Talk to the Samaritans

Talk to the Samaritans

7/28/15

Why would this topic be of any importance to our personal lives?  Do we even know that it is of great importance even in today’s society?  Both of these questions need to be addressed and answered according to what Jesus would have done and how the answers should be a direct pattern through our lives.  The phrase of Jesus’ love is quite useful in this context and will be presented in such a manner in which we do need to live on a continual basis.  The topic defines our mission that Christ gave to us and also sets into motion the process of getting out of our comfort zones and going into a dying world.

There have been many times in my life that I have followed the strict lines that I believed were true and while many of these lines have kept me out of trouble there have been times where my actions have actually hurt myself, the people involved or both.  I have mentioned before about a time in my life when I was in high school and there was a girl that liked me and I was so willing to reciprocate the same feelings for her.  After a while dancing around the subject we finally went out one evening and had a good time until I opened my mouth about denominations.  It was own stupidity that led to this disastrous conversation and as soon as the words left my mouth, the date was “over” in her opinion; and rightly so.

The things that I thought were correct and unshakable turned out to be the foundation of the end of what could have been a beautiful relationship before it had the chance to begin.  My hard line antics demeaned some of her beliefs and it turned her off completely, especially since I had no biblical proof to support my position.  Both of us came from a Christian home and both of us understood that being a Christian was important and that everyone needed Christ as their savior, but it was my legalistic language that cut her deeply and nothing was left for us to talk about.  My “intelligence” came through that evening and my wisdom was squelched completely.  And as I look back on that scene, I realize that I was so wrong for not listening to her side of things, I only took into consideration of my thinking and not hers.

A few days ago our neighbors went on a short canoe trip down one of the rivers that flow through our town.  It is summer time here in Colorado and this means that the rivers are usually higher than normal because of the snow melt coming off the mountains.  Anyone who lives around rivers or other bodies of water should know that when water levels are high or they are changing it can present some dangerous conditions to humans, animals, and the environment.  The main goal of this specific canoe trip was to help out the environment out by slowly moving alongside the banks of the river and to carefully pick up trash and dispose of it properly.  The couple has done this plenty of times before and in much higher water conditions, yet for whatever reason that day would be a little different.

As they were paddling along and trying to complete the task at hand, something went array and they quickly came into trouble. The canoe pierced the water at the right time and angle and it completely capsized throwing both of them into the water and stuck in a world of hurt.  They both were thrown into the water and with the normal fast current of a high river they were plunged underneath the water.  The gentleman was tossed back and forth under water while his body was striking against rocks as he struggled to stay afloat.  The lady was completely submerged two times with one of those times having hit her head squarely on a huge rock.  It was a scene that every person who has anything to with water fears.  Oh, the thoughts that went through their minds as they were struggling to stay alive and calling for help, but no one answered them.

Yes, no one answered them, but that does not mean that no one was around to hear their cries for help or who witnessed what was transpiring.  After the safety of both of their lives was secured, they reached the bank of the river and sat there for a moment making sure that they were not badly damaged.  They watched as all of their supplies, identification, tools and their canoe flowed down the river all the while realizing that there was nothing they personally could do; just thankful to be alive. 

After a few moments passed, the man of the couple went over to the group of people that were standing there and had watched the entire event unfold.  I would not make mention of this on normal settings but it the specific group which brings into play here the details of the two biblical stories above.  I do not know where this group of young men and their leaders are from but the Boy Scout troop that stood there and did nothing while our neighbors fought for their lives served as the perfect participants for both of the examples above.  Boy Scouts are trained in survival skills and to help those people who are trapped or in need of added assistance, yet they and their leaders stood there and did not move.

When the man approached them and then questioned them about their lack of help, their response was classic and so fitting for the examples of this article, which were as follows: “there was nothing we could have done”.  When asked if they understood the courtesies of river life, their answer did not vary and the exact same words came forth.  Ones who are supposed to be friendly in time of need and those who were familiar with the settings as another did absolutely nothing.  Their intelligence took over and they kept to their present line and stayed behind it.

The first biblical setting of this article that God is sharing with us is the story of the Good Samaritan.  Many of us are familiar with this story and how all of the participants play their roles that lead up to the injured man being helped and eventually recovers.  But when one dissects the story completely it becomes very interesting to witness exactly what transpired and how this setting actually plays out in today’s world.  The wisdom of Jesus’ parable here rings so loud and true and commands the thinking of those who say the Bible is only a bunch of ancient stories that are not relevant today.  I understand that there are many aspects to this parable, but I am only going to dealing with one small, yet huge, aspect of it.

The first part of the parable states that a man was walking along the road when he is mugged, robbed and severely beaten.  The second part deals with people that are passing bye the injured man and simply do nothing about the man, they do not care even though they see that he is badly in need of help; in fact, one even goes to the other side of the street, making sure he has nothing to do with him.  The third portion of the story is what God wants us to think about here and that is the actions of the Samaritan.

It is clear that the two others that passed bye the man had no intentions of helping him, nor were they even concerned about his overall condition; their actions say that they care more about their own selves than their friends, neighbors or general population.  Does this type of human participation ring any bells?  It should, because we notice it every day, or ignore it I should state.  Jesus plants a negative condition when He introduces the Samaritan into the story.  Jews did not like the Samaritans and many of them would do exactly what one of the people did in this story which was to cross to the other side of the path in order to not be close to them.  Yet it was the actions of the Samaritan that Jesus wanted His disciples and anyone else listening to understand and how important it was to include all sides of the equation when dealing with humans.

Jesus made it clear that humans have a choice to act or to react when a situation develops and through this parable He demonstrates this truth.  Logically speaking it would seem normal for a like minded person or one that follows the same ideas and beliefs to help one out in time of need, like a team.  Also on the logically speaking card, one would expect an enemy to turn away and not help their enemy when the opportunity presented itself.  But Jesus throws everyone for a loop when He states that it was the Samaritan who helped the injured man by tending to his wounds, carrying him to a place of shelter and then paid for his entire recovery period; this defies logic and how a normal human setting would play out.

It was the fellow compatriots who had the intelligence to recognize a situation and choose to keep their own lines and to ignore the potential.  It was the Samaritan who had the wisdom enough to understand what had occurred and did something to correct it by crossing the belief system and changing public opinion and recognized battle lines.  It is through this parable that Jesus teaches us not to be drawn solely on debatable lines but to engage those who differ from you in order to obtain personal information and to establish a relationship instead of hard boundaries that only cause reactions when approached.  The Samaritan was standing his ground by giving us the example of kindness and the willingness to put away differences so that the true meaning of life can be demonstrated.

The second example within the Bible that is going to be used again deals with a Samaritan woman.  The beliefs of both sides are clearly the same and it is soon demonstrated that neither side is willing to back down from their position, until God steps in and changes everything.  Here Jesus is in direct contact with this woman who has come up to get water.  Jesus looks at her and then strikes up a conversation with her, which must have totally shocked the woman.  The conversation begins to turn a bit when Jesus makes statements about her husband and then reveals specific details about her that no one else in the Jewish community would know.

The point here is that Jesus was willing to cross over the boundary lines and talk with the Samaritan woman, who was considered to be an enemy and dirty to the Jewish people.  The lines had been established and were hard and defined, so much so that if Jews were witnessed associating with Samaritans they could be subject to a shunning process and possibly kicked out of their community in disgrace.  What torches and flames the fires of Jesus’ disciples is that first of all Jesus talks to this woman by himself when they are not around and secondly it goes totally contrary to their customs that it could get them into trouble.  It is the exact same setting as the Good Samaritan story but instead of being a parable it occurs in real life.

The disciples display their intelligence in the way they act after the woman temporarily departs, and it is through their intellect that they continue to divide and conquer with their community status.  It is Jesus who demonstrates wisdom by crossing over the established boundaries to reach out to the woman and to share with her the truth about life and about God.  Even though the characters in both stories are reversed the same conclusions occur where people cross over to other visible sides in order to help others in need.

How do these examples fit into today’s societal thinking?  In western societies have degrees along with critical thinking skills are a must if one is to be classified within the “educated” realm.  When students are subjected to professors and instructors that claim that the way they think is the only correct way, then that type of influence and defined border is established within the student’s atmosphere.  This type of attitude generates with many people and then is campaigned throughout the many avenues of communication that is available every moment of the day or night. 

Every sector from entertainment business to the nightly newscasts is filled with one way of thinking only message.  Almost every segment of information that is readily available provides a certain method and way of thinking and then it is taught that if someone believes differently then they are lower in intelligence and should not be taken seriously.  While many do not believe that this type of example and reality are being presented, it is not hard to draw a conclusion if one truly sits and listens to what is being conveyed.  It is this type of intelligence that is bringing our society to its knees and it is not to pray but to prey instead.

We are teaching our children to involuntarily place intelligence as the forefront of their thinking instead of showing them how wisdom works.  If the battle lines are drawn early enough the job of maintaining those lines will become easier as time moves along.  This type of belief and teaching promotes a one method society without any variances in human conduct allowed, and if any do occur then mockery and shaming immediately is called in to “restore order”.  This type of living only provides division and hurt within friends, a family, a state or nation and will serve as a foundational piece of stone that is sure to crush the human will and spirit.

What would have happened if the Good Samaritan stayed on his side of the street?  What would have occurred if Jesus had not spoken with the Samaritan woman at the well?  Intelligence would have taken over and wisdom would have been pushed aside as the order of the day.  There is a reason that the word intelligent or intelligence is only mentioned 1 time in the Bible; it was being used as a method of gathering information against an enemy.  And there is a reason as to why the word wisdom is used numerous times throughout the entire Word of God.  There is a huge difference in those two words and their usage can mean either eternal life or eternal death.

Church, we need to take a step back and see where we have drawn our boundaries and try and think of when we crossed those lines last in order to show people and to tell people of the good news of the Gospel of Christ.  It is our responsibility to understand that while it is important for us to have an intelligent mind it is even more important to have a wise heart.  It is through intelligent means that we accept those people who believe differently than we do into our lives but it is through the wisdom of our heart that we show them God and His ways and to teach them that there is abundant life when separated from the world. 

We can no longer rely upon the intellectual percentages and charts that come common each day to predict an outcome, we instead need to factor into account the wisdom of helping others as Jesus did; totally and completely through the pure love that comes from God.  Talking with the Samaritans goes a lot further than analyzing the situation, making a conclusion and then isolating those who disagree.  This comprehension defines separation of humanity and sets into motion the total destruction of the society in which this attitude formulates.  God is also not in the business of making any person feel stupid or like an underclassman, He wants only freedom for His people and unless we choose to use this type of wisdom we will never have the chance to fulfill the mission that we were commanded to complete.  Intelligence will teach you to read, but wisdom will show you how to study and the human represents the details; which method will the human be understood more?  God places His wisdom into our hearts in manners that we can understand and relate to, for if He decided to show us some of His elevated intelligence, our finite minds would literally crumble.  God is a loving and caring God and He wants everyone to know His ways, but if we draw intellectual lines, we cannot complete the mission that His Son set before us.

DLB

Debt

Debt

7/27/15

It seems like each week our society is bombarded with a topic that concerns all of us and the last few weeks of international news about debt has not been left out.  Debt is an issue that either represents a good quality in our lives or if reflects an ugly setting to which dampers our existence.  In western society we have become accustomed to living with this yoke and in some cases, with frequent and increasing numbers, began to ignore this issue.  It is just not corporate or national debt that this attitude is being presented, the spiritual, personal debt that we are ignoring.  It is this debt that will not just cost us in the short time we are on this earth, but it will continue for eternity unless we accept the only way to remove this debt from our existence.

Anyone remember what occurred back in September 2008?  Anyone remember what financial institutions went belly up and how much it damaged our economy and set the world back a few steps?  Does anyone remember what the significance of 2008 was, in the realm of the world and especially Jewish and American history?  Many of us would probably have to look these events up to get a grasp on what transpired during that year and it is sad that the majority of the people, especially the younger generations, are not being properly fed spiritually to understand what is actually going on today.  More specifically, the Church is not being fed according to what is going on today and what is unfolding before our eyes; and we are about to pay for this blindness and arrogance very soon, and it all relates to the debt that we owe and how we are deliberately ignoring it.

On a global scale, we as a society have used our wealth and financial status as a foundation for supremacy across the world. When any country is asked about the USA one of the immediate responses will certainly be about the wealth status and how gross it has become.  During WWII one of the popular qualms that the British had about the Americans was that they were paid too much, so this concept is not something new to the world.  Yet with all of this wealth that courses our country’s veins we have found ourselves to be in tremendous debt.  We continue to lend money to other nations of the world but we cannot pay our own domestic bills, so much so that our global credit rating has been threatened to be cut and then was ignored long enough that it was cut.  We have no excuse concerning this issue because we as a nation have continually ignored the warning signs and have proceeded to do it our way without thinking of changing.

With our global status, we have also used our wealth to dictate what can and cannot be deemed necessary for other countries when it comes to their business.  Yes, our country should provide a standard of freedom that stands above all other nations but we do not have the authority to cut off funds of other countries when our own debt undermines and precedes our own inner lifestyles.  Recently Russia has begun its move to annex parts of Ukraine and to bring back a portion of its old empire.  The West, including the USA, immediately kicked out the Russians from the global financial powers league and then placed sanctions upon them to punish their acts.  Russia cannot but consider this act by the West as a hostile step and only pushes forward what has already been written within the Bible.

Italy and Portugal represent another side of the financial debt issue and now we have Greece who is on the verge of total collapse because of their financial issues.  Europe is not isolated in this respect for it was just announced the other day thatPuerto Rico is in the same boat.  All of these “crises” did not occur overnight, they all grew into the problems that are now public.  What started out as a small issue has become a governing nightmare which threatens the world economy; which, by the way, has been written about in the Bible as well. 

What I find so amazing is that when I read about these situations and study who these countries actually blame for their problems that I realize none of them actually blame themselves as a group, but place blame on others who oppose their specific ideas.  It is so hilariously sad that anyone behaves in such a manner, but even our country, and it’s politically charged supporters, are doing the exact same thing.  Societies around the world have totally abandoned a good faith basis for doing business and have done as much as they could for as cheaply as possible only to want the best in return, then pay for it, maybe, later.  Even the upstart economies around the world are reaping these debt issues from other countries and it is posing a huge collapse that will reach its climax soon.

So besides the point that our nation and other nations around the world how does this type of definition of endless debt play in our lives?  It all begins in the Garden of Eden with how we were created, then through our choices how our lives became instantaneously in debt.  When we were created we were done so in a perfect and pure state, it is hard to imagine this type of living but at one time two people were perfect in all ways.  After sin entered into our lives we needed rescuing and so the process of debt began to increase; almost immediately it was endless and there was no way that we could adequately pay this debt, in other words, we needed a divine way out.

As with the global debt issues, our lives have steadily increased in stature and we became comfortable with the settings around us.  Our physical creditors were freely handing out money and we greedily accepted it without having any intention to properly pay it back.  While this type of personal debt issues has been relatively hidden from public view it is still there and it has grown exponentially over the last few years towards a decade now.  Yet, we continue to play and spend blindly racking up debt and relying on other humans to ensure that our economy stays stable enough to provide us with suitable means to pay our debt; once again an example of blaming someone else for our problems but this time on a personal level instead of a global one; another example of a truth that has been written about in the Bible.

The physical debt that we inherit is of course death which no one escapes this result.  But if that is the only death and process that our enemy needs, why are our inner lives threatened so much by the same enemy?  It is because we have an inner being that is a part of us that knows no time yet is alive and well that completes our creative definition.  It is this portion that we rely upon to keep us in close contact with our Creator and the vital link to our eternal status.  It is through this physical debt that we have a tendency to allow our communication link to our Creator lapse and create a spiritual debt that eventually separates us from God.

How can we tell that our spiritual debt is being ignored?  There is an old truth that has been made popular that defines this setting and gives us proof of such separation can exist.  The saying is as follows: if your horizontal relationships are not lined up, your vertical relationship will automatically not be lined up.  This is a simple yet powerful truth and it has become obvious that we are ignoring this truth on both levels.  It also puts the two kingdoms into perspective and how they are separate and cannot mix, because if one is placed first then the other has to be second, on every level.  What makes this comparison valid is that it is our choice as to which kingdom we put first in our lives, and whichever kingdom is first will be advanced and the other pushed backwards.

It does not take too much searching to find that our societies are doing their best to align themselves with the horizontal kingdom instead of the vertical Kingdom.  It also explains why the world is in the shape that it is in and will continue to grow worse as the minutes pass bye.  If the world’s societies are in this condition it is safe to say that the people who make up these societies are living in the same manner, which if they do not understand the concepts of these two kingdoms then they shall see no problem with the direction that we are headed and living.  In doing such, we are increasing our spiritual debt and ignoring the fact that we need forgiveness of that debt.  We are also, and more importantly, forgetting that we even have a spiritual debt which further speeds up our separation from our Creator and thus places us into an eternal voided state from Him which is EXACTLY what our enemy wants.

Until we recognize that our spiritual debt is exponentially increasing each day, our lives will continue to reap the earthly benefits that are coming upon us.  Each blessing that we have been associated with comes from God, NOT the earth.  It is plain to see that we care nothing about God any longer so why would we expect His blessings to be continually poured out on our lives?  We as a collective nation have turned our backs on God and His ways are no longer important in our lives, this is our choice.  On an individual level, the same rules apply and if our nations and societies have turned away then we as individuals have turned away as well.  This means that we are currently on track to forget and to ignore our spiritual debt and to totally go it on our own; just as we have with our societal debt.

What great conflict this situation brings to our lives.  There is no question that humans like to do things right the first time and to have the issues in their lives taken care of before the day ends.  However, we are witnessing a change in this behavior with our increased debt levels, on both the national and individual levels.  Throw this into line with the spiritual debt and we are sunk unless we turn back to God.  It is vital that we once again recognize our spiritual debt that we owe and how important it is to be eternally covered in this area.  There is no way possible that our lives can cover this debt, nor is there any action that we can do to cover this debt, only God and His Son Jesus can guarantee us this eternal covering.  We need to fear the truth about our lives and what it means to be eternally separated from God.

The way I see things is that God has never had to apologize for any of His actions or Words, so that means it is strictly up to us to make this choice to decrease this spiritual debt or to increase it.  It is easy to recognize that the modern day Church has fallen into the same selfish patterns that the Middle Ages Church fell into and it does not look like she has any plans to change course either.  There should be no surprises as to why this spiritual debt is increasing nor should any question arise as to why our societies are falling apart.  It is easy to understand why the Satanic Church is able to create and to place a demonic figure wherever they wish while the engraved monuments of the 10 Commandments are being torn down.  If the societies of the world are performing these acts then the individuals of these societies are doing the exact same acts on their level as well.

All my life I have been taught the Word of God and how important it must be in our lives.  I have to admit that not all of my life I tended to God’s Word as a light to path and there were other times that I only chose to have God’s Word in my heart for troubled times.  I have come to realize that His Word is absolute truth and when I place His Word first in my life, my entire life changes.  I also can tell when I have allowed His Word not to be fed into my world, for I miss that connection and I long for that comfort and peace.  The world shall not give you anything like what God can give you, nor can it take away your physical and spiritual debt, it is all your choice.

Church, shame on you for allowing your spiritual debt to be increased through your love for the world and the standards of acceptance instead of separation.  You are not acting like a true bride, but a harlot looking for simple gratitude or small payment instead of eternal covenant.  God cannot allow this to continue for very much longer for there will come a time that we reach the point where He must say “enough”.  God is asking all of us to stop increasing our spiritual death, on the individual level and on the societal level.  It is amazing how much our debt is covered when we turn to Him and it is just as amazing of how rapidly our debt increases when we turn away from Him as well.

It is important that we get out of debt and to stay out of debt from the world’s standards.  Our physical debt is being increased at a pace that our human minds cannot conceive the same goes for our spiritual debt as well.  Both debts are endless and unless we stop our current living patterns we shall not see the end of our troubles, only harder and deeper troubles that will collapse both our physical and spiritual lives.  We are very close to this becoming reality people, and the time for change, godly change is now!

God loves us so very much and it is His desire to see us live debt free!!  Our physical debt shall never be taken from us but our spiritual debt can be covered eternally.  It is a simple process of repentance and then allowing God to restore us through His covering.  The only way that we can have this debt protection is if we accept God’s ways back into our lives and live them each and every day to the best of our abilities.  We are not perfect by any means nor shall we ever be perfect, until God calls us to His residence, but that calling shall never occur if our debt is not covered.

DLB

What Is Wrong With The World?

What Is Wrong With This World?

7/25/15

This is a popular question that I personally have heard numerous times.  Many people stumble over this question even though the answer to it is plain as day.  The answer can prove taxing too many and to some, they shall never believe the answer.  The world is under a ruler and everything revolves around this ruler so he dictates what occurs; easily I might add since he has been unabated for millennia.  There is a way to stop the world from grabbing a hold of your heart and it requires one simple step.  God is the answer for this world and His ways are proof that the answer works.

Another movie theater shooting graced our televisions, radios and computer screens the other evening and while the numbers of victims are considerably smaller than the previously recorded theater shooting, the results are the same, people have been injured and some have been sent to their eternal places never to have their status changed.  A while back a couple of students were made famous by shooting up a school here Colorado and ever since that day the number of school shootings across the country has increased, so has the number of shootings, stabbings and other violent crimes as well.  It seems like our world is becoming more violent each week even to the point where my breaking news app does not even go off any longer when these types of situations occur.

This time, the shooting occurred in another part of the country and once again the media and social media are lighting up with so many questions, rants, yells, backings and cursings that one can become overwhelmed within a few minutes just trying to find out a few details about what happened.  Of course all of the sides are going to be heeded and raked over for the next few weeks making sure that every point and every voice is heard before the story eventually shadows itself with the next event to hit the waves.

As we sit, watch and listen to all of the opinions and arguments that will be given over the next few weeks or so, pay close attention to how many people refer to the true answer that everyone is trying to secure.  I can almost guarantee that the true answer will not be given nor will it be brought up, especially from the mainstream media outlets.  This truth that all of us “want” to have is sitting right in front of our noses, yet we continue to ignore it.  We choose to ignore this truth because it draws attention to our actions and who controls the world instead of giving us an excuse or someone else to blame.

The answer lies in one passage in the Bible and it takes place during the life of Christ.  If we want to be like Christ then we must proclaim the truth just as He did while He walked this earth.  The specific passage is located in Matthew Chapter 4.  The setting is when Jesus was being tempted by Satan and it was at this time when Jesus was fasting and was very weak; the perfect time for Satan to appear.  After a few altercations with Jesus, Satan takes Jesus up on a high mountain and makes a huge claim and it is this claim that provides the answer to what is going on in the world and what is wrong with it.  In verse 8 of chapter 4 it states the following: “Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You fall down and worship me.””

That is a profound and bold statement by Satan but what Jesus does next is even more profound and speaks volumes because it gives the answer that is posed as the topic of this article.  The portion of the verse where Satan is talking he gets very specific by using the singular word “I” in the statement “I will give You these things”.  If one does not have possession of something they could not make that claim and when you are talking with the Son of God, every word that flows out of your mouth that is a lie shall be challenged immediately.  But Jesus does not challenge this statement which means that Satan was actually telling the truth about the kingdoms of the world.  He has control over them, enough control to give them away if he desires.  And here lies the answer to the question that forms the topic of this article.

This proclamation by Satan sets the stage for what is in play concerning God and Satan.  It also defines who is after what territory and who controls what territory.  According to this passage Satan controls the world; it is his kingdom because one cannot get more specific than the word “I”.  This means that he is not in a battle for the world for it is already his.  It also means that his battle cannot be over God for he has already been cast from his position that he held due to the choices that he made.  So, who or what does that leave for him to battle over?  The answer to that question is, you!  The battleground is not the world for it already demonstrates the spirit that controls it.  There is nothing beautiful about the presence that influences the world.  The scenery may be magnificent, but Satan did not create it, God did.  Your life is a gift from God, Satan did not create it, God did.

It is through this passage that we must understand that while we walk in the world it is the job of God’s enemy and our enemy to promote his agenda, not God’s.  It also brings to life why the world is the way it is, because our enemy hates us and he hates everything that God stands for, which includes eternal life.  Satan wants nothing more than to find ways to separate us from God and while he is doing his best to accomplish this feat, God is at His wits end trying to bring His beloved creations back to Him.  God does not want chaos, pain and hurt to rule and dominate our lives, He only desires peace and eternal closeness with His children.

With the participants being addressed in this passage we can confirm that there are only two kingdoms that are present.  If there were a third, it would be logical for that ruler to be represented at this temptation period.  This means that these two kingdoms are at war from the top down, not just over a selected few.  Satan understands the importance of why Jesus was on the earth and he also understands the continuous mission that Jesus gave the Church to complete; the importance of Jesus birth, life, death, and resurrection had to be fulfilled in order for our mission to ring loud and true, all the while providing a violent grace that pushes back all darkness from Satan’s defeated kingdom. 

With all of the hate and anger that is harbored within Satan, the only condition that can be portrayed by his kingdom shall mimic what is in his heart.  It is clear that it is his job to wreak havoc in our lives and it is also clear that we are making his job a lot easier with the choices that we are making.  History is full of mistakes and if we do not begin to comprehend who actually rules this world and why the problems are occurring as they are, we are sunk no matter how hard we try to fix things.  The cry from many people around the world is love and how we should love each other and that God is love.  All of these things and saying are true but if we do not turn back to God the love that we will find will be filled with utter disappointment and destruction.

The progression of the human mind shall be in force because it is a gift from God.  This progression will accompany the world’s philosophy if we do not understand its origins; therefore, unless we separate ourselves from the world completely, the patterns that we are witnessing today shall continue and only increase in number and in ferocity.  The world promotes this chaotic setting and there is but only one way out of it and that is through God alone.

The Bible points out the origins of why the world is in trouble very clearly.  The Bible is the literal Word of God and the primary source of our defense against our eternal enemy.  It is important that we begin to study the Bible more effectively and stop trying to pick and choose its content to satisfy our whimsical ideas, hang-ups and habits.  Take to heart what God has said and what is going on within the world.  The choice is yours to make.  The world shall not change, for its ruler loves its destructive ways and as long as we continue to accept these ways, there will be only one outcome that will be presented and that is death and destruction on all levels.  God is calling His children back to Him and for those who listen to His voice they are guaranteed peace, hope, love and separation from this destructive world and its ruler.  Allow God to restore you in the most utmost manner, for it is His desire to grant this to you.

If we allow God to be #1 in our lives again we will never have to sit and wonder or even ponder the question that defines the topic of this article again, for the truth will be known to all that believe and understand.  But if we choose not to heed this truth then we shall always be baffled at the truth that the world has to offer.  The king of this world said it himself as to what was in play, God loves you, Satan does not.  Keep this truth in your mind as you think about what God has shared with us.  And this passage also serves as the foundation as to why we are told to be separate from the world.

DLB

Results of Human Equality

Results of Human Equality

7/23/15

This subject has been touched upon a couple times previous, but it is a topic that still needs to be understood in order for us to be able to turn back to God.  Everyone wishes equality would work but it is through our choices about who we want to be equal with is the point in fact and in most cases we miss this fact.  Humanity loves to try and become equal through any cost, claiming noble efforts while in pursuit of utopia.  Many wonder why this utopian society cannot be reached and it all has to do with the truth of sin, for as long as sin is present in our existence, equality is thrown out the window and until we turn back to God and His ways, our equality will only match the death spiral of the world.

As previous written it is every person’s desire to live on equal terms with others.  It is a noble gesture and one that deserves all the credit that humanity can dole out, but there is a certain barrier that each person that is trying to achieve this goal reaches and it seems that no matter how hard one tries to breach this barrier, they always fail.  Yes, some portions of this barrier are reached but the entire barrier itself looms even higher as we continue to try and overcome it.

I am reminded of the scene that was before our eyes back when the 2^nd Gulf War was ongoing.  The allies had entered into the city of Baghdad and were advancing steadily towards the center of the city.  The Iraqi reporters and minders were still reporting that the Allied advance had not made it into the city and that the Iraqi resistance fighters were slaughtering the American soldiers as they were entering into the city; this report was quickly proven false when the first American tanks were viewed entering the city center.

After a few hours of getting the area secured, a large gathering of people appeared at the center of the city around the famous statue of President Saddam Hussein with his arm outreached.  It was this statue that many Iraqi people had come to despise and detest and it was clear that they had wished to take it down.  It did not take too long for the crowd to swell, and their chants against their leader became easily heard and understood.  They were venting their frustrations and looking for a way to all participate in the tearing down of that statue. 

Soon a person with a sledgehammer on his shoulder appeared moving through the crowd towards the statue.  Many of the people began to cheer louder and made a path for this gentleman and to make his approach to the statue easier.  As this scene unfolded it was noticed that the American tanks and military personnel were standing idle around the city center watching as the festivities proceeded.  As the man with the sledgehammer reached the base of the statue he turned and faced the crowd and yelled something in Arabic, then turned around and took the first swing at the base of the statue.  The crowd erupted once again with the fervor as if their national soccer team had just beat Brazil 1-0 in the World Cup final match, it was a glorious setting as the man continued to swing away at the statue.

It soon became painfully clear that this one man and his sledgehammer would not be able to bring this massive monument down, and with others trying their best to do the same thing, hopes began to dash.  One cannot help but to wonder what was going through the minds of these people, they had reached their goal of driving out a mad man for a dictator yet could not bring down his beloved statue that he was so proud of during his reign.  It was not until an outside source helped these people with tearing down this horrid statue.  Their community resources could not stand up against a common enemy and it was not until they received help from a stronger ally that their overall goal was reached.  Their efforts were noble in design but could not be achieved alone.

The same type of setting occurs in the Bible when it was time for the sacrifices.  The first account that we have of this procedure was when Cain and Abel were about to conduct their sacrifices to God.  Both men were direct descendants of Adam and Eve and there can be no dismissal of the fact that they knew what was to be done and not done concerning this process.  It was the acts of their parents that blew the concept of human equality and placed it on a human level instead of a divine level and since humanity made that choice, the events and results cannot be changed no matter how hard we try.  The only way that we can understand this fact is if we grasp the concept of Kingdom and how the holy and divine cannot ever mix with the worldly and divine. 

Cain decided that his way of being equal with God would be to not to obtain a sacrificial animal but to choose to present the efforts of his works instead.  Yes, it was of a personal interest of Cain’s and it was a true blessing from God that the “fruits” of his labor were rewarded.  But these efforts were not sufficient for God, for God is whole, complete and definitive being, one that cannot change His ways for any reason.  The amount of vegetables and other food types must have been numerous and from the look of the size of the sacrifice should have been pleasing to God, or at least according to the eyes of humans that is.  I also have no doubt that the offering that Cain gave was pure and beautiful, but it still did not meet up to God’s standards for sacrifice and did not represent the true meaning of sacrifice.

The equality of Cain’s offering was strictly on the humanistic side of life and did not represent anything personal and total about it.  Here lies the overall problem with Cain’s sacrifice, it was equal and not separate.  The value of life was intact and death was a constant reminder through the acts of his parents.  It was known that life was precious and that every aspect of life was to be nurtured as long as possible, for the changes of sin were already been noticed.  It was Cain’s choice to try and be equal and to spare the life of an animal and thus totally rejecting the entire concept of acceptance and separation from the world that God requires.  His parents were once divinely separated from sin yet they chose to be common with the world and Cain decided to follow suit.

Abel on the other hand was different and chose a different route.  Like his brother, he understood the meaning of sacrifice and knew the reasons why that this process should be completed.  There is no doubt that Abel knew that killing an animal was going to be hard but at the same time he also understood that it was the blood that was shed that was the key element that God wanted to see.  It was the willingness and the understanding that it was the blood that represented life and our existence and that it was that element that needed to be given up in order for our lives to be totally cleansed in God’s eyes.

It was the blood sacrifice that placed Abel’s offering separate from Cain’s.  It was the understanding and the boldness to show both the people of the area and God that the sacrifice was total, complete and that all had been offered to God.  It was also the spirit that Abel harbored that wholly entered into covenant with God at this time and it was the spirit within Cain that recognized this separation and violently reacted in accordance against the separation. 

It is interesting that humans try their best to place themselves on the level as Cain instead of Abel.  Look at what happens to Cain after his sacrifice is rejected.  First of all, all he would have had to do was to quickly repent and turn his heart back to God after learning about his choice.  Secondly, he did not do this and allowed the anger within his spirit to grow until a final act was committed on his brother.  This was a progressive process and one that had to be eating Cain alive from within, it was not healthy for either brother as the story unfolds.  There was no question that Cain’s offering was of a noble nature, but it was inadequate and common instead of being separate and extraordinary, and it was through this belief and object trust that cost havoc upon the lives of both men.

We must remember and to keep in mind that all parties involved in this story were humans.  It is not hard for us to remember that humans follow patterns, both genetically and physically.  We can look throughout history and read where sons and daughters followed in the footsteps of their parents, or did quite the opposite of their parents.  On each occasion and in each setting a choice was made and it was through these choices that advanced humanity or reverted humanity.  In each case, each choice made also had the accountability of God within its decision and whether or not God was fully listened to during the period of choice.  All examples of humanity represent humans and humans have not changed in our mental capacities since our creation; therefore, the efforts of mankind are readily presented as such and cannot be extended into a utopian state.

We are currently witnessing the similar situation unfolding in today’s societies.  It has continually amazed me to watch humans try and equate themselves with others who they have no idea about.  The bandwagons are fully loaded with new ones being established by the hour and yet, with all of these bandwagons that are around, none of them have final directions or answers for those who are participating, only more questions, aches, pains and division.  The people who believe in this condition state that they are becoming “one” with the world, and this is an accurate statement.  And if you are to ask them about God, some will say that they know God and others will say they have no time for God or those who believe in Him either.  This too are accurate statements for the world hates God, everything that He stands for or that He does not even exist, then the choice is made to join the world and the ensuing separation between God and man increases, which eventually grows into an abyss.  If you stop and think about it, this process is the exact same one that Cain followed after his offering was rejected by God.  With all of the opportunities that are around for people to accept God, they ignore them and cast space between the Truth and the world.

The Bible gives us an example of how we can return back to God and to re-establish our status within His heart.  That example is called Covenant and while grace was not in play when Covenant was established, it served as the cornerstone of people’s lives until grace was provided through the sacrificial Lamb of God.  Covenant established the fact that God remembered His people and that even though they could not change their physical death status, there was an option remaining for their eternal status.  It was a separation from the world and a choice of accepting God as the eternal, holy, and divine Creator of everything and at the same time recognizing that our lives are mere mortal and cannot coexist with a holy and pure God. 

God also makes it very clear that He cannot ever break this covenant and since it cannot be broken from the original creator, it cannot be broken by the other partner either.  The covenant can only be violated by the human side of things, for if God violated His own covenant then Satan would immediately have to be restored to his original position and God would have to do a bunch of apologizing to past and present societies.  I have read and am continually studying God’s Word and I have yet to read where God has had to apologize for anything He had said or done; He has regretted a couple of things but never apologized for His actions or words.  Many more articles are forthcoming on this topic, so stay tuned.

The important issue to remember here is that God has established a standard and through that standard He cannot waiver, nor does He wish to waiver either.  God understands the importance of our condition and has provided a way of escape even though we chose to live in this capacity.  It is through this standard that He ordained the blood as the sole entity that deems us live and also represents the only way that we can be cleansed from our sinful choices.  It is the blood that we need to survive, both physically and spiritually and the importance of this element cannot waiver either.  There is no curve to be put into place, only the commitment of the blood and its warrants upon our lives.  It is also the reason why God sent His Son to the earth to provide the grace that the Old Testament blood sacrifice represented.  Thus, the rule of equality was broken through human choice and as long as we take a breath on this earth, it shall never be obtained again.

God gave us equality when He created humans, and it was our choice to abandon this perfect state when we chose to go on our own way and believe the other being around us.  After the relationship had developed and Eve was comfortable enough with the serpent and if you remember, the conversation that convinced Eve to eat from the tree was in part that the serpent said that she would be equal with God; equality goes along way both in the divine and in the physical and should be taken as such.  Take a look at any crowd at a sporting event or a convention.  Ask the people in attendance a certain question and you might get some to agree with your opinion about that question but not everyone will come up with your opinion, this is a given and should be automatically agreed upon.  So if just one question divides humans, how can we honestly believe that each of us can be on equal terms with each other?  It is impossible to have this state.

God and His ways provide us with an opportunity to achieve this state again.  It shall not be in our physical lifetime but after our lives are through and our eternal portion continues to live.  It is our choice to accept God and His ways or not to and separate ourselves from His blessings and Kingdom.  The world cannot be equal with God and He has specifically communicated that to us and has instructed us not to accept the world, for it is a death trap.  If we return to God and obey His laws, submit ourselves to the Covenant that He has provided, Jesus’ blood shall be over us and when the time comes, we shall be able to eternally live in peace, love and equality once again.

DLB

Stomach

Stomach

7/20/15

I learned a valuable lesson about God and how He views sin this week and the method that He used this week to show me the message that He wants His people to know was also quite different from His previous ways.  This message is a descriptive one and has its summation with one of the more commonly used phrases known in the Bible; it also will demonstrate how we as humans believe we can stand up to God in our own human circumstances and defend ourselves against the almighty Creator of everything.  This message also has a restoration point that God makes very clear through this process which everyone needs to understand because if we do not change now, life as we know it shall never be the same.

God has given me numerous topics to write about over the past few months, and through my slew footedness I have slowly progressed these important tasks into fruition.  I have no one to blame but myself and I cannot blame anyone since God has given me these topics on a personal level to share with His people.  So far this month I have made public three articles and still have many more to write, which I shall promptly continue as soon as God has finished with this specific topic at hand.  The subject of this message is how our sinful and shameful lives direct our everyday presence on this earth all the while trying to cry out to God for help and blessings yet still continuing in our voluntary sinful states.  We all know that we cannot change the physical and sinful state of our bodies, but it is our choice to either accept or reject God through our lives.

Last week I was in the middle of a few topics and as I stated above, just taking my time completing them.  I have never lost the urgency of the words of wisdom that God has given me to share with you but for the past few weeks I have just slowed down and began to crawl with His articles.  At the beginning of last week, God softly whispered into my spirit to take the rest of the week off and do not write a thing.  Those were His specific words to me, “not to write at all”.  I had no idea why He was telling me to stop for a while but it was clear as a bell and I knew that for some reason He did not want me to write.

His next word to me was simple and singular and that word was “rest”. I was to rest for the rest of the week.  This made sense to me because when I begin to write a message from god all hell breaks loose around my life and Satan throws so many distractions my way and in my family’s way that it becomes almost comical.  But for the remaining days of the week I was not to write but to rest, so I did just that.  And even though I was obeying God in this aspect, I found out that I was not resting but stirring my mind trying to figure out why God told me to rest.  It became frustrating to me and I then found myself constantly reminding myself that God wanted me to rest which was defeating the entire purpose of God’s spoken word to me.  This purpose from God would also settle harshly within my spirit down the road and in all honesty, God was teaching me a couple of valuable lessons about myself and His people all wrapped up into one week’s rest period.

As the week progressed, my mind tried its best to figure out what God was up to and why He placed me into a rest cycle.  I had even dreamed up that a huge event was going to occur at the beginning of this week and that I was to be witness to this event and then write about it afterward.  It became such an obsession to me I totally lost focus on what God told me to do and I found myself becoming anxious and so wound up that by Sunday night I could not even sleep; my focus of rest had become so self-centered that I almost totally missed what God was trying to show us.  Yes, this is a personal story but it has a direct meaning to everyone in the world especially to the Church because it describes how the Church views themselves and how God views the Church at the same time.

I have never claimed to be the perfect “altar boy” and there are some really rough edges about my life that God is still working on and through and it has to do with one of these rough spots in my life that God used in order to wake me up about how my life looks to Him when these rough spots show themselves to the public and to my God.  It is easy to smooth over our faults with other traits and to have these faults downplayed enough that they are either accepted by others or not readily noticed to make any waves.  But as I look back and think about how comfortable I have become with some of these rough edges in my life, instead of working on them they must have presented themselves at some point in time along the way; which brings me back to this week and my ridiculous attitude towards what God said for me to do and not do.

The reason that God told me to rest was to place me into a relaxed state through His peace and not through the rat race that the world offers.  God wanted me to rest assured through Him and not through the constant wondering and wandering that my “type A” mind wanted to run within, yet for the first part of last week I did exactly that, run constantly.  It was not until about Wednesday of last week that I began to rest in God’s presence and find out some of the differences that He wanted my body, soul and spirit to be in; yet, I continually strove to find out why and through this selfish decision of mind I probably did not receive the full extent to which God wanted me to rest because it was through this rest that He was showing me what He wants His people to understand.

God understands that humans are sinful creatures and that there is no way possible that we can ever change this condition about our lives.  God also knows that we try our best to seek out worldly answers and pleasures in order to “find” peace, understanding, and relaxation.  God continually knows that there is no way that we can achieve this utopia life through worldly means, only God can provide us with perfect peace in all circumstances.  It was through my constant wondering what God was going to do that allowed for my fall today and it was through God’s grace that He showed me my error and at the same time provided me with the topic of this article, stomach.

All throughout the Bible God tells us and gives us countless examples of why we do not need to be associated with the world.  God even specifically instructs us to be totally separate from the world and to live a totally and complete life away from the ways of the world.  In Matthew when Jesus was being tempted Satan took Jesus up to the high mountain and made a profound statement.  This statement said that Satan would give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if He would just bow down and worship him.  Now, we know that Jesus would never allow His arch enemy to make any false statement while he was around so one would imagine that Jesus would call Satan out on this point, but He did not.  Which means that Satan was actually telling the truth when he made this statement, which means the kingdoms of the world belong to Satan; thus, explaining the reasons why we should have nothing to do with the world.

Another famous passage in the Bible that we use is where God says that He cannot stand lukewarm people that serve Him and that He would spew them out of His mouth.  This is a huge statement and it should strike fear into every Christian’s heart because no one would ever want to have this status in God’s eyes, right?  Well, over the past 47 years of my life God has been protecting me in extraordinary ways that some might find hard to believe but as I look back on this truth, I cannot have any doubts that God has had His hand on my life for a reason.  That reason is just coming to light and has only just begun, but some of my faults and rough edges still shine through at times.

Today I made the idiotic decision to present one of my rough edges to the public and to the spirit realm.  It was not really noticed by many but it sure did make waves in God’s heart and in Satan’s eyes, for both sides began to rumble within my life as soon as it occurred.  It was shortly after the rough edge had appeared, that God spoke to my heart about why He wanted me to rest, for God knew that through my actions of last week I had not completely rested in Him and that through my actions I would be vulnerable today.  God did not set me up nor did He put me in a place to fail but He did allow me to realize the difference between the world’s ways and His ways in order to teach me some eternal concepts.

It is the sinful ways of the world that we allow into our lives that cause us to be a stomach ache to God, for God cannot be around sin.  God walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden until sin entered into the lives of humans and God’s judgment for that sin had been dealt with.  It is the constant sin that His people (the Church) harbor within their lives that cause this spewing from God’s mouth and it was through my actions today that woke me up concerning this fact.  There is no way that Christians can be a part of the world, nor can they harbor ANY part of the world within their lives for if they do, just like my rough edge, it will appear at some point in time and prove to be a stumbling block to your life and to others who might be needing God.

It is through this belief of mixing with the world, that Christians are placing themselves in danger of being thrown up out of God’s stomach (protection).  This country along with many other societies around the world are in the same boat as the Church and it is time we understand that it is not our interpretations of how things ought to be that we are subject to, it is God’s laws that were placed into our lives in order to provide guidelines to separate us from the world, not to mix with it.  The only way that we can completely understand what God wants us to do is for us to fully “rest” in Him, so that we may know what our true state of eternity is at.  God wants no person to be eternally separated from Him, but He has no choice but to grant that separation if we choose it first.

As soon as I choose to show my fault today, God turned my stomach and I literally became nauseated.  Now, not much can turn my stomach, and unless I am sick my appetite usually does not wither at all, but almost immediately after I completed my fault, my stomach became upset and it was at that point that my heart was quickened with what God was trying to show me.  I was so wrapped up in trying to figure out what God was going to show me or to show the world that I did not obey His simple command to “rest”.  As soon as the “deed” was done I was shown why the rest was important for if I would have allowed God to fully rest me like He intended I would have both physically and spiritually known the meaning of true rest and relaxation, on both levels.  When I contemplate my behavior over the past week it is easy for me to see where I missed this truth about God.  While I did receive rest from Him it was not the full rest that He intended for my life.

God also showed me that even this simple disobedience of mine opened the door for me to fall down the road and to experience just exactly what God goes through when one of His children does the exact same sinful act.  This does not mean that God is finished with us and that He has given up on us, for even with my stupidity today, He still is showing me exactly what to write concerning this past week, my selfishness and how I can turn this rough edge of my life into a smooth rounded end that will be a complete testament of His will and knowledge for others to see.  I had to first come to grips of my sinful behavior and then I immediately asked for forgiveness and then God allowed the restoration process to begin. 

What was amazing was that the pains and aches in my stomach slowly went away after a few hours and even though my stomach is not hurting now, I remember the pain that I had when God pointed out my faults.  God loves us so much more than we can ever imagine, and it is His desire to see each of us live a glorious and fulfilling life with each breath we take.  But the only way that we can succeed in this perfect plan of God is for us to live through Him and through His commandments.  If we take to heart what God has shared with us today and apply this setting to our lives, we will begin to understand just what sin means to God and how much of it He cannot look upon.  It shall also open our eyes to the spiritual ugliness that we do not have to live with and that there is a way that we can be restored into God’s fold again.  Time is short and we need to turn our hearts back to God now!

There have been many times in my life that my stomach has been torn up with some kind of bug and it is not a pretty sight to witness.  Everyone of you reading this message know what I am talking about and while our bodies eventually overcome our physical sickness, our eternal sickness to God continues until we repent and then allow God to restore our spiritual lives back to the proper order.  I plan on allowing God to work on my rough spots; will you allow Him to smooth out yours?

DLB

Blessing God

Blessing God

7/7/15

How often do we think about this phrase and do we really understand what this phrase entails?  It should not be difficult to reason this phrase out but when you place it into the hands of humans we have a way of messing it up so that we can use it for our own benefit instead of God’s.  It is important for us to try our best to limit our selfish wants long enough to truly give thanks for what God has bestowed upon us and our nation.  Yet, as each day passes we allow the enemy’s kingdom to infiltrate our lives almost unabated and block out our mission to bless God.  Restoration is a good thing and it is a process that we need to completely incorporate back into our lives or one day soon our blessings shall be gone.

As a nation, have we ever asked ourselves how we can bless God or have we just stuck to “God Bless America”?  I have to admit that I have never thought of turning that phrase around and using it in this manner, but it makes perfect sense to not only turn this phrase around but to put this new meaning into practice as well.  This brings up the logical questions of how to complete this mission and does this phrase America, bless God actually have merit?  This will be the topic of this article and while I cannot take credit for the original usage of this phrase it is an important one that we need to understand and use every day of our lives, for if we do not God shall have no choice but to take our blessings away.

The first question above asked: does this phrase actually fall into the category of our mission that Christ gave to us when He was on the earth?  The answer to that question is “yes, it does.”  So much so that it is the centerpiece of our mission and the portion that defines the mission itself.  There is no question that Jesus commanded us to go to the world and preach the gospel and not many children of God will argue that.  IF, we can get past our denominational hang-ups and forget about our selfish feelings we can actually accomplish this task as Jesus commanded us.  The completion of the mission that Jesus told us to do fulfills our blessing God, and it also advances His Kingdom and pushes back the kingdom of this world.  Living under His commandments and laws also blesses God for it proves to Him that we really do love Him and that we wish to separate from this world.

For as long as the Church has been standing on the earth, humans have tried their best to fill their own pews with their converts. This conversion has been accomplished in various forms and has even included taxing, punishment and through torture and death; what kind of godly conversion tactics do these represent?  I am certain that Jesus did not mean to go into all parts of the world and kill people in His name, even though we have many within the walls of the Church who continue to do this practice today.  Christians may not physically kill people but their harsh treatment of those who do not know God have spurned a horrific worldly backlash that has not been witnessed in a while.  Plus, allowing the spirit of the world to come into the Church and safely harbor there without the truth being told to them, acts in the same manner, but the death is eternal.

Witnessing is not a job but an opportunity to show people that there is a true and complete alternative to the world and its standards.  We should be demonstrating to them that God’s laws are designed for our protection through separation from the world, not incorporating it and weaving it into our lives.  Our problem is that we as Christians have failed to understand God’s laws adequately enough to complete the mission that Jesus told us to do and this lack of knowledge has brought us to a standstill today and we are now faced with a huge spiritual battle that we have no idea how to combat, which means that we do not understand how we are to effectively witness to people.  And if we do not understand the true meaning of God’s laws and we do not understand how to witness to people, then we have no idea, on a godly level, of what our blessings really mean.

The only way that we can begin to figure out God’s blessings is to understand that there are two kingdoms vying for our eternal life and through these kingdoms our spiritual and physical lives play out.  We need to remember that our enemy already has won our physical death and there is no reason for him to vie for that portion of our life, it is the spiritual portion that is most important because spirit is eternal and which direction we eternally place ourselves is strictly up to us; our choice only!  We also must understand that the world and everything that it stands for shall always be against God and His Kingdom.  It seems like the Church has forgotten this concept and that through this forgetting process have softened our stance against our enemy.  It is not the will of our enemy for us to live with three meals a day in our bellies.  It is not the will of our enemy and the ruler of this world for any of us to live in peace and be content with our neighbors.  His job is to blind our hearts enough that we forget where these blessings come from and what will happen if we go long enough without remembering their origin.

What good does it do if you feed a person but do not feed their spirit at the same time?  Yes, physically feeding the poor and homeless are good qualities but unless we witness to them we are only completing our mission on a 50 percentile range which in is a failing grade in any teacher’s grade book.  Is this blessing God or is it satisfying a certain amount of charity that we believe is necessary in order to justify the way in which we ourselves have been blessed?  When the disciples met the beggar at the gate of the city they had nothing monetary to give but they did say that they had something better and they took the opportunity to witness to the man; eternal concepts came into play in this setting.  If we do not place this type of eternal concern upon people’s lives, it is this type of belief that will resonate that we have no idea of why God placed His laws into existence with the exception of gaveled follow through.  This process resoundingly answers the first question that it is part of our mission to understand God’s laws completely and not just through human and earthly thinking.

How can we bless God is the second question that is asked and while a portion of this question is answered through the first question and answer, there is another part that needs to be understood before we can bless God as we should.  It has been stated ever since this country was created that it was a land of opportunity.  It does not matter whether or not one believes in God, all of us have used this particular ideology in order to strive to make it in this world, but it all falls back upon the human in order for us to complete this opportunity.  But in order for us to understand this mechanism, we must concede that God is the Originator of such opportunity and it is through His origins that we can pursue the dreams and desires that we dare to risk.

If we ignore the person that created everything or fail to understand all of His ways and means then we are taking for granted what we have and will soon become an advocate of self indulgence instead of blessings.  If allowed to grow long enough that ideology will become an internal law and then demand payment at the cost of others.  We cannot afford to stop at just using the 10 Commandments when we wish, it is imperative that we grasp the concept that they were put in place for a specific reason which is the separation of God’s people from the world.  There cannot be ANY wavering from this truth because when we do, it can become easy to get sucked into the world’s philosophy that God is a lie and does not exist.

This brings me to a short video that I watched a short time ago from a person who has a weekly Bible study at one of the local coffee shops in the town where he lives.  His videos are not very long, have a compact message for the people that choose to listen to what God is saying to the world, and at the end he is always giving thanks to God for every blessing that he sees each day.  But this last video was different in the fact that instead of him saying “God Bless America” the personality said that America should bless God instead.  It was through this video that this concept was brought to my attention and it was also through this video that God is using in order for His people to be shown what it means to understand what His blessings actually mean to our lives.

Blessings that this country has benefited from over the centuries does NOT come from the world, they come strictly from God. We continually see our blessings each time we wake up with a roof over our head, or every time we start our vehicle to go to work or to the grocery store.  We flow through our daily lives and buy up items that we really do not need but see and want for physical consumption or usage.  Our duty is not to live through these blessings and fail to see the true reasons why we have them.  It is our duty to live through these blessings and share them with others and to tell the people that we share them with that God is the provider of all blessings, not the world.  It is through this process that we bless God and it is through this concept that we fulfill our mission to spread the gospel of Christ.

How is this country blessing God?  Is this country obeying God’s laws or is she thumbing her nose up at Him?  When you ask yourself these questions, answer them honestly and according to what God says in His Word.  Be honest with yourself in that if you really do not know why God has commissioned His laws, that you would go and study the Bible well enough and then place humanity within those settings then make a comparison and you will see, if you have performed this with a level and honest heart, that both settings are the same.  God had no choice but to examine the human heart and understand what it was going to follow.  God designed His laws in order for our hearts to stay as pure as possible while our presence is on this sinful realm and it is through these laws that we stay upright in God’s eyes and provide a method of eternal escape from death.  This is an example of what it means to live through the blessings of God and to bless God in return.

We can bless God by understanding the full meaning of His Word and what it says about the world.  The Bible becomes a wonderful tool for our hearts to witness to others who do not know God, but if we ourselves do not first understand why things are the way they are, we cannot give an adequate foundation to those who have no true foundation.  Using God’s Word for personal gain or as a proving ground is only a provocation of war and to use His word in this manner can only result in further division both from God and from mankind.  Living holy and righteous lives through God’s laws gives us the true freedom which every human desires and longs to inhabit.  The world cannot provide anyone with this peace for the world deceives people into living its ways and then enslaves them according to its flawed ways.

The only way that we can truly live free lives is for us to study God’s Word and to allow His spirit to engulf our lives in a personal way that we can begin to understand what our surroundings bring us.  To bless God is to allow Him access to our entire life and to place His ways above all others.  Look at our country and then ask yourself who this country is blessing?  The answer is easy and if we continue to follow in our own choices, our blessings shall be taken away.  God has never once apologized for the things that He has had to do in order to get His people to comply with His laws; there is a reason for that!  We need to restore both our spiritual and physical lives back to God by putting Him number one in our lives, not number 1.2 million. Church, you are physically wide awake but spiritually blind to what is going on around you and you rule with your physical sense of touch, rather by spiritual faith.

There is a simple formula here and it goes like this: if we completely bless God by honoring and keeping His laws and commandments His blessings shall to continue to pour out His blessings upon this nation and everyone who lives under His guidance and protection.  We can avoid God’s coming judgment if we turn away from this world now.  We are all playing with a holy fire that none of wish to witness but if we continue, God has every bit of authority to take away what He has given.  God proves Himself through His blessings and He also proves Himself through His judgments when needed.  It is either we come back to God or He will have to remind us that it is He that is consistent in all of His ways and not humanity.  God loves you and wants His blessings to be upon us at all times.  Bless God at all times for He has blessed us first.

DLB