Who You Are

Who You Are

3/30/18

There has been a sea of sermons, articles, dissertations, and poems written on every level with the topic of our place in life and who we are to others.  The title of this article might not grab too many eyes but for those who are struggling God wants you to study these words and apply them to your life in every aspect possible, for when you do they shall bring life to your spirit.  We are special to God and it is the job of our enemy to demean this position and standing concerning our lives but we have the authority to overcome such lies but we need to make sure we know what we are up against as well.  So, why is it that we allow this truth about our existence become lax?  God has stated our positions quite clearly and it is our responsibility to live in such authority according to His Word for if we do not then we are sitting ducks for destruction.

Most of you know that I really have issues with the denominational divide that is present in the Church; however, said that I really do not care if a person is Catholic, Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Nazarene or consider themselves to be any other denominationally affiliation for God can speak to them who has an ear and heart that is in tune to His voice.  I thank God for all of the people who have hearts after God and wish to spread the truth about God to those who do not know Him.  It is this that I lead off within this article and it is perfectly timed due to the current situation that we have been presented with over the past few years and that is our position in God and how our enemy looks at us.

Many of you remember or saw the movie “The Passion of the Christ” that came out in 2004.  It was the story about the last days of Christ and how His physical life was torn to pieces by humanity all in the name of eternal covering through the Covenant between God and mankind.  The actor who played Jesus is a strong believer in Christ and attends Mass regularly.  The actor’s name is Jim Caveziel and he has another movie out now that gives an account of Paul.  Anyway, not long ago Jim gave an appearance to an audience for a time of asking questions and one of the topics of discussion was about how much authority we have over the enemy.  Normally, I would not even listen to these types of interviews but for some reason, which later I understood, I listened to the entire clip and Mr. Caveziel said a very profound item about our lives, and when he said it I just sat there in awe because it had never crossed my mind that the majority of us live in the condition that he described.

He made the comment that mankind should have authority over our enemy, we all know this to be true but why is it that Satan is not afraid of us?  It is that statement that grabbed my attention for it places us into a category that most of us fall into and I guarantee that not many of us routinely think about or even address.  There should be at NO time in our lives that Satan should not fear us, period!  Yet, when we pan our city and rural community streets all we see is his free reign without any hesitations on his part.  It is very obvious that he no longer fears us or the potential that we have to make his life miserable.  The world may be his stronghold and represent his home court advantage but while our presence is warranted he should be shaking in his boots instead of parading around in them.  It is this status that we have allowed to take hold in our lives that God wants us to understand, it is easy to say we have authority to do _____, but if we do not live in it and understand the foundation of why we have this authority God can give us everything and still walk in submission to a defeated enemy.

In times of trouble, we should be at a realization of just how strong we are instead of how great our vulnerability and weakness shows.  We were never created to operate in such standing or beliefs yet every day we see fear rearing its ugly head at humanity and humanity responding in cowardly directions.  I wish I could say that these types of examples were limited to modern day or recent history but the conclusion would be a lie.  We have a perfect example of such lack of authority right in the beginning of the Bible and for the most part, this type of living has never ceased from our lives.  Yet, we are presented with a puzzling account about how quickly one can become comfortable enough within their own existence and at the same time increase their risks of becoming vulnerable to attacks from the one that they are supposed to be having authority over in the first place.

In Genesis Chapter 2 we have the perfect setting along with a perfect set of created beings that have their marching orders and know exactly what to do every day of their life.  Everything around them is perfect and should be easily maintained with the adequate amount of energy spent to keep their surroundings firm, trim and healthy.  They were given authority over everything in the Garden of Eden, so why did things go wrong?  We can find the answer to this question if we revert back to Genesis Chapter 1 where God specifically gives mankind the detailed list of what we have dominion over.  God was pretty specific when He was telling mankind what they were to have dominion over and it included the animals and plants that God had made.  This dominion was included the areas in which God made around the world and then included the Garden of Eden as well.  This means that every animal, plant and any other creature that entered the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve was to have dominion over it with no exceptions.

How quickly we forget that our status in God’s eyes has not changed even though sin rules our lives and defines our physical lifespan.  We forget that God’s Word and every letter that it contains was written for our learning of God’s wisdom so that we can apply it to our lives and it is through these letters, words, phrases, and sentences that make up the reason that God created us in the first place.  So, we must understand and continually apply this truth in our lives as we wake up out of bed until we rest our heads to sleep.  Yet, we find ourselves walking around in an ugly quagmire and screaming at the top of our lungs that we do not understand what is going on and why all of the evil continues and will not stop.  We no longer live in Genesis Chapter 2 but we try our humanly best to recreate such a condition.  We must accept the fact that even though our value as humans has not changed our surroundings have due to the choices we made so long ago, but there is a hope and because we live in a time of Genesis Chapter 3 onwards, our lives do not always have to live in fear and in turmoil.

Our value did not drop one bit when Genesis 3:7 rolled around but our enemy would love for us to believe that it did.  He has done a fantastic job at convincing us that the value of life is not all that it is cracked up to be and we have fallen into this lie by believing him.  The diminishment of life and everything it stands for has been in constant decline ever since sin entered into our existence.  It is through the configuration of this lie that we have become weakened and cannot fight effectively against our enemy who is a spirit.  Our weakness is demonstrated on a continual basis by us fighting on the wrong front, the wrong type of battle is being waged because of the belief in this lie about life and what the true meaning of life really is.  The devil has become unafraid of us due to this lying process and his presence in our lives as that lie is the definition of his existence and the purpose for which he wants to destroy us.

There can be no doubt that something major transpired in the lives of Adam and Eve from the time Genesis Chapter 2 ended and Genesis 3:7 occurred.  Satan had plenty of opportunities to diminish the lives of Adam and Eve before that dreaded day came around and from that time period mentioned in the previous sentence, he must have been busy in selling his life to them.  Our belief in what God had told Adam and Eve about the authority they had was weakened enough that when it came time for Satan to execute his plan of sin into our existence we were weak enough to follow his guidance without provocation or resistance.  It is important that we understand that even though sin had not entered into Adam and Eve’s lives before Genesis 3:7 that the effect of sin and the knowledge of its commitment was or should have been recognized by Adam and Eve because we know that God had previously warned them about such activities.

It is clear that when Satan began his plan of the introduction of sin into our lives that he had no fear of the authority that Adam and Eve had been given by God.  Their status was depleted and of no significant spiritual means strong enough to use against the enemy.  Satan manipulated their status in order to obtain his legal right into their lives and when a being’s name is changed due to his cunning efforts of deception one must understand their spiritual authority to remain above such wickedness.  God gives us the perfect example when Lucifer challenged Him in Heaven and Adam and Eve gives us the example of what not to do when this challenge is presented.  Satan still fears God but his fear of God’s children is basically nonexistent. 

It is this spiritual kingdom issue that causes so many people to devalue their lives and at the same time explains why Satan has so much authority over us, our government, our land and our world.  Satan was not afraid of Adam and Eve and he is not afraid of us for the identical reason, we have given him access to our lives and have believed his lies long enough that he has swiped our authority status from us; therefore, he has no reason to fear us one bit.  Satan has told us lies about our lives for so long that we now believe that life itself is a game and should be “lived up” s much as possible and not worry about the consequences later.  Each one of us is Divinely Created and draw breath for a specific purpose and when this truth is dulled or taken away from us we can have no other choice but wander aimlessly and without any stability.  It is this satanic belief in ourselves that turn our hearts away from God and seek to fill the void through, vice, sex, drugs, alcohol and any other form of self-destruction.

Being like gods is a lie that Adam and Eve believed but should have never accepted because we were not created to be gods but to be God’s children for His Kingdom advancement not our own.  Being like gods is not the uniqueness that God has ordained for your life even though the thought of being a “god” tickles the heartstrings, it also declares a state of personal belief that Adam and Eve had about themselves.  To top things off, God wants you to be you alone and not something or someone else, ever, for that is NOT who you are!  Satan has no reason to fear anyone or anything when humans believe and then stay in this mode of living.  Your life has a purpose and a direction given to you by your Creator, not from a liar.  If we do not continually seek God and study His Word we will be subject to a hard fall one that will cause great pain for everyone around.  The Bible is filled with sad stories about people who chose to live their own lives and walk in their own footpaths and ended up being hurt, we have the opportunity to change that path and restore our authority that God has given to us.

Here is another important detail about who we are that we need to remember as well and it is one that will be written about very soon but it deals with bullying.  We all have watched these types of settings transpire across our screens over the past years or we have heard about the tragic results in our local newspapers.  If we do not understand who we are or if you do not know who you are our enemy will eventually be able to destroy your life in a torturous manner without even having to extend his thinking abilities because we have no idea of how to defend ourselves.  Bullying is a Kingdom method and we are fighting it in the wrong manner and through incorrect kingdom measures.

The Bible says that our enemy comes to steal, kill, and to destroy our lives and that is exactly what occurred in Adam and Eve’s existence and that is what we are allowing Satan to do to us today.  If we do not have or even recognize the authority that God gave us then we have been robbed and given it to Satan.  Remember, the same eternal law is in play today as it was back in the Garden of Eden and that is choice and voluntary free will.  Satan cannot take your authority away unless you give it to him which means he has already started the process of thievery before you considered this heinous act.  Any deviation from the plan of God that He has for your life is an abomination not only to you but to God as well and when we voluntarily give up the authority we have over our dominion then we will be cut off from eternal life and thus prove our lives to be as the father of lies. 

We cannot forget an important issue here that when God gave us the authority over our dominion He never intended us to be abusive with this gift, nor did He wish for us to become spiritual or physical wimps either.  It is all part of God’s plan to live in harmony with each other, it always has been His plan and it always shall be; however, if we do not understand that this harmony begins with the spiritual aspects of our lives FIRST we shall never be able to achieve such precious status.  Church, you are the only one that has the capability to spread this truth about who people are and how they are supposed to live but we cannot do this unless we place our hearts back into the Word of God and live through this perfect example.  Chaos and division shall only continue if we stay on this course of human anger and selfish divides.  God beckons us to reconsider our priorities and put Him first again so that we may teach those who need God exactly how to live.  We are children of God and we should never be afraid of our enemy for he is the loser, not us and if we know our authority in God it is an automatic status that he shall fear us through who you (we) are.

DLB

Resignation Letter

Resignation Letter

3/27/18

For those of us who are in the professional world, we have all had the opportunity to change positions at some time for numerous reasons.  One of the responsibilities, when this change occurs, is to present a resignation letter to the ones who are our immediate superiors.  After the general acclamations, it is mentioned that we are leaving our positions to take on another opportunity down the road, while it is scary at the moment the person writing this letter feels like it is the best thing for their lives.  God wants to see our resignation letter as well, not written to Him but written to the boss of this world informing him that we are moving along in another direction.  The entire reason why God wrote the Bible is so that mankind can write their own resignation letter to the ruler of this world and take claim in the eternal freedom that our Creator offers.

There can be no mistake that the standard of the Church and her credibility are and has been in question for some time now.  It is obvious that her double standard ways are catching up with her and now coming into view as each day passes.  What is more devastating to this necessary entity is that she does not understand why this status of hers has fallen and to those who have understood and are crying out to the Church to change her ways are being ignored and silenced by louder voices resounding that all is okay and nothing needs to be worried about.  This activity of the Church and attitude towards her appearance is a reflection of what is being taught inside the church building walls thus being fed into the lives of the Church Body herself, a condition that can only serve one master and that master is not the One that gives eternal life.

Many years ago, one of my bosses had decided to tender their resignation and go to another position closer to family.  The appropriate and adequate amount of time was given for a managerial position and all seemed like things were on the go with no complications being noticed during the process.  Even though the person had not been at the facility for very long all agreed that it was best for the manager to go and everyone in the organization had accepted this fact.  Everyone in the department understood the circumstances and even though the previous manager had left as well this one had stayed a tad bit longer which made us feel a bit more stable overall.  I understood that sometimes the time period of when this type of process began until it was final could be a bit frustrating and even ugly and all of us had to wait and see how things would play out.  On a personal level as a worker, there have been a fair amount of days that I have wanted to write such a resignation letter and walk away from things altogether but my love for this position and for the job I give far outweighs my whimsical notion to leave.

A few weeks into the resignation and transition time, the person announced that they had changed their mind and were rescinding their resignation to the Administration Department and would not be leaving as previously told.  I personally had never been exposed to such a situation before since the times that I had previously been through such circumstances all was final and things were operating in a closing stage and for the organization (church) to get ready for a new leader.  However, when the news was received that this person was staying it was met with mixed emotions and results for it was not the same and some of those people who supported the manager from the beginning of the stay did not feel comfortable with this turnaround, not to mention the attitudes that prevailed from those who agreed with the resignation 100% were being expressed in a variety of ways.

After a few pensive weeks in our department, the tension became so thick that the old proverbial knife could cut through the fog that hung over and in the department.  The setting was not getting any better and the mood was increasingly tense and not relaxing by any means, a setting which is not good to have in a place where important decisions and precision tests are being completed around the clock.  No one was exempt from this setting and it did not look like it was going to ease anytime soon either.  The credibility and authority level of this manager was gone and there was no hope in salvaging their position within the department which became visibly noticeable as the days passed.  Without our knowledge, the higher-ups felt the same way and were not too pleased with how things were shaping up since the rescinding process.  All of these issues and public knowledge producing bad press, the manager once again gave their resignation and this time followed through with that letter.

A well known secular music group called “U2” had a very popular album produced and then released in 1987 called “Joshua Tree”.  That album produced several top hits and can be argued as one of the best albums in pop music culture of all times.  One of the hit songs on the album and actually the second single to be released on that album was entitled “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”.  This song is still played on radio stations and over the internet every day making money for this band.  The song has a catchy tune with simple and effective lyrics that drive home a message to those who listen to its beat.  According to the world and its standards, the song sings about the condition of numerous people who walk this planet and wander around trying to find themselves as they take daily steps to somewhere else down the path of life, and how there is nothing wrong with this unstable position because at some point in time one will find their way and then know exactly what do they want to do.  This future planning commission can operate on any level from personal to business and everything else in between which leaves them with a hopeful dream that leads to nowhere and to the end of a life for many.

God understands that it may take some growing up time for us to figure out what we want to do in life, but that uneasiness should not be exemplified through our spiritual lives at the same time but it is a condition that is witnessed by many people who attend church.  A little bit ago God shared with us an article concerning being out of the world and how important it is for us to get out of the spiritual world and to stay out of its confines.  With the topic of this article being about a resignation letter, God is taking us a step further in that He wants us to permanently leave such a worldly position and to follow His Ways all the time in our new setting and position in Him.  Do we realize what type of existence we are promoting if we continually hold the resignation letter in our hand, present it and then immediately withdraw it?  We do not even grasp this concept and what the idea of this resignation letter is anymore much less understand its value and what its content means.

Every day we are reminded that our lives do not fit into the Creative status that God originally wanted for our lives, and we are reminded that God cannot change the physical consequences of what our ancestors chose to do so long ago.  We are physically stuck in a permanent death march with no way to escape such an end but as this result may seem grim and dim we have an eternal hope provided through our Creator if we choose to live in His Ways and operate in His Kingdom.  It is this truth that God wants us to give Satan, the ruler of this world, our eternal resignation letter stating that we no longer serve his purpose and that we have chosen to serve God and His Kingdom.  This sounds great and I know that many of us have written and delivered this resignation letter to Satan but there are a considerable amount of people, good people, who have given this resignation letter and then taken it back for various reasons.

The issue here is the fact that this type of giving the resignation to Satan and then take it back is an example of a lukewarm Church and one that God cannot operate through.  The Church has lost all credibility in her function and while it is recognized by the world she is mocked because of the ironic stance she has taken.  See, the world is following the ways of its ruler and has never changed its status one bit but the Church has not followed in like manner to her Ruler.  It is this flip-flop resignation status that has allowed the Church to become ineffective in her mission.  Yes, some churches are seeing physical growth and on the outside look healthy but spiritually they are drained and dead which leaves our enemy with the upper hand because this process of ours renders our foundation invalid.  Yes, that is right, this wishy-washy spiritual lifestyle of the Church renders the job and the mission of the Church powerless and dead.  Why?  Because of the reason, the resignation letter was written in the first place.  See, we have come to the “bright” conclusion that it is from our hands and plumes that this resignation letter to the enemy originates, but that is a lie that the enemy himself has planted into our minds as being the truth.  It has become the motto of the modern day Church and one that is dragging countless lives to hell and to an eternal separation from God.  Ever wonder why so many people do not stay in Christ and grow in His Ways?  It is because a faulty resignation letter that has been presented is the answer to why these precious people do not.

I heard just the other day of a minister in New York declare that Jesus being the only way to God is absurd and should immediately be deemed as a lie.  This is the perfect example of how many church denominations believe and how grossly they have become when it comes to the price and the seriousness of this letter of resignation is.  We have thrown ourselves into the position of extenuating the Gospel and Life of Christ and furthermore deluded the everlasting, all-powerful and eternal Ways of God.  The resignation letter that we hold is the one that is signed in holy blood and written in that blood and should be presented to the ruler of this world with boldness for that resignation letter contents has valuable information, information that serves as an eternal barrier for my life and for the life presenting it to Satan himself.  Our names are on that eternal document but that is it, we did not write the words for we cannot write such holy script, only the blood of Jesus can correctly represent this declaration of freedom.  How dare we proclaim that our resignation letter to the world can be self-written and proclaimed as an eternal letter?

You want to know why this wicked practice has become acceptable and presentable as a true practice?  It is because we have written this document ourselves, using our own words and presenting these words in our own terms then handed over to Satan in the name of Jesus. HA!  What a farce, Church!  What is more disgusting is not that when we have handed in this selfish and humanly mortal resignation letter to Satan he has accepted it but it is the fact that when we turn around believing we are free he laughs at us and throws it into the spiritual garbage bin that he has; by the way, there are countless numbers of these types of resignation letters in that bin as of this moment and when it comes time for us to stand before God and give account of what we have done for His Kingdom Satan will pull these letters out and wave them in front of you and laugh directly in your face, for they are forgeries and do not mean one iota in the sight of God.

God gave Adam and Eve one law to abide by when they were living in the Garden of Eden.  God mentioned one way that Satan would have his head bruised when God was doling out the punishment to those that were involved in the initiation of sin into humanity, and God provided only one way of covering right before Adam and Eve left the Garden.  God’s Way is the only escape from this death trap and until the Church figures this basic fact out, those resignation letters in our own hands mean absolutely nothing.  When we walk by a person and say nothing to a person that God has told us to share the Gospel with, we just practiced writing our selfish resignation letter, when we teach something that goes contrary to the Word of God we are writing our own selfish resignation letter.  I could go on and on and give examples of my own personal life in these regards and if you cannot find it in your own heart to understand what God is saying to us today then you too are writing your own resignation letter in selfish conditions.

At some point, we must figure out which kingdom we are going to serve and quit playing the spiritual “look at me” game.  Many people who call themselves Christians fall into this category and sadly, it seems like those numbers are increasing along with many ministers as well.  Through our own blindness to the world and its schemes, we have lost the reality and eternal Truth about what the eternal resignation letter stands for and what the contents of that letter are.  Through our constant internalization of the world, we have by default forgot what the real resignation letter means, its significance to our lives and what its contents represent to our enemy.  Most importantly, we have replaced the ink used on this eternal separation document from the blood of Christ to our own measly mortal imitation.

God also wants us to understand that when we have this worldly and selfish type resignation letter “on file” all of our works for the Kingdom will not stand for the conversions of those who come to Christ under these pretenses have the ability to fall quickly because no real discipleship stability classes are in existence.  Harsh?  Yes, it is but it is very important that we understand that our resignation letters to the world need to be put into action and given with the proper wording and ink used in order for it to have the eternal effect on our lives and the lives of whom we come into contact.  Eternity is a very long time to have a forged resignation letter sitting in front of you.  The understanding of what this type of resignation letter means is consistent with what type of ink is presented on the paper.  That paper in which those words are written on represent your life and the words that are contained on the paper and the color of ink that is used represent what story you have in your heart.  Dear Lord, forgive us for not understanding this truth about you, your Word, your Son’s entire eternal Life, and the price in which He paid for us.

Church, as of this moment we have an opportunity to turn our lives around and change the ink on our eternal document.  We still have an opportunity to shed light on to this darkened place we call earth and to spread the good news that Jesus died for our sins and for everyone’s sins.  This example that God has given us today proves that there is no room or even the concept of anyone fence sitting for either your life is devoted to the Kingdom of God or it is devoted to the kingdom of Satan.  Your resignation letter determines which kingdom you wish to represent, simple as that and your life and all that you do is being written on that document but the single question that remains is what type of ink is being used for that document?  Church, our ink is black and it seems like the color of that ink is turning blacker by the minute.  It is time we change the color of that ink and allow the blood of Christ be used to present it to the defeated ruler of the world once and for all.

The resignation letter is one that can only mean one thing and points in one direction alone, it is complete and pure and represents a full notification of leave.  If one tries to back out their credibility and stableness will always be in question, not only in the eyes of others but in their own eyes and heart as well.  A resignation letter is the final stance one takes for a new direction and in this case the decision to leave the world and follow Christ 100%.  It is a total commitment and one that has eternal implications, one that is serious on all levels and one that is written in pure and holy blood.  I have given my resignation to this world and have made my stance for Christ and I shall never ask for my resignation letter back.  Church, hand in your resignation to the world and follow Christ with all of your heart again, allow Jesus’ blood to override that false letter that Satan laughs at, then quest yourselves for a journey that will provide many other holy blood written resignation letters to the ruler of this world.

DLB

Being Dead to the World

Being Dead to the World

3/25/18

It is difficult for us to fathom such a living condition and while this perfective status seems far-fetched it is still possible in the eyes of our Eternal Creator.  God represents life eternal for every human being and since He cannot change His ways that means that our original status is possible but by His standards alone.  It is this holy and eternal status that we should strive for, not a humanly instigated ambition.  Although noble in stature, a selfishly obtained eternal state shall only allow you to end up in one place and that is not with God.  God is One who lives and authorizes a Kingdom of perfection and when we understand exactly what we are supposed to be striving for only then can we magnify the correct abilities of our personal gifts in order to show others the Truth, the definitive definition of being dead to the world.

I have mentioned a couple of times about when I was younger that I took a few trips overseas with my father.  All of these trips were to places that challenged my physical senses for they were to parts of the world that was not up to equal standards as what I have always been used to living within.  It was these opportunities that as I look back on them taught me a valuable lesson about life and what it meant to have all of the necessities around me and act as if I derived them instead of understanding that they could be taken away at any moment.  I guarantee that the majority of the younger generations today have such non-sympathetic ideologies concerning such necessities because they have been blinded by the abundance of luxuries of modern society.  As I have explained a few times before my attitude while being in those countries was not the best a picture I painted so stupidly that it is hard for me to think about and breaks my heart for the arrogance that I portrayed.  I was fulfilling my life living in the world and leaving God and His Ways completely out of their proper and eternally created order.

It is through this example of mine that many of us use as a literal foundation for our words and actions, all the while wanting to make ourselves equal with other nations on a statistical grouping.  Through these actions of ours we have created a haughtiness and self-arrogant atmosphere that seems overpowering to those in the portions of the world that we are trying to become equal with, and at the same time inflict bonds of slavery to those who are in close proximity with us.  How is this effective again?  It seems like a defeated motive and surely nothing good can come from this cliff-hanging experience.  We were not meant to have such oddities appear in our paths nor were we created to be in competition with those around us yet we have become so pointed in our beliefs that we now claim that if you do not agree with the majority of what the world says and believes that you are not worthy of a voice and should be silenced.  History has taught us that as long as humans place themselves and their humanistic values first there will always be some portions of the human race at risk for extermination.

It is this portion of our lives that we get mixed up in and confuse when it comes to what is good and what is evil.  There is an direct reason that God placed us in our existence with a purity that cannot be compared with, for it gives us an original thought and belief process that we can strive for again but we shall never achieve such longings until we place God back first in our lives, all other avenues shall fail and only cause similar pain that Adam and Eve felt when sin entered into their existence.  In Genesis 2:7 we see how man was created and how their presence was established upon purity and holiness and we see just exactly what it means for our lives to live in a perfect state.  The way that God created our lives fits perfectly in His wisdom while knowing what choices we as humans would make in a certain time in the future.  How important is it to be totally dead to the world?  Our lives are important enough and deserving of this type of state that God created His prized creations in a land and in a specific way so perfect and pure that we have the ability to strive for such an existence again.

We have undoubtedly heard this phrase about being dead to the world numerous times over the period of our lives.  It is not just a cliché or commonly used phrase to grab our attention but one that should define our every step and our eternal goal.  The beautiful part about this truth is that Adam and Eve were totally and completely alive when they were living in God’s perfect settings and breathing air through purified absolute performance of their lungs.  They had no worries whatsoever and all of their needs were fulfilled without them having any type of unequal qualities present around them.  This type of lifestyle and living came from God and God alone and we shall never see or feel such magnificent beauty again unless we strive to have God as our Creator in our hearts again.  There was no room for the world in the Garden of Eden because everything was centered around God first and that is the eternal definition of Life and the eternal destination for those who believe and follow His Ways.

We have lost all concept of why it is of dire and eternal importance to keep such ways and means that God provides.  The ways of the world and its laws are reciprocal of what it can provide through the ruler of that kingdom.  We have read and are still learning about how life was in the Garden of Eden and how its life-giving ability was all that humans needed.  So, it is puzzling sometimes to figure out why Adam and Eve chose a way of living far from that perfect establishment, the ways of God cannot be seduced or bought by the world so why would these two original humans believe that they could manipulate God’s Ways enough through disobedience and still live according to their created statuses?  We have no idea about how long Lucifer was present in God’s Kingdom but we know it was long enough to know God’s Word and His presence just as Adam and Eve did and how we know God today as well.  It is this knowledge of God that Satan uses to mock His Word and deceive God’s people into a life of sin.

In Exodus, we have a great example of what occurs when we allow the world too much hold over and in our lives.  Even people who do not believe in God have heard about the children of Israel having to wander in the desert for 40 years after their release from Egyptian slavery.  The promises of God that were made to them were almost too good to be true but nonetheless, they were from God and could be held close enough in their hearts as utter truth until all of the promises were fulfilled.  But one of the saddest issues in the Bible is that none of the elders of those people ever saw the fulfillment of God’s promises and it is this source of information that many people struggle with and use as a reason not to follow God.  The reason why the older people of Israel did not see and witness these glorious promises is the fact that they refused to allow God to take Egypt out of them.  Yes, God took the children of Israel out of Egypt but what they never figured out was that God had to take Egypt out of their hearts BEFORE He could bring them into the Promised Land.  Egypt was the world that God needed to take out of the Israelites and it was the spirit of Egypt that the Israelites refused to recognize.  It is this world and the refusal of turning of their hearts back to God that defined why many did not witness all of the promises that God had spoken to them about.  Their ignorance to what was inside of their hearts cost them dearly and thus their refusal to allow God to restore their lives back to similar conditions as the Garden of Eden.

How many laps around Mount Sinai do we have to take to figure it out that God is trying to grab our attention about certain issues that He wants to address?  All of those needless years in a desert and only a handful of people figured it out enough to stop the madness and aimless wandering.  Do we have to place ourselves in the same boat by completely denying the fact that we have incorporated the world into our lives so much that we no longer are able to see what it is doing to our lives?  That is exactly what occurred to the children of Israel when they were physically freed from Egypt, it is also what they were occurring when the rejected God in 1 Samuel Chapter 8, and it is certainly what transpired when Judah and Israel went into captivity and were totally destroyed.  The question is currently being asked again by God and if we do not realize what our choices are doing then He will have no choice but to take this nation down to size and make us an equal player by His hand and not ours.

As long as there is an ounce of the world in our lives we shall not have any hope to restore our spiritual and physical status.  We were created for a specific light to be shown and we have instead grabbed that torch and hold its contents in our hands instead of placing it up on a hill for others to see.  Turning in every direction only confuses people not only the ones who are trying to reach the light but also those who carry the light.  All forward directions and surefootedness is lost and eventually, a fall is guaranteed.  If the world is alive in our lives and thriving it means that we are not actively living for God and completing the mission that we were created to do.  Our history, human history, has proven that if we do not claim God as our sovereign leader and biblical hope then our lives will come crashing down at some point in disgrace.  We have no choice but to walk this planet’s surface but that does not mean and should not mean that we are subject to its failure and death.  The spirit of this world is what needs to be understood and it is this spirit that will infiltrate our lives then influence our decisions that have dire consequences, this cannot be denied.  The spirit of the world does NOT come from God, let me repeat this, the spirit of the world does NOT come from God but it comes from His enemy and our enemy Satan.

If we begin to entertain the world and all of the pleasures of sin it brings with it we are opening opportunities that Satan wants us to inhabit.  I am not referring to any type of demonic possession at this moment but we do offer up ourselves to this type of infiltration when we give our inner spirit to the world.  God cannot work when the spirit of the world willingly overshadows our inner life for when we willingly allow the world to exist within it means the world is a welcome presence than God.  See, Satan considers God to be the enemy so why do we wish to have any connection with the enemy is his slogan.  It is not said enough how much Satan is the enemy of God, yes, we say Satan is God’s enemy but we need to remember those words in the opposite order for it places importance of why we do not need to be in the world.  Those words need to be set in stone and engraved into our hearts because we constantly need God to be able to search our hearts to find such worldly roots and get them out.  When we allow this to occur, God will take out a portion of our spiritual hearts that have become infected with the world and many times we do not even recognize how bad that part has become, the sole reason why we cannot afford to keep our heads buried in the sand when it comes to our enemy.

When a certain time of the Jewish calendar arrives, tradition says to make sure that even the lent inside the pockets of your pants are cleaned out, and that is how detailed our forgiveness should be.  It is down to this level that we should allow God to search our heart so that He can get rid of what ails us.  It is not an easy process but who better to conduct such an activity and process than the One being who created us.  Knowing us is having the ability to recognize what is not right in our lives and then have the wisdom to remove it, that is who God is and that is what He is business to do.  We cannot remove such infirmities for our limited eyes cannot completely understand what has occurred, for we have been blinded by such entities for an extended period of time that we will believe that they should reside there and are a process of our original life.  The world has nothing good for us yet we hide the world deeper in our lives than what we allow the Word of God and God Himself to hide within, and we guard the world and keep with great respect instead of having a true relationship with God.

A person cannot be ½ dead or partially dead, they are either dead or they are alive.  The same goes for our status with the world.  It is a true statement and fact that God accepts us as we are and who we are when we turn our lives over to Him.  However, God does not expect and cannot accept you staying in the exact condition you present yourself to Him for if one really has no intentions of changing and finding out what needs to be changed in your life, then you have not turned anything over to God, only lied in a public fashion for some gross self elevation; just ask the children of Israel about this condition because that is the exact reason why they squandered 40 years in the desert.  God is in the restoration business and while He understands that some of the ways of the world will be a tad tough to give up, we are still willing to give them up so that our lives can live in freedom.

Church, we are NOT teaching this today and it is costing God’s Kingdom every day of precious lives that we have convinced that it is okay to keep portions of the world inside our lives and comfortably and continually believed we are saved.  It is this type of condition where we are not strangers to the world but strangers to God and it is for this reason that He shall spit us out of His mouth because we are neither hot nor cold.  When we totally give up the world and give it to God we shall no longer wish to have anything to do with the world or its presence in our lives.  We cannot and should not begin to condemn those who continued research into the world’s activities still warrant their actions, but teach them and show them that God cares for their lives and desires for them to be set free.  The world is an evil entity with a wicked ruler that cares nothing for your life, he will do his best to deceive you well enough that the worldly life that you are living is okay and that there is nothing wrong with how you accept the surroundings.  We cannot allow this lie to grow any longer for each day millions of people leave this physical world to enter into their eternal position not knowing God.  Church, repent, take up the mission of Christ again and let us go into the world and win the lost for Jesus for the only way to be dead to the world is to spread the light of Jesus into the darkness and live life according to the Ways of God.

DLB

Eve's First Example

Eve’s First Example

3/24/18

From the time our lives begin to learn about our surroundings we are being taught.  If allowed we would figure things out on our own without any other help from those older but when we have teachers who provide examples to us first, it seems like our steps are less awkward and troublesome in many ways.  Our biblical examples fared in the same way and upon reading the stories of their lives we have a further example of such notoriety.  God does not leave us hanging nor does He set us on a path and not show us or provide us with valuable information to help us on our way.  The lessons we learn should teach us how to tell others about this journey and the dangers that are around us through God’s Word that we should have known about before our journey gets into full swing.  Telling others and leaving good examples for others in the future should be the goal of every human being but as well all know sometimes we fall down, but God is always right there to pick us up and set us back in motion.

How many examples have our eyes, heart, and spirit known over the course of our lives?  If truth be known it would be hard to give an accurate count to each one but we find it easy to remember some that come to mind quickly.  I remember when I was a young kid my parents would tell me about things and how I should or should not have anything to do with those activities or situations.  But at the same time, I must also admit that many of those times that they were trying to explain things to me my mind was not there and I just wanted them to end their speech so I could go and do my own thing.  Boy, how I long to sit on the porch again and shell purple hull peas and snap beans as I was told to do many times in the past.  I realize those times are long gone for me but as I have aged I look back now and I cannot help but feel ridiculous for if I had really heeded my parents’ advice back then I wonder how my life would be different today.  Nevertheless, I find myself now a parent and giving the same information to my grown children just to watch them do their own thing and then ask “why”.

I wish that I could say that all examples that we are exposed to when growing up and learning was good and at the same time I wish I could state that every example that our eyes and ears come into contact with today came from good sources but in both accounts, I cannot.  There is always some part of the world around us that wishes to see us suffer in the name of having fun or doing your own thing yet at some point in the future this type of activity ends up hurting and brings an entirely different type of personal pain that kills a part of our lives as it continues to infect.  It is now to the point where our hearts and minds compete to see how much damage to each other and how much further escalation we can achieve while harming others, a sinister progression that only the world and its spiritual leader can provide and a process that ONLY God can end and a return to Him can stop.  I hope we can take the scales off of our eyes before God has to complete this process, for while we glorify the event of Saul on the road to Damascus it must have been a terrifying personal experience for him while God was grabbing his attention.  Hint, hint!  When our eyes and ears see such tragedies cross our screens all of us have to ask and have asked the question of why would God allow such a situation to occur.  Or, we have asked the question of where was God in all of these instances?  Unfortunately, it is a common misfortune for us to go through these misgivings and in some cases, people go through more of their share than others, a mind-boggling question, and process that we all fear.

Many of us give Eve the bad rap for being the one that Satan deceived and then gave Adam the fruit to eat and while that is a true statement we need to find out just what occurred before this tragic event took place and answer the question of why did Satan have access to Eve in the first place.  It is a common topic and well-known passage of Scripture of how God talked with Adam and then gave him the command about the Garden of Eden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil but what about Eve and her beginnings?  I know I have read this passage many times and even read it many times since God began showing me things and telling me things to write about in Genesis, but this detail passed me until a short time ago and it is this detail that describes a completion of a process that we all fall into because of the initiation of Adam and Eve.

As we have been told, Satan is on a chain and cannot do anything without God’s permission.  Every detail and every action that Satan does is authorized by God and while that seems to be a bad thing it should reemphasize in our hearts just how important we are to God and how much confidence God has in us to complete the Divine purpose that He has created us to do.  The legality of Satan’s authority comes from the initiation by God just ask Job or better yet, study the beginning of Job’s ordeal and you will find that it was God who initiated the situation of Job and Satan could only do what God allowed.  Anyway, we know about the conversation and contact between God and Adam where did the contact between Eve and God originate, for we know that Satan cannot do anything without God initiating items first.

Genesis 2:21-22 gives us the answer to this question and as stated above I have read this passage many times over my lifetime but never have really seen what it said, sometimes the human mind just skips over important information and does not process it accurately and is the perfect reason why God should be totally in control of our lives at all times for His Word brings life and protection to all those who live under His Covenant Word.  This passage states as follows: “And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof: And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.”  Now, how many times have you read this passage?  Probably numerous times and even more than I have but until a few weeks ago, a certain phrase bypassed my heart and it serves as the answer to how Satan had access to Eve and why Satan addressed Eve as well at the tree.

When we focus on these verses it has for the most part been centered on the creation of the woman and how God put Adam to sleep in order to complete this miraculous technique.  However, when you read the remaining portions of Genesis Chapter 2 and the first six verse of Genesis Chapter 3 you find no other mention of God talking to either Adam or Eve only a few further details about how the man is supposed to leave his family and cleave to the wife and right as Chapter 2 closes we find that they are naked and not ashamed.  So how did Satan gain access to Eve if there is no mention of Eve any further until the fateful conversation in Genesis Chapter 3 and more importantly if God and Adam already had a conversation and Adam had exposure to what he was supposed to do and the reason why, then there must be a key in order that Eve would fall into the same level as Adam.  For if she did not then this would point out an inaccuracy in God’s Word and pose serious questions about the legitimacy of the Bible.  But we have that clue and it comes in a small phrase at the end of verse 22 of chapter 2.  More pointed, it comes in a specific word in this last portion of that verse.

Now, for most of my life, I have had the belief that while Adam was asleep God stood in the area around Adam and made the woman.  When Adam woke up there was his helpmate and they knew that they were to be together and life as they knew it followed; you know, like the fairy tale and they lived happily ever after.  But as God showed me that belief of mine is wrong because His Word does not say that at all.  Yes, God takes the rib from Adam and makes the woman from the single rib but the key phrase and more specifically the keyword comes from the small phrase “and brought her to the man.”  Okay, this phrase changes the entire scope of how this occurred and it is this phrase and word “brought” that changes the plan.

The Hebrew word “brought” that is used here is “waybieha” which comes from the verb portion “bo” which literally means to bring to, or to come to, to go, or to come in.  This definition means that whatever the subject or object is it is being brought to another person or place.  Some of you may know that the Hebrew language can be vague at times and when this ancient text was written they did not have many additional words to complicate matters any, which for us with basically unlimited resources of communication complicates matters tremendously.  But in this phrase, it is very specific and precise enough to understand that God took Eve somewhere for an unspecified amount of time from Adam for verse 22 states that God brought the woman to the man.  So, if God made the woman in front of the man then He would not have had to bring her to him, right?

The most important truth about God is that He is all about relationship and to establish and then maintain a holy and healthy relationship with His children.  Therefore, why would God allow a magnificent creation be completed and then “let loose” without any instruction or guidance as to proceed with their life?  It would be impossible for God to act in such a manner to which this verse or the last portion of verse 22 gives us.  We have no idea about how long this time period away from Adam was but it had to be enough time in order for God to adequately explain to the woman about what she is going to face and how to act, handle things, and any other advice that a father would give his daughter and in this case a holy and eternal Father.  I am leery of guys who come into my daughter’s life and I do not know anything about them, and I refuse to allow them any “real” status of a relationship with them until I meet them, it is the proper way to begin a relationship that any part of a long-term goal involved, I cannot see or believe that God would act any differently

It is through this process that allows God to teach the woman some things about the man and what to expect from all of his whimsical attitudes and activities also for Him to explain the dangers that will present themselves to her at some point in time.  It is not an easy process to get to know, the other sex, and for most of us it is an interesting time of learning and understanding on a purely intimate level, one that binds so tight that if ever broken a world of options can occur and if this process occurs we need to be understanding enough not to continue the hurt but allow healing to occur then top things off with a detailed and organized description of an enemy that has not been witnessed as of yet.  God never intended for mankind to be alone and most definitely never to be hurt by another human being.  So why is it that one of the “best” things humans can do to each other is to hurt each other in ways so spectacular and on an intimate level?  This verse is the one that sets the stage for this confrontation in our futures and gives us the clue as to why Satan chose Eve to fulfill his sinful plan.

Question for you: who would you think would be more prone to break a rule, the original person giving the rule or a person who was created from them?  I ask this question because it poses a setting that we face today from our children.  I am 50 years old now and knowing that specific generational timeline I can proceed with this example.  Back when my parents were in high school the most common problem that the teachers faced coming from the kids in class was talking and chewing gum, what seems like an innocent and minor issue to us today was a huge problem for that era.  When I was in class the issues became a tad worse for my generation decided to begin smoking more openly and losing our filters on our language skills, a continuation of issues but one would agree that it was a slight step forward in the provocation status.  Today, there is an entirely different animal that attends the schools for they do not respect the teachers or any school authority for that matter.  There are no language filters present on any level, sex dominates the hallways and no one has the knowledge of how to stand up to a bully inside or outside of the school.  Not to mention that we have now a rash of violence that has infiltrated our school systems that are constantly rearing its ugly head and will only escalate unless a solution is found. 

It is not hard to see the increasing pattern here and it is this pattern that we shall study as the root issue of why the Word of God says that Satan chose the woman to talk to at the tree.  In NO WAY, am I saying that the woman was inferior at this time at all, for both the man and the woman at this point knew no sin but even in this condition they did have the ability to make choices and then to act upon those choices after determining them.  When Genesis Chapter 3’s timeline comes along, we find that Satan freely talks with both the man and woman and from the tone of the conversation between them he is not agitated or nervous at all but comfortable around them and does not feel out of place. It looks like the stage is set but at this point, the woman’s first example has already been defined and thus open to our enemy.

Referring back to above statements concerning the legality issues that Satan has to follow along with previous article topics we find that since God gave Eve her first example of Kingdom, Satan was now allowed to take his turn when he felt the time was right.  We have no idea how long Satan took before the proceedings of Genesis Chapter 3 occurred, nor do we have an accurate amount of time that God had with the woman first, but what we do know is that by the time Genesis chapter 3 occurred, Satan was comfortable enough with the humans that his presence was not exaggerated in any way.  When God made Himself known to the woman there was no pomp and circumstance around and this normal appearance of God’s physical presence was the same with Adam as well.  Not with Satan however, he placed himself in an exotic capacity by disguising himself as a serpent, an act that did not seem to bother Adam and Eve which concludes the fact that Satan was trying to change the course of the Garden of Eden’s status with the excitement of something new, a status of illusion and imitation that many of us still fall into today as well.

By Kingdom definition, God must give Satan permission to do things before he can do them, given this truth that means Satan cannot do anything that God does by God’s definition, for Satan cannot stand God or anything that God promotes, including YOU and YOUR EXISTENCE!  Here is the point that we need to continually keep in mind for if we forget this detail about our enemy then we shall not be able to defend against our enemy.  Satan cannot tempt you in any way without a cause or foundation to come against, which means that we must have already had our meeting with God first.  In the case of Adam and Eve, God was there personally with them first, both of them, which this presence established their foundation in God thus providing the doors for Satan to legally acquire access to humanity.  God would have never allowed His children to be subject to our enemy without being prepared, any good father would not allow this type of action occur to his child.

Now, placing all of this information together we have the perfect stage for either a total rejection of God or a total rejection from Satan.  We do not have to rehash the story again because we all know who won that day and as a result, we are in the state of affairs that we hold onto today.  The main issue of today’s problems has not changed one bit from the time in the Garden of Eden for we are continually and willingly choosing to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil instead of listening, remembering, and most importantly obeying God’s Ways.  Adam and Eve had God personally present as their source of information and instruction and we have the Word of God as our source of personal information and instruction and just like Adam and Eve on that fateful day, we are following directly in their footsteps.  In other words, just like Eve, we are not following her first example concerning our lives.

God gave humanity an equal shot at knowing only one way of the Creator but we chose to take our own route instead.  That single act of disobedience was a mistake that all of us now have to endure but in this choice of ours, God did not leave us empty handed or alone.  The relegations of such sinful tragedies we had no knowledge about directly but when we fell for the lie of the one that God warned us about when He told us about the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil our lives changed in such a way that we no longer can comprehend the value of purity.  It is this value of purity that God has continued to provide us through His Word and it is imperative that we get to know His Word as much as possible so that we can share it with others.  God is our Holy and Eternal Father and only His Word can provide us with the truth about everything we need to know to survive both physically and spiritually and the fruit of the world will only gift us death even though its beauty is beyond comprehension sometimes.

One of the major hang-ups that many Christians have is the fact that we may carry around the Bible and say that we know God but have no clue about what His Word actually states and says about our own lives then wonder why deem us hypocrites and not “qualified: to witness to them.  How can we effectively fulfill the mission that Jesus gave us when we do not even know what we are supposed to be sharing?  Eve spoke these fumbling words to Satan when they were having the discussion about the fruit on the tree, she remembered what God had spoken about it and what Adam probably had told her but when it came time, when the rubber met the road she did, was not able to repeat that most important command correctly.  She understood what had been told to her but she had been duped enough by the flamboyant sales pitch that she opened the door further for our enemy to deceive her over time.  God made it possible for us to have free will, and while carrying this unique gift of ours we have the responsibility to understand exactly what we are up against and if we only place our eggs in a one-sided basket we will not be able to defend ourselves.  Yes, it is important to understand the other side of the aisle for if we do not then we will not know what he is capable of doing in order to advance his kingdom.

God would never allow us to enter into a battle not prepared with the correct spiritual equipment, and it is this type of equipment He gave to Adam and Eve when He walked this earth.  His Word serves as this spiritual battle equipment today and it contains the exact information that God gave to Adam and Eve for the same Kingdom principles are in play today as they were back then.  Church, we have fallen down and I know that almost every single article that God has given me to write ends with some type of repentance message and a return and restoration setting immediately afterward.  There is a reason for this and it is another example that God shows us that our hearts are not right with Him.  God has given us the ability to understand what we need to do in order to survive the world and He has also given us the outlined version of the spiritual tools necessary in order to fight our enemy.  Turn our hearts and let us once again look back to Eve’s first example and to Adam’s first example and get our eyes off the fruit on the tree and obey God’s Ways with a pure and holy heart.

DLB

The Imitation Game

The Imitation Game

3/19/18

Sometimes being imitated can be a good thing, with a scene or setting being played over coming from another person’s historical interpretations.  When it comes to the lives of God’s children all seriousness is present in a vivid picture with foundations serving as the hold to which we build upon.  How many times do we become focused on non-essential items that define our lives instead of keeping our eyes on the one true source of our existence?  Far too often do we hear about eternal tragedies yet do nothing to return to our true roots thus leaving out the one Being that can help us turn our lives and nation around.  We cannot afford to follow such imitated words from finite competitors or from our eternal enemy, it is time we shed off the world, take eternal responsibility for our actions and return to God as He meant for us to live.

As I have increased in age, my desires to travel the world have remained within my heart but the capability and the time allowed for such adventures have passed me by for the most part.  With all of the cultural upheavals presently occurring, the thoughts of travelling again to some of the areas that my feet have planted on has been shaken quite a bit but it still has not tamed the desires of my heart especially if I have the opportunity to share the Gospel of Christ to those who wish to listen.  My father and mother have made numerous trips to El Salvador and have had quite the glorious experiences while they were in this beautiful country, I have only been once and while I was there I fell in love with the people of that torn nation.  It was just my father and me on this trip and it was going to be a fabulous week or so I thought.  We were on a fact-finding mission on this trip and we were supposed to be with a missionary and his wife while we were there but for some circumstantial evidence later revealed our goals were not met due to interference beyond our control.

One morning the missionary was going to be late picking us up because he had another “meeting” to attend so that meant that dad and I were on our own for breakfast.  Now, being a young adult I saw no problem with eating at major fast food chains but being a more experienced adult my father did not care for that type of food but when you are in a country that you do not speak the language and are not familiar with the surroundings, the old saying about doing things the Roman way becomes real.  Just so happens that we find a McDonalds a few blocks away from our hotel and we decided that we would eat a late breakfast/early lunch type meal and take our chances with other choices of food later if needed.  As soon as we walked in the door it was obvious that the food was the same as in the States and it eased our minds a tad.  When it came time to order our drinks the fresh squeezed orange juice sign caught both of our attention so we ordered according to what our eyes “liked”.  Now, I must say that God has blessed this heart of mine for my entire life and there have been only a few times in my entire existence that I have actually been hungry, never starving but hungry; this was not one of them.

When the signs in this country say “fresh squeezed” they usually mean fresh squeezed but from another town and processing plant from another week or so previous and that was what I was expecting to taste when I took my first sip of orange juice.  Well, sir, what was put into my mouth was pure heaven and to this day I have never tasted orange juice so sweet and delicious as what I had at McDonald's in San Salvador, El Salvador.  When they meant fresh squeezed they were not lying one bit and as I was staring at dad’s cup I wanted to ask for his but I already knew what that answer would be so I did not even ask.  I would have never imagined finding such quality from another country but it opened my eyes a bit further concerning other people and their cultures and how they live.  This experience also defined what an imitation product is and how it is sold in this nation as common and normal.  I still do not frequent fast food restaurants much and I probably will not start either, but that day’s drink shall forever stand out.  Something that s fresh and true cannot be preserved in any way for it takes the truth out of its quality if preserved.  Think about that statement for a moment and when we understand it the ways of the devil will become more known and easier to defend against.

What I had always been accustomed to in this specific category I had learned was not the real product that I had been exposed to all of my previous years.  Not that I was/am complaining about my experiences but until I had experienced the truth about fresh quality of what God has provided, I was satisfied with the “fresh squeezed” imitation game that was being plastered over my taste buds.  As stated above I am not complaining in any manner, for I am so appreciative of what God has allowed me to drink and eat but my eyes were opened in a small country that I was not familiar with at all and through this experience I have to look at things on this level in a different way.  While this may seem a tad petty to some it is a point that we need to understand because when something comes your way and is passed off as the truth we really need to know how to ascertain if what has been presented or not really is the truth or if it is an imitation, and this is the point that God wants us to understand.

Almost every day we see news headlines of some type of tragedy that occurs to humanity and it does not matter what any factor is involved either, for all are included in such activities.  Many times we see that young lives are snuffed out by other human hands and minds but it seems like we have not found the answers to end such atrocities.  The methods that we try and implement do not seem to work and only add to the confusion and the problems.  We shall never come to a good conclusion if we do not resort back to our original status of existence and find out how to live under those conditions again.  With every new law that is passed to “help” our societies cope and end violence against others, there will be 20 ways to break, violate, or to get around those laws, that is how the mind works and until the mind is changed towards a different way, the pattern that is in place shall continue.  The example that we need to heed to occurs in the Bible and while each chapter gives us this truth only a few will be dealt with here; Psalms 34:8, Genesis Chapter 2 and Jeremiah 1:5.

There is no argument that God created mankind from the ground which does not directly refer to Adam and Eve with the wonderful verse of Jeremiah 1:5 but in reality it does because God had already known about Adam and Eve’s existence before He created them from the ground which means that even though our starting point is a bit different from Adam and Eve’s we are all known before we are born.  I sometimes dream and daydream about what it would be like not to have a problem physically and that every time I set out to solve an issue that I would come up with the perfect solution that was never incorrect.  What a feeling it would be not to have to poke my finger for a blood sugar level or to have to make an appointment to see my doctor or even to redraw a patient because of a faulty specimen tube.  Genesis Chapter 2 gives us a picture of such perfect and pure conditions for both personal gain and living conditions; a pure cup of orange juice from El Salvador in other words. 

It is through this fall of mankind that Satan has his foothold in our lives and thus we become subject to false teachings that we deem as truth.  This imitation game that Satan used in the Garden of Eden still has lingering and active consequences in our lives today, even though we have no idea about what it means to live in a perfect state that option can still be pursued if we listen to God and obey His Ways according to what is written in His Word.  If Adam and Eve would have not fallen for the imitation process things would be totally different but since they did it is imperative we understand and then proclaim God’s Truth to ourselves and to others as God and His Son have spoken for us to do.  When our eyes become focused on the surroundings it shall be easy to become lost and fooled by the world’s imitation.  It does not matter what the subject might represent, if our eyes are not on the Word and have it first in our lives then ALL around us is an imitation.

There is no doubt that God told Adam and Eve of their importance to His Kingdom and that their lives could not mean more to anyone else.  They were not mass produced on some assembly line created exactly as another without care and consideration for individuality and specificity.  We are not imitation vanilla which looks good and tastes good but when compared to the original and properly created product cannot compare to such a low-level procedure.  Any product that is specifically created from pure elements cannot be considered mass produced or imitated in any way and the cost of such creation is well listed on the expensive side and takes up a considerable amount of time in order for the right combination to blend together properly.

If something does not come from God then it cannot be a good thing for our lives.  God was the Creator of each and every one of us and it is this beginning that He placed us together from nothing.  It is this aspect alone that deems it so important for us to understand what God meant when He created us and why He created us and the only true source for this understanding comes from His Word and His voice. We have an excellent biblical example of this difference between God and the world in Psalms 34:8 and it goes like this: “O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”  Does this verse tell us that the world is good?  No, it tells us that God is good and if God is good then the world cannot be.

Now, we know that if God is good and His definition completes the word good, then all things that are considered good must be subject and measured on this standard.  If the item in question does not measure up to the standard of God then it cannot be deemed as good but only as a fraud and in this case an imitation.  God’s Word does not say that God is good to play on some ego trip but to serve as the foundation for our lives, it is not a safe bet to count on the world for our strength for the world varies in stature as each second passes; therefore, God is the only constant standard and good representative that one can abide in and turn to when needed.  How many of you understand that this imitation game that our enemy plays is spiritually legal?  From the looks of the state of the Church, not many people know this truth which is a death march to those who do not understand for you have no defense against such attacks from the enemy and eventually you will fall just as Adam and Eve fell in the Garden of Eden.  The dulling of our spiritual sense is one of the major and common ways that Satan gets a foothold in our lives and once he has established this access he has free reign as long as we allow his presence. 

The perfect example of not following the warnings of God and His Word comes in the Garden of Eden for look at what occurred to Adam and Eve when they believed a cunning tongue and the goodness from the fruitful surroundings, their reality of perfection was lost to an imitation that looked better and felt good at the moment because during the act itself no mention of sorrow or doubt was spoken.  There is no doubt whatsoever that our enemy loves to confuse us about the Truth and what is considered to be truth.  Your life is eternally precious to God in such a fashion that it cannot be accurately measured yet we live through a spiritual monetary lie because we give ourselves away without restraint to the world which demands its pence.  God established this purity and priceless creation in the Garden of Eden and our value has not been changed ever since that glorious day, but we continue to listen to and then accept the imitational lies from our enemy that contradict God.  The world’s lies are cheap and are not worthy of our consumption and the sad portion of the acceptance of these lies is that when they come full circle they are not forgiving one bit and we are left devastated.

God wants us to live under the words of Psalms 34:8 for that verse proclaims that we have a longing and a desire to know God and His Ways.  This verse also teaches us that if we do not have a desire to live under this verse that we will know the difference and will seek to change our lives for the better.  We all have fallen for the imitation game in some portion or area of our lives but it is wonderful to know that we have an escape plan from this lie.  God did not create us just to leave us hanging in the wind but He has given us a way to restore our lives back to perfection in His eyes.  Jesus was a pure and holy sacrificial lamb that provides us with this eternal purpose.  In no way did Jesus succumb to the temptations of this life and this world for He understood what He was supposed to complete for His Father for our lives.

It is for this purpose that we hear every word that God gives us and to heed that word every single day.  The Bible is this Word, our eternal Word that will show us the true path of peace, humility, and perfection if we only obey its contents.  Church, we have done a lousy job at listening to the voice of God, studying His Word and most importantly telling others about His True Love for us.  The world is not included in such teachings it cannot be for it is vile and represents everything that goes against God.  The world and all of its physical excitement will lead to only trouble if it is allowed to infiltrate your heart, and don’t be fooled for just a little bit of the world’s belief in your life will fulfill itself just read about Adam and Eve.  Repent, Church and come back to God so that we may once again be pure in His eyes and be able to teach the dying world that there is a way to solve our issues and heal each and every one of our hurts.  In short, the world plays an imitation game because that is what its ruler is an imitator, God is the only way to eternal rest and perfection.

DLB

The Answer Lies in the Origin

The Answer Lies in the Origin

3/18/18

The root of a problem always comes at the beginning of the story but many times is lost during the situations that succeed the origin.  It is then time to begin digging for the truth again and sometimes this process can be a painful journey for at some point along the way hurtful scenarios have to be encountered.  It is possible to figure out many of our issues if we are willing to give up our selfish behavior and seek for the deep truth about our lives.  God has provided this type of truth findings through the Bible for it gives us so much information about our lives that if we apply its Word of Life to our lives God assures us that He will help us return to His favor for all of eternity.  If we do not ask for God’s guidance then our problems shall only compound and as we clip off the superficial conditions but continue to flourish in the sinful ways of the world and no healing will be possible.

When I was receiving this topic and its contents God spoke and said to me to list a tragedy as an example to use to explain how such incidents were not present in the beginning.  I received this topic a few weeks ago and since time has elapsed there have been numerous tragedies that have crossed our television screens in this country alone.  Countless others have occurred with no coverage what-so-ever and still, are not even known outside of personal accounts.  What does this have to do with the origin of the answer to our problems?  The answer is simple but we have made it a complex issue based upon selfish reasoning and worldly limited truth and while these personal tragedies may not have affected us on an individual level as of now, we must understand that at some point they could and there is an answer as to why such things occur.  God knows that humans shall face tragedy after tragedy but He also wants us to understand that if we place our lives in His hands and live under His Covenant alone He is faithful to protect us from such tragedies through His Laws and Love.

A few days ago we all were witness to an event that was incorporated all throughout our nation when students from schools around the nation led a protest against gun control.  For the most part, this activity was done peacefully but not in all areas was this peaceful atmosphere a true statement for in some areas it quickly became a political statement and in other areas schools did not allow students to participate.  I took advantage of this time to make a quick comment about a picture that I saw with kids kneeling with their heads bowed in a school hallway.  I made a quick comment about prayer and boy the results and comments from others began to pour in my inbox, and none of them were positive.  I knew I would not be a popular person for that statement but even in time of protest the words and actions form those people were divisive on many levels.  As the day progressed no one was coming up with the origin of the problem only superficial regulatory ambitions that will surely fall short of expectations.  A clear example that our hearts are not focused on the vine and where the origins of these issues stem from.

For the last few articles, we have been given a picture of how things were before sin entered into our lives.  The Garden of Eden and the continued presence of God is a wonderful picture to think about and to dream about but we also know that the presence of that scene is gone and our lives are governed by another force that is not so caring.  But in hope, faith, and trust we know that God has provided another way for us to have redemption and restoration and more importantly He has not left us for one moment.  God wants us to remember the origins of our lives because without this knowledge we could not understand where or what our beginnings were meant to be.  Yes, the Garden of Eden existed and the perfect settings that Adam and Eve lived within were real.  Also, God was our Creator and He is still perfect and holy in every way which means that our origins are still intact and can be reborn in the eyes and heart of the only One that matters.  Peace and tranquility were the holy foundations of our existence in the beginning and the light that we have inside our lives is living proof of this truth.  We were not meant to be subject to sadness and tragic events and God wants to make it clear that He is our origin and that everything that we know to be real come from Him and Him alone.

I can just imagine Adam and Eve lounging around in the Garden of Eden when Satan comes along and begins to have relations with them.  I can also imagine how many questions Satan planted into Eve’s mind and heart over the period of time they had together, not to mention the ones he had with Adam as well.  But through these question and answer sessions, he had to have planted his divisive ways and thoughts into their lives because as we all know Satan’s main goal is to destroy God’s perfect prize, them and now us.  I can just hear Satan justifying his presence with a twisted monologue of how he has things better and how he did not have to live according to such rules and that his interpretation of what God commanded proved to be a better report, for he was still around and was not dead.  All of this to woo two people from the perfect inhabitation that they had only known and when eaten tragedy is brought into their lives as they had never known before.  See, God did not provide any tragedy in Adam and Eve’s lives, they believed the lie that was told to them and they allowed the consequences of sin (disobedience) to this rule.

When Eve answered Satan concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he must have laughed within himself because he understood that all of his work was paying off and that it was ripe for executing.  How many times have you fumbled an answer when called upon, exaggerated it a bit, changed the story to embellish or flaunt a result?  We all have done such a thing but when it comes to our origins we cannot afford to mix up or to get wrong for if we do then our entire existence becomes in question itself which defies our origins itself.  Where are our origins and where does it come from?  We have many examples in God’s Word that explain it to us but for this topic, we are going to be in John 15:4-5.  “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” 

Here we have a wonderful and reassuring passage of how we are supposed to view ourselves and while some of us do live in these ways many of us do not believe in such truth.  It brings back the laughing and snickering of those who we tell that we are believers, for in their eyes and minds our stock is placed in a fake entity that has no meaning or contact of any kind.  It is this belief of those who believe in the world alone that stand alone with their origins being served through the branches alone.  Look at all of the responses that we have offered up to the shootings at schools and now the graduation to bombings in this nation, not to mention all of the other tense situations that are present.  They are response issues that serve only the superficial and do not even admit to any root cause or issue which means they do not understand where their origins are thus doomed to not serve a purposeful and true solution.  God’s Word says, right here in these two verses, that nothing will live when belief comes from this branch-like belief.  I ask you, how many of the answers that we are seeking from such problems today are we asking God to provide?  NONE OF THEM!!!  Making new worldly laws will only result in one answer, laughter from the ruler of this world and tears from the Creator of our origins.

These verses are meant to bring fruit to our lives so that we may understand what truth is, for life is truth and holiness is truth.  The answers for which we desperately seek each day serves as the fruit in these verses.  We must take to heart and in truth about what God says here when His Son claims to be the vine and says that we are the branches, this is true statement for it is the vine that the branches receive the necessary nutrients that are needed in order for the branches to produce its life.  A branch alone cannot produce one single item, in fact, when the branch tries to thrive it can only die barren and useless.  It is impossible to achieve any life-giving results to others or to ourselves for that matter if we do not use the source from the vine.  It is the vine that goes into the ground to receive and then provide the nutrients to the branches but if the branches revolt against the vine, rejection can only result.  Remember, God was the one who created the ground in the beginning and it is His Son who says He is the vine which goes right into the ground thus providing the true answers for our productivity, answers, and ultimately fruit.

Yes, this is a kingdom passage for it foretells the results of what will occur when one or the other kingdom is chosen.  Satan cannot produce any life whatsoever for he is a defeated ruler and is on a spiritual legal chain and can only do what God says is permissible.  Why live, supply, take advice from, and cheer on a loser and defeated ruler?  John 15:5 clearly states that the only way a person who can bear fruit has to be living within the vine and receiving the proper life-giving nutrients in order to bear such answers.  God wants people to know the truth but the truth shall not come to our nation or into our lives until we return back to His Ways and turn our hearts back over to Him.  There is a great deal of activity when the branches are pruned and there is a reason why only the branches are pruned as well, a subject to explain at a later date, for the vine itself does not get pulled unless it is completely dead and in this case the vine is eternal and the branches the one that does not produce.

Church, we cannot afford to remain silent while our nation sinks further and further down the eternal drain.  We must get our hearts out from the sand and take a stand for God.  How?  By spreading the news that God is the only answer to our problems and if we return to His Ways He has promised to heal our lands which means not only our physical land will be healed but our spiritual land as well.  As of this moment, it is obvious that this nation has no intentions of returning to God much less asking for His advice in our current issues and to be honest, it looks like we (the Church) have no interest in doing such steps either.  How can we even step foot out into the world and cry salvation when we do not live in Covenant in the first place? 

Our nation and many people are begging to find answers to these issues that all of us face, but we are ignoring the vine that has the answers for us to bear good fruit again.  There shall be no peace and no permanent answers to these problems and to the problems that we will soon face unless we turn back to God and seek His face for our lives.  If we choose not to return to God be prepared for our branches to really stink up the place for the life-giving nutrients from the vine shall not flow because we have voluntarily cut that source off.  Jesus is the only way and the only answer to the issues that we face on every level, God is pleading with us to return to Him and I hope that we shall adhere to this beckoning before it is too late and our branches die.  Jesus clearly states that if we are not in Him then we shall bear no fruit and we all know what Jesus did to the fig tree when He saw that it was not doing its job properly.  God is our origin and only He can provide the correct answers to our healing and eternal life.

DLB