from the world?  Jesus came into the world to give us life.  God allowed the Israelites to experience life at its lows and highs. All of this is driven on how we look at our lives and what priorities we set as number one.  If God is number one in our life our direction, motivation and reality are different from the world.  That does not mean our lives will be easier.  The world has its mission and as long as we continue to allow it into our interiors, our lives, both physical and spiritual are in danger.

DLB

Obedience and Due Process

Obedience and Due Process

12/9/14

There is a great deal of talk and controversy about these two conditions when examining God and His ways.  There are many different accounts as to why things occur in the Bible with many more excuses as to why God allowed them to happen in the first place.  We must remind ourselves just how important it is to obey everyone in authority over us and how important it is to apply this principle when referring to God.  I know all of us stray from this law but when we do intentionally break the obedience rule, God’s due process comes into play not only to remind us of what we need to be doing but also to instill His covenant with us.

Obedience and due process sound like an ominous pair if one strikes a glancing view at the grouping.  But if one stops and takes a moment to study these words they will find that in fact they are synonymous with each other and that both need each other in order to be complete.  It is easy for us to find references to both words in our world today and it is also just as easy to find examples of people not allowing these words to coincide as well.  For many that deny or doubt the authority and the authenticity of the Bible it is easy to place blame and doubt on God, His ways and His Laws that are mentioned within the Bible’s contexts. But if we really take a closer look at the deeper meaning of why God put into play some of these laws it becomes clear of the importance of obedience and if our obedience is not conducted then God’s due process must be enforced to ensure that His promises stay within Kingdom settings.

Most of us have at one time or another been grounded.  I remember that my parents had to do this to me to make sure that I understood to follow the rules that had been established.  It was not that they tried to keep me from some of the things that I wanted to do but it was to teach me that there are reasons that rules are put into place and why that they need to be enforced when violated.  No, I did not like the fact that I missed out on some of the activities that I was looking forward in attending and at the time I really did not fully understand as to why they were being “so hard” on me.  But as time marched along I began to see some of the results of others, who did not have this same due process and consequences as they spent weekends in jail, began a criminal record or just flat broke off any relationships with their families.  All of these processes took a toll in their lives and it soon began to show in these people’s attitudes about many things that concerned them.

It took me a while to figure out that my parents were not punishing me per say but were trying their best to teach me to obey the rules both at that time and after I left their house.  It became clear to me that if I obeyed the rules of the house I could totally skip the rules of due process that would automatically be implemented if I did not obey them.  Oh yes, did I have thoughts about trying to break these rules and I have to be honest I did at times try my best to think about getting around these rules and most of the time I decided that I was better off not breaking them and doing my best to be content with where I was at concerning the obedience department.  But every-once-in-a-while those thoughts of disobedience would win out and most likely would see me into trouble.

There are still times that I place my wants in front of the things that I need to do, especially when it comes to my writing.  God has shown me so many things that the Church needs to hear and at times I shuffle my feet instead of sprinting to the finish line. None of us are exempt from this portion of life.  But we need to be aware of this fault and disobedience and voluntarily correct it before God has to step in and realign our priorities.

I pretty much stay away from the laws and do my best not to break any.  There have been some instances where I have had to stand before judges and give my account as to what happened with the situation at hand or to listen to what has occurred.  In every case the process was in motion because either I or someone else had done something against the law and things had to be made correct.  This is called the due process of laws and it is well known that if someone does something that the nation considers being wrong they have to go through many steps in order to complete the entire process.  God also has His due process procedure and just as the human aspect goes, God will not implement His due process procedures unless it is warranted.  And it is this part of the setting that we humans tend to forget about and instead jump to conclusions and place blame on God for being too harsh.

We have a couple of examples within the contents of the Bible that demonstrate the same type of settings.  At first these examples will seem a bit harsh but if one truly understands the reasoning behind why God has these rules in place.  The first example I am going to use is where the children of Israel are carrying the Ark of the Covenant in the desert.  There were rules about who was able to carry the Ark and there were also rules as to how the Ark was to be carried.  While this does not seem too strict of a rule it does set forth into motion a very basic law that we actually created, not God.  Why was it so important that no one else be allowed to neither carry the Ark nor even touch it?

This law stems back from the time of the Garden of Eden and how God and mankind had a perfect, personal and face to face relationship.  But due to our selfishness and disobedience of God’s one and only established law, our lives changed forever and the result of that disobedience is a separation between our Creator and ourselves and there can be no congruency between the two parties.  It was not God’s desire for us to live in this manner but He knew us enough that He understood that when this division came that He would be able to provide an alternative plan so that this restoration could take place.  But in the meantime these laws that kept the Israelites away from God had to be put into place and enforced accordingly.

Continuing with this biblical example, there was a time when the four men who were carrying the Ark stumbled and to everyone in close proximity believed that the Ark was going to fall.  It was made clear by God that the Ark was never to change its holding and carrying processes and that dire consequences would occur if this change came to pass.  A certain man, when he realized that the Ark was about to fall reached out with his arms and grabbed the Ark and kept it from falling onto the ground. To be honest this would be an action that many people would take without hesitancy simply because of the reverence of the Ark.  Immediately the man was struck dead and had no chance to do anything else on this earth.

I am sure that some people in the caravan questioned this act of God and also questioned about the harshness of the punishment. But if we step back and remember a few things about God we can understand why this event transpired in the manner in which it did.  We must never forget that God is a complete God and that what He sets into motion cannot ever change.  It does not matter what the setting might be, His laws are accurate, true and can never deviate from their existence.  This means that once God establishes something its survival is eternal and can never end.  This means that the total separation from God that mankind chose to create in the Garden of Eden was in full effect during this timeframe.

Once mankind committed the separation act and God fulfilled His laws in the Garden, He had to continue in the same manner in this setting.  Yes, this event took place years later but God’s law of separation was still intact.  I am sure that God and man had some physical contact with each other before the fall but we cannot physically touch God in our state of existence and live.  The Ark of the Covenant represented God and His existence with the Israelites which meant that not even the ones chosen to carry the Ark could touch it, for it represented God.  This did not mean that God did not understand the heart of the man, but even though the intentions of this man was of a good nature his measures were of disobedience and therefore God had no choice but to remand His due process accordingly. 

This story is an excellent example that God’s laws cannot change, no matter how humans try to override them.  The man had no ill intentions through his actions but the laws of God were there as a protective barrier.  Protecting from what you ask?  To our finite minds the man was doing something right, but in God’s view His law of separation from man is greater and eternal.  For if God had allowed the man to touch His presence in a sinful condition Satan would have legal grounds to call God on His eternal law and set back into motion Satan’s claim to being like God once again.

We need to keep in our forebrains that God does not wish to impose the due process portion of the laws that He has established. God’s only wish is for us to study His laws well enough that we may live within these laws and to be protected from the world. There is a reason as to why God has implemented these laws even though we have complete separation from Him, and it all comes down to the fact that we are His pride and joy and we represent His ultimate creation.  We are actually His Kingdom representatives and through this concept (law) it is explained why we need protection from the world; for our enemy rules the world.

There is a reason that we should obey the laws of the land and there is an even more important reason that we need to obey God’s laws.  While the laws of this nation seek to protect the human from harm, danger and deceit, God’s laws are in place for our eternal lives and safety.  God understands that our physical lives are important to us but at the same time we need to understand that God’s eternal laws are vital to us.  The world does not care about you or the condition that you are in when you enter and leave the world.  This is clearly stated yet almost enthusiastically misunderstood my billions of people, even by some who are well versed in the Bible.

When we grasp the concept that God’s laws are in place for a reason we can begin to believe that they actually bring us freedom from the world.  God was us to live separate from the world and through these laws of His He has provided a guide in which to do so.  Plus, you add the benefits of the remaining portions of His Word and you get a complete guideline of how our lives are supposed to be and what we can expect to come.  God has not left any details out, it is just our choice or not to follow His directions as He has so divinely written down.  Restoration is a wonderful process and it is a process in which God has provided humanity a real setting of freedom all we need to do is to choose it.

DLB