Contrary to Public Demand

Contrary to Public Demand

12/29/17

There have been a number of debates lately concerning laws and how they govern the land, with many personal feelings interjected into either support for or disapproval of such laws.  While laws tend to divide instead of truly govern, political hotheads convene at regular intervals to appease their public but subjecting all to such bought off subscriptions.  No wonder there is so much animosity when it comes to passing or defeating such bills for humanity is now governed by popular demand instead for the common good which demands attention on all sides of the law presented.  God has His own laws as well and it is not difficult to understand why some of His Laws strike anger and separation from His Word even before they are completely understood.  But unlike God’s Laws which serve as an eternal basis for our lives, human laws conquer our lives whether we know it or not, yet the demand continues for self-righteousness without regard for actions and consequences.

For at least a couple of articles down the road, we will be dealing with topics that will not make everyone happy.  I understand that God has been hitting the Church pretty hard over the past few months but for a while, we will be pursuing the contemplations of the world and how greatly they differ from God and His Ways.  I know that in this article there will be an example that could be disturbing to some but it is exactly what the world is offering many and thus needs to be shared so that we know exactly who and what we are supposed to be witnessing to.  I was surprised by this topic and the passage of Scripture that God gave me at the same time for I have never tied the two subjects together but when I stop and think about it I should have for the worldly pulling towards such activity is a demand of the highest order.  With that said open your hearts and listen to what God wants us to understand about the world and how we are supposed to be a witness to those who have fallen into its trap of death.

All of us have heard the Scripture passage in Isaiah where God speaks about how His thoughts and ways are not like the ways and thoughts of a human.  It is difficult sometimes for our finite minds to wrap our presence around this passage and one of the quicker judgments that we come to is that God is outdated and thus not relevant today.  But when we come to this conclusion we give the enemy an open door to shatter our lives from the inside out until we are nothing but empty shells worth nothing and considered worthy of death alone.  It is this passage that gives us eternal hope of fulfilling what God wanted for our lives way back in the Garden of Eden, for even though we were created from dust we have the ability to learn what God says to us on an individual level and then to gather further strength from corresponding words from the Bible in order to proclaim the truth to those who do not understand.  But for us to complete such a mission we must understand what God is saying because if we teach the wrong message to the lost the lost shall stay in that manner.

It would not be an untruth to say that most people place matters of the heart in the physical atmosphere.  There is nothing wrong with this statement for it is the natural thing and process to do but it becomes a heavy burden if left to just the physical because the heart does not just represent the physical but the spiritual as well.  It is this leaving out of the spiritual status that proves to be the most damaging because when the physical takes control of the spiritual pain and suffering can only follow, for the spiritual will continually fight against the physical just because of its original status in our lives.  It is for this reason alone that people who have placed the physical first laugh at the auricles of God’s Word and at those who have covenantal submitted to His Laws for living and guidance and it is also the direct explanation as to why the world harshly or sometimes violently disagree and react when biblical principles are spoken.

I have always laughed at humans when they do things yet do not see what their actions are producing; however, many times my laughter turns into tears because of the devastating consequences that those selfish and worldly actions produce.  I cannot control the choices that others make but I do know that I have been commissioned by God to teach of His Word and His Ways to those who will listen and even to those who have already made up their minds to be against God too.  The pattern of the world is strong and at any given day it will gladly show off its advantage and usually does at any given moment.  This brings us to the unusual passage which we will learn from in this article and it has to do with Mary, and Joseph and how they found out about the pregnancy of Mary.  Only one book of the Bible deals with the lineage of Mary and that is Matthew and the story of how God chose Mary to carry His Son falls into this category of world versus God.

Matthew 1:18-25 will serve as the passage that we will refer to as we progress.  This passage gives us an idea about how men and women acted towards each other and it also gives us a perfect setting of how God goes against the world to bring forth good news to people’s lives then go contrary to public demand.  Verse 18 states the following: “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.”  Right from the beginning, we have a good idea of what Mary’s friends were going to think about this and how easy it would be for them to cast judgment towards her, not to mention the other relational party involved here, Joseph.  Mary could not have ignored this and countless thoughts must have run through her head trying to ponder exactly what was happening.  She was an unmarried woman who found herself pregnant and we all know that not anyone would believe the story that “God” got her pregnant.  It is at this point that we find ourselves facing a worldly issue and the results of such condition that demand attention.

In many places of Old Testament Scriptures, we find examples of people engaging in intimate relationships that were not authorized by God yet allowed through the process of free will and choice.  In many cases, these actions came back to harm the ones involved in such acts some time down the road with others proving more costly and deadly for multitudes instead of just a few.  Most of these infidelity settings, sexual perversions, and other types of sexual deviances from God’s authorized plan came about on a continual basis, so the practice of such scandalous activities had to be curbed.  Some of these laws were fair and others quite harsh on one side of the parties involved.  Ever since mankind has put into place laws that govern many of these either fall short or open doors for many others to follow, all of which can be broken.

It is commonly known that Mary was a virgin and a woman of young age who knew no man, a virtuous status that she must have enjoyed within her heart.  It was this virtuous heart that served as a foundation for God choosing her to be the mother of His Son, another unusual unfolding that has puzzled many.  Mary was betrothed to a man named Joseph who is described as a just man and one that was fair in many aspects of character.  Mary did not keep her pregnancy a secret from him and even told him of the message of what the angel said to her concerning the matter.  But Joseph did not believe this and instead of “flying off the handle” and publicly humiliating Mary he was willing to quietly send her off and let her live her life in peace.  That is until the truth was given to him in a dream proving what Mary said was true.  This changed the entire complexion of the setting and both Mary and Joseph set about a new life together.  We must never forget the importance of this moment not only for the persons involved in this story but to all of mankind as well, for if either one of these participants had listened and then obeyed their worldly duties our lives would have been irrevocably changed, a desire of our enemy.

This coming together as a couple was not what the world would have wanted Mary to do nor what it wanted Joseph to do either, for Jewish laws had established a specific system that provided guidelines for such marriages.  The public demand, in its entire religious splendor, made sure that if the husband or betrothed spouse wished, the woman in question could be charged with adultery then executed by stoning and everything would go away as a just punishment.  There is a significant danger here because even though the Bible does not specifically mention this but we all know that Joseph had friends and probably some family members who wanted Mary punished in this manner.  You can almost imagine the people in the background with stones in their hands ready for Joseph to give the word for punishment to be handed out.  The world would have had no issue with this at all and with Satan in control of such environment probably begging the backgrounders to just throw the stones at her anyway, to get the “ball rolling” so to speak.

Another side of this scene we must take into consideration is that Joseph himself could have been in just as much trouble as Mary for NOT taking the public demand and fulfilling it as it was written, for religious laws were strictly devised and controlled by the religious community and could be called upon to enforce certain laws when presented.  Joseph could have been stoned for not obeying the law that had been justly put in place to protect society from those who deliberately disobeyed it.  His friends could have projected him as a lawbreaker which that itself deserved severe punishment and with them already in a frenzy over Mary, could have changed the direction of the stones being hurled in the air.  In either case, the world had its laws and they demanded that they are followed and fulfilled in this situation.  But both Mary and Joseph having heard the truth from God left the area together in unity and both respected what was going to occur in a few short months.  We all know that many times people who have chosen to leave the places or settings in which they have been in just to have a friend, group of friends or even a family member turn them into the authorities out of “obedience” to known broken laws.

The possible death of Mary or of Joseph plays into the world’s hands more than we casually think about for the same type of creative laws provide easy manipulations of life today.  One may think that the two paragraphs above may be overstated or exaggerated a bit, but when I give you this next example of a setting that occurred this year one must be forced to enact the tributes of the human mind and proceed as such positions were conjured during the time period of Matthew 1:18-25.  I have always and shall always contend that all of the issues that we face today will continue to be and even escalate until we change the human heart and mind back to God.  The selfish institution called sin rules this world and unless we totally combat its existence we will at some point in our lives succumb to its presence, an eternal mistake that shall not end well.

The process of taking care of an unacceptable situation when intimate relationships were involved, was handled in a totally different manner than they are today.  With Mary being a young girl there is no question that she was frightened when she understood the magnitude of the situation she was in, and then to top it all off being in this state without intimately knowing any man.  But the human mind will always take over and when people have differing opinions about such settings a numerous amount of acceptance and criticism will come around.  Which brings us to the next example which might be a bit disturbing to some but for everyone reading this article must understand the importance of the power of the human mind when it is controlled by the ruler of this world and how this controlling could cost a person their life if directly challenged without understanding what is at work.

While abortion was not an option back in the ancient times even though measures could be taken to end a pregnancy, the acceptance of such an abomination was not around.  And while this example is not an exact one to fit the topic it does specifically measure the command that the worldly mind has and what lengths it shall go in order to make a point to those who disagree.  A few months ago a story broke out of Argentina when a group of at least three women stood in front of a Catholic Cathedral and simulated one of the women having an abortion, with the other two women assisting with the procedure.  A baby was extracted and dropped to the ground, fake blood was spilled as the baby came out of the woman, all while the three women were smiling and happy that the “problem” was being taken care of.  While this example is disturbing enough there is another detail that needs to be spoken about which places truth about how the human mind works and how far it will go to get a point across.  The woman having the abortion had a crucifix around her neck and as she was having the procedure claimed to be the Virgin Mary.

It is these types of laws that define the difference between God’s Ways and how humans want their lives to be represented.  I am not just dwelling on this one law of abortion but will include it in the vast majority of selfish laws that humans come up with in order to justify their existence to their peers.  It is through these types of laws that also define the demand that is required to enforce or to even dream up a law of such magnitude.  What is so sad is that while our population has demanded such inherently devastating laws, at some point down the road we stop and criticize those for who are now falling from their positions due to some other human activity that we have allowed to fester for an unimaginable amount of time.  We fail to fully comprehend our fallacy of such matters yet continue to abide by these specific laws that only have one devastating result.  But when challenged we can only respond in such a matter as to serve the courses that we have made, thus creating a divided kingdom upon which to stand.  Furthermore, it is this divided status that defines the ruler of this world’s kingdom, providing more proof that our hearts are not contrary to public demand.

I thank God every day that He proves Himself to far greater of a Father and friend of knowledge and wisdom than I could ever dream of being.  It is evident with the passage of Matthew 1:18-25 that He had ordained their relationship long before they knew about the journey that they would take which should give hope to everyone that is waiting for that right and special person to come into their lives.  It took a great amount of courage for Mary and Joseph to reject the demands of the world and to follow God and His voice.  It was not easy for them to adhere to their choices either but they stuck it out and accepted the entire pattern that God had for their lives.  There is one more detail that stands out concerning this passage and the choice of going contrary to public demand and it is given to us in verse 25 where it says that Joseph did not know Mary until she had given birth to Jesus.  It is important to remember that even though Joseph was now the husband to Mary the process of purity of what had already been established must be completed without that purity being broken, a sign of covenant between God and mankind that was essential in order for Jesus to be born and to be able to fulfill His role as our eternal sacrifice.  This is a topic we shall discuss further at a later date but a thought to place in our hearts.

As our human laws become more and more difficult to read, understand, and then follow the simplicity of the truth about Jesus remains solid.  It has almost become an impossibility to comprehend the velocity of our own laws and it is this truth that our enemy has done a superb job in mucking about in order to imply that God’s Laws are the exact same way.  God’s Laws and the laws of the world do share one thing in common and that is we have the choice to obey them or not.  That choice is so much easier to make when the belief of such complexity could mean differing from governmental laws but in truth the Laws of God must go contrary to public demand for God created Adam and Eve to be separate from the world and live in complete authority over what had been created around them, not to be subject to them.

Church, I guess this article is self-explanatory to the condition that we are living in and it should not take too much convincing to provide examples of our worldly shortcomings either.  Yet, here we stand fighting amongst ourselves about who is right and who is wrong and which side of the political aisle we stand.  But if you stop for a moment and listen you can hear clapping in the background and in the state that we are in, we automatically believe that it is God clapping.  But it is not, it is our enemy clapping for he is giving us a standing ovation because we have unwittingly and voluntarily accepted the laws of worldly demand over our eternal Creator and Satan loves it. 

Another issue to think about concerning our actions and how high we place our selfish political beliefs upon and that is how we feel about our President.  Do you really understand what we are doing when we fight amongst ourselves about our leader?  It is an accepted fact that not everyone will like said leader nor will everyone agree with what he/she says and does but when we do not accept a leader for who they are we are dividing what God has put into place that we should be learning from instead of further destroying.  Every leader over every type of role is in place for a certain reason and it is our responsibility to understand what has led to such admission.  For those of you who say that President Trump was not placed in the position, he is in today by God, wake up for he was placed in that position by God.  Likewise, for those of you who say President Obama was not placed in the position he was by God, you too need to wake up.  Read Old Testament Scriptures and it will become clear that God allowed both good and bad kings to rule over Israel yet the people of Israel whined about all of their human kings, just as they did with God.  Did you ever really and truly pray for either of these leaders or any other local, state, national or other nations’ leaders?  If so, how did you pray for them?  And if not, why didn’t you?

Church, you have no room to talk or to even make a whimper for you have fallen into the same trap.  God shared with us a few years back about us Approaching the “T”.  We reached that “T” and made our choice just as the children of Israel did in 1 Samuel 8, and we still have not recognized what choices we made, on what path we are on and what it shall bring to us.  God is beckoning us to return to His Ways before it is too late and He must take matters into His holy hands.  What will be our words when the projected prophecies for this nation unfold since we have told so many not to judge us because we are not God?  We will not even recognize that what shall occur to us will come from God but blame it on some human thought up worldly condition, oh, I hear clapping again.  There is only one way to avoid such disaster now and in the future and that is to turn our hearts back to God and to submit our ENTIRE life to Him for if we do not we automatically choose to accept the public demands and will receive our due inheritance.

DLB

Seeking

Seeking

12/21/17

All of us have sought something or someone in our lives.  Seeking a career or eternal mate is just a few of the “somethings” that we try our best to find.  But at the same time we must contend that some of those who walk around is not on the same peaceful level that we are and when we see these individuals we must be on guard or we will not be to defend ourselves when they attack those who they have targeted, a procedural advancement of Satan’s own kingdom.  This occurs not only in the physical but in the spiritual also and if we are adequately prepared for our defense our protection level will be noticed and therefore a chosen target.  God is the only one that can perfectly provide such a protection and guide us through such troublesome times and the only way to understand how to receive this protection is to live under His Word and to listen for His voice.

I am going to start out by asking a question and that question goes like this.  When you are out shopping for anything, whether it be groceries, gifts, or cars do you always pay attention to what is going on around you or do you hear every word that is spoken from others who are passing you by?  We all know that it is impossible for us to know every little detail that goes on around us and that we cannot always be looking around when others are close either.  For if we did the people who we were conversing with would believe that we were not interested in what they had to say and basically wasting their time.  With the world that we live in today it is easy to become distracted with all of the issues and gadgets that are around us and that we possess, but at the same time if we place these issues aside and when the opportunity arises we can understand what is going on systematically and know how to be prepared.

While that is a great utopian belief, we all know that the state of peaceful attractions just does not exist.  So we confine ourselves to our own little drawn out spaces of comfort and try our best to ignore what goes on around us, marking a dangerous game that our enemy counts on for his competitive edge.  Why would we even subject ourselves to such an environment or weakened position?  But we do, and we live throughout each day in this mode and one by one we are paying for it dearly.  We seem not too worried when we hear about one or two people that lose their lives in a certain manner but take it out on others when a fellow like-minded conditioned person dies in some tragic manner or if a large scale atrocity is committed by another human somewhere else in the world.  And yet, through all of these tragedies no matter how big or small we still fail to understand the importance of life, who is directly behind such ugliness and who to call upon to end such devastating settings.  In 1 Peter 5:8 we come to the last portion of this verse and the mission of the roaring lion (Satan) is finally exposed and it is through this phrase which gives us the truth about what the goal is for Satan when it comes to our lives.  “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”

A couple of words here that we must focus on in order to grasp the real and deep meaning of this verse and what Peter is trying to get across to the church.  The first is the verb seeking, and it comes from the Greek word “zeton” which means something is seeking in order to find a specific object.  It gives us that Satan is looking for a specific target at this moment and he has a specific plan as well and not just haphazardly going around in some type of disorganized fashion.  He is serving a purpose and has a reason as to why he is at that specific place.  We have always been taught that Satan is out to get us and that he wants nothing more than to see our lives suffer and it is this portion of Scripture that gives us the proof that what we have been taught is correct.  This Greek word alone sets the tone for what type of determination Satan has and through this action of his, he is gaining strength to complete the mission he has set forth against you.  This is advancement and one that is subject to his presence and command and when the time is right that line of advancement strikes and ends your life.  You wanted an example of Satan’s kingdom at work, now you have one.  The most frightening portion of this word is that it is an action verb which means that this line of advancement is always on the move looking and searching for someone to destroy.

The word “tina” is the next important word that we come to and has the Greek meaning of “whom” which serves as a pronoun.  Now, most of you are aware that I am not an English major nor do I have a great command of the English language and I am not going to go overboard on the meaning of a pronoun but when this word is used here it is brilliantly placed in such a way that while meaning one thing gives way to a specific target of people for a part of the definition of a pronoun is referring to a noun that does not need to be named specifically.  Satan does not care who he targets as long as it is a human being who draws breath.  If we have no real clue how God’s Word lives and how it should direct our life, then we are sitting ducks especially when we are spiritually looking at our phones and not paying attention to what God is trying to tell us.

If this word was replaced with a specific title or group then it would be easy for us to shy away from such an occupation, origin, or position, but God’s Word does not say this and Peter writes it our brilliantly when he uses the word that God gave him to use.  For it allows us to understand that Satan is searching for anyone that is around him that does not know what his presence means or what his kingdom wants to do to your life.  This means that anyone who does not understand and is actively living through the Word of God is singled out for such destruction.  It does not matter what type of condition you are in or have just come through nor does it matter what political divide you adhere to and it really does not matter what ethnic group you hail from either.  This word alone and the meaning of its definition proves that God does not care about any of your physical groups or life origins, He only wants your heart and spirit to be lined up correctly with Him under His Ways.  Another way of defining this word here is anyone who does not understand the ways and methods of the enemy AND who does not understand and know the Ways and Means of God either.  It has always amazed me to have God show me how a single word divinely positioned within a verse or passage that has the power to change the substance of our physical and eternal lives.

We have previously talked about how Satan and his kingdom understand your life and what your presence with God eternally means.  Satan also understands that we have a tendency to forget about this eternal side of our lives and live just in the present and physical, which it is Satan who has tricked us to live in such condition.  Every day we hear about someone being subjected to a harmful or embarrassing setting and they instantly give up and decide to end their life.  When things go bad for some of us we give up and do not try to understand the true meaning of our lives and turn to other substances for comfort instead.  I could go on and provide many more instances and examples but I believe you understand the point that is being made here because even when people who call themselves Christians fall into temptation or disbelief they too lose sight of the truth and fall prey to the roaring lion.  It frustrates me that more people do not understand that Satan has the home court advantage and yet we automatically turn over the valued prize (us) to his kingdom without knowing why these attacks are occurring, talk about giving him more control and space to devour us.

We now come to the reason why the devil, our adversary, who is roaring like a lion, walking around freely and without agitation, is hanging around and that is to devour our lives with the processes of his kingdom.  The word devour that is used here is the Greek word “katapiein” which is directly translated as to devour or swallow up and furthermore, to destroy.  Can this word provide a clearer definition of the purpose of Satan’s kingdom than this word alone?  This word is not associated in any way with god or the things God represents but of Satan himself for it is his name that Peter uses here in this verse.  Why would we give an enemy any advantage over us especially one who has the direct message of destroying our existence, and why would any being have a goal of death and destruction towards any other being?  That question is easily answered by knowing just how much hatred lies within that kingdom leader.

Here lies a huge problem with humans and that is knowing who is an enemy, who harbors hatred within and who do not exhibit such qualities.  We must keep in mind this word devour here and focus on the purity of the word itself.  Just as with the word “tina” used in the same verse this word is a specific yet general verb because it gives the description of a process but it does not define a single pathway to obtain such completion.  This means that there are numerous ways that our enemy can complete his mission against us but he must follow a certain path in order to obtain his goal.  This is where we must NEVER forget that Satan is a defeated loser and must have direct access in order to mess with our lives.  If we voluntarily give him this access or if we have doors that we have refused to close, both spiritually and generationally, his motives and opportunities are unlimited.  It is this portion of our lives that we need to recognize then close before Satan has the opportunity to use them against our lives.  This is exactly how Satan gets his claws into our lives and torments us with things that involve us with the world.  The world is a literal death trap and the spirit that it holds shall destroy our lives without even blinking an eyelid.

It is through this process of devouring that we lose our place in Romans 8:37 where Paul teaches us that we are more than conquerors which means if we are more than conquerors then there must be a huge error in our ways in order for us to go from being a conqueror to being prey and being devoured by our enemy.  Prey is separated from the herd and singled out for the predator.  Also, the predator knows exactly who the prey can be, for a Gazelle will not be a predator against a lion the order is not correct here.  If God’s Word says we are more than conquerors then why have we allowed the Gazelle (us) to become the prey of the defeated one (Satan)?  Romans 8:37 should not be regarded as a conditional statement or truth but we have allowed it to become one because we have disowned God’s Word from our heart and bought into the lies of the enemy which promote selfish reasoning instead of unity with God being the center of our existence.  It is heart-wrenching to watch people de in eternal separation from God because the Church has become so divided on who is right or wrong instead of teaching the Word of God in its entirety.

It is clear here that Satan is seeking out those who he can destroy and the definition of those who can be destroyed are the ones not living under Romans 8:37 which is now the majority of the world and has been for eons of time previous.  We must never forget that this portion of this verse is a constant, for as the previous portions state our enemy is in continual pursuit of who he may devour.  Many times in Scriptures we find God’s people falling asleep or not paying attention to their surroundings but never do we find where our enemy is lax or taking a break in any form.  His divisionary tactics have taken a toll on our lives and have split the Church into many sects that cannot seem to gather any truthful momentum and represent God to a dying world.  We have blended in with the world so much that we do not recognize this lion and his roar as being a threat and if we do not see this noise and know who our enemy is then there is no way that we can effectively proclaim the true Hope to those who do not know God.

It is also sad to stand by and watch Satan devour our friends and family that stand right next to us or walk right in front of our spiritual eyes.  But this is of no consequence to our existence either for we have isolated the physical as being the center of our attention which means that we are numb to the spiritual and the eternal.  It is for this reason alone that when people leave this earth we hear nothing about their eternal placement for we care not to think about it then which in turn means we do not think about it while we draw breath either.  How can we even say we are followers of Christ if we are more concerned who is politically accurate and which side Jesus may represent?  Our show means nothing to God and He could care less if you are political or not because we have been tasked to teach the Gospel to the dying world and NOT gain political votes for a physical candidate.

To call out our enemy when he attacks a family member or when he harasses a friend is recognizing the enemy and represents a person who knows when his presence is around.  When our enemy is recognized and then called out through the name of Jesus that is the prime example of understanding Kingdom principles and knowing the definition of the two kingdoms involved for your eternal placement.  There is nothing good about the kingdom of Satan and the opposite is true there is nothing bad about the Kingdom of God but we need to keep this verse in our hearts at all time for if we don’t we shall be easily fooled of what is the world and what is from God.  Matthew 7:7 states that we will find whatever we seek and that verse includes either kingdom, for if we seek the world we will definitely find the world and vice versa when it concerns the Kingdom of God.

Lastly, we must consider the ending to the word devour for once one is devoured there is no hope of rescuing them.  Their lives are over and have reached a point where they lay in ruin and dead.  They are mush with no recognizable formation present and thus thrown away for no energy or life remains inside them.  At this time, our enemy has advanced his kingdom of death and it now includes your eternal separation from God.  It does not matter if I am talking to a single person, a small group, a large congregation of a church, or a nation when this time arrives, Satan has won and your life is destroyed.  You have ignored the warnings you have failed to learn how to be sober and have refused to be vigilant so you have not noticed your enemy creeping up on you either.  Satan has sought you out and has accomplished his mission all because you did not know the things that had been fed to you were complete lies.  Being devoured means to be in a completely devastated and destroyed state, to be eaten and then cease living.  This is what the kingdom of Satan wants for your life and nothing less.

I have great news for each one of you and that is whoever is reading this article has not reached the point of being devoured by our enemy.  You still have a fighting chance to win and to come out of your condition as victorious but you must return to God in order for this to occur.  Church, we have messed up royally as the phrase goes but there is a small window of opportunity to turn our mission and hearts around and to once again go out and see the harvest.  Satan sees the harvest as well and he is in the process of cutting down that harvest for himself and he has had that privilege way too long.  God is the only way possible for our salvation and through His Son our path is easy but it is a choice of 100% or none at all because these two eternal kingdoms can never mix on any level.  This verse defines this truth and through its words gives us the knowledge of what our enemy desires and it also gives us the authority to advance God’s Kingdom as well.

Church, let us dive into not only the meaning of this verse but every verse that God has provided us in His Word.  It is the knowledge and wisdom that God gives us through the Bible that prevents Satan from even getting close to our lives.  It is this hope and harmony that we all want to live in and to display so why don’t we turn to the One who can provide it for us?  It is a simple question and has an even simpler answer but for many of us our pride and our selfishness come first and at the end of the day we go to bed with both of these killers.  Separate yourselves from the world, Church and fulfill what Christ wants His followers to do.  Seek ye first the kingdom of God and I guarantee that your seeking shall never be in vain and the seeking that our enemy has for us shall be noticed immediately.

DLB

Walking Around

Walking Around

12/16/17

How many of us do this activity without even thinking about being in an uncomfortable place?  It does not matter where we walk in ease for it is not a common factor to worry about an insult approaching while we perform this basic function.  But we have an enemy who likes to walk around as well and show off his presence and he flaunts his presence while everyone continues their own walk.  Why don’t we recognize his presence?  It is because we do not consider him to be a threat in our lives and until we do notice his presence and then do something about it he will continue to destroy our lives without hindrance.  We can change this setting if we turn our hearts back to God and allow Him to open our eyes to the dangers our enemy actually poses to us.  God is beckoning for us to heed His voice before it is too late and He has to grab our attention in another manner.

In my line of work I am constantly walking around my section of the hospital, over in the main hospital, and as you have read in past articles I have a made a path in-between the two buildings as I cross the parking lot numerous times in a day.  On very rare occasion do I ever worry about my safety when it comes to walking around the hospital complex, for the only time I do worry is when I begin my cross of the parking lot and having to look both ways before crossing because many people like to go the wrong way and thus posse a huge risk to people on foot.  But as I walk around I do not even consider what is around me for I am assuming all is well and that everyone is supposed to be where they are assigned.  This is a safe assumption and up until this very day, no real ugly incident has occurred to threaten such walking conditions.

But at the same time we have patients, patient’s family members, and other visitors who come into our facility that are not always in a good mood and have some type of issue with the care they or their loved one might be receiving, so what about these people and instances?  Of course, we must take heed to these environments when presented but still after the incident is over we return to our daily activities, talk about it of course but mainly forget it and go on with our freedom in walking spaces.  But we must consider these potential ugly settings because they are real and at some time will pose a threat to the peace and order of the area and this brings up the question of how should we be ready for such instances yet be calm and seemingly in control at the same time?  This is a vital question with a spiritual answer that will serve us both in the spiritual and physical realms when applied.

My wife and I occasionally walk around the local lake which is about 1 ½ miles in circumference and takes about twenty-five to thirty minutes to complete.  The pace is casual and convenient and we get a lot of talking done when we are completing this task.  We have people pass us running, fast pace walking, or some ride past us on a bike and while these paces differ from ours it is ok for it is all part of the normal setting that is around us when we participate in this wholesome activity.  While some of the people that hang around could be considered ”shady” they stay away and do not pose any problem to those in the area, and to be honest, we do not even consider them to be a threat and continue our walk without interruption.  But as mentioned above we do not know what their heart and mind hold and we do not have access to their thoughts so we must endure their presence and keep their presence in mind just in case.  Ignoring them will not cause them to go away but only solidify their “comfortable” position which is exactly what they want.

There have been some reported assaults on some of the more isolated portions of the lake path and it has been asked by the local police and sheriff departments that anyone who wishes to walk the path should do so with a friend or companion just to make sure that everyone stays safe.  So far, this information has done the trick and there have not been any serious violations occur, but we all know that when we deal with the human mind anything can occur and at some point in time will.  It is not unknown that these types of settings occur and that we all need to be able to defend ourselves when and if violent people approach.  So why is it so difficult for us to achieve such techniques?

There has been a similar pattern of pacification to many of the people around the world that seek to harm us on our own shores.  It is frightening to imagine that we would not be doing as much as possible to stop such potential disasters no matter who these individuals or groups may be or where they originate from.  But our safety has become a political game and bargaining chip that is tossed around like a flipped coin thus establishing a conditional foundation of faith and trust on the human being to behave them.  There is a consistency here that worries me and it worries God as well for it is one that is a voluntary decision and one that we are currently living under.  Not only have we taken this stance with the physical individuals and groups that exist around us but we have taken the identical stance with our spiritual enemy as well and it is this very idea and condition that Peter recognizes way back when he walked the earth.  The Church fell for it back then and we have never recovered from it and it is eating away from our insides without any process to stop it either.

For the last week or so we have been discussing 1 Peter 5:8 and it is this verse that we will continue with today.  1 Peter 5:8 states: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”  I have learned so much from this verse over the past month or so and I continue to hear from God each time I study this verse’s content.  It has come alive to my spirit and I love to teach its content to others because it is relevant and vital to our protection both in the spiritual and in the physical.  So, this installment will be about our enemy walking around us and how we need to recognize his position and how he is walking around as well.  These two words that Peter uses here come from the Greek verb “peripatei” which means to prowl about and refers to an individual or being doing such action.  While this may not seem to mean much to you and is not surprising at all but there is a condition here that is assumed by both sides that need to be addressed and when understood should shed some light on our enemy and why he is able to accomplish such actions.

First off, these two words demonstrate the authority the enemy has over the world and how he is comfortable in this position.  It is these two words that give us another example of how Satan is in control of this world and it was through his own actions that gave him control of this world.  One huge and gigantic detail that we tend to forget about this truth is that Satan is defeated and has been ever since he tried to challenge God and it was through this losing to God that established his destructive and eternal hatred for anything that God created.  This is nothing new for us to hear but it is how we live our lives and what we tend to accept as the truth that causes problems for our lives and places us in chains of our own accord.

We know that Satan is walking around us and trying his best to get us to succumb to his tricks and thievery.  And as each day passes we watch on our screens many people fall and end their lives on some terrible note due to these actions by our enemy.  It is gut-wrenching to watch story after story and to hear the words of loved ones and friends talk about how the subject of a story was tortured by the actions against them and most importantly not to hear one single word about God or how God was present in these lives.  I do not mean to be harsh or rash here but what do we expect if we do not have God living in our hearts?  The enemy does not take time off for holidays or family reunions he is ever present and is doing what he wants because we do not recognize who he is and what he is doing around us.  He is walking freely and at his leisure and without any hesitancy whatsoever because we have bought into the lies of whom the enemy really is.  Our enemy is not God, it is Satan and he is tagging us off one by one while our spiritual lives are watching his teeth sink into our hearts and drawing our spiritual breath from our lives.  It is this portion of the verse that Peter could not have left out for he was watching it occur to the physical and spiritual portions of the Early Church.

All my life I have heard many sermons from preachers and teachers saying that Satan is hurriedly running around so that he can get his job done before his time ends.  While this statement is correct it also serves as a false sense of security to everyone who lives for it leads us to believe that we know who we are and who our enemy is and it is this statement that has cost countless amounts of lives for we do NOT know who our enemy is and more importantly we do not understand OUR position in this world.  In the book of Acts, we find that the church was united as one and the fire of the Holy Spirit came upon them and set the congregation on fire and countless numbers of people came to Christ.  Where is that coming together and movement of salvation today?  This is occurring because Satan is and has been allowed to walk around in his comfortable state, he knows his time is short but at the same time he also knows that he has a door of opportunity that allows him direct access to our lives so why would he act anything different than this type of “casual”?

Secondly, we come to the reason why Satan has the audacity to walk around like he owns the place and can intimidate, haunt and devour seemingly whoever he wishes.  This arrogance and portrayal of a lion on the prowl come from the lies that he has spread about us.  Yep, that is it and to top it all off he has masqueraded the truth so much that he actually controls every word that we now speak.  We fail to recognize the real truth because we have fallen for his lies about our existence for so long that we now live in such muck and mire instead of recognizing our true worth.  God created each animal to have the ability to protect themselves from every predator yet we watch millions of animals die in the jaws of their enemy because they did not heed the truth that was in front of them.  Yes, these animals heard the roar of the approaching dangerous position but did nothing about it until it was already chosen as the one to die at that moment.

We were NEVER created or meant to be prey for our enemy, for we were designed for perfection at all times and to live as the eternal prized creation for everyone to witness.  In no fashion imaginable were our lives even be subject to such a tragedy yet through our own choices we are now capable of being totally devoured by such a disastrous ending.  It is because we have chosen to allow Satan to take charge of our lives that we find ourselves in the category of prey and thus vulnerable to being devoured.  It should be a no-brainer to be on alert and to use every possible defensive measure against our enemy when he attacks but we have interpreted the Word of God so much for our selfish patterns that we have no stance when the enemy attacks.  That is why we are in the shape that we are in and why we have no clue of why the issues that present themselves today are doing it as they are.  Can you hear the laughter?  You should because Satan is laughing so loud that it is deafening.

It is not difficult to see such casual walking strolls that Satan is taking for he has us so discombobulated amongst ourselves that he does not have to worry about being noticed as he takes his daily walk around.  It is also evident that we care nothing about the roaring that he is giving us as a “warning” for we cannot hear such a sound while we are looking at each other and shouting that our demands and rights be recognized, all of which are from his own design.  We have fallen into this trap without any hard trickery from him, in fact, we have encouraged him to walk around because we imitate his walking instead of the one who created us.  The most dangerous portion of this walking around by our enemy is what he is accomplishing.  His plan is and always has been to destroy our lives and if he is allowed to roam freely without any hindrance, we are sunk and have no chance of living as we were created to live.

He has us so confused that we deal our own lives a death hand because when those who recognize such activities are immediately shut down and silenced through the laws that he has told us to create.  Worldly equality might be a hopeful physical state but it is a spiritual and eternal farce because the origins of such plans are not from God.  We blew that equality a very long time ago and it shall not be regained until we are in the presence of God again.  Satan’s plan, his ONLY plan for your life is your eternal separation and eternal death from God and he has done a pretty good job at foiling God’s eternal plan for all of us.  There is a reason Satan is walking around and that is to ensure that he is the instigator and overseer of your demise and destruction.

Church, it is our job to tell people that God loves us and that Jesus died for their sins.  But we cannot do this unless we understand exactly who our enemy is and what his ultimate goal for our lives is, and the only way to fully know this is to completely, 100% separate us from the world and its standards for if we are tied to this death trap in ANY way our view of God and His eternal truth shall be skewed and limited.  God has never been limited in any capacity it is our idiotic acceptance of Satan’s kingdom that has limited what God had meant by our creation.  We have fallen down and instead of allowing Jesus to pick us up and heal our wounds we have accepted the hand of Satan and what he has to offer.  We as the body of Christ cannot deny this statement for we have immersed ourselves so much in the world that we no longer can determine what is from God and what is from the world.  We have solidified our walls of our spiritual heart with worldly trinkets and have decorated our Bibles with fleshly interpretations that highlight our Jesus clothes.  ALL of which are sickening to the nostrils of God for we have totally forgotten that His Son’s bride shall be perfect, which is a bruised knuckled, dirty and messed up haired work of perfection.

You ask why my description of Jesus’ bride is as such?  Think about it, if our enemy is allowed to walk around in such a manner as in a casual fashion that means whoever decides to act according to what the Church is supposed to do and with this given picture in a minority of the population, then she shall have no choice but to fight for the truth.  It will not be a pretty sight when this occurs for the forces in the world are strong and are numerous and is a force to be reckoned with, not allied with.  This is why the description of Jesus’ bride IS ACCURATE because it is what we are supposed to do, fight against the roaring lion and the one who walks around uninhibited.  Peter found the early Church in this state and made a bold prediction concerning their state and God is making the same plead with His people today.

Church, it is time to repent and to once again allow God to live victoriously and 100% within our hearts.  With all of the items and felicities that are being brutally exposed we should be at a point of where we are trying to work together in coming back to Christ and repent so that we can move in the correct direction.  How can we sit around and watch our enemy look at us and then proceed to destroy other people’s lives at the same time?  He has the unabated ability to accomplish such atrocities because the Church is ineffective in her life’s mission.  Repent Church, and allow God to return our dead and dry bones into one body that is alive.  Pray for the dying world and o and teach them that Jesus is the light of the world and that their path is being led by a being that only wants to see them die.  Now is the time that we set our enemy back on his heels and stop his flaunting around without any care at all.  The way to do this is to drop the world and everything we have allowed to be carried and to look him in the eyes and proclaim the Word of God again.

DLB

Not a Vigilante

Not A Vigilante But Being Vigilant

12/12/17

To watch one’s surroundings is one of the most important detailed activities humans can perform, for it allows one to know what the general intent of others is.  While we are performing this task we do not have to make it obvious of our actions but we do need to be able enough to do this job properly.  If we do not keep ourselves in a guarded state at all times we will not be able to adequately protect those around us when danger walks towards us.  If we do not have the capability to watch for our enemy and then recognize him how can we defend ourselves before an attack occurs?  God has given us the ability to complete such tasks but we are so wrapped up in our personal distractions that we make it impossible for any defense to be provided.  When we set our hearts back on God He gives us this sense of knowledge about us to simplify our lives enough so that we can have the time to watch and see before the enemy strikes and does damage.

When I was a kid, I lived in a time where the majority of the time my parents did not have to worry too much about where I was at when I was out of their sight.  I always told them where I was going to be and they really did not have to worry about things for they knew the neighborhood and understood that when I got hungry I would be home.  Times were a bit different back then but the dangers towards children and towards adults were still present and occasionally read about in the evening papers.  No matter what time period one wishes to study, they can find actions against humans that can give a person nightmares and while we would like to become trustworthy of everyone around us each of these reminders proves that the human mind can provide some of the most gruesome thoughts ever recorded.  It is always a good idea to know your surroundings and to do our best to be vigilant in such duties.

When I was in the military early and in my basic training days, one of the first things that my instructors taught me was to always understand exactly who was around you and to make sure you understood their body movements.  Being a military person was basically putting yourself out there as a target and when a target presents itself as an opportunity enemies like to take their shot when appropriate.  It is impossible to locate and then react accordingly to every detailed enemy walking about for as we all know there are countless numbers of them but it is important that we listen to our inner heart at all times for there are many times when a certain place or setting just does not feel right for some reason.  It is time that we need to heed to our insides and leave the area with those who are with us.  If nothing happens then fine, but for whatever the reason or cause you or someone in your party may have been set up as a target for some type of wrongdoing. 

With all of the physical distractions that present themselves on a daily basis, it has been recognized that many of the spiritual dangers are thus ignored or forgotten.  We have no problem with placing all our attention onto the physical issues because they are tangible and make the headlines with no delays, but the spiritual dangers are the most important ones that we should be concerned with for when these are ignored the physical dangers only increase.  Yes, the physical dangers need to be addressed but if we place our attention on the spiritual issues first and deal with them according to the Bible the physical dangers will subside at the same time.  I am not saying that if we turn our hearts back to God that our lives will become a walk in the park or a bed of roses, but we will be able to fend off such physical attacks better if our hearts are set right with God first.

We will continue with 1 Peter 5:8 for this article and this verse goes like this: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”  Previously, God has shown us how important it is for us to be sober in spirit and why it is important that we live in this manner at all times.  Now, He is instructing us to be vigilant as well but one cannot help but notice the order in which God instructs Peter to write for it would not make sense to be vigilant first if one cannot be sober.  If we are not sober there is no way possible for us to be vigilant for our minds and eyes cannot be focused on the potential dangers around us.  This is not a play on words by any means but a solid foundational truth that we need to keep in place at all times.  For if our spiritual order is not in the correct positions we will not be able to recognize any attack from our enemy.

The definition of the word “vigilant” that is used here comes from the Greek word gregoresate which literally means watch.  In order for us to watch something or to watch things around us, we must be in a clear state of mind without any hindrances to provide opposition.  I have always maintained that one can write several books from the ideas that person can receive while simply sitting on a bench inside a mall.  The actions of other people are fascinating and tell so much about their state of mind at that moment.  The person watching these people does not really have to look at them very long either, for unknowingly they are giving off hundreds of bodily motions that proclaim so much information.  But if we are distracted with some type of object within our possession, say a phone, our capability to watch if something is about to go wrong extremely diminishes our potential to get out of harm’s way.

As the title of this message states, we are not talking about becoming a vigilante but to be vigilant.  There is a huge difference between these similarly spelled words and just as great misinterpretation by many as well.  A vigilante is a person who takes the law into their own hands to seek justice that they believe has eluded them or for society and being vigilant means to keep an eye out for such vigilante organizations.  I wish I could say that the Church understood the difference between these words but we do not and we miss the mission of Jesus because of our lack of wisdom and understanding of the two, it probably would have saved millions of lives in the process as well.  It is very important that we know that we are not to be vigilantes when it comes to our job as Christians for when we become such a character then the true mission of Jesus is thwarted and defeated before it can even be placed into motion.

It is vital that we understand what lies within our hearts and how those beliefs carry out the physical aspects of our human side at the same time.  There is no way we can figure this out unless we understand that there is a reason why we must be sober so that we can be vigilant.  Being vigilant goes hand-in-hand with being sober for a part of being vigilant is to understand completely what is going on around you.  When we understand the entire picture of the atmosphere around us it is easier to recognize the unusual behavior of others.  We do not have to actually hear their voices to sense a wrong or spiteful spirit; it will be portrayed in their movements without their direct knowledge.  Remember, the roar of the enemy is a warning of an impending encroachment and while hearing is an essential part of this state our eyes should act as an enhancing factor in this process.

It is easy for us to determine that the world is easily distracted with all of the hustle and bustle that is supposedly required and it is through this distractive tactic that our enemy shades himself amongst us to achieve his plan of devastation.  Many of you remember the movie “Finding Nemo” where one of the main characters is a fish who is easily distracted and veers off course constantly because she finds other things to occupy her mind at that moment.  This delays her ultimate goal in finding the star of the movie which costs everyone involved in the search valuable opportunities and adds risks at the same time.  It is this pattern that our enemy loves to create for it makes his job a ton easier.  It is at this time where humans need to recognize the difference between calm and chaos and choose the appropriate avenue to take instead of giving into the rat-race that has become our definition.  We cannot afford to live in such a chaotic state for the issues that plague cannot be adequately fixed, only patched over and while this serves as a temporary fix the underlying problem still remains that our vigilance cannot foresee.

It is of dire importance that we recognize our situation and understand just how serious it is for if we do not then we are sunk, no matter how hard we try.  This is where the Church is supposed to come in and work together as one in order to ensure that all potential attacks are thwarted according to God’s plan.  But here lies our problem in that the Church has become so preoccupied with the world and has allowed the world into her courts that she has become complacent with the world and its standards.  This is not being sober and this is definitely not being vigilant, in fact, it is being drunk and sluggish for it represents two immortal and enemy kingdoms fighting over what cannot be mixed.  We have already learned from God about that position and this is a consequence of what happens when we practice such a lie.  The kingdom of the world does not wish to see you succeed eternally it wants to see you die in your sin and be forever separated from God in a torturous pit that was not made for us.  Do you realize that when you selfishly interpret God’s Word to justify your own behavior that you are creating your own chaotic and dysfunctional standards and do you also realize that when you do such activities that you are automatically placing yourself into the hustle and bustle category that our enemy wants us to live within?  If one believes in such activities then you are now considered a vigilante and not a person who is being vigilant.

When a sentry is put into their place to watch out for the enemy their commanders insist that they stay awake and be on guard at all times while their shift is going.  Anytime that they lose track of time, fall asleep, or become distracted for a long enough period of time could spell the end for their fellow soldiers behind them.  It is this importance of watching that Peter is referring to here in this verse for if we do not recognize what is going on around us at all times and act together there can be no true defense.  Sentries are placed on the perimeter of the compound and are watching in every direction, not just in one.  If only one direction is covered the enemy will know exactly which direction to attack, I have also heard of the enemy attacking in the direction of just one sentry position in order to fool the compound occupants so that the main attack can come from another direction.  It is for this reason that the entire perimeter needs to have the adequate personnel to ensure complete coverage of the approaching enemy.  This broken chain of watchers is not a good example of being vigilant but it is a great example of how the enemy penetrates the Church because of their denominational beliefs.

It is imperative that the Church act together as one single entity in order for us to provide the necessary defensive tactic against any attack.  We have not done this and it has cost us so many precious lives over the course of the history of the Church.  Some have done their best to be diligent and vigilant in this undertaking but many have not and it is through these gaps that our enemy has gained so much access.  A person cannot be steady at all times when they are not sober in the spirit.  One will be turning like a top and making themselves dizzy if the entire defensive unit is not pulling their weight.  It was this point that Peter was trying to explain to the early church because he saw what damage the roaring lion had already done to the fledgling body.  One cannot properly defend anything if they do not understand who the enemy is and they cannot afford to wait until a later time to start defending and being vigilant either, for when they wait it means they lost.  We cannot be swayed or become tired while on duty for the enemy is also watching us and knows by our actions the state of condition that we are in for only a completely awakened, sharpened, and alerted perimeter defense can provide the necessary defensive position.

As we have learned it is important that not only we be sober in the spirit but also this step allows us to be vigilant.  One cannot be present without the other and it is these two steps working together that provide the truth about who our enemy is and what he is up to at all times.  Peter was specific when he wrote these words voicing his concerns about the Church during his lifetime and this voice is still circulating today.  It is imperative that we understand that if we are to have these two measures in our walk that we cannot have any selfish matters that place our soul over the presence of the spirit that God has given us.  It is also essential that we know that if we act alone on our own accord without God being first we act as vigilantes and not our job as witnesses for the vigilance of the Gospel.

Church, we have fallen down on our sentry duty and have allowed so many enemy representatives of the world to enter into our lives, but we have time to eradicate them from our spiritual lives before God has to take matters into His hands.  It is time that we follow this verse as it was meant, 100% a follower of Christ and one who desires nothing more than to witness to the lost.  We have time to turn our sleepiness watch into an effective method of detecting enemy movement against God’s children.  It is time we take a stand for Jesus and to be the true vigilant warrior in the spirit and to detect the roaring of the lion and to understand the importance of what lies ahead.  Separate yourself from the world and embrace God once again for it is He that can train our ears and eyes to listen to the warning sounds that are approaching.  A wandering eye does the mission no good but a vigilant and steadfast heart makes the watch accurate.  When we are vigilant in the Word then we shall truly understand what Jesus meant when He stated the fields are ready for harvest and why the enemy wishes for us to become preoccupied instead.

DLB

Sobering Thoughts

Sobering Thought

12/10/17

Being sober can mean a variety of states that our bodies can present but as most of us understand there is a couple that usually stands above the other meanings of this word.  There is a reason for this behind this statement for it is a plan that our enemy wants you to follow and to ignore what is said in the Word of God.  It is important for people to understand that in order to know God’s Word we must have no physical bias present and it is this state of heart that defines this word and the condition we must be in when we come to God.  We have lost this truth and until we turn back to God with a pure heart our lives will continue to be over the barrier that we crossed with God.  God urges us to become sober in spirit once again so that our hearts can know Him and His plan for our lives.

When most people use this term it is common thought that they are referring to a drinking problem plagued them for a long period of time and now they have discontinued that habit.  It can also mean that a person has not been partying for a few days as well and that their thoughts and mind are clear on a temporary basis with the intent on becoming in another inebriated state at some time in the future.  The majority of us has had such thoughts of drunkenness and has accomplished this feat quite successfully, some to the point where it takes days to recover from such binges and many do not remember what occurred or what they did during those moments.  I can honestly say that I have never been in this type of state and that I have never had to wonder what I did the next day or on Monday either.  I have never allowed my mind to become to a position where I am no longer in control of what I can do, say, or remember.  I am proud to be able to say this for I have had my chances to become in such a state but chose never to do such an act.  I am not placing myself on a pedestal but in the line of work that I am in I have witnessed countless of people in this state and I have studied what it has done to their lives, both at that moment and in their futures.

Alcohol is not the only drug that can place a human into this “I cannot remember what I did last night” setting, for there are recreational drugs that can provide the same type of placement.  I have never done any of these types of drugs either and I give the same reason as above as to why I can honestly say this statement.  In 35 plus years in the medical field, I have witnessed and heard many a mother’s cry over her dead child for the news that the physician had to give to her and her family.  I personally have witnessed the brokenness that was present before the setting and at the time of the death and in a few cases after the death.  In each case, the trauma of such settings is horrific to watch transpire and it is a remembrance that one never forgets.  It is this memory that brings to my life a sobering thought and it places this word into a new understanding that lies both in the physical and in the spiritual.  Our enemy does not want you to be sober in either the physical or the spiritual for if you stay impaired then you are at the mercy of his roar and that roar will eventually tear you apart.

The definition of the word “sober” has numerous amounts of meanings with one being an adjective and another being a verb.  While these definitions are similar one must understand how the word is being used in the sentence in order to know which meaning the author is getting at.  Many of the schools today do not teach their students how to diagram a sentence which serves as a problem when these kids get into higher stages of learning or in the workforce.  Anyway, the tense selection that will be used in this topic will be of a verb nature which is how the author of the verse we will be using intended on it being understood.  So, the definition we will be using here comes in the meaning: make or become more serious, sensible, and solemn.  This definition means that no bias can be formed either in order for the truth to be understood when it is presented, the conscious must be clear and unaltered at all times when it comes to understanding what goes on around us.  If any noticed or accepted article is introduced into the equation it makes the status of this state invalid for the ultimate control has been taken away from that individual.

Now, as mentioned above this message is not just about alcohol or drugs and the influence that they have on our lives, but these two issues are a representative of what occurs when our minds are altered by such substances.  It will describe the condition of the mind and heart when it is influenced by outside sources that bias our lives into believing lies and thus desire not to advance our knowledge about what is really occurring around us and to have a closer and deeper relationship with Christ and God’s Word.  It is these two foundational and life-giving sources that we need to understand in their entirety and purity in order to know where our enemy is, who our enemy is and to understand how to combat him when he displays his roar and presence.  This understanding also provides our enemy and his subjects how strong we are against the world as well.  When one looks at this upcoming verse and the meaning of the word sober and desires to understand how to defend against the enemy, it automatically allows us to disengage from any activity that would hinder us from advancing the Kingdom of God willingly and voluntarily.  Do we get or are we getting the job done in this sober manner according to 1 Peter 5:8?

1 Peter 5:8 states as follows: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”  This portion of this verse was not in my original plans but I have always been amazed at how God uses His Word to grab one’s attention for a certain detail then expounds on that detail even if it is concerning the same verse at a later time.  God is good all the time and it is so wonderful to learn truthful words from Him and it looks like there may be at least two more articles on this verse before God shows us something else in another part of His Word.  I love the order that is presented here in this verse for through it, it sheds light on how we should be before we can understand the enemy that is in our presence and before the verse closes it gives us a specific directive about the enemy and what his job is.  This verse can provide us with so much detail about our lives and the life of our enemy if we only turn our hearts towards what God says here and live by it every day.  If we can keep the order of this verse intact, our lives will be so much easier and this is a guarantee from God.

When a person is of a sober stance, things around them shall not pass by without notice and it will easy to detect anything that might present a danger to them or to others around.  We can still carry on with our daily journey and act normally for if we did not do such a thing then we would be the conspicuous one that stood out like a sore thumb.  Having a clear spirit that is not clouded with any spiritual obstacles or spiritual embargos will have a direct communication with God that will serve as a protection against such potential disasters.  This clarity of spiritual life also has a direct advantage on a personal side of things for it will give us this same direct communication link with God when we open our hearts to His Word.  When we study God’s Word with this type of heart it takes all aspects of self out of the picture.  God is not biased to whom He gives His Word to nor is He biased to whose heart He shows His message to either but in order to receive and then understand what God’s Word means to our lives we must be of a sober heart that does not contain any bias for if there is any present our view of what God wants us to share with others will be based on a worldly point and not of an eternal truth.  That is why it is important for us to continually allow God to have access to our heart so that He can clear away all of the self-righteous indignations that we love to harbor.

The word sober used here in this verse is perfect for it sets the stage for us to be in perfect unity with God both in the physical term and more importantly the spiritual aspect of our lives.  If we try and defend ourselves against an enemy attack while distracted by the world around us or with worldly goods in our spiritual possession how do you believe we would serve in our defense?  Here is the perfect example of what occurs when a nation, country, or individual tries to serve two masters, it cannot work on any level.  This verse proves that one must be of one kingdom in order to serve effectively for a life and here Peter gives us a specific statement on how we should be and where we should be spiritually as well.  But as God’s message “The Roar” brilliantly stated if we cannot live under these purified conditions we will eventually get used to the roar of our enemy and ignore the warnings he gives thus subjecting us to his attack at his leisure.  Being sober in the spirit is the correct lineage that our lives must be in to understand what is going on around us, for this lining up places spirit first then the emotions and flesh and when this path of our inner lives is taken the physical will have to submit to the spiritual.

When we are not sober, the condition we place ourselves in is one of vulnerability.  We are masters of our own hearts and minds for if we were not then we would not have free will and free choice to make such decisions.  Choice is a great opportunity given to us by God but if we are clouded by the lie of the world and keep this type of thinking first in our hearts then we are placed in a defenseless position and will easily be taken out when the attacks arrive.  In fact, we will be so vulnerable that Satan himself will not have to even be around to issue the attack, he can get one of his minions to do the job for him, a “benefit” that comes with being associated with the world.  Satan has no desire to make you happy, but to destroy you by your own lifestyle in the world.  Do you understand that a true believer who is grounded in the Word of God can spot or recognize a person, minister, ministry, denomination, or even nation who has succumbed to the world and is not sober in the spirit?  Something to think about and pray about for this realm of worldly belief is present in our churches and it is running rampant as many people are led astray by such actions.

In all honesty, if we allow selfish interpretations to enter into our hearts so that we can attract certain portions of the population that is building your church instead of building and then advancing Jesus’ Church.  Accepting worldly standards is a prime example of a person, minister, ministry, denomination, and nation having a drunken or non-sober spiritual heart making decisions and it is an abomination before God for the true message of salvation is NOT being told to those who need it.  You cannot tell the truth when you accept the exact same sin in your life as a gift from God.  Think about that!  A person studying the Word of God hoping to find an exception to His Truth for a human’s incumbent interpretation cannot understand the eternal Truth of the Bible.  Oh, Satan will provide a person with such information according to what is in their heart (door and roar) because he understands the Bible better than people do and he will manipulate its content when we do not fully comprehend the magnitude of God’s Word.

Stop and think about something for a moment concerning the importance of the order in this verse.  If our soberness is skewed in any way, it means that our vigilance will be skewed in some manner as well.  Then we will not be able to recognize that the devil is our enemy which means we will not be able to hear with our spiritual ears his roaring.  Then when this flawed belief reaches this point we will not be able to see our enemy walking around us bringing things together to begin an attack on our lives.  Most importantly we will not be able to understand that his final desire to destroy (devour) our lives in every way with the eternal intention of permanent separation from God.  This entire paragraph is stated in this one verse and if we do not grasp this concept we are sunk and will not have any defenses against our enemy and will walk blindly right into any trap he sets before us.  Does this sound familiar to you with what is going on and what is coming out each day in this country?

Selfish interpretations of the Bible are NOT sobering thoughts and only represent a service to cloud our spiritual hearts from the Truth that God wants us to acknowledge and understand.  When we accept these interpretations as beliefs we place our soul back in front of our spirit which is a dangerous position to live in because it places us in a predicament with God for He cannot continue to bless and to protect a rebellious person or nation.  Having a sober mind means that we continually keep our heart’s door open to God so that He can have access to our hearts on a regular basis and clean it according to His Word.  There is no way possible that we can be vigilant, the next step in this verse if we do not have a sober spirit.  Satan will tell you and convince you that having your own interpretation of Bible content is ok and that your opinion has a valued customer status, but in truth this is a lie that will eternally separate you from God because the one that is feeding you with this nonsense was defeated himself long before you came to this earth.  There is a reason for each and every word in the Bible and it is our duty to study God’s Word as much as possible in order to understand life that He has ordained for us.

Church, having a true and holy sober spirit will give us the energy necessary to be vigilant at all times.  I believe that if you take a hard look at your spirit you will understand that you are not sober by any means.  We have become imbibed with so many lies from our enemy which now act like addictions and through these worldly addictions there is no way possible to have any steadfastness or vigilance.  This state of ours means we cannot recognize who the enemy is and it also gives rise as to why each day we throw God out of our lives for we cannot discern who the real enemy is.  The one command Jesus gave to His Church is to go into the world and to teach and preach the gospel to a dying world.  This will be a hard statement for some but it is a statement that needs to be said for there are billions of lives at stake here.  If we do not approach the Word of God and the mission that Jesus gave us with pure and sober spirits our light shall not be present and we will, therefore, present a false gospel.

Jesus met the woman at the well, stayed for a weekend revival but before the revival took place He had to teach His own disciples what the fields of harvest truly was.  Jesus was not talking about the physical wheat harvest even though He used it as a visual for His words.  The true harvest involves those people (fields) that do not know God and are in dire need of God in their lives.  The disciples did not have a true sober spirit in this passage and Jesus was trying His best to teach them this truth long before Peter mentioned it.  That is okay because Adam and Eve missed it, Moses missed it, Abraham and David missed it, all of us have missed it.  But we can now pray and allow God to give us such a sober spirit so we can truly know the harvest.  Church, Jesus loves you but in order for us to understand this love of His, we must be of a sober heart with NO selfish interpretations of His Word.  Become clean through God and He will give you the burden to see the fields for they are ripe and ready for harvest, a sobering detail that provides us with a multitude of sobering thoughts.

DLB

The Roar

The Roar

12/8/17

Our ears are a special gift from God in that He has given us a tool for us to use against an approaching enemy or storm.  If we were not able to hear, we would continually be on the lookout so that we would not be caught off guard.  Ears give us a sense of warning but at some point, this gift can cause heighten fears that we harbor our lives as well.  If we do not understand our enemy well enough he will gain access to the inner portions of our existence and continuously torture us with our weaknesses.  God knows this detail about us and has provided a perfect solution for us to defend ourselves against such cruelty but we need to harbor this truth in our hearts and minds at all times so that we can use this weapon when the enemy attacks.  The storms are coming and the enemy is roaring but will we utilize the eternal truth as our defense or will we rely upon sinking sand?

Most people are not too keen when storms approach their parts of the world and rightfully understood.  For the impending uneasiness of the outdoors ruptures the quietness and stillness and produces such a fearful fright that would unnerve even the calmest person’s peace.  I have mentioned many times previously that this weirdo actually loves storms and every chance I get look out of the window to see every aspect of the storm as it passes.  However, I have to admit that sometimes even my unusual curiosity about storms is caught off guard and I become a tad nervous as the house or car shake due to the effects of the storm.  I forget that man has built fortifications that can withstand most of the storms that we encounter and provide such a shelter when the storm time arrives.  There is not many of us out there who have not thought about our lives ending while such violent storms cross our paths, this is a natural process but one that really changes how a person thinks at that moment. 

No matter what the conditions may be, we know that we have a protection above our heads that gives us the correct amount of coverage when bad times occur.  And when the storm is over and the waves are settled, we can emerge from our homes and see what we have been protected from once again, a peaceful feeling when we realize that we are alive and have survived another attack.  God knows exactly where each one of His children is at and what they are going through, it does not matter what time of the day it may be or if it is winter or summer. God never leaves us no matter how fierce the roar of any storm may be to our ears.  We also know that not every storm is a natural occurrence, but one that attacks our spirits and while the physical storms are frightening enough many times the spiritual roaring that our enemy surrounds us with is so specific and unique that it stops us in our tracks and complete fear overtakes our lives, a condition that our eternal Father does not wish for any of His children to face alone.

Each day, many of us face trials and difficult situations that have nothing to do with the weather and the unsettledness it can offer, but these storms are produced inside our lives and become individual and personal and present the most danger to our lives.  Many of us suffer through these storms alone without anyone to help simply because we have not confided these issues with any other person, others deal with these settings quite the opposite by letting everyone know but whatever the circumstance may be the storm that rages within always weighs heavy on our hearts and takes its toll while those sounds increase in closeness.  These attacks come strictly from our eternal enemy and are precise in their target for the devil knows exactly where your weak points are and when times of difficulty come our way he does not have any mercy.  1 Peter 5:8 is a verse that addresses this venture of our enemy and it gives us the perfect picture to keep in our hearts and minds when he brings these storms to our lives. For if any condition of our hearts varies when he attacks our chances of overcoming these whimsical sounds become slim, a very unusual statement to make but it holds true and needs to be understood for our defense.

1 Peter 5:8 states: “Be sober, Be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”.  Here we have another short yet powerful verse that is filled with multitudes of information.  We are going to stick with the small portion of the roaring issue and how it makes us feel when this type of storm approaches from the spiritual aspect of life.  How often do we react accordingly when we understand that some type of major weather change is headed our way or how do we act when an upset of a supposed winner occurs?  It is quite well known that when certain events and conditions do not turn out as we expect them to often upset our balance which then it becomes an opportunity to either shine or be degraded, in either result, it is our choice to respond appropriately.  What we most repeatedly forget is that when we do act on these results others take notice of our actions and have their own actions as well, certainly signifying a unity or division in which case all actions produced directly show our preparedness for any outcome, no more is true than how we understand and then react to our spiritual and eternal enemy.

1 Peter 5:8 is a perfect example of how we should be ready for such an attack by our enemy and if we do not understand what is truly going on then we are susceptible to his attacks and will be injured when it does arrive.  Our ears serve as a great protection device of dangers that are approaching and sometimes they provide the first defensive response to an incoming issue.  Without our ears, we would be limited to how we conduct our lives including where we go and what we would be able to complete.  Limited communication would be at best and our reliance on others would greatly increase.

Ever been to the zoo?  The lions and tigers area is one of the most popular attractions at a zoo and when getting to this area most of the time it is packed with people and it can be hard to see the animals desired.  But have you noticed that many times during the day the lions and tigers are not around and cannot be seen?  You can stand there for what seems like forever and they are not around or they are crashed out at the far corner of their area providing a difficult position to be noticed.  Yet, after you give up hope and walk away, at some point later your ears hear their roar, frustrating I know but this type of scene has played out numerous times when I have visited the zoo.  It is the sound that the lions and tigers make that grabs our attention and allows us to react appropriately.  We know that those animals are in a specific area and cannot escape, but it is the sound they make that puts us on alert, or it should.  How many of us do not even pay attention to that sound because we feel like we are in a comfort zone?  I would venture to say that much more than not fall into this dangerous category.

We never know when our enemy is going to come against us and when we most expect his presence and when we are looking for him to do something, he does not show up.  We cry victory and dance around with complete joy thanking God that our enemy was showed back to the point where he did not even show his face in our lives.  At no time can we afford to relax when it comes to our enemy for it is at this time that he strikes, it does not matter what our current circumstances might be it is our duty to be sober and vigilant when it comes to our enemy and his presence.  He understands the gift of hearing and he will use it to his advantage if we allow it.

A roaring lion’s sound is very distinctive and it can travel a great distance and it is an effective weapon of acknowledgment to any creature that can hear.  For every animal that hears this sound, it should grab their attention and they should immediately look to see in which direction the sound came for if they do not the enemy has already detected their presence and knows who is paying attention and taking the appropriate measures and who is not.  When one believes that they are the king of the area it is easy for others to take notice when this king decides to make his presence known.  Our enemy is doing the exact same thing and we shall fall prey to his viciousness if we do not pay attention AND then understand what to do after the sound touches our ears.  But how many times do we forget that this enemy has no teeth and has already been defeated, so why do we give up so easily and give him direct control over our lives?

There is a huge difference between the animal kingdom’s reactions to a lion or tiger than the human aspect of things because while animals must ensure their safety by leaving the area for their own protection we do not have to run at all for we can stand and fight off the enemy.  But in order for us to be able to accomplish this feat, we must first recognize the enemy’s roar and then know how to defend and push back him when he does arrive.  God has given us the physical ability to hear and He has also given us the spiritual ability to hear as well.  When used in combination with the words of the Bible, we have the perfect defense for any attack that the devil may bring but once again, if we ignore the truth and the ways of protection we will have no mechanisms of defense when he comes and we will be ripped to shreds, all the time spiritually and many times physically.

We must remember that when our enemy roars it is a warning sign, he is close by and he is looking for someone to attack.  His storm (presence) is not there yet but it is approaching.  A lie that many people in the Church have become believers in is that the world is their friend and that it is ok to accept some of the world’s standards into the Church and into their lives.  The devil does not represent ANYTHING about God and he cannot bring any peace or tranquility to a setting, period!  What he sets before you may look genuine but in truth, it is harmful and eventually will cost you your life.  This “genuine” piece of presentation is a roar and we need to recognize it as such.  It is exactly what 1 Peter 5:8 is talking about and describing.  It is our responsibility to recognize this process and to know how to defeat it BEFORE it enters into our lives.  Anytime, ANYTIME that something is presented to us as “normal” or that it should be “normal” and it does not line up with the Word of God it is a roar.  And if we accept this roar to be true then we have allowed our enemy to gain access to our lives and it is a guarantee that at some point down the road or right at that moment he shall strike.

This is not a new trick that Satan uses for it was written about a long time ago which means that it was present during that day and since it is the Word of God that tactic was present during Old Testament eras as well.  A point that needs to be addressed here is that if this procedure of our enemy has been around for so long why is it so difficult for us to recognize it?  It began in the Garden of Eden and it continues today that is a long time to stay ignorant people.  If one really studies this specific verse in 1 Peter, they can almost hear the frustration in Peter’s voice due to the lack of understanding of a truth that had been around for millennia.  So, why are we not hearing such frustration from pastors today concerning this topic?  It is because we have continued to live off the sweetness of God’s milk and have refused to accept His meat!  And for that continued failure, we shall witness one of the greatest farces then destructions known to mankind.

You want to know why that so many people are without peaceful conditions in their lives today?  This verse and its explanation give us the reasons why we have ignored the roaring of our enemy and have graciously accepted his offerings of “peace” instead of recognizing them for what they truly are.  Look at these gifts that he has offered and that we have accepted during our historical lives, have they brought any peace to our personal lives or to our world?  We have strayed so far off course that we do not even recognize what is transpiring in our world today, we fail to see the bleeding conditions that each economy is facing, we fail to understand that this moral decay is affecting everyone all sides of the aisle, not just one side.  Countless natural disasters contribute to this bloodletting and to top it all off and what is the most disturbing is that the number of people who call themselves Christians yet live by worldly standards is rising but at the same time church buildings are shutting their doors because pastors and priests are nowhere to be found.  HELLO!!!!!  We have missed the roars of the enemy and now we are seeing the results of our ignorance.

Church, you are not sober and you are not vigilant to the truth, you have allowed the ambitions of the world influence your heart to believe in worldly truth and to abandon the Truth.  We have become comfortable with the sound of the roar amongst us and have even accepted it as a sound to enjoy instead of fear.  We now do not believe that our enemy is a danger to us, so much that we have been convinced by the roars that the Truth is a lie and should be ignored and discarded.  Each day we see the reaping of the choices of roaring acceptances and yet we still fail to understand what is going on and that there is a way for it all to be forgiven and eternally forgotten.  The roar of our enemy is always around and while its noise is just that we cannot afford to become lax when our ears hear this distinctive sound.  Our enemy has one goal and he will do whatever it takes to obtain that goal.  A roaring lion is not a good sound to hear for the lion is making such sound for a reason.  Our enemy is doing the exact same thing and we need to keep on guard at all times for if we do not we will fall as prey.

There is a contemporary band called “Skillet”.  I do not know if you have heard of them or not but their beat and lyrics are of a rock style group.  A few years back they released a song entitled “American Noise” that basically described the day-to-day activities of the hustle and bustle of this society.  Now, if you do not play their video of the song you will not understand what occurs at the end of the song that relates to this topic and article.  Up until a few months ago, I had not watched the video but felt like I needed to and when I did I understood what God was saying to my heart and what it would mean for this topic.

At the end of the song and video, there is a lion on the left side of the screen and a young child on the right side of the screen.  The lion has his mouth open with his teeth showing and his eyes are smartly fixed at the girl.  It is obvious that he is growling and making ugly noises towards the girl, a sight that would bring instant fear in many of our lives and rightly so.  However, the girl has a very determined look on her face and is making a huge gesture to the lion.  Her lips are closed and her index finger is on her lips and it is clear that this girl is telling the lion to be quiet.  It is this gesture that we need to be doing to our enemy when he roars and tries to bring his kingdom into our lives.

Church, if this picture depicts a young child knowing how to handle the enemy in front of her properly, why haven’t we figured things out like she has?  Why have we felt sorry about the lion and his roar instead of understanding that he is the enemy and does not have any authority to even breathe around us?  Why have we basically thrown away our adoption status in God and taken up with the person who created the separation from God in the first place?  Church, it is our responsibility to ignore the world’s gifts (roars) and to teach the people that God loves them and paid an eternal price for this unity with Him.  We have been misguided (lied to) to believe that it is okay to have a relationship with the world and God.  This is an eternal lie that will cause our lives to be separated from God.  This is not a game or a subject to be taken lightly and it is our responsibility to first understand what it means to be sober in the spirit so that we can be vigilant in listening for and then dealing with our enemy.

How can we completely defend ourselves or even partially defend ourselves if we have ignored this roaring from our enemy?  When our trials and problems arise how can we hear what God is saying to us if we do not look at the person making the noise and giving him the “shhhh” sign to be quiet?  It does not matter what kind of noise (roar) that our enemy makes, God has the answer to all of our worries but we need to have a clear hearing space in order for us to hear and we cannot do this unless we have control over the noise.  God’s Word gives us the information we desperately need to do this task, in fact, when we study the Bible without prejudice and apply the content to our lives it allows us to become sober in the spirit and when this occurs it will give us the knowledge to be vigilant against the kingdom of Satan.

DLB