Credibility

Credibility

6/17/15

All of us wish to establish and maintain a credible account of our lives.  It is very important that we do our best to achieve this standing and as long as we accept the fact that honesty is one of the main foundations of this goal we will have the reasonable chance in reaching it.  However, when this status is based upon lies nothing good will come from its status, only hurt and pain will be the end results.  We cannot achieve this status in life without first understanding who our creator is and then complimenting this standard with mankind’s Creator, then all things will become possible in our lives.

This topic that is currently floating around the world touches my personal life in a very specific manner.  As some might know, I was adopted when I was a baby.  To a very loving home with great and loving parents whom I still cherish today.  My parents never kept anything about my adoption from me and always told me the truth about how I came to be a Bishop.  Of course, they did not give me the entire story when I was 10 years old but by the time I was graduated from high school I knew everything that they knew.

It was no big deal for me to be adopted and unless it was brought up for some reason I never really thought about that fact of my life.  But being adopted was a part of my life and it was a fact of my life that needed to be understood by some when certain settings arose.  The medical side of things was by far the most important aspect of things but at other times some traits of mine would appear out of nowhere which made me stop and wonder about things for a moment.  All of these new additions to my life I could understand and easily accept since I knew I had a set of biological parents other than my adoptive ones.  But what would my attitude be if I did not know this truth about my beginnings and upbringing?  How would I feel about things if I had found out that my adoptive parents had lied to me all of those years, even though they gave me the best that anyone could have received?  The same concept applies in this current identity thieving that is now all the rage to embrace. 

Approximately five years ago my parents received a phone call from a man that lived in Arkansas.  It is tough enough knowing that someone gave you up for another family but through the grace and peace of God, He has allowed total acceptance of my life on my side of the issues and from my parents side of the issues; and this is the way it is supposed to be, for every life created. When my parents answered this call, it was a man claiming to be my brother and how he had just then found out that I existed. This shocker was setting up to be a hard time for everyone involved since none of my biological brother and sisters knew anything about me until that time frame.  In other words, they had been lied to for over 40 years about their own family; this had to hurt.

To top things off, we have recently found out that we have another uncle living in Georgia.  Mike and I had no idea about him and to everyone’s “amazement” he had no idea about us either.  This new revelation has answered a few questions that Mike and I have had, but it also raised many more questions than expected.  Some are so sensitive that just the thought of them are damaging enough and are the type that can burn with anger for an entire life.  I cannot blame one for being upset with these types of findings, but it is the lies that hide the truth that hurt the most and will have the most impact in this situation.

When a person finds out that the life that they thought was their foundation turns out to be a complete lie, that information has the potential to do some serious damage in that life.  No one wins when this type of situation is allowed to fester quietly, especially 40 or more years but even 1 day is way too long for such an atrocity.  The lie only deepens, not erased because at some point in life the truth will filter out somehow and then lives will change drastically.  When dealing with an individual, there cannot be any worse condition to experience than a direct lie about that person, not only for the person themselves but for everyone else involved in the committed lie.  In my brother’s case the lie continues to grow because not all of the truth has been told and those who know more about that truth are refusing to correct the lie, which will only deepen the anger and bitterness into hatred, even if one has moved on with their life.

Around the year 2001 there was a man who had established a reputable college football program at Georgia Tech University whose name was George O’Leary.  He had literally worked his way up the ladder to be a major university coach, beginning in the high school ranks.  On paper, he was destined to be one of the best coaches around and should be considered a top candidate to one of the larger football programs in the country if all went according to plan.  After a couple of decades of assistant coaching jobs, he received the call to be the next head coach at GT.  Mr. O’Leary turned that program into a powerhouse opponent and was in contention for conference champions each one of GT’s seasons under his rule.

After a fine tenure with GT, a certain major football program came knocking on his door and everyone who knew what was transpiring was considering this opportunity for Mr. O’Leary to be one of a lifetime.  I do not know that everyone around the world has heard of the University of Notre Dame but I can guarantee that the majority of the world’s population has at one time or another and this was the program that came knocking on Mr. O’Leary’s door.  Anyone who wants to coach football will have a dream to coach this team with all of the pomp and circumstances that go along with it.  However, not just anyone would be considered to fit within the confines of the coach’s chair at this university, they had to be chosen which meant that their credentials must be a certain level.

With the school’s mascot being a Leprechaun and having the nickname of “Fighting Irish” and them considering a man by the name of George O’Leary, one would automatically assume that his name alone would place him at the top of the list of possible coaches.  Of course, the media was going wild over the prospect that George O’Leary was going to be considered and some even had him as a lock for the position.  It did not take long for both sides to issue statements that in fact Mr. O’Leary was going to be the next head coach at Notre Dame. 

Within a matter of a few days of the official announcement that George O’Leary was the next head football coach at Notre Dame some questions began to surface.  It seems like that some of the listings on his resume were not lining up and when the university began investigating a bit further those inaccuracies were proven to be true.  The allegations turned into truths and shortly afterwards Mr. O’Leary was once again in front of the cameras resigning his position as head football coach of Notre Dame without even having his presence on the practice field.

Mr. O’Leary’s credibility went into the toilet and he almost immediately went into hiding until the situation died down a bit. There were still some lingering questions that he was forced to answer but for the most part his coaching career was on a long hiatus and it might have been believed that it may be over.  Disappointment was no doubt present all around the campus of Notre Dame, the campus of Georgia Tech and across the nation, for one of the NCAA’s golden boys had fallen from his perch and after the dust had settled it was widely known that he fell hard.  Everyone involved in this scandal was completely embarrassed and while searches continued for replacement coaches, everyone knew that hearts were heavy during this time.

George O’Leary eventually returned to the sidelines and presently is a head coach of another large school.  His salary eventually returned as well and one can still see his brilliance as a head play caller for a football team, but even though his mind and heart are still within the game and can contribute greatly to any football program I doubt very seriously that his presence at another major university will ever take place.  I know that Mr. O’Leary still receives questions about this incident and from his responses it is evident that it continues to dwell within his soul as a black mark and turning point of his career; one in which he is none too proud.

Today, the country is once again being subjected to another person who has lied about a portion of their life; however, this time it is not concerning a resume (kind of) but of her own personal life.  While this person was locally known and mainly kept out of the national spot light for the most part she has been thrust into it by her proclamations concerning her ethnic origins.  This type of remarks and claims does not surprise me since many people love to embellish stories about their lives in order to make a point to their friends, other family members or colleagues.  But when those remarks actually defame those colleagues, friends or family members it crosses a line that can only result in hurtful and sometime life-long turmoil between the people involved within the lies.

In this lady’s case she claimed that she was half black and that it was her father that was black and her mother was white.  We all know that this type of racial blending is common in our world today, not just this example but of many races, and probably would have not even been questioned at all; it just fits within the societal standards of today.  However, someone must have known that the parents that she claimed to have in the past did not fit this category and when the investigation began the doubts of her public proclamation about her “father” were inaccurate at best. 

Shortly afterwards an interview came out on national television with the parents that she was born to which were both white in ethnic origin.  Pictures of this lady were flashed across the screen when she was a little girl and then again at a later date in her life clearly showing her true ethnic origin.  Ironically this entire story broke at the same time this lady was going to be a main speaker at one of the upcoming NAACP meetings telling about her life and how she dealt with her ethnic existence. 

There is no doubt that this false proclamation did cause hurt and pain within her family, especially her true parents.  In addition to this false claim about her parents, a new development has just been discovered that enhances the lie and it conveniently pursues the life of a man that this lady claimed to be her father.  It is amazing that the story that she has made public concerning her “father” resembles the life of this man, which she does know and refers to him as her “dad” but is in no way her birth father. I understand this type of claim, for I have four daughters and their friends call me “dad” on a regular occasion.  They are part of my extended family and I would do everything in my power to protect them if needed, but they would never claim me as their birth father nor would I ever allow them to do such a thing, unless of course I would adopt them for some reason., but even then I would not be their biological father.

The concept of being someone else has always been demonstrated throughout human history.  We can read countless accounts of leaders and “common” people in this quest in many history books and primary documents.  But from our current practices it seems like we have not heeded these examples and discontinued this practice of painful lies, not only to ourselves but to our families as well, but have embraced these practices once again and are now in the process of establishing laws to protect these practices.

There is nothing more foundational than our own credibility and if we voluntarily destroy this basis of our lives we will eventually crumble both as an individual and as a society.  There is no question that all of us wish to have fame and glory on some level for recognition on a superior level can make or break our lives.  However, no matter what the circumstances may be we cannot afford to fabricate our “resume” in order to establish this status.  It is even more difficult when society exploits this type of behavior and condemns those who actually expose this wrong doing, then rewards these people with other positions after a while of seclusion.  In my family’s case this seclusion has been in effect for over 47 years now and it does not look like it is going to end any time soon.

Think for a moment of how things will be when this type of charades is conducted on a national or societal level.  Oh, wait a minute they already are being conducted on this level.  Not just now but they have been for a very long time, and yes even during ancient times this practice was conducted and the same results will occur today as they did back then.  We have got to lose this theme of ambiguity about the truth that we have voluntarily and purposefully created and established within our lives. It has infiltrated every part of our societal standing and it is now even encompassing the Church, willingly I might add.

I understand that the world has its own ideologies and philosophies about how people can live, act and die but if we are totally honest with ourselves (lol) this type of activity would be condemned instead of promoted.  Yet, the world screams war, war, war and throws its weight into the faces of those who do not agree with what the new standards are becoming.  God asks us to stop and to take a hard and honest look at what we are doing to our lives and how much personal, emotional and spiritual damage we are doing to our existence, both as an individual and as a society because just as other societies found out these types of acceptances will only lead to one result, destruction.

In each one of these examples that has been shared in this article are real and they have occurred within our lifetime.  The ones in ancient history were real as well and through all of these examples the picture has been clearly painted and hung on the societal wall for everyone to see.  Once again it has become clear that when mankind tries to do things on their own nothing good comes out as a result.  A temporary fix for a troubled time is not a good result and no individual or nation can function in that capacity.  At the same time it has also become clear that God has all of the correct answers, He even takes all of the problems away at the same time, case closed.  Yet, we continue to believe in the worldly kingdom that is faltered and allow ourselves to be drugged into slavery to this kingdom.

God’s Word is not a bunch of condemning laws that were made to hold humanity back from its total potential.  On the contrary they were put in place to free us from the slavery of the world so that we may life in total freedom through God.  There is nothing hypocritical about God’s Word for it is all about humans and how we have struggled during our existence and at the same time providing us with a way out of those struggles if we just accept the real truth.  We do not have to lose our credibility on any level but if we ever do we have the confidence to know that God shall accept us back into His Kingdom and will restore our credibility through His ways.  That is the good news mission that Jesus spoke about when He walked this earth and it was the exact command that He gave us to complete as well.

It all comes down to this: there are two kingdoms and those two kingdoms have immortal and hated enemies as their leaders. These two kingdoms can never mix in any way for they are at war for your eternal existence.  One Kingdom is ruled by God, His Son and the Holy Spirit and the other kingdom is ruled by their arch enemy – and ours – Satan.  There is no middle ground present, there never was and there never shall be, period!

Both leaders are calling out your name, and both leaders are vying for your eternal destination.  Look at our past and see what this type of credibility brings to our credentials as created beings and it should become clear what happens when we understand the kingdom of the world versus the Kingdom of God and the outcome of each choice.  God loves you and does not wish to watch us lose your personal credibility, nor does He wish to see out national and societal credentials go down the drain, but He shall allow it to occur if we chose to do so.

DLB

Systematically Correct

Systematically Correct

6/15/15

Humans like to believe that their knowledge of events are the most accurate options that one has to chose from and that no one else has a better answer.  We also tend to believe that what we choose to initiate, dictate and follow actually come from our own processes, but in all honesty even the thoughts that we believe are our own truly originate from God’s creative motions, not ours.  These truths are directly explained throughout the Bible through human lives and nation’s choices which furthers the fact that the Word of God is here for our protection and not our hindrance; which also proclaims that God is solely doing His best to protect us from something humanly unimaginable.

The examples that I am going to use in this article will be both personal and national in nature and I am going to start out with the personal example in order to begin with the fact that God does care about the individual just as much as He does a nation.  For it takes individuals to make up a nation and without individuals a nation becomes silent and extinct on all levels of existence.  It is also God’s symmetrically and systemic plan for each one of our lives that establishes our true nature and should be studied at all times, which will prove to be an invaluable resource for our eternal presence.

With my parents being ministers one can imagine that I moved around a lot and while we did I have ill feelings towards them for I understood their calling and knew that there would be times that we would be leaving areas of comfort to walk in the presence of danger.  At that time in my life, I had no real understanding about those dangers but I did know that for some reason God always had His eyes upon my life and His protection around my body.  Little did I know that He was actually teaching me things that I would be able to show people and to tell people about years (decades) down the road.

When I was a sophomore in high school we moved to a town called Hobbs, New Mexico, and for a very long time I referred to this time setting as “to hell and back” for my life.  As I look back on those times I had to come to grips that God had placed our family there for a reason yet at the same time protected my life and my family’s life constantly; and I cannot rule out the presence of angels sitting on our pews either.  As our time was winding down in that city God showed up to a couple in southeast Texas and told them to come get me for I was to be taken out of the town immediately.  God also confirmed this through my father while walking through an airport terminal.  Both messages were crystal clear, get me out of there.

As I arrived in Texas I was taken to the doctor for a checkup and while I basically felt fine, with a few aches and pains, I had no idea of how much danger my life was really in at that time.  My spleen had been enlarged for some time and I was very much in danger of it rupturing and with its current contents I would have bled out almost within minutes with no chance of survival.  Has anyone ever move during their lifetime?  Then those who have will know that when people make a major move they almost always come away with bumps and bruises.  God had His hand on me during those times and I still do not fully understand everything about that situation but I do know I am alive and well today to share what God has given us to hear.

I have no idea how my life would have turned out if mom and dad did not go to Hobbs that year.  What if we had gone elsewhere?  I know that my life would have been protected but what kind of experiences would I have gone through during that time, and would God’s messages actually been heard from the ones that God intended?  It is hard for our minds to grasp the fact that our lives and the lives of others play a specific role in the overall plan of God and sometimes it just does not make sense until God begins to reveal certain aspects about humanity through His Word that our understanding clicks.  I know that if my parents had not gone to Hobbs then that city would not have heard the message that God had for them and it would have not been a just act when their true setting was enacted.

How was I to know that God would use gangs, death threats on my life, sabotaged acts against my house and automobiles as a means to talk about what kind of things God shall allow to His people in order to grab their attention before things become to a point of no return or when God has to say “Ok, enough”.  This point of no return or point “B” if you wish to place it into that context is far away from point “A” that humanity or a nation starts and it is at some point along this timeline that we continually progress along not realizing just how much danger we are allowing ourselves to be in on a regular basis.  This was my situation in Hobbs and as I look back at it now God was solely in control of my life but allowed a dangerous situation to arise in order for others to know what is going on in our society today.

Those of us who are old enough to remember the date September 11, 2001 will remember exactly what they were doing or where they were at the precise moment when the world watched planes crash into the Twin Towers, slam into the Pentagon building and fall into an open field in Pennsylvania.  I do not have to replay those events to any person that is old enough to remember what transpired that day not only in this country but around the world as well.  Many things changed that day with the accomplishment of those horrific acts that those men played out that day.  All of us would agree that on that specific day the world stood still in shock as we watched our world change forever.

As with any major event there are many questionable tactics that these men chose to complete that day but what is more amazing is that those men had staked out our country’s system long before we knew anything was wrong and trained aggressively for this act of terror.  There are many people out in the world who believe that our government is partially or fully responsible for what occurred on that day.  There are many others who strictly place the blame on a single religion for this act.  But what we completely miss is that God allowed the evil of this world to come to a head that day to attack a nation and a society that had up until that day stood as a tall tower to the world.  People cannot accurately blame the type of government that this country had at the time nor can they place blame on one single act or regulation authorized for such an act either.  The only thing that we can accurately and correctly recognize is our faults against God for those acts being allowed to occur and to be so successful.

As I sit and watch the planes hit the twin towers I find it so amazing that a single strike against a single building could have such a devastating effect on a strong tower.  One would not believe that such a strike would send two major buildings and a few other buildings around them crashing down to the ground.  The planes did not even hit at the same level, their strikes were at different heights but eventually the manmade buildings of symbolism came crashing down and thus destroyed all hope of escape for thousands of people.

This was a game changer, a serious blow to the world’s gut and one that staggered the world’s economy.  Even though the attack was on American soil the entire world lost many relatives that day and it did not matter which religion was represented either.  It is difficult for our minds to comprehend as to why God would allow such a strike against the dominate society of the world, one that would change many working environments throughout the world yet it was such a blow that has since further defined our attitudes towards many aspects of our existence along with further hardening of our hearts towards God.  Just as God allowed my enemy to continue persisting in my life He so too allowed that same enemy to persist in our life as well; striking with a potential death blow to life as we know it.

Many of the people who have spoken out about this catastrophic event have almost been sacrificed themselves due to their opinions.  Many of these who have spoken out have left out the history of our country and the biblical settings that accompany it.  It is of the utmost importance that we place history and biblical history together for this process because it sets into motion a correlation of events that is most remarkable.  We must also understand, grasp and accept all of these factors including down to the minute detail, for everything is at play when our eternal lives are at stake.  So even though humans can conjure up conspiracy theories about how governments allowed things to occur, or how they initiated plans of destruction, or any other human derived event, God still allows all things to transpire according to His time log.  It is easy for us to dismiss this fact and even harder to grasp that god allows these plans to be developed and put into motion all in the name of our return to Him.  But if God was not God and did not love us so much to fall by our own swords (choices) then He would become a god and not God.

It has been known that it is difficult to attack our land from abroad simply because of our isolated position within the globe.  It is also through this ideology that we have become egomaniacs and demand self attention from everyone else around the world as a side bar expectancy.  However, with modern travel accommodations and connectivity between people it has become far easier to obtain access to our lands.  The idea of us not being attacked in any major way was shattered on 9/11 and it is now apparent that something else is on its way.  We have overstayed our boundaries of acceptance of every old and new concept that the mind can imagine and we need to curb these activities, for if we do not we will have no one to blame but our own selfish intentions when our world comes crashing down upon us.  However, there is a way that we can protect ourselves once again and it is high time that we once again seek this divine protection before our country is totally dissolved and life as the world knows it is itself history.

Israel was in a similar state a long time ago in which they too did not listen to the watchfulness of God and ended up being destroyed and scattered for millennia.  When our leadership looks at our opponents as friends instead of enemies or declassifies them as a sub group it is then that we become a high profile target, just to grab our attention.  Our arrogance has totally engulfed us with selfishness that we no longer can be around our allies because of the terrible smell that we continually give off.  Israel was the exact same way when the Assyrian Empire totally wiped them out, took them captive and sold their culture to neighboring nations and empires.

The identity of Israel was completely stripped from the earth and placed into a mortal and earthly context for thousands of years.  Yes, it took that long of a period of time for God’s chosen people to figure out that they had done wrong and that they needed to turn back to God in order to re-establish their united land UNDER God and not the world.  It is easy to become the hero of the world when you have God on your side and for a very long time we have held that status, just as Israel has had.  Yet, with this status comes a huge responsibility to conduct ourselves in a like manner which, just as Israel did, we have abandoned this concept and are doing things on our own.

The important part of this setting that we either forget or do not understand is that God allowed these events to take place due to the choices that all settings made.  Even my little life was placed into danger because of things that were made without understanding exactly what was going on at the time.  Mom and dad were not wrong but the stage was set when they began their ministry in Hobbs and with the knowledge of the creation of Israel and this country those stages were set as well.

There have been a few people around the world that understand what is taking shape within our society today on a biblical and godly level not just the worldly.  These people have been on TV, on the radio, writing letters and composing books trying their best to allow others to see what is exactly transpiring before our eyes.  These people have been basically ignored, laughed at and even shunned by the society to which they are trying to reach, which amazingly is rapidly fulfilling biblical texts by these actions.  The enemy has initiated this pattern of thinking into our minds so that we can minimize God and maximize ourselves in order to achieve the greatest standing within the world community, all the while ignoring and refusing to identify exactly where these blessings originate.

It is now widely accepted by society that God is no longer welcome or only a compromised and humanly scaled down version of god (yes, this is the spelling that is needed here) is accepted.  9/11 should have taught us something about how we were living and in which direction we were heading, but it only solidified our hearts to a worldly center.  The September crash in 2008 should have woke us up from our financial orgy and made us recognize that the directions that we were driving in were not according to what God had for our country and society.  Since that time, we have done a wonderful job at blaming the other side, whatever side you wish to be) for the problems of the globe and have ignored our personal fallout with God’s laws.

Look at how this country was created and one will see that it was first dedicated to God for His purposes and then after mankind took a hold of it we began to struggle against the truth of God.  If one will read the history of Israel in the years 727 – 722 BC one will catch a glimpse of what occurred to their country with the assistance of the Assyrians.  If one will look at Greek history and their glory days one will find that they too fell hard and never recovered.  We can add Rome into the equation and we will find the same result, their total destruction and complete failure to recover.  Why should we follow in those examples?  But we are doing exactly that, pushing the One person out of our existence in order to fulfill the popular commodities of a dead world.

I wish to interject a quick note before I end this letter but it is a very important note to think about and to keep close to our hearts.  9/11 occurred in the year 2001 which according to God’s time log was a Shemitah year.  The financial crash of 2008, which also occurred in the month of September, was a Shemitah year as well.  This year, 2015 lands on another Shemitah year which will end in September.  What will occur?  The past two Shemitah years have proven to be financial, moral and structurally devastating years for this country and for the world, so why would God change His patterns to accommodate sinful societies?  Also, one must take into consideration that with each devastating event in these Shemitah years, it has taken longer to “recover” than the previous and with God keeping with His perfect ways……

God urges you to read history, both biblical and worldly in order to help us understand what is exactly at stake here.  Humans have always established and followed their own plans for their lives and at some point in their existence ignored God then had to come to terms with their choices after the fact.  There is no greater protected nation in the Bible than Israel yet many times over they strayed away from God and had to go through long periods of time in a captive, destroyed or scattered state all due to the choices that they made.  It cannot be denied that this nation called the USA has been the most blessed nation on earth and even though we have stood for and against many things in our history, the choices that we are now making into laws shall be the destruction of this great country.

No matter how we believe about equality and justice none shall be obtained until we return back to God and His ways.  The worldly progression of humanity shall fail and it will all be due to the selfish choices that are made in the name of popularity. And while it is through our choices that we obtain and sustain our lives we must know that God shall allow this to occur.  God also will give us plenty of time to recognize our sinful ways up unto a point and then He must say “enough”.  It is at this “B” point that our enemy shall be allowed to complete his masterpiece of destruction upon our existence and to wreak defining terroristic havoc just as the Assyrians were allowed to do Israel.

The hedge of protection has been voluntarily removed by our own choice and unless we repent and allow God to restore that hedge of protection around us, we shall soon experience exactly what Israel, Rome, Greece, Egypt and all of the other empires during their age.  It is a simple fix, repent is the first step, then allow God to restore.  But in order for this to occur we must give up our selfish ways and habits and turn our hearts back to God.  You really want a change and regain hope????  Then change from humanity’s past and follow God’s Laws instead of our own and follow Him for once and we should not have to worry about God’s systematically correctness being an issue in our lives.

DLB