All Clear in the War Zone

All Clear in the War Zone

7/19/16

This phrase is one that comes as a farce to those who have been involved in any type of combat situation, yet it is one that we like to believe that we continuously live in during times of war.  While many people know about war and all of the devastating effects that it brings, many do not.  Do we even understand all of the issues that bring about war and its magnitudes to our lives?  Do we even know that there is a war going on and is it publicized adequately?  God wants us to remember that our eternal lives are at stake and we have an enemy that wishes for us to believe that everything is ok around us so that we do not fight for what is right.  So far, he has done a pretty decent job in establishing that concept and until we return to God, we shall live under this false pretense of the all clear signals that our enemy is sounding.

Another anniversary of the beginning of World War I is vastly approaching and for some people still living, that memory is a haunting thought.  But for the majority of the people in the world today, WWI is a faded afterthought because there was no direct influence or consequence to what occurred in those fields.  Many push that Germany was the sole instigator of this war, along with WWII, and while they played an influential role, not all details strung from that nation.  I find it amazing that some of the more complex issues of that time period occurred outside of Germany and Austria and how the world quickly lined up against her for a bloody and horrendous fight which brought about the phrase “the war to end all wars”.  We all know that this phrase turned into one of the greatest lies mankind has ever spoken, but it is what not occurred in Germany that fascinates me and supports this topic that God wishes for us to understand a little bit more.

While Germany was one of the major contenders of WWI not one bit of fighting occurred on its homeland soil.  It is true that Germany committed many atrocities during this campaign and some of those heinous offerings began a new concept in warfare that has been used a couple of times since.  There is nothing disgust for any military or national government to use chemicals as a means to incapacitate the enemy in order to annihilate those who oppose your lines of embarkation.  Yet the tactic was so effective that it stalled allied advances and even though Germany and her allies lost this terrible world war not a single battle was fought on German soil.  It was this non-act that confused many people in Germany about the endgame consequences because most of them had not personally witnessed what transpired on other shores, a truth that brought out much anguish and anger towards other countries when punishment was doled out to their lands.  Look what this action spurned just a few decades later, a more devastating action that led to further national division and world devastation.

Fast forward to the late 1980s and I find myself volunteering for the United States Air Force, a duty which I greatly loved and recommend for any able bodied American teenage.  I part of my basic training included a couple of days at the obstacle course field exercise site where according to its name provided a challenging setting in which I could face one day if ever a war broke out.  From the quick glances we were allowed to have of this course it looked like a daunting task but one that was manageable for up until those days our instructors had prepared us physically and mentally for those challenges that were pressed upon us. But it was not until we began to challenge this course itself did we realize just how deterrent it presented as we advanced through its veins.

One of the parts of this course that continues to stick in my mind today is that of where we had to crawl on our bellies, under razor wire with some sort of animal guts hanging down from those wires, in the mud with live rounds firing over our heads as we trekked our way through this muck.  While we were never in any real danger at that moment, it was nerve racking to know that while you were eating dirt and water with live bullets were flying over your head that could easily penetrate your body and change your military career or end your life if one actually hit its “target”.  It was this process that really set into motion that I was now in the military and that my life had totally changed from civilian conditions.  Ironically, this obstacle course and all it presented was the only time that I ever dealt with true combat experiences.

Many other parts of basic training stand out in my mind and every once-in-a-while these memories surface and I relive those tactical teaching moments for my life.  One of these issues concerns about being prepared at all times for what an enemy may throw at you.  An enemy’s job is to defeat you no matter how strange and unusual those tactics may be.  We may not be looking for the type of combat that our enemy brings, but we still need to be as prepared as possible to thwart these attacks.  One of the more sinister ways that an enemy can use against us is to bring accurate, surprise, and deadly sneak attacks while the peace flag or all clear standards waving in plain sight.  

One of the main points of information that our instructors drilled into our heads was that even though the enemy was not actually attacking our positions at that moment, and the all clear “bells” had been sounded, we could guarantee that they were plotting and planning to complete such action.  It is the job our enemy to plan such attacks no matter if these acts would be successful or not.  The enemy is just that, our enemy and it is his job to destroy our state of readiness at all costs and one of the effective ways that he accomplishes this is to strike when our guards are down and we are relaxed.

Hollywood has produced some great themes concerning war and how the combat settings have transpired, but through my dealings with WWII, Vietnam, Korea and Gulf Wars veterans all of them say that real combat cannot be truly described unless you physically (1^st person) experience it.  I believe them and do not question their words because they have been there and I have only watched movies.  I gather that through their words and brief descriptions of those settings that the sneak attacks on a “relaxed” outfit come as complete surprises and result in the more devastating consequences.  While any combat death is horrific it is easier for the soldier to accept the consequences when the bullets are flying in both directions; a fair fight if you wish to claim it in those terms.  But when no bilateral attacks are ongoing and the enemy strikes a position that is in an all clear mode, a new level of destruction occurs in which the affected soldiers present a new anger.  But whose fault is it when these attacks occur and how does this aftermath tell of the overall preparedness state of our military?

As any military command will admit, any type of all clear settings has the potential to create disasters that include deaths and it is through these types of settings that produce the most distasteful consequences.  Yet, when these heinous attacks occur it should propel us into a constant ready state so that the same type of act cannot be committed again.  Even with all of the training, talks, and examples that have been thrown at us during basic training, there were still times that we let our guard down just enough that we were caught empty-handed, so is the setting of an all clear standard during a war.  The enemy is smart and they know your tactics and standards of fighting, they also know your moral codes and how we live by them and it is the enemy’s job to instill a sense of immoral attitude in order to sympathize with the surroundings in order to complete his all clear attacks, thus creating the most devastating results.

A question to pose is this: do we understand that our spiritual enemy and eternal enemy perform these same types of maneuvers and attacks on our lives?  We have a great source of these types of sneak attacks or all clear attacks in the Bible, one of these examples occurs in the Garden of Eden and another occurs in the life of Job.  However, one of the more thrilling attacks occurs in the nation of Israel – not just once but many times over their Old Testament time period.  There wee many instances that we read about when Israel was living in a great state and basically had everything going for her on a continual basis.  I find it very intriguing that during these times that nation chose both good kings and bad kings and that when a stretch of bad kings was in charge, devastating issues arose in the lives of Israel.  Do I find this as a coincidence?  No way!

While God allowed Israel to choose their king, this action of bad choices set up a priceless opportunity of their enemies to lick their chops in their plans against Israel.  You mean that our eternal enemy uses the minds and wills of other humans to inflict his destructive means?  Absolutely!!  Because we must always remember two things about what occurs in the spirit realm: the first being that we – our lives – are the only thing possible that God can use to change the hearts of mankind toward Him, and the second is that our enemy does not care how he achieves his goal of the death of our lives no matter if it is physical or spiritual, death wins in his book.  One of the best ways that Satan can achieve his goal is to lure us into a pacifistic mode concerning our real surroundings and if one looks around with clear eyes and a truthful heart they will understand that this all clear setting is present in our societies.

As our all clear status becomes stronger and longer it becomes easier for our enemy to appear to loosen his grip on our situation.  Many firebases in Vietnam were attacked in this all clear status resulting in some of the worst battle conditions during that conflict.  The same situation has been put into place in this country over the past few decades of my life and through the spiritual eyes that God has sharpened within me, I am witnessing repeated attacks by our enemy during an all clear status that we are voluntarily ignoring.  It is through this setting that we have been conned into believing that everything is still ok and that there is no need to worry for in a short time, along with a few changes, everything will return to normal.  Well, the new normal has occurred and its standard has been set and if we could have a look-see from above we could actually see our enemy crawling on its belly, steadily and methodically closing the gap towards our perimeter.

In the examples that God gives us through the actions of Israel, it is clear that it was strictly through their choices that they were subject to the nations around them and the eventual destruction of their nation more than once.  The last time their nation was scattered to every corner of the known world and was not completely reunited until thousands of years later.  Their lackadaisical attitudes towards God and His laws put them to sleep and relaxed their perimeters, both spiritually and physically, enough to allow the enemies to walk into their confines and totally wipe out their existence without any great loss.  It is this type of “all clear” setting that we have allowed our live, both personal and national, to become and it is only a matter of time until we have completely watered down our defenses enough that a sneak attack from our enemy will overpower us and conquer us without any great loss.  Do we understand that this type of setting has already been in place and has occurred?

The truth is that we have already been attacked in this manner and we have totally ignored what occurred and more importantly WHY it occurred.  We contend that God works in mysterious ways, but we usually attribute this phrase to the good things He does in our lives.  We need to remember that His ways are just and complete at ALL times which means that He can and will allow bad things to occur; whether He personally directs these events or allows others to complete these tasks.  This might not settle well with some, but as our pastor spoke this week using Jeremiah 23 where it states that God is our righteousness, this means that EVERY act that God does or allows is RIGHT!  I encourage you to read that passage because it really pertains to our situation and status today.

I can guarantee that God sent many warnings to the children of Israel before He had to do something against their sinful ways. God never just brings on national judgment in order to please His whimsical ideas, for He is not one who sits in a far away place and points His finger at all of the wrongdoings and with a gavel strike condemns mankind’s actions through death; God always chooses life and it is us to keep this standard first.  One of the most heinous crimes that Satan can commit is when he has tricked a person, group, denomination, state, or nation into believing that everything that they are doing is approved and accepted by God, even if their actions go totally against God’s Word. 

Our enemy understands the consequences, both physical and spiritual when God has to say enough and has to take a stand against His Ways.  When God reaches this point and has to act, Satan then comes in and “finishes” the job with further heinous acts in order to further our discord with God.  Satan does not care about the circumstances we have put ourselves into, in fact, he loves it when death and destruction enter into our lives, so much so that he gets a huge belly laugh out of it.  It is this separation from our eternal Creator that Satan wants us to have for he understands that the results of his false all clear status and resulting societal conditions will produce a resounding argument for further separation from God.  This all clear status is why God provided His Laws in the Garden of Eden, it is why He provided prophets in the Old Testament, that is why He sent His only Son to the earth, and it is why He sends us out to the dying world.

The all clear state is the perfect one that our enemy wants us to live because it is in this state that he can manipulate our lives enough away from God through his evil sneak attacks.  It is this condition where God speaks to His children in order to warn them that impending danger is around and that they need to continually sharpen their weapons of war for the enemy is weighing heavy around their positions.  Many times we get caught up in the selfish contentions of the all clear setting and push away these warnings of God, which further place us in peril because the enemy knows the required standards of the eternal and pure Commander.  It is the job of our enemy to place us into this all clear setting so that he can manipulate our lives easier, this setting also serves his purpose because it reminds us of how good God wants us to live but without the truth of God being the source of our living conditions.

This is why God wants us to study His Word fervently, continually and without a human bias.  For if we do not completely understand the “whats and whys” of our enemy, we shall fall into the no man’s land called the “all clear setting” of a war zone that he lays out for us.  No one likes war but it is essential for us to gather the facts and place these facts on the table of our heart so that we can have a true battle plan for this enemy, and come to the realization that we constantly at war for our eternal placement; our enemy is not for us, only God is and it is only through His way that we shall overcome this all clear lie in a war zone lie.  Now is the time that we open God’s Word up again and begin to change our ways back to God.  We are His people and we must contend that if God allows certain inflictions to occur on His one created nation, He surely shall allow similar charges to be leveled on those who do not repent.

DLB

Subject to Men

Subject to Men

7/17/16

There are a few topics that spike fear and anger into the hearts of God’s children, with one of those being the subject of equality. Yes, God does address this subject and He does so in the very beginning of His Word for our lives.  Over time we have misplaced and misused this subject for our own personal gains, both male and female.  However, in all occasions, we have failed miserably in knowing what was originally ordained and then what our responsibilities were after the fall.  God does want us to be equal in all matters, but until we grasp this truth AND accept it, no matter how hard we try to obtain this status we shall continue to produce pain and agony.  While total equality can never be achieved while we are living in our current physical conditions, we can make the process so much easier if we just return back to God.

No one likes to be chosen last for a team, but for many of us, we have been there too often.  It is these types of occasions that we reflect on when things do not go our way and then personally use against us as the event unfolds.  It is easy to forget that each one of us has a purpose in our life and just as easy to fail to recognize it when the time comes for our purpose to be engaged.  As we stare at the active participants of the team from the bench, this notion of having a purpose fades and the doubts grow and then flourish until we lose all hope in ever stepping foot on the court.  Do you realize that it is this same process that our eternal enemy uses in order to gain a false sense of equality, an issue that is coming to light as you read this article?  So, let’s get to it.

Once again God is directing us to the book of Genesis and we are still in the time frame of the Garden of Eden with Adam, Eve, and Satan all involved.  Both sides of the fall are going to be examined, before sin entered and after it invaded and it will be difficult for the person who is wanting to understand this process to read for they will realize that the fall from equality of our eternal spouses and creations is horrific in itself, then we have to deal with the other aspects of sin that entered as well.  God gave me this article a while back and it has been weighing heavy on my heart ever since its conception.  I too have fallen into this trap of our enemy and have begun doing my best to correct the situation as best as I can.  Men, this is about us and our overall responsibility to restore this equality as much as possible, for even though male and female were created equal, one needs to be lifted up in many ways better than we have done in the past.

First and foremost we must understand that God created both man and woman equal.  Yes, the man was created first and then the female from his side.  But even though the female was created second does not mean that she is any less than the male.  For as she may be weaker in the physical sense – on many comparisons – there are some physical aspects of our lives that if men had to go through, it would not be handled well at all.  We have to give God the credit for the similarities and differences but in NO way should we ever overstep our boundary that we (men) are better than the women.  This issue is settled in Genesis and has for the most part been ignored by all men; a trick from our enemy so that hardcore division can be put into place without us even knowing about the origins.  And as God has spoken to us many times before, we must first understand the origins of our existence before true healing and restoration can be completed.  God would not have left us idly by without an explanation of what He expected us to do after we had sinned because we must always remember that God is a complete God and cannot change from His ways.

A while ago God shared with us about true equality and purity through His specific pattern of creation and it was through this perfect creative process that we came into existence.  Shortly, God will provide us a more specific detailed article about the rib and what it means to our lives, both male and female, but in this article God wants to remind us about His process in which He describes in Genesis 2:21-22 where He places Adam into a deep sleep, takes a rib from his side and then forms a woman from a perfect state and she becomes the fitting match for Adam.  It is through this process of holy creation that we were created equal and we remained equal until we decided to change our status by choosing sin and personal will instead of God.

Over the next few verses in Genesis, many things transpire in the lives of Adam and Eve.  Their entire way of existing changed and it was through their choices that cast the die for what we know and understand as life today.  How much simpler life would be if they had not chosen to live in their own selfish ways, but to be fair who would have fallen later in life if they had not?  We all know that someone down the road would have chosen that tree and disobeyed God.  The freedom of will is a very powerful ordinance that God gave to us and it is one that eventually determines our eternal existence.  Which brings us to the main meat of this article and the real reason God wants us to understand a few verses which have a great importance of our past, present, and our futures.  And consequently, these verses have grossly been misunderstood and through this misunderstanding has actually created a false pretense about our existence, one that is dangerously playing out today in our lives.

It is VERY important that you keep in mind the entire verses of Genesis 2:21-22 when you are reading this article for one cannot truly grasp what God is saying to us if you do not.  The verse that God wants us to understand is Genesis 3:16 and it occurs after Adam and Eve have sinned and God is in the midst of them and Satan in the Garden and all three of them are facing the consequences of their actions.  Genesis 3:16 states the following: “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow, thou shalt bring forth children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” 

I can hear some of the thoughts right at this moment, and some of them may not be very nice, but continue reading and in the end it will be interesting to hear just who is upset and who is not.  For we all know that if we are truly willing for God to search our hearts that His results can be humiliating when the truth is revealed to our hearts and I know that when God showed me this verse its message crushed my heart because I had not known the exact meaning of what was at stake here in this verse.

Now, this verse has many other topics that God will also share with us in the near future but the one aspect that God wants us to understand lies in the portion of the verse that says “and thy desire shall be to thy husband”.  And it is this portion of God’s Word that we have totally missed over time and have used incorrectly to the dismay and disgust of God.  If someone says that God is an equal God and that He desires all of His children to be equal on every level and does not understand the true meaning of this verse, they cannot properly understand how to accomplish this task.  We know that once sin entered into humans’ lives our holy equality vanished immediately and we also know that we cannot obtain that same intact and holy equality ever again while we walk this earth.  However, there is a way that we can tell both warring kingdoms that we understand what is going on and that we know how to bring ourselves back onto a level playing field where our spiritual battles are concerned; and it is through this verse that we can obtain this meaning.

Throughout Church history, it is predominantly clear that man – the man – has been in control of what “God says and does”.  If one reads any church history book, journal article, dissertation, or sermon it has been projected that the man has the say over all ordinances of God and His ways.  Stop and think about that for a while before proceeding.  What I just said is the truth and it is a concept that God never intended for us (men) to claim without the woman being equal in status.  But, how can we do this if we are not equal?  I am glad you asked that because it is this question as to why things are messed up so much in our lives and world ever since we allowed sin into our lives.  This verse does NOT give man the power to rule over the woman.  Remember, God created us equal and if God made something in a certain manner He cannot change His ways for anything, anybody or for any reason, He must remain constant at all times and that His laws cannot change from their original creative status.

Since that last sentence is true, then there must be something that we are missing concerning that verse.  This portion of the verse speaks directly to both the man and the woman when God is speaking and in truth places even greater responsibilities on the man than the woman.  Yes, you read that correctly, this portion of the verse actually states that man has a greater responsibility from that point on than he did before sin entered into the human world.  See, before sin was present both man and woman were equal, but now that the situation had changed so had their equality status.  However, man’s role in the dominion did not change one bit which meant that now that his mate / her mate were not equal the man’s role became intensified.  In no way did God change His plan for man to act as a slave master over the woman He did however place a greater strength in some areas on the man which is still present today.

The greatest change that occurred in this verse comes with what the man should be doing for the woman.  It is at this point that the woman now looks upon the man for guidance and strength, not meaning that she is weaker or cannot handle life as it comes her way but it places the responsibility of the man to lift up the woman so that she can become equal to the status that God intended before sin entered into our lives.  From the evidence of Eve’s actions with the serpent, Adam had lost much of his influence over her and allowed his activities to become more important than her.  Not that Eve could not demonstrate strength or make proper decisions on her own, but after all, she was human and had every human aspect that we have today.  We must keep this in mind when we relate to Eve and not automatically throw her under the bus and totally blame her for the misgivings we suffer with today.  Plus, this aspect of Eve can be witnessed in another representative body today as well.

What did Eve do that was so wrong?  It is obvious that her attention was turned from her dominion responsibilities and began entertaining the serpent.  The relationship with the serpent did not just blossom overnight it took time to develop just as relationships of all sorts occur today.  Even hardcore revolutionaries start their ideological changing at some point and question their beliefs at some point in the beginning of their change.  The Bible gives reference that Eve was the one who the serpent was conversing with directly up until she gave the fruit to Adam.  Now, Adam must have known that Eve was having many conversations with the serpent because of what the Bible says and does not say about Adam’s actions at that time.  This means that Adam had already fallen down on his job to keep and maintain the dominion that God had given him before Eve was created.  How much of a relationship have we initiated and then developed with the serpent?  We actually have no idea because we have completely focused our eyes on him instead of God.

When we think about this example we must conclude that Adam knew what his responsibilities were according to the definition of dominion that he and God had discussed.  Clearly, Adam had fallen down on the job and Eve’s actions were left unchecked. This setting could have easily been reversed and when we put it into the context of today’s world it becomes even easier to accept. But according to God’s Word this portion of the verse hands out what God says is an adequate consequence to the woman for her actions and acceptance for her disobedience, but it enhances man’s responsibilities as well.  

It reinforces the truth that man should always pay attention to his mate, no matter what the circumstances may be.  This does not mean to oversee her and to control her but to keep a mindful and loving heartfelt protective eye on her for she is the fairer sex and one that is to be desired by others.  In no way imaginable should the man ever suggest to the woman that she first seek personal advice from any other source before they talk for once this process starts, it is hard to discontinue, for the suggestions are usually considered exotic to the inquiring mind.

This means that every important decision that needs to be made should be discussed in its entirety with the woman and her reckonings and opinions should be treated equally as such; and to be honest, man can learn some things from the woman.  The manner in which man and woman were created form an unique bond and link to each other, a link that automatically relates to the other unless it is compromised by the world and it is through this link that we can work through every problem without mate if we both understand the responsibility of each other’s role in the relationship.  As we saw in the Garden of Eden, one of the main goals of our enemy is to break our holy unity and tie between the sexes and once this unity is broken it automatically becomes subject to a worldly standard.  This worldly standard will play on the senses but break apart the spiritual conception of life and then destroy it piece by piece through our earthly beliefs; in other words, self first, God out of the picture.

The words of God in this portion of the verse convey the message that the man did wrong by not covering his responsibilities according to the upkeep and dressing of God’s Garden (his dominion).  Therefore, while God was informing the woman of the consequences of her disobedience, God was also informing Adam that his responsibility of keeping the equality status between them had just been heightened.  We must keep in mind that Adam and Eve were equal before sin entered into their lives, so when God was forced to hand out the consequences of disobedience, those consequences had to be equal, meaning that if He spoke to one then He was also speaking to the other at the same time; equality has its consequences on both sides of the merry-go-round, meaning if all sides are good, they are good but if both sides are not, then both are not.  THAT is how equality truly works and operates.  God continues to see us as equals through His holy creation, while the world can only see us through defeated and dead eyes.  Why do you believe that when politicians are trying to make their point on an issue that they believe is true they always refer to the bad history of mankind and not God?  Their actions and words prove that their eyes are focused on the world and not the source of true life.

We cannot read this verse and believe that God was just speaking to the woman and basically placing her into a slave status underneath the man.  This is so not God said nor was it His intentions for us to believe as such.  It was a sign that while their sin was now in place both had the obligation to raise their standards together in order to function as equals according to a sinful nature rather than in a pure stature.  Look at all of the options that women have now – feminism, asexual, bisexuality, lesbianism, etc - because we (men) have fallen down on the job in keeping them as our equals.  This portion of verse 16 confirms our position as leaders and the ones ultimately responsible for the unity of humanity.  In NO way does this verse give mankind (the church) the authority to subject and to subdue women and treat them as 2^nd class creations.

I remember back in 1994 when my dad was still a pastor, a commercial came on the TV during the half of the World Cup match that I was watching and after it was over he stated the fact that the man had voluntarily allowed themselves to be usurped in the authority that God had given them.  While at the time I had no idea about the depths of his words he could have never been so right.  What is so amazing is that he was actually describing the current state of the Church and how she has opted to believe the world’s offerings and options because she has ignored the husband’s (Jesus) spiritual call for the return to equality; plus, it describes the status of Israel in the Old Testament as well. 

Jesus’ actions of obedience and sacrifice of separation from the world are the examples of what this portion of the verse of Genesis 3:16 mean for the Church.  Essentially, Adam did the exact same procedure in the Garden of Eden by allowing his command to dress and keep the Garden to be usurped by the serpent (world) and thus consequences occurred through this disobedience.  And we are witnessing this same activity today through the beliefs of the Church and how she has accepted the world as her friend and has developed a steady relationship with the world which has overtaken God’s laws and holy establishment within her heart.  But it is now evident that the Church wishes to follow in Eve’s footsteps instead of listening to what Jesus wishes for her.

From the long list of denominations to the acceptance of sin inside the church buildings we (the church) have chosen the options of inequality instead of equality with the One True God.  Until we understand that Genesis 3:16 not only is talking about what was going to occur to Eve but that it is what is ongoing and occurring in the Church today, we are sunk and have no chance of turning our hearts back to God.  Jesus has done His part in trying His best to lure us back into His holy order but because we have allowed our spiritual eyes to be turned away, we have chosen the usurpation of the first Adam instead.  This is one of the reasons why Jesus is referred to as the 2^nd Adam, think about this for a bit.  Our spirits lie within our lives and thus link us to God on a continual basis, but if we continue to allow this usurpation to flourish in our lives the Church shall rapidly die and the existence of the world live.

These two verses in Genesis that God has shared with us in this topic should bring light into our hearts of exactly what is at stake.  Our physical lives are directly in relation to our spiritual.  This truth makes it impossible for us to serve two kingdoms at the same time.  One kingdom has to dominate and push the other back, both in the physical and in the spiritual.  God sees this concept and has shared it with us in this topic for He wants His children to understand that He loves us and that HE provides a perfect restoration plan that will guarantee eternal life, not the world. 

There will be billions who do not wish to give up their worldly status but there will be millions who open their spiritual eyes to what is going on around them but in order for that to occur, we must begin to do what Jesus commanded us to do.  Church, you are being tricked by a usurpation earthly ruler who cares nothing but your eternal division from God.  God sent His only Son to die for our sins to make this choice easy and for someone to send their son into an eternal battle for people thousands of years before He lived and after He lived, something very important must be at stake.  Church, think about what God is saying to us and open your hearts and eyes to His truth through His Word.  Stop being subject to men and live through the original creation status of God.

DLB

Listening to Noah

Listening to Noah

7/6/16

The story of Noah is a popular one that even people who do not believe in God or regularly attend church recognize.  But what type of recognition is present in the people who say they understand the setting of Noah and if we have any inkling of an idea of what the conditions were in the days of Noah, the question remains if we are ignoring those settings or are we changing our ways to avoid a similar disaster?  The answer to that question is clear and until we first recognize that God is in absolute control of everything, we shall have no idea how to stop the impending devastation that is headed our way.  God still hopes that we turn our ways soon for while we are laughing in God’s face He is still crying out for us to repent.

For the last couple of years, I have heard nothing but negative comments concerning the epic movie that came out entitled “Noah”.  At first, many people in the church communities were excited about this movie because it was touted as one of the best movies that would be released in 2014.  After a while, it became clear that the majority of Christians who saw this movie were disappointed and in fact many walked out in protest before the movie ended.  I have to admit that I refused to see this movie for many reasons and held on to all the “reviews” that my eyes had read and ears heard.  I had no problems with this because in my opinion there are not many movies that I would want to see anyway and this “Christian” movie would be one of them.  Boy, what a huge lie this movie turned out to be on many levels.

Until God decided to drop a short article title in my lap in which I sat on until very recently; it was this article.  God also provided me and my wife the opportunity to watch this movie and I now know why it was so controversial and labeled terrible according to Scripture.  While the movie is considered to be a fairly decent movie in theatrical terms the biblical content left something to be desired, for it portrayed the worldly version of how mankind should act towards God based on a sinful nature and how to ignore the real meaning of why the ark was created, and all the while leaking out the unadulterated truth of why God had to restore mankind.  Manipulation and downright lies according to Scripture thrown in with a bit of Hollywood scenery and you have a blockbuster blasphemous movie that promotes a false concept of God’s love and restoration process.

In order for me to write this article, it was necessary to define what God saw in the world when Noah was alive on this earth.  The Hollywood version of this account saddens me because while it depicts the acts of mankind being evil it minimizes the fact that it was the wickedness of mankind that pushed God into the decision that He made.  It also portrays that when God says something to a person that they have the power to choose to accept God’s Word and complete it or to override His authority and “do” the right thing.  I can understand why people believe that they are higher and stronger than God for this movie makes it abundantly clear that mankind’s love far outweighs the audacity of the voice of God.  On the other hand, some points in this movie set my mind on fire with some concepts that only God could really accomplish, like gathering all of the animals into the ark; this is a fascinating and miraculous truth. 

This article will not be based upon the Hollywood version of the story of Noah but the biblical one which contains the entire truth of what was going on in humans when God spoke His Word into Noah’s heart.  The state of fact here is that God established three settings that He deemed to be very important during the telling of Noah; the condition of mankind, obedience to God’s commands, and the provisions of God and it is through these three settings that God unfolded one of the most spectacular occurrences of human history that has yet to be repeated; however, we must consider this that once God establishes a standard He must always and continually follow that standard no matter what period of time it is during human history including today.

In Genesis Chapter 6:5, God’s Word states that God saw that the wickedness of man’s hearts was filled with complete evil and that everything that they lived centered around themselves and everything that they understood to be their environment.  This was no overnight change of heart in the people of the world but a step by step process that continued to progress as time went along.  These selfish ideologies came about from, amazingly enough, those who knew Creation and understood what occurred after the time of Adam and Eve, and over time had deemed their ways to be sovereign over God’s.  Because if they had continued to believe in God’s ways, His Word would 

not state that their hearts were filled with complete and continual evil.  The key word in this specific verse is the uses of “every” which details that mankind had no desire to do anything else but evil; by choice.

While we have no idea of how many people inhabited the earth during Noah’s day, God’s Word does say that mankind had begun to populate the earth according to the command of God, and through this statement it must be agreed that several cities had been built with a large number of inhabitants in their confines, not including all of those who chose to live outside the cities.  This represents a significant number, large enough to witness God’s eyes and heart torn apart for creating such prized possessions.  Another aspect of mankind that we must acknowledge is the fact that humans during this time period had no inkling of an idea about what their actions were doing to God and His heart which meant that when the time came for God to enact His judgment on the earth that they would not understand why that disaster was occurring.  A scary comparison to other time periods in the Bible and our time period as well.

It came to the point where God had noticed enough evil in the heart of mankind that He had to do something because He could no longer support the lifestyles of what man had become.  It grieved God so much that He states that He repented concerning the Creation of mankind and that He had no choice but to destroy mankind because of their actions against His Creation.  An important item to consider here is that humans had totally forgotten about their dominion and had raised enough generations that had no concept of what their true dominion was and what it meant for their existence.  These words of God are exemplified in Genesis 6:6-7 and further lament the truth about how mankind can become step by step if God is not 100% first in their lives.

It took a huge gamble and risk for Noah to listen to the voice of God and to follow what He wanted him to do.  The building of a building that would be large enough to house all living things must have been a mind-blowing image and a task that might have been interpreted as impossible, but it is at this time that Noah understood what God was saying even though Noah knew that the entire world was about to be destroyed.  We have trouble with telling us to go bake a cake and then taking it over to our next door neighbor for no known reason, and what God spoke to Noah to complete was completely out of the ordinary, or was it?  While God spoke these things to Noah, there is no mention or idea that Noah did not understand why this boat had to be built which means that he understood God and His ways and what it meant to follow God and not to follow God; the accompanying consequences of both sides included.  And with more than 100 years to complete this task Noah had plenty of time to converse with God about the conditions of the world, his heart and the fate of the world. 

Many people like to listen to God and then wait for His returns to come in according to human time frames, but in Noah’s case it took over a century for the rewards of God to be enhanced enough that his eyes witnessed the fulfillment of God’s command.  Would you have become depressed, discouraged, or even quit because of the seemingly overwhelming task that god asked of Noah (you)?  God’s Word does not mention that anyone around Noah came to salvation while Noah completed the work that God had required of him, but you know that after a certain amount of time that ark could not be kept hidden from the “public”.  I can guarantee that there were those who came up to Noah and asked him what he was doing and then scorned, ridiculed, laughed at him because of his answer to them.  I also can guarantee that Noah did not shy away from telling them the truth about God and what God desired from their lives either, and not just offer them something fruits and veggies.  For something that took so long to complete, God still had His witnesses out searching for those who wanted to know the truth.  The people that stood by Noah and watched the ark being built continued to override God with their snickering and blatant disregard of their surroundings.

It is amazing that this entire process of building the ark took so long, but when you break down the verses into specifics we must contend that this amount of time had to occur because of all the provisions that had to be made in order for the ark to sustain life as it was supposed to be doing.  The amount of time that each provision for the animals and Noah’s family needed would take a great deal of time to acquire and then store, hence the rooms inside the ark.  Everything from the wood to the pitch was required and then used, and can you imagine how the people around Noah laughed at him when they saw him and his family storing up those supplies?  God does not speak to His children telling them to do something unless He provides the provisions to go with that task.  Nowhere in God’s Word does it state that God uprooted His people and then left them hanging and did nothing to provide for them through their obedience.

For those of us who have read the story of Noah know that eventually, God told Noah and his family to go into the ark and then God shut the door.  For many, the story ends there and no further studying of the story occurs which is a shame because the detailed truth of what God had done, was doing and did in the future of Noah’s life is nothing less than a miracle.  Because even when the ark was floating along the turbulent waters God knew exactly what was occurring around the ark and all of its surroundings, in other words, God was in control of everything even when the storm was ongoing.  Turbulent waters?  How do we know they were turbulent?  Because when God restores something it is a hard and difficult process to go through, it is not a cakewalk process; it is a healing process, one that takes some scrubbing or in this case washing machine techniques to begin again – holy ones of course.

The point to this article is that God wants us to understand what exactly is occurring around us.  This nation and what its origins stand for has been totally annihilated by choice and our dominion has been ripped to shreds in the name of personal choice and worldly freedom.  We have locked out God and have given ourselves complete credit for the standards of living that we enjoy.  We throw rocks and tomatoes at those who stand up for the Word of God then wipe our hands on our priestly robes of religion after those objects strike their targets.  We care nothing for those who are in trouble while we sit back and recite biblical poetry with our mouths full of condiments from our manmade pews.  Besides the modern amenities, we are identical to those people in the days of Noah.  Wait a minute!!!  I have heard that term used before.

Now is the time that the Church turn her heart back to God and instead of watching a few people proclaim the ark of salvation to the dying world while laughing at them, to actually teach the exact same truth in accordance to what Jesus (the Ark) commanded us to do.  There is a devastating disaster coming to this nation that will change the world itself and usher in another season of restoration, but if the world continued to operate in sin after the flood, what type of leaders will we expect after our flood occurs?  Will not happen you say?  “The Bible says that God will not destroy the earth by water again!” you say.  That is correct, He shall not destroy the earth by water again; however, He never mentioned anything about nations!  Think about these words that God has shared with us and place them into your heart and allow them to grow according to His Word

Church, wake up and once again place your trust, hope, and faith in God alone.  Proclaim none other than God’s entire Word in your life and be the committed witness that Jesus commanded us to be to the dying world.  Yes, the world is dying in their sins and will spend eternity away from the presence and choice of God.  This is what the leader of the world wants and it is the one nightmare that God fears for each of His children.  If we continue to teach a false bible and then accordingly ignore the true Bible, we are reenacting the people in the days of Noah and will perish in our sins just as they did.  No Hollywood theatrics here, just the honest truth as the Word of God states it.  Listen to what Noah has to say in his story, for as of this second we can prevent what occurred in his day, but if we ignore this truth his day shall come to our lives.  God cannot provide any greater warnings than the single ark He built for our eternal lives; this was mentioned in the story of Noah and in the truth about His only Son Jesus.

DLB

Commitment

Commitment

7/3/16

This term has been under attack for quite some time now and its persecutors are increasing in numbers each day.  The source of this word is highly significant because when it is truly applied to society it can produce the best of living conditions.  But unity must be willingly accepted in order for this state to be injected properly.  The message of commitment cannot be any clearer than what is being presented today yet more and more de-commitment is actually being noticed.  The world shall always fail to acknowledge the true concepts of this word because it cannot recognize the true Creator of the act itself.  And until we return our hearts back to Him, we shall never be able to completely focus and achieve this goal no matter how hard we try.

There are some great examples of this commitment setting that can be applied to our lives and it is the utmost promise of commitment that God gives us when we forget about our selfish habits and ways and focus on His ways instead.  And it comes as no surprise that God has given us a couple of examples that personify His level of commitment and even through our personal differences in backgrounds we can function as one Church to accomplish the command that His Son gave to us.  As time rolls along in my new career of writing, I have never at a loss for words because the Great I Am continues to shine His wisdom to His people.  God understands that –while it breaks His heart- that not everyone who reads these messages or hears His truth will respond with repentance but He does know that those who have ears and a heart who truly wish to seek and know the truth, these types of messages are present in many forms.

One of the more unusual examples that one can give is through the military and more specifically military basic training.  Most of you know that I served in the USAF back in the late 1980s and ended my career in the early 1990s.  The Cold War was ending and to be honest this period of time was one of the tense moments for anyone in the military for we had no idea of what our enemy ( the Warsaw Pact Nations) were going to act or react with the impending breakup.  But as I reflect on my time in the military some of my actions could have been conducted differently but what sticks out most in my heart comes from the so-called training that I defined what my military career was to be.

I remember my first night at Lackland, AFB and while it was later in the evening the entire base was buzzing with activity, mainly of the influx of new “rainbow” flights which had just “landed” on base.  I found it quite interesting of how much sound could reverberate under a few overhangs, but those sounds soon graced my ears with a great passion.  When I arrived, we quickly learned that we were no longer civilians and had a new position in life and for the next six weeks we had to listen to exactly what being drilled into our heads for if we did not it would cost us dearly.  Many of us did not understand these words and what they were designed to enhance in our time in the military for the only thing everyone in our flight knew was that they had a very long day and were eager to hit the bunks; which did not occur for another several hours.

As we stood there under the overhang we listened to one person scream out our names.  Everyone was present and accounted for and were in the right place but when a few of the names on the roll were called it became clear that many different ethnic backgrounds were represented in the thirty-three people assigned to Flight 071.  As some of the instructors began flying accusations and name callings around it was hard not to laugh and for those of us who could not keep from laughing found out quickly of military bearing and décor when things do not go as the authority figures expect.  It was my first taste of real diversity and the beginning of a journey that I should continue to remember up to and including when God showed me this article and what it was supposed to contain, with an entirely new concept of just how serious God is about commitment.

The next lesson of commitment within the military came just a few short days later when one of our airmen in our flight deliberately performed an act that was totally out of line concerning the addressing of a superior.  The scene became ugly very quickly and before we knew it the entire flight was being punished for one person’s actions.  We had nothing to do with the incident for the rest of us were standing at attention and in total flight formation.  Yet, after the yelling match ceased it was made clear that this sergeant was going to make the entire flight pay for what had just transpired between him and the airman.  Most of us learned at that moment of how important it was to stick together and for everyone to obey and complete what was told to us.  It soon became like a scene of the movie “Full Metal Jacket” when the recruit had to eat the jelly doughnut while the rest of the platoon did pushups.  Still, while some of our heads were reeling and contemplating against our flight member, we kept our cool while the commitment goals had not been understood as of yet. 

After a few more incidents with certain members of the flight, the reality of many becoming one started to filter around the flight.  It is this concept that we were being molded into and having this goal established within our minds we could then start acting as one flight instead of a bunch of individuals filling up the roster.  Our individualities began to disappear and after our efforts were directed into one working unit began to flourish, the goal that our instructors wished for appeared.  When people from different walks of life come together and work as one team to obtain a certain goal, no matter if some detours are taken at times to reach that goal the accomplishments of that team will be understood and met with complete commitment.  It was quite amazing that when we as an entire flight realized this, for all of the yelling by our instructors at us slowed and then eventually stopped and the praises for our efforts began and it was through both sides of the issue that taught us more about the one goal of national defense and how we were a vital part in its upkeep.  If only the Church could grasp this truth, look what would happen.

It was obvious that not every one of the personnel in my flight agreed with this philosophy and after a while their presence in the flight was voided.  These good men never figured out the true concepts of what the flight was supposed to follow and to strive for and sadly they were let go without further particulars being forwarded.  The flight continued to function according to the standards of basic training but some of the details required needed to be added to some of the other airmen in our flight, a process that was immediately recognized and accepted.  This pointed aspect in our basic training also defines what occurs when certain people or denominations within Christ’s Church decide to not accept His ways and authority and go about completing human ideas instead, a sad state that we are witnessing today.

At the time of my military basic training, I had no idea that it is this concept that Jesus wants for His Church; however, and as long as the Church functions as many without one goal denominational divisions will rule the day.  It has always been a puzzle to many of why denominations popped up shortly after Jesus left the earth’s presence, which the answer should come as no surprise yet we have allowed the answer to fester and then infect our lives ever since because we refuse to come together as one body even though our individualities are present.  This concept of unity poses an interesting challenge in the fact that our lives are born into sin which means that we have to fight this physical order first to bring ourselves into submission to God instead of the world; a defining moment for choice.  Denominational backgrounds were bound to appear given the consistency of individuality and the “importance” of being heard, another concept that the Church that Jesus set up does not need present.

Matthew 18:20 gives us a perfect setting of how we are to be when we come together and operate as the body of Christ through the name of the Church.  This verse states as follows: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”  Like I have shared many times before, this is another verse that I have heard taught and read from pulpits and groups but I have never have fully been told what this verse really is saying and what Jesus is teaching His disciples and everyone else who wishes to be like him and complete the mission that He commanded us to do.  The emphasis does not really need to be on the numerical content of this verse however, it does serve an important reminder of how God operates and what His character represents.

One important focal point of this verse lies within the words “gathered in my name” and has the same significance and direction as the phrase “Our Father” has in the Lord’s Prayer.  These words have a meaning that says that all human thoughts and ambitions are thrown out the window and have no meaning what-so-ever at this moment.  God is in complete control and human ways are not of any importance.  The question is this: do we really follow this verse or do we go around until we find churches or groups of friends that share similar ideas instead?  Be honest for if you keep the Word of God living inside your heart you will immediately say that the Church is not abiding by this verse at all.  Look at the fruits of the Church and one will see that she is readily digging up the godly foundations and Cornerstone and replacing Them with worldly ideas and philosophies.

When the Church - you – live inside the confines of this verse you represent this setting at ALL times because when this verse was written there were no gigantic cathedrals to worship in, nor were there any sacred buildings that hundreds or thousands gathered in each Sunday.  These meetings occurred in houses or in underground rooms and the Church flourished on a personal level and not through congregational means.  Jesus was alive in their hearts and constantly being spoken from their lips through prayers and supplications, they desired His presence at all times in their lives; do we do that today?  NO WAY!!!

It is through this type of living that many people from different cultures and walks of life operate within Church life and when these individual deceptions appear, they should be squelched yet are allowed to thrive instead; the definition of denominations.  There is no way possible for Christ’s Church to operate in the fashion that He prescribed if we do not function as one unit through Him.  There cannot be one ounce of self living in our lives in order for His Church to fulfill the mission that He authorized.  This single verse in the book of Matthew says it all, a church building can be converted into an auditorium with excellent services each time the doors are open, but if the people that attend those services continue to hide behind their individual and worldly beliefs, God cannot perform what He desires most the winning of hearts.  The Church of Jesus is not about membership or how much money a congregation brings in, it even is not how many medical missions a church completes, but it is all about functioning in one accord with absolutely no self proclamations present because it is this setting only that God can operate.

This knowledge should place a whole new outlook on denominations and how we have elevated each one to a personal best.  It is not about denominations and it is not about how we interpret the Bible according to our personal agendas.  It is ALL about turning our lives over to God completely at all times and focusing on the mission of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a dying world.  Yet, here we sit proclaiming civil rights from the pulpit, inviting sin into the church building walls without any type of repentance needed and proclaim Divine revelation of a new way to reach Heaven.  Jesus can use denominations – as disgusting as they are – for His mission but He cannot even use a single heart unless the foundation of the individuals are focused on the one and only goal of His mission.  What is amazing about the statement in the above sentence is that when we allow God to use our lives for His mission our denominational focus shall fade quickly and create a pure unadulterated Church that cannot hide the eternal light of God just as our basic training flight became.

As I look back at my time in basic training I cannot help but notice that approximately 30 young men came into the USAF with their own directions, not wanting to conform to one single goal.  I also cannot help but think that God sees the exact same conditions within His people who call themselves Christians.  It is obvious that our thoughts and beliefs about God come from individualistic and selfish hearts and not what His own Word states who He is.  It grieves my heart that the Church is floundering during such a time as today and from all indications we have no intentions of turning our hearts to be in accordance with Matthew 18:20.  In other words, we want to see the Church convert to denominational ways instead of what Jesus wanted and this is nothing but a pure 1and 100% lie from the pit of hell!

None of these examples given here would have been obtainable if the hearts of the participants were not focused on the single goal that was needed to be met.  We can still have this type of Church but time is running out for our hearts to secure this perfect mission statement.  Any deviation from having our hearts 100% set into motion through Christ to the sinful and dying world will prove to fall on blind hearts because the light of God cannot penetrate darkness without a pure light emanating from our lives.  Turn your hearts back to God church and reestablish the capital “C” in our name.  God can change us and He can change the world through our holy and pure commitment to lighting the world from its darkness.  But it takes disciple and commitment to ensure that God’s Church is fulfilling its mission and a heart that is Matthew 18:20 focused for this to occur.

DLB