Changing Patterns

Changing Patterns

2/24/18

We would like to believe that all things that originate from God and are available to our lives would be a safe and natural comment.  While this statement is a correct one those issues cannot serve us well for they go totally contrary to what this world demands.  The way that God wants us to live goes completely against the way that the world deems is necessary and when these two paths come in contact only an eternal warfare battle can settle the disagreement.  This battle is won or lost by the individual choices of which path we take and while even the simplest of measures may get ignored they prove to be some of the most important battles ever fought in our lives.  We can never forget the value that our lives have and if we understand this eternal status of ours and listen to the heart of God we can overcome such devastations without even encountering them.

I know that some of you out there can do the splits but for most of the men running around, they have a difficult time in completing such a move.  Now, I believe in being as limber and in shape as possible but there are certain directions that my body and many of your bodies just cannot do.  When I was younger and was in pretty good shape, one of the stretching exercises that were popular was to sit on our rear ends spread the legs out as far as they could go and then bend forward.  This is an excellent exercise for the groin area of our bodies but for some of us the bending over portion of this exercise did not go very far because I just could not do it without hurting myself and no one even dared to ask me to try to jump up and land in the splits formation, it was not going to happen.  Don’t get me wrong, I did not say “no” to this exercise without trying it, but boy, when I did I immediately knew that it was not or this kid.

But while my body could not perform such an act, others could and it always amazed me of how they could do such a feat; that is, of course, after the phantom pain that shot through my body left.  Even though there are people out there who can safely and routinely complete this act they do have a limitation as to how far they can go and many can only stay in this position for just a few seconds before the pain begins to form in their bodies.  Our bodies are a magnificent structure that can bend and twist in many ways but even when these types of movements are common and easily maneuvered our bodies are only a certain length and width and only can reach so far.  If we overdo these positions we will pull muscles or if being forced to complete such measures can literally tear our bodies apart, a famous torture method used by many past types of regency.  It is this tearing apart that we may face if we try and stay on the spiritual fence for too long, for even the spirit has its bodily form as well and will fall apart if tried to be played on both sides.

When I arrive at work in the morning, there is a certain route that I take from the parking lot to the main hospital building and then from the hospital building to my building.  Part of this arrival procedure involves in walking some of the same terrain as I do each day and includes a great deal of the path that God speaks to me.  I have kept this identical pathway for almost seven years now and I can almost walk it with my eyes closed.  As I have mentioned before there is a portion of the path that involves a sloped ramp that the ambulances use to bring their occupants to the Emergency Room entrance and when the weather becomes bad this angled portion can become slippery.  None of us like to fall down for when we do the majority of the time it is our pride that we land on and are hurt the most.  So, why would I or anyone else take this path when the weather is bad or have adverse precipitation on it?  Like I mentioned a second ago, it is because of our pride that we follow this route.

It has become engrained in my mind to take such a path and to keep it in this manner and order.  I have taken this way for so long that it has become second nature to me, a habit that I do not even think about any longer and just complete without even thinking about it.  Many of us can relate to such paths for when we go to work, the grocery store, complete our first morning routines, and countless other patterns we tend to follow the same plan as the days and years before.  This is a common pattern that all humans take and get comfortable with for it makes our lives simpler and we all know that when we follow a routine it becomes a standard in our lives, especially when this pattern has developed for years.

A few days ago, we had a small storm come through our area and for some reason, it decided to snow on our community.  We really need the moisture this year and it was welcomed for the most part by all who witnessed its arrival.  But at the same time, it laid a thin blanket of snow on the ground which made the ground wet but icy at the same time which made a bit difficult to walk upon.  This should not present any large problems and to be honest I really did not think about it too much as my feet were slowly walking up the ramp.  I completed my main lab chores, gathered my things to make the commute across the parking lot to my building and headed for the back door. 

As I approached the door, God told me to take another path this morning and not to walk down the ramp as I would normally do.  I quickly thought I would ignore such a suggestion and do my own thing but stopped just as fast and turned right instead of left as I was leaving the lab.  A small detail one would think but enough that God for some reason did not want me to complete that trip.  So, I took the inside route for this trip and limited my exposure to the outdoors and the ramp that I would have walked down.  Now, with that being said I cannot totally say that God not wanting me to walk down the ramp was the pinpointed reason why He said to take another route, all I know is what I heard and I was obedient to God’s voice.  As I was walking through the Radiology department God spoke to me again and gave me the topic of this article and as the moments passed the contents of the article as well.  I do not know if I would have received such a topic and contents if I had done things my own way, an important item that God wants us to understand about being separate from the world even down to the slightest small voice of instruction.

The blessings that God has given us throughout our modern lives are staggering when we take a look at our past.  We cannot argue the fact that God has blessed our nation beyond belief and for those who wish to make a way of life can do so with ample supplies at their feet.  But we have reached a point in our society that we feel the need to overpower others with our personal habits and takings to the point that if we do not follow the popular culture institutions we are labeled as outsiders and are subject to ridicule.  During the lead-up to this state we missed the opportunities to correct such behavior and beliefs before they became ingrained into our hearts and now that these hideous beliefs are a part of our societies we must act upon them according to their principles.  The world would claim that you are just following its protocol and not to be worried about the deep undertones and foundational aspects of life.  A pathway to destruction is what this type of belief and living will result in but readily displayed for everyone to follow if looked upon even though our foundations tell us to go another way.

In the book of Genesis we have the foundational creative status of our existence and when God creates something it must be in perfect order and condition for that is the only pattern He can follow.  When sin entered into our lives it changed the innermost being of our lives because at that point we had to make a choice about how to live our lives and to which path we would forever take.  It was also at this point in humanity that we had to look at both paths and make that decision as we took steps going forward, for retreating was not an option.  As we tried to keep one foot on one path and our other foot on the other path and then continue forward we will very soon find ourselves feeling the pain of being stretched in a manner that is not conducive to our physical abilities.  It is this stretched position that sin has created and as a consequence, we must make this choice of which path to take, this example gives us an excellent way to understand Matthew 6:24 as well.

2 Timothy 2:15 serves as our biblical text for this article and it provides us with an excellent idea and truth concerning how God wants us to be when it comes to the world and the patterns that we follow.  There is no question that we like to get into a routine and to keep that routine as much as possible for it alone brings us some type of security when we are facing the world.  But as we confess this act or ours and the reason we complete it we are taking matters into our own hands and falling into a vicious trap for we are following the patterns of the world whether we recognize it or not.  See, the patterns that we take in order to keep our simplistic methods intact follow the way of getting around the world and its procedures but at the same time while we walk this specific path we are introducing the world into our lives by our own pattern making and it is this activity that God wants us to understand that when we follow such repetitive patterns we cannot help but become rooted in the world.  It is this verse that reminds us that we need to continually allow God to be a part of our lives in order for us to be searched well enough to rid ourselves of these worldly patterns.  When we allow God to accomplish His washing and cleaning processes we will no longer need to be on two paths of life, He will set us afoot on the one true path to righteousness again.  Ever since sin was introduced into our lives it is has been and shall always be our goal to get the world out of our lives and present ourselves as a living sacrifice to God. 

If our patterns serve the world and yet we recognize that there is a difference in the patterns from God and from the world, yet ignore the truth concerning the origins of these paths how can we honestly say or believe that we can be under the eternal covering from God and still want to be connected to our enemy?  There is a process of desensitization here that many fall into when it comes to this position in our lives.  First, it starts with a pattern that we know is bad and for a while feeling guilty about following yet continue this path.  Secondly, this pattern becomes a part of our lives and eventually, the guilt goes away and our minds and hearts are no longer concerned about the adverse effects this pattern has on our lives, still believe in a higher authority but keep Him at a distance.  The third portion of this process is where our patterns have become a way of belief and life through which humans operate, thus, giving them no reason or intention of needing any outside guidance other than what they have already received and upon reaching this stage do not even consider God or any higher authority being present.

It would seem that anything that God deems is good would be considered an abomination to so many people around the world, but if one understands what is at stake, who the kingdom leaders are, what the kingdoms are and why they are in place as they are it would not be much of a surprise.  Yet, physical passions and current acceptable trends rule our thoughts and laws which in turn become self-relevant on paper alone and serve only to function as a directional farce when time comes to respond to a true critical event or setting.  We become comfortable in the physical and superficial defenses that many accept as their foundation and ignore the original issue of disobedience to our Creator.  Disobedience is the definition of sin and when sin completely rules our lives without any heartfelt remorse it makes God uncomfortable and He must act as our eternal Father and do His best to allow us to correct the setting as soon as possible.

From the looks of things in our world today, we have not recognized that God’s path and Ways are totally opposite from the world.  Instead we have followed in the footsteps of the Early Church, Middle Aged Church, and Early Modern Church and have proceeded to take matters into our own hands in order to obtain the Ways of God this means that we have adopted the theory of “my bible” instead of keeping God Word as such, His Word.  While many good deeds have been done to countless peoples the Church still has a horrific record when it comes to proclaiming the truth concerning Kingdom issues.  Many do not or refuse to understand what the core principles of Kingdom are and what they mean to our lives.  To hear the Church respond in anger and superficiality when mass events occur is appalling for they do not boldly say that the only way that these events will stop is if we turn our hearts back over to God 100%.  It is this lack of truth to the world that also makes God uncomfortable as well, for His Church is not doing what His Son commanded them to do.

The ruler of the world and the spirit that he lives within has enough obtained authority over our existence that he laughs at every discourse that our lives experience.  Our fight has become so focused on the physical aspects that we do not even consider the spiritual aspect and true origin of our issues.  Church, Jesus warned us about these events that would come to our nature if we did not study God’s Word and understand it through spiritual eyes.  We have instead boldly ignored the words of Christ and have dictated the Church’s direction based upon superficial and worldly ways and even though we proclaim that we are doing God’s work for the world we are allowing the very spirit of what Jesus warned us about so long ago spill out from our mouths and infect a dying world instead of showing the restoration process to those who need God.

We have lost the truth about who is in charge of this world and we have allowed so many lives be taken in that we are now witnessing the beginning of a new era in our lives that if not corrected immediately will usher in another dimension of existence that will be ruled by the world’s government instead of a compassionate heart of God.  The beautiful people that God looks upon each day that wander around aimlessly still fulfills the kingdom of this world that promotes their own death in the future.  This makes God uncomfortable as well for He knows that while we bask ourselves in the luxuries of His blessings our spiritual lives are drowning in a sea of sin that will one day flush us from this land and drag us to an eternal pit separated from God in a pain that is unrecognizable to our physical minds and eyes.

Many cries are being heard not only from this country but all around the world concerning the issues that we are facing.  One sentiment echoes loud and clear from each voice that is heard from with each setting and that is they want peace and security in their lives once again.  But instead of this request being fulfilled, we see more pain and agony touch lives as each sun cycle completes its rotation.  We fail to admit that the paths that we have taken and are currently taking need to be changed from the origins instead of the superficial.  If we change a pathway but fail to hear God’s voice in which pathway to take or to leave out God completely that pathway shall provide another angle of disappointment that will add to the pain and agony that societies are currently experiencing.  As a result, we find ourselves knowing what path to take but continuing to hold complete belief in the other path which allows for us to forget about the true path and go on our merry way while being stretched further.

Pastors, leaders, teachers of the Church and to those who sit in the pews of such church buildings, God calls upon you to once again show compassion to those who are sinful and need God.  God urges you to once again preach salvation and complete separation from this world and all of its lifestyles on a routine and holy basis.  Call sin for what it is, sin for we can no longer afford to play with this title as a kid’s game it is real and it is eating our spiritual lives alive.  Return to prayer on your knees before God has to place this country on its knees according to His hand and not in a voluntary motion.  God does not care about the numbers of a congregation if they are cold and indifferent from the world or the eternal status of those who consider the world their rightful place of guidance.  God wants your hearts to be renewed in His Ways again so that He can give you the truthful words of His Word to share with those who are supposed to be going out into the world and reaping the harvest. 

All of us are going to be held accountable for what we were supposed to do while living and breathing on this earth and for those of us who have been called by God it is our duty to complete the mission of Christ by telling as many people as we can that there is a true way out of this mess we are in and if we accept God into our lives He will not only give us the means to solve these issues but He will restore us back into a royal status under His Covenant as well.  We cannot complete this mission of ours if we are stuck in the comfortable patterns that we have been in for many years.  God wants us to take a different path, one that will shed His Light on the darkness of the world and to live separately from this ugliness that Satan has deemed beautiful to our eyes.  We have bound ourselves to this world and instead of understanding 2 Corinthians 3:17 and teaching this truth to others, we have pushed it aside as a lie and accepted the “truth” of the ruler of this world.  We do need a change, a spiritual change and a complete change from this world and I pray that we seek this change from God before it is too late.

DLB