Death In Due Order

Death In Due Order

3/29/16

None of us like to think about the moment when we leave this world physically, but at some point during our time on earth, we shall reach this spot.  When we draw our last breath none of us really know what the next process will be, but we do know that there will be another process awaiting our arrival.  This process is not easily accepted by some and for just reasons but we must understand that even though death was not part of our initial creation it does represent a dividing line between the life we know and what lies ahead.  There is a guarantee of a future for us, but it is through our choice that leads us to one eternal place or another.  Most of the time it is a sad occasion when a loved one dies, but in death, we have the assurance that God is still in control.

I have on many occasions mentioned that I absolutely love my job and the work that I do and that I would never trade my position for anything.  However, I do have to admit that not every day that I step foot into this clinic goes smoothly, nor am I always smiling when I step foot out from these doors at the end of the day.  As in any job and with any situation in life, some of the issues that need to be dealt with drag me down and bring me to a point of total exhaustion, both mentally and physically.  It is never easy to watch a patient go downhill and literally wither away to skin and bones.  It is difficult to watch them walk into the clinic and then reach a point where the wheelchair becomes their immediate mode of transportation from car door to our clinic door.

Even though not every patient reaches this state, nor does every person that lives in the county become a patient of mine I do know that someday death will come knocking at their proverbial door and their life shall have to answer the knocking.  It is at this point where the acquaintances, friends, and loved ones are thrown for a loop with the words of death that are spoken.  How we react to such news varies just as each individual does on all other issues.  Memories and time spent together with the person who has passed away flood our hearts and a period of mourning enters into our midst, one that we really do not fully comprehend as humans but recognize it is a necessary process in order for us to carry on with our lives.

Death is never easy to deal with especially when a person that still lives reaches the point that they shall never physically see that loved one again.  It is at this point where death hits the human square in the face and reaches the heart with a force so powerful that chills have been known to crawl up and down the entire body.  It is at this time that a finality of life comes face to face with the person that remains and a separation is the only “living” relative that is left.  It is also at this point where most people begin to display acts of emotions extending from peace and tranquility to anger is discontent with every other emotion and feeling thrown in for good measure.  Death is finality, an end to one part of our lives and the beginning of another part that lasts forever.  This is why death is so curious to many and incorporated in all.  Even an episode of the old MASH program dealt with one of the physicians curious about what a patient saw when he died for a few moments than his return back to earth to have a fairly normal future.  I invite you to listen to the song entitled “Live Forever” by The Afters, it places the importance on which death is more important.

It is the separation part of death that God wants us to think about and how the word separation will define our lives in many ways, all of the important ways deal with God and our relationship with Him of course.  First of all, we must contend that there was a huge reason that God repeatedly stated in His Word that we must be separated from the world in all areas of our physical and spiritual life.  It is the utmost goal of our existence to follow this command and a daily process to adhere to.  It is not an easy task for the world paints a beautiful picture with countless options to draw our attention away from reality but it is this portion of the world that we need to be mindful about for our separation from.

Ever since the fall of mankind God has not placed His personal foot on the earth that He created, thus ending a long period of contact with His special creation.  Yes, He has shown up in a donkey, a burning bush, lion’s mouths, and even through His only Son but the direct face to face communion with His prized creations had to come to an end because of the presence of sin that we invited into our existence.  This type of communication and then it's cutting off represents a clear picture of death between Creator and creation and it is still in place today.  The human spirit has not been able to directly see her / his creator ever since the fall of mankind which is the sole directive as to why the spirit longs to seek worship.  As when death reaches us physically the same type of setting occurred when Adam and Eve chose to pick their own ways over God’s, there was nothing easy about that day and that uneasiness still haunts humanity and God today.

I have lost all four of my grandparents and have only a handful of aunts and uncles left on this earth.  While I do not think about my family members that we have lost every day I do think about them regularly and realize that I miss their company and sight when their memories flood my heart.  I would give anything to go back and to ask them more questions about any subject imaginable, just to hear their voice, hear the opinions and just to have them around and to know that they are still living and breathing in my life.  I know that I shall not see them again until all of us are reunited in heaven and even though I have no idea when that day shall arrive, I still long to see them and my savior.  When my memories fade it brings the same separation as death brings to every person in the world, one that can never be brought back, just the thoughts of that person’s life.

This process of death could represent more to us if after we draw our last breath that our lives would cease to further exist.  If the “sludge” that evolution says we come from is true then why would death be so important a topic in our lives?  I mean, it would be pointless and meaningless to have that emotional tie to others, strong enough to make us shed tears for the dead; it would be a natural part of the cycle that evolution plays which in truth would represent a false existence and a non-complete one at best.  Yet, humans have the ability to display every type of emotion possible when a loved one leaves this earth, and even though I have not spent too much time with my patients and their families I too shed a tear when one of them dies, for my hatred of death grips my spirit and the realization of sin my spiritual eyes sees and spiritual ears hear when I know that our enemy laughs at this point in time.

So, if evolution is wrong, and in the concept of creation according to its principle it is, then there must be another aspect of life that follows our physical death; this is a true question and a truth in general, there is life after our death.  I do not know what this eternal life of mine shall be like but I know that one day down this journey of mine I will find out, one way or another.  When God created us He did in such a manner that ensured our survival in the eternal, see God is the Creator of everything and He has our existence thought out even before the fall of mankind.  One thing that we forget about God is that He thought about you even before you were created, this means that His plan for you was thought out and ordained long before you existed AND long before the fall of mankind.  Therefore, this means that the plan for your life has not changed one bit for when God ordains an order He cannot change it, only we can alter its course through the choices we make.  Kind of puts an entirely new life and meaning to Jeremiah 1:5 don’t it.

So, if our lives were known before we were even created and God only knows life, then that means our death in the physical arena does not end, for God cannot forget any of His creations nor could He allow His very existence (life) end either.  However, through the choices of Adam and Eve the physical life that we know must come to an end but as Satan, our eternal lives will continue onward.  What Lucifer did in heaven totally threw heaven into a “rage”, not God but heaven.  Lucifer lost his position and status in eternal heaven but did not lose his life.  He is still amongst us today and roaming freely around us trying his best to separate us from God.  This begs the question to what is he trying to separate?

He already knows that our physical has been conquered so there is no real reason for him to go after this part of our existence, so what is left?  Our spiritual life is left and it is this part of our existence that means the “most” to him.  If he can conquer this portion of our life while we are walking this planet then he has accomplished his mission in keeping us separated from God for eternity.  It is this spiritual death that he desires for his hatred of God and His ways are so enormous that Satan’s only goal is to make sure that as many of God’s prized creations fail to understand and accept God’s laws and true love on the eternal basis. While Satan loves it when a person physically dies he also becomes concerned because if the human realizes that physical death can be a prelude to what the eternal offers, there is always a chance that the loved ones still alive can figure the truth out.

It is this concept and truth that becomes dangerous to Satan and his kingdom, the knowledge that someone created us that actually loves us and has provided for us an eternal future in a complete  unknown bliss that a human mind cannot comprehend.  Our enemy hates God so much that his hatred spills over into our existence, and if humanity would only wake up and begin to hear the voice of God calling out to them, then choose God over the world our lives and circumstances would drastically change almost immediately.  Satan does his best to deafen our eyes and allow the world’s cataracts to develop in our lives so that we miss this truth.  It is Satan’s way of separating our existence from God on the physical so that the spiritual follows in accordance with the world’s patterns.  If our spiritual senses are dulled enough and long enough then it becomes easier for us to separate ourselves from God and align our beliefs with the world; it is a natural setting that when one kingdom advances the other retreats.

It is the eternal life that Jesus mentioned when He spoke to the disciples concerning the fields are ripe for harvest.  Jesus understood that His own physical life was to end at some point in time on the earth and if this is true – and it is – that means He understood that the physical is not the most important element of our existence, it is the spiritual.  God knows our heart and judges us accordingly, it is not in how we look, smell or even how we present ourselves to the world physically but what comes from the heart is all that matters.

How many of you have ever looked at physical death in this manner, as a prelude to the spiritual?  I do not believe I have ever heard a sermon taught or preached on this specific nature and condition of death.  We have all heard that we need to be dead in Christ, separate from the world, etc but never look at physical death as a prelude to what physical death and its separation to those left behind can actually come to pass for our eternal future; have we even taken this aspect to heart and its consideration of such manner?  We all know that physical death is painful with all of the finalities that accompany this process but when you place this finality into the spiritual realm the never ending consequences seem enormous.

We must never forget that the instant we draw our last breath we immediately take the breath of eternity.  The physical life is guaranteed to live for a specific time and then end, but our eternal lives continue onward, they do not stop.  Since God is a consistent God and a God of choice, He must then accumulate all physical life and present it to our lives according to His laws. It is this process that our enemy wishes to keep from us and he does such in a manner to which our hearts are confined to the physical automatically leaving out the true and real life of the eternal.  

God desires nothing more for every one of His children to live with Him for eternity but as God so holy demonstrated in the Garden of Eden He cannot be in the presence of sin; therefore, He cannot allow sin to enter or to exist in heaven which means that anyone who does not live under the blood of His Son cannot continue to inhabit His place of residence.  God cannot proclaim a truth without giving an example to us first, for God hides nothing; and for this example, we may pick one from His Word.  Physical death is this example when it comes to eternal death.  It is a total and complete separation from loved ones and eternal death represents total and complete separation from our Loved One.

On the level of seriousness, humans do take death seriously for the most part, but leave it on the physical aspect and leave out the spiritual.  Funeral services talk about such issues but for some reason, we do not connect both sides of the aisle in our hearts. While physical death is important and should be recognized as such it is the spiritual death that is deemed more important to God, for just as we shall never be able to see our loved ones or acquaintances again God shall never be able to wrap His heart around a person who now faces eternal death for eternity.  Physical life is important and in no way am I demeaning life on this earth, but feeding the physical does just that and it does not feed the spiritual.  It really does not mean much to God if a sinner has a full belly or not, it is the person’s spirit that God wishes for us to feed so that those that do not know God has an opportunity to live with Him for eternity.

Famines, droughts, floods, earthquakes all take supplies from our lives in various manners, but God shall never take the spiritual food from our hearts, it is our choice not to receive it or to share it with others.  It is the eternal life that God is most concerned with and it is your eternal death that our enemy is most concerned with.  Both kingdoms are at war for your eternal positioning and it is our choice to adhere to one of these two kingdoms; there is no eternal sharing of our spirit only one kingdom can be represented.  Death did not originate in our creation but because God loved us so much that He provided us a chance to choose Him when death is all around us.  Even death has its order that has been ordained by God; however, it is our choice to die once or twice with the 2^nd death being eternal.

DLB

Quagmire Of Descent

Quagmire of Descent

3/23/16

The title of this article can easily be applied to the world today, as well as it should for it accurately describes the condition that all of us live within.  There is not one area of the globe that does not have some sort of trouble that hovers over that state, and it is all due to the choices one makes and the patterns that humans choose to follow that established this situation.  God cannot create such a status for it is not within His order to do so.  This means that somewhere along the way a force against God has won a battle that has changed the tables a bit.  Our only problem is that we continue to ignore this challenge and place a steady course into the quagmire of decent, a place in which eternal separation from the perfect Creator is the goal of this enemy.

A couple of definitions need to be mentioned before we dive into this topic.  The first definition is the word quagmire and it is stated as the following: “a soft boggy area of land that gives way underfoot; an awkward, complex or hazardous situation.”  The second definition is descent and it is defined as the following: “an action of moving downward, dropping or falling.”  I must admit that these two words I have used all of my adult life and have never put into context their representation of how our lives fall into a category that goes strictly against the creation of our lives from which God established.  These two words also put into play a setting of dire need when followed in a bad manner and likewise the opposite is true when a restoration process has been initiated.  Both of these words accurately describe the two kingdoms that are warring for your eternal position and it is imperative that we understand exactly what is going on around us.

Most of you know that I love history and one of the specific areas of history that attracts my attention me the most is the history of war. War is nothing to be proud of because nothing good ever comes out of this type of setting.  I enjoy watching historical war movies and reading about the past military machines that tried to dominate their world but at the same time sit and stare at the concept that so many lives were touched in countless ways during those occurrences.  Many accounts of wartime expeditions produce both good tactics and bad actions, both of which have lasting effects on those who carried out these tasks and on those who were on the receiving end of them as well.

One common theme that I notice is that many of the characters that the stories are written about do not rise in rank on a steady basis.  Now, one has to admit that soldiers die or become severely wounded during battles and thus are taken off the roster.  This provides a spot of leadership that must be filled in order for the particular military association to continue and function as a solid unit.  So, why is it that so many of these main characters in books and movies end the long campaign with a lower rank than when they started?  After four years one would assume that a soldier would not stay at a private rank.  It is because for some reason their choices have deemed it impossible for them to rise in such rank.  These choices can be of various reasons and numerous in origins but in every situation their loss of rank and failure to rise is strictly on their own shoulders.  In most cases we cannot deny their ability and will to fight, but for whatever reason, their choices cause them to descend instead of rise. Human nature does not warrant for us to live a descending life but one that progresses and rises to the occasion that is before us.

One of the major concerns of our society today is that of complacency and the lack of will to improve our personal conditions and lifestyles.  This is a growing concern basically in every family across this country yet it is one area that most people either refuse to address or to take action against.  Instead, we pacify these people with handouts and wishing them away, not giving them the tools and the ability to improve their lives and to be a positive establishment within our society.  This movement now has infiltrated other countries around the world and from the daily reports that can be read about on the news; it has no signs of stopping or slowing down, only increasing. 

What is most disturbing about this state is that politicians are feeding into this descent of our society and reaching out to these people for support instead of doing the right thing and providing a position of work instead of laziness.  It is this type of generational descent that will dominate this country if we do not make the correct choices to restore the working ethics of this country again.  It is clear that this type of belief and lifestyle is not what our founding fathers wanted for their future country, our present country.  Again, what is most disturbing about this belief and lifestyle is that no one seems to care that our country is in a free fall into a descent that we can never recover; which this descent corresponds with our continual displacement of God from our foundations of existence and it is a clear sign of our own choosing.

So, what kind of standard does God create you ask?  The perfect standard is mentioned in His Word and it starts in the book of Genesis and the description of the Garden of Eden and the creation of God’s prized love, humans.  Genesis Chapter 1 -3 give an account of a perfect creation and order that was established to live without any blemish for eternity.  There was no pain, agony, sorrow or sin that God placed into the lives of Adam and Eve.  God gave them a place to dwell and to have dominion over, along with both Adam and Eve ones who could keep them happy for their long and everlasting journey with God.  Their bodies did not break down as we know ours to do.  Everything that Adam and Eve knew in the beginning, was filled with peace and tranquility, the exact “utopian” atmosphere that we humans today try to promote and achieve fully knowing that it can never be achieved in such physical manner.

It is difficult for us to understand a creative state that has no flaws or one that will break down over time as usage increases.  The modern engine is a great example of this because it is a technological wonder that fascinates any mind who studies it.  Every part that is in its place within and on a motor has a specific function and through this specificity and its creative (human) genius travel is such a snap today.  But over time these specific parts wear down and need replacing; our physical bodies fall into this same type of breakdown category as well which healthcare researchers are baffled about because when one studies our bodily systems they should work endlessly without problems.  Of course, the first question that comes to mind is why would God create something that is flawed?  He didn’t, it was our choices that made our bodies this way, not His.  God cannot create anything that is flawed, even the angels that chose to rebel against God and follow Lucifer were created in a perfect state, it was through their choice that their eternal status changed.  It is through this choice process that the pattern of quagmire and descent enters not through the perfect design of God.

So, what occurred to change this perfect status to the one that we know today?  The perfect status that Adam and Eve knew in the Garden of Eden was taken by their choices to disobey God’s one law by listening to the enemy that was allowed to inhabit the Garden.  It is clear that God had one law given to mankind and God did not force Adam and Eve to follow it; it was spoken to them and commanded from their Creator but in no way did God say that He would end their lives if they broke His one law; the consequences of their actions would see to that unknown process.  It was through the actions of mankind that began this breaking away from God and through these choices brought the words quagmire and descent into their (and our) lives.

According to God’s creative status, He cannot create anything that is defective because He is perfect in every way possible and that means that anything that He creates cannot be under His status.  God cannot change His status either, for if He did that would mean that He is fallible and could not claim to be perfect and everlasting as He rightly does.  This also means that God cannot force a being to adhere to His laws and that only by obedience can these beings live as they are created.  Therefore, this truth proves that someone else has to change their setting, God allows this change through that being’s choices, then the consequences of such obedience or disobedience must follow for God is a complete and orderly God in ALL ways and means. Genesis Chapter 2:17 states this truth and will be discussed in the next article.

The consequences of their disobedience were immediately noticed by Adam and Eve and while the “death” portion of their disobedience was not immediately recognized the process and descent towards this new and unknown destination did immediately begin.  Their eyes were opened and they recognized that they were naked is another huge statement that states the origins of our societal quagmire that we know today.  God has asked this question of us before but can you imagine what was going through Adam and Eve’s minds when this event occurred?  It was a process that they had never experienced before or even had to think about before.  The question of “what to do now” was introduced into their ways of thinking, do you remember the first time you were personally introduced to this phrase and question?  This picture that God shows us in this verse alone defines the process and word “quagmire” for it is a time where we have no idea of direction or what to do when a problem or change of setting is placed in front of us and just as Adam and Eve found out that if we do not take God’s law seriously and completely at ALL times, we are guaranteed to live out this word quagmire.  We must also keep in mind that the word quagmire is an active word and that its “life” is either present or it is not in our lives, state, nation or society.

Adam and Eve refused to recognize the true dangers of the serpent while he was consistently following them and establishing a relationship with their existence with his presence.  Eventually, this presence became a contact and it was through this contact that sin entered into our lives through the lineage of the world.  Their quagmire produced a descent that plunged them into a world that they had never known before and a form of living that they had no idea how to manage.  They hid themselves because the new understanding of what they then knew and humanly covered themselves instead of living as their Creator had purely given to them previously.  Just as God still promotes a pure and holy lifestyle of His children in today’s society, the world mocks our godly virginity and demands that we lose it as soon as possible and without regret.  This is the result of a descent that can only lead to the destruction of our lives and we must understand that this result is the ONLY result that the world can offer.  Therefore, the world can only produce what its leader offers, a quagmire life that will only end in a descent that will provide an eternity separated from God.

The question that God wants us to think about in this article is this: why does God offer a restoration process if there is nothing wrong with the world?  The answer is quite simple but in reality, the answer that we need is becoming more distant, not because of God but because the choices that we are making instead.  We are purposefully and willfully excluding God and His ways from our lives, which is exactly what our enemy wants us to do.  I have stated this next phrase before but it is so relevant for today and it goes like this: people love to take God out of every aspect of their lives and claim “religious freedom” while doing it.  What they do not understand is that they are accurately fulfilling God’s Word right down to the punctuation marks that are contained in the verses of the Bible.

God cannot create anything that originates in descent or in a confused state.  God is the author and creator of life itself and represents an order that our limited minds cannot fathom.  God holds no double standards and it is through this truth that He purposefully created our lives so that we may have the opportunity to choose Him over the world.  God understands His creation better than we can ever imagine and is such the foundation to His process of restoration of a dying and sinful existence.  The process of restoration is one that returns our spiritual lives back to a simple life, one that recognizes and follows God’s commands to the fullest.  It is through this restoration process that destroys the quagmires within our lives, stops the process of endless descent and places us back towards God’s upward plane.  The trees even understand this process for even though their lives are planted in the ground their branches point upwards to their creator.  So, if the trees understand this process, why can’t we?

It is God’s true desire that we return to His fold and once again restore our lives before His commands and laws again.  God represents nothing but true love but we cannot understand this type of love until we give up the descent that we are traveling in and step out of the quagmire that surrounds us.  Church, return to Jesus and the commands of God and He shall restore your land; not physical land but your spiritual land.  Restoration is a wonderful process and it is the symbol of true freedom from this world.  God beckons His children to return to Him, to obey His ways and to proclaim His Gospel – the true Gospel – to every human that walks this earth.  Return to God’s Word and study it for there is an endless amount of wisdom for life everlasting within it.  For God is the only answer to our quagmire of descent and the only way that our dominion can be restored again to its perfect origins.

DLB

The Wrong Inventories Obtained

The Wrong Inventories Obtained

3/22/16

With all of the choices that have been made available to us it is easy for us to obtain items that we want instead of those that we need.  It does not matter what industry a person is associated with this situation will present itself at some point in time.  This application is also apparent in our spiritual lives as well and while we accept the abundance that surrounds us we often fail to obtain the necessary information that we need to survive and thrive in this ugly world.  We have a tendency of hoarding worldly goods instead of the true living water from God’s Word and it is high time that we figure this situation out because times are a changing.

Most of you know that I work in a hospital laboratory and have done so for a little over thirty years now.  I thoroughly love my work and I have greatly enjoyed watching this specialty field advance with the times with all of the new equipment and techniques that have been provided.  One of the more user-friendly techniques lies within the Chemistry Department and the analyzers that use dry slide technique which eliminates all potential spills of chemicals.  This technology is more accurate than previously available and it provides the physician and the patient with quicker answers to their troubles as a result.  There are some quirks of this technology still around but far less than the variables that we technologists had to put up with way back when.

The slides that are used on my instrument are either stored in the refrigerator or in the freezer and those temperatures must be kept within a certain range in order to properly report out accurate patient results.  Only a certain amount of reagent packs can be taken out at a time because of the amount of slides in those packages and the time in which is required to use those slides is pretty limited.  It is at this time that I go over to the main hospital and obtain a few packs of reagents that I need, warm them up and then place them on the instrument for usage.  However, with the business of the day, my supplies sometimes run low enough that I require more than a few packs and I end up carrying an entire armload across to my work area.

The other day I was performing this overloading and replenishing task and after all was said and done I had to carry over six boxes of reagent slides to my place of work.  These boxes are not large at all and they do not weigh very either so the process of transporting them is really no big deal, but it was not until I got over to my place that I realized that I had not brought over the one main slide box that I needed the most.  What was ridiculous was that I had to go into the freezer to get another frozen pack that was right next to the pack that I needed the most.  So, I had to immediately return to the main lab, go back into the freezer and then obtain the reagent pack that I needed.  I felt so stupid, especially since I had already been in the exact same spot a few minutes before and did not pick up what I needed.  On my way back over to the lab it was then that God dropped the topic of this article into my heart and this situation pertains to our daily lives, especially in our spiritual conditions, both individually and within the Church; which, both are equal in resemblance.

It is not difficult for one to look around and to see the abundance of materials and things that most of us would want to have in order to properly function in this society.  On a business level, the manufacturing goods and availabilities to the consumer seem quite endless and thus easily grabbed up when the need arises.  It has been deemed necessary to stock up on items that we will eventually need, and the established inventories in this state become just as important as the product produced by the company. As individuals, it is also important to keep a few extra items on hand for the preverbal “rainy day”.  But even though an inventory is essential it is also important to remember to get the items that you really need and not ones that will become useless or out of date before the time comes to use them. 

If we do not keep in stock the necessary items for our business’s survival then we can promote all we want but when times become tough or when a suitable buyer presents themselves the business will not stand.  It is vital to keep the business inventory in order and to have available a reserve in case of a downturn.  But with all of the options present it can sometimes be difficult to maintain the order that is necessary to stay within this necessity state.  Our spiritual lives also fall into this category for identical reasons and it is important that we understand exactly what is going on around our spiritual lives as well.  How many times have we had the opportunity to witness to those who do not know Jesus as their savior but did not have the correct inventory in our hearts to effectively spread His Word into their lives?

First of all, we must understand that God never intended for there to be more than one way of salvation from our eternal darkness other than Him.  It is His way alone that shines bright into the darkness that the world provides.  It is through His Son’s blood that covers us and provides us with the shielding grace that God sees our lives as pure white and spotless in existence.  Secondly, it was never Jesus’ intentions to establish His Church based upon a man, nor was it His intentions to establish countless denominations that serve only to confuse man and to pacify human interpretations.  His intentions for the creation, establishment, development and growth of His Church is strictly founded upon His Father’s Kingdom principles and nothing more, and since you and I represent Kingdom, it is up to all of us to spread the true Gospel of salvation to the dark and dying world.

It is through these distractions that the Church has become inundated with extra items that we have deemed necessary to stock up in our inventories.  Yes, some of these items come in handy and the nuggets of feel good messages do the trick at times, but they do not represent what it takes for the dying world to be told that they need God.  Many of today’s churches preach a fornicated and prostituted gospel and influence people in such an identical manner.  The Gospel of God is not an ear tickling message, but one of war that separates a person from the kingdom of the world and that this separation is in the form of a war for your eternal existence.  It is at this point where the unnecessary items that we have been taught and are teaching to the world become outdated and totally useless.  The Church has grossly fattened herself with these ridiculous and scandalous items that have no representation or meaning to what Jesus established in order for His Church and our mission to be used.

What is most concerning to God is that His Church relishes herself in these useless items and places them out as catching devices in order to lure people into the walls of her sanctuaries.  She has condensed the Bible down to a few certain meanings and trough human interpretations provided a false sense of security with the inventory that she sees around her.  With her eyes focused on this inventory she cannot help but promote the identical inventory to the world and this state begs the question as to how she will survive on the true daily bread when it becomes obvious that the stocked up inventory has no use for her personal well-being.

The true inventory that God has provided us and the one that we need for eternal survival is His unadulterated, intact, everlasting and complete Word.  God has never watered down His commands or His ways, nor shall He ever do so either.  God has always been thorough and complete in everything that He has created, developed and executed and He shall not waiver from this standard.  This is the inventory that He wants the Church to have dwelling inside her heart, it is this inventory that He gave us in the beginning and it is this inventory that is required in order to convince a dying world that they are doomed to a dark eternity. God’s inventory is full of life and vitality that is readily available but the Church has instead stocked up on useless food that provides nothing but useless products instead of what the world really needs.

It is this type of useless inventory that God sees as sin.  It provides nothing in the way of truth where the eternal life of the person is concerned.  It does not provide the correct nourishment for the dying world and it definitely does not supply any truth to what is needed.  The type of true preparation that is needed comes in the story of Joseph in Egypt concerning the approaching famine or the story of the 10 virgins when waiting for the groom and how they needed to be prepared for they did not know when he was to show up.  Examples of an improper inventory include the children of Israel when they did not listen to the commands of God in the desert and took in too much manna in which it spoiled and was not useful.  There are countless more examples of both types of examples in our societies today it is not hard to find them, but sadly, there are a far greater number of useless inventories present that of the one that God deems as necessary.  We cannot ever forget that it is the inventories that God needs and not the inventories that we believe He needs and the only way that we can obtain His inventories is to ground ourselves into His Word.

Has God tapped on anyone’s toes yet?  The prime example of a bad or useless inventory comes in the form of our perception of God’s Word.  Humans absolutely love to use God’s Word for their own purposes and in doing so weed out or ignore those passages which they do not wish to recognize or adhere to, which makes the passages that they wish to here easier to spin and interpret for their own good instead of allowing them to witness to their spirit according to God’s plan for their lives.  I wish I could say that only people who have issues with God or do not care to know God fall into this category, but it must be proclaimed that the Church also follows this type of false inventory guidelines as well.  God is a complete and thorough God and for Him to be such ALL of His ways must be active and alive at the same time none can be idle.  If ANY deviation is believed from humans, they are and shall automatically provide a false inventory and one that cannot be used when operating the Church’s mission.

When I bring over too many reagent slide packs to my side of the lab all they do is sit there and do the patients no good, they are useless to the ones who need answers at that moment.  The provisions are there but the inventory is sitting idle for it is an inventory that is no good for the person in need.  It is God’s desire that we clean out our useless inventories and begin to once again use the inventory of God’s Word for the world.  But we must first return to His ways in order for us to voluntarily allow Him to remove the uselessness and to restore the correct and necessary inventory according to His ways and authority. 

Word of warning here and this comes straight from the heart of God.  We can allow ourselves to voluntarily allow God to restore our useless inventories now and the process shall go a lot smoother.  Plus, it will be of great use and provide an excellent example to the world that God loves us so very much and that He does not desire that anyone die without knowing Him.  Or, we can stubbornly choose to thumb our noses at God and force Him to act as the holy, just, and complete parent that He is and allow Him the opportunity to change our lives and wake us up according to His standards of correction.  It is simple, the choice is strictly up to us.  We have voluntarily allowed our personal and national dominions to be compromised through our personal choices to accept the ways of the world into every aspect of our lives.  God sees this pattern of choices and has stayed steady up until now, but as any good parent does he shall wait until the appropriate time to show up and remind us that He is the parent and in control.

God urges us to return back to His ways by giving up our useless inventories and to allow Him to provide the correct inventory that the world needs.  A well-stocked inventory of useless items may look good to the eye but in truth the vastness of that inventory is useless.  There is nothing about God that is useless for everything that He is, represents eternal life.  It is clear that the inventories that we have stored up are not of those items deemed necessary in heaven, but God offers nothing but peace, hope, love and eternal life to those who accept His inventory, the inventory that promotes His agenda and ways and not those of a useless world.

DLB

Basic Foundation

Basic Foundation

3/20/16

The water molecule is the most important molecule to which all creation relies upon, for without this simple compound our lives would quickly cease to exist.  Many people consider themselves to be in great shape but even in the condition of dehydration, their bodies deteriorate rapidly when this substance is withheld from their organs.  With this molecule being irreplaceable one would believe that we would do everything in our power to sustain the adequate amounts of water needed for our survival; yet, we continue to play the materialistic games and label water as a pawn instead of a necessity.  I find it intriguing that many humans dance around the same concept of our living water as well because God is all around us and He alone has provided the abundant life source for our eternal water needs as well with the end result realizing that we are naked.

While the majority of the components that circulate within our bodies are important none of them can function properly unless the level of water coursing through our veins and tissues are at a determined specific level.  Water is essential to our existence and as the conditions that we live within and work in change, the need for increased or decreased amounts of water follows due course.  Humans are not the only living organisms that need water for animals need water for the exact same reasons and even the normal bacteria that live on our skin requires a certain amount of water to be around in order to protect us from the harmful bacteria that would like to invade our tissues.

It is a scientific fact that water makes up approximately 75 – 85% of our body’s composition thus by far placing water as the basic foundation of our existence and the only means by which to truly stabilize and to correct the body normal stasis condition. So, if the human is the center of all living existence within the earth and water is the primary substances in which humans need to survive, why is it such a big deal finding water to keep our needs from becoming a “crisis” situation when overall water levels are low?  I have found it so ridiculously sad that so much controversy reigns over water storage, purification and absorbance no matter what side of life one is referring.  But as I watch how humans react to the current water situations around us I find that our actions coincide with how we condition our individual bodies where water is concerned but also how we deem living water regulation concerning God as well.

Our nation is perfectly situated with water on each end of its territory, thus providing us with enough water to supply our needs for what seems to be an unforeseeable future.  God has established this great land with a bountiful supply of water and set the landscapes according to its vast amount of supplied moisture from the skies.  In all honesty, there should not be any reason as to why this land should not be able to produce enough water for everyone that is in need.  God has graciously created this planet in such a diameter that it holds far more water necessary for our survival.  And even though the water at both ends of our nation is not readily drinkable in their current state, God has given us the ability to purify this water in order for us to rely on “non-traditional” water sources during times of drought, even reversing the natural drought conditions.

At this moment, we have one state that is in a severe drought and is fighting for every drop of water that the sky (God) gives it. With each passing dry day, the situation becomes bleaker for the stability of that state.  The cries from the ranchers and farmers are truly desperate and can be heard all around the world.  Many of our nation’s food come from this state and if this states completely dries up so will a good proportion of our food, all because the water levels cease to be at a sustainable level.  There is no question that God understands our need for water that is why He created the amount of water that He did, to ensure that the supply never runs out.

As stated above, we have built the necessary means to created productive water in order to feed our cattle, water our ranches and produce enough water to take away the concerns of millions that are crying out for this substance.  Yet, our land continues to dry up because some of the people deem this process too “dangerous” to the surrounding landscapes because of the process of purification itself.  I understand the concerns of these people and I get that this process has some unpopular side effects but so are the drugs that we intake every day in order to keep our physical bodies functioning.  The question must be asked: what is the difference between these two examples, on the original level?

I guess it is safe to assume that we deem other things more important than our own existence, which really does not make too much sense because if we were not around then those other entities would simply die out as well thus defeating what God has ordained as life.  It is evident that human technological foundations have come a long way but it must be recognized and accepted that we have not arrived at the “perfect” setting of production that will not harm, so we continue our downward slide to ruin because of our stubbornness to accept the truth.  It is this process that also drives our lives when it comes to our eternal water levels as well and when one looks at the two conditions side by side, it is amazing just how parallel they run.

In the Garden of Eden, God created and established a perfect setting in which His garden provided its own water system. Genesis Chapter 2 vividly describes that God provided a mist that watered the face of the earth and later in that same chapter it states that rivers flowed from the Garden of Eden.  This means that God understood that life depended upon water and even though humans were perfect at that moment, they would eventually become truly dependent upon water for their survival.  Since God created the Garden of Eden as mankind’s dominion, this means that God’s covering also was present thus securing the visible presence of eternal water was well, for both ran congruently together during that time.  There is no way possible that Adam and Eve could not have known the importance of water to their existence even when presented in their perfect conditions; kind of like today.

As God has demonstrated to us that when the Garden of Eden was created, water was an important source and so it continues to be for our physical lives as well today.  This concept was further pursued by Jesus when He was walking on the earth and through His life made a staggering claim.  When Jesus was conversing with the woman at the well He embarked upon a water topic which meant that even in Jesus’ time water was considered a vital commodity.  But Jesus went further in that He stated that He was the “living water” and whoever followed Him would never thirst again in this manner.  In this example, Jesus makes it clear that physical water is important to our lives but it is the eternal and living water that He gives that is the most important source of life, and it is our mission to tell people about this living water.

John Chapter 4 begins with Jesus and a woman conversing at a well.  Jesus asks for a drink and the woman is amazed that He spoke to her, but bypassing that Jesus makes mention to the lady that He had to offer her something more than the physical water from the well, it was eternal water one that gave life everlasting.  It is clear that the woman did not know what type of water He was referring to until Jesus identified Himself and then explained that the water He gave was different, it was spiritual and eternal.  It was then that the woman understood who Jesus was and that His presence confirmed what she had been hearing about from others around her.

The Chapter in John goes on to say that she went and retrieved her husband and that many more people showed up at the well with her.  The Bible is not specific about how many people actually accepted Jesus as their savior or even began to follow Him, but one can safely guess that many did that day.  However, it must also be accepted that many did not either and left without understanding what Jesus represented to their lives and what God wanted them to hear and live.  Here is where the water becomes eternal and how it is our choice to accept what Jesus gives us or not.  This is also the foundation of why Jesus came to this earth for it is His living and eternal water that gives us life, not the handouts that many of us so wish upon as our deeds.

Not much longer Scriptures state that Jesus was tried, beaten, mocked, convicted, crucified, died, and rose again and it was through this process that His everlasting water began to freely flow to the entire world.  It is through this process that Christianity has its roots and it is through this foundation that we must stand upon during the good times and the bad times.  It is a must that we understand that the water that Jesus gives us is for our eternal existence and not just our physical.  God the Father created water a very long time ago and through the process of living waters our eternity is secure; however, if we reject God and His Son then we subject ourselves of a drought and then the drought will become a starvation of water in which we shall surely succumb.  Ask Adam and Eve and they will be the first to tell you that the world cannot provide any life without God being first.

With this knowledge about water and the eternal status through the living water that Jesus brings, why would anyone who believes in Christ NOT proclaim His message of salvation to others?  Feeding the people, clothing the people and putting them up in shelters are great examples of Christ but if you do not share Christ’s salvation message to them your efforts fall short and are in vain according to the mission that Jesus Himself commanded us to do.  Because in reality if you do not share to others about Christ’s living water all you are doing is sitting at the well with them and providing them with physical water and Christ says that the type of water given in that manner will not quench their eternal thirst.

As we have read, God is calling us to once again return to the living waters that His Son has freely and gladly provided for everyone.  It is not a physical water but a spiritual water that all must drink from if eternal life is wished.  This everlasting water is not forced upon us nor is it stingily kept from us but it flows freely to anyone who rebukes the world’s standards and accepts God’s laws as their own.  There is no greater desire of God that all of His children drink from this fountain and that no one should die and be eternally separated from Him.  God represents nothing but life and the only way that one can have this life is by simply accepting the eternal water that His Son gives. 

In many areas of this country, reservoirs are quickly drying up and the life-sustaining water is being used up for the most ridiculous reasons, these same types of reasons can be witnessed when offered God’s spiritual water as well.  The physical water shortage is easily remedied but because human and worldly beliefs outweigh reality these water reserves are steadily dwindling away.  God is providing the exact same water but His water is for eternity and His refilling of water is just as easily solved too.  How much drought do we need to endure before we realize that God's water is exactly what we need to survive?

God is consistently pleading that we do not allow the world and our enemy to dry up our spiritual reservoirs but to allow God to refill them through His ways.  God loves you and is calling for you to drink, freely drink from His fountain again before it is too late.  If one chooses to drink from God’s water their spiritual reservoirs will begin to fill up with the everlasting water and then spread to the other reservoirs as Christ commanded us to do.  It is easy to accept this basic foundation into our lives, it is there, it is free, it is freely given, and we can have as much of it as possible at any time during the day or night.

DLB

The First Human War

The First Human War

3/15/16

Has anyone ever thought about this concept before and where it originated in human society?  And has anyone ever understood its potential and how it affects the rest of humanity once it has been established?  The Bible talks about wars many times and describes some pretty gruesome settings, but according to one verse, this is not the type of war that we are supposed to be fighting.  So, what exactly type of human war are we supposed to fight?  Scriptures are clear about the origins of war and how they are to be fought but when we ignore these origins the inevitable occurs, bloodshed.  God does not intend for His children to shed their own blood and once we realize the truth behind this concept hopefully we will turn our focus on the real warmonger and not ourselves.  Until we realize that the first human war was lost before humanity realized what was going on, our senseless bloodshed shall only serve one kingdom.

Being in the military, I had the opportunity to sit in on a few war preparation and strategy sessions during my tenure and at that time, I was mesmerized at how fluently those men and women were at tactical groundwork that would prove battlefield logic to be a failure or genius level.  I also found that when disagreements were present the junior strategists were generally put into their place and even though their ideas might have changed the outcome of the battle, the debriefing patterns clearly showed that the higher ups “won the day”.  I have to admit that some of those study sessions got my blood going and even anxious to be a part of the fight even though the sessions were all cast into a "pretend setting" and only designed to challenge military logic and response.

The origins of war do not reside within the physical side of our existence, but the spiritual side.  It is the spiritual war that originated before our creation that dictates many of our physical wars of today and our yesterdays.  It is imperative that we completely, thoroughly understand and grasp Ephesians 6:12 when it talks about the origins of the origins of our fight.  And until we reach this accomplishment, we shall continue to waste not only precious human lives but fight for an unending quest that will result in useless conquests that will one day ride away.

Throughout history mankind has sought to dominate each other with armies and navies that had the potential of destroying any foreign invader, these forces also have provided states, countries and nations to be the aggressors as well.  When we read about these fights and wars it is difficult to seek out exactly what has occurred because the majority of the readers have not been involved in combat experiences so the tones become deaf to many of the accuracies that were encountered during that time. What mankind can do to each other has the potential to be horrendous at times and what would one expect to transpire when we are the only beings that have the capability and the ability to kill from a distance; this potential really places us in a unique position.

The ideal concept of humanity would state that no bitterness or fighting should ever arise amongst neighbors but when you place reality into the mix of things this state cannot exist.  The cost of wars and divisions that lead to these situations are deadly and insurrection not only national governments but individual ones as well, no one goes unaffected by a war or fighting, for all are involved indirectly or directly.  This type of situation leads us to ask how did these situations arise and when did they become so important that it leads to devastating bloodshed?  The answer is clear but many have missed it as time has rolled along, myself included in this manner.

As God has explained to us before the origins of war presented itself when Lucifer made the choice to leave heaven and try to act as God.  So in this sense, it is reasonable that he should carry his divisional tactics to those who he deems necessary targets and while it took a while for God to create the perfect beings in a perfect setting, they proved to be the ideal targets for such an unholy commission.  Yes, Adam and Eve are the first set of humans that give us the concepts of war amongst each other and they also provide an excellent example of what we can expect to occur down the road within our families as a result of this turmoil.

In Genesis Chapter 3 we see that the serpent is already in conversation with Eve and it is one that has history with it because they are conversing about a law of God that is in place and it would not seem right for an initial conversation to be drawn on such a topic, unless a relationship has already been established.  The next question that one should ask is this: where is Adam? He is not mentioned in this portion of Scripture and one has to question why Eve did not inform him of what was transpiring?  I am sure that Adam was doing something else within the Garden confines but it is easy for one to conclude that he was busy enough not to have noticed exactly what was going on at that moment.

What led to this type of setting being played out?  It is recorded that Eve knew about God’s law about the fruit of the tree and that she should not eat of it.  But when we figure into the equation Eve's lie concerning the tree and its fruit, it brings into play a certain foundation that must have been present within her argument to the serpent.  What would a spouse do if he hears her / his husband or wife speak a falsity against the owner of a property?  Would not the spouse contend that what was being spoken was incorrect and try their best to correct the misstatement?  One would assume this to be so unless there was already some type of division among the ones involved.

Scriptures record that Eve took the fruit from the tree after she saw that it was good to eat and then ate of the fruit.  Then gave it to Adam to eat and he did eat.  Adam must have saw that nothing immediate occurred to Eve when she ate of the fruit so instead of stating that God had commanded not to eat of it, he freely took the fruit and ate it as well.  It was at this point when both of them ate of the fruit that their eyes were opened and they knew that they had done wrong.  This may not seem like an important statement but in fact, it has a huge implication in their lives and our lives today, for the pattern of division remains intact as that day in the Garden of Eden.

It is a known fact that Adam and Eve were created as one and operated solely on this truth.  It makes sense that Eve would turn to her husband and wish for him to eat after she did because Adam was her other half.  If this is the case then it also means that some type of division had already been initiated between these two people concerning the legality and severity of what God had commanded them to do.  It is a logical thing to act upon and it fits right into line with how a human would think about, question and then act upon according to their curiosity and progressive nature.  I find it very interesting that Adam and Eve both worked in the Garden of Eden together yet only one at a time ate from the tree.  This action alone represents the individual will power of choice and it is clear that Eve took her choice to the next level, first.  This is representative of a division and if a division has occurred then that means some type of disagreement (war) had to have occurred between the two.  It is clear that at this point in their existence both had failed to keep in mind that their battle was first spiritual and not physical.

It is clear that God and the two individuals had regular conversations, for it states so in the Bible.  I can only imagine of what they discussed but I do know that it was not about fun and games all the time because God had a responsibility to teach Adam and Eve exactly what was going on around them.  While their living quarters and bodies enjoyed perfect matrimony God understood that His enemy was lurking about and trying his best to further the war between him and God.  The perfect targets had been created and were ripe for harvest and it was not too much longer that the seeds were sown and the fruit itself was being presented for the taking.  The war had been initiated and had been accomplishing its task in Adam and Eve and the fall was not too far ahead.

There is no way possible that God did not include in their conversations topics such as Lucifer and what his initiatives were; God is a complete God and He would have included this subject in order to be whole.  The entire point of human warfare and division originates in the spirit not in the flesh and while God knew that things were already rolling in this manner in the Garden Adam and Eve refused to address it or at least, take it seriously enough to install godly measures against the serpent’s presence. It was the presence of the serpent that brought on the curiosity of Adam and Eve and instead of taking care of the intruder as they should have they allowed it into the Garden of Eden where he was then allowed to have free reign of the place; the first spiritual warfare example.

I am sure at first the serpent must have stayed out of sight and then slowly interjected himself into their eyes, and it was at this point that Adam and Eve should have taken care of their business, yet they did not and the war was on.  One must wonder that after the serpent made his presence known how much discussion went on between Adam and Eve concerning the serpent, but whatever conversations they had it is clear that he was allowed to stay and to have direct access to both people; again, spiritual warfare that was not identified and thus left to grow into the physical.  It is possible to see what actually tried to transpire in heaven when Lucifer tried his best to outduel God, testing Him and daring Him to react with his plan.  The plan that Lucifer had in heaven did not pan out so well, but this setting even though the stakes were the same had a different playing field and different "contestants". 

We must take into consideration that this setting between Adam and Eve is the defining moment of where their eyesight and vision presents enough evidence of division that one can formulate that a broken existence was indeed known.  We must also understand that while this is the first time that we can take heed to a division amongst God’s prized creations, it is not the origin of this situation for that to Adam and Eve should have known about because I am 100% positive that God did not leave this detail out through His numerous conversations with Adam and Eve.  What is so amazing to me is that I see the exact same pattern in this passage that I see and or read about every day as well; nothing has changed self-rules the day instead of God.

It is the legacy of this first human war that we continue to witness unfold and it does not matter if we look at the Middle East or our individual lives, it all stems from the same initiative, self.  The next perfect lineage root that we have comes from Adam and Eve’s two sons, and their story is well versed within our minds for it displays a certain definitive human action that has eternal implications for everyone.  The story of Cain and Abel is famous for its content but many times the true lineage and generational complications are ignored or not even understood and with this misunderstanding the world is allowed to gain a foothold that will eventually follow through with its pattern unless we change the course that is legally binding.

Adam and Eve were the only people to know what it meant to live on perfect terms through the spirit first – more about this in a while.  It was through their own choices that brought forth a new lifestyle and living condition for everyone who followed.  It was their war that began the patterns of secession from God according to personal choices and the follow through of this pattern is displayed through two of their sons.  It is clear that both Cain and Abel were taught about the covenant sacrifice procedures and the meanings as to why this act was completed, for the Bible states that both of them performed this act when it was time.

We all know that the sacrificial ceremony was supposed to originate from the heart and that the pattern of such ceremony was to be taken seriously and completed in a certain manner.  A hap-hazard style or gift honoring God was not acceptable to God and since Abel had given a blood sacrifice according to what God had demonstrated to Adam and Eve right before they were told to leave the Garden of Eden had been acknowledged to the boys at some point in their previous lives.  There is no doubt that both of the boys were hard workers and that they understood that their work had to be completed in order for them to complete their day, but it is the servitude of their hearts and the obedience to God’s laws that God was watching and wanting from those who performed this sacred act of covering.  God authorized the works of man for a specific purpose but in NO way did He authorize these works as the covering symbol for the atonement of sin.

It is through these works that we see the direct lineage of the first human war, for not only was it through the bloodline of Adam and Eve but it literally spilled over into the spiritual hearts when the sacrificial offerings were presented; tragically, for both the animal that Abel sacrificed and for the blood of Abel that was shed as well.  The division that Adam and Eve had when sin entered into our lives was demonstrated at the point of the sacrificial offering of Cain and Abel, this was not the origin of this war but the fruits thereof and it had boiled over enough to ignite a murder of the one who wished to do what was right in the eyes of God; do you see the reality of the world versus God in this picture?

My wife and I are currently watching a few series on television that deal with different wars.  One series deals with the American Civil War, another series deals with World War I, a further one deals with World War II and a fourth one deals with another view of World War I.  All four of these series are intense and have special meaning for each story told within the contents of each series. I have always found war intriguing and one can justify my longings of this magnitude with my enlistment into the USAF back in the 1980s.  From all of these series that we are watching, my mind runs wild with all of the different angles that can be explored, but in every conclusion that I draw there is one common theme that stands far above the rest and that is the total and complete destruction of mankind before, during and after the time of war.  Even though defensive tactics are a must at times this type of warfare is included and has to be reached and agreed upon before a truce can be reached.

We can spend centuries studying each minor and major conflict that has ever afflicted mankind, but until we grasp the concept that war begins on the spiritual side of our existence all of our attempts to eradicate this type of human activity shall be futile.  It is the spiritual side of mankind that begins wars and that origin strictly comes from our eternal enemy whose sole goal is to rid us of existence at all costs, and what better way to accomplish this goal by extenuating killing of the physical.  There is no room for God in our lives, we have made this very clear over the recent historical patterns but until we return His ways to our spiritual lives we might as well get used to the bloodshed from the first human war.

DLB

On Level Ground

On Level Ground

3/8/16

We all know that when we are traveling on level ground things seem to go easier and through this type of travel our destination is more likely reached without major incident.  It is when the ground that we are presented turns corners with hills and valleys that present problems because our comfort zone is limited to the crest or short distance in front of us.  When we walk these types of avenues we find ourselves struggling more to achieve our destination, thus making it more difficult as we expend the necessary energy to accomplish our feat.  Do we recognize that this type of uneven ground is presented to our spiritual lives as well and how more difficult our walk in this life is when we tread up this type of foundation?  God has a better foundation for us and one that places us on even ground so that we may combat the trials and enemy that we encounter every day, but as always it is our choice to adhere to His ways or ignore them.

One of the first article topics that God showed me when I began to listen to His call for my life was one that concerned foundations.  Foundations make up the sole instrument that we build things upon including our lives and if that foundation is not level from the beginning there can be no recovery or soundness of our building projects no matter how hard we try to improvise or correct.  It is the foundation that keeps everything on track and thus provides the necessary ingredients to satisfy our covering.  Foundations must be solid and level on all sides and when done properly it shall provide us with a level playing field to adequately build our dominion.

When I arrived here in Delta, Colorado I began to work at the local hospital as a medical technologist, a position that I absolutely love and one that to this day I am grateful to obtain.  At the time of my arrival, there was only one building that served as the hospital but it was built in two stages years apart.  The east wing or the original portion of the hospital was built in the mid-1970s and it is this portion of the old building that remains standing today, and one that I currently work.  The other portion of the old building was built at a later time and while it was the newer portion it did not mean that the foundation of this west wing was any better, for it had some major flaws that became visible to those who wished to look close enough.

When the decision was made to build a new building for the outgrown hospital building, it was also decided that the newer portion of the old building would be demolished and made into a parking lot so that patients and staff members would have adequate opportunities to enter and leave the premises.  I must admit that it was painful to watch the old building go through its remodeling process but as I broke the rules and took closer looks at the foundation of that portion of the building I could see what my eyes had witnessed years before, the foundation was sinking and no longer viable enough to support any size of building.  The truth of the construction of the “newer” portion of the building was now evident and it was clear that the contractors did not secure the foundation well enough for its specific purposes; it may have looked good but when the truth was taught it was faulty from the outset of its laying.  It is this same type of concept that is in place when our lives run into difficulties and if we find that our foundation is not on a true level ground, our fate will rest upon our choices and the true foundation that we believe is level shall be exposed.

There is no question at all that every one of us will have difficult times to deal with during our lifetimes, and it is during those times in our lives that we need to make sure that our foundation that we stand upon is level and of solid construction.  Any variance on these conditions will greatly affect our abilities to combat the occurrences and when presented by our enemy we best be on the true solid foundational rock that God provides for us each day.  The biblical example that God wishes for us to understand against comes from the book of Genesis and of course, that means the setting is specifically within the Garden of Eden.

Many people have questioned God’s ability to know you as an individual and to understand your personal needs while we stroll through life.  I get the fact that this is a legitimate question but it is one that can be sincere in its presentation or cynical in origin.  But God gives us a perfect illustration concerning the foundation that He wishes for us to stand upon and we do not need to look any further than Genesis Chapters 1-3.  What is amazingly accurate about this passage is that it portrays all angles of the foundation provided, how we are supposed to use that foundation and what happens when we use it correctly and then choose to use it for our own advantages; all within three descriptive chapters.

We all know that Genesis Chapter 1 deals with the formation of the world and how God formed all of the plants, animals, land, sea, and everything else that we know in existence today.  The first six days of creation were completed and set into motion with Genesis Chapter 2 beginning God’s period of rest for what He has created was simply divine and perfect; a perfect platform to promote, taut His next and ultimate creation, mankind.  Since God is eternal He cannot change and this is evident in Genesis Chapter 3 when the end results of the selfish usage of the Garden of Eden platform takes center stage. 

When God created the Garden of Eden He did so in such a manner that was perfect, this is not a new concept to us.  From all indications of this setting, there was nothing but an abundance of life that flowed from this setting; it was perfect in every stage and state.  In every way, God had created the perfect foundation to place His greatest and most prized creation and God commenced to place Adam into the Garden of Eden and thus divinely created humanity’s first perfect and level foundation for existence.  There were no flaws in this setting nor were there any imperfections that needed to be repaired, only a working and dressing of the life that was oozing from every nook and cranny from the Garden.

It should have seemed like a dream situation but at some point in time, Adam and Eve must have believed that things could not become any better for them and it was at this thought when things began to decline and the perfect foundation that God had so lovingly provided was being turned into a selfish den of muck.  The selfish desires portrayed when sin entered into humanity’s existence came forth through the blame game that both Adam and Eve spoke of when God was questioning their conditions.  It had become clear that they had voluntarily stepped off of the perfect foundation that God had provided and made it their own.  God’s level foundation for mankind was now a slope that had to be challenged instead of being dressed, and therefore, mending was needed.

A growing foundation that comes from God does need to be tended to but it never has to be mended, for it is alive in all capacities that are possible and it is our responsibility to see that this dressing is completed.  See, God can never create something that is not alive and thus it needs to be groomed according to this life created.  The level foundation serves as a basis for our lives and if maintained and groomed will provide us with the perfect security, wisdom, and skills to fend off any temptation or trick that our enemy can muster.  But when our eyes become blurred or off focus to God, this foundation is allowed to wither and to become neglected where it cannot serve its purpose for you see, that foundation represents our life both physical and spiritual and if we voluntarily ignore that foundation it shall succumb to the sinful place that the enemy desires.

This picture is painted at the beginning of Genesis Chapter 3 when the serpent already has claim to Eve and has gained enough access to her life that she now cannot even state God’s single law correctly.  Genesis Chapter 2 reveals of how the God intended for our lives to be and what was to be followed in accordance to His one law.  For a time that one law was obeyed and followed to the utmost and everything was fine and dandy, but as time passed our level of truth became dim and our enemy saw the necessary crack needed for him to attack.  It was at this point when humanity forgot about the one law God put into place and began working for ourselves.  In other words, they changed the slope and definition of God’s level foundation into one that is on a slope and requires greater effort to now maintain.

From the beginning of humanity, God had planted His prized creation on level ground to give us the opportunity to show that we can live correctly and perform perfectly in this setting.  It was our choice to stray from this level foundation and to create the sloped platform that we love to call our existence today.  But it is still God’s choice to level this foundation once again and even though Adam and Eve blew it in the Garden God continued to present a way so that we can walk upon a level playing field again.  The covering of animal skin that God provided Adam and Eve right before they left the Garden proves that God loves us and wishes the best for our lives.

God also provided further examples of a level foundation when He instituted the process of sacrifice, the Covenant and when He allowed His Son to walk upon this earth and then give His life as the ultimate sacrifice.  In each case, God has done His best and fulfilled His promise of this type of level foundation and a return to a level foundation and in each case mankind has totally and willfully rejected God for who He is and what He stands upon.  It has always been our choice to either accept God or to reject Him and when we reject Him we must understand that the level foundation that He provides automatically slants, cracks, breaks and thus is broken which makes our existence harder to endure.

When our foundation is in the crumbled state that it is in today, our fight becomes more difficult and many times impossible to win.  The outlook for our futures become bleak at best with certain destruction and devastation guaranteed.  No matter how hard we try or how successful we believe we are we are still vulnerable to the foundation that we are standing upon and our enemy knows this condition for he was the one that instigated its brokenness.  We tend to forget that the foundation that God provides for us covers all areas of our lives, not just parts of it.  If we live within His ways and trust Him in all things we can have the assurance that our foundation is solid and will protect us and provide us with stability when times of hardship and trial arrive. God cannot provide a flawed foundation it is not within holy His power to do so only through our enemy and our selfish choices can our foundation become ruined.

As the old adage goes, history will repeat itself if humanity does not get it from the examples that have been cast before us.  There is no way possible that we can ever begin to imagine that we can win a war for our eternal existence without first being on a level playing field to start out.  The story of Adam and Eve is placed in the beginning of the Bible for a specific reason, they did not get it well enough to keep them from being thrown out of the Garden and its perfect existence.  The story is there so that we may understand what is exactly at stake here and it is our responsibility not to allow our enemy to gain access to our eternal status again.  However, the only way that we stand a chance of defeating his attacks is if we are standing on the level ground that God has provided for us and that means giving up all stances of the world and falling back under the blood that was shed for us centuries ago.  This fight for your life is real and it has all of the eternal ramifications included.

As we can see from the beginning of human history, doing things the human way does not make things level or easier by any means for they only complicate life and the situations that surround us.  Look at any example throughout history and one shall notice that the circumstances are far greater in calamity when God is not allowed into the forefront of that society’s existence.  There is a simple explanation for this and it is described to us in this article and passage in the Bible, God is the only being worthy enough to create, establish, maintain and deliver to us a level ground in which to participate with the shortcomings of this world.

There is nothing more that our enemy wishes to keep this information and truth from you.  If a person understands exactly what is going on and what he is spreading against you, then it is possible for us to fight him evenly.  But if we chose to continue to try and do things on our own then we have no hope to win against the struggles that we shall face.  As time moved along in the Garden of Eden so does time today and unless we change our stance and return back to God’s foundation the results of our actions shall be just as Adam and Eve’s, total destruction of the existence that we know.  Returning to God’s foundation allows us to be in the position to be in a fair fight without the odds being stacked against us from the outset.  Allow God to deliver you from this swampy foundation that is covered in muck and grime His is a much better place and provides a sure and steadfast foundation.

As long as God allows for us to have time on this earth He is willing to restore our foundation back to the way He first established it.  Just as it was our choice to allow Satan to crumble this perfect foundation we have the choice to return to God and to give Him all access to our lives again so that He may restore and level out our foundation again.  This means letting go of all our spiritual ties to the world and to the flesh and giving them to God once and for all.  God’s level foundation cannot be second or partial, wants deals in only entire individuals.  God’s laws are perfect in every way and they serve as the foundation for our physical and eternal separation from this world.  God urges you to take time and to think about this message for nothing He desires more is to serve as your level foundation.

DLB