The Heart of Jerusalem

The Heart of Jerusalem

10/27/15

Many of us know that Jerusalem is more than a capital of a nation, that it holds the heartbeat of God and also symbolizes many global conditions.  Jerusalem is a strategic landmark both for the secular world and for the spiritual world and its control is essential for the stability of said worlds.  Jerusalem can also be identified as the struggle within the human heart as well, for just as the city itself our hearts are constantly being watched by our enemy, waiting for the opportune time to strike and establish chaos.  But just like the physical city, we can have lasting and eternal peace if we choose to believe in the One true Creator, but if not then our hearts shall always be the epitome of destruction.

On my cell phone, I have an app that gives me breaking news stories.  These stories appear on my phone at all times of the day and night and it does not matter what the circumstance, it will shine brightly and sound the alarm when the stories become public knowledge.  Every time I hear the alarm sound my heart flutters a bit for I know that something dire has occurred somewhere in the world.  Now, not all the breaking news stories are bad for there are some good alerts that come through as well but far less than the bad ones.  As each alert sounds, my mind wonders begins to wonder about what could have occurred now, for I know that with each alert mankind has attributed their own ruling somewhere in the world.

Many of these recent breaking news flashes and alerts have dealt with Israel, Palestine and the Middle East in general and they have been fast and furious over the last three months or so.  It seems like a new development occurs each hour of the day in that region and sometimes I find it difficult to stay current with the events.  But this should not be anything new since the Bible has predicted troubled times for our future and it states that as time begins to wind down these events will only increase in number, in size, and in ferocity.  It is hard for me to imagine things becoming worse quicker but that is what I am realizing to be the case as each day passes.

The Bible repeatedly states that we pray for Israel and to specifically and especially pray for Jerusalem.  Over the decades of my life, I have to admit that I have not always been faithful in completing this task even though I have always been a staunch supporter of Israel and her existence.  For the past five years or so, praying for Israel and Jerusalem has become an increasingly wonderful experience for me, it has allowed my heart to grow stronger for this country and this city and through this opportunity my love for Israel and the Jewish nation has both physically and spiritually strengthened.  During this time, I have also realized that by accomplishing this prayer time for Israel that my walk and relationship with God has also increased and strengthened; I do not feel that this is a coincidence either and if I asked those who continuously and earnestly pray for Israel that they probably would say something similar.

A minister once stated that the status of Jerusalem will directly reflect the status of the world.  In other words, if Jerusalem is in turmoil then the remaining portions of the world will be in the same condition and vice versa.  This statement has always been proven correct and I firmly believe that this statement shall continue to ring true as long as humans walk this planet for it directly reflects the condition of our lives.

We are currently witnessing a period of huge unrest in all parts of the Middle East, with wars and violence headlining every part of the daily news.  My breaking news alerts are filled with short phrases that detail certain settings that have just occurred. While other countries in the Middle East are engaged in wars and other types of military campaigns, Israel and Jerusalem are in a state of shock by the attacks of its own citizens.  I am reminded that it was a fellow Jew who assassinated its own Prime Minister in 1995 and now some of its Arab-Israeli citizens are attacking others within the confines of their own country. 

This begs the question of can how does a country survive when its own violently attacks itself?  When asking this question one also has to admit that other countries are in this same situation and this must include the individual as well.  Can the actions within the Middle East, especially the city of Jerusalem be a reflection of what is ongoing within the heart of every individual on the planet?  The answer to this question may seem far-fetched but in reality it is the truth and we should do our best to recognize this fact as much as possible.  This in turn leads to a divided state and we all know what happens when a state is divided against itself.

As Christians, we have been instructed to pray for Israel and Jerusalem as stated above, but recently I have noticed that there are more non-Christians being vocal about this country and city than we have been.  This is a concern to me and it makes a flagrant statement of defiance against God’s Word and what He commands us to do.  There is a reason for us to pray for these two entities and it all has to do with our spiritual status with the inclusion of the natural as well.  Many times God has shown us that it is important that we understand that the state of our world is a reflection of how our personal statuses are with God.  The world shall always be in direct conflict and total opposition of what God has to offer and it makes sense that if we are in a state of constant rejection of God that the world’s projections will be protruding from our lives.

It is a common and known fact that the more we depend on the world for our existence and as our guide the more turmoil we will be living within.  One may argue against this pattern but I ask you to take a look in history and it will become clear.  Even when the Roman Empire declared Christianity as its sole and official state religion their world stabilized for a short time but then fell into chaos.  Why did this occur?  It was because they chose to set their acclaims and their eyes on themselves instead of God and to be honest, what would one expect from a foundation based upon accepting such a “religion” through demands and conditions from God.  It is when we place the focus upon ourselves, humans, that we come into trouble.  It is not God nor is it His ways.

It is a difficult teeter totter when it comes to Israel and Jerusalem for there are many entities vying for its control.  There is no more important city and country within the world and their existence and stability defines the world; yes, they are that important.  It is true that when these places are in turmoil the rest of the world is as well and placing it into a personal level when your heart is torn and in pain the rest of your body is in the same state, guaranteed.  Think about this comparison and one shall see that it is a true statement.  I am in no way demeaning the state of Israel and / or the city of Jerusalem and what is said concerning its existence, instead I am deeming their importance on an individual level and wishing the reader understood that both settings are in direct relationship with each other.

I expand this topic by asking another question: when is your heart at peace the most?  Is it when you are facing troubles of unknown origin or even ones from a known origin, or is it at rest and peace more when you truly place your troubles in the hands of God?  In order to do this, you must have communication with God, which means talking (praying) with Him.  What are we supposed to do with Israel and Jerusalem?  The similarities are striking and I believe it is time we understand this principle in play here for if we are communicating with God our lives are at peace even when there are ugly scenes before us. 

God understands that the majority of the world shall hate Israel and everything that she stands for.  We also know that the majority of the world shall reject God as well based on the sole purpose that His ways go against what the world teaches and provides.  The world is deemed on self and thus cannot provide anything further which can only result in confusion, frustration, and lies.  Look at the way that the world portrays Israel.  The world takes the blessings that they have been given and they totally reject their plans of democracy.  Can we see this type of action within our own country?  The obvious answer is yes! Look at the violence in Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, Maryland, search for the Occupy Movements that have penetrated many areas of our country over the past few years, “Google” the protest against the many entities for profit in this country and it will not be difficult to see that we are proclaiming the exact same division.

God is simply stating that the nation of Israel and especially the city of Jerusalem represents the state of our lives and more specifically the condition of our hearts.  Both examples are representative of this vision and it is of dire importance that we figure this out immediately.  We need to be fervently praying for Israel and for the peace of Jerusalem and we need to be doing the exact same prayers for our lives.  For if Israel and Jerusalem are not at rest, neither can our lives for both represent God and the ways of His existence.

Church, you have played around long enough and it is high time you wake up and get on your knees and off your pewed rears and begin to pray.  It is through your continual prayers and activities that push forward the Kingdom of God and it is due to your lack of continual prayers and actions that we allow our enemy’s kingdom to advance.  Peace or no peace, there cannot be a middle ground, in the Middle East or in our lives.  This topic that God has given to us shows that the Bible IS a personal book and that it DOES serve as a daily reference in our lives.  This book has proven to us countless times before that if we take its contents to heart and abide by these contents then our lives will live in peace instead of turmoil.  The only way that we can avoid this turmoil is to turn our hearts back to God’s Word and through this “prayer” He shall restore His peace to our lives, both personal and national.  Remember, your body serves as the nation of Israel in God’s eyes and your heart is revered as the city of Jerusalem and the conditions of both are of great importance and concern to God.

DLB

Trying God

Trying God

10/24/15

This concept comes naturally for many people who walk this planet.  Some of them knowingly perform this task and others have no clue about human history and the deeds that we have done to enact this truth about our lives towards God.  This process comes to life every day through our minds and hearts yet we fail to recognize each step that we take towards our destruction as we take this direction of path.  However, all is not lost for all we have to do is to stop, turn around and turn our hearts back to God and He is faithful and just to forgive and to restore what we have voluntarily given up to the world.  O the other hand, if we do not turn our hearts back to God, we will see His judgment upon our land sometime in the very near future.

When we were kids we used to find it kind of amusing to test our parents’ word and rules.  I can remember many times where my parents would tell me either to do something or not to do something and while most of the time I did what they wished, I was secretly doing the opposite in my head.  This is a common setting amongst kids and if one is honest with ourselves this thought process occurs in our adulthood as well.  The only difference in this process occurring in our adult life is that the consequences can sometimes be devastating or even fatal.

We have all been taught that killing is not a good thing and that it is one of the most notorious methods of selfishness that a person can demonstrate.  Our focus has been presented on the weapon of choice, the physical one that ends the game as the point of reference when it comes to justice and truth.  But in reality, we are missing the real truth because it is not the weapon that is the origin of the problem it is the human and the actions that he / she takes with the weapon that causes the harm.  The weapon itself cannot do any harm unless the human first takes it upon themselves to use that weapon against others.  This is where we fail miserably in the origins of our problems and it also serves as the point of contact if any true changes are going to be made.

When all human agendas are set aside and all facts are laid bare it is easy to see that it is the human who is at fault here, not the objects.  It does not take too much brain power to figure this out if we are willing enough to see the truth behind the scenes and ignore all of the garbage that others try to employ.  Look at human history, specifically history about human activities and how individuals, societies, and regions react to different hostile situations and when you complete this survey a huge fact will emerge, humans are the point of origin to these acts and to the responding escalations that ensue.

The Bible has wonderful examples that prove this example that I just talked about and it begins in the Garden of Eden.  Once again, God directs me to the beginning of mankind in order to project His plans of restoration and truth and even though the Garden will not serve too much in the way of setting it does play the signature point of the example.  Adam and Eve knew no sin or calamity in their world until they chose to sin and bring that lifestyle into our world.  It was no God’s idea for us to live in this sinful manner, nor was it His idea for us to die.  But as the truth unfolded, Adam and Eve became a part of the world and entered into a life of destruction and death.  And, according to the human progressiveness this now inherited fact can be found all throughout out lives, both in our pasts and in our futures.

As the Bible continues its path in the book of Genesis, it does not take too much reading to come across a passage where it states that God sees nothing but wickedness and evil within the hearts of mankind.  There is nothing good about the human race at all and it is so bad that God even contemplates wiping out the entire presence of humanity, but that act alone would prove God as a liar and this shall never occur so God sorts His thoughts and decides to make a perfect path to restoration.  The climatic change of humanity is about to occur and only a few people will be left to start over again; yet, God gives humanity another chance to redeem itself.  While the Bible is not totally specific about the amount of time that has transpired from the Garden of Eden to the flood of Noah, the amount of time can be estimated.  This should serve as a wake-up call to us today, on all levels.

But the Bible does not end there, it continues onward in its message of hope, trust, redemption, salvation and restoration.  A logical question would be this: why would God have to once again provide this type of action when mankind already knows what will occur if their thoughts, actions, and hearts become totally ill-mannered again?  Why would be dumb enough to jeopardize our lives when we have read what will happen if we fall back into this state of affairs again?  Are we that blind to reality and to the things that history should teach us?

God’s Word goes on and gives countless examples of individuals and nations trying God through their ways and actions and then God having to act accordingly, based upon His laws and means.  The Old Testament Scriptures are filled with these types of examples and if we add the secular history to these biblical historical facts, it becomes clear as to what has occurred in those societies to warrant these actions by God.  It does not matter which book of the Bible you wish to study, one can see that humans are progressing and interpreting God’s ways and laws according to their own wishes, and it is this process that gets us into trouble; through trying God and seeing just how much we can get away with things.

Humans like to believe that they have a fail safe plan in response to their actions and deeds while on earth; see all shall stand before God and take account for their lives.  How many times have we gotten away with some of the things we have done because we have blackmail ideologies over our parents?  It is a common theme in our current society for if a child goes to the bar with their parent then why should those parents get upset when the child gets a DUI or any other result from that condition? The patterns are set into stone when this occurs and it would be logical if that belief is somehow placed into our hearts when it comes to God.  Think about it, has the question of God’s love and His acceptance come into play at any time recently, due to a new fancy human sinful act that has become the societal craze?

It is through this human progression and acceptance of worldly themes that produces this lie of invincibility that infiltrates our hearts so much that it takes our physical and spiritual lives and places our wants first instead of our existence.  It is this arrogance that dictates our beliefs and places our humanness first instead of our origins.  When this occurs we can accept nothing but destruction for the world and all of its kingdom issues are tied up into seeing you destroyed. 

All of what God has shared with us in this article comes down to one point, that we are trying God and His ways.  We have specific knowledge of human history that should show us that we should not be embarking down the current path that we have accepted.  We have repeated examples of what will happen to our societies, our nations, and our individual lives if we continue this course.  We refuse to ask ourselves about the truth towards this path and we refuse to accept the small consequences that have occurred so far as warnings.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking question towards our parents when they give us orders to do something or not to do something.  And if the parent is just and true they will accept these questions as legitimate and answer them respectfully to their child.  I know when I asked questions about their rules mine answered me in this manner; even though my heart was not right at that time it did calm me down a bit and gave me an opportunity to do the right thing.  It is also important for us to remember that it is alright to ask God questions about His rules, laws and ways as well.  We may not agree with some of His answers but it is normal for Him to give a response in His own way so that we understand the entire picture not just through our narrow minded eyesight.

It is not ok to take these questions, answer them ourselves and then proceed to make our own path.  This type of action shall only cause harm to lives, both physically and spiritually.  Even if we stop and take the time to listen to God’s answers and then go our own way, this too can prove to be detrimental.  Any deviation from God’s answers for our lives cannot sort out in a good fashion.  If we have the opportunity to turn our lives around at some point down the road, blessings upon you but for many of those who choose this type of path do not have future options of such.  So why take that huge gamble?  This is a game of so-called “Russian Roulette” or as the title of this article reads “Trying God”.

I wish that I could say that only humans were affected by this title, but since humans make up the Church, I have to declare that the Church has fallen into the same category as the individuals she represents as well.  She has stepped into the world big enough that she now sees nothing wrong with a watered down gospel and many paths to God.  Her embassies are filled with poison and deliver such poison to her servants on a continual manner.  If the representatives of God on earth do not abide by the ways and laws of God why wouldn’t non-believers continue in their worldly ways?

Stop for a moment and take a look at the condition of the world back in the time of Noah.  Think about all of the wickedness that was present in those societies, let your mind run free and hold nothing back while you are imagining these events.  The Bible states that humans had no good thoughts and that everything they did was evil.  Do you believe that those people thought that their actions were evil?  Most probably did not but some may have, it is just the way humans believe things.  Now, think about the societies of today and it will not take too much thinking to understand that the basic concepts of Noah’s days are here today.

The people of Genesis tried God’s heart just as we are trying God’s heart today.  God is a just and faithful God and as long as we keep that truth on the positive side of our lives we have no problem with that biblical fact.  But God wants us to know that His justness and faithfulness lives on all sides of that biblical fact, that God is just to forgive and to provide, but He is just and faithful to enact His judgment over sin as well, in like manner.  I have no idea how many people lost their lives when the earth began to receive all of the water from the heavens, but I can take a guess.  It is recorded that not many people survived that rainstorm and flood and it was not too many. 

The Lord allowed humanity to start over, yet mankind still harbored sin within their lives.  God had to show His love again when He sent His son to the earth to serve as the final sacrifice, a process in which humanity missed the first time around; both Jesus and the act of sacrifice.  Humans decided to try God by accepting human ideas and ways instead of studying the true meaning of sacrifice, restoration and salvation through God’s forgiveness.  We continue this lie today by accomplishing selfish feat after feat without God being the center of our existence.  We also fail to understand that as long as we push God out of our lives and focus upon our own wants and rants, our lives are destined to repeat Noah’s days once again.

As of this moment, there is a bit of time for us to change our hearts and to return to God and His ways.  I have no idea of what is coming nor do I know when God will say “enough” but I do know it is coming.  Everything that I have studied in God’s Word tells me this and since God is not a liar and that He has never apologized fro any act that He has performed, I cannot foresee Him changing now.  Church, you are in dire need of your groom, yet you have NO idea of what He looks like!  Turn your eyes back to God and repent, God is calling for you.  Stop trying God and run back to Him for true restoration and guidance.  I pray that we do not have the opportunity to witness another destruction as Noah, but there is a way to miss this process.

DLB

Beautifully Created

Beautifully Created

10/20/15

Ever wonder why God designed our bodies in the manner in which He did?  In our own human conditions, I do not believe that we can ever fully understand all of the functions and abilities that our bodies harbor and serve, for as we learn more about our humanness the more we must concede that we are perfectly imperfect.  Even our creational origins continue to fight our outcomes because it goes contrary to what we must face each day.  In all, God created the perfect house that can adapt too many circumstances that it endures, even when we no longer function within the perfect and eternal original state.

In the past, God has shared with us topics about His creation called humans and has provided us with some specific details about our physical existence that just simply amazes us.  The topic of beautifully created will be another detail that will shed more light not only on our lives but the ingenious thought process and heart of God at the same time.  For when a person looks at the way our bodies were formed it is amazing of how we were made to survive the falling out with eternity and away from God.

For the last few weeks, I have been battling a small issue with my back.  While it is nothing serious it occasionally reminds me that I have done something to my body that it does not like and it is now letting me know that something is wrong.  My back is not getting worse but is taking its own sweet time in getting better which concerns me in other ways; mainly about my age.  This is the first time that I have had any long term problems with my back so I am learning some things all over again when it comes to the physical activities that I readily accomplished before.  I am slowing down more and taking things easier while I am completing them, something that goes totally against my type “A” personality.

While getting older bothers me a little, I take a quick survey of the remaining portions of my life and I find that they are performing quite well and as of now show no signs of deteriorating; however, I know that at any moment those symptoms could arise as well.  As I continue to muddle my way through this process of my life I cannot help but wonder how long it shall last and just how much more will my body endure before my time on earth ends.  I also have to stop and contemplate about how it might feel if my body was in total systemic rest and functioning at the intended performance rates that it was designed to perform. 

There have only been two people that have had that feeling and while the Bible does not state exactly how long they lived in that perfect condition, their knowledge of such living is now extinct.  It is this aspect of our creation that God wants to share with us about in this article, for even though our bodies were created in a perfect accord with our Creator, He gave our bodies the capacity to adapt to our existence according to our choices and this is proving to be both challenging and exciting at the same time.

As we have read in the Bible, the book of Genesis states that we were created in a perfect condition without any type of blemish or sin within our bodies.  Our minds and hearts were created to know no abnormalities or dysfunction and our extremities were not to have any breaks or tearing of any kind.  Our blood and vessels were to have perfect and stable oxygen and nutrient levels at all times, that provided complete content to every cell constantly, without fail.  No pain, no agony or suffering, a complete and uniform body that knew nothing but complete success in everything it did.

But as we know it was through our choice of accepting sin into our lives that changed all of this for not only our physical bodies but for our spiritual connection with God as well.  When God came to the Garden that day and found Adam and Eve hiding because they were naked God had already taken into account for this change in our bodies and had established a baseline of survival that could only adapt to such change instead of totally collapsing immediately around itself.

God never intended for our physical bodies be subject to such direct insults that target death.  God cannot create anything that automatically is subject to death or destruction for if He did then He would not be the all mighty and all powerful God that His Word says He is; and who I say He is too.  Everything that God creates is perfect for He is perfect in every way and since this is a truth about God and that He cannot change, then His ways and order cannot change either.  Therefore, when He created our bodies He did so in such a way that when we messed up and allowed our separation to occur through sin, our bodies had the capability to adjust to our new and unfamiliar ways.

When you look at what God did in order to set the record straight after we sinned, it is an amazing change and difference that our bodies had to endure.  From no pain to complete pain, from an eternal and everlasting physical life to one that begins to die even before we leave the womb of our mother, all of these issues we did not have to deal with before we fell.  We did not have to toil in the dirt for our food or to be subject to the changing weather patterns, all were covered under our perfect bodily conditions.  Even with all of our complications that we present every day our bodies still fascinate scientists, not because of the direct imperfections that protract from our lives but instead how our bodies do their best to restore themselves when these insults occur.

The mechanisms that swirl around our insides represent a multitude of intertwined systems that somehow depend on each other for complete survival, yet when one falls below standard the others pick up the pace and do their best to ensure complete core stability, all operated by a single conductor which pumps the life needed blood through our veins and arteries to each single cell of our body.  Now this detail has a significant value within our existence, for it was not for the blood and the single conductor within our bodies, we would simply not live and would cease to exist immediately after conception, a process that just simply cannot poof into being, it must be created by some being of far greater wisdom than ours.  As God will share with us in the coming days, each cell has its purpose in our lives and it is our duty to make each cell smart according to God’s Word.

When we buy a new car we expect its performance to last us until we decide to buy another one.  But all of know that this is not always the case for sometimes cars break down before we are ready to trade them in, and for the most part, we have no control over what occurs to these vehicles even if we take great care in their maintenance.  The same occurs when we go through our life as well, all seems ok but all of a sudden wham, we begin to break down.

Can you imagine what would have occurred to humanity and human existence if God had not thought through the facts of variances appearing into our physical bodies?  First of all, it would prove that He was not an all knowing God for He would have missed this foreseeable state.  Secondly, He would have had to begin all over with His creation and thus proven Satan correct in that God is a lair and not perfect as He states in His Word.  Such an embarrassment it would be if His prize creation, in His own image, was not prepared to adapt to the future and for a situation that was certain to arrive at some point in time.  Yet, God did prepare our lives for this type of living and His creative bliss is still evident in our bodies today.

It is no secret that scientists are amazed at the construction of our bodies.  They cannot deny the fact that our functioning systems are confusing, individual yet consistently coinciding with each other to maintain a constant and continual stasis.  In all studies that have been conducted, it would seem that our bodies are built to maintain its functionality indefinitely without fail, but for some reason they cannot seem to understand why at some point it does.  Stop and think for a moment how our bodies would react if we did not have the creative existence within us to adapt to such shock.  Our bodies would react accordingly and would immediately shut down and cease to exist.  We would not survive the time frame to give birth or to even create another human being, our existence would be immediately over and death as we know it would rule and life cease.

I do not like to use the phrase "contingency plan" but for all intense purposes that is exactly what God had in mind for our bodies. It was ingenious that He placed this ability in our lives because He knew that we would need it at some point in time.  It also places in perspective the fluidity of humanity and what it means to be human.  The responsibility and law of reproduction have its correct and Divine course and this is demonstrated through the gift of restoration through what God has placed within our bodies.

This adaptation that lies within our lives is constant in every single human being no matter if they are deemed “perfect” by society or “cursed” with a physical or genetic deformity.  Even those people who are born with gross deformities bless our lives with their presence for a limited amount of time.  Sometimes life and the physical shortness of our lives does not seem fair and frustrate us greatly, but even in this short state of life we have a Divine purpose and it is imperative that we understand this tremendous gift that God has provided us.

This process of change is a natural setting in our bodies today and in fact, we cannot call it a change for we inherit it upon our conception.  However, it still is a beautiful gift that we have and one that establishes our choice to accept God as our eternal savior just as He has provided us with the first gift of restoration.  When God created our bodies it was in a perfect state and when we allowed sin into our lives we forced God’s creative abilities with producing His restoration process.  Satan knew that our lives would change because he had his status changed when he sinned.  God allowed for the first restoration process to be enabled when we sinned, which infuriated Satan even further.  Our enemy knew at that Garden moment that God was not going to end His prized creation’s existence but through His creative process allow our lives to continue and to fulfill the choice of God.

It is through this built-in physical restoration process that we have the opportunity to recognize our faults and at the same time our need for God.  It is through the gift of restoration that we can come back to Him and allow Him to restore our lives in such a holy manner.  Our physical existence shall always be limited and will fall away, but it is through this physical restoration process that allows us the time to correct our spiritual separation through restoration and this is exactly why God created in our bodies the ability to survive a non-perfect state.

It is of the utmost importance that we must understand that the choices we make in our lives do have a direct effect upon our lives.  Even though God has given us a chance to return to Him and His ways and to be restored in His eyes, the sin that we carry still incriminates us if we do not rid ourselves from its presence.  God cannot do one thing about restoration if we are not willing to accept this gift from Him.  But in the end it is always our choice to accept it or to deny it.  So, in other words, our perfectly imperfect existence is a gift from God that was enabled when we made the choice to go our own way a very long time ago.  I wish to thank the musical group Veridia for writing the song “Pretty Lies” because it completely illustrates this article and the measures that our enemy goes to ensure that we do not understand any of this process.

Our bodies may still have its bumps, bruises, aches, and diseases but even with those conditions ravaging our bodies we still have the opportunity to present ourselves as a living sacrifice to God and to come to Him for complete restoration.  Without this initial restoration process within our physical bodies we would never have had the opportunity to make the choice to live.  Nor would we have the opportunity to choose life and to live in complete freedom from the world.  This first example of restoration, though it may not be a physical perfection, truly explains why God can honestly say that He gave His only Son because He first loved us.  For without this first restoration process and example for us to remember, we would not be around to enjoy God’s creation.

So take heart people of God and rejoice in your beautifully created bodies for there is not a single one like yours that has existed before.  Stop enduring the physical differences and so-called imperfections that the world deems necessary to point out, for God created your existence and presence long before you were formed in your mother’s womb.  You life has a purpose and meaning for this dying world and if you allow your heart and your spiritual ears to be open to His calling, that purpose will be found and understood and your body will rejoice in your Creator for finding the true meaning of your existence.  Repent and allow God to restore your inner beauty and your eyes shall see God flowing from your life like a steady stream towards the world.  Do not believe the pretty lies that our enemy and his kingdom provide, for they can only detract from your true potential.  Seek God alone and totally leave the world and its countenances behind.  God loves you so much and He beautifully created you for a specific reason.

DLB

The Moment of Covering

The Moment of Covering

10/14/15

All of us need to be covered for many reasons at some point in our lives.  A covering resembles warmth and protection when things are no longer cozy.  But what we turn towards to cover ourselves says a lot about where our loyalties and beliefs lie and this pattern has held incredibly true ever since the dawn of mankind.  It is displayed in the Garden of Eden and can be readily found in our own lives today.  We need to take stock in what we cover ourselves for it says a lot about who we are and what we believe our trust is placed.

Most of have heard the story about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and how they walked and talked with God every day.  This is a phenomenon that just boggles my mind every time that I think about it.  To have the ability to see and to talk with God every day, on a routine basis, both entities being on an equal plane and being able to find out the knowledge of the entire creative universe on a spiritual and eternal basis.  Stop and thin about this unique position that Adam and Eve were in, talk about the epitome of utopia. 

I know that I have never had the awesome pleasure of seeing God and while I am gazing at His face being able to talk with Him.  Adam and Eve had this type of setting every day, a personal relationship like no other has had before.  And it is this setting that sets the tone and stage for the topic of this article.  We do not know exactly how many conversations that God with Adam and Eve before the fall of man but it would be safe to say that there were numerous occasions that these meetings took place.  There would have been countless topics that they covered with God explaining His ways and laws to them; see, a Creator just does not hand over dominion to someone that they do not know or understand so these types of talks must have occurred.

At first it is tough to believe that Adam and Eve would not have the desire or discipline to not deviate from God’s authority especially when God Himself walked with them every day.  But on the other hand, it is easy for us to understand this process because all of us have done the exact same thing when it comes to our personal authority over our lives, our parents.  We have all betrayed their trust, lied to them and rebelled against their wishes and rules, and when one puts into this perspective it becomes a little more realistic to believe.  But still, God was with them every day, one would think that the circumstances would be a little different; but when you deal with humans.

Our parents have a tendency to be more on the authoritative side of our lives than our friends do.  Even though God was not always serious He did have a job to complete by instructing Adam and Eve how to live and how to take care of things that were around them.  Now, we must ask ourselves that at first this job title and the job itself must have been exciting to have but with time it must have become a little less exciting to both of them.  While the conversations were continuing with God, Satan must have been waiting for the opportune time to make his advance towards the humans, and that he did.

On the other side of the issues, we all know that friends play a large role in the decisions that we make, even the decisions that should not be even in play, you know those that come from our parents.  Yet, in many cases we take the opinions of our friends because it sounds better or their options will represent an easier road to take.  We know that Satan is the eternal enemy of God and in turn our existence makes him our eternal enemy as well.  It is also well documented that some of the people we deem as “friends” have other motives for their presence and we miss this truth about these “friends” all the time.  It is evident that Satan was already working his cunning deviance while he was talking with Adam and Eve, establishing a false relationship between them and only desiring one wish, the separation from God.

As God has shared with us previously, Adam and Eve had to be curious enough about the options that Satan was discussing or they would have had nothing to do with the serpent.  Nor would Eve have deliberately lied about what God had told her about the tree, yet it was through this statement by Eve that gave Satan the necessary door to move to the next step and we all know what occurred next in the lives of Adam and Eve.  Satan used his cunning deliverance of God’s words towards Eve and allowed her to make the choice to violate the truth, which she readily did.

I am going back a bit and refresh our memory about a certain command that God gave to Adam and Eve and that was that God gave Adam dominion over the animals, plants and the earth.  This command was given to Adam in Genesis 1:26 stating the following: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”  This basically covers all things that God had made other than mankind.  This means that we as humans have authority over the trees and animals.  The definition of dominion is as follows: sovereignty or control.

This is a huge issue since this command places mankind over these other created things and therefore we should not be subject to these things in any manner.  This is where the evidence comes to light in that the relationship between Adam, Eve and Satan had strengthened enough that once the truth had been revealed to Adam and Eve that they continued to follow the world instead of God.  It must have been incredibly tragic when their eyes were opened and they knew immediately that that they had messed up permanently.  It also brings into motion of how humans react when they know that they have been found out, they avoid the parents as long as possible.

This means one of two situations can occur.  The first one and more common at that moment when God issued this law is that mankind has full dominion over everything else, dominating in a perfect and unique place for eternity.  There would be no worry or concern about the present or future conditions for they would already be provided by the Gardener.  The second setting would be one of complete humility by being dominated by the very object that you were given dominion over in the beginning. In this state, mankind would be in total bondage to the environment for coverage and would have to continuously worry about living in such manner.

In this case, Adam and Eve realized that they were naked and that they needed to cover themselves before God.  This was never an issue before even though they had the same choices as before, but now their lives had been changed forever.  The Bible then states that Adam and Eve covered themselves with leaves to hide their nakedness and for the first time had a reason to hide from God.  It was not like they did not know God was going to arrive, for He had been consistent for as long as they could remember.  Now, this ends the prelude to the article and the reasoning behind the leaf can be presented.

Didn’t you know that Adam and Eve looked ridiculous when they came from behind the trees with those leaves around their bodies.  Even though God knew exactly what had transpired He made them explain their actions and rightly so.  The blame game began and excuses flew, but no one admitted their mistakes to their Creator but continued to hide behind the leaves. With this logic in place the question becomes this: how could they see anything else but subjection to the world?  Instead of obeying God’s words in the first place and allowing God to be their covering, they totally believed the “friend’s” beliefs and explanations instead.  Thus, they had to follow suit and find the next best covering which was leaves for their covering.

The word dominion is a Kingdom word because it gives authority to whomever or whatever for it is used.  Therefore, whoever dominion is given that means that they should never be subject to the things they have dominion over.  Yet, Adam and Eve covered themselves with an object that they had dominion over which placed them in complete subjection to the leaves and of the world.  As God stood there and looked at them He must have shook His head and wondered why they had forgotten all of the topics that they all had discussed previously.  In this one act mankind had taken their rightful place in dominion and placed their trust and honor into a dominated object, totally ignoring their Creator’s laws.  Can you hear the laughing going on from the “friends” section in the Garden?

Why would anyone become subject to anything that they have been placed in dominion over?  It makes no sense!  Adam and Eve knew who their Creator was and what His words meant to their existence.  Why turn to a leaf?  It says a lot about the influence on and the relationship with Adam and Eve had with Satan for they were ready to abandon it all for a loser.  One can even argue that the birth of extreme environmentalism began here when the human was challenged with the truth.

When God placed mankind into the Garden it was His idea to protect them in every way possible from all sin.  God, the Creator of everything was the covering that was around Adam and Eve.  One law was in place, daily conversations with the Divine Gardener and an eternal and painless state of living all encompassed this covering.  And it was through this moment of covering that mankind made their choice to live being dominated instead of dominion.

However, as God had already put into place a restoration plan, He began to turn the hearts of Adam and Eve back towards Him but instead of them being in the perfect state, they had to follow further rules outside the Garden.  The tables turned and life was different, a new type of covering had to be established and this time the life blood would have to be shed.

Today, many people still turn to the leaf instead of the Creator of that leaf.  Each day more and more people run for this worldly covering voluntarily.  By doing so we are blinding ourselves to the truth of our existence and following the covering of a defeated being.  We cannot afford to hide behind the leaf any longer; we must walk back into covering with God.  We have become comfortable with being dominated by objects that we should have dominion over, this makes no sense at all.  God makes all the sense in the world and of the world and He alone shall open our eyes to the truth if we only repent and recognize His authority and covering.  We do not need to live defeated lives, there is victory for us if we choose it.

There is nothing good from this world and even though many people shall choose to ignore God and His covering all of us will one day have to face the music and take off our leaves, stand before God in our original created state and account for everything we have done.  If we repent and turn back to God, He is faithful to forgive us for the wrongdoings that we have committed, but if we do not repent there is nothing He can do for us and we will have to face the same banishment as Adam and Eve faced when they were thrown from the Garden.  Take this passage to heart and study it further for it has the basis of life written in it.  I have been writing for over three years now and have not been able to leave the book of Genesis, there is so much more that God wants to share with us.

The choices are clear and the question is simple: which covering will you choose to be under?

DLB

Ineffective

Ineffective

10/12/15

How many times in our lives have we depended on a situation, person or place to fulfill our current affairs just to have them be wiped out by faulty equipment or timing?  If I would take a simple survey of people around my town almost all would identify with this setting.  It does not matter what type of setting we might discuss, as humans we fail or experience failures every day and in some cases we find out that our faith fails us as well.  But that should never be the case in fact God has provided us with the perfect defensive and offensive weapon for us to always be prepared when attacks or hardship situations come our way.  But sometimes when we use His Word is seems like it is not enough and the enemy pushes right over us without stopping.  There is a reason for this and one that we need to understand so that his momentum is stopped when God’s Word is used.

Growing up a preacher’s kid meant that we moved around a lot.  I did not mind this too much, but I can understand why it would be difficult for others, especially when it came to friends and family being left behind.  When I was a youngster this moving around meant longer trips to see my grandparents which was not a problem most of the time for I knew that when we reached our destination there would be ample amount of time for me to play.

My grandparents on my mother’s side lived in Colorado, actually in the time frame that I am going to be referring to they lived out in the country in Utah, and to make it even better the place that they lived at had acres and acres of playing space with so many things to do.  During one summer trip I remember that I had been given a BB gun as a present but living in the closed-in world of the town I did not have too many opportunities to try out this gift of mine.  The perfect opportunity presented itself to me when this specific summer trip came around and the Utah farm served as the perfect setting.

At that time, as I am sure with today, there were a few types of BB guns on the market but the one that I had was nice and plain with no special gimmicks on it.  It served my purposes well and was the perfect BB gun for my short self, it was plain and it got the job done quite nicely.  I had no ambitions of owning any more at the time nor did possessing a BB gun grant me the urge to have more guns down the road of my life; this little thing did me well for the time being.

As I stated above my mother’s parents lived out in the country with a few neighbors around but mainly they were isolated from the public for them most part.  My uncle’s family lived about 30 minutes away and all of us would spend as much time as possible together even though summer is the busiest time of the year for farmers and ranchers.  My cousin was used to having guns around and was very experienced with many types of guns; a BB gun was light weight measures for him, but he had no problems showing me the ropes when it came to safety and all of the other issues to remember when dealing with guns.  He was going to be going with me on my first “hunting” expedition which was going to be right outside the driveway of the house.  Of course, he brought his gun as well just to show me how a stronger gun performs.  I never shot it or even held it for that matter, it made my BB gun look like a stick in comparison.

There were trees that surrounded the house on Cedar Point so it was not going to be hard to find a bird or two to take shots at and with it being my first time out “shooting” and being “armed” with a “high-powered” BB gun I was at the top of the world. As we came up to the first tree across the other side of the driveway my cousin stopped me and said for me to shoot at the tree that was in front of me.  I slowly took aim and pulled the trigger and the BB gun let out a quiet pop.  The BB hit the tree for both of us heard it hit the bark, but after the sound of it hitting, nothing else was noticeable, not even the place where the BB hit could be found.

We walked a few more steps and he noticed a small bird that was sitting on a telephone wire.  The wire was far enough away from the house or any other possible harmful area so my cousin said for me to shoot at the bird.  Being the expert with guns that I was, I once again quickly raised the BB gun up towards the bird and lined it up with my “sights” and pulled the trigger.  The same quiet pop came from the gun and I then was able to watch the BB hit the bird square in the breast.  A small puff of feathers moved as the BB impacted the bird.  I was amazed, my first shot at an animal and I hit the intended bird.  It was a perfect shot coming from a kid who had never fired anything ever before; but wait there is more.

However, something occurred immediately after that amazing shot, or I should say nothing occurred after that amazing shot. Even though I had luckily hit that bird square in the chest the impact of the BB did absolutely nothing to the bird, its feathers actually stopped the BB before it even had the chance to penetrate anything else.  The bird just sat there for a moment looking down at me, chirped for a bit longer while gazing down at the both of us.  After a few seconds the bird jumped from its wire perch and flew straight at me and buzzed close over my head making a huge statement that it was fine and that I had failed in my mission to shoot it. 

I was not familiar with guns at all and I had no idea that with the normalcy of my BB gun that its power would basically have no major impact on any animal that I shot at because of the slow velocity of the BB itself.  Unless I was aiming at an ant, my BB gun would not do any harm to any animal, I might be lucky for it to penetrate a paper target from ten feet away; this I proved later in the same day.  It was at this point that my super BB gun would not have any bearing on my safety if needed, but as soon as I had the opportunity to aim at another safe target this truth was far from my mind.

Within a few minutes after my bid to kill a bird failed my cousin set his sights on another bird that had perched itself on a telephone wire.  I stood in amazement as he squeezed the trigger perfectly and almost immediately the bird dropped from its wire perch and landed on the ground motionless.  It was over in a matter of seconds with no bird chirping and buzzing my head as a symbol of arrogance, this one did not make it off its perch voluntarily.  We took a few steps over to where the bird lay motionless and both of us looked at the setting.  It was not hard for me to understand that when one goes hunting that person must have an adequate gun big enough to get the job completed and that if you do not, you shall never be able to claim any success in this area.

Most people that hunt do not view the animals as an enemy but as food for their tables during the winter and spring.  But there is another setting that this example provides us when it comes to our spiritual enemy and how if we are adequately equipped with the proper weaponry our defenses cannot provide any offensive tactics against our eternal enemy.  There is no question that God has provided us with the one single perfect weapon against this enemy but if we do not know everything about its contents we shall not have the ability to use it effectively, it is simple as that.

But how can I make this statement when everyone knows that God’s Word is all authoritative and all powerful in all of its words and content?  It is an easy statement and proclamation to make because the majority of Christians do not understand its capacity for eternity and how it measures up against the enemy.  We use its words and content for our benefit, when we want it and leave it on the desk, couch, lamp stand to gather dust when we do not wish for it to be a part of our lives.  This is how I can use this statement and be accurate in its meaning.  It is true that there is no other and more effective weapon against the forces of darkness that rules this planet and is continually vying for our lives.  It is also true that our enemy understands the Bible through and through and knows its contents well enough to ensure our sleepiness towards everything that it says.

This is the part where we are not prepared to deal with and when our enemy comes face to face with us we quote a scripture at him and he turns around and buzzes our heads, all the while laughing at us because even though we know the verses by heart we do not understand the entire meaning of such verses and therefore, cannot spiritually assert their authority towards his existence. This renders our defenses ineffective against our enemy and provides no offensive mechanisms to advance the Kingdom of God.

A few weeks ago God shared with us about Abraham and how he knew the area of Sodom and Gomorrah well enough to argue with God about its impending destruction.  That is a setting that is well read and one that I have heard many times throughout my life, but I have never heard of why Abraham had the authority to ask God those questions and why God did not just tell his servant that he had no right to even consider the quests.  With God there is a purpose for everything and in order for that purpose to be fulfilled every step must be taken in order according to His plan, not human’s.  But in order for humans to question God’s plan of action they must be aware of the situation and in this case the surrounding spiritual capacity of Sodom and Gomorrah in order to have a leg to stand on when requesting such.  It is all part of having a relationship with God and understanding that there are two sides that are battling for our eternal lives and that one day we shall stand and face the music and account for our actions.

The majority of Christians use the Bible as a superficial band-aid that will produce a small result to ease our consciousness, but in reality all we are doing is setting up ourselves for a huge disappointment when a true test comes our way; in other words it will be like using my small BB gun against a bear, it simply is not going to work.  We need to live the Word of God and to absorb every detail about its content into our lives so that when these attacks come we will have the proper firepower to use against our enemy.  Simply stating that Satan has no authority over our lives and that he has to flee when we command him to in the name of Jesus will have no weight in his eyes if we do not understand why those words were written.  If we claim this verse and do not understand that there is a REAL war ongoing for our lives that weapon that was designed for our protection is laid useless because we do not fully know what it is supposed to do.

Ever get into a discussion with someone who does not believe in God and after using a specific example within the Bible their views and take on that setting become clearly different?  How do you handle this type of setting?  I see this type of activity occur almost every day in numerous settings and, for the most part, all of them have the same outcome, Christians becoming defensive and ugly with the people having different views strengthened in their stances because we have no clue how to relate the Bible to them in through effective measures and not condemning ones.  I am going to give an example of how this type of setting usually plays out and watch how it develops as you read along.  The words may not be exactly as your instance may remember, but it will be very close in stature. 

Setting: usually takes place with a Christian presenting one position and with another person who presents with another position, both of which are polar in ideologies, the argument begins.

Side one: This person uses a specific scripture to present their position as to why the other person is wrong.  This is a mistake because it sets the setting for a debate or argument which will define and continue to grow the division between those who do believe in God and those who have different visions about God.  When the rebuttal comes across the wire, the defensive mode arises from this person and the in-depth portions of the verse are not addressed at all.  Any hope of obtaining a sensible conversation between the two sides is now at a loss and no further co-joining can occur.  This is the perfect example of how ineffective my little BB gun was on the bird, the setting was there and due to the lack of knowledge about what the setting was in the verse caused the situation to dissolve very quickly.  This is NOT how God intended for us to use His Word but it is exactly what our enemy wishes for us to use God’s Word.

Side Two: the person with the rebuttal obviously does not agree with the verse and with the person quoting or using this scripture.  This person will not argue with an in-depth meaning of the scripture either, for most of the time their knowledge of such truth is just as limited as the person representing side one.  If the person on this side does elaborate, it will be their selfish interpretation of the verse “in question” that they offer which incidentally will coincide with the way they believe and will contain no adverse meaning that could render them pain or complicating adversities with their opinions. 

In other words, there are no personal challenges with their opinions with themselves when in truth the Bible should always challenge our understanding and through these challenges there will be internal pain because of the realization of our separation from God.  The person on this side usually will add the phrase “that is your opinion” or something similar with their comment and to be honest usually paralyzes the person on side one.  This setting also represents the bird flying off the telephone wire and buzzing my head after the BB gun had no even penetrated past its feathers.

All throughout the Bible it is demonstrated that when people are used of God they act according to what the Scriptures say and what they represent.  This means that there is authority, the Divine authority in the laws and ways of God and they have been written down for our usage to lighten a darkened world.  But if we do not understand the entire picture about the scriptures our effectiveness to reach those in the dark becomes very limited and usually results in further division instead of togetherness.  It must be known that the people who do not know God or believe in God that they are NOT the enemy.  They are being influenced and controlled by our enemy but in no way are they themselves the enemy.  If we do not understand this truth there is no way that our weapon of light and life can be used in an effective manner.  It is trough this lack of understanding of the entire Word of God that our enemy manipulates Christians as well, and through our superficial “knowledge” of the Bible he has done a fantastic job in keeping the light dim.

This type of knowledge also explains a huge portion of Jesus’ ministry while He was here on earth.  This type of complete knowledge is also the exact way we need to talk to people about the Gospel and about the entire Word of God.  Many people make fun of Jesus’ ministry because He taught in parables, teachings that used illustrations to grab the people’s attentions about His Father and His ways, I have even heard Christians complain about these types of passages that they find them simple and false in their meaning and have no value to their teachings.  It is this type of understanding that displays the superficial caring that we have for God’s Word and it brings into play a toothless weapon against an eternal enemy.

It is an abomination for us to believe that we can get by with a superficial knowledge and understanding of God’s Word and still be effective for God’s Kingdom.  Jesus taught in parables because He understood the ways of His Father so well that He could bring them to the level of the people’s understandings of that day and age.  How many of us out there know God’s Word well enough to use situational history as such and give the people asking, arguing, or inquiring about God those types of answers? Jesus was not handing out stupid or inadequate answers to those around Him, He was effectively providing God’s Laws and Ways to them in manners in which they could understand.  Now, whether or not those people chose to accept these teachings or not was totally up to them but the knowledge that Jesus had about God’s Word was brilliantly told.

This is the effectiveness that we should be having when God’s Word is being ripped to shreds by those who wish to change what it states as truth.  But it is evident that we do not know the bible as such and as of this moment we are paralyzed well enough that we Christians cannot talk our way out of a wet and torn paper bag.  No wonder the Church has been rendered hapless, for it is the Church that does not desire to know God’s Word well enough to challenge the simplest worldly issue.

It has become clear that Christians are sitting around waiting for God to return and to fulfill His promises.  But I deeply regret to inform you that those promises will not come to us simply because we are living the lives of the Israelites that wandered 40 years in the desert, we totally refuse to take the time to understand the entire meaning of what God has in store for our lives and the only way that we can do this is to study and to live the Word of God completely.  It is time we wake up and get off our duffs study what God has for our lives.  It is our mission to find the lost as God sees fit and for us to tell them about His love for their lives.  We cannot accomplish this mission until we understand God’s Word enough to speak with effective life parables to those who are seeking God.  Until we repent of our sins and turn our hearts completely back to God, the mission of spreading the gospel will be totally ineffective, just as my BB gun was on that bird just a few feet away.

DLB